#but everyone looks at talia through that lense now

[zedreh]

You know, looking back at old issues from before Grant Morrison's run, I just want to say that I really like Talia as one of Bruce's main loves. The pages below come from Batman Adventures Vol. 1 #13, in which a priceless statue was stolen from Ra's and so Bruce goes with Talia to Paris to get it back. Before they start searching, they have time to go sightseeing together.

After their time is cut short, they go looking, and they fall into a trap set by an old rival of Ra's who bought the statue, who then locks them in a burning hut.

Of course, they get out, take down every one, and get the statue, after which Batman let's on that he knew the statue itself isn't what's valuable.

There's just so much about them that works so well. I'd go into it more, but I think these pages speak for themself.

Also, I like this one panel of them greeting each other.

[dcxdpdabbles]

I JUST SAW THESE POSTS OF DANNY BEING RAS AL GHUL CHILD LIKE THE FIRST THAT IS LIKE 25-30 YEARS OLDER THAN TALIA AND MAKE MY BRAIN WORKS FUCKING WIGGLE!?!?!??

anyway

Danny established the status quo and the disappeared for 20-60 years and the is summoned by Ra where he’s like “Dad you could’ve have called my personal phone you know that right?” And Ra’s like “YOU WENT OFF THE GRID FOR YEARS AND NEVER TOOD ME-!!??!? Now do you look different? Are you eating? What’s with comingoutthesummoningcirclefortheghostking? HMMM???”

“Ah- I knew I forgot something! Let me tell you all about it! I see you brought the whole fam and in laws let’s have dinner and discuss it- AWWWW THATS BABIES!!!” *Damian, Jason, Tim, and Dick being referred to as “babies”*

“Excuse me.” Danny then fucking tackles them in hugs and loves while dodging and/or holding their punches and kicks

"My maternal uncle is coming for a visit and likely evaluate my living arrangements.. We must be at our absolute best when he is here. " Damian announces one evening right as the family is finishing preparing for a night of crime fighting.

Everyone freezes from their respective stations, twisting around to stare at the young Robin in confusion. He doesn't notice; he is too busy making sure his katana is sharpened to perfection and balancing it on his fingertips.

"Baby Bat?" Dick calls, "What do you mean by that?"

Damian pauses in his prep work, approaching the eldest with a pretty impressive scowl. " Mother sent a messenger a few days ago about Uncle's plan audit. Should we fail it, I shall be removed into a different household."

"An audit? Removed?" Steph repeats, confused, but Damian has no idea why. He thought it was pretty apparent that Uncle Daniel would be scoring them, which would determine if Damian would be allowed to continue living within them. He has done so to all of Ra Al Ghul's offspring, and nothing his Grandfather has done has been able to stop him.

How could they think they would have more power than his grandfather?

"When shall Dusan be here?" Father asks, quickly switching on the home security. "What kind of attack should we expect?"

Damian scoffs, "Not the White Ghost. Uncle Dusan is on the other side of the world on a mission for Grandfather. No, Uncle Daniel will be the one conducting the suit. He is the eldest, after all."

Father's eyes narrow behind the white lenses of his masks. "I was unaware your mother had more siblings."

Damian considers the words, wondering how he could politely- at least he shames Alfred- remind his father that his grandfather has been around for hundreds of years. Staying at his peak through the usage of the Lazarus Pit, he has never been short of lovers.

And sometimes those lovers have given him children, many who aged and died naturally, as none has deemed worthy of the Lazarus. All except for one, the First Son, who has never needed the Pits but remained youthful and powerful on his own.

The perfect heir.

It's too bad he had abdicated long before Damian was even a thought.

"Grandfather has had many children, but Uncle Daniel is different. Special. He is the First Son."

"Capital letters," Todd cuts in, shaking his head. "It's never good when the League of Assiasans assigns capital letters. How strong is he?"

"He could easily best Grandfather and all under Grandfather's command," Damian replies, watching as the rest of the vigilantes grew uneasy by the information. It's good that they are wear of Uncle Daniel's power but they have nothing to fear of his wrath. "Uncle Daniel is a pacifist. He carries a protective core."

"A Al Ghul that a pacifist? I'll believe it when I see it." Drake droned as he was clipping on his utility belt. At once, Damian felt his body grew hot with rage. No matter what, it seemed Drake would always curse his family.

The way he says the family name drips with disrespect as if the other teen was saying a swear.

"My Uncle Daniel is a great man!" He shouts, gripping his sword so har his knuckles ache. Drake's face twists as if though he smelled something foul and the rage burning in Damian's chest spreads to his whole body.

He is just about to reach for his throwing knives when a familiar cold hand settles into his hair. "Aw thank you Little One. I love you too."

"Uncle Daniel!" Damian shouts excitably, forgetting the fool he was about to run his blades through. His uncle stands before him, the same darl night hair, warm blue eyes, and a crooked smile that had secretly comforted him in his youth.

"Where in the world did he come from!?" Damian hears one of Father's adopted brutes gasp but does not care to see who as his uncle quickly reels him in for a hug.

Hugging Uncle Daniel was like being wrapped in warm blankets in winter. He always ran rather cold, but it was lovely to be wrapped in his arms and surrounded by his protection.

It felt like nothing in the world could harm him from here.

"You seem well, Little One. Are you happy?" His uncle says. The delict of their native tongue is another comfort Damian can sink into.

"I am." He allows, snuggling his face against his stomach, as childish as it is. If only he could grow taller like his father.

"Wonderful. I'm so glad." His uncle then switches to English, ignoring all the weapons drawn and pointing at him from the Bats. Damian steps back to admire the man he wishes to grow into. "I'm terribly sorry for arriving so late, nephew. You must be tired. When is your bed time?"

"I do not have a bedtime." Damian scoffs. Uncle Daniel frowns, reaching into his chest to pull out a clipboard and a pen- he'll never get used to his uncle storing things within himself no matter how often he sees it. Damian is pretty sure he heard someone gag.

A soft click is heard as his uncle opens the pen and quickly scribbles something down. He is not tall enough to see what is written, but he can see clearly as day that his uncle selected the red ink of the muli-color pen he is using.

He only uses red when he is doing bad things. Damian breaks into a sweat. "What was that? Uncle what did you just write?"

"No bedtime. Tsk tsk." Uncle Daniel mutters, looking around the cave with disapproval. "No proper heating living space."

"Oh no! I do not live down here. This is merely the training grounds. We live upstairs" Damian quickly says, waving his hands frantically in the air as his uncle's unimpressed look. Curses, the auduit just began and already he got bad markings.

"Would you care for a tour? I shall not be going on patrol-"

"He forces you to fight crime? At your age?" Uncle barks, throwing a look of utter disgust at Father. It's the same one he gives Grandfather whenever the older man tries to raise child soldiers.

Even Damian had not been sent on any missions. His childhood had been intense training but nothing that was life-threatening.

"I volunteered to go!" He tries to defend Father, but his uncle only clicks his pen and scrambles more red ink on his paper.

Drat and Damian were actually enjoying living at the manor. He will likely have to say goodbye to it all and be moved to some house Uncle deemed more child-friendly.

"What is your diet here? Have you been taken to the doctor? Any form of therapy?" His uncle fires each question quickly, walking through Todd and Cain when they try to apprehend him without a glance.

His uncle is, and not to sound like the fools of his school, so cool.

[battymommastuff]

Of Songbirds and Phoenix

al Ghul!Batmom x Gotham Knights (CONTAINS SPOILERS FROM GOTHAM KNIGHTS!)

Prompt: After the death of Bruce Wayne, his wife had vanished from the city, and only returns when she knows her children are in danger.

When Wayne Manor blew up and Bruce Wayne had been pronounced dead, one of the biggest questions was the outcome of his wife. Y/n Wayne was at the manor the night it blew up, but her body had never been recovered. The wonderful investigators at GCPD brushed it off under the excuse that your body had been completely blown up. A bullshit reason, but they were too lazy to do an in depth investigation. Your family however, worried that your body had been buried under the rubble in the now destroyed batcave. 

Fortunately for them...everyone was wrong. Days leading up to your husband's death, he sent you away to investigate his latest case. The Court of Owls. A conspiracy theory that he believed to be true, and so he sent you overseas to investigate some other claims of this infamous cult. The conspiracy only detailed members from Gotham's wealthiest families, but he wanted to be thorough. Your investigation led you to your twin sister, Talia al Ghul. You figured out her plan at the same time that your children had, and you didn't hesitate on making your way back to Gotham. 

Talia's plan to take over Gotham had been foiled, all while you watched from a distance. It was Bruce's wish. He wanted his family to be able to take care of Gotham should he perish, and wanted them to have the chance to thrive. You granted that wish by watching your children from the shadows. They were trained well because several times they turned in your direction or almost caught you. 

Tonight, Bruce's wish wouldn't be met. You'd been stalking Robin since he left the Belfry. He was on a routine patrol. Take down the bad guys and protect the city. What he didn't notice were the several League of Shadow members tailing him. You noticed right away. They were using the same methods you were. Talia's doing no doubt. She wanted revenge, and would ambush your youngest son to get it. 

Robin had just finished the takedown of some Freaks when several puffs of smoke appeared all around him. He wasn't a stranger to an ambush from the league, but this was more than he was used to. Luckily he wasn't alone. Using his bo staff and sling shot, he quickly darted around taking down members of the League. However, it seemed that the more they took the...the more that appeared. 

"Get down, little bird!" A voice called out. Robin ducked down without hesitation and heard the sound of metal flying through the air then a scream of pain. Looking up, a shuriken was embedded in the chest of a league member. A female dropped down in front of Robin, wielding two beautiful katana's in her hands, "Talia?" He asked, in confusion. The figure turned towards him and he paled, "M-Mom?" 

"What the hell did you just say?" The voice of Red Hood spoke through the comms. Robin couldn't answer, all he could do was watch as you skillfully took down the League of Shadows members. When the last member went down, you sheathed your blades and made your way over to Robin, "Little bird? Are you injured?" You asked while kneeling down in front of him. His mask didn't have the white lenses so you saw how watery his eyes were, "M-Mom?" He whispered in disbelief. He'd been mouring you as well as Bruce for weeks now. Knowing that he wouldn't relax until you proved that he wasn't dreaming, you wrapped your arms around him. Robin collapsed against your chest with loud sobs escaping his chest. That was the confirmation that the rest of the team needed. You were alive. 

After calming down enough to drive, Robin drove you both back to the Belfry on the bike. He held your hand in a death grip from the moment you stepped off of the bike. Tim had been so torn up about losing his parental figures that he wasn't planning on letting you go anytime soon. The doors opened, and you hesitantly stepped in. There you saw what remained of your family. 

Dick looked like he wanted to cry and pass out at the same time

Alfred was holding back his tears behind a relieved smile

Barbara had a few tears slipping from her eyes, but kept trying to wipe them away. 

Jason was staring holes into the ground. He couldn't bring himself to look at you. 

Dick was the first one to walk towards you, "You're really here?" He asked so softly, you almost didn't hear him. He gently touched your face, hair and shoulders. If anyone had been mouring you harder than Tim, it was Dick. You'd raised him since he was eight years old. He dug through piles of rubble with his bare hands looking for you, and here you were. Completely unharmed. 

"I'm here, my songbird." Dick wrapped his arms around you, nearly crushing you against his chest. Tim let go of your hand to give you this moment with your oldest son. Dick was the leader of this team. Batman's chosen successor. The one who was supposed to be the strongest, and yet he fell apart once he hugged his mother. He didn't have to be the strongest with her. He could be that eight year old boy again. The one that ran to her whenever he had a nightmare. The one who would gush over him and mend all of his wounds from his time as Robin, "How are you here? We thought you died?" He asked, pulling away from you. 

"Bruce sent me away to investigate the Court. They originate here in Gotham, but he heard rumors of other sightings in the middle east as well as the UK. He wanted this to be as covert as possible. That's why he told Tim I left for a business trip for Wayne Enterprises. If the world thought I was dead, then I could continue my investigation from the shadows." You were an al Ghul by blood. You were raised as a killer and taught to use the shadows to your advantage. Before his death, Bruce made you swear to never take another life while with him. Now that he was gone...you had no one to keep the vow to. 

Alfred and Barbara joined Dick with several tear filled hugs and questions. Tim was glued to your side, only leaving to change out of his suit, "Why did you come back?" You turned away from Barbara to look over at Jason. His jaw was clenched, and his arms crossed over his chest, "You didn't bother to reach out after Bruce's death, so why bother now?" Everyone, but you had glares on their faces. 

"My phoenix, I wanted to reach out. The moment I heard of Bruce's death, I wanted nothing more than to be right here with you all. I stayed away as a promise to Bruce. I'm glad I did. You all did so much more than what I could have. I'm so proud of you all. Especially you, Jason." 

Watching this big brute of a man melt at the words from a woman much smaller than him was a funny sight. Jason visibly relaxed and you wrapped him up in a warm hug. He hugged you back tightly, and let out a shaky breath. 

"I missed you, Mom. So much."

><><><><><><><><><><><><><><

!!!Author's Note!!

Sorry for going MIA for so long. I have been very busy, but I am hopefully going to be back in action soon. I've been working on a new series for this blog that I'm excited to present to you all! Enjoy this little imagine, and I hope to see you all very soon! <3 ~ Batty

[bat-losers-inc]

Song of Cassandra: Chapter 1

Warnings: Family Drama, Family Issues, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Emotional Baggage, and Child Neglect

Summary: What is Batman without a Robin? Everyone in the family makes jokes about the ‘dead robins club’, but Dick and Jason really do have measures set in place for the day Bruce loses sight of what’s really important. They won’t let Bruce sacrifice another Robin for the cause, even if that means separating Robin from Batman for good.

