#like nothing happened i think it would scare the hell out of the batfam

[superbat-lmao]

Damian Wayne stuck in a time loop.

It resets when someone dies, and since Damian is the youngest, it doesn’t matter how rocky his relationship is with the bat-siblings, each and everyone one of them sacrifices themselves for him.

And Damian is pissed off because he doesn’t understand why.

Grayson is obvious, he has made it clear that he feels affection for Damian and has made the most effort into integrating him into the family. Of course he would die for his little brother. And at first, Damian believes he finds this outcome to be the least acceptable.

There is also his Father, again, a logical expression of love. Damian can understand why his Father would die for him, even if he doesn’t want him to. Even if, in the first few loops, he wishes that anyone else would die instead. At least it’s a type of parental relationship he can understand in the abstract, even if it surprises him to see its true about himself. That even though he has several older brothers and is unsure of his place by his Father’s side, the man would do anything to protect him. It reminds him of his Mother, even though he’s sure if she were here she’d find a way for the both of them to live.

Brown is the first one to surprise him. They had worked together when Grayson was Batman and he recognized her competence, but he thought that’s all it was. A working relationship between professionals. A mutal, if grudging respect. He is shocked when she dies, how he had no clue she would go that far for him. How he refuses to let it happen again.

If Brown was a surprise, Cain was a shock. Damian thought of her as nigh invincible, unable to be touched. It was clear she was the best of all of them, that she had seen the hit miles ahead of him, had maybe even seen him brace for it. But she had chosen to let herself go down. He feels every bit his age as he begins to wonder if he’s even more powerless to stop this than he thought if his most competent sister chose to let herself fall.

Thomas was confusing. He was new, newer than Damian and not quite sure of himself. They rarely saw each other aside from school due to the mismatch in schedules. Thomas gave him a wide berth, respecting Damian’s space in a way his other siblings failed to do or intentionally disregarded. Damian didn’t think much of him. Couldn’t understand how Thomas hadn’t even paused, had taken the hit as if it was an unquestionable law of the universe. As if they were really brothers and not strangers. It was a sentiment Damian didn’t know how to return.

Todd was the worst. He had seen him, briefly, before he had come to Gotham from the league. His Mother spoke of him rarely, but with pride. He was skilled, if untamed. He avoided the manor and his brothers and their Father. The only one he usually sought was Pennyworth. That is why Todd was the worst. Because he avoided all of them. Because this family had already allowed him to die before and he had come back wrong. A painful reminder that their family has failed. And he fought so hard to remind them all of that failure, every way he chose to keep fighting to live, to prioritize his own life over their Father’s morality. Only to throw it away for Damian. To force him to watch how his brother’s second death shattered their Father and Pennyworth and Grayson in a way that Damian didn’t think they’d survive a second time.

Drake is incomprehensible. Antithetical. A cosmic error. Impossible. There is no love between them, no grudging respect, nothing. Damian can’t stand to look at the person who he feels is a disgrace to the costume Damian now wears. He is the one who dies for Damian the most. The one he can’t possibly understand. The brother he has the least time to question, who gives him the least answers as to his motivations. Who will both die for Damian and refuse to utter a word to him in the same loop. It is madness. Damian needs to prove himself above this embarrassment, and yet Drake chooses to be beneath him. To die for him. It is in spite of Damian’s skill that Drake dies, and Damian hates him for it.

[lazycats-stuff]

Okay hear me out, reader x batfamily okay? The reader is 2nd youngest (like 14) and recently during a mission, they got sent to alternate reality where they’re a bad guy, and witnessed themself kill the batfamily? Obviously you don’t have to write out that part if it makes you uncomfortable, but any ways. Once they return they distant themselves from the family beacuse they’re scared they’re going to hurt the family and turn out like the other evil them? The batfamily has enough of this after a while and corners them and kinda pressures them into telling what’s going on with them, and the reader kinda breaks down and says what they saw and that they’re scared they’re going to hurt their family. The batfam comforts them and tells them that, their nothing like their evil self? Somethin like thattt

Oh yeah... My poor reader is going to be traumatized.

Summary: (Y/N) gets thrown into a an alternate dimension. He didn't expect to be evil.

Warnings: murders, major characters death, but not really, alternate universe, angst and fluff,

(Y/N) had a bad feeling about all of this. He was back in Gotham, his home city. But there was something that is off. His family encountered Klarion and that's when the fighting started.

