#And the ghosts from gotham are a different breed

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 97

Hear me out. You listening? Reading? Good. 

 Cryptid batfam, but they’re very ecto-contaminated. I mean, in some continuities they straight up have a lazarus pit in the batcave. At least five of them have died before! Everyone in Gotham is ecto-contaminated in some way or the other- there’s a reason normal poisons don’t really work or how they’re not lead poisoned despite Gotham canonically being half made in its entirety with lead mixed in. Now everyone is variously ecto-contaminated, some more than others. But the batclan, who have a lazarus pit? Who have died and returned or been born from those waters? 

Liminal. Hella liminal. That pit is exposed, there’s nothing stopping the ecto energy! There’s already another lazarus pit under Gotham itself! And curses! And several pits of hell and temples to gods! Batman canonically had a portal opened on top of him by Barbatos- hell he was the portal. Sound familiar? 

Now imagine you are a normal goon. You might have a bit of eye-shine, but that’s nothing new here in Gotham. You’re a henchman, you do the job, get paid, hope you don’t die, and go home to pay your bills. Batman? No idea what that is, you think it’s some sort of hazing. Robin? Yeah right. But you swear that light was on over there, you know you put those boxes up in the proper way, so how did it fall? That window didn’t have a crack on it, and you can feel eyes on you. And it’s not the way you’re used to, like a mugger or something, no this is something worse. 

 This is something actively hunting you, and you can’t tell where it is. 

[tanglepelt]

Run Ghost Run 9

A03 Master Prev Next

Tim talks to Danny. Jason makes progress with Danny.

The traffic light café was good as a place as any. Really Danny wasn’t picky. He didn’t know the area or what else was around.

The café took its name seriously. The entire cafe looked like someone barfed up red, yellow, and green. Tables and chairs clash against each other. The only normal part of the whole café was where you ordered. A standard corner counter. Coffee machines and flavoring on the wall. Cash register upfront.

They sectioned off the tables from where you ordered with rope barriers.

The cash register was oddly placed. Scooted at the edge on the opposite side. A special menu has plenty of room up front. It’s like they fully expected someone to grab it and run.

The colors made him think of that kid, Robin.

Right now, the café was empty. Drinks sat on the counter a few iced drinks and hot drinks in to-go cups his best guess would be mobile orders. The mug is probably a worker's drink. The café had just opened. So, it was around 6 am.

The cashier had rushed to the back to grab the till. Left him all alone up front. That was until he felt a chill.

He felt it even before the bell rang. Another contaminated. A guy with black hair and blue eyes. Just a tad taller than him. He wasn’t sure why. But the guy looked at him as if he knew him. It gave him stalker vibes.

You know that second-look type thing. Except his posture stayed the same and his head didn’t move. Either this guy is very good at concealing his emotions or Danny was being paranoid again.

Considering everything that moved seemed to set him off. The latter was more likely. At this point, he just needed to expect everyone to set off his radar.  

Danny planned to keep his order simple. No sugary concoction just an iced americano and a croissant. Nothing too awful. Honestly, who knows? It could cause gut problems. Coffee was not the best thing to be having. He didn’t care. Caffeine was essential.

He could feel the guy behind him still.

He was a weird one. Offering to pay for his items albeit forcefully. The dude came in front of him slamming a card down. Which was nice and all. This guy was just a tad bit intense. You didn’t do that back in Amity. Everyone in amity knew one another. You only bought things for friends and ppl you cared about. Not for some rando.

The guy introduced himself, Timothy Drake, call him Tim. He looked like he needed a nap, maybe a full night of sleep. His bags had bags. Getting coffee wouldn’t help that. Danny shouldn’t judge to harshly seeing as he was doing the same thing. The dude got 5 shots of espresso in a mug. The way the lady taking orders looked at him made it seem like a frequent order.

Tim kept trying to make conversation while they were waiting. Danny was hardly paying attention to him. Just enough to not be rude. He did buy his drink after all. When Danny had his drink, he had gone towards the exit. Danny stopped in his tracks to turn and face Tim. There is no way he just said he jumped out a window to get coffee.

“You… jumped out a window??? For coffee” He was not ready for what Tim had to say next

“Sneaking out of windows is my thing. Used to use them to go look for Batman and Robin.”

This guy was a whole different breed. He was essentially admitting to stalking them. How else would he know all these stories about Batman and Robin? There was no other explanation he was certainly way too old to be Robin and wasn’t the same build as Batman. Definitely a stalker.

The stories he had about them while impressive, the good in Gotham and all. It sounded like they cared a lot about Gotham. Heros themselves seemed to be attached to the government. Now he was most likely a wanted fugitive.

So that’s a no from him.

******

Jason has been doing his best to avoid his family. He’s seen the messages on the chat. There is no way he’s admitting that what happened to the replacement and Damian happened to him.  He would ignore the whole glowing green situation.

No involvement from him.

Besides nothing has happened to him since then. He doesn’t want to deal with their constant worry and attempts would surely happen to keep him in. Jason did not have to follow orders from Bruce.

The bats had been busy handling the batgirl crises to get on his case. Jason wouldn’t be surprised if they just forgot to turn their comms back on. Steph did fake her own death before.

Any situation those two got in. They could handle it. Regardless he had his own mess to handle right now. There was a new gang messing with his territory adding in the fact they’ve been using children; he’s got his work cut out for him.

Then the weird dreams of some lady in black. She always faded in and out from white to black. Jason noticed the little crown holding her veil up. One with little bats at the tips of the points. All saying a prince needed help. Without it, there would be consequences. It had been non-stop. The last few nights had been restless.

Red Hood still had to patrol despite these dreams. Make sure he didn’t lose any street credit.

He had been alerted to a kid being spit out by a shadow. Could very well be the one Duke saw. His first guess was a meta with some form of teleportation power. Potentially two working together. Worst case scenario kid got nabbed by a meta. Which just wouldn’t do.