Pairings: Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson, Stephanie Brown/Tim Drake, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne, Stephanie Brown & Bruce Wayne, and Dick Grayson & Jason Todd

                              _____________________________________

“To select a victim, to adorn it, and to drive it towards the enemies to be killed by them in time of crisis - such is the ancient rite of substitution.” — The War That Killed Achilles by Caroline Alexander

The bone-saw pinwheeled through the air and smashed into the stone facade beside them. The event wouldn’t have been nearly so noteworthy if Dick hadn’t just yanked Damian out of its path only a second ago.

“Hey, Robin,” Jason called, “get your head in the game before you lose it completely!”

In front of them, Red Hood had swapped out his dual guns for a set of brass knuckles. All around him the Dollotrons and their improvised weapons fell to the ground.

Not helping, Jason.

Robin’s domino mask hid multitudes behind its whiteout lenses. Dick read what he could from the pinched lines of Damian’s mouth and the taut muscles in his neck which trembled through each unsteady swallow. He could feel the effort it was taking him to reign it in.

“Robin, you good?” He placed a hand on the kid’s shoulder and tried to draw his attention back from wherever his mind had just drifted off to. It wasn’t the first time that he’d asked that question tonight and he doubted that it would be the last.

“Fine,” Damian replied but jerked free of his grip with a suddenness that could only mean his pride had been bruised.

Damian snatched the fallen bone-saw up off the pavement and hurled it back into the mass of flailing limbs where it sliced deep into a Dollotron’s shoulder and sent the man staggering.

“Incapacitate only, Robin!” Batman’s voice boomed over the noise of the brawl unfolding before them.

The hope was that they could save at least a few of Professor Pyg’s failed creations if they got them prompt medical attention. Robin, however, had been one-step behind the entire evening—breaking with their predetermined strategies and acting on reflex more than anything. Dick could only chalk so much up to rustiness from being out of the field.

As Robin ducked back into the fray, he had no choice but to follow him in the hopes of preventing further bloodshed. It was going to be a long night.

Back in the cave, he watched Damian unbuckle the utility belt from his waist, his uniform glowing brightly in the cave’s dim interior. His movements were calm, but the distracted look in his eyes betrayed him outright. It was much too soon for him to be back in the field after his death at the hands of the Heretic and subsequent resurrection and it showed on patrol this evening.

Dare he say it, but tonight Robin was... sloppy. And didn’t that just make it worse, he thought to himself, remembering Jason’s muttered comment earlier that night, you can’t blame Damian, the last thing he wants to do is disappoint his father.

Well, what the hell was a kid supposed to do when Batman was your father?  

Dick’s gaze cut to Bruce at the Batcomputer, oblivious to everything except finishing up his report of the night’s mission. He wanted to chuck an escrima stick at his stupid pointy head. But no matter how satisfying that would feel in the moment, it wouldn’t be productive. So instead Dick did the adult thing and waited impatiently for Damian and Tim to change out of their gear and head to their respective beds to sleep away the rest of the dark hours.

When they were alone with nothing but the clicking of keyboard keys to fill the silence, Dick cast a final confirmative glance Jason’s way. Jason raised his arm and tapped at the imaginary watch on his wrist.  

It was now or never. “Bruce, can we talk for a sec?”

Bruce turned in his chair and faced him. “About what?”

He took a breath and forced the words out before his confidence failed him. “I don’t think Damian should be back in the field.”

Bruce held up his hands, his expression transforming from mild to exhausted in a fraction of a second.  “Dick, no. We’ve discussed this. I’m not having this conversation again.”

Again, he said, like he’d ever really taken the time to listen to him the first time around.

“You agreed to give him time! We only just got him back and already you’re putting him back in the line of fire?”

He’d thought that would have been the last thing that Bruce would have done. They’d all witnessed how Damian’s death had driven Bruce to the edge, Jason especially. It had taken hours of persistence to get Jason to even agree to come here, let alone stand with him on this, after the stunt Bruce had pulled in Ethiopia.

Bruce sighed and squeezed the bridge of his nose tightly. “I’m not putting him anywhere. I put the decision up to Damian and he told me he felt ready to put the uniform back on.”

Those walls that Damian had started to lower during their time working together were back up now that his father was around, but not before the damage had already been done. Dick had glimpsed the vulnerable side of Damian that just wanted to prove his worth. He couldn’t stand by and watch the kid get hurt, even if he had to step on Bruce’s toes to do it.

Jason pushed off the clothing lockers that he’d been leaning against for the past ten minutes and walked up behind Dick’s shoulder. “You sure he really meant that? Or was he just saying what he thought you wanted to hear?”

Bruce’s face was quickly losing its composure. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“I mean, he was raised knowing he was the son of Talia al Ghul and Batman. Not Bruce Wayne— Batman. He might not think he has a choice in putting on the cape unless someone tells him otherwise.”

“And you think I didn’t?” snapped Bruce. As quick as that anger appeared, it was snuffed out just as fast and replaced with a measured response. “Robin is the one thing that gives Damian purpose. I won’t take that away from him.”

“Can you honestly say that his actions tonight didn’t worry you?” asked Jason. “He can take down Dollotrons with his eyes closed, but tonight he was distracted almost to the point of defenselessness. If we didn’t tag along and babysit him the entire patrol he might have ended up in the med bay or worse.”

“I think it’s understandable that he’s having some trouble adjusting.”

Adjusting, Dick wanted to scream. Did you see the look on your kid’s face out there? He’s not adjusting to anything.

Jason sighed and rubbed at the back of his neck. “C’mon, B. You know I don’t stick my nose in things unless they’re serious. This is serious. We’re worried about him.”

Bruce glanced between them, eyeing them both critically. “Think back to when you both were Robin. Would you have appreciated someone coming in and telling me to bench you because they thought you weren’t ready for the role? Without even taking into consideration how you might feel about the matter.”

“We aren’t saying that—” said Dick.

“Are you sure? Because it seems like you only just made this mistake with Tim.

The comment hit Dick like a slap to the face. “That was an entirely different situation—”

“You took Robin away from Tim when you thought he wasn’t in a position to handle the job anymore and gave it to Damian. Now you’re trying to take it away from Damian.”

“Robin was my mantle,” Dick said slowly, an anger months in the making rising in him. “I created it and I’m so sick of you telling me what bearing that name means or who that uniform gets passed down to like I don’t have any say in it! Especially with Damian. When you ‘died’ you left him with nothing. He was your blood son but you never bothered to give him a place in this family beyond that. So you want to talk about Damian’s place and his purpose ? Well, I gave those to him, not you.”

He thought you were going to be the one to take Robin away from him. He was so scared that his place in your legacy would be erased the moment you returned, despite all the work he had put in to change his nature.

Bruce was in his chair one second and standing over Dick in the next. “Despite what you might still believe, you’re no longer his guardian nor are you his mentor. You gave up the right to parent my child when I came back from the dead. I’m Batman and it’s time for you to go back to being Nightwing. Understood?”

Go back to not having a say, you mean, Dick thought to himself, remembering a time when all he wanted to do was go back to being Nightwing—to not have to make the hard choices. But not anymore. He’d been Batman and had a Robin of his own and those protective instincts don’t just magically turn off with a snap of the fingers.  

Sometimes I feel the need to protect him, even from you.

“I said is that clear?” Over four years since he’d worn the uniform and taken orders from Batman, but Dick’s body still jumped to attention like it did when he was Robin. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that even Jason wasn’t immune to that tone of voice.

He absolutely hated it.

“Crystal.”

Bruce’s cape whipped him in the legs on his way out.

“C’mon, get changed,” Jason placed a hand on his shoulder and nodded his head towards the exit, “I’ll buy you a drink.”

It would take more than a year for him to realize he should have tried harder.

                              _____________________________________

By the time Jason shoved into his apartment and kicked the door shut behind him, it was two hours short of daybreak. He jerked to a halt when he caught sight of him sitting in his living room, and clutched his apartment keys in one limp fist.

“Hey,” he said, voice a rough croak.

Dick stood up to greet him. “Sorry. I didn’t think to text you and I had a key—”

He paused when he caught sight of Jason’s face illuminated under the overhead lights. “What happened to you? I thought you went to talk to Steph.”

“I did,” Jason dropped his keys in the bowl by the front door. “Or at least I tried to. She was more interested in hitting something than having a heart to heart.”

It was too soon after Tim’s funeral for Stephanie to be back in the field. Even, Kate had suggested that Bruce intervene before someone got hurt on the job. Dick had wanted to laugh at her choice of phrase. Hurt? Didn’t she realize that the reason they were in this situation in the first place was because the stakes had risen way past that already?

Still, they all knew it was no good to try to force yourself back into the vigilante lifestyle before you were ready. Damian had proven that only a year or so ago and Gotham’s citizens had borne the brunt of his mistake. So Bruce had tried to step in, but it felt like all he’d really succeeded in doing was pouring salt into the gaping wound that Tim’s death had rent into their little family of heroes.

I’m so sick of you pretending like you care. Dick remembered the way Steph had flung those words at Bruce just hours ago. You only care when people can forgive you. Because all you really care about is continuing your stupid fucking mission!  

Dick could already make out the puffy bruised skin that circled his right eye and colored his cheekbone a dark purple. “Right, so the obvious conclusion was to offer up yourself as her human punching bag.”

“Better me than Bruce.”

Just the idea of it made him sad. Jason and his stupid martyr complex. The kicked-puppy of the family. “I disagree.”

There was an image that Dick couldn’t get out of his head. It lurked in the back of his mind, even now. Steph’s features pulled tight from anger and grief, her icy eyes staring holes into Bruce as she spat out, You keep pretending to care about me to what? Absolve you for what happened to Tim? Well, I don’t, Batman. I don’t absolve you!  

No, it should have been Bruce that bore the brunt of her violence. Bruce who sported a fractured cheekbone for the following week, a consistent reminder of his failings. Not his little brother who had warned them all time and time again about Bruce’s bad habits and all of the endless justifications he had to explain them away. Not Jason, who’d said Bruce shouldn’t be allowed to have sidekicks if he couldn’t keep them alive into adulthood—that if he wanted to fight crime so bad, let him, but keep the kids out of it.

Jason winced as he fingered the delicate skin around his eye. “We both know from past experience how unsatisfying it feels to go after him. It’s like punching a brick wall—he doesn’t give anything and it just ends up hurting you more in the long run.”

He knew Jason was right, but that still didn’t make it fair.  

Jason went to the freezer and pulled out a bag of frozen green beans which he pressed to his face with a relieved sigh. “What are you doing here, Dick?”

Jason never was one for small talk.

Dick stared at the bookshelf in the corner of Jason’s living, the titles on the spines were illegible to him all of a sudden like he was viewing them from a great distance. “Tim’s dead.”

“Yeah, I know. Alfred called me after it happened, same as you.”

“I can’t stop thinking about it.” Dick shook his head. “He was supposed to hang up the cape and go to college with Steph. I thought he was going to make it, but instead, he sacrificed himself on that rooftop for Bruce’s endless goddamn crusade.”

“Careful, Golden Boy. You’re sounding a little blasphemous there.”

“Good,” snapped Dick. “because I’m fucking angry. Angry that Bruce seems content to maintain the status quo while my siblings get blown up and stabbed and tortured.”

“You’re also grieving,” said Jason. “Which might explain why you’re slumming it around my place instead of spending time with Babs. When you work your way up to the bargaining stage I suggest trying Damian because I’m not helping you find a lazarus pit.”

“Fuck you,” he replied, but he couldn’t force any heat into the words. Not when his chest constricted again with that tight pain that stabbed at his lungs. He couldn’t stop the tears that pooled at the corners of his eyes and spilled over.

When he glanced up at Jason, the other boy was nothing but a watery figure standing out against the dark room. “Those missiles incinerated Tim into a pile of ash. There’s no body left for us to try to bring back this time.”

Jason squeezed his eyes shut tight like something was paining him. He didn’t go to Tim’s funeral, Dick remembered and wondered which stage of the grieving process he was on: denial or acceptance. Either way, it was clear that even he was having trouble hiding it behind that cock-sure snarky mask of his.

Jason shook his head slightly. “I think you should leave.”

“What?” Dick wiped furiously at his eyes. “Why?”

“Because I can’t tell you what you came over here to hear.”

“And what’s that?”

“That everything’s gonna be alright. That Bruce is gonna change his ways.” Jason shrugged and tossed the bag of beans on the counter. “He might change a bit… adapt like he’s done in the past. But it won’t happen fast enough to stop another Robin from dying on the job.”

“You don’t know that.” Dick wanted to punch him for how cruelly and casually he said it.

“Don’t I?” Jason grabbed his Red Hood helmet up from where it rested on the kitchen counter and flung it at Dick’s chest like it was all the evidence he needed in the world. It was. “Just because you want someone to change, doesn’t mean they will.”

“Go to him with me. If we talk to him together we can make him listen—”

“The same way he listened to us before, with Damian? Like how he listened to Steph tonight? She yelled the harsh truth right in his face, even gave him an ultimatum. And she failed, just like you did, because the truth is that he doesn’t want to hear it.”

“We just have to try harder this time—”  

“Dick… please leave. I can’t do this with you right now and I won’t lie to you just to make you feel better.”

Dick threw Jason’s helmet onto the nearest piece of furniture. “You’re a piece of shit, you know that? I’m standing here trying to tell you that I need your help and you can’t even bring yourself to listen to me.”

“That’s because I’ve already learned this lesson. Just like Steph did tonight. And it’s a really simple one at that … if you love someone, you do what’s best for them even if it’s the hard choice. Damian, Cass, Steph, Duke… they won’t be ‘safe’ until they’re out of the lifestyle entirely. And it’s become increasingly clear that Bruce can’t, or won’t, give up being Batman so what makes you think he’s going to tell them to stop?”

Jason’s words were no different than the ones that occupied his thoughts of late. So why did it feel so much worse to hear them spoken out loud?

“I can’t lose another sibling, Jason. I won’t be able to take it. Please… there’s got to be something we can do.”

Jason hesitated, his eyes dropping to the kitchen counter. The sky was starting to lighten as dawn approached. In the ever-shifting dim of his apartment, it felt like ages before Jason finally spoke again. “I want to show you something. Maybe it will help.”