The fight was a blur for (Y/N), but he remembered that Klarion threw him into a portal. After an uncomfortable travel, he landed on top of a building, near GCPD.

And something is so off. It's too quiet for (Y/N). Now he felt like Bruce, knowing how the city felt. Was he turning into Bruce? (Y/N) shuddered a little bit, not wanting to be Bruce.

It isn't a necessarily bad thing, but still... One thing is for certain.

This is not his Gotham. Nope.

" What is going on here? " (Y/N) asked himself, trying to calibrate his comms. When he couldn't find their channel for their own comms, now he knew.

This is an alternate universe. Of course Klarion would throw him into an alternate universe or reality. Now there is a new question that he needed to answer.

What has happened with his family?

Were they still the same? Did somebody go insane? Did somebody turn into a villain? (Y/N) shook his head.

Nope. He won't think like that. He is going to hope that his family is fine. But where should he go first? GCPD? Should he find Gordon? Or his father?

What about the rouges? You know, Two Face, Penguin... Is there still Joker here? He hoped that there isn't. He didn't have any will power to deal with him.

Well, James Gordon is going to be his best choice. And besides, there is a bat signal up in the dark sky. He started moving, eager to move and get back home quickly.

Should he go to the Justice League HQ? You know, to find doctor Fate?

If Bruce was here they would have a plan set in place already and 5 different strategies how to approach this entire thing.

He landed quietly on the roof of the building, dusting his cape off. Gordon saw him and pointed a gun at him.

" What are you doing here? " Gordon asked, voice full of anger. What the hell has happened? (Y/N) stayed calm as ever.

" Okay, I'm assuming I'm not liked here. " (Y/N) said, trying to figure out what is happening.

" What the hell are you on about?! We hate you. " Gordon said and (Y/N) didn't know how to feel.

" Can I ask what happened? " (Y/N) prompted.

" Why are you wearing a suit? Are you working with Batman? After everything you have done?! "

Okay... He is a villain then. Oh no. Oh God.

" What if I tell you I'm not from here? I'm from another universe. " (Y/N) said bluntly and Gordon looked at him in shock.

" What? "

" Yup. I know how it sounds, but back in my universe, I'm a good guy and Batman's kid. " (Y/N) tried to explain and Gordon lowered his gun.

" Oh God. " Gordon said, rubbing his face.

" Now that we have gone over this, can you explain to me what the hell happened? I want to know why you pointed a gun at me. " (Y/N) said, moving closer to Gordon.

" You are a villain. You would make Joker jealous. " Gordon said and (Y/N) couldn't keep his reaction in anymore.

" What? What do you mean would? " (Y/N) asked, tilting his head.

" Joker is dead here. I made sure he burned. Then you, well, the other version, if that's even correct term, stepped onto the Gotham scene. You made a lot of waves and Batman is probably working overtime in order to bring you to Blackgate. " Gordon said, rubbing his forehead.

" I want to ask what I've done, but honestly I don't want to know. " (Y/N) said, looking at the city skyline.

" How screwed is Gotham? " (Y/N) asked, looking down at the Wayne Enterprises, the highest point in Gotham.

" Very. With you in it, even more than usual. " Gordon explained and (Y/N) couldn't help but sigh.

" Oh God. "

Gordon was going to say something more, but a broadcast from the building nearby. It was him. With his family on their knees, masks off. What the fuck?

Oh God. This a public execution. (Y/N) paled. No, nononono- A shot after shot rang out and (Y/N) couldn't keep his tears in anymore. He covered his mouth with his hand, sniffling quietly.

What has he done? Oh God, what has he done? Gordon was silent, forcing himself to stay calm with a stoic look on his face.

(Y/N) fell down on his knees, forcing himself to breathe. Just breathe. He looked up and jumped back.

" Doctor Fate? " (Y/N) asked quietly, trying to get up.

" I'm here to help you get back home. Your father contacted me, telling what Klarion did to you. "

(Y/N) nodded, standing up. He felt so lightheaded.

" Gordon? " (Y/N) said, taking a deep breath, trying to compose himself.

" Yes? "

" Honor them. Please honor them. Don't let him win. " (Y/N) requested and Gordon nodded, eyes glassy.

" Thank you Gordon. " (Y/N) said, before allowing Doctor Fate to send him back to the same universe.

(Y/N) shuddered as he was back in his universe, falling down to his knees again. He noticed that he was in the Batcave and while he is relieved to be back home, he couldn't look Bruce in the eyes. Nor his brothers.