No kids getting hurt on his turf. It’s a well-known rule. He always followed through.

Potential metas in Gotham are not great. Nothing against the superpowered. It’s just that if they are easily manipulated or misled, they would end up as pawns. That would be bad for all parties involved. Gotham likes to twist and corrupt people.

If someone got their hands on a meta kid, it could be disastrous. Depending on the control of his powers he could injure someone or reveal his powers to the wrong person. Traffickers were still out in Gotham some prepared for metas. Who’s managed to get a hold of power suppressants.

He’s cleaned the streets of the worst of them. More always just showed up. Metas and children would be best to stay away from crime alley. He’d have to handle this efficiently.

Plan was simple. Get to the alley he was last spotted. Begin to search for him. Then one of two things. Ensure the kid safely got out of Gotham or take care of a potential trafficker and get the kid out of Gotham. The unlikely chance the kid wasn’t running from something and got displaced from his family. Jason would help get them reunited.

Scouting out for the kid was easy. He noticed him from the roof. Only for the kid to whip his head right at him. The best even scrounged up his nose as if he caught a wiff of something disgusting.

Look like he was going to have to act. If the kid spotted him following him would yield no results. Seeing as the kid was out alone no one in sight. Approaching may just work. With the shadow report in mind, he was going to have to watch his back. I’m the chance a shadow launched itself at him. He had a bright light on him. Light makes shadows stop, who knows it could have the same properties.

The closer he got he could see the kid had just checked out as well and the closer the temperature dropped.

Only jolting when he landed in front of him. Falling straight on his butt as a reaction.

Jason was able to look him over. It was the same kid from the library. The photo did not do justice to the kid’s injuries. His eye was dark more swollen the marks on the wrist looked far worse. The sweatshirt had rolled up from the fall.

The rope burns on his wrist were red and bruised. The very edges were puffy and a deep red line through the center. Cuffs had cut into the right where the burns were. Less then a week. His eye was swollen with deep red bags underneath them. Danny if he recalls the name properly was ghostly pale.

This was done against his will. Kid fought back causing the fallout to be worse. Someone purposely bound him. Jason had no doubts. Whoever hurt the kid had done so intentionally. Barbara had relayed the ecto acts to them and how to find them.

He looked them up. Pain to find.

Read them.

They needed to go.

Everything pointed to Danny running away. Which is expected when someone has the injuries he has. Having a full bag meant he knew there was a chance it was going to happen or had outside help.

The fall he took most of set off a hidden injury. He could smell iron in the air. Somewhere the kid was bleeding. And it had to be a lot. There was no playing nice. Danny was a flight risk. Jason had to change his stance in preparation for him to flee. The brat kept playing off the injury with a simple it will heal. Yea no. He heard the kid wince.

Danny was getting medical attention and protection. If the government was after him claiming, he was un-sentient and unable to feel pain he wasn’t going back. They were fooling themselves to get away with sentencing an entire species to experimentation or eradication.

He went to grab the kid. Only for his hand to phase through him. Danny looked like he was flickering going from translucent to fully visible. A meta maybe an alien, of some kind. If he listened to the government likely an ecto entity. It tracked. The research and running were factors in favor of him being an ecto entity.

As Danny moved so did the chill. Tracking his movement was easier with that. A second attempt for the same result. Where his hand had gone through was freezing. It had to be at least 5 degrees cooler than everywhere else.

He followed until he went through a building. One after another. When he lost sight, he tried to follow the chill in the air. Only for no luck to be had.

The rest of the patrol was searching. No luck. He was about ready to text the chat. Then Dick texted.

He had eyes on him.

Only for said brat to jump off the roof.

Jason was hoping he used his powers to land in the sewers below Gotham. Now Jason should have informed the chat about the intangibility. Confirm the suspicions of him being a Meta. Given he disappeared from the ground he’s sure they know that part. The intangibility part is probably not. The running theory in the chat was teleportation. Jason didn’t buy that. The kid ran from him through the buildings and didn’t disappear in the shadows. There could be limitations on his powers making it only useable so often so he couldn’t fully dismiss it.

If he did text the chat, it's headache city. He’d get lectured for ghosting them and he didn’t want to deal with that. Then chewed out for not reporting his encounter with Danny earlier. Besides Jason wanted to get Danny first.

The others were a bit much.

So here he was out in Gotham midafternoon. It’s not like he had a day job. His plan was to stake out the area to see if he could spot him. Walking around as Jason Todd. He had a bag with a mask and a red jacket. If he ran into him, he’d try the Red Hood first. Maybe a less intense approach. Not so grabby. Mention he is a crime lord. That way the kid would at least know he had nothing positive with the government. If anything, he was a wanted man.

Jason didn’t have all the facts. Enough to know the kid had every right to be wary of anything government related. He’d end up trusting a criminal much quicker than any government official. Although loose as they were the bats and birds had connections. They could be found online. The kid is obviously trying the whole solo thing. It couldn’t last forever.

The intangibility would be a problem. Perhaps the flickering wasn’t normal. He seemed to struggle through it. His breathing had picked up. Throughout the encounter, the temperature was constant. If he went closer the temp dropped. Thermals may come in handy in a search. He’d go that route if he failed to find him. There is always the chance the kid got spooked and ditched town.

For now, walking by back alleys would be his best bet.

Jason heard it before he saw it. The sounds of a mugger demanding money from someone. Then the sounds of a body falling on the ground. The same voice that lied about being fine was now complaining about spilling his new iced americano.

Was the kid a coffee addict like the replacement?

Grabbing his mask and jacket. He walked into the alley. It was a small space. About the width of two cars. A full dumpster in the alley. Behind the kid, there was a guy in a mask unconscious. The dude got what he deserved and was drenched in coffee. He’d take care of him after he dealt with the brat. Danny himself didn’t look so good.

