#Lazarus pits

[frownyalfred]

Bruce trains with the League of Shadows, grows close with Talia and Ra’s, but — eventually — spurns their movement to return to Gotham and pursue his mission.

Years later, he shows up in the middle of the night at Talia’s door. There’s a body in his arms, wrapped in bloodstained sheets.

“The Pit,” he whispers, trembling, “is it true?”

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 104

 Danny finds himself reincarnating, giving it a try so to say. A new start of sorts, though he knows that Tucker will also be somewhere in the world and Sam will be keeping an eye whenever she’s not working on her uh, internship with Overgrowth. 

 He somehow, despite being in a world of heroes and villains, ends up reincarnating into some sort of assassin cult. Apparently he is keeping the Fenton luck despite a new life. Along with his white hair from his ghost form. Which is understandable with how there’s an ecto-pool in the room over. 

 He’s pretty sure his father is a fruitloop too, maybe. Well, technically he was a fruitloop for a human, but again. Ecto-pool that he was apparently taking dips in. At least this time he has some baby sisters- even if the toddler one keeps trying to stab him. 

 Honestly, feels like home. 

[kreerain]

So, Danny is Dick's younger brother. He was given up because he was born premature and had health issues. Dick didn't know or thought the baby didn't make it.

Fast forward, Dick is now Nightwing and Danny is Phantom. Danny is in Gotham, for whatever reason, and comes across someone who echos ectoplasm back at him, like a half formed core. It's familiar in a way he can't name.

That chemical that is used to make Talons, Dionesium, is a stabilizing force for halfas. Dick has trace amount in his system.

Danny, in trying to find this guy, keeps finding Talons, who are all ectoplasm starved halfas with injured cores. Danny quickly learns to be careful about them, so when Nightwing shows up, echoing ectoplasm, Danny treats him like a Feral cat.

Red Hood thinks this is hilarious until Danny does it to him too. (Per DC, the Lazarus Pits are impure Dionesium. Per fanon, the Lazarus Pits are rotten ectoplasm.) Danny doesn't know about that yet. All he knows, is he just found out he's not as alone as he thought and these two are even nice! Even if the one with a clearer core is very obviously sick with some kind of contamination.

[impyssadobsessions]

DPXDC IDEA Im pretty sure someone probably thought of it before but like...

What if Danny died same time Jason was thrown into the Lazarus pit? Switching their places. Jason stumbles out of the portal and Danny crawling out of the pits.

Imagine Jason can be mistaken for Danny, and Fenton parents are so fixed on the fix portal that Sam n Tuck can get away with pretending jason's danny.. convincing a confused jason to play along because of the Fentons views on ghosts. Jazz is only one that points out that's not danny, so sam n tuck have to fill jazz in.

Danny is immediately recognized as not Jason but the league takes interest as the child was "born" from the pit.

Basically jason ends up being Amity's hero while they all try to figure out what happened and where danny is. The thought he was dead lingering in their minds. Jason beimg determined to help.

Danny being trained as an assassin, called phantom. He hates every second of it and is terrified. But he has no idea how to get back home. The Lazarus water is protected and even trying to go back through it results to just hitting dirt.

[heroesriseandfall]

Jason Todd & Chronic Pain

I scrounged for the panels I know from Rebirth about Jason still having lingering pain and injuries from when the Joker killed him. We know Jason had substantial injuries and brain damage when he was resurrected, and Talia healed that with the Lazarus pit. But here’s some I know of being mentioned even after Talia healed him with the Lazarus pit.

The first I know of is when evil future Batman Tim targeted Jason’s hip because of a Joker-related injury that he claimed would eventually become debilitating for Jason. This move does take Jason out of the fight so it definitely seems like evil Tim successfully aggravated the injury.

Detective Comics #968 (Jan 2018) — earlier in #966 Batman Tim also mentioned future Jason would eventually lose an eye and a leg while fighting assassins.

More recently, regular, not-evil Tim referenced it while evaluating how to fight a Clayface Jason mimic:

Tim Drake: Robin #3 (Jan 2023) — Tim says the pit brought Jason back, which has sometimes been a thing. Originally Jason was only healed by the pit after he’d already been resurrected by something else.

This next one was black label, so it may or may not be canon (the creative team claims “it’s up to reader interpretation” and disagree on whether they personally think it is canon). I’m not a fan of the comic but it did pretty clearly indicate Jason had chronic pain from the Joker:

Batman: Three Jokers #2 (Nov 2020)

(There might be more than these—my reading of post flashpoint comics is kinda random and incomplete compared to my reading of post-Crisis. In post-Crisis though I think they mainly put emphasis on Jason’s destabilized mental health and didn’t really bring up physical aspects IIRC. His brain damage seemed healed and yet he seemed more affected after the pit than other one-time-in-the-pit characters like Dinah Lance or Cass Cain were.)

They haven’t bothered explaining how the pit didn’t heal them so far as I know (the pits kinda work to authorial convenience anyway). My route is usually to blame any weird Jason stuff on the strange, multiversal circumstances of his resurrection, but versions of his origin where he’s only brought back by the pit might not jive with that (which includes some Rebirth IIRC).

In any case, I do hope more writers pick up on this more and I love to see when it’s expanded upon a bit in fandom. I would already consider Jason’s mental health to be a disabling issue for him but it’s neat sometimes to have writers recognize chronic pain-related issues among DC characters. (I’d love to also see more expansion of Bruce mentioning he experienced chronic pain…it pops up every so often but rarely if ever in depth.)

Alt text is copied and expanded upon under read more below.

ID 1: Two panels from Detective Comics #968 showing Jason Todd as Red Hood leaping to fight evil future Batman Tim Drake. Jason says, “Sorry, Timmy, I don’t believe in Santa Claus.” Batman Tim slams his staff directly into Jason’s right hip joint, sending him flying back, and says, “Jason. In a few years you were going to learn that one of your bones never set right after the Joker killed you. There’s a growing debilitating bone spur in your hip joint. There, I found it for you you’re welcome.” They’re both in the batcave.

ID 2: A cropped panel from Tim Drake: Robin #3 showing a red narration box for Tim Drake which says: “The Lazarus Pit may have brought Jason back from the dead, but he’s still sensitive where The Joker killed him.”

ID 3: A comic page from Batman: Three Jokers #2. A Joker leans in Jason Todd’s face, looking intense and serious. The Joker says, “Who is the Joker, really? We’re going to find out.” The word “out” is written in an extended sing-songy way. The Jokers put Jason’s Red Hood helmet over his head but they’ve decorated it with a wide Joker-style grin. The two Jokers laugh, then one says, “We’ve spent considerable time trying to best answer that question: who is the Joker? We found that judge. A serial killer. A surgeon. All rather predictable and uninspiring. And then there’s you. Tell me something. Why would you put on that helmet and call yourself Red Hood after what we did?” Jason, who is sitting naked tied to the wooden chair, says, “Come on. Is every one of you copycats gonna ask me the same thing? It’s a joke.” One of the Jokers holds up a crowbar as the other says, “A joke? We left you with brain damage and permanent nerve pain. Physical and emotional trauma so severe that the only relief you ever find is when you inflict pain on others.” The Joker holds the crowbar by Jason’s head. “You and me, boy…..We’re more alike than you’d care to admit.”

