#riddler would call himself one. debatable

[gl1tchr]

People need to stop calling riddler an incel it’s silly as a joke but by erm actually definition I don’t see him as such!!!!!!!!!!!

the incel discussion. you picked the Right one lets talk about it

IS Dano Riddler an incel? Maybe. It's complicated. I say NO because to be an incel you have to know what an incel is, be SOMEWHAT involved in those online communities or at the very least /identify/ with the label of incel, and actively take steps to worsen your life by indulging in misogynistic and otherwise bigoted content. Edward doesn't do that at all.

Do we KNOW if he's a virgin? No, we just kind of assumed because he's shown to be very off-putting to others at times and very shy. But like. People like that have fucked before so lets not rule it out! I'm personally of the belief he ISN'T a virgin. But I also have all kinds of insane nutjob ideas about him being a homosexual so maybe don't listen to me.

If the Riddler is, in fact, a virgin as we see him now, I still don't think he's an incel because he doesn't meet most of the criteria I judge a proper incel by. I think given he was actively Pepe Posting on his secret website, he might be at least a little aware of that end of the web's lingo to know WHAT an incel is, but I don't think he would at ALL identify with the label. I also don't think the kind of content he indulges in online is the kind of racist, sexist, evil stuff incels typically are reading and watching. His ideology didn't lead him to believe Bella Real is a bad candidate because she's a "foid" (and other factors they would point out because they're all, again, racist), his ideology made him an apolitical paranoid anarchist. He believes literally every form of power or status in the government is corrupt and unsalvageable, he physically cannot make himself believe there are "good politicians", that's why he went after Bella even though she was CLEARLY a more progressive leaning candidate. He's not alt-right or anything, he's just. an extremely paranoid conspiracy theorist who just had like 75% of his conspiracies proven true

I think Riddler thinks Very Little of sex and more so thinks of the concept of human connection. It's very much up for debate whether or not Dano Riddler is autistic, I tend to lean towards it, and as an autistic person myself I sort of project a bit onto him in this regard lmao BUT I PROMISE it tracks. I think sex is *part* of good bonds with your partner, but in general it means very little to me and if I *had* to go my entire life without it, I probably would if it meant my life was more Simple. I feel like, given he never gets given a random love interest in any of the other media he's been in (Before the Batman and TRYO), it seems like something that's just - so inconsequential to him given all of his other issues and problems that he chooses not to even think about it, whereas incels think about sex CONSTANTLY. I think Edward's mind, as we see from his ledgers, his recordings, his internal monologue - it's himself. He's ALWAYS just thinking inwards, constantly on some silent mental mission to solve himself, and I don't feel like that leaves him much room for bemoaning the fact no one's ever done tricks on it. ALSO just to slide this in there, genuinely, once you've had sex at least once you kinda realize it's not a huge deal, which is *kind of* where I lean on this. I think Edward probably had a little hookup in his early 20s (he looked like early 20s Paul Dano it HAD to. it HAD to happen.) and, being Edward Nashton The Riddler, probably was like "eh. okay?" and didn't care all that much because it Didn't fix anything that was wrong with his life

in short: I agree Edward Nashton is not an incel by definition and emotionally

[finniestoncrane]

Your One True Nemesis

Chapter 36: also on AO3 Masterlist Here Arkham!Riddler x Female!Reader, word count: 1.5k oop someone is a wet and miserable beast and that's exactly how i like him💚 request info • prompt list • send me a request • kofi • masterlist minors DNI!! 🔞 cw: shower sex SHOWER SEX

The water in the sewers always felt hard, sharp against your skin, cooler than was ever comfortable, and it had a distinct smell despite Eddie assuring you that it was suitable for consumption and would get you clean all the same. Still, it was unavoidable, and even down there where distractions were abound and having less than four grease stains on your cheeks was a sign of exceptional hygiene, you had to shower regardless of your dislike for the circumstances. 

You felt like you should be used to it by now, after months of living with it. But, much like everything else down there, including Eddie himself, it was almost impossible to get used to it. Everything was always tinged with an element of surrealism, you supposed because you felt like you were still living in a dream. That at any point you could wake up and everything you had gone through, everything you had worked towards between you and Eddie, would be snatched away in one quick gasp as you sat up in your old apartment. 

Fortunately, though that might be debatable to anyone else, you were still there. Underground, safe and comfortable, finally, seemingly, with Eddie. The routines you had finally settled into, the capacity for sharing which you now both shared, the way everything felt easier, like it wasn’t being questioned and dismantled and fraught over. It was nice. In fact, it was better than nice. It was perfect.

In fact, the only thing that could have made that moment, in the like warm shower that smelled like tin and mould would have been -

“I apologise for the intrusion, dear, but you’ve been in there for quite some time. May I come in?”

Eddie’s quick, sharp knocks were followed by his voice, purposefully kept low and soft in tone lest you think he was making an attempt at starting an argument. 

“Sorry! You can come in, but I’m almost done, I swear.”

Either not hearing, or not caring about, the last part of your invitation, Eddie stepped into the space he called a bathroom and leaned himself against the wall across from the shower. His eyes drifted from the floor upwards, taking in your body in a way so appreciative it made you blush. He seemed to notice himself that he was staring at you, his mouth open ever so slightly, and he quickly turned to look away, met with your soft giggle in response.

“It’s fine, Eddie. It’s not like it would bother me much, you’ve seen it all before.”

At the suggested invitation, he turned his attention back to you as you continued rinsing off the soap residue.

“Still…”

The lingering gaze had returned, his words silenced as he watched the water bounce off of your skin, trickling down over you and splashing to the ground.

“Eddie… you were going to say something, no?”

“What?”

“You came in here for something, what did you need?”

“Oh. I… don’t remember.”

Your lips curled in a sly smile, watching his pupils widen as you ran your hands down your front. 

“Well, is there anything I can do for you just now?”

There was still that nagging part of him that wanted to berate you, to chastise you for distracting him with your body, almost hypnotising him, encouraging his brain cells to waste away as he relied on his more primal instincts for pleasure. But he was all too happy to indulge in those instincts these days, far more than he found he was interested in devoting that same energy to complaining and lecturing you.

Strangely, at least for Edward Nigma, he didn’t feel like words were necessary. You had offered, he was accepting. That’s what he told himself as he began unbuttoning his shirt in front of you, diverting his eyes to the ground in an attempt to pretend he couldn’t see you staring at his body lustfully. The way your tongue flitted out as he tossed his shirt and vest to the floor, how you bit your lip as he pulled his pants down past his hips, letting his semi-erect cock fall freely. It never ceased to amaze him the extent to which you reciprocated his feelings, despite the more than surface level egotism that he burdened himself with. It felt good to be desired, wanted. Especially by someone he was equally hungry for. 

Once he was completely nude, and slightly bashful of that fact, he made his way awkwardly to the shower. It felt like he had made an attempt to walk in a sultry manner for one or two steps before realising he perhaps couldn’t quite pull it off. That hidden, shy side to him was so endearing, and you found yourself grabbing for his shoulders with wet hands to get him to you quicker. 

Falling against the wall, the cold of the surface prickling your skin with gooseflesh, you did your best to cling to Eddie, to pull him closer, fingers entwined in his hair as you grabbed whatever you could to make your embrace tighter. He held you back, albeit more gently than you, his hands draped casually on your hips, occasionally sliding around to your lower back and lifting you away from the wall. And every time you were closer to him, your hips jutting forward to meet his, you were desperately grinding at him, a pathetic display, but one you couldn’t help. But you worried this might be a bit of a game to him.

“Eddie… this better be going somewhere…”

You spoke loud, trying to be heard over the running water, and he leaned in to offer his reply.

“I never take action without reason, dear. You should be well aware of this fact by now.”

Giggling, the sound almost shrill in comparison to Eddie’s lower chuckle, you leaned your head back, exposing your neck to him, which he took as an immediate sign of submission to his will. Lunging forward, he placed wet, long, lewd kisses against you, his teeth grazing over your throat, all while his hands travelled over your body, never settling in one place. He was explorative, always, making sure to take note of each part of your body, not missing any single spot. 

You moved your own hands to his back, rinsing it with soap and watching the grimy suds circle the makeshift drain. He almost purred as you let your nails drag down his back, something about the affection, the way you sometimes treated him like a stray, finally at home, getting the comfort it deserved. It gave him a great deal of satisfaction, to know you were willing to touch him regardless of his past behaviours, his present behaviours, the way he spoke, the way he sounded, through the layers of grime and sweat and blood. 

Letting his hands skate over your slick skin, he dove towards your mound, fingers resting against the tuft of pubic hair before letting them slip lower, spreading your lips and dipping his fingers between them while you writhed against the wall. He growled, smirking at your immediate satisfaction, the way you moaned into his kiss, loud despite being muffled. His free hand rose to your breast, cupping it, squeezing it, feeling the weight of it in his palm as he ran his thumb back and forth across your nipple. 

The kiss deepened as he pressed his tongue into your mouth, lapping at you, pulling it out and nibbling at your lips, stretching them in his teeth before letting them go and diving back in, a tender kiss to apologise for any pain he caused. Attentive, but cruel. Loving, passionate, but almost furious in the way he seemed to need you. It was very Eddie. 

With his body pressed tight to you, he curled his fingers around the base of his cock and slid it  between your thighs, pushing up and into you, pinning you to the wall as he entered you with ease. He was quick, frantic, almost as though he couldn’t contain himself any more. He wanted you, and he was having you. Each inch of him disappearing inside of you, wrapped in your warmth, wet and warm, tight, welcoming.

Each gentle buck of his hips had you moaning, a smile pressed onto your lips as you took him, gratefully, his lips on your neck, your collarbone, his cock buried up to the hilt as he positioned himself to fill you as best as he could. His breath was heavy in your ear as he held you, groans that started to form words, quiet and stifled.

“I… I… lo…”

He buried his head in your neck again, and you didn’t press him. It wouldn’t be the time or the place. His body, holding you tight, as close as you as he could get. You could tell the sentiment was there. Rushing him would do no good. All you could do was relax and enjoy yourself, and the knowledge that somewhere, the words were there. They’d come out eventually.

[anindecisivespirit]

Baby Bat AU

Okay so like, I heard about the comic One Operation Joker, in which Batman is turned into a baby and Joker decides to raise him, and I just. My brain exploded with ideas. I haven’t read it and I’ve barely heard anything about it, but if I was writing a story with that premise it would probably go something like this (originally a thread of messages over discord):

Joker brings this newly turned baby batman to a meeting with all the other rogues And they’re like… why do you have a baby?? I don’t like the implications? And he explains that it’s batman, and some of them want to just kill him right now while he’s a baby, but he’s like “no no no, because then we’d have no proof that we killed Batman and you know it’s gotta be a spectacle. Mr Freeze, you try to find a cure, and the rest of you will help me take care of this baby.” And Riddler is trying so hard but babies are just so dumb. He’s trying to teach Bruce to solve puzzles and answer riddles. Ivy is telling him bedtime stories about how important the environment is and that the people who hurt it should die. Joker is the most irresponsible parent ever and Bruce almost dies three times a week. They were a little hesitant to let Zsasz near him but now Bruce is crawling all over him and hanging off his arms as Zsasz tells him about each and every one of his tally marks.

(Btw Zsasz can’t kill Bruce even if he wanted to, because he wants to kill Batman. He has a special place saved for Batman’s tally mark, but if he killed this baby… he wouldn’t be able to use it. He wouldn’t be able to bring himself to. This is not Batman.)

Clayface is shapeshifting into various animals to keep him entertained.

Bruce understands exactly 0-3% of what’s going on. They don’t know who he is so they all just keep calling him Batman/Bats/Batsy.

Bruce Wayne has gone missing.

Baby Bruce is terrified of Joker’s face for a good while, and keeps crying when he sees him. The first time he looks at him without getting upset Joker almost starts crying

Alfred is searching desperately for Bruce. Penguin is having mob meetings with a baby vest, and he’s put Bruce in a tiny suit Harley is trying to rollerblade around with him

None of them care that Bruce can’t understand anything that they’re talking about, they’re all trying to teach him to be Batman but also to be a tiny criminal at the same time

Joker gives him batarangs, which the others have to quickly take back before he hurts himself. They get him little foam batarangs instead

Riddler gets a little box that opens when you press a button, and he puts Bruce’s favorite treats in it to encourage him to figure out how to open it This results in the others giving Riddler one of those little puzzle boxes you give to cats and stuff as a joke, but Bruce seems to unironically love it

He plays with Catwoman’s whip and all of her cats love him. They curl up with him all the time.

Maybe Bruce is old enough to be saying words. He’s got mom and dad down, along with hungry and no and yes. So, all the rogues start trying to make absolutely sure that he says their name first. It’s a thing, now. They have to be first, they need to be the favorite. He gets ‘riddle’ if only because Riddler says it so often. He takes to saying ‘Za’ when he wants Zsasz. You can catch Joker crying in the shower because Bruce hasn’t said his name yet and he’s gotten most of the others down

None of them really pay any mind to the fact that Bruce Wayne has gone missing because they have more important things to do All except for the Riddler, who has known Batman’s identity for months and just never said anything. He debates whether or not he should tell anyone…

They knit him a little hat with bat ears on it, and it’s adorable

(Feel free to talk to me about this in tags and replies and asks!!!)

[sweetlikehoneystingslikeabee]

So for Jervis (BTAS, Gotham) and Riddler (BTAS, Arkham)

He didn't have a good relationship with Reader but she helped him once. Now he helped her out and is kinda cocky about it, saying that now they're even. She just rolls her eyes and says "Thank you my hero." And kisses him on the cheek before casually walking away "See ya."

"Oh, my hero." Mad Hatter x f!reader, Riddler x f!reader

We do love flustering these men sometimes, don't we? They deserve it.

Tw: surveillance mention

BTAS Mad Hatter

- You'd rubbed him the wrong way once by calling him ridiculous. Or was it his costume you called ridiculous? Either way, he'd genuinely written you off.

- ...Until several of the Rogues Gallery were working together and you pulled him to safety from a smoke bomb. It was kind.

- When he finally gets to help you, he's sing-song telling you you're even and that he got to save the damsel.

- When you kiss him, he's genuinely shocked. He wasn't trying to be cocky, although he supposes it could have come off that way. But... your hero?

- It makes him feel fluttery in his chest, the thought. And... oh, you've already left. That whole time he was just staring at the floor blushing. How embarrassing.

- He's going to be hanging around a lot more asking if you need anything- no? You're certain? He's more than happy to- well, alright. But he'll be around if you need anything. Anything at all!

- He's got all the affection and loyalty of a puppy. You'll notice he starts using pet names like Dearest all of sudden. Treat him well.

Gotham Mad Hatter

- He felt neutral about you at first. Not really a dislike as much as not caring very much. But then there was a plan gone bad and you, being in the area, gave him shelter.

- He'd left the moment he could, especially after you teased about owing him. Not long after, he happened upon an instance where a guard was pointing a gun at your face. That won't do at all.

- After hypnotizing the guard, he teases "what would you have done without me?" With a coy smile. He doesn't expect you to kiss him and look at him that way.

- He almost considers following you, to seeing if you really meant that kiss. If you... perhaps wanted go continue it further.

- He'll settle for the tense but playful flirting you'll do when you meet at random intervals in the city of Gotham. Lingering touches and offers to teach you about hypnotism.

- And, even if it doesn't go anywhere serious, there's always the chance of a steamy and lengthy affair... and someone to watch your back as long as you watch his.

BTAS Riddler

- He got the impression you thought of yourself as on his level. Whether or not this is true is up for debate. Either way, he was rather shocked when you opened a path of escape for him from Batman rather than just saving your own skin.

- Hm. There's a chance he needs to re-evaluate this. After all, he's not so egotistical to think he's above a partnership of sorts, no matter what anyone else thinks. This is why the next time you're in a bind about to be caught, it's one of his robots that scoops you up to take you to safety.

- Of course, being Edward Nygma, he needs to gloat just a tad. Brilliant, wasn't it? Could you, in your average mind, have ever thought of such an escape? It was impressive, he knows.

- All that hot air quickly escapes him when you call him your hero and kiss his cheek. He's a blushing mess immediately falling over himself. Him? "W-Wait, sweet, dear lady, I think we need to talk about this-"

- He doesn't actually have anything to add, he's just still computing all that. Eventually, he's going to stumble on about dinner, he can make it- or go out! To discuss... plans! How to foil Batman! Yes!

- He's going to wear one of his nicest suits and bring flowers, the huge dork.

Arkham Riddler

- let's be honest, he likely thought you were a moron incapable of anything than being pretty and sometimes useful. It does not take much for him to have an opinion like this about people, particularly if he finds them attractive.

- When you do help him, he insists he didn't need your help in the first place! Don't think he needed you. He had the situation completely under his control. (He didn't.)

- While his instinct is to chalk it up to you being in awe of him, he does feel a slight nagging feeling like he might owe you. Perhaps.

- Strangely when you're in distress, outnumbered by thugs in Gotham- He makes a surprise arrival with several devices that bring them to their knees begging for mercy.

- If you ask him how get got there so quickly, he'll point his cane to a nearby cctv, "I have eyes everywhere. You should remember that. Oh, and you're welcome, of course. It's not every day the Riddler deigns to enter a fray with the idiotic incompetents in the streets." Preening and patting himself on the back in a smug tone.

- What he doesn't expect is your sarcastic comment and a kiss. He's stunned to speechlessness. If for around... 30 seconds, at least.

- "And just what was the meaning of that?" He's following you, being a pest, "Some misguided attempt to curry favor with the greatest genius of Gotham? Well... it won't work, I'm far too clever to fall for such base instincts."

- He's incredibly flustered and still shouting even as you round the corner out of sight. This is definitely not the end of this.

[just-an-enby-lemon]

This post is an apology to Tom King.

I recently re-read Riddler: One Bad Day and it's actually a masterpiece!

There's something truly fantastical about how Riddler's intelect is portrayed almost as a mystical power! The scene where Edward mind tricks all the cops into killing each other by laying on the floor and laughing like a maniac is pure art and I'm truly sorry for previously calling it "stupidly edgy", "the moment the comic lost all chance of salvation", "the final proof male power fantasies are a diservice to the entertaiment industry" and "soo dark is actually hilarious".

I also need to compliment the ambiguousness of if Riddler became who he is because of the abuse he endure or if his dad was abusive BECAUSE Edward was always bad is fantastically creepy and necessary. If your narrative does not have victim blaming as one of the possibilities in your moral debate about the inexistence of redemption and the need for violent cops ... I mean heros who kill the villains because evil will never stop nor change what's even the point?

I'm also sorry for my mean coments over Riddler reveling that he was part of Joker's attack against Barbara Gordon. It is actually a really nice nod to the original, specially in the way it reinforces Barbara's place as an useless plot point without agency that only serves to motivate her father. After all why would anyone ever want Babs to actually matter in an event that changed her life forever? Gordon is pissed. That's what matters.

The RIDDLER hating RIDDLES and using them to protect the world from himself by constantly re-living his trauma because actually the trauma was what stopped him from murdering for a long time and does that mean the story is retconing itself to show he was born evil? Is the BEST plot twist. If all future versions of Edward don't hate his gimmick and his own identity and think dorky people who tell riddles are actually stupid and puzzles are dumb than the comic industry will have to live in shame.

Back to talking about the portral of woman! I'm soo happy that the comic took away the voice from Edward's mother presenting her only by what her job as a sex worker represented to the people around her! Such a feminist take! And the snapy Riddler was justified in being mad that his henchmen sleept with his mother because being a sex worker is dirty actually. Gorgeus.

This comic also has the best teacher characther ever. He is so real for ignoring a kid's cry for help, considering their neurodivergent coded anxiety and dificulties are a case of needing to chill and seing all the most obvious sings of abuse ever as "very unchill kid behavior". And the comic is soo right for portraying this man as sympathetic and good and how if Eddie had stoped being a neurodivergent abused kid for a second and just chilled he would have been fine and never became a muderer. It's a life lession. Abused kids should just stop being anxious over the very real possibility of more abuse and neurodivergent people should just chill and everything will be fine. Doing nothing except blaming the crying desperated child for asking help is the right move!

Also Batman should kill. That's just a fact. Jason Tood has been saying it for years now and he is right. All heros should kill actually. Every comic should be exactaly like a Punisher run writen by an alt-right. Yes even the non-superhero ones. Yes even the manga. Yes even Donald Duck ones.

I could write pages and pages about how this is the perfect comic - bar the art style - but I think this is already a suficient apology for my previous misleading critics.

My next post will be a long explanation of why Batgirl vs Riddler: Prelude to the Wedding is actualy the best feminist comic ever written and Tim Seeley is actualy the only person allowed to represent woman in media ever.

[quandaryqueen]

Fools Part II

Assault on Arkham Edward Nygma X Reader

After escaping a draining relationship, you find a way to restore the previous fervour for life... But fate had other plans.

Prepare yourself, this is going to be a long one.

Part I

"Oooh~" Coos Harley Quinn in intrigue. You try your best to remain apathetic, turning away and pretending you did not notice her. "I spy with my little eye, the Riddler's sweetheart!"

It irked you. Riddler's sweetheart? It's been a year since you walked away from him, but Harley does not have a way to know. It's not like a hiatus of Quandary can tell her of your split from Edward. You sigh, dropping the act. Of course Harley Quinn is here and of course, she just had to announce your presence.

"Quinn." You begrudgingly acknowledge her.

The former psychiatrist giggles before she launched herself to cling on your neck. "How's it goin' Quandie?"

"All was well until this happened." Or should I say, after this will happen. Whatever does Amanda Waller need you for? You've been clean for the past year, what could she possibly want from you?

With that revelation, everyone now knew that the casually-clothed person among them was the Riddler's former sidekick. Just your luck. It came to some fellow night crawlers that the Quandary's real identity is obscured despite being as well-known as the Riddler. Everyone knows who the Riddler is, Edward Nygma, but Quandary? Who knows? The only known details about them is their repertoire of prowess, the public debated that the mysterious figure is a multi-talented individual...

Who would have thought Y/N L/N, co-owner of the quaint cafe in 19th Street is Gotham's most wanted criminal Quandary? Amanda Waller apparently.

Ever since you walked out of the Riddler's workshop, slipped your ring off, you've abandoned your identity. You were no longer the Quandary to his Riddler and you were no longer L/N-Nygma. Everything was going fine without him but then these people decided to fuck you over. You've yet to know what was up, but fuck it, things like these succeed in seldom.

Introductions are far from needed, everyone seems to be getting along already, the nanobomb in your neck can attest to the bind of your new friendship. One quarell, aka distraction and boom. KGBeast's head was blown up, but all's fun. Escaping was out of the option, now that you're a member of the Task Force X. The hope of living normally again was taken away the moment you were finally well-adjusted back to society. Now you're sitting in the floor with six other criminals, excluding the guy whose head was blown off the moment he tried to go against Amanda Waller.

She started the meeting with a heavy one, "You're going to break in Arkham Asylum."

Sure, you have no problem with that, you've studied its structure for the benefit of breaking your former husband out, along with some of his friends. Quandary was the reason why Arkham now utelises motion lights in every corner. You can break in, with teammates surely it won't be as difficult even if their reactions vary from disbelief, namely Black Spider, Killer Frost, Captain Boomerang and King Shark, and of course enthusiasm from Lawton and Quinzel. With a wide array of teammates, consider it done.

"A week ago while in my employ, a lowlife calling himself the Riddler managed to gain access to my computer system."

Well shit. Pfft, of course Waller needs you in a way that can be held leverage to Edward. Not that he cares anyway, she would just be wasting her time if she thought she can utelise you against him. You have moved pass Edward but... What was he up to? What benefit would grant him to post information about the suicide squad? He couldn't care less for fellow convicts... Unless, of course, he needed something else from Waller. A dirt of sorts. Edward is not above doing blackmail, so no doubt blackmailing Amanda Waller really is his goal.

She continues. "He downloaded a file containing the identities and histories of every current, past and potential members of the suicide squad. He's threatning to release them all in the internet. You're going to get it back. Riddler's got one copy, and it's on a thumb-drive in his cane. Which is currently locked away in the Arkham property room."

"In the intensive treatment building right under the solitary confinement cells... Good times, ain't it, Quandie?" She turns to you with a certain fondness at the mention of Arkham.

You cannot reciprocate her nostalgia, you have never been incarcerated in Arkham. Your means of entering the building was only breaking some fellow criminals out for your benefit.

"Sure." You can only answer to Quinzel's musings with a void of interest.

"So we'll get someone inside," Deadshot chimes in.

"Is it me? Can it be me? Dibs!" Harley cheerfully exclaims, before she once again latches herself on you. You fail to hide the blantant irritation in your eyes as she shook you excitedly. She couldn't care less about your vexation. "Come on, Quandie! It'll be just like old times!"

You only broke in Arkham with her once and you weren't particularly thrilled about it. She wasn't really serious when you needed her to.

"Harley Quinn and Quandary both have encyclopedic knowledge of Arkham's layout and its logistics." Amanda Waller adds. "You'll be snuck into Gotham. You will rendezvous with a power broker who will set you up for the break in. This is as off the grid it gets, so keep the body count minimum. Deadshot, rubber bullets only."

"What about the bats?" Lawton brings up a good point. Ahh, Bats. You really didn't miss him.

"He has his hands full on another case. In fact if we get it right, we might be able to take advantage of him." After that, she begins to saunter off.

The last thing you remember was Amanda Waller scoffing in amusement, before turning away. "Gas them."

Then, you awoke, situated beside Black Spider and strapped to your seat. Amanda Waller once again wanted to present the complete control she has by dropping you in individual boxes and refused to open the parachutes until the last minute. Once the chaos has somewhat subsided, you were deployed to Gotham and arrived in the Power broker Amanda had mentioned via the sewers to avoid the Bat's radar. You were told he's kept busy but it was better safe than sorry. The aforementioned power broker was someone by the name of Oswald Cobblepot. All were a blur to you, but you only became more aware of your surroundings after dinner.

Harley was urging you to "catch up" over a glass of wine, but you declined. And to avert her attention away from you, you pointed at Lawton. Hopefully he doesn't mind her floundering about around him for your peace and quiet.

Harley wasn't the only one interested in mingling with you, in the form of Digger Harkness thinking you're a lovely little sport, draping his arm on your shoulder with a steinbif beer in hand.

"Oi, L/N! Care to join us for a pint?"

"No." Blunt and straightforward, you hoped it was enough to drive a point and yet he doesn't get it.

"Oh c'mon now, loosen up." He drawls, his weight relying on yours for balance.