He was sitting on the ground against the wall. Arm positioned over his stomach. Pain is evident even with his eyes closed. Much like their first meeting. Considering Danny hadn’t noticed him. This time he stood a chance. Danny looked like he was about to pass out. Could be as easy as grabbing the child.

The kid seemed to slump. Jason got directly in front of him with no reaction. Did he pass out?

Perfect time to try just grabbing him. No reaction when he touched his shoulders. He could be seriously injured even if he didn’t see them right off the back. He’s guessing he jolted the kid wrong when getting him in position. He was met with a bite on his shoulder. It went through his jacket.

Jason is positive he heard Danny hissing as well.

“This is the worst kidnapping attempt. 0 out 10” That opened a whole new line of questions.

“You’re the one passed out in an alley next to a mugger.”

Jason could hear the disappointment in Danny’s words “That was good coffee too.”

“Gonna run the minute I put you down or just plan to go intangible again.”

The air around them got colder than it had been. His foot especially. Huh. Not just intangibility. The brat froze his boot to the ground. Not that well, if he wanted, he could just pull his foot out.

“How about you just let me down and chill out.” Dick would like this kid.

“You need medical attention” Jason had an idea “If you’d rather ill call an ambulance, they get close and ill ditch. Don’t want any run-ins with the authorities myself.”

“NO. No cops no ambulances.” There was worry laced in his voice. He could work with this.

“Cool. We can just hang out here then” Kid wasn’t going to get out without using his abilities. He hadn’t yet so it seemed less and less likely.

“I’m fine” The go-to saying.

“Three choices. Me the crime lord, the ambulance, or we can stand here indefinitely. I’m sure one of those vigilantes will show their faces.”

“a crime lord?” The voice he spoke in led Jason to believe this might just work out.

“yup” Plain and simple. It was silent for about five or so minutes when the kid finally spoke.

“Fine. I’ll go with you. No cop or those weird vigilantes”

The ice disappeared and Jason let him down. He was happy to relieve him of his bag. Little incentive to have him not run. Danny was pouting and annoyed at the situation. Complaining that he was fine. The go-to lie. That he could carry his bag and walk just fine. Then dropped like a sack of rocks. Jason may have underestimated how badly he was injured. Getting him to a safe house would be simpler at least.

Once he was back in a safe-house kid passed out on the couch. He looked him over for any major injuries. Kid's torso was wrapped completely in bandages, the wrist burn he was aware of, and only several small surface-level wounds, which he tended to. Jason wasn’t going to do anything too invasive. The brat would no doubt run if he did. Its not like he would be able to keep him in the room easily. Intangibility and all, not to mention the ice powers.

He supposed it was time to hop back in the chat.

Red Hood: kids a meta who goes intangible and has some form of ice power.

Nightwing: Where have you been?

Nightwing: How do you know

Red Hood: met him obviously.

Robin: I wish to gather the knowledge of why we turned green. He fled the previous attempt.

Red Hood: so your saying the kid on the run. Likely has a government agency after him and you guys approached as a vigilante?

Nightwing: technically

Red Robin: i said he’d run

Red Hood: Kids going to be terrified of you guys. Be real with yourselves and think for a second.

Red Hood: whose the kid going to trust? The crime lord or the vigilantes.

Red hood: don’t answer. Seeing as he’s on my couch now.

[ggomos-maribat]

Secrets, Thrice Divulged

Part 4 of Heirs Apparent | AO3

Masterlist

Words in bold italics are spoken in Arabic. CW: mild blood, violence, vehicle accident

Danny didn't believe in luck.

He'd grown up in the League, where he had been waltzing with death, where he had close calls and near-misses. Where he was taught that one slip-up, one gap in his skills made him doubt he was going to be alive in the next morning. He didn't entertain the idea of luck, not when he found his passion in astrophysics. Things didn't happen by mere luck; there was only probability and chance. Even in his transition into a halfa, he knew it wasn't completely random, not when his family had an entire ghost portal situated in their basement.

But if luck truly did exist, he knew he had the worst one.

"I can't believe they left us here, in a different city, just because they caught a strong ecto-signature in Gotham city in the middle of the night!" His older sister's voice of complaint pulled him out of his thoughts.

Danny only smiled wryly as he watched her scowl at the two bus tickets they had to purchase themselves. Origin: Atlantic city. Destination: Gotham. What could they expect from their parents except last-minute ghost-hunting trips?

"And it's not like there are tons of ghosts in Gotham---" Jazz stopped to look at him. "Are there a lot?"

"Considering that it's a breeding ground of death, emotions and obsessions, plus it's the home of one of the oldest ghosts out there, I'd say yeah," he replied, aimlessly noting the growing gray color of the sky. He recalled the rare times he was in Gotham; in terms of ectoplasm rancidity, it was just second after Amity Park.

"Still! They left one text! Didn't bother to wake us up or wait until morning." Jazz hiked her bag up her shoulders. People started to crowd around the bus in hopes of getting a decent seat. They followed along the back slowly.

Danny gave her a comforting squeeze on the shoulder. "Don't worry, it's a direct trip to Gotham. As soon as we get there, we'll find Mom and Dad, take a tour, and meet one of the Rogues or something."

Jazz said nothing but offered a weak smile, an attempt to assure him that she was trying to look at the positive side.

He looked around the area. Not a lot of buses seemed to be stopping by Gotham, so their ride seemed packed with passengers. The station was filled with the chatter of the crowd, and the air buzzed with a certain chill that made his core thrum.

Core . . . thrumming?

Danny whipped around the second he felt goosebumps trickling down his neck. His eyes met blue ones that mirrored his but he let his own gaze pass over her to avoid prolonged eye contact.

What is she doing here? Four thousand miles away from Paris? A quick discreet glance told him that she was with her friends.

His fingers twitched inside his hoodie pockets. A million questions flooded his head, but he knew he couldn't move or say anything.

Because around all these people, they weren't supposed to know each other. They were supposed to be strangers.

Before he could rearrange his thoughts, his attention zeroed in on familiar voices to his side, plus the large stocky figures brushing past him in the line.