ID 4: A comic page from Batman: Three Jokers #2 showing Jason Todd with no shirt on and small bandages on various parts of his arms and face. He looks at a calendar on a wall and reads the crossed out days that have physical therapy sessions written on them. He sees a stack of various healing and exercise books. The top book is titled Chronic Pain Management by Dr. D. Kresan. He picks it up. Barbara Gordon as Batgirl enters a different, dark room through a window.

ID 5: A comic page from Batman: Three Jokers #2 showing Barbara Gordon as Batgirl entering her own bedroom. She says, “Jason?” She sees a book on her bed titled “Chronic Pain Management” by Dr. D. Kresan. Jason says, “Barbara?” and walks out of the attached bathroom with only a towel around his waist. Babs says, “I figured you’d left.” Jason says, “I hope it’s okay I used the shower and I…I didn’t mean to go through your things. The closet door was open and that book looked…useful.” Babs says, “It was. Are you okay?” Jason has small bandages and bruises on his face as he says, “I don’t think I’ve ever been okay.” Babs looks concerned. Jason continues saying, “What the Joker said…about how I’ve been on the path to being like them for years…they’re not wrong. I don’t want to be like them though. I really don’t. You believe that, right?” Babs says, “I’m willing to.” Then Jason says, “Can I ask you something?”

[jasmines-library]

Lazarus Rising

WHUMPTOBER DAY 27: Prompt ‘scars’

Fandom: Batfam

Summary: after an accident takes your life, your brothers manage to find a way to bring you back. But it leaves you with a set of prominent scars that you struggle to come to terms with. But your brothers are there to help you realise that you are beautiful just the way you are.

Warnings: Death, description of wounds and scars, self hate.

Word count: 1.6k

MASTERLIST ⛤ WHUMPTOBER WORKS

🕸 ⋆ ⁶𖤐⁶ ࣪⋆🕸

It was a nasty accident.

An accident that had cost you your life. Your brothers had raced towards you, trying to haul the debris from the exploded building off of your body, but they were too late. You were dead. Still chest, blank stare, stone cold dead.

For a while, no one dared to move as Bruce cradled your bloody body. Not one of the boys attempted to hide the tears that rolled down their cheeks as you lay there devoid life in a pool of your own blood. The shrapnel had embedded itself if your back, and had sliced into other parts of your skin. You could see from the gash on your hand and on your cheek where you had tried to protect your face in vain.

The sight made Damian queasy and so he was the first to turn away, trying to burry the thought that he would never see the way you smiled with your eyes or simply hear your voice again.

Jason was the last to move. Long After Bruce had hauled your body away and his older brother had tried to pull him away gently by wrapping a strong arm around him. But all he could do was stare blankly at the crimson that stained the ground. It should have been him. He was the one who was supposed to be on patrol that night. But he bunked off and you took his place instead. His stomach knotted, tightening around him like a noose. He promised himself that he was going to find a way to bring you back.

And he did.

He didn’t want to tell his brothers what he was trying to do at first. But they caught on quickly after Jason was unable to hide the dark bags under his eyes any longer and they threatened to tell Bruce if he didn’t let up.

They were hesitant at first, but soon the four of them spent their free time delving into books and research. For a short while, their efforts seemed in vain and there were more frustrated sighs drifting across the room than words. But in one glorious moment, the words finally floated into Jason’s ears.

“The Lazarus pit.” He read from the screen what illuminated his small face in the dark. He had managed to find it after getting in contact with his mother and wracking his brain for something she had accidentally mentioned in passing. Talia was reluctant at first, but with Damian’s charm she was quick to give in. “My mother knows where it is. We can bring y/n back but…”

Tim, who had crowded round his little brother squinted. “But what?”

“She’s not going to be the same. The pit it-

It messes with your mind. And it might not work at all… there’s a time frame.”

Jason shook his head and pulled on his coat. “It’s better than nothing.”

~

The four of them carried your body gently towards the swirling green liquid. The pit was hidden in some sort of cave that had been dug out into some sort of lab.

“So this is it, huh?” Dick asked as they lay you down gently next to the pit. He could hardly bring himself to look at you. Your beauty was still obscured by the nasty gash that still hadn’t closed. He was so gentle as he manoeuvred your fragile body, as though just his fingers grazing along your cold skin would hurt you.

“Yeah.” Tim sighed.

“Keep your guard up. We don’t know how she’s going to react when she wakes up. She might be scared and confused.” Headed Damian who had practically recited his mother's words after committing them to memory.

There was little else said as they eased your body into the green liquid, watching as you floated just below the surface. It didn’t take long for the chemicals to take effect, stitching your skin back together and bringing more structure back to your bones and more life back to your skin.

Suddenly, you sat up with a gasp, flailing and splashing the substance of the edge of the pool as you dragged yourself out of it. Your clothes clung sticky to your skin. Your eyes were wide and didn’t settle on anything long before they were darting to the next thing and the next after that.

When Tim reached out to you your instincts kicked in, and you gripped his hand to flung him over your shoulder which caused him to let out a grunt as he collided with the stone.

Your mind was racing at a million miles an hour. You were scared. You didn’t know where you were or why every inch of your body was drenched in a dull but persistent ache.

“Y/n?”

You froze calming down for just one brief moment. You knew that voice and its gentle lilt. It was a voice you could picture a face with. Dark haired with stern eyes, but behind the facade was really a gentle boy with a soft spot for his little sister. You turned, tilting your head at the boy.

“Jason?”

~

You couldn’t bear to glance in the mirror anymore because they were all your gaze could settle on. Pale and spidering the scars crawled up your back and along your neck to your cheek. The pit had worked to some extent and although your mind was seemingly recovering and readjusting, the pit had failed to completely heal your skin, leaving a scar in its wake. Damian said it was something to do with the time scale. Something to do with the fact that the Lazarus put worked better on the dead the shorter they had passed.

You still couldn’t quite come to terms with that word. Dead. It sat in your mind like a weed. No matter how many times you plucked it, it always wormed its way back through the cracks.

For the first few weeks of being back at the manor, you spent a lot of your time trying to cover up the angry lines. The ones on your back were easy enough. You had just resorted to wearing a hoodie. Usually one of the boys’. They gave you a sense of comfort. But after a while, you began to miss wearing your own clothes. You missed being able to express yourself without it feeling wrong. So, there you were, standing in front of your full length mirror in your favorite top, staring at the scar.

There was a soft knock on the door before it peeled open, whining on its hinges and Jason saw you standing there. He couldn’t help the small grin that ebbed onto his lips.

You immediately tried to cover yourself. “Get out.”

“I-“ Jason didn’t want to move. He often feared that it he took his eyes off of you for too long then you would vanish again. Which meant that he was checking in on you much to your dismay. He was so proud of how far you had come in just a few short weeks. “You look beautiful, y/n.”

You recoiled. What? “Jason. Don’t look at them.”

