#Bruce loves his new and scary guardian

[ghost-bxrd]

“This is where you live?”

Jason drops the duffle bag on the counter, “Yeah. It’s no manor, kid. I told you.”

He’s not self conscious. He’s not. This apartment is fuckin’ nice ok? He spent a lot of money on decor and proper kitchenware and furniture and shit.

But Jason also knows that, objectively speaking, it doesn’t hold a candle to Wayne manor and its fifty-something bedrooms. That place is basically its own country.

Bruce nods.

“I like it,” he says solemnly, walking over towards the window to peek through the blinds. The view from up here isn’t exactly panorama level but the building is one of the tallest in Crime Alley and Jason’s apartment is on the top floor, so it does provide a pretty good view of a good portion of the Alley. “It doesn’t feel as empty.”

Jason pauses where he’s resetting the traps and alarms by the door, glancing over his shoulder to where Bruce is starting to tentatively explore the living space and is struck by how violently out of place the boy looks with his rigid posture and elegantly curved eyebrows. Even the plain hoodie, faded hand-me-down jeans and ridiculous wool cap aren’t enough to hide how utterly not Crime Alley born-and-bred he is. Everything about Bruce is basically screaming rich-Bristol-trust-fund-kid.

Which, yeah. Checks out.

Jason clears his throat and clicks the security on, waiting for the small light at the side to switch from green to red.

“Your room’s the one down the hall to the left. Right one is mine. Door at the end of the hall is the bathroom.”

Bruce hikes his backpack up higher on his shoulder, eyes eerily vacant as always, but Jason wants to think that there’s a sliver of curiosity behind that steely gaze anyways as he inclines his head and makes his way down the hall.

As soon as the kid vanishes around the corner Jason allows himself a moment to exhale and run a hand down his face tiredly.

Jesus fucking Christ.

What was he thinking.

How the fuck is he supposed to raise a tiny Bruce Wayne with his older furry counterpart running around Gotham at night hunting criminals? Criminals like Jason?

Nothing. He was thinking nothing. And it’s about to bite him in the ass.

No way can he build a criminal empire and take over the drugs and weapons trade with a traumatized nine year old dependent on him.

God dammit.

[daydreamerwonderkid]

I see your vampire!Bruce Wayne AU and I raise you this:

Normal human Bruce Wayne raising his horde of vampire/dhamphir children, but because Bruce is Bruce no suspects any of the Batkids are, well ... bat kids.

Even the Batkids are confused at first when they first meet Bruce. Batman shows up and they're like:

"Oh, shit it's Batman! The very scary, very territorial Vampire Lord who's completely taken over Gotham and has managed to strike fear into the heart of all the most notorious vampire leaders! And he wants to adopt me into his coven? Sounds sketchy, but aight."

Only for them to wake up the next day and realize that not only is Batman in fact NOT a vampire, but he's also the most pitiful and pathetic human they've ever laid their eyes on and there's no fucking way they can leave him now.

Humans are already super fragile and easy to kill as is. And their new guardian is risking his life every night masquerading as an all powerful Vampire Lord!!!!

It's honestly a miracle that Bruce hasn't been killed yet and there's no way they're going to let their clueless human guardian wander off by himself. Especially after they realize he keeps forgetting that humans aren't supposed to be awake for 72 hours straight and his skin is paler than the giant hoards of case file documents he tries to sift through while barely touching his own food.

This poor idiot human is so committed to pretending to be a vampire that he's actually convinced himself he has night vision and spends more time hanging out in a literal Batcave than he does in his own fucking house!

Meanwhile, Bruce is thoroughly convinced he's got a complete handle on the whole raising vampire/dhampir children thing. After all, it's not like he's had to change much about his own personal life to that of a parent taking care of a horde of supernatural children.

He already spends more time awake at night anyway and while the kids don't mind human food absolutely love Alfred's cooking, it's not difficult to get a hold of any blood when they actually need to feed on something more substantial. Considering he's the biggest contributor to Gotham's blood donation centers, it's not like anyone's gonna tell him no.

Bruce also read somewhere that while vampires in the modern age don't actually need to hunt humans to feed anymore (considering the above mentioned donation centers), their hunting instincts haven't gone away, either. So while he was initially against the idea of letting his kids getting involved in his vigilante lifestyle, it was probably a good thing in the end that they had an alternative outlet for their growing vampiric urges. Like Alfred, he would have preferred it if they had gotten into competitive sports or something similar instead, but all his children had proven themselves to be just as stubborn as he is so he made do with what he could.

Especially considering the fact that a parenting article he read mentioned how extremely sensitive young vampires/dhampirs are towards the well-being of those who make up their coven. Dick, ALONE, had proved how absolutely futile his attempts to separate his night time and day time activities truly were. Apparently, it was detrimental to young vampires to be separated from their parents/guardians for too long. Better he trained them and supervised them himself versus having to re-experience Dick, Tim and Cass stalking him like the supernatural predators they were while doing his nightly patrols.

And if any of his children leaned a bit more into their feral nature whenever Bruce happened to get hurt on patrol, that was just kids' instincts reacting to the head of their coven being threatened. It's taken years of training, grounding and long late night discussions to convince his children to try holding back their supernatural strength and bloody acts of retribution. He still finds himself lecturing them from time to time even if he's fully aware they're all humoring him.

He still has the small collection of baby fangs that Dick had somehow roped all his younger siblings into contributing to over the years. For the life of him, he can't begin to fathom why anyone would want to collect teeth or why his children are so adamant that he holds onto theirs. But ever since he jokingly mentioned the Tooth Fairy to a horrified and offended younger Dick when his first set of baby fangs finally started coming in, it seems his children are determined to make sure no one can even attempt to think about exchanging their fangs for mere quarters.

And for the record (and despite what his children and friends keep on insisting), he never set out to actually pretend to be a "Vampire Lord." He just honestly thought designing his costume around one of his deepest fears would be a good way for him to use that fear against the criminals of Gotham.

He also won't admit that he completely forgot about the obvious association people make between bats and vampires.

[quindread]

Constanstine starts acting sober on important missions/meetings for the JLD; he has a sanity-potion dealer

Zatanna reports this odd behavior to Batman, they interrogate him when his veins are swamped with alcohol.

C: … I-I know what yer doin’ [hiccups]

Z: We care for your well-being. You have bouts of sobriety that you seem to have control over.

B: Are you on something new?

C: M’yeah… is called a pwoz—piss—poise! Poise potion, yeah das it!

B: And who makes this “Poise” potion?

C: My dealah, my busniz. G’way! [stumbles out the door]

Z: … That went as well as expected.

Sober Constantine is actually more reasonable. Batman catches him after a meeting.

B: [observes his brushed hair and very high-quality, new trench coat] You’re sober… Congratulations?

C: Uhuh. Did you need something? I have some business elsewhere.

B: With your dealer?

C: [affronted] Wha—Who in their right bloody mind would dare call Celest that?

B: You did.

C: ….

B: Who’s Celest?

C: Oh, fuck me!

Constantine gives him an address - it’s in Milan, Lombardy (Region of Italy). He specifically instructs him to come as a civ along with Red Hood and Robin with the threat that he will erase their memories if they so much as go into detective mode.

Bruce Wayne and his two wayward children enters the teahouse and is led by the hostess to a private room. They are served with tea and light snacks that they know even Alfred would more than approve of.

A door opens - they didn’t even know it was one with the way the molding blends into each other seamlessly. And out came one of the most enchanting woman Bruce has ever seen. He’s seen his fair share of attractive females but he has never been star-struck like he should be - as if he were back to his pre-pubescent days.

M: Constantine said you’d be here.

B: [realizes that this person was Constantine’s dealer and was 100% magic] You’re his dealer?

*Jason and Damian who saw the look on their dad’s face snicker at his opening line*

M: [raises and elegant eyebrow at Bruce] And you must be his work associates?

J: Something like that, lady. I’m Jason, kid’s Damian, and the one who can’t stop staring at you is our Dad, Bruce.

*Bruce grumbles and Marinette smirks*

M: I’m Marinette. It’s a pleasure to meet you.

D: [gestures at Bruce] Pleasure is all his, Marinette.

B: [red at the ears] Their Grandfather thought them better, I swear.

M: Mhmm. I guess he didn’t teach them how to not die then?

The guys: ….

Jason gets a more potent version of the potion Constantine consumes - it’s a prescription that he has to come for every month. Damian gets a charm; ear cuffs because he does whatever her wants, a spontaneous orbital piercing is nothing. And Bruce gets Mari’s number.

(Tim also gets forwarded in his fave fashion label’s waitlist from the near thousands to the fourteenth - his first consultation coincides with Jason’s next appointment.)

AN: Some posts/fics call Mari Celestial Guardian. Idk where and when that happened - I have abandoned canon a long time ago. These are all pulled from my days in the maribat blackhole (still kinda stuck there). I basically pulled this out of my archives so they at least get the chance to see the daylight.

Addressing Brucinette: I have a whole re-written MLB plot in my archives where everything is more brutal and the miraculous aren’t actual pieces of accessories. Like there’s an initiation to the order and stuff like that. I normally don’t enjoy aging up characters in crossovers but Brucinette just works. I have a secretary AU somewhere (it’s tragic and I’m considering scrapping it if I find it). And I also have deep-rooted issues that wants me to write Good!Dad Bruce who has Mari breathing down his neck when he so much as raises his voice at his children (Muminette/Mominette is another breed scary). And those tropes where Mari sees right through Brucie? Has a second sense for the when the batkids are in/causes trouble? Love those. I WILL FIGHT FOR THIS SHIP. (Jk people are free to dislike this. I get it.)

[historyhermann]

Steven Universe, vegetarianism, and media representation [Part 2]

Reprinted from my History Hermann WordPress blog and also on Wayback Machine. Originally published on Jan. 2. 2020.

The focus on Steven's issues is continued in "Prickly Pair," where Steven uses his new hobby, planting, as a form of therapy, connecting with his love of nature and life (another reason he is vegetarian). The Gems see this as clearly unhealthy, as he is naming plants after his friends likely a reference to the "stress free environment" (see up to 1:04 in the video above) created by Billy Rosewood (played by Judge Reinhold) in Beverly Hills Cop 2, and give him space, as he thinks he can solve all these problems himself, bumping through his teen years.

This doesn't work out, ultimately, as he forms a cactus monster who he treated like a therapist, which hurts his friends (or guardians as you could call them), Amethyst, Garnet, and Pearl, not only physically but emotionally as the monster blurts out his personal feelings about them. While the cactus monster, which Amethyst names Cactus Steven, leaves his house, blowing off the front face of it, similar to the damage it sustained during the battle with Blue Diamond in "Reunited," Steven is clearly in emotionally (and mentally) rocky state by the end of the episode. You could even say that Steven and Cactus Steven represent part of the cycles of abuse. The absence of his father, Greg, his girlfriend, Connie (I hope they don't break up), and others, is disturbing enough, as the feeling he can't talk to anyone about problems, likely suffering from depression and other mental problems. [5]

"Little Graduation" and "Prickly Pair" sets up an interesting set of episodes ahead, even if you think SUF isn't "kid-friendly" anymore (as the fan base is growing up) as Steven will have to come to a more balanced state of mind and body (as he is acting a bit contradictory right now) working out his serious problems, making it possible for him to control his new powers, realizing that he should change, just as everyone else is changing, something he hasn't completely done yet. This would be much better than forcing others to not change, which is not healthy at all! Whether he talks the Diamonds about this (oh no) or his "uncle" Andy, or someone else about his problems is anyone's guess. [6] This is nothing new as he had similar struggles as shown in episodes like "Mindful Education," and other times before that, but the fact that he has the power to hurt others is scary, so I'm excited to see what future SUF episodes will bring. Perhaps Steven should take the advice he told Lars back in Season 5 to heart, although he may not.

© 2019-2023 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

Notes

[1] At the same time, however, the article listed racial stereotype Apu in The Simpsons, Bobby in King of the Hill, Velma Dinkley in Scooby-Doo, Draculaura in Monster High, Doug Funnie from Doug, Heffer in Rocko's Modern Life; Dil, Chuckie, and Susie in Rugrats, Pac-Man, Eliza Thornberry in The Wild Thornberrys, Popeye, as some of the greatest "vegan cartoon characters." So, he got Pearl wrong, but perhaps he got these others right.

[2] Allyson Koerner, for instance, lists Lisa along with Monroe in Grimm, Phoebe Buffay in Friends, Angela Martin in The Office, Sara Sidle in CSI, and Temperance Brennan in Bones. Others list Hazel Grace Lancaster in The Fault in Our Stars, Rachel Berry in Glee, Phoebe Buffay in Friends, Angela Martin in The Office, Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, Britta Perry in Community, Phoebe Halliwell in Charmed, Topanga Lawrence in Boy Meets World, and Todd Ingram in Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, alongside Lisa as vegan/vegetarian characters. Kristen Martin, on the other hand, notes five fictional vegetarians who "defy stereotypes" while Jamie Gerber explains various superheroes and villains who are vegetarian (Todd Ingram, Damian Wayne, Iron Fist, Connor Hawke, Bruce Banner, Magneto, Zatanna, Scarlet Witch, Superman, Kitty Pryde, Ozymandias, Beast Boy, Karolina Dean, Animal Man, and Wonder Woman).

[3] Some on My Anime List have claimed that Rei Ayanami in Evangelion, Taikoubou from Houshin Engi, herbivores in Monster Musume, a vegetarian elf in Isekai Shokudou, Nadia in Fushigi no Umi no Nadia, characters in Nichibros, Denpa Onna, Kemono Friends, Happy Happy Clover, Hamtaro, and Shirokuma Cafe, the latter three only if animal characters count, along with the Circumstances of a Vegetarian Child Wherewolf.

[4] Some fans adored Shep and loved the representation, while others didn't get their gender and thought Shep was transgender (there's no indication that is true), or hated Shep for some reason, the latter falling into the category of "annoying fans."

[5] I think its worth quoting the psychological analysis of Steven by one fan here, as it says more than I could put forward:

What is happening to Steven right now is a consequence of three situations: -Being a half gem. -Being adolescent. -Trying to carry the weight of other people problems in your back Why you ask? in adolescence, you try to wonder who you are, what you want to be in the future. And sometimes that bring negative emotions like angriness and confusion. Before Steven Universe Future, his reason to be was to be a hero, helping others. Now, that reason is partly gone because the worst part of the conflict is over, and even when he still wants to help people, he looks at the lifes of other humans and starts to wonder what else could be. Thats it because as a crystal gem, fighting and helping comes as something natural; and in the context of their long life spans this objective doesnt seems to change much. In the counterpart, humans tend to change life perspective more frequently because we live less, and our fragility doesnt makes us want to fight intergalactic conflicts (instead, we choose to share with others, get jobs, and try to enjoy life). In the initial part of the show, things seems "inverted" because humans gave Steven a sense of continuity ("i want this to stay the same"), and gems a sense of something that needs to be changed ("i want this to be different"). When we reach SUF, humans are changing and gems are remaining the same (mainly enemies), so Steven starts to be greatly frustrated. He doesnt wants to recognize this, clearly, because he is the person that "helps", not the one that needs to be helped (that would mean he is a burden to others). So, his emotions (anger and confussion, normal for adolescence) start to emerge as unstable powers, which causes a mayhem so big that Steven has to begin to recognize his emotions. PD: So...if you have superpowers and feel like this...go therapy.

[6] Some fans hope Steven lies on a bed at the end of the series and talks to a therapist, while others just say he needs "serious therapy."

Update:

I am so glad to get one positive comment on /r/stevenuniverse, which makes me smile. I am glad to see it.

[toomanystoriessolittletime]

Masterlist misc.

updated: January 19th 2023

Fic Ratings (read warnings in fic for details):

(G) General Audiences

(M) Mature

(E) Explicit: only suitable for adults

Say my name (E)

You are the new head seamstress at the palace and tasked with the making of new clothes for the General who had his eye on you ever since he first saw you.

Home (G)

You had a billion questions, but no one to answer them.

Hope/Denial (E)

You never had the chance to tell Matt how you felt about him before he disappeared one day. Even after more than a year of nights spend together you never told him that you loved him. Months after his disappearance, after going to his apartment every week you finally decide it’s time to stop waiting for his return. That night he shows up. With an explanation and a confession that makes you forget the anger and hurt you felt for him in the last months.

a shitty day (G)

You had a shitty day. Matt shows up to comfort you.

answers (M)

Matt had lied to you about who he was. Maybe now it was time to get some answers.

Teasing the devil (E)

All you wanted was your boyfriend being your date the engagement part of you petty and jealous cousin. When he didn’t show up you decide it’s time for a little payback while he’s in church the next morning and take a long shower…

Falling (G)

Your day could have been better. Staying in late with your judgemental Co-Worker wasn't on top of your list, but at least Matt was there to pick you up after.

Silk Sheets (E)

You’ve seen the weirdest things working in retail. But when you saw a hot blind man trying to figure out which silk sheets would be best for his delicate skin you did ask yourself… Why was it always the hot ones that are so weird?

Bitten (E)

There was something off about Matt Murdock. You just didn't think of the obvious.

One Blink (G)

For him it was just a moment, for you it was five years

Shut up (E)

Working as the only female doctor at a high security prison can be scary sometimes. When Frank was brought in the first time he looked like hell. Now, fully recovered you insisted to keep seeing him weekly. But for a whole different reasons that making sure that he was healthy.

You could be happy (M)

A man called Pete moved into the house next door. Rosie, your daughter, has him immediately wrapped around her little finger. You and Pete, who you know is Frank Castle, get closer too. When he turned up bruised and full of blood after being gone for weeks you do everything you can to help him and kiss it better.

Sneaky (E)

Your best friend is getting married. And Frank, her father, can’t keep his hands off of you for the entire day.

Patience (series, G)

You lost everything in the the flooding of Gotham. Now, as the guardian of your nine month old godson you needed a place to stay. With no family left than your Aunt who worked for Bruce Wayne you found yourself taking her off to move into the Wayne Tower.

Never let me go (E)

You were never good at sharing. Sharing Bruce with the Batman was something you had learned to live with. But sharing him with other women? That would never happen.

Vengeance (E)

“What do you want?” “Vengeance,” she said, tilting her chin up to meet his stare. “For what?” he asked and she shook her head with a coy smile. “I think you know for what,” she whispered.

Dream (a little dream) (G)

Your dreams bring you somewhere they shouldn't be able to bring you. And even Dream himself can't explain why.

-> Enchanted (G)

After Morpheus finally escaped his captivity his only goal is to get back to the Dreaming. But there’s something else. Someone else he hasn’t been aware of in another room in the basement. He finds you, stripped bare and barely breathing imprisoned much like he had been. Not wanting to leave you he takes you with him, unaware that this quick decision would change his life.)

His Favorite (E)

Daemon returns to you after becoming King of the Stepstones and the Narrow sea to celebrate his win in the most special way.

The safest place in the world (E)

It's a long way back to King's Landing but Daemon knew how to spend his time with you on the back of his dragon.

Prove it (E)

The marriage between you and Daemon Targaryen was one out of convenience. Until he saw you in a brothel one night and became fascinated with you.

Trick or Treat? (G)

Having moved in into your new apartment you haven’t met your downstairs neighbor yet. That changes when you hear someone breaking into your apartment in the middle of the night.  