"Take the B-mobile for a ride, he said. It'll be fun, he said."

"Okay, for the record, it was Jay who told us to take it out of Gotham---"

"Wow, selling me out right away, Dickie? Who was driving and crashed the car again? It wasn't me."

"Fools, I repeatedly said that this was a horrible idea." A huff. "I will make sure to tell Father that I had no part in this."

"One word out of you, Demon Spawn, and we're leaving you here."

Danny's mind blanked out again. His subconscious wasn't as clear-cut as his Ghost Sense, but he knew it was warning him of danger. All three of them somehow boarding one bus screamed capital D-A-N-G-E-R to him and he wanted to run, tell his siblings that this was asking for trouble.

He stepped one foot up the bus platform, holding onto the handle. What should I do? Should I turn back now? Catch the next bus? Send a signal to Akhi and Amira? Is there an assassin on the bus? His eyes darted over to the pair of tickets Jazz held. No . . . I can't do that to Jazz without a proper explanation. Not when she bought the tickets with her own money. That's not fair.

"Danny?" Jazz gazed up at him.

He swallowed, climbing up the bus. "Yeah, sorry. Just spaced out for a sec."

When they took their seats right behind the driver, he pulled up his hood to mask a part of his face. Tucker had once pointed out his resemblance to Damian Wayne but it had only been a passing comment that Jazz never heard. He didn't need her or the Wayne brothers noticing that during the bus ride.

He made a quick sweep as he noticed Marinette enter the vehicle, with a blonde boy holding her by the hand. Two of their friends followed behind with one prattling rapidly in French. Damian and his brothers were seated an aisle away from himself and Jazz, while the Parisian group took their seats at the middle of the bus.

No suspicious entities, living or otherwise, were in sight.

Danny clenched his fist inside his pocket. Both Damian and Marinette should know that the three of them were in the same ride. He figured they were trying to lay low and act normal while remaining vigilant for potential threats. Like he was.

He let himself recline on his seat as the engine revved to life and the doors folded closed.

He could only hope for the best.

---

Marinette followed behind Adrien as they walked to their bus seats, with Chloe and Alix trailing behind them. The blonde girl hadn't stopped cursing a certain classmate to hell since they found themselves stranded in Atlantic city. 

"That witch! How dare she pull off something like this?" Chloe spat out. "And Bustier! How will she take responsibility in case something happens to us? Huh?" 

Alix wrestled her down to her seat before she could alarm the other passengers. Meanwhile, Marinette tried to soothe the stirring feeling in her chest. Ever since she saw her two brothers in the station, her attention had been divided. 

"Chloe, save that energy for later when we arrive in Gotham," Adrien said calmly. "We're fine, we're not in danger, and we got our tickets. Then we'll make sure our class will face the consequences." 

He squeezed Marinette's hand as he said the words. She smiled softly in return. 

Chloe folded her arms with a defiant huff, turning her head towards the window. Alix only side-eyed her, settling on the sear beside her as a silent promise to the other two that she'll keep Chloe at bay. 

Adrien motioned to the seats in front of them. "After you, my Lady." 

"Sorry—um," she cleared her throat. "Can you take the window seat instead?" 

In case an emergency happens, a voice inside her uttered, in case I need to jump into action immediately. 

She shook her head slightly. No, Mari, don't think like that. Nothing is going to happen. 

Thankfully, Adrien let her sit near the aisle without question. He undoubtedly sensed her uneasiness but was opting to talk about it later. 

"Comfy?" He squeezed her hand again. 

Marinette scrunched her nose. The barely-cushioned seats and torn leather barely matched up to the luxury bus their class probably rode earlier that morning. Nonetheless, she didn't want to complain. 

No, I'm worried. "Yeah, comfy," she mumbled. 

Adrien hummed—bless him, he was still the sunshine he was even in the worst situations—and unzipped his bag to bring out snacks. "I bought these while you were lining up for the tickets. Eat up, princess." 

Marinette's lips parted at the gesture. Princess. It had taken her a while to warm up to the nickname since it hit too close to home. But she grew to love the endearment. 'Amira' to her brothers and mother, 'princess' to her love. 

With a small 'thank you' she accepted a packet of biscuits from him while he passed a couple snacks to Alix and Chloe. The biscuits placated her rumbling hunger but not her paranoia. Her gaze strayed towards the seats in front of them, spotting Damian's head lowered, seemingly occupied with his phone. Straight ahead of her, Danyal was buried in his hoodie, perhaps to draw less attention to himself.

No matter how badly she wanted to talk to them, she resisted the idea. If it really was a coincidence that they ended up in the same bus, she'd be exposing the three of them in more danger if she tried to communicated with either.

"Okay, I'll bite," Adrien whispered beside her, "What are you thinking about?"

She forced herself to look at the stretch of road becoming a blur as the bus sped. "Paris. I shouldn't have agreed to go on this trip . . ."

"You know Luka and Gami have it covered, right?"

"I know but," she let out an exhausted sigh, "I haven't been this far from home for this long, you know?"

His thumb traced the back of her hand. "What about that time an akuma trapped us in a pocket dimension for three days?"

She laughed. "You know that doesn't count."

"Does too." A teasing smile graced his lips which faltered when she yawned. "Hey, you can rest your head on my shoulder if you want to sleep. The ride will take a while."

Marinette rubbed her eyes. "I'll live, don't worry. I overslept this morning, remember?"

She was about to grab her water bottle when the bus suddenly lurched to the side. Her head snapped up to witness two things happen at the same time: the bus driver had slumped, unconscious, and Damian jumped to catch the man; and at the same second, Danyal himself slid to the front to steer the wheel himself.

Shouts and sounds of surprise echoed around her, but Marinette could only focus on her brothers. The bus was moving erratically, which meant that there was something wrong with the controls. She watched Danyal struggle to keep the vehicle in its lane, knuckles whitening and jaw clenched tightly. Damian was checking for the driver's pulse; his mouth was moving but she couldn't hear him over the commotion.