You were about to pull on a hoodie when Damian’s voice peeped round the corner. He had grown impatient and set off with Tim to drag you to movie night. Dick went with them too, unable to shake his worry. Since you came back the four of them were constantly on edge, even if they didn’t care to admit it. “Is she coming or- whoa.”

Tim nearly squealed at the sight of you. “I thought I’d never see that top again.”

Your skin flushed as you sank down onto you bed.

“All of you. Out.”

“Why?” Damian implored.

“Because…I don’t like people looking at them. They’re disgusting.”

“Why the hell would you think that?” Jason was practically outraged at your words.

You couldn’t help it when your eyes brimmed with tears and your voice wavered. “Look at them, Jay!”

“I don’t see anything wrong with them.” Dick shrugged coming to sit next to you. “Do you?”

The rest of your brothers shook their heads.

You gave him a look.

Dick rolled up his top to reveal a long scar along his solar plexus. “Do you see anything wrong with this one?” He asked. Jason then pulled up the hem of his red top and shifted round on the mattress to show you the ones that littered his back. They were pinkish and resembled various different shapes. Or those?”

You shook your head. “No…it’s just. They’re everywhere.”

“So? They’re beautiful y/n. You’re beautiful. Does having a scar make Jason any less of a person that he was before?” Tim asked. You shook your head meekly. “Your scars don’t define you. No matter how much you think they do. You’re still the same gentle girl you were before.”

“Besides,” Damian chimed, “I think they’re really cool. Like lightning.”

You couldn’t help but chuckle at that thought. Your brothers always had a way of bringing light to a dark situation. It was just something that they did; they helped without thinking no matter the cost. You were glad to have them by your side, even if they did get a little annoying at times.

Although it took a little while, and a bucket-load of tears, your slowly began to embrace the scars. You began to express yourself in new ways that you hadn’t done before. In ways that brought a beaming grin to your face. And to your brothers. They were unbelievably proud and their hearts swelled. But it was one thing that you had learnt that really stuck out to you. That they loved you, just the way you were.

🕸 ⋆ ⁶𖤐⁶ ࣪⋆🕸

<- DAY 26 ⛤ DAY 28 ->

Taglist:

@deans-spinster-witch

@senjoritanana

@amaryllis23

[dannyphannypack]

oh hear me out on this one . yknow the ectoplasmic filtration thing that is literally canon to danny phantom? what if when danny doesn’t clean it the ectoplasm that makes up the portal starts becoming corrupted and danny starts getting moodier … and what if he gets really busy and stressed out and forgets and suddenly starts snapping at sam and tucker and picking fights with students and being a little too rough on ghosts .. what if an improperly filtered ghost portal becomes the equivalent of lazarus pits … just a thought

[stillebesat]

*vibrating a normal amount*

GUYS. There is a Lazarus Pit somewhere in the BATCAVE.

So. Apparently at some point. Bane and Batman (probably not together? I'm sorry I'm just going off of a wiki) were both going around destroying Lazarus Pits.

ONLY.

Batman eventually found out that the Lazarus Pits are actually needed to keep the world stable. You can't destroy them all. That's bad. Very bad.

And so he decided to create his own and where would he put said pit? In the safest place he knows.

The Batcave.

Because he knows that's like the one place that Ra's will never get to so therefore The Demon Head will never use it.

But like can you imagine the DP X DC possibilities?!?!

Like what if the person who told Batman that destroying all the Pits was bad was the Ghost King?

What if Danny was the one who helped Batman to pick out a safe location in the Batcave as well as design the holding area for the Pit/Portal so that it would remain stable and be unlikely to hurt any humans?

What if the increased ectoplasm in the area makes the Batfam more liminal?

What if the increased ectoplasm in the air allows certain ghosts (Bruce's Parents, Dick's Parents, etc) to become more visible?

What if, depending on the timeline of just when the Gotham Lazarus Pit is created, if it was created sometime after Jason's death but before his revival....it's ectoplasmic presence helps to fully revive Jason. He forms a core in the coffin. His mind returns to him without the LoA having to get involved. He instinctively uses ghost abilities to escape from his grave without having to dig his way out. He returns to his family.

What if the Pit was created while Jason was with the League. And he's dealing with corrupted ectoplasm from that Pit. But when he finally finally ends up in the Cave (maybe he's severely injured and has to stay there for a while?) the pure ectoplasm in the Cave helps to filter out the corrupted stuff and helps him form a core then?

What if Jason feels like he can never go home because he's been replaced, he has too much blood on his hands....and yet the moment he steps foot in the cave or steps foot in the manor he feels like he's come HOME. And he has no idea why he feels so safe and protected there and why it's so difficult for him to want to leave when he's HOME until a while later when he finally discovers the presence of the Pits.

What if Batman created the Lazarus Pit on his own and he or some other family member accidentally becomes a Halfa in the process?

What if Ghost King Danny feels the presence of a new connection to Earth opening up and goes to investigate and discovers the Batfam?

What if Phantom (injured maybe, possibly in desperate need of a new haunt) comes through the portal/pit after they're created and feels the presence of another halfa (jason) or else feels a 'connection' to the Batfam in some way and ends up making Gotham his new home? (Found Family AU)

Also. Like. Could you imagine the freak out that Batman would have the first time an actual ghost came up through the pit? And if said ghost wasn't Phantom? Like nothing in his research mentioned creatures emerging from the pit itself! What is he to do?!

He created the pit in the cave to keep it safe from Ra's but he had no idea that the pits would come with their own 'problems.' And now suddenly there are these beings from the Infinite Realms hanging around the cave and he's desperately trying to research just who these beings are and what they're capable of and trying to find contingencies just in case they're more evil than gremlins. Plus HOW does he keep them from entering the cave itself?!

Imagine Technus messing with the technology in the cave. Skulker borrowing weapons to augment his suit. Johnny taking the Batfam's various motorcycles out for a spin.

Like...guys. There are soooooo many possiblities. So many.

[batpham-discord-highlights]

The Lazarus Pits Stink - Literally

source: #ghosts-and-bats

S

The idea of Ra's wanting to see if he can control Danny by sticking him in a pit, only for Danny to fight tooth and nail just because it smells terrible is a funny concept that won't leave my mind

EN

like a cat with a bath, only instead of a bath it’s just like. a tub of mud

I

he gets dunked in and flies straight out of the water hissing "UGH! GROSSS"

G

"Oh you're gonna dunk be in green goop? That's fine- WHAT THE FCK IS THAT IT IS RANCID-"

I

"This is going to take ages to wash out!"

EN

it’s like. he goes from not fighting at all to kicking and screaming and biting after he gets in smelling distance of the pit

S

Danny, with a horrified face: oh, I am not going in there

(Ra's thinks he's managed to scare him but really Danny's just trying not to gag/lose his lunch)

G

It'd be so funny if he just plugs his nose and asked if they dumped sewage into it

EN

“Why is it decomposing! how old is this!”

HG

Danny: how about I put you in a swimming pool that's not had a filter for 50+ years instead

CoF

Danny when he sniffs Ra's and smells centuries of ghost zone sewage

EN

“Whose corpse are you bathing in?!?”