He walked past Dick to his bookcase and pulled a collection of books off the shelf, revealing a hole in the wall. “I started it about six months back for Steph. Her relationship with Bruce has always been rocky. I knew there might come a time when she went off to do the vigilante thing on her own.”

He reached in and pulled out a saran-wrapped package. “I want her to know that she had money waiting for her—to get a place of her own and new gear if she needs it.”

He tossed the package to Dick. It was a brick of cash, bundled into individual stacks with currency straps. Based on the various conditions of the bills it looks like Jason had swiped them during his many run-ins with Gotham’s criminal underbelly.

“You saved all this for her?” asked Dick.

Jason paused in placing the books back on the shelf and shrugged. “Well, yeah. We know how hard it is to go it alone—the way you have to swallow your pride and values at a certain point because you need Bruce’s help, or money, or his connections. Steph deserves better than that. If she made the decision to leave the fold, I want her to go and not look back.”

Jason leaned against the edge of the bookshelf. “It’s not much when you’re coming from Bruce Wayne’s trust fund, but maybe we could start doing the same for the others; Damian, Cass, Harper, Duke... What do you think?”

“There’s certainly enough dirty operations in Gotham to fund it, but we’d need a better place to store it than a hole in your wall.”

Jason rolled his eyes. “Obviously.”

Dick’s mind was already racing with the possibilities. “And we don’t have to stop at cash. I’m sure we both have old safehouses that we don’t use and contacts with other superheroes and scientists that we can share—”

“Whoa, whoa! Dick…” Jason rubbed at his face. “What you’re talking about is building Batman’s resources from the ground up and not even that, doing it all in secret.”

“Are you saying we can’t do it?” asked Dick.

“Not necessarily—”

“Well if we have all the resources then why are we hesitating?” asked Dick.

He held out his hand. “So are we doing this?”

Jason took his hand. “I guess I officially have to stop calling you Golden Boy now.”

[annoyinglyjovialbird]

Voltron: Next Generation

Impending Difficulties: III

Word Count: 3032

AN: Sorry about the delay! I rewrote the whole chapter today and almost ran out of time!

The neutral glow that illuminated the Coeus was steady. Non-changing. The crew was in various locations throughout the ship. Then, like a switch, the glow turned from neutral white to red. As quickly as they could, every teen packed the essentials. Keith, Kova, Caleb, and Shiro were in the transport bay with the Lions, suited up and ready to go. One by one, the teens marched in. In Kova's hand, a timer slowly counted down. First came Griffin, then Cake. They stood in silence for almost a minute when Allie ran in, panting for breath. 

"Sorry, I tried," she said through pants. Griffin thought that was it. She thought this was their punishment. At the three-minute mark, Caleb and Kova still hadn't said a word. They only stared at the timer, which was now counting negative time. 

"Are we done?" Griffin asked, earning her a look from Kova and an eyebrow raise from Caleb. Then, they heard it. Jingles. Metal scraping against each other. From the entrance of the transport bay, Kenny emerged. He had found or hung onto Allie's large backpack from the beginning. The comically large bag was filled to the brim. Kenny was leaning on the door frame, his small body straining every non-existent muscle to hold up the large bag. He still managed to form the line beside the three other teens, and Kova finally stopped the timer. 

"The team fails the evacuation procedure." At least Kova was as blunt as always. 

"It's Allie's fault, right?" Griffin asked. Allie's eyes went wide.

"No." It was Caleb's turn. "Allie made it within the appropriate time. She would've likely been first to board her Lion, so she checked on Kenny." At his name, the man stood upright. Kova approached him and showed the man her screen. It was -2:19. 

"Kenneth, evacuation is carry-on only. Not the entire workshop." 

"It is essential!" At his words, Kova poked a side of the bag. As it tipped off to the side, Kenny went along with it. 

"If it's the money, I can understand." Kova began.

"But if it's random and easily replaceable parts from Allura knows where then I don't." Caleb finished.  

"What would you know, Ladybug?" Kenny snarkily asked. Caleb didn't take this lightly. His bayard was in his hand in a heartbeat and taking a step towards Kenny and his humongous bag. Thankfully Kova was there to hold him back. 

"While we're gathered here, I have the honor to formally introduce Keith Kogane to the crew of the IGF Coeus," Kova said in a monotone voice. With one hand, she was holding Caleb's collar and in the other, she was staring at her phone. The screen was running the ship's diagnostics, but she could've been looking at pictures of Cyrus if anyone cared. 

Kenny turned around to stare at the man. At some point, the teens found leftover fabric from Caleb's chair cover that hadn't been defaced by black spots. Cutting a hole in the middle of the roughly circular fabric, Keith wore it like a poncho. It covered most of his body, still clad in his bodysuit, and unbearably thin. Liz and Allie found a spare brush for him to borrow, prepared his meals, and tended to the bruising and sores all over his body. 

Even with all of that, it was still him. It was clearly him. It was his dad. 

"Mr. Kogane—"

"Kova." 

"Keith, I would like to formally introduce you to the crew of the IGF Coeus." Two stomps on the ground and the teens stood at attention. Kenny stared at them and followed, legs spread to better support the bag. "From left to right in order of entry, Cake Garrett, Eliza Griffin, Allura Smythe, and Kenneth Holt."

"Kogane." Kenny corrected. 

"Kenneth Kogane." Kova turned to Keith, who was staring at the young man. Turning to stare at the two, Kova noticed they shared the same nose. Weird how genetics play out. 

"What, this, no, it can't be." Keith was stammering. He couldn't find the words. "The last time I saw Ken was—"

"Almost ten years ago." Kenny dropped the bag. Allie and Liz dove behind Cake. 

"No, you were sixteen. There's no way." Keith seemed adamant. This wasn't his youngest son. "Junior was twenty, and Ezrid was eighteen."

"Dad." 

"No, there's no way." 

"Everyone's dismissed. Continue regular duties." Kova ordered. The other teens nodded and walked back to their rooms to drop off their backpacks. Kova dragged Caleb to the training deck below. Shiro grabbed a hold of Keith and Kenny's shoulders and led them to the bridge, where he could explain what had happened. They were in there for about half an hour before they emerged. 

The teens were in the cafeteria, eating away at the Arusian and Balmeran food. At least, the still edible parts of it. Cake wondered aloud about the restaurant in the mall. It used to be called 'Vrepit Sal's', but when it was taken over by Cake's dad, it became 'Garrett & Sons'. 

"I thought you were the only son?" Allie asked. Cake's eyes went wide. 

"If Dad's still alive, I'll be sure to introduce him to Talia." 

"Can you guys stop talking about good food?" Liz complained, rubbing her temples. "I'm getting sick of the fruits."

"Your dad created his culinary empire with a play-on-words of the Galaxy Garrison?" Caleb asked. A nod from Cake. Caleb was going to make a quip, but Keith’s fist beat him to it. 

"You aren't Hunk's son," Keith growled. 

"Sure, and I'm Altean." Liz smiled, propping her chin into her hand. 

‘Oh, uh, Varkon' requests telecommunication. 

"Let's go change, guys!" Liz said, standing from the table. The other four followed her out, leaving Keith alone to stare after them. 

———————

"Thanks again for the parking space!" Shiro said. 

"Oh, it's no problem at all!" Varkon was amicable. "Especially for a former member of Voltron!" The kids waved their thanks from a distance and walked into the mall. It hadn't changed much, besides the blatant Voltron merch everywhere. Kova and Caleb walked away from the group for a minute to stare into a shop window. On display were plush versions of the Voltron Lions, as well as an action figure Voltron.

"Heh, don't these sell for cheaper on Earth?"

"Dude, I have four of them hiding in the closet." 

"What?" Caleb stared at Kova. "No way! I've been in there so many times and I've never seen anything!"

"What were you doing in my closet?"

"What?" 

"Can you two come back here?" Shiro's voice came over the earpieces. The teens took their time, interrogating and deflecting each other. Shiro was handing a colored bracelet to Kenny when they started running. 

"NO!"

"DON'T PUT—" Kova began. Shiro saw their approach and slipped two last bracelets onto their wrists. From his arm, the bracelets became activated. Kova's right arm was pulled to Kenny's left, cutting across his body. Caleb's left arm also flew to Liz's right, but there was no cutting across bodies. Instead, Liz became flustered at being close to a boy, much less her captain. Cake and Allie were pulling at each other's arms, seeing how it wouldn't budge, and turned to Shiro for an explanation. The Shirogane teens had a bone to pick, though. 

"You can't do this!"

"We're not little kids!"

“How old do you think we are?"

"You could've said something instead of resorting to the cuffs!"

Shiro clapped to gain their attention. Or to silence them. Whichever you prefer. 

"The last time Paladins of Voltron were in the space mall, one was nearly arrested and detained by mall security, another was used as slave labor because he couldn't pay, and the other two stole coins out of a fountain to buy a game system and a cow." As Shiro was recounting his tale, the teens and Kenny quieted down. "The bracelets worked well for you two." He was staring at his kids. "They should work well with the other members of your crew." A growl escaped Kova's throat as she picked up the bag with the money from the Arusians inside. Shiro took it from her hands, handing her a handful of coins. At least she was wearing a sweater with pockets. Allie and Caleb received handfuls of coins too, stashing them away. Allie had a small purse that matched her white and blue outfit and Caleb was wearing his ladybug sweater.  

"As long as we all have our earpieces in, we should be fine in case of an attack," Kova said, looking around. "Head to your respective areas, and try not to let the stares bother you too much." 

"Food court for lunch?" Cake asked, to everyone's head nods. With that, they all left for their respective corners. 

"What were those things?" Keith asked. Liz and Allie pleaded with Keith, then Shiro for Keith to stay onboard. They weren't sure if Keith could handle being exposed to a large crowd so soon after his discovery. Shiro agreed with their reasoning while Keith fought them on it. When it came out of Shiro's mouth, for some magical reason, Keith accepted it. His request was to get him some 'real clothes'. 

"When Kova and Caleb were younger, they were impossible to keep track of," Shiro began his story. "So Curtis and Matt butted their heads to find a solution."

"And the bracelet cuffs were the answer?"

"Matt and Curtis didn't figure it out until Kova and Caleb were playing with fake handcuffs. Somehow, they got ahold of real cuffs and were stuck until the cop they took them from came back from a two-day vacation. We were almost sad to see them go."

"How old were they?"

"Eh, nine. Maybe ten. They were young but I remember Caleb talking, and that didn't happen until he was eight." 

"As touching as the story is, can you not talk about it when we can't control channels?" Kova said. Shiro could hear the others either laughing or snickering. 

"Yeah, okay." Shiro laughed.  

Kenny and Kova were the first to arrive at their location. The shop was filled wall to ceiling with scaultrite lenses. They were somewhat organized. Oh sure, they were in barely distinguishable piles but at least they were organized by size. Did size even matter with lenses?

Even at the jingle at the front of the store, no one came from the backroom to the front counter. Kenny and Kova looked at each other and shrugged, looking at the various sizes. They settled on thirty-six 8" lenses. They had the money for double, maybe triple the price, but they stopped counting when they got to the price of thirty-six. An alien finally appeared from the back room at the sound of voices. 

"Oh, hello!" The alien greeted. They looked generally sweet, with light blue skin and dark almond-shaped eyes. "Sorry about that! The bell sounds for everyone within a two-foot radius of the door. How can I help you today?" 

"Yeah, can we get thirty-six of the 8" lenses, please?" Kenny asked. The worker nodded her head and stepped around the counter to grab them. Kova was lost in her mind, trying to figure out the problem with the bell. 

"Anything else for you today?" The alien asked. Kenny shook his head and looked to Kova. The two stared at the girl until she finally noticed. She apologized and asked if the worker had a pair of pliers she could borrow. While confused, the worker complied. Dragging Kenny along wasn't fun for Kova, but she did it. The bell rang through the store again and the pair stepped back. Kenny, with careful steps, approached the door. He was three feet away. Then two. Finally one foot in front of the door. The bell didn't go off until Kenny was directly in front of it. The worker gasped. 

"How did you do that?" 

"The sensor range was too wide. I made it shorter." Kova explained and shrugged. 

"How can I ever repay you?" The worker said. Kova started to say there was no need, but it was too late. The worker remembered they were there for the lenses. They wrapped the lenses up neatly and pushed them over the counter to them. 

"No, it's really alright!" Kova tried saying, but the alien was hearing none of it. "Seriously, it was nothing!"

"Please, take it! Thanks to you, I don't have to listen to that stupid bell anymore!" 

"You really don't have to!" 

"Hold on! Just one minute!" Kenny shouted, getting the arguing pair's attention. "We're going to pay you." The worker opened their mouth to protest. "Ah, ah, ah, no. No. We're going to pay you. You can repay us by taking down a certain poster from around the mall." 

"You saw them, too?" Kova asked. Kenny nodded. The worker nodded at the request. They were seriously excited about the bell not going off anymore. 

"Anything! What poster?" The worker asked. Kenny pulled out his phone and showed the worker the ransom poster of Kova. The worker looked from the screen to Kova and back again. "You got yourself a deal." Kenny and the worker shook on it. As Kenny and Kova turned to leave with their lenses, Kova turned to look at the worker. 

"If you ever want something from the food court, say Jax sent you. Many of them won't ask questions about it, even double the size of your meal." The worker yelled one last thank you as Kenny and Kova left the store. 

On the other side of the space mall, Allie and Cake were enjoying the simple delights of finding snacks. Allie was looking at low-calorie and low-fat snacks to give to Keith and Cake was staring at the crackers with drool coming from his mouth. In the end, they got about three-quarters of the list of snacks down. The other fourth was food for Keith. Or Kova. They couldn't tell anymore. 

About thirty feet away, Liz and Caleb were simply window-shopping, not really liking everything they came across. When Liz spotted Allie, she dragged Caleb along to Allie's side. It was almost lunchtime, so they were heading through the heart of the mall to get to the food court. 

"Oh, Allura! That would look wonderful on you!" A girl exclaimed, making the four slow down. 