She had moved to the edge of the seat without her notice and the bus lurched again, this time throwing her forwards.

"—brakes! Step on the brakes!"

"I can't! It's not working!"

"Was it tampered with? Where's the emergency brakes?!"

Marinette caught her breath as she composed herself. Around her, passengers had been knocked from their seats, clinging to whatever they could get their hands on. She barely registered Adrien trying to reach for her arm—

"Shit!"

A loud screech rang out as the bus tilted, skidding through the road at an angle only to be stopped by the rails on the side of a cliff. A high-pitched scream sounded as she saw a toddler slipping from his mother's grasp, falling through the unhinged doors, leaving him to dangle at the edge.

The bus teetered a little.

Marinette released her breath, freezing in her position. She saw one of the Wayne brothers shuffle towards the child when he was stopped by Damian.

"Don't." Damian glared. "Don't or else we'll fall."

The hand was retracted. Marinette's pulse sped up as she heard the mother's whimpering sobs. Damian was still supporting the unconscious driver. Danyal had the dysfunctional breaks pressed to the floor as he desperately kept the bus in its balance.

Without thinking she spoke out loud in clear English. "I'll go."

Adrien gasped sharply. Chloe hissed her name. Her brothers turned to stare at her, along with some other passengers at the front.

"I'll go get him," she repeated in a louder tone. "I'm light enough—I think. I should be able to get him."

A soft sniff pulled her attention back to the dangling child. She was met with no disagreement (except from her friends), so she slowly began to make her way to the front, careful not to disrupt the bus. Marinette knew her actions were watched by piercing eyes and bated breaths but her instincts ignored the distractions.

The bus creaked and shook again the moment she stepped near the front doors. With one hand, she gripped the handle while the other reached for the little boy.

Marinette clenched her jaw. I can't reach him. She braved another step closer, making the bus tilt a little again. The boy's fingers were starting to slip. She took a deep breath. I have to get down there.

In one swift move, she swung herself down to hang from the bus, catching the boy at the waist before he fell. She lifted him back to the vehicle and he ran towards his mother, sobbing. 

The passengers screamed as the floor shifted again. Now it was Marinette who was at the edge of her death and we she looked down, the fall did seem unforgiving.

She bit her lip.

Any longer they stayed there, the rails were going to break.

Her head snapped up, meeting her brothers' eyes. "Drive," she commanded. "Steer the bus back to the road."

Danyal was first to speak up,, his hands tightening on the wheel. "No . . ."

---

Danyal's response was faint, but was clearly heard by Jasmine behind them and Damian's brothers, who were now staring holes to the back of his head. 

He knew it was uncharacteristic of him to jump to help in that emergency—it was more of Grayson's thing. But he'd seen Danyal rush to the wheel and he had felt himself jump into the action at the same time. 

He looked at Marinette, feeling utterly helpless as he saw her hanging. Yet her eyes told a different story, passing on a message that said 'trust me', like she'd always silently say during their missions together.

And Danyal seemingly got the hint.

Damian watched as his brother floored the accelerator this time, directing the wheel to the far left to swerve them out of the edge of the cliff. Marinette had flipped with the perfect timing, propping herself back on the bus as the doors closed. The wheels were still moving erratically, but he could tell that Danyal had better control this time.

The bus jerked from side to side this time, rattling every passenger on board. Finally—finally—Damian saw the lever for the emergency brakes at the bottom of the dashboard. He leapt, pulled on it, and sent the bus skidding before it slid to a halt.

Damian released a breath he didn't know he was holding.

---

With the Wayne boys' help, the bus passengers immediately filed out the beat-up vehicle. Damian himself had help from Jason carrying the unconscious driver over to the side of the road while Dick and Tim checked the civilians for injuries. 

If Jason kept burning his gaze into Damian, he pretended not to notice. Dick joined them not long after to help look over the driver. 

The eldest Wayne put two fingertips at the man's neck. "Poison?" 

"Possibly," Damian replied, "but no warning signs before the trip began." 

"If he was poisoned during the ride, we would've noticed that," Jason said. 

Damian looked back at the bus. Obviously, the accident was deliberate, one targeting him and his siblings if he could take his best guess. But knowing the League, the incident could only be the beginning. He forced himself to be more aware, observing each detail in his surroundings. They could be anywhere. 

As his eyes scanned the people around, he caught sight of the mother of the child earlier, profusely thanking Marinette. In another spot, Jasmine was talking to Danyal, perhaps scolding him for the rash action while tapping through her phone to find another way to get to Gotham.

"What was that?" Jason's voice cut through his thoughts. 

He raised an eyebrow. "What was what?" 

"You know what." 

His brothers' curious eyes told him of every unspoken question. Why'd you jump into danger like that? Who was that boy you looked like? 

Why did it seem like you knew him and that girl? 

"I do not know what you're talking about, Todd," he lied. 

"Damian, is there something you need to tell us?" asked Dick. 

Damian's jaw tensed. Can they not tell that I cannot talk about it at the moment?  "There is nothing," he answered brusquely before walking towards the bus. 

"Where are you going?" Dick called out to him. Damian saw no need to reply, picking up his pace towards the vehicle. 

If it were the League that was after them, it was most likely the opposite faction. Talia's way of communicating was more discreet if she wanted to bring them back to base. So it was safer to assume that they were dealing with hostiles. He stepped into the bus, first inspecting the driver's side.

As he expected, the brakes had been tampered with, along with the other controls. Movement caught his periphery and he turned to see both Danyal and Marinette checking on the perimeter as well. He was about to join them when he heard a click and felt something cool pressed against the side of his head. 

 From the reflections on the windows, he could see his siblings in the same predicament, cornered by assassins. He made a quick check. Civilians were still in the area and they couldn't make the scuffle too loud. Not to mention, his brothers were probably headed that way. 