CoF

He's putting Jason into a cleansing bath the moment he gets his hands on one

Essential oils and everything

S

Danny: there are not enough tomatoes on the planet to wash that off of anything.

CoF

Danny pulling on a different hazmat suit and handing anyone who's been near the pit with a pair of comically large tweezers

He got a gas mask on

G

The crazy thing is it feels correct in the bayman level of crazy

S

Danny: we are on 24hr quarantine bitch

Jason: (groans)

G

I do like the idea of Jason just having gross ecto contamination

CoF

It's okay bc Danny likes Jason and will decontaminate him 🤗

Ra’s and the league?? No

EN

damian, jason, cass, and everyone else just like. wakes up in a completely white room. danny is in a adjacent room looking in through the glass “decontamination starts now idiots”

S

Even funnier if only ghosts can smell it to the extent Danny does. Like, yeah, the pits smell putrid, but Jason's been not stinky to human noses for a while. Danny thinks he smells like death, and not in the "you're a little like me" way.

HG

What if Jason can smell it a little and has been trying for however long to wash it off but can't

EN

fbfhfahzfjdg jason having a whole “you’re…like me?” moment while danny is just gagging and coughing and holding his nose

EN

finally, we figured out why he came back angry /j

S

Jason: that's what made me smelly?????

Damian, grumpy: so it would seem

A

Skulker: alright, which cesspool has this one been bathing in? Nigeria? The Arctic? Atlanta?

Skulker: Nah, definitely Tibet. After the summer of '59 I'd recognize that stench anywhere

S

Danny: what was the summer of 59?

Skulker: none of your business

Danny: if I came back from the dead smelling like hot dog shit in an on-fire trash can, I'd be pissed too.

Jason: was the visual really necessary?

Danny: yes

HG

Jason: no, you're right it was

[deadsetobsessions]

I like the idea of the pit madness, I do. It’s one of my favorite topics. The potential for angst in a supernatural rage driving Jason’s actions and effectively putting him in the backseat of his mind during one of the rage fits is tempting.

But I also adore the idea of Gotham just having zombies be a regular thing. I adore the idea of Jason coming back and digging himself out of his grave out of sheer spite and trauma, all in the name of revenge. The only thing in his head is kill the Joker and nothing else. But he’s like a mini, breakable Grundy, and the League of Assassins coming in with the pit just to heal him and wind him up against the bats.

I like the idea that he got validated, at least in his intentions of murder and that he really took a dip in the dark side, to the point where he brutally beats/almost murder Tim (a child) because he truly does not care past killing the joker. I like the idea of Jason loosing what made him a good Robin and then finding it again and instead of killing himself to be that bright child, he reigns himself and his hatred in in order to stop hurting the people he loves.

Like he’s justified in his anger, but I like that it takes a while until he realizes he’s not justified in his actions (some of them, at least). I want Jason to choose to be ruthless, to be evil. I want him to voluntarily hurt Tim and make that decision with a clear mind. I want Jason to look at his life and choose the less lethal way and to own up to his actions without the shield of the Pit Madness.

Like, good isn’t something that comes easily to an adult. Jason’s no longer the kid he was when good was always the answer. We have to choose it, actively. I think Jason would be a good reflection of that.

[moonlitdesertdreams]

Slumber Party?

A/N: This has no point. None at all besides cuddles and fluff :) Featuring a teensy bit of Bruce POV at the end.

Tags: Jason Todd x f!reader, Jason Todd x you, Jason Todd x Reader, Jason Todd, Red Hood, Bruce Wayne, Batman, Bruce Wayne is Batman, Batfam, Batfamily, DC Imagines, Red Hood x f!reader, Red Hood x you, Red Hood x Reader, The Joker, Death in the Family, Lazarus Pits, Nightwing, Robin, Damian Wayne, Richard Grayson, Dick Grayson, Batfamily fluff

WARNINGS: mentions of grief/loss/depression

Summary: There's no better cure to a hard day than cuddles and ramen noodles.

Word count: 2.6k+

Grief is a funny thing.

Sometimes you feel it acutely, perhaps from the initial loss of someone close to you or ending a relationship. Other times it’s a chronic ache, visiting now and then to remind you of someone or something and drag your day to a halt. 

Today, you were feeling the latter. 

It’s been over four years since your brother died, and the pain is manageable now. In the beginning it was like losing a piece of yourself- it was losing a piece of yourself. Now, you think about him every day and even laugh at something which reminds you of him when your family gets together. It isn’t painful anymore, and you’ve accepted what’s happened and the fact that no one can change it. Overall, your heart did what hearts do. They heal around the hole left in them, and you push on to the next day. 

You hadn’t had a bad day in a long while, and suppose you were due for one. The young brother and sister playing tag down the street were overflowing with youthful innocence, their excited shouts bouncing off concrete sidewalks and ancient brick buildings. When you realized the boy shared a name with your brother though, the pain crept back into the corners of your psyche. It wallowed there before swelling and penetrating the fenced-in part of your heart, tugging at the exposed heartstrings. 

Hence, your current position. You shuffle down the grocery store aisle, one Airpod shoved into your ears and hood up while some celebrity podcast rambles to fill the void. A sniffle escapes without proper permission, and you hastily wipe your face with your sleeve. Tears prick at your eyes, and you blink rapidly while tossing a whole case of instant ramen into the cart. If there was anything you wanted to do, it was to sit on the couch with your electric blanket and eat shitty ramen while crying your eyes out. 

Of course, nothing could be that easy. 

Footsteps approach from behind, and you tense automatically. They’re short strides, and you discern it’s a young person fairly easily. Slowly, you lift the hood from your head and turn, furrowing your brow at the pint-sized person. 

“Damian? What are you doing here?”

The youngest Wayne raises one aristocratic brow, wrinkling the smooth olive skin on his forehead. “Shopping, obviously.”

He launches himself up effortlessly, landing inside of your shopping cart. Of fucking course he does, because the big carts you hate pushing were the only ones left, and -oh yeah- he was Batman’s offspring. 

“Seriously?” You groan and drop your head to the handle. “Dami, I’m really-”

“Sad? Upset? In need of comfort?” 

This time you turn the whole cart around- Damian included- to face the second member of your pity party. Dick Grayson leans casually against the shelves, dressed in dark jeans and a blue sweatshirt, black hair tousled perfectly as per usual. 

“God, you too? Can’t even shop without being bothered by your cult.”  You bite out, snatching a package of tortillas from the shelf near Dick’s arm. 

It was a bit more hostile than you intend, but you’re not in the mood for a Wayne Family intervention at the moment. You’ve had enough since Jason had come back from the dead. 

“Hey, we really were just shopping and saw a familiar face. You looked sad, so Damian wanted to check on you.” Dick pushes away from the shelf.

And if that wasn’t the biggest load of shit you’d ever heard. 

“Really? You two? Shopping?”

“Alfred is visiting family out of the country.”

You narrow your eyes. “And they entrusted shopping to the two members of the family least  likely to step foot in the kitchen?”