Since simple refusal were already hard to comprehend for his sloshed state, you opted for an action that spoke louder. You grab his wrist and pried it off you, before taking a step aside causing him to stumble. You left with a huff, taking indignant steps to your room.

On your way back, you pass between Killer Frost and King Shark. You paid no mind to them, they seem to be getting along quite well despite the misstep in their introduction when Nanaue tried to take a bite of Louise. You didn't notice their heads turn to your direction when you cut between them, brows furrowing as to why you looked as though steam was coming out of your ears.

You arrive at your door but as you twist the knob, someone calls you by your alterego. You need not turn, you knew it was the Black Spider.

"What is it?" You turn to him, hands resting on the doorknob, just wanting to make this quick.

He was leaning against the wall, arms crossed to his chest. You hoped that this will not further spiral downwards to a full interrogation, you needed your sleep for fuck's sake.

"I was made aware of your previous affiliations with the target. Rumours also state that your relationship with the Riddler were... personal."

What the fuck does he mean by that? Wait, nevermind. With his tone, you already knew where this was going. And you can't fault him.

"You heard right. If you need assurance that I won't screw this operation up simply because of my forfeited connection with Nygma, you needn't worry. Our days together are over."

He seems to be satisfied with your answer. "Good. Just making sure we don't have another lovesick Quinzel."

"Right, I see where you're coming from." And by god, you hoped that Quin doesn't encounter Joker. "It's that all?"

"Yes. Thank you for humouring me." And with that, he turned to the corridor and was no longer there.

Finally, you were able to get inside your room and collapse on the bed.

All those months you stay clean from crime, you steer yourself in a better direction in life after a decade of experience with Edward. It was pathetic that you blamed it all on him back then. It was your choice to tamper with evidences pointing at the Riddler back in your GCPD Pathologist days, it was your choice to break him out of Arkham, it was your choice to follow him in life of a crime. You chose to become Quandary. It was your choice to become a fool.

Admittedly, it was fun while it lasted. The chaos you stirred with him, the riddles, god the riddles... You would be lying if you said you didn't miss them... It's been a year, why does it still hurt? The relenting absence of his presence in your life continues to persists and hinder your daily life. It hurts the same the moment you walked out his life. Your finger has been itching without the wedding band on it and you tried once to wear a different to fill in the sense of its absence, but it didn't felt the same. You tried to force it in yourself to move on and yet everything reminded you of him. And now you're presented the opportunity to see him again. Or is it? I mean, the mission isn't him, it's retrieving the copy of the documents he downloaded.

After tossing and turning, every hour that pass made you more restless. Frustration had you shooting up from the bed and rummage through the drawers. Surely the Penguin kept some sleeping pills in these rooms? To you chagrin, it didn't. You huff out it disappointment, once again seating yourself on the corner of your bed. Sleepless nights aren't new to you, the bouts insomnia brought by the circumstances you find yourself in. It really didn't help that you just downed a cup of caffeine to ease your headache. A glance at the clock by the bedside table informed you it was too late to sleep. It looks like you'll be downing another bottle of energy drink to keep yourself active in this suicide mission.

With no other choice, you bend to reach for the bag under the bed where your Quandary uniform has been kindly fetched from your apartment. It was ensured that they have done so discreetly, you've contacted your friend awhile ago to inform them of your absence, as if you were gone for a mundane trip. A rush of emotions flooded you, the uniform in your grasp remained the same after you had put it away.

You don't know what will happen, but you doubt this was a simple "retrieve and leave" kind of thing. Amanda Waller recruited you of all people, the fact that Edward is here and knows your relationship with him. Well... previous. But it solidifies your suspicion that she might be using you against him.

The arrival in Arkham is the cathartic one, of course. From the delay of the planting of the device to sneak yourself in Arkham due to Harley Quinn encountering her ex much to your chagrin, the guards, the cooperation of the team (lack thereof) and of course, your lackluster of a performance in the battlefield. Amanda Waller had instructed a minimal amount of body count and that didn't go well. Lawton and Harkness were in their bouts of their one-sided dick measuring contest, making a fool of themselves in the process and causing an officer to radio in an emergency alert.

There was a protruding vein on your temple, pulsating with frustration. Perhaps working alone was more of your thing, breaking into Arkham isn't this difficult for you with enough prep time. It took you all will power not to walk off and just go home. If it weren't for the nanobomb administered at the back of your neck, you would have ditched. Not to mention, you do not look forward to possibly encounter Eddie. You really did not want a repeat of Harley Quinn encountering the Joker.

Thankfully, it has been managed, your headache subsided and the only thing left for you to do was to retrieve the cane from the property room.

"Bingo," was uttered monotonously under your breath upon spotting the Riddler's crate of property. Deadshot followed behind, helping you pry the crate's lid. There, you found the main objective. Stacked atop myriads of books and complicated puzzles, the Riddler's cane.

You watch Lawton picked up the cane, but instead of opening the passage at the tip of the modified handle of the cane, he hands it to you.

"You open it."

You blink owlishly at him from the lense of your dark visors and obeyed, reaching the for question mark-shaped cane. You twist the section of the cane, the spherical, compact make-shift storage of the supposed thumb-drive. Everyone watched in anticipation as you twist it open, only for it to be empty, replacing the anticipation with shock... At least to them, it was empty of the target they intend to retrieve, but to you, it wasn't.

In the storage, was your and his wedding bands. You had your mask to hide to dumbfounded look on your face. A certain dread racked your entire body, quivering from the cold. Was it always this cold?

He... He kept it all this time?

You thought he would have thrown them away or sold it off, he told you weren't significant for him to waste an ounce of his time to think about you. You weren't worth the time to be considered to be an object of sentiment, he often chastised you for being overly sentimental and yet... He must've not had time to dispose of them, that's the only answer. He made it clear you were unnecessary in his life— but why would he go an extra mile to store your rings together in his cane?

You've long since shut down and did not notice everyone around you in a surge of panic. Killer Frost was missing, Deadshot pointed out how she was eyeing patient's cells— Eddie's cell in the security room. The rest of the team has caught on to the fact that this mission isn't about retrieving the thumb-drive. Edward knows something, he knows everything. He hacked Waller's system and fuck, you doubt it was about retrieving what he stole. He already seen them, read them, probably had it mentally noted. Why steal the documents back, when you can silence him? And with that realisation, you immediately pocketed the rings and made a mad dash towards the wing of Arkham patients.

Unfortunately, the chaos you've caused from the break-in had resulted into summoning Arkham's special forces, aka, the ones with the shields and guns, and will shoot if you don't cooperate. If only your break-in was silent, this could've been less loud. Thankfully, Waller has yet to find out about it.

You spot Killer Frost and... Him in a bit of a pickle, having been surrounded by the special forces, lacking any defense other than a broken slab of what used to be and what should be a wall. Things would have escalated from there if you didn't arrive with weapons and defenses.

This was the nearest you could ever come to Edward, the deep seated feeling of feelings were ignored and shoved further down by busying yourself with shooting back at the special forces. Harley was the only one who squinted at you for reaction and even if your face was concealed, she knows you were pushed in a tumultuous corner. That, and the fact that your aim was off.

As for Edward, try as he may to play it cool but to see you again... It does make memories resurface. Mainly, your last moments together, he was unsure how to approach. Would it make sense to approach you? Well, in his excuse, he knows that the only reason why you're here, is because of him. What else could it be? Of course Waller was going to use you against him, that's the oldest trick in the book. Or maybe it was the fact that you were a highly efficient jack of all trades.

"You were supposed to off him as instructed by Waller, correct?" Your voice was heavy with voice modulation built within your mask, but the shiver down in Edward's back was all the same. "Care to tell us why you spared him?"

"Yes. He says he knows how to turn off the bomb." Killer Frost says, side-eyeing the Riddler as if asking him to back her up.

And that he did, turning around and lowering the collar of his Arkham inmate uniform. On his nape, was the similar X mark where the bombs were implanted.

"Look familiar?" He says. "I can do it, but you have to get me to the medical bay."

"We got maybe five minutes before Waller figures out what's what." Deadshot says. You sense the improbability of that happening, since the threat of the special forces are barely neutralised. "We get to that room, or we're dead."

"We should've brought a tank." What Digger thought was a mere sarcastic quip, ended up being somewhat helpful.

"We have one." Lawton firmly pointed out, before glancing at King Shark.

Thankfully, there were no further arguements that ensued. Nanaue was particularly blunt in terms of revealing his fear of heights, but thankfully Killer Frost was there to offer her guidance. A ripped piece of fabric did the trick and some of Killer Frost's guidance, King Shark was finally able to eliminate the threat of the special forces. Soon, you were on the move for the med bay.

Edward practically burst in the medical bay, making a beeline straight to the complex control panel and monitors and began twiddling away. His voice was nonchalant, as he goes about things as casually.

"Let's see now, we need this on, this for back up..." He mutters to himself, then turns to all of you. "Grab a chair."

And so you did. You were wary of this little operation of his, seeing as the med bay contains a lot of things. Knowing Edward, oh lord, anything can be a weapon for this man. God knows, maybe the whole thing is an elaborate ruse for him to kill you... You took a seat nonetheless. Black Spider took his place by the window, keeping a lookout.

"How do you diffuse this bomb exactly?" Lawton asks, he must've had the same doubts as you were.

"It's the electro shock."

"The what now?" Boomerang raises a brow.

"I'm gonna run a thousand bolts through your head and fry your bombs." You can only watch with narrowed gaze as Edward gathered wires with pads meant to stick to your body. God, this doesn't bode well with you. "Good, now put your chairs around a circle around old sparky here."

You settle on your seat, white-knuckling the armrest as he goes around, distributing the adhesive pads and strapping your fellow inmates one by one. Everyone had stressed the fact that they were wary of whatever this operation is, Edward seems to be confident. You hated how he didn't take too long to get to you and god, the tension was already suffocating before.

"Lose the mask, Y/N." His voice was light, sweet even. It was sickening.

First of all, how dare he act as if you're back to first name basis and second, why is he pretending as if nothing happened?

But you complied, slipping your mask off and shaking your hair in place.

Edward knows how to keep things internal, so it wasn't that noticeable when he froze. To see you in your uniform was one thing, but seeing you take your mask off, be Y/N... You were as beautiful as the last he's saw you.

"Any conductives in your pockets?"

"O-Oh um..." Fuck, you didn't expect your voice to come out like that. Shy, flustered even. Your eyes refused to meet his. Not to mention, how you fumble to retrieve something in your pocket.

The confidence front he's cultivated cracked for a split-second, having bee caught off-guard when you handed him your wedding rings. He didn't expect you to keep it in your pocket after you collected the cane from the property room, where the supposed hard-drive was in.

You look up for the first time, his face sunken with solemnity. He must be deep in thought to pause like this, his eyes fixed on the rings that you placed on his palm. Not a word was spoken in the room, you couldn't sense the other presence and the eyes that were on you. The only person you could see was your lost love and how you sense his feelings. However, you wish not to prolong this stupid fucking personal stuff. It would be hypocritical of you to roll your eyes at Harley for being emotional at the sight of Joker, but here you were, unable to find your bearings before the Riddler.

"You can strap me down now."

"Of course." And just like that, you clicked the Riddler in place and his typical bravado returns.

He first pockets the bonds, before he binds you down. He was gentle, making sure the restraints weren't too constricting. He can't have your skin chaffed from his carelessness.

"It'll all be okay." His hands lingered longer than he intended, slender digits relishing the warmth that he missed. But he pried himself off before he can get carried away.

Goosebumps erupted from your skin when his fingers traced along your arm and you resisted the incoming shiver that came with it. It was already bad enough that your personal bygones were coming back in full screen before fellow rogues and not to mention, how it hinders.

All the grudge just suddenly disappeared and you didn't know why. He didn't even said he was sorry, nor do you even see it ever coming and yet you were ready to forgive him... Better yet, you already forgave him. And you were angry at yourself at the fact that you fell for him, hell, even before you can see him again. When you found the rings tucked away in the secret storage of the cane, you were at a back and fourth between your skepticism and optimism, the fact that he must've kept it because how it meant to him. And seeing him freeze when you present him the ring further solidifies that he had indeed kept it due to sentiments.

As of cue, Waller calls the leader, Lawton, but that didn't stop Edward from working. He broke off a piece of wood from a mop as a makeshift silencer for each of you. When he assist you with yours, you avert his gaze. You didn't want another repeat of the pause between you, especially when Waller is already on-call with Lawton and he's doing a bad job lying to save all your asses.

All was prepared, Waller was on the line and the electric shock was bumped to the appropriate setting, distributing electricity equally among you. A scream would have ripped itself loudly from your lungs if it weren't for the piece of wood between your teeth. Edward can only watch you convulse on your seat with a wince, his chest being ripped from the sound of your muffled pain. A few seconds more and he turns off the machine.

Your body slumped over and with your ragged breathing, the wood fell from your lips. The room stenched with smoke and you swore you saw stars dotting your vision whilst the electricity was coursing through your skin.

"Fuck, that better be it." Your voice came out from your squeezed throat.

"I'm never doing that again." Boomerang pants, eyes squinted in pain.

"Are you kidding? I feel great!" Typical Harley.

"Are you okay, Y/N?" Edward asks, voice laced with worry.

"Why'd his head explode?"

You didn't get the chance to respond, hearing a familiar beeping beside you, coming from King Shark.

"Uh... Guys?" Nanaue utters nervously.

"Run it again!" Killer Frost barks, her voice raspy.

"I don't know, maybe he has thick skin?" Edward says, voice different from when he spoke to you, as he was more nonchalant at the face of emergency.

And before you knew it, a clot blood shot at your direction and King Shark's metal mouthpiece shot forward, almost hitting Lawton and piercing through the wall. Upon opening your eyes, the figure beside you was now headless.

"Because the bomb in his neck neck didn't diffuse, you asshole." Killer Frost snaps at Boomerang.

"So what's his excuse?" Digger glances at Black Spider, who stood by the window with his head intact.

"Ohoho, that's rich..." Everyone glanced at Edward. "Haven't you solved it yet? The Black Spider, is Batman!"

Without warning, he pulls out a Glock from his pocket and began shooting towards who you thought was the Black Spider. His aim was sloppy, giving Batman a window of opportunity to throw a batarang at him, resulting to him stumbling back and accidentally twisting the control panel, activating the electro shock again.

With no muffler, screams filled the room and when you said you couldn't take a single shot of electricity in your system, you meant it. The mission was a complete shitshow, your body hurts, Batman now knows your identity, somehow it had gotten worse when the fucking Joker appeared shooting shots and throwing marble-like bombs.

You break free from your restraints from the excessive thrashing, thankfully Edward didn't made it all too tight. You yank adhesive wire off your temples, breathing heavily in amidst the smoke filled room. Upon slipping your mask back on, you pull Edward's unconscious body out of the room. You find yourself separated from the Task Force X when you got yourself and Edward in a secluded spot in the asylum. At this point, you couldn't care less about them, nor the mission. As if you'd fulfill the real mission, Waller can fucking suck it.

"Hey," you didn't hold back smacking Edward's face to wake him up. "Get up, I'm busting you out." You only stopped when you heard him sputter, his eyes shooting open and blinking rapidly to adjust his vision.

"What happened?"

"Your aim was shitty and Batman subdued your threats. You could've watched where you hand landed, I thought I'd throw up blood after that second dose of electric shock." You groan, throwing your head back and cracking it. "Look, we need to get out. The bomb's already diffused, Arkham's about to be hell and transportation will be difficult to obtain."

"Any ideas?" You rose a brow at his question.

"Aren't I supposed to be asking you that question?"

"Between you and I, you're far knowledgeable than I in this field."

He is still enamoured at the memory of you breaking him out of here for the very first time. And to be reunited through these circumstances, it almost felt poetic, walking back through memory lane.

You didn't realise you already had your mask on, looking away from him to conceal the rushing heat spreading across your face.

"Alright then," you cleared your throat. "There's a chopper, but I doubt that we'd get there especially with our lack of weapons. Arkham is presumably going to undergo a lockdown from the break-in."

"How did you even get in?" He asks.

"Penguin gave us a hand. Had a strategy catering to our roles and abilities, some of us entered disguised as staffs—" you paused, eyes widening at an epiphany. "Heh... I got it. Let's get you out of that uniform, shall we?"

Edward smirks, the long-lost warm feeling spreading across his finally returning to him, reigniting the feeling he thought he'd never feel again. He's partial to following ones lead, but he doesn't have any problem following you because in no time, Arkham Asylum was no longer in sight. You got yourself saddled in a stolen car and booked it.

"I missed you. There was no passing moment wherein I didn't think of you. You simply had an impact on me, I can't the deny the fact that I relied on you so much that I forget to do some things." Edward blurts amidst the drive, solemn eyes remaining in the road. Your neck practically snap at his direction. "I'm sorry I... I was acting like a fool."

Your tense shoulders grew lax. "Oh Eddie..."

"I truly am sorry, Y/N. I recognise that I don't deserve your forgiveness but I want you to know how regretful I am to let you go by letting myself go. I was wrong in a lot of aspects and I should have listened to you instead of being stubborn." Oh shit, he was admitting to being wrong.

"Eddie..." My love. "I forgive you. And I missed you too." You didn't expect your voice to crack. "I deny it to myself, but every waking moment I yearn for you and sometimes I'd see you at the corner of my eye and mistake strangers as you... I wanted to crawl back to you and beg you to take me back, but I was scared of getting hurt again—" Fuck, here comes the waterworks.

"Shh, hey," his hand reaches to cup your face, thumb gently running under your eye to swipe the tear away. "I'm sorry that I made you feel that way... I promise to be better."

You reach for the hand that caressed you, lacing your fingers between his and placing a kiss on his palm. "You promise?"

"I'm a man of my word." He doesn't know what he said wrong, that you started to laugh through tears. "What's funny?" He asks with a slight chuckle.

"This whole thing... It's so foolish."

"Why do you think that?"

"The fact that we're only getting back together after the worst thing has happened to us."

"That doesn't sound foolish to me. It's love."

"Well then, love is foolish."

Edward smiles, relieved that you were finally by his side again. He stops the car over the edge of a cliff, the ray of sunrise peaking from the horizon. He looks at you with sunset eyes, and leans forward. You meet him in the middle, automatically melting into his warmth. He couldn't bare to pull away even if the kiss was over, his forehead pressed against yours.

"Then I suppose we're both fools." With every word, his lips touched yours, before diving in for another kiss.

[the-antiapocalyptic-man]

ya know, idk if I ever did a deep dive into headverse!Bane

Son of Eduardo “King Snake” Dorrance and Antonia Miranda De La Diega, urban legend has Bane born and raised in a single prison cell on the island nation of Santa Prisca. How much of this is true and how much is League of Assassins propaganda is debated, and Bane himself has never been forthcoming with biographical details. Even his parentage is debated, though his act of breaking King Snake’s nose at an underground fighting tournament (which got him disqualified for occurring outside of the ring) points to some animosity between the two. Likewise “Antonia De La Diega” is not officially known to have existed at all, but given Santa Prisca’s history and association with the League of Assassins and its offshoots, this isn’t surprising.

As for Bane himself, other than some sporadic hearsay sightings, the first definite recorded incident of Bane’s activities occurred during the first War of Jokes and Riddles, the colloquial name for the period during which an unnamed domestic terrorist(s) in clown make-up and the enigmatic Edward “Riddler” Nashton launched simultaneous reigns of terror on the city of Gotham and its outlying areas, drawing many of the city’s criminals--costumed and otherwise--into a fray lasting nearly a year. The death toll was immense, and an early period critique would refer back to when questioning the Bat-Man’s effectiveness at his vigilante activities.

Bane’s role in this came in the twilight of the era, after Joker and Riddler had been apprehended and the violence had actually been dying down. Stealing an experiment energy source similar to one used by STAR Labs in Central City, Bane held the city ransom, going so far as to destroy historic Wayne Manor and record footage of himself breaking Batman’s back in a one-on-one match.

Suffice to say, as the city still stands decades later, his bid was unsuccessful. The US Government’s inaction during the incident (outside of unsubstantiated reports of activities by Team 7 and Task Force X) is seen as a black spot in the nation’s city and led to Gotham’s historic distaste for any sort of outside intervention. Bane was never apprehended.

Oddly, he was eventually spotted again in the company of the “Secret Six”, a failed Task Force X offshoot run by Sue “Big Shot” Dearbon. Following the lost era of superhumans--when many of the so-called costumed adventurers vanished or went underground--Bane’s been succeeded in his old role by a young woman claiming to be his daughter, bringing her into conflict with the Fox Brothers and the Young Demon.

[korereapers]

eddie and harvey doin something? platonic or shippy up to u

"We should really kill him. He's dirty. Smells dirty."

Harvey sighs, rubbing his forehead. Life is full of choices, that bring us to the most unexpected places, but this... This was not what he was expecting at all.

"Excuse you? Dirty? Me?!" the man in front of him says, his expression contorted in utter offense, his palms hitting the table. The green contact lenses move, revealing the blue irises behind them partially, and Harvey would laugh if he wasn't getting pissed.

He has more important matters to attend, though.

"Presumption of innocence, remember?" he asks his other half, absentmindedly tidying his dark hair up. The white part is unkept, but the other likes it that way, and it's not a matter about himself anymore.

Maybe it has never been, deep down.

"My ass. Death penalty, I say."

Edward coughs, visibly irritated. He really despises being ignored, doesn't he? Two-face just has enough with themselves as they are. Not enough time to deal with this-

"And people call me an egomaniac." there's a smile there, one of perfect, white eyes, that doesn't quite reach the eyes. Two-face snorts, in two different tones and tempos.

"Shut up."

"We are just... debating."

"You're too soft," his other half sneers. "Isn't this the kind of garbage we promised to take out when we became a lawyer?"

"I only wanted to-"

"We both know damn well what you wanted."

To protect the innocent. To punish the guilty.

Not like this. Exactly like this.

Judge, Jury, and executioner.

Edward interrupts their conversation, coughing slightly. Lost in their small argument, they hadn't noticed the two girls behind the Riddler, both of them visibly taller than him, their expressions unfriendly. The one who is actually smiling, the one with long hair, hands something to Edward, who just grins like a chesire, finding the way Two-face growls at the sight incredibly funny.

Because between Edward's fingers, it's their coin.

"Give it back."

And the asshole has the gall to giggle, handing them the coin.

"Just a little game. Just the three of us. One of those you like that much."

"It's not... Luck is the only..."

"Heads, you work with me with no further complaint. Tails..." Edward murmurs, as if amused by his own words. "You try to kill me. No tricks, I hate cheaters."

Two-face remains silent, both of them. An immaculate hand rubs against a scarred one, nervously. Luck is fair, fairer than law, corrupted from the very beginning. True justice is nothing more than that, to relieve everything from its social constrictions. No good, no evil. Just man against man. Heads versus tails.

Justice has to be blind. And as such...

"Okay then, asshole. Try us."

They easily flip the coin, scarred thumb making it fly. The copper lands on a healthy palm, and they cover it for a second, not daring to look at the result.

Until they do.

"Fuck."

And Edward just giggles, high-fiving his girls a little bit too loudly.

[yurievinstitute]

Two Can Keep A Secret

by Sephi

Fandom: The Batman (2022)

Pairing: (M/M) Bruce Wayne/Edward Nashton (dubcon, bondage, drugging, livestream)

Summary: For once, Bruce Wayne's altruism lands him in a situation he can't fight his way out of.

Read on: AO3 | FFn | Tumblr (under the cut)

A/N: Thank you so much to J. Without you I wouldn’t be able to write anything!

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At long last, Bruce Wayne pulled up across the smooth bank of wet asphalt. A sense of nakedness consumed him as he left the comfort of his car without the usual security measures—the suit that made him Gotham’s king of the night. He scanned his surroundings, mostly dilapidated concrete buildings and exposed metals covered in rust, the orange glow of the single, blinking streetlamp offering him a better look when it could stay lit for long enough.

Bruce’s boots were loud against the pavement despite the grace of his movements. He knew very well that the eyes he could feel searing into his back were not the eyes that belonged to the typical animals who made their home in this abandoned part of the city, but the eyes of a different creature entirely. In the darkness, the only thing that Bruce could truly determine was this presence and its hunger.

Of course, Bruce was well aware of the risks. He had arrived at this location, barely armed and unequipped to deal with anything his brute strength couldn’t, due to a threatening letter he’d received regarding Alfred’s life. The letter’s contents were as puzzling as ever; a riddle, not left to The Batman as they normally were but delivered to his home for Bruce Wayne. It described in detail how Alfred would be the next target for the Riddler’s long string of gruesome murders unless Bruce Wayne himself came, on his own, to this specific location.

After an evening of debating between contacting the only police he trusted or keeping it to himself to better control the situation—particularly because his secret identity was at stake—Bruce decided it would be best if he took matters into his own hands and played the role of the clueless billionaire. He would show up alone, Alfred would be free from his untimely demise, and—potentially—Bruce could find his way to the source of the infamous Riddler who had taken so much of his time.

It wasn’t like the Riddler had combat abilities. It was obvious from his previous work that he could only outperform others through planning. It was also clear that the Riddler had no outside help—other than the times that Bruce had accidentally played into his hand, it seemed that the Riddler was the solitary type. Finally, the last reason that Bruce felt his false sense of security and ultimately decided that it would be fine to fall once more into Riddler's hands, Bruce reasoned to himself that it certainly would be no trouble for him to bring a gun with him. After all, the elusive Bruce Wayne of the wealthy elite would obviously have one; on its own, a weapon could not possibly expose the truth of his identity. If anything happened that he couldn’t punch his way out of, he knew he could rely on a gun to clear a path to safety whenever he saw fit.

As Bruce’s eyes adjusted, he saw a painted question mark on the ground. Carefully, he eased himself closer to it, defensively. He kicked a rock towards it, watched it ricochet after it struck the paint, determining it wasn’t a trap in and of itself. He edged nearer, giving himself three or four feet of distance from it. 

“I’m here,” Bruce called out, his voice surprisingly meek in the nudity of his true identity.

“Do you think I don’t know that already?”

Bruce whipped himself around towards the voice—it felt as though it had been whispered right into his ear. His pulse quickened, the exposed flesh of his face where his mask—his true identity—normally sat throwing him off balance. It only took an instant, yet the approach was completely silent even to someone at Bruce’s level of skill. Before he could fully turn around, he felt himself being tackled to the ground with an extreme force. His hand darted to his suit pocket, struggling for his escape weapon, but this too proved futile. In his rush to prioritize his gun, a damp rag had been pressed to his face, against his lips and into his nose. Bruce thrashed against the pressure of the predator, kicked his legs. Adrenaline clouded his reasoning, and as he attempted to buck himself upward, he inhaled deeply—forgetting the cloth and breathing through it by mistake.

