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maxwell-grant · 11 months

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(SPIDERVERSE SPOILERS TIMES TWO)

I looked through camrips and tried putting together as many tidbits of dialogue as I could from that split-second comic cover interlude, since those tend to foreshadow the dialogue of the scenes in question. There’s some others I can’t make out due to image quality and we’ll have to wait for the streaming release to see more, but in the meanwhile I was able to make out these speech bubbles. I’m using “-” to fill in missing parts:

“Uncle Aaron!”

“-how much you need what I got and, trust me, that'll be the beginning of a whole new family business. Kid, your dad should be proud of you no matter what. Not making you scared to come out from behind that mask.”

“Yeah, that whole “Not-” thing

“Uncle Aaron, you can say whatever. But I can't let you kill this guy. I just can't.”. “Yeah, I-”

“You and I are going to take care of a bad guy. A real bad guy”. ”Who?”

(I’m assuming the named villain is Scorpion since the name starts with S-c-o and there’s a P, and also with the following line)

(images compiled by @tokyofro)

“Did you look up the Scorpion on the web?” “Yes Uncle Aaron, I did”. “Then you know I wasn’t lying, he’s a dangerous cat”. “What does this have to do with-”. “You wanna be a superhero, now’s your chance”

“You ran away? YOU RAN AWAY?! Is that the kind of man you are?

MILES: “You really don’t care who you hurt? What did the world do to you to make you think it’s okay for you to be this way?

So my theory, going off by these and particularly the “What did the world do to you?” line from Miles and (presumably) Prowler!Miles telling him that they’re going to go after “a real bad guy”, is that Prowler!Miles is going to be exploring the idea of Miles Morales turned villain protagonist/anti-hero. It seems to be picking and uniting separate strands like Prowler’s original role as a darker counterpart to Spider-Man / a gadget-wielding morally compromised crimefighter who eventually turns face / Spider-Man-as-Batman, Earth-616 Miles being a villain, and Miles’s contentious relationship with his original setting and current status as an Ultimate Marvel refugee who quite literally jumped ship from the darker and all-around shittier home universe he was meant to be in, among others, to consolidate them into Miles’ confrontation with himself.

The first Spiderverse shows a lot how strongly Miles listens to and respects and values the input from his uncle (and vice versa, only Miles is able to bring Aaron out of the Prowler mask, even when Aaron knows he’s going to die the second he hesitates and uses that second to shield Miles’ identity), and he’s looking for guidance, someone to model himself after, because he’s a very intelligent kid trying to live up to the potential everyone keeps telling him he has, trying to live up to what his parents worked so hard to give him. He finds role models in Spider-Man and an entire group of Spider-People there to lead by example and catch him when he falls, and with his uncle giving his life away to not only save him, but urge him to stay on the right path. It wasn’t just meeting Peter Parker at the collider that saved Miles, it was rising up to the challenge in Spiderverse 1 and Uncle Aaron using his last breath to shut the door on Miles making the mistakes he did, and so Miles makes himself into the Spider-Man his world needs, filling in a spot needed upon left vacant.

Whether Earth-42 was supposed to have a proper Peter Parker Spider-Man and that never came to pass, or it was supposed to have it’s own Miles Morales get bitten and become Spider-Man like the Spot flashback indicates, Earth-42 Miles is what happens when none of that comes to pass. No Spider-Man protecting the world, no spider bite and sacrifice to pass along the mantle, no pressure and assistance from Aunt May and the others who’ve been there and can help him if he can help himself first, no Spider-Man mentors to show him the ropes, Jefferson dead and his mom having to struggle with Aaron’s help to get by, supervillain cartels burning the streets down, and the only person who can remotely help is his uncle, who will never get the heroic sacrifice or wake-up call to change his ways or inspire his nephew to strive for something better. Because there isn’t anything better, and if there is, it isn’t here, someone took it away. After all, Miles and Aaron don’t show any surprise upon hearing about all that different dimension spider-power talk, and whether they know or even blame Miles for taking the opportunity that was theirs, they’ll hardly be that thrilled to meet someone who clearly had better opportunities than they did, if he can talk about them being good guys with choices to be better.

It’s possible that Prowler! Miles isn’t even that much of a villain, or even as much of a mercenary as Uncle Aaron was as the Prowler. It’s possible, and far more tragic if so, if becoming the Prowler was simply as good as it got for this earth’s Miles. If it was the only way they could survive in a Sinister Six-run city and make ends meet and provide Rio with enough to get by, if it was all they could strive for in a world where there is nothing and no one to show a better way, or even if this is the only way Miles can help anyone and make amends for the sacrifice of his father, as most Spider-Men do upon losing their loved ones. Whether this Miles has never had any positive examples to follow, or worse, he once did and this is the best he can do in living up to them. Because on Spidey’s shadow, lives The Prowler, Spider-Man when forced to play by Batman rules.

No web swinging and super speed, so the motorbike will have to do. No healing powers or toughness, the body armor can only take so much. Incapacitating-yet-non-lethal thunderstrikes at your fingertips and invisibility are not an option (although MAN wouldn’t those be convenient for a caped burglar, huh), so you settle for high-tech murder claws and hope those and the camouflage do the trick in protecting you for another day. No guiding superheroes with your best interests in mind, only super-criminals and the only one of those you lucked into being on your family’s side. Your survival dangling on a knife’s edge, so if you don’t take that knife and use it, the next guy to take it won’t be so kind. Traits that are no stranger to Spider-Man stories or related characters, whether they predate him or follow in his example.

(Left-to-right: The Spider by Dan Schkade, Taylor Hebert (Worm) fan-art by tactilescream)

Or, what happens when your bug-themed crimefighter, with lots of personal baggage and trauma and flaws to contend with from the get-go, is thrust headfirst into surviving and defeating an endlessly escalating superpower-backed war on crime against which they are hopelessly outmatched, with no Spider-Safety Net status quo and super powers to catch them, as they fall and keep falling and keep weaving bigger handbaskets to catch larger handfuls of hell inside, because that’s what it means to be “the only thing standing between this city and oblivion” when you can’t juggle cars but everyone around you can, and they are more than willing to toss them at you and your mother and uncle whether you can fight back or not, so you might as well be able to, right?

And so we get the battle between Miles Morales of Earth-1610, who’s spent two movies proving himself to be not just as good a Spider-Man as any other, but The Most Spider-Man, the Spider-Man who’s the ultimate underdog and pariah as well as the ultimate fighter and scrapper, who beats hundreds of others to try and upend their ultimate fate. Versus the Miles Morales of Earth-42, his shadow come to roost, the one who could be anything except be Spider-Man, and so he can settle for being Not-Spider-Man until he can catch the real deal, and then they’ll have much to do together.

#spiderverse #across the spiderverse #spider-man #miles morales #worm #the spider pulp #richard wentworth #taylor hebert #skitter #prowler #earth-42 #spiderverse 2 #spoilers

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spookyson · 4 months

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Okay soooo just wrote like my longest fic ever I'm so happyyyy

A lil peak;

Dick Grayson gets home to find his little brother missing.

Which was, unfortunately, not rare or new, but this was infinitely worse. Because Tim was a baby.

Dick, along with most of the team, rummaged through the Manor and Batcave. They had gotten back home around an hour ago, sometime after 3, and the routine debrief had been abandoned when Cass noticed the empty bed.

“Tim! Timmy!” said Dick, his voice growing hoarser by the minute. “Come out, buddy! Please we’re not trying to hurt you.”

Dick was upstairs, investigating the manor along with Damian and Stephanie, while the rest of them double-checked the cave—no sign of him.

What if he wasn’t even here? What if he was in the city? What if he was in danger-

Fuck, fuck. Dick had grown used to it, the fact that all of his family were usually in a life-threatening situation. He was the same and if Batman, the most controlling asshole Dick had ever managed to love, let all of Dick’s siblings head out at night to fight crime, then he could too. It’s just that everyone else was trained, experienced, and older than 3. Also, this was Tim. Who always managed to make the worst enemies and get into the worst situations. What do you mean Ra’s al Ghul wants your babies? Why the fuck don’t you have a spleen? Assassin friends? Why do you have assassin friends?

Bottom line; Dick was stressed and he would not be sleeping tonight unless Tim was at home and under lock and key.

God, Bruce had already called Clark. And Bruce never called Clark. It was like a pride thing or something, Dick wasn’t really sure, he never paid much attention to what Bruce said back when he was Robin.

Dick frantically checked Tim’s room for what must have been the twelfth time in the past twenty minutes. There wasn’t a lot in it, Tim had moved most of his stuff into the Nest, but Dick meticulously checked under the bed, closet, and adjoining bathroom for any sign of his brother. There was none.

“Richard!” called Damian from the threshold of the room.

Dick looked up from the closet. “News?” He fought to keep his voice level. Damian was still so young, he didn’t want to scare him.

Nodding, Damian gestured for him to follow. “Drake has been located. He should be arriving shortly, Father wants all of us in the Cave.”

When they arrived, Tim was already there.

Old photographs of the kids hung on the walls, baby photographs that no one was quite sure how Bruce had procured. Or were too scared to ask about it at this point. The photo nearest to the door of the kitchen was one of Tim’s, an image from when he would have been around eight. He had been a small child.

This Tim was even smaller, clinging to Kon with one miniature hand and arguing with the Batman.

“Why am I here?” he said, large eyes narrowed at the crowd assembled before him. Dick must have not missed much. He spotted Clark in his Superman costume, sporting the awkward look he got sometimes when any of them talked back to Bruce.

Bruce was still Batman, only his cowl was lowered to reveal a tense face. "You are compromised. It would be safer for everyone if you remained at the manor."

Baby Tim's face screwed up into an adorable pout. Dick physically held himself back from scooping up his (currently) youngest brother and wrapping him in a blanket. The third Robin possessed a youthful quality to his looks, often appearing much younger than he was, and Dick had never considered its devastating effect. He wondered how Bruce had stopped himself from adopting Tim on the spot. According to all Dick knew about Tim's pre-Robin years, he's been attending many of the same parties as Bruce.

"I know I look 3, but I'm not actually that age, B. I won't snitch, you don't have to worry," says Tim. He looks to Kon, who nods his agreement.

"Uh, yes sir. Tim's his usual self."

Which is not exactly the problem Timmy. "Nevertheless, I think the team would rest easier if you remained home today." If you hadn't known Batman for as many years as Dick had, you'd think he didn't care, but all of this was pretty much Bruce-speak for ‘I am very concerned about you, please stay in my field of vision for the foreseeable future’.

Dick couldn’t judge. There was something about Tim, his smallest brother (since Damian had recently surpassed him in height a few months ago; something they still managed to fight about) becoming even smaller. Tim was also just really freaking adorable. He had those big blue eyes, a shade lighter than Dick’s, chubby cheeks and he was also clad in the smallest Superman t-shirt Dick had ever seen. Which actually, he flicked a look at Kon, was probably meant to be a Superboy t-shirt.

Anyway, Tim was cute and Dick wanted to hug him. He was also painfully vulnerable and had so many enemies and why would they let him out of the best-protected place in Gotham when he could be safe right here? Matter resolved.

“I can’t waste time over here, B. I have other responsibilities.” Tiny Timmy sighed and rubbed his small hands up and down the bridge of his nose and Dick was grasped by a sudden urge to dress him up in a miniature suit and provide him with a small briefcase. And then take a fuck-load of pictures. Tim proceeded to yawn adorably, therefore proving that the mini photo shoot needed to happen now. “Red Robin aside, WE needs me.”

“What’re they gonna do with ya right now, baby bird? Nap time?” crowed Jason.

The glare that Tim aimed at Jason was poisonous enough for it to have been terrifying, but at the moment, Tim was 3 and just about the most precious thing anyone in that room had ever seen. Dick cannot hold himself accountable for swooping in from behind Bruce to scoop up his smallest brother into a tight hug.

Tim’s frail little bones knocked harmlessly against muscles gained from years as an acrobat and vigilante, so Dick was free to squeeze in a way Damian would have never allowed and Jason would have bit him for. “You’re so cute, Timmy! Why did you never tell me you were adorable?”

“I’ve always been adorable,” sniffed Tim, weak arms straining against Dick’s chest in an effort to pull me away. “Now lemme go… I need to sign contracts and drink coffee.”

“And chase down the bitch-ass magic boy,” added Kon, his face impassive.

“And chase down the bitch-ass magic boy,” repeated Tim.

To his credit, Bruce only raised an eyebrow and continued; “All of which can be handled from here. I will return to Wayne Enterprises and we will cite your absence as a family matter. Zatana is due to arrive shortly, we will know anything vital to your current condition. Red Robin’s patrols will be covered by the rest of the team in shifts. Any running cases will need to be handled by the other vigilantes in Gotham.”

Tim ceased his relentless wriggling and swerved his head to Bruce. “That’s really… nice of you, Bruce,” said Tim. His small forehead wrinkled in thought. “But I don’t mean to impose for long. Kon and I can handle it.”

“Tim,” began Bruce, and then stopped. Because Tim had fallen asleep.

This is just a little part. The actual fic is 18k words omfg so if u enjoyed I put in the link to the whole thing down below. Please tell me what u think!

#Batfam #Tim drake #Dick Grayson #Jason todd

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celestialnxva · 2 years

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Opposites Attract

Bruce Wayne x Avenger!Reader

Summary: In which a powerful witch finds love with a man who quotes himself to be a ‘rich kid with lots of issues.’ What could possibly go wrong?

Warnings: It can get pretty suggestive because of the flirting, but it’s a pretty lighthearted fic.

WC: 4k+ words

A/n: I keep writing angst and the only fluff fic I wrote was the Stephen oneshot. It’s time I added another one to the list. Also, it’s Batman with Justice League.

masterlist. | main masterlist.

Bruce had finally gotten himself cornered by a lunatic with the rest of the Justice League. It was only a matter of time when his crime-fighting days would finally come to an end. For the first time in his life, he’d run out of ideas on how to escape. Between him being mortally injured and all of the other League members being compromised due to the tiny Mister Mxyzptlk bending their reality once again to cause mayhem, there was no way out anymore. He was too powerful to counter. As death approached him, he braced himself for the inevitable and gave himself the consolation that he did everything he could to protect the innocent and bring as much justice to the world as he could.

But of course, fate seemed to play with Bruce’s life like a cruel game of poker when he watched a group of heroes he despised the most come to save the day. Again. If he had the strength to do so right now, he would absolutely be rolling his eyes at the sight of the one and only Avengers. As for the reason as to how they are here: trailing behind them was none other than the Question himself.

As Superman weakly helped Bruce stand up, Bruce glared at Question with irritation. Before Bruce could even speak, the Question was one step ahead of him and countered his unspoken argument.

“‘Why did you call the Avengers, Question?’’ he mocked plainly. If he could see Question’s eyes, he would be rolling them due to Bruce’s display of distaste from Question’s decision. Question chose to ignore the glare and gestured towards the group who was already helping the League back to safety on their jet. “Perhaps you can thank me later for my consistent paranoia coming to your rescue when we get back to the base.” And with that, he disappeared into the crowd of heroes. They all made their way towards the jet, except for one person, the one he never really get along with (yet was always secretly curious to know more about): you.

“Well, if it isn’t the one and only Batsy! My my, let me just say that you look absolutely enchanting with all that blood all over your suit!” you exclaimed dramatically while floating down to the ground in front of him. He watched as you casually sent a magical blast from your fingertips towards the mischievous imp that was slowly regaining consciousness. From his experience in working with and observing the extent of your powers, he quickly came to the conclusion that you were the real reason as to why the powerful being was knocked out and defeated. To make matters worse, Superman happily cheered you on like the supportive friend he was as they both watched you open up a golden portal to shove the mischief maker back into his own dimension. You let out a happy sigh and turned towards Bruce with a wink.

He was too frustrated and too moody right now, so he really didn’t want to deal with any of your teasing antics right now. Sensing the shift in his friend’s mood, Superman decided that he did not want to be anywhere near an irritated Batman, so he silently pleaded with his eyes if you could take him to his own Bat-jet (or whatever Bruce liked to call it).

He never thought he would say this, but he wished Superman stayed with him instead. Life was so tough sometimes, honestly.

You chuckled at his irritation. You weren’t really fazed by it when you held him up with ease. “Oh dear, it seems that my damsel in distress needs his knight in shining armor to save him once again!” you gasped out loudly before laughing softly against his ear at your own joke. A shudder ran down his spine when he felt your breath brush against his sensitive neck. Of course, he would never admit that he only let you touch him because he loved to feel your firm touch against his body, but he shamefully liked it and it pissed him off. Though, he supposed that out of all the Avengers here, you were the most tolerable. It really could have been worse, so your presence will have to do.

You gently lead him to his jet, knowing that he was probably not in the mood to deal with Stark’s attitude or Superman’s bickering with Captain America. Being alone with him wouldn’t be so bad! You could say you like the brooding bat and you don’t really mind having a jet all to yourself with him. Besides, it was probably better to keep your antics away from the rest of the group. Everyone that had the displeasure of being in the same room as you and Bats had noticed your obvious affections for him, but they couldn’t seem to have the heart to tell him of how completely oblivious he was to your flirtations, due to his desire to keep emotions as far away from him as possible.