“Tt. Nonsense. They entrusted shopping to me, since I am the only one capable of making and fulfilling a list.” Damian glances at his adopted brother. “Grayson is only here because I required a driver.”

“Uh-huh… Well, it’s always nice to see you guys, but I gotta go.” You haul Damian out of the cart by his armpits, eliciting a squawk of protest that almost breaks your eardrum. “Things to do.”

“Like crying by yourself at the store?” Dick presses. 

You begin to push the cart away. “Goodbye Dick. Goodbye, Damian.”

----

Back at your apartment, the TV blares a depressing Netflix documentary while you put your ramen in a bowl. While the depression you’d felt at first had ebbed away, being alone was not exactly helping the issue. Now it seems that each TV show or movie you attempt has something to remind you of the pain. 

Ramen was the only comforting thing you sought. 

While you were praying that Jason would be over soon, you refuse to admit it. Any text to him would cause worry, and the last thing you want is Jason to be in a hurry while doing his nightly business. With your luck, he would channel it into an explosive to take down a city block full of mob members and cause an all-out war. Maybe behead some druglords. Or torture a up-and coming criminal mastermind. 

Or something else extreme. You’re not 100% accurate when it comes to predicting Jason’s pit-influenced creative thinking.

You continue on your journey back to the couch, and stoop to plug in your electric blanket. Tinny television speakers ramble on about the mistreatment of killer whales in captivity while you tuck yourself into the couch.

“Seclusion isn’t the ideal treatment for grief, you know.” 

You leap up from the couch to face the fire escape window. Darkness is settling over Gotham, but you can see the faint glow of two lenses outside the open window. Damian nudges it open enough to crawl in, changing from a clumsy tumble into a graceful flip faster than you can blink. 

“You’re breaking into my apartment now?” You don’t deign to give him a reaction, simply plopping down on the couch. As much as you hate to admit it, the adopted Wayne boys were something of brothers to you. Pushing them away at the store was nothing more than to protect yourself from embarrassment, but you can’t run away now. 

“It wasn’t breaking in.” Damian said as he moves to sit beside you on the couch. “Your fire escape is always open.”

You grunt in answer and decide to slurp on ramen instead. Damian flicks his cape boredly and focuses on the TV. 

“Are you watching a film about orcas?”

It’s kind of sweet, Damian sitting with you in an attempt to soothe the pain you were feeling. He might be Bruce Wayne’s son, but there’s a flicker of something more in the young man. 

“Documentary.” You mumble around a mouthful of noodles. “Think ‘s called Blackfish.”

“Perfect.” Damian declares. “I enjoy educational programs. I will watch it with you.”

Your heart flickers at the statement. So young, yet striving to be the most intelligent creature he can. But if there was one thing you know, it’s that where there’s a Robin, there’s a Batman not far behind. 

“Where’s your father?”

Damian huffs and falls back into the couch cushions. “Meeting with Gordon.”

You nod. “I’m sure he’s not thrilled about where you’re at.”

It wasn’t that you and Bruce didn’t like each other. Moreso the fact that he disapproved of Jason’s actions, and you were aligned with Jason. Therefore, you got the same end of the stick as the Red Hood: the shitty side. 

“Tt. His petty disagreements with Todd are none of my concern.” He answers haughtily, “Besides, he has no direct quarrel with you. Nor would he, since I am helping you.”

You look away from the whales. “Are you?”

As usual, the sarcasm soars over Damian’s head. “Of course. You’re having a day of mourning, and as I said: it’s unhealthy to be alone.”

 You ignore the pang of sadness and smile at him. “You know, Damian, you’re my favorite of the Wayne wards.”

He scoffs in the most menacing way an eleven-year old can. “We both know that’s a lie.” 

After a good ruffling of his ornery black locks, you lean back into your side of the couch and collect your rapidly cooling bowl to finish it. 

The documentary continues on, and you zone out. Tapping away at Twitter and Instagram draws your attention, and by the time the apartment door opens, you’re dozing off. Your phone has slipped from your grip and the afghan blanket has been tugged across the couch. A warm weight leans into your side, and you decide moving isn’t an option for the foreseeable future. 

Somewhere in your subconscious, you recognize the sound of the shower turning on and off. A faint haze of humidity wafts across the apartment, followed by a gentle brush of fingers over your hair. 

Eyelashes flutter against your cheeks at the touch, and you observe Jason hovering above you. His hair is shiny and dripping, black tangles with white as it hangs over his eyes. A black t-shirt clings to his damp chest, and sweatpants adorn his lower half.

“Hey, you.” You yawn, leaning your cheek into the kiss Jason lays there. 

Awareness bleeds into you, bringing the sensation of another smaller body near you to the forefront of your mind. Much to your surprise Damian is asleep, body slumped against your shoulder and domino mask discarded on the coffee table. You recall his dedication to keep you company earlier in the night, and smile softly.

“Big Bird is on his way to pick up Demon.” Jason opens his mouth to continue, but stops to stare at the window. “Fuckin’ birds. He’s here already.” 

Sure enough, the same window Damian crawled through is now occluded by the lithe shape of Nightwing. One dramatic somersault later, he manages to land himself on the couch between you and Damian. The youngest Wayne opens his eyes with a scowl but lets Nightwing toss an arm around his shoulders.

“Hello again.” He chirps, then looks to Jason. “Jaybird.” 

“Dickwing. You’re on my couch.” He grits in response.

Dick smiles innocently at his foster brother, leaning a head of wild black locks onto your shoulder. His arms wrap around you in a loose hug. “Not your couch. I am cuddling your girl though.”

The sheer stupidity of their rivalry draws a giggle from your throat. You reach a hand up to Jason’s waist, tugging at his belt loops. 

“It’s alright, babe. I love you more than him.” You reassure, “Especially since you don’t stalk me at the grocery store.”

Jason stiffens, even with your playful tone. “You keeping tabs on us now, Wing?”

Dick pulls off his domino to roll his eyes at Jason. “Couldn’t be bothered. Dami and I had to do the shopping ‘cause Alfred’s on vacation. She was the one across town and crying in the cereal aisle.”

You drop your head against the top of Dick’s with a heavy sigh.

Teal eyes bore into you, suddenly filled with concern. “What happened, Bug?”

Swallowing the trepidation the claws into your throat, you look up at Jason. 

“I was just having a bad morning. Saw some kids that reminded me of my brother.” You grasp Jason’s hand, rubbing gentle circles onto it. “Damian stopped by tonight so I had company.”

“And now, I’m here! It’s like a family get-together.” Dick hums with excessive enthusiasm. “You should join the party, Jay.”

While Dick Grayson was annoying at his worst, he was a sweetheart at his best. All of the Wayne wards were, in their own way. Him being an advocate for Jason through the toughest times had brought the three of you close- no matter how much Jason would deny it.

“For once, I agree with Dick. You really should join.” You wiggle free from Dick’s hold, reaching your arms up to tug at Jason’s. “If you dont, I’ll be forced to cuddle Damian instead. Or Dick, if I’m desperate.”

Sleepily, Damian pipes up. “I shall not be used as someone’s teddy bear.”