Bruce heard laughter that almost sounded like a young boy’s as his energy quickly wound down—he had started off with the strength of a bull, but now his thrusts and groans were like that of a domesticated animal. Bruce’s irises shot wide, his skin hot, his mind clouded and foggy. He began to forget why he was where he was in the first place. He felt his captor stroke his head affectionately, and Bruce’s vision gave way to the brightness of a memory of how his mother had touched him the same way. 

“Good boy…”

How warm and sweet. Bruce let himself fall, eagerly and completely, into that dream. 

—-----------------------🦇🦇🦇—-----------------------

“His Royal Highness is finally awake!”

That condescending, sardonic voice was eerily familiar. As Bruce came to his senses, he squinted against a bright floodlight as the man aimed it into his eyes. It reminded him of the severity of a spotlight on a stage. He felt a pressure in his head from a headache, a grogginess; he couldn’t remember much beyond whatever had happened days ago, prior to the letter regarding Alfred. Bruce realized that this pressure wasn’t exclusively in his mind. His whole body was wracked with ropes of tension and pain.

It finally dawned on him as he tried to bring his hand to his face to wipe away beads of sweat—his hand couldn’t move. Nor could his arm. Or his chest. Or his mouth—it was taped shut. Now he understood why he felt so sticky, so hot, so irritated.

Panic set in. He was bound snugly to a chair with some kind of sleek rope—of what kind he couldn’t make out. The binds coiled around the thick muscles of his arms, roped around his chest, hugged the smooth curve at the weakest point of his ribs, and rolled along his hips. His legs were bound overboard seemingly on purpose. Bruce could no longer feel them at all. They had gone completely numb from the loss of circulation.

How long had he been like this? Bruce tried to think, but it was difficult to find any base of logic, any sense of self or time.

He leaned his head back in defeat against the back of the chair. The only part of his body he had any hope of moving were his fingers, his neck, and the angle of his face. 

“Ladies and gentlemen… spurned children of Gotham… tonight's stream marks the debut of an extremely special guest!”

Bruce jolted up to face the source of the theatrical presence, but it was merely a shadow cast into the bright lights that blinded him. In the spaces between the shadow, Bruce could make out a wall of what appeared to be monitors, but actually reading them proved impossible. The thick shadows of outstretched arms descended upon Bruce as the masked and costumed man waltzed forward, onto the stage.

“I have here with me poor little Bruce Wayne.  I bet you’re all just as excited as I am.”

There was a darkness seared into each word he spoke. Bruce was helpless to escape what he knew was coming. It dawned on him who this individual was and what kind of situation he had mired himself in. Now he was just another rat in a maze; like all of the other pawns, he too would fall victim to some horrific—but thematically suitable—game. 

He could make out the shapes of cages all across the ceiling, and although some of their contents were hard to make out, he could see the distinct shape of bats throwing themselves against the cool, iron bars.

Bruce rolled his head as far away from his captor as he could, but it proved pointless. As he struggled, he breathed so heavy against the duct tape against his lips that it followed the swell of his lungs. His hands danced pathetically as he focused on twisting his chest, heaving as he tried to escape. The attempt was so pathetic that the legs of the chair didn’t even squeal from the pressure of the motion against the floor—in fact, they didn’t lift off the floor in the first place.

The Riddler's eyes crinkled behind the steam of his glasses as he stared down upon Bruce’s face, pleased with his work. He waited almost patiently for Bruce to forfeit his childish fit before he grabbed Bruce’s chin with his forefingers. 

“I’ve prepared an extra special puzzle tonight.”

Bruce groaned with frustration behind his muzzle. His eyes shot upward, pouring anger out at the Riddler despite his fear. The display prompted by the adrenaline of being at the brink of the moment of his own televised death.

It was easier to make out a portion of the chatlog on some of the screens of the back wall now that the Riddler’s form ate some of the light. Bruce couldn’t determine anything useful other than the fact that the screen was moving quickly, populated by dozens of emoticons of applause and approval. Multiple camera angles were being fed through to the main display at once. 

“Did you really think this was going to help you?” The Riddler pulled out the gun that Bruce had brought as his only insurance. It glinted in the light, looking like more of a toy than anything else. Bruce swallowed hard. How could he be so stupid? He squeezed his eyes shut, but he jumped when he felt the barrel press into the side of his cheek. The Riddler grabbed Bruce’s long, glossy hair with gloved hands and pulled firmly, enjoying the way the gun sank into the tender flesh of Bruce’s cheeks. It was obvious he was putting on a show for his own amusement, even to Bruce, who was shaking ever so slightly. The cameras couldn’t pick it up, but the Riddler could feel the tremors through the steel of the gun and his thin gloves. He laughed.

The Riddler let the tip of the gun slide down Bruce’s dewy skin, down his neck, holding it there until Bruce swallowed hard against it. It slid down over the crest of Bruce’s chest, in between the valley of his pectoral muscles. Bruce’s mind swam, trying desperately to form some kind of plan to escape his predicament, but with each second it became more and more clear that he had no chance of getting out of this situation. His coal black suit—so elegant it likely cost more than the entire room he was held prisoner in—normally perfectly tailored to flatter every curve of his body, was now damp and clingy with his sweat. The Riddler hooked the tip of the barrel into the first button of Bruce’s dress shirt, pulling it down, the lines of the edges bending and buckling from the pressure, exposing the wet skin between the windows of fabric.

Bruce could hear the panting from behind the Riddler’s grotesque mask grow more hysterical as his pleather hands crept to the seams of Bruce’s collar, pulling with great force until the precious-metal buttons burst, falling away one by one until Bruce’s first layer of clothing had been peeled open. The Riddler threw each half of the shirt to each side, taking time to admire how fear had caused each of Bruce’s muscles to be bound in twisted tension, glistening with sweat. He certainly did not have the body of a spoiled rich boy; across his chest and stomach were risen snakes of white scars that looked severe even after they’d fully healed.

The Riddler finally tasted his new caged animal, curling his fingers down so he could use both without dropping the gun just yet. He smeared his fingers along the lines of scars first, tracing them. He curled his fingertips beneath the most tender ones beneath Bruce’s heavy chest. He pressed at Bruce’s ribs to feel between his bones, then into the soft pool of Bruce’s abdomen as Bruce wailed in response. The Riddler could feel his pulse drum against his hand. With his hand still pressing hard and deep into Bruce, the Riddler bent close to him if only for a moment.

“This is the real me. Are you sure that this is the real you?”

The voice he used sounded different. It was a whisper only for Bruce to hear. As the Riddler pulled back, he savored the look of pure shame in Bruce’s eyes, the fear and embarrassment of his deepest, darkest secret…. He turned around to address his audience, placing the gun atop a table that was just out of Bruce’s line of vision. 

“Let’s see how he looks when he can’t hide behind these expensive clothes.” 

The Riddler descended upon the seams of Bruce’s suit once more, mauling the material before ripping it violently into curls of fabric that wept, hissing off Bruce’s body. He made short work of it, some parts of the suit trapped under the belts of thick rope that kept Bruce’s strong body hostage. Bruce’s eyes went wide in panic as the Riddler descended for his tight dress pants, right to his thighs and crotch, the only area Bruce could still feel.

What could the Riddler be planning? His lack of practical experience made the answer avoid him, even as the Riddler tore through Bruce’s boxers. Bruce’s cock dropped onto the exposed wood of the chair with a smack, slightly hard from the adrenaline. The residual drugs in Bruce’s system made it so that it took him a long time to register what was happening, even as the Riddler stepped to the side so the audience could get a good look at  Bruce Wayne’s  most secret place. His skin was pink, bruised around where the ropes held him in place. Waiting there, being sized up, his panicked pulse was just faintly visible twitching in his cock.

The Riddler, to Bruce’s absolute horror, splayed both of his hands across the mass of Bruce’s chest, running his palms against the peaks of Bruce’s sensitive nipples. Bruce groaned, but behind his gagged mouth it sounded pathetic, just as sexual as the slow patterns the Riddler traced along the lines of Bruce’s tight waist. The confusion, fear, and stimulation—Bruce had never been caressed like this—coaxed a response out of his cock, throbbing in earnest at the assault on his body.

Humiliation destroyed him as he felt himself get harder, tilting his face away to hide his rolling tears of shame. Why did it feel so good? 

“Wow…” the voice the Riddler used—a mix of condescension and genuine arousal—created twisting pools of heat in Bruce’s guts.  “Bruce Wayne…  your stupid cock is standing up just for me…” 

He ghosted the tip of his finger along the length of Bruce’s shaft. Despite the tape, Bruce’s sharp inhale was audible to everyone listening. The Riddler pressed the pad of his fingertip into the head of Bruce’s cock, pushing into the pool of precum that glistened on the tip. Very loosely, the Riddler formed a lazy circle with his fingers, down around the base of Bruce’s fully erect cock. He gently—painfully and frustratingly—rocked the loose sleeve he’d made with his fist up and down the length of Bruce’s cock, feeling the heat of it scorch his hand. Bruce moaned. 

Between the drugs still coursing through his system and the rhythm of the Riddler’s purposely sloppy handjob, Bruce lost the last of his sense of logic, his eyes rolling back. He flexed his bound hips once and a while during the assault if only to get deeper into that warm hand—closer, more friction, please.  Each time the Riddler gave him a tiny taste, curling tightly and expertly for only one or two thrusts, Bruce cried out, panting weakly, submissively.

Against the sound of the Riddler’s fists hitting up against Bruce’s heavy balls as he worked his cock, he offered his promised riddle.

“I only emerge in the night… I am not what I seem in the light… Both my father and I will never be seated upright.” He laughed, giddy as though drunk with pleasure. “What am I?”

Realizing that Bruce couldn’t think while his cock was toyed with, the Riddler lifted his hand just out of reach. Bruce hissed, craving it back immediately. 

“Go ahead,” Bruce could hear the smile in the Riddler’s voice. The order was aimed as much at him as it was at the rest of the livestream. “Solve it.”

Stars spun in Bruce’s mind. He couldn’t find a satisfactory answer. He struggled to even retain the entirety of the riddle. Before he could do much else, he felt an ice cool liquid splatter onto his cock. The solid grip he’d longed for returned, but it was wet and slick, coating him delightfully. Trapped, forced to remain still, his only outlet was to clench and unclench his hands as wave after wave of intoxicating pleasure abused him. The assault made a loud, wet sound against his exposed cock.

“This is almost too easy, Bruce.” The Riddler giggled. “Everything is going exactly as I planned.” 

The Riddler brought a new toy to Bruce’s cock, introducing them by bringing it down to kiss against the sensitive head. It was a clear fleshlight, well-used from the looks of it. It opened up with a simple press, eagerly sucking Bruce up into its folds. The Riddler pushed it down slowly, savoring the moment that Bruce’s brain fell into the darkness of inescapable pleasure. The muscles in Bruce’s legs jolted with electric arousal as the Riddler executed his practiced ministrations against Bruce’s thick cock. 

“I only emerge in the night… I am not what I seem in the light… Both my father and I will never be seated upright.” He repeated it knowing full well Bruce had completely lost all that remained of his mind. “What am I?”

Bruce’s only response was a string of soft moans as Riddler's used fleshlight squealed and sighed around him. 

He didn’t need to offer Bruce any time to think. He quickened his pace and tightened his grip, pumping until he knew from how Bruce shook and breathed that he was close to spilling. Without warning, right before it could happen, the Riddler stopped and leaned down with a gentle whisper. 

“A bat.”

The Riddler was so close to Bruce’s ear once more that he could have licked it between words if not for the mask. “Bruce Wayne… I know who you are.”

The shock brought Bruce sober to the front of his consciousness. He could feel all the pressure of the brink of his orgasm and the fear of how he would be exposed, sexually, for all that he was, both identities at once, in unison. The Riddler squeezed Bruce’s cock to the base, slowly now that Bruce was truly awake. The pain and pleasure of being edged in the worst situation of his life was too much to bear. His chest heaved like a caged beast’s. His wide eyes watched the dirty toy hug and suckle his cock, watched his cock disappear into the mouth of the toy and the Riddler's fist. Behind them, the chat raced to determine the answer to the riddle, an answer that no one but the two understood. 

The assault grew more intense, stopping every time Bruce reached the breaking point but choking Bruce’s cock so he couldn’t finish. It didn’t take long before Bruce felt his sanity completely slip away. 

“Admit it to me and I’ll let you come.” The Riddler breathed against the waves of Bruce’s dark hair. “Tell me who you really are. I want you to be the one to say it.”

Over and over, up and down. Minutes felt like hours of torture. More than anything, Bruce needed to cum. He’d quickly dissolved into nothing more than a slave under the Riddler’s hand.

He had to come. He’d do anything to come. He’d die if he couldn’t come.

The Riddler grinned behind his mask, knowing full well that it was finally time. He peeled the tape from Bruce’s sore lips. Briefly he listened to the moans that escaped them before he picked up the pace once again, stroking Bruce exactly how he needed it.

Before the Riddler could choke his orgasm back again, Bruce weakly breathed, “I’m… I’m the Batman.”

The Riddler pumped Bruce’s cock like never before, purring with ecstatic delight at Bruce’s confession. Bruce groaned at the edge of his prize, taking hardly any time to finish, pumping hot, thick ribbons into the toy and the Riddler’s waiting fist.

“That’s it,” the Riddler sighed, voice so low that only Bruce could hear him. He pressed closer, his body folding against Bruce’s, gloved fingers carding through damp hair. “Good boy.”

[archived-zombbean]

Yoooo do you have a post somewhere about your Gotham sona's info?

I have an official post on my RP blog but I can put it here! (I'm debating on removing the tattoos on the ref sheet tbh, but I'm not sure yet X'D)

Name: Sona Bean Xueen

Height: 5'0

Weight: 200lbs

Blood Type: B+

Education: Associates Degree

Which Batman Verse is she from?

My own universe called "Death's Child" I take a mixture of my favorite versions of Batman villains, and heroes and mix them.

Relationships:

Victor Zsasz (Sexual and Romantic)

Edward Nygma (Sexual and Romantic)

Jonathan Crane (Romantic)

Oswald Cobblepot (Friend)

Harley Quinn (Friend)

Waylon Jones (Friend)

Jervis Tetch (Friend)

Harvey Dent (Friend)

Victor Fries (Familial)

Pamela Isley (Friend)

Jim Gordon (Very rocky friendship; He would jail her if given the chance.)

Background:

Sona grew up in normal comfort for the first ten years of her life. The daughter of a low tier mafia henchmen, who ran a red light district building by the name of the "Bucking Bronco" where anyone could get their rocks off for the night, for a price. Her father was a man by the name of Jeorge King.

She was spoiled rotten, but never seemed to quite understand that she was. Clothes, toys, treats, and the like were given to her freely, even by men and women her father worked with. She was happy.

However, one day it all changed. She became ill.

Everyone at birth is scanned in this universe. When you are, it's determined what insurances will cover you, what surgery will be allowed to you, and how expensive treatment costs would be. Sona had contracted an easily curable illness, however her scans at birth showed that she stood a 5% chance of contracting said illness. Treatment was expensive, her father's insurance wouldn't cover the cost, and he began to seek out ways to get money to cover it.

This was the first step into a dark era.

Her father began stealing money behind his boss's back, trying to hit up places that wasn't on the list, and even began selling drugs and illegal weaponry to rival gangs.

One night when Sona was asleep, she awoke to gunshots in her living room. Scared the, now thirteen year old, girl walked down the hall and into the room to see three men in black over her fathers body, a bullet through his head. She held in her scream, her voice a whimper between her fingers. But their ears were sharp, and their voices like venom.

"Hey there little girl," one purred, advancing on the young girl who could only cry, "It's okay... I'm not gonna hurt you... okay well, that's a lie... you see your father's been very, very naughty~ Which means you have just as much to pay for as he does, you know? No hard feelings~"

That night the screams that ebbed from her lips were muffled by the rough assault of her intruders. It ended with a bullet to her gut, in hopes she would suffer as a final 'fuck you' to the King line.

As she lay in a mess of blood, sweat and tears, she choked back her whimpers. It wasn't fair. None of it was fair!

She got up, shaking on her hands and knees, crawling over to her father's corpse. She shook him, desperately trying to wake him, but to no avail. She shook harder.

"Please! Please.... dad, wake up! Please.... I... I need you... I can't.... I can't breath..." she felt blood in the back of her throat, but she refused to die. She had to live. She had to!

The memory is a blur, but that day she was rescued by a young man. A police officer of all things. Peter Gordon. She was alone. She had a decent amount of wealth left behind by her father, an inheritance of sorts. she had to change her name. Leave the old behind. They'd find her if she didn't. So she changed her name to Xueen.

It took six months to repair the damage. She was told she would never be able to have children, but it didn't seem to phase her. She didn't care about starting a family. To hell with what little future she had left. What she craved was revenge.

Revenge came on her 16th birthday. After a few years of underground training, paying hired guns to teach her to use high caliber weapons, and pistols, she finally shot her shot. The men that raided her family home and murdered her father died at her hands. She shot out their knees, broke elbows with sledge hammers, gutted one and slung his entrails over another, she pulled eyes from their sockets, used adrenaline to keep them alive for 48 hours. When the screams finally faded, she sobbed. She finally killed the people that murdered her father.

She had no purpose. She was still going to die. It was just a matter of how long it would take until she died.

But a thought occurred. Those three were just following orders. They were just pawns on a much larger board. There was still a king to overthrow. Her hands clenched into fists, and a snarl laced her lips. There was more to do. She had nothing to lose. Death was already at her doorstep, might as well greet him with an open hand.

She no longer feared death.

Sona invested in stocks which only served to increase her wealth, but by this point her illness had progressed to the point of no recovery. If she'd just gotten the treatment as a child, it wouldn't have progressed this far. She was eighteen.

She hired her own group of thugs, her own gang beginning to form. But they weren't quite up to snuff. She needed someone with more experience in killing... someone who wouldn't hesitate. Someone who would be loyal, and follow her every command. She was getting sicker. She needed someone to be her weapon when she was unable to lift one herself.

A few weeks later she hears of a serial killer. Very proficient. Very lethal. He's taken out a few of her men already, so she dared to see just whom this man was.

And it was then she came face to face with the mass murderer himself. A man decorated in scars along his arms and chest, a sadistic smile trailing over his lips. His eyes had a murderous lust to them, but she could only smile back. He was perfect.

"Hello there, my name is Sona Xueen. Did you know you've been causing me a lot of trouble lately?" she hummed, resting a hand on her chin.

The man advanced slowly his curiosity piqued. Why wasn't she afraid of him? Why wasn't she running?

"Hmm..." he looked her over, a glimmer of a knife in his hand, "Aren't you cute~ what would bring a vulnerable, sweet, young woman all teh way out here~?"

She grinned even wider, "I have a proposition for you... you work for me, you get paid, and you get to kill more than just junkies and my men for a living... work for me and you'll never have to live in filth again! You'll be able to live out any perverted violent fantasy you set your sights on!"

He paused, glancing over the other, then at the knife. After a long train of thought he tossed the knife to the side.

"What'cha got in mind boss?" he chuckled, a dark tone to his voice.

"How does targeting corporate heads sound? They've been very, very naughty, and I think it's about time we send those pig headed shits packing," she smirked.

The other's eyes widened, "A challenge~? I like it!"

"What's your name?"

"Victor. Victor Zsasz,"

She was twenty one.

She now stands at the epiphany of her career. There are ten corporate heads that need to roll, and five have already crumbled. There are five left to snuff out. She grins at the thought. The thought that her revenge will not only satisfy the violent lust in her stomach, but that there will never be children that are forced to go through what she had. Parents will never have to suffer losing their children. Parents will never be forced to resort to extreme measures to ensure their safety and well being. People won't have to die over a system designed to kill them.

She coughs. Her chest hurts. A pain shoots through her entire body. She's surprised she's lived this long. Perhaps it's spite? Or anger? Perhaps it's her wanting to live just a bit longer so she can spend time with the friends she's made along the way.

She feels a hand on her shoulder as she's lifted into a strong pair of arms. It's Victor. He wears a goofy smile as he always does around her. She lets out a satisfied sigh. For now everything is okay. For now everything is normal. One day she'll die. One day Victor will make sure that he's the one to do it. He's vowed. He's promised.

She's somehow made it to thirty.

That's basically everything I have on her so far! I have a few comics planned to go into detail of her relationships with some of the rouges she's closer to. Like Victor as her lover and weapon, Riddler as her informant and occasional sex partner, Mr. Freeze as her father figure, Penguin as a very dear close friend, and her strange friendship with Jim Gordon because of his father saving her life. There's a lot of puzzle pieces I'd rather fill in with art and pictures rather than story format, but I hope you enjoy her lore!

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Another One?!, Part 4

First > Previous > Next

At first, Adrien didn’t really know whether or not they were being followed.

There are a lot of kids with black hair and blue eyes, and he had a tendency to patrol certain areas. It was entirely plausible that he could just be paranoid or imagining things.

But there was a point where you had to step back and say ‘no, that’s definitely not normal’.

And Adrien hit that point when he had started counting the times he spotted the kid and ended up with eleven times by the end of the week.

He stopped in the middle of patrol and sat down on his favorite gargoyle for a short break to text the family about his findings. They deserved to know what was going on...

ChatoNoir: I think there's a person following us.

HelmetRights: Lol

ChatoNoir: This is serious!

Buginette: is it the scrawny kid with black hair and blue eyes

ChatoNoir: You’ve seen him, too?

RockinRobin: we all have????

HelmetRights: Lol

Buginette: their fine if you wanna get rid of them just wave they get all blushy and hide

HelmetRights: *They’re

Buginette: bitch lets see you type in french

HelmetRights: Qu'est-ce que je devrais dire

RockinRobin: alkdjfskdjfksdl

There was a few seconds while Marinette typed, and then apparently deleted her message because it never came through.

Adrien almost smiled but then he remembered what they were supposed to be talking about.

ChatoNoir: Can we get back on subject?

HelmetRights: Lame

Buginette: whats the point its just a fan

HelmetRights: I just wish he’d go back to not taking pictures I’ve missed so many shots because of his stupid flash going off

RockinRobin: i think it’s flattering

HelmetRights: Lol

Buginette: relax its whatever as long as he doesnt get hurt watching us

He sighed and closed his eyes. Fair enough. It’s a kid, those aren’t exactly a threat.

Still, he was a bit concerned. Not for them, they’d be fine, but for the kid. Adrien and Dick were the only ones with some kind of schedule for patrolling because of his job and Dick’s schooling, but Marinette and Jason apparently saw him pretty consistently, too. Just where were this kid’s parents? Were they okay with him being out all the time?

But he figured he must have been overreacting. Maybe they were a street kid like Jason…

No, they had decent clothes.

Adrien frowned to himself. Weird.

He pushed the thought to the back of his mind. After all, he only had another hour for patrols before he would need to go home to get ready for work. The kid would still be a problem in a few days, anyways...

~

It turned out Adrien was right to worry, because Marinette spotted the kid a few days later… while she was a civilian.

She had been in her favorite cafe, sipping at a cup of coffee as she read through the newspaper. It was an article about the vigilantes, debating things like ‘What the fuck were they thinking letting kids join them?’ and ‘Why can’t the kids name themselves?’

She found it amusing, even if it was calling her and her family out.

But then she’d felt someone’s eyes on her.

She slowly looked up, expecting a person who wanted to sit or a guy who wanted to flirt…

Only to see the kid.

They locked eyes for a few seconds.

Did he know? Surely, he couldn’t. They did everything from applying makeup to using codenames to hide their identities…

But that was the same starstruck look he wore whenever he looked at their vigilante identities…

She gave him a tiny wave and watched him blush and slump a little in his chair to hide.

Huh.

~

“Hey, so heads up, I think stalker kid might know who we are.”

Adrien dropped the textbook he was scanning for a refresher on algebra. Dick fell from the ceiling. Jason just looked up in surprise.

“WHAT?!”

“Yeah, I don’t know for sure, though. He could just have a thing for people who look like us. Somehow, I doubt it, though. We can’t all be his type.”

“We don’t know how desperate he is,” Jason pointed out.

Marinette hesitated, then gave a tiny shrug as if to say ‘you’re right, I guess…’

“Hello?” Adrien waved his hands to get their attention. “Could you guys please take this seriously? A kid knows our identities!”

“We don’t even know that for sure, though,” said Dick as he started climbing onto the nearest ceiling light. “And, if he does, so what? It’s a kid. People hardly listen to kids.”

He sighed. “Yes, but if he found out then other people might be able to, too. Shouldn’t we ask?”

The family considered this for a minute…

And then Marinette shrugged. “We need to know for sure if he knows our civilian identities, first, though. Everyone keep a lookout?”

Everyone nodded, bored and reluctant.

Adrien frowned. He loved his family, he just wished they’d take things more seriously sometimes… or, at least, not brush past things so quickly...

His watch beeped and he sighed. He pushed the thought aside. He needed to get ready for work.

~

After everyone had spotted them in their civilian forms several times, they decided to call it: the kid knew who they were.

(At least he wasn’t taking pictures of them as civilians, they thought, because that would be uncomfortable.)

So, for the first time in ages, the four of them were spotted doing a casual patrol together. It was kind of fun, actually. Dick and Marinette practiced some old circus acts that they remembered, Jason and Adrien raced. Maybe they should do it more often…

Marinette and Dick were walking along some power lines when Dick suddenly stopped to point down.

Her eyes followed to find the kid and she whistled for Adrien and Jason’s attention.

The kid was alone on a rooftop. He didn’t seem concerned that they were all pointing at him, though maybe a little flustered…

But then he did freak out.

Because the vigilantes jumped down in a loose circle around him.

Their stalker spun around anxiously as if he wasn’t sure who to look at.

Dick cleared his throat. “Right, do you know why we’re here?”

“I…” The kid finally stopped spinning to look at Marinette and Adrien. “Because I know your identities?”

“Yes. How exactly did you do that?” She said, crossing her arms over her chest.

The kid cleared his throat awkwardly. “Well, I’m a big Haly’s circus fan --.”

“Ah, shoot,” Dick muttered.

“And… I was looking through some old footage of you guys on Youtube… and I realized that Robin did a move that only Dick Grayson would know. And, if Dick Grayson was Robin, then you guys all had to be vigilantes.”

The entire family was glaring at Dick.

The man in question just awkwardly looked to the side.

Marinette clicked her tongue and then looked back at the kid. “Okay, what was the url of the footage you got? I’ll see if we can give them a copyright strike. Youtube’s system is broken so it’d probably work.”

