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cipheress-to-k-pop · 1 year ago

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academic rivals d.g.

Pairing: Dick Grayson as Robin x Reader

Warnings: Some injuries.

Word Count: 4.3K

A/N: Full discretion this idea was given to me by an anon and even though I said I wasn't taking requests I just couldn't resist.

Also @writing2sirvive I hope you find this offer acceptable after not writing for our baby for so long 😭😭

There was always a slight pinch of anxiety when your teacher went around the class, handing back your test papers after grading them and you waited with slightly bated breath, a fist clutching the fabric of your uniform.

Even though you knew you had done well on the exam, you were particularly unnerved by her declaration before distributing the stack of papers that only one person had managed to get a perfect score.

You kept your eyes trained on your desk, waiting for someone behind you to exclaim that they had gotten a 100% but it never came. Not until your teacher had placed your paper in front of you with a soft 'Good job'.

You beamed, barely able to contain your excitement as you waited for the bell to ring.

Of course, you were over the moon that you got a 100. And that you were the only person in the entire class that managed to get one.

But secretly, you were more elated by the fact that someone else didn't.

"Aw, what's wrong Grayson? Your daddy finally run out of money to bribe your teachers with?" You snarked as soon as you caught a glance of the 93 written in red at the top of his paper.

"Sub-par insult, (L/N)." He said flatly.

"I disagree, nothing about me is sub-par, as you can clearly see." A sly grin on your face as you waved your paper with '100' in his face. He rolled his eyes so far back you couldn't resist making a comment, "Roll your eyes as hard as you want, Grayson, you won't be able to find a brain back there."

His friend, Barbara, who was sitting beside him chuckled at this and he turned to her with an irritated glare, "Can I help you?"

She gave him a teasing smile, unnerved by his annoyance toward her, "Oh, nothing, I'm just eagerly waiting for the day you both stop pretending you hate each other and start dating."

It seemed like her comment had just the effect she had wanted when Dick choked on his spit in his haste to argue that even if you were the last person on Earth, he wouldn't go near you with a 10-foot-pole.

"I'm not too happy to agree with you, Grayson but I, very fortunately, have a boyfriend."

His face twisted, "Gross, who'd wanna date you?"

You gave him a fake smile, "Hopefully, not you."

***

"Recognized: Domino, B-08."

You squealed in joy the second the light faded from your eyes, gaze landing on your boyfriend who stood right outside the zeta tube with a giant smile on his face.

You threw your arms around Robin's neck with a giggle, peppering his lips with smiley kisses that he so enthusiastically returned, his arms snug around your waist.

"Do you guys have to do this every time?" Came Conner's unimpressed voice as he shuffled uncomfortably around the two of you making out, "Can you at least stop doing it in the middle of the entrance? People are trying to get places."

You pulled away with a soft blush, smiling at the sight of your sparkly lip gloss on Robin's mouth and his slightly dazed expression. There was nothing like your kisses that was able to knock the vigilante's world off its axis and it had been this way ever since you started dating 10 months ago.

The pair of you were still very much in the honeymoon phase, much to the chagrin of your teammates, who have walked in on you many times while your lips were practically glued to each other.

"How was your day?" Robin finally asked when you had each gotten your fair share of kisses, leading you to the kitchen for a snack before the mission briefing and you beamed, "Amazing! I got a perfect score on that test from last week!"

He raised a brow, "The one that you skipped a date to study for?"

Smiling, you nodded, "The very one."

He sighed, taking a box out of the fridge, "See? I told you that you'd do great! You probably didn't even need to skip our date."

You rolled your eyes, giggling at his pout that you were all too quick to kiss away, "Hey now, I made it up to you, didn't I?"

Nodding, he pushed the box further toward you with a smile, "You did. Which is why I got you this, but I guess it could be for a job well done too."

You gasped when you saw the squiggles of the familiar logo of your favourite bakery on the top of the box and eagerly opened it up, completely missing the fact that it had been sealed with tape and nearly ripping the carboard to shreds in order to get to the treats inside.

The smell of the strawberry shortcake and red velvet cupcake had you salivating, and you wasted to time before digging in.

"Ugh, I love you." You moaned, nearly dissolving into the symphony of flavours and Robin chuckled swiping some of the cream cheese frosting off your cheek before licking it off his thumb, "Are you talking to me or the cupcake?"

You paused, glancing up at him from the cupcake wrapper, "I can love more than one thing."

His affectionate gaze had you melting, forgetting the delicious treat for a second, "Thank you for the gift, I really love it."

Robin happily accepted the sugary kiss you had given him, "Well, I figured, since it had been a while since we had a date in Gotham, you'd be craving it."

You only took another bite of the cupcake to hide your guilty wince. While the list of details you didn't know about your boyfriend was limitless, starting with his name and ending with literally anything else, you felt guilty that he somehow knew even less about you.

At least you knew what city he lived in while he was under the impression that you lived in Star City with Dinah, your mentor. You really thought he wouldn't buy it, especially after he didn't believe Artemis the first time.

But nearly a year after joining the team it would seem that he was still blissfully unaware, and you were planning to reveal your identity to him soon enough. You were firm that you wouldn't be celebrating your one-year anniversary without knowing each other's names at least.

At least once he found out you were living in the same city, you'd be able to have more frequent dates.

"Team to mission room." You heard over the PA, and you grabbed the box with you to the meet Batman and Canary along with the team, unwilling to leave your precious strawberry shortcake at the hands of Wally. This way you'd be able to dislocate his shoulder the second he put his hands on your things.

When you entered the room to find a face that you recognized on the holoscreen, you paused and glanced at Artemis who shrugged in response.

"Leo 'The Lion' Stark, the leader of the cult that was kidnapping young girls was officially incarcerated this morning."

Cheers erupted around the room, and you passed the box in your hands to your boyfriend to high-five Artemis and bring her into a hug. Black Canary patted the both of you on the shoulder, "Job well done on this mission, you two."

The mission that led to his arrest had been an undercover op with both you and Artemis posing as the girls from the private school that was being targeted. Eventually, you were able to find the leader and put a stop to his entire organization.

You had never seen Robin more fearful for your life than during this mission and it was after it that you had said your first I love you's.

"Today's mission is a covert op. For stealth, I will only be sending two members of the team: Robin and Domino."

Robin sent you a smile and you squeezed your interlocked fingers underneath the table.

"If they can stop kissing long enough to actually get the mission done." Conner grumbled underneath his breath and was rewarded with a swift kick to the knee.

***

It happened too quickly.

Everything was going fine. The mission was well underway, and you had observed them long enough to know where they were keeping their illegal servers. All that was left was to input your program that would upload all their data wirelessly so it could be accessed by the league.

Then it all went wrong, all at once.

You don't even remember much of what happened. All you knew is that when you had least expected it, someone had snuck up on you and you had felt your stomach squeeze with a painful terror that you hadn't experienced in a long time upon being caught off-guard.

"The Lion sends his greetings."

What followed was a series of excruciating shocks up your body that had your heartbeat ceasing in your chest and the movement of every single muscle came to a standstill such that you couldn't even make a sound come out of your throat.

You didn't even have the time to think about anything before you lost consciousness, the last thought flashing through your head being your worry for Robin.

And then every single pulse in your head came to an abrupt end.

“Come on hero, come on!” Robin panted as he continued to pump his hands against your chest, counting down the beats in his head to the compressions, “Baby please, please wake up!”

He was in tears, even though he tried to control them, but he had been looking at your unconscious face for the last 30 minutes as he continuously tried to revive you. His stomach was in knots and his chest felt like it was on fire, but he still didn’t quit, he wouldn’t until he passed out himself.

Before he could even stop himself, he was sobbing and the wails he let out erased the count he was keeping in his head, “Someone please help! Please help.”

His communicator lay discarded only a couple of feet beside him, but he couldn’t take his hands off you for a second, he couldn’t mess up the beat, he couldn’t stop the chest compressions because you’d die; and he’d die right alongside you.

“Robin, come in. Robin, can you hear me?”

His chest collapsed in a fit of sobs as soon as he heard the sound of his mentor come through from the communicator. The device beeped with the sound that alerted him of an override indicating that his mentor could now listen in.

“Batman help! She’s not breathing! I don't think she has a pulse! I’m trying to do CPR but she’s not awaking up! Please help!”

“Hang in there, Robin. Someone will be there in five.”

***

"She's alive but her brain was deprived of oxygen for a while so we can't accurately put a time frame on when she could wake up." Batman explained, his voice as stiff as concrete like always but the hand he placed on his ward's shoulder was warm and comforting.

There were so many questions rushing through Robin's head, but he kept silent because a part of him already knew the answer. This wasn't the first time he had seen something like this, while being Robin he had seen countless families, parents, spouses, receive the same news.

The distraught questions would usually follow: would take months? years? is there a chance that she could never wake up? is there anything he could do?

He wanted to ask Batman anyway, he wanted Batman to lie and say that everything would be okay, that the girl he loved would wake up soon and he just had to wait but he knew better than anyone that was all it would be. Lies.

There were those that were fortunate enough for their loved one to eventually wake up. Others would be forced to watch life go by while their loved ones were imprisoned to a bed with the empty hope that one day they'd wake up.

So, he swallowed down all his questions, Adam's apple bobbing painfully in his throat, "Can I see her?"

His father nodded, leading him to the med-bay with one hand on his back. Robin felt his stomach sink with every step he took, staring sullenly at his sock-clad feet. In his rush to change after the mission so he could get to you as soon as possible, he had thrown on anything he could find.

Which resulted in him being dressed in your sweatpants and his hoodie that you had stolen so often it smelt like you; a combination that both comforted him and broke his heart all at once.

When he saw you from the door, a rush of epiphanies struck through him like lightning to a metal rod. Although, first and foremost, he was just relieved to see you. Even though it hurt him to see you unconscious, and he knew that there was a chance he'd never get to see you awake again, a part of him forgot all about that as soon as he saw you.

He took quick steps toward you, wanting nothing more than to feel your skin against his when he stopped in his tracks once again with wide eyes, realizing you were without your mask.

"Robin?"

"I-I know her. (Y/N) (L/N), s-she's in my class." He stammered, staring at your relaxed features with his mouth hanging open. As odd as it sounded, this was the first time he had ever seen you, as (Y/N), so relaxed.

Whether it was a scowl or even just a grimace, you always seemed to be frowning at him and he never bothered to pay any attention to you outside of classes, when you were talking with your friends. He was sure you'd have a mesmerizing grin, one that would reach your beautiful eyes.

Batman stayed silent behind him, and Dick wondered just how many times Bruce had heard him talking shit about the love of his life, having to keep silent to respect your privacy. His cheeks coloured, remembering the conversation from this morning, where he had claimed that he would never touch you even with a 10-foot pole.

If only he had known that he had been pressed against the same girl so many nights prior.

"Does it matter?" Batman asked, snapping him out of his mortified state where he remembered every single insult he had ever directed at you, either to your face or behind your back.

To anyone else, it would have sounded like a shallow question, but Dick knew his father was concerned about whether his feelings would have changed, whether your identity did matter to him more than your relationship or his love for you.

He swallowed, walking up to your bedside, and gently brushing a strand of hair away from your face and for the first time in his life, he took in all your features. It was startling how quickly his worst enemy became the most beautiful person in the world.

"No, it doesn't."

***

You could see the bright light even though your eyes were shut. There was nothing more you wanted than to slip back into your deep slumber but for some reason your consciousness began trickling back into your head in a gentle stream.

You squirmed, brows pinching together in a frown as you murmured something unintelligible, features twitching until finally your eyes began to flutter open.

"(Y/N)?" You heard and your hand was squeezed by someone you couldn't quite place. Your vision was still quite blurry, and you were extremely disoriented. Still, you tried to blink through the hazy shapes in your sight and you managed to recognize a familiar head of black hair.

"Baby?" You breathed out, sighing in relief when he pressed a kiss to your knuckles, "Thank goodness you're okay."

Right before you had lost consciousness, a thought had flashed into your head. Robin would never abandon you there, no matter what had happened to you, if you had died or just lost consciousness.

You worried that in his effort to stick by you, he'd be hurt or worse.

"Me? (Y/N), you were unconscious for two days! Do you have any idea how worried I've been?!"

If you had been any more conscious, you probably would've been concerned over the way his voice broke in grief and his heartbroken words but in your exhaustion, all you could do was give him a silly smile, wishing your eyes could focus long enough for you to see his beautiful face.

"I'm okay now, I'm okay."

"I didn't think you would be." He confessed, pressing another kiss to your fingertips, holding your hand gingerly but still in a firm grip in between both of his. Like he was scared you'd evaporate and disappear before his eyes.

"I'm okay, baby. Just a little sleepy." You told him, feeling your consciousness slip further and further away as your blinks began to get longer and longer and your strength began to disappear, "You'll be here when I wake up, right?"

He nodded, voice thick with unshed tears even though you couldn't see him, "Yeah. I'll be right here."

***

This time when you woke, you felt much more refreshed than you had before. Your head didn't feel like it was nailed to the pillow anymore, but it felt like you had lead in your veins which was expected considering you had been unconscious for days.

Despite his promise, Robin was nowhere to be found when you finally sat up, stretching your arms as much as you could, careful of the IV in your hand. Your eyes darted around the familiar med-bay, trying to catch a glance of the clock by craning your neck but was ultimately unsuccessful.

Was it a weekday? Was it school hours? Was that why Robin wasn't at your side like you had asked him? What about you? What excuse had Batman given the school to explain your sudden absence? Were your parents aware that you had been injured?

The endless barrage of questions was silenced to a mum when you heard the door slide open and you sighed in relief, noticing the head of black hair first, "I believe you promised to be here when I wo—!"

Dick Grayson was beaming at you and in certain angles of the light, his blue eyes almost looked glossy with tears, but you shook your head unconsciously. Why would he be crying at the sight of you?

'Because you're so ugly the sight is making my eyes water.' Would have been his classic response and you practically rolled your eyes at the thought.

"(Y/N), you're awake!" He took a step closer, and you flinched.

"Stop right there!" He quite literally froze in his steps, he might as well have been encased in ice at the receiving end of your cold glare, "What the hell are you doing here, Grayson?"

He paused and somehow you were annoyed by the dumbfounded look on his face while multiple scenarios ran through your head. A concussion, brain injury or something along that likeness. Perhaps the part of your brain responsible for recognizing faces was damaged and this wasn't actually Dick Grayson. Amnesia, possibly? Maybe you were actually good friends with him but managed to forget it all? Of course, there was always the possibility this was a dream.

Your brow twitched at his lack of response, "I asked you a question."

At your terse tone, it seemed like he was finally able to snap himself out of his stupor, "(Y/N), baby, it's me."

You scowled, "Don't call me that and speak clearly; the hell do you mean by 'me'?"

"Baby," He said again, so firmly that you were silenced in your effort to snap at him again, "It's me."

Dick watched as your face melted from an expression of disgruntled bewilderment to the smallest sliver of recognition. Your eyes raked over his body, only now noticing that he was in short sleeves, and you were able to see the familiar scar on his forearm that belonged to your boyfriend. The little patch of freckles near his elbow that you had traced with your finger so many times before.

Your voice was small when you called him again, "Rob?"

He nodded and your eyes went wide, not quite able to believe it. Your boyfriend stood stiffly, berating himself for not handling this better. He had very quickly gotten over the fact that his girlfriend was his greatest rival in high school while he watched your unconscious face for the past couple of days, waiting for you to wake up.

It had completely slipped his mind that you were still unaware of his identity, and he swallowed nervously. Sure, it was something he could easily put past him but were you the same?

Robin knew you inside and out, he knew how much you loved him, but he didn't know how just much you hated Dick Grayson. Was that hate enough to overpower your love for him?

You stared at him in surprise for only a minute, but it felt like hours to him before you closed your eyes and leaned your head back, "Wow."

"This-This doesn't change anything right?" He began, feeling the lump in his throat grow three sizes larger when you turned to him with an expression that was not a reassuring smile like he had wanted.

"Are you kidding? This changes everything! Barbara is never going to let us hear the end of this. And my friends? Oh, they've hated you ever since that incident during our group presentations." You exclaimed, fingers twitching, and Dick knew it was because you wanted to flail your arms around but couldn't because of the IV.

He bit his lip. You weren't outright rejecting him or anything, but he needed to hear you say it and he needed to hear it as soon as possible.

"No—(Y/N), does this change anything between us?"

You paused, stopping in the middle of your tangent to give him a confused glance, "Between us? No. Why would it?"

And just like that, the tension in his muscles evaporated away and he relaxed, approaching to your side like he wanted to and interlacing your fingers, "I love you."

You finally smiled at him, leaning to kiss his lips, "I love you more, even though you said I was gross and that no one would ever want to date me."

"Well, to be fair you said you'd hope I never did, so I guess we're even."

***

"Hey, stranger." It really didn't make sense that after almost a year of dating, your boyfriend's voice still managed to send shivers down your spine. You closed your locker shut before turning to meet the beautiful blue eyes that you grew to love.

It was scary how quickly you completely rewired your brain into loving every single feature belonging to Dick Grayson.

"Hi, Grayson."

His eyes dipped to your lips for a second, mentally scolding himself for turning to putty the second you said his last name. It was weird how the last time you both were in school together, he thought that the sound of his name coming from your mouth was like nails on a chalkboard.

Now, he felt like he had been blessed just by being in your presence.

"I have all the assignments and notes that you missed the past week." You had been ordered bed rest and some physiotherapy to regain complete mobility after being unconscious for a couple of days. Under your boyfriend's watchful care, he had dutifully nursed you back to health.

You smiled when he handed you the stack of papers even though the heft of it made you want to cry. All this work from just a week? All the AP classes you had been taking in order to compete with your own boyfriend had come back to bite you in the ass.

"Thank you. Can I come over later so you can help me out with it?"

It was really a formality that you were asking because you both knew he was obviously going to say yes. But you figured you'd do the polite thing and ask the first time. After today though his room would practically be yours, just as your room would now be his personal hideout.