He brushed past everyone, making a run for the locker rooms. He basically ripped the suit of off him and made a run again for his room. His brothers shouted for him, but (Y/N) didn't hear it.

He locked his room and got under the covers. Nope. He is not leaving this room for the life of him. Not happening. Patrol and any other missions are going to be out of the question.

How can he work with them when he can't even look them in the eyes?

Bruce really wanted to know what happened, but Doctor Fate didn't have an answer. Bruce knew that he would need to talk to (Y/N), but that is not going to be easy when (Y/N) refuses to be anywhere near them.

Bruce could see that the others were worried. (Y/N) has never tried to distance himself from them.

" What do we do B? " Dick asked, crossing his arms.

" We have to talk to him. "

" You know, he was taking his suit off as if it burned him. " Damian chimed in, looking down at his crossed arms. Bruce sighed quietly, waving four of his sons forward. All of them shared a hug.

" We will find a way to talk to him. We will find out what has happened to him. " Bruce said, squeezing his sons a bit tighter. After he let them go, they were all a little bit emotional. Even Damian. Damian and (Y/N) are close and it hurt him when he ran passed everyone.

He knew that (Y/N) becomes withdrawn when he is upset or angry, but they confided in one another.

" We will find a way boys. We will find a way... " Bruce said, closing his eyes for a moment.

It has been a week since (Y/N) came back and the situation is alarming. (Y/N) closed himself in a room and didn't allow anyone to enter besides Alfred.

Alfred was trying to figure out what was happening with him, but (Y/N) closed himself off. He made so many walls, so many defenses on and Alfred wondered what could have traumatized his adopted grandson this much.

Bruce and everyone else knew that they had to take this head on and make an intervention. No one wanted to see (Y/N) spiral, but he is on a good way to spiral completely out of control.

They made sure that (Y/N) had left the room. They watched him to pinpoint the time when he would be in the kitchen. After they saw (Y/N) in the kitchen they all steeped in, blocking all the exit points.

" (Y/N), " Bruce started, trying not break as he took in the appearance of his son. His eyes were bloodshot and he looked so tired. So emotionally drained. " We are worried for you. We wanted to give you some time to come to us, but you are spiraling and I won't let you go down that path. " Bruce said, heart clenching at the panic in (Y/N)'s eyes.

" Talk to us please. " Bruce pleaded with (Y/N). He knew that (Y/N) was looking for a way out, but he couldn't let him out.

(Y/N) shook his head. Bruce isn't going to yell.

" (Y/N), please. You can tell us. We are here for you. You can confide in us. " Damian pleaded and (Y/N) started crying. Bruce was mortified as he watched his son break.

" I don't want to hurt you! I don't want to become like him! I don't want to! " (Y/N) cried out and Bruce quickly stepped closer to his son, allowing him to wrap himself around him and (Y/N) refused to let go.

" Tell us what happened. " Damian said, moving closer.

And (Y/N) did. Everyone was horrified at the story and they all hugged him.

" You are nothing like him. " Jason started.

" You won't turn into him. " Dick added.

" That version sounds like an asshole. " Tim said.

" I'm going to end him. " Damian chimed in, hugging his brother.

(Y/N) chuckled quietly as he was being squished. Even Alfred joined, giving him support too.

" Now, how about you eat something and then go to sleep? You look like you are going to pass out at any moment. " Dick said and Alfred led him to a table.

[miraculous-trinity-leo]

Whacky Gotham, Goofy New York, and Chaotic Paris.

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6) (Part 7)

Chapter 5: Then Let The Games Begin

•—–—–·†·–—–—•

Soooo, the Batfam is panicking, Gotham's confused as to why Iron Man is flying over Gotham like a madman, and Maria is with two of Gotham's Sirens (but only Ivy and Harley know this) having a wonderful time playing with Bud and Lou.

Let's start with the Sirens.

Harley is watching over Maria and Tikki as they sleep with Bud and Lou, Ivy walkes over to sit next to Harley, handing her a cup of tea.

"So, what's the diagnosis?" - Ivy

"She has some sort of trauma, has class issues... and handles more than she should, but still does everythin', on top of bein' a hero. She's been through some sh-t Pam." Yeah Harley may have found out Maria's a hero (if the tiny god and magic were anything to go by).