The kid in question shook his head. “You don’t have to. I got rid of it myself.”

“Oh… thanks. Is it anywhere else that you know of?”

“No, I got rid of everything on the internet that could trace back to you guys.”

The family looked at each other, confusion on all of their faces. How…? This kid was fifteen, max, there was no way…

Well, maybe he was bluffing so he could keep the footage. They’d check later.

Jason was apparently done with caring about what was going on, because he had sat down and started checking his guns to make sure they were all okay.

Marinette was feeling much the same, leaning on her cane. “Great, well, thanks for that, I guess… could you maybe stop stalking us as civilians, though?”

“Don’t worry, I’m just doing that to get enough proof to clear your names and then I’ll go back to just watching you as vigilantes.”

“Oh, ok -- wait, what?” Said Dick, frowning a little bit.

The kid frowned as well. “I’m clearing your name… do you not know?”

The four looked at each other before shaking their heads in unison.

He sighed and brought out his phone to pull up an article. He passed it to Jason because he was closest and he cursed quietly.

“The gist of it is people are starting to wonder if you’ve gone bad,” explained the kid as Jason scrolled through the article. “It’s just a gossip column thing right now but I figured I should get proof you guys are still good in case it gained traction.”

Marinette frowned. “I’d understand if they thought we were just bad, not everyone understands that we kill people for the greater good, but saying we’ve gone bad implies that we’ve somehow gotten worse…?”

The phone was passed to her and her first instinct, much like Jason’s, had been to curse.

“Well, there’s been rumors of you and Riddler being friends for years now --.”

“WE’RE NOT,” Marinette hissed, and it took a lot of mental power to not crush the phone in her hands. She passed it on to Dick just in case. “He’s just helpful on some cases is all.”

Adrien rolled his eyes.

The kid sighed lightly. “And, on top of that, all of your most recent high-level takeouts have helped a particular mob boss, Antony Agoura, gain power.”

Her first instinct was ‘cool, thanks for the name, let’s kill him’, but then she forced herself to reconsider.

It seemed that taking down people just helped someone else take their place, which didn’t really surprise her. The moment anything was freed from someone’s hold, there would always be people who would do their best to grab it…

But then what was the solution? The situation with Agoura itself was proof that just murdering the head and saying ‘alright, next thing’ wasn’t working. Someone would just pop up to take his place --.

Adrien met her eyes and they shared anxious frowns.

Fuck, they were actually going to have to think about this one, huh?

~

He fell back on the couch and closed his eyes.

He listened to his family mull about. He could hear the quiet creaking of Dick getting on a light, could hear Marinette pulling out baking pans, could hear the clinking of Jason’s rings.

He sighed.

What could they do?

They had had a rule that they would never kill henchmen because they often weren’t working just for fun, they had a family to feed or hadn’t been able to get a job elsewhere.

Besides, with the mobster gone, there would be little reason for the police to let them go. They’d serve hard time and then, hopefully, come out a better person.

(Probably not. The prison system needed work.)

But…

He had remembered the name Agoura. He had been under Zucco at some point. He wasn’t sure whether he’d been a mob boss or a henchman at the time, though it didn’t really matter. There were a lot of people who had started out as henchmen that had somehow gotten power.

He sighed. He hated systemic issues.

The main problem, he thought, was that mobsters didn’t fear death as much as they should. Sure, everyone fears death on some level, but the people of Gotham knew what they were doing when they decided to get to that point. They would die if they got caught, and they were willing to take the risk in order to get the money and power that came along with being mobsters.

What did they fear? What weren’t they prepared to face?

He opened his eyes and looked over at Dick, who was currently reviewing for final exams from the ceiling.

The law, maybe? Serving actual hard time?

Well, it was worth a shot.

Dick was about to be a lawyer, so they had someone who would be able to try them in court…

But they needed a police officer to arrest them…

Marinette walked into the room and started looking for her shoes, cursing out brownies.

“Chocolate sauce. How did I forget that? Kwami!” She clicked her tongue. “Son of a -- where are my shoes?”

“Shoes are under the couch,” said Dick calmly.

Marinette gave the world’s angriest “Thank you!” as she ducked down and grabbed them.

“M’lady,” said Adrien.

She paused, looking over at him. “Yes, Chaton?”

“I have an idea for what to do about our newest problem, if you’d like to hear it.”

She tipped her head to the side a little, smiling.

“Sure, but make it quick, I can only keep Dick and Jason away from the batter for so long.”

~

Hey, New Jersey, what the fuck?

It had literally been easier to get into the circus than it had been to become a police officer.

She’d already gotten a degree in criminal justice a few years back. Why? Because she was really bored.

(Also, she’d wanted to mess with Officer Ross and she had decided that it would be funny to memorize as many laws as possible to point out when his buddies weren’t abiding by them.)

The test had been almost painfully easy. She spoke English as a second language and she’d thought that she was reading almost every question wrong. Some of these people would be detectives one day, you’d think they’d ask for more than basic reading comprehension. The most difficult question she’d gotten was one about license plates, and even then it was multiple choice so she’d had a 20% chance of guessing right.

And then getting a job in the GCPD was somehow easier.

Though she figured out why that last part had happened the first day she walked into work.

Can someone say ‘diversity hire’?

She hugged herself awkwardly. Really? Was she the only person of color in this place?

Wait, there was a singular black guy. She was wrong. She was just the only woman of color. Yay.

But, it seemed, her day was about to get worse.

“Marinette Agreste?”

Her nails dug into her arms and she turned to look at Officer Ross. “That’s me.”

“I’m here to give you a tour of the place. Ready?”

Asshole. Chienne. Motherfucker. Other swear words she couldn’t think of she was so mad.

She forced a smile to her face. “Sure!”

~

Yay. Galas. He always loved those.

He reached out and helped Jason with his tie and then ruffled his red curls. “What’s the rule?”

Jason grinned. “If you absolutely have to ruin someone’s life, do it discreetly.”

“Good.” He met Dick’s eyes in the mirror. “And what’s your rule?”

“... no hanging and/or swinging from chandeliers.”

“Thank you.” He looked at Tikki. “Please, just let us have one easy gala. No press, no kids getting their hands on wine, no people talking to Mari so we don’t have to leave early.”

Tikki shrugged.

He sighed. Yeah, he’d expected that. Worth a shot, though.

So, the four of them all head off. They told themselves that, hey, even if Tikki couldn’t promise that things will go okay, they could make it happen.

The peace lasted about ten seconds.

Because then Marinette hissed a curse and nodded her head to point out the kid.

He sighed. They hadn’t seen the kid in a while as civilians, so they’d thought that he had actually ended up agreeing that stalking them while they were civilians was taking it too far, but apparently not.

Wait a minute, galas were private events. How did he get in?

They started looking around for the kid’s parents, because obviously they had to be around, but they were nowhere near him.

Marinette and Adrien exchanged frowns.

And then their frowns deepened. Because they glanced behind themselves to look at their kids and found that they weren’t there anymore.

She clicked her tongue and looked around. “You deal with the stalker, I’ll go find the kids. I’m sure that one of them has found a loophole to their rule by now --.” Her eyes widened and she rushed away. “RICHARD JUST BECAUSE THAT’S NOT A CHANDELIER DOES NOT MEAN YOU CAN CLIMB IT --.”

Adrien sighed.

He grabbed a glass of wine and then headed over to the kid. “Hey, kiddo, where are your parents?”

He shrugged and pointed over to the small crowd of people watching Marinette attempt to pry a glass of wine from Jason’s hands while they cursed each other out in French.

“Probably over there.”

Adrien winced. “Fun.”

“Your family is a disaster,” said the kid.

“Thanks,” Adrien muttered.

“I think it’s nice. When you’re vigilantes you’re basically gods, it’s nice to know you’re just people.”

He considered this for a second.

“Also, it’s really funny to watch,” added the kid.

He sighed and leaned back against the wall.

After a few minutes of watching the Agreste family crash and burn, the kid looked back over at him.

“Why are you still here?”

“Here with you, here at the gala, or here on Earth?” Adrien half-joked.

They shrugged. “Here with me. Your family needs you right now.”

“Marinette is the better problem solver of the both of us. Besides, you’re a kid, you shouldn’t be left alone.”

“I’m alone all the time, I’ll live.”

Adrien frowned. “What do you --?”

He was cut off when he spotted Marinette dragging Jason over by the back of his suit.

“Hold onto him, will you? I need to catch Dick before he breaks --.” There was a crashing sound nearby. She clicked her tongue. “... before he breaks that hedge. I’ll be back.”

Adrien absently held a hand out and Jason put his arm in it so he could keep a hold on him. His wife gave a tired smile before turning on her heel and stalking off to the hedge maze.

He sighed and looked back at the stalker. “Right, where were we…? Oh, what do you mean by you’re alone all the time?”

Jason’s eyes narrowed a little bit.

“My parents… go on a lot of trips.”

“Without you?”

He shrugged. “Yeah.”

“What…? Why…?”

“You wouldn’t understand, you guys never go anywhere.”

Adrien opened his mouth and then closed it again. He wasn’t exactly wrong, but…

“Okay, point, but how often are you alone? Is that why you’re always following us? Do you go to school? Do --?”

He frowned and held up a hand. “That’s a lot of questions at once.” He started to count off on his fingers. “They’re never gone for longer than a month at a time but they only come back for a few days at most. Yes, it’s why I’m always able to follow you. And I’m homeschooled.”

Adrien’s frown was deepening more and more by the second. “Who are your parents, exactly? Or, I guess, who are you?”

“I’m Tim Drake.”

Drake. His eyes flicked to Jack and Janet Drake. He had talked to them a few times because they had a tendency to ask Marinette for commissions (or, at least, they did until Dick and Jason came along and kept their parents distracted for the entire time they were there). Still, he hadn’t even known that they had a kid…

Jason suddenly tugged on his arm, pulling Adrien’s attention back to him.

“Dad, it looks like Dickwad and Mom are wanting to go.”

He frowned and looked up to find that, yes, Marinette had managed to catch Dick and was now waving for their attention from the door.

He winced and looked back over at the kid. “Tim…”

Jason tugged harder on his arm. “Dad, let’s go.”

Adrien gave an apologetic look but allowed Jason to pull him out the door.

The silence in the car was deafening that night, everyone lost in their thoughts.

~

Marinette was now constantly fighting the urge to punch someone.

Why are all cops just… the absolute worst? Sure, some of them aren’t directly beating up the teenagers that are brought in for information or planting evidence, but they weren’t exactly saying anything about it.

And then there was the fact that she’d been paired with Officer Ross.

Really, she should have expected it. She’d known that his partner had recently passed away in the field, and that he would need another.

If she’d known that she’d have ended up the lucky officer, she would have said fuck it to the whole trying something new thing and just gone after Agoura’s head like normal.

Now she’d gotten too far to just give up...

Didn’t mean she wasn’t going to be bitter about it.

As a way to vent her anger, she’d wanted to ask what happened to his old partner but then this stupid thing called ‘morals’ got in the way. Really unfortunate, because now all she could really do was glare at the stack of paperwork that she was being forced to make a digital copy for over her cup of coffee.

She felt an arm rest on her shoulder and cursed internally. She forced a smile to her face as she looked up to see…

Dick. Oh, thank the kwamis.

Marinette grinned. “Hey, sweetie, how did finals go?”

“I don’t want to jinx it.”

She hummed her understanding and moved on. “No problems?”

Dick gave a tiny shrug. “There was a few problems, there was a really annoying kid next to me that apparently still hasn’t learned how to breathe through his nose, but… they actually listened to the doctors and gave me extra time, so that’s good.”

She got up and wrapped him in a hug. “So, out of college officially. How’s it feel?”

He hugged her back, absolutely beaming. “If I passed.”

She clicked her tongue. “Right. But, let’s say you did. Then you’re out.”

“Then I’m out!” He said, pulling back and resting his hands on his hips. “Now all I have to do is find a job.”

“How horrible,” she said sarcastically.

“Yeah. Speaking of horrible jobs, wanna leave?”

“I do, but I have to finish this.” She sat back down and pulled up the daunting task in front of her. She had to type up another few pages and she was not eager to do so. Still, the commissioner had asked to get her email by the end of her shift and, if Dick was here, she was already behind. “I’ll need around an hour, I think.”

He groaned and pulled out his phone.

She smiled faintly and went back to working.

Or, at least, she tried to.

Officer Ross was talking to Dick.

“So, you’re her kid?”

“One of two!”

Ross laughed. “Tell me, is she always so angry at home?”

“Not really. Our family doesn’t really get angry in general, at least not at home. I think we all vent our anger at work, though.”

“Hm. Weird.”

Dick gave a tiny shrug.

“So, just graduated, then?”

“Mhmm! I just finished law school! I’m gonna be a lawyer!”

Ross’s eyes narrowed a little bit. “A lawyer, huh? Are you going to be the one doing the persecuting or defending?”

“Um…” said Dick, who seemed to be just now remembering that cops and lawyers didn’t exactly get along if the way his smile was dropping was any indication. He looked to the side and brought a smile to his face again. “Persecuting. I’m on your side. It would be kind of embarrassing to go against my mom in court, don’t you think?”

He relaxed, nodding. “Good.”

They lapsed into an awkward silence after that and Marinette was finally able to concentrate…

For the two seconds of silence she got before Commissioner Gordon walked over to ask her when she’d be done.

She fought the urge to bang her head on the desk.

She turned around, about to throw Officer Ross under the bus, but it turned out she didn’t need to.

Because then his daughter showed up with some dinner for him.

Gordon turned around to greet her. Thank kwami, finally something was going right. Hopefully he’d forget about what he was doing (he was old, after all) and she’d have until he was back at his desk before he remembered. She’d have around half an hour.

Not enough time to do well but she could probably get away with it because she was still a relatively new hire...

She managed to hit send the second the commissioner turned away from his daughter and slumped in her chair. It wasn’t on time but at least she’d done it.

She looked at her empty coffee cup and clicked her tongue. She glanced at Dick. “I’ll be right back, I’m getting some of the free coffee before I go.”

“Didn’t you say it was awful?”

“Yeah but it’s free.”

“... we’re rich.”

“And?”

Dick grinned. “Whatever. Go ahead. I’ve waited this long.”

She sent him a wave and then disappeared to the break room, clocking out on the way.

When she came back out she found Dick flirting with the commissioner's daughter. She would have been proud if that wasn’t, y’know, her boss’s daughter oh my god she was screwed she was going to lose her job and then the mission would be compromised and --.

She practically ran over to sling her arm around her kid.

(She didn’t actually run, she had a mug of coffee in her hand and she thought that was much more important than any mission, but she was close to it.)

“Sweetie! Hi! We should be getting home, it’s your celebration-dinner-thingy-can’t-remember-the-English-word -- PARTY tonight! I can’t keep you any longer or there won’t be time to bake the cake.”

Dick gave her a bit of side-eye and she gave him a smile in return.

“But…”

Barbara laughed a little. “Go ahead. It’s cake, you can’t just pass up on cake.” She smiled. “Congrats on whatever it is, Dick.”

He looked to the side, smiling. “Thanks. I’d invite you because my mom’s a great baker… but it’s kind of a family thing.”

Barbara shrugged. “It’s fine. I doubt that my dad would be too thrilled about me getting lured into a house with cake, anyways. It’s not that far off from getting lured into the car with candy.” She broke into a grin. “Promise to bring some of her cake by sometime?”

“Sure. I’ll be by tomorrow with as much as I can save.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

Dick finally allowed Marinette to pull him out of the police station, sending Barbara a wave over his shoulder long after she was out of view.

She clicked her tongue as they climbed into the car. “If I lose my job it’s on you.”

“Who knows, the commissioner might be mad at you because you got between us. Depends on what kind of dad he is.” His face split into a fox-like grin. “Besides, you should be thanking me. I just got us a backup plan. If you get fired, knowing the commissioner’s daughter would be useful.”

Marinette hummed thoughtfully. “Smart.”

“Thanks, I have my moments.”

“Yeah, ‘moments’ is definitely the word for it.”

He gasped and took a hand off the wheel to give her shoulder a tiny shove. “Rude!”

She just laughed.

~

It was inevitable that it would happen at some point, but that doesn’t mean that they were happy about it.

Adrien had made a stupid mistake.

He had been alone on patrol. It had been a standard street fight, after all.

He’d seen the flash of Tim’s camera out of the corner of his eyes and looked up at the wrong time. Now he had a bullet in his shoulder, his staff was rolling across the floor, and he’d had to duck for cover behind a car to ensure that the one bullet didn’t turn to twenty.

So the night was already going great.

But then he realized that some of the people had also noticed the flash going off and were now going to investigate.

His day just kept getting better.

He pulled out his phone.

ChatoNoir: H! E8th, Eads. LW, 1?C-K.

HelmetRights: I’m close I’ll help

He breathed out a sigh of relief. His miraculous was the most useful for situations like this.

He brought a hand to his shoulder and flinched a little bit. He had a few minutes before he bled out.

Adrien slowly poked his head around the car. They were all distracted fighting each other...

Good?

He slowly reached out and pulled a nearby body over to him and peeled their shirt off. He needed it more than them right now, anyways. He bandaged his wound and then looked around again, this time searching the ground for his staff.

Ah. It was pretty much in the exact center of all the fighting. Fun.

How about no?

He looked around wildly for inspiration. What to do, what to do, what to do…

He ran out from behind the car and made his way over to the building where he had last seen Tim’s flash. The gang members would likely be there for a while, probably until Jason could come over, and Tim’s situation would get worse by the second. Hopefully the kid had enough sense to hide…

He stepped inside the old office building. Abandoned, probably, there was a thin coating of dust on everything and the only light in the place was a result of the sunlight streaming in through open windows.

He listened in for anyone and winced when he heard a metallic clang above him. He ran up the stairs and looked around.

A kid… was trying to fight… five fully grown gang members…

It was going about as well as you’d expect.

Would it kill people to have even a scrap of common sense?

He flinched when he heard a bone crunch.

Adrien grabbed the nearest desk lamp and looked around. He hooked it around a light and tested the strength…

Not great.

Whatever, he was already injured.

He heard a gunshot outside and breathed a sigh of relief. Jason, probably.

Hopefully...

The gang members looked up at the sound and Adrien took his chance, pressing his hand to the floor and mumbling a Cataclysm.

Black webbed along the floor and it crumbled beneath everyone.

He swung over and grabbed Tim from thin air. Much like he’d expected, the cord snapped under their combined weight and they were in free fall. Adrien pulled the kid to his stomach and flipped them around in the air to make sure he was the only one to actually hit the ground.

Adrien hit the floor and tried not to think about the piece of rubble now lodged in his back and the way the bullet in his shoulder was definitely displaced now and he was bleeding faster and OW.

He released his grip on Tim so his claws wouldn’t dig into him and rested his head back on the cold floor.

“You alright, Tim?”

“Not really.”

He wheezed out a laugh. “Same here.”

He felt Tim shift his weight on top of him and winced mentally at the rubble digging into him, and looked over. It was dark, the sunlight had been clouded by the dust drawn up by the collapse of the second floor. He didn’t know if Tim could see but that was fine. Adrien could.

He slowly pushed himself up and looked for any sign of movement.

He could see a couple of the gang members stirring. He shook his head a little bit and rested a hand on top of Tim’s head. “Stay. I’ll be back.”

“I’m not a dog.”

“Don’t care. Stay. Here.”

Tim looked annoyed but he sat himself down and rested his head on his hand. Adrien glanced him over. One of his legs was definitely broken and he was littered with thin cuts and bruises but he seemed otherwise fine.

Maybe his definition of ‘fine’ needed some work…

He pulled his attention back to the people that were getting up and he grabbed a nearby blunt object: a rock!

Well, a piece of the floor, but it was pretty much a rock.

Adrien made his way around with his rock and made sure that everyone would stay down. He didn’t exactly aim to kill but he wasn’t exactly concerned if he ended up doing so.

After a few minutes he walked back over to Tim and he slowly helped him to his feet, letting him sling an arm over him for support as he helped him walk out.

Jason was outside, checking bodies for extra bullets.

He looked up and frowned. “You look awful.”

“Thanks. I have a photoshoot tomorrow and I was really hoping that I would like ‘awful’ for it.”

“No problem.” His eyes found their way to Tim and he rolled his eyes. “So, what, are you adopting him, now?”

Tim frowned. “I… have parents.”

“Barely,” muttered Adrien.

“Mom will kill you if you adopt another kid.”

“I’m not scared of Mari.”

“Yes, you are.”

“Yes, I am.”

He sighed and closed his eyes.

He didn’t just want to leave a kid in a bad situation, but Marinette had been annoyed by him adopting Jason…

He peeked an eye open and looked at the kid next to him.

“I have a plan.”

“Oh no,” mumbled Jason.

Adrien looked at Tim. “Would you like to live with us?”

Tim thought for a minute, then shrugged. “It would be cool to actually have someone in the house with me.”

“Oh no,” Jason mumbled again, starting to mess with his rings.

Adrien broke into a grin.

“Awesome. Let’s get you home.”

~

Marinette noticed Tim the moment she walked into the kitchen.

She gave her husband a tired look. “Please tell me you didn’t adopt another one.”

“I didn’t. He has parents, I can’t adopt him.”

Her eyes found Dick’s for confirmation. He gave a small shrug.

She relaxed a little bit. “Good. Why’s he here?”

“He got hurt stalking me, his leg’s all busted up.”

Tim showed her his leg and she winced. They’d set it back into place but all the bandages said that it couldn’t have been a nice experience.

“Sorry about that, sweetie, do you want a cake or something? I can make one.”

Tim smiled. “No, thank you.”

Marinette, who had already been pulling out pans, gave him a confused look. She slowly put the pans back. “Oh… okay.”

“I have a dietician. She’d kill me if I went too far off,” he explained. “But I’ve heard good things about your baking.”

She nodded slowly. “Right.”

Adrien met her eyes hesitantly and she knew that whatever he was going to say she wasn’t going to like it.

“I’m going to train him in self-defense.”

She clicked her tongue. She knew what that meant by now. “You are not making this random child a vigilante. It’s bad enough when we let our own kids do it, he isn’t ours.”

Adrien held up his hands. “He got hurt stalking us. I just don’t want a repeat. I won’t give him a miraculous, okay?”

She frowned suspiciously but nodded that he could do that.

Adrien visibly relaxed.

Marinette took in the bandaging on her husband and she frowned. “How bad is it?”

“Uh… one bullet to the shoulder and some shrapnel got me in the back. Not that bad.”

She nodded and leaned over, pressing a kiss to his lips. “No patrol for a month.”

“But --.”

“No.”

He pouted a little bit but nodded. “Fine. I can still help this kid learn self-defense, though, right?”

She considered this for a minute and then nodded. “Since you’re teaching basics you’re not going to be doing much physically… so, yes. But get help from someone if you want to do anything strenuous.”

Adrien rolled his eyes. “Yeah yeah.”

Marinette hummed lightly. She glanced at the time. She had a few hours to patrol before Dick confirmed she hadn’t slept in a few days and came to physically knock her out…

She started up the coffee machine.

(Dick narrowed his eyes in the background and started trying to remember when the last time she’d gone to sleep was.)

“Ew, you drink coffee?” Said Tim.

Marinette slowly turned on him, her eyes narrowing. “It keeps you awake.”

Adrien and Dick looked hopeful, probably thinking that Tim would make her realize her caffeine addiction and tendency not to sleep was unhealthy.

And then he spoke: “Sure, but have you tried energy drinks? They taste better and have sugar.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Not enough caffeine.”

“You haven’t found Bam, then. Once you get past their political donations they’re GREAT. A 16 ounce can has almost three times as much caffeine as a cup of coffee.”

The other guys went pale.

She broke into a wide grin. “I like you.”

“This was a mistake,” mumbled Adrien.

“Yep! C’mon, Tim, we’re going to the store. I'll help you walk.”

~

Listen, opening a portal to a pocket dimension wasn’t easy… but he was perfectly willing to do it for his kid.

No. His soon-to-be kid. His wife still hadn’t said yes.

No. His soon-to-be younger housemate. Tim still had legal parents.

Whatever.

It was good, too, the portal was hidden to the naked eye for everyone but him, so there was no worries of Marinette finding out too early.

(Unless she just decided to randomly lean against the wall in the hallway.)

And, as far as pocket dimensions go, it was decent. Empty outside of a few things that Tim had brought over from his house and a lot smaller than any other room in the house... but decent. It didn’t have a single monster living in it, that’s pretty good by pocket dimension standards.

Jason and Dick had both complained when they realized that Tim got a room of his own, even though they knew the circumstances. Adrien was forced to make another.

Was Adrien a little worried that the dimension that they were currently in would become unstable if he opened two portals in close proximity to each other? Yes. But it didn’t collapse on them when he did it, so it’s all good.

There had been a monster in that one.

Adrien was going to be feeling that bite on his arm for the next few years, he thought.

But, hey, at least now everyone had their own rooms. And all the boys seemed happier for it.

Well, Jason still seemed a little annoyed that there was now another kid in the house and Dick was clearly anxious that Marinette would find out and get mad at them and Tim was clearly struggling to understand the whole ‘no longer an only child that lives mostly alone and therefore needs to at least wear pants around the house’ thing, but shhhhhhh avoiding problems is the Agreste forte.

Yes, even Tim Drake was in the practice of avoiding problems.

Adrien figured that if he adopted enough kids eventually one of them would have a good coping mechanism and they could steal that.

But, until then, avoiding problems would have to work.

~

A routine was forming, and she hated it.

She’d go to work for a large part of the day, and then get picked up by Dick. She’d spend about two hours in the break room drinking the free coffee and scrolling through her phone so her son could chat up the commissioner’s daughter. She’d grab him by the arm with some vague excuse about how they needed to get home. She’d get dropped off at random places in Gotham and start on patrols. She’d get home early in the morning and chug another few cans of Bam with Tim.

Then she’d start it all over again.

But she’d hated it more when the routine was suddenly broken.

She felt a hand rest on her shoulder and nearly tore the file she was looking through in half in her surprise. It surely couldn’t be time for Dick to pick her up yet…

She looked over at her computer for the time and her eyes caught the reflection of Barbara on the black screen.

Marinette slowly turned around. “Hey.”

“Can I talk with you in private?”

She tried not to tense up. Most of the time when people say that you’re in trouble. She didn’t want to get in trouble with the boss’s daughter.

“Mhmm!” She handed the file over to Ross to hold onto and then followed Barbara down a few halls and up to the roof. She sent Tikki out to check for people and relaxed a little bit when the kwami shook their head no. Maybe this could just be about Dick --.

“Do you not like me?”