Requests:

Wanna bet? (E)

Thanos was coming. And Loki was the only one who knew what he wanted. So when he didn’t tell the rest of the team, you were furious. Looking for a way to cool down you went for a shower until Loki found you… 

Heal me (M)

When Loki disappeared after the attack in New York and found himself in an alternative Universe, he hadn’t planned on staying for long. But then he met her. 

Lost in the fire (E)

Being together with Loki for a while now he asks you what your fantasies are, surprised when you tell him about always wanting to have a threesome he is completely against first. Until he finds a way to make it work for both of you… 

Writing prompts:

“Wake up! Please wake up.” (G)

 “A sleepy hug.“ (G)

“Ths is a one-time thing.” “ You said that the last five times.” (E)

“Brats like you deserve a spanking.” + “I’m gonna bend you over the table and fuck you till you can’t sit straight.” (E)

“You’re so fucking hot when you’re mad.” (E)

[arty-shadow-morningstar]

Graveyard Siblings (5)

[Masterlink] (PART 1) (PART 4)

-----

Mari and Cass sometimes switch their suits as they have the same body type. Cass would sometimes go out in full Hellbat gear and give the appearance that Hellbat is out more often than she actually is.

So Orphan/Black Bat also sometimes uses guns.

This also helps with concealing secret identities. Maria was rescued by Hellbat from Joker’s Henchmen. (Vicki Vale was getting sus of the new Wayne and Hellbat.)

Unfortunately since Hellbat rarely comes out and she had already made all of her appearance for the month and it wasn’t a busy weekend, the public had come to the conclusion that Hellbat has a crush on the newest Wayne.

Basically everyone thought that Mari has a crush on herself. Which led to some teasing and escalated to Mari announcing that Jason had a crush on Red Hood on live TV.

It didn’t help that a video of Red Hood and Jason re-enacting Romeo and Juliet with Jason on his apartment balcony and Red Hood on the roof was posted on the internet a few days later. (Thank you, Trixx and Tim’s awesome video editing skills)

Sadly, it was taken down 24 hours later. (Tim and the others have multiple copies of it, on the cloud or hardware, hidden around in the manor and their respective safehouses in the US.)

Some people kidnapped Jason to hopefully gain leverage over the Red Hood and to their dismay and nightmares for years to come, Hellbat came instead.

One lucky and incredibly brave reporter asked why she was there instead of her brother.

Mari being a little shit, “Red Hood may be a tough and scary guy but when it comes to his feelings, my brother is a chicken.”

Pictures of Jason tackling Hellbat somehow never made it into any papers.

The criminal underworld hasn’t taken a hint and Jason has been kidnapped a few more times.

Other times Jason was kidnapped:

Robin: Red Hood made a fool of himself in front of Todd recently and he doesn’t dare to show his face.

Spoiler: He was taking too damn long checking his hair even though I told him that no one was going to see it under his helmet and he was so offended that he is currently sulking in the bathroom.

Red Robin: Red Hood can’t think straight when he is around Jason. I mean have you seen the dude.

Arsenal*during a rare visit to Gotham*: Red Hood owes me one now.

Dick finally ends it by going out as Red Hood and rescuing Jason. Gotham is happy that Redson (Red Hood x Jason) ship has finally sailed.

-------

Kate, Babs, Cass, Steph and Mari were out on Mari’s first girls’ night since her move to the manor.

This is set a little after she came back from Paris with Jason.

They watched rom-com movies, did hair and nails, gossip about the superhero community and bitch and vent to each other.

Marinette off-handedly mentioned the crazy shits she had done during her stint as Ladybug. It started with asking about the T-rex in the Batcave and she mentions jumping into the mouth of a live one before.

Everyone in the room was shocked and after a few more questions, it was obvious that she was very reckless and self-sacrificing. Yep, she was going to fit into this crazy family just fine.

And Holy Shit. There is so much trauma packed into this kid. She needs lots of therapy.

Babs finally decided that they all needed to get out and have some fun. All in their respective suits and they went out.

Joined by Harley, Ivy and Selina.

Plagg came along because I want Plagg to meet Selina.

It was a chaotic night and it was a miracle that Bruce didn’t find out about what the girls did.

-------

Batman and Red Hood were on patrol together when Selina jumped in front of them.

“Hello, Boys”

“What do you want, Catwoman?”

“I want to meet my new prodigy, Kitty Noire.”

Cue Marinette jumping down from her hiding spot, transformed with the Black Cat Miraculous. “Hiya.”

Red Hood carries her like a potato sack and points his gun at the other two.

“Nope, she’s my sister and I called dibs. I adopted her. She’s off limits.”

“Legally, she’s mine.” Batman coughed out.

“I did it first. Emotionally. She’s my emotional support sister. You have plenty kids already, B and Selina, get your own.”

“Hey, I am still here and can hear you.”- Maria

-------

Alya was worried for Lila. She had been acting weirdly for the past month.

She looked very out of sorts. Her clothes weren’t in order and her hair was in disarray. She had bags under her eyes and her eyes looked wild. Lila didn’t look like herself at all.

She jumped at any sound and flinched at really sudden movements.

Alya tried to find out what was wrong with Lila and received vague answers.

One time Lila said that Marinette is to blame.

Alya reaches the somewhat right conclusion that Marinette was haunting Lila and hurting her because Lila used to come to school with bruises and claims that Marinette did it.

Alya goes to Marinette’s grave to desecrate it. (Yeah, go anger the ghost that is haunting someone.)

Unfortunately, the moment she tries to do something, the sky turns dark, clouds appear and the wind begins whipping. A Lightning strike near her and there was a cloaked figure beside her with a scythe.

All Alya saw from the figure was the blood-red lips in a very sharp grin and glowing blue eyes, raising the scythe high before she ran away. The scythe swiped the air where her head once was.

Alya didn’t get far before she tripped and blacked out.

When she woke up, she found herself in the hospital with no idea how she got there.

She was told that somebody found her with a concussion in the park and took her to the hospital.

------

The next one on Mari’s hit list was Natalie.

She wasn’t as involved in the whole thing like Lila, Adrien or Gabriel but she still did it anyways.

Her punishment is a little mild compared to the others and was more of a warning to Gabriel.

Natalie woke up in the middle of the night to see a not-so-dead Ladybug sitting on her vanity chair with the moonlight from the windows illuminating her body and her neck. Her suit was torn exactly like the day of that battle with blood dripping down her arms and from her open wounds. The shadows kept her face hidden but glowing blue eyes stared at her.

Natalie was scared at first. But she regained her normal cool composure.

“I assume you are here to extract your revenge for aiding in your unfortunate demise. But before you kill me, I regret my part in my entire thing and I apologize for everything I have done against you even though I knew it was wrong.”

“At least you show remorse over what you have done. Visiting my grave when even my parents didn’t and leaving flowers. I love those purple hyacinths by the way. Did you know that they mean sorry in the language of the flowers?”

“Why are you stalling my death? Just kill me already.”

“Madam Sancouer. You just played a minor role in my downfall compared to what Adrien and Lila Rossi did to me. And you showed more guilt over your actions than they ever did and Adrien claimed to have loved me. And like I have told the Bats, Death is too swift of a punishment.”

“Who are the bats?”

“None of your concern. You should be more concerned about yourself.”

“Lila sees the ghosts of her past and they haunt her. Adrien is in a living nightmare and has no control over his actions and is despised by everyone. What are you going to do to me?”

“Well, since you show some guilt over your actions, let me tell you a little secret. I am not dead. Not really. I mean I did die. But there was a spell in the grimoire that revived me. It took a few days to work.”

Marinette changed to her normal form. It was a little jarring to see an older Marinette Dupain-Cheng sitting on her vanity chair like it was a throne. The Ladybug suit and the wounds were gone. She looked a little familiar.

“Why are you telling me this? What was the point?” Natalie faltered as she wondered why the girl looked familiar. Marinette moved closer and her face was fully illuminated by the moonlight.

“I intend to take everything by which I mean everything from Gabriel Agreste for what he did.”

“M. Agreste just wanted his wife back. You just gave him your Miraculous, you would still have everything.”

“What difference would it make? Sure I had friends and family before but they turned out to be disappointing. I might have become a famous designer like I dreamed of and can't achieve because I died. Besides, he never said about wanting his wife to come back in his tedious monologues. For all we knew back then, he wanted them for world domination. He showed that he would end the world for them. For kwamis’ sake, he nearly started World War III, just for a pair of earring and a ring. He was willing to kill me to have her back. No wait, he did that too. If he actually read the translated grimoire or asked the Guardian or at least someone with magic for help instead or maybe used his head and made some who can heal as his champion using the Butterfly, we wouldn’t even be in this mess. Face it, Mme Sancour, your boss is a power-hungry and very controlling maniac who is also thankfully an idiot.”

“But- he- he just-. You are just a child, what do you know? M. Agreste knew what he was doing.”

“A child who had a normal life up until he tried to ruin it with his idiotic schemes and hiring Lila to do it. A child who had to fight a war on her own.”

“I am sorry you had to go through that but I doubt you and your little revenge rampage is going to solve anything.”

Ghostly Chains wrapped around Natalie’s body, squeezing tight like it was squeezing the life out of her.

“I was all for sparing you, you know. If you had actually listened to my side of the story, you would have spared from my ‘little revenge rampage’. This is going to be a little painful. Sorry about that.” In a tone that was definitely not sorry.

Pain coursed through Natalie’s body. Her skin crawled and itched as pitch back feathers grew out of it. Her bones turned to dust and reformed.

Where Natalie Sancour once was, there was a raven.

An omen of death and destruction for one Gabriel Agreste.

Marinette leaned down towards the raven. Natalie tried to peck her eye out but Marinette held the beak in a firm grip.

“Ah. ah ah. Luckily for you this is temporary. Mostly. Every night, you will assume this shape and each night the longer you will stay in this form. Slowly counting down the days until Gabriel’s downfall. Since you love helping him so much, you are going to help him know how long he has to live. The night you are a raven from sunset to sunrise, that sunrise starts the day Gabriel Agreste will be utterly destroyed.”

She released the beak and headed towards the window.

"Send him my regards."

With that, she was gone.

(Part 6)

[ive-tumbled-down-a-rabbit-hole]

Stories of Paris (PT 2)

Masterlist

Part One Part Three

…………………………………………………………..

"It was horrible Mari! They came out of nowhere and wooshing and flapping all about my head. There was one as BIG as my head…. No bigger. It was, was… thiissss biiig"

Bruce widened his arms as much as possible. Marinette and him were out of the manor at a quiet coffee shop where they could quietly people watch. Bruce was fascinated by how quick and well Marinette was at reading people to get their intentions. With Alfred's approval the pair now spent an afternoon once a fortnight after school in a coffee shop where Marinette taught him watch she knew. Alfred hoped it would help Bruce when he came to take over Wayne Enterprises.

"Really. A bat was that big coming from the well?"

"It was terrifying. I don't like bats. They're horrid!!"

Marinette nodded along with Bruce's assessment before pausing.

"Do you know what I think?"

Bruce shook his head. He was poised though, he was sure Marinette was going to give something to work with in his quest to become a hero. She had that gleam in her eyes.

"Bats have lots of symbolism. Some believe they symbolise death and rebirth. To unlock your deepest fears and let them go. To overcome them. They're the guardians of the night. My maman taught me that they can mean prosperity, happiness and longevity. A symbol of wealth."

Marinette took a pause to take a sip of her green tea and looked at Bruce.

"I don't think you need to be scared of the bats in the grounds. They may seem scary at the moment as they took you by surprise. In time though I think they will bring you good luck mon poussin. You're a courageous and determined boy and do incredible things despite being scared. Don't let your fear of bats dictate your actions. Do you want to mediate when we get home to sift through how you feel?"

"Err maybe. Do bats really mean that?"

"Umm hmmm, definitely!"

"What are you scared of Mari?"

"White cats"

"Huh? Why white cats. I thought it was black cats that were meant to be unlucky and scary"

A bittersweet smile crept across her face.

"Chat Noir is… was a black cat. He saved Paris, I can never think poorly of black cats. They need a little love to get over the negative view on them. White cats though…" Marinette looked over to Bruce who was watching her with rapt attention. So far her stories of Paris had brushed over akuma the victims, could she really tell this little bit more about the dark side of the hero's… "one day something happened in Chat Noir's civilian life which made him sad. Hawkmoth unknowingly at the time got to him and Chat Noir become akumatised. He turned into Chat Blanc until Ladybug saved the day. Chat Blanc caused a lot of destruction. Seeing white cats reminds me of what happened. They scare me as even heroes can fall."

Marinette hugged herself and held a far off look, swimming through the feelings that came with the memory.

"Heroes can fall?" Bruce looked at Marinette with wide eyes.

"Sadly yes. That's why sometime after that I know they created a support network to help each other. You don't need to worry mon poussin. It only happened that once and Ladybug saved the day."

Marinette subtly checked the time to see how long they had left.

"Now we should really get back to people watching mon tresor especially as we only have 15 minutes until Alfred picks you up. So what do you think is happening on the table over there."

When Alfred turned up to collect Master Bruce he found the two deep in conversation all about micro expression and what they could mean. On Miss Marinette's phone was a video slowing down of expressions. Smiling, he still wasn't sure what Master Bruce aimed to do with all the information he was learning from Miss Marinette but it would help him in the long run when he was older, that was for certain.

…………………………………………………………..

"Alfred!! It was amazing!! Like this robber came from nowhere and grabbed this ladies bag who shouted for help. It went in slow motion. Mari had her coffee in hand and slightly put her foot out which caused the robber to trip. As he tripped he knocked her coffee all over him distracting him from the fall and he knocked himself out."

Bruce looked at Alfred with large eyes full of admiration.

"Did she now Master Bruce"

"She did! And when he was knocked out she had cable ties in her bag to tie him up! It was so cool and awesome. The police came and took him away. The lady Mari saved bought her a new coffee. She wanted to get Mari more but Mari said no. She tried to turn the coffee down but the lady was insistent"

"That was very brave of Miss Marinette. A very dangerous thing to do as well so I hope you won't start doing things like that. She was very lucky that it all went well."

"Mari is always lucky Alfred. And anyway she's a hero. She helped someone. No one else was doing anything. They were all not paying attention to it at all. If, if Mari didn't do it no one else was going to either. She's amazing Alfred!"

"Hmmm, we just need to make sure she looks after herself too young master"

Bruce's eyes widened even more. He thought back to what Mari had told him over time.

"We're her support network Alfred! She can't be hurt if we're with her"

It was clear in Bruce's head that Mari was a hidden hero in plain sight. No one else saw it but he did and it was clear. He (and Alfred) would be her backup who knew. She danced around the law when she took the man down but didn't technically break it. She wasn't paid like a doctor or nurse people like that and she didn't have super powers either….. She was an real life everyday hero.

…………………………………………………………..

Marinette had become well and truly cemented into Bruce's life as years past. Even though he was at an age where he didn't really need a babysitter it was nice to have her company. She treated him as an equal and never spoke down to him. She had taught him all about found family and that being blood related was not important as those you chose.

'The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb'

And all that jazz. As well as all the hero secrets as well.

It didn't stop the fact though that currently he, Alfred and her were currently sitting in the orangery having a farewell tea party. And Bruce hated it! Not the party but the fact his family was breaking up again. He'd lost his parents but gained a new father like figure and a big sister/cousin of sorts.

"Oh mon tressor! Such a long face. We knew this day would come up. I've finished my placement and study years out here. I have to return back to Europe to complete my studies formally."

Taking Bruce's hands in hers, she continued

"That doesn't mean we can't still talk. I still want to hear about what you are up to and how you 'ninja' training is coming along"

"I don't want you to go though! I need YOU here!"

Bruce may not be an 8 year old anymore but 12 year (nearly 13 thank you very much!) him was putting on an excellent representation of the sulky grieving boy he once was.

"Now Master Bruce. Have we not taught you how to act around guests?"

"Mari isn't a guest Alfred. She's family. Ohana. And family doesn't leave or get left behind" Bruce pouted. Hormones raging through him making it worse.

"Mon tressor! I will come back. I need to return to get all my credits and I can then return. You could always come visit me during the school holidays until I am able to return… if you smile sweetly at Alfred."

She 'whispered' conspiracy like to Bruce.

"I could then show you all around Paris including the non tourist spots"

"Even the hero spots"

"Especially the hero spots for you."

Alfred smiled at the pair in front of him. He was as sad about their little light leaving their lives for a short period of time. She had entered their lives at the perfect time and brought them so much joy after being in such a dark place.

"Indeed Master Bruce. I think Miss Marinette's idea of a visit sounds wonderful. Now smile. I think that this is a perfect photo opportunity.

The pair squidged their chairs and smiled at Alfred as he took a photo.

A photo to add to the "small" collection he had taken of the pair over the years.

To hold the stories and memories of how his you g master of the light that appeared in their dark lives. A reminder of how stories can shape reality.

Next

[bluegarners]

AHHHH YOUR CARD LOOKS SO GOOD!!!! maybe hope is scary with young bruce and dick ?

Ugh, dust, you know I’m such a sucker for them!! Thank you so much for sending in your request, I hope you enjoy it~ @dustorange

Hope Is Scary

Bruce never really realized how quiet the Manor was until he began to notice the echoing of padded footsteps that weren’t his own. Alfred was easy to tell, polished shoes with prim heels step step stepping along waxed hallways and carpeted floors. Easy and comforting in a way that Bruce was accustomed to and found a strange warmth in. Alfred had been wearing the same brand of shoes since coming to work for Wayne Manor. The same color and shoe size, and though Alfred had lost some weight over the years, he still carried himself like the young man at heart he’s always been.

But the additional pair of footsteps was new to Bruce and the dim creaking of stairs and uneven floor boards made that apparent to him. 

Dick didn’t like to wear socks. He said they were distracting and made it easier for him to slip and fall when he was running around and trying to do intricate flips off of the railways and walls. When Bruce suggested that, maybe, he just not do those things, Dick had leveled a look at him that made him feel as if he had just stepped upon his parents’ graves. Which, perhaps, he did. This was Dick’s livelihood. All he had ever known. To ask him to stop flipping and twirling was like asking him to stop breathing. It just couldn’t be done.

Bruce buys him some socks with rubber pieces on the bottoms as a compromise. Dick wears them only once before stowing them away in a drawer. He says he doesn’t like not being able to feel the floor.

And maybe that’s something Bruce should have been paying more attention to. That key part in Dick’s reasoning. He’s new at this though. New to being a p... a guardian. To being responsible for the well being of another. Bruce doesn’t interact with children. Ever. Sure, he’ll smile at the camera and kiss a couple babies on the head so the Gotham Gazette has a nice picture and headline, but he’s never actually had to take care of a child before. What do nine year olds like? What do they do? Are there certain rules he has to follow? Rules Dick has to follow? It’s not like Bruce can go up to him and ask what his parents usually did because that would be horribly insensitive and Bruce doesn’t want to replace Dick’s parents. He doesn’t. 

It’s only been a month since Dick arrived at the Manor. A little more than three since the Grayson tragedy. The weeks in between were days Dick did not like to talk about. Why Gotham thought a juvenile detention center was the next best thing to house an orphan still infuriates Bruce. He tries his best not to think about it. Dick doesn’t seem to be bothered much by it, however. In all actuality, Dick has been remarkably resilient so far.