"Oh great," Allie said quietly. She kept her head low. 

"So, I uh, guess that Allura is a pretty popular name on Altea," Liz said. 

"Yes, it is. The most popular for girls." 

"What's the second most popular name?" Liz asked. Allie turned her head to face the girl and gave a dry smile before dropping it. 

"June," Allie said, staring down at the list in her hands again. 

"Those girls are Altean." Liz pointed out. 

"Yep."

"Do you know them?" 

"Unfortunately." 

A loud dramatic gasp came from the trio of girls in front of a high-end store. At least, it looked high-end. And Altean. 

"Allie? Is that you?" One of the girls almost yelled in the mall. Allie froze in her tracks and looked up as the trio approached. The girl in the middle had curly purple hair and fair skin with matching purple Altean markings. Her cronies on either side had a short blonde bob and black pixie cut hair with rose pink and lime green markings. Allie looked petrified but stood her ground. That was when the girl in the middle saw Allie's hand. It was entwined with Cake's to hide the fact they were essentially handcuffed. 

"Allie, darling, I'm not sure if you know, but you're Altean." The middle Altean began to say condescendingly. As if Allie were a little girl. "He's a half-breed. You don't know what he would do to you if you made him angry." Cake's expression was the definition of 'Wanna find out?', but he said nothing. 

"Hey, why don't you leave her alone?" Liz spoke. The middle girl looked surprised to see Caleb and Liz standing there. No matter, though. 

"Allie is one of my good friends. Isn't that right, darling?" Allie didn't say anything. 

"Seriously, can you stop? Your comments are so wrong."

"In what way?" The girl feigned ignorance. 

"Seriously? You talk about our friend like he isn't even here and you're belittling another person in front of her friends." Liz thought this was simple. The girl had other ideas. 

"Sorry, I don't speak human. Can you speak slower?" 

"Sorry, I don't speak—" 

"Hey!" Kova yelled. Her voice was only about ten feet behind them, but the yell came through just fine through the earpieces. 

"Jax?" The girl now looked petrified, and Allie stood a little straighter. 

"Star!" Kova said like she was greeting an old friend. "Are you bothering one of the members of my crew?"

"No, not at all. I was just remarking to Allie how her relationship could potentially be viewed on Altea. You know how strict families can be." Kova took a few steps closer to the girl. Kenny stayed behind her, letting her take center stage. 

"Do you remember what I said to you last time?" Kova smiled sweetly. "Mess with other people's lives again, and you're done." The girl gulped, grabbed her cronies by their arms, and stalked off without another word. "Food court, anyone?" 

At last, they arrived. They sat at a round table and enjoyed the food. Cake was glad to see Garrett & Sons still stood as the prime location to grab a quality meal. Allie was thankful for Liz and Kova's interruption with Allura. Shiro was disappointed with Caleb since he revealed that he found the store that was giving free cows with every purchase. 

Kova needed to use the restroom, and Shiro removed the link between her and Kenny's bracelets. She never made it. A tall figure pressed the barrel of a weapon into her lower back while another grabbed her shoulders. She went along with it, not wanting to incite a panic. The figures led her to the loading bay and into a small ship. Still, Kova didn't fight. She followed them. It wasn't until she saw the massive ship did she realize what was happening.

Yorak had found her.

[oosteven-universe]

The V-Card #3

The V-Card #3 Antarctic Press 2019 Created & Written by Dallas Casavant Illustrated by Nick Johnson Lettered by Sean Rinehart     Now that Johnathan is dating Talia, will he tell her that he's a Vampire? Will the truth set him free or get him killed? Special appearance by G.I.Joe's Larry Hama!     God I love this series! Just when you think you cannot get any more schmatlz into this they go and prove us wrong. I mean that's not a bad thing either. Because it is what this series is and it's meant to call the schmaltz police. Still it works and works incredibly well here as we see two young folks who have that whole almost Romeo & Juliet aspect to their lives that plays out exceptionally well within this strange little universe. It makes for fun reading that is exceptionally well placed within the realm of comics lovers and geeks of all sorts.     I love the way that this is being written. The story & plot development that we see through the way the sequence of events unfold as well how the reader learns information is presented perfectly. The character development that we see here is amazing and I adore the way we see Johnathan in this issue particularly as he's a lovesick teenage boy and it is just utterly perfect to see him this way. It fits in with the ideal of finding someone for the first time and how things are seen through rose coloured lenses. The characterisation of everyone we meet is precisely what it should be and I have to say it just makes the reader love the book even more. The pacing that we see is superb and as it takes us through the pages it reveals such a sensational ebb & flow of the book.     The way that this is being told really does take us to this place where we understand and feel what the characters do and in ways that we can relate to. There really is nothing better than find a story where you not only relate to it but understand in your own unique way what everything here is all about. That Dallas, Nick and Sean manage to bring this to us this way is phenomenal. This is definitely something you need to be looking at. Antarctic Press is home to extremely good storytelling and this my friends is proof positive of this.     At first I thought that these interiors were really this kind of all-ages old indie kind of stuff but they won me over quickly. Now I can't see this being done any other way and while I would love to see this tightened up into a better near animation style this works on so many different levels. Oh the splash page here is phenomenal and I really want this to be brought back as a thing in comics, in one fell swoop we see everything we need to in order to understand the fun, brilliance and talent that Nick possesses. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a stellar eye for storytelling. The colour work is simple and yet effective and the colour blocking we see is really nice rendered. The hues and tones utilised to create the highlights, shading and shadow work is well done. ​     A love story gone wring or right depending on your point of view. With a colour cast of characters and some darn fine writing that's matched by the interiors we are treated to a book that is easily one of the most unique and interesting reads you are going to come across.

[msephy]

Upbringing chap 12/13

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 8 - Chapter 9 - Chapter 10 - Chapter 11

Cross-posted to AO3

Earth 53 - Jason Todd

The climb to Nanda Parbat was even harder than the one to Ra’s al Ghul’s stronghold and Jason could only feel relief at them being so close. Was it a coincidence or had Ra’s been looking for the place? Coincidences were rare, where he was concerned.

Only a small group accompanied them: five bodyguards and, of course, Bruce. Jason counted on Talia to insure Damian would get back to Gotham or, at least away from the League. The brat himself might be able to elude her if she tried to bring him anywhere else.

Besides, he was wearing his gear from the Cave. Knowing Bruce, several pieces had to be bugged. They’d find him alright – if they managed to get away from Ra’s.

It wouldn’t be long, now.

They reached the top of the crater where the temple laid. It was an ancient construction, looking both immovable and strangely out of place in this landscape of even older mountains. A single monk in orange robes was walking in the green gardens which surrounded the temple and made it even more unseemly in the blinding whiteness.

“The temple of Rama Kushna,” Ra’s breathed out. “I’ve looked for it for so long.”

So even he could still be impressed from time to time. Though Jason guessed he was more interested in his objective than in the place itself. Yet it had its own power, and so did the order within.

Jason let himself drop to the edge of the monkey bridge which connected the temple to the outside world. Good defense, Jason though. Even for him it would be hard to reach it from the other way, the climb being much harder from that side.

He started on the bridge before Ra’s could, unwilling to let him be the first to contact the monks. Jason might be disrespectful most of the time, but he didn’t think himself to be above those people. Ra’s thought himself above everyone.

The others followed, making the bridge swing gently from one side to the other. By the time Jason had reached the end, several monks had gathered, anxious and surprised.

“Welcome to the temple of Rama Kushna, traveler,” one of the said.

Jason bowed politely. “My apologies for interrupting your peace. The man who follows me asked for a guide to the fountain of life and so I brought him here.”

“I’m Ra’s al Ghul,” Ra’s said in an authoritarian tone. The jerk. “Where is the fountain?”

“It’s not hidden,” the monk answered in a moderate tone. “It’s right beyond the temple, in the garden. But you should know… Only the pure of heart can enjoy its blessing. It brings death to those whose spirit is not pure.”

Jason tensed, worried about Ra’s reaction. He’d known, of course, but thought mentioning it to him would be a bad idea.

To his surprise, Ra’s scoffed, sounding rather amused. “Not being straight with me, Shadow of the shadow? Do not worry, I don’t fear the fountain’s judgment. Do you know, I’ve always believed it must be the prototype of the Lazarus pits I myself use.”

“Yeah well, sorry but that’s not exactly good news,” Jason commented.

Ra’s ignored him to follow the monks’ instructions. Bruce joined Jason, looking at him intensely through his white lenses.

“If you expect Ra’s to die…”

“I expect Ra’s to be Ra’s,” Jason interrupted. “Either he’ll die, or he won’t. Either way it will be his choice. You can’t force right decisions out of people, Bruce. You know that.”

But didn’t he still wish to. Yet Bruce didn’t protest further, following Ra’s with a frown. Jason rolled his eyes. Worst-case scenario? Ra’s was hurt without dying and demanded Jason’s body. As far as he was concerned, Ra’s dying was the best­ scenario.

Still, he shadowed them, as did the leaguers.

The fountain was of the purest water, far from the toxin green of the Lazarus pits. Jason swallowed. He’d seen it before, once, yet it was still breathtaking. Not that it looked like much: just a naturally formed rock sprouting water, which was gathered in a round basin dug into the stony ground.

Ra’s removed his tunic while one of his guards unlaced his shoes, leaving him only in his pants. His state was even more visible now: his ribs showing under a fragile, gray skin.

Yet Bruce stepped forward. “Ra’s. You can’t possibly think to go inside. If what the monk said is true…”

The Demon’s Head raised a hand.

“Detective. Do not presume.”

Jason snorted, which removed some of their impact from Ra’s words. Yet, it sufficed. Bruce stepped aside, fists clenched. There would be a backslash if Ra’s did die, Jason suddenly knew. Bruce would blame himself. Didn’t he always?

Well, fuck him. People did have the right to make bad choices. You couldn’t control everybody, or else, you’d be – Brainiac, or something.

Ra’s stepped inside the fountain, sitting down under the gentle stream. He didn’t scream, didn’t start burning or melting. Was he really pure? Jason hadn’t dared to test the fountain, the one time he’d come.

He had come for it specifically, of course, like most people who reached the place. He’d found its coordinate in the Batcomputer and had thought – why not? Maybe if would clean him from the Lazarus pit’s stain, or maybe it would kill him, putting things back how they should have been.

But in the end, he had not dared. Yet here Ra’s was, sitting fearlessly in the inoffensive water.

Inoffensive, but healing. Already Ra’s skin was looking better, his flesh and muscle filling in, youth coming back to his face. He smiled, noticing their surprise.

“Do not confuse purity and morality, Detective,” he told Bruce without heat. “The values you think so highly of are very new to this world. As positive as you might think them, such a stream wouldn’t judge them more worthy than any other.”

“You kill people,” Bruce answered, tense. “Nothing can find that pure. You seek unbalance, in others, by killing them, and in yourself, by staying alive for so long.”

“Maybe it is so, from your point of view. Yet my intention is indeed to cleanse this world.”

Ra’s closed his eyes, breathing in as the fountain kept healing him, a clear dismissal. Jason moved to Bruce’s side, taking his arm to thug him away. “We should leave.”

“The monks…”

“Can defend themselves. They’re blessed by Rama Kushna, you know.”

Jason wasn’t even kidding, and it must have been apparent in his tone because Bruce didn’t resist further. They politely saluted the monks, who escorted them back to the entrance. Maybe Jason would go back, in his world. Not right away but – later. When he would have found his center at last.

They’d left the League’s stronghold at dawn and, even though the return trip was long, they managed to reach the Batplane right before dawn. To their relief, Damian and Talia were waiting for them there.

“Father!” Damian stopped just short from Bruce, clearly unwilling to behave like a child. To Jason’s surprise, Bruce ended the movement by hugging the kid. Damian squealed his protests without pushing him away.

Talia inclined her head at Jason. “My father?”

“Healed and well. We left before him but I don’t expect him to meet any surprises on his way back.”

She nodded, looking relieved, then she smiled. “Thank you, Shadow of my shadow.”

“Isn’t it Bruce who’s Damian’s dad?” Jason asked, just because, fuck, what was it with her coming into him?

As soon as he said the words, Talia’s face emptied of any expression and, from the corner of his eyes, Jason could see Bruce straightening up guiltily. Riiiight.

“Anyway, we have to go,” Jason decided. “Thank you for your help, Talia.”

“It should be I thanking you, Jason from another world. I trust the one from this one will soon return?”

“Yeah, yeah. We’re looking into it.”

Bruce nodded at Talia awkwardly, then nudged Damian into the Batplane. The kid didn’t protest: the day had been a long one. They left without further discussion then put on the autopilot so they could take turns sleeping.

Even with a few hours of eyes-closing, Jason still felt wasted when they finally landed back in Gotham. He would be relieved to slip into his bed and have a real, good rest, knowing the local Batfamily was safely home.

He opened the Batplane’s door, hoping to head upstairs to do just that – and stopped dead as Jason Wayne looked up to him. He swallowed, looking around, not knowing if he wanted him to be alone or if he hoped he was.

But no: here he was, looking up at him from afar. Bruce. His Bruce.

###

Earth 53 – Jason Wayne

The first thing Jason felt when the Batplan’s door opened was relief: Bruce was there, mostly unarmed despite a few cuts he’d definitely want to check, and so was Damian, who jumped down without wasting time.

Then Jason took the time to properly look at his double and… yeah. Doppelganger might be the right word. He was wearing his own gear, the same type he’d found in the flat he’d woken up in the other Earth: reinforced pants, combat boots, leather jacket which likely was reinforced too, and way too many weapons for someone who moved like he was one.

He looked as bad as Jason had feared. Yet, from what Kal and Dick had told him, he hadn’t hesitated to follow Bruce when they’d found out Damian’s life was in danger so maybe he should take appearances for what they were.

Besides, it’s not like he didn’t understand where he came from.