"Is she alone?" - Ivy

"No, thankfully, she has supportive parents, and friends that aren't little sh-ts. I think they're also heroes, she also has a lot, and I a mean A LOT of pent up emotions, she doesn't show anythin' negative, only positive things. She seems to shrink in on herself if she thinks she does somethin' wrong. Pam, we both know there's a limit to how much crap a person can take before they snap, and she's such a sweet kid. There has to be somethin' we can do to help her Ives." Ok she found out alot, but in Marias' defense, they have trustworthy souls, and they were the only other people (besides her friends) that she talked to about it, yes she had her Maman and Uncle to talk about hero stuff, but for the stuff her class does, she only ever vented (without being negative) to her friends.

"Her class is visiting the Botanical Gardens in three days, and it's a 2 part tour, so we can see just what's going on. If it's bad then we scare them a bit, if it's bad bad... they can handle a few slightly poisonous plants right?" - Ivy

"God I love the way ya think Ives, do ya think she can stay with us? I mean look at how cute she is with Bud and Lou... Oh my god, she's cuddlin' dem, and ya gave her a flower crown, how'd I miss that?! Where's the camera?"

Harley took a picture to remind her of this wonderful moment. As Ivy and Harley looked at the picture, they both promised to keep Maria safe, and maybe become sorta kinda-ish parents to her while she's in Gotham.

•—–·Now back to the Bat-Chaos Bat-Cave·–—•

Tim took over the chair and was now searching the possible locations with Jarvis, Damian was sitting on a different chair, trying to act cool, but he wouldn't stop looking over at Tim, to see his progress. Bruce was talking over the comms with Tony. Dick and Jason, weren't helping (they kept feeding each other worse and worse ideas of what could have happened to Maria). Then they heard Jarvis speak.

"I have found the most likely area Ms. Dupain-Cheng would be in. Her phone died about 56 blocks away from her hotel, if we don't count kidnapping, or murder, she would have thought about asking for directions, but may have decided not to considering the city she is in. So that leaves us with a possible 15-25 mile radius from her last known location. I think it best to divide into groups of two, have Oracle stay and update you if anything on security, and or traffic cameras happens. Bruce will be with Tony, Dick will go with Tim, and Jason will go with Damain to search within the area. Stephanie and Cassandra will search around a 5 mile radius near Wayne hotel." as Jarvis continued to explain the other details, the Batfam began to suit up, Batman met up with Iron Man, and they took the North area, Nightwing and Red Robin took the East area, while Red Hood and Robin searched the South. Steph and Cass were on foot in civilian clothes, searching the West area they were assigned.

They searched for the whole day, and came up with nothing. Until Oracle saw a video from a traffic cam around 9pm, 15 blocks away from where her phone died. She called it in and everyone went back to the cave. Once everyone was at the Bat-Computer, Oracle pressed play, the cameras didn't have sound, and it wasn't close enough to see if she was ok.

They watched as she went to an overgrown parking lot and sat down. She was looking down at the ground, and that's when they spotted two figures round the corner and spot her. They watched as the two figures approach Maria, and saw the startled reaction she had. They realized it was Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy that were talking to her, then they saw Maria collapse. They watched as Harley made sure she was ok, looking over to Ivy before looking back to Maria and picking her up. The last thing they saw, was Maria being carried away by two of Gothams' most dangerous rouges, but now they knew where to look next.

•—–· Back to Ivy and Harley ·–—•

Harley continued to take adorable pictures of the children.

"God, they're so f-ckin' cute!" - Harley for the 20th time

As Ivy continued to watch while caring for her plants, Catwoman walked in.

"Hey girls, got the stuff for movie night, so what are we- Holy mother of cats! He adopted another f-cking child didn't he! Where the hell does he keep finding them?! 7 was ment to be the god DAMN LIMIT!!!" - Catwoman

Maria jumped at the sudden shouting and may have accidentally summoned a yo-yo (one made useing creation magic and protection magic) before saying.

"Tikki where's the akuma?! How long was I out?! Forget it Tikki spot-" she then realized she wasn't in Paris, and seeing a new face, she also realized she just spilled her secret to another person within the same day... kinda

"Fffffffffffudge sunday that fell on the pavement!" - Maria shouted in baker profanities

"That's not how ya curse sweetheart. It should go more like-" Harley was cut off by a vine Ivy had summoned.

"Harley, cursing makes the plants sad, you know this." - Ivy said removing the vine

Harley just walked over to Maria and whipsered it in her ear.