Again, maybe that’s something Bruce should have been paying more attention to. The stability factor. It didn’t align with everything that had happened recently, but Bruce had taken it as a sign of hope for the small boy. That perhaps he wouldn’t be as badly affected by the murders or the things that happened afterwards. Of course, these were all stupid and foolish notions Bruce had convinced himself of. He’s studied psychology before, knows the signs and symptoms of PTSD, but Bruce kicks himself sometimes for not having invested enough time into child psychology. 

Bruce’s room is three doors down from Dick’s. Between them is a guest bathroom, a guest bedroom, and a spare closet Alfred likes to keep his dusters in. They had allowed the nine year old to choose his own room and when he had realized Bruce would be down the hallway from him, a strange look had passed over his face. Dick had looked up and down the corridor, something similar to trepidation flashing across his young features, and Bruce had glanced around too, searching for the thing that had caused that look. It was just an empty hallway though, a picture here and there of a late Wayne or some sort of art piece Bruce has never really bothered to look at.

Briefly, Bruce had allowed a sliver of panic to settle into his chest at the idea that it was himself that was the problem. Perhaps Dick didn’t want to be so close to Bruce, a near perfect stranger offering a house to live in, and maybe three doors just simply wasn’t enough for the boy to feel comfortable. The initial anxiousness had passed after a week though, Dick showing no further outwardly signs of distress at their proximity. In fact, he was a rather cheerful child.

Was, being the unfortunate key word.

The small but sure steps that echo down the hallway at twelve thirteen a.m are Bruce’s first clue that something is wrong. It’s not uncommon for any one of them to get up in the middle of the night, seeking an out from the nightmares or sleepless dreams. Alfred’s habits usually just had him retiring into bed late and getting up early, something Bruce has been trying to coax him out of by taking melatonin pills. Bruce himself is a deep sleeper, his REM cycle taking only about ninety minutes to take over, but even then he can’t seem to sleep more than five or six hours at a time. 

The smallest things will forcibly wake him up, now ingrained into him not to ignore them ever , and that has resulted in him listening very carefully to the patter of tiny feet across wooden floors. It’s Dick, Bruce knows this, and it’s not uncommon for Dick to get up late in the night for water or exploration. The boy was still learning to accept the fact that neither Bruce or Alfred would be angry with him for exploring the Manor, peering into all the rooms and invading the attics. Bruce had done the same thing when he was younger and he does remember it being quite fun, but Dick carries the notion with him that one little slip up will spell out his removal from his new home.

Bruce struggles with reassuring the boy. He hasn’t made any head-way as of yet.

The footsteps stop outside his door and Bruce can see the shadow of small feet beneath the gap. The lights are on, dimmed in the hallway, and the figure stands there for several moments, refusing to move. The handle shutters, like someone grasping at it but failing to fully turn the mechanism, and Bruce sits up in bed unsure at what to expect. The handle slowly turns again, jerking back upwards when the door opens a crack, and Dick stands in between the door and the corridor. His slight figure blocks out some of the light, shadowing the child’s face, and Dick continues to stand there, seemingly staring into the void that is Bruce’s room.

“Hey,” Bruce whispers, completely lost on what he should be doing or saying. “Are you okay, bud?”

Is he allowed to say that? Is it alright for him to use nicknames yet? Bruce has heard Alfred refer to Dick as “lad” or “chum” a few times, old English nicknames second nature, but Bruce has been careful not to overstep his bounds. He still doesn’t know what the boy thinks of him. What he thinks of his… guardian. 

No sooner do those thoughts enter and leave his mind does Dick turn around and begin walking away. He pads away almost as noisily as he came and Bruce tosses off his sheets to follow the boy. Just as Bruce steps out his door, he sees Dick re-enter his own room, leaving the door wide open. The lights aren’t on in Dick’s bedroom, bathed in darkness, and as Bruce takes measured steps to check in with the boy, he hears Dick begin to cry.

It’s a sad and hollow cry, one that Bruce himself is much too familiar with, and his heart skips a beat as he fumbles with the light switch. Dick is sitting on the floor, legs splayed out in front of him like he’s fallen, and for a moment Bruce wonders if he did fall and hurt himself. He crouches down beside the boy, hands hovering and unsure of what’s appropriate for him to do.

“Dick?” he asks, trying to look into the boy’s eyes. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

The nine year old ignores him though, continuing to cry and look down at the carpeted flooring. The tears that pour down his face and drip off of his chin sadden Bruce deeply, a strange pang in his chest as he merely watches the boy sob in earnest. Should he get Alfred? No, the man gets little sleep as it is. Besides, Bruce is an adult. He can handle this, he’s handled much worse before.

“Dick,” Bruce tries again, “Bud, please look at me. What’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?”

He’s ignored again, the boy’s small shoulders shaking beneath the weight of his tears. Cautiously, Bruce reaches a finger under Dick’s chin, tilting it upwards so he can see his face. Dick’s eyes are open but there’s a lull in them, like he’s not quite focusing on anything at all and is merely just staring off into space. They contract and expand like normal though and carefully Bruce waves a hand in front of his face. This seems to be the wrong thing to do as Dick flinches back, a whimper escaping him. At the sound, Bruce feels himself pale a bit.

“Sorry,” he is quick to rush out. “I didn’t- sorry. Can you tell me what’s wrong?”

It’s like Dick can’t hear him though as he continues to whine, hands fidgeting with nothing and grasping at air. His mouth moves in patterns like he wants to speak but has forgotten the right words, and his eyes dart about as if picking one thing to look at only to find it gone the next. It scares Bruce. He doesn’t know what’s going on. What’s happening? What is happening? 

Despite his better judgment, Bruce reaches out a hand again, gently placing it on the ankle of one of Dick’s splayed legs. He’s wearing SpongeBob themed sleep-wear, and though Bruce nor Alfred know hardly anything about the cartoon, Dick’s smile had bloomed at the sight of them and had shyly given them each a hug. It was like receiving a… gift. Full of love and gratefulness that Bruce isn’t used to getting. It was warm. Genuine. Kind. He places his hand, that is neither warm nor kind because he has hands made for punching and handling sharp things, atop the ankle-cuff of the silly pajama bottoms and Dick screams. 

Bruce jerks his hand back, immediately shuffling backwards, and he’s about to say something, say anything, say sorry because he’s still new at this, still doesn’t know where the boundaries are, still doesn’t know if Dick is even happy here at the Manor, but Dick is still screaming and wailing. He’s staring off into a dark corner of the suddenly too massive room and a chasm yawns before Bruce as he struggles with the urge to help and the knowledge that it’s not wanted. He steals a glance towards his open hand, half-way expecting to see blood or angry red or something that would tell him what he did, how he hurt the boy, because that wasn’t his intention but he should have known. He should have known.

His hands are not made to be gentle.

Soft and thunderous footsteps pound against the wooden floors and Bruce surges upwards as Alfred enters the room, robe half on and feet clad in old gray slippers. His crinkled eyes are wide open, searching for the distress that had announced itself so loudly, and with a presence of mind Bruce himself isn’t capable of having at the moment, flicks on the light switch to the room.

“Good heavens,” Alfred cries as he finally sees the sobbing child. “Master Dick, what in the world-”

Finally, Alfred’s eyes flick over to Bruce’s guilty and hunched form, a hand hidden behind his back and an awful look of shame shrouding his sharp face. “I don’t know what I did,” Bruce says, shaky and uncertain. “I didn’t hurt- I didn’t mean to hurt him, Alfred.”

The butler just frowns though, neither unkind nor scolding. Instead of a lecture or some reprimand, Alfred cautiously approaches the nine year old, who is still staring sullenly into the far corner of the room and heaving with great hiccups that expand his small frame to a great degree that was surely painful. Carefully, in full view of the child, Alfred lowers himself to the ground and assesses with an experienced and all-too-ready gaze. 

“Master Dick?” he calls softly. “Can you hear me?”

There is no response other than the continuing tears and rough hiccups that echo in the much too wide room. One would think with the impossibly thick pillows, soft blankets, and even softer still carpet, sound would travel as if stuck in a tube, but each cry is as loud as a gunshot in Bruce’s mind. He caused this. He did this. He… didn’t mean to.

Bruce is a man composed of glass shards and copper stained cement. There is nothing gentle about him. He should not have tried to be.

Alfred stands then, hands on his knees as he heaves himself off of the ground. Were his joints bothering him? Bruce thinks he should look into getting another physical therapist for the butler. Maybe a chiropractor or massage therapist as well. It couldn’t be good to crouch and bend so often and the man has-

“Master Bruce,” Alfred says, “a word, please.”

At the beckon, the younger man takes a few steps forward, meeting the butler halfway to the door. The brighter lights from Dick’s room bleed out into the dimmer hallway, a shadow of sorts created between the two sources as their figures shroud the doorway. Carpet meets wood and Bruce wonders if Dick chose the softer texture for a reason. If he chose the cushioned floor so he’d have something nicer to land on when he falls. 

“I don’t like it when I can’t feel the floor, Bruce. I just don’t.”

Bruce sighs heavily and with the knowledge that he was never fit to be any sort of guardian to Dick. He had fooled himself into believing he could save this child from the same fate he’s cursed himself into, save the child from years of torment and ache that came from the bones of murder and the empty graves of justice and peace. Who was he to think he could save someone from that when he was still stuck in that chasm himself, still struggling to use these scarred hands of his for anything else other than exacting his vengeance in the dark night.

“Alfred,” and Bruce hates the way his voice cracks but he’s so lost and still so young himself, “I didn’t-”

“No,” the butler sighs, placing his own calloused hand on Bruce’s sagged shoulder, “No, you didn’t, my boy. I know you would never hurt that child, not if you could stop yourself, and even then that would be some fight.”

“But, Dick, he’s-”

“He’s fine, Master Bruce, I promise you that. He won’t even remember any of this come morning.”

The younger man looks up, still so horribly ashamed and confused. “I don’t understand. He’s crying. He- He screamed when I touched him, Alfred. He’s terrified of me. I must have done something to make him so scared. Maybe this was all a mistake. I thought I could help him by bringing him here, but I’m just making it worse, aren’t I?”

Alfred’s face is a weathered one. The creases in between his brows tell of many nights spent thinking, frowning at the future and unknowns. The crow's feet that dance and jump at the corners of his eyes also tell of many days spent laughing, smiling, embracing the present. He, too, has his own scars to tell about stories that are best left unsaid, marks that are proof of a life that could have been but would never be. There are a thousand words alone that can be thought of through the visage of the old butler’s weathered face, but sometimes, it’s good to say them aloud. Sometimes, they are needed, deserved, to be said aloud. 

“My boy,” Alfred says, a softness in his eyes belaying the heartache in his face, “you have done a tremendous thing, bringing Master Dick here. A tremendous and kind thing. In the few weeks that boy has been here, I have seen remarkable growth and healing. This,” Alfred motions to the crying nine year old still on the floor, “is all part of that. This is a sign of hope, Master Bruce.”

“He’s frightened of me, Alfred. He… I’m not good for him.”

“These are simply night terrors, Master Bruce. When you were a child, you had them too. I know it’s… scary to look upon but you must understand that they are here because the boy finally feels safe. Master Dick finally has a place, a home , to feel safe and happy in once more.”

Dick wails again, forlorn and raw, and Bruce flinches at the sound. The palm of his hand stings with the phantom touch of soft fabric and the echoes of wrong-doings.

“What do I do?” he asks, head bowed and voice hardly above a murmur. “I don’t know how to help him.”

Alfred squeezes his shoulder, a grounding and solid gesture. “For now, my boy, you must merely be there for him as I once was for you.�� Alfred sighs, releasing Bruce’s shoulder and letting his arm fall back to his side. “Talk to him. The terror will be over soon enough, but in the meantime, comfort the boy. Coax him back to bed. This will pass, Master Bruce, but please. Do take it as a sign of hope for the boy. He is in desperate need of it.”

Alfred’s muted footsteps go back out into the corridor and Bruce is left standing halfway between the open doorway and the weeping nine year old. The carpet feels like grain beneath Bruce’s toes as he shifts to face the boy, tugging against his feet as he takes the three steps that distance them. Slowly, gingerly, Bruce lowers himself to the floor and criss-crosses his legs. He does not touch the boy, does not dare get close enough to even consider it, and folds his hands together in his lap. The bumps and fine lines he feels on his own palms make him cringe and he hides them deeper into his knees.

Dick doesn’t stop crying. His bright blue eyes stay transfixed into the far corner of his bedroom and Bruce wonders what he sees. What captures his attention so completely and holds onto him like that of cold hands and wilted flowers. Alfred said Dick won’t remember tonight. Won’t remember coming to Bruce’s room. Won’t remember cowering away from Bruce’s touch. A small part of Bruce hopes that he doesn’t. Hopes that tonight remains forgotten in oblivion, the only shred of evidence of it all being the wet stains on SpongeBob pajamas.

Dick mutters something, voice small and a jumble of nonsense, and Bruce’s heart clenches in his chest. His hand twitches to wipe away the salty tears that slide down the boy’s face but Bruce resists the urge and continues to sit motionless. Yes, it was better to have this chasm between them. Dick is kind and pure, composed of things that would only become crippled when exposed to what makes up Bruce. 

He was not made to be gentle.

Bruce sat with the nine year old into the night, well after the terror had stopped and Dick had fallen asleep once more. He leaves before the first creep of morning, slinking back into his room, and splashing cool water on his face. By eight, Alfred is ringing him to come down for breakfast and with heavy limbs and an even heavier heart, Bruce lumbers down towards the kitchen. 

He freezes when he spots Dick happily munching away on eggs and toast, mussed up and pillow-worn hair splayed in different directions. He sees Bruce as well and gives a sloppy wave, sleep still tugging at his small arms and droopy eyelids. 

“Mornin’, Bruce,” he says. “Alfie made toast.”

And it’s just as Alfred said it would be. Dick doesn’t remember any of it. Bruce does. He always will. But this is hope, right? This is what healing is: searching eyes. Tears. Screams. Terror. Helplessness. 

This is hope, Bruce reminds himself later that night as his door creaks open again and footsteps slap against the wood floors. Dick screams at him again and howls at the walls, grieving over things he won’t remember in the morning but will bounce around in Bruce’s head for weeks after. 

This is hope. This is healing. This is Dick feeling safe and comforted. It has to be, it has to be.

But it scares Bruce.

[rosesgonerogue]

I didn’t so much fall in love - It kicked me in the face Chapter Four

No matter how hard she tried, Marinette couldn’t deny the fact that she found Timothy Drake incredibly attractive. But she had to push it down for the sake of professionalism. In all actuality, all of the Wayne brothers were attractive, but she and Tim just… clicked. She wanted to stay here and talk to him, pick his mind about his likes and dislikes. It really did not help that Leo was insistent that Tim got Ladybug red lining. 

Because that was huge. Leo knew Ladybug’s identity, and he was staunchly protective of the heroine because of that. He knew something, or intuited something about Tim that Marinette hadn’t caught onto yet. Leo’s insistence was more than curious, and it consumed enough of Marinette’s thoughts that she managed to avoid pondering the fact that the majority of the family had at least some trace of the Lazarus Pits on them. 

The Lazarus Pits were something that Marinette had only learned about from the book, but the sensation was unmistakable. They were dark, twisted Miraculous magic, a result of a wish born from the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculouses. It was a magic that was able to heal someone at the expense of their sanity, or sometimes their humanity, at least so the kwamis had reported. But the magic was faded - it had been at least a few years since any of them had interacted with the pools. It had taken her some time to confirm the feeling, but now Marinette was sure of it. If the Wayne family was indeed the “Bat Family,” as Gotham had dubbed the vigilantes, then they were involved in some things beyond even the Justice League. 

If that was the case, then Tim should have been the last person she focused on. He was remarkably free of the vile magic. Even knowing that, as well as Marinette’s responsibilities as the Guardian of the Miraculous, she couldn’t help but gravitate towards Tim.

She really wanted nothing more than to talk to the man for hours, but Marinette couldn’t. It felt like she was with her friends and it was late enough that she knew logically that she needed to leave, but it also felt like she couldn’t help but leave a part of herself behind when she did. But Marinette was an adult, with a job and a child to take care of. Purposely tearing her eyes away from him , she looked at the clock. “Well, it’s getting late, Tim. I’m sure you have important business to attend to, and I have a number of suits to make. It was lovely meeting you, and thank you once again for being so attentive to Leo.” 

“It was my pleasure, Marinette.” 

Slipping away, Marinette couldn’t escape the thoughts and emotions pounding in her mind. The Wayne family was truly an eclectic group. 

Alfred waited for her at the doorway, his posture perfect. “On behalf of the Wayne family, I thank you, Miss Dupain-Cheng.” 

Maybe it was just the residual emotions from the Waynes - because there were many - but now that she wasn’t distracted, something felt… different about the butler. Miraculous. 

“And thank you for all of your assistance, Monsieur. I’m afraid I missed your last name.” 

“Pennyworth, Madame. Sir Alfred Pennyworth.” 

“Well, Sir Pennyworth, I hope to see you again soon,” Marinette said warmly, squeezing Leo’s hand. “Have a wonderful day.” 

“You as well,” he said, inclining his head. 

A car was waiting outside for them, and as Marinette was buckling Leo in, he said, “Monsieur Pennyworth needs something blue like Duusu.”

His eyes were grave - Marinette often thought that she wasn’t capable of possibly fathoming half of the things that went through his mind. Apparently being born to the guardian and wielder of the Miraculous had some side-effects - like his scary accurate intuition. 

“Don’t worry,” she said, ruffling his hair. “I’ll make something special for Mr. Pennyworth. But if he’s blue like Duusu, why is Monsieur Drake Ladybug red?” 

“He matches you,” Leo said simply before becoming fixated on something outside of the car. 

Well. Marinette got to decipher what that was supposed to mean alone, it seemed. 

**********

As soon as the designer was gone, Damian huffed, crossing his arms. “She at least seems marginally capable.” 

“She’s more than marginally capable, Little D,” Dick said, shaking his youngest brother. “She’s MDC.” 

“Are we going to discuss the fact that she’s the tourist from patrol the other night?” Jason asked, lounging across an armchair.

“The one you had to get out of a tree? Why would she-”

“No, the one that took down Scarecrow single-handedly and then managed to kick the replacement in the face,” Jason said, snickering. 

“Are you kidding me?” Dick asked, eyes alight with excitement. “She’s that one?” 

“It was probably just adrenaline,” Damian muttered. “You said she had been looking for her child, didn’t you?” 

“Speaking of the kid, he sees way too much,” Jason butted in. “It’s like he can look into your soul. And you can’t adopt either of them, Bruce, no matter how much they look like Waynes.” 

“There are other options,” Bruce said dismissively. “But if we want to keep our identities a secret, we need to be especially cautious. Tim, I want you to do a background check now that we have a full name. Nothing too deep, she hasn’t given us any real reason to be suspicious yet.” 

“Nonsense,” Damian said with a curled lip. “We should have done a full investigation before she even set foot in Gotham.” 

“Damian, you will show her respect,” Bruce warned. 

“Hey B, do you know anything about a Parisian hero named Ladybug?” Tim asked. “Leo was talking about her like she was a pretty big deal.” 

“The name is familiar. She and a handful of other heroes popped up in Paris a little less than ten years ago. There isn’t much information on them, but they seem harmless enough, leading recycling efforts and such. They’re likely more public mascots than actual heroes.” 