But the three of them didn't need seclusion. They could make it swift and clean. On the right timing, Damian swung at the arm holding the gun as the others did the same. He quickly disarmed the man and kicked him out of the bus, immediately going for the other attackers. He didn't need to look to know that his siblings were retaliating in sync—with Marinette wielding her pocket knife and Danyal reusing the same gun he took. 

Damian steadied his breaths as he spotted more assassins come their way. Where did they all come from? Slowly but surely, the three backed up against each other. As Damian blocked an incoming punch, he swiped the spare knife his sister offered behind him while she jabbed her own knife into an attacker's shoulder. He tsked, knowing their goal was to tire them out rather than actually harm them. If they didn't finish up on time, there was trouble waiting. 

And his siblings knew that. 

"We can't stay here for long," he whispered. 

"No shit, Sherlock." Danyal leapt and kicked another assassin. "Should I overshadow them?" 

"You know you can't," Marinette hissed, propelling another to pin down another. 

"Stop!" 

Damian whipped around at the harsh Arabic tone and they all halted. Approaching them slowly were their companions held hostage by one assassin each. His brothers were held at gunpoint while the others—Jasmine and Marinette's friends—had knives pressed to their throats. Simultaneous clicks echoed around. 

He couldn't meet their eyes. 

He shouldn't have gone on that bus.

"Let them go." Danyal's jaw clenched, looking at his adoptive sister. 

"Drop your weapons," the same assassin ordered. "Hands where we can see them." 

Slowly, Damian set his knife on the ground and raised his arms. Danyal dropped his gun and kicked it away. A livid Marinette threw down her blade. 

"Now let them go," Danyal repeated calmly in their mother tongue. "Release them and you can take us." 

"Quiet!" 

"You only want us—" 

"I said quiet!" 

A gunshot sounded. 

"Akhi!"  "Danny!" 

A second later, Danyal was clutching his side where the bullet grazed him. Jasmine was trembling with unshed tears as the knife lightly swiped her skin when she tried to move. Marinette, on the other hand, looked just about ready go pounce. 

Damian stilled.  

He hadn't seen Danyal bleed in years. 

He hadn't seen Danyal bleed in years. 

Of course he would let the bullet hit him. He couldn't turn intangible in front of their enemies. 

"All of you will follow us," the assassin commanded. "Make one move and we kill one by one."  

Dread gurgled at the pit of Damian's stomach. He could only guess where they were being taken to. He hated nothing else but having his hands tied in that situation. If their friends and family weren't held captive, the three of them would've obliterated the group in minutes. 

Marinette moved towards Danyal and the gun raised again. She leveled the assassins with a glare rivalling that of Bruce's, spitting out, "Where is your respect to the amira and amir? He needs medical attention." 

If not for their predicament, Damian would've laughed at how their captors shivered involuntarily. These assassins who belong to the other faction are not new, he pondered, they know us as the heirs. 

He could only watch as Marinette tore a piece of cloth from her jacket and wrapped it snugly around their brother's wound. It was a practiced action, almost reminiscent of their childhood days. Danyal muttered a soft thanks, squeezing her hand after she finished up. 

Damian only had a few seconds to glance at his brothers' reactions before the hostages were blindfolded, roughly led by the assassins. 

Somehow, only the faces of hurt and betrayal were seared into his mind. 

Support me through Ko-fi :)

[astudyinfreewill]

hey did i ever mention that for a few days back in ye olde 2014, before s10 ever aired, i became briefly deeply obsessed with the idea of demon!dean becoming the new cain and recruiting demon!bela to be his second-in-command aka the new abaddon? i even decided i would write a multichapter fic about it but only ever published two chapters because 1) hyperfixation ran out and 2) i really didn’t think the plot through very hard other than “dean and bela being sexy narrative mirrors again except this time they’re Evil and Doing Crime for fun”. and frankly i think that was a good concept if not very well planned out!! sexier than the actual demon!dean arc we got at least!!

ANYWAY i never finished the fic but more importantly i DID make a playlist for it on 8tracks (because those were the cursed pre-spotify days) and while that playlist is also EXTREMELY 2014 i simply refuse to be embarrassed about it bc it DOES have bangers on it, and it’s, to this day,  the only spn playlist i have ever made (yes. an au demon!dean and demon!bela playlist. i don’t know either. life is wild y’all). so i’m bringing it back like a ~blast from the past~ (and YES i even made a poorly edited cover and tracklist. what was i gonna do, simply not make a cd leaflet?! it was 2014.) you’re welcome ✨

it’s 2021 babey and you can listen to the playlist here ✨

(but because spotify is ~too cool~ to list dodgy youtube remixes and i want you to have the FULL cheesy 2014 throwback experience, here is the skorge remix of “sail” and here is the glitch mob remix of “seven nation army” )

and because i was a complete floozy for lyrics even 7 years ago... you can find the extended tracklist with significant lyric snippets under the cut. enjoy besties 💕

1. Feral Love // Chelsea Wolfe

Run from the light Your eyes black like an animal Deep in the water

2. Back In Black // AC/DC

Forget the hearse, ‘cause I’ll never die I got nine lives, cat’s eyes, using every one of them and runnin’ wild 'Cause I’m back, yes I’m back, well I’m back, yes I’m back Well I’m back in black, yes I’m back in black

3. Seven Devils - Florence + The Machine

Holy water cannot help you now A thousand armies couldn’t keep me out I don’t want your money, I don’t want your crown See, I’ve come to burn your kingdom down

4. Lilith // Susanne Sundfør

As you lie across the table you swear and rhyme You lie across the table, you swear and rhyme Thinking that someone might suit your body

5. Sinister Kid // The Black Keys

I’ve got a tortured mind, and my blade is sharp A bad combination in the dark

6. Heaven Knows // The Pretty Reckless

Oh, Lord, Heaven knows we belong way down below Oh, Lord, tell us so, we belong way down below Way down below, way down below