"You're supposed to say it more like this, ' ..... .... ... .. ....... .. ... .....' ok?" - Harley ended with a big smile

"... I will never see this world in the same frickin' light ever again." - Maria

"ehh close enough." - Harley

"Can someone please tell me, WTH is going on here, on our special girls day off?!" - Catwoman

"She is a new member of the Sirens as of today, and as a member, she's unda our protection, so effective immediately." - Harley

"Cool." - Maria

"Harley." - Ivy

"Wut... first things first, if she is going to join, she needs to be very flexible, know how to fight, and be incredibly intelligent." - Catwoman

"She beat Ed's @ss with a gun pointed at her, and solved every riddle with ease, so I'm positive she'll be an amazin' addition to the team." - Harley

'God she sounds like a new mother now' "But we don't know how good her flexibility is." - Catwoman

"I know, hey Maria, ya wanna do some tricks with me, of course we need to stretch first, but do ya wanna give it a go?" - Harley

"Sure." - Maria

Ivy and Catwoman sat down on a couch a few feet away from where Maria and Harley stood in the empty part of the building. They started out with stretches, and to Catwoman's surprise (and Harley's delight) Maria copied Harleys streches perfectly.

"Ok, now that that's done, we'll start with some cartwheels, then move on to flips, then handsprings and so on." - Harley

Maria gave Harley a nod... and they were off... literally, Harley did a cartwheel into a handspring, and a few backflips, Maria executed it flawlessly. Harley did some more complicated gymnastics tricks, and Maria did it, Harley did triple backflips going into a cartwheel, into a summersault, and Maria did that perfectly as well. This went on until both Harley and Maria were slightly out of breath, both having massive smiles on their faces.

"Ives, please let her join, she's like a mini me." - Harley then hugged Maria and they somehow both tripled in cuteness as they both did puppy (or Puss In Boots style) eyes at Catwoman and Ivy.

"Sure Harley." - Ivy said walking over to give Harley a small kiss on the cheek.

"Okay... but she doesn't have a costume yet, and she still has to think of a name for herself." - Catwoman

"Is a mouse good, like a mouse themed costume, that or a Turtle themed one. What do you think Harley?" - Maria

"Mmmm, I like that with the mouse you can always toy with Cat, ya know, cat an' mouse stuff, turtle seems... weird even fawh Gotham, so personally I would pick mouse, just because of the cheesy jokes you could do." - Harley

"Very funny, ok then, give me a moment."  Maria then reached out her hand, her eyes then started to glow an icy blue, and a small portal opened in front of her, she reached in and pulled out a small pendant necklace. After she put it on a small mouce appeared and greated itself, Marias' eyes going back to normal after closing the portal.

"Hello I'm Mullo, nice to meet you all."

"Omg omg omg, It's soooo f-ckin' CUTE!" - Harley

"Best to assume all of them are extremely cute Harls." - Ivy

"What the Hell did I miss in the week I was gone?!" - Catwoman

"Ehh, not much, oh but Iron Man did fly aroun' Gotham a few times earlier this mornin' like a madman." - Harley

"Oh sh-t." - Maria

"Maria are ya ok? That was ya first official proper curse in my presence." Harley said looking over to the girl.

"He's gonna kill me." - Maria

"Wait, what do you mean Marigold?" - Ivy

"... He's my Uncle, and I never got to text him I was ok, since my phone died before I met you." - Maria

"Hey, I'm sure he'll understand, now what are we watchin'?" - Harley

"I think we have more important matters other than movies at the moment!" - Catwoman

"Ok, Me Myself and Irene it is." - Harley

"No! You basically kidnapped Iron Mans' NIECE!!!" - Catwoman

"Technically, she fainted and us bein' the good Gothamites we are, decided to take her with us, to make sure she was a-okay." - Harley

"I'm ganna need more than just a six pack of soda to get me through this... Just put the movie on already." - Catwoman

Catwoman sat at the far left end of the couch, next to her sat Ivy, then Maria, and then Harley, Bud and Lou by their feet. All of them sharing one big blanket (Becuase if Iron Man did show up, or any of the birds, then Maria was in a protective burrito and they may not see her right away) and they started the movie.

•—–·–—•

"Oh god, the poor cow." - Maria

.........

"Hahahaha, he stuck a whole f-ckin' chicken head in that guys @ss" - Harley

"The poor chicken." - Maria

"Maria you don't want to see this part." - Ivy then lightly covered her eyes for the ehem, chicken extraction.

.........

"Anyone up for another movie?" - Harley

"That depends." - Ivy

"Any suggestions Cat?" - Harley looked across to the other end of the couch to see Catwoman already sleeping.