"Of course, baby. I've been dying to introduce you to Alfred. We can go back to mine together after school."

You nodded, starting when you heard the bell, "I have Physics." You bemoaned, it being the only class Dick didn't take with you. He had opted for a language instead, which you were beginning to think was more useful than whatever you learnt anyway.

He gave you a smile, eyes twinkling when he slanted his lips over yours in a soft kiss and you had to pull away quickly before you forgot just where you were.

His disappointed pout was all too quick to disappear when you reminded him that you'd be going home with him that day, "I'll see you later."

The two of you parted ways with delirious smiles, feeling too much like you were wafting on cloud nine, completely unbeknownst to the small crowd of people that watching your entire interaction with wide eyes.

Barbara, who was stood at the centre of the flock, smirked, and held out her hand, "Pay up bitches."

***

Bonus:

"I'm surprised you didn't figure out her identity earlier, Dick. Aren't you supposed to be a great detective?" Wally teased and your boyfriend rolled his eyes.

"It's not that I couldn't find out, I just didn't try."

"How come?"

He spared you a glance and shrugged, "She asked me not to."

"I don't remember you offering me the same consideration." Artemis sniped but he knew it was all in good nature.

"You aren't nearly as pretty." He replied coolly, making you blush.

***

Forever Taglist:

@simonsbluee

@notslaybabes

@superheroesaremyjam113263

@writers-whirlwind

DC Taglist:

@emmacata

@p--e--a--c--h--e--s

@sometimeseverythingsucks

@sokkas-honour

@unstable1902

@lostgirlheart

@missdisapear

@tadpole-san

@isawachickeninatree

@uxavity

@battlenix

@capricorn-stark

@evermoore580

@dumbbitchgalore

@fuckingjinkies

@some-lovely-day

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seraphicloves · 11 months ago

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𝐢 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞

⊱✿⊰ summary: your family wants to protect you but its impossible with the life you all lead

⊱✿⊰ warnings: kidnapping, minor torture, it will be angsty, almost dying, spitting on your face, the joker deserves his own warning tbh

⊱✿⊰ notes: this is for skye because she wanted some angsty batfam stuff and here we are. I am just shitting on the page and hoping words form at this point. I hope you enjoy and feel free to send me requests. Also this is a platonic fic sorry if you were hoping for romance action

⊱✿⊰ tags: @kozumesphone @fizzywashere87 @fashionablysouly @witherwallflower @goldierey

@finleyforevermore @baecakie @gergthecat @mqstermindswift @anyas-shitposting69 (comment on this or send me an ask if you want to be added to my DC taglist)

"Well, well, well. Looks like baby bird got caged." The clown sneered, leaning close to your face. You scrunched your nose and tried to scoot away despite the ropes scratching your wrists raw.

The Joker's finger runs along your cheek, a horrific grin on his face as he stared at you. You tried to keep a brave face, you tried to act like the domino mask over your eyes was really a shield. You tried to act like your dad, Batman.

Maybe it was your fault you got kidnapped. He said you weren't ready to go out and patrol with your family, but you went away. You stole one of Damian's mask and put on the most costume adjacent clothes you owned.

"Where should I start, little one?" Joker asked, breaking your train of thoughts. Placing blame would be set for another time. Not now, its not time yet. "Should I give you a smile that matches mine? Should I turn you into a firey decoration before dear ol' daddy bat gets here?"

You winced, trying to prevent the ice filling your veins and the fear weighing your stomach down. The Joker grabbed a knife from his table that had numerous weapons littered on top. Carefully the cold metal of the blade brushed against your skin, not harsh enough to cut just yet. He wanted to scare you first.

•───────────•°•❀•°•──────────•

"I am going to kill that son of a bitch." Jason growled as soon as he heard the news. Bruce gathered the family in the batcave, and explained the Joker had kidnapped the youngest of the family- you.

"Jason, I understand your frustration but we can't act with haste. I won't let her face the same fate you did. I won't make the same mistake twice." Bruce replied, already dressed as Batman. He was doing his best to stay professional despite his fear being ever present.

"I don't want to wait too long either." Dick added, crossing his arms over his chest. Everybody was tense, wanting their sister to be safe once again.

"I'll find where that stupid clown is keeping [Name]." Tim said, standing up and rushing towards the computer before anybody could even reply. Barbara silently followed, knowing she would be the most help to Tim.

Bruce looked at all of his family and nodded, "We'll find her and get her back."

•───────────•°•❀•°•──────────•

Your throat was hoarse and tears had dried on your face. There was no point to fighting it anymore, you only hoped he would kill you soon.

"Aw but doesn't the bird look good with her wings marked?" The Joker chuckled, slicing yet another line into your arm. The cuts were deep, sure to scar, and they were deliberate. You could only guess what he was spelling on your arms.

With the amount of blood flowing down your arms like a red river, it was to no surprise you were fading in and out of consciousness. That would be nice, at least you wouldn't be awake while he tortured you.

You almost settled into the pain, eyes fluttering close to let yourself rest, when you heard a crash. Glass was broken and there was yelling everywhere.

The Joker grabbed your face with his hand and forced you to look forward, where you saw your family (the only thing disguising their horrified looks were their masks)

"Looks like they showed up in time for you, baby bird." He grinned, spitting on your cheek. You were too tired, too fragile to even bother being disgusted. It was better than the cutting.

"Let her go and I'll think about not crushing your head into the wall." Red Hood barked out, already aiming his gun at The Joker. You tried to pay more attention but you were fading slowly,, ready to force your body to rest.

The Joker dropped your body like it was nothing, your face smashing into the concrete. It hurt, pain forming in your forehead but it was a distraction from the blood oozing out of you.

Despite your best efforts, you finally blacked out. The last thing you saw was your family lunging at the Joker, rage thick in the air.

Light flooded your eyes, fresh air blasting your lungs. You were laying down on something soft and warm, contrasting against the mildly scratchy fabric on your skin. You blinked your eyes a few times, forcing them to focus despite the dull ache pounding in your head.

"You're awake." Damian said, apparently sitting beside you. It took a little while but you realized you were in the personal hospital at the manor. He had a few scratches and bruises but nothing as horrific as the scars on your skin (and in your brain.)

"Wha-what..happened?" You croaked, throat feeling like sandpaper. Like magic, Dick appeared with a glass of water you gratefully took. The liquid in your throat was almost heavenly in the way it made you feel infinitely better.

"The Joker kidnapped you and we rescued you." Your father explained calmly, not bothering to add details. Which was probably good for you, the devil's in details.

"I'm glad your back, sis." Jason said, making you suddenly aware of his presence in the back of the room. Your entire family seemed to be in here, ready to see your betterment. Despite he general aversion to touch, Jason wrapped you into a hug.

Of course, everybody else joined in (forcefully or not) for a big group hug. You laughed, despite the hollow of your heart, watching as Tim was pushed into the hug by Dick.. It was ridiculous having a group hug after a traumatic event...how family sitcom could you get?

But somehow, it felt good to be in the arm's of your family. It felt like home.

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downthe-f4ndom-rabbith0le · 1 year ago

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Always Been You (Dick Grayson x Reader) - Chapter 2

Always Been You (Dick Grayson x Reader) Reader Insert: she/her pronouns Word Count: 5030 Warnings: death, violence, fighting, bloody wounds, angst, infuriatingly oblivious love interest, slowburn Spoilers: Young Justice Seasons 1-3 plot partially, but it ended in 2022 so catch up.

Y/N Prince - miracle daughter of Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor - and Dick Grayson - first adoptive son of the Batman himself - have been best friends since day one. They went to school together, trained together, kept each other's alter ego secret from everyone else, and they founded the Young Justice alongside their friends together.

But as time progressed, Y/N and Dick grew up and Y/N found herself wanting more than friendship with Dick. But he never seemed to indicate that he reciprocated her feelings. And when Wally died and Dick abandoned the team, Y/N realised he never would. So she heads to the one place she knows will help her become a stronger warrior so that one day she can take her mother's place: Themyscira.

Two years after his leave, Dick reaches out to his old friends to help him with a mission. But when he finds out Y/N left too, he chases after her in the hopes to bring her back.

However, when the two finally reunite, it isn't as warm as he hopes. Not to mention Themyscira becomes under siege as they go to war against Echidna, the Mother of Monsters in Greek Mythology, and her army of monstrous children.