Even if he didn’t want to address his emotions, it was getting out of control. The way you held him right now drove him crazy; he can’t get enough of the feeling of your body so close to his. His mind was constantly plagued with thoughts of you: your chaotic personality, your body, the way your costume hugged your features in all the right places, your lips, your beautiful skin. God, he just wanted to—

Bruce. Stay focused. Now’s not the time to let the witch know about your minuscule fascination for them.

When you two finally settled into the jet, you rested your hand on the control panel and casted a spell that could take you two back to the Hall of Justice. From where you currently were in the world, it would be a relatively long flight back. Being stuck with Bruce for a while wasn’t too bad, right? Sure, it was a bit cramped to your liking, but with this jet on autopilot, you had time to turn around and talk to your currently injured ally behind you. When you did so, he groaned and braced himself for the onslaught of your incessant chatter.

“So,” you drawled out before smacking your lips comically. “Word from Question is that you were in quite a predicament before I saved your ass,” you commented before flashing him a lopsided smile (that he had grown to adore). “I can’t help but feel touched that the mighty Batman needed saving from a little ol’ witch like me,” you cooed, which caused him to narrow his eyes slightly. “I had the situation under control,” he lied through his teeth. Yeah, like hell would you believe that.

You raised your brow at his response and leaned forward for as much as you could to rest your head on the jet’s seat. For some reason, he couldn’t find the strength to pull away from your close proximity to his lips. He trusted that you wouldn’t do anything too bold with him, as he had figured out by now that your teasing was nothing too serious. You smirked at him and tilted your head to the side. “Somehow, I don’t really believe that… Bruce.”

The mention of his name made his eyes widen in shock and despite his terrible condition, his body became alert with paranoia. How the hell did you figure that out? He hasn’t told any of the League yet about his identity and you didn’t even visit him that often, so how did you figure it out?

When you sensed his panic, you waved your hand dismissively and shrugged. “Come on, it just made sense. If Stark was one of the billionaires that had enough money to become a self-made hero, then surely the one upper crust social outcast from Gotham City, who actually had the motivations to become a hero, would use his money to do the same exact thing,” you assessed, leaving him completely stunned. Watching you analyze him so accurately made him realize that he knew absolutely nothing about you. At first, he believed that you weren’t really a League member nor his friend, so he didn’t feel the need to make a file about you. But now, it was clear that he had more of a desire to do as much research as he could about you. He never really had someone figure out his identity so quickly with little to no evidence to support it. He supposed that it was admirable, even though he should find it dangerous.

You finally leaned back and gave him room to breathe, despite Bruce silently wishing for you to stay where you were before. Then, he looked up and saw your eyes soften with a shimmering, unrecognizable emotion, and suddenly, he became curious as to what you were thinking about.

“Despite you being a rich kid in a bat costume, I always admired how powerful you are in your own right,” you said sweetly.

Wait. You what? You admired him?! He surely thought you looked down on him because of you powers.

You chuckled knowingly at his shocked expression.

“Come on, Bruce Wayne, you’re not just a man dressed in a bat costume. The thing about you is that—unlike Stark, you seem to dedicate your entire life to making sure that not only Gotham City was safe, but you also do everything you can to change the systemic problems. Unlike him, you want to get to the root of the problem and prevent crime from happening at all. And that, to me, is the one thing that I respect the most about you.” You paused and flashed him a kind smile. It was the most genuine smile he had ever seen you do towards him. Without knowing it, his heart skipped a beat at the sight.

“You are a wonderful hero, inside and out. You are a natural leader and one hell of a better superhero than those randos with magical superpowers. I mean come on, the last time I hung out with you guys, you saved the day with just your badass combat and heavy strategic skills!” you exclaimed, your mood suddenly shifting to a more playful one. He couldn’t help but smile sheepishly at your compliments, even though he found it so strange that you suddenly wished to compliment him. He supposed that’s one of the most intriguing aspect of your personality: your unpredictability.

You saw that you were nearing the destination and your heart sank a bit in your chest. You kinda wished that you could stay a little longer all alone with him. But the man had yet to say anything. At least, until now.

He shifted in his seat and clutched his aching stomach before his eyes hesitantly met yours. “I can see what you’re doing. You’re selling yourself too short,” he grumbled. “You were there to back me up that day and defeated those demonic armies with your superpowers.” You tensed up at his words and your eyes diminished its original joy. When he saw you change in demeanor, he felt a little bit guilty for pointing that out.

You decided to speak up.

“Ya know,” you hesitated at first, before you decided to let Bruce in on a secret. “I don’t really have superpowers; at least, not in the traditional way that the Hulk or Superman have them.” Your eyes blurred into a more somber expression. With that look alone, he decided to stay quiet, knowing that this was a topic that you must’ve held close to your heart. “I’m not a superhero, I’m a witch,” you corrected him. “I can use my magick to help others, sure, but I didn’t exactly choose this crime-fighting life.”

Considering the fact that Batman had self-proclaimed that he was a brooding mess with lots of issues, he knew out of everyone that this moment was a moment of vulnerability. He assumed that some of the League members might have felt insecure in their place here, but he never really met someone that is insecure about their reputation as a hero. It surprised him that you trusted him with this secret, despite you not knowing him that well, but he chalked it up to you trusting him with a sentiment so morally grey because of his own brooding nature. You continued. “I like to think that I am a normal human, just like you. The only different thing about me is that I decided to play with magick that I just wanted to keep for myself.” Your eyes saddened at the memory before they darkened with bitterness.

“A man named Dr. Strange had recently gotten involved with the Avengers, but he was my friend first. When we met each other while studying the ancient practice of the Mystic Arts, we just clicked and decided to stick together for a very long time.” He nodded in understanding, familiar with the practice. You looked at him before you shamefully stared back down at your gloved hands. “He was the one who told me that I would feel fulfilled if I joined the Avengers, but I quickly realized how wrong he was from the moment I stepped foot in their base. It may be selfish, but I just want to live a peaceful life, Bruce. I don’t want to save people anymore.” Your eyes shined with sadness and pain. “But of course, destiny had been called me to suffer a crueler fate, and that was—“

“to feel guilty at the thought of abandoning your life as a hero, so you stayed one, despite all the pain,” he finished, reaching out to rest his hand on top of yours so he could make eye contact with you. You made a soft noise of surprise at his touch and you looked up at him with your own wide eyes. He observed how they were filled with so many conflicting emotions that seemed to swirl around in endless circles, no doubt the same feeling you felt in your heart too. Seeing you so vulnerable tempted him to be vulnerable too, for the first time in his life. If your gaze was always this deep and earnest, it made sense that Wonder Woman had admired you for your ability to let her rant for hours on end about anything she ever wanted to talk about. And now, here you were, giving him the opportunity to let his emotions go, to finally feel them fully without anyone else’s judgment. Your ability to do this may be what he liked the most about you, even if he would never confess that to you.

His thoughts cleared when his eyes shifted to the scenery in front of you. It seemed that you two had finally arrived at the Hall of Justice. However, you knew that it would take a while for the jet to park itself in the designated ‘parking lot’ for all the cars and jets, so you continued speaking.

“I… know I’m not the one that you could get along with. I’ve known that fact for a long time. But if there is a redeeming aspect of myself, it’s that I’m waiting with a heavy heart for a chance to finally put the fighting behind and use my magick for the purpose I originally had intended to fulfill with it: build my own cottage and grow my own garden in the middle of the woods,” you explained with a hopeful smile before you let out a final sigh.

While his heart burned with shame over his icy behavior towards you, there was something so endearing about hearing a powerful witch such as yourself wish for a life dedicated to taking care of nature. You reminded him of all the good qualities that Poison Ivy had. It touched Bruce’s heart, even if you sometimes irritated him with your teasing. Now more than ever, you seemed to be more relatable to him than he originally thought.

It made you much more desirable in his eyes. It was scary how many emotions he had to repress, just so he could appear calm in in your presence.

Then, your eyes met his again. He could see that you were waiting for his reaction, anything from him that could provide a source of comfort for you. But he was at a loss for words. How quickly his life changed in just one flight. From the moment you put him in his jet, he never knew that he could find a friend in you. It made his heart soar and beat wildly in his chest. But in your eyes, he seemed to not care about anything you said, so you just decided to brush the deep conversation off and focused on landing instead.

When the jet had finally stopped, you got up and got out of the jet. Reaching up, you helped him get down from his seat too. He knew didn’t need to be babysat and taken care of, but you didn’t make him feel like it was that. For the first time in his life, he found someone that had always respected his abilities as a hero. You surprised him when didn’t interrogate him about everything in his entire life because you understood why he kept his life a secret in the first place. Finally, for the first time in his life, he finally met someone who saw him as Bruce: not Bruce Wayne or Batman. Just… Bruce.

While he was stuck in his thoughts, you dusted yourself off and guided him down the empty cave and towards the elevator to get you both to the main floor. But before you could press that button, he suddenly gripped your wrist and whipped you around to face him. You knew he was a mysterious man, but when he slowly backed you up against the wall, you couldn’t help but wonder if your choice to rant to him was the right one. You closed your eyes in fear and turned away from his gaze. You braved yourself for a hit or a yell from Bruce, but nothing happened. Instead, he pinned your wrists against the wall. Your eyes snapped wide open at his action and you stared at him in surprise. Your breath hitched in your throat when he leaned in close to your face.

“Will you…” he trailed off in silent nervousness, but he forced himself to move past his fears. He searched your eyes for any signs of discomfort. Despite your position, you more so showed signs of pleasant surprise and dare he say it—excitement. Taking it as a sign to stay in his position, he continued voicing his request while he leaned closer until you could feel the breath of his whispers against your parted lips.

“Will you take off my cowl?” He whispered quietly. When you heard his request, you gasped lightly in shock. Wasn’t he always going on about people not being allowed to get to know what he looks like? Nonetheless, you hesitantly reached up and slowly pulled off the cowl to reveal the ethereal sight of none other than Bruce Wayne. For the first time, you saw as his eyes seemed to hold deeper emotions than you had ever seen him express. Your heart pounded in your chest as you watched his eyes wander all over your face. His eyes finally settled on your lips and at that moment, you realized exactly what was going on.

“W-What are you doing…?” You inhaled sharply as your hands flexed against his. You could feel a soft sigh from him that seemed to fill your entire body with chills. This was the right time to confess before it is too late. “I’m tired of this, of my distance towards you and my inability to…” he paused as you felt his hands move up to intertwine with your fingertips. “to… touch you, to hold you and to make you mine,” he almost growled out while you tried to figure out what he was trying to tell you. Was he saying that he liked you romantically or if he wanted to pursue something more physical? You hoped it was the former, since a relationship with Bruce was something you had always dreamed of having. Having him so close to you right now was causing you to burn bright with the hope of finding love with him.

Suddenly he caused you to accidentally squeak in shock when he leaned in to breathe deeply against the skin of your cheek. There was no kiss—at least not yet. But somehow, this moment was more intimate than any kiss you had ever received in your life. And from your reaction, it made him only want you more; to continue to fluster you and feel your cheeks burn up against his own. “Tell me. Tell me that you do not feel the same towards me,” he sighed hotly before his head moved slightly back to press his nose to the side of your lips. You realized now that the two of you were here in the Justice Hall garage just a moment away from kissing and clawing at each other’s skin in an attempt to seek a sense of intimacy that both of you had never experienced before.

“Tell me you don’t feel the same towards me and I’ll back off,” he murmured. He was so close to you, to the point where you could drown in his pounding heartbeat. From the way he treated you with so much passion but with a certain gentleness to it, it made you finally realize that he really wanted you to tell him that you loved him; that his shaky, nervous breaths were not due to his lust, but rather because of his desperate hope that you might like him back. How could you not say no to him when he’s being so vulnerable with you?

You let out a shaky sigh from his sudden confession and the feeling of his body pressed up against yours. After all this time, you thought that your love was unrequited, but here he was at your mercy with desperation in his eyes for more of your touch. You didn’t want to keep him waiting, so you decided to finally make a move.

Instead of releasing your hands from his restraints, you nuzzled your cheek against his to display your reciprocity for his feelings. It took everything within him not to act out sinfully while he felt your breaths against his neck.

“(Y/n),” he whispered desperately to you, his hands gripping tighter around your wrists. “Please, tell me you feel the same way.” You hummed in response and leaned back until your lips almost touched his. “I like you too. I always have,” you confessed to him so delicately that drove him absolutely wild with unruly passion to make you his. “You mean more to me than you know, Bruce,” you whispered before your lips barely pressed a kiss to his lips. He growled under his breath in frustration from your teasing, but the next words that slipped out of your mouth finally compelled him to kiss you like his life depended on it:

“I am yours entirely. My heart belongs to you.”

At this point, he was too far gone to scold himself for feeling so strongly towards you despite knowing barely anything about you. He knew now that love doesn’t have to make sense. Even if there wasn’t a day that would go by without him being vexed by your outgoing personality, he still adored it nonetheless. He was okay with it because you were his light outside of Gotham City and he only hoped that one day, he could see your endearing lopsided smile when you find out about the cottage he had built for you both to retire in for the rest of your days.

Maybe it was cliche to think that opposites really do attract, but Bruce didn’t care. What matters now was you are his and he is yours.

And he wouldn’t have it any other way.

#bruce wayne #bruce wayne x reader #dr strange #doctor stephen strange #stephen strange #batman #batman animated series #batman x reader #fanfic #writing #dcau #justice league #justice league unlimited #tony stark #marvel

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constanteyeburn · 2 years

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My headcannons of my favorite characters being terrified of spiders

Daredevil/Matt Murdock

(After he told them he was daredevil) whenever he senses a spider in the office he’ll immediately go to Foggy or Karen and point out where it is exactly and be like “remove it immediately try not to kill it..”

Yes his no killing rule applies to spiders.

(Not a spider headcannon but i can’t just not include it) That rule applies to flies too. He’ll trap them in a cup or a bottle and then send them out. Sometimes they fly back in and he’s stuck in that cycle until it flies away.

When he senses a spider at home he’ll immediately hone in his senses on it and monitor it to make sure it’s not coming towards him. He can be occupied by that for hours.

Tries to focus his senses on other things like Karen or Foggy.

Hears stick in his head telling him to “man up” and that “it’s just a stupid bug matty. don’t be such a wuss.” He feels down for hours after that.

Foggy

Loves spiders. Absolutely adores them.

(idk how college dorms work but,) He would’ve kept a spider as a pet in college but Matt was very resistant. They tried for a compromise but Matt said he would ask for a new roommate if Foggy got a spider. Nothing personal Matt just wouldn’t be able to handle it. Foggy was put out by that but they were fine the next day.

Was the designated spider person as a kid. Was definitely called over to kill a spider multiple times a week. His answer was always “I’ll just let it out” and proceeded to pick it up with his bare hands..[me- shuddering at the thought. my dad does that. literally how??]

Subtly (AND FONDLY) makes fun of Matt’s fear of spiders in casual conversation sometimes. Just drops a “only way to get Matt out of the office is to mention that there’s a spider in there.”

He especially likes to bring it up when Matt is flirting. Just goes “I mean sure he’s super confident and brave until a furry monster crawls onto the table that he’s eating on.”

Bruce Wayne/Lego Batman

Is not afraid to shout “ALFRED THERES A SPIDER IN THE BATCAVE”

Will sprint full speed away from spiders

Has begged alfred to help him create an anti-spider spray.

[honestly i think dick would love spiders too but for this purpose i’m going to pretend he’s terrified of them too] Dick yells for his batdad when he sees a spider in his robin suit thinking that fearless batman could help him..Bruce went down the fireman pole into the cave, saw the spider, and went straight back up the pole. it was Alfred’s job to take care of the spider once more.

His no killing rule does not apply to spiders sorry spiders

At a Justice League meeting he once saw a spider on the table and honest to god threw 5 batarangs at it. The first 4 missed with how sloppily he threw them. The 5th one hit his target exactly. The league stared at him utterly dumbfounded and he stared at them for a few awkward moments before he grinned, then said “I’m batman” and left the meeting. [bro i’m gonna use that for every batman now i don’t care if it doesn’t fit their character it does now.]

Also at a JL meeting there was a spider on his arm and he panicked and wildly shook his arm. The spider flew off and he stared at it before throwing a smoke bomb at it. Once again the league stared at him. Someone muttered “we seriously have this dude apart of this team?” Batman took great offense to that and exclaimed “Heck yeah you got this dude apart of the team! Super epic batman.” he then crossed his arms looking smug and said “batman out” and threw down another smoke bomb.

Oliver Queen/Green Arrow

Spiders just kinda disgust him-especially when he was younger. He’ll immediately kill them on sight.

Back when he and bruce were attending the same school bruce would always ask oliver to kill spiders for him. He would always make fun of bruce for being unable to kill them himself.