"She took her cat-nap already? Seriously?" - Harley

"... What about Pirates of The Caribbean?" - Maria

"I'm good with that." - Ivy

And they started the next movie, Maria was happy, it felt like when her maman and papa would sleep with her when she made a pillow fort. It was a loving atmosphere, it felt safe, and nothing could ruin it. Marias' eyes became heavy, and she leaned her head on Harleys' shoulder, falling asleep after a few minutes.

Ivy paused the move looking over to see both Harley and Maria sleeping, soon Ivy also fell asleep in the comfortable silence.

…………………………

Around an hour later Maria woke up in a panic, she had a nightmare, and kept looking around frantically for someone with tears running down her face.

"What's the matter hun?" - Harley said looking around to see if someone had gotten in. When she looked back at Maria she saw that she was crying.

"What happened?" Harley asked in a kind voice that was filled with motherly love.

"I, just *hic* had a bad dream that's *hic* all, I'm fine." - Maira said trying to wipe the tears away.

"You're ok, I promise nothin's goin' to happen to ya as long as Ivy and I are here, ok hun?" - Harley hugged Maria, and she could feel the girl let out a few more sobs, and quick breathes.

"Thanks Maman." Maria didn't even realize what she had said, it just felt natural for her to say it.

"You're welcome hun." 'Omg I'm gonna cry, she called me maman!' Harley rubbed small circles over Marias' back, and began humming until she fell asleep, she continued to hug Maria until she also fell asleep.

•—–· Back to the Chaos Bat-Cave ·–—•

"What do you mean she's with two of Gotham City's Sirens?!" - Tony

"Tony, calm down, I'll call Selina, she can talk to them and get this all sorted out." - Bruce

"Your fiancee is a Gotham Siren too?! Why didn't you tell me?!" - Tony

"Why isn't she picking up? And unlike some people, this family doesn't like outing our secret identities... on live TV." - Bruce

"Oh well excuse me for not keeping my secret identity a SECRET!" - Tony

"I'll try calling her one more time." - Bruce

"Bruce, it's 3am. Who in their right mind ever stays up this late.... aside from this family." - Tim with a giant coffee mug in hand.

"... I'll just call her one more time." Bruce then connected it to the Bat-Computer so everyone could hear.

•—–· Back to the Sirens ·–—•

Catwoman's phone is ringing like crazy, waking everyone up, including a tired, annoyed, and confused Selina.

"Wth does he want at 3 in the morning?!" - Selina

"Just answer it so we can keep sleepin'." - Harley still hugging Maria

"I'm putting it on speaker, so you lot can testify against his @ss in court, for disturbing the peace."

•—–· Over to Batsy ·–—•

"Selina I need to ask-"

"WHAT THE F-CKING HELL DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND ABOUT A GOOD NIGHTS REST!" - Selina

"Oooooh, she sounds pissed Bruce." - Jason

"I'm sorry to call you at this hour, but we need to find a girl that looks just like every single one of my other kids." - Bruce

"Bruce... I thought we agreed that 7 kids was. the. f-cking. limit." - Selina

•—–· Back to the Sirens ·–—•

Selina looked over to Maria before muting the speaker.

"Do you want them to know you're here Kitten?" - Selina

"... I'm tired, I haven't had coffee, I have no filter, so f-ck it, act like you never saw me today, and let them drown in chaos. " - Maria

"I think I like filter less Maria." - Harley

"Okay." Selina shrugged her shoulders and then un-muted her phone, putting it back on speaker mode.

"Where was she last seen?" - Selina

"She was last seen with Harley and Poison Ivy, I want you to see if she's still with them." - Bruce

Selina looked over to Maria and Harley, both of them shook their heads with mischievous grins.

"I've been with them all day, and I haven't once seen a girl that looks like your kids. Now can I go back to sleep, and forget this ever happened?" - Selina

"WHERE IS MY NIECE!!!" - Tony

"Oh, hey Tony, didn't know you were there, don't know who, or where your niece is, but good luck trying to find her. Oh and Bruce, I'm shutting my phone off so you don't keep calling till the butt crack of dawn. And congrats it's now 4am. you owe me a lunch date, uh-ba-bye." Selina then hung up her phone and turned it off.

"That went pretty well if you ask me, now I'm going back to sleep." - Selina

•—–· Back to Batsy ·–—•

The room was silent for a few minutes before Jason spoke up.