Will Dick and Y/N be able to put their past behind them and save the Amazonians' homeland? Or will they fall, unable to tell one another their true feelings?

~~~

(6 Months Later)

Dick Grayson looked up at the Carr family home from his car, apprehensive to open the door just yet. It was a nice home, and from the research Dick did, a nice family lived there too.

His eyes trailed to the apartment situated above the garage, imagining the people who were inside. How were they going to react when he told them what he was there for? Scratch that, how were they going to react when they saw him?

'Should I go take a nap or are you going to man up and go inside at some point?' Oracle's sarcastic voice came through the car's bluetooth.

Dick clenched his hands around the steering wheel. Barbara - newly named Oracle - was right. It didn't matter what his friends were going to say. He needed their help, and he needed to man up.

Dick finally unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the door. 'I'll call you when I'm done,' he said, then ended the call before Barbara could sneak in another witty remark.

He made haste running up the Carr's driveway, then up the stairs to the apartment above the garage. As he raised his hand to knock on the door, he heard laughter and lively chatter that made him pause. An overwhelming sense of guilt and shame and longing surged through him. Was he really going to break up the joy beyond the door? Once upon a time he would've been glad for a party, for a break from work and his vigilante duties.

His mind flashed back to that first party him and his friends had in Mount Justice. It was Wally's birthday and he had been lapping up all the attention, especially from M'gann, who had made him a cake and had in fact organised the whole party. This was before Wally realised him and Artemis were meant to be, same with Connor and M'gann.

But Y/N had known, had even pointed it out to Dick as they sat in the corner just the two of them, watching everything play out.

'They're all so thick,' Y/N said, taking a sip of her lemonade, trying to hide her knowing smile.

'How so?' Dick asked.

Y/N rolled her eyes. 'Can you not see?' She grabbed Dick's chin and guided him to look at Connor and M'gann interacting awkwardly but in a cute way, then Wally and Artemis "fighting", matching wit for wit with every snarky comment they threw at each other. 'Connor and M'gann are so into each other, and you could cut the emotional tension between Wally and Artemis it's so thick. They are all crushing hard.'

Dick watched the two couples interact a little longer and realised Y/N was right. 'Well would you look at that,' he said, turning back to Y/N. 'You're quite the observer, aren't you?'

Y/N chuckled. 'Dick, we've been best friends for three years now. If you're just figuring that out now, then you're just as thick as the rest of our friends.'

'Hey! I am not!'

'Are to.'

'Am. Not!'

'Are. To!'

The two fell into hysterical laughter, gripping onto one another so they didn't fall to the ground.

Y/N's smile came to him then, and the longing in his chest ached even more. She was more than likely beyond the door too, laughing and smiling without a care in the world. He suddenly had the thought that he couldn't go through with it. He couldn't possibly ask them - couldn't ask her - to help him. Not after what he'd done...

Before he could chicken out completely, he forced himself to knock lightly on the door.

'I'll get it,' M'gann's sweet voice called out to whoever she was with, and Dick prepared himself as he heard her walk to the door.

M'gann opened the door, and she was smiling, the remnants of laughter twinkling in her eyes. She was in her human form, but it had changed since the last time Dick saw her. Her ginger hair was now cropped just under her ears, and her features were sharper, more refined than that of a young adolescent. She wore a flattering white blouse and casual jeans, not bothering for shoes in her own home.

She was grown up. In just two years?

Her brown eyes locked with Dick's blue ones, and immediately her smile dropped as shock froze her face.

Dick offered her a small smile 'Hi, M'gann,' he said softly.

'Dick...' was all she could manage as she continued to look at him, eyes raking over him as if she were imagining things. 'What are you doing here?'

'Honey, who is it?'

Dick's guilt deepened at the sound of Connor's voice. The Superboy himself came to the door when M'gann didn't answer, and stopped in his tracks as soon as he laid eyes on Dick. But he didn't stay shocked for long.

Connor furrowed his eyebrows and stepped up behind M'gann, placing a protective hand on her shoulder. 'What are you doing here?' he asked icily, eyes solely focussed on Dick.

It hurt to see such distrust in his old friend's eyes, but Dick somewhat expected that. 'Nice to see you too, Connor,' he said, slipping into his casual, carefree persona easily. If there was one thing Dick was really good at, it was putting on a mask. 'I was in the neighbourhood and thought I'd swing by. It's been a while.'

'Why don't you answer my question first before you start acting like nothing is wrong,' Connor suggested, his voice taking a deep threatening tone.

'Connor, please,' M'gann said, seemingly getting over her initial shock. She placed her left hand over Connor's on her shoulder, and that's when Dick saw the shiny diamond ring on her finger. 'He's our friend.'

Dick didn't think his guilt could worsen at those three words.

M'gann opened the door wider and offered him a small smile. 'Come in, Dick. We'd love for you to join us.'

Dick flashed her a grateful smile. 'Thanks,' he said as he ducked through the doorway. He then looked from M'gann to Connor and back again. 'Congratulations, by the way.'

M'gann looked confused for a moment, then a joyful twinkle flashed in her eyes as she looked to her ring, a soft smile gracing her features. 'Thank you, Dick,' she said. 'That's what we're actually celebrating. Come on, there is food and drinks this way.'

M'gann walked back towards the party, but Connor and Dick remained in the entrance, staring at one another.

Dick took Connor in. Because of his clone genetics, Connor never actually aged. Not physically anyways. He'd changed ever so slightly from when Dick first broke him out of Cadmus, only growing a centimetre or two every year or so. His muscles had toned more having entered his theoretical twenties, and but his face still held onto those baby features he'd had since being replicated as a teenaged Superman.

Dick sized himself up against Connor and shockingly found that, for the first time, they were looking at each other eye to eye.

Connor seemed to scan Dick, too, coming to the same conclusion that Dick had changed too since they last saw each other. Dick waited for Connor to say something, but when Connor was done he gave Dick a stone cold grimace then turned to follow M'gann.

'What a warm reunion,' Dick mumbled under breath as he followed Connor down the hallway.

The hallway opened into an open-floor plan that held the kitchen, the dinning room and the lounge. Dick expected a few more people to be waiting for them, but he only spotted Kaldur lounging on the couch, drink in hand. Being the vigilant person he was, Kaldur immediately recognised Dick and placed his drink on the coffee table as he stood up.

'Dick,' he said, teal eyes wide with surprise.

'Hey, Kaldur,' Dick greeted awkwardly, ready for the same cold treatment as Connor.

Instead, Kaldur's face broke into a warm smile as he manoeuvred around the furniture to make his way to Dick. 'Old friend,' he said as he embraced Dick. 'It has been too long.'

'It sure has, buddy,' Dick responded, returning his friend's embrace.

Kaldur released him, but kept his hand on Dick's shoulder as he scanned over him. 'Look at you! You seem to be healthy and strong.'

It was true. Dick had noticed he'd muscled up a little more since leaving the team, though still keeping towards the leaner side of muscular. He certainly wasn't has bulk as Connor, or Kaldur for that fact, who Dick noted also had more muscles and toned features. Kaldur certainly filled out the black button-up he wore. But, as it was with Connor, Dick was happy to see him looking directly in Kaldur's eyes as they spoke, not from slightly below as it had been since they were children.

'Thanks man,' Dick said. 'Been working out. I see you've been doing the same, Aquaman.'

'My King left some large shoes to fill,' Kladur admitted humbly. 'But thank you.'

'So you know of Kaldur's promotion, but couldn't contact him to say congrats when it happened?' Connor interjected from his place in the kitchen.

M'gann scolded him as she placed some plates on the dining table, but the mood had already changed to tense and quiet.

'Connor's right,' Dick admitted, addressing his three friends. 'I'm sorry. These past two years... I should've stayed in contact. I wanted to. But every time I went to, I convinced myself that you didn't want to hear from me. That it would be better to leave you all be while I try to figure out myself again.'

'Oh Dick,' M'gann started, walking around the table to pull him into a hug. 'Of course we wanted to hear from you. You're our friend and we missed you. But we understand that after Wally died, you had to take a break from everything.'

M'gann pulled away and then pointed an accusatory finger at him, looking extremely cross with him. 'But if you ever do anything like that again, I swear I will hunt you down and kick your sorry ass into another universe. Understood?'

Dick nodded vigorously. 'U-Understood.'

M'gann's sweet demeanour returned and she walked back to the table to continue setting it. The three men looked at her quietly as she went about her work, until Dick turned to Connor and said, 'Your fiancée is scary.'

Dick expected another glare from the Superboy, but he was gladly surprised when the dark-haired boy nodded in agreement, face slightly pale. 'You got that right.' He then shook himself out of his frozen state of fear to help his fiancée dish out their meal.

'Give him time,' Kaldur said quietly to Dick. 'You know how Connor can be with expressing his emotions.'

'Well, he's not as emotionally constipated as he once was, I'll give him that,' Dick said. 'Unfortunately, I don't think I have time.'

'What do you mean?' Kaldur asked.

Dick went to explain but quickly decided against it. Kaldur was in the Justice League now. Dick couldn't really explain what he was planning to do. Not yet, anyway.

'Forget I said anything,' Dick said instead, flashing his charming smile and wrapping an arm around his old friend's shoulders. 'For now, why don't you tell me everything I've missed. How is it being Atlantis' new champion, first starters...'

For the next hour, it was like old times. The four of them ate and laughed and swapped stories about what Dick had missed in the last two years. They recalled some of the good times they all shared when they were on the team, and Dick convinced himself for a brief moment that they could all stay like this. Happy, carefree, young.

But Dick had come to Connor and M'gann for a reason.

Once they'd had enough of dessert, Connor offered to wash up and Dick saw his chance.

'I'll help wipe up,' Dick offered, taking his and Kaldur's plates to the sink while Connor filled the sink with soap and water. Dick waited until M'gann and Kaldur were in deep conversation over on the couch that Dick decided to broach his intended subject. 'So, how is the team going?'

'The team is doing okay,' Connor answered flatly, never lifting his eyes from his work with the plates in the sink. 'I just try to help M'gann as best as I can. We're down a few numbers since your old man decided to take half of the Justice League and our team with him in his little stunt.'

Dick winced. He recalled getting the call from Tim about it about five months ago. It had been an orchestrated walk out from over half the Justice League and their protégés, all of them wanting to go back to their vigilante ways as the League and the team had become somewhat irrelevant. Those that remained never saw it coming.

'I'm sorry about that,' he apologised, though he wasn't entirely sure why. Just felt appropriate.

Connor looked at him briefly, hands pausing in the sink as he did, and then released a sigh of defeat. 'Don't be sorry, Dick. It's not like you had anything to do with it.'

'No,' Dick agreed, 'but I should've been there at least. I should've reached out to see if you were okay. We started this team together, I shouldn't have just left it all to you.'

'Well, I know the rest of the team would really appreciate it if you came back now,' Connor said, his tone hopeful. 'That is, if you're ready to come back.'

Dick's heart lurched at the thought of going back to the team, both with want and terror. He liked Barbara, he really did. But, if he were being honest, he'd missed being a part of something bigger than himself and his own agendas.

'Connor,' Dick started softly, looking to see M'gann and Kaldur still locked in deep conversation before continuing, 'I would love to come back. Please know that. But you should know I haven't just been idly moving about the place the last two years. I've been conducting undercover missions of my own with Barbara in relation to the meta-human trafficking crisis.'

Connor's eyes widened and Dick saw he was about to raise his voice so leaned in close and hurriedly whispered, 'Keep your voice down, please.'

Connor took a second to register what Dick had said before whispering harshly, 'What do you mean you've been working on your own? You should've come to us if you were getting involved.'

'First of all, I just said I had Barbara helping me, and secondly because the team and the Justice League are full of public figures now. The missions wouldn't work if they got involved. But I've actually come here to ask you for your help on a mission, Connor.'

'Me?! Why would I-'

'Let me explain. First of all, it'll be you, me, Artemis-'

'You've pulled Artemis into this too?! Where the hell has she been, anyway?'

'Would you stop interrupting me for one second?' Dick hissed, wiping up a plate or two before returning to the conversation. 'As I was saying, from our intel, Markovia's Princess Tara has been found dead. Killed by a meta human supposedly, and I have a sneaky suspicion someone has been testing on people with the meta gene, turning them into extreme versions of their meta abilities. I need your help to find out who. As I said before, I've convinced Artemis to help already, and I was looking to you, Jefferson, and Y/N to make up the rest of the team.'

Dick looked around the room, looking at how empty the couches were around M'gann and Kaldur and sudden thought struck him. 'Speaking of which, where is Y/N?' he asked. 'I would've thought she'd be here celebrating the good news.'

He'd forgotten to keep quiet that time, and so Kaldur and M'gann looked at him alongside Connor, all looking as if Dick had sprouted three heads.

'What?' Dick asked, patting around his face. 'Do I have sauce on my face?'

'You don't know?' M'gann asked, sounding almost on the brink of tears.

That's when Dick realised something was majorly wrong, and his gut twisted with fear. 'Know what? Where's Y/N?'

'Y/N, she...' Kaldur started, then took a deep breath before continuing, 'Y/N left the team, Dick.'

'What?' Dick said, almost dropping the plate he held. 'What do you mean she left?'

'She left about six months ago,' Connor answered, washing up the last plate and emptying the sink. 'Before everyone else left. She felt like she wasn't doing enough with us anymore, so she just... left.'

'I've sent her plenty of messages,' M'gann said, 'but she hasn't answered any of them. And I can't sense her at all in the country. Even the Watchtower couldn't find her.'

Dick couldn't believe this. Y/N was gone? 'So Wonder Woman doesn't even know where she is?'

'Wonder Woman has been busy running the Justice League since Batman resigned,' Kaldur answered. 'Even if she did know where her daughter was, I don't think she'd like us to know, and I would have to agree.'

'Why?' Dick asked, suddenly very angry at Kaldur for not being as concerned as he was about Y/N. 'Do you know where she is?'

Kaldur shook his head. 'Regrettably, no. But when we last spoke, she sounded like she didn't want to be found. That she would come back to us when she was ready. I think we should respect that.'

Dick shook his head in disbelief. 'No, that's not like Y/N. She wouldn't just leave anywhere without telling anyone.'

'What, you mean like you?' Connor asked, and that cold stare was back.

'I mean she is loyal and empathetic. Surely she would know how her absence would affect the team,' Dick continued, ignoring the personal dig.

'She was loyal, Dick,' Connor countered. 'She was loyal, and stuck around with M'gann, Kaldur and I until the team got back on its feet. She held the team together when we were on the brink of falling apart. But you wouldn't know that because you weren't here.'

Dick wanted to argue but found that he couldn't. What he had thought was the best for the team turned out to be the complete opposite. He could sense it now; his relationships with his oldest friends were no longer as they were.

'You were gone for two years,' Connor continued. 'You'd be surprised as to how much a person can change in that time.'

The day Dick left flashed in his mind, and he recalled the pain in Y/N's eyes when he left her behind. He remembered how she'd held it together, but he knew she would probably cry about it later because she'd done it some many times before, always going to him to cry on his shoulder.

But he wasn't there that time. He'd left her all alone to dry her tears.

You're my best friend. Always have been. Always will be...

Dick looked to his friends again, but they could barely meet his eyes. Kaldur was disappointed, Connor was angry, and M'gann was just sad. An apology bubbled up in Dick's throat, but he didn't think it was sufficient enough for what he had done to them.

'I have to find her, then,' Dick said into the quiet room, and finally they all looked to him.

'Did you not just hear Kaldur?' Connor asked. 'We should leave her alone like she wants.'

'We don't necessarily know that,' Dick countered. 'Besides, this isn't about bringing her back. This is about me making things right with her.'

'But what if Kaldur is right?' M'gann argued. 'What if she doesn't want to be found. Maybe the right thing to do is leave her alone?'

Dick shook his head. 'She's my best friend, M'gann. I can't accept that she wouldn't want to see us ever again.'

'Maybe she doesn't want to see you, have you considered that?' Kaldur asked, his voice taking on a protective demeanour. 'The bottom line is, Dick, that you left her behind without a second thought. And she respected that, even if it killed her inside knowing that you would rather abandon her - abandon us - than face the pain of losing Wally together. She missed you every single day, and yet she still fought and trained and guided the team without faltering. And now, when she finally finds the courage to do what's best for her for once, you want to shame her for it?'

Anger surged through Dick, fiery and hot. 'I am not shaming her for anything. Do you not think I didn't think of you all every single day?'

'If you did, you didn't do anything about it, did you?' Connor mumbled, but Dick heard him just fine.

'Look, if you guys don't want to help me find her, fine,' Dick said, looking at all three friends pointedly. 'But I will find her. Because she needs to know that she was right. That I was wrong to leave and I am a terrible best friend.'

His expression softened as he looked down at his hands, imagining how long ago him and Y/N would link their pinkies. How simple friendships were back then.

'If she never comes back,' he continued, quieter this time, 'then I won't blame her. But best friends don't give up on each other.'

It was quiet for what felt like an eternity. Until Kaldur walked up to Dick and grabbed his shoulder comfortingly.

'You may be a terrible best friend,' Kaldur said, a small smile warming his face. 'But that doesn't mean your heart isn't in the right place.'

'Thanks, Kaldur,' Dick said, patting Kaldur's hand upon his shoulder.

Kaldur dropped his hand and the four of them sat down on the couches. 'Y/N didn't tell me where she was going,' Kaldur started, 'just that she needed to find out who she was again.'

'I don't follow,' Dick said.

Kaldur chuckled. 'Don't worry, I said the same thing to her when she told me. But she also said something along the lines of, "I need to find out where I've come from to find out where I will go.".'

'What the hell does that mean?' Connor asked.

'Again, not sure. But when I asked her the same question, she said she had to go back to her roots,' Kaldur elaborated. 'Something to do with where it all started. And her mother...'

Dick contemplated all of Kaldur's recollections, juggling each statement over one another to try and make sense. It was so vague, but Dick could sense there was a blatant truth staring right at them if they just looked hard enough.

Where it all began... Where she's been... Her mother...

The answer hit Dick like a brick wall.

'Themyscira,' he said softly, then more confidently. 'She's gone to Themyscira.'

'The Island of the Amazons?' M'gann asked. 'Are you sure?'

Dick nodded. 'It has to be. That's where Wonder Woman is from, and Y/N mentioned all the time when we were kids how much she wanted to go visit it one day.'

'But isn't it hidden?' Connor interjected. 'I mean, that's why they haven't gone back right? Anyone who leaves the island can never find it again.'

'Wonder Woman must've had something to help her remember,' Kaldur offered. 'Or at least guide her back home. I would suggest we go ask her, but again, I doubt she would tell us anything.'

It was like nothing had changed. The four of them had slipped back into theorising and planning and bantering as if no time had passed, as if no one had left or been promoted. It warmed Dick's heart at the thought that they all wanted to help find Y/N, even bring her home.

But Dick shook his head in dismissal. 'You guys don't have to worry yourselves over this. It sounds like I'm part of the reason she left in the first place, so it's my responsibility to find her and make this right on my own.'

'While I agree that this is partially your fault,' Connor said, earning a slight slap from M'gann beside him that he barely flinched at, 'Y/N's our friend too. The least we can do is help you find her.'

Dick smiled gratefully at his friend, who gave him a nod in return which was a start. 'Okay then...' Dick brought his watch up in front of his chest, clicked a few buttons before bringing up a large holographic screen with Barbara on it. 'Can you see us, Babs?'

'In quality HD, as well,' Barbara replied with a witty smile. 'Now, what can Oracle do for you?'

'We're trying to find Themyscira,' Dick explained. 'But it's not on any maps that we know of. Anything in any history records? Sailor sightings while out at sea?'

'You're asking me to find a mythical island from greek mythology that is meant to be hidden from Man's World and is forgotten by any who leave it?' Barbara asked incredulously, but then began typing ferociously on her end. 'Yeah, sure. No problem.'

Dick and the others waited in silence as Barbara worked her magic, files and maps and illustrations of the island popping up all over the screen around her face. After a minute or two, she spoke again.