Their friendship carried on into their adulthood. After both oliver and bruce’s identities have been revealed to the league batman makes silent eye contact with green arrow and green arrow shoots spiders down for batman.

Oliver once saw a spider in the bathroom on the mirror and without thinking he just straight up shot the mirror. He had no idea how to explain what happened as he was very clearly dressed as a vigilante. He just booked it and prayed no one figured out it was him. (He did bring the arrow thank you very much. He wasn’t that stupid.)

Klaus Hargreeves

Spiders unnerve him especially after he was locked in with ghosts. There were so many spiders in the corners. He tries not to think about that.

Pesters Ben into possessing him and killing the spider for him. Ben always relents and does it.

Will sometimes ask Diego to throw a knife at the spider or something.

Has asked Allison to rumor a spider once. Allison called him an idiot and laughed in his face.

Can sometimes trap the spider in a glass. He had absolutely no idea what to do after he trapped it so he just left it there and put a heavy object on top of the glass to make sure it wouldn’t escape.

Hangs out in the void and absolutely relishes in the fact that he’s never seen a spider in there.

Has asked Luther to get rid of a spider for him. Luther does it everytime. He always says “you need to get over this fear Klaus. You cant let a simple spider bother you this much.” Klaus notes that it was very similar to the ones Reginald gave him.

#i chose lego batman for this one because he’s stupid like me & i love him #dick grayson #Lego dick grayson too because he’s super bubbly i love him too #daredevil #I love daredevil too #like halfway through i realized i accidentally created a rainbow with their names and so i just went with it #foggy nelson #matt headcannons #foggy headcannons #lego batman headcannons #lego batman #side note Brucie & Ollie are totally friends..i have yet to read a single comic and yes i do feel bad abt that but eh.#just realized this is marvel AND dc on the same post.#klaus hargreeves #klaus headcannons #alfred pennyworth

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lucifer-is-a-bag-of-dicks · 3 years

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can't stop thinking of this op danny/guardian spirit/young justice crossover that I can't write because I don't have the DC universe background knowledge for it so I'm gonna just dump the concept here

be prepared for a lot of rambling

so the JL consider Amity Park a Safe Zone in case of dire emergencies

but nobody is told why, only the top members of the Justice League know anything about the place, Robin probably breaks into Batsy's computer and finds something about some hero there named Phantom but he can't find any other info about him or the town other than that he's trustworthy

and maybe the Young Justice crew get fucked up and the JL are indisposed or being distracted or something and the safe houses are compromised so Robin has to be like 'alright team I know this One Place that's supposed to be like a last resort safe space' so they all end up in Amity Park, and their pursuers are right on their tail until they hit the edge of town and then some fucking force of nature comes down on the bad guys following them out of nowhere and fucks them up

they would just be like 'holy shit who is this guy how come we never heard of him??'

and Robin is like 'oh hey so you're Phantom? Batman said this was a safe place to go when we're in trouble'

and he's expecting Danny to know some shit or have a plan or a safehouse to take them to

but Danny's just all 'uhhh this place gets attacked by inter-dimensional monsters every other day why would he send you here for safety? also Batman knows who I am???'

Robin is just confused as all hell because apparently Batman has this town listed as the Ultimate Safehouse and its hero is listed as Trusted but he's never even spoken to the guy?

real sus

but Danny takes them in and finds some abandoned house for them to stay in, and promises that whoever is chasing them will not set foot in this town, like they might have to deal with some ghosts popping up but human threats are no problem

and they're in this empty house that's, okay well it isn't dilapidated or anything but it has no power or water or even security, Phantom just tells them he's got their backs while they recover and don't worry about it

but Robin wants answers so he's quizzing Danny on who he is and why Batman trusts him

but Danny's got no idea, he's surprised the JL even know who he is because nobody has ever come to see him, nobody has ever given him any indication that they even know he's here, which he was kinda peeved about because he had to tackle every ghost attack by himself

but the Justice League not only knew he was here but apparently volunteered him to look after them?

he's a little bit pissy about that, Robin cannot entirely blame him, Robin thinks this whole thing is weird, like there has to be a reason, the JL don't just ignore kids fighting crime on their own, they would have invited him into their team, offered him help and training, not left him to figure it all out alone

although the kid was pretty powerful, he took out a whole crew of bad guys in one breath, literally

true to Danny's word, nobody finds them, the guys who had been hunting them down and chasing them everywhere can't seem to track them here, either that or Phantom just keeps getting in their way when they try, they feel so safe here, safer than they've ever felt before

Megan picks up that there's something unusual about the place, it's like the town itself is telling them that they're safe here, the air is full of love and warmth and comfort, somebody here wants them to feel at ease, somebody here wants them to feel safe

Robin still thinks it's sus

he starts to wonder if Batman was coerced by this psychic force to mark the town as a safe space, but he's pretty sure Batman's too savvy for that, besides, Megan was certain that there was no coercion or ill intent plaguing their minds, it's just a general atmosphere of safety

and she's pretty sure it's coming from Phantom

they witness a ghost fight or two and are amazed that the JL have been ignoring these pretty significant threats and just let some kid handle it alone, sure he has the same powerset as the enemies plus some, but he's still a kid and he's alone

none of them would ever have been allowed this much freedom or this little assistance

super super sus

after the JL finally get out of whatever issue they've been stuck with, they come pick up the kids and Danny is there like 'oh hey I think I need an explanation because what the fuck guys'

and Batman in all his blunt glory just tells him 'we were advised not to interfere unless absolutely necessary'

Danny obviously Does Not Like this answer and wants to know who this guy is that's ordering Batman around, then low and behold, Constantine shows up, immediately balling out Batman because 'why the fuck are you in Amity Park rn I made it VERY CLEAR that this place is a delicate fucking ecosystem if Superman gets god damn overshadowed we are all gonna have problems'

aaaaaand suddenly it all makes sense

Danny realises that any hero who's powerful enough to take on a ghost literally cannot risk that power in the hands of creatures that can just take over their bodies at any time, especially when this is a standard ability in all of Danny's enemies

but he's still shitty because like 'y'all could still have called me or something it would be nice to know I wasn't totally alone out here ya know'

and Constantine is all 'kiddo I literally had the god of time show up in my bedroom at 3am to tell me to make sure none of these fucks tried to adopt you as a side kick, one of them has a track record with this kinda thing it's a legit problem, I couldn't give these fuckers an inch, this town was off limits. so WHY ARE YOU ALL HERE RN'

aaaand Batman has to explain them a thing, basically Phantom is considered so fucking OP and has such an omniscient connection to the town itself that it makes for the perfect hiding place and defence for anyone in dire straights, and it really is only supposed to be a last resort, the side kicks had absolutely nowhere else to go with all of their safe houses compromised

aaaand that's how Danny learns that he is kind of more powerful than most of the god damn Justice League

hope you enjoyed this because I am never gonna be able to actually write it, have a nice day ✨

#lula's aus #danny phantom #overpowered danny #op danny dc edition #guardian spirit au #young justice #justice league #dc

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fallenqueen2 · 2 years

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Dick Grayson Week 2022 Day 5 - Omega Dick Grayson

Day 5 of @dickgraysonweek - Omega Dick Grayson

Ao3 Link

Dick spent a good deal of time fighting past his more basic Omega instincts. They could compromise him in the field, could cause him problems at school and at work, and they have caused problems with the headstrong Alpha that was Bruce. Dick pushed his baser Omega Instincts into a box and sealed it up tight, doing his best to project himself as a Beta, going so far as to even wear scent-blockers while on patrol and when he left Bruce, he had slapped those patches on to just get through the day without Alpha’s leering and making lewd comments about him.   Dick never felt the urge to settle down and have children, he never wanted to bend over and submit to any Alpha he ever met. Dick gets along well with kids, but that was more of a him thing than an Omega thing as he has met many Omega’s who were horrible with children. So when Dick got handed Damian, a baby Alpha in the making, he rolled with it and did his best to bond with him.   Somewhere along the way, he had eased off his scent blockers when out of the Batman suit and let himself fuss over Damian a bit more and to his (and Alfred’s) delight, Damian had shyly inched closer and closer until it took considerable effort for Dick to not call Damian ‘pup’ whenever he did something well or adorable. Dick had come to the realization that Damian Wayne was his pup, not by blood but by choice. There was only one fly in the ointment and that was Talia fucking Al Ghul.   Said fly was standing across the rooftop, holding her hand out towards Damian, who was wearing his Robin uniform with pride now fully understanding the history of the name and the colours and Dick all but preened when Damian had accepted the offer of the name, the legacy, he was the first Robin chosen by the original, one that Dick was positive his parents would have loved and approved of.

Dick glowered behind the cowl of the bat suit as Talia tried to guilt his pup into leaving with her, to go back to her world of blood and coldness. One that Damian had finally begun to leave behind and accept all sides of himself that didn’t include murder and non-stop training. “Why now Talia? Bruce has been gone for a long time,” Dick growled out, his chest rattling below the bat symbol. That box he had sealed his basic instincts away in was starting to crack open, Damian scooted an inch closer to Dick, concern tinting his scent as he gave his Batman a side look, his face giving nothing away. “I wanted to see how well an Omega could train my son, but I see now that all you’ve done is made him weak, weak like any common Omega.” Talia sneered, free hand resting on the handle of her gun that was on her thigh. “Weak like any common Omega? You Alpha’s, you truly know nothing. Damian is not weak because of me, and he’s not strong because of you. He is strong because Damian is himself and he is growing as a person. You have no right to stroll back in here and demand he return to your bloody life with you.” Dick snarled, iris’ burning gold behind the lens of the cowl, Damian inched closer again and his scent turned into one that related to pride and happiness.   “He is my son, he needs a strong Alpha hand in guiding him. Damian, come here now.” Talia demanded, forcing her Alpha strength into the final three words. It was heavy and heady and Damian’s knees buckled a bit under the weight of the Alpha command from his sire. “Damian, do you want to go with Talia?” Dick asked, unbothered by the posturing. Bruce was much worse than this and Dick dealt with that almost every other day since he returned as Nightwing. “…No, I want to stay here with you and Pennyworth,” Damian whispered, hand twitching like he wanted to reach up and clutch at the cape hanging from Dick’s shoulders. Dick had done that himself whenever he felt insecure when he was younger and as much as he would love to wrap his pup up in the cape and protect him, he had a job to do.   “I won’t let her take you,” Dick promised before he gently nudged Damian back before he bore his teeth with a deep rumbling snarl. Talia was startled at the sound, it was nothing she had ever heard come from Omega, it gave Dick an opening and he lunged forward, landing a solid punch across her face, breaking her nose with a satisfying crack.   Gunshots echoed over the roof as Talia shot rapidly at Dick who was darting and twisting to avoid the bullets, moving at a speed that neither Talia nor Damian had ever seen from Dick, from an Omega before. With a snarl still rolling from his throat, Dick delivered solid, well-placed punches and kicks, forcing Talia back inch by inch, cracking and breaking a few bones in the process.   Talia shouted as she was flipped over Dick’s shoulder and pinned to the ground with Dick’s boot on her throat and his knee pinning her wrist until she was forced to release her gun.   “You underestimated me Alpha Bitch, you always underestimated me because I am an Omega. You hear about the damages Feral Alpha’s can cause correct? Omegas can go feral as well, but here’s some new information for you. While Feral Alpha’s cause damage because they lose control, Feral Omega’s cause damage because they are in control.” Dick explained simply, as he twisted his foot making her choke and clutch at his ankle, face a mess of blood and forming bruises. “Every Omega is always an inch or two away from going Feral. I have trained hard to keep that side of myself under wraps, but today you made the mistake of going after my pup. Damian is my pup and I will slaughter you where you stand if you try to take him from me again. This is your only warning. I’d advise you to heed it.” Dick snarled, unashamed to bare his rather sharp and pointed Omega canines.   “Do you understand?” Dick cocked his head to the side as he applied more pressure to Talia’s throat and wrist.   “Y-Yes, yes! I understand,” Talia gritted out, hating each word but the fact that Dick had taken her out so effectively, so quickly, so ruthlessly only proved his statement correct and while Bruce may have a rule about not killing, she had no clue if this held true to Dick Grayson.   “Good, now get out of my city and stay the fuck away from my pup.” Dick let out a roar, blowing her hair back off of her face, leaving her shaken as Omega’s rarely if ever roar and this roar was more fierce than any Alpha roar she had heard.   The moment Dick stepped away, she rolled off the roof and grappled away in the night without a look back.   “Ah fuck, I’m sorry if I scared you Lil D, I haven’t lost control like that in a while.” Dick didn’t turn back to face Damian, now afraid to see his pup’s reaction. Dick grunted in surprise when a small body collided with his back and arms wrapped around his stomach tightly. “Thank you,” Damian’s words were muffled against Dick’s back but Dick heard him without an issue, Omega’s senses were generally more advanced than Alpha’s save for scent. “I would do it you know… If she tried to hurt you or take you away without your permission, I would kill her.” Dick tipped his head back as the rain began to fall from the dark clouds above.   “I know,” Damian said simply, contentment and love coming from him and Dick just smiled fully content as he held his cape up and shielded his Robin, his pup from the falling rain.   “Let’s go home pup,”

#Dick Grayson Week 2022 #Omega Dick Grayson #alpha/beta/omega au #Feral Omega #Dick Grayson #Damian Wayne #talia al ghul #Canon level violence #FallenQueen2

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pandoraimperatrix · 3 years

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DickKory Week 2021 - Day One

Day 1: Batman!Dick | Pining | “Don’t touch her.”

To say that playing the Dark Knight so Bruce could go on a trip to mend his broken relationship with a revived Jason was a pain was an understatement. But if he’d preach that his Gotham family had to make healthy, better choices without being called a big old hypocrite, Dick would have pinch in. And for now, it meant changing the sunny San Francisco for the gloomy Gotham, and his sleek sexy uniform for the clunky cape and cowl. Oh well, the things you do for love.

The to do list he was currently running inside his mind read as follow:

1 – Stand in the darkness spookily (done);

2 – Stop scheduled crime from happening (actual thing in Gotham, also done);

3 – Stop unscheduled petty crime he might come across on patrol (you are never really done with that, but he did his best);

4 – Brood (not as easily as one might think when your Robins are being ridiculous, and hilarious, in the comms. He meant to have just one as God intended, but Rachel and Gar would not stop fighting to decide which one would wear his old traffic light uniform, and in the end Dick just gave up, and let them both be Robin.)

So, he was currently failing at brooding, great, he used to be good at that. Well, good was not the exact expression…

“Good evening, Mr Batman.”

Dick smirked and turned around on the gargoyle he was perched on to look at his companion.

“Hey babe.”

He cursed, she let out that powerful dirty laugh of hers, he forgot to turn off the voice modulator and hearing his old dad calling his girl “babe” in that scary Batman was at best unsettling and at worst hilariously cringey. Kory clearly was feeling more like the second hypothesis.

She looked a little bit tired, maybe was the baby, maybe was the fact that she had been flying across the country daily to check on him and the kids, while still having duties as a Titan in San Francisco. Dick had argued that she didn’t need to do any of that. Conner and Donna were fully capable of taking care of their city while he, Rachel and Gar babysat Gotham, and all she had to do was focus in the little half-tamaranean half-human child growing inside of her. But Kory being Kory, told him to fuck off. And after two weeks being banned from their bed and a long conversation in which he assured her that he did not think she was weak, or useless they came to a compromise. He compromised to not try to pull that crap ever again. And Kory compromised to not make him regret to ever leave his mother’s womb. A fair deal.

“It’s almost morning,” she said after finishing her laughing fit at his expenses. “I’ve already told the kids to go back.”

Oh, that explained the sudden silence in the comms.

“You need to make them another staff or they will be fighting over that prototype forever.”

Dick sighed and looked away from her. She was right. The night was almost over and the silver dawn approached in the horizon. Gotham almost appeared a normal city in that light. Almost a place worth to fight for. He found himself missing Bruce, and not only because he’d give an arm and a leg to just take his space princess, his little witch and his zoological son and leave; but because, deep down, veeeeery deep he kinda missed this. Gotham at dawn, it was almost credible then that light could win over that city’s perpetual darkness. When he was young, in the beginning, sometimes he’d fall sleep at this time, and wake up on the backseat of the batmobile wrapped on Bruce’s cape.

“I’ll get to it eventually,” he said turning his back at Gotham and taking her in. God, even looking tired she was gorgeous. The richness of her dark skin, the way it bounced back the blues and silvers of the city lights, it was drizzling and the droplets hanged from her long lashes and soft curls like crystals. She blinked and he reached towards her face, for no other reason than the comfort of touching her. “Let’s go home.”

She smiled, but stepped back, avoiding his touch, Dick pouted, hurt.

Kory giggled again.

“Wayne Manor is hardly home, and don’t look at me like that.”

“Like how?” He definitively didn’t sound at all like the Batman now. Batman would never sound so childish, too bad he couldn’t care a rat’s ass for how Batmanly he should sound when his wife wouldn’t let him even cuddle her a little bit when he had worked so hard all night.