She blanked. “Huh? I… what? No. Do you think I’d stay after to let my son flirt with you every day if I didn’t?”

“No, but then I have to question why you always cut us short.”

“We have stuff to do at home.”

She shrugged. “But you hardly ever go home.”

Marinette took a cautious step back. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that you and Dick never seem to go the same way twice when you leave.”

“You watch that?”

She shrugged again. “Of course. At first I thought it had something to do with traffic or errands, but then why would you always list a home activity?”

“Because what we do at our house is none of your concern,” said Marinette.

Barbara smiled. “You know, I work at the library.”

She tried not to frown at the change of subject. It was weird, but at least it had moved away from where she went at night.

“Alright.”

“I know your other son, Jason. He comes by pretty frequently with his dad.”

“Alright.”

“Want to tell me why he and I have had long conversations about how we hate cops?”

Marinette wanted to punch something. Still, she forced a smile. “It’s perfectly normal for kids to take opposite stances about things than their parents. Just like you and your dad.”

“Sure, but then why do you act like you hate cops?”

Wow. Even the commissioner's daughter knew she hated being a cop. She really needed to brush up on her acting skills… or get new ones. She didn’t know if she’d ever been good at acting.

“Listen, I know you’re planning to take this place down, I’m not stupid. I won’t rat you out, I want in.”

Well, that was a development.

Marinette narrowed her eyes slightly. “Really? Why should I trust you?”

“Because I’m dating your son, maybe?”

“YOU’RE DATING?!”

“YOU DIDN’T KNOW?!”

Both women immediately pulled out their phones and started texting Dick. Nothing bonds people better than anger and they were both ready to kill.

MA: come to the precinct please

#1Sweetie: kjsklfjdskfjdks does this have anything to do with barbara texting me at the same time

MA: yes

#1Sweetie: i’ll be right there

MA: were on the roof

Dick deleted and then retyped his message four times before sending:

#1Sweetie: fun can’t wait

For someone who ‘can’t wait’ he sure took his sweet time, though.

Now, if it was only Marinette that was mad, it probably would have just blown over. However, Barbara wasn’t an Agreste. She actually knew how to deal with problems.

When Dick finally managed to get up to the roof, he found the two women glaring at him.

“So, care to explain why you didn’t tell me you were dating Barbara?” Marinette said with a bright smile.

Dick looked to the side and then brought a smile to his face. “I was just waiting for the right time to announce it.”

They both shared skeptical looks and then looked back at him.

“Okay, fine. It’s because I didn’t want to be the one to bring another person into the house, Mari would’ve killed me.”

Marinette accepted that answer. Fair enough. She would have. If Marinette and Adrien not had jobs they might have been able to keep up with three (and a half including Tim, who was around enough because of his stalking and self-defense lessons for her to somewhat count him) other people in their house, but she doubted that they could fully parent three kids with both their civilian and vigilante jobs.

Dick relaxed a little and walked over to the women, taking a seat in front of them. “Are we alright?”

They both gave him nods, then gave each other wary looks.

Marinette glanced at the time. “I’ll be back to talk more about this after work. Meet us at the car?”

A few hours later, they all filed into the car. Dick and Barbara took the back seat and Marinette angled her mirror to watch them just in case.

“Right, where are you on your investigation?” Asked Barbara.

“She knows --?”

“Yep, you’re behind, sweetie.” Marinette glanced at the mirror and found Dick messing with a rubix cube and Barbara listening intently. “Right now we’re searching for proof of corruption in the police force. The higher up I can get the easier it will be to actually have people prosecuted.”

“... are you having any trouble with getting proof?”

She shrugged. “Unfortunately. It’s not like they document when they let someone go and it’s way too easy to claim that people were all bloody before they got there.”

Barbara frowned. “Take pictures.”

“Cops are stupid, but they’re not that stupid. If I take out a camera they’re going to notice.”

“Write it down yourself, then.”

“It’s my word against theirs.”

Barbara groaned. Marinette could relate. She’d been struggling to find any kind of proof that wouldn’t immediately be traced back to her for over a month now.

And all she needed was proof, really. She knew that Barbara’s dad, at least, wasn’t a bad cop. He was just, somehow, painfully unaware of the corruption in his precinct. If given proof of a person’s corruption he would, at the very least, fire them.

“Doesn’t help that the kind of people that the police let go are usually killed by one of the vigilantes before they get to the police,” added Dick.

“And, even if we were the kind of people that vigilantes talked to, it’s not like they could stop killing those people without everyone getting suspicious.”

“... I’m beginning to think this might be impossible.”

She gave a quiet laugh. “Yeah. Probably.” She pulled up in her driveway and blinked a few times. “Um… sorry for kidnapping you.”

“It’s cool, I wanted to ask Jason about some of his books.”

“Are they overdue?”

Barbara smiled. “Yep. I need to know if he lost it or if I should just recheck it out for him.”

Marinette nodded absently. “Cool. Dick, drive her home when she’s done? I need to go grocery shopping.”

She waved at them and then got out of the car, tossing the keys to Dick without either of them glancing over. With that, she head off for patrols.

~

Adrien blinked a few times to make sure he was seeing this.

Dick had a girlfriend. Who was the commissioner's daughter. Who was also a librarian at the library that he and Jason frequented.

And she knew about the whole ‘trying to take down random people in the police force so Marinette can advance and prosecute people properly’ thing.

But not the vigilante thing. The vigilante thing was too far, apparently.

He needed to sit down for a minute.

Adrien pulled a knee to his chest from his spot on the counter.

Jason had been the most blunt: “Did dad adopt you, too?”

“I have parents.”

“That didn’t stop him from adopting Tim.”

“I’m also dating your brother, that would mess things up.”

Jason relaxed a little bit when he realized that Adrien wouldn’t adopt her… and then he laughed. “Wait, you’re dating Dickwad?”

“Yes.”

“I thought you had taste.”

Barbara and Jason grinned at each other, much to Dick’s annoyance.

“Adrien! They’re being rude!” He complained.

He shrugged absently. “I don’t control them.”

“You can control Jason! He’s your kid! Take away his trust fund or something!”

“WAIT WHAT NO --.”

Adrien cut him off by laughing. “That would be funny but I doubt Mari would be alright with that.”

Tim walked in with a can of Bam and some instant coffee mix. Everyone watched in horror as he started pouring the Bam into the water part of the coffee maker.

“Hey, Timmy, whatcha doing?” Asked Adrien, despite being very sure he did not want to hear the answer.

Tim looked up. “Experiment.”

“I thought you didn’t like the taste of coffee, though…”

“It’ll be worth it for the extra caffeine.”

Jason laughed a little bit. “You’re going to die. Go ahead, though, I want to see it happen.”

Dick and Adrien met eyes. They needed to destroy that thing and also maybe find a way to block Marinette and Tim from getting to the store.

They nodded at each other before getting to work pulling Tim away from his creation.

~

Marinette hummed as she finished off the fourth cake she’d baked and decorated with a flourish.

She started washing the dishes she’d just used because she had run out of free pans to bake with and she couldn’t restart until they were washed.

Dick groaned from the doorway, holding his head as he slowly made his way inside.

“Good morning, sweetie.”

He groaned again and then apparently caught sight of the cakes on the table. He frowned a little bit. “Um…”

“I made a vanilla cake for you. It’s the one with the buttercream flowers.”

Dick hesitated for a minute before shrugging and sitting down with the cake. “Thanks, mom, but are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“... mom… as much as I love your cakes, you only bake this much when you’re stressed.”

She clicked her tongue. “Sweetie… I doubt you’ll be able to think of a solution if Adrien, Barbara, and I couldn’t think of something.”

“You went to Barbara and not me? Come on! At least let me try.”

She doubted that he could be of any help but whatever. If she told him and he couldn’t come up with something then he’d leave the subject alone, and if he came up with something then they’d have a solution. Win-win. Kinda.

“I have no clue how we’re going to get proof that people are corrupt.”

Dick thought for a minute, then shrugged. “Have someone join the mob. Any mob. There has to be at least a few moles. Take a few pictures or collect names and then take them to the commissioner.”

Marinette shook her head slowly. “Can’t, no one has enough time.”

“I do.”

“Sure, but you’re a kid and we’re not letting a kid join the mob.”

Dick huffed. “I’m twenty-three.”

“You don’t have any skills that the mob is looking for.”

“I’m a lawyer, they’d love to have me.”

“No.”

“But --!”

“NO, RICHARD!”

Dick flinched a little bit and looked down. He gave a quiet groan of irritation and pushed himself out of his chair. He took his cake to his room.

She closed her eyes. The problem would be gone by morning, but that didn’t mean that she liked that they’d fought.

She opened her eyes again and started pulling down ingredients.

~

Adrien knew that Marinette would catch on soon. It had been months since the incident, Tim was more than capable of taking care of himself. He was pretty sure the only reason that she hadn’t noticed anything was because her schedule was so messed up that she wasn’t registering time right.

He knew he should tell her but he couldn’t bring himself to. What if she kicked Tim out? What if she made him stop seeing the kid entirely? He couldn’t let that happen, the kid had gone through enough. No, he would have to wait for the perfect moment.

If she didn’t find out first.

Marinette walked into the kitchen in the morning and everyone tensed and glanced at Tim, who was casually playing a video game and definitely not learning self-defense.

Adrien sighed. Could he say he was just making sure Tim ate so he wouldn’t pass out? Would she believe that?

She walked over to the fridge and grabbed a can of Bam and then glanced back at the boys, her eyes glazed with exhaustion.

Then she gave every boy in the room a kiss on the cheek.

Yes, even Tim.

“I’ll be back after work. Are you picking me up like usual, sweetie?”

Dick blinked a few times and then stifled laughter with his hand. Once he’d managed to get his voice under control, he spoke: “Yep! I can’t wait to see Babs.”

“Gross. Right, I’m heading out.”

Everyone watched in stunned silence as she walked out.

Jason’s face soured.

And then he snapped his fingers. “I got it… HEY, MOM! YOU FORGOT THAT ROSS BROKE THE COFFEE MACHINE AT WORK!”

There was a beat.

“Jay, what the heck?” Hissed Adrien.

Marinette walked back in. “Guess who has been promoted to favorite.”

Dick gasped. “Wait, I was favorite beforehand?”

“No, Adrien was. I’m not telling you which kid was winning.”

“Hold up, I’ve been replaced as favorite over caffeine?”

Marinette nodded. She stole Tim’s laptop bag from him and then set three cans of the energy drink inside.

“Great, I’m off for real now.”

Jason slammed his head on the table, partially pulling his mother out of her stupor. “OH MY KWAMI. Mom. Tim has been living with us --.”

Adrien had clamped his hand over the kid’s mouth, but it was too late.

Marinette’s eyes slowly found their way to Tim and her face shifted from bored to angry in half a second.

He swallowed thickly. “M’lady, I can explain.”

“Please do.”

He hesitated. He hadn’t thought he’d get this far.

Her grip tightened on the strap of her bag when her phone went off in her pocket. She bit her lip and shook her head. She told her boss that she would be late because of a family matter, her eyes never leaving his.

He gave his most award-winning smile.

The kids filed out, though they both knew that they were going to just stand outside the door to listen in.

“Adrien, Tim has parents. You realize you essentially kidnapped that kid.”

“He went willingly!”

“Tell that to the cops!” She gave a bitter laugh. “Wait, you already are!”

He winced. “I know, I’m sorry. I couldn’t just leave him with his parents, though, they suck.”

Marinette clicked her tongue. “We can’t keep him. He isn’t ours and, even if he was, we hardly have the time to take care of three kids!”

“Dick can take care of himself, he’s an adult. So we’re back down to two! Actually, he can help take care of Tim, too, so less than two!”

“Remember when we said we wouldn’t have any?!”

“But we did fine!”

She groaned. “You’re not getting my point!”

“And you’re not getting mine! We can’t just leave that kid to suffer!”

“He’d suffer if he was with us, too!”

“He deserves people that love him to take care of him!”

“So does every kid on Earth! Are you going to adopt them all?!”

He rolled his eyes. “I want to but we have a limit... but this isn’t it! We’ve been doing just fine so far! He’s attached to us, we can’t just throw him out now!”

“I can’t let this one slide because I keep letting kids come in. It has to stop.”

“This is the last one,” he promised.

“I’ve heard that one before.”

“But I mean it this time.”

She scrutinized him for a long time, her lips pressed tightly together.

And then she clicked her tongue.

“Last one,” she muttered, pulling a new can from her bag and then turning. “I’ll see you after work.”

He watched her leave. He should say something, he should call her back and apologize, he should at least admit that what he was doing was wrong…

The front door slammed.

He slowly fell back into a chair and rested his face in his hands… only to realize it was wet. How long had he been crying? He breathed out a sigh.

He could feel eyes on him. He peeked between his fingers and saw the kids standing in the doorway, mouths slightly agape. He wiped his face on his sleeve and brought a smile back to his face.

Jason messed with his rings as he turned around and walked to his room.

“You didn’t want kids?” Asked Dick quietly.

His smile slid from his face.

“Not exactly. We wanted kids, but we figured we’d never be able to have them. I’m sorry it came out that way.”

Dick relaxed a little bit.

Adrien pushed himself up and walked over to Tim, resting a hand on top of his head.

“Right, welcome to the family, officially.”

~

Marinette rested her head on her desk.

“Um…?” Began Ross.

“Don’t. I’m not in the mood.”

“Okay.”

She heard his fingers get back to work on his keyboard and closed her eyes.

She’d officially hit a wall. What she needed was to get her hands on the security camera’s footage but she knew that they simply turned off the cameras when they let someone go.

Her mind wandered to Tim.

She bit her lip and sat up, pulling up a new tab and searching up “Haly’s Circus Dick Grayson” but, to her surprise, she found that any footage of her son during his time there had been scrubbed clean.

So, the kid had been telling the truth?

Well, he might be able to fix her current problem…

And, honestly, she was pretty much desensitized to the idea of a kid vigilante at this point. Partially because their family was up to four people who started being vigilantes as kids and partially because Dick and Jason had saved Marinette and Adrien quite a few times.

Besides, like it or not Tim was in the family now. That’s pretty much the main requirement, it seems.

That night she approached Tim about hacking.

“Right, what exactly would you need to hack into the police station security cameras?”

He frowned. “Probably a new computer that isn’t linked to me as a person. And I’d probably need to be inside the security room for a while, or at least the building.”

She thought about this for a minute and nodded. “Okay. I can get you that. Anything else?”

“Can I have a miraculous?”

She waved her hand vaguely. “Yeah, I was going to give you one anyways so we don’t have to do as much to delete footage… I was thinking the horse miraculous. Then you could get in and out of rooms pretty easily.”

“Cool. What are we trying to do, anyways?”

“Keep them from turning off the cameras when they need to do…” She trailed off, pursing her lips tightly. She knew this kid was around thirteen or fourteen, surely he knew all the kinds of things that went down at the GCPD, but she couldn’t bring herself to say anything. “... stuff.”

Tim nodded slightly. “I can do that, but I’d need to hide some kind of generator in the room. They might be unplugging the cameras to turn them off, I’d need to change some plugs around.”

“Great.”

They clinked their cans of energy drink together in a sort of toast.

~

Adrien should have expected something to go wrong.

Barbara and Dick had convinced the commissioner to go out to eat with them. Dick was now stressed for two reasons: the mission and the fact that he was officially meeting the parents.

Marinette had cleared a good amount of the precinct by offering to buy drinks. Even if her relationship with the precinct was… less than friendly, few people said no to free drinks paid for by the richest person there. This was mostly just to make sure people weren’t going to do overtime.

And Jason had drawn away the people currently on shift by ‘accidentally’ bowling over an abandoned building while on patrols.

Now it was just up to Adrien and Tim.

There was obviously a few people still there, it would have been too much to hope that the entire place would be empty. It didn’t matter, though, no one was suspicious of them. After all, Marinette would need a ride home and it wasn’t as if he could take Tim to a bar to wait.

And no one was suspicious of the fact that Tim had quickly pulled out his computer to ‘play some games’. Adrien had pulled out his phone as well, mostly to monitor the chats and make sure everyone was doing alright but also because he was bored.

A half hour later he got a tiny tug on his sleeve and looked down to see Tim shaking his head.

Great. On to plan B.

“Does anyone know where the bathroom is?”

They transformed in the bathroom and looked at each other nervously. They’d wanted plan A to work because it wouldn’t draw any attention to the security room…

Tim opened a portal inside and they stepped through. It was only two guys, and Adrien made quick work of them. He tied them up in some spare cables he found and pushed himself back to his feet.

Tim just waved him off and opened a portal for him.

He grinned as he dropped onto the floor of the main room. He looked around casually at the ten people that were still there. One of them was in just charge of guarding the prison, but the other nine were cops.

He tipped his head from side to side, weighing his chances as the cops began pulling out their guns.

Hm. This was much scarier when they could actually see him.

“Don’t move from that spot!”

Adrien raised his eyebrows, glancing at the officer who’d said it. Officer Ross. Of course.

He gave a tiny shrug. “If you say so.”

He extended his staff and smiled when it hit the cop nearest him in the face.

Then Adrien hooked it under a desk and tossed it at Ross.

Great. Now that he had spited that guy, he swung his weapon in a wide arc and took out the lights.

He smiled brightly at the now dark room and looked around as the cops scrambled. Some had already done this before and others had heard the story, but no one was looking for a repeat except for Adrien. He extended his staff to get to the ceiling and considered the people below...

A few of them shot blindly at where he had just been, which was a terrible idea but whatever.

He made his way through the room. He wasn’t killing anyone, though it was tempting after hearing some of Marinette’s stories, just opting to their weapons and moving onto the next person.

He also maybe broke some bones in the process. It happens.

A few minutes later he started making his way back to the security room and he grinned when he saw Tim coming out. He had his laptop under his arm. They’d succeeded.

Adrien took a quick look around and spotted a security camera. “Got it?”

“No, they deleted everything,” he lied.

He forced himself to frown (it was surprisingly hard to do after years of smiling for every camera he saw). “Dang. Guess we’ll need a new plan then. Let’s get home.”

Tim opened a portal back to the bathroom and they detransformed. They waited a few minutes before Adrien slowly peeked his head out the door. He held Tim behind him protectively as they walked through the precinct.

They got to the main room and found everyone groaning. A few of them had found flashlights or had turned on computers for lights.

“Is everyone okay? I heard gunshots!” Said Adrien, frowning.

Officer Ross, whose arm was bent at an odd angle, gave the kindest smile he could. “It’s fine, we just had a vigilante come by. It seems like everything is done, now, though.”

Adrien nodded a little bit.

“Good. Everything’s done.”

~

Marinette was one of ten people who didn’t get a jail sentence.

Now, she eyed the two-weeks notice on her desk. No one would be suspicious if she decided to leave. Fifty people had gone to jail, no one wants to stick around to see if they’re next.

Commissioner Gordon had resigned, too. Something about how he was disgusted about being so blind.

She bit her lip as she sat there at her desk, her computer on a How To video on quitting if you technically had no boss. Unfortunately, it seemed that she had phrased the question wrong because now it was telling her how to shut down a sole proprietorship.

“Agreste?”

She paused the video and looked up, her head tipping to the side as she took the man in. She knew that she knew him from somewhere, but her brain couldn’t seem to place a name to the face. “That’s me.”

“Could I speak to you alone for a minute?”

“Uh… sure. I’d love to.”

“I was thinking the roof? That’s a pretty private place, don’t you think?”

She pursed her lips tightly. She did not like where this was going in the slightest. “Well, sometimes people take their smoke break up there --.”

“Don’t worry, I know there’s no one up there.”

“Oh. Great.”

“Isn’t it?”

She nodded, letting him lead the way to the roof.

Her hand dipped into her back pocket and she cursed herself out mentally when she realized it was still on her desk. She wondered if she could get away with asking to go back for it. Somehow, she doubted it.

Marinette closed the door behind them.

She smiled at the man. “You wanted to talk?”

“I don’t think you’re stupid, Agreste.” He turned and flashed her a blinding smile. “Why don’t you guess what’s going on?”

“Well… I assume I’m in trouble,” she said carefully. Her eyes searched nearby rooftops and windows. “And that you have at least one person around that could kill me, probably a sniper since you chose a rooftop and not an alley.”

“Correct!” He said. He turned away from her and started pacing around. “What do you think you’re in trouble for?”

She hummed as if in thought. “You seem to be the one asking all the questions. Mind if I at least know who you are?”

“I asked you a question first.”

She forced a tiny laugh. “Sure, but no one likes admitting when they do things wrong. Besides, what if I fess up to the wrong thing? Then I have two reasons for you to want to kill me.”

“Just. Guess.”

Hm…

He couldn’t know about her being Ladybug, they’d done too much to make sure no one knew her identity. No one outside of Dick had ever done anything that could be traced back to them, and all that footage was gone from the internet forever.

Then what could he have found out about?

“Honestly, I don’t know.”

He scrutinized her face for a minute before frowning and shaking his head. “Agoura.”

“Huh?”

“My name. It’s Antony Agoura.”

Oh. Oh fuck.

Well, at least now she knew where she’d seen him before?

He folded his hands in front of him, smiling at her. “I see you know me.”

“Of course I do.”

He nodded. “Good. Now, I want to ask you a question.”

“Another one?” She said quietly.

“Mhmm. I’d like to know if you think I’m stupid.”

“Of course not.”

He chuckled, shaking his head. “You know, the day that Chat Noir bust into the police station was odd.”

“I wouldn’t know. I wasn’t there.”

“Yep! Odd, don’t you think? Someone who previously didn’t get along with her coworkers suddenly decides to take them all out for free drinks. That same night, her son takes the commissioner out to dinner. The precinct was almost completely empty thanks to your family.”

Great. That was why that was plan B. She was screwed.

She nodded slightly, her throat tightening. “You don’t say…”

“And, on top of that, the vigilantes were acting weird! I mean, they were all set on distracting people and keeping them as far away as possible!”

“That’s… odd.”

“Mhmm!” He smiled and rested a hand on her shoulder. “An interesting coincidence, don’t you think?”

She nodded again, fighting the urge to shrug him off. “Yeah.”

He steered her to the door. “I’d like to congratulate you on your promotion, by the way.”

“The…?”

“Being commissioner is such an honor!”

She scoffed. “You couldn’t get away with that. I’m the newest person here, it’s too suspicious.”

“You think?”

“Yeah --.”

He opened the door and she fought the urge to flinch at all the cameras suddenly flashing in her face.

“Congratulations!”

“How do you feel about being the first commissioner of asian descent?”

Her eyes widened. Oh. So, it turns out Agoura definitely could get away with that.

She glanced to the side to see the cops who had been there longer clapping with sarcastic smiles on their faces. “Congrats!” Said one in a tone that definitely said that she was dead.

The mob boss moved his grip to hug her to his side, smiling brightly and waving at the press.