"Does that mean that Pixiepop ran away and is even more lost now?!" - Jason

"Oh god, what do we do, what if she got hurt?!" - Dick

"What if she got kidnapped?!" - Jason

"What if she's with a big time Gotham Villain?!" - Dick

"... What if she got more coffee?" - Tim

"Oh Hell No" - Jason/Dick

"... Lets all go to sleep, and when we wake up, we'll head over to their base and double check. She could've just said that because I called her at 3am." - Bruce

"But my niece is still out there!" - Tony

"You're going to sleep Tony." - Pepper then dragged Tony to his room.

•—–· Back to Maria ·–—•

Selina went to a different part of the building, where Maria assumed the bedrooms were. Ivy had gone to the greenhouse to be with the plants, and now it was just her and Harley left on the couch, and she couldn't sleep.

"... Harley?" - Maria

"Yeah hun?" - Harley

"I can't sleep." - Maria

"Well, watcha wanna do till ya get tired?" Harley asked sitting up a little straighter to get a better look at Maria.

Maria gave a sly smile, and looked Harley in the eyes "Want to go free-running on the rooftops?"

"... Alright, but lets get some coffee, and a snack in us first." - Harley gave her a side hug, before getting up to go make the coffee, and grab some snacks.

After they had their coffee, they climbed to the roof of the base. Harley was in her outfit, bat in hand and ready to do some bonding.

"So, how does ya outfit work?" - Harley

"Like so, ready Mullo?" - Maria

"Yes Maria" - Mullo

"Ok, Mullo, Get Squeaky!" A bright light flashes, and when Harley could see again, Maria was in a dark gray suit, wearing black knee high boots, with a strip of pink at the knee, and black elbow length gloves with the same pink strip at her elbow. Her mask was a slightly lighter gray on the top part, and pink on the bottom. Her hair was pulled into two buns with pink ribbons that faded to gray, and to black at the very tip. Her jump rope around her waist forming a tail going just below the back of her knees.

"Just when I think ya can't get any more adorable. So what should I call ya?" - Harley

"You can call me Multimouse." - Maria

Soon they were racing and doing tricks off different roofs, they were really enjoying themselves. From one of the roofs they heard a commotion in one of the alleys, when they looked down they saw a man holding a woman at gunpoint.

"Not good, seems like he's got issues, probably lost his lover, most likely has additions to drugs and alcohol, and seems to be a little tipsy." - Harley

"I've got a plan." - Multimouse

…………

Multimouse droped a little way behind the guy, grabbing his attention while Harley got the lady to safety.

"You know there's a help center two blocks from here that would be more than willing to help you." - Multimouse

The crook just raised his gun to her trying to keep it steady as he spoke.

"Give me all your money little girl, or else I'll hurt you."

"1. That's not how you hold a gun. 2. That is no way to treat any girl. and 3. Instead of money, I'll give you my jump rope." - Multimouse

"Why the hell would I want your jump rope, that thing looks worthless." the crook lowered his guard enough as Multimouse pretended to hand over her jump rope, only to use it in a quick motion to dismarm the man, as Harley promptly knocked him out with one swing.

"Lets neva have ya at gunpoint again, okay hun? I'm afraid my heart can't take it." - Harley said while tying the crook to a lamppost.

"Sorry, but it was the best idea I could come up with at the moment, besides, any guy with a gun would feel like they have the upper hand if they're facing a random little girl with a jump rope, rather than Gothams' Harley Quinn with a bat." - Multimouse

"Sadly I'm just too popular with the kiddos on the street." - Harley

…………

They continued to stop a few more muggers on the way back to the base, and when they got back they peaked around the corner to see the whole Batfam plus Iron Man talking with Ivy and Selina.

"How much you want to bet we can get back out before they see us?" - Whispering Multimouse

"... Lets try hidin' in the kitchen." - Whispering Harley

As they tried to sneak by (still in their costumes) Selina just walks over and draggs them to the group.

"Here, now let me sleep!" - Selina

"Dang it Selina we wanted tah see just how long we could hide out in the kitchen!" - Harley

Selina did a double take now realizing they both went out.

"... You didn't." - Selina

"We wanted tah go free-runnin'! So what?" - Harley

"She could've gotten hurt Harls." - Ivy

"My suits magic, I am invulnerable to bullets, normal magic, swords, knifes, anything staby staby, and I can withstand any temperature in it." Multimouse said with a slight pout.

"Hold up, is she a magical girl?" - Red Hood in the background

When Selina let go both Harley and Multimouse went behind Ivy for protection.