“That would be kind of nice, wouldn’t it?” Dick wondered idly. “What would it be like, worrying about recycling and friendship more than actual crime?” 

“Either the Parisian cops are damn good at their job, or the city is a disaster,” Jason speculated. “The more I think about it, Paris sounds like a great vacation spot. You should take us there on our next family trip, Bruce.” 

“We don’t do family trips,” Damian sneered. 

“You should take us on family trips, Bruce.” 

“Think of all of the family bonding we could do!” Dick exclaimed with stars in his eyes. While they all argued about whether or not a family trip was feasible, or even worthwhile, Tim slipped away to his room. 

His mind was bogged down with visions of blue eyes and a musical laugh. The only word he could think of to describe how he felt was “bewitched,” but Tim felt like that was far from just to the source of the problem. 

It wasn’t long before there was a knock on the door and none other but Dick Grayson pushed his way into the room. “Everything okay, Tim?” he asked, eyes clearly concerned. 

“I’m fine, I just… This is completely embarrassing. I was just… distracted.” 

Dick scrutinized him for a moment before his face cleared. “Oh. Oh.” 

“Don’t make it sound like that,” Tim said, throwing a pillow. “I just… I don’t think I’ve spoken that easily to a woman ever. Marinette… She was amazing.” 

“I did notice that you two were getting along. It’s okay if you like her, Timmie. In case you haven’t gotten the memo, the whole vigilante life doesn’t immediately exclude you from having a love life.” 

“I know, I’ve seen it, but - Ugh, it’s all so confusing. I think I could really, really like her, but she’s too bright, too precious. Gotham would drain the life out of her, just like it does to everything else.” 

Dick thought for a moment before ruffling his brother’s hair. “First of all, I think you’re not giving Marinette enough credit. She’s already been through an attack, and it was with Scarecrow, no less. Somehow she managed to take him down, and she almost took you out too. Gotham’s got nothing on that girl.” 

“I know, it’s just hard to reconcile the Marinette I just met with the one that kicked me in the face,” Tim said, rubbing his temples. “What’s second?” 

“Hmm?” 

“You said ‘first of all.’ That means that you’ve got a second part.” 

Moving to Tim’s doorway, Dick looked back with half a smile. “Second of all, no one ever said you had to stay in Gotham.” 

Taglist: 

@ii-fox-demon @queen-in-a-flower-crown @novaloptr @saphiraazure2708 @iamabrownfox @smolplantmum @redhoodedtoad @loysydark @slytheringinger300 @finallyaniguana @brokenwordsarehard2 @abrx2002 @mystery-5-5 @zalladane @moonlightstar64  @marinettepotterandplagg @black-streak @purplesundaze @maribat-is-lifeblood @the-fusionist @river9noble @chocolatecatstheron @darkthunder1589 @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen @dast218 @k-poplunardreams @meanids @changelinggarden @ladybug-182 @pawsitivelymiraculous

Note: 

This chapter is short on Leo, which is as much as shame to me as it is to all of you, I’m sure. I fully intend on making up for that later. Let me know what you all think. I’m still fairly new to writing romance, so I could use all the input I can get! 

[pl-panda]

Damienette aranged marriage: part 3

Whoa... Two parts in one day. Sorry if this one is worse, but yet again I wrote this instead of sleeping. 

Warning: there will be some cursing from Jason, but can you really blame him? Credits: Miraculous Ladybug team for the elements I take from MLB show. DC for their characters, @ozmav for the AU, @maribat-archive for giving me access to so many different stories to have take inspirations from, @thyladyanput for idea for Chat Damian and me for the plot.

Part 1

Previous

Next

Damienette arranged marriage: Part 3

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“And why would you tell her everything?!” Jason screamed, still hidden behind Batman’s towering posture.

“Because she is my wife Todd!” Damian screamed. The silence in the room was thick enough that if the assassin swinged his sword, he would be able to cut it in half. Finally, Bruce was the one to break it.

“Fuck.”

This worked like detonating a bomb. Immediately, Red Hood, Red Robin and Nightwing pushed their way into the room and surrounded the two teens. 

“You were gone for less than forty-eight hours!” Dick

“How did you manage to get married!” Drake

“You are just fifteen demon spawn!” Todd

“And who is she!?” Drake again.

Talia watched this whole ordeal with no small amount of amusement. That is until Bruce suddenly appeared next to her. His frown was downright scary even for her. “Explain. Now!” The growl was low and emotionless, but it was enough to yet again put the room in dead silence.

“Beloved. It is good to see you too.” Talia smiled seductively.

“I am not in the mood. Now talk!”

“Fine.” She dropped all illusion of niceness. “I made peace with old enemy of the League. Or even a shaky alliance. But to seal the treaty, an assurance was required.”

“And that assurance was?” Jason asked confused, earning a facepalm from Dick.

“The Royal Marriage. An heir of the League and future leader of the Order.”

“And that leader would be… her?” Batman asked, not fully convinced.

Marinette was standing there the whole time, greatly uncomfortable with the attention Bat Family was giving her and Damian. She did read a bit on them, but it was always Alya who never shut up about heroes. For the most part, she preferred talk about Ladybug, but lately there was slowly forming a rift. The aspiring reporter was falling into Lila’s lies, posting unreliable videos on Ladyblog. Rossi had it for Ladybug and Alya, together with the rest of Marinette’s class, was falling for her machinations. They still hanged out with Marinette, but there was this distaste forming around her. She was no longer their to-go person with personal problems, being replaced by Lila who was awful at helping others unless it benefited her. But now Marinette had more pressing matter than a pity little liar. She looked at Batman, then at the bat-kids and finally at Damian. They were all looking at her expectantly.

“Oh right! Sorry. I did it again…” She gave them a sheepish smile. “I am Ladybug, hero of Paris and Great Guardian of the Miraculous.” She stated. Most of the heroes (bar Damian who knew a tidy bit about the Order of the Guardians) were confused.

“Paris doesn’t have heroes. There aren’t even any supervillains there.”

“Excuse me?! How does nobody knows what is going on in Paris!” Ladybug shouted. “Ugh! Seriously?!”

Batman narrowed his eyes. “Forgive me, Ladybug, but the Justice League would know if there was a threat in Paris. So who are you really.”

“Then ask Green Lantern. He was the one who laughed at my plea for help.” She scowled, but then her demeanor changed. She calmed down and gave a sheepish smile. “But guess I should thank him. I can only dread what would happen if Superman was akumatized. Or Flash. Or anyone really. I don’t think I could win.”

Batman frowned. He would have a talk with Hal once he dealt with this. If there was really a threat like that, ignoring it was not only stupid, but dangerous. And the girl was at best Damian’s age. She was dealing with this for how long? The way she spoke suggested that she was in charge. A child fighting in a war all alone. 

“For now beloved, it should be enough for you that the two of them are legally married.”

“Like hell!” Jason shouted at her, waving his gun. “They are fifteen. No court would accept this.”

“Actually,” Tim started, “under some laws they can be married. For example ‘The Personal Status Law of Muslims’ in Sudan sets the minimum age at ten.” He spoke like he was reading an encyclopedia.

“But we are somewhere between Nepal and China. I don’t think there are such laws here.” Dick said, but his confidence wavered.”

“Tt. First of why don’t anyone ask me or Marinette about our opinion?” Damian asked irritated.

“Shut up Demon Spawn. Adults are working here”

“If you don’t shut up, Todd, I will make you eat your dirty socks until you choke on the stench.” The young boy threatened. Marinette cringed at this, not really wanting to imaging such situation. 

“The marriage stays.” Talia stated coldly. “Otherwise, I will not be able to stop League from going to war against Order of the Guardians.”

“You are their leader.” Batman pointed out.

“That may be correct, beloved, but I am but a regent. Only after Damian finally assumes the leadership, his word will be law. I do try to reform the league, but there is little I can do in this situation.”

“Bullshit!” Jason cursed. “You are just manipulative bitch.”

“Jason!” Dick hit the back of Red Hood’s helmet, causing him to almost tumble. “Language. There are minors in the room.”

“Don’t worry Mousier.” Marinette noted that the whole debate shifted to English. She learned it years ago when she first got interested in fashion. Some of the greatest fashion critiques wrote only in English and she didn’t want to be left behind. And other foreign critiques and designers were always translated into English. “After today, cursing is the least of my worries.” During the talk, Marinette pulled her yo-yo to check the situation in Paris. The good news were that there was no Akuma attack since her confrontation with Hawkmoth. Bad news: she was gone for over forty hours already.

“What exactly is the deal?” Bruce sighted. He loved his boys, but he could practically feel his hair graying. At least the girls didn’t go around marrying total strangers. “I want the full story Talia. Don’t even try to deceive us.”

“As you wish Beloved.” She smiled and sat back at her chair. Jason was about to hop onto where Marinette sat, but Damian ‘accidentally’ tripped him. Ladybug detransformed and Tikki flew out. 

“What is this flying mouse?!” Dick screeched upon seeing a kwami.

“My name is Tikki. I am kwami, or if you prefer a small god, of creation and luck.” 

“Okay… I’ve totally seen weirder.” Jason shrugged and Tim was too busy trying to plug in his pocket kettle to make himself some coffee.

“Ekhm.” Bruce faux-coughted to get their attention. “Begin Talia.”

“Many centuries ago, magic jewels bestowing extraordinary powers were created. These were... the Miraculous. Throughout history, heroes have used these jewels for the good of the human race. Order of The Guardians was responsible for protecting and distributing the Miraculous for the good of all humanity. Some time in the past, League has learned about the existence of this artifacts, more powerful than even Lazarus Pit. A secret war began between two organizations. There was a constant stalemate until the Order was mysteriously destroyed without a trace. We believed all miraculous to be lost until two years ago heroes and villains using them appeared in Paris. Initially, we ignored them, long since abandoning this war. But then, some month ago a temple of the Guardians suddenly reappeared with the Order in chaos. The League attacked, but they were strong enough to withstand the initial strike and turn it into a siege. In time, we would have succeeded and wiped them once and for all. But instead, the Guardians understood their situation and reached to us with agreement. A truce and alliance, in exchange for sparing them.”

“Yeah right! Only an idiot would take such offer!” Red Hood kept arguing with the Assassin woman.

“Or a strategist. Either way, the League wins. They no longer need to worry about threat, but this way they also get an ally.” Batman remained expressionless, but he kept sending Damian and Marinette side-glares. He wanted to know how they are coping with this. The girl was a bit shaken, but that was to be expected. He would talk more with her later. What surprised him was that Damian seemed to show concern for her. The kind he usually reserved only for his brothers and father. 

“Yes. While our methods differ, the League and the Order have a common goal: prosperity for all humanity. But to ensure that neither side would go against the other, there needed to be a more tangible symbol of this union.”

“Marriage of the heirs. In the past such method was often used to symbolize an alliance. It symbolized equality of both partners and parties they represented.” Tim acted as an universal encyclopedia again, which Jason did exploit to tease him mercilessly while the others focused on the discussion.

“And let me guess” Dick frowned. “If they break the deal, it means war?”

“Yes.” Damian simply nodded. The memory of his mother’s threat hanging over the girl’s live was still fresh. Now that he got to know her better Damian was surprised that someone so brave and strong could at the same time be such emotionally unstable or open. It was almost refreshing. His family was awful with emotions and beyond that women only saw his last name. Many times he dealt with liars who tried to use him to get into the pockets of his father. But with Marinette he was sure that she was genuine with her feelings. He could not find any reason for her not to be at the moment, especially after she revealed her secret to him. 

“So what? We are just supposed to roll with it? What will press think? You will give Alfred a heart attack Damian.” Dick rambled. Youngest Wayne decided to ignore him and turn to his father. 

“While this might be a bit inconvenient, I believe it is the best course of action for now.” Damian spoke with cold and calculative voice.

“And what about you?” Batman turned to the girl, who for the most part lately was busy discussing something with the kwami in French. Bruce was proficient, but he was too focused on Talia and Damian.

“I… I accepted that my duty as Great Guardian comes with certain responsibilities. If this is what it takes to preserve peace, then I guess… I guess I will roll with it.” She smiled at Dick, almost daringly. Damian smiled too. Anyone who teased his brothers like that earned some points in his book. “But I can’t just leave Paris. For now it’s peaceful, but I don’t know how long it will last. And there are my parents… Oh Kwami! What will I tell my parents! Or my friends! Or my class! What if they reject me for this and I will be kicked from home, then I will not become a professional designer and I will never fulfill my dream and I will be forever lonely…” She unintentionally rambled in mixture of English and French while walking in circle and waving her hands. Damian grabbed her by her wrists to stop her before she accidentally knocked someone out and then cupped her hands with his. She was still talking random stuff, which made absolutely zero sense. Damn. She is cute when she is rambling. What!? He shut down the intrusive thoughts and focused on the girl… his wife.

“Calm down. Take deep breaths. You will not be alone.” He hoped it would work, but she barely slowed down. He sighted. Damian looked her deep in her bluebell eyes and she saw the two whirlpools of jade green he had. They were more prominent that Adrien’s. “Listen to my voice. All is going to be fine. We will not leave you.” This time, it did work and she calmed down. 

Rest of the Batfam watched in shock how Damian has acted. It was most unusual for him to initiate physical contact at all, much less act this gentle. They looked at Talia, but she shrugged.

“I didn’t do anything if that’s what you think.” She smirked. “But I don’t think I needed.” Two newly-wed were just standing there, starring in each other’s eyes.

“Robin!” Batman finally got him to break out of this. “We gotta go. We will figure out exactly what to do later.”

“Fine. But we are taking Marinette with us.” Damian stubbornly stated.

“Yes. She should not stay here. And I have more questions for her.”

The flight to Paris was surprisingly fast. They traveled in perfect silence, but she felt rather uncomfortable with how everyone (bar Damian) sent her a suspicious glares. Finally, they landed around 8 PM on the rooftop of local Wayne Enterprises headquarter. She walked out first, happy to finally get back onto her home turf.

“Now there are some questions that needs to be answered.” Batman spoke.

“Uhm… Okay?”

“Stop intimidating her Father.” Damian scowled. 

Bruce reluctantly nodded. “Maybe it would be the best to discuss it in private of my office.” He pressed some buttons on his glove and the bat-plane camouflage. Well, it was probably more of Bat-cargo plane since it could fit six people comfortably and still have much space free. 

They got into the office, where Bruce had a total of five armchairs set around the coffee table. Immediately, Damian and Dick took two of them, leaving the head one for Bruce and one in between the two Waynes for Marinette. Tim didn’t bother trying to fight with Jason over who gets the last place, instead opting to just jump onto computer chair at the desk and activating a holo-screen. He quickly connected to Batcomputer and started to pull various files (mostly on Marinette and her close ones, but she didn’t see it). 

“So tell me. What is our young couple planning to do now?” Dick teased them.

Jason was standing next to the alcohol bar, pouring several glasses of whiskey. Before Bruce could protest, he brought five and placed them on the table. His reaction to disapproving glare from the other adults was to just shrug. “What? They are married. I think underage drinking would be the least of the problems. Oh! That reminds me.” Jason grinned maliciously and pulled his wallet. He tossed something square and silver at Damian. “I don’t want any demon spawns junior running around soon.”

Once Marinette realized what was that and what was he implying she turned redder than Tim’s outfit. Damian scowled. “I have a sword on me Todd, so watch what you are saying. I might not have chosen her to be my bride, but I will not let you embarrass her just for your fun.”

Jason saw an opportunity and he would be damned if he didn’t take it. “Which sword are you talking about?”

Damian hissed like an angry cat and drawn his sword, lunging at his brother. Todd initially wanted to block the attack with his gun, but fine steel cut right through it. Seeing murder in Damian’s face he did the only plausible thing: started to run.

Marinette was inventing new shades of red with her blushing. Bruce gave her an apologetic look. “Please, don’t take his comments to heart. Jason is…” before batman could find a right word there was a sound of something crashing, followed by a painful yelp. In just a moment, Damian returned happy, his sword a bit bloody.

“Please tell me you didn’t kill him…” Dick begged. Marinette was not sure whether this was a joke or not, but the longer she stayed with the batfam, the less sane they appeared.

“Nah. But he didn’t look where he was running and toppled the stack of boxes and I ended up stabbing him in his left calf. He will live.” Damian assured them. And true to his words, a limping Jason appeared in the doors. He grabbed a fresh bottle of whiskey on his way to the armchair and slumped resigned. “Demon spawn!”

“Idiot!”

“Enough!” Bruce wanted to pull his hair out. “We came here to discuss a certain situation not stab each other. Marinette?”

“Yes monsieur Wayne?” She asked, still stunned with what happened. She had to admit Damian acter chiviliarus protecting her honor, even if his way was pretty violent. 

“I was trying to ask you, what do you plan on doing now?”

“I… I don’t know. This all happened so fast…”

“It’s okay. I don’t think anyone would have a plan for such situation.” Dick reassured her

“Bruce does. It’s inside the safe in the batcave in folder labeled ‘Talia never gives up’.” Tim chimed in before returning to his research. 

“Well, no one sane has such plans.” Dick tried to cheer her up. It did work even if just a bit. “But ask yourself what do you want.”

“Well… I would wish to finish my education and I always dreamed about becoming a professional fashion designer.” 

“And how is this plan working so far?” Bruce inquired.

“Well, I do run a small internet boutique, where I take commissions and uncle Jagged refuses to wear anything that wasn’t personally designed by me.” She said casually.

“Wait a moment… Uncle Jagged as in Jagged Stone, the world-class rock musician?!” Tim suddenly shouted.

“Uh… yes?” She got confused

“But his only designer is the mysterious MDC! That would mean you are MDC!”

“Uh… yes?” Marinette had no idea why Tim acted like that.

“Oh god! Oh god! I got to meet MDC! Can I get your authograph?” He was suddenly next to her, holding a copy of the her first album cover she made for Jagged.

“Sure.” She signed it and handed it back. It read: ‘Good luck TD, MDC’.

Tim Fainted.

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Taglist (sorry if I missed you)

@pheonixashtree @sassakitty @unabashedbookworm @vixen-uchiha @maggiecc12 @actualdisasterwoman @tired-butterfly @shizukiryuu @floralfi @imanerddealwith @northernbluetongue @krispydefendorpolice @toodaloo-kangaroo @dast218 @bluesoulblueheart @theatreandcomicfreak @disneyfoxuniverse @mindfulmagics @alwaysnumberonetruth @nyaabinch @jardimazul @lenamau @rosep16 @dramatic-squirrel @sonif50 @daminett4life @lulutheawkwardess @weird-pale-blonde-person @mooshoon @jeminiikrystal @mochegato @moonlightstar64 

[story-collector]

AU TIME!

This time it’s green lantern style

This entire thing is going to be based of an oc that I have not yet actually created...just fyi...

The Green Lantern I chose..*dramatic drumroll*

Hal Jordan!