It was also hard not to notice how this other Jason had tensed all over when he’d seen the Bruce

“Nice to meet you,” Jason said, going forward, hand raised, to cut the tension. “I’m the local Jason. Thank you for bringing back my brother and nephew in one piece.”

The other Jason – this was going to become tedious soon, thinking about him that way, he should think about him as Todd instead – looked taken aback, but recovered quickly and shook his hand almost without trying to crush it.

“My pleasure,” Todd said, his tone clearly ironic, yet… it was probably true.

Jesus. This really was like talking to a younger self. How weird.

Jason smiled his most Luthorian smile, and was rewarded by a frown. Bruce – his Bruce – damnit – rolled his eyes.

“I know, I know,” Jason said. “No need to antagonize our host. I can’t help myself.”

Forgetting his doppelganger for a moment, he went and hugged Damian, then pulled Bruce into the hug with them, because he could. Feeling their presence physically was a relief. They were there. They were fine.

Then Bruce winced. “Alright,” Jason said. “Damian, to the shower. Make sure you aren’t hurt anywhere and if you aren’t careful enough, I’ll check you myself. Bruce, to the med bay.”

Damian obeyed without protesting too much, which was unusual, but then, considering the circumstances, Jason was not surprised. Todd raised his eyebrows at Bruce, who grimaced back, removing his cowl.

“I wouldn’t have to behave like you mother if you behaved more responsibly by yourself,” Jason commented.

“Please, don’t,” Bruce grumbled.

The other Bruce – yeah, he wasn’t going to call him Wayne, that would be just too weird – almost smiled.

“If it makes you feel better, he did the same with me, and I’m ten years older than him.”

Jason’s brother didn’t seem to know what to do about that comment. “I’m not sure if I should be reassured, or worried that he’s going to do that my whole life.”

“That’s what older brothers are for,” Jason sing-songed, nudging Bruce into removing the top part of his armor.

Cuts everywhere. That’s what he’d though. He started cleaning them.

“Todd, can I ask you to go tell Dick you’re all back and fine? He’s hard to wake up and might just mumble something but he’ll remember in the morning.”

“Sure.”

The tone didn’t match the answer. Was he hurt, too? The other Bruce was checking on him from afar but Todd’s movements only broadcasted discomfort, which could be largely attributed to his adoptive father’s presence. Or was it because of Jason himself?

Nevertheless, Todd removed his guns and knives then the most obvious parts of his armor before heading back upstairs. The other Bruce raised his eyebrows, but didn’t comment. Todd didn’t look in his direction, which wasn’t quite the same as ignoring him successfully.

“Bruce, a hand?” Jason called, mostly to distract him.

This brother grunted at having two people stitching him back up at the same time, uncomfortable himself with this unknown person being so close, but that’s what he got for getting himself cut like that.

“Ra’s?” Jason asked while working.

“Alive and well.”

“Mh. Talia?”

“Helped us,” Bruce confirmed, to Jason’s relief. “She says hi.”

“She doesn’t.” She never did.

“She doesn’t need to.”  No, indeed.

Jason finished working alongside the other Bruce. When he was satisfied, he nodded and let his brother take his own shower, his wounds taped with waterproof bands. Damian had finished in the meantime and headed upstairs to his bed, not without Jason hugging him one last time. Damian didn’t even protest.

Jason sighed when he found himself alone with the other Bruce. “What a family we both have.”

“You take good care of them all.”

“Thank you,” Jason answered. “I’m mostly sad about how Damian has been treated by Ra’s, though. Even Talia… I like her, but even though she protected him this time, I’m never sure she will next time. Oh I don’t think she’d kill him, even to save Ra’s life, but manipulating him into doing what she wants?”

He shrugged. That’s how she’d been raised. She didn’t see the wrongness in it.

The other Bruce sighed. “I know what you mean.”

“Yeah, I guess you would. Sorry but I can’t believe two of you were stupid enough to sleep with her. I mean. It was obvious she tried to seduce because Ra’s wanted her to.”

“She did?”

“Well, she did like us, I think,” Jason amended. “It wouldn’t have been quite that effective if she didn’t. But still.”

“Don’t underestimate her,” Bruce tempered. “I slept with her after having had a vasectomy and she still managed to have Damian.”

“Huh,” Jason said, very intelligently. Maybe he should have enjoyed the sex, then. He sure had wanted to, back then. Though the idea of her showing up with his son… It has been hard enough to have her show up with his nephew.

“Yeah well,” Jason sighed. “I’m still glad to leave that particular worry to Bruce. Besides, I get to enjoy Damian’s charming personality nonetheless.” He grinned.

The old Bruce smiled, likely understanding that he was only joking. They sat there in companionable silence for a couple of minutes, then Jason’s brother finished his showered and joined them, wearing the dark grey fatigues they kept in the Cave for such occasions.

“I’ll head upstairs, have some sleep before starting the day. How’s Dick?”

“Asleep, I think,” Jason said. “I just sent Todd tell him you were all fine, so you can head directly to your bed.”

“Hmpf.”

“If you try to hack into the computer from your room to fill the files today, I will see it.”

“Maybe I should prevent you from going to the office when you didn’t sleep either tonight.”

Jason yawned at the thought. “I might actually stay at home, today. I mean, I’ve been off for a few days, I assume you pretended I was sick?”

“I did. Take your Friday off, too. I’ll give you a hand to catch up on Monday.”

“Noted. See you, then.”

“See you, Jay.”

Jason smiled as he watched his brother go back upstairs. The other Bruce titled his head.

“You don’t have to stay.”

“You sure? Todd might go to bed right away too but if he comes back downstairs…”

“Then I’ll handle him.”

Jason looked at this older Bruce, who wore so many traces of the hard live he’d lived, and who didn’t seem remotely tired despite the lack of sleep.

“You’ll hold the fort?”

“I will. Go to sleep.”

Jason stretched, getting up. He knew he could rely on his little brother, of course, they’d both risk their lives for each other – and they did, numerous times. But he felt responsibility toward him, like he didn’t toward this other, older Bruce.

It was nice.

“Alright. Don’t kill each other, if Todd comes back down.”

“No corpses where Alfred can find them. Got it.”

Jason grinned, then, after a short hesitation, went to this other Bruce and hugged him like he’d hugged his brother. He felt him startle but then Bruce recovered and closed his arms around his adoptive son’s doppelganger. He was a very good hugger.

“G’night,” Jason said, letting him go.

“Good night, Jason.”

###

Note: comments are very welcome :)

[thecitrinefox]

Well it’s no sexy Marie Curie but...

(sterekweek day 3, meet cute with a side of halloween and scenestealer I guess, since it’s inspired by a buffy episode. 2.7k, brief language. also imagine stiles’ outfit like hoechin’s from everybody wants some, basically)

Derek is pissed.

“Somebody has to go check on the Nemeton, Derek. Don’t worry Beacon Hills has been quiet lately anyways, Derek,” Derek snarks as he stomps to his car. “No self respecting supernatural creature would start shit on Halloween anyways, Derek. What bullshit.”

The thing is, Derek loves Halloween. Usually. He has a not so secret sweet tooth and an excuse to eat all the candy he likes. He can let his fangs drop and flash his eyes all night and all anyone does is ask where he got his special contact lenses. He can be truly himself and not get treated like a freak, and he loves it. The problem is that even though the Hales moved out of Beacon Hills years ago after Kate Argent had burned their house down, they’re still responsible for the territory. Which means checking in on the dreaded Nemeton every so often, to make sure it hasn’t awoken, and also see if any unauthorized supernatural nasties have moved in while they weren’t looking. This year, Derek drew the short straw, and this year his mom had insisted he do the Beacon Hills check-in on Halloween.

Things had been going okay for most of the day. Derek had run the town’s perimeter in the morning and smelled nothing out of the ordinary, even in the preserve. He’d visited the Nemeton, and there had been a few leaves sprouting out of it, which he’d thought was a bit odd, but he didn’t feel anything unusual from it when he’d pressed his hand to its trunk, so he’d just snapped a few pics with his phone and texted them to his mother and moved on. He’d spent the afternoon criss-crossing the town proper. He’d driven past the high school, walked around downtown. He ate lunch at the local diner that he was pleased to see was still there, and grinned at kids of varying ages he’d started to see out and about in costumes. He forced himself to go stop by the old Hale House, and it’d been sad to see the house he’d grown up in in ashes, but even that wasn’t enough to ruin his day.

When the sun has gone down and Halloween revelers start showing up around town he lets himself shift. Not fully, just fangs and eyes. He’d discovered if he does a full beta shift people have a tendency to just reach out and touch his face, wanting to feel the ‘prosthetics’, and considering the amount of people who squeeze his biceps or pat his chest without permission these days he doesn’t like giving them extra reason to touch. But it feels good to let his eyes glow and let his fangs out as he goes about his evening and have nobody even bat an eye. He hands some candy out to kids as he passes them, even scares a couple by letting his beta shift through, although their heartbeats tell him they’re more thrilled by the change than actually terrified, and he’s heading back to his car trying to decide if he wants to do one last sweep of the town or just drive back to the new Hale estate early when things change.

It’s nine pm on the dot when a breeze rolls through the town and Derek feels all of his hair stand on end. If he wasn’t partially shifted already he thinks he would have done so automatically and he stops in the middle of the sidewalk, looking around. He doesn’t see anything at first, just trick or treaters walking around, some older kids and adults in costumes clearly headed to or from parties, but then suddenly it seems like the crowds start getting a little chaotic.

At first Derek thinks maybe people are getting rowdier now that it’s later. There aren’t so many little kids out and about anymore and people have probably started drinking, but then he notices people are acting...odd. A guy dressed in a pirate costume talking like a pirate to him is regular Halloween behavior. A woman covered in what looks and smells like real cat fur with real cat ears running past him on all fours is weird, but it could be weirder, Derek guesses. But then he sees a couple people up ahead dressed as a Waterbender and a Firebender, and they seem to actually be manipulating water and fire in the air between their hands, no practical tricks as far as Derek can see, hear or smell, and well, it’s beginning to feel like something is truly up. But it’s when a girl dressed up as Supergirl literally flies by overhead that Derek begins to panic a little.

It’s a spell, it must be, he thinks, as he hurries back to his car, muttering to himself irritably and cursing his mom for picking him this year. People seem to universally be turning into their costumes, and the firefighters he passed were clearly harmless, he can’t resist a shudder when he sees an actual Minion run down the street. Derek gets into his car and carefully maneuvers down the street, trying to avoid hitting any confused pedestrians. He thinks about calling his Alpha, but his mom will want to come down, and if it’s something he can fix on his own, he thinks he should. Laura already teases him enough for constantly checking in with Talia about decisions he makes. He’ll start with the Nemeton, he decides, turning off main street and heading towards the Preserve.

He almost misses it when he’s just turned around a curve and a college aged guy in short shorts and a crop top darts out into the road, the reflectors on his blue and orange striped running shoes giving Derek just enough of a warning to slam on the brakes.

“Hey, I’m walking here,” the guy shouts, flipping Derek off.

“Well maybe you should walk somewhere that’s not right in front of a speeding car,” Derek shouts back at him out the window.

“Jackass,” the kid mutters under his breath, probably unaware Derek can hear him. The guy keeps walking across the street, then stops dead, turning back towards Derek’s car.

“Wait, you can see me?” the guy asks incredulously.

“Uh, yeah,” Derek scoffs.

“Damn, finally,” the guy says. “I wonder if it’s a werewolf thing.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Derek says, jerking back. He forces himself not to shift fully human. It’s supposed to be a costume, he reminds himself.

“Being able to see me,” the guy clarifies. He reaches out, and Derek can’t duck back fast enough before the guy’s hand is waving right through his face. It feels strange, although weirdly it feels slightly warm, not cold like he might’ve anticipated. “I’m a fucking ghost, and you’re the first person to be able to see me all night.”

“I can’t normally see ghosts,” Derek says.

“Well I’m not a real ghost,” the guy says, rolling his eyes. “I was wearing a ghost costume so…”

“You turned into what you were wearing, just like everyone else,” Derek finishes. He eyes the guy’s clothing somewhat dubiously. Up close there is a lot of pale skin on display, dotted with beauty marks, the guy’s arms and stomach practically glowing in the moonlight. “Sorry, what kind of ghost are you supposed to be?”

“How about you pull over into a parking spot before someone gets mad at you for clogging up the road,” the guy says, gesturing toward a spot just up the street. “Also I know he won’t be able to see me but I half feel like my dad is about to show up in his cruiser and bust me for solicitation dressed like this and leaning in your car window.”

“What,” Derek says dumbly.

“My dad’s the Sheriff,” the guy says. “Thankfully he was just wearing his uniform tonight. I stopped by the station to check, so it seems like he and all his deputies are all still just cops. Go on, go park, I’ll follow you.”

Derek doesn’t have any better idea, so he pulls up into one of the metered spots ahead, turning the Camaro off and getting out of it. The guy jogs up behind him, and very carefully leans against Derek’s car next to him, seeming very pleased with himself when he doesn’t just fall through it. He’s got soft brown hair, and an upturned nose and Derek doesn’t know what’s more obscene, the outfit he’s wearing or the way he licks his pouty lips nervously.

“It was kind of a dare,” the guy says, looking vaguely embarrassed, gesturing down towards his outfit. “I accidentally got suckered into a conversation with my friend Lydia about ‘sexy’ Halloween costumes and gender equality. Anyways long story short, I briefly blacked out and agreed to wear something as revealing as whatever Lydia was planning on wearing in the name of feminism. Lydia gave me this, like, seventies exercise outfit including booty shorts, a crop top and knee high socks, and I was like ‘hell yeah’, but then when I put it on I panicked, and cut some eye holes in sheet and put that over my costume, because being a ghost is way less terrifyingly revealing, and uh, ta da. Now I’m a slutty ghost from the seventies. Not that being slutty is a bad thing, as Lydia would probably say. God, she’s out there somewhere dressed as sexy Marie Curie, I wonder what that’s like. I’m Stiles by the way. Stilinski. I’d shake your hand but well...”