'Okay,' she began, 'according to maps, you're right, the place doesn't exist. Even old sailors from Ancient Greece don't have any records of the place. However, I did find some similar tales being published in short stories of greek mythology and sailing journals. And all of them mention a couple of times sailing near what has now become the mouth of the modern Terme River in what we now know as Turkey, and having a strange sensation wash over them about danger. Each and every one of them have been convinced there is danger ahead and have turned away.'

'But they're just stories,' Kaldur argued. 'How can you be sure that what they speak of is the Island of the Amazons?'

'Ease up, Aquaman. I'm getting there.' A few more clicks and taps and Barbara brought up a picture of a very odd looking fish. 'Do you recognise that at all?'

Kaldur stared at the fish for a moment, contemplating its odd structure. 'I don't recognise it as a species,' Kaldur said. 'But I do recognise parts of it. It is like... different fish species have been spliced up and put back together to form this.'

'Exactly,' Barbara said, tap and clicking fervently again. 'This is a fish that has been found not near Turkey but close enough, and on multiple occasions. Now, if we isolate all these fish types... and then map out where each species usually resides... then find the crossover point for all of them...'

Dick watched diligently as Barbara isolated the fishes, highlight on the world map which species resided where, then drew lines horizontally and vertically, then zoomed in on the section the two lines crossed over.

'And there you have it,' Barbara offered proudly. 'The mouth to the Terme River in Turkey. You're welcome.'

'That makes sense,' M'gann said, looking up at the map, intrigued. 'If Themyscira is supposedly this pocket of space no human can find, then it makes sense that sea creatures of different genetic combinations would be able to breed there in peace, more than likely living there except for the stray pod or two that wander off into the open ocean.'

'I would have to agree,' Kaldur said, fascinated by it all as well. 'Who knows how many sea creatures live in harmony there.'

'Well, I'll be sure to find out when I get there,' Dick said as he stood up. 'Thanks Babs.'

'Any time,' she said, then the call ended.

'Wait, you're leaving now?' M'gann asked as Dick made his way to the front door.

'This cannot wait, M'gann,' Dick insisted, opening the front door. 'I have to speak with her as soon as possible.'

'Hey.' Dick was forced to stop when Connor grabbed him by his bicep, bringing the two of them close enough Dick could feel Connor's breath on his cheek.

'Are you really doing this for Y/N's sake, or for yours?' Connor asked in a hushed voice. 'Because whatever mission you think you need her for, I can assure you it cannot be more important than your friendship. Do you understand?'

Dick didn't quite understood what he meant, but he nodded anyways, and Connor let him go.

M'gann and Kaldur stepped up beside Connor as Dick made his way down the apartment stairs and back to the car. M'gann wrapped her arms around Connor's waist as he embraced her with one arm over her shoulder.

'Good luck, old friend,' Kaldur called out. 'May your journey be safe and successful.'

Dick chuckled as he waved farewell. 'I know you've always been well-spoken, but is it now a job requirement as Aquaman to sound like Gandalf?'

Kaldur pulled a face that Dick and M'gann laughed at, and Connor cracked a smile at the slight burn. Before he could psyche himself out of it, Dick hopped in the car and took off towards Wayne Manor.

'Call Alfred Pennyworth,' Dick spoke loud and clear, and the car immediately began ringing.

After a few rings, Alfred promptly answered the phone. 'Master Dick, what a pleasant surprise.'

'Hey, Alfred. Is the Batwing free at the moment?'

'I've just given it a deep clean now. Why?'

'Excellent. Could you please prepare it for take off by the time I reach the Manor? I have a little excursion I have to go on.'

'Will that excursion bring the Batwing back in one piece, Master Dick?'

'...I'll be there in twenty.'

Dick promptly ended the call, not waiting to hear a scolding from Alfred. Those were never fun.

Truth be told, he wasn't sure what to expect when he went to Themyscira. But Steve Trevor did it once, surely it could be done again.

Either way, it was a risk Dick was willing to take to get his best friend back.

---------------

Tag list:

@valiantbouquetcloud | @epicy0n | @tyrannosaurexrex1300 | @lunaizhere

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gojossotoru · 6 months ago

Note

I FORGOT ABOUT THE MANDY POSTERS THING 😭😭😭

If Barbara finds out about it (she actually doesn't know 😔💀), she would scold the hell out of Thad to the point he apologised to Mandy directly in front of her

Hiii!!! <333

Can you do Bailey's opinions + interactions with my oc's, if that's okay with you? :3

Here's what Bailey's thoughts/interactions with them would be like :)

Frankie: I'd think that Frankie would definitely be Bailey’s favorite nerd because she doesn't seem creepy, and is nice to everyone. They would start hanging out due the fact that Frankie is best friends with Dan. Bailey would also definitely be glad that Frankie is with Johnny, because she thinks Lola is not good for his mental health. Bailey would definitely try and make sure not to ask too much from Frankie because she notices how she gets about it.

Charlie: She would definitely try to be nice and welcoming to her when she first arrived at Bullworth, but if she didn't respond well to it she would leave her alone. If she did respond well, Bailey would try and talk to her about music. She would also compliment her hair color a lot, and her skateboarding skills.

Barbara: She might not like her at first because Bailey has a thing against preps but once she sees that she's as much of a jerk she might be a bit nicer to her. She agrees with her thoughts on Lola, and also has her own beef with Mr. Burton. She would question her dating Thad because of the thing with the Mandy posters.

#bully canis canem edit #bully scholarship edition #bully game #bully fandom #bully oc #bullworth academy #bully oc interaction #bully rockstar #francesca 'frankie' marino #charlotte 'charlie' hastings #barbara prescott

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thatwritterbeach · 9 months ago

Text

One messed up bat pt.1

Dc masterlist all other parts found here

Batfam x femreader Jason x reader eventually

Warnings: angst, self harm, self hate, depression,

Summary:Y/n gets caught self harming by Damian, and Tim calls in some backup

A/N: I do not own dc booohooo ooc Tim, I don't spend much time watching/reading his robin sorry **^ so I can't remember if it's canon or from a fic but at this point who cares the storyline is all fucked so in this story I'm saying that Jason tried to call dick for help with his mom but dick was asleep/didn't pick up so Jay went alone and died, now Dick CAN NOT miss a phone call it sends him into a panic attack, thank you for coming to my trauma talk

ok so we all know the timeline is shit so this is the ages for this story only found it on a reddit post, fight me at dawn if you don't like it

Bruce Wayne (Batman) at 45

Barbara Gordon (Oracle) at 27

Dick Grayson (Nightwing) at 25

Jason Todd (Red Hood) at 22

Tim Drake (Red Robin) at 18

Damian Wayne (Robin) at 11

Y/n 21

not my gif^

(2 weeks ago)

"Y/n, you can't keep acting like a child you're twenty-one," Dick whisper shouted in the corner of the batcave.

"Dick, I'm not going to apologize for helping people-"

"You disobeyed a direct order. You could have been hurt, you can't be that kind of influence to Tim and Damian."

"You don't even live here, Dick, you can't just-"

"You're benched until further notice."

"You can't-"

"Benched," Bruce confirmed stepping over to them.

(1 week ago)

"Hey, Dick, do you have a sec," she asked into the phone then immediately bit firmly into her hand to hold back a sob.

"You're still benched," he said without remorse.

"That's not-you know what never mind." She hung up on him and threw the phone onto her bed heading to her en-suite bathroom to release the itch.

(present)

"Beloved! Beloved, look I-," Damian shouted with glee but cut himself off with a scream when he opened her unlocked bathroom door. He thought she was doing her face masks not...in the bathtub with blood dripping from her arms into pink bubble filled water.

"Damian wait," she called after his retreating form. Shit, shit. She hurried to drain the water and throw on her over sized t-shirt just managing to pull some boxers on when Damian burst back in with Tim, practically dragging him into the space.

"Damian what's the problem-"

"Fix her," he shouted with haste and was about to shove Tim into the room when he noticed y/n standing there looking fine.

"Damian, I'm ok, I promise," she tried to convince him softly. He looked from her to the tub, not even a drop of evidence in sight.

"No, you-I saw the blood. Tim she cut herself I saw it," he told the older boy trying to lunge for her arm but she side stepped him.

"Damian, give us a minute," Tim tried to gently shoo him away. Damian shook his head aggressively and latched himself onto her side, clinging to her like a koala. She combed her fingers through his hair and gently detangled him.

"Dami, Tim and I just need to have a quick chat, he's gonna fix me right up, aren't you, Tim," she asked, sending him a look that clearly gave direction.

"Yeah, kid, I'll take care of her, she'll be right as rain."

"You won't hurt yourself again?" He was giving her puppy eyes, looking his own age for once and it pulled on her heart strings.

"I won't," she agreed patting him on the head and crossing her fingers behind her back with the other hand. Damian gave her one last hug then hurried out of the room. There was an awkward silence as Tim stood blocking the doorway, his jaw ticking and toe nearly tapping.

"You know I have to tell."

"Please don't." She shook her head then grabbed the first aid kit beneath the sink.

"Let me," he said softly, taking it from her and getting out the supplies. When she set her arm on the counter for him to work he sucked in a breath. "Those are deep," he accused.

"I wasn't trying anything. I'm not stupid, just a heavy bleeder." She rolled her eyes where he couldn't see and hissed when he dumped alcohol on her arm.

"They almost need stitches."

"Butterfly stickers are fine," she said digging them out of the kit one handed.

"I at least have to tell Dick-"

"NO," she said so firm he actually stepped back to look at her.

"I have to tell someone, I can't watch you 24/7."

"I don't need babysat," she seethed.

"I can tell Bruce or I can tell Dick first. Either way you aren't doing this alone."

"I cant stop you?"

"Not a chance."

"Dick told me I needed to be a better influence for you. Sorry for fucking that up, but to be fair there's worse things about me. I tried to call him a week ago, I was feeling the um...the 'itch' so to speak but as soon as he picked up he told me I was still benched. I was so pissed that he immediately thought that's what I called for I told him never mind and hung up. You can't tell him that, after Jason you know he-"

"Hates missing phone calls," Tim finished for her. **^

Tim had every intention of telling him, he knew it would hurt but come on, she tried to get help. Of course she didn't ask anyone in the house, but he wasn't about to be offended she didn't ask the child or his newly adult self for help, and he sure as hell got the not wanting to tell Bruce.

"Why not Alfred?"

"Hmm?"

"Why didn't you go to Alfred for help."

"He deals with enough shit from the rest of you, coming in half dead each night."

"That doesn't mean you come second, and sure as hell not last, we love you."

"Yeah, well it doesn't feel like it most of the time." He was finished with her arm and she resisted the urge to yank it away from him. One of Jason's flannel was on a towel hook on the wall and she quickly put it on to hide the bandages.

"I'm gonna go make sure Dami's ok," she said gently moving him out of the way. The second she was gone he hurried back to his room for his phone, that he'd left on the charger and yanked the cord out. He hit speed dial 3, Dick's cell, and held the phone to his ear while he headed out on his balcony to totally not scale down the wall instead of taking the stairs. Dick picked up on the 4th ring with a tired sigh and a 'this better be good' Tim told him to wait a sec while he got way out of hearing range.

"Did Y/n call you last week?"

"Uh, yeah, why?"

"Did you jump her case and not give her a second to speak?"

"You sound a bit pissed timbers, cut to it and tell me what I did. I haven't slept in 37 and a half hours."

"And you call me an idiot," he snorted.

"Tick tock bro," Dick mumbled head already sinking into his pillow.

"She'd been cutting herself and she called you to ask for help, well, she didn't say that word, but she was calling to tell you what she'd been doing to herself," Tim stated with little to no remorse for the heart attack he'd just given his brother.

"She what," Dick shouted throwing off the blankets and grabbing his go bag.

"I assume you'll catch the next train?" The sound of Dick falling and cursing while he hopped into pants could be heard and Tim nodded and hung up. Thankfully because the author said so Dick had switched from his police job to a remote roll in Wayne industries he just stayed in Bludhaven to have his independence and not deal with Bruce more than he had to. Alfred insisted he come for monthly dinners and he did.

Tim went back inside to hunt for Y/n and Damian and found them having mugs of hot chocolate together on the kitchen counter.

"So, you're ok," Damian asked in a small voice using a stir stick to hold his marshmallows under the liquid.

"I told you, Tim fixed me, and he probably ran off to call Dick so he could come make double sure I'm ok. You don't need to worry, I promise I'll always be here to have hot cocoa with," she replied, crossing her heart and holding out her pinkie to him. He hooks his with hers and to her surprise continued to hold on, not moving to actually hold her hand but simply letting their hands rest on the counter pinkies linked. Not wanting to interrupt Tim quietly made his way back out, he still had some calls to make.

Jason picked didn't pick up on the first call, or the second but finally on the third he answered out of breath and with gunshots loud in the foreground.

"The hell dya' want," he all but shouted into the line dodging hits and getting in several of his own.

"Sorry, I'll call back later-"

"No, talk now, I got it under *way too loud thud* control."

"Just uh, get here as quick as you can, nobodies dying so-"

"Make it quick but don't freak, got it." And he hung up. Next was Bruce who surprise surprise didn't answer a call or text, so Tim left a message.

"Get off Selena and come help your kid," he said with more aggression than snark. (this doesn't feel at all like something Tim would say but i'm not familiar enough with his character to fix it)

This time when he went to the kitchen it was just Y/n on the counter Damian had gone who knows where.

"So who all did you tell?"

"Just Dick so far, he's on his way. Jason was in the middle of a fight so he's coming later but I didn't tell him and Bruce didn't pick up-"

"Shocker, dude nabs all these kids then can't be bothered to spend time with them outside of a Halloween costume," she scoffed rolling her eyes.

"You're not wrong but-"

"Oh, don't start Stan." She waved him off hopping down to wash the mugs not willing to leave them for Alfred.

9-20-24

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gojossotoru · 5 months ago

Text

Frankie, Charlie, Barbara, Lynette and Cecil's opinions + interactions with @kat-mp5's Andre Fieldsman

______________________________

Frankie

Opinions: she really likes him platonically and considers Andre as one of her friends. She really doubted at first that he had a soft heart when she noticed him for the first time and after chatting with him for the first time, she's right. However, she's a little disappointed that Andre got into too much trouble but never admitted to him because she doesn't want to hurt his feelings

Overall, Frankie and Andre are friends :3

Interactions: Frankie would let him play her hair if she feels comfortable while reading a novel that she has. She would also help Andre study in the library, tutoring him in a serious but her own way so that he could focus. Frankie would give him some pastries from her mother's bakery if he's hungry or as a way to tell that she's glad that he's her friend

______________________________

Charlie

Opinions: she thinks Andre is pretty decent and not a douchebag. When he said about her eyes being teal, she almost snorted but she maintained her resting face because she doesn't want to get teased for snorting at his 'joke'. Her first impression of him is that she thought he was like a troublemaker who bullies people, so she tried to stay away from him. But after an incident which led the two of them to bump into each other (actually, Charlie is at fault in this because she was skating with her headphones as usual), she changed her mind about him and now she feels neutral towards him

Overall, they're not friends but they talk

Interactions: if Charlie wasn't listening to her headphones and feels fine (she's moody all the time :/), she would let Andre to count her freckles because it amused her. Andre and Charlie would skate around together with her wearing her headphones to some songs while Andre yapping to her about random stuff, knowing damn well she's NOT listening 😭

______________________________

Barbara

Opinions: to be really honest, she judged him so much because she thought he was like the rest of the bullies due to his appearance (mainly his clothes) and also some rumors/gossips about him (all of them are LIES 😭😭😭). A week later, she changed her mind slowly about Andre after they were assigned as lab partners in Biology, he was really kind to her and that made Barbara think twice about him. Now, she doesn't judge him and instead she becomes neutral towards him and becomes his friend

Overall, Barbara and Andre are friends but they don't talk much

Interactions: she allows Andre to brush her hair in a situation where it's necessary since it's nice having another person to brush her hair. She would gossip to him about someone (and the source is Christy Martin), whether he believes it or not. They would hang out at the carnival for fun or if they're bored and have nothing to do, playing different games there. Since Andre would give her romance novels from the library or something shop, Barbara would give him a CD of his favorite artist as a exchange

______________________________

Lynette

Opinions: she respects him for following the rules and at the same time hoping that Andre would not be in trouble again. Although she doesn't have any other opinions of him due to not having enough chatting and interactions, she thinks that he's at least the decent student that she can think of besides others that she knows of

Overall, Lynette respects Andre

Interactions: she would try to tell Andre to participate in being a student council member several times but later give up because his answers are always no, which she respects him for saying that but she needs more student council members. Andre would talk about his home country to Lynette during lunchtime since she's curious about him

______________________________

Cecil

Opinions: he thinks Andre is nice and sweet (that's pretty much it :/). But he does hate him for interrupting him studying, not once but twice and he could not accept Andre's apology for that (if Andre actually apologised to him). When Cecil noticed him for the first time, he thought Andre was a townie due to the way he dressed

Interactions: playing chess with Andre is like playing with a baby to Cecil. Andre loses all the time while Cecil wins like a king every time, well of course since Cecil has played chess since childhood and it's pretty much the only game that he's good at. Him and Andre would talk about poetry including Cecil's favourite poet, Christina Rossetti

______________________________

That's it and I hope you like it 💖💖💖

#bully #bully game #bully scholarship edition #bully canis canem edit #bully se #bully cce #bully oc interaction #bully ocs #francesca 'frankie' marino #charlotte 'charlie' hastings #barbara prescott #lynette mckinney #cecil sinclair

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wtffanfiction-de · 4 months ago

Text

Fandom: Richterin Barbara Salesch

“"Nein, keine Soldaten" beruhigt Babsi die Runde. "Wir müssen es alleine schaffen. Bundespräsident Richter Alexander Hold, du hast immer noch den stärksten rechten Haken, den ein Mann je ausgeteilt hat. Ingo Lenßen, dein Schnurrbart wirkt besser im Herzen eines Vampirs als jeder Holfpfahl. Und Laborchef Dr. Klenk, ist es nicht war, dass in Alpezin Weihwasser enthalten ist?"”

#wtffanfiction de #richterin barbara salesch #warum muss ich an den apfelmoft dino denken

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gojossotoru · 5 months ago

Note

💖

Hiii!!! <333

Can you do your oc, Vic's opinions (+ interactions) with my oc's if that's okay with you :3

hi!!! ofc! i think ur ocs r very interesting :p

besides, some of the opinions n interacts from Vic:

Frankie -opinion:

" I guess she's a good person. I haven't heard much about her but I see that she is with the nerds. "

interactions:

- If they met for the first time, Frankie wouldn't feel comfortable with Vic smoking. Possibly she would politely ask him to stop smoking so they could talk, something that wouldn't bother Vic out of respect.

- Vic thinks Frankie isn't as gross or unbearable as other nerds.

- He doesn't talk to her much because she is Beatrice's best friend, and he doesn't have a good relationship with that nerd.

- They might get along because they don't like Lola and they like similar foods.

Charlie -opinion:

" She seems to be someone tough, I have heard that she even raised the finger at a prefect. "

Interactions:

- They might not talk much since they are both people of few words.

- But they could talk about movies or sports on wheels.

- Vic would have the same problem with Charlie, the cigarette. If he saw that Charlie disliked it, he would suddenly take it away if he was smoking at the time.

- They could be friends, by sharing similarities. Or they could also be allies.

Barb -Opinion:

" Thank god, another prep who is against incest. That shit it's makes me sick! "

Interactions:

- They may talk, but possibly Barbara sees it badly because of his rumor with Zoey.

- Vic likes the way Barb smells, but doesn't say it for fear of appearing to be a stalker.

- They would make fun of bad movies, being their biggest topic of conversation.

- They might get along well.

#bully cce #bully #bully game #bully scholarship edition #bully canis canem #bully canis canem edit #canis canem edit bully #canis canem #canis canem edit #bully oc #fan ocs #vic almanza #francesca 'frankie' marino #charlotte 'charlie' hastings #barbara prescott

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chief-of-restless-hearts · 21 days ago

Text

Bad Company

Chapter 26: Small Mercies

[Ao3 link]

. . .

Cassandra would not cry out. She had not even the temptation to. Her father had taken this from her, as he had all other things. Still, her body screamed. That gentle man, that Alfred—his wavering outline loomed over her, pressing down on her leg, making it worse worse so much worse—

Something was crushing-squeezing her left hand. Someone, with long, pale hair, was sobbing. It was Spoiler. Stephanie. Why was she crying?