“Dick, what will people think if they see Starfire and Batman being all lovey and dovey on the top of some gargoyle? Do you want to deal with that press scandal?”

He pouted harder.

She was right, of course. Man, he wanted to go home!

#dickkoryweek2021 #dickkoryweek #dickkory #dickkori #starfire #nightwing #robstar #koriand'r #dick grayson #kory anders #kori anders #teen titans #titans #new teen titans #ntt #my fic #sorry I completely forgot to post lmao #but I still have a few hours so it's okay

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bigskydreaming · 3 years

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Its always interesting to me when I see people saying Damian is just like Bruce, in a totally matter of fact way, like its just such a foregone conclusion to them, because I don’t really see it at all, lol.

Like to be clear, its not that Damian doesn’t have ANY similarities to Bruce, I think all of Bruce’s kids share various attributes with him....I just think most of the ones Damian shares tend to be more superficial than characteristic, and there are others who are far more like Bruce than he is? Personally, I think Cass and Tim have the most in common with Bruce, albeit in different ways.....but tbh I think even Jason has more in common with Bruce than Damian does, for example.

Idk.....like for instance, I consider one of the key differences between Dick and Bruce being that Bruce’s sense of morality and ethics is clearly defined, exists as specific, hard-clung to views that he applies regardless of whom is involved in whatever situation he’s applying them to. To Bruce, ethics and morality exist outside of people, and are inviolate.....they’re not meant to change depending on who they’re aimed at or will be affected by them. In contrast, Dick is someone I see as having a morality largely defined by people. His sense of morals and ethics are more fluid....its not that he doesn’t have clearly defined views of right and wrong that underly his regular actions and choices as sort of a default benchmark, a starting point to work off of....its that Dick sees morals and ethics as meaningless if they don’t serve those he cares about or fights for, or if he has to sacrifice someone he values in service to what he views as an arbitrary moral or ethic that CAN be adjusted if he so chooses to adjust it....like that’s the thing HE’S not willing to do. Its like.....Dick sees individual lives as having more value than the abstract, which is what he ultimately considers a singular principle, and so he’d rather sacrifice the principle than the life. Bruce in contrast doesn’t view morals and ethics as being remotely abstract, and views them as the very things that GIVE individual lives value, so he’s not willing to sacrifice his values or principles full stop.

Or to put it another way: If it comes down to a choice between a killer and their intended victim, where it looks like the only possible way to save their victim is to kill the killer before they can kill instead....Dick will take the shot so to speak.....but since he does still believe killing is wrong and an absolute last resort and he’s been raised by someone who he very much does value and who believes that there’s always another way.....then Dick will self-flagellate for not having been able to find another way that didn’t involve killing the killer. Bruce on the other hand, will attempt down to the very last second to find a way to save both lives, no matter how impossible it seems.....and if he’s ultimately unable to, he’ll then self-flagellate for not having found a way to save both.

The truly ironic thing IMO, is even in a situation where BOTH consider themselves to have failed, they’ll both still consider their failure to be the exact same thing....though for entirely different reasons and with different results. Both will view ‘not having been able to find another way’ to have been the true failure.....even though, one killed and one didn’t. Because Dick wouldn’t perceive having killed as his true failure.....because that’s the part he doesn’t actually regret, if it means that he saved the killer’s intended victim as a result. He still did it with intent, in this complete hypothetical, because he perceived the victim’s life as more important than his personal desire not to kill or view that killing is wrong. BUT he’ll still consider himself to have failed because despite having saved one life, he’d view the fact that he couldn’t find another way where taking one life wasn’t a NECESSITY in order to accomplish that.....that was his failure, in his mind. Similarly, but completely differently at the same time....Bruce will consider his failure to have been not having found a way to save both. BUT just like Dick’s true regret isn’t that he killed the killer, Bruce’s true regret isn’t that he DIDN’T, in order to save their victim. Its that he couldn’t find a way out of that box that made it a choice of one or the other.

Course, that’s just my perception of the two of them.

But as examples, this is I think WHY Dick was able to kill the Joker at all in Last Laugh, whereas Bruce will ultimately never bring himself to cross that line. (And while Dick wasn’t matter of fact about it by any means, its significant in my mind that his actual stated regrets about that were always that he played into what the Joker had wanted and thus let him win, and that he’d failed Bruce and let him down....never once was it actually that he’d killed the Joker, period.) Similarly, its why Dick’s a lot more willing to work with people he’s ideologically opposed to or more flexible....in fact, I maintain its specifically why Bruce was so convinced that only Dick could infiltrate Spyral. It wasn’t JUST about the logistics of Dick being believed dead after Forever Evil, or Bruce’s issues about having just watched Dick die.......because Bruce is great at undercover work himself, as Matches Malone, and he traditionally HATES delegating the ‘hard stuff’ to someone else, especially when the stakes are this high....even if he does trust that person absolutely. He believes that if its his responsibility, its up to him to do it if at all possible.

Which is why I think that ultimately, the only reason Bruce didn’t find a way to take on the Spyral mission himself, is because he didn’t think he’d be able to. Spyral was a shady spy organization that engaged in morally compromising work on a day to day basis. Deep down, I think Bruce was aware that there would be too many occasions in which he’d be likely to be sidetracked or frozen by his conviction that there HAD to be a way around whatever he was being asked to do for the sake of keeping his cover, that didn’t require acting against various hard-set morals....which more than likely would have cost him the mission and rendered it a failure.....with catastrophic results for his family and the rest of the hero community. Whereas he knew that Dick would be able to find a way to make it work, because despite having a very strong sense of right and wrong of his own, he knows Dick’s highest moral prerogative is that he WILL act on even something he does firmly believe is wrong, if he’s convinced its the price he needs to pay for the sake of loved ones. And thus, even though he wouldn’t be any happier about the moral compromising nature of a lot of Spyral’s work than Bruce is, he’d be less likely to find himself unable to act in a split second decision time, so long as Bruce uttered the magic words: this is an utter necessity for the sake of your family.

Also ironically, btw, I think one of the key ways that a lot of people perceive Dick and Bruce as different....I’d disagree and say is actually where they’re MOST alike. And that’s that people point to Bruce as closed off and tightly guarding his emotions, hurts, and vulnerabilities at the expense of getting close to people or letting them in.....whereas Dick is more of a people person. But honestly, I disagree. I think people overlook that Brucie Wayne is still as much a part of Bruce Wayne’s life as Batman is. Bruce is and always has been completely capable of being the life of the party and surrounding himself with droves, on a surface level. I think Dick takes it perhaps a bit further than that, he IS more approachable than Bruce in general, that sorta thing.....BUT when it comes to his most private emotions, hurts and vulnerabilities.....I think Dick is just as inclined as Bruce to keep those parts of himself closely guarded and he doesn’t LIKE giving them up. The actual difference between them IMO, again comes down to the role other people play in their ways of thinking.....as I think that the times and reasons Dick DOES open up about his most closely guarded thoughts or emotions....its for other people, because he’s convinced himself that THEY need this from him. Left to his own devices, or at least the perception that he’s the only one likely to be affected by whether he shares his most intimate self with someone else or not, I think he’s just as likely as Bruce to well, not.

And all of this is key to why I think that Damian tends to have a lot more in common with Dick than Bruce, whereas others in the family have more in common with Bruce than Dick. Because see, Damian, like Dick, is more likely to ACT as a result of other specific individuals rather than his own personal sense of right and wrong. Look at when he first came from the League of Assassins. He had a clearly defined view of right and wrong, an already formed morality of his own, even if it was diametrically opposed to most of the Batfam’s, particularly Bruce’s.

Damian didn’t set all that aside because people succeeded in just uniformly shifting his paradigms to be more in line with their views of right and wrong. The changes to his moral code came as a trickle down result of him ALREADY adjusting his actions or behavior - even before he necessarily came to view them as wrong - for the sake of the connections he was building, with Dick, with Alfred, with Steph, and then from there with others.

Just like I outlined with Dick, where he’s more likely than Bruce or many others to act on even something HE believes is wrong, if he views it as a necessity for the sake of a loved one.....Damian is similarly likely to act in a way that completely flies in the face of everything he came to Gotham already believing....if he views it as a necessity for the sake of the individuals he came to value. Just like Dick, simply starting from a different point on the moral spectrum. The sense of right and wrong that they ‘betrayed’ for the sake of other valued individuals was different....not the reasoning for that ‘betrayal’ of their previously established moral code.

Similarly, while Damian is just as inclined to be closed off and guarded as Bruce is (and Dick. and well, most of the Batfam shares this part in common, lol) - like Dick, when he does open up, be it to Dick or Alfred or Jon or Colin.....its because he’s convinced himself that on some level its what THEY need, rather than because he actually believes that he himself needs to let them in.

Meanwhile, the reason I say Jason is actually more like Bruce than even Damian is, lies in viewing Jason as falling somewhere between Dick and Bruce on a lot of this. Basically, I think that Jason is more naturally inclined to be more like Bruce in how rigidly he holds to a particular sense of right and wrong.....its just that the particulars of what they both view as right and wrong are different. Same thing with it being more natural to Jason to be like Bruce in terms of guarding his emotions. But in both instances, he’s still ENOUGH like Dick, as opposed to Bruce, that he does still adjust his emotional behavior and how likely he is to act on or against his personal view of morality.....for the sake of valued individuals. It just doesn’t come to him AS....naturally, I guess, as it does to Dick, and thus he’s not AS fluid as Dick in these things....but he’s still MORE fluid about them than Bruce. And that’s why even though it takes a LOT to budge him from his view of the right and wrong approach to vigilantism, he IS still willing to put aside what he does still believe is a necessity or right....if that’s what it takes to have his family in his life, etc.

To be clear - I am trying to not cast any particular judgments on any of the approaches to morality here....simply just, not the aim of this post. I’m more trying to view things analytically here, so when I frame Bruce as being the most intractable of the lot here, the least likely to budge his morals or act against his personal sense of right and wrong for the sake of loved ones, its not because I’m trying to say that he DOESN’T love his family, or even that he loves them any less than Dick does, Jason does, etc. And I’m not even trying to suggest that he’s wrong for his approach. I’m literally just....exploring the WHY of it.

And for me, that tends to go back to the singular difference between Bruce’s later childhood, after his parents’ deaths, the period between ages 10 and adulthood.....versus the childhoods of his various children around those same ages, or after their parents’ deaths.

Because these are the ages when most of us most fully develop the....intricacies of our personal moralities, when we explore and shape how our behavior stems from that sense of right and wrong and when and where we act on our beliefs, etc.

And the key thing about Bruce during this period of his life, IMO, is that at the time.....he had very few specific INDIVIDUALS who played significant emotional roles in his life and in his mind. Bruce cares about people. Absolutely. A lot. But for a lot of the period in which Bruce shaped a lot of his personal moral behavior, people were almost as much an abstract to him as morals themselves. That’s not quite the right way to put it, but I mean, its more like....there was a kind of uniformity to the way he viewed people as a whole, because there were less individuals specifically standing out from the rest, as PARTICULARLY significant to him himself....and thus likely to influence his growing moral code.

The other key factor is the people he DID have valued emotional connections to at this point, like....they had a kind of permanence that stretched back to early childhood for him. They weren’t NEW additions to his life. While I believe that his parents’ deaths absolutely was formative for him and left him with severe abandonment issues....for Bruce, these abandonment issues were specifically geared around fear of losing people to death. He was already rooted in the same place, same life, same people, that he was before his parents’ death, that part of his life didn’t change.....and thus the people who were left to play large emotional roles in his life and worldview, like Alfred and Leslie.....he might have been afraid of losing them the way he lost his parents, but he wasn’t especially of losing them for other reasons. Specifically: I don’t think Bruce grew up during this time feeling any particular fear of losing someone like Alfred - a staple of his entire life - to, say, Alfred judging him for his choices or his morals.

As a result, Bruce grew up shaping his personal view of right and wrong and resulting morality-stemming behavior, on pretty much nothing BUT those morals and ethics themselves. And there wasn’t any particular NEED to shape those morals AROUND the people he valued in life, or likelihood that he’d lose them due to differences in opinion or ideology, like....with all of this adding up to be the reasons HIS moral code and behavior is less fluid than even most peoples’. Because there wasn’t really any reason for it NOT to be. There were very few people and thus few occasions, while still DEVELOPING all this, that made him feel that he was maybe on the wrong track, or that he needed to make room for exceptions or the possibility that he might need to adjust his views or behavior in these regards.

In contrast......Dick, Jason and most of the others all came to Bruce after significant upheavals in their life that necessitated basically starting over in an entirely brand new environment with brand new people, etc. So they lacked the specific aspect of the PERMANENCE Bruce felt in regards to his own valued loved ones during this period of his life. So unlike him, where he had a bit more space to contemplate his moral code and behavior without being particularly afraid of getting it wrong or that his choices here might cost him these people.....Dick, Jason, et al like....they formed their moral codes and behavior with significantly more awareness that many of the people they valued already had fully formed codes of their own they felt very strongly about...AND at the same time, they had REASON to be....less secure about whether or not the choices they made here could potentially cost them these people.

Which is a perfect recipe for the kind of moral fluidity based around specific individuals, that I maintain most of the kids display to various degrees. In fact, you can almost kinda....chart the extent of their moral fluidity, via various factors like the QUANTITY of significant emotional attachments in their lives at this time. Like I maintain Dick is the most morally fluid based on people.....but that I think has a lot to do with the fact that Dick had the most attachments to....protect or preserve. Even though he was forced to live apart from his extended circus family, they still very much figured into his thoughts as people he cared about and valued, and then there were Bruce and Alfred, and then Clark, Barbara, the Titans, etc, etc.

In contrast, look at how Jason came to Wayne Manor with very few pre-existing emotional attachments with anyone still alive.....and the fact that Jason during his time living with Bruce didn’t really even have occasion to form a large number of attachments outside of his immediate family, as he wasn’t on any teams unlike Dick, and he didn’t mingle all that much with other members of the hero community. Ergo, Jason’s LESS morally fluid than Dick simply for the reason that like Bruce, he had more reason to construct his personal morals around simply his own perceptions and convictions, and less people he felt this moral code and behavior needed to acccomodate, or be prepared to make exceptions for or around.

Meanwhile, I’d argue that Damian is like Jason in that he had fewer people to build into his personal view of right and wrong and how and when to act based on that.....BUT a key difference here is that Damian didn’t have a lot of experience pre-Gotham with feeling valued and valuing other individuals in turn, like...at all. The connections he developed with Dick, Alfred, Steph, etc.....they were brand new to him, basically a revelation in a lot of ways, because before that we’ve seen how he was often taught to dampen his view of how valuable or not to view personal connections.....whereas Jason, pre-Wayne Manor, like......we know that he DID very much have a strong emotional attachment to Catherine that he embraced and was not hesitant to value, etc. So my point here being that the sheer NEWNESS of what Damian was feeling in regards to even WANTING to adjust his behavior based not on what he THOUGHT was right or wrong but based on the PEOPLE he was coming to value....this was a complete shock to the system to Damian in ways that it wouldn’t necessarily have been for Jason, resulting in a likelihood that Damian would feel an enhanced INTENSITY around all this that Jason might not, and thus despite both of them having similar NUMBERS of emotional attachments they shaped their changing and developing moral codes around, these people carried an additional weight for Damian, just as Jason’s few carried an additional weight that Bruce’s didn’t have due to the differences in THEIR upbringings in this period of their lives.....and thus resulting in Damian having an even more fluid moral code and behavior than Jason did....closer to being on par with Dick’s, just as Jason still has a more fluid one than Bruce does.

ANYWAY.

This was a LOT longer than I thought it would be when I started a little post about huh weird how I don’t see Damian the way a lot of other people do BUT SINCE WHEN IS THAT NEWS.

In conclusion, this has been a post.

Good day.

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jinx-jade · 3 years

Text

Secret Dreams Chapter 5: A dagger, a knife, and a gun.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Marinette muttered under her breath as every Akuma she had ever faced appeared in her vision.

She only went out to buy a few art supplies. Making sure to stay away from dark areas and alleyways like Damian had told her to. Marinette walked from one shop to another, standing tall and walking with a purpose.

If she used a bit of magic to give off a ‘don’t mess with me’ vibe. Well then, that was for no one but herself and the kwami’s to know.

“I’m not even here a week before being caught in a rogue attack!” She continues to mutter under her breath.

Almost all the Akumas were on the ground. If they weren’t an Akuma, then they were a civilian laying in pools of blood, covered in fatal injuries. Their cries and screams were defining to her. Looking around, Marinette saw that there were only six Akumas still standing. In the center of the six still standing Akumas was Hawkmoth himself.

‘Ok. Hawkmoth is probably Scarecrow. The six standing Akumas are most likely his goons.’ Marinette rationalized to herself. ‘How does that information help me.’ Looking around Marinette realized that her surroundings didn’t change. Sure it was darker and there were bloody bodies everywhere, but she was still in the shopping district.