Let’s make something clear...I don’t read a lot of the comics (I try but I don NOT have the attention span for that)

I watch mostly Batman based movies

And what I saw...I didn’t like

I know in one series (I believe it’s Young Justice) they are trying to decide who to let into the league

The other green lanterns already in the league are steadfastly against Hal joining the league

He is childish, immature, irresponsible and they just off about him

They don’t give him a chance

If you want to go off the live action movies (which I am entirely tying that into this AU) Hal was the FIRST and ONLY human to ever be a green lantern

We can pretend the others came a little later

So let’s say he was the first green lantern on earth

He fought hard to protect the planet (it’s that one animated movie when the JL first meets and it has Cyborg and I think Shazam’s origins in it... I forgot the name)

He was the only green lantern, fuck they didn’t even know he existed till he showed up

But the big three found him to immature and slowly edged him out till he didn’t become part of the league

He was like okay, what ever, I’m still a hero and this is still my planet (and sector of space) to protect and I’ll keep doing that

He’s a little hurt but it’s okay

Until the other green lanterns show up

When he became green lantern he was one a very tight schedule and had to learn a lot of things on the fly because he couldn’t get a full training from the green lanterns

And after he defeated the threat he just kinda...forgot, to bust protecting the planet and his people

So compared to a lot of new lanterns he is very undertrained, but no less serious

Now the other lanterns show up

And they are almost immediately brought into the league

And.. he has to admit, that kinda hurts

He was the first

And now he will be the last

They got more training and despite him being their senior as a lantern, the act like the bosses of him

The act superior to him and treat him like trash

It hurts

And brings down his self esteem a lot

The other hero’s still hang out with and talk to him like nothing is wrong

Like he hasn’t been slighted

And pushed to the side

He realizes they just keep getting his hopes up only to let him down later

And he just kinda sits on it and simmers and it gets worse and worse and suddenly there’s a red lantern ring coming right for him

Now this is where and OC would come in

I’m making the example female because I have never seen a female Green Lantern and there might be but not a popular one

Suddenly the ring is stopped by a ball of green light

Another green lantern

This one female, her eyes glow with an unearthly shine, even with her mask

Her hair seems to float around her and she has marks across her face and horns on her head

She’s not human, but she came in the direction of earth

She motions for him to follow her and she opens a portal to the green lantern base

The other lanterns can’t meet his eyes

They know why he’s here and they know where they failed, she made sure of that

She releases the red ring to some heavy duty greens and the salut her as she walks with him down the halls

She’s short, barely coming up to his shoulder, but it is very clear who has the power here

She brings him to a nice sitting room and deactivated her ring, and to his surprise, removes it

He had never seen a lantern remove their ring at the HQ and barely ever on earth

She sits him down and explains as much as she can

She’s not human, but she has been living on earth since Krypton fell

(For this AU I’m going to make the Krypton sector a fairly toxically radioactive place so only few species can withstand it, green lanterns can with the glowing shield around them, but not without it so they couldn’t stay on the planet)

This was her sector as she was one of the only green lanterns that could withstand the radioactiveness of the planet

Her home sector was much the same before it was destroyed by war

She reveals that she protected this sector on her own for millennia, through generations of the royal family (I’m making Superman the last prince of Krypton ok)

She was devastated when it fell because she wasn’t strong enough, to injured, to tired, to save them

She saved Supes pod and brought it to earth, a place she knew vaugely from her own planets war

Krypton was gone and she felt like a failure so she set down her ring and hadn’t even looked at it for almost 40 years

Until she caught wind of a lantern on earth

Who wasn’t fully trained

Who was treated like shit

Who was slighted and used and manipulated

And basically said fuck it, I’m going to train another lantern

Now she was one of the first

One of the oldest lanterns (though she didn’t look a day past 25 if Hal could say so himself)

She knew all the wisdom he would need

And she would stand beside him and protect the Milky Way sector

Hers were gone, so the elders reassigned her to the Milky Way and assigned Hal as her apprentice

They knew that he was destined for greatness and that he would blossom under her training

They agree to keep their knowledge of each other and her reassignment between each other

The other earth lanterns did not protect the sector like they were supposed to

So they would do it themselves

So she brought him under her metaphorical wings and trained him

And he became better

And because I love batman so much let’s say she lives in Gotham

And she’s fairly high up their on the social scale

Obviously she can had and transform her very not human characteristics flawlessly

And she’s been around for millions, if not billions of years, she’s basically a goddess I guess

So she knows her way around money and the good hustle

So she probably knows Bruce Wayne

And probably knows he’s Batman, not that he knows this

So there’s a gala like mabey a year after Hal starts his training

And he’s a fucking fast learner, which is good because the galaxy really needs its protectors

(Some how the JL haven’t noticed that their are next to no alien attackers in the last year, the word has spread and no one wants to go against Kryptons Guardian and her apprentice)

She’s literally shown him the universe

(And this isn’t necessarily a love story, I’d like to think of it as brother sister relationship that they end up developing,or like best best friends, but not lovers)

Anyway Wayne Gala

She’s invited and as a regular guest she is allowed to bring a guest

So she Chooses Hal

She knows that the rest of the JL was invited and some other hero’s as well

And she makes sure Hal knows as well

She tells him he doesn’t have to come

But no, with her guidance he has grown so much more confident and fuck it he’s probably almost as scary as her now and can almost as easily command a room

He’s come far

So they show up

And at first no one really recognizes him

He’s changed

He looks more confident, but he’s still got that childish spark (she told him she never wants him to lose that)

He has a new haircut

And the suit

It matches her dress

Green, for justice

So they don’t recognize him at first

Now the OC is a regular so while Hal gets them drinks and brings their jackets and her purse to Alfred (“a pleasure to see you here Master Jordan”) OC is found by one of the batboys

Let’s say Dick

Because he loves the lady’s

And he brings her over so Bruce can show off this lovely lady, and powerful business partner off to his friends

She know who they are (the other two lanterns are their and for some reason they feel very nervous around her)

She introduces herself and somehow she senses Hal come up behind her and introduces him without even looking

They all sweat drop

And then they start talking

They share story’s together, and laugh and act like nothing is wrong and it all comes to a point to where she responds to a story from... let’s say one of the other lanterns (sue me, I don’t know their names)

And she’s all like “oh that reminds me of this one time on Krypton”

And Hal is like “oh you mean the time...”

And the others are like wtf, who is this girl

The party ends and they go home, but that’s just the beginning

I don’t know what else to put so feel free to add your own stuff!!

[bitch-its-me-alv]

Waynes, Todds, Al-Ghuls and Dupain-Chengs

The magic leather rested on her shoulders while her fiance came back with the drinks and muffins.

The little prince of the Assassin League was leaning on his torso as he wrapped his baby arms around his neck. He had an adorable long coat that protected him from the autumn weather, with a hat that hid his big jade eyes and his scary eye look.

Every time she saw that eye look on the little boy, Marinette burned with fury, tempted to go back to tibet and kill Talia Al-Ghul instead of leaving her in a coma.

He was just an innocent child used for a terrible cause. Thanks to the kwami ​​Jason was able to remember his time of madness due to the lazarus pit, and return for the poor boy before it was too late.

When they approached Jason's family about Bruce's biological son it was a surprise. They went a long way, Bruce and all his children to understand each other completely, in which Marinette formed an amazing part as a mediator. And with all protectors over Tim, discovering Talia's terrible plan shook everyone.

Dick was quick to try to go and save the little birdie. Tim was caught up in wanting to help rescue him and a panic induced by the insecurity of being set apart. Bruce was dismayed, with the pain of knowing that once again he failed another son of his. But Marinette and Jason already had it all planned.

With Jason's familiarity with the Assassin League, and Marinette's experience as a miraculous guardian on his side, they would attack the league. 

Taking advantage of the fact that no one outside the mansion knew that Jason and Marinette had contact with batman and all his allies again, they would hide around the world with the little assassin until the assassins totally lost their track, and batman, red robin, and nightwing will get them out of the way.

Bruce was reluctant not to get involved in the fight, but accepted after all, that it would be a better way not to expose the little one in high-risk situations anymore. With the promise that they would be recorded daily, and a sermon that only Bruce Wayne could give.

“This is tedious. Someone like me shouldn't have to wait for a simple drink. I'm hungry!” His words were wide for someone with such a childish tone of voice.

Jay enjoyed teasing Damian with his tone of voice. And damian being the spoiled little boy he is, would try to jump on him to gouge out his eyes. But marinette knew better, those two would do anything to protect each other.

“Calm down Dami, in the real world things are different. Besides, you have never tried hot chocolate, I promise it would be worth it.” Mari puts a kiss on the dark hat on his little head. Damian grimaces, pretending that his eyes don't shine from the show of affection.

He was still a small child, whom others had raised to be a ruthless assassin who would rule the world. Thanks to the kwamis he could now be a normal boy with assassin training in a family of heroes and vigilantes.

And hopefully realize that he had a family that cared legitimately for him.

Just when Damian was about to start a tantrum of words too old for his mouth, Jason walks out of the busy cafeteria with the recyclable bag of his orders. Damian taps Mari's shoulder twice, which means put me down now you pleb, or as Marinette likes to remind him, put me down, please.

With childish grace damian rushes to Jason to demand his food request.

The image of a three-foot-tall boy demanding hot chocolate from a six-foot-four adult with muscles and a fashionable jacket made by herself, is hilarious. 

Jason surprisingly was very good at understanding Damian. With little teasing, it gives Damian a dark green colored thermos that he demanded to buy at the store, with the hot chocolate.

Marinette approaches with Jason to get a better view of Damian's expression when he first tastes cocoa, milk, and sugar mixed in a drink of gods.

His entire expression suddenly glows with amazement at the first sip.

The killer-trained boy quickly disappears as he rushes in more drinks. Marinette is more than happy that her plan to pamper Damian at the right way was successful. 

While Jason laughs heartily at Damian's actions, Marinette controls him to drink with caution.

Jason and Marinette walk back to the apartment they rented with Damian held by Jason with his left arm. The time for his daily report with Bruce was approaching.

"I was talking to Tim while I was in the line, I'm glad he is no longer insecure with his position in the family."Jason says to Marinette after he kisses her lips, with Damian too busy to notice.

"I can't blame him, after everything that happened with his biological family it is logical. But he has walked a long way since we met him, he just needs us to remind him that we love him no matter what."

“Aw, sunshine don't be so sweet, there's enough sugar in my coffee.”

“Someday you'll have to stop pretending you don't love your brothers, Jay. You don't fool anybody.”

“You may be right, but I'll never let them hear it”

Halfway Damian begins to nod, with a poorly made expression of a determined look on his face, while the thermos slips from his little hands. Mari picks up the thermos, and Damian is pleased enough with the warmth of his coat, Jason's, and the hot chocolate Mari bought him that he allows himself to rest his head on Jason's chest.

Damian's last thoughts are that they are not at all inefficient with his care. He says to himself the same words that his new family repeats to him.

We love you Damian, we are here for you.

And suddenly, all the hard and cold words that Talia ever said to him about his father and family become nonsense.

[do-not-careissa]

I read your new fanfic for JayKyle week (along with all the others) Fear and really loved it! (And for my next part just remember I like Kyle from what I've seen and him as White lantern seems cool but super OP for no real reason (but I haven't read comics so sorry))

With all these fics it makes me have thoughts (no mean to bash but why is Kyle even white lantern. From what I've seen (which is not a lot so I get it if I'm just being ignorant and unconsciously putting down the characters that aren't my fave 😥) it just seemed like OP move to make him stronger)

But onto what I hope doesn't come off as putting down a character for my own fave (and if that's what it is I don't mean it). But I keep on having thoughts of White lantern Jason.

Rather if (inspired by your fic) Jason goes into the pit and comes out a Red lantern, goes to space after a bit then goes back to Talia (there wasn't really much in space for him, and nothing with the bats anymore, but Talia?). Then when training/thinking about what Bruce should have done and Gotham gets a orange ring. Then maybe a Black ring while being Redhood (or however Jason would do it in this world). Then after the Black ring or after the pit madness cools down he realizes what he's done and gets a Yellow ring.

Then maybe the next ones would be Indigo, Violet, Green, Blue.(White)

And plusepoints if Jason meets people within this time. Like Bruce never really learns that its Jason rather if it's because he never went to Gotham or didn't stay long enough for the bats to find out. It's just one day this guy with at least one of the "bad" power rings shows up (Jason would show up for world crisises) and completely obliterate some guys. And everyone would be like "this guy is scary". And then he'd continue to show up with more and more ring and everyone is shocked.

.

.

.

I also like the idea of Jason and Kyle both being Green lanterns in space after Hal becomes Parallax. Kyle hates Jason because he's always telling Kyle what to do and kinda calling him stupid (Jason is just worried that this guy with like zero training is going to go out into space (with no plan) and get hurt or mess everything up. So Jason is just trying to show him how to be a hero/vigilante and Kyle. Isn't. Listening.(que Jason thinking Kyle is so stupid and stubborn and pretty and F#CK)

Thank you, glad your enjoying it all.

Its all good. Comics are confusing half the time, and contradictory. Can be a bit difficult to read, let alone understand what's happening when or where or why sometimes.

Kyle being op as White Lantern, that's to be expected tbh. He became WL because he managed to get chosen by all the seven rings (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet) and learned how to weild each of their individual powers. So he's not just weilding the power of one Lantern corps at that point, he's hitting seven plus whatever additional boost you'd expect to get from being WL. (pretty sure they did it this way to serve as a parrallel to the different rays of light and how when your eye sees all of them it makes white and when there's none it sees black.) I can see where you could see it as a move to make him way too overly strong, but another thing I'd say is it separated him from Hal both with plot and character wise. I've seen some people say that Kyle feels like DC just wanted a younger Hal, that they're not distinct enough, by giving him this thing he's getting something Hal and by extension no other characters had/held onto (as far as I'm aware the only other time we've seen WLs is in blackest night and that obviously didn't stick past that event). It also gives us that bonus Hal is extremely strong in Will but Kyle is intuned across the whole board. But that's all just my speculation and what I've gotten. And this is comics, where the rules and Canon are constantly changing to suit whoever's writing today.

I have thought of WLJason for a bit, kind of playing with the idea of how he came back to life and the WL power is supposed to be life. So you could argue channeling all the rings together to create the white one would be easier, the problem of course comes with getting the rings to him and not getting overloaded on all the power and emotions that come with them. A few have been shown to manipulate or change the wearer's emotional and mental state so you could play with the fear and struggle of that too (specific ones that come to mind being red, indigo, and violet). But you could mess around with how the rings work to fit the story. I do like your idea of him just being this unknown figure amassing this collection of rings without anyone knowing anything. Could play it off as a mystery if told from the bats or league's perspective, or like a sort of thriller if from Jason's.

Usually I think of Jason as WL in a situation where most of the League has disappeared, maybe through brainiac or some alien invasion or some supervillain we've never heard of. Of course with the League's disappearance someone has to step up and do something and after fighting with himself Jason does that. There are younger heroes and sidekicks just running around putting themselves in danger with no backup, he has to do something. At some point he gets a ring, either blue for the hope he's bringing to the people/that he has for finding the League, or green because he's not about to let anything else happen (plus the guardians are like, where the hell did our lanterns go? All six of them? This is clearly an emergency, we need someone there, now.) Over time he starts amassing the other rings and he becomes the WL. With the new power and this new team he's had to build from scratch within the last however many months/years he finds the missing League members and get them back. Cue the shock as everyone tries to figure out how this happened.

Ooh, new Green Lantern Kyle plus also new Green Lantern Jason could be fun too. Could almost go like a buddy cop route with it if you wanted, Jason tries to be the serious one while Kyle's just trying to enjoy himself. He gets it's important and all but c'mon man, we can go to space, that's so cool. Add in some mutual pining, the oh no this assholes really hot moment, and we're on our way. Since it's just became GL Kyle you could play it off as Jason just came out of the Lazarus Pit maybe too(maybe the pit madness didn't hit as bad here, or his will is strong enough to fight through it) so you can play up the young love aspect too.

[preciousthingsareprecious]

Deterrent

Hey everyone! I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything, but I’m back and it feels a bit like every single word I didn’t write over the past couple months poured out into this fic, so it’s a bit of a long one. 

Also, just so you guys are aware, the main conflict of this fic does center around characters unable to physically touch for a bit. Because of recent events I know that some people might be uncomfortable with the general topic, so I wanted to throw that heads up out. I should double clarify, this isn’t a covid fic, it’s just a fic with some lack of hugging forced by an experiment gone wrong.

Characters: Dick and Damian (Bruce shows up at the veeeery end)

Rating: Gen

Words: 8,447

AO3 Link

~

Gotham University's science building did not look like someone had broken into it. If you didn’t know about the silent alarm flashing away you’d think all was well. As they searched, Dick couldn’t find a broken lock or shattered window. Robin’s examination of the security system didn’t show any tampering. Still, someone or something had tripped the motion sensors inside and alerted Oracle. 

The university was on Nightwing and Robin’s patrol route, so they’d diverted from watching a very boring park to check out the alarm. Dick was hoping for a little action, but not too much. Just a couple drunk frat boys, someone who lost a bet, or a group of college kids who foolishly thought this would be an ‘adventure’. 

In the end, it felt more like they were the ones breaking in. Damian, while connected to the system, unlocked the doors for them and turned off the alarm to keep anyone else from showing up while they investigated. If they caught anyone causing serious trouble they’d call GCPD, if it was little more than a harmless prank, well Dick had a feeling Nightwing and Robin dropping in on them would be scary enough. 

As they crept through the building, Dick kept up a steady stream of quiet chatter. He commented on the building, his aborted college experience, how he hoped Damian might decide to attend one day, and wondered about all the various people they could encounter. 

Damian responded here and there to some of his questions and comments, and made some of his own. It was fun, casual, and just what Dick wanted out of a patrol with his youngest brother. It had been a couple weeks since they’d had a chance to get out together, or get together in general. It always warmed his heart when Dick got to work with Damian. They fell into old routines easily, and honestly Dick just loved being around his little brother. He missed this, more than he’d admit. 

And he knew Damian missed it too, even on their best nights he hadn’t been talkative like this. That had come after Bruce returned, when they’d moved from guardian and child to brothers who also still felt a bit like father and son (it was complicated but Dick wouldn’t have it any other way). Damian opened up in a different way then. Either from experiencing Bruce as Batman, from their time apart or perhaps both. Dick loved it, loved this new openness and freedom his brother was slowly moving into. 

“I have been considering professions.” Damian said, during a lull in the conversation. 

“Oh?” Dick prompted, delighted by the prospect of something other than “Batman” passing the boy’s lips. 

“Yes. I know that with Father’s wealth, and what Mother has set aside for me I do not technically need one. Nonetheless I do not believe I would be good at leading an idle lifestyle.” He said.

They paused to peer into another doorway, the room obviously a student lab with workstations, a chalkboard and even one of those emergency showers Dick had always been tempted to pull the lever of. He found himself resisting the urge again. He considered telling Damian he didn’t have to defend wanting a career, but surely the kid knew that. He knew they’d support whatever he wanted to do, at least Dick hoped he knew that. 

“I have not settled on something yet, though I have plenty of time to do so.” He was hesitating, like he was worried Dick might disapprove. 

Dick briefly wondered if Damian had talked to Bruce about this yet. 

“That’s good, it’s nice to keep your options open,” Dick said, trying a knob. 

This one was locked. He held up a hand, the conversation could be picked up later. Behind the wood a muffled voice was just audible. He nodded in the direction of the door. Damian slipped a set of lock picks into his hand, saving Dick the trouble of finding his own. 

It was a laughably easy lock to pick, clicking open almost without any real attempt of tumbler work. He turned the knob and eased the door open oh so slowly, his ears pricked for the voice suddenly cutting off or a change in mood. From the corner of Dick’s eye he could see Damian doing much the same. 