Had he hurt her? The grenade. It must have—

She wrenched against her body’s foreign reluctance, and the world blinked black.

A new shadow penetrated the fog. The Batman’s shadow, in Stephanie’s place. He, who she had failed. His dark shape stooped, his cape falling over her like the darkness that was already returning to her eyes.

Did he know how she had let the Hunter escape?

She had failed him, and his lost Robin, utterly.

Failure, chanted her pain. Its throbbing accusation followed her into the dark.

+ - + - + - + - +

The unremitting glow from Oracle’s computers permeated the entire clocktower, bathing every surface, highlighting every crevice, and each of the needle-sharp teeth in Cassandra’s snarl flashed electric blue.

Bruce gazed down at her placidly, arms hanging peaceably among the folds of his cape without compromising his barrier between Cassandra and the downpour outside.

‘Let me help’, trembled silently through her battered frame. She had bent so defiantly close to him that he could mark the twitching of her shoulders with every too-sharp breath. The tell-tale trickle of sweat trailing down from her temple. Mottled burns stark against her sickening pallor, thinly disguised by fury.

“—less than eighteen hours since your surgery, Cass! You shouldn't even be standing, let alone—”

Bruce was himself only half aware of Barbara’s pleas, but Cass might as well have been deaf to them. Her wild glare never shifted from Batman’s mask.

Had the explosion robbed her of her hearing? Until they could examine her further, there would be no telling the extent of the damage. But regardless of whether or not the reason was physical, one thing was certain: in the time since Cassandra had awoken, she had not spoken a single word.

As even Barbara’s voice fell away, true silence stretched between them, interrupted only by the girl’s ragged breaths and the soft patter of water dripping from the hem of Batman’s cape, residual rivulets from the sweeping gales that were still rattling against the glass clock-face.

He drew long, slow breaths to ease the violent tension fighting for control of his every muscle. Batgirl’s faceless, nameless assailant was not before him now. This was Cass. A child. Who was, at least for this moment, his. She was reading him as he relaxed, inch by agonising inch.

Wait, she read in his disciplined calm. He forced his eyes to fix beneath her tangled mass of black hair, where the bandages began just under the left side of her chin. He followed them downward. Her gray tanktop and shorts fully exposed the gauze that littered half the surface of one leg and the entirety of the other, that dangled limply from her hip. She shuddered furiously at his surveyal, and at the entreaty in his gaze as it returned to hers: Heal.

She struck her bandaged left leg, unflinching, and pointed toward the trap door in the clockface window that, in his haste, Bruce had left ajar.

Patience, his stillness returned.

She bluffed a strike mere centimeters short of his right arm. It had, unbeknownst to her, been sprained nearly to the point of breaking the night before, and its brace was concealed entirely by his cape. An injury only she could have sensed without seeing. An accusation: Hypocrite.

Batman remained a placid, immovable stone. No.

Her dark eyes glittered with fury. A tremor ran up her body, beginning in her legs, building in her chest, her throat, and she screamed.

The stairwell door behind him burst open. Two sets of footsteps stumbled into the room, and Bruce felt at least some of the tension ease out of his limbs.

They had made unexpectedly good time.

He watched as Cass’s defiant snarl shifted past his shoulder to fix on the two intruders. Her expression slackened.

“Shut the door behind you,” he called without turning. “Come—”

“Batgirl!” shouted Barbara, trying to follow as Cass pushed past Bruce toward the two figures standing in the doorway: Tim Drake and Stephanie Brown.

Between the two stunned young faces, it was clear who Cass had set as her target. Stephanie resembled a pillar of salt—stricken by terror or guilt?—as Cass lurched toward her on her one functioning leg, propelling herself onward by pushing against desks, walls, until at last her outstretched hands cupped Stephanie’s face, poking and prodding her with an utterly intent expression.

“I—” Stephanie croaked, “I wasn’t hurt. I’m fine.”

She couldn’t resist a glance down at ‘Batgirl’s’ right leg. The wrongness of its shape between the curve of her thigh and calf.

Bruce studied Stephanie’s expression critically. That sallow, guilty impression he’d had of her a few moments before returned full force. She looked sick.

“Stephanie,” Batman said briskly, startling her attention away from Cass. “And Tim. Thank you for coming. Oracle?”

For the first time the children seemed to take in the clocktower room, the elaborate arrangement of computers, wires, and clockwork, and ‘Oracle’, who sat, unmasked, in the center.

Her expression appeared calm, assured of her choice, a risk he could never have asked of her. Bruce hoped, as he withdrew, that she knew he was grateful.

Barbara adjusted her glasses and braced to begin. “We need one, or both of you, to stay here, in this room, for as long as possible.”

“What’s happened to Batgirl?” Tim asked sharply.

Cass whirled to face Bruce again with renewed rage oozing from every inch of her half-bent form. He returned her gaze evenly.

“Batgirl, we’ve been through this,” Barbara’s voice cut in. “You’re in no condition for combat, let alone to go after whoever did this to you. We don’t even know who he is—”

“Hunter,” Cass spat, wavering slightly until she twisted her body upright again. “Killer. Find him, find Robin.”

The silence fell thick and hard.

Bruce stared into Cass’s wild expression, at the fury, pain, and guilt, and felt all that and more simmering within his own gut.

“Batgirl…” Barbara said softly, and then whirled to type something into the computer. The largest screen snapped up an image of the only hunter Cass could have meant. “Is this—”

Cass gave an answering snarl.

“But he wasn’t wearing anything like that,” Stephanie said. Every pair of eyes in the room whipped toward her, and she faltered uncertainly. “He—the man who, who y’know—he was wearing civilian clothes. A trenchcoat. How would she know it was him?”

Bruce felt his heart hammering against his ribcage, again screaming at him the same instinct he had demanded Cass restrain when she had attempted to pursue her assailant: no longer nameless, no longer even faceless.

Deathstroke.

“She would know,” Barbara said, in a strained voice.

+ - + - + - +

“Tall, but old. And he had an eyepatch, I think.”

“Details, Stephanie. We need you to be more specific than that.”

Oracle was typing furiously. Stephanie fidgeted beside Tim and his equally uncomfortable-looking folding chair. These rapidfire questions had been the last thing she’d expected when she’d been called to the tower. What she had expected hadn’t happened yet. At least, not beyond that look Batman had given her when he’d first said her name. Piercing through her, making her stomach drop into her water-logged socks.

“So, this Deathstroke,” she interjected before Oracle could shoot her another question. “You’ve heard of him?”

Oracle’s pale lips pressed tightly together. “Not now, Stephanie. Please. These questions are time-sensitive.”

Stephanie was about to ask what she meant by that when she was distracted by a motion to her left. Batgirl was slashing toward Batman with an open hand. Stephanie blinked, now openly staring at the pair, who had resumed the stand-off she and Tim had first found them in. Batgirl’s strike had been a feint, it hadn’t touched Batman, and he hadn’t so much as flinched. Her teeth and eyes flashed as though he’d insulted her.

“You didn’t call us here to question us,” Tim said, a statement rather than a question.

Oracle’s fingers faltered and stilled over the keyboard. “No,” she sighed. “Both of you understand how much we’ve entrusted you with, don’t you?”

Tim nodded solemnly. Steph felt her own head wobble numbly.

Oracle searched their faces for a long moment before continuing. “I agreed to share my face, and my workspace, because we have no other choice. Batman and I can’t force Batgirl to stay off the streets, even in her current condition. Believe me, we’ve tried before. But you two…maybe you can do something for her that we can’t.”

“What?”

“Just,” She bit her lip, her eyes drifting toward Batman and the feral girl. “…give her a reason to stay.”

. . .

Stephanie sank down on the floor beside Batgirl, who, having finally given up on whatever she’d been trying to communicate to Batman, had tucked herself between a bookshelf and the far wall with her bandage-ridden legs drawn up to her chest. Stephanie stole a glance at the girl’s face—what little she could see of it. Just above Batgirl’s crossed arms gleamed two dark, terrifying eyes. Stephanie quickly looked away.

Tim, following a few awkward attempts to get Batgirl to speak, had wandered back toward the computers where Batman and Oracle were having some kind of intense vigilante conference. This had left Stephanie nursing an irritated twinge of betrayal. And yet, here she was. Without any right to walk away. She squeezed her eyes shut, drew a deep breath, and looked over again.

Not even a hint of resentment or accusation lived in Batgirl’s unwavering gaze. Instead, in that silent exchange, Stephanie felt… studied. As though she were one of those spiders she’d seen Batgirl pluck from the batcave floor and watch with round-eyed delight as they skittered across her fingers. Stephanie’s mouth felt dry.

“Sorry I called you spooky,” she whispered.

Batgirl didn’t blink.

“…the Ruiz lead?” Oracle’s voice murmured.

“We discussed the situation,” Batman responded. Something about his tone tugged at Stephanie’s attention. “As anticipated, there would be no benefit in my going to New Mexico.” Oracle murmured something questioning that Stephanie couldn’t make out. “It’s been four months,” Batman answered shortly. Almost defensively. “We would learn nothing more than what they’ve already told us.”

“…That the boy they met was the same one we’ve always known,” Oracle finished quietly.

Tim was drifting back toward Stephanie and Batgirl, the wince of discomfort in his face mirroring Stephanie’s own feelings. Even if they couldn’t be accused of eavesdropping, Stephanie still felt like an intruder.

Tim joined them on the floor in a silence that the two still figures by the computer did not disturb. Stephanie traced circles into the faint layer of dust beneath her fingertips, strangely disturbed by the eerie vigil, and half-tempted to break it by the time Batman’s gravelly murmur cut across the room. “…For that man to be released now, of all times.”

Oracle straightened abruptly, as though his voice had startled her out of a trance, and shook her head with a frown. “If Zucco tries to start up his old racket, we’ll have him back behind bars before he knows what’s hit him. He’s the least of our worries right now.”

‘Who’s Zucco?’ leapt to the tip of Stephanie’s tongue, but a warning look from Tim stopped her. She scrunched up her face at him in response.

A funny little smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. He glanced over his shoulder, seeming to consider something before he leaned closer to whisper, “If you’re curious about what’s really eating Batman… Today is the first Robin’s birthday.”

He looked so satisfied with himself for knowing that useless piece of information. “How would you know?” Stephanie whispered back irritably. “And what do you mean the ‘first’ Robin?”

His smug expression slipped a little at her second question, but he just shrugged one shoulder and turned away. Evidently the conversation was over. Something about this small gesture sent angry heat rushing to Stephanie’s cheeks. She jolted to her feet.

“Am I the only one here who doesn’t know what’s going on?” she demanded. Batman and Oracle both turned, as though finally remembering she was even in the room. “Just give me something, alright? I don’t even know who this ‘Deathstroke’ guy is, let alone what he has to do with Robin.”

Oracle stared at her, brow furrowed. Batman stared too, and something in that masked look made the heat in her face chill to a pallor.

Batman turned to Oracle. “I’ll check in post-patrol,” he said briskly, already moving for the open window.

Batgirl lunged from her corner. In the time it took Stephanie to turn her head, the girl was almost upon Batman, arm recoiling to strike. Batman whirled, unbalancing her with a single deflection and pinning her against the floor.

Stephanie blinked, and Batgirl was restrained, helpless, wheezing and trembling with pain or fury. Looking on stupidly, she glanced around, saw pain in Oracle’s face, and Tim, for once, seemed as lost as she was.

Slowly, Batman released Batgirl and rose to his feet. She did not attempt to rise.

“Your welfare is my responsibility,” he said, low, but with earth-shattering gentleness. “Your responsibility is to heal.” A pause. “Do you understand?”

Batgirl remained still, remained trembling, even as he disappeared through the ajar trap door.

With an awkward cough, Tim raised his hand. “Hey, Oracle? If you’re about to start answering questions, I’ve got a few myself.”

. . .

“This is…this is screwed up.” Stephanie raked a hand through her tangled hair, making the knots even worse. “Just, so screwed. So this, this assassin, kidnapper guy, he came to Gotham…why? Just to—” She pointed to Batgirl, the words sticking in her throat. The girl had sat up, but otherwise hadn’t moved from the spot where Batman had left her. Her chin was resting on her uninjured knee, her eyes seeming to stare at nothing.

Oracle laced her fingers tightly together on her lap. “That is an excellent question, Stephanie, one that we hope you might be able to help us answer.”

Tim raised his hand again, as though he were in a classroom. Stephanie resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “You tried to trace Deathstroke’s retreat, right? Obviously. And you must not have found much of anything, because if you had, you and Batman would be pursuing that lead right now.”

Oracle’s laced fingers whitened. “Correct.”

“It’s got to be the cameras, right? They’re looped. Like they were last month, during Cluemaster’s disappearance.”

Oracle froze, her lips forming around the word ‘Cluemaster’, and she whirled toward her computer. Tim bent forward to watch, a satisfied gleam in his eyes.

Stephanie stood back, and fidgeted. For all that her Dad’s last supervillain stunt had something to do with the missing Robin, her input, once again, wasn’t needed.

Her dad had dropped off the grid for a couple days that she had spent tucked away in the batcave, apparently for her own protection. As though she were the one who needed it. As soon as her dad had been nailed, they let her out, and Spoiler again hit the streets. Batgirl had found her mid-patrol, somehow, dogging her steps, watching her. As the nights went on it had become almost a game, trying to beat Batgirl to the action. Stephanie hadn’t asked for a guardian angel, but it hadn’t taken long for her to realize she hadn’t minded the company.

Stephanie waited through two agonizing, keyboard-clacking minutes, and left.

She walked over to Batgirl, who acknowledged Stephanie’s approach only with her eyes, that followed her.

“Batgirl,” Stephanie blurted out. “Fight me.” The girl just stared. “Wait, uh—what I mean is, I need you to give me a crash-course in ass-kicking, so, so that…next time…”

Stephanie ducked her head, biting down hard on her lower lip.

A beat passed, and then the girl rose with improbable grace. She assumed some kind of sparring stance, and something in the gleam of her eyes made Stephanie take a step back.

“Wait, shouldn’t we use a training mat or somethi—”

Batgirl’s grip had already closed around her wrist, and Stephanie hurtled head over heels to slam down flat on her back.

“…Crash,” Batgirl rasped.

Winded, Stephanie blinked up at the girl’s distinctly wolfish grin. “And she’s a comedian too,” she wheezed, but a grin was already spreading across her own face.

+ - + - + - +

Barbara turned as Tim practically bounded from his seat, eagerly asking for his own turn against Cass. Cass’s lean form turned to face him, not only prepared, but laughing.

Barbara’s lips trembled into a smile, and she sighed out the tension that had flooded her ever since those two kids had entered the clocktower with their naivety and enthusiasm that was a shade too familiar for comfort.

But this almost made her dare to hope that everything might just turn out alright.

+ - + - + - +

Stephanie pushed through the Clocktower door with sweat plastering her bangs against her forehead, her ponytail matted, and her costume balled up in her backpack. She glanced toward the computers, and sure enough, Oracle was already looking at her sideways.

“What gave you such a workout?” she asked.

“Gym,” Steph said too quickly.

Oracle met her defiant stare a moment longer before turning back to her screen. “If you say so.”

Tim was already crouched beside Batgirl, who seemed to have been redirecting his hands into a blocking position. Both of them had gone still. Batgirl staring shamelessly into her face, and Tim so obviously avoiding her eyes.

“What?” Steph snapped at the two of them. Neither reacted, and she stormed over to Oracle’s chair instead. “Fine! I went out as Spoiler tonight, and yesterday, and the night before that.” Oracle didn’t acknowledge her. “Just say what you’re thinking already!”

Oracle’s shoulders rose and fell with a sigh, and she turned her wheelchair to face Stephanie. “Look, Steph, it’s been wonderful to see you bonding with Batgirl, and I honestly cannot thank you enough for what you’ve done for her in these last few days.” She drew a breath, and Stephanie stiffened in anticipation for what she knew she was about to hear. “But there is a difference between sparring with her and running half-cocked through Gotham as an untrained vigilante.”

And there it was. “This ‘untrained vigilante’ helped you catch Cluemaster if you haven’t forgotten that already,” Stephanie snapped. “I haven’t. Me and my mom were the ones who had to live with the mess my dad made of our lives, and the reason we don’t have to spend our nights afraid he’ll come home is because I did the right thing.”

“We would have caught him anyway,” Oracle said, more softly this time, but that only made Stephanie angrier.

“I got him put away sooner. Every day makes a difference with him.”

The computer beeped. Loudly, insistently. Without hesitation Oracle turned to address it. Steph was crossing her arms with a huff just as Superman’s face—The Superman—filled the computer screen.

“Oracle speaking,” Oracle said briskly. “Masks and code names only.”

Dazed, Steph’s hand wandered toward her own shoulder, reaching for the Superman cape her father had ripped from her back long years ago. Tim suddenly appeared at her side, his eyes glowing with the same disbelief.

“Understood,” he conceded with a nod. “Now, this isn’t strictly business. Is Batman there?”

“He’s on patrol, but if this is important I can connect you to his comm.”

“I’d appreciate that. This has to do with Robin.”

Barbara’s hand, extended toward a switch beside the console, faltered.

“It’s good news, Oracle,” he added quietly. “Nothing too major, but he deserves to hear it.”

She flipped the switch. “Batman, the Justice League wants to speak with you. Is this a good time?”

The transmission crackled expectantly. “Wire them in,” Batman’s voice grunted.

“You’re connected,” Oracle said to both of them.

Superman smiled slightly, but his gaze lowered from the camera. He was no longer addressing the people on the other side. “Batman, thanks for finally picking up.” No response. Something rueful tugged at the corner of his mouth, and he glanced again at the screen. “Oracle, I’d appreciate it if you stayed on the line. Green Arrow has something to say.”

Oracle’s teeth clicked together at the name, but she said nothing.

A man Stephanie might have mistaken for a Robin Hood cosplayer if he hadn’t looked so naggingly familiar stepped into view. “Hey, Bats.” The man hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “Uh, actually, I brought someone here who can explain the situation better than I can.”

A girl, around Stephanie’s age, with a long blond ponytail, stepped up beside him.

“Batman?” She cleared her throat, braced her shoulders, lifted her chin. “My name is Artemis Crock. And my father and sister have been hunting Deathstroke and Reneg…I mean, Robin…for the past four months.”

Sportsmaster, Cheshire, the HIVE.

The girl’s story went on and on. The names meant nothing to Stephanie, or to Tim either, judging by the slight furrow between his brows, but to Oracle? Judging by the furious activity on her keyboard, those names meant something to her. More than something.

Artemis grimly recounted their battle with Deathstroke and ‘Renegade’, her injury, and how she had run away from her father as soon as she had healed sufficiently to succeed. Green Arrow had found her practicing vigilantism in Star City, and now, here she was.

And the reason?

“When a civilian got caught in the crossfire, Robin didn’t hesitate. It was like he forgot we were there, that we were trying to kill him. In that moment all he could see was that kid under the rubble, and…ever since then I’ve wished I’d run to help, too.”

So familiar. So…easy.

A masked, red-haired boy in what looked like a redder variation of Green Arrow’s costume pushed into view, forcing Artemis to lean sideways with a grimace.

“She’s one of us now, and it’s all thanks to Rob! Didja catch that everybody? And by the way, Cyborg, you sick of these old squares yet? The new T-tower’s bein’ built with your dough, and we need someone who actually knows how to use all that junk, y’know? We gotta straighten out all our crap before Rob comes back.”

Green Arrow bent forward to say something inaudible, but the boy just scoffed.

“Yeah, yeah, apologize all you want, but don’t think I’ll let you forget that you all doubted him when he’s always been the best of us—”

The boy went on until the topic drifted into an interrogation, with Batman and Oracle alternating the line of questioning. As they filed through a thousand seemingly insignificant details, Tim remained enraptured throughout, but Stephanie wandered back toward Batgirl, who had hung back from the computer gathering. Nearly an hour passed, during which they alternated between sparring—if those lessons could be called that—and sitting back to watch the screen. Eventually the questions wound down to a close.

“Batman,” Artemis said again, her voice subdued. “Robin is in danger, and I do hope this will help you protect him from…all of them, but. I’m also afraid for my family. Neither of them is a match for the Terminator, and Jade—” A watery sheen filled her eyes, her expression pinching painfully. “She found me two days ago, and… she said that she’s going after the Terminator because of me. If you can, protect them. Please.”

When the screen blinked back, Oracle sat back, waiting. A few seconds later, Batman’s voice crackled through the comm.

“All is as expected.” His voice sounded rougher than usual. “I’ll be in the cave. Keep in touch.”

Steph headed back over to the computer. “Hey, about what that ginger kid said. Did you ever doubt Robin?”

Oracle shot her a sideways glance. “No. And before you ask, neither did Batman. We knew Robin better than most.”