This prompts Dick to let you go and instead rotate to gather Damian in his arms. “Too late baby bird. You’re the best teddy bear.”

“Unhand me at once, Grayson!” 

Much to your delight, while the other two argue, Jason relents. And that is how the four of you end up nestled into your old couch, Jason against the armrest pouting. You’re cuddled into his right side with an arm tossed around your shoulders, while Dick sits with his back on the opposite armrest and feet tossed across your lap. You choose a random documentary and press play, letting it drone on over the relentless bickering. 

“Touch me with your feet, Dickwing and I’ll break ‘em.”

“Relax, Jaybird. I washed them last week.”

“Yeah? Well I washed my machete when I got home tonight.”

“I oiled my sword the night before last.”

“Remind me why the fuck Bruce has a stick in his ass about a gun but he lets you carry that?”

It’s soothing, you realize, tucked in between three of Gotham’s heroes- or two vigilantes and a crime lord, as it were. Their bickering chases away the bits of grief that still litter your mind, and you relax a little more into Jason’s warm body as the minutes tick by.

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

Bruce Wayne hasn’t spoken to Bug in over a year. 

Not since the day after Jason tried to force him into killing the Joker. Since Bruce threw a batarang at his second son’s throat and the building exploded.

And, in that case, he might have deserved the tongue-lashing. He’d pledged to let Jason and her be- to let them live and enjoy each other as long as the Red Hood stayed in his territory. Bruce had followed that pledge to a tee too, until this morning. 

Damian and Dick were nowhere to be found after patrols, and though it wasn’t unusual for them to do their own thing- brotherly bonding, Dick had called it- but it was unusual for them not to check in. Tim was sick tonight, leaving Bruce with an odd sense of melancholy as he traversed the streets. Thus, when four-thirty rolled around, Bruce found himself hopping rooftops to Bug’s apartment. 

The fire escape is rickety, stained with red splotches that Bruce doesn’t want to believe are dried blood. It rattles against the building as he turns to the window and kneels to peer through the glass. 

Oh. 

Oh. 

His heart does a strange sort of leap as he sees two- three- of his boys curled up on the couch. Both outer seats have the footrests extended, and pillows littered the floor. Jason is stretched out on the far side, closest to the door. One hand is tucked behind his head, and the other is wrapped around Bug’s waist where she’s tucked into his side, legs twined with his on the recliner. Dick, unsurprisingly, takes up the most space, head pillowed far opposite from Jason and legs tossed over Bug’s lap. To top it off, Damian has managed to pile himself in the middle, arms wrapped around one of Bug’s and body pressed between Dick’s legs and the back of the couch. 

There are three domino masks and a broken red hood mask on the coffee table, though any identifiable costumes are covered by the blankets. Bruce winces at the amount of guns he sees discarded on the kitchen island and the crowbar propped near Jason’s end of the couch. 

He gnaws on the idea of sliding the window open, drumming his gloves gently on the glass. Eventually Bruce straightens, taking a deep breath and turning towards the east where dawn is just beginning to break over the ocean. His kids are safe, Gotham is quiet. 

And Bruce can deal with that. So he lets his kids sleep a little longer.

As always, if you enjoy please like/reblog and check out my links for more :)

Masterlist | Send me ideas

[frownyalfred]

Listen — and I’m going to touch your hand when I say this — there’s no way post-Lazarus Pit Jason Todd is sub-200 lbs.

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 36

We’ve gotten a lot of Danny as Talia’s son prompts and AUs, but hear me out: Danny as Dusan’s son. 

 For those who don’t know, Dusan is Ras al Ghul’s son, practically his second in command, who would have been his heir if not for being albino, which caused Ras to consistently reject him. So how is he his second in command?

 Well after giving up on getting his father’s respect, he left and secretly returned as the White Ghost, working his way up the ranks. 

 Now I don’t know about you, but that gives a lot of opportunities for how Danny could be his. Maybe he met Maddie during his travels and got curious about other fighting styles, maybe it was a one night stand while Maddie and Jack were taking a break, maybe they had an open relationship. Heck, maybe he’s not even biologically Dusan’s but got adopted after he saw (to him at least) a child getting repeatedly shot at and rejected by his parents for being born the way he was, at least from what he observes. Maybe he just trains this white-haired death-touched child and later encounters each other again after a reveal gone wrong. Honestly there’s so many options. 

[dxrksong]

What if the Lazarus pits had blob ghosts and they merged together to became a concept ghost?

Now for the memes!

-----

Al Ghul approaches the pits

L: uh-uh, what's he doing?

Al Ghul: *dives into the pits*

L: UGH! *Pukes out a blob ghost that looked around before immediately rejoining Lazarus* NO! GET HIM OUT OF HERE!!! OUT!!!

Al Ghul: *gets yeeted* ?!

------

Would Lazarus like Jason and the others? 🤔 strangely enough, I'd say yes.

L: At least you guys didn't try to just constantly USE ME like my last master did! *dramatic sobs*

Batman: *desperately trying not to adopt this unknown entity* how OLD are you?

L: *suddenly fine* oh, me? I just formed yesterday! Let me tell ya, it was QUITE a surprise to suddenly be able to move and see! It's been a true experience so far, I can see why you guys like doing this so much!

Batman: *physically restraining himself* Hn.

------

Jason: so what exactly are you?

L: oh, me? Well I don't know TOO much but from what my instincts are telling me, is that I'm a type of ghost!

Dick: GHOST????

L: yes! Specially a Concept ghost! Like how there's a concept of time and space, I'm a concept of the pits.....I guess.

Jason: you guess???

L: only a few days old, remember? I don't even have a guardian ghost yet!

Batman: *immediately at attention* are you supposed to have one?

L: yep! Every baby ghost needs a guardian! It's not like we can know everything the moment we're born. Hell, I don't even know where the other ghosts are, all there is here are shades....and remnants.

Tim: I have so many questions.

L: and I have so little answers! It seems we're stuck in the same boat Tim! (Oh btw Tim, your clones wanted me to say Hi)

The fam: WAIT WHAT?!

--------

Lazarus and the shades getting along as Lazarus greets them like one would do to their pets.

L: why hello! Yes, hello! Look at you, look at you *coos*

-------

Hmmm 🤔 Lazarus would need a guardian that can make portals in order to show them how and to make sure they get fresh ectoplasm when need. And the only ghosts I can think of is Wulf and Clockwork.

But there's also Cujo.

Lazarus meeting the only other ghost he's seen and it's this small dog.

L:

Cujo:

L: are you my dad??

Cujo: *sweating because oh no this child has no parents, but how the bark does he raise a baby ghost?*

--------

Tho Wulf parenting Lazarus would also be cute.

Walker finds Wulf and immediately spots the kid.

Walker also knows that bonds between a baby ghost and it's parent are near impossible to break. (Not to mention against the rules.)

So then it'd be Walker and Wulf raising this baby ghost together lmao!

[fullofpossibilities]

I don’t know if this has been done yet but here goes.

No one knows what the Lazarus Pits are made out of, a lot of dc x dp fans have speculated that it is made out of corrupted ectoplasm or that it’s a natural portal from the Ghost Zone. 