Dick crept inside, Damian close behind him. The lights in this room were brighter than those in the rest of the building so far, having actually been flipped on. Despite the light, the room felt claustrophobic, crowded with workstations that were piled high with various experiments. The room must have been dedicated to a botany class or something close, because the experiments were almost all of a plant related nature. Some tables were crowded with clippings, leaves stems, and petals. Those were the most contained of the mess. Plants hung from the ceiling, towered so high on tables Dick thought they might topple, and generally crowded the room with such gusto he wondered if the class were trying to turn it into a hedge maze. 

Leaned over a workstation was someone. Dick couldn’t really tell who they were beyond being enrobed in a white coat, Dark hair was pulled up in a messy bun atop their head, and music was playing quietly off a speaker. They were engaged in an experiment, pulling liquid from a container with an eyedropper to deposit in a test tube. 

The two vigilantes crept a bit closer, trying to figure out if this was sabotage or not. As they did so, whatever was being dropped into the tube hissed and popped with a wisp of smoke. The figure surprised both Dick and Damian by cheering, and spinning on their--her-- heel to pump a fist into the air. 

“Yes!” She declared a moment before noticing Nightwing and Robin, now rooted in their own spots a few feet away. 

Her eyes went wide, her mouth dropped open, and she threw the eyedropper at them with a yelp. It missed by a mile, shattering behind them in a crash. 

“Oh.” she said, bug eyed, “Oh, oh crap, I didn’t mean--you startled-- What are you guys doing here? Is there a break in? Is it Two-Face? Am I going to die?!” 

“The only one who’s broken in here is you.” Damian pointed, tone a little too fierce for this flustered student. 

“Me?” the question was a squeak of panic, “I didn’t--I mean I kinda did, but I’m not stealing anything!” 

Dick took a step forward, simply to put himself in the way of Damian in case he decided to make assumptions before actually listening. Dick had a feeling this girl was a student, overworked and worried about a grade, but Damian might assume this was all an act. He wasn’t as impulsive as he used to be, but that didn’t mean Damian never lept before he looked. 

“Why don’t you tell us what you’re doing?” Dick asked, not adding ‘calmly, and not at a pitch resembling Damian’s when he loses at Mario Kart’.

Panic turned to embarrassment, “I’m working on my end of program project. Yes, I’m not supposed to be here, but I thought, well if my I.D. worked to let me in, it couldn’t be that bad right?” She ended the explanation with a shrug. 

“How do we know you are not lying, and instead are attempting to destroy this lab and all of the work within?” Damian pressed. 

She started, eyes widening again, “I--umm. Oh! I can show you. So my project is actually really cool. I’m trying to create an aerosolized deterrent that will help keep like? Protected animals safe from predators. The idea is to use natural repellents to encourage dangerous animals to stay away from those we’re trying to help bounce back. It’s kind of like how citronella scares off mosquitoes, only I’ve selected a number of different plants and have worked to make them more effective and--” 

As she rambled, explaining what she’d picked and why, and the variety of experiments performed on and with the plants, Dick watched Damian’s initial suspicion turn to interest. He’d perked up at the idea of protecting animals, and Dick could see the kid’s gears turning as she described the idea of something temporary but potent and safe.

“And the best part is that it’s totally safe to touch everything else, so it could be sprayed in large doses if need be.” The grad student grabbed a spray bottle off her work station and demonstrated just how safe her product was by spraying it first on herself, then on various plants around her, dancing about the room to coat many of them. 

After a moment she approached Dick and Damian to stop and grin at them. Motioning to the room.

“See, I’m fine, not irritated by the plants, and they’re also--” 

She didn’t get to finish the statement as all around them the plants started to shudder and then exploded in various directions as if they were trying to get away from each other. It sounded a bit like a flock of birds taking flight, if those birds also knocked over every clay pot in a gardening store. 

Dick grabbed the girl, and trusted Damian to stay next to him as they bolted from the room. They were chased by clay and soil dotted with glass and all kinds of liquids as the experiments crowding the room were thrown, bludgeoned, and smashed by plants suddenly struck by the unnatural desire to flee from one another. Dick ducked out of the way as a beaker still somehow full of blue liquid flew at his head and tore down the hallway.  

Behind them plants burst from the small doorway, filling the hall and growing at a rate Dick had only experienced from a very very upset Poison Ivy. He glanced back to find them slamming into walls and digging into the ceiling and floor as well as filling up the hallway in both directions. 

Damian must have as well because he started growling at the poor grad student, “What was in that liquid?!” 

“This is not all my fault.” she squeaked, “Chris was working on an advanced growth project. And umm, Amber had just about finished one that--” they ducked as one as a vine whipped over their heads, “made them stronger.” 

“You have got to be kidding me!” Damian shouted as he pulled in front of Dick and her, moving to try a series of doors.

“Those are offices!” the girl shouted, helpfully, “They’ll be locked, if we can make it to the next intersection there’s a greenhouse to the left.” 

“Right.” Dick mumbled, dragging the girl along with him, “Because what we need is more plants.” 

Something huge caught Dick in the back, slamming into him with enough force his breath was knocked from his lungs and he stumbled forward. The girl yelped, catching Damian’s attention. He stopped his headlong run to turn and face them, his cape whipping back, behind him. 

He ran back to help Dick up, along with the grad student. They were too slow to keep away from the plants fully, and now they swarmed around them, an avalanche of slapping leaves, cutting thorns, and heavy stems. 

Dick dragged both of them back to the ground, and did his best to shield them. Damian, the little brat, wiggled away to pull the girl further under both Dick and himself. If they made it out of this, Dick was going to have a talk with him about self-sacrifice, especially in the middle of what was quickly turning into Night of the Living Plants. 

He tried to ignore the stinging, swatting, feeling of the plants as they battered him, and kept his grip tight on the girl. Something splashed all over them as a thorn dragged it’s way past. Dick lifted his eyes long enough to confirm it wasn’t blood, and spotted that stupid spray bottle being torn up by the thorns, and tumbling down the hallway.

Then he turned his attention to Damian. The boy was further from Dick’s grasp than he’d like after wiggling away, but he was happy to have a grip on the kid’s cape. Damian had his head tucked down, his body hunched tightly to protect his center and the girl partially sheltered under him. 

Dick should have ducked his own head again much sooner, it was his gawking that left him open to a huge bulb as it raced past. It smacked against his temple, knocking his head sideways and sparked dots in his vision. His grip loosened for just a moment on Damian’s cape. It was long enough for Damian’s tiny form to get swept away. 

He looked up, blinking past stars to see Damian be tossed and dragged down the hall, now caught in the unrelenting wave of plants. 

“Robin!” he yelled after his brother. 

There was no more time to wait for a break in the plants, Dick hauled the girl up, under his arm and bolted down the hall after Damian. He ducked and swatted at the green swarming around him and ignored the yelps and cries of the girl in his arms. She sounded more scared than hurt, besides Dick didn’t have time to stop again, not in this mess. 

They got to the spot the hall broke off to the left and right. Dick no longer had any idea where Damian was. He did the only thing he could do and turned in the direction of the greenhouse, praying his baby brother had been swept that way. 

The plants had shattered the door leading from the building to the greenhouse, in a strange way clearing the path for Dick and the grad student to slip out of the building and into Gotham’s crisp night air. 

Together, they pulled to the side, and as far out of the way of the bursting plant life as possible. Dick released the girl at last, settling her onto her feet in the grass. 

“Robin!” Dick yelled, looking around the area around them, “Answer me!”  he shouted again. There was no sign of red or yellow beyond petals blooming off flowering plants. 

Dick’s stomach sank as he realized Damian was still inside. He turned to the girl, taking her by her arms, “Listen, I need you to call someone and tell them to send Batman to the school as soon as possible, can you do that?”

She nodded, and fished her phone from her pocket before fumbling to unlock it. Dick typed the number in the phone, pausing just a moment to double check he had it right before tossing it back to her. 

It was a gamble, having her call Oracle, but Batman was on radio silence tonight and the only one who could get through to him was Babs. Dick wasn’t sure if he’d need B to bail them out, but it didn’t hurt to have the call for backup go out now. Especially when that backup was undercover and at least an hour away, all the way across town and on the opposite outskirts of Gotham. 

He didn’t wait for a confirmation or any question from the girl, instead he turned, sprinting again to the building. 

It was harder to push forward as he had to fight the flow of plants that didn’t seem to be stopping their wild explosion. Dick tore at them with batarangs in both hands, shoving his way back to the intersection, and then onward, yelling out for Robin every few seconds. 

If Damian was safe he’d probably use his comm to let Dick know. The silence in his ear was enough to say either the boy was unconscious or still being dragged by the relentless current. He didn’t even consider the other alternative. 

“Robin!” he screamed again, voice cracking as panic started to set in, his feet slipping against a bed of green, his arms tired from cutting through the veritable jungle around him. 

“-wing!” the answer, and it was an answer, was faint, from somewhere in front of Dick. 

He redoubled his efforts to reach Damian, yelling again, “Robin! Call out so I can find you!” 

There were a few beats of silence then, “Here!” came floating towards him again. 

Along with the voice came the sound of something beginning to crack and buckle. Dick took a moment to look around him. What he could see of the ceiling and walls were cracking, seams tearing up around them as plants dug further into a building that was at least sixty years old, if not older. The whole campus was old, and while it was somewhat well kept up with, an old foundation was no match for a hoard of angry plants. 

Dick swore and did his best to move faster. It was hard, the building was utterly covered in plants, the floor slick with them, the walls teeming, and where there was open space, it was like dodging an array of lasers, only they were solid instead of burning. 

Beneath his feet, Dick felt the floor start to buckle, further upsetting his balance. He racked his brain for any memory of a basement in the building. A science building had to have one right? This wasn’t just roots ready to burst up and spear him? 

“Nightwing!” this yell was closer and tinged with fear. 

Dick pushed past a particularly thick curtain of leaves and found his brother, tangled in an array of ivy. He was attempting to cut the ivy away, but the vines kept looping around his wrists and pulling at them, creating a stream of rather colorful curses from the boy. 

“Robin!” he didn’t even try to hide his relief at finding his brother. He was halfway down the hall still, but he was there. 

Around him, the building was groaning urgently, cracks snapped and spread and the white of ceiling tiles rained down on them as Dick ran. 

He wasn’t fast enough. 

One minute, Dick was bolting, the next the floor beneath his feet had dropped away. The world slowed down, and Dick had the insane image of Wile E. Coyote pop into his head as he froze, staring as a flutter of black and yellow disappeared down into its own hole, the last sign of Damian. Then Dick was falling and falling and falling. 

When he came to, it was in darkness. Dick wasn’t sure he was actually awake at first, then the aches and pains of falling a story caught up with him and he groaned. His head was throbbing, like musicians had taken up residence inside and were using his brain as a marimba. The next thing to ache was his chest. He’d landed face down on something hard and round. He fumbled and found a thick root under his chest. He had a feeling in the morning he’d have it’s imprint bruised across his front. 

He moved to push himself up, and learned of his next injury, his left arm was on fire, the pain radiating up and into his shoulder. Careful examination told him it was dislocated. Dick gulped, and ignored it for the moment. He pushed himself up with one hand and stubbornness, feeling broken plant matter slip from his back, and yanking some out of his hair. 

He pulled his legs forward so he could sit, dazed. His left arm cradled across his chest. Dick wasn’t quite sure what had happened, or where he was. His whole body ached, and he remembered the plant's relentless attack from earlier. Gentle pokes and prods across his arms, legs, and face, revealed tears in his uniform and an array of bruises that’d leave him colorful for at least a week. Something wet dropped into his eyes and Dick reached up to find a gash across his forehead. Absently he wiped at the dripping blood. 

He wasn’t sure who would be more of a bear about making him rest when he got home, Bruce or Damian.

Damian. 

Damian.

“Robin!” he yelled into the darkness, as panic washed over him, “Damian!” he yelled again, forgoing the use of Robin altogether. 

Dick dug around in his suit for some kind of light and yelled Damian’s name again. 

A sob broke the darkness. It wasn’t loud, and cut off halfway through, as if it’s owner remembered they weren’t allowed to make a noise. It both broke Dick’s heart and increased his worry. 

His brother had become more and more vocal about announcing his pain, and rarely held back anymore. When he did retreat back into old habits it was usually because something was terribly wrong. Sometimes a result of drugs, others when Damian was seriously injured. It couldn’t be drugs this time, but Dick hoped that Damian was just confused and disoriented. 

He finally found a flashlight and clicked it on, swinging wildly around the dark to find his brother. He couldn’t even name the room they were in, wasn’t sure if it was a room or rooms broken open, what he did know was that by some miracle they’d ended up in a kind of bubble.

Debris were scattered everywhere, and there were large piles of plants and shattered beams from above, but the concrete holding the floor above the basement had broken in large slabs, one falling perfectly leaned over them creating a semi-roof that kept the rest of the building from landing on them, and an open area. 

Dick almost missed Damian. It was only due to the yellow underside of his cape catching the light that Dick found him. The kid was buried under a pile of plant matter, still tangled in the ivy he’d been caught in earlier, with other torn and dead plants landing on him from the fall. Dick trailed his light back and bit back a gasp, a support beam from the ceiling had landed across Damian’s legs, swallowing them at the calves. 

“Damian!” Dick called.

A groan came as Damian’s response.  

He swore, and scrambled forward. The ‘roof’ was so low he had to crouch, but at least he wasn’t crawling. His brother was in roughly the same place he’d been when they both fell, which had him too far away from Dick to see much detail about his physical state beyond the obvious. Beyond the aborted sob, Damian hadn’t said anything else, and hadn’t tried to move. 

Dick was a few feet away when his stomach started to roll and his headache soared into a migraine so bad his vision went spotty. It was so bad, and came on with such force, he had to stop. He froze, his arm cradled to his chest. 

From Damian’s position he heard quiet whines come up from him, and noticed the boy shift to hold his head. 

It was strange, but Dick was more focused on his own head, blinking and trying to breath through the pain. It wasn’t until Damian’s voice, raspy and laced with pain interrupted him that Dick even realized he'd squeezed his eyes shut. 

“Move.” Damian pleaded, “Back up, please.” 

It took his bruised brain a moment to process the words, then because it was Damian asking, he did. Almost without thinking, Dick pushed himself backwards and kept going until his back hit a wall. He was back to square one, but leaning against the wall seemed to be helping his headache. 

It wasn’t helping Damian though and he internally chided himself for listening to the kid. If Damian was in such a state he was refusing to be helped when he was hurt, things had to be bad. And Dick wasn’t letting Damian lay there, trapped under a wooden beam any longer than he had to. 

He gave his head another minute to clear up. When it did, Dick set the flashlight up to kind of light the space, and located another to add to his meager light collection. Once there was a little more illumination he called out to Damian again, to help him gauge the kid’s headspace. 

“Dames?”

“I’m okay.” Damian said, shifting at last. 

“Don’t lie.” 

A groan, not of pain but irritation, came from the other side of the room.

“Fine,” he snapped, “I am not okay but I am not dying either. Give me a—” he yelped as he shifted, realizing at last the state of his legs. 

“Okay, I’m getting you out from under there.” Dick shoved himself up from where he was sitting, ignoring the way his shoulder protested any movement, and started in Damian’s direction again. 

Almost as soon as Dick moved, his head began swimming again, but he pushed past it. A headache was nothing compared to making sure Damian wasn’t bleeding out under that beam. 

Dick made it a few feet again before a whimper slipped out of Damian. He winced, and turned his hurried crouch into more of a scurry, grabbing at the concrete above him to help propel him forward. At this point, Dick’s head felt like it might explode. 

“Richard.” Damian’s voice was tiny, and laced with pain. 

“Almost there, Baby Bat.” Dick soothed, blinking at dots in his own vision. 

He wasn’t sure how he was going to manage lifting the beam with his head throbbing like it was, but he needed to. 

“Stop.” Damian said, something urgent in his voice. 

Dick almost didn’t stop, then Damian gasped and made a noise akin to retching. He didn’t throw up, at least not at first. Dick watched as the boy’s hands curled into fists in the ground, as his shoulders raised and lowered with an attempt to get control over himself. 

“Something--” Damian managed, “is wrong.” with that, he threw up all over the ground. 

That only made Dick want to lurch forward again, but Damian seemed to only get worse when he moved forward. So did his head. Something buzzed in there, a thought that held the key to all this, but now Dick’s own stomach was rolling. 

He dropped to the ground and cradled his head, trying to do something beyond think about the pounding. Just beyond him, Damian continued to retch. It sounded so painful Dick was afraid he was going to rupture something. 

After a moment, Damian also started coughing. This made Dick look up and blink at the boy. Damian looked miserable, even in the dim light Dick could see how washed out he was. Something was wrong. All Dick wanted to do was collect Damian in his arms and sooth away whatever was wrong, but this stupid headache was trying it’s best to make Dick turn tail and run. 

He blinked and the thought itching away at the back of his mind burst forth: turn tail and run. The liquid from earlier had splashed all over them. If it had made the plants react as terribly as it had, then of course it would have negative effects on them. It was probably amplifying the array of aches and pains both were feeling in an attempt to make them retreat. 

Dick scooted backwards, then turned and all but ran back to where he’d retreated last time. The relief was almost immediate. His head cleared up to a dull throb, natural for the wound he’d received, and his stomach felt fine again. 

Damian was quiet again too, well quiet for a moment. Then he began to sob, huge wracking noises that wrenched Dick’s heart. 

“It’s okay.” he said, “It’s going to be okay, Dames.”

He had a feeling it was all too much for his brother. Attacked by plants, dragged off into the darkness, dropped into a basement, his legs trapped, and now both of them unable to help the other because they literally could not get within a few feet or feel deathly ill. 

Dick’s own nerves were fraying. He had no idea if the grad student had gotten ahold of Babs or if Bruce was coming. He wasn’t even sure the building above them would hold long enough for help to come. Worse he couldn’t help Damian in any way. His arms ached to hold his brother, to rub his back and smooth out hair that was sticking up at all angles, dirtied with plant matter and building debris. 

“Listen, I can’t go over there right now, but I need you to calm down okay? We’ll figure out a way around this…” Dick was at a momentary loss for the right word, “anti-cuddle stuff.” 

Damian snorted with sudden laughter, “The deterrent.” he said, “A truly harmless substance.” 

“Yeah,” Dick sighed, his arm hurt. 

The adrenaline in his system was starting to fade as his blind need and worry for Damian’s safety settled down a bit to something less urgent. With his mind freed to move to other things Dick could focus on the pain of his shoulder being out of place. Before he did anything else he needed to get it in some kind of sling. 

“I think that grad student needs to repeat a couple years of school.” Dick added, groping around for some fabric. They were in the science building, there had to be a lab coat somewhere. “Or start her formula from scratch.” 

Damian sniffled again, “It is not a terrible idea, if highly flawed in its execution.” 

“Hey, you think you can toss your cape over here?” Dick asked, “I knocked my shoulder out of place in the fall and I can’t find anything good for a sling.” 

“You would have room for a proper sling if you would give in and carry a utility belt like the rest of us.” Damian chided, but reached up to unclasp his cape.

He had to shift, pushing himself up and away from the mess on the floor. As he did so the plant matter and debris that had collected on his back started to fall away. The rest slipped off as Damian pulled the cape free. They were lucky it hadn’t caught under the beam or Dick would have had to make do with something less reliable. He rooted around with a hand for a second, finding a fist sized rock and wrapped the cape around it. 