7. Small Pack of Wolves // Ramin Djawadi

(instrumental)

8. You’re Going Down // Sick Puppies

Define your meaning of 'war’ To me it’s what we do when we’re bored I feel the heat comin’ off of the blacktop And it makes me want it more

9. An I For An I // IAMX

Apocalypse and rapture signing in (An eye for an eye) If you’re not with us, you’re against (An eye for an eye)

10. Lose Control // Evanescence

Mary had a lamb, his eyes black as coals If we play very quiet, my lamb, Mary never has to know

11. Hey Man Nice Shot // Filter

Now that the smoke’s gone and the air is all clear Those who were right there got a new kind of fear

12. Sail (Skorge Remix) // Awolnation

Maybe I’m a different breed Maybe I’m not listening (Sail with me into the dark)

13. Addiction // Ramin Djawadi

(instrumental)

14. Animal I Have Become // Three Days Grace

So what if you can see the darkest side of me? No one will ever change this animal I have become

15. My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark // Fall Out Boy

Burn everything you love, then burn the ashes In the end, everything collides My childhood spat back out the monster that you see

16. Problem // Natalia Kills

We're hell raising and we don’t need saving 'Cause there’s no salvation for a bad girl We’re rock bottom but there ain’t no stopping 'Cause they don’t know nothing about love We're hell raising and we don’t need saving 'Cause there’s no salvation for a bad boy We’re rock bottom but there ain’t no stopping 'Cause it’s you and me against the world

17. Smells Like Teen Spirit // Nirvana

Hello, hello, hello - how low? With the lights out it’s less dangerous Here we are now, entertain us

18. Everybody Wants To Rule The World // Lorde

Welcome to your life: there’s no turning back Even while we sleep we will find you Acting on your best behavior Turn your back on Mother Nature

19. Gotham’s Reckoning // Hans Zimmer

(instrumental)

20. Seven Nation Army (The Glitch Mob Remix) // White Stripes

Everyone knows about it From the Queen of England to the hounds of Hell

21. Iron // Woodkid

The sound of iron shocks is stuck in my head The thunder of the drum dictates The rhythm of the falls, the number of deaths

22. Get Lucky // Halestorm

Like the legend of the phoenix All ends with beginnings

23. Bottom Of The River // Delta Rae

The wolves will chase you by the pale moonlight (Drunk and driven by a devil’s hunger) Drive your son like a railroad spike (Into the water, let it pull him under) Don’t you lift him, let him drown alive (The good Lord speaks like a rolling thunder)

24. Counting Bodies Like Sheep To The Rhythm of The War Drums // A Perfect Circle

I’ll be the one to protect you from your enemies and all your demons I’ll be the one to protect you from a will to survive and a voice of reason

25. Animals // Martin Garrix

(instrumental)

26. And The World Was Gone // Snow Ghosts

I wish you’d felt me falling I wish you’d watched over me But I blinked and the world was gone

[dercolaris]

Among Us

The rogues are playing some Among Us and having fun. 

Please have mercy. It’s my first time writing in English, so... Enjoy!

And if you have some new ideas for me (and like my style of course) just say a word. I will try to work a bit more in English.

________________________________________________

Clearly no one of the famous villains thought about playing Among Us and if someone would've asked them about it they would strongly deny it ever touching this stupid, little game. Still it actually happened on a very calm weekend in Gotham City. Elise smiled widely, started the little program on her own PC. The young woman tried to convince the crew for about seven weeks before she finally succeeded in getting everyone on board. Especially her mentor wasn't delighted by the whole idea, but said yes anyway, after a small tantrum. Jonathan himself was sitting behind her in front of his old laptop and the furiously clicking sound of the mouse was a clear sign that he wasn't really knowing what he was doing at the moment. If not for the noises, his constant sighing and mumbling was explanation enough for his serious troubles in handling a 'modern' computer. The amber haired snickered calmly. She would need to help him sooner or later. Ignoring the desperation parade of Crane, the mistress of fear opened Team Speak and joined the server Edward created particularly for this evening. She hummed a bit while waiting impatiently, played a short game of minesweeper to pass some time. Suddenly the cocky voice of the Riddler rumbled through her earphones: “It's about time. Damn, I waited for about an hour or so. What took you so long, princess? Seriously. I'm wasting my precious time for a silly game like this and you've nothing better to do than let me rot while watching the pointer of the clock moving in slow motion.” Elise couldn't contain an amused laughter. It was always fun to listen to his ranting – even more when he was pissed. Before she could answered the tinkerer a low female voice snarled in the chat: “Eddy, please. Give her a moment and calm down. You're acting like a diva right now.” The addressed man snorted in disbelief, but remained silent after the unexpected backtalk from Selina. The mistress of fear glanced through the party on the server and raised an eyebrow, tapped on her bottom lip repeatedly. Jonathan wasn't on it now, of course not, but she missed a certain polish guy. Mikołaj was fire and flames after she told him her idea, but who knew if he would really join them in the end. He was busy most of the times. Rape, murder, burglary, selling human meat and spreading chaos. The typical Mikołaj stuff. Beside the missing psychopath Victor was ready to give it a try, also a very insecure Jervis and, to her surprise, even Harley. Only Ivy couldn't have make it to the meeting. The bioterrorist was probably occupied with breeding a new plant or cursing at polluters in the subway near by her apartment. “Can we start now?”, asked the lively voice of the former clown lover, “I want to be an imposter! I heard so much about it and from what I understand it sounds like a hell lot of fun.” An unexpected loud grunting noise behind her let Elise giggled in glee. Her mentor was constantly trying to start the game, but failed every single time. The young woman stand up slowly and moved to him, peeked over his shoulder and looked puzzled on his desktop. She blinked two times before she asked gently: “Uhm, professor... Do you want to explain, why you're typing Google in Google.com all over again? I guess you don't know how to use your laptop, right?”