I have another idea. 

Tim didn’t quite know what he was looking at.

He had been sent to investigate what Bruce suspected to be another Lazarus Pit forming, but what he found instead was...well yes a Lazarus Pit, but also a angsty teenager with white hair and eyes to match the waters behind him. 

One that was glaring at him in a “don’t come closer or you’re gonna have a bad time” type of way. 

Darn it, he just has all the luck doesn’t he.

“Look, we can talk this out if you want, but you need to step away from that stuff, it’s dangerous.” Tim had been having this conversation with the kid for almost twenty minutes, if you counted talking to someone who didn’t talk back a conversation.

In fact, he almost jumped when the kid finally spoke.

“I could say the same about you, do you even know what that stuff is?”

Tim frowns at this. “Yeah, do you?” The kid just looks amused. “Do you now? Well then you won’t mind if I take it.” 

OK time to wrap things up.

“Look obviously you’re messing with stuff you don’t understand-”

“Look if you know what this is then you know it’s mine so-” 

“Woah woah back up! What are you talking about??????”

“It’s glowing, it’s green, it brings people back from the dead, and OH YEAH it’s kind of my blood because I died here lol.”

......all the freaking luck. 

Au built on the idea that the Lazarus Pits are places where Danny has “fallen” in battle when doing errands through time for clockwork. Building off the idea that he is a halfa, and a king at that, that is why his blood is powerful and brings people back to life instead of leaving them in death (plus, you know, the whole he represents both?). Whenever he ‘dies again’ and some of his blood gets left on the ground after a few centuries it creates a natural well of “corrupted life” that Danny has to clean up now that he’s back in the present. 

Also please have this.

Danny:

Jason:

Danny: So why exactly do you smell like you bathed in my blood?

Jason: Uh...

[piedpiperart]

You Could Know Me pt 3

Chapter 2

Peter comes to with a gasp, sweaty and panicking as he lurches to the side to cough out whatever he swallowed in that horrible sea of green. His breathing is ragged, feeling like electricity burning through his body and ringing in his ears. Peter barely feels the hand rubbing circles onto his back or the other holding him up gently, leaning him away from where he’d puked. He groans, gasping for breath as he tries to get his body to cooperate.

Blinking the spots away from his vision, Peter opens his eyes to see a room he’d never been in before. His ears stop ringing in time with his spidey sense enough for him to hear someone talking to him. Something like “It’s okay,”he catches and thinks he recognizes the deep voice. 

“Strange?” Peter croaks, going along with the hands that push him to sit up in what feels like a bed. He hears a huff of air closer than he expected and blinks until he catches sight of black and white hair. 

“Yeah kid, it’s pretty strange,”The guy says and… that’s not Dr. Strange, Peter thinks. He’s younger than Stephen. Not that Stephen is old, Peter amends, hoping the wizard isn’t reading his mind or anything. But both of them are definitely older than Peter. “You’re doing good, just take a moment to breathe, okay?”

Peter hums, closing his eyes and taking deep, slow breaths. He sort of felt like how he did the night he got bit by that spider. “What happ’ned?” Peter rasps, opening his eyes again to look at the guy with him. He feels a bit better, but for some reason the thoughts aren’t connecting. His spidey sense isn’t freaking out much anymore, and Peter feels like he’ll be safe with the stranger. 

The guy pauses before saying,”What do you remember, kiddo?”

And Peter has to close his eyes again to think. He remembers Dr. Strange. Stephen. He was… there was the sand guy, the crocodile man, octopus iron man, and electricity guy. But… Aunt May. Peter makes a whimpered sound before he can stop it,”A’nt May,”He frowns, bringing his hand to his eyes as his face heats up with tears. His head hurts. 

Peter feels the guy hold him close in what might be a hug, but Peter’s too out of it to think. His aunt is gone. She was… the last family member he had. Now he’s all alone. Is Dr. Strange gone too? Did Peter somehow cause him to leave like everyone else in his life? After his parents, uncle Ben, Mr. Stark, Mr. Beck, Aunt May… 

 But… Peter pulls away from the hug to look at the guy with him and he goes back easily. Peters on a mattress on the floor with a few blankets around him. They’re both sitting up against the wall, Jason bracketing him in to make sure he doesn’t fall off. “Who’re you?”

The guy sighs,”I’m Jason. Do you remember how you got here?” He asks hesitantly, and Peter remembers the last spell, only… The green. The green was everywhere. He doesn’t remember anything after that.

“Green,”Peter whispers, hugging himself tighter, careful not to dig too hard into his skin with his super strength. “I- there was green an- and I couldn’t breathe-”

“Hey, hey it’s okay, you’re okay now,”Jason soothes, but winces. “They put you in the Lazarus Pits.”

“What?”Peter looks over with wide eyes. He didn’t know what that meant. He was pretty sure Stephen’s spell went wrong somehow, but that didn’t explain the green water. Was Jason an alternate version of Strange? Peter squints, but no, Jason doesn’t seem familiar at all.

“I know,”Jason starts,”It’s not pleasant to remember. They uh, they put me in the pits before,”Jason gritted his teeth. He knew Ra’s had cameras everywhere, and would try to separate the two of them if he told Peter too much information. Jason was lucky enough to convince Ra’s to let him see the kid on the grounds of managing Lazarus' rage.“You seem to be handling it a lot better than I did though. I came out with a lot more anger issues.”

Peter looked at him bewildered, then looked to himself as if to see any signs of uncontrollable rage. Was he gonna turn into the Hulk, Peter wondered a bit hysterically. The only thing that felt different was the weird buzz of energy under his skin and the itchiness in his wrists. His teeth felt weird too, but he was trying not to think about it. 

“Look, it’s gonna be a rough time here, but I promise I’ll protect you however I can,”Jason says seriously, a sturdy hand gripping Peter’s shoulder. He has to resist leaning towards it for the way it grounds him. “I can’t tell you everything, but you need to know a few things about where you are. Keep your head down, do everything I tell you and avoid Ra’s if you can, got it?’

“What- why?” Peter croaked. He was starting to get a headache, and the lights in the room seemed too bright. Jason wasn’t setting off his spider-sense, but Peter could barely wrap his braid around what he was saying. “Where am I?”

Jason frowned, looking at Peter with something akin to concern. “You’re in the League of Assassins base, in Nanda Parbat,”He said, oblivious to the look of unrecognition on Peter’s face. “Listen, you’re gonna be trained here. It’s going to be rough but it’ll be worse if you don’t cooperate, understand?”

“Why? What do they want with me?”Peter rasped. He figured something must have gone really wrong with the spell if it ended with him being kidnapped by assassins. Was it some sort of recruitment thing? Kidnapping kids to make assassins, Peter pondered. He didn’t know how he’d escape this place, but he’d play it safe for now and follow Jason’s lead. 

“It’s not important,”Jason said, getting up. Peter squinted though the bright lights, looking over the man. Something was off, but he didn’t know what yet. “Come on, get dressed. It’s better to be prepared.”