She had seen too much for this to faze her. A plan formed in her head. Marinette made her breathing uneven moving slowly and shakily she made her way to the group of still standing Akumas.

The Akumas pointed at her and looked at each other. They seemed to laugh at her, although it was hard to know for sure since she couldn’t hear them over the screams. The Akumas didn’t think of her as a threat which worked to her advantage. Once she was close enough, Marinette snatched one of the Akumas weapons using it against the others.

She had made sure not to hit any vital spots but other than that, she didn’t hold back. After all, they had ruined her shopping day.

Marinette swept the Akuma’s feet out from beneath them, stabbing them in their lower calf. Not fatal but it is incredibly painful. She quickly moved to the next Akuma, roundhouse kicking them in the lower jaw with enough force to knock them out. ‘Five to go.’

One of the Akumas tried to attack her from behind only for Marinette to pull out her dagger and stabbed them in the shoulder. She snatched their gun before twisting the blade and pulling it back out. ‘Four.’

Marinette quickly throws her dagger at another Akuma, hitting them in the upper arm. They seemed to pass out from the pain. She darted forward, opening one of their eyes to check for consciousness. When there was no response she moved her focus back to the fight. ‘Three.’

Turning towards the Akuma that was charging her, she shot the newly snatched gun. The bullet grazing their head. Blood splattering everywhere, knocking them unconscious, but not fatal. ‘Two.’

Marinette looked to Hawkmoth ready to shoot only to see that more Akumas had appeared. Freezing for a few moments when she noticed that these Akumas were tying up Hawkmoth.

Marinette tilted her head to the side. One of the new Akumas moved towards her slowly with their hands in a placating gesture. ‘Oh. It’s the bats.’ Marinette realized, relaxing.

She felt a small sharp stab in her neck. ‘The antidote most likely.’

Marinette swayed on her feet before being caught. The feelings of safety and home washing over her stronger than they ever had before. She had to be careful as to keep her face neutral. Not wanting to give away how she was feeling.

Marinette was picked up and moved to an ambulance where they checked her vitals. The Bat-family impatiently waiting to question her. By the time the bats were let near her the antidote was working at full effect.

“Are you alright?” Nightwing questioned.

“Mh. Just a bad headache.” Marinette informs them.

“If you’re up to it, could you answer some questions?” Nightwing seemed to be leading the ‘interrogation’ while the other bats observed. She simply nodded her head. All the bats asked their questions.

“You were under the influence of fear-toxin?” Batman questioned with a neutral.

“Yes.”

“What could you see?” Red Robin inquired with curiosity.

“Blood, Dead bodies, Akumas, Hawkmoth.”

“You’re from Paris then.” A statement, not a question, but she still nodded her head.

“Where did you get the dagger, knife, and gun?” Red hood asked.

“I took the knife from one of the standing Akumas, or I guess Scarecrows goons? I did the same thing to get the gun.”

“And the dagger?” Red Hood questions with an amused tone.

“That was mine,” Marinette responds. “ I keep it on me in case of an emergency.”

“You know how to handle each of these weapons?” Batgirl asked with what she assumed was a raised eyebrow. It was hard to tell with her mask.

“Yes.”

Their questions paused briefly as they looked in each other’s directions.

“Did you have proper training with them? Or was it adrenaline?” Red Hood asked. Repeating Batgirl’s question differently.

“I’m not sure if it counts as proper training but I was taught how to use them.” This had the bats looking at each other once again in some form of silent communication.

Marinette feigned confusion about the bats’ reaction.

“The person who taught me is more than proficient with them if that’s what you’re worried about,” Marinette informs them as if she was trying to ease their worries.

The bats’ had another moment of silence before Batman stepped forward as the other bats left.

“We’ll contact you if we need more information.” He informs her before leaving himself.

Marinette let out a sigh. She was not looking forward to Damian’s over-protectiveness. Any other time she would be fine with it and let him fuss over her to his heart’s content, but they were now in the same city.

She was worried that he might just pay her a visit in the physical world. In all honesty, she wouldn’t mind if it weren’t for the fact it would compromise her fun. She was having a lot of fun messing with Damian’s family. Although, if push comes to shove, she’ll probably let Damian check on her. Her fun wasn’t worth upsetting her bonded.

tag list: @little-bluestar @redbullgivescaswings @stackofrandomstuff @meismu @maskedpainter @nyx-in-line @iamabrownfox @m0chik0furan @jjmjjktth @icerosecrystal @machichannx @a4-machete @our-preciousss @justafanwarrior @animegirlweeb @loopingtangent @buginetye @blueslushgueen @solangelo252 @officiallydarkgreek @toodaloo-kangaroo @melicmusicmagic @alysrose-starchild @lunathealphafemale @frieddonutsweets @marvel--unsolved @user00000003 @henie04 @anonymously-odd

#maribat #daminette #damian x marinette #secret relationship #secret dreams #secret soulmate #soulmate marinette #soulmate damian #romantic soulmates

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ectonurites · 3 years

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idk how to quote tags on mobile where is the conner kent essay i NEED it

ALRIGHT OKAY! here’s 5k+ words plus panels & screenshots of me comparing and contrasting the two drastically different versions of Superboy (comics vs young justice cartoon) and going over what makes them such distinctly separate characters. someday i’ll refine this a bit more its kinda just a word dump that’s been living in my brain that i wanted to actually articulate after i read through Reign of the Supermen but here we go:

Pretty frequently I see the question “Why is Superboy so different in the Young Justice cartoon?” float around in DC circles. I think there are two main approaches to answering this:

Why did the writers of the cartoon decide to create a very different version of Superboy?

What factors make this Superboy so different from the comic version?

For the first approach the answer is relatively straight-forward, from the start Young Justice as a cartoon was never meant to be a direct adaptation of the comics. They just used the title and a few elements so they could create their own approach to the DC universe with a focus on younger heroes. For example, Artemis Crock in their show is also COMPLETELY different from her comic counterpart, Zatanna is aged way down to be a member of the teen team, and Kaldur’ahm was created for this show (and integrated into the comics as Jackson Hyde). They were always trying to do different things than the main comics universe, so them making a different version of Conner also makes sense. Their approach to him is also very clearly influenced more by how he appeared in the Teen Titans comic run that was still coming out as Young Justice started airing (his design, and some other elements we’ll discuss along the way), as opposed to his original version from the 90′s/the Young Justice comic.

So the basic “why” is that from the start they wanted to create something unique to their universe, which they definitely did accomplish.

The much more interesting subject to dive into, though, is looking at the differences in Superboy’s story that contribute to him becoming such a different person.

The drastic changes made to the following factors are what I view as the main source of his differences in personality/outlook/characterization:

The conditions and history of the world at the time he is introduced

The circumstances around him being introduced/leaving Cadmus

The reaction Clark has to him and how their relationship starts

The people he first interacted with & became close to, and how he interacts with the world

The timing of him finding out about his connection to Luthor

The State of the Worlds

In the comics, Superboy is first introduced in Adventures of Superman #500 by iconically saying “Don’t ever call me Superboy!”

during a 1993 event called “Reign of the Supermen”, a follow up to the 1992 event “The Death of Superman”. Based on the title of the 1992 event, I think you can, uh, guess what one major difference in the setting here was vs. the state of the world at the time he was introduced in the cartoon. Obviously Clark didn’t stay dead forever, but Superboy first comes onto the scene as a young clone of Superman who insists he is the new Superman (one of the four characters trying to do so during the event). This is in the main DC universe in the early 90’s, which means that heroes in general, including teen heroes, aren’t a new thing! Not only has the Justice League been around for a while but so has the Teen Titans. Once Clark is alive again, Superboy goes off on his own to establish himself as an individual teen hero.

So how is that different in the cartoon?

In the cartoon, Superboy is first introduced in the pilot episodes “Independence Day” and “Fireworks”

on the 4th of July in (what most people consider to be) 2010. This was supposed to be the day that Robin (Dick Grayson), Speedy (Roy Harper), Kid Flash (Wally West), and Aqualad (Kaldur’ahm) would get to see the true Justice League HQ at the Hall of Justice, which... doesn’t go exactly as planned.

In this world, superheroes are a newer thing, this is something that the creators have talked about before. At this point, while there is an established Justice League, there are no known teams of teen superheroes. Just the fact that as of season one Dick Grayson is still Robin is a pretty good indicator that this world is early in it’s time with a Batman. Now, the sidekicks aren’t a secret, as they appear very publicly in this first episode, but they are almost always seen acting with their mentors at this point. Again, there is no Teen Titans in this setting, and there never has been.

So when they do form the first teen hero team? It is kept covert-ops. They do not publicize that they act as a superhero team, and the members who weren’t already publicly known heroes (mainly Miss Martian and Superboy) end up being pretty… unknown to a lot of the world outside the hero/villain community! Again their existence is not strictly kept a secret, but they keep the fact that there’s a team of minors who are heroes going on independent missions VERY under the radar on purpose. Thus, those who aren’t going around doing super public hero activities just don’t have nearly as much of a presence.

So to summarize:

In the comics, Superboy is immediately put in a spotlight (he befriends a reporter and is all over tv and literally trademarks the name Superman) becoming known to the world and establishes himself as a solo acting hero YEARS before joining any teams.

In the cartoon, Superboy is kept relatively out of the spotlight, immediately becomes part of a covert-ops team and doesn’t act solo very often. The well known teen heroes in this setting are sidekicks working under a mentor, and Superboy does not actually act as a sidekick.

What does this mean for Superboy?

Superboy in the comics gets to, right away, act on his own and get a taste of what being Superman is like. In the cartoon, he’s brought into the world at a time where there already is a Superman. I think back to this bit from the therapy episode, where he says:

“See, from the moment I first opened my eyes in that Cadmus pod, there’s been one thing I’ve wanted, and feared. To know what it is to be Superman.”

Comics Superboy started out getting to do that! He immediately got a shot at filling that role, and he then makes the choice to relinquish it back to the original once he’s alive again. He (begrudgingly at first) understood that it wasn’t yet his time to be Superman, and knows he’ll someday fill those shoes for real- but in the meantime being Superboy is gonna be his own thing and he’ll embrace it and make it work.

Cartoon Superboy is left in a shadow, not ever truly knowing what it’s like to fill those shoes (except in a doomsday scenario training exercise gone awry that he then just feels intense guilt over). This leaves him a lot more frustrated and lost, and I think is a major contributor to how angry this version of Superboy is compared to his much more ‘chill go with the flow’ attitude in the comics.

Cadmus

In the comics, in that same issue he’s introduced, we find out that Superboy broke out of his cloning tube prematurely and left Cadmus with the assistance of the second Newsboy Legion, who also gave him his first leather jacket, before the programming that would allow Cadmus to control him was implemented.

He quickly gets up to speed with the situation, that Clark is dead. So he comes on the scene starting to save people and saying he is Superman, or at least the clone of the original one. A major thing that does influence his character here is the fact that… this is the 90’s. He is designed around the idea of what is ‘cool’ back in 1993. (look, even his original character design sheets call him cool)

So right off the bat he’s got a stereotypical ‘cool teen guy in that era’ personality, which is often played for comedy to add a little lightness to some of the dark things happening during this event.

Anyways, he has left Cadmus, he’s acting on his own, and he starts realizing that his powers aren’t exactly the same as Superman’s over the course of the Reign of the Supermen story.

After the main conflict is settled and Clark is fully alive and acting as Superman again, the two of them end up going back to Cadmus to find out what the exact deal is with him. I’ll go into this more in a later point, but they find out he’s not exactly a clone of Superman (or Lex- him being actually involved as a DNA donor is a retcon that happened a decade later). They agree to let someone from Cadmus (Dubbilex- the grey guy with the horns in this pic) leave Metropolis with him, as he sets out on a press tour to establish himself as Superboy now that he relinquished the trademark on the Superman name back to Clark.

Let’s pause and look at how this is different in the cartoon.

In the cartoon, when the trio of Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad decide to prove themselves to their mentors they run off on their own to attend to a fire at Project Cadmus when the Justice League got called off to do something else. Upon arriving, they accidentally uncover some weird things about Cadmus, like the crazy amount of sublevels, the creatures roaming around, and the fact that it’s not on the main power grids. They eventually find Superboy, still in his cloning tube. They break him out, but then get captured themselves.

When they are then put into tubes by Cadmus personnel, they manage to convince Superboy to help free them by promising him things like getting to meet Superman, and see the moon. The group of four now working together manages to escape from the building and it topples down, where they are then greeted by the Justice League who are Not Happy.

Superman flies away shortly after, and the group of kids explain to their remaining mentors that sure, they disobeyed orders, but they accomplished something good here, and they are going to keep doing it, whether the League likes it or not. The compromise is the formation of The Team, to be covert-ops while the Justice League acts publicly, and the boys are joined by Miss Martian.

So to summarize:

In the comics, Superboy leaves Cadmus pretty independently (with some assistance) to go act on his own as a hero immediately. He returns to Cadmus later for more information, and they reveal truths to him about his existence. After he knows his truth, he goes off to continue establishing himself as a solo hero but lets Cadmus still supervise what he’s doing through Dubbilex.

In the cartoon, Superboy is rescued from Cadmus by Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad, without knowing pretty much anything about himself besides the fact that he is a clone of Superman, and is immediately put on the covert ops team.

What it means for Superboy:

Comic Superboy goes to act on his own, even after he admits he’s not the real Superman anymore. Yes he’s not 100% alone in terms of ‘he’s got people (Rex, Roxy, Dubbilex, Tana) around him’, but as a hero he’s a solo act and ends up taking residence in Hawaii. In the cartoon, by joining a team right away, he’s taking on a very different style of being a hero, especially because the team itself is covert-ops. Rather than regularly saving the day all on his own much like Superman, which can help comic Superboy feel like he’s still living up to the name more, cartoon Superboy is working under the radar in a group setting, while still wanting to desperately fill those Superman shoes.

He is overconfident in his abilities and wants to be the hero he was created to be, so him being put into this very different type of superhero situation is another major contributor to the frustration/anger. Even later on when comics Superboy is part of forming the Young Justice team, they were never a secret covert-ops team, they were always publicly known. (hell, a reporter is the one who gave them the team name Young Justice because he’d misheard Bart)

Superboy & Superman

In the comics, as we have established, Clark was dead at the time Superboy first came on the hero scene. Clark comes back to life, during a little bit of a lull in the middle of the huge conflict. He immediately accepts that Superboy is one of four who came forward to try to replace him, and one of the only two (Superboy & Steel) who genuinely only had good intentions in doing so. Clark, Steel, Supergirl, Hal Jordan, and Superboy then all work together in the big battle against the Cyborg Superman.

Once things are settled, Clark is curious about him, and where he came from and his origin, so they end up going to Cadmus together with Guardian and learning more about him, as I previously mentioned. Once it is established that Superboy is in fact a metahuman clone who was created to mimic Superman, but is not actually a clone of him, Superman still accepts him and thinks he’s earned his right to continue using the ’S’ shield and have the name of Superboy.

They part ways so Superboy can go on his press tour, but in general they have pretty positive interactions where they mutually respect each other! Not too much later in the comics even (I forget exaaactly when this happens but it’s definitely before the 1998 Young justice comic), Superman is the first one to give Superboy a real name, “Kon-El”, something he is so happy about he literally cries.

How is this different in the cartoon?

When the boys first escaped, and Superboy first meets the Justice League, Clark is standoffish. Other members of the league need to nudge him over to go actually talk to Superboy, and it’s not much of a conversation before he flies off and away, leaving Superboy frustrated and alone.

This… turns into the standard for almost the entire first season. Other characters constantly telling Clark that he needs to reach out and be support for the boy (like in this iconic diner scene with Bruce and Clark), but Clark consistently being too freaked out by the fact that someone made a clone of him without his knowledge to properly accept Conner. While this does over time get better, this being the immediate reaction when Superboy is brand new in the world definitely… has an impact!

He is rejected by the person he idolizes, and feels neglected and abandoned, and definitely kinda overcompensates with ego to try to make up for it.

So:

In the comics, Superman and Superboy work together from the start, not falling into a hero/sidekick situation but rather acknowledging each other as individual heroes with respect for one another. They grow to see each other as family much faster, and little tension between them. A crucial difference in situations, though, is that at the time these versions first meet Superboy is not actually a clone of Superman.

In the cartoon, Superman at first avoids Superboy, and does not offer guidance or mentorship or anything the boy needs. It is clear that he wants to work with Superman and be like him, since it was what he was created to do. It takes a lot of time for Clark to accept Conner in this setting, and there is a lot of tension for the first several months Conner exists. (they seem to settle this towards the end of season 1/during the gap between season 2, but it still has it’s impact on who Conner is early in his life)

What does this mean?

I feel like this is another major factor that contributes to Conner being so angry all the time in the cartoon, he feels immediately rejected by the person he’s supposed to be someday, rather than accepted by him. Again, very different from how comics Superboy got a chance to be Superman, and a chance to then work with the real deal as equals.