“Smile for the cameras, Agreste.”

~~~

Taglist

@i-am-ironic @nathleigh @mialuvscats @golden-promises @sassakitty @deathwishy @toodaloo-kangaroo @ladythugs @moonlightstar64 @dahjokester @jjmjjktth

[a-la-la-llama]

The One Where Marinette Toasts Someone To A Crisp #9

Part 1   Part 2   Part 3   Part 4   Part 5   Part 6   Part 7   Part 8   Part 10

Question: Do y’all prefer the numbered parts or should I change it to “Previous” and “Next” links from now on?

  By the time Marinette woke up the next day the only person still there was Harley. Everyone else was an early riser and had left by nine in the morning. She deserved to sleep in anyway. Waking up at three, just after everyone else went to sleep, and spending the next two hours making cinnamon rolls for everyone can be exhausting. Yet, Marinette did it anyway and went back to bed at five-thirty in the morning. She was awake by eleven and happily warmed up their breakfast.

“Blueberry, you should have seen how scary that movie was! I couldn’t even fall asleep until two am.”, Quinn complained as she dumped icing onto her plate.

“Two? Didn’t we start the movie at nine-thirty?”, Marinette said.

“Yeah and you were out by ten. Seriously, you didn’t even get to see the scary stuff! Then the warehouse gets so dark at night and V kept laughing at me.”, Harley whined

“I’m still trying to adjust to this school sleep schedule. Still haven’t caught up on all those days when I only slept two hours!”, exclaimed Marinette.

“But’cha still woke up early to make everyone breakfast?”, Harley said. The clown sighed in delight as she took a bite of the sweet, warm, gooey, bread.

  By Noon, Marinette and the Kwami's were out the door and on their way home. It was a little chilly even with the sun on her when she wasn’t in the shadows of the tall buildings. The breeze was what made it so cold.

The warehouse was an additional eight minutes away from the flower shop that totaled a twenty-three minute walk home. Harley had offered to escort her but Ivy had called saying she needed help at the event she was arranging. She was passing one of the numerous sketchy alleys when she felt something wrap around her waist and pull her quickly.

  Turns out it was one of those long canes that you would see on TV that were used for jokes. At the end of the stick two men dressed in black with another in a green suit standing right behind him. It was a disgusting neon green with plum purple question marks all over it.

“Nice catch, Erin! Now, I got riddles for you darling. Answer all of them correctly and I’ll let you go. Get one wrong and, well I don’t want to ruin the surprise!”, he finished with a grin.

Marinette grimaced at what he could be implying but said nothing.

“Let’s start easy then work our way up, eh? I’m tall when I’m young, and short when I’m old. What am I?”, he asked.

“A candle.”, she answered.

“Correct. What month of the year has twenty-eight days?”, he continued.

“All of them.”, Marinette said.

“Wrong, February can have- wait, you got that right, hmm. What can you never answer-“, the man began.

“Are you asleep yet.”, she interrupted before he could finish.

“Rude! Let’s see how good you are in math. What three numbers, none of which is zero, give the same result whether they’re added or multiplied?”, he questioned.

“One, two, and three.”, Marinette said.

“A word I know, six letters it contains, remove one letter and twelve remains. What is it?”

“Dozens.”

“You see me once in June, twice in November and not at all in May. What am I?”

“The letter “e”.

“Ugh! Last one little girl. What does man love more than life, hate more than death or mortal strife; that which contented men desire; the poor have, the rich require; the miser spends, the spendthrift saves, and all men carry to their graves?”, he asked with a smug smile at the end.

Marinette stood as still as possible in the cane's hold and processed the wordy question. She looked the man straight in the eye when she answered, “Nothing.”

The man threw his hands up in the air in defeat. “You are insufferable! I swore that one would have tripped you up. Most people failed at the month riddle.”, he whined.

“If you don’t mind, may I ask you a question?”, Marinette said politely as possible.

“Well, you are the first person today to answer all my riddles. Go ahead.”, the man grumbled.

“Who are you?”

The man stopped dead in his tracks, he seemed appalled by the question. Was she supposed to know him?

“I’m the notorious Gotham villain, Riddler! Far better than Clue Master, I must add. How have you not heard of me? I just escaped! I should be all over the news already, aren’t you scared?”, he rambled before turning back to her.

“One, I’m new here. Two, I can’t afford cable and get all my entertainment from YouTube because it’s free. Three, if you're a man you’ll keep your word and let me go.”, she retorted.

The man, the Riddler, cackled before bursting into a fit of laughter. She looked at the two men that had been holding the cane and they looked at her. The three weren’t exactly sure on what to do and waited for him to finish.

“E-Erin, Oscar! Di- Did you hear what the girl said? Hooooo!”, he exclaimed, and dramatically wiped a tear from his eye.

“What’s your name and are you willing to become my partner in crime?”, Riddler asked once he got a hold of himself.

“Marinette. Not to be rude but I wouldn’t want to be seen with someone with questionable style choices. ( Hah pun! ) Seriously, are you trying to be an eyesore. I would also refrain from asking me to join you unless you want to face the wrath of a pissed off clown.”, she responded.

“Hey, I designed this myself! You’re working with the Joker?”, he questioned.

“Worse. Harley Quinn.”

  Marinette found herself dragged or pushed back to where she was on the sidewalk right after. The cane retreated back into the alleyway as she watched the three escape from the other end. Marinette debated on whether or not to tell Harley now or to wait. This Riddler didn’t seem that dangerous and was afraid of what Quinn could do. Ultimately, Marinette decided she would tell the clown the next time she saw her. That would certainly be enough time for man to attempt to make an escape.

“I don’t think I want to go home anymore, Miri’s. How does a trip to the park sound? I didn’t exactly get to enjoy it last time.”, she asked the kwami’s.

The pulse of excited energy was all she needed to for an answer and change directions.

Tag List

@legallyspawned @chocolate1721 @spartanxhunterx @dreamykitty25 @toodaloo-kangaroo @vixen-uchiha @loveswifi @amayakans @jeptwin @thewonderlandartist @buticaaba @books-and-left-behind-journals @gigibnl @aegyobutpsycho2 @crazylittlemunchkin @maribat-is-lifeblood @myazael @abrx2002 @pawsitivelymiraculous @silvergold-swirl @chaos-inperson @marichatcameback @olynix @ash-amg @elmokingkong @kitsunebell @yin-390 @indecisive-mess-named-me @jeminiikrystal @startouchedqueen1318  @alexandriamw @zalladane @how-to-fuction-properly @k-poplunardreams @majorcurious007 @ironspiderstark @laurcad123

[thethrillof]

Parent Eddie PT 4 I have so many headcanons Definitely not Julie, sorry lady but you missed out on a chance with all of this Personally I've been using some ideas of a EllenXEdward child, but it's always fun to expand on that with Edward X Yin/Bruce/Ethan/Penguin ships I'm totally open for that Ellen X Edward It's been on their minds as Edward already gave up on the whole "Riddler" schtick, mainly because what happened with him and Julie was one of the main driving factors that still hurts. It's one of those "it just sort of happened" scenarios as the two talk and talk, weighing out a lot of the things required for a child, not to mention things that aren't even brought up. Ellen is more work focused. Plus..."how many times have you been kidnapped, gassed, and hurt, Yinsy? Technically speaking." "Touché." Do they dare? How would the child turn out? Oh god what if it's triplets?! They hold off on a lot of family rearing until one day, they just go for it. Just one. And if things don't work out...well then they tried and that's the end of it. Course, Eddie's gotta keep a close eye on Yinsy since she wants to be out in the action. Even making a whole checklist before she goes out to do minor things about not getting herself into anything dumb. She's so headstrong and stubborn, something he admires and loathes at the same time. In the end, however, is when things really start to pick up. Their child being a good blend of Yin and Edward's features, definitely taking a lot more after Yin in personality, but also having Eddie's smirk -Smart, stubborn, charismatic, maybe a little too sarcastic Yin worrying about whether she would come home or not to her child, but also having them understand that mommy's work is very important Lot of stakes for the commissioner's kid really But it's all worth it to see Eddie be such a nervous parent because he really is trying and to see the smile on her child's face when mommy walks through the door Also the idea that their kid doesn't even like riddles or puzzles, but they love spending time with their dad. It's not because they don't get them...the issue is more of how predictable Eddie can be with these games. They want something more challenging. And that's where the problems begin/ Something is off but they can't put their fingers on it. (From personal headcanons) Julie had called Edward a "psychopath" and those words certainly haunted him as he looks at his child with Yin for anything. -Playing onto the idea of "what if my kid might be smarter than me? No, they're just a kid. They have a different thought process. It's fine." -Eddie and Yin believing their child can do no wrong. They've practically gotten all the good traits from their parents! Or they just don't want to admit it even if it's in front of their eyes. -Their child is smart, good grades, practically the perfect student much to their pride. Personality wise, avoids the other children...okay well it's tough to make new friends or some prefer their own company. That's okay. -...maybe their kid is a bully to other bullies, but they're standing up for the other underdogs...the whole point is not being caught by the teachers...At least they're making friends...right? But then again...children only show what their parents want to see. -Maybe Bruce or Ethan can see it, but can't really describe it or won't bring it up as Eddie and Yin adore their child just as much as the child adores their parents. -Could just be nothing. Children are an enigma all on their own that not even Riddler can solve. Same conversation for Trans Eddie x Yin or any other s/o, but still a lot to debate either for adoption or a surrogate or even if Eddie would even agree to carrying. And he's is just so...thin. Definitely would be picky about who the donor would be and Eddie is ready to critic anything. But, the idea of a moody pregnant Eddie is pretty funny. "I loathe you." "Awww. I love you too."

aww ;w; lots of worry, lots of thinking it through. ellen and edward can both be reckless, but certainly they’d be extra careful for this.

man edward would absolutely look the other way for his kid being a bully. just loving his kid too much to think that they can actually do something that wrong--surely the other kids must deserve it. edward himself is vengeful and he wouldn’t see that as a flaw if he thought the other parties involved caused a problem first.

dunno about ellen, tho. she learned her lesson about not paying attention to “personal” trouble in multiple different ways with rojas and ethan. plus i think the batman would be keeping an eye on things--not expecting the kid to be trouble, and he’d mostly trust yin’s judgement, but riddler did have a temper and bruce is particularly protective of children. no abuse on his watch, though he’d worry less about that when time went on. so he’d probs notice if the kid was developing a bit of a mean streak and bring it up. (possibly directly to the kid at some point, tbh, but that wouldn’t go far since “YOU’RE rude and beat people up!” even sharp kids are not necessarily good at nuance. plus eddie would hold a grudge, no matter how much they’re not enemies or how they’re ostensibly allies now.)

ethan would be a good person to talk to about bullying, i think. being “like papa” (ex-rogue) and having a good, reliable head on his shoulders means he’d be a pretty good influence in general. 

man this kid would end up with a wild family.

god yeah the extreme thinness was most of what i was thinkin about. he wouldn’t want to carry but even if he did it would. fuck him up. bad. please adopt, for the sake of ur body, eddie! and also for the sake of gotham b/c he would absolutely reroute everything he wanted (food he’s craving! comfy stuff! EVERYTHING) to him because auuuugh and he can so he will.

[plush-anon]

Happy Halloween Scooby Doo! Review

Muahahhhahahhahahaha! Thanks to the Walmart tradition of stocking movies for sale weeks before the intended release date, I have myself a copy of what claims to be Scooby Doo’s FIRST Halloween adventure!

…in spite of movies like Witch’s Ghost and Goblin King, holiday specials like WNSD’s A Scooby Doo Halloween (which had a haunted Scarecrow too…), BCSD’s EL Bandito (for Dia de los Muertos - obvs not the same, but most companies act like it) and Halloween, The NSDM’s Halloween Hassle at Dracula’s Castle, and the DTV short film Scooby Doo and the Spooky Scarecrow (which, ironically enough, did NOT take the opportunity to feature Dr. Jonathan Crane). 

So let us take a look now at Happy Halloween Scooby Doo! and see whether this film will be a graveyard smash of a treat, or a black licorice bomb of disappointment.

Full review (and SPOILERS TO GO WITH IT) are below the cut in my new review format; if all goes smoothly, I’ll go with this for future Scooby films.

WARNING: This review is very long.

One minor note before we begin: the Special Features actually include BCSD’s Halloween, WNSD’s A Scooby Doo Halloween, and PNSD’s Ghost Who’s Coming to Dinner

...so they were AWARE this was not the first Halloween adventure of the Scooby gang, and yet still use that tag line. Hm. 

Still, kudos for including them - this’ll help boost the reasons to keep this movie, if it turns out to be a real Milk Dud of a movie *ba-dum tish* :D

-----------

The movie starts off rather abruptly, actually - no slow pan over the setting, just WB Animation credit and BOOM, we’ve cut to a Halloween parade and Elvira is talking. 

I’m of a mixed opinion including Elvira on top of having Bill Nye and a Batman Rogue - while she most certainly fits the Scooby aesthetic, it doesn’t feel as grand an impact after her weird little cameo in Return to Zombie Island (ugh) and I’m not sure how well the movie will balance her in wait a minute

wait just a

WAIT A MINUTE

Did - did that parade float skeleton just sing Crystal Cove as the town’s name?

oh no. 

Oh No.

....also their song is terrible and they should feel terrible.

-------

Fred: We got him! Banh Mi Shop, second floor!

me: the heck is a Banh Mi Shop? *mild googling noises*

So I guess Jonathan Crane really had a craving for a Vietnamese sandwich before he enacted his Halloween scheme.

...you think he’s a lemongrass chicken type of guy or a BBQ pork guy? It’s always hard to guess at these things, esp when coffee and pumpkin spice aren’t on the table (as per fanon, of course)

-----

Velma: We have a flawless track record!

So I guess WB is just gonna ignore the past few DTV retcons established in 13 Ghosts and Return to Zombie Island?

I mean that rather defeats the purpose of them existing at all, but fcuk YEAH I can get behind throwing that retcon garbage out of canon!

And STAY OUT!!

------

Shaggy, talking about ghosts being real: I’m like the boy who cried wolf - I keep warning you but like, you won’t believe me until I finally get eaten!

Yet again, Warner Bros makes a wolf reference to Shaggy. Yet again, I am torn asunder between wanting werewolf!Shaggy in a new Scooby property, and fearing for the appearance of werewolf!Shaggy in a new Scooby property. 

-------

Velma: Point is, being afraid is a waste of time!

Scarecrow, LITERALLY EXPLODING THROUGH A BRICK WALL three buildings away:

------

He’s floating through the air and t-posing to assert his dominance 🤣🤣🤣

Gods bless animation 😁

------

Daphne @ Shag and Scoob locking themselves in the van: Are you serial?

Me: wait, SERIAL? *re-reads captions* yup, that says “serial”.  

Is this an editing mistake? I don’t think that works here…unless that’s supposed to be a joke on how they always do this. But then why would that be an irritating surprise, they literally do this EVERY episode 🙄

-------

Oh hey, Red Herring’s Party Screams truck has Red Herring running out of it

Could this be a hint to how the story goes? The villain appearing on a literal Red Herring?

Naaaaaah, WB’s not THAT smart

-------

So if we take @captainbaddecisions​​ crack theory on Jonathan Crane being Shaggy’s uncle seriously, does this mean that Jonathan is using magic to fly, float fear toxin orbs around himself, and making things explode, a la the family trait of Crack Theory A? 

Logically he’s probs using wires or magnets or some shit, but it’s a fun thought to entertain 😁

------

Welp, we finally get the opening credits! … with Jonathan Crane smashing through the Mystery Machine’s windshield, set to a slow poppy song straight from the 60s, and spewing the title of the film out in glittery pink mist.

All the while Scooby and Shaggy throw candy at each other, deliberately obtuse to the cloud of fear toxin enveloping their friends and the townsfolk, the steady destruction of the Mystery Machine they’re laying in as multiple cars crash into it and send it spiraling, and the general mayhem and destruction that Scarecrow is causing

Never change, guys, never change

--------

I just choked on my lemonade

There’s an article plastered to the roof of the Mystery Machine titled “Talking Dog Confounds, Ignites Ethics Debate Over Dog Labor”

ahahahahaha

-------

Annnnnnnnd there goes the Mystery Machine, tumbling in the air and over the roads with Shaggy and Scooby still inside without seat belts. Will they perish in this horrible road accident? Will Death finally come to claim them at last?

Of course not. This is Shaggy and Scooby we’re talking about - I’m almost positive they can survive anything up to and including a nuclear bomb. This is child’s play to them.

-------

So they “capture” Scarecrow… by pinning his cape to a tree with crossbow bolts. 

And they do not try to at least tie up his arms or his hands in ANY capacity. 

JUST the cape. 

...you know, Velma, for a team with a “flawless” track record, you guys are making a hecking TON of mistakes in facing against one of Batman’s ROGUES GALLERY, ESPECIALLY with no Batman in sight, good freakin’ grief. 😩

------

Yaaaaaaaaas, this Scarecrow design is LUSH

He’s got the lank, the height, the BTAS costume colors, the elongated face with beaky nose and pointed chin and angular cheekbones, the eyebags like Gucci, the furrowed brow… honestly the only thing missing is the more reddish color hair, and even that isn’t mandatory. I love 😍

Not to mention the HOT DAYUM voice he has - low and velvet rough and so godsdamned particular in a way that could either tie in to obscuring a southern accent as in fanon or just as a stringent academic, oh my yes. He’s voiced by someone called Dwight Schultz, who’s most well known for playing Captain ‘Howling Mad’ Murdock in the OG A-Team show, and someone called Reginald Barclay in Star Trek TNG and Voyager, if any of y’all know that character in particular. 

And of course, the first line he says is a delightfully wry “Oh, but I AM getting away with it,” with the sort of smirk that absolutely lends credence to why he’s a threat to Batman, and not some simpering wimp that can be defeated with some crossbow bolts in a tree.

I think I’m going to enjoy this movie at least somewhat, so long as we get to see him 🥰🥰🥰

(tho on a side note: Daphne why on EARTH are you trying to film Crane saying the meddling kids line? Do you have a video compilation of past villains who’ve done that, and you hope to add his to it? Was your phone damaged when you went up against the Riddler a few DTVs ago and you want a second shot at recording a Gotham Rogue saying it? Bc I don’t think a Gotham Rogue would be too pleased with seeing himself as a Mystery Meme on the Youtubes, you get what I’m saying?)

-------

Okay, so the floating orb things are explained away as fear toxin bomb drones somehow… despite looking nothing like the other drones and being much smaller with no visible propulsion, while also flying unassisted through and around objects to explode against places once flung…

(tho interesting note, none of them are aimed directly at the crowds, just behind them - odd, that)

But how did he heckin’ FLY at the beginning?

Yeah, they show him wearing wrist-mounted grappling hooks at the end of the intro song sequence, but they are NOWHERE IN SIGHT at the beginning - and I do mean in sight, since he emerges against a backdrop of flames. There was nothing there (see the T-pose above for further evidence), and nothing there when he FLEW THROUGH THE MYSTERY MACHINE’S WINDSHIELD AND FLEW BACK OUT AGAIN. And these things are pale silver, which stands out like crazy against the darker backgrounds, so no hand-wavy ‘they were always being used’ bullcrap we’ve seen in other movies. 

Hmmm *scribbles in notepad* note to self, add notation concerning Crack Theory A on magic!Shaggy to “Uncle Crane” theory files - evidence denotes that Crane is able to fly (or at least hover in mid-air unassisted) for terrorization purposes. May boost strength of CTA by family association, lending credence to magic inheritance along the bloodline...

------

“Avocado Toast Generation”? Crane, I honestly don’t know if you really mean that, or if you understand just how much that phrase gets under any Millennial/Gen Z kid’s skin. Having seen multiple variations of your character, it really could swing either way (tho kudos on the dead switch idea - very nice 👍🏻) 

Although this does lead to an interesting stand-off: Fred, upon seeing the town threatened with 3 days worth of fear toxin, immediately moves to let Crane go, while Velma stops him and refuses to consider compromising if it means Crane escapes.  They both look legitimately frustrated at the other for taking the stance they do. 

Fascinating~

------

Hmmm

Crane honey, I don’t know if your drones are made of flash paper and hope, or if Scooby and Shaggy are using the reeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaally old candy (the stuff made about ~3 years ago most neighborhoods give out to the teenagers that knock around midnight on Halloween) to shoot them down, but either way you may wish to speak with the manufacturer about this

Then again, this IS Shaggy and Scooby - they probably could’ve spat marshmallows at the drones and brought them down with equal success and explosions 

(and good on them for shooting those down! Atta boy 👍🏻)

-------

Aw dang it

1. They still have Crane captured and now in handcuffs (despite having… you know… NOT been bound by anything except cross bolts in his curtain cape thing)

2. Dwight Schultz has decided to pitch his voice higher and more nasally than what he has. Hopefully this is more of an incredulous sort of pitch than something that sticks for the rest of the movie, ugh.

Also, I think they’re framing the movie to be more Velma-centric this time around - she’s the one explaining to Crane how they tracked him down, apparently through a piece of fan mail he sent Elvira (is that the only reason she’s there? Also why was Velma examining random pieces of fan mail for toxins, Elvira probs gets hundreds a week irl) and it looks like they’re framing something up on how fear isn’t something you can pretend isn’t there. neat!

------

whajit

53rd? 

53rd?!?!

ONLY 53rd?!?!?!?!

Boooo, Scarecrow’s WAY more popular than that! I call foul

---

Okay why is Daphne’s schtick so far to spit laaaaaaame slang after every sentence Velma says

I would rather this not be her schtick

Actually could she go back to filming mystery stuff, bc at least I can pretend it’ll build into the OG Zombie Island Daphne

----

Phew, his voice has returned to its low, raspy goodness

also, Crane needs to learn about personal space, good grief

(interesting clue brought up tho - Crane only steals tech that CAN’T leak his toxin, ergo it can’t be tracked until he releases it. Sensible use, given that Batman probs tracks it if it does.)

----

Velma: I’m not afraid of you, Crane. Fear is an illogical reaction to an imagined threat. 

Crane:

-----

Crane: Fearless, then. Intelligent. Proud and stubborn. You remind me very much of the one person in this world I care about. 

uhhhhhh

Yourself? Harley? Edward Nygma? Ichabod the raven? Idk, I’m honestly curious as to where this thread will go 🤔🤔🤔

-----

Fred, leaning against the Mystery Machine: Guys, it’s gonna be okay. She told me!

O_o

Fred? Honey? Are you sure you weren’t supposed to join Crane in the transport vehicle back to Arkham? 

----

OH SWEET JESUS SHAGGY GREW YAOI HANDS

WHAT THE HECK 

THAT’S WAY MORE UNNERVING THEN YOU GUYS NOT BEING AFRAID ANYMORE

(although the fact that they’re both unsettled by NOT constantly shaking or having their heart racing is honestly kind of heartbreaking. Y’all need therapy, good grief)

----

Shaggy and Scooby just chewed up candy (wrapper and all) to make themselves a Halloween costume of… what looks like barfed-up candy (ew)

Before then proceeding to dance so well that everyone around them also starts dancing in a 60s-70s era rainbow light show and giving them candy

I worry for these two sometimes - that kind of power seems to be getting to their head 😬😬😬

---

Oh hey, acid green toxic waste is spilling from an 18-wheeler onto the Fear Toxin drones and emitting a purple pink haze that envelops a pumpkin patch! That won’t do anything suspicious at all I bet!

(wait is Poison Ivy going to come into this at some point)

(also major kudos to the music here - very 80s horror synth, I like)

----

So the Pumpkins have grown faces, limbs, consciousness, the ability to fly and a lust for human flesh

And they appear to be led by the Pumpkin King of the Pumpkin Patch mentioned in the Charlie Brown Halloween special

He’s not as friendly as I pictured him being, sadly 😕

---

Why is this random ass cop coming up to FD&V to say that they’re in over their heads… AFTER the mystery’s been solved?

Like dude, you’re only making yourself suspicious at this point, go home

----

Huh, interesting - the gang are being interviewed for a tv news network while they’re considered the town heroes

Why am I getting bad vibes from this…

Eh, it’s probably nothing

----

Velma: {Shaggy and Scooby} are, um… REALLY into the Halloween spirit. 

Shaggy: THIS ISN’T COSPLAY, VELMA!

I’m dying 😂

------

Holy Shit

Velma just snapped and went off on Shaggy and Scooby for acting scared and doing nothing to help wrap up the mystery

(even though these guys are the ONLY reason that the gang didn’t have to choose between setting Scarecrow free and poisoning the entire town for 3 days straight, but hey, what do I know - I’m just writing an in-depth reaction post to this movie and taking note of details like this, clearly I know nothing *eye roll*)

Last time I saw Velma critique the guys’ usual mystery solving shenanigans, it was much more low-key and without knowing they were nearby

But I’m sure that’s just a coincidence

------

What the

Bills?

Bills?!?!

Fred just mentioned that fixing the Mystery Machine was going to leave a hefty bill and that they may need to get dishwashing jobs to earn money

Which is more of a job you might expect a high schooler to get on the go and yet

They actually have to pay bills 

How old are they here??!

------

wait a tic

THIS is how they introduce Bill Nye?

He just calls up Velma with no explanation other than Velma saying “Oh hey, it’s Bill Nye!”

I just - what?!?!

How do you know him so well that he can just pull up your number and call you, and then geT YOU A NEW FREAKING CAR LIKE

WHAT?!?!?!?

Was there a Scooby episode with him in the past two years where the fcuk did this come from

------

Also the car is dressed like Bill Nye

And he can talk to the gang directly as the car

So that he can solve mysteries with them whenever he wants

This… this was not what I was expecting to come about from the Bill Nye cameo 

(alas, poor predictions of being Crane’s roommate, you will not come to pass this day) 😔

-------

Ooooo, purple haze throbbing on the horizon! That’s always a good sign of things to come! 😀

------

 And now Daphne’s… asking Elvira to mentor her fashion wise. And Elvira’s taking her on as her unpaid intern/personal assistant.

Yooo, movie, can you pick a direction and stick with it for Daphne? You’ve gone from her spewing outdated slang to wanting a costume for trick-or-treating, and now this. 

-------

Welp, now I can say I saw a giant pumpkin dog vore an old woman

I didn’t WANT to see that mind, but I guess I can say it now 😐

------

OH SHIT NO

IT TURNED HER INTO A FLYING PUMPKIN SHAPED LIKE HER FACE

ABSOLUTELY UNSETTLING, 0/10 WOULD NOT RECOMMEND

-------

At least we get a nice scene of Daphne kicking the pumpkins’ collective butt

Something normal

------

Elvira: WOW! You’re a regular Mary Sue!

*falls over cackling*

------

And now there’s a giant purple fissure opening up in the concrete to swallow the town of Crystal Cove whole 

(good, i whisper softly into the darkness of my living room. Let it fall)

--------

Man, I feel so bad for this single father right now

He’s gotten wrapped up in all of this nonsense with his daughter, and he is just Distraught at being chased by Jackal Lanterns, having the town collapsing under his feet, and having to gorge jump in his sedan to get away from the worst of it

It’s okay, Mike Dad - we would feel the same way in your shoes

-------

Hologram Bill Nye is wearing Cat ears and cat whiskers/nose, and is cleaning his hands like a cat cleans its paws

Why was this the movie we found out Bill Nye was a furry

Why Warner Bros 

Why would you inflict this upon us in a Scooby Doo-Scarecrow mystery

-------

Hey, can Jonathan Crane return now? The movie needs its dignity back. 

------

A clue on the whys here - the town was built on top of a MASSIVE lithium deposit, with the talks to mine it being scrapped due to environmental concerns. That’s actually a decent lead in for why some 

-------

Welp

The Jackal Lanterns just went full Mad Max with the Halloween Parade floats and cars

No, I don’t have any idea why either, just roll with it

-------

Nice, they confirmed that Fred’s full name is still Frederick Herman Jones XD

Also a great little action sequence with Daphne - while there’s not much movement, they frame the scene dynamically, with some good quick wordplay. Very nice. 

--------

Velma has a mind palace

Aight

--------

Velma: Shaggy, I could kiss you!

Oh, to hear this as a child, when I still hardcore shipped Shelma *sigh*

------

Oh thank gods we’re going back to Scarecrow again

------

Shaggy ate some Scooby Snacks, leapt out of a moving vehicle, and onto the backs of two flying pumpkins that he promptly reined in to fly to Crane’s prison transport

...yet again, I am amazed at the sentences I am led to type for Scooby Doo DTVs

------

Ah, how very Hannibal Lector of you, Jon 

Man, he actually looks very meek in normal clothes - red long-sleeved shirt and grey slacks

-----

Hmmm

So Crane ISN’T behind the Jackal Lanterns - in fact he’s outright befuddled by them. This means his whole spiel to Velma earlier about both of them being caught in the same trap was… metaphorical? The breakdown doesn’t actually go into WHY he thinks they’re in the same trap - Crane’s whole schtick is tied to accepting fear, not denying it, so why would they be the same?

Either way, someone is using both him and Mystery Inc to do something to Crystal Cove (please be Red Herring, please be Red Herring, please be Red Herring)

Actually, that reference at the beginning really WAS a red herring - they framed it as being Jon the whole time when it wasn’t. Kudos!

Additional kudos to having Jon be seen more out of mask than in - he is a looker, and I aim to look as much as I can ;)

-------

Annnnd Daphne’s now trying to convince Elvira to switch clothes with her