“What was he like?” Tim asked, practically vibrating with excitement. “In person, I mean. I met him once, so I think I know, in a way, but still.”

Oracle reached for a drawer, and began rifling through a series of folders.

“See for yourself.” She pulled up a glossy photograph of a scrap of paper that had a phone number scrawled across it. “Robin wrote this note on January first in a New York brothel front. We know this because,” Oracle drew a long, tight breath, “a few weeks later, a fourteen-year-old girl came to the rebuilt Teen Titans tower with a story. She claimed that she’d met Robin. Recognized him, though he denied who he was. But then, a few hours later, Deathstroke handed her this slip of paper, told her it was ‘from Renegade’, and left. The number led her to a shelter for abused women and girls. They took her in. Changed her life.”

“Hold on,” Tim interrupted, “Deathstroke delivered Robin’s message? Why would he do that?”

Oracle turned away to carefully return the photograph to its place. “I don’t know. But don’t you see? This is exactly what happened with Artemis, and that elderly couple from New Mexico, too. Robin barely brushed shoulders with these people, and look at what they have to say about him. That’s who he’s always been, and obviously it hasn’t changed.”

“It’s almost hard to believe he’s held out this long,” Tim mused, a distant look in his eyes. “We’ve got to find him before Deathstroke pushes him too far. Makes him do something he can’t take back.”

Oracle went ramrod-stiff at Tim’s final words. Startled, Stephanie glanced between her and Tim, who was too dreamy-eyed to notice.

“Go home, you two,” Oracle said at last, in a strange voice. “Get some sleep.”

“This Robin,” Stephanie said abruptly, as she felt the timeline of her life begin to interlock with a yellow cape, stark against the night sky, “he helped to catch my dad a few years back, didn’t he?”

“He did.”

Stephanie left with the realization of how much she had to thank him for. Regardless of whatever Oracle wasn’t telling them, she could have hugged him for that. She hoped she’d have a chance to.

+ - + - + - +

“You’re healing. That’s…good.”

Something was absent behind Cass’s eyes. She hadn’t challenged Bruce once since that first night, though he’d made a point of visiting her daily. She gazed back at him from her perch on the back of a sitting chair, her injured leg dangling over the side. He studied her placid expression, searching for a sign that this was patience and not despair. But Oracle had told him how Cassandra had begun sparring with Stephanie and Tim, how she had seemed to improve.

Steph arrived, dropping her backpack by the door before joining Tim by the bookshelves. Her face was flushed, her hair wind-tousled. Bruce’s lips pressed together grimly, but there was no time to address the possibility that Spoiler had returned to the streets. Making a mental note to ask Oracle about it later, he returned his attention to Cass.

“I’ll be out of the city for a couple days. Justice League emergency.” He hesitated. “You’re in good hands.”

Cass’s lips stirred slightly, as though she were about to speak. She stayed silent. Reluctant, he turned to leave.

The League’s recent gesture made this aid the least he owed them. The leads they had accumulated over the past week were loose, fluttering fragments of a larger picture that still need to be gathered together and studied. For now, he could entrust it to Oracle’s hands.

He placed a boot on the windowsill, the brisk night wind spilling through the opening as he undid the latch.

A signal beep from the computer monitor. Barbara addressed the alert swiftly, and Bruce waited with trepidation. Had the League conflict escalated so quickly?

“Batman,” she said.

He rushed to join her by the monitor and read the message, vaguely aware of the two teens gathering behind them.

A motel address. A video attachment, and a timestamp. The date March twenty-second, and a one-word message:

‘Hurry’.

. . .

The attachment contained security footage of a motel parking lot. It recorded nothing of note, save for an inexplicable timestamp skip, and a strange white blip that Oracle had seen before.

“Those sure are some fireworks in the New York sky tonight, eh?” Having quickly overcome his initial alarm at The Batman’s appearance in his office, the motel manager was leaning across the counter with curiosity glowing in his eyes. “Woulda thought at a time like this, your kind was needed up there.”

Bruce finished his survey of the room, his gaze lingering on the creased map beside the door.

“I’m looking for a sixteen-year-old boy with dark hair,” he said briskly.

The man’s face lit up as though Batman had just described his best friend. With an easy tongue he recounted a good-humored boy he’d met a couple days before—on the twenty-second, he confirmed when pressed—and went into great detail on the boy’s (clearly false) story about a fishing trip.

“He ain’t in some kinda trouble, is he?”

Bruce studied the man’s suddenly sober expression for a long moment before withdrawing Stephanie’s sketch from his belt. “He will be, so long as he’s with this man.”

The manager bent across the counter to squint at the drawing. While rough, and a tad over-stylized with its oversized, angular eyes, it was legible enough. And if the depicted expression had been rendered perhaps less than neutral, the result hadn’t quite warranted criticism. Especially when the artist’s young face had glowed with such accomplishment.

The man’s expression slackened into something like dismay. “That man…he said he was his father.”

“He is not,” Bruce snapped.

The man’s eyes lifted to meet his, subdued. “What can I do?”

The original footage of the night in question had already been overwritten in the usual two day cycle. A search of the rented room revealed little more. Any belongings had been long since removed, any fingerprints wiped away. The camera loop had begun before their vehicle had entered the parking lot, and the manager had been unable to provide a description.

They had left abruptly, the beds inside undisturbed.

Why?

There had been a high wind-speed that night, deafening howls, but the hotel manager remembered hearing a woman’s shout.

The far end of the motel lot faded into a patch of woods, preceded by patches of dried mud that Bruce’s cape brushed as he crouched to examine the great gouges in the earth.

Three sets of prints—no, four.

Bent almost double, he pursued them through the trees and underbrush. Two of the sets were smaller, two larger. The prints trampled each other ruthlessly, save for one heavy boot-tread that had avoided the other prints as painstakingly as Bruce’s own. Heavy near the toe, stooped and swift.

It would be too easy to assign names to the jumbled trail, his heart hammering harder at the instinct, or fear, that was already deciphering the tale.

In the prints he saw the long smear of a fall. And a dark, pooling splatter.

Bruce rubbed the unnaturally rust-tinted dirt between his gloved fingers. He fought to keep them steady, but still, the discolored grains sifted through them. Useless, empty hands.

“We can’t know it’s his until we test a sample,” Barbara’s voice murmured through his comm.

The trail continued, veering left, toward the road. “No time,” he said, already pushing on through trampled thorns and brush.

‘Hurry’, had been the sole message from their source. Speculation was dangerous, but who else could it be, if not the nameless caller who had led Batman across the sea to come within arm’s reach of his Robin, his—

An impression in the dirt stretched out before him, the outline of a fallen body, the size of—

Bruce’s knees struck the earth before the swarm of tracks, no longer swift, no longer urgent. Circling the body on the ground.

“—atman, do you read me? Batman—”

+ - + - + - +

“Batman!” Oracle repeated.

Stephanie and Tim leaned in closer to the monitor’s live feed from Batman’s mask. A vague fuzziness made it difficult to properly comprehend what they were seeing, but it looked like…

“They captured him,” Batman’s voice crackled through the speakers. “The Crocks.”

“We can’t be certain,” Oracle began, but Batman wasn’t finished.

“Robin lured them away from the motel, to prevent casualties. He was unprepared for combat, and…alone.”

You said ‘captured’, Stephanie couldn’t bring herself to say, fingernails digging into her sweat-slick palms. How do you know they didn’t—

“We know from Artemis that Deathstroke was their primary target,” Batman continued. The camera view shifted, as though he’d risen to his feet. “They made no attempt to disguise their tracks. They wanted him to follow.”

The camera pushed through branches, soon reaching a street. Solid asphalt, with no more tracks to follow. Stephanie felt her stomach sink.

“Oracle. Scan the tire tread.”

“On it.”

Stephanie watched Oracle analyze the pattern, and Batman was already making his way back to the Batmobile.

But her thoughts were still on the two mercenaries who had attacked Robin, but hated Deathstroke as much as she did.

“They’re no match for Deathstroke,” she murmured.

Tim looked over at her sharply. “You’re right.”

Caught off guard, she blinked at him in surprise.

“In all likelihood, wherever this trail leads, it’s already over. They’ll all be long gone.”

“Then we’ll search out a new lead,” Oracle said, shooting a look in his direction. “This is all we have, Tim.”

“But if we already know Robin is back with Deathstroke, this seems like a waste of time.”

“Tim,” she repeated.

“We don’t know how serious Robin’s injury was. Deathstroke may not have had the option to take him all the way back to New York, assuming he wanted to keep him alive. Maybe Deathstroke took him to a safehouse nearby, or even another motel—”

“We don’t know that Robin was injured,” she countered tersely, glancing back toward Batman’s camera feed. “That blood could just as easily have belonged to Sportsmaster or Cheshire.”

“But can we afford to take that chance? It’s only been a day! If Deathstroke did bring him somewhere close by, they might still be there, and the longer we spend following this—”

“Stop.”

Something in Oracle’s tone made Tim’s mouth snap shut. Statue-still, her hand stayed raised in a motion for silence. But her eyes weren’t on Tim.

“Is someone else on the line?”

Silence. Stephanie held her breath, her ears strained to hear whatever Oracle must have picked out.

“Check the nearest hospital,” crackled through the speakers, the voice muffled—young, “…you morons.”

“Who is this?” Oracle demanded, racing to work something into the computer. “Is this the anonymous caller? Hello?”

But even Stephanie had heard the click of a terminated transmission.

Oracle hissed out sharply through her teeth. “I couldn’t trace the connection in time.”

“A hospital is out of the question,” Batman said quickly. “Deathstroke would never risk it.”

But Stephanie could see on Oracle’s screen that she had already started the search.

Stephanie tried to imagine the man who had hurled a grenade at her, who had nearly killed Batgirl, being desperate enough to drag Robin into a hospital. She couldn’t.

And yet.

“But we don’t know the guy well enough to say that, do we?” She asked quietly. “I mean, no one’s even been able to tell me what he was doing in Gotham without his mask.”

“And that note from New Years,” Tim rushed to add. “We’ve seen him do things for Robin before.”

Tim looked at Stephanie, something in his eyes saying what neither of them dared to say aloud. As though he knew that her memory of the ruthless old man from the park was beginning to look far too much like her dad. Her lowlife excuse for a father. Would he have taken a similar risk for her? As much as the thought twisted at her insides, Stephanie knew the answer.

Just because he was her—

Oh God.

She clapped a hand over her mouth before a strangled noise could jump out. A hand wrapped around hers. Tim.

“This is sick,” she whispered. Gently, Tim squeezed her hand, and released it.

“Covenant Hospital,” Oracle exclaimed. “Batman. We have footage.”

Through the camera feed, the Batmobile whirled around, engines roaring toward its target.

“The trail is still warm. They left last night, but we can trace the looped camera feed through the city. We’ve got them.”

Oracle was smiling as she spoke, and behind her glasses, her eyes sparkled. As though the battle were already won.

“And then what?” Stephanie burst out, startling Oracle out of her reverie. “You told us what happened the last time Batman found Robin. What makes you think this time will be any different?”

Some of the light dimmed in Oracle’s eyes. “We’ll make this time different.”

“To do that, you’ll need more boots on the ground.” Stephanie said, fighting to keep a neutral expression. “Batman can’t go after them alone.”

Just like that, Oracle’s face closed off. Stephanie felt Tim go stiff at her side.

“We’ll contact the Justice League if possible,” Oracle said neutrally, as though she’d misunderstood.

“It won’t be,” Steph retorted. “I’ve seen the news.”

Oracle ignored her.

Stephanie felt the knot in her chest flare into anger. “You used to be Batgirl, right?”

Oracle’s shoulders twitched. Stephanie’s stomach gave a guilty lurch, but her next words rushed out of their own volition.

“I looked up to you. You made me think maybe I didn’t have to sit back and wait for Batman to save my family. And look, I know this new Batgirl has insane assassin skills, but you? What right did you have to put on a costume and fight that I don’t?” Stephanie whirled to face Tim. “And you could back me up a little. Or are you hoping Batman thinks you’re special enough to be the next Robin?”

“Of course not,” Tim snapped, too quickly, too angrily. His cheeks flushed beet red.

Her mouth dropped open. “You do want to be Robin!”

“Stephanie!” Oracle hissed. “Keep your voice down. Please.” She glanced significantly toward the half-closed door to Batgirl’s room, where the girl had collapsed into one of those dead-to-the-world comas of hers that Oracle called naps.

“Listen,” Oracle continued in a low voice. “You don’t know what we’ve been through this past year. We’ve lost too many kids. And this week, we almost lost two more.” She paused, searching Stephanie’s face for understanding. “You’re not the only one we’re trying to keep off the streets.”

Stephanie blinked rapidly under the woman’s solemn scrutiny, water building at the corners of her eyes though she didn’t know why.

But then something clicked. Her eyes widened with horror. “You’re benching Batgirl permanently, aren’t you?” Oracle’s expression pinched, as though pained. “You can’t. It’ll kill her!”

“We’re trying to save her,” Oracle whispered fiercely. “The damage is already done. She needs to find other things worth living for, and that’s what you’ve done for her.” Oracle drew a shaky breath, her eyes squeezing shut for a moment. “Thank you.”

Stephanie clenched her trembling hands into fists at her sides. “You don’t get it. No, you really don’t get it. You and Batman think we’re different from you, like we’re not just as ready to put our lives on the line as you are. But Batgirl,” Stephanie’s words caught in her throat, “she didn’t hesitate before shielding me with her body. She didn’t give a single thought to her own wellbeing. And from what I’ve heard, Robin is just the same.”

Stephanie scrubbed a sleeve across her itching eyes, and fixed Oracle with a glare.

“You know, I’ll bet the reason you couldn’t bring him home the last time was because you were treating him like a victim in need of rescue. And when did Robin ever see himself that way?”

“Robin is a hero,” Tim whispered.

Stephanie shot him a baffled look. “That’s just what I was saying, what are you—”

“No, Steph, I agree. Oracle, you and everyone else who cares about Robin—you’ve been treating this like a kidnapping. You’re looking for a victim. And yeah, maybe he is one. But did we forget that Robin is a hero?”

Steph glanced between Tim’s animated expression and Oracle’s slackening realization. “God…” she breathed. “Dear God…”

Oracle whirled around to say something into her mic, and Tim turned back to Stephanie. “We need to go back to square one and ask why Renegade exists. Why, and how, with all we know about Robin, has Deathstroke managed to keep a hold on him all this time. What meant more to Robin than anything else?”

“His friends,” Batman rasped, almost inaudible behind the static. “Of course. He would have done anything for them. For us. Anything…”

Stephanie glanced again toward the camera feed, noticing for the first time that the Batmobile seemed to have stopped moving. And was the camera shaking? Oracle continued murmuring into the mic.

But Stephanie was beginning to understand. “He became Renegade for the same reason he became Robin?”

“Of course he did,” Oracle said. She locked eyes with Stephanie. In the brief moment before she turned away, Stephanie recognized absolute gratitude. “The Titans. We need to contact them.”

Batman’s voice returned, more clearly this time. “I’ll reach Titans Tower within the hour.”

“I’ll continue tracing Deathstroke’s route. Stay in touch.”

Stephanie turned away. This moment wasn’t about her in the least, and she could live with that. Even if some issues had been left unresolved, at this rate, she might even get a chance to talk it over with Robin himself.

Until then, at least someone needed her. Carefully, she pushed Batgirl’s door open and peered inside.

Where she found an empty bed, tangled sheets, and wind swirling in through the open window.

“...Batgirl?”

+ - + - + - + - +

The four crimson furrows along the right side of Dick’s neck glared back at him from the bathroom mirror. Cheshire had only narrowly missed his throat and larynx, sparing his voice. Small mercies.

A little ball of sweat trickled down his collarbone, despite the ever-present chill of Slade’s base. One of its few constants. Now, the temperature barely wicked the heat from his shivering skin.

He hadn’t had a chance to ask Slade about that yet.

Wincing, he drew back from the sink, taking care not to turn his head too abruptly. Over the past couple nights the wound’s shiny flesh had dimmed to a throbbing pink, but its puffy ridges were still held together by little more than a few tidy black stitches. As he pressed the bandage back into place, his thumb brushed the right side of his jaw, and the slight dip rimmed by powder-burned stippling. His fingertips wandered higher, tracing the faint white line that ran diagonal across his cheek, and the pale, hairless stripe through his left eyebrow.

With time, his neck wounds would fade to a similar shade.

He studied his pale, patchworked reflection. It might be Dick Grayson’s face staring back at him, but would anyone recognize it? Anyone, at least, who wasn’t Slade?

He turned abruptly from the mirror, provoking another twinge in his neck.

The base was quiet. Too quiet.

The main room welcomed him with the yawning silence of a tomb. He scuffed his socked feet intentionally against the coarse cement floor, and the faint sound echoed a mockery of his footsteps from every distant dark corner.

He tipped his head back to squint into the pitch blackness obscuring the gears that hung high above his head like heavy, crushing boughs, and thought of the distant opening of the fan, and the little book wedged into the gear directly below it. For the first time in he-couldn’t-remember-how-long, his eyes were taking a while to adjust to the dark. The looming shapes looked strange to him, somehow.

And the steel forest was quieter than he’d remembered.

The clank and grind of the lift rattled across the room. Dick approached as Deathstroke emerged from the sliding door, dressed for business and armed. His dusty leather boots said he’d seen action, though Dick could tell by a glance that whatever had happened, it hardly winded him.

But that didn’t mean much. Slade had already defeated both the Crocks singlehandedly, completely unarmed.

And Dick had been trying very hard not to dwell on the reason why.

“You look more like yourself,” Slade said lightly.

“Heard from the Crocks?” Dick managed to ask.

“No sign,” Slade said, ambling to a stop a careless few steps away. “Yet.”

Dread and relief mingled with the achy waves of ice and fire under Dick’s skin. Dull, phantom pain.

“S…” his tongue faltered numbly between a title and a name, but his hands trembled with urgency. “I need more antivenin.”

“You don’t. You’ll feel the lingering traces of venom in your system now, but that can’t be helped. It’ll have to flush out through natural means.”

“Meaning…?”

“Your blood will replace itself,” Slade said briskly.

“…Including the infected blood cells,” Dick finished. Slade nodded. “But until then, how long will it—” How long will it hurt?

“A few months.” Slade tugged sharply at his right glove. “Four.”

It might have been another wave of heat that sent a shudder down Dick’s body. Four months. Four entire—

Slade’s fingers pinched his jaw. Tipping to the side until it pulled at the stitches in Dick’s neck. Just as Dick had a few minutes before, he tugged away the bandage to survey the damage. Tight-lipped, Dick waited for Slade to finish, but already Slade was replacing the bandage and pulling away. Not, however, before his single, intent eye flickered across Dick’s scrapbook of scars.

‘Admiring your own handiwork?’ leapt viciously to the tip of Dick’s tongue.

But a realization struck him, then; in the time since he’d stepped out of the elevator, Slade hadn’t removed a single scrap of armor.

“Get changed.”

“For…” Dick faltered, “a contract?”

“Your new uniform is in the gym. Beside the desk.”

Less than twenty-four hours had passed since Slade had shaken Dick awake in the hospital, unhooked him from the machines, and half-dragged him out through the window to the waiting car below. Less than a day, and Dick’s neck was held together by luck and a few loops of string.

Slade’s hand landed on his shoulder, steering him toward the sliver of light at the far end of the room. Glancing down at Dick’s face, whose eyes hadn’t shifted from his, Slade gave his shoulder a brief pat. “Buck up. This’ll all be over soon.” He pulled away to stride toward the waiting door.

“Hey,” Dick said, not following. Slade halted. Dick searched the hint of masked profile he could make out, silhouetted against the distant light. “Are you…” he hesitated. “Is everything okay?”

Slade looked at him.

Dick remembered snatches of what had happened three days ago, before and after Cheshire had ripped into his neck. Those snatches had told him enough about the man behind the inscrutable mask he looked into now, who he now owed his life to. That same man would know the dangers of placing undue stress on the wound—and he would care—but even now, Slade still hadn’t removed his mask.

The moment lingered, precarious as a knife balanced on a fingertip. As though even a breath might make it fall.

Slade turned away, jerking his chin toward the door.

“Let’s get this over with.”

#batman #dick grayson #teen titans #bruce wayne #slade wilson #stephanie brown #cassandra cain #tim drake #barbara gordon #bad company #jason todd #bad company ch 26 #mine #I was legitimately shocked when I realized it had been a year #but it felt so good to get back into this

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schrijverr · 1 year ago

Text

Jason’s Shitty Day

Jason gets arrested by Superman and Wonder Woman, while undercover as Red Hood in a criminal organization. Problem is that they don’t know he knows Batman and trying to get free only poses more problems. Especially when it’s Dick, not Bruce that comes to break him free.

This work is inspired by Undercover by InvalidStuff on AO3.

On AO3.

Ships: none

Warnings: none