“Right,” Derek says, feeling overwhelmed.

“Anyways, you’re like, a real werewolf, right,” Stiles says. “It doesn’t just look like you turned into a werewolf costume’s idea of werewolf, those eyes are the real deal. Oh shit, you’re a Hale. Too gorgeous to exist, dark hair, sexy car, you’re here on one of your family’s semi-annual ‘I’m sure Beacon Hills is fine without us’ trips.”

“Who are you?” Derek asks.

“I’m Stiles Stilinski,” Stiles says, slowly and looking at Derek like he might be dumb. “I told you like a minute ago. The Sheriff’s son?”

“I know that much, yes,” Derek says. “But how do you know this stuff?”

“Dude, you think things in Beacon Hills have just been naturally quiet for the past few years? Beacon Hills? I mean, you did grow up here, right, you remember what that was like? You think having less peace-keeping werewolves about just magically made the town less nuts?” Stiles scoffs. “Look, things were maybe semi-normal for a year or two after the Hales booked it, after that hunter tried to fry you guys, but then word got around that Beacon Hills was up for grabs and things went sideways. You guys weren’t around and so the rest of us had to get with it real quick to keep Beacon Hills from getting completely overrun.”

“Who’s the ‘rest of us’ and why didn’t anybody contact my family if you knew what we were and things were happening here?” Derek asks.

“Um, I mean it took me a while to figure out you guys were werewolves, and honestly we weren’t exactly sure how your mom, the uh, Alpha right, would react to what was going on,” Stiles says, scratching at his chin nervously. There are beauty marks on the side of his face and down his long slender neck as well and Derek can’t help but stare. “I’m a spark, my friend Scott got bit by this total asshole Alpha, so he’s a werewolf. Lydia is a banshee...hey do you think she screamed when I ‘died’ tonight?”

“How did we not know about any of this?” Derek asks.

“Well we’ve had things pretty well under control for a while now,” Stiles says. “And my dad put an APB out on your whole family, so generally we lie low when any Hales roll into town. Like I said, we know it’s technically your territory so we were a little worried you guys might try to kick our merry band of misfit supernaturals out if you knew what we were up to. I think your uncle Peter knows, but he’s kind of an asshole, so I’m not surprised he didn’t tell your mom.”

“Jesus,” Derek mutters. He’s trying to wrap his brain around the revelations of the night, but honestly he can freak out about it later, they have a more immediate problem on hand. “So do you have any idea what’s going on tonight? Halloween is traditionally pretty quiet, supernatural-wise.”

“Oh, that ummmmmmmm,” Stiles says sheepishly. “So a couple of months ago I may have pissed off this witch? A little? I tend not to notice when people are hitting on me, and I may have been a little rude about her behavior because I thought she was trying to get some kind of magical favor out of me.”

“Stiles,” Derek huffs, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“To be fair though, the last couple spells she threw at us weren’t exactly harmful,” Stiles says. “It’s more along the lines of pranks than anything, so I’m guessing while it’s kinda weird everyone has turned into their costumes, I don’t think anyone will get hurt as a result of it. It’ll probably wear off by midnight. Like we could try to find her and make her reverse it, but by the time we do it’ll probably all be over anyways.”

“Well I guess it’s true I haven’t seen anyone get hurt or heard any real screaming,” Derek admits. Stiles raises an eyebrow smugly and Derek just rolls his eyes in response. “Okay I’ll let it drop, but one scent of blood and we’re tracking down that witch. And tomorrow you’ll make nice with her so this doesn’t happen again.”

“Deal,” Stiles says. “So I suppose that means you’ll be leaving Beacon Hills again?”

“I was only supposed to be here for a day,” Derek says. “But at the very least I should stick around long enough to meet the rest of your pack, and make sure things get settled with that witch.”

“Yeah and we have a few hours to kill before the spell probably ends,” Stiles says with a grin. “I’d invite you to my favorite burger joint for some boozy milkshakes but god only knows what the waitstaff was dressed up as, better not risk it. And it’s not like I could drink it right now anyways.”

“We may not have a house here any more but we still have a pretty nice loft downtown,” Derek says. “It’s stocked with a decent bar, if you’re really after a drink and willing to wait for it.”

“Why Mr Hale,” Stiles says, stretching one arm behind his head as he leans back against Derek’s car. “Are you inviting me home with you?”

“If that’s something you’d be interested in,” Derek says. He lets his gaze wander up Stiles’ bare legs, pausing heatedly at the wide swathe of bare skin between his shorts and the crop top above it, dark hair leading from Stiles’ bellybutton down under his waistband. Movement catches Derek’s eye and he looks up in time to see Stiles slowly lick his lips, a blush crossing his face.

“I suppose spending some time at your place wouldn’t be so bad, if I have to wait a few more hours until I can...touch things again,” Stiles says finally. “Let’s go.”

It’s merely the logistics of Stiles being unable to open the door himself that has Derek darting over to open the passenger side door of his camaro for Stiles, but Stiles still smirks at him anyways. He slips past Derek, their faces only inches away, and it’s some kind of torture, Derek thinks to be this close and literally unable to bridge the distance and just touch Stiles, but he closes the car door behind Stiles and gets into the driver’s seat to drive them both over to the loft. A few hours, he thinks, trying to ignore how Stiles is luxuriously sprawled out in the seat beside him. Stiles is smirking. Of course he is.

When he hits a red light, Derek quickly pulls his phone out and shoots a quick text to his mother.

Need to follow up on a few things here in BH.

May be here a while.

[dylan-hague]

Chapter 38

Jump City. June 3rd, 2018. 1:34 AM.

Something wasn’t right.

Don’t misunderstand, Jump City had always been more peaceful than Gotham. That much is easy to assume, and Damian already knew full well. But something just felt off about tonight… maybe it was the anticipation of Mara’s next appearance. Not knowing what she had planned made everything more nerve-wracking, and knowing just what she was capable of only made things worse. Or maybe it was the fact that he was out on patrol with both of his parents. Talia had proven to be a bit more renegade as Phantasm than Damian or Bruce would have hoped, but Damian still felt the pressure of being observed by two of his greatest and closest teachers rather intently. Or perhaps it was the fact that Nashton was still at large… although not likely. Damian wasn’t particularly concerned about him getting away; Riddler was far too stubborn to skip town in the middle of his convoluted trials. Whatever it was, Damian did not like it. Not one bit…

“Hey. You alright, D?”

Damian jerked back to reality to see the masked face of Jaime Reyes looking back at him. Jaime was a good man; the second-oldest of the Titans after Garfield (excluding Kori, of course), the Blue Beetle spent most of his downtime performing community service as a civilian. Volunteering at the local homeless shelter, cleaning up litter on the roadside, even joining up as a volunteer firefighter. (He just barely scraped past the age restriction, but he got in.) Even when he wasn’t in the uniform, Jaime proved himself time and again to have the heart of a real hero.

“Yeah, sorry…” Damian ran a hand through his hair as he attempted to clear his head. “Just a lot going on tonight. I didn’t exactly think my first mission back in the field would involve hunting down my long-lost cousin. Y'know?”

“Try to relax, ‘mano,” Jaime replied, placing a hand on the younger Titan’s shoulder. “Everything will be fine, promise. You got us here, we got your back.” Damian nodded with a smile. That meant a lot coming from Reyes; after his initial hostility, Damian had come to admire the older Titan in an almost fraternal sense.

"Dame! You there, man?” Jonathan’s voice crackled over the comlink. “You guys got anything yet?”

“Nothing yet, Superboy… and come on. We’re on patrol right now. At least ACT like you know how being a superhero works.” Damian grinned as he replied.

“Yeah, yeah. So sorry, RED X,” the farmboy snickered. “Just… does it seem quieter than usual to y'all, or is that just me?”

“I know what you mean…” Jaime chimed in. “Usually we get at least a few cabrónes tryin’ to knock over the 7-11 here on Gomez, right? What gives?”

“I dunno, but I’m not sure I like it…” Damian continued solemnly. “I mean, yay, there’s no crooks out tonight, but everything just feels uneasy…”

“I agree.” Damian looked over his shoulder to see his father standing behind him, his cape flowing back with the wind. “Something doesn’t feel right about tonight. I’m not sure why, but it’s almost like… like something is keeping everyone inside. Out of sight. Like…”

Damian squinted his eyes as he peered out over the street below. “Like they know we’re coming for her.”

“Dios mío…” Beetle muttered under his breath. “Wait a second. You said she was part of that Assassin’s Creed thing right?”

“League of Assassins,” Damian corrected, “but yes. Why?”

“Well what happened to everyone she was in charge of?”

Damian stopped to think, and his eyes went wide as the realization dawned on him. The entire Gibraltar chapter of the League was under Mara’s command. If she had been in hiding all this time…

“… Hundreds… no, thousands of the world’s most dangerous killers… and they all just dropped under the radar with Mara… and now that Mara’s coming out of hiding…”

A loud crack of explosives and a fireball rising into the night sky from the Wayne Enterprises building uptown cut off the Titan’s musing.

Bruce let out a heavy growl as he pulled out his grapnel gun. “… great.”

Wayne Enterprises, Jump City Headquarters. June 3rd, 2018. 1:43 AM.

Tara and Raven flew into the smoldering hole in the top of the building, immediately equipping their breathers as they entered the smoke-filled conference room. Tara, upon looking around the room to find a television mounted to the wall to be the only piece of furnishing present, noted to herself that there was a suspicious lack of tables and chairs, considering how much work got done here every day. Damian made sure of that; even if he was only fifteen, Damian inherited his father’s work ethic. Every now and then he popped in to ensure things were still running smoothly, and every time the boy visited, things were running like a well-oiled machine. This was because of one single incident where  Damian had half the Board of Directors fired, calling them a “hindrance to his company”. Bruce later called, fuming, demanding to know why Damian made this decision without consulting him first. As it turns out, Damian had been investigating everyone in the Jump branch. The members of the Board he’d fired were embezzling from the company. Millions lost without anyone the wiser until Damian noticed. From then on, nobody dared to cross the boy whenever he made his rounds about the place.

Of course, none of this was relevant at the moment, because there was no board meeting going on tonight. The building was practically deserted… Except for one unwanted visitor in the middle of the room, surrounded in flames: the false Red X. She stared back at the pair of heroines as they made their way into the room, her stare penetrating their nerves underneath the opaque lenses in her mask.

“Hmm…” the fake Titan’s voice was finally clear, without the concealment of her voice filter. “You’re not who I was hoping to see.”

“You’re not exactly my first choice of dance partner either, dude,” Terra quipped in response. “Heck, I had a date tonight.”

“Cute,” the false X hissed beneath her mask. “I almost like you, blondie. If it weren’t for the fact that both of you will be dead soon, I’d almost say I would keep you around just for your wit.”

“That’s enough,” Raven interjected. “You need to end this, Mara. We know who you are, and we know you’re here for Damian.”

The fake X said nothing, staring back at Raven for a moment before slowly reaching up and pulling off her mask. As her black hair fell down to her shoulders around her face, a lock of red drooping down between her eyes, Raven grimaced as Damian’s suspicions were confirmed: this was definitely Mara al Ghul. She matched his description perfectly… and she had the same intense look in her eyes as Damian did when he was angry. They were family, alright.

“And you must be Raven…” Mara said with a smirk. “… Damian’s blushing bride-to-be. Tell me, how exactly could you hate yourself enough to fall for a monster like him?”

“Damian’s not half the monster you claim him to be,” the witch-girl answered. “And he’s hardly half the monster I am.”

“Oh, so I’ve heard!” Mara shot back, her smirk stretched into a grin. “Daughter of Satan, and all that! It’s a wonder how you have any friends at all, isn’t it?”

“Really? That’s your best comeback?” Tara cocked an eyebrow as she chimed in. “Get with it, kid. That was just sad.”

Mara rolled her eyes. “Okay, I think that’s enough.” The false X snapped her fingers, and the TV switched on. Terra froze when the screen displayed Garfield’s unconscious body, a dark figure holding a single sai against his throat.

“He really should learn to mind his surroundings, wouldn’t you say?” Mara crossed her arms as she stared Terra down.

The three of them remained silent for several seconds as Terra clenched her fists, her whole body trembling with anger and fear. She finally turned back to the false X.

“What do you want?”

Wayne Enterprises, Jump City Headquarters. June 3rd, 2018. 2:02 AM.

Damian lighted on the ground in the empty conference room quiet as a mouse. As his eyes darted back and forth across the room, he felt himself becoming more and more uneasy when nothing notable revealed itself. The fire from the explosion had died out in the time it took to get here (which would have been considerably sooner if Damian’s father hadn’t been so insistent on coming with him), which meant the culprit may very well have disappeared as well. Either way, at least Damian had something to do now; this patrol was shaping up to be a complete bust. Thank Azar he’d been able to convince Batman to start searching from the first floor, because he didn’t know how much more of the old man’s growled complaints he could stand tonight. And boy, would he be griping right now; the conference room was practically cleared out. All that was left was a TV set…

… with a webcam. Come on Damian, duh.

As if on cue, the television switched on. Damian was greeted to the face of his cousin Mara, her heterochromic eyes boring into him even from the other side of the screen. This was NOT an encounter he was looking forward to.

"Mara.” Damian clenched his teeth as the name rumbled out of his chest.

“Damian.” The girl on the screen responded. “I’m glad to see you’re in good health, cousin.”

“Cut the crap,” Red X barked back. “Tell me why you’re here so we can be done with each other.”

“Snippy as always, I see!” Mara smirked. “Fine. Let’s get right down to business.” The assassin swiveled the camera around the empty room she was in to reveal Raven, Tara, and an unconscious Garfield, all bound and gagged, each with an assassin of their own holding a blade to their throat. “I have your friends here, Damian. I’m in the basement of this building. If I see your father, they die. If I see the robot-man, they die. If I see the aliens, they die. In case you still don’t get what I’m saying…”

“Come alone, yeah. I got it,” Damian replied roughly. “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“Good. I look forward to seeing you soon, cousin.” Mara smirked into the camera.