“Incoming!” he said and tossed it towards Dick. 

It landed within reach, and Dick scooped it up, easily untangling the cape. Some finangaling had it formed into a secure sling that he looped his arm through. It wasn’t perfect but at least he didn’t have to worry about it flopping around and hurting worse. 

The task completed, Dick’s attention turned back to Damian, “We need to get that off you, somehow.” 

“Can we not leave it?” Damian whined, “I do not wish to throw up again.”

“And I don’t want you to bleed out or lose circulation.” Dick was firm, “But we need to figure out a better way to get you out than my stomping over there to lift it off your back.”

He lifted one of the flashlights and aimed it back at Damian, following the beam. It was pretty long, maybe he could lift it from the far end?

“Do you think you’ll be okay if I’m quick and come from the side?” he asked. 

Damian shot him a look that would have been venomous if his mask wasn’t on. Dick didn’t hold it against him, he’d be upset too in Damian’s place. 

“Be fast.” he said. 

With permission granted, Dick sucked in a breath and steeled himself for the now familiar increased pain in his head. He bolted forward, gritting his teeth against the pounding and reached the opposite end of the beam in record time. 

Looking down at it, Dick knew this experience was about to really suck. His left arm was useless, which left just his right. He lifted the beam up and crouched further, navigating it up and over his shoulder. Then Dick reached forward, grabbing as far across it as he could and lifted again, his legs and back straining as he did so, raising from his crouch to try and get the opposite end up enough for Damian to be able to escape. If his arm had felt bad earlier, it was positively furious now, throbbing along with his head as the lack of distance between him and Damian further irritated every ache and pain. 

“Okay!” he said, teeth grit. 

Damian dragged himself forward with a cry. It was agonizingly slow. Dick’s hand was sweaty inside his glove, his legs shaking, vision blurring. Then his  grip slipped and the beam crashed back down.

“Damian?” he called. 

“I’m fine, made it out.” 

Dick didn’t wait for further confirmation, he retreated quickly until the pain was manageable again, and moved back at a steadier space to the spot he had picked as his ‘camp’ flopping down onto the ground to lean against the wall. 

“How is it?” Dick asked, reaching up to massage his shoulder.

While he’d been moving, Damian had propped himself up against some piled concrete and was shining a light of his own down on his legs. 

“It sucks. The skin is broken where the beam connected, there is swelling, and I do not believe I will be able to put weight on either of them.” Damian’s answer was sharp, and angry.  

He let a hand drop lightly onto a thigh and added in a softer tone,  “I am afraid something might be broken.” 

“One problem at a time, get the bleeding stopped first.” Dick directed. 

“Only if you tend to your own wounds. Do not think I missed the fact that you have blood streaming from your head.” 

This prompted Dick to reach up and pat his forehead, it was still bleeding sluggishly. 

They fell into silence as they both tended to their own wounds. Dick tore open a packet of wipes to clean off his head before bandaging it. He re-cataloged the rest of his wounds, scratches and bruises mostly, Dick could no longer tell what was from the plants and what was from the fall. 

When he was done he let his head drop against the stone behind him, and felt pressure in his ear. The comm. He’d forgotten. He fiddled with it, trying to get it to turn on, but of course, something was wrong. He was getting nothing, not a sound or even a fizzle of an attempt at one. 

“Is your comm working?” 

The reply came a few moments later, “No.” 

“That’s okay.” Dick sighed, “I told the grad student to call Babs. She’ll send B and we’ll be out of here in no time.” 

He didn’t really want to wait on Bruce. Even with a bum arm and Damian unable to put a lot of weight on his legs, Dick was sure he could find some way to haul his brother up and to safety if he could just find a way out. Careful not to move so close to Damian it triggered the stupid deterrent, Dick picked his way around their small space, searching for a safe way out. 

He found one spot where air was coming in, cold like Gotham’s crisp air was slipping inside the building. Dick dug at it for a bit, knocking some bits and pieces here and there. He got the hole big enough to squeeze his hand through before he couldn't get anything else to budge. 

Damian had been strangely quiet, making Dick swing the light back around at him to make sure he was okay. When the light hit him, Dick realized why. Damian’s head was lulling, dipping against his chest as bandages dangled in an open palm. 

“Damian, hey kiddo, stay with me okay?” Dick prodded, “Does your head hurt?” 

His brother groaned. 

“Robin.” Dick tried, “Report. Tell me what’s wrong.”

“Yes,” Damian responded, “My head hurts, as does everything else.” 

“Specifics?” 

“Nothing serious.” Damian shifted, pushing himself up a bit further, “You?” 

Dick was tired. Everything was aching, and his chest had really started to hurt as he’d explored. His head had shifted back in the direction of “really terrible” and his own stomach churned again. He was trying not to think about his shoulder. 

He retreated back to his spot, his balance a little off, “Not the best.” he admitted, “But we’ll be okay. B’s got to be on his way.” 

Damian hummed. 

They fell into a companionable silence, Dick looking up at Damian every few minutes to be sure  he was okay. The kid looked rough. His hair stood up at all ends, making Dick want to brush it back, and run his fingers through it to clear out any loose leaves still stuck there and smooth the mess out. 

That was what truly sucked about all this. Dick couldn’t physically be there for Damian. Even moving close hurt him. A spark of guilt shot through Dick’s chest. It was his fault Damian had been so sick he’d thrown up. His fault the kid looked half dead. If he had realized sooner about the deterrent affecting them he wouldn’t have tried to get close the second time, or even the first. If he’d been thinking at all earlier he would have stopped that girl from spraying it all over the plants. 

Damian shifted, and bit back a pained noise. He reached out to rub at one of his legs. Dick felt like his heart was going to burst. Damian was right there and he couldn’t do anything. He couldn’t hold him or rub comforting circles in his back. He couldn’t be a strong pillar to lean on. 

A part of him that he didn’t want to admit to, wanted the comfort Damian would give. His shoulder was all his mind kept going back to, how it throbbed and ached and felt wrong. Damian could have helped pop it into place, and then they could be together while they waited. Not separated by an ocean. 

It was lonely. 

Dick was lonely and Damian was right there. 

“Richard.” Damian said, as if he were reading Dick’s mind. 

“Yeah? Is something the matter, do you nee--”

“You stopped talking.” Damian sounded exhausted, but worried as well. Just one more thing Dick had put him through. 

Again, all Dick wanted was to hold the kid. At least neither of them would feel quite so alone if they could be close together. 

He shifted a bit, letting a leg fall forward, “I was just thinking, you never finished telling me what career you were considering.” 

His brother took a few moments to respond, “Careers.” he corrected, “I have not decided yet.” 

“Okay, what careers? Farmer? Vet? Wandering pet adopter?” 

“Richard.” the name was a whine, “Do not tease.”

“Sorry.” Dick was, he didn’t want to embarrass Damian, “I do see you doing something with animals though. Maybe you could fix that girl’s project.” 

“Tt. If ever successful it would be an amazing tool to help declining species.” Damian let his leg slip back to the ground to lay next to the other one, “To return to career options, I have considered working with animals. There are a number of jobs one could have, but I had thought about setting up a rescue for them. Many idiots across Gotham find themselves ill prepared for exotic pets, and I’d like to provide them with a safe home.” 

“That sounds great. I think you’d be awesome at it.” 

Damian shrugged, “It is not the only thing I have considered.” he was more hesitant now, like he was worried his other consideration would not be accepted as well. 

“Go on.” Dick kept his voice gentle, open. 

“You are aware I am also an artist.” Damian said, easing into the topic. 

Dick brightened at this. Damian’s art was incredible. The kid had real talent when it came to drawing and painting, even if he rarely showed his work off. 

“Will you be a professional artist then?” 

“Of a sort.” 

Now what did that mean, Dick wondered? Damian did not seem eager to continue but the conversation had been started, and Dick knew his brother wouldn’t abandon it. They both knew Dick would only poke and prod him until he got his answer. 

Damian wasn’t looking at Dick, instead he seemed terribly interested in his palms, “I had considered becoming an architect.” Once he finished he glanced up, shy, “It might seem silly, but one can do much for a city by being an architect. With Father’s resources I can help create safe, beautiful, and affordable buildings.” 

Dick was smiling at him, he couldn’t help it. This kid had such a big heart. None of his considered career paths were the least bit selfish (well maybe the animal one but he would not be doing it only for himself). To use his skills and resources in order to help others was so Damian. How anyone could see anything but this boy’s goodness was beyond Dick. 

“I think it’s a wonderful idea. And no matter what you decide, even if it’s something far removed from what you’ve told me, whatever you pick will be amazing.” 

From his distance, and the lighting, Dick couldn’t see the blush on Damian’s face, but he knew it was there. 

They both did their best to keep each other conscious while they waited on Bruce. Dick continued to press Damian for details on his plans, asking about what inspired him, what he might do in either position, and if he’d shared these ideas with anyone else yet. 

Try as he might, Damian’s answers grew slower and slower. Dick had no way of knowing just how bad Damian’s concussion was, if it was a concussion, or if this was exhaustion, blood loss, or something he couldn’t see. 

It was infuriating. Dick just wanted to know his brother was okay, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t get up and check him. He couldn’t ask Damian. He couldn’t call a doctor. It was so frustrating Dick could cry. 

Of course, then the whole room started to rumble. Maybe not the whole room, but what Dick was leaning on moved. Dust started to rain from the ceiling, then pebbles and other bits and pieces of building. Dick could dodge, but Damian wasn’t moving anymore, out cold and snoring ever so lightly. 

“Damian!” Dick yelled, trying to get the kid’s attention, “Wake up, kiddo!” 

The rumble grew worse, with more and more showering down on them. 

Dick was considering saying screw it and diving over to cover Damian. They’d be sick, but at least he could keep the kid from getting crushed. He’d actually pushed himself up to his bent height and started over to Damian when a crash made him stop. Technically, it wasn’t the crash but the stream of light now filtering in that made him stop.

“Nightwing! Robin!” Bruce’s voice, tight with worry echoed in. 

“Here!” Dick yelled, spinning on his heel, “We’re here! Just don’t knock the whole thing down on us.” 

Batman poked his head inside, and from behind him Dick could hear Tim’s voice. He’d forgotten his brother had been staking out with B. 

"You two okay?” 

“Damian’s not mobile, and this is going to sound really weird, but neither of us can get close to the other.” Dick explained, “If we’re even a couple feet apart we both get really sick, so I hope you brought two cars.” 

Bruce swore, “I’ll haul you out and send Red Robin in for Robin, I don't think I'll be able to fit and I don't want to disturb things any more. We’ll have to borrow a car.” 

Dick wanted to argue, to make them get Damian out first, but that would require moving him past Dick and that just wasn’t possible. He relented and let his dad drop a rope that Dick held tightly to and let himself be hauled up with. 

Above them was a jungle, a mess of plants and shattered plaster, of concrete and smoking somethings. Dick didn’t care to really figure out what all was piled around. It was sufficient to say that the building looked like a bomb had gone off inside, turning it all into outside. 

He hurried across the broken landscape and out to the soft grass beyond. When he was stationary his attention turned right back to where he’d just escaped from and waited. After an eternity, he saw Tim’s head appear, then Damian’s as he was slung over Tim’s back. 

“Careful!” he called, “Don’t jostle his leg, it might be broken!” 

It wasn’t the last advice Dick gave. He was absolutely vibrating with the need to know Damian was going to be fine, and neither Bruce nor Tim seemed to understand. There was no real explaining to them the stress one felt when they couldn’t help. When they were right there, but could do nothing. Couldn’t even hold a hand for comfort. It made him want to scream, even with help there. 

Dick would like to think that things went smoother once he was in the car. He was riding shotgun in a borrowed Ford Focus with Tim, having insisted on Damian being with Bruce. As they followed behind Bruce and Damian, Dick kept his eyes glued to the vehicle. If for any reason the Batmobile dropped out of sight Dick’s heart started to race.  

He kept his eyes on Damian as they entered the cave and were kept on opposite sides. It was an eternity of patching up, explanations, and then showers. Somewhere along the line Damian had woken back up, and all the poking and prodding from his family was doing enough to keep him awake. 

Dick wondered briefly if perhaps some of his agitation was due to whatever that grad student had put in her spray. He almost asked Bruce to test for it, then decided he didn’t care. As long as he could just get to hold Damian soon he’d be fine. 

Bruce wanted to run tests on their blood before letting either of them get close to the other to make sure the deterrent had been totally washed away by water and soap. It was hard to imagine all their suffering was from something on their skin, but Dick dearly hoped it was true. He didn’t think he could stand waiting for Bruce to synthesize an antidote. 

Damian, from what Dick could tell, seemed just as agitated. Their eyes stayed locked on one another most of the time, and he kept fidgeting even though Alfred had instructed him to try and rest. Alfred finally bullied the kid into laying down, but only if he could be turned to face where Dick was sitting. 

As they waited for the results, Bruce came to sit next to Dick on his cot. He turned his attention away from Damian to smile at his dad. 

“Sorry we interrupted your sting operation.” 

Bruce leaned a little closer so his shoulder touched Dick’s good one, “Never be sorry to ask for my help.” 

They sat there for a minute before Bruce spoke up again, his voice low so Damian couldn’t overhear, “You okay, Chum?”

Dick shook his head, “I can’t stop thinking about that basement. It was terrible Bruce. I couldn’t do anything and Damian was hurting. He was stuck and hurting, and I hurt him.” 

Bruce reached out and cupped Dick’s chin, turning his head to face him, “Nonsense. You kept him safe.” 

“There’s a hundred things I could have done better.” 

“Dick.” Bruce said his name so softly, it was somehow a chide and an endearment all the same, “You had no control over the situation, and did as best as you could. Damian’s not going to blame you for any of it.” 

Even with Bruce’s reassurances, Dick’s guilt it still pooled in his stomach. Bruce hadn’t been there when Damian was throwing up, or sobbing from pain or passing out from a concussion Dick now knew was there.

Dick leaned into him then, letting his head drop against Bruce’s shoulder, “I’d hate myself if anything serious happened to him.” 

He felt his dad’s lips brush the top of his head, “Then it’s a good thing he’s only bruised up.” 

And that was the miracle of all miracles. After everything Damian had been through, somehow the kid had come out of it with a concussion, cut and heavily bruised legs, and scrapes to match Dick’s. The kid was resilient, and amazing, and--

“All I want to do is hold him.” Dick said, quietly, “To really know he’s okay. It’s--it physically hurts to not be able to.” 

His dad shifted to tug him closer into a hug, “I know. I’m sorry. Just a little longer and we’ll know it’s safe to try.”  

No sooner had the words left Bruce’s mouth than the computer buzzed. Dick, ignoring Alfred’s pointed glare, got up with Bruce and joined him at the computer. When Bruce pulled the results up, Dick’s feet were already moving. He was halfway to Damian when Bruce said it was okay to do so. 

He slid to a stop by his brother, who was sitting up again. Suddenly shy (even though there was no pain, no agitation, no reason not to) Dick hesitated before taking Damian’s hand in his own. They both sighed in relief at the same time, and Dick let his forehead drop against Damian’s, happy to finally be able to touch again. 

Damian initiated the bear hug, shifting to all but throw himself into Dick’s chest, his arms wrapping tightly around him, head tucked under Dick’s chin. Dick returned the embrace, and scooped Damian into his arms, ignoring the way his shoulder protested the movement. It had been put back in place and nothing was going to keep Dick from holding his boy.  

They shifted slightly so that Dick’s hold on Damian was tighter and the kid wasn’t at risk of dangling from his arms. Damian let one arm go from his tight hug about Dick’s chest to grip at his tee shirt and snuggle closer. 

“Better?” Bruce was behind them, his voice causing Dick to turn. 

Dick nodded, “Yeah.” 

“Much better, Father.” Damian answered. 

Bruce leaned forward to press a kiss to both their heads, and ruffle Damian’s hair, “Good, then upstairs to rest. You both need it.”  

Dick didn’t need further prompting. He was exhausted, he ached, and he knew Damian felt the same way. They took the elevator upstairs and proceeded directly to Dick’s room. Damian didn’t argue or ask why Dick hadn’t dropped him off. He simply slipped out of his brother’s arms to lay down when bid, and snuggled close again when Dick laid down next to him, careful of Dick’s shoulder. Tucked together they fell asleep. 

[dlwritings]

Love You and Like You | Peter Parker

masterlist found here

pairing - Peter x Avenger!reader word count - 2,872 warnings - stab wound (not graphic at all) A/N - this wasn’t as angsty as I wanted it to be/it’s not really angsty at all but it’s fine

summary - Hiding your powers wasn’t easy, especially when they were often driven by emotions. If you weren’t in love with Peter, maybe, things wouldn’t be so bad. Unfortunately, you were. Therefore, you found yourself in a shitty situation.

Being friends with the person you had a crush on and the person he had a crush on who was also the person who had a crush on him, was really, really difficult.

In case that’s confusing, why don’t we break it down?

You had a crush on Peter Parker. You had for a while. He was one of your best friends, and you were the idiot who fell in love with him.

Peter had a crush on MJ. You knew he had for a while. She was also one of your friends.

MJ had a crush on Peter. You knew she had for a while.

So there you were, caught in the middle of this weird love triangle. While you knew of Peter’s feelings for MJ and of hers for him, it seemed like neither of them had any clue. How could they both be such idiots?

What were you supposed to do? On one hand, you wanted to be a good friend and push your friends together. On the other hand, you were selfish and wanted to hold on to the hope that Peter would fall for you eventually if you just kept him and MJ apart for a little bit longer.

The only leverage you had over MJ was that you got to spend a little bit more time with Peter than she did. You were, after all, an Avenger. Not that Peter knew that. He did know, however, that you were Tony’s adopted daughter. The details were just a little lost on him.

You joined the team the same time Wanda did. You were part of the experimenting that worked on the twins, and you stuck by her side as she abandoned Ultron and fought for good. You were only a couple years younger than her and, as soon as you joined the team and moved to New York, Tony was able to get you enrolled in Midtown. He adopted you as his daughter (Your parents had passed, and you needed a legal guardian in order to move to the states.) and wanted you to have the best education he could get you. He knew Midtown was a good high school, so he pulled all the strings to get you in. You met Peter, Ned, and MJ almost right away. MJ was assigned to be your lab partner in chemistry, and you met Peter and Ned through her.

You knew Peter was Spider-Man before Tony did. You didn’t find out accidentally like Ned, and you didn’t force it out of him. A part of you was happy (and a bit honored) that he told you, but you wouldn’t have minded if the situation in which you found out was a little less scary and life-threatening.

You were in your room at the compound, and there was a knock at your bedroom window. You were worried for only a moment, then you walked over to your window and pulled open the curtains. You lived on the first floor, so Peter was just crouching beside your window. You furrowed your eyebrows but opened it. He climbed in, clutching his abdomen. “Peter?” you whispered, taking in his wounded body. “What’s going on?”

“Do you have a first aid kit?” he asked, his voice cracking. Of course you had a first aid kit. You lived in the Avengers compound. You had a full blown medicine wing on the second floor.

“Yeah,” you said. “Sit down.” He did so, plopping down on your bed with a grunt. You quietly rushed off to the medicine wing and grabbed the first aid kit. You were glad that they kept a simple one in the midst of all the high-tech medical equipment. You burst back into your room and found that Peter had his shirt off, still clutching his side. “What the hell is going on?” you asked. Peter moved his hand and revealed a stab wound. “Oh my god,” you said, covering your mouth with your hand. Tears came to your eyes as you stared at the wound. “Why aren’t you at the hospital?” you asked.