~~~~

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck,” Jason curses under his breath as he runs for his life through the streets of Metropolis. He can’t believe that this is how he’s going to die for the second time in his life; by the hands of the blue boy scout and his idol.

Okay, maybe he’s being a dramatic, like Bruce they try not to kill their villains, but unlike Bruce they don’t have a strict no killing policy backed up by trauma, so there is a gray area and Jason knows he’s made himself a prime target, being at the top of the Justice League wanted list and all.

Right now it seems ridiculous how he lorded that over the little demon spawn last time they all ate dinner together. The shrimp might not be an assassin anymore, but he still envies Jason’s notoriety all the same.

It’s one of the reasons he told B not to remove him, something he’s regretting now as he rounds a corner, nearly slamming into the building in his haste.

A part of him knows that running is useless, both Superman and Wonder Woman stumbled upon him in an attempt to dismantle the same organization he’s been involving himself in. They assumed him to be the ring leader, because of course they are one of the few members of the Justice League that are actually up to date on their wanted list.

Fucking fuck!

If this were Gotham, he would have had the upper hand, since he knows the terrain and both would be more cautious taking anyone down when Batman forbids metas in his city. However, here in Metropolis he’s more easily confused and the bright city doesn’t allow for him to slip out from under the sight of two of the most powerful people on earth.

So, he isn’t that surprised when Superman’s shadow falls over him, right as he rounds another corner where he comes face to face with Wonder Woman.

He skids to a halt and curses his luck again. His admiration of Wonder Woman never wore off and he’ll likely never live down the mortification of meeting her like this. Right now, he really hates that Bruce is a paranoid fucker, who never let any of his kids near the Justice League. He totally would have made a better impression as the starry-eyed fucker he used to be back as Robin.

However, instead he’s stuck between her and Superman and the only thing he can do is attempt to fight them. Great. B is going to owe him for this.

Jason lets out a roar and charges towards Wonder Woman, whose lasso makes him trip. It forces him to hit the deck and within seconds, Superman is on him, wrestling him to the ground. Of course Jason puts up a fight, never stopping his movements as he kicks and bites, even though that hurts him more.

He knows that Superman is stronger than him, but he also knows that he is stronger than an eel, yet the bastards are hard to catch. So he tries his hardest to impersonate an eel.

A part of him hopes that there are no cameras nearby, because if Barbara or Tim get wind of this, they will get that footage and it will haunt him for the rest of his fucking life. The great Red Hood, wiggling on the ground, being mortified in front of stupid Superman and amazing Wonder Woman and over crimes he didn’t even commit. It’s shameful.

But nothing to be done about that now.

Still, he tries to maintain a little of his reputation, by threateningly growling: “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” when Superman reaches out to take off his helmet.

Superman’s hand stills and he cautiously asks: “Why not?”

“Because the explosives will blow and you can say bye bye to my head,” Jason answers, hoping that now that they’ve apprehended him, they’re not planning on killing him.

“What?” Superman chokes, as Wonder Woman demands: “Why would you do such a thing?”

“Pays to be cautious,” Jason shrugs as well as he can while being bound on the floor. And it is being cautious, nothing more. He’s not paranoid like B is, no matter what Dickhead says. When you’re a dead man walking, it’s better for people not to know.

Superman likely uses his X-ray vision, because he’s quiet for a second, before he gasps, his hands twitching. However, Jason has to give him very, very minor credits for swiftly moving on with his interrogation after learning that – though perhaps that’s because he isn’t likely to get blown up alongside Jason, should the bomb go off.

“Your helmet is led lined,” Superman comments, actually sounding a bit miffed about it.

Jason has to swallow a snort and just shrugs again, this time with a bit more little shit thrown in, as he repeats: “Pays to be cautious.”

Wonder Woman apparently has had enough, because she tightens the lasso around his feet, making it glow as she asks: “What are you doing here?”

“Working,” Jason spits out, having trained with Bruce about being able to answer with truths without giving anything away. He is glad for that training now, but he still can’t believe that he is interacting with Wonder Woman and it’s like this.

“What kind of working?”

“Worming my way to the top.”

“You’re not the leader?” Superman asks, sounding surprised. Jason already guessed that they assumed that, but rolls his eyes anyway. Who goes in without doing any research? Do they not know the importance of intelligence?

“No, does this look like Crime Alley to you?” he shoots back.

“So what are you doing here outside Gotham then?” Wonder Woman asks.

It’s a valid question. And a question Jason can use. He’s obliged to tell the truth, but that doesn’t mean the whole truth, so he answers: “Worrying Batman.”

That makes the two heroes pause as they look at each other then back at him, suddenly a little less certain.

Under the mask, Jason grins. He and B still aren’t on perfect terms, but he doesn’t see green anymore whenever they’re face to face and they’ve actually been working on their relationship, hence Jason being at family dinners and out here doing this infiltration mission for the old man.

However, that answer can also be interpreted as him creating chaos that Batman is worrying about, which would make it an issue they’d call him about.

They already might have anyway, since he’s a Gotham rogue and they know Batman likes to deal with those himself, even if they can fall under another hero’s jurisdiction by not being in Gotham. But they also might not have. So, by doing this, he’s implying that whatever he’s doing is linked back to Gotham, which makes it so they’ll have to call B.

Usually, Jason doesn’t want Bruce’s help. Ever. Not when it comes to professional things. He is his own vigilante now, he’s independent and has his own plans. Batman should ask before interfering and Jason is too old and their relationship too tattered for a father figure to help. So, he’d be spitting and screaming whenever the old man even tries.

This time isn’t the same, though. This time he’s in bigger trouble than he’s ever been before and he can’t get out of it by himself. Well, he might, but only if they drop him off at a local police station, which isn’t likely to happen with how high-profile he is.

He can get out of prisons, of being kidnapped, being thrown into a space war, of being discovered as a mole, of nearly all torture. But the Justice League? He knows B grumbles about them being unprofessional, but they still hold a lot of power. He is screwed without B right now.

Still, Bruce has always stressed the importance of not letting anyone know they’re connected. To the League, Robin was never anything more than a rumor and Batman works alone. It’s to protect all of them and despite their past, Jason doesn’t want to endanger them… doesn’t want to disappoint Bruce either. Which is stupid and he’s ignoring it as hard as he can.

Besides, even if he tells them, they aren’t likely to believe him. And Jason doesn’t want the knowledge that he’s a good guy, playing a bad guy out on the streets. He admires Wonder Woman a lot, but her and Superman aren’t great liars. They’d tip people off and he can’t have that.

So, he has to convince Superman and Wonder Woman that they have to call Batman and maybe B can convince them to let him go.

The silence after his comment has dragged on for a bit. To take advantage of it, he chuckles: “Oh, big bad heroes didn’t see that coming? What? Did you think he scared me and I moved out? Tsk, don’t make me laugh. My haunt is still my haunt, all I do leads back home.”

Then he starts struggling again. They haven’t even bound his arms. It would have been better to try when they were still distracted, but they’ll likely capture him again and he has broken his bones enough times already, thank you very much. Better to play at being a flight risk so they’ll move him to a more comfortable place than the dirty street.

Indeed, Superman is played like a fiddle and hauls him upright, saying: “We’ll take you back to base for interrogation.”

Wonder Woman takes the lasso off his legs and instead binds his arms. Smart move on her part, though Jason can’t believe that neither of them question whether bringing a very dangerous criminal back to their base is a smart idea. Didn’t B train them better than this? Have some sort of secondary location for questioning people if you must, don’t bring them home!

However, he doesn’t mention it and lets them take him to a Zeta-Beam, so they can get to the Watchtower. It’s a step closer to B, thus a step closer to freedom, he isn’t going to argue with that. Let Batman rip into them when he finds out.

In the Watchtower, he’s sure to look around. Bruce has never let anyone in here, not even Barbara or Tim, who have to explain how to install the security updates at the Watchtower. God, they’re all going to be so pissed that he got there first.

To make up for that betrayal, he makes sure to look around as much as he can. They’ve of course all stalked the Watchtower on Babs’s monitors, but none of them have actually been, so he’ll have to be able replicate the vibes later.

The vibes are kind of sad.

A bit rude, maybe, but it’s true! It’s all metal and not even that toasty, nor cool, just that gross in between where a sweater is too hot, but you also feel kind of cold. It’s clear B has had input here, because he loves his professionalism.

Jason can still remember the Batcave in its infancy, how much he, Dick and Barbara had to influence before it became what it is now.

All the others don’t remember – except maybe for Tim, who had to pick Bruce out of his self hate spiral – but the Batcave didn’t used to be a little warm for recovering muscle soreness or the cold from outside, there didn’t used to be comfy couches, a fridge with snacks and drinks, or messy piles of works in progress.

He’s going to have a serious word with B when he gets out of here about why he hasn’t implemented anything like that here, when he knows that B naps on those couches and appreciates all the warmth the kids (ugh) brought into the Batcave.

… Well, maybe if he gets out of here, not when. The holding cell they’re pushing him into seems pretty secure and after a second, Jason recognizes it as a Superman containment unit that’s part of B’s contingencies. That makes it also pretty much anyone else proof too.

The shackles he’s locked into are meta proof, however, also Batman’s design, which means that Jason has made it his business to know how to get out of them, because he lives to spite the man most of the time.

Neither Superman nor Wonder Woman have spoken since they started hauling him off to his new little prison and Jason wonders if that is going to change or if they’re going to leave him again.

He also wonders if he should start spouting some sort of monologue to cement himself as a proper villain, but decides against it. It might interfere with a cover story to get him out of here. Anything you say can and will be used against you and all that shit. So, he stays quiet.

There is a chair in the chamber that he’s pushed on and Wonder Woman, starts to wrap her lasso around him again as she states: “We need to know more about this organization of yours. You fought us well and I commend your bravery, however, you posses information we need and you do not seem willing to part with it. But the lasso will make you speak the truth.”

Alarm bells start ringing in Jason’s head, despite feeling thrilled that Wonder Woman just complimented him, so he immediately says: “Hey, hey, hey, can you even do that? Isn’t that unconstitutional or some shit? I mean, I think you need a permit or something to question me like that, I know good old Bats is always up his own ass about right channels and court permissions, shouldn’t you read me my rights? I’ve been arrested enough times to know that’s part of it.”

Red Hood has absolutely not been arrested ever, Jason Todd has, but that’s irrelevant right now. He knows he can’t keep up half truths forever and the actual truth can’t come spilling out. Right now he needs to ensure that Wonder Woman keeps that lasso away from him and remind them that he’s a rogue of Batman, so that they’ll contact him.

Wonder Woman pauses for a second and looks at Superman, who is more versed than her in the world of men.

“He has a point, if this goes deeper than a surface drug deal, then we’ll need to ensure all of them go away for life,” Superman says.

At that Jason would let out a breath of relief, if he hadn’t been trained better than that. He does, however, let his eyes roll, because Supes over there can’t see it and he is allowed to be annoyed that they think it is just some drug bust when Jason has been working for two months to get this neck deep into very fucking shady shit.

“Batman must have some protocol about it,” Wonder Woman says. “I shall look it up, so that we may proceed.”

“You’re not going to call him?” Jason asks, a little surprised, because surely that would be easier than going through the thousands of pages of protocol that B wrote.

Superman squints. “You seem eager to get Batman up here,” he comments. “That’s unusual, most want nothing to do with him. Why?”

Fuck.

He’s used to Gotham villains, who regularly kidnap Batman and want him to pay attention to them, not this fear that he has outside of Gotham. It’s easy to forget too, because B is one of the least scary people Jason knows. Hell, even Dick ranks above him in scariness.

Still, he doesn’t let that show, instead leaning back in his chair as casual as he can, smirking: “I guess, I just appreciate the devil I know is all. You two seem a little boring, no offense.”

“Well, that’s new,” Superman comments and Jason wants to throttle him, because he’s horrible at not letting any information slip past the cracks – and yes, personal relations and reputations are definitely information – he’ll have to remember to mention that to Bruce too.

In the end, Wonder Woman goes to contact Batman and look over their protocol, while Superman stays to watch Jason. It’s the first sensible thing they’ve done, not leaving him alone that is. A part of Jason wants to be annoyed, because now he can’t switch on the com with Babs, since Superman will hear, but he’s just relieved that they have a sense of knowing what to do.

So, they sit in silence.

Superman tries to chat a few times, but Jason knows better than that. You don’t talk, not even small talk. Anything is prying when you’re being interrogated, even if they just want to know your opinion on the weather. Which is making the atmosphere quite awkward.

Luckily, they’re freed from the silence five minutes later when Wonder Woman returns. She says: “Batman says he’ll be here in ten minutes and to not touch or question Red Hood until he gets here.”

Jason is too relieved by the news to judge her for saying that in front of him. Soon B will be here and then he will talk Jason out of here and he’ll be home before he knows it. After today, he can probably convince Alfred to bake cookies with him too. Score.

For the next ten minutes, the atmosphere doesn’t get much better. Jason feels a little more inclined to talk to Wonder Woman, but she is taking Batman’s instructions seriously and with Jason in the room, none of the conversations between Superman and Wonder Woman really take off.

Then the door opens to reveal Batman. For a second Jason can feel a weight be lifted off of him, but then he looks again. The figure is not Bruce, it’s Dick.

What the fuck.

If he weren’t wearing the helmet, he could make a face to demand an explanation, but for now his shoulders will have to do. However, Dick has always been bad at reading Jason’s shoulders when he’s chained up and Jason has a harder time with Dick’s face when he’s playing Batman. So whatever information flow there might have been gets lost in translation.

Dick is one of the few that know Jason did theater in High School, so he’s probably counting on Jason’s yes-and-bullshitting. Which is the only thing that prepares Jason for whatever nonsense he is about to pull out of his ass.

He can’t believe they’re going to lie to Superman and Wonder Woman. What a day this is shaping up to be.

“Hi Batsy,” he grins, hoping that him recognizing Dick will strengthen the cover.

“Red Hood,” Dick greets back. “I knew I’d run into you at some point with this. I’m disappointed, you were doing so well last time. What happened?”

“You know me, I never keep my nose clean,” Jason shoots back, because he’s a crime lord and he doesn’t plan on changing that. His family knows that.

Dick fakes a sigh and sternly says: “You were at least staying in Gotham.” Then he turns to the others and asks: “Where did you find him?” like he didn’t know already.

“Batman, I am glad you came,” Wonder Woman greets. “We have apprehended Red Hood in a drug bust in Metropolis, but we need more information from him. He claims his organization goes back to Gotham, if this goes deeper, we need to know.”

Tsk, what ‘his organization’? Jason had nothing to do with this. Terrible reporting. She could have used ‘the organization’, way more accurate and- oh god, now he’s judging Wonder Woman!

Dick as Batman grunts in acknowledgment and Wonder Woman continues: “We found him in the middle of the warehouse district. The others got away.”

Jason notes that Superman hasn’t said anything yet and shoots him a covert glance. He is frowning at Dick. Jason curses. Dick can do a good Batman when he wants to, but when he does that, he is usually not in good lighting with people who work with the actual Batman regularly.

So, he keeps an eye on the man as Dick gruffly says: “Thank you. I have been tracking his organization these past weeks, if I had known he would branch out, I would have contacted you. I’ll take him back to Gotham for proper interrogation and loop you back in once I know more.”

At that both Superman and Wonder Woman start to look more suspicious and Jason just knows that Dick is going to rip into B later, because why the hell are they surprised at him saying thanks?

Superman finally speaks up: “Why have you been tracking his organization, when he claimed he wasn’t the ringleader when we caught him?”

Damn those investigative reporter instincts, Jason thinks. He needs to distract them from Dick, so they won’t ask any more question. So, he calls out: “I mean, I practically was. Gotham branch is all mine.”

Eyes are back on him, great. Or, well, not truly great, because he hasn’t thought much further than that, but great as in, there is a distraction.

“Red Hood,” Dick admonishes, though Jason can see the relief in his shoulders.

So, he shrugs: “What? I like getting proper credit.”

“Well, you can tell the GCPD all about the things you deserve credit for,” Dick says, leaning in close as he growls.

Fuck, Jason is so making fun of him for that later. After he busted him out of here. Because right now, he has an act to play if he wants to see freedom again. And if he’s honest, he really likes his freedom.

However, before Dick can haul him out of his seat and break him out of here, they’re stopped by Superman: “We caught him in Metropolis, I’d like to question him here first.”

“And he’s my rogue, messing in my city,” Dick snipes back. “He’s got his fingers in all types of pies and I’d like to get him behind bars for it as quick as possible. My way. Because that way works.”

Jason studies Superman and Wonder Woman closely. Dick used the pie expressions, B never is one for expressions, much less pie related ones. And it seems the League figured that out too, because there is a tenseness in their shoulders that wasn’t there before.

Dick must have noticed too, but he’s awaiting their response so he can play into it. However, both know for sure that they’re screwed when Wonder Woman says: “I know you have your way, but you have rarely denied the use of my lasso, especially if it would help your city.”

“Yeah, and you would never just take him without getting more information from us first,” Superman adds. “Who are you?”

“I’m Batman,” Dick repeats, though that’s clearly not going to cut it with the way the two heroes start to close in on him. Jason is starting to feel he’s gonna be on his own here again real soon.