Damian sneered. “Screw off, Scarface.”

…

It wasn’t easy to slip past his father without him noticing, but Damian finally made his way into the basement. He couldn’t help but grumble as he made his way slowly through the maze of wooden pallets and crates. In his head, Damian made a note that this place needed to be organized as soon as possible. He’d let the idiots know later, once Mara was in custody.

As Damian rounded the corner around an unnecessarily tall crate (maybe it was necessary, Damian didn’t know what was inside… he didn’t really care either way, he was just irritated), he froze when he saw Beast Boy’s unmoving body splayed across the ground. Tossing his gaze quickly around the room, he rushed to the Changeling’s side, feeling for a pulse, letting out a sigh of relief when he found it.

“Wake up, Logan,” he whispered, gently slapping Beast Boy’s face as he did so. The older Titan winced as he slowly stirred awake. His forest-green eyes locked with Damian’s, and he let out a quiet groan.

“Hey, X…” Garfield hissed groggily. “How long have I been out…?”

“I have no idea,” Damian replied, helping Gar to his feet. “You got kidnapped by my cousin. We’re gonna get you out of here, but first I need you to help me find Tara and Raven. Alright?”

Garfield’s eyes widened. “They got Tara??”

“BB, calm down.” Damian grabbed Gar’s shoulders, trying to keep his attention. “I know, you’re angry. She has Raven too, I know how you’re feeling right now. But I need you to stay with me, okay? We’re doing this together.”

Beast Boy nodded slowly. “Yeah… yeah, okay. I’m good. Let’s go.”

“Alright,” Damian handed Gar a spare earpiece. “Try to keep quiet.” Gar nodded, and quickly snuck off in one direction as he slipped the earpiece into place, Damian going the other way. This wasn’t how he was hoping this would go; he was hoping Mara would just make her demands up front. He could probably talk her into letting his friends go, then take her in a straight fight, even without his weapons. But of course it couldn’t be that simple. This was Mara they were dealing with. Mara has always been awful.

Damian came around another corner to see Tara, still bound and gagged. He rushed to help her up, quickly cutting her bonds away with an X-star and pulling her to her feet. He held a finger up to his lips, silently telling her to keep her voice down, then beckoned her to follow. After searching for another minute or so, Garfield’s hushed voice sounded over the earpiece; he’d found Raven. Damian sighed with relief, smiling as he thanked Azar for her safety, and gave the order to move for the exit. Retracing their way out was simple enough, and for a moment as they regrouped it seemed as if everyone would be getting out just fine.

“Has anyone seen her?” Damian asked quietly as the four Titans made their way towards the exit.

“Not yet, but I’m sure she’s still around,” Raven replied, her voice hushed. “She made it pretty clear this was all about you. She wants you dead.”

“Kinda figured she wanted us all dead…” the Son of Batman mused as he reached for the elevator button. “Look, can you take everyone up to my father? He’s probably looping back down to the bottom floor by now.”

“Damian, I’m not leaving you down here with her by yourself,” Raven insisted.

“Yes you are,” Damian grunted. “I need you to. You have to get these two out of here.”

“Damian, we can handle ourselves,” Garfield interjected. “Y'know I’m a grown man, right?”

“Yes. You also have one arm and probably a concussion,” Red X replied as the elevator door began to open. “Just get going before Mara–”

Before Damian could finish his thought, he was interrupted by the crack of a steel boot heel to his chest that sent him flying back down the stairs as Mara leapt out of the elevator at him. Before any of the Titans could react, the girl whipped out a pair of pistols and aimed directly for Damian’s head.

“The three of you get into the elevator. Now. If anyone tries anything, he dies.” Mara pulled back the hammer on both guns, the clicks acting as a grim period establishing her point. After a moment of hesitation, the three Titans boarded the elevator.

“Damian…” Raven called out, “be careful.”

“I will,” the boy replied as the elevator doors closed. “I love you.”

As the elevator carried the other Titans away to the main building, Mara lifted her weapons away from their target, slowly making her way down the stairs as Damian rose to his feet. Once he had stood up properly, Mara tossed a pistol his way.

“What the…” Damian looked down with disgust as he tossed the gun aside. “No way. I don’t do guns.”

“I know,” Mara sighed as she cocked an eyebrow. “I know all about your precious rules. I’ve been keeping my eye on you ever since Grandfather died. And honestly, I’m disappointed. You could have been so much more than what you are, cousin.”

“What? A murderer? A danger to society? Don’t start, Mara.” Damian scowled back at his cousin, crossing his arms as he did so. “I got out when I could because Ra’s was wrong.”

“You dishonor your family by spitting his name!” Mara shrieked as she cracked her pistol across Damian’s face, causing him to drop to his knees as she aimed the gun between his eyes. “Have you forgotten what you were born to do? Who you were born to be?! You are Ibn al Xu'ffasch! You are an al Ghul!!”

Damian glared back up at Mara for a moment. “No, Mara… I’m not an al Ghul. Not anymore…” Letting out a sigh, the boy pressed his forehead against the tip of the weapon as his eyes closed. “Do it if you must. But I’m not an al Ghul… I’m a Wayne. I’ll always be a Wayne.”

Time seemed to stop for a moment.

They say when you face your death, your life flashes before your eyes… As it turns out, that’s not entirely true. Damian knows from personal experience, having died twice already. You don’t see your whole life; all you see is the important parts. The things that mattered most. The people you loved more than anything else. And in this moment, it all started to happen again… his parents, Grayson, Alfred, his team, Titus, Jonathan. All his fondest memories rushed to the forefront of his mind, and finally, one last time, he saw his Raven, dressed all in white, smiling back at him with her hand outstretched. He smiled, and in his mind he reached out to take hold of her hand…

The gun clattered to the floor.

Damian opened his eyes to see Mara staring down at him, wide-eyed and trembling. A single tear ran down the length of her face.

“I don’t understand…” the girl whispered. “Why? Why did… why did he choose you? Why did he always choose you?”

Damian sighed as he rose to his feet once more. “Ra’s al Ghul was a vile man. He chose me only because I was male. He wanted a man to lead this world. That’s why he chose me over you or my mother. Nothing more than that.”

“I gave him everything… I was his tool, an extension of him.” Mara’s hands clenched into shaking fists as she fought back her tears. “And... and for everything I gave…”

Damian put his arms around the girl. “I know, Mara… I’m sorry. I let him control me too, for years. But it’s over now… Let us help you find yourself. Let us help you decide who to be, so you can move forward.”

After a moment, Mara’s hands slowly came up around Damian’s back, and the two of them pulled each other in tightly. Two sides of the same coin, the last two of the al Ghul bloodline. After years of hatred, it was clear now that they were not so different after all. It would take time, but Mara would heal. And Damian owed it to her to be–

Damian’s eyes crashed back open as he felt the sting of Mara’s X-blades dig into his back.

“I can't believe you fell for that!” Mara snickered as she pulled her blades out of Damian’s back, kicking him back down. The boy cursed himself for dropping his defenses like that; what did he expect Mara to do? This was practically the same stunt Wilson had pulled on him before. Fortunately she hadn’t pierced his heart, so he knew he wasn’t quite dying yet, but he still had to act fast. Shoving off with his arms and biting back the pain, Damian launched upwards, locking his legs around Mara’s neck and throwing the two of them in a wide circle as they fell to the ground, Damian now sitting on Mara’s chest. Having snagged the upper hand away, Damian began throwing his fists across Mara’s face again and again, hoping to put her down before things got anymore out of hand. But before he could cross her again, the true Red X let out a howl as he felt Mara’s fingers digging into the open wounds in his back, instinctively throwing himself off of her to escape the stinging pain. As the girl scrambled to her feet, Damian equipped his own X-blades and threw himself at her, unleashing a fearsome roar as he took back the offensive. The twannng of blades clashing rang out again and again as the two X’s tore through the maze of crates, swiping at one another like lions battling for dominance over their pride.

“You think you can seriously do this, Titan?!” Mara jabbed as she leapt towards Damian. “You’re already bleeding out! You’re only alive right now because I want to enjoy this kill!”

“Shut up.” Damian kept his words short as he fought back at the girl. She was right, though; he was losing blood fast, and he couldn’t keep up the fight much longer. He had to put Mara down fast. Reaching into his belt, he began slinging tranq-stars in her direction as quickly as he could. Unfortunately the weakness from his blood loss hindered his judgment, and he couldn’t quite get his aim right. Mara grinned as she saw her cousin slipping up, and pulled out a handful of her own X-stars, flinging them all around the labyrinth of boxes. As soon as they made contact, the shuriken all burst into flames, creating a haze of smoke and fire all around, dizzying Damian even further. Hacking and coughing, his eyes stinging from the smoke in the air, Damian struggled to keep his footing. Before he could react, he felt Mara’s X-blades plunge into his stomach, driving the breath from his lungs. Slowly he found himself unable to stand, and dropped to his knees, Mara’s blades now crossed at his throat. The young Titan looked up to see his cousin grinning wildly down at him.

“You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this day…” Mara began. “Your mother thought she’d dealt with us when she disbanded the rest of the League, but by then my chapter had sworn their fealty to me. Now with your death, and her heinous discarding of our family’s legacy, I am the only one left to lead our people to glory. I am Mara, the Demon’s Head, and I will take this world as my grandfather saw fit!”

Damian’s vision began to blur, and colors began to fade. His heart dropped into his stomach as Mara spoke; after everything, after years of fighting back against his heritage, his world came crashing down around him. There was nothing left he could do… he’d lost.

“Ohhhh, I’ve dreamt about this for years, dear cousin,” the girl continued. “You have no idea how badly I wanted this. How long I’ve relished the ides of cutting your head clean off…” the false X sucked in a hissed breath and began to giggle. “Oh gods, this is it! This is my moment! After all these years I can finally look into your eyes and watch you die!!” Damian felt a tear well up in his eyes as he heard the blades slide across one another, closing in on his neck…

But the hiss of steel scraping steel stopped as a large blade burst through Mara’s chest.

Damian watched in horror as Mara’s hands fell to her sides, and the girl was hoisted up helpless into the air on the massive blade, a figure looking like death itself emerging from the flames behind her. Without another word, the figure pulled Mara back into the fire, seemingly vanishing altogether.

Damian fell back, his vision almost gone, as a familiar cloak descended around him…

Titans Tower. June 5th, 2018. 2:30 PM.

Damian’s vision was still blurry as he stirred back to consciousness. As he looked around the room, he made out the shape of two people, about his own age, seated beside him. As his vision cleared, the Son of Batman easily identified them as Raven and Jonathan.

“Guys…?” he croaked. His lips couldn’t help but twitch into a smile as he saw the pair lift their heads and smile at him.

“Dame!” Jon shouted, practically jumping onto him. “Man, I didn’t think you were gonna make it for a while there!” It was lucky Damian was already healed, or the shock alone of being jolted so much may have killed him. The boy’s wrapped their arms around one another and laughed.

“Ah, c'mon Jonno, you know me…” Damian said with a grin. “I can’t just leave you guys to fend for yourselves, you’d be lost without me.”

“Maybe so,” Jon replied, pulling back and grinning down at the Wayne. “But I think you’d just miss me too much!”

Damian chuckled. “Maybe so, farmboy. Maybe so…” Slowly, Damian turned to look at Raven, who had a look of gratitude in her eyes as she smiled back at him. “You came back for me, didn’t you?”

“Of course I did,” Raven replied. “We’re a team. We’re better together.”

Damian smiled as he took Raven’s hand in his. “So… what happened to Mara?”

“Your mom happened, man…” Jon answered as he crawled off the bed back to Raven’s side. “Killed the crap out of her.”

“Christ…” Damian moaned. “Where is my mother now?”

“We’re not sure,” Raven replied, putting her other hand over Damian’s. “But she told us to tell you she’s sorry she had to break the rule… and that she loves you.”

“Man…” Damian pouted for a moment. “Well, that’s what she does, I guess. Nothing we can really do about it. Any word on Riddler?”

“Oh yeah!” Jon grinned as he chimed in. “Turns out, he was hidin’ under the Tower the whole time! Still had all the gold and everything! What a moron, right?” Damian cracked just for a moment, letting out a chuckle as Raven shook her head smiling.

“Oh, uhh…” Jon slowly backed out of the infirmary. “I should give y'all a minute. I'll see y'all around!” Damian nodded with a smile, and the hybrid stepped out of the room.

A moment of silence sat between the two Titans. Damian looked up at Raven, not knowing what to say…

“… Thank you for saving my life. Again.” Damian smiled as the words came out of his mouth.

“No problem,” Raven let her lips curl into a shy smile as she met his eyes again.

“How is everyone doing?” Damian sat up as he asked, and Raven gently sat down in front of him, both of them cross-legged on the infirmary bed facing one another.

“Actually, I kind of need to talk to you about that…” Raven’s voice was low. “… we’ve made the decision to go our separate ways for awhile.”

“What?” Damian was visibly taken aback by this. “Why? Did something happen while I was out?”

“No, we just… everyone needs some time. Time to figure out who they are outside of the Titans.” Raven leaned forward, her fingers gently tracing over Damian’s knuckles as she spoke. “Gar and Tara are going on a trip across the country, Jon is going back to high school, Jaime got a job back in El Paso, Kori went back to Tamaran…”

“Tamaran? Seriously?” Damian looked back at the half-demon puzzled. “What about her sister?”

“She brought along some of the League to help her work things out…” Raven looked away for a moment blushing before she looked back at Damian. “And I was thinking… maybe I could come back to Gotham with you? If that’s okay?”

Damian could feel his cheeks burning as his smile spread. “Why not? We might as well get started on planning.”

Raven’s smile spread into a grin as she threw herself forward, wrapping her arms around Damian’s neck as they both tumbled out of the hospital bed. Damian laughed as he put his arms around Raven’s waist and held her tight before helping her to her feet. As the two of them left the infirmary, they stopped by the window and looked out over the river, where they could see Jon hovering outside. The hybrid waved back at the two of them, then took off into the sky. Damian smiled; Jon would be around plenty enough, and Wayne Manor would be open to him day or night. He turned and looked at Raven, who kept on staring out at the river below them. He slowly put his arm around her, and pulled her in to press his lips to her cheek.