“I can’t,” he said. “Please. Just help me.”

“Can I get Tony?” you asked.

“No,” Peter cried. Tears streamed down his own cheeks as he clutched his side in pain again. “No. You can’t get him. You can’t get anyone. Please just help me, (Y/N).” You swallowed thickly and nodded, opening up the first aid kit.

“Did you get mugged or something?” you asked.

“No,” Peter breathed out. You expected him to explain it, but he didn’t. You grabbed some rubbing alcohol and moved to disinfect the wound. He winced, and you gave his arm a squeeze.

“I’m sorry,” you whispered. As soon as it was clean, you found a needle and some surgical suture. “Pete, please let me get Tony,” you begged. “I can’t do this.”

“I’m Spider-Man.”

You froze and looked at him. He was already looking at you with tears in his eyes. “You’re what?” you said.

“I’m Spider-Man,” he repeated, his voice hoarse. “You seen those videos?”

“Of course I’ve seen those videos,” you said. “I’ve also seen you stop a bus with your bare hands in real life. I don’t believe you.”

“Okay, well, I don’t know what to tell you,” he said. “All I know is I need you to sew me up.”

“I can’t,” you said. “I’ve never done this before.”

“(Y/N), please,” Peter said, a choked sob coming out. “Just do this for me.”

Obviously, you couldn’t say no to him.

That day made your already existent feelings for him even stronger. There was something about seeing someone so vulnerable that made your heart swell. Maybe it was your unhealthy desire to fix people. Or maybe it was partly because he was shirtless. You weren’t sure. Either way, you were in love.

This made your life a little difficult. Because you also cared so much about MJ. The last thing you wanted was to break the forming relationship she was establishing with Peter. Who were you to step on her toes and push your way into a relationship with Peter. He didn’t like you, and you needed to accept that.

So, you focused your time and attention on the Avengers. You trained constantly with Natasha and worked on uniform design with Tony. Your powers -the ability to control earth and send shockwaves out of your hands- required a special kind of uniform. You needed a type of brace on your arms in order to stop the shockwaves from breaking your bones. You were only to use your powers when you were wearing them, or they could cause severe damage. This wasn’t exactly a problem because no one outside of the team knew you had powers. In hindsight, you probably should’ve told Peter when he told you. Still, you had made a deal with Tony a long time ago that you wouldn’t tell anyone of your powers. You were one of the few members of the team who wore a mask, and it was for one of the same reasons that Peter did. You were just a kid, and you needed to protect your identity. To help you, Tony made sure you never had a mission with Peter. He knew you were friends and didn’t want to put you in a tough position.

The only time your powers became a problem was when you were emotional. Sometimes if you got angry or nervous or sad or any heavy feeling, you would clench your fists and feel the shockwaves coursing through your arms. Again, this was dangerous because, if you didn’t let the shockwaves out, they would stay inside your body and shatter your bones. You were getting progressively better at controlling it all, but you still struggled from time to time. You used to meet up with Bruce one on one so he could give you tips on how to control your emotions, but you felt like they weren’t helping. Despite his protests and attempts to get you to stick with it, you gave up. The braces were supposed to help with that anyway. If you knew you had a stressful day coming up, you would wear your braces under your clothes, so if you got overly emotional, they would protect your arms.

Still, your work with the team helped you for a few hours out of your day. But, when you were at school, you obviously couldn’t just ignore Peter or your feelings for him no matter how much you tried.

It was Saturday, and you had plans to meet Peter at his apartment. The two of you were going to go to a cafe and work on some homework you had both been putting off. You couldn’t do homework with other people in the room, with the exception of Peter. He was the same way. The two of you just worked well together. At least that’s what you thought. He thought he worked well with MJ. And you supposed they probably did. That was why they liked each other as much as they did.

Anyway, so it was Saturday.

You left the compound and headed off to meet up with Peter. You were excited the whole subway journey. You loved hanging out with Peter, even if you were doing homework the entire time. You walked up to Peter’s floor and knocked on the door. You knew May wasn’t home, so you were waiting for Peter to come answer. Instead, you were met with MJ.

“Oh,” you said, your face falling. “Hey.”

“Hey,” she said. “I was just heading out.” You felt your fists clench as you tried to force a smile on your face.

“No worries,” you said. “I’ll see you later.” She nodded and sent you a wave as she walked down the hall. When you walked into Peter’s apartment, you could feel anger coursing through your body.

Of course he was with MJ. Of course he wasn’t excited to hang out with you like you were to hang out with him. Of course he didn’t need to work on homework when he was with MJ. Of course he was only spending time with you to work on homework. Of course, of course, of course.

You were angry. You were embarrassed. You were sad. You were upset. You were furious.

And just like that, you felt the shockwaves move from your shoulders to your fingertips. You couldn’t let it out, because then Peter would see.

Peter. Stupid Peter. The boy you loved. The boy who did not love you. Stupid.

“(Y/N)?”

Peter walked into the room, and as soon as you saw him, the shockwaves increased, and you felt immense pain in your arms. You let out a scream and collapsed to the ground, gripping your arms tightly. If you just let go, you’d be okay. Maybe you’d cause a mild disaster in Peter’s apartment, but it’d be okay in the end. But you couldn’t. You couldn’t do that.

“Peter,” you cried, unable to catch your breath. You were only able to take short breaths, and you felt tears springing to your eyes. “Help.”

“(Y/N), what’s going on?” he asked, crouching beside you. You shook your head, tossing your head back as the pain racked up and down your arms.

Shit. Shit. Just breathe. Take a breath. Control.

“(Y/N), can you talk to me?” Peter pressed. You were only faintly aware of the fact that Peter was holding your hand. You shook your head again, so Peter just nodded. “Okay, I’m gonna put your hand on my chest, okay?” he said. You nodded, so he did. “You feel my heart? Focus on that. Try and breathe with my heart. Does that make sense?” You nodded and focused on his heartbeat. You were trying desperately not to let your powers out as you relaxed, but you felt a few ripples hit his chest. “Whoa,” you heard Peter mutter. You tried to pull back, but Peter held your hand to his chest still. “It’s okay. You’re okay. You’re okay.” You nodded and continued taking deep breaths.

After what felt like hours, you had finally caught your breath. Your arms were ridiculously sore, and you were sure you had broken some bones. “(Y/N),” Peter said. “What’s going on? What just happened?”

“I need to go,” you told him. You started to stand up from the floor, but Peter stopped you.

“No,” he said sternly. “I need you to tell me what the hell just happened.”

“Pete-”

“Don’t,” he said. “Please, please talk to me.” You sighed and hit your head on the cabinet behind you.

“I’m Tremors,” you mumbled. That was your superhero name. Peter’s eyes grew wide.

“You are?” he asked. You nodded. “Wait, so what just happened?”

“I held my powers in,” you said. “So my arms might be a little broken.”

“Are you being serious?” he said. You nodded, and he jumped up from the ground, then carefully helped you up as well. “I’m gonna take you to the hospital.”

“Can’t,” you said. “Take me to the compound. Bruce can help.” Peter didn’t argue, just helped you off the ground and to his bedroom. “Where’re we going?” you asked him.

“We don’t have time to walk there or find a ride,” he said. “We’re gonna swing, okay?”

“Fuck, I hate swinging,” you mumbled.

“I know,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

When you got to the compound, Peter helped you to the medical wing right away. “Dr. Banner!” he called. “Mr. Stark!” As soon as he laid you onto a bed, Bruce and Tony walked in.

“What’s going on?” Tony asked. “Is she okay?”

“She held her powers in,” Peter said. “So she thinks her arms are broken.”

“You know about her powers?” Tony asked.

“I couldn’t exactly hide it when it was happening right in front of him,” you mumbled.

“What the hell happened?” Tony asked as Bruce started to inspect your arms.

“Nothing,” you said.

“Nothing?” Tony repeated, folding his arms across his chest.

“Tony, please, I don’t want to talk about this,” you said. Tony noticed the plea in your eyes and backed off.

“We’re going to give you splints in both arms,” Bruce said, cutting the tension. “And we’re probably going to start making you wear those braces 24/7, just to prevent this from happening again.”

“Mkay,” you hummed. “And you’ll give me painkillers, right?”

Bruce laughed, “Yeah, but it’ll just be some Advil.”

“No morphine?” you joked. He just laughed and left you alone. Tony sent you another look, but then left you and Peter in the medical wing. Peter put a gentle hand on your arm, brushing his thumb across your skin.

“Are you okay?” he asked. You just nodded and closed your eyes, wishing the ground could just swallow you whole. “(Y/N), don’t you know you can talk to me?”

“I can’t right now, Pete,” you said. “You don’t understand.”

“I understand that you’re not talking to me, and I hate when you don’t talk to me,” he said. “Please, please, just-”

“I got upset when I saw you with MJ and I lost control of my powers because I’m in love with you.”

You and Peter were both quiet, but you were breathing heavily. You held in tears. There were too many emotions going through you. You were embarrassed and sad and emotional and in so much pain. You moved to cover your face with your hands, but there was too much pain in your arms. “Where the fuck is Bruce?” you mumbled. “My arms hurt, and I want those spl-”

“You’re in love with me?” Peter whispered. You forced yourself to look at him, and he had a small smile on his face.

“Why’re you laughing at me?” you whined. “Don’t laugh at me.”

“I’m not laughing at you,” Peter said quickly. “I’m not. I promise. I just can’t believe it. I love you, too.” Your frown turned to a soft smile, but before you could say anything, Bruce walked back in. You and Peter both zipped your lips as Bruce went to work on putting the splints on your arms.

“I’m thinking maybe you and I should restart our sessions, too,” Bruce said as he finished up. “Maybe it’ll help you get a handle on everything.” You nodded, thanked Bruce, and he left the two of you alone again. You looked at Peter and bit your lip, hiding a smile.

“You love me?” you whispered. Peter grinned and nodded.

“Yeah,” he said.

“But MJ-”

“Was at my apartment trying to convince me to tell you how I felt,” he said. “We lost track of time. You weren’t supposed to see her there.”

“Oh,” you said with a blush. You felt stupid as soon as he explained it, but Peter didn’t care. He put a hand on your cheek and brushed his thumb across your skin.

“It’s you I like,” he said. “Not MJ. You. And I like you so much. I love you, and I like you.”

You smiled. “I love you, and I like you, too.”

A couple broken arms, you supposed, were worth it if it meant mending your broken heart.

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

TAGLIST

@bangtan-serendipity | @planetdemon | @the-singing-clown406 | @tomshufflepuff | @bluelalal | @grandloser | @jackiehollanderr | @mindset-jupiter | @bisexual-sk8r | @feel-like-gold | @runaway-apple | @miraclesoflove

[fsketchart]

A Second Chance - Part 4

This is a reupload of the previous chapter 4, it wasn't showing up in the tags for some reason...

Will be adding in the tag list in a moment! As always, thank you to the lovely @ozmav

“What on Earth were you thinking, Alfred? That girl is in there with valuables, she broke in here!” Damian cried out exasperated. No wonder the light was on, she must’ve been snooping around, Damian thought bitterly.

“She is a guest here, Young Master Damian, and that box belongs to her. I invited her here myself, and I offered her an invitation to stay for as long as she needs. Her home life is...not suitable for her at this moment,” Alfred reprimanded, trailing off at the end. “I understand your concerns but her father is my cousin, and I expect a thorough apology to my niece. She’s family to me, so I ask that you do not behave so ill mannered towards her again.” Alfred gestured towards the living room, but Damian just glared at the girl sitting there. He tugged on Titus's leash and swiftly left the room altogether. Alfred stood there for a moment, before sighing and entering the living room. Marinette whipped her head around at the sound of footsteps, before sighing out of relief at the sight of Alfred.

"I apologize for the behavior of the Young Master, he has some behavioral issues that Master Bruce tends to turn a blind eye too. I can speak to him-"

"Absolutely not. I understand why he sees me as a threat. I'm a total stranger who just showed up in his home, I get it. I'm not angry...just shaken up right now," Marinette explained, cutting him off. Alfred nodded.

"Head upstairs to your room, it's at the second floor, the 3rd room to the right. It's the first hallway you see at the 2nd flight of stairs," Alfred directed. "The bedroom light should be on, and a pair of sleepwear will be left on the bed." Marinette once again enveloped him in a hug.

"I can't thank you enough for this, thank you so, so much..."

He hugged her back for a moment before pointing towards the staircase at the end of the hallway. Marinette nodded and made her way over.

~~~~~~\(°¬°)/~~~~~~

Marinette walked down the dark corridor before stopping at the third door. She opened up the door to be greeted with a large room. There was a large window showing the full moon, with a few candles lit around the room. A pair of black pajamas were laying on the large, fancy bed. The walls were a dark and scary gray, and Marinette took notice to the dust beginning to form at the bookshelf. She set down the box at the desk and glanced out the window. Tikki silently nuzzled into her cheek tiredly, before floating towards the end of the bed and quietly nuzzling up to the blanket, falling fast asleep.

Marinette got changed quickly, taking care not to mess up her bandages covering her arms and torso.

She was about to blow out her candles as she looked out the window, before noticing a dark hooded figure make his over the buildings, sprinting towards the manor. Marinette's heart raced wildly as she quickly ran out the door, about to alert Alfred. Tikki woke up with a start at the sound, hearing the loud sound of doors being swung open. They both backed away from the main entrance, hiding behind the corner.

That's when they saw him.

A tall man with a black mask and a large black cape draping over him. He had a neon yellow symbol of a bat on his chest, and a matching utility belt. Marinette was about to run in there, before seeing the same kid from before angrily walk over there, followed by Alfred. Marinette froze as they argued.

"Greetings Master Bruce-"

"Father, Alfred decided to invite some weird girl to the Manor and I'm fairly sure she's trying to steal-"

Wait...his father?

"Absolutely not! I will not tolerate you speaking so ill about her-"

"She's making Titus feel unsafe-"

"You're making HER feel unsafe-"

"Enough. Why did you call me over here, Alfred?"

"But-"

"My cousin’s daughter came here from Paris seeking help. There's a war going on in Paris right now, about the Miraculous," Alfred started.

"Hawkmoth. That's his name, correct?" Bruce interrupted, recalling hearing his name from the reports from Paris.

"Correct, Master Bruce," Alfred stated.

Marinette's eyes widened, processing the information.

Alfred was about to continue before Bruce held his hand up.

"Tomorrow morning we will discuss what is happening. Until then, I will be in the bat cave looking over the security feeds and claims, to see what is true and what is false," Bruce stated, already pushing past both of them.

"But father the girl-"

"Is Alfred's niece (correct me if I’m wrong) and may have information on the Joker's whereabouts. She will be...tolerated while her stay is here. Are we clear?" Bruce cut off. Damian just sighed.

"...yes, father."

Marinette just paused, before turning around and quietly making her way back to her room.

~~~~~~\(°¬°)/~~~~~~

Damian just stared at the ceiling, before rolling out of bed. He could smell fresh pancakes and bacon downstairs, maybe even a few waffles. Alfred seemed to be trying out a new recipe, Damian thought. Titus began pawing at his legs and barking in his ears. Damian just smiled softly, patted his head and made his way out of his room.

When he stumbled into the kitchen however, Alfred was in fact not baking. Instead, the same short girl had her sleeves rolled up and wearing an apron, humming a tune quietly as she navigated the kitchen.

"What are you doing here?" Damian asked, suspicious and cautious.

"I wanted to apologize for the mix up from yesterday. I really wasn't trying to attack you or steal your belongings, I know you were only trying to defend yourself," Marinette's spoke softly and sincerely. Damian eyes the pancakes suspiciously.

"How do I know these pancakes aren't drugged or poisoned and won't kill me the moment I take a bite?" Damian asked, pointing to the top of the stack.

Marinette just paused, before walking over and eating the first pancake of the stack herself.

"I know you must be disappointed but surprise surprise, I'm still alive. I assure you, the pancakes are safe," she smiled softly, her pride evident in her voice. Damian caved and gathered a few pancakes and set them on his plate. He about to roll his eyes when he bit into the first pancake, surprised at the taste of them. They were and sweet, but overwhelmingly so, tasty enough to brighten up almost anyone’s day.

She's just trying to butter me up, Damian thought. Well, no point in letting good pancakes go to waste.

Marinette just smirked proudly as she started on the next batch.

~~~~~~\(°¬°)/~~~~~~

A tall figure stepped forward confidently before stopped at his destination.

Knock knock.

Pause.

Knock knock knock.

Pause.

Knock.

Suddenly the ground below him shook, lowering him down to a dark room.

A man with dark slicked by hair and a purple suit walked in. His skin was a pale white, emphasizing his off-putting smile.

"I sent out some of my men to one of the rebel camps, should give them a bit of a scare," the pale man spoke.

"I see," spoke another, this one walking with a cane, with a gray shiny mask and a dark suit. Surrounding him, were small, dark, purple butterflies. "Fly away my little akumas, trace that fear and utilize it." Several butterflies took flight, swiftly darting out of the shattered window.

"So I hear you encountered a new hero this time, correct?" Hawkmoth asked, not bothering to turn around.

"An old man, dressed up like a mutant ninja turtle. Though the spotted little lady suddenly deemed our entertainment too boring, she didn't even bother to show up," the Joker spoke, almost offended, taking a step forward.

"Then we must draw her out," Hawkmoth spoke.

"And just how do you intend that?"

"Simple. You didn't truly think there was only one miraculous box, did you? Many were destroyed years ago, but there were several guardians for a reason. We managed to salvage a few that were scattered across the globe and utilize them," Hawkmoth explained.

"Are they as powerful as the previous ones?" the Joker asked, excitedly.

"Sadly, no. These are ranked as minor miraculous, but enough to deal great damage. Lady Wi-Fi, come forth!" Hawkmoth called. She quickly stepped forward, holding out a necklace. It had a bright green stone, that the Joker immediately reached out to touch. Once he made contact with it, it shape shifted to become a bright green bow tie, emitting a dark presence about it.

"This is the hawk miraculous, it grants the wielder heightened speed, and will grant you a once per battle ability to see through walls for 30 seconds. After you use it, you will have 3 minutes until you detransform. To trigger the ability, say, 'Arise my seeing eyes!' To transform, say, 'Kite, talons out!'"

The joker smiled wildly before telling the trigger words. Suddenly, his old suit was replaced with a long trench coat, that was jet black. Underneath was a suit that was a dark purple, and he wore a black top hat with a purple stripe in the middle. In his hand was a single desk of cards, the two joker cards having a set of seeing eyes on them, allowing him to see what the cards sees. His mask was a black and purple mask, adorned with jewels at the edge. The Joker began to cackle wildly, almost concerning Hawkmoth himself.

"Let’s bring some smiles on those kids’ faces."

@kceedraws @noirdots @resignedcatservant @shamefulllove

@emotionalsupportginger @ellerahs @littleredrobinhoodlum @graduatedmelon @mooshoon @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @mystery-5-5 <<<Not letting me @ you, please let me know if the spelling is wrong! @tazanna-blythe @friedchickening @crazylittlemunchkin @princertain <<< Same issue! @hauntedfreakdeputyhero @thornangelic727 @felicityroth @constancetruggle <<< Gotcha this time! @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen @northernbluetongue @miraculousninja