Despite feeling overall like crap, Peter was glad to start moving, and had started feeling restless after just sitting for so long. Part of him wanted to climb the walls and hang out on the ceiling, but he shut those thoughts out. He wasn’t sure how safe it would be to reveal his powers in a place with assassins, and Jason might not take it well. He stood up easily enough, avoiding the puke from earlier with a wrinkle of his nose. 

“Feeling okay?” Jason asked, hovering close by. “No uncontrollable rage?” 

Peter snorted. “No, I’m okay. Just.. tingly?”

“Tingly?” Jason parrotted, resisting the urge to mother hen the kid. 

“Like I have a lot of energy, I guess. It’s hard to focus or stand still,”Peter explained, taking to pacing around the room. It was kind of small for two people, but he could see that it was more like a fancy jail cell.

“Alright, well, if you feel any different let me know,”Jason added.

Peter nodded, choosing to trust Jason for now. He got up on shaky legs and Jason handed him a pile of black clothes. They looked similar to the ones Jason was wearing, and Peter was pretty sure it was some sort of assassin uniform.  Looking around the room, he could see that it was pretty bare, nothing to use as a weapon either, he noted. Jason guided Peter and his shaky limbs to the adjoined bathroom to change, where he tried to stave back the panic attack. 

Feeling the building headache, Peter turned the light off, seeing that there was still enough light for him to see in the dim room. He got dressed shakily, but as he got dressed he started feeling better. By the time he was done Peter felt as good as normal, not mentioning the building dread inside his chest at being kidnapped by assassins or the overwhelming grief of his friends and family. 

Peter hoped that the spell had taken him to some Assassin base on earth, but he wasn’t so sure. He hadn’t recognized wherever Nanda Parbat was, and he’d never seen anything like the green Lazarus waters. His top theories were that he was transported to another planet or another dimension. Given Jason’s appearance and Jersey accent, he figured it might be another dimension, or he was still on his earth. Hopefully that meant Peter could find some way back to MJ and Ned. 

Now dressed, Peter exited the bathroom feeling a bit better. He’d taken a drink in the sink and that helped the gross taste in his mouth. Peter turned to face Jason, who was pacing the room. He turned to Peter, shoulders relaxing in relief at the sight of him. “Ready?”

“Yeah,”Peter frowned,”What’s going on?” 

“I don’t know yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Ra’s wants a meeting,”Jason drawled, running a hand through his hair. 

“Why are you here?” Peter blurted. Jason looked at him in surprise, but he continued.”You have a Jersey accent.”

Jason huffed a laugh. “Yeah, I’m from Gotham. You and I are kind of in the same position here, kiddo. Only I’m supposed to be your mentor.”

“Mentor, for assassins?” Peter clarified. “I don’t want to kill anybody.”

“You might not have a choice,”Jason sighed,”I’ll do what I can, but we might not be able to escape for a while. There’s a rescue team on our trail though, so I wouldn’t worry too much.”

Peter’s eyes widened at the revelation. He didn’t know where Gotham was but he was glad Jason wasn’t an assassin. “Escape? I can help.”

“Don’t worry about it kid,”Jason said, putting a hand over Peter’s shoulder. “You just try to stay calm. This place can be a nightmare.”

Peter was about to ask more questions when there was a harsh knock on the door. “Speaking of,”Jason muttered, and he gestured for Peter to follow him. Swallowing his dread, Peter shuffled after him.

Turns out there was, in fact, a ninja on the other side of the door. They said something in a language Peter didn’t recognize, but Jason seemed to know and led them down the hall to the left. He couldn’t tell where they were going, but the place felt humid and hot despite the building air conditioning, like they were near a desert. 

Peter could feel the dread building when they walked through these giant ornate doors and onto a ridiculously extravagant marble floor. He scanned the room, not surprised to see various ninjas milling about, but wary when he spotted the man atop a throne at the center of the room. He froze for a second, seeing similarities of the throned man to the Green Goblin, and quickly averted his eyes. 

The Parker Luck really had it in for him now, Peter thought. Especially if the head of these assassins is anything like Norman Osborn’s alter ego was. He couldn’t get those green, manic eyes out of his head. When the man on the throne started talking, Peter could barely hear him over the panic in his chest. 

Peter was brought out of his head by Jason’s hand on his shoulder, and he glanced over to the man next to him. The throne man was talking with Jason in that other language, but Peter felt himself drifting. He probably wouldn’t have understood what they were saying even if they were speaking english. Jason’s hand gripped his shoulder tighter, almost growling out a response. 

A few moments later, Peter was happy to follow Jason out of the throne room. He was still in a fog, barely able to feel Jason’s hand on his shoulder or his feet as they touched the ground. All he could think about was the green. Green Goblin. Green water. He was drowning, and no one could help him because everyone he loved was gone. 

Something blurred in front of his eyes, and Peter blinked a moment later. He felt his arms move and- oh, Jason was holding his hands. He wasn’t safe, he needed to get somewhere safe. He didn’t know where he was, or how he got here. Everything was blurry, everything green, and he wanted it to stop. His head was spinning and- was he sitting down? 

Peter blinked and Jason was seated next to him on the bed. His hands- Jason was still holding his hands and talking. He was talking. Why couldn’t he hear what Jason was saying? He felt a tap tap tap on his hand and looked over to see Jason tapping his fingers, one by one. Why- Peter blinked. He could feel the warmth of Jason’s hands, and the rhythmic tapping helped. 

“Can you take a deep breath for me kiddo?”Jason was saying and Peter realized he was on the brink of hyperventilating. He followed Jason’s exaggerated breathing as best he could, but he was still having trouble. 

“You’re okay, I promise. Honestly, I expected you to have a bit more of a freak out than that,”Jason rambled. “Usually when my eyes turn green like that I go into a rage.” 

“What?”Peter rasped. Were his eyes green? Why? Was it because of the water?”My eyes are brown,”He said, a little uncertainly.

“They’re green now,”Jason said softly. “Lazarus pits do that, make your eyes turn green. If you get angry or too emotional, sometimes they glow.”

“This sucks,”Peter breathed. He leaned over, putting his head in his hands. “Who was that guy? On the throne?”

“Ra’s? He’s the head of the assassins around here. Has control over the lazarus pits, and that makes him important,”Jason frowned. “If you can, avoid him. You spacing out during the meeting worked in your favor, and I was able to talk him into letting me stay with you for a few nights to adjust.”

“What does he want from me?” Peter groaned. If it was to recruit him as an assassin, he’d fight hard to get out of here. There was no way he’d kill someone, especially not on purpose. Which meant he had to hide his enhancements. If it got out, Ra’s would no doubt see it as an asset. 

“Ra’s wants another soldier,”Jason grimaced. He looked over to Peter, who glanced up at him with big hazel-green eyes. “I won’t lie to you, training will be tough. I’ll help you however I can, but I won’t be your only mentor.”

Peter decided, then and there that he wasn’t going to reveal his powers to anyone here, not even Jason. If anyone knew, Ra’s might go to greater lengths to keep Peter under control. He knew what happened to Bucky, and he would do whatever he could to keep that from happening. Peter would do anything to keep himself from killing anyone. 

Chapter 4 coming soon