Friendships, Relationships and Identity

When Superboy is freed by the second Newsboy Legion, it’s primarily out of a ‘we’re clones who are stuck here, but you need to be out there, you’re what Metropolis needs right now!’ kind of idea. The first person he actually becomes close to is a reporter named Tana Moon.

Tana and Superboy’s relationship is… bad once it actually becomes romantic due to their huge age difference (she’s around 23, he is for all intents and purposes 16), but during the Reign of the Supermen where they’re still just friends for the most part, it’s not as bad. Tana becomes the GBS correspondent who focuses on everything Superboy (at this time still insisting he is the new Superman) is doing as a hero, and they become close friends.

GBS then also brings in Rex Leech (and his daughter Roxy) to be his agent, to promote Superboy and manage things for him. Rex is exploitative as hell, but Roxy does become another really important person to Superboy. These characters along with Dubbilex are his main supporting cast at the start of his solo comic when he’s in Hawaii.

In this whole era, Superboy is pretty much a celebrity. He’s cool, he’s a superhero, and I think it’s very notable he does not have a secret Identity. For a decent chunk of time, he is always just ‘Superboy’ (until, as I mentioned earlier, Clark gives him the name Kon-El. Even so, he doesn’t adopt a regular secret identity [Conner Kent, although he actually used a different one, Carl Grummett, before that!] until he begins living with the Kents in the early 2000s). By the time he joins any teams, Kon is pretty damn confident in who he is as a hero and has a relatively good grasp on who he is in general, if anything he’s a little too confident.

Young Justice was created in the aftermath of World Without Grown Ups when the trio of Superboy, Robin (Tim Drake) and Impulse (Bart Allen) had teamed up. After they saved the day they realized they worked well together and formed their team, utilizing the old Justice League base in Mount Justice. They were eventually joined by more members, especially relevant here is Wonder Girl (Cassie Sandsmark) who Kon later dates for a portion of the Teen Titans run that these four are in after Young Justice ends.

The four of them become close, and when Kon dies during Infinite Crisis it rips a hole in everything they had established growing up together over the past several years (Cassie joins a cult dedicated to bringing him back, Tim tries to clone a new Kon, Bart got aged up and took on the mantle of the Flash, etc) and Bart’s death that followed similarly shook the remaining Cassie and Tim. This group eventually does get to reunite, with Kon and Bart coming back during Final Crisis, solidifying how even things like death don’t keep them apart for long. It’s hard to look at the comic book versions of these four characters and imagine how they would be without their connections to each other... until you look at the YJ cartoon and see a world where they’re not even all part of the same generation, let alone a friend group.

Now in the cartoon…

The first people Conner primarily interacts with are Dick, Wally, Kaldur, and M’gann, along with the League members who interact with The Team pretty regularly, Red Tornado, Batman, and Black Canary. He’s shown to be friends with the other memebers of the team and get along with them relatively well, but in general he’s not much of a social person.

Much like in the comics, Superboy is considered very attractive, and immediately upon their meeting, M’gann is interested in him. Very, very interested in him.

At first it definitely does seem more just like an innocent crush, but it’s later revealed to be a little more… concerning than that. As in ‘Megan subtlety influencing Superboy to become her dream boyfriend based on a TV show she likes’ concerning. Like… she literally gives him the name ‘Conner’ after the TV show character that was the boyfriend of the character she bases her human self and entire identity on. The two date and once that becomes a thing, a lot of their plot lines in the following seasons revolve around the ups and downs of their relationship.

In general in this show, Superboy doesn’t really get much of a chance to establish himself on his own terms. Within months of him leaving his cloning pod, he and M’gann start going to high school with secret identities, so he’s already having to hide who he truly is to blend in with other people, before he even knows who he truly is.

So to compare:

In the comics, Superboy gets to figure out who he is as Superman’s Clone/Superboy very publicly, has multiple love interests and a celebrity status, and over time becomes part of a tight-knit group of friends. He doesn’t use a regular secret identity for the first several years he’s active.

In the cartoon, Superboy has one love interest with a very large impact on him, not nearly as much focus is given to his other friendships, and he immediately adopts a secret identity meaning he needs to hide who he is from the start.

What it means:

These factors play a big difference in his attitude, particularly highlighting how extroverted his comic version is and how introverted his cartoon version is. Comic Superboy never really needed to hide who he was until years into his career, vs being told to do so early on in his life. When you get used to needing to hide things so early, that can definitely lead to being more private/disconnected from others. Also somewhat related- in the comics, when Kon is given knowledge in his cloning tube, more pop culture got included. He mentions knowing Star Wars without having seen it, and references a ton of TV and Movies, vs the cartoon version of him that seems to have been given a lot of history of the world but not the current fun stuff. It’s the difference between knowing what’s going on in the world and what’s popular, vs only knowing the past and what’s fundamental. Not knowing pop culture like this can also really contribute to feeling alienated and lead to introversion. (I just... I think about how in the comics Kon’s favorite TV show is Wendy The Werewolf Stalker, in the cartoon Conner just... watches white noise static)

Also, having a completely different set of friends with different personalities has a big effect, people are always gonna be influenced by the people they’re close to to some extent. Bumping Conner up to Dick’s generation of heroes instead of Tim’s not only gives him completely different friends, but it also puts him in this position of being one of the ‘Original Team Members’. By this I mean, a member of the first iteration of the only teen team, one of the people that younger heroes coming onto the scene and joining the team in later seasons see as an experienced and older team member to look up to (despite the fact that cartoon Conner is permanently 16- they never fixed that for him like in the comics). That just creates a different dynamic entirely, because in the comics even when the Tim/Kon/Cassie/Bart group are more experienced on their team late in the Teen Titans run, they are still always going to have heroes like Dick Grayson, Donna Troy, Wally West etc as the older generation of ‘original teen heroes’ who came before them.

Also, while I am talking mostly about in-universe reasoning here, I do wanna bring up one slightly more meta reason that might also have contributed to them choosing to go for a more ‘introverted brooding hero’ characterization with him: the fact that their version of Wally already filled the ‘flirty jokey’ archetype original Comics Kon fits into. Having two characters like that in the show from the start would definitely get... overwhelming. And at the time this show was first airing, in the comics, he was relatively devoted to Cassie and not nearly as flirty anymore anyways.

Lex Luthor / Details of Cloning

In the comics, as I have already mentioned and will now actually explain, when Superboy was first introduced he was not the clone of Superman and Lex Luthor as we know him to be today. Kon was a metahuman clone, made with the DNA of Paul Westfield who worked at Cadmus, that they genetically altered to look like Superman, and gave powers based on the energy aura they discovered to exist around Clark’s dead body. This telekinetic field gave Kon the distinct powers he had for his first decade of existence: His Tactile Telekinesis (often referred to by him as TTK)

Lex Luthor was originally not directly involved in his creation, but he was aware that it was going on as is revealed during the Reign of the Supermen arc. Kon’s TTK allowed him to mimic Superman’s flight and strength, but not all of his powers. TTK also gave him powers Superman DOESN’T have, such as his ability to dismantle machinery or mold materials he is touching into different shapes. (The reason this is called Tactile Telekinesis is because there needs to be a tactile element, he needs to be touching the things)

It is not until 2003, a decade after Superboy was created, that writer Geoff Johns in his Teen Titans run decided to alter Superboy’s origin. He established that Lex Luthor had been the real human DNA donor and that Superman’s Kryptonian DNA was actually used in the cloning process. Around this time, Conner also begins to exhibit more of the typical Kryptonian powers, like Clark did around this age.

This information is at first only known by Conner and Tim, because the email had actually been sent to Tim directly. The two keep it a secret as Conner was not ready to tell the rest of the team, because he fears the implications it has, and is afraid of becoming evil or being rejected. This revelation about Lex being one of his ‘parents’ DNA-wise coming years into his hero career changes a lot of things for Conner, and makes him begin to question who he is. Unfortunately, Lex does at one point take control of Conner and force him to break Tim’s arm and attack Cassie directly (as well as the rest of the team, but these two specifically are what Conner expresses the most guilt over after the fact). This era of Conner in the comics is where he’s definitely closest to his cartoon counterpart, because he’s very troubled and dealing with a lot of heavy stuff regarding himself as a person. Yet there’s still traces of who he has always been in there. I mean, if you’re only familiar with cartoon Conner, can you really imagine his final words as he’s dying after saving the world being “Isn’t it cool?”

Now, looking at the cartoon…

Conner finds out about his connection to Lex in November, only a few months after having existed outside of a cloning tube. He finds it out on his own, from Lex speaking to him directly, after Conner went back to investigate the remains of Cadmus and ended up having a fight with Match (another clone who is able to pass for Conner’s duplicate who they… their version of Match is another thing they drastically changed from the comic version but as we’ve established that’s something they like to do so I’m not gonna dwell on it).

In the cartoon, Conner’s powerset is, from the start, different from both Superman and comic Superboy. Here he has heightened senses and strength and the ability to leap really far, but he lacks actual flight and some of the other standard Kryptonian powers, and has no TTK. The cartoon explains these gaps in his powers as being due to his half human DNA, and they introduce these patches that are able to suppress his human DNA and give him temporary access to full powers. Lex uses these patches as a way to manipulate him. Much like in the comics, Lex has a code word programmed into Conner that effects him, although it isn’t quite used for the same amount of ‘total mind control’, and he doesn’t get fully brainwashed and turn against the team or anything. Instead, the code word (here “Red Sun” rather than “Aut vincere, aut mori” [Translated as “to conquer or die" / "victory or death”]) just leaves him stuck in a hypnotic trance.

So:

In the comics, Kon finds out after years of believing he was a metahuman clone who was given powers to mimic Superman, that he is actually a clone of Lex Luthor and Superman, which alters his entire perspective on himself! This causes him to become a lot more unsure and anxious about who he is, in stark contrast with how confident he was before. There are still traces of his old self within him, but this is a development in his character that influences him moving forward, making him a bit more serious but still at his core the same person he used to be.

In the cartoon, Conner finds out after months of thinking he was a clone of just Superman, that he has half human DNA and the donor was Lex Luthor. While he always had confidence in his abilities, he was still somewhat lost as a person in knowing who he really was outside of things other people have assigned to him (teammate, boyfriend, superhero, etc), and finding out this information about himself just adds to the uncertainty and frustration.

What it means:

Having this struggle be something Conner has to deal with so early in his existence is one of the most fundamental changes in my opinion. Finding out that Lex Luthor is one of your clone parents is something that will alter your entire perception of yourself and who you are! In the comics, Conner had already been confident in who he was so it shakes his world in a really big way, but in the cartoon he still didn’t know who he really was so it just adds to further confusion.

I think that even with the more serious characterization Kon starts getting in the 2003 Teen TItans run, his history and past as the fun cool 90′s Metropolis Kid isn’t entirely forgotten, it’s still a part of who he is/was. Sure, maybe he’s sometimes even embarrassed by how he used to be, but it’s not treated as though it didn’t happen. All of his history comes together to create the character and who he is by the time he wears just a T shirt as a costume.

By skipping over the fun era of his life and jumping right into who he was when he started facing these huge changes, it creates such a completely different set of challenges for him and that contributes directly to how he’s characterized.

Putting it all together

The ultimate point I am trying to reach in all of this is that, beyond just ‘they made a writing choice to make him different’ the environment that Superboy was brought into and the events that took place right when he came into the world greatly influenced the type of character he would become. Every time an adaptation is made of something like comics, there are going to be changes and alterations to fit the world the creators want to make. Sometimes these changes are minor and don’t actually change who a character is (an example for the YJ cartoon’s universe itself: In the tie-in comics [issue 6] it’s established in this universe that the Flying Graysons weren’t just Dick and his parents, but other family members were active parts of it too. One was an uncle also named Richard, who actually survived the fall that killed the rest of his family but was left paralyzed and thus unable to care for him. This uncle already used the nickname ‘Rick’ which is likely why Dick ended up using ‘Dick’ as a name in a modern setting even though it has fallen out of popularity as a nickname because uh, connotations. This is something that is mostly unique to their world and helps to explain some things, but it’s not like tragically losing a few more family members changed their version of Dick and his backstory that drastically. At his core, he still has many similarities to his comic self) but they’re still changes, and that’s okay. Superboy, though, is such an extreme case where they made so many changes that at his core he really does become a completely separate character. Sure he has the name and design, but I was able to write five thousand words about differences here and am struggling to come up with more similarities beyond that.

I think there still could be specks of the original Superboy buried inside cartoon Conner, and that maybe he could have been more like his original version under other circumstances. Looking at these differences and where they come from is, I think, a cool way to begin to understand what elements contribute to who each version of Conner Kent really is. I think it’s clear from how I wrote this that I prefer the comic version, but there are definitely things that are fun to look at and think about with both.

if u read all of this UH thanks for listenin to me ramble! sorry if this is incomprehensibe!

#rainbowroadimpulse #sam writes #conner kent #superboy

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heyitsani · 3 years

Text

So Devoid of Color

@dickgraysonweek Day 4: Bruce hits Dick and doesn’t get away with it

Word Count: 3161

Rating: Teen and Up

Warnings: Off screen violence, Dami might say a bad word

Pairing: None

Summary: Tim, Jason, and Damian learn something about Bruce and Dick’s relationship that none of them are willing to let continue.

Notes: I think this is my second time writing from Tim’s POV and I’m still not certain I’ve got a good grasp on it. But here it is all the same.

You can also read this on AO3 here

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The Cave went deathly silent in the aftermath.

For those 30 or so seconds immediately after the distinct sound of a fist hitting a cheekbone, it was like they had landed in a vacuum of sound.

It was such a startling contrast to the shouting that had led up to that exact moment. The fight between Dick and Bruce hadn’t been surprising. When Red Robin had called Nightwing on his private comm line to report that Robin had been shot on patrol, he had known the eldest would panic. And when he found out it was because Batman had made a mistake, Tim knew shit would hit the fan.

Quite literally.

But Tim hadn’t anticipated Bruce taking a swing at Dick when the latter had accused Bruce of purposefully using Damian as a shield so he could go after Two Face himself. It wasn’t even one of the worst things he had heard Dick tell Bruce in the heat of an argument, but something about it had pushed Bruce over an edge none of them had realized he could go over. Sure, Bruce could be a hard ass, but Tim had never seen him get to this point. And a quick glance at Jason, who was coiled tight with his hands clenched tightly at his side, revealed that Tim wasn’t the only one caught off guard.

He expected Dick to swing back, to say something in retaliation, but instead he watched his brother straightened and wipe at the blood now dripping from his nose. From this angle Tim could see the angry mark Bruce’s gauntlet had left on Dick’s cheekbone and it made him wonder if there was anything broken beneath the surface.

“That’s your one free hit, Bruce. I’m not the kid you used to push around to win arguments anymore. Nor am I emotionally compromised to the point that you can manipulate me into getting your way,” Dick spoke lowly, voice dangerous and anger simmering just below the surface. It was rare to hear that particular tone come from Dick, but it never failed to send a shiver down his spine. For all the sunshine Dick projected, most weren’t aware of the precision of the weapon he could be. “I told you if you couldn’t protect him that I would. He’s still legally mine.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“I’m stating facts. I may have been disposable to you over the years, but you are out of your fucking mind if you think I’ll let you hurt him the same way.” Movement out of the corner of his eye pulled Tim’s surprised attention from the pair, finding Jason stalking forward. And Tim knew that walk, he knew that look.

Jason was pissed and that didn’t bode well for one or both of them.

“What the fuck did you mean by that?” Jason demanded, grabbing Dick’s shoulder to turn him to face him instead of Bruce. But Dick didn’t respond, and Tim could see his jaw clench from here. In fact, at this angle he could get a much better look at the damage Bruce had done and it was definitely looking like Dick’s cheek was starting to swell.

“What on god’s green earth is going on out here?” Alfred’s stern voice broke through the silence that had fallen over them again and Tim spared the elderly man a glance before he moved over to where Jason and Dick were still facing each other. He could tell they were having one of their silent conversations, but that wouldn’t stop him.

“It’s nothing Alfred,” Bruce huffed, causing Dick and Jason to tense up even more. “How is Damian?”

“Dick?” Tim spoke softly, not wanting to pull too much attention to himself. It took a moment before his brother looked over at him and Tim tensed at the look in his eyes. It was unfamiliar and difficult to put a name to. But there was something that concerned him there. He placed a hand on Dick’s upper arm before looking to Jason, finding the other man already considering him with a curiosity that Tim knew well.

Jason’s eyes narrowed just slightly, and Tim gave him a nod before looking back to Dick and making a show of raising his hand to the bruise on his cheek so he would see it coming. “Not broken,” he muttered. Dick nodded and Jason gave a huff of air while Tim continued to poke at the cheek in question. “Who is going to get him?” He whispered as he worked. Dick jerked in surprise, eyebrows drawing down in confusion, but Tim knew Jason would get it.

“He’s more likely to come with me than you. You ride with Goldie. We’ll meet you.” Tim as he let his hands fall away from Dick’s face, satisfied that nothing needed immediate attention. It could wait until they got back one of the safehouses. “Go to the one I showed you after that Penguin fight where Ivy showed.”