“You’re not. Your heartbeat is wrong,” Superman says.

“Rude, my heart could just have been having an off day,” Dick retorts, obviously giving up on the facade as he darts out of the way and ducks under their attacks and out of the door.

Wonder Woman sets off after him, Superman closely behind. It’s reminiscent of earlier today but then with Dick in Jason’s position. Jason takes a moment to be smug that Dick is definitely getting caught on camera, before taking off through the door himself.

It’s another mental note to bring up to B later and he is starting to wonder if he even trained these people, because that’s truly an amateur’s mistake. Though, perhaps they can be forgiven with the shock of someone managing to break in to the Watchtower without detection while pretending to be one of their own.

His arms are still in the shackles, but there is no time to pick them. Jason also has Zeta-Beam access, if he can just reach the terminal, he’ll be out of here. He’s sure Dick can either talk himself out or that he can come up with a better rescue plan than that.

Where the hell even is the actual Batman? You know, Bruce Wayne?

No time to think about that now, he tells himself, putting the thought out of his mind. He is quickly following the route they’d taken when he got here, but in the opposite direction. He grins when the terminal comes into view.

Skidding to a halt, he quickly starts to put in coordinates. Any coordinates at this point. He’s not used to it, never really traveling via Zeta-Beam much. He hopes he remembers the coordinates of the Batcave after B’s insistence they all learn them and he won’t end up in the middle of the ocean or some shit.

However, before he can beam away, Dick crashes into him when he comes flying into the entrance hall, obviously having thought the same thing as Jason. Only he has two heroes on his trail.

“Fucking fight, Dick,” Jason screams, not even caring that he used the real name, because with Dick you can get away with that. As he attempts to type even faster to get them both away.

Alas, it’s not meant to be, because while Dick is a worthy opponent, he’s fighting two of the most powerful people on their home turf and he doesn’t have anything to fight them with, except for B’s gear that he is less familiar with than his own.

So, while he gets a few good punches in, soon he and Jason are dragged away from the terminal and wrestled to the ground. Now Dick in shackles too.

“Way to go, asshat,” Jason bitches as he lies on the ground for the second time today.

“Oh, like you could have done better. I make a great Batman,” Dick bitches back.

Right at the moment, Flash comes running in, confusedly asking: “What the hell’s happening? I saw it on the monitors, but I didn’t know who to go after first and- Wait, why is Batman in chains? Is he brainwashed?”

“See,” Dick exclaims delightedly. “Flash thinks I make a good Batman.”

“What?” Flash asks confused.

Superman says: “It’s not Batman.”

“He’s not?” Flash says, sounding surprised as he leans over to take a better look.

“Ha!” Dick crows as Jason hisses: “Shut your mouth, dumbass.”

“Who are you and what have you done to Batman?” Wonder Woman exclaims, digging her knee into Dick’s back and making him grunt. Jason has no pity after that stupid stunt.

“I’m Nightwing,” Dick answers and Jason tries to send him a ‘wtf’-look, but is ignored. “I’m a vigilante. I work in Blüdhaven. It’s Gotham’s sister city. Batman’s tied up at the moment, asked me to go in his stead. He didn’t think you’d notice.”

“Lies,” Wonder Woman says.

“Batman would contact us ourselves, not trick us. He’s our ally and we know him,” Superman states confidently.

“No, you misunderstand. He’s quite literally tied up,” Dick says and it dawns on Jason that Bruce Wayne must have been kidnapped when the call came through. In enough of a bind that a miraculous escape would put their identities at stake. Just great. Fucking great.

“He’s taken? We must save him,” Wonder Woman says.

“That’s not necessary,” Dick backtracks, realizing his mistake. “We already have someone on it, don’t worry.”

“Who?” Jason asks.

“The day shift,” Dick answers and Jason mentally translates that to Duke. Good for him. It’s very useful to have someone out there during the day for situations like this.

“Wait, is he claiming to know Batman?” Flash asks. “I mean, I know he’s dressed like Batman, but being captured and all, I thought he was kind of impersonating him and hatching some nefarious scheme, not, like, covering his shift.”

“He is impersonating Batman,” Superman says. “And we can’t trust his claims. He’s here to rescue Red Hood and he is one of Batman’s villains.”

“Oh, so they know him from fighting him,” Flash says, getting what Superman is implying.

“Where have you taken Batman!” Wonder Woman demands.

“I haven’t taken him! Batman isn’t taken,” Dick yelps. “His civvie ID is and he is getting rescued.”

“You know his secret identity? We don’t even know his identity,” Flash exclaims, actually pouting.

“Yes, I know his ID,” Dick says, almost desperate, Jason would feel bad, but he’s kind of given up and is just laying there. “You can check the Zeta-Beam logs, I’m Nightwing, I have access. I work in Gotham’s sister city, we team up sometimes. I know Batman, I promise. I’m just helping him out.”

“Helping him out by getting Red Hood out?” Superman asks, obviously not believing it.

Dick knows how it sounds and lets out a frustrated scream. “Yes!” he insists again. “How did you contact him to come here? How could I have known to come?”

That makes them pause for a second, before Superman shakes his head: “You could have intercepted the message.”

“I didn’t, you know how paranoid B is, his shit is unhackable,” Dick says.

“B?” Flash repeats to himself and Jason mentally face palms. It’s sweet that Dick tried to rescue him, but he feels like he only made it worse.

“We don’t know, maybe you could,” Superman says.

“Oh, he could be a shape-shifter, who took on Batman’s identity and hid the real Batman somewhere else to masquerade as him and help his fellow villains in some sort of plot,” Flash spins a theory.

Now Jason groans out loud and thunks his head on the floor, the impact dampened by his helmet, which is luckily still on. “Why the fuck would he then not take the exact form of Batman?” he asks, exasperated.

“Exactly, just check the logs, I’m Nightwing,” Dick backs him up, almost begging at this point.

“You could have faked that, if you intercepted the message,” Wonder Woman says, not letting Dick up for a second.

“It would make sense,” Flash nods.

“It would?” Superman asks and Jason curses. They should have pushed, the boy scout might have believed them, but the moment’s gone now.

“Yeah, if we bought it, then he could pretend to be Batman for forever and we wouldn’t be suspicious if he acted out of character, because he was a different person, but in our perception still a good guy. It’s smart,” Flash shrugs.

Jason really hates his life, because the Flash is making kind of sense and it appears that there not going anywhere anytime soon.

“I’ll contact Oracle again, Batman’s AI won’t be compromised where his phone might,” Wonder Woman says and Jason has to do a double take. They think Barbara is an AI?

He and Dick share a confused look, however when they hear Barbara pick up, Dick takes the moment to scream: “Tell B to get his ass over here.”

Jason immediately joins in: “O, I’ll owe you if you get me out of here in the next 30 minutes.”

Now all of the heroes present are giving the two of them a confused look as Wonder Woman relays: “We have Red Hood here and an impostor claiming to be Batman. Where is Batman, Oracle? Is he safe?”

While he can’t make out what she’s saying from here, Jason can still hear the amusement in Barbara’s voice as she answers Wonder Woman.

However, whatever she said, must be enough, because when Wonder Woman hangs up, she says: “If our friend does not show up within the next twenty minutes, we are free to go search for him.”

That’s quite fast, Jason thinks. If he could have gotten here so fast, why send Dick first? Jason could have waited for actual Batman. Dick must think the same, because he makes a confused noise, which turns into a little yelp, when Wonder Woman drags him to his feet. Jason starts laughing at him, but gets cut off when he gets hauled to his feet too.

They don’t leave for the cells again though, apparently they’ve decided to hang around here while they wait for B to show up. Flash does leave however, having been on monitor duty before the whole drama went down.

While they wait, Wonder Woman reaches out to Dick, saying: “Let’s reveal your true identity, impostor.”

“No, wait!” Dick yells. “The code states that as a hero, I cannot be discowled or unmasked without my explicit approval. I state that I am Nightwing, a hero, unless you can prove that I am not who I claim I am, you are not allowed to do that.”

Wonder Woman stills again, then asks: “How do you know that?”

“Uhm, I work with B, you really think he doesn’t make me memorize those codes?” Dick shoots back. “And if you knew it wasn’t allowed, why would you do that?” Another thing for on the list.

“You’re clearly a villain, that code does not apply,” Wonder Woman states.

“No, you think I’m a villain. Innocent until proven guilty,” Dick corrects.

“You broke into the Watchtower, that’s not screaming innocent,” Superman points out, which is kind of valid, but Jason has sat in enough on court trails against his own men. He knows that shit wouldn’t necessarily hold up.

“I had a good reason,” Dick huffs and Jason ignores how touched he is that Dick thinks that freeing him is a good enough reason to risk getting destroyed by the Justice League over.

After that, they’re all silent. Wonder Woman and Superman do try to talk with them again, but Dick knows, just as Jason does, that it’s smarter to keep your mouth shut. So they wait quietly as the minutes tick by.

It takes a long time.

By the time they hit seventeen minutes, Jason is starting to get worried B won’t get here in time and then they’ll have to deal with Superman and Wonder Woman tearing into Gotham to try and find their Batman.

Whenever they civvie IDs get taken hostage, it’s usually a media circus after and that’s when rescue doesn’t take overtime. He doesn’t know how Bruce is going to duck out of it. Maybe he has already failed.

Fucking fuck, how badly can one day go? How badly can Jason screw up that he hasn’t just compromised himself and his relation to Batman, but also Dick’s connection to both of them and risked Gotham’s entire vigilante population being found out by two metas, who will go into the city without permission.

It’s clear that Wonder Woman and Superman are getting antsy too, continuously checking the time and looking at the Zeta-Beam, waiting for it to come to life.

Just as they hit the nineteen minute mark, the Zeta-Beam whirs and the crisp voice announces Batman’s arrival. The man himself appearing like some water in the desert, dressed in his previous suit, though his arm is in a cast.

“Batman!” Wonder Woman exclaims in relief, as Superman worries: “What happened to you?”

“A minor mishap,” B replies. And Jason curses, it’s going to be a bitch to keep him out of the field like that and it doesn’t help prove their innocence in the slightest.

“I thought you were going to be busy for way longer,” Dick accuses, probably having been as surprised as Jason was that he could get here this fast.

“Signal is getting better and the broken arm helped me avoid the whole media circus,” Bruce explains apologetically.

“You actually know these two, Batman?” Superman asks, sounding a little hurt, betrayed and confused all at the same time.

“Yes, I honestly thought you wouldn’t notice Nightwing running this errand for me while I was preoccupied,” Batman informs them. “If I had known how today would run, I would have waited and retrieved Red Hood myself.”

There is absolutely no apology in his voice and it’s now doubly confirmed that Dick’s thank you had been a dead give away. Why is he being a dick to his friends? They all would have gotten a sorry if B pulled this shit on them. Dick is so going to lecture him.

“I demand an explanation,” Wonder Woman frowns. “That one is a criminal and we have not heard of Nightwing before. Why does he have access here? Why are you helping Red Hood?”

Batman sighs as if he’d seen this coming, but was hoping it wouldn’t happen. Then he says: “I’m here because Red Hood was undercover for me, you blew his mission. I send Nightwing to get him, because I trust him.”

“And not us?” Superman asks, even more hurt than before. “Batman, you thought we wouldn’t notice you being an entirely different person. You tried to trick us and never even informed us Red Hood worked for you.”

“Hey! I don’t work for that asshole,” Jason snaps, already annoyed since B blew the cover he worked so hard to keep, even if he wasn’t likely to get out of this without giving something away. He knows it’s stupid too, especially in these circumstances, but it’s always been a sensitive topic for him.

Superman and Wonder Woman now look between him and B and B explains: “He’s an independent vigilante, but we team up. I asked his help, he did it as a favor. I never told you, because telling you would compromise him. If we can spin this, it might solidify his standing in the organization, if you had known, you might have let him go and they might not have believed you. It was better this way.”

“I’m really starting to feel like you trust them more than us and that you’ve been lying,” Superman frowns. “We have always respected your privacy and not pried. But you’re keeping things from us. Important things. Things related to our work. And that’s not okay.”

Batman is now between a rock and a hard place and Jason would be more sympathetic if it weren’t B.

“There’s a reason I’m keeping this particular thing,” Batman says without offering any further explanation.

“This is no way to treat your fellow warriors,” Wonder Woman exclaims.

“I’m with her,” Dick pipes up.

“Me too,” Jason adds, because like hell is he siding with Bruce over Wonder Woman.

“You and me both know that we right here, are old enough that you don’t have to do this,” Dick says, almost imploring and Jason holds his breath. He can’t believe Dick is asking Bruce to break their non-association vow here.

“What is he talking about?” Superman demands. “How do you know them?”

B is quiet, assessing the situation, then he utters words Jason never thought he’d hear in front of anyone associated with the League. “They are my sons. I raised them. That’s why I trust them and why I’m here to get them.”

It’s deathly silent for a second, then both Wonder Woman and Superman burst with outrage of never having been told, of being kept in the dark with information like this. How did Batman keep this from them? Why?

Letting them rage for a moment, B speaks up again once they’ve quieted down: “They weren’t always adults and I didn’t know you well enough. I wasn’t going to endanger them. What if you were mind controlled or turned against me? They couldn’t become a target.”

“So what about I work alone?” Superman huffs. “We put effort into pulling you into our group.”

“And that is appreciated and it does take effort to learn how to work together, even if you’re already familiar with teamwork,” B counters. “But yes, I did lie. Having a certain persona here helped keep my children safe. I don’t regret it.”

Despite wanting to be better than this, Jason’s still touched that B would go this far for them. It has always been an insecurity of his, so no matter how shitty it is to the League, he can’t help but feel happy that Bruce chose him over them. That he doesn’t regret it.

Dick, however, doesn’t have that as much and has a different reaction. He pulls free from Wonder Woman’s grip, slackened by circumstance, and says: “And your persona is asshole? Jesus Christ, B, the least you can do is apologize. They got suspicious of me saying thank you, Agent A raised you better than that.”

B at least has the decency to look a little sheepish at that, shocking the two heroes and then shocking them even more when he says: “I am sorry for the trouble.”

“Great,” Jason breaks the tension, stepping away from Superman, because he’s had a roller coaster of a day and he is done. “Glad we got that all settled then. Nice to meet you two, let’s not do it again. If your see me, you don’t know me. Now, let’s to get out of here.”

“Wait, we want more answers,” Wonder Woman stops them.

“Wonder Woman,” B says, finally sounding like himself, tired and a little gruff, but not unkind. “I broke my arm less than an hour ago, I’ve been patrolling all week with three separate Arkham escapes and my kids just got chased and locked up. I need a moment. Promise that I’ll explain better tomorrow. Make it a meeting if you must.”

She still looks reluctant, but Superman is already won over. His kindness is easy to exploit Jason notes out of habit.

“Alright, Batman, but I expect you not to duck out,” he says.

With Superman allowing them to leave, Wonder Woman agrees too: “Yes, answers can come tomorrow. But know that I will come into Gotham to find you, should you not arrive.”

Jason sees Dick suppressing a snort. He has to agree that. With the forewarning and all of them there, they could stop her should B not want to go tomorrow. They’re not going to, B can face his own consequences and Jason doesn’t actually want to fight Wonder Woman, but it speaks to both of their naivety about their city.

“Thank you,” B says, probably feeling he’ll worsen Dick’s lecture otherwise.

Then he punches in his code on the Zeta-Beam and they’re in the Batcave before they know it, Barbara and Alfred waiting for them.

Barbara smirks: “You have no intention of letting them know about the others, do you?” Jason guesses she had already been here with Dick as often happens whenever one of them is kidnapped as a civilian.

“No,” B grunts.

Jason rolls his eyes and finally removes his helmet, holding out his shackles for Bruce to undo without a word. He’s going to crash in his room upstairs, eat some of Alfred’s delicious cooking and then come up with some way to make this whole thing work for him. He’s already invested two months in this stupid op, he’s not letting one shitty day ruin it.

While B undoes his shackles, Dick bounces over to Babs to let her undo his, saying: “Do you know the Justice League thinks you’re an AI?”

“Of course, people tell secrets to computers, not people they’ve never met before,” Babs shrugs easily.

“Oh you’re evil,” Dick grins and Jason agrees with a nod.

Now free, he also makes his way over to her and says: “What do I have to do to get the footage of Dickiebird here getting wrecked by Superman and Wonder Woman?”

“Hey, you got destroyed too,” Dick pouts.

“Not in the Watchtower while dressed as B. I looked cool,” Jason counters, half of that a lie. Fuck, he really hopes Babs hasn’t already found footage of his own take down.

“Get me those snacks I like next time you’re abroad and I’ll throw them in the group chat,” she says.

“Deal,” he shakes her hand, before Dick can interfere.

“You two are so mean,” he pouts even more. “You got taken down too, bet you looked stupid.”

“I did not,” Jason protests immediately, his cheeks feeling hot.

“Camera footage says otherwise,” Babs grins evilly, because she’s an evil evil-doer, who is out to get Jason with her evil ways.

“DO not show him that!” he shrieks, jumping to get her hands away from the keyboards, before she can pull it up, while Dick tries to fight him off so she can.

A part of him still can’t believe that today he nearly died for the second time at the hands of the blue boy scout and his idol, nor that Dick broke in to the Watchtower dressed as Batman to come get him.

Later he’ll have to deal with B’s paranoia over the Justice League knowing about him and Dick, write a report about the weak points of the Justice League, then worry about his own mission and all of that will be a hassle. But right now he’s worrying about making sure his eel footage never sees the light of day and wrestling with his brother and Babs.

All in all, today could have been worse.

A/N:

I don’t think the Justice League is incompetent btw, I think Jason (and the other bats) are just kind of intense with their own security and a little judgmental.

#rr writing #batman #justice league #jl #jla #batfam #batfamily #jason todd #superman #wonder woman #dick grayson #bruce wayne #barbara gordon #flash #red hood #dc #dc comics

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