“Y'know, Raven…” he whispered. “I really don’t know what I would do without you.”

[annoyinglyjovialbird]

Voltron: Next Generation

First Encounters: III

Word Count: 2822

"Cake!" A chorus of voices yelled. Allie mostly screamed as she flew to the furthest fall, but she would also join in.

"I'm on it!" With nothing but his dad's yellow suit, Cake ejected himself into the darkness. Shiro seriously underestimated how the teens were trained.

On camera feeds, the teens watched the blasts slow and stop at the sight of the yellow-clad teenager. With a few flashes from the Balmeran ship, it went around the Coeus and its sheer size. They were approved for entry. Kova was going to murder someone and it wouldn't be Caleb.

Landing on the Balmera, Cake was the first off the ship, running towards a tall woman. At least, they thought it was a woman.

"Hey, where are you going?" Shiro asked Kova, who was suited up in his old paladin armor. The black and white outfit made her brown eyes impossibly brighter. Her helmet was held like a basketball under her arm.

"I have to ask if the Balmera is willing to give me a crystal." Her eyes met Shiro's for only a moment, then she turned and put on her helmet. Even if the atmosphere on the Balmera was safe for humans to breathe, Kova wasn't risking anything. She was better off safe than sorry.

"Be careful," Shiro called out, but Kova was too out of reach to hear a thing. Allie decided to go along, only because it was her team. Caleb and Liz were helping Kenny with the teleduv, something the Coeus had! Even if some of the lenses were cracked and others were broken, the system itself seemed to be okay. Thank Allura for that, because they couldn't possibly recreate Hunk's lens recipe up here.

"Hey!" Cake called out, his helmet off. The Balmeran he was embracing was only a few inches taller than he was, with rough green and yellow skin and completely yellow eyes.

"Hello." The Balmeran looked up at the pair, who were still wearing helmets.

"The air is safe to breathe."

"Kova's just taking precautions," Cake separated himself from the Balmeran and walked over to the girls. "Cut her some slack."

"Kova!" A shriek pierced the air and Kova had to brace herself, but even the armor didn't protect from Talia's bone-crushing hug. "Are Mom and Uncle Rax giving you a hard time for keeping your helmet on?" Kova was being lifted by Cake's older sister, who was as tall as Cake and looks to match. Her sclera was much brighter than Cake's, with a thin dark slit instead of Cake's round iris and pupil. Built like a body-building ectomorph, Talia was as hard as a rock (pun not intended), much to Kova's dismay. "Oh, I missed you, my strawberry shortcake!" Kova was kicking her legs, but it was useless in Talia's grip.

"Hello, beautiful sister." Cake crossed his arms.

"Issako." Talia stopped shaking Kova from side to side to glare at her younger brother. Her grip loosened enough to let Kova escape. She imagined Caleb was laughing up a storm.

He was, and Liz was sure he had stopped breathing a few minutes ago.

"Talia." The Balmeran from earlier scolded the overexcited half-human. "What brings you back?" The Balmeran, who Allie and Kova had assumed was Cake and Talia's mom, directed her question at Cake.

“It's a long story." Walking alongside his mom, Cake led the way for Kova and Allie. As Allie walked forward, she was pulled back by the collar of her outfit. Looking up, Kova's face was unreadable, even through the helmet.

"I'm sorry to ask this of you," Kova said, earning her more eyes than she could count. There were maybe ten Balmerans on the surface, only three directly interacting with the teenagers. "But I have a few questions and I don't wish to further interfere with your family reunion." Shay met the eyes of another Balmeran, the one who Kova thought was Cake and Talia's uncle. What did she say his name was again?

"I am called Rax." The Balmera approached the teens. "What are your questions?" Kova sighed, letting go of Allie's collar.

"First, I ask for a confirmation. Has the Fire of Purification returned in full force?" Rax nodded his head, solemn. At least Kova had the information to relay it to her dad. "Second, I wish to ask the Balmera for a few crystals. Would it be alright?" The ground shook after Kova's question. Rax stood by unfazed, while Allie hung onto Kova's arm. Behind Rax, a grove of crystals grew from the ground. They all varied in size, some the size of grass blades, and others were the size of small trees.

"The Balmera has answered your question. Any other questions?" Allie wandered past the foreboding Balmeran into the crystals, exploring each crystal. Kova wanted to ask the last question, but she was almost afraid to.

"Do you have any information on the Voltron Lions?" She differed to instead. They were dead, she chided herself. Even if they were alive, at least one more other than Uncle Lance should have made it back. Rax studied the teen, who couldn't be more than ten inches shorter than he. "We found Blue in a trash nebula not far from here." Her voice was low, meeting the Balmeran's eyes. Rax nodded his head, holding his hand out. Kova gave him her left arm, which had a screen on the piece. On the screen, he wrote in a code Kova hadn't seen in years: 010110010100010101010011

Hunk, Cake's dad, must've taught it to them.

Shutting her screen, Rax nodded. Kova responded with a nod of her own and stayed in the same place as Rax turned around to walk towards the stairs that led to the system of tunnels where the Balmerans lived. With steps, so much calmer and steadier than they had ever been, Kova walked towards Allie and pulled out her knife.

Cake was being showered in so many compliments and praises, he didn't notice how far he had traveled. He was told he looked handsome in his father's paladin outfit, to which he looked at his mom for confirmation.

She didn't even look at him.

The deeper they went, the more Balmerans stayed behind, going into their caves as they passed by. When they stopped moving, Cake found himself alone with his mom and Talia. They were staring forward, but Talia stole glances between him and the wall ahead of them.

The cavern was about twice as high as the bay doors and two football fields long. Inside, the Yellow Lion was inside its protective yellow dome, its eyes following Cake around.

He could barely believe the yellow lion's coordinates were here when he saw the map of the Lions' locations, but standing here and looking at the huge metal beast before him, it didn't make any sense. Maybe he passed out at the Garrison and this fever dream was his subconscious giving him a piece of his dad after his absence. He wasn't supposed to return to the Balmera until after he graduated from the Garrison, and the inclusion of his mom and sister are just homesick reminders.

Turning to both of them, he only had to look at Talia's face to realize she wasn't a dream. Talia would've known about this earlier.

Heck, he didn't know Talia's nickname for Kova was strawberry shortcake. Her face was priceless.

With careful steps forward, Cake approached the Lion. It didn't move at all, waiting for Cake to react. With a hand on the shield, Cake looked into Yellow's eyes. The faint roar in the back of his head scared him, but not as much as the shield dissipating in front of his eyes. With careful steps, he approached the base of the Lion, where a hatch door had opened.

Riding the elevator up, he remembered the stories and adventures his dad used to tell as treats for Cake's good behavior. After the cake incident, he wasn't allowed to help at the restaurants. When the elevator doors opened again, he found himself in a back room. Approaching the door at the end of it, he found himself in the Yellow Lion's head. Taking a seat in the chair in the middle of the cockpit, he brought his legs up the chair moved to suit him. Reaching his hands out to hold onto the controls, the panels came to life in front of him in matching yellow colors.

His helmet had rolled onto the floor, and Cake seriously wondered if he should put it on. No one else had a Lion, he thought to himself. Then he remembered what they found in the trash nebula. Suddenly, he couldn't reach his helmet fast enough.

"Allie!" Cake shouted, earning him a yelp from the tween. They had boarded the Coeus, with a makeshift sack filled with the materials Kova was going to make the satellite with when Allie got the terrifying message. "Get to Blue!" Cake was so excited, he was bouncing in his seat with joy.

"Kova said I wasn't supposed to fly it without proper training." Her right eye was shut, trying to comfort her ear on her shoulder through the helmet. It didn't work, but it didn't hurt to try.

"Get to your Lion and when I say go, take off!" Cake was starting the Yellow Lion, getting a feel for the controls. It would be completely different once they were airborne.

"Alright! I'm going, I'm going," Allie muttered as she wandered off to the Bay. Kova had an eyebrow raised, but she had taken off her helmet earlier. She couldn't hear the conversation between the two. "Just stop yelling."

Kova had dragged her bag 'o' parts to the bridge, where they had begun to fall out of holes in the tarp. She didn't mind. Caleb looked at her with an eyebrow raised. Kova shrugged her shoulders, sitting on the floor cross-legged to begin. Caleb and Liz had joined her, sitting in their now completely assigned seats, and Shiro and Kenny trailed Kova and picking up pieces along the way.

Allie was in the cockpit of the Blue Lion, hands on the controls watching everything come to life. Most of it was foreign to her, but she seemed to understand the basics when Cake's enthusiastic voice came over her earpiece.

"GO!" Cake yelled, causing Allie to wince but she pressed her controls forward. Blue stood, roaring to life as he stood on all four legs. With the bay door opening, Allie took off before Kova could stand up and stop her. Truth be told, everyone's eyes opened wide but no one made moves to stop Allie.

The Blue Lion was flying around the windows of the Coeus as the Yellow Lion emerged from a hole in the Balmera's surface. Kova looked on, not sure whether to be jealous that her team had their lions or proud that her team found their lions first. Allie was having a hard time flying the Blue Lion, while Cake took to it like riding a bike. Then again, his dad was the former pilot. Maybe the Lion sensed that.

Now alone, Kova was tacking a few pieces of the scrap metal together. It was harder than she would have hoped, her makeshift arc welder likely not up to any safety code. A few hours ago, she sent Caleb and Liz to check off the list of repairs the ship needed. Caleb glared at Kova, but Liz was happy to do it.

They had managed to properly set and reconfigure the wires that caused the malfunctions at the Garrison, finished the seat covers for the chairs, and were currently in the process of dying them with the help of the Balmerans. Shiro had decided to head down too, leaving Kova and Kenny alone on the ship. Albeit, on different sides and levels, but that was beside the point.

Pushing loose black strands back, she sat down on the floor. She had been hunched over for almost an hour, her back aching.

The Balmerans were kind enough to let the Coeus stay on the Balmera for as long as they needed, Cake's mom and uncle recognizing Shiro almost on the spot.

Kova was nearly done, the dome of the satellite coming along nicely. It would be large enough to transmit the signals necessary, but small enough it shouldn't be noticeable by other ships. When the frame was done, it was only a matter of connecting it to a functioning power source. The crystals from the Balmera should be more than enough.

Blue and Yellow raced past the windows of the Coeus the umpteenth time that day. Allie was getting better with every pass she made, although now it was a matter of beating Cake than it was practicing anymore. Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Kova got back to work. If she finished the frame by dinner, she would take a break. Maybe a shower. Maybe both at the same time. She didn't care, as long as her brain had a break from the onslaught of thinking.

"You shouldn't be thinking about the Fire." Shiro stood at the base of the stairs. Whenever Kova was thinking about something, she punished herself for thinking about it and either started a new engineering project or finished a previous one. It almost always got her mind off of it. The more serious issues she had to spar out of her system, but those were extreme.

"There's a reason they demanded a half-galra be on board." Her voice was muffled from the welding helmet, sparks flying as she started her work again. Tacking is only supposed to be a temporary weld, but Kova had to make sure the pieces were in the right place.

"You shouldn't be thinking about it," Shiro repeated. Kova stopped her current bead, tore the helmet off her head, and glared at Shiro. Her black hair was falling around her face in strands besides the braid down her back.

"I'm half-galra. I have the right to be worried."

"You didn't have to say anything."

"And risk everyone dying?"

"No one was going to die, Kova."

"You're right." She stood up, ignoring the stiffness in her knees. "We'd be prisoners."

"Kovalia."

"Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Kovalia, this isn't just on your shoulders." Kova was still glaring with intensity, but Shiro kept his calm. "Patience yields—"

"Don't." Kova raised a hand. "Don't say it."

"I don't want to leave you alone." Kova scoffed.

"Like they did?" Shiro didn't say anything. Instead, he watched Kova lower herself to the floor and put the helmet above her head again. "Just let me work." She bent over the pieces of metal and began tack welding once again. With a sigh, Shiro left Kova to her own devices, knowing that nothing will take her mind off the Fire of the Purification and its new goals.

The Yellow Lion stopped at the base of the Coeus, waiting for Blue to catch up with them. They never came. A deafening roar came from the other side of the Coeus, and Cake jumped in his seat.

Allie was cackling in her seat, tears flowing down her cheeks. She had managed to sneak up behind Yellow and unleashed a roar on the poor boy inside. In their seats, Allie and Cake could barely see Caleb on the ground getting closer to the giant robotic beasts, but they could sure see his sweater.

Caleb had changed into a mess of a black and red tie-dye sweater over gray jeans and matching red sneakers. Either Kova packed for him, or Caleb learned how to match his clothes. Allie and Cake blanked before exploding into fits of laughter at Caleb's horrible sweater.

Caleb, unfortunately, couldn't hear them laughing. Otherwise, he would tell them about the prank Kova made when they were tie-dyeing their clothes. Kova sadly outgrew her shirt (cough boobs cough), but Caleb had grown into the sweater.

Caleb motioned for the gigglers to come down from their cockpits, to which they reluctantly did. Allie and Cake tried so hard to meet Caleb's blue eyes, but their eyes wandered to the horrendous splatters of black and red that made up the entire sweater and could no longer contain their laughter.

"Yuck it up." Caleb rolled his eyes. This was always the reaction he got with the sweater, swearing off casual clothing until he graduated or was in space. Guess which one came first. "Are the bayards in the cockpits?" The two were taking deep breaths, trying to relax their breathing. Allie held up a finger and walked back to Blue.

She was in the cockpit, staring at the blue and white weapon in the dash. She hadn't noticed it before, but before she could grab it a white streak of light flashed in front of her eyes. Looking into the sky, her face blanched. She couldn't get out of the Blue Lion fast enough when the blast struck the Balmera.