 The brown haired grumbled in frustration, but nodded restrainedly. The mistress of fear smiled and reached over the tall man, setted all the required programs for him. After a while she handed him the clunky headset. The amber haired returned quickly to her computer and sat back on the very comfortable stool, looked again into the chat room. From a far distance Jervis was whispering something, but no one could really understand him because of a terrible internet connection. Finally Jonathan joined the party. He was about to say something as a loud clapping sound left him speechless for a moment. Scarecrow swallowed his anger down his throat and simply muttered into his microphone: “Thank you all. I appreciate the honest enthusiasm.” Everyone in the chat room laughed for nearly a minute before Edward rudely replied: “It's a miracle that your potato is capable of running this game, John. What are you using anyway? A C64? It must be falling apart just by looking at it and you can't prove me wrong on this one. Doctor Jonathan Ichabod Crane isn't using new technology even if his life would depend on it!” Jonathan inhaled sharply, but stayed calm. It was clear that he didn't wanted to start a fight this early on the evening. Suddenly a cheeky, manly voice out of nowhere greeted impolitely: “Hey bitches. Daddy's here with his enormous cock to fuck all of your nice sweet little pussies.” A general groan chimed trough the headphones. Mikołaj. The Pole was causing serious headaches as soon as he entered the game lobby and he was probably enjoying it already. The devilish snicker was an unmistakable indication for this assumption. All of the sudden the cryologist spoke calmly to the crew: “It would be nice if we could behave for at least one round. Is that possible?” Without a warning the Riddler started the game. He himself changed his light green avatar in advance, but everyone else hadn't had a chance to customise the player model. Nevertheless for some strange reason Jonathan's orange crewmate was wearing an egg on his head. No one in the chat room was brave enough to ask for justification. After some seconds Jervis delayed voice blared almost painfully in everyone's ears: “Excuse me, but am I allowed to ask politely how to play this beautiful looking game? I was told on my screen that I'm an imposter. What does this mean?” As soon as the Mad Hatter finished his sentence Edward pressed the button for an emergency meeting in the main room. Nobody said a single word. After the quick and silent vote Jervis yellow player was floating helplessly in space and the information rolled over the screen that an imposter was exposed.

The small man whimpered sadly, but kept his thoughts to himself. Instead of him Harley screamed extremely motivated into her microphone: “Common guys! Let's do it! We can finish our tasks and go back to earth or whatever planet we are originally coming from.” Soon the crew was splitting in different directions. It didn't took long before an alarming red light floated the space ship in an unnerving rhythm. Elise frowned and watched the security cameras closely in order to find a suspicious being that could cause the sabotage. A quiet scream from the harlequin was a trusted clue that she might been murdered by the imposter. The game was suddenly paused by another meeting and Edward announced confident of victory: “I found a dead pink body in the corridor and I can assume you all that I saw Elise close by the corpse just seconds ago.” The young woman groaned in total disbelief. She talked back immediately: “No way, Mr. Nygma! And don't try to distract the other players from your own very suspicious behaviours. Do you want to tell them, why you were jumping out of a vent? I think I spotted a green figure popping up on the cameras when I blinked.” A heated discussion was following. The amber haired chomped on her bottom lip, waiting anxiously for the voting. Her eyes were getting bigger and bigger by the results. Her purple crewmate was flying aimlessly through the black background and slowly the sentence appeared that she wasn't an imposter. The mistress of fear had the strong urge to mutter that she was telling the truth, but this wasn't possible anymore after dying. It was a common rule to stay silent after being killed to not ruin the experience for the other gamers. Besides everyone in the party could probably read what was written on the screen and it wasn't necessary to point it out again. Totally out of context Jonathan was mumbling behind her: “Can you please vote me out or at least murder me next? I don't understand this game.” The remaining players ignored his plead. The young woman was following Victor with her ghost and grabbed her mug to drink from her coffee. It was cold. Such a shame. The irony of this statement would eventually hit her when she was laying in bed and tried to sleep. The game was interrupted again and the tinkerer suspected sceptically: “Okay, listen. I think – no, wait – I KNOW that Mikołaj was acting very strangely in the engine room. He's plotting something. We should vote him out as soon as possible.” The amused voice of the pole blasted through the speakers: “Sure, dickhead. I'm always sus, because I fix all the shit that's going on on this fucking garbage bin alone and not fooling around like you, mistake of evolution. Maybe, just maybe, you're the one who's sabotaging us all the time. Just a quick reminder: the riddle boy was suspecting my little hoe first for no reason. Pretty sus if you ask me.” The black haired hold his breath for a moment, then tried to justify himself: “Don't listen to this imbecile! He's playing dirty tricks on you! You can trust me, seriously! I'm not an imposter!”

Selina purred peacefully. She wasn't believing Edward anymore and Elise got the weird feeling that his short time on the space ship was over. The voting ended. As expected the green guy was levitating in zero gravity, followed by the information that he wasn't an imposter either. Victor sighed a bit and spoke worried: “We need to focus. Some of us is a traitor and if we can't find him within the next minutes we're losing here.” Out of nowhere the message appeared that Jonathan left the game. The mistress of fear looked over her shoulder just to see her mentor carrying the laptop to the window. Scarecrow slowly opened the glass and threw the device with a bit of an approach run out of it. Elise jaw dropped by this sight. The tall man shrugged angrily and walked out of the room without a word, slammed the door behind him. The young woman shook her head. Sometimes the former psychiatrist was very humourless or even allergic to fun. A look on her screen revealed that the imposter won. No one was surprised by the black crewmate cheering on the black background. Also cheering was Mikołaj, who was claiming loudly: “Sluts, you never knew what hit you! I'm the master of disguise! Kneel before the superior race of trickery that lays in my roots. You don't mess with a Pole!” The peaceful mood slowly faded and after a minute of silent resignation of everyone the crew started to blame each other for the lost game. Soon Edward demanded a second round. The orange haired smirked a bit and run around in the main lobby. It was going to be a very long night.