Remembering that night and what a mess it had been, Tim also remembered that it was one of the safehouses that Jason always kept stocked up on medical supplies. If they were going to have Damian with a gunshot wound and Dick with his face, they needed supplies. “All right,” he agreed, looking over his shoulder to see Bruce watching them with his eyes narrowed and Alfred frowning beside him.

“You two want to clue me in?” Dick finally spoke up, voice just barely above a whisper and threaded tight with tension.

Tim watched Jason give his shoulder a squeeze before sending Tim a look that spoke volumes. “Come on, Dick. Get your gear. We’re leaving,” he told his brother as Jason walked away toward the other two men.

“Wait, Tim,” Dick protested, pulling his elbow out of the younger’s grip. “I can’t just leave Damian. Not while he’s hurt.”

Sighing, Tim stopped and looked up at Dick. “We’re leaving.” His tone gave no room for argument, but Tim also knew Dick was practically made to argue. “Trust me. Trust Jason.” Dick stared at him for a moment before looking toward the medbay where Damian was resting. Tim knew he was considering the options and that whatever he decided now would say a lot about their relationship.

“Okay,” he finally agreed, and Tim gave him a nod before heading over to where he had left his gear, Dick’s not far from it. There was a moment more of hesitation before Dick finally turned away and grabbed his own gloves and helmet. “I’ll follow you?”

Where Tim would have usually thrown out a snarky remark and a smirk, he instead nodded and hopped onto his own motorcycle before turning the engine over. Once he was sure Dick was set and ready to go, he gave one last glance behind them to see Jason and Bruce nose to nose and Alfred no where in sight. He wasn’t sure what it meant for the situation, but he couldn’t find it in him to care at the moment. Not when he had just seen his adoptive father punch one of his brothers. Not when it wasn’t the first time, apparently. No. He almost hoped Jason would return the favor and knock Bruce down on his ass. Almost.

But that wasn’t a thought train he could go down at the moment. He had more important things to do, like getting Dick out of there and fixing up his brother’s face once they got to the safehouse. Which didn’t take as long as he thought it would. Of course, with it still being the early hours of the day, most of Gotham was either still asleep or just waking up for the day. It made it easier to store their bikes in Jason’s hiding spot and sneak into the building without anyone seeing.

“This is Jay’s?” Dick looked around, frowning as they stepped inside and tugged off their helmets. He paused and looked at one of the posters hanging on the wall. “Roy must use it,” he muttered. Tim let him wander around as he made his way into the kitchen to grab the supplies under the sink and an ice pack in the freezer.

“Here,” he called out, tossing the pack toward Dick who caught it easily and gave him a small smile of thanks. “Will you tell me what you meant?” Tim asked as he opened the medical kit and began digging through it to make sure they had the things they would need for Damian. When no response came from his brother, he looked up and found Dick frowning as he stared out the window. “Dick?”

Blinking, the older man looked over at him and waved a hand. “Don’t worry about it, Timmy. Ancient history, and all that.” Unfortunately for Dick, Tim was too good at reading him now and knew when he was deflecting. So Tim watched him, taking in all the signs he had memorized over the years. The tight line of his shoulders, the clenched fist at his side, the white knuckles of the hand pressing the ice pack just a bit too hard to his bruised cheek. They told Tim more than Dick was willing to at the moment.

“How many times.”

It wasn’t a question and Tim wasn’t going to let Dick get away with brushing it under the rug, not this time. Not this topic. “Just drop it, Tim. I’m already going to have to fight Jason on this. Just…it’s not important.”

Tim scoffed. “It was important enough to use against Bruce.” Which, throwing back at Dick at the moment was probably a bit of a low blow, but sometimes you had to play dirty to get Dick to talk.

“Look, don’t act like you don’t know of at least one other time he used his fists against me.” The words were accusatory, but the tone was defeated. It made Tim furrow his brows, trying to think of what Dick could possibly mean. “I know there’s no chance you haven’t come across Bruce’s cowl footage from after the Crime Syndicate, before I joined Spyral.”

But Tim had no idea what Dick was talking about. And it must have shown on his face because soon enough Dick had closed his eyes and dropped his chin to his chest.

“Fuck,” he muttered.

“A little help here,” Jason’s voice cut off anything either of them were planning on saying and Tim hurried over to take some of Damian’s weight from Jason. A quick scan of the teen showed the blood seeping through the bandage at his shoulder and the light sheen of sweat on his forehead. The ride must have been rough. “Let’s get him on the bed.”

Dick rushed ahead of them and fussed over the bedding so they could get Damian comfortable with minimal effort from the pair carrying him. Jason let out a grunt when they set Damian down, leaning just slightly upright on the pillows Dick had stacked.

“I’ll grab the kit and change the bandage,” Tim muttered, looking at Jason before leaving the room to grab the supply kit he had been looking through moments earlier. He paused on his way back into the room to grab the ice pack Dick had been using but dropped to hurry and help get the bed ready for the youngest of them. “Dick,” he called, handing the ice pack back to him as he moved onto the side of the bed where the wound was. Dick frowned but took the pack, pressing it back to his cheek.

“What-” Damian tried to speak as Tim went to work on the bandage. The teen cleared his throat and clenched his jaw for a moment before slowly releasing a breath through his nose, all signs of how much pain he was in without showing it on his face. “What happened, Richard?” He asked, voice a bit raspy with the pain he was fighting.

“Nothing.”

“Bruce.”

Tim looked between Dick and Jason as they both answered, Dick sounding calming and Jason with the expected anger. Honestly, he expected this from both of them. Dick would forever be shielding Damian from what little bad the teen hadn’t already been exposed to. And Jason would never sugar coat anything that had to do with Bruce. Even if their relationship had been improving up until this point.

He wasn’t foolish enough to think that would continue with what they witnessed tonight.

“Don’t,” Jason growled, pointing a finger at Dick who had opened his mouth to say something. “You don’t get to lie or brush this off. You suggested this wasn’t the first time and if that’s the case then we deserve to know. He deserves to know.”

But Dick didn’t respond. Instead he turned his eyes onto Damian and Tim locked eyes with Jason. The older man’s expression was grim and Tim felt his probably just looked exhausted. They had all dealt with Dick’s stubborn nature, but he wouldn’t win this time. Not with all three of them pushing.

Not with what Dick had accidentally revealed before Jason and Damian had arrived.

“Tell us about after the Syndicate.” Tim turned his eyes onto the bandages he was taping to Damian’s wound, which thankfully hadn’t torn any stitches. The teen narrowed his eyes on him and Tim attempted to give him a smile. He wasn’t Dick and he wasn’t good at comfort, but at least he and Damian had gotten over the feud they had suffered for so long. At least they trusted each other now.

With a shuffling sound, Tim glanced over to find Dick sitting on the edge of the bed near Damian’s feet with his eyes gazing off at a spot on the wall. “I didn’t want to go. I…” They watched him take a deep breath and release it slowly. “I begged him to let me stay. But he had already planned out the whole thing. Had my funeral and told the world I had died. Said it was the only way to make sure none of it happened to anyone else in the family.”

“But that has nothing to do with Bruce punching you tonight.”

“It doesn’t seem like it, but his words were not going to be enough to convince me,” Dick turned to Jason, who had moved to lean against the closest wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

“And by that you mean….?” Tim considered what Dick said earlier and what he was saying now. “The cave was trashed after your funeral. Alfred said he had never seen so much damage. And how it almost seemed too much for one person to do. Even Bruce.”

The silence blanketed them for the second time that night and this time it was suffocating. Whereas the air felt sucked from them earlier, this time it felt like it was weighing him down to the point that it would crush him where he sat with a hand still on Damian’s shoulder.

That point of contact clued him into the fact that Damian was shaking. Small tremors rippling through his muscles. A barely contained anger. And Tim didn’t blame him. Damian had been dead and Dick had been devastated. He said it was the only reason the Syndicate had been able to get the drop on him to begin with. That if he hadn’t been so destroyed by Damian’s death, his focus wouldn’t have been in pieces. That they would never have grabbed him without a fight. And that was enough to make the teen upset, but then throw in this new piece of information?

“He beat you into submission,” Jason’s voice finally broke the silence, cutting through it like one of Damian’s katanas cut through flesh. Effortlessly and deadly. “That’s what you’re not willing to just come out and say. He took an emotionally compromised man who had been beaten and strapped to a literal bomb, and beat the ever loving shit out of him to get him to do what he wanted.”

“Richard,” Damian whispered.

“You know what the time was like, Jason. Tim. You both know what everyone was like,” Dick tried to reason, ignoring Damian’s almost-plea. “None of us were our real selves, Bruce especially.”

There was a loud crash and Tim jerked as he snapped his eyes onto Jason, finding him breathing heavily and his eyes rimmed green. “Don’t make excuses for him!” Jason pushed off the wall and Tim noticed a dent next to him, assuming the crash had been a fist hitting the wall. “None of us might have been the real versions of us, but none of us beat the shit out of people we supposedly cared about just to get them to submit! You don’t get to brush this off like it’s no big deal. You don’t get to do that because if this had happened to any of us, you wouldn’t let us.”

“That’s different.”

“The fuck it is,” Damian cut in. Tim watched Dick’s eyes go wide as he looked at the teen. “It’s only different because you think you are not worth the same as the rest of us. You value your life less than ours, but the same cannot be said for us.” When Damian’s hand landed on Tim’s arm, he looked over and immediately jumped to help him sit more upright. “Father is not infallible and your loyalty to him is a disservice to yourself. And I for one will not stand for it any longer.”

“I’m with the kid,” Jason interjected, crossing his arms over his chest again. Tim noticed the green had faded from his eyes, but his body was still one large ball of tension. “This stops now. I can’t do anything about what happened in the past, but if he lays a finger on you again and I will put him in his own grave.”

“You know they’re right, Dick.” Tim spoke softly, keeping his own emotions out of it because Damian and Jason had enough for all of them. “There’s more than you’re telling us, we all know it. But this can’t happen again. And when we tell the girls and Duke, they’ll all say the same thing.” In fact, Tim cringed inwardly thinking about how Cass and Barbara would react once they heard.

“No,” Dick turned his wide eyes on Tim. “You can’t tell them. They don’t need to know.”

Tim sighed and shook his head. “They do. They might already know what happened tonight, who knows where Babs has her cameras and mics set up down there. But we’re a family and we don’t keep these kinds of secrets. They always backfire on us. It’s time we learned that lesson.”

Jason moved over and set a hand on Dick’s shoulder. “You can’t preach the family line to the rest of us and not think we’ll use it against you.”

“Yeah, okay,” Dick nodded, looking between the three of them before settling on Damian. “Okay.”

#dick grayson #tim drake #jason todd #damian wayne #bruce wayne #alfred pennyworth #batfam #dickgraysonweek2021 #dickgraysonweek #anikah writes

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danny-chase · 3 years

Text

Delirium - read on AO3

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Batman (Comics), Titans (Comics), Batman and Robin (Comics) Rating: Not Rated Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Tim Drake & Damian Wayne & Dick Grayson, Roy Harper & Lian Harper, Lian Harper & Dick Grayson, Lian Harper & Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson & Roy Harper, Tim Drake & Roy Harper Characters: Tim Drake, Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson, Roy Harper, Lian Harper Additional Tags: Hopsitals, delirious, Anxiety, Panic, POV Tim Drake, Canon Divergence, Good Sibling Tim Drake, Damian Wayne is Bad at Feelings, Tim Drake is Bad at Feelings, Hurt Dick Grayson, Dick Grayson is Batman, Tim Drake is Red Robin, Damian Wayne is Robin, Lian never died, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Dick Grayson gets a forehead kiss, Batfamily (DCU) Feels, Batfamily Dynamics (DCU), Caring Batfamily (DCU), fluff at the end, Teen Titans as Family, Tim Drake emotional whump, Damian Wayne emotional whump, Lian Harper is a ray of stubborn sunshine on a cloudy day, gunshot wound, Head Wound, Coloring Books Series: Part 4 of Bad Things Happen Bingo Summary:

The one where Tim has to be the oldest for like five minutes and decides he doesn't like it (but does a good job anyways).

Full story under cut

“Alvin? Alvin… Draper?” A nurse called from across the room. Tim pulled his head out of his hands, careful not to jostle his fake moustache. “This way please.” She intoned, waving a hand towards a bustling hallway.

Damian nearly leapt out of the stiff plastic chair, and he slowly followed suit, trying to act causal. He doubted he was fooling anyone; his legs shook as he walked forward, and he was pretty sure he left a ring of butt sweat on his seat. Taking deep breaths to calm his fraying nerves, he concentrated on taking steady steps forward – he didn’t care much for Damian, but there was no way he’d let a child go through this sort of thing alone. Especially one who probably had never visited someone in the hospital (let alone been in one) before.

He’d gotten a panicked call from Barbara a few days ago. Gotham in ruins, streets in chaos… the usual. Bruce was gone. He couldn’t miraculously pull them out of these things anymore. The first Batman was dead, and this time… they could lose the second.

“Report.” Damian demanded, his harsh tone penetrating Tim’s thoughts. He was suddenly aware of the chaos of the hallway, of people jostling them as they rushed by, a cacophony of machines squealing and loud voices, and bright lights illuminating tacky flooring. He’d fallen a pace behind and quickened his step to stand firmly next to his… little brother.

As much he’d tried to deny it, at the end of the day, that’s what bound them. Fealty to a dead man, he’d once hoped they could be something more – but this family was ripping apart at the seams and Tim had to wonder what even kept them all here anymore.

Though – that wasn’t hard to figure out.

Dick was in trouble, and he came running. He’d been in trouble and Dick had come running. They were brothers in every sense of the word, without Bruce tying them together. His stomach clenched at the thought that it might all be lost to him forever, and he swallowed the bile burning at the top of his throat.

Dick had this way of making you feel like you were the only person in the world – when you talked to him, he listened, gave advice, and would drop anything to help. He quickly crawled his way into your life, cementing you as family. Things were never perfect, and they’d had their fights, but Dick always bent first, forgiveness freely given rather than earned. Tim had needed that. And from what little time they’d spent together, he knew Damian did too.

Panic. That was the only way to describe how he felt. He couldn’t be that for Damian – he couldn’t be Dick. He let out a shaky breath – Dick had to be fine – he couldn’t – not after Bruce – he couldn’t do this again – he was on the verge of shattering after finally picking up all the broken pieces of himself and –

“I said, report.” Damian squeaked. He jolted back into reality, steading his breath, and replaying the last few minutes, his mind trying to catch up.

The nurse seemed unamused, her nostrils flaring and brow tight as she glanced back. “Sorry, my brother’s a little uhh… stressed…?” He stammered, not wanting to offend Damian – or worse, start an argument in a crowded hallway. But he didn’t flinch at the comment, a testament to the seriousness of the situation they found themselves in.

Dick was shot in the back of the head, and Tim honestly had no idea if they’d gotten him medical attention in time. He could be comatose for the rest of his life, would never breathe on his own, never talk to them again, never walk, never think, never… god… he’d never talk to Dick again, and it was all his fault for being too late, too unprepared, too much of a failure to-

“The operation went well, we need to keep him for observation, but we’re hopeful he’ll make a full recovery in a month or two.” Tim blinked back tears as a weight lift off his shoulders, bringing a hand up, covering his eyes for just a second. He looked up to find Damian frozen; too stunned to move. He gently placed an arm around his shoulders, tugging him along so he wouldn’t be swept up in the tide. Surprisingly, that much was allowed today, the child’s thoughts were elsewhere, so Tim focused his thoughts on him.

Damian was only ten. And he’d almost lost Dick to a fate worse than death, after seeing him shot before his eyes, helpless to stop it. They didn’t have hospitals in the League, it was kill or be killed, and then there were the pits. Had he ever watched someone recover naturally?

“He’ll be okay.” Tim hissed, in a tone that only Damian could hear. Damian startled back into the present, glaring at him briefly, shaking off Tim’s hand, and storming after the nurse. He kept his expression carefully out of view.

They turned into a private hospital room, pulling the door shut behind her, and winked. “Timothy Drake-Wayne and Damian Wayne, I presume.”

He could feel the kid freeze beside him, his own heart threatening to escape his throat.

“Oh, sorry - don’t panic, I’m with STAR Labs, we’ve worked with Richard and his team for years.” Damian huffed in annoyance. “Your identities aren’t compromised; Oracle made the arrangements for our team to take over when he arrived.” She passed her clipboard to Tim. “The walls are soundproof, you can stay as long as you want, I trust you can get out on your own, and it’s not like I’m going to stop you if you decide to stay longer than I recommend.” She sighed. “Just, don’t distress the patient, he’ll be confused when he wakes up, it’s normal. Call if you need, our monitoring systems are top notch, we’ll be watching – but not listening of course.”

And with that, the nurse turned on her heel, exiting as fast as she’d arrived, leaving Tim opened mouthed next to a wide-eyed Damian.