I don’t get it - how on earth did we get from Daphne trying to find a good costume for trick-or-treating to asking Elvira to switch oh there it is nevermind.

-----

There is literally a scene where a giant buzzsaw is slicing towards Crane

and he just

stares at it

going “huh, that’s different”

And I LOVE IT

------

And here we have another fascinating scene: Velma going to free Crane from his cell, as Daphne tells her to just leave him to die by pumpkin

I’m wondering if they meant to draw a parallel between the two here - Velma starts by reciting a nursery rhyme, then overcoming her fears in order to release madness to take control. It’s not done very cleanly - mainly bc we barely have any time with Crane in this movie - but I wonder if they meant to insinuate that Crane was like Velma once, where he refused to acknowledge he was afraid, which caused him to lose focus on his initial goals

Idk, ignore my ramblings

---

Crane, smirking: I’ll need my personal effects - extenuating circumstances.

Me, fanning myself: I’ll need you to remove yours first

(i am not even kidding, Crane is an absolute DILF in this movie and it flusters me. Stupid sexy animation)

---

YAAAAAAAAAAASSSSS

SCARECROW TO THE MOTHERFCUKING RESCUE BABY, SCYTHE AND FCUKING ALL!!!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

----

FCUK YEAH THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING

HE HAS A DANCE LIKE QUALITY WITH SOME OF HIS FIGHTING MOVES

VIOLENT DANCING BRINGS THE GIANT JACKAL LANTERN DOWN BABY

THEN HE BACKFLIPS AND GYMNASTIC SWINGS INTO THE VAN

ROCK IT SCARECROW FCUKING ROCK IT

(minor note here, but the subtitles show Dr. Crane instead of Scarecrow - unsure if that’s more that the movie calls him Dr Crane or if it indicates he’s acting more heroic than villainous)

---

GODDAMNIT

THE GIANT PUMPKIN SNUCK VINES INTO THE VAN AND STOLE HIM BACK 

WHEN CRANE WAS... wearing a seatbelt before, but isn’t now.

...

BOOOOO

---

Yet again, we find a Scooby movie that attempts character development, but with Velma

Unlike Shaggy’s Showdown however, I’m mixed on how successful it is.

For starters, Velma hasn’t been this cocksure in other DTVs we’ve seen, so it’s a bit odd to see it now. While not 100% out of place - after all, the gang DID capture one of Batman’s Rogues Gallery on their own - it still feels a touch forced. Compare that to Shaggy’s Showdown, where Shaggy has ALWAYS been a coward (one that, in more recent years, writers have had willing to abandon his friends for safety), so the character development there feels more natural. 

The progression of events with Velma actually work somewhat okay - but again, here’s where past DTVs come to bite them in the ass. The past handful have had the gang be wrong, have had them fail, or catch the wrong guy. This makes Velma’s attitude here at odds with the other films, something that sticks more due to a character that’s appeared in the past few films as a minor inconvenience - a Sheriff who keeps telling the gang not to interfere, they’re doing things wrong, etc. If this had been a character who was completely wrong in the past AND SHOWN TO BE WRONG FOR HIS OPINIONS, while the gang never guessed wrong, this would work much better. Unfortunately, it doesn’t, and here we are. 

I think it would have flowed better if Velma’s cockiness came solely from catching Crane on their own. Have a random cop character or reporter or whatever (just not the recurring cop), insinuate that the gang is in too deep with Scarecrow, that he should be handled by the adults or professionals or whatever. Velma could bristle, overcompensate, and THEN fall from her pedestal like we see, reach out to the gang and commiserate over feeling scared, and grow. Again, it’s not too far to reach for, but they handle it poorly; as a result, the outcome feels a little more shoehorned in. 

It’s an honest shame, bc we haven’t had a Velma centered story since Frankencreepy, and we all remember what a hideous fcuking mess THAT was *shudders*. Still, it somewhat gets its point across, I guess.

---

Fred why did you rip your shirt off

Actually better question why do you not have nipples

--- 

Awwwwwww

Velma just apologized to Shag and Scoob for snapping at them earlier, and admits how she doesn’t appreciate how much they make Mystery Inc what it is

Also she eats a Scooby Snack with them and admits they taste pretty good

----

Huh

Velma’s mind palace is the Mystery Machine driving through space

Also Shaggy and Scooby are able to telepathically follow her in and communicate with her

Literally, they actually followed her into her head telepathically, and show her their memories of things she hasn’t gotten to see tonight (while also possibly enhancing her ability to remember things, given how much DETAIL she captures perfectly of things that she would maybe have glimpsed in a millisecond AT MOST)

...another tally for Crack Theory A of magic! Shaggy and Scooby *scribbles*

-------

Fred, be very very thankful that there are no people operating those pumpkins in person cause uhhhh

Those traps would be spraying red instead of orange

------

Another weird music choice - the gang goes up to fight the Jackal Lanterns, but the music is the same 60s bubble we heard earlier 

Not terribly atmospheric, really

(wouldn’t a Smashing Pumpkins cover of Scooby Doo be more appropriate, or did you guys spend all your money on hiring Elvira and Bill Nye?)

------

Dang

Velma just admitted her fears and jumped into the mouth of the Mega Pumpkin, before getting Fred to use the app from earlier to shut it down, revealing it to be a giant drone surrounded by smaller pumpkin drones

This feels… counterintuitive, but I’ll try to explain at the end

---

Okay

I’ll admit it

The Whodunnit is actually pretty decent in concept

There was a sprinkling of tidbits that could be assembled for the final conclusion and still make a decent amount of sense, all to find the sheriff doing it 

Only he isn’t a sheriff

He’s a former Tech CEO who was also busted by the gang years ago in a case the Sheriff kept bringing up throughout the movie - due to his prison sentence, he lost more than half his wealth and the opportunity to expand it further with the Crystal Cove Lithium deposits

He was also someone who sold tech to Crane for his fear toxin distribution, where he got the idea to frame him for it

(tho on a side note, Crane is an absolute dork and a terrible liar - just look at the email he sent XD and that profile pic, my gods)

He deliberately picked at the gang for the past few DTVs (specifically 2: Return to Zombie Island and Curse of the 13th Ghost) to fracture their confidence, undermine them, etc - all so that in one fell swoop, he could retake his fortune, frighten everyone in town away from the mines so they couldn’t interfere, frighten away the gang (while also ruining their reputation as mystery solvers), and take Crane off the docket so he couldn’t identify the CEO when he pretended to be the sheriff

This… is actually a pretty damn good plan, for a Scooby villain. He was patient, manipulative, and clever, learning how best to tie up loose ends and win back what he lost. A clever revenge story that came so close to coming to fruition, and could have honestly been sold convincingly… 

...if it hadn’t been done so much better in Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. 

Yeeeaaaah, this movie basically lifts the rough framework up from that one - past mystery villain comes back to attack the gang and ruin their reputation (tho this one decides to also make his fortune back and tie up loose ends with former criminal contacts, a la Crane). Gang is embarrassed in front of the news folk, another villain is framed for it (like Old Man Wickles of the Black Knight fame), and the gang must reconcile to foil the villain for good.

Although it also??? Merges elements of Frankencreepy in it?? The movie is focused on Velma, who is struggling to admit when she’s wrong (which ties into her fear, somehow… I’ll think on that point a little) and things purportedly go haywire when she won’t bend. This… isn’t illustrated as well here, since there’s very little direct cause-and-effect from Velma’s actions that would prove this point - that insisting her way is the right, best, and therefore only way to go ends up making things worse.  

As much as I despised Frankencreepy (and I DESPISED IT), it did do that part well - showing that refusing to budge on something can lead to you hurting your friends (literally, in that one), and that admitting you were wrong and need help isn’t the end of the world. 

(that movie also had former villains returning to gain vengeance upon the gang using psychological warfare, hm - may need to go over that one again, unfortunately).

It’s a shame, too -  the basic elements for this plot are all here, they just need to be polished and reworked a bit to make a really fascinating movie. 

------

Anyways, back to the asshat CEO who just… faked being a sheriff. Because white people can get away with that so long as they have the outfit and the car *throws up hands* (the sad part is this is probably something that actually happens)

As he drives away we see a familiar silhouette looming in the cornfields, watching him approach

Velma had Bill Nye on speaker, so he could record the entire confession for the federal officers nearby (who were taking Scarecrow back to Arkham), and track the phone signal to his exact location

And right as his holographic call cuts out, we see the shadow of a Scarecrow looming over him, causing him to scream.

When the feds arrive at his final location, both his body and the money have vanished. The car still sits, engine running, before the crows leering over him from the field vanish into the sky. 

-------

Now that he’s dead, the gang walks and finds themselves at a Halloween party, with friendly faces and good food. The mystery is solved, though the culprit may never be found again. 

Then Daphne admits to NOT trying to steal Elvira’s costume for Halloween, but instead trying to steal Elvira’s identity and replace her. 

Something that she’s apparently nearly gotten away with on past mysteries working with Phillis Diller

*sighs* movie, why couldn’t you just stick to the costume schtick? This is just… so much worse. 

-----

From there, Elvira walks off to wrap things up, reveal the monster face on the back of her head sans wig (which was also a monkey), and start the credits, where we see the gang working to bring the Mystery Machine back to its former glory a la Frankenstein pastiche. 

This movie… this movie is a hot mess, but at least it’s an OKAY hot mess. 

It really does feel like someone started writing a decent Velma-focused movie concerning the Scarecrow and a past Mystery Inc villain interfering, but was bogged down by notes from higher-ups: Wait! Write in Elvira! Also write in Bill Nye! Hey, let’s have a Mad Max car chase with the Jackal Lanterns! And have Daphne obsessed with literally becoming Elvira! Also make reference to things that we’ll insist be explained this way instead of a way that makes sense! Great!

(seriously tho, we never find out who Crane cares about most that reminds him of Velma, what the heck?)

It’s like two or three different scripts were smooshed together without being cleaned up - stuff is said that doesn’t get resolved, the celebrity guests don’t get to breathe much and feel squished together, and the build-up for the villain feels… less impactful, even knowing that he’s been in the past two films. 

It might have worked if he’d been in… let’s say like 5 or 6 DTVs in a row, speaking roles for dissing the gang growing in each (ex start with “Good job kids! But maybe next time, leave it to the professionals, okay?” and growing more bitter from there), but only 2 feels kind of meh. Still, I do appreciate the clues we got to collect together, and they all work in the final breakdown of the scheme - some DTVs can feel like they pull stuff completely out of nowhere, so kudos there. 

I appreciate what they wanted to do with Velma - give her a character development arc similar to Shaggy’s in Shaggy’s Showdown. Unfortunately, it wasn’t set up quite so neatly: they blended her ‘refusal to admit fear’ with her overconfidence that she was always right, and it led to a weird conclusion. To face her fears, she leapt into the Giant Pumpkin, which… proved that she was right all along about it being fake, and that solves things somehow. It doesn’t address how she can get something wrong sometimes, it doesn’t really address what she’s afraid of (which is honestly quite good: she’s afraid of failing in a way that allows bad guys to escape justice and in a way that hurts her friends), it’s just a bit of a mess. Points for aiming the focus the right way (and in a way that DOESN’T sexualize the underage teenage girl, unlike some DTVs cough cough Frankencreepy cough cough), but it’s very very messy how it goes about it. 

The movie actually balanced pretty well for the whole gang - no excessive focus on one leaving the rest in the dust (too much at least - Fred was a touch underdeveloped, but nowhere near as annoying as past iterations have been. Shaggy and Scooby were kind of meh in some places but great in others, while Daphne was just odd. I think they were trying to recapture the BCSD Daphne characterization, but they failed. Still, she did spend some good time kicking ass with the pumpkins, so that was fun.

Now for the Rogue, Jonathan Crane. If you like Crane, this movie gives you: maniacal Scarecrow, calm and creepy Crane, a brief glimpse at fanboy!Crane (he admits in his own awkward way that he’s a fan of Elvira, and later tells her he loves her work - it’s fun), and (best of all for me) a heroic Crane - one who helps the protagonists and ends up kicking ass pretty damn well, brief as it was. And while DILF Crane is always a treat, he feels underutilized in this. In comparison, Scooby Doo/Batman Brave and the Bold really utilized a lot of different aspects of Riddler, to the point he actually does feel pretty menacing by the third act. It’s a shame we don’t quite get that with Crane, but I do love seeing him 1. More out of mask, and 2. Acting as a good guy (in his own way), so he’s enjoyable on the whole. 

I kind of wish that the whole movie was spent more with Crane, but again, the script is a bit of a mess on this part - the fact that he’s not completely screwed over is a goddamn miracle. 

Elvira was… okay. She didn’t have much of a purpose beyond getting the plot started and giving Daphne some hooks to play off of. Bill Nye (abrupt as his introduction was) did provide some necessary elements to the mystery, as well as the tech; he wasn’t too bad by the end. (still a touch bitter we didn’t get ex roommate Nye, but hey, what can you do)

Humor was… mixed. Some good, some meh, but very few long enough to feel painful. Some bits felt extraneous at times, but they did help to build to the conclusion, so points for effort.

At the end of the day though, I’m probably keeping this more for Jonathan Crane than anyone else. It does have a lot of fanfic potential tho 🤔🤔🤔

That’s all from me tonight, folks! Hope you enjoyed my own little breakdown of the movie. 

[currentfandomkick]

Why Marinette Hates Tim

Marinette blames Tim next summer for all that happened. Why? He cursed her with a vague theory. And Max and her Both know give her a clue and she has to follow it to solve the puzzle—a fatal flaw for her, Puzzler, Hero Stalker (Tim), Riddler and her father, Professor Strange (even if he is using an alias and supposedly dead as far as legal documents go).

Hero Staker Tim swore he’d become Robin if the current one left. It was a joke between them, she thought. Then he vanished the next summer, the first one where there wasnt any Robin mentioned anywhere. It was eery.

Then, then Timothy Drake, heir to some company-who looks a lot like her Hero Stalker—is a Wayne. And there’s a new Robin. This... deeply bothers Marinette. Why? New Robin seeks her out and talks a lot like Hero Stalker. And has a too similar movement pattern and tells.

And wasnt Hero Stalker Tim from a rich but high on neglient at best family? Didnt that happen to Timothy Drake before ending up as a Wayne?

Her that puzzle peice was central to figuring this out and goddamnit. Frost, who hates gossip, told her to just look up the rich families with kids Hero Stalker’s age and see who looked like him and to leave from to his lab and antidotes already.

Frost accidently gave her the vital method to see if Hero Stalker was that dumb to be become Robin after Robin the Second (Jason) was brutally murdered. The answer was yes.

And now Marinette had a crisis. She knew Batman’s identity was Bruce Wayne. How? Tim calls Bruce his dad. New Robin slipped and called him dad. And Tim is New Robin since Tim is Hero Stalker and no one else came close to looking like Hero Stalker from the data pool which involved more hacking than she ever thought she would do.

Marinette, a child, figured out who Batman was by age 9 becuase his new Robin/former Stalker was too obviously himself. She is embarrassed on his behalf, and honestly debates asking Riddler to separate him and Bats in a non-lethal puzzle trap just to lecture him. Becuase what the fuck Hero Stalker! If she can figure it out, then everyone else can too! Probably(?) likely. Either way its bad!

She doesnt though... Riddler puts together she’s concerned for the new Robin, traps Bats in a different puzzle maze from Robin, who is stuck with a grounded Marinette. Why was she grounded, easy. She got caught returning stolen jewlry on camera. It was punishment for failing basic stealth—always take out any witness.

And instead of pointing out she knows who Bats is, she tells him to work on a different persona since ‘i made you weeks ago. Its pretending to be someone you’re not completely is all. I have to do that around Maman and Papa all the time, and whenever i go out with anyone really. Up your secret identity game already!’

Riddler is busy with Bats and didnt do cameras. Why? “Im not redesiging a perfectly good grounding maze every time. They take time and i dint always have it. Its time economics Batman. I dont know what our lovely Princess said or did to your Robin. He’s fine though, see? No major injuries.”

Tim relized Marinette knew Hero Stalker was batman’s new Robin. This meant one thing—he could still help her and the RKC now! Why? He knew even if they made him out, they want to help people and never be like their parents, duh. And if they added to his budding information network with incredibly accurate information so long as he didnt rat them out to Batman, its fine.

Afterall, Pixie Pop wants to help poeple and is working the rouges into vigilantes to help more than hurt, and is doing a great job of it for the most part. So if Pixie Pop is Princess who’s the maybe kryptonian and her powers align with that theory, so what? Superman has an heir already and a bio!son too, apparently. Lois didnt tell him since they werent together then and yeah. So really, Superman didnt need another kid, and Pixie Pop didnt want another dad—“i have Papa and Father and now four of my friends’ dads in Paris called dibs on partial custody. I have more dads than i need for a quartet. That is far too many dads and i refuse to get another one!”

Then Marinette is talking to Alix and finds out about an old director at the Lourve her dad knew, Diana Prince. Marinette was working on a Wonder Woman inspired outfit, and knew her history of Wonder Woman thank you. Its just...

Wonder Woman appeared just after Miss Prince Left. And from the videos Alix sent of her new hero, she was terrifyingly similar to Wonder Woman. Not only did they look alike and have the same hair style preference, it was the same face if she did facial recognition with Markov, her robot son with Max. Then there was gait, generao stances and how she interacted with men and women so differently as both people and damnit. Same person.

She curses Hero Staker Tim for this. She now has to hide two hero identities. Why her?

The third was debatably Ivy and Harley’s fault, but defiantely still Tim’s. Why? He was the one that got her hooked on Barry Allen’s cases, and pointing out that he didnt see meta as bad or evil but as people who can be good or be civilians peacefully. That, she needed that with how much vitrol she had to swallow about her powers indirectly from everywhere but her school and some parts of Gotham.

In her defense, she is a nerd here. A nerd. So realizing the The Flash is also the forensics guy from Central City that she kinda follows on all her social medias, watches the cases of unfold, and knows has a reputation for being late a lot like her but is still well liked. So she may fangirl about his cases with Hero Stalker erm. Tim now, still.

And if one day she managed to pout at her father enough to get him to agree to let her go with Harley and Ivy to Central City for a few days to see the meta museum they just opened up (technically the Flash Museum, but Marinette didn’t care. It was focused on metas not being horrible and that meant a lot to her scared, meta closeted butt).

And then her favorite forensic investigator, The Barry Allen, shows up? Best day ever. He’s nice! And concerned about how much of his cases she knows. Its not her fault this time though! Hero Stalker—Tim—sent her a case of his that went cold and she liked his science and yeah. New hero added to her listpersonal heroes list.

Harley isn’t even mad, just amused as Marinette fangirls over someone that isnt her and Barry has no clue how to respond as a tiny child know him as Barry Allen and thinks he’s awesome? Why?? He is happy but so confused and Iris is dying until Marinette cites cases that she shouldnt know about and tiny child why, how, when and where did you get that information!

The only answer is a friend likes cold cases and has no qualms hacking to find interesting ones, if he’s stumped then Marinette (Jill Smith mr. allen sir!) gets to try. And she is good at it since she can ask an officer in France (officer Raincomprix) about logistical things, common error margins and then puzzle it all out herself from there.

Somewhere she mentions absently that her mom doesnt like her science-y side since her dad was a bad person and liked science but she still likes learning and helping, even if the family buisness is food and service and they want her to either take over or become a designer. She’s thinking maybe for people woth disabilites so she can do more mental work and toy with hiw things bend and move and such.

Iris and Barry are ConcernedTM and debating how to get custody, or get her away from her mom or both. Probably both—no science allowed for a clear science obssessed kid is a red flag for bith of them that somethinf is very wrong. Harley and Ivy wave it off as “trust us, her mom aint budging.”

then the Flash is needed because of some gorilla—Marinette was more focused on an outfit on display and muttering over aerodynamics and friction. Barry is Concerned (smart kid, likes helping, potentially a league ally?) before he bolts, determined to get more on her when he returns and possibly see if he can get cps involved.

Marinette only notices that her hero moving so fast and oh god she did it again damnit! That was superspeed. And only one speedster had similiar measurements, the Flash.

She cant even tell Hero Stalker now because he’s Robin and the Justice League would Flip if they knew she knew 3 of their hero’s identities. She just hit her head and said “i did it again!” Harley pats her head while Marinette burrows into her because why is she a danger to the Justice League and secret identities! She doesnt want to be or to know damnit!

Tim sneezes in the distance and wonders who’s talking about him behind his back this time. He messages batgirl about this bad feeling he has and she laughs it off as the boy developing Batman’s paranoia.

Her Fourth solve was Green Arrow. It was an accident! She swears. She just saw oliver queen with a bow and arrow in a video shooting. and noticed he had a very distinct and familiar style to someone but not who. Then compared it to various archers as her brain was nagging. Then saw a green arrow video and cursed herself again then Tim five more times.

She sent a message to Rose asking why she’s a danger to all secret identities. Rose tells her it is her curse for being too damn smart and not leaving things alone.

Marinette tries reallly hard not to figure out the next one. But really, it should have been an earlier solve and she’s mad at herself for missing it for so long, even if it was more aviodance than denial.

Admittedly this one should have been an earlier solve, but she was very little when she found out about the surgery and everything and it was uncomfortable damnit! So she did what any reasonable child would. Ignore it. Then she went over the file to see if maybe she could possibly target parts of the kyptonian DNA in her to weaken it. And saw who the intended donor was, Clark Kent, a reporter that has impossible luck with big hero scoops, is never injured or rescued, and never been sick. He also looks like... one quick photoshop of his glasses onto superman with a clothing change and she sees her usual disguise technique on goddamn superman. She is overwhelmed with this as ‘oh god superman will kidnap me if he finds out!’ And hides from him whenever he’s in the region—be it France or Gotham.

Her friends think its hilarious, Marinette feels sick from it. She doesnt like this and is genuinely scared for her life and family’s safety now. And we all know how nervous marinettes are.

If at one point batman tried to talk to her on patrol and somewhat suceeded. As in, she spoke beofre bolting.

“I didnt figure out who boyscout and amazon and boltbrain and arrowhead are! Or you and the batfam! Bye!!!!” Yes, clearly Marinette can lie very well.

Batman sees through it and feels sick. He forces a league meeting asap and fills them in.

“this kid put five of our identities together and cant even lie. We need to recruit them.”

“Batman, is this that kid KF mentioned to me?”

Batman nodded. Flash sighed. “Okay. We are on a manhunt for a kid kyptonian that is terrified of all of us, very smart, and may have an active gotham villain as a parent. And somehow knows me and—wait. bats, do you have any pics of your rogues in civilian clothing? I need to test a theory...”

A few minutes later and “oh my god that little kid i met as a civilian figured me out!”

A few days later Flash finds her by acccident as a civilian kid in broad daylight on her own in Central. He doesnt show he knows she knows, And finds out she’s waiting for her babysitter to finish a class.

Flash just asks about a case he put together as Barry Allen that she might know about and...

“Uh, mr. Flash? Why are you asking me? The lead florensics was Barry Allen.”

He tries insulting Barry Allen—he’s late and sloppy and—

only for Marinette to defend him to the death. “He’s late because he stays up late working on other cases. Appearances and organizational skills arent what matters with his expertise mr. flash! He even foghts for metas to have their circumstances and powers impact on them considered dueing sentencing!”

Flash is very touched and shocked. only then he manages to get out of her that where she lives (france) being meta is a life sentence to “a living zombie And jail-time for being born a lot, even if it is t in normal prisons. And you know what? Mr. Allen stated so many times that you need to contextualize powers and abilities and intent in his testimonies for meta cases. Back home youre put in prison for defending yourself...” she tugs at her sleeve here.

“Maman screamed at me when she found out a few kids were getting stalked and i helped out and someone got it on tape. Not becuase my powers showed or anything—father made a treatment so they dont, well, they stay off when i use them and follow all the behavior and environmental rules so they cant put me in one of the centers. But she, she’s stills cared someone will try to check me for abilities back in France, and that she’ll lose me. She doesnt always realize i have them until things like that happen...”

Flash is desperately trying not to adopt her. Wally would love a little sister, and Superman has enoguh kids, Bats does too. he is oreventing arrow form having another one as she’s powered and that isnt a good when working with Green Arrow unless the meta is his girlfriend. And the girl loves science—come on!

batman, Green Arrow, Wonder Woman and Superman heard the Feance bit over comms and suddenly it hit them that the kid could be in danger for existing and that an entire country villified being meta to an extreme. That the girl is in hiding and probably using an alias constantly. Batman mentally adopted her ages ago and is now in Worried Dad mode like Flash and apparently Superman was falling into it too. Wonder Woman is in righteous rage mode and ready to fight france herself if she has to—no imprisoning metas for being metas!

Flash decided to be direct since he knew she trusted him as Mr. Allen and knows he’s Flash.“So, am i allowed to know which powers you have?”

Marinette shook her head, visbily distressed and floating skightly. “If, if they ever find out i cant. I cant risk Maman and Papa and Father. I dont know everything but Father only started being a good person after the, the incident where he had to go into witness protection. Maman is dead as far as a lot of people are concerned, or she never existed. Papa doesnt know about any of it. I cant. I cant risk what they worked for by being outted.”

Flash is very concerned. “Thats a lot of pressure to put in yourself, especially at your age.”

marinette didnt make eye contact then. “I have to. If i dont people can connect dots and dashes and blips. Father says its easy for him too and that possibilities are just what we’re both hardwired for but. But i shouldn’t catch as many as i do—my teachers keep saying i need to dial it back and stop catching on so fast and blurting it all out but, i just...” marientte is visibly drowning under the pressure to act not-meta and keep her family safe.

“Sounds like youre a real smart kid.”

“Smart kids dont get caught.” She meant herself with her jewlry returns, Flash thought she meant the JL, and tried to redirect the conversation.

If the JL was out then...

“If you cant tell me, can you at least tell me you have someone to talk to about these things?”

“Auntie Quinn and Rose. Rose doesnt like you guys though.”

Flash laughed a little at that. “Alright, fair enough. Who made her mad? Was it arrow?”

“Batman.” Marinette frowning as she said the enxt bit. “Something about her being given to someone that should never be allowed bear children? She rants a lot so i cant always keep up.”

Batman internally bangs his head against a table. Outwardly, he says “Ivy’s daughter, rose. That girl, she’s the Princess.”

The assemebled winced. They all pushed for Rose to be sent toback to her mother, Ivy, since they didnt trust her with any available mentor and Ivy was usually a low ranking Gotham eco-terrorist pacified by wayne gardens and green initiatives. Apprently Rose has a lot of sway over the Princess too.

Marinette changes the conversation while. Waiting for her babysitter, Ghoul, to leave class. She needs a distraction from her situation that the Flash was willing to give her.

“Can i look at the case again? Something doesnt add up... there! See? Its close to the Speedsters that leave marks at those angles but only if they really mess with the speed force and the spacetime continuum! But theres no evidence of that, its a lightning meta, Possibly using it to teleport since no one came in or out on camera. Its a slight angle and all but...”

Flash decides Marinette will join the Justice League one day or so help him! He also decides to target france’s anti-meta policies and possibly kidnap Marinette.

The League isnt letting him. But he has a fan of Barry Allen who is handling Gotham’s criminals and beign given slack by them... albeit also raised by in-part. But the girl has a strong moral compass that is a lot like most of League’s so.

He’s fighting Bats for custody on principle. His fangirl, he has dibs!

Dont know why it ended up with Flash becoming a ‘Marinette is my daughter now’ person but why not? Wally would like her as a sister, probably.

Marinette blames all of this and the future consequences on Tim. She hates her vanishing freind for this.

[controloffandoms]