He watched as the door slowly turned on its hinges, picking up speed until it slammed shut. Almost immediately it popped back open. “If he tries to get up, don’t let him escape.” She rolled her eyes. “You human patients are always the worst.” And with that, she was gone. A few awkward, silent moments passed.

“Are you coming, Drake?” Damian’s voice had lost its normal edge, as he determinedly stared at the windows. He couldn’t see Dick from where they stood, but he could make out the edge of the bed, a pure white sheet neatly tucked under the edge.

He shifted, hesitantly - he always hated this part. But regardless, he took the lead, striding forward, and allowing Damian the comfort of walking in someone’s shadow. Because even if he wouldn’t say it, there was no way the kid wanted to do this alone. He couldn’t replace Dick – was thankful he didn’t have to, but this – this was the least he could do.

Hospital beds have this way of making the people inside them seem smaller. Tim braced himself as he stepped into view, and well, it could be worse. Dick was out cold, drooling on his pillow still hooked up to a few monitors, which steadily droned and beeped in the background. A lump of gauze and bandages swathed the base of his skull.

Damian flitted past his side to sit in the chair next to the bed, and Tim sprang into action, taking the chair next to the window. He flipped through the charts without really reading anything, and the two sat in stony silence. Pulling out his phone, he scrolled through dozens of missed calls and unanswered texts before shoving it back in his pocket.

He spared a glance at Damian - he was curled up in the chair, grimacing and staring at the wall. He didn’t dare try saying anything more, lest they start fighting in Dick’s hospital room. He contented himself with staring out the window, watching the dawn break, violets and purples dancing across the sky. The sun rose with pinks and oranges blossoming soon after.

Things would be okay. They had to be okay. He slowed his breathing, focusing on the sky rather than the scent of disinfectant. The steady beep of machines slowly fading into the distance. Closing his eyes, he could pretend for a moment, that this was normal. He was in a hotel, maybe on a vacation, in some city that wasn’t destroyed every few months. There had to be a place like that still out there.

A little chickadee hopped around on the windowsill, fluttering back and forth, before flying off again. “Bye.” Tim snapped to attention, whirling around to find Dick squinting out the window. Damian sprung out of his chair. “Bruce?” He asked confusedly, frowning at Damian.

Panic flickered across the kid’s face, and he recoiled, stepping back. “No. I’m Damian, don’t be foolish.” His voice wobbled at the end, and Tim’s heart throbbed painfully at the way Damian stiffened, meticulously shutting off any signs of vulnerability.

“Remember what the nurse said, he’s going to be confused for a bit.” Tim reminded, striding over to sit at the edge of the bed. Dick went back to looking at the now closed window. “Dick, you with us?” He leaned into Dick’s line of sight, trying for a smile, and waited for a minute before leaning back. “I’m going to take that as a no.”

“-tt-” Damian stepped forwards again. “Don’t bother him, Drake.” He spat.

Tim didn’t really know what to say, so he didn’t say anything at all. Damian climbed back into his chair, tucking his legs up to sit crisscrossed, his back stiff and upright. Tim grabbed his chair, pulling it closer to the edge of the bed. He placed a hand over Dick’s, rubbing a finger over his knuckles, taking comfort in the fingers twitching slightly under his own.

Dick was alive. He would live. Would recover. He hadn’t lost his older brother.

“His name’s Tim.” Dick mumbled after a few minutes. Damian rolled his eyes. “Tim.” Dick repeated, his eyes glassy as they gazed through Damian’s forehead.

“Yeah?” Tim lightly tapped Dick’s hand. He didn’t move from his focus.

“Tim. Tim. Tim. Tim.” He continued repeating Tim’s name, staring up at the ceiling.

“Why is he doing that?” Damian demanded, jumping out of his chair. Dick obliviously repeated the word, seemingly unaffected. “Drake, she said the operation went <em>well</em>.”

“I dunno.” He sighed, Dick probably had no idea what was going on, nor would he remember this. “Look, he’s delirious, he’s going to be messed up for a bit. He got shot in the head.”

“I know that. I was there. But if the operation was successful, then why-”

The door opened, and they fell silent, footsteps approaching. Roy Harper poked around the corner; a phone pressed to his ear. “Okay, he doesn’t look too bad, all things considered. Hey, you, kid, you should actually answer your fu-fudging phone.”

“That’s a dollar for the swear jar.” A little girl, Lian, he presumed, materialized at his side. She carried a bag with her and zoomed over to Damian. “Daddy says you like to color, so I brought crayons.” She grabbed a pack from her bag and shoved them at him. Damian looked mildly disgusted but took them anyway. “Say thank you.” Lian demanded.

Damian opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Tim glanced at Roy, he winked, doing his best not to laugh as he finished talking with whoever was on the phone.

“Thank you.” Dick replied, patting Lian’s head. His eyes seemed to find hers before darting away to stare at the ceiling.

“Not you.” She groaned. “Him.” She pointed at Damian.

“Thank you.” He repeated. Lian cracked a smile, giggling.

“Don’t laugh, it isn’t funny – he’s delirious.” Damian replied harshly, eyes narrowing. Lian shrugged, turning, almost sizing him up. She was only maybe an inch shorter than him, if he had to venture a guess.

“Uncle Dick is always happier when you laugh.” She pointed out. “It’s contagious.” Sure enough, a wide looping grin had materialized on Dick’s face.

“But we’re in a hospital.” Damian looked outraged; his hands balled in little fists.

“Daddy says laughter is the best medicine.” She retorted, crossing her arms. Roy tossed his phone (it landed perfectly in the center of the little dresser next to the bed), and scooped up his daughter in a big hug, sweeping her off the ground.

“Look, kid.” He looked down at Damian. “I know this is scary and it sucks, but my kid’s got a point.” He kissed the top of her head, prompting more giggles. “She’s a smart cookie, and this isn’t exactly her first rodeo.” Damian’s ears flushed, his face unchanged, but his ears beet red.

“This is not my first rodeo, and if you were more competent, than-”

“If Dick was a dumb-, I mean, if he was more competent, we wouldn’t be here.” Roy pointed out, speaking over Damian. Lian smacked his face lightly.

“Daddy, that’s rude.” Roy rolled his eyes. Dick started speaking in a language Tim vaguely recognized, looking displeased at the argument.

“Sweetie, I’m trying to make a point.” He set her down, ruffling her hair. “Why don’t you get out the coloring book and let Damian pick out a page.” Damian opened his mouth to comment, but Roy cut him off. “Look, you should see how happy Dick is when Lian gives him coloring pages. I think he’s earned one from you.” Damian closed his mouth. His brain seemingly compiling the information. “What she said isn’t wrong, he’ll recover faster if he’s happier, Timbo, you’re a bat-nerd, back me up here.”

“Well according to a study done in-” Roy held up a hand.

“Point made, don’t put me to sleep.” Tim rolled his eyes, remembering why he used to avoid hanging out with (some of) Dick’s friends. For now, he joined Roy in staring down Damian, Lian gazing at him too, an unlikely team up in a battle of wills.

“Only if Drake makes one too.” Damian miraculously relented after a few minutes. Tim nodded, peace from Damian was worth doing some coloring. Dick would be incredibly happy – these pages would likely be framed; it would be worth it to see the smile on his face. It was worth it now to see Lian’s face light up, as she rushed to unpack her things.

“Oh, and I brought Uncle Dick a stuffy.” She pulled out a stuffed elephant and placed it in the crook of his elbow. “Say thank you.” Dick replied – still not speaking anything he could place, and Lian smiled, Dick smiled back.

“What’s he been saying?” Tim asked, looking to Roy, as Damian slid to the floor, selecting coloring pages with Lian. Roy sat on the side of the bed, carefully leaning Dick forward, to get a better look at the back of his head. He whistled, ignoring Tim for a moment.

“You really did it to yourself this time, jeez Dickie.” He muttered to himself before turning back. “He’s speaking Navajo, he was counting to ten earlier, and he told Lian thanks.” Roy rolled his eyes. “Would you believe his pronunciation is always better when he’s like this?”

“No, that seems on brand.” Tim mused. “Apparently my French gets exponentially better the less I’ve slept.” Roy shrugged, and turned back on Dick.

“Quit rubbing off on the kids, you don’t want them to turn into you, yah? Bunch a’ weirdo bat-nerds.” Dick was apparently, not listening, and was more into petting the plushy.

“Zitka.” He replied, showing it to Roy. Roy patted his shoulder.

“Yeah buddy, I know. Isn’t she cute?” He leaned in, pressing a quick kiss to Dick’s forehead. Something seemed to click in Tim’s brain, as Dick garbled on, fascinated by the toy.

“How many times have you done this?” He asked, watching as Roy leaned back, taking the seat next to the bed. He shrugged.

“I stopped counting after Blood fried his brains, back when he ran around in a V-neck.” Tim cringed, that was before he even became Robin. “Don’t look like that, he didn’t die.” Not that time, or this time – but things had been too close for comfort more times than Tim wanted to think about. Roy’s fingers drummed against the armrest. “I don’t know, Garth tried out the elephant thing a while back. It keeps him happy.” He pulled a book out of Lian’s bag, starting to flip through the pages. “Take nap kid – you look deader than him. Lian and I got this covered.”

Tim leaned back in his chair, tucking his legs up with him. He watched as Dick happily turned the toy over and over in his hands, blearily blinking at the world. Damian was quiet where he sat on the floor, inspecting each of the colors. By the time he put his first stroke to paper, Tim was already fast asleep.

#bad things happen bingo #batfam #titans #dc comics #batfamily #batman #batman and robin #dick grayson #tim drake #my writing #roy harper #lian harper #damian wayne #red robin #canon divergence #tw hospitals #tw anxiety #tw gsw #wrote this one just for me lol self indulgent

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thr-333 · 3 years

Text

Drastic Measures- Part 9

@daminette-december2019-2020

~Book~

Damian gets a book recommendation, it’s only going to get worse for Bruce from here.

Ao3

First < Previous > Next

---------

“So I’ve drafted up the new policies, the lawyer we hired is looking over it,” Damian explains from his desk, “Do we want to handle branch manager interviews ourselves or delegate,”

“Delegate,” Marinette hums, trying to narrow down her first fashion line, “We still need to visit the manufacturer for the line,”

“Can’t you do that yourself?”

“I suppose,” Marinette circles the one she likes best, tabling the others for later, “What are you going to do?”

“Wait,” Damian sighs, “Everything needs to be looked over before we can proceed,”

“Well don’t bore yourself out of your mind,” Marinette close her sketchbook gathering her stuff for her trip, she makes a detour to the bookshelf in search of something, “Here,”

“I’m perfectly capable of entertaining myself,” Damian huffs, as she places the book on his desk.

“I’m sure you are,” Marinette says teasingly, getting a withered glare, “How about you entertain yourself with this book, don’t worry you're still doing all the heavy lifting, besides it’s really good,”

“I’m sure it is,” Damian rolls his eyes placing the book to the side.

---

Well, he had said he was sure it was; if sarcastically. Damian sits in the cave as the others dawdle in their preparations for patrol, reading the book recommended. It was fine not his usual preference. Besides he could put it down whenever he wanted… it’s just the sooner he finished the sooner he could put it down and Marinette wouldn't bother him about it anymore. Plus he has a stakeout tonight, there's nothing else to do. That's the only reason why he brought it on patrol. The only reason.

“Ohhh~ that's a good one,” Damian leaps up to attack, brandishing his sword right to Ladybug's neck… he immediately implodes, “What? didn’t hear me coming?”

“Tt, of course, I did,” He did not.

Ladybug steps away from his blade, Damian hastens to put it down.

“Is there another Akuma?” He asks, having only seen her at battles, he looks around warily.

“Not right now, just patrolling trying to get a lay of the city,” Ladybug looks out over the skyline.

“Don’t let Batman catch you,” Robin warns taking back up his vigilant stakeout position.

“You gonna tell on me?” Ladybug teases, fixing him with her dazzling smile.

“No,” It’s not blushing, just shadows cast in the dark.

“So stakeout?” Robin nods as she comes to sit next to him, “A good book is a great way to pass the time,”

Damian is about to deny his enjoyment, as he would to Marinette when she inevitably asked. But… this is Ladybug and they actually have something to talk about, and neither of them has any place to be.

“It is,”

“That's great! I keep trying to recommend it but everyone turns their nose up at it, saying it's for kids,” Ladybug rants, “Even today! I’m glad at least someone enjoys it,”

“I’d hardly say it fair to relegate it just to children,” Robin frowns, “There are complex themes of freedom seamlessly interwoven into the narrative,”

“Right? A relative of mine gave it to me when I was little, it really helped me break out of my shell,” Ladybug smiles, Robin listens keenly at sharing part of her life. It was hard to imagine the confident amazing woman ever being shy.

“It’s hard to imagine you being shy,” Robin startles as she breaks down laughing.

“You have no idea! When I first started out as Ladybug she was so confident it felt like I became a different person, a hero of Paris, a savior of the people!” Ladybug strikes a pose before shrinking in on herself, “But outside the mask, I was timid and shy, not even able to stand up to a liar or a bully,”

“Bully?” Robin's hand itches towards his sword.

“Yeah back in Paris,” When’s the soonest flight to Paris? “But since being in Gotham I don’t have to be who I was, I feel like the gap between me and Ladybug is getting smaller and smaller, so it’s great being here, even if the weathers terrible,”

“That’s good,” Damian sighs, “Not the weather bit,”

“It’s just so cold!”

“I feel that's an opinion shared among many Parisians,” … I feel like I’m missing something.

“Well it will be nice to go back to Paris,” Damian's heart sinks, “When this is all over,”

“Why,” He bites out, “It doesn't sound like you were happy there,”

“Oh, I was,” Ladybug assures with a smile, “Even if I was bullied I had the love of my parents, my friends were still supportive even if they fell for a liar,”

“But you weren’t yourself,”

“Pfft, I was just as much myself as I am here, just more confident,” Ladybug shrugs, looking at something beyond the horizon, “Freedom gives you the confidence to explore parts of yourself you didn’t know, it doesn't change who you were,”

“It doesn't?”

“No- hey what's wrong,” Ladybug leans over, closer to him.

“Nothing,” Robin shifts away, only slightly, “I just thought we were more similar but I guess not,”

“Did I say something to upset you?”

“No,”

“Correction,” Ladybug says firmly, “What did I say to upset you?”

Do not compromise your identity, do not compromise your identity.

“... I wasn't raised in Gotham, I was raised… elsewhere, not to be a hero,”

“Well that's dumb,” Robin rears back at her bluntness, “Was batman raised to be a hero?”

“No?”

“Oh good, I took a shot in the dark at that one,”

“He wasn't, but I was raised to be the opposite,” Do not compromise your identity, “By assassins,”

Great job Damian

---

Wow lots of kids in Gotham were raised as assassins

This would be the point Marinette feels she is missing something.

Or maybe the league of assassins was planning something with it, not like it’s unusual for them to train kids. “So you must be pretty strong huh?” The league's training is brutal, Marinette knows her Maman did everything in her power to protect her from it for a reason.

“What?”

“Well you have an assassin's training, bet your sneaky, good at taking criminals down swiftly,” Robin was now opening and closing his mouth trying to find something to say.

Worst than the training, she had been told is the lack of freedom. You don’t get to choose who lives who dies, your own fight. Those orders come from the top, the people with the power to take you down. Or not so much in her Mamans place.

“Unfortunately the swiftest way is murder, and here that’s frowned upon,” Ladybug cracks a smile, lightening the mood.

“True, I’m sure there can be more creative uses though,” She had been trained first and foremost by her Maman, Tikki had told her no other holder fought like her. The only new ingredient was a small helping of assassination, minus the murder… well we’ll see when she takes down hawkmoth.

“Unfortunately Batman would rather I forget that particular training than apply it,”

“That doesn't sound good you shouldn-,” She's about to add more when the comms crack to life and Robin motions her to be to stay quiet.

“Robin,” She picks up on Batman's voice over the comm, “Move to the west side,”

“I’m on a stakeout,”

“I’ll send Red Robin,”

“This is my target,”

“The west side Robin,”

“Fine,” Robin stands, a sour expression on his face, “I have to go,”

“Do you?” She for one never listened to Batman.

“... it’s orders,” With that Robin leaves.

Still, following orders huh?

Of course, Batman would be nothing like the league, no matter how much he annoyed her. But still was similar in ways. Lack of choice. Following orders. He didn’t even create his own identity as a hero just following the mantel of Robin. Marinette had formed her identity as Ladybug long before she knew there was a mantel to uphold, and if she had known? There's no way she could have handled it.

How was he expected to grow this the same base structure? Her Maman was the most amazing person she knew, but though cryptid stories missing crucial details Marinette had pieced together that wasn't always the case. No, she had become the person she was by striking out on her own, by being brave enough to step out. By getting the chance to fall in love. Marinette could only wonder what kind of person Robin could be if he allowed himself to do the same.

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No taglist I cant keep track of them :P

#miraculous #miraculous ladybug fic #miraculous ladybug #miraculous fanfic #miraculous fandom #Marinette #miraculous marinette #badass marinette #maribat #daminette

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