Numb (D.W.)

Prompt: Just something that came to mind. Reader is part of the Super Fam. Older Damian Wayne.

Pairing: Older!Damian Wayne x Super!Reader, Dick Grayson x platonic!reader

Words: 5870

Warnings: Cursing, violence (lots of violence for a little bit), Deaf reader at one point, emotionally vacant reader

Notes: This just kind of happened. There may be another part, but this is where I felt this part ended.

Part 2   Part 3   Part 4   Part 5

You slowly rose from your bed. You had gotten in around four that morning and had to be at work by seven...unless there was a crisis that you needed to stop that involved you getting snapshots of Krypton as she fought against whomever decided to become the villain of the morning. Then, you could tell your boss you were late because you were getting some action shots of Bludhaven’s favorite hero-though Dick Grayson would challenge you on that fact. 

You would think a Super as yourself would be in Metropolis or another city close to it, but you would be wrong. You wanted to be independent of your father’s influence and your other siblings. You needed to make your own name. So, your father, Clark Kent, had reached out to Bludhaven Global Journal and had allowed you to further your career as a journalist without having to live up to the expectations of the Daily Planet since your parents were Clark and Lois, two famed journalists. After much debate, you decided to take the out and transfer to Bludhaven. That had been the best decision to make. 

Last night you and Dick, as Krypton and Nightwing, had taken on Bane and Blockbuster who were teaming up to take Bludhaven before moving onto Gotham. Bane had been working on the Gotham end while Blockbuster had worked on Bludhaven. Last minute, Bane had joined the fight and your found yourself between a rock and a hard place. Why, you ask, does that put you in a pickle? While you are part Kryptonian, you didn’t get all of the powers your dad had...or Jon had...you didn’t even have the best attributes like Connor did. Sure, you can fly, you have heat vision, super hearing and strength. You do not have cold breath, X-Ray vision, or superspeed. The worst part was that you didn’t even have the invulnerability. You get bruised and cut like Dick does after a rough battle. While it takes more force to break bones, that’s also a possibility-especially when fighting Blockbuster and Bane. 

You and Dick had stood back to back, taking in the new scene and information. Needless to say, your ached all over and were grateful that Dick was able to find the information you both needed to stop their operation in its tracks. While he had been off on a search of information, you had taken on the two powerhouses. Let’s just say that by the time Dick had the information, you were overpowered and running out of energy. 

You stumbled into the bathroom and started your morning routine. A short, but relaxing shower followed by applying makeup to your bruises and cuts so no one at work could ask about your after-shift activities. You checked everything in the mirror before exiting your room and walking to the kitchen where Dick was just setting out a warm breakfast with coffee while taking a face-time from Bruce. 

Dick’s eleven years older than you (as you were Damian’s age) and had taken it upon himself to watch out for you in Bludhaven. After you had accepted your position at BGJ, you had been called by Grayson telling you that he had lots of extra space in his penthouse that he would be willing to rent out to you. He knew the only way that you would accept the offer is if you worked for the space. He had been right, and you couldn’t thank him enough. It was nice not being all alone in a new city at the beginning. As the months went on, it was just nice to come home to someone who knew your nightly activities and understood both the mundane and super things. 

Dick sat next to your at the bar, leaning the phone on the popsocket to get both of you in the picture and freeing his hands so he could eat. “Morning Bruce,” you mumble, not yet completely awake. 

“Morning. Tell me what you experienced last night,” the frame shifted as Damian joined the picture. 

“TT, they did a number on your face, (Y/N),” Damian sighed. 

“Thanks for the update,” you rolled your eyes. “I had my suspicions after having overheard a conversation Blockbuster was having with someone on the phone before Dick showed up last night. No names were mentioned but they were talking about a ‘shipment’ that would cripple both Gotham and Bludhaven. They wanted to take out the vigilanties and take over the cities and make them in their own image. After the call ended, Blockbuster met with Tarantula. Tarantula was in charge of the shipment and was given coded directions that I still haven’t been able to decode. Whatever this ‘shipment’ is, I believe we better get ahead of it before they have a chance to use it against us. I’ll keep on trying to decode the message after I get to work today.”

“The information I downloaded and deleted from their computers seemed to cripple the operation for the time being. I think that they have something to do with the shipment that (Y/N) was talking about. She gave me a copy of the coded directions and I’m going to see if I can get anything from looking at that and the files. I’ll make it my primary case today. From the information I got several warehouses in Gotham, I’ve sent the information over to you for you both to look into. Be careful, in case the Gotham end is more prepared than ours,” Dick took a gulp of coffee.

“I will grab Drake, Todd, and Brown. We’ll go look into the warehouses. I will let you know of our findings,” Damien nodded. 

“I did my own recon last night while Bane was still in Gotham. He was meeting with Joker, Harley, Penguin, Two-Face, and Riddler. I wasn’t able to get much information out of the conversation, but they were talking of the operation taking place in the next two weeks. Depending on if all of the information you gathered transfers over to the Gotham operation, you could have set them back as well. I want us all to be on our toes. I also believe that if Bane was meeting with five other villains that your operation is bigger than just Blockbuster and Tarantula,” Bruce sighed, looking up as a knock sounded on his door. “I don’t want either of you patrolling on your own, that goes for you as well Damian. We’ll talk more later. Be safe.” 

The video ended and you stretched as you stood to take your dirty dishes to the sink. “Damian was right, Bane and Blockbuster did a number on your last night. Maybe you should call out today.”

You turned sharply, ignoring the pull of multiple cuts on your stomach. “I am a powerful Kryptonian, I do not need to take ‘sick days’. I will apply more makeup and be on my way. Stay safe on the job today, Dick. I’d hate to have to take an early break to save your ass because you can’t reveal to your partner that you’re Nightwing,” you stalked off to finish getting ready for work. 

Don’t misunderstand, you love Dick Grayson. He’s like a big brother to you, a big brother that you never got, being the oldest in the Kent clan. At twenty-three, you’re still headstrong and willing to push every ache behind in order to get the job done and seem normal. You had been the first one that Clark had to teach to control your super strength, dial down your hearing, control your heat vision when you were angry. You had been the trial run. Hell, you were the reason that they slowly tested Jon’s abilities just in case he was like you, with penetrable skin. After realizing you weren’t bullet proof, it took your father almost a whole year to let you patrol again. 

You stepped into the living room of the penthouse, seeing Dick grabbing his keys. You sighed quietly and walked over to him. “Thank you for being concerned, but I know my limits. I’ll leave work early if I’m not feeling well. Don’t do anything stupid today, Detective Grayson,” you hugged him. He wrapped you in gentle but firm arms. 

“I know you do, but you’re my little sister (Y/N/N). I worry. I promise no stupidity today as long as you do the same,” he released you, giving you a look. 

“Scouts honor,” you smirked and grabbed your own set of keys. You both parted once you got to the car garage. 

_____________

You looked up as a shadow cast over your workspace. “Kent, we need to talk.” You rose an eyebrow at Damian and stood. 

“I need to tell my boss that I’m not feeling too well and will be taking the rest of the day off,” you state as you grab your things. After he was informed, you and Damian began the walk to the parking garage. “What’s this about, Mr. Wayne,” you asked. Since you were in public, you were treating him as if he was in on your next story. An informant or professional expert on what your next article was going to be. 

He opened the passenger door of his car and closed it behind you before joining you in the car. “We have time sensitive information on Blockbuster and Bane’s operation. It’s even bigger than we thought. We’re meeting everyone back at Grayson’s penthouse.”

You nodded and stared out the window before turning to look at Damian as he drove. His chiseled cheeks, his broad shoulders, the muscles rippling beneath the tailored suit he wore. His eyes turned to you briefly, but you didn’t turn away. “It’s been a while,” you casually stated.

“I know. Next time I’ll come for a social visit. Or you could come to Gotham, either way. We haven’t spent time together since you got your job eight months ago,” A small smile was present on his face. 

“You still see Jon almost every week,” you asked.

“Oh most definitely. He asks me when I’m going to come see you,” you rolled your eyes. Jon and Damian were best friends, much like you and Damian were. Jon just seemed to think that there was more to your relationship than just being best friends. He was right on your end. You realized four years ago that you were in love with your best friend. You knew he couldn’t feel the same, so you kept it to yourself and used your feelings for him to better your friendship and protect him when your worked on missions together.

“The little brat thinks he’s so slick,” you joked.

“You might want to tone down the judgement on your brother. When I said this operation was even bigger than we thought, that meant that it spread to Metropolis. Jon and Conner are already with Grayson in the penthouse. Your father is off world but is trying to wrap up the mission to get back here to help deal with the situation. Father, Todd, and Drake have arrived at the penthouse. Pennyworth and Brown are monitoring things in Gotham.”

You nodded and stretched your hearing to the penthouse. Everyone Damian had mentioned was, in fact, at the penthouse. Another sound caught your attention. You zoned in on it and tensed. “-eady in two hours. We’ll take those idiot do-gooder’s out in no time,” that was Tarantula. 

“Good. I want to be rid of them as soon as possible.” Blockbuster.

You zoned back into the car as it parked. You both exited the car, but you paused as a scream reached your ears. It was coming from the same direction as Blockbuster and Tarantula. “-(Y/N)? KENT,” Damian shouted as he shook your shoulder. 

“What?” 

“Are you coming?” 

“I’ve got to check something out,” you muttered, mind still on the information you’d gotten on the way...and thinking of the scream. Was it just a trap to see if their plan would work on you? Was someone really in danger and needed assistance? As the scream returned, you rushed into the penthouse, ignoring the people already in it. You changed into your suit and was out your bedroom window before Damian even reached your room. 

“TT, damn it Kent,” you heard Damian exclaim and you tuned out the penthouse. 

Landing quietly on the roof of the building you tracked the scream to, you carefully looked around. You weren’t going in blindly. This could very well be a trap. You wished that you’d gotten the genetics for X-Ray vision at this point, but you could deal with this. You could help the person in danger and get back to the penthouse to talk about the operation with everyone else. 

You entered through a vent, using the many lessons Bruce and Dick had taught you about hiding in the shadows and using the element of surprise. Finally you found the room where the screaming originated from. Good news was that there was cause for you to investigate. Bad news, someone did need rescuing and it was most likely a trap. 

You reached your hearing to the penthouse, before whispering out, “Jon, Conner, your listening ears on?” You heard them quiet down the others in the penthouse as they responded. 

“Good news, I know where Blockbuster’s master plan resides currently. Bad news, they’re going to go through with the plan in two hours.”

“Why the hell did you go off without anyone else,” Conner hissed.

“Other bad news, they have hostages.”

It was silent for a minute before Jon sighed. You could imagine him running a hand down his face, “and they know you have enhanced hearing meaning they were planning on drawing you into a trap...which you blindly did.”

“Not exactly. They still don’t know I’m here. I spent too much time with bats to be that stupid,” you paused as you saw movement as the door in the room opened. “Hold on, movement.”

“Don’t engage, Kent,” Damian growled, “we’re coming to you. You don’t move until we get there.”

Your heart stopped momentarily as you realized that you didn’t have a choice in that. Seconds after seeing the man come through the door, you put up your mental shields as you had been taught. Manchester Black, renowned telepath and enemy of Superman and all of his children. You didn’t know he was back on Earth. “Black,” you whispered, hearing Jon tell the others of the telepath. 

Apparently you hadn’t put your shields up fast enough to block Black. “Come now, Kryptonian.”

Before you could move, the vent was torn from the ceiling and you were left staring at Monolith and General Zod. A quiet curse left your lips as you made a head count. Manchester Black, General Zod, Monolith, Blockbuster, Tarantula, Bane, Joker, and Harley Quinn. “And I thought your little plan wouldn’t work,” Bane chuckled as he looked at Zod. 

“All of Kal-El’s children are too righteous to ignore helping the innocent. Even his clone can’t ignore the need to help others. It’s pathetic really,” he responded. You could feel Black trying to break your shields. 

“Can we hit this one now? I want to see her turn black and blue,” Harley leaned on her bat as she waited on an answer. 

“I need her disabled in order to test our plan out, go ahead,” Blockbuster grinned. 

It was like you were an all you can eat buffet and the villains were starved people as they all rushed at you. You growled under your breath and fought them off. You stayed as far away from Monolith as possible. As far as you and Dick knew, he was invulnerable-not to mention the superstrength he possessed rivaled your own. You kept Zod at a distance as well. He was a full blooded Kryptonian, he possessed all of your dad’s abilities and other than kryptonite, he had no vulnerabilities. 

You focused on Tarantula. Get her out and you’ll have one less villain to deal with. It wasn’t hard to knock the young woman out. With her out of commission, you worked on Joker and Harley while still dodging attacked from the others. You had knocked Harley out just as you felt yourself being picked up and thrown through the air, complete with the feeling that your skin was being melted. A huge fist pushed your farther into the concrete you rested against. 

You met the next fist and threw off Monolith. You didn’t get far before it felt like your head was exploding. With your concentration gone, you crashed to the ground, hands going up to your head as the rest of your shields fell. You felt the blood starting to leak from your nose and you couldn’t fight the scream that left your lips as the pain in your head intensified along with the physical abuse by the other villains in the room. Just as you began to pass out, you felt your left leg shatter, causing a broken gasp to leave your mouth as everything went black. 

___________

You don’t know how long it had been since you lost consciousness when you woke next. A quiet groan left your mouth and you bit your lip as you pushed yourself up. You hissed as you put weight on your leg. You floated slightly to keep weight off of it. Several fearful eyes stared back at you once you began to look around. As you took stock of the situation, you extended your hearing, hoping to find the heartbeat of your brothers or the bats. You couldn’t find any sign of them and that worried you. As you looked around again, you realized that this wasn’t the location you scoped out earlier. They had moved you. 

Your heart beat began to quicken and did your breathing before you quelshed the fear. Damian Wayne would find you. You trusted him with your life. He would find you and he wouldn’t stop until he did. You took one more look at the hostages in the cage with you, your face hardening slightly. “It’s going to be okay. I’m going to try and get the bars open enough for everyone to crawl out,” you whispered. You didn’t know where any of the villains were, but you didn’t want them to overhear you. 

As soon as your hands clasped the bars, it felt like your energy was being drained from you. As you pulled at the bars, they moved barely and inch apart. As you went to pull at them again, a very familiar chuckle reached your ears. “I made them especially for you Supers. The cages are infused with Kryptonite. I have to say, Krypton, I’m surprised that the other idiots’ plan worked. I didn’t think you were dumb enough to fall into the trap.”

You backed away from the bars and glared at the man coming from the shadows. “Lex Luthor, why am I not surprised. I thought you were still off world.”

He smirked, coming closer to the cage. “I came back just for this. You didn’t think that Bane, Zod, and Blockbuster came up with this whole operation by themselves, did you? By being off world, no one would suspect my involvement. Once we take Gotham, Bludhaven, and Metropolis, the other heroes and cities will fall into our control.”

“How do you plan to make the cities fall? How do you plan to get rid of the other heroes?”

“That’s the easy part. You’ll be helping us out. We’ll see if it works on you. If it does, we can implement it on the others. If it doesn’t, we’ll fix it until it does...and even if it doesn’t work, you’ll be out of the picture,” Lex smirked. He crossed his arms in amusement as you pried at the bars again. “How does it feel to know that you’ll either be under our control or dead in less than thirty minutes?”

“That’s not going to happen,” you growled. Monolith, Zod, and Blockbuster emerged from the shadows and Lex smirked. 

The cage door opened and you took the chance to attack, pushing the Monolith back into Zod. You used your heat vision to blind Blockbuster temporarily. You had to admit that you were panicking on the inside. You were a cornered animal and they all knew it. It would only be a matter of time before one of them restrained you. 

You screamed and fought as Zod held onto you, dragging you through darkened hallways as the others followed. “When we get in there, make sure to inject her with the compound before we hook her to the machine,” Lex turned to smirk at you. “The show is about to begin.”

A door at the end of the hallway had light peeking from the bottom. It blinded you as the door swung open. It took a second for your eyes to adjust. That was enough time for your handlers to be changed out. Monolith was now holding you as Zod approached with a syringe. “No,” you shouted and tried to fight against Monolith’s hold on you. You used your heat vision, superstrength, and flight to try and get away, but nothing you did got you free. 

Whatever was in the syringe burned your veins as it moved through. You grit your teeth, refusing to give them the satisfaction of knowing how much pain you were in. “Lock her in,” Lex stated as he moved further in the room. 

You fought the whole way there. You weren’t going without a fight. As the last restraint was put on you, you felt tears of frustration building up. “No no no no no,” you mumbled, pulling at the restraints. 

“You’ll find that those restraints are made of Kryptonite. While I’ll be displeased if this doesn’t work, at least I have one Super out of my hair,” Lex turned to look at Black behind the console. “Light her up!” 

As the machine roared to life, you heard glass breaking all around you and multiple figures entered the room. You didn’t have time to take it all in before the machine sent a steady stream of energy at you. Upon contact, the fire in your veins intensified tenfold and you couldn’t help but scream out. You could feel Black probing your mind and implanting thoughts, but you couldn’t focus enough to block him out. You felt like your body was being torn in two...but then it all stopped. 

Black was unconscious, the machine shut down, Conner and Jon fighting Zod and Monolith… Damian in front of you, hands on your cheeks, wiping away your fallen tears. His mouth moving, but you can’t hear what he’s saying. All you hear is whitenoise. “Hurts,” you form the word with your mouth. Whether it’s spoken or not, you don’t know but Damian understands. 

Your restraints are undone and you can’t catch yourself, but you don’t need to. Damian has you, he’s lowering you to the ground, crouching with you, still saying something you can’t make out as he turns his head while he talks in order to see how the others are doing. Slowly, your hearing comes back, “-got you. Should have gotten here sooner. How are you feeling,” he turned back to you, picking you up bridal side. 

“Hurs, Dee,” your words are blending, but you can’t help it. 

He exits the building with you, holding onto you tightly as he sits in the passenger seat of the batmobile. Not long after, the other vigilantes exit the building, some with villains in tow, others talking in low voices. Well, low for them. To you, it was like they were yelling directly in your ears. Your hands come up to cover your ears, letting out a distressed sound. 

Damian’s arms tighten around you as you begin to try to get out of his grasp, “loud...too loud. Hurts,” you squeeze your eyes shut. 

“Father, get us out of here now,” Damian’s voice is loud as well as he calls to his father. 

_________

You’re lucky the penthouse soundproof. Even with that, you can still hear things, but it’s all dull. Everything that happens in the penthouse, though, sounds like an airhorn in your ear. The quiet talking of the other people in the house are like shouts. The flush of the toilet is like a hurricane. The beeping of the coffee pot being done is like being right next to the tsunami siren. Not to mention every time you move, even the smallest bit, everything burns and hurts. You imagine this is how Jason Todd felt after being beaten by Joker then left to a fiery death by bomb. 

You hissed slightly as you sat up on the bed. You had to get out of here. You had to get rid of the headache. You had to go somewhere quiet...and you had just the place: your dad’s Fortress of Solitude. You stumbled into the wall as you walked to the window. 

Suddenly, Jon is in front of you, arms crossed and worry evident on his face. “Where are you going,” he asked. 

Your right hand went up to your ear as you winced. “Quiet,” you whispered. Your left hand, which you had against the wall for support, quivered. 

Jon placed both hands on your shoulders to steady you. “Let’s get you back to bed.”

“No,” you shouted. This caused Jon to jump slightly, giving you a moment to back away from him. “I-I can’t think! I can’t-I can’t concentrate! I can’t-I need-I-Hurts! Jon, it hurts! My head-My head, feels like it’s ex-exploding! I don’t care how quiet you and everyone else talks, it’s like you’re each screaming in my ears!!” By now, tears were freely falling and you had drawn a crowd. 

You backed away until your back hit a wall. The fire in your veins was back and getting worse with each breath you took. “Make it...STOP!” The temperature in the room dropped and you could only watch as each of your increased breaths cooled the room even more. “What’s happening to me,” your voice cracked, as did the mirror on your wall from the amount of ice piled on it. 

Damian was in front of you, placing one hand on your knee and the other on your cheek. “Beloved, you need to calm down. I will help you figure it out, but I need you to calm down...you’re scaring me.” The fact that Damian Wayne admitted that he was scared was enough to get your attention. You stared directly at him, nodding slightly. 

“Damian, I’m scared. Everything hurts. I can’t think-I can’t-I can’t focus...Veins on fire.” You shut your eyes, letting out a shaky breath. You let out a scream intentionally and stood abruptly. “Injection. Lex,” you closed your eyes, trying to bring the words to your lips, “injected me with something.” You could tell your body was shaking but you couldn’t focus on it. Get it together, Kent. “Black was-Black-in my head. Changed things. Put things in.”

The different heart beats in the room were going at different speeds. It created an unsteady thrum that you couldn’t help but focus on. “What kind of things did he change,” Conner asked as quietly as he could, at least you thought he was trying for your benefit to be quiet. 

You still winced at his voice, slowly sitting on the edge of your bed. “Thoughts. Feelings. All fucked up.” You put your face in your hands, trying to scrub away the tears that had fallen. “My fault. All my fault. Stupid. Idiot,” you mumbled. “Feels like-like mind’s splitting in two.”

“That’s probably an accurate description. You didn’t fully complete Lex’s plan before we interrupted. From what Conner and Jon heard, you were either supposed to be dead or under their control. Black was probably implanting memories and changing your beliefs and didn’t get to finish. Your core beliefs are fighting what he changed making your mind fight itself. As for what he injected you with, I’m running that through my systems to figure out what it was. Alfred and Stephanie are tracking down the exact components of it to see if we can create something to counteract it.” Bruce slowly stepped forward. “You just need to hold on. Clark’s almost back to Earth. We’re going to figure this out.”

___________

You’d finally passed out around five a.m. Looking at the clock, it didn’t seem worth it. Six fifteen a.m. You went through your morning routine on autopilot. You felt numb. You looked at yourself in the mirror, wincing at your battered body. You couldn’t feel it, but it sure as hell look like it hurts. Now that you think about it, you should be more worried that you couldn’t feel anything. You were battered enough that your makeup didn’t even cover the bruising. 

You rolled your eyes and walked out of your room and to the kitchen. You were slightly surprised to see almost everyone sitting around the living area/kitchen. You hadn’t heard them moving around. You grabbed a plate and grabbed portions of eggs and grits. You decided to take it back to your room as all of the convenient seats were taken. 

Before you could walk back to your room, a hand landed on your shoulder and turned you around. You cocked your head, why didn’t he just call for you? Dick’s mouth was moving, but you couldn’t hear his voice. The confusion must have shown on your face as Damian and your brothers approached. As much as you wanted to figure out what was wrong with your hearing, you couldn’t help but not care about it. You handed Dick your plate and turned around, locking the door behind you.

You finished your morning routine and deciding on a hat for today so that you could hide some of your bruised face. You had to get to work. You had an article due today after all. As you approved your look in the mirror, you walked out the door of your room. You gave the usual parting words to Grayson as you neared the front door, “don’t do anything stupid that I have to save your ass from today, Grayson.”

You had just made it out the door when there was another hand gripping your shoulder. You huffed and jerked out of their hold to come face to face with your father. His mouth moved and you barely made out the words ‘you’re hurt. You need to rest and heal.’ You shook your head and backed away from him. 

“Article due today. Gotta finish it. I feel fine,” the truth was you didn’t feel anything at all. His arm moved quickly to grip you again, but you jerked back again, glaring at your father. “Don’t make me do something I’ll regret later, Daddy.”

Jon was on your right side and Conner on your left. Both their mouths were moving, but you couldn’t concentrate on one of them to figure out what they were saying. You started to walk away from them again. You didn’t hesitate to fight against the next hand that grabbed you. You swung the arm over you, disorienting your brother before popping his shoulder out of its socket and shoving him hard enough into the wall to leave a Jon sized print.

You didn’t bother to stop to apologize, just continued to your car. This time no one stopped you. 

(Third Person POV)

Damian wasn’t sure what was going on with you. It scared him. The previous day when he couldn’t figure out how to comfort you and make the pain go away, he felt like a complete failure. He’d finally been able to get you to go to sleep around five and had promptly found his father and the others in the living area to figure out what to do to help you.

About an hour later, you walked out of the room like you were back to your old self. Like nothing had happened the previous day. Dick excused himself from the conversation as you reappeared with a plate of food, heading for your room. “(Y/N)! What are you doing up? I would think you’d be resting.” She didn’t respond. “(Y/N)?”

He placed a hand on your shoulder and you turned around, cocking your head in question. “Are you alright? How are you feeling this morning? (Y/N), can you understand me?” Each question was followed with her brow furrowing. Damian, Conner, and Jon approached you while Dick held your attention.

By the time Damian had an idea of what was wrong, you were already back in your room. He tried the door, but it was locked. He thought of picking the lock, but maybe you just needed some time to yourself. 

When you came walking through the room again, this time looking like you were going out, Damian was out of his seat quicker than any of the others. “(Y/N), where are you going? You should be resting.” It didn’t seem as if you’d heard him. 

“Don’t do anything stupid that I have to save your ass from today, Grayson,” you called as you grabbed your keys and proceeded out the door.

Clark was right behind you, gripping your shoulder. “I think there’s something wrong with your hearing, Sweetheart.” You turned in his grip, shrugging out of it. “You’re hurt. You need to rest and heal.” 

Damian watched as your face hardened and you glared at your father. He had never seen you act this way around Clark Kent. You adored him. Sure, there were times when you argued with your father about missions, but he had never seen this pure hatred that crossed across your face. “Article due today. Gotta finish it. I feel fine.” Your voice was a little loud which supports the theory that your hearing could be shot from the previous day.

He watched as you jerked away from your father’s grip again. If you had been an animal, he could imagine your hackles rising and you growling to ward off a predator or unwanted visitor. “Don’t make me do something I’ll regret later, Daddy,” you practically spat the last word. By this time, Jon and Conner had closed in on both sides, making a narrow opening for your to walk through. 

“(Y/N), Sis, this isn’t you. I think it’s best that we keep you here for today. Let us help you,” Jon held his hands out complacently. 

“(Y/N/N), please. We don’t want to hurt you anymore than you already have been. Let’s go back inside,” Conner tried. 

He watched as you walked away from them. “Jon, don’t-” Damian tried to call out as he saw Jon reach for you. Your demeanor suggested that another attempt to stop you would end up with one of your family hurt. You tossed him like a rag doll, dislocating his shoulder and pushing him hard enough in the wall to leave an imprint. Jon called out in pain as you walked away. Something was very wrong...and Damian was going to figure it out.

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