"We can still make a run for it." - Harley whispered to Multimouse

"... Ok, I'll meet you on the roof." - Whispering Multimouse

Harley gave a nod as she slowly inched her wasy closer to the door that lead to the roof, as she saw Iron Man approach Multimouse.

"Please get out of your suit, we need to talk about why you're here-" - Iron Man

"Multitute!" - Multimouse

Harley then saw Multimouse shrink into dozens of tiny little versions of herself as her clones spread out in all directions, one of which was heading right for her.

"Wth, you never told us she could use magic!" - Red Robin

Harley picked her up, and slipped through the door without anyone noticing.

"That was great, but how do ya get back tuh normal size?" - Harley

"Simple, I just merge back with my clones." As she said this, all her clones came back, and she merged with herself, becoming normal sized again.

"Where to?" - Multimouse

………… So now The Batfam is trying to find many long gone Mini-Multimouses, and Harley seems to have disappeared with her. Harley and Multimouse are now running over the roofs, heading for Wayne Manor.

"So why are we going to Wayne Manor?" - Multimouse

"Because, Batsy will neva think of lookin' for us at his own home, at least not fawh a little while." - Harley

When they arrived at the Manor, Multimouse de-transformed as Harley knocked on the door.

"Ms. Quinn, Ms. Maria, pleasure to see you here, please come in." - Alfred

"Are any of the bat-birds here?" - Harley

"Ms. Barbara, Ms. Stephanie, and Ms. Cassandra are the only ones here at the moment." - Alfred

"Do ya think you can keep us bein' here a secret from Batsy?" - Harley

"Harley? What are you doing here with Maria?" - Barbara

"It seems that Ms. Harley and Ms. Maria are now playing hide and seek with the rest of the family." - Alfred

"Did someone say hide and seek?" - Steph

"Yes, so could we maybe try and keep this a secret from everyone else, please?" - Maria

"Sure, it was starting to get boring around here. We can all hide in the living room no one ever use. Barbara you show them the way, I'll get the food/drinks and boardgames." - Steph

"Is this alright with you Alfred?" Maria

"It's all right Ms. Maria, you can hide out in the old living room." - Alfred

"Thanks Alfie, ya the best." - Harley

"Thank you Alfred." - Maria

"Ok then, follow me." - Barbara

…………

In the old living room, Harley, Maria, Barbara, Steph, and Cass began to formulate a plan.

"Ok, so the best way for them to never find you is to have your phone off, stay away from any and all cameras, and show your face to no one." - Steph

"So, do you have anything in mind that you might want to do?" - Barbara

"Can we put them on a wild goose chase?" - Maria

Cass nodded to Marias' suggestion approvingly.

"I can hack a few traffic cams to help with that." - Barbara

"We can also throw in some useless hints, to throw dem even further off our scent." - Harley

"Good idea Harley." - Barbara

"Thanks, but how long do ya think we should make it last?" - Harley

"As long as Maria wants it to." - Barbara

"Then let the games begin." - Maria.

•—–—–·†·–—–—•

Chapter 5 complete. Hope everyone is stayin' safe, Rockin' those Positive Vibes, and havin' an absolutely wonderful day. BUG-OUT 🐞💮🐞

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[river-bottom-nightmare]

Hey, I'm doing a fanfic universe where neither Tim nor Jason get involved with the Batfamily what lives do you think that their lives would have turned into without getting involved with Bruce?

oh my fucking god i wrote an entire thing for this and then tumblr fucking DELETED IT and i’m pissed as hell and rewrote it. forgive me if i left anything out.

but anyway. hey babe. if tim or jason never got involved with the batfam?? hmm. interesting question

so for jason, i see either one of two things happening

a) jason’s a smart kid. clever, wily, quick. that’s what the librarian and the auto smuggler and the working girls say. they’ll give jason whatever change they can spare, and jason uses it wisely. along with that, he’s got quicksilver fingers. stealing the tires off the batmobile??? one hell of a confidence boost, and he starts taking theft a little more serious. 

he refuses to be part of a gang. they want him bad: he’s slippery and smart and rough and fast. but he’s seen the way the older gang boys act. he’s seen the way they laugh like lunatics and get high off whatever they can find, beating up little kids and taking what they want from women just for the fun of it. and jason will do whatever it takes to never become one of them.

so he steals. he jacks car parts and smuggles other things, harmless things, till he knows his way around mechanics pretty well. the guy that paid for all of jason’s goods died early, and gave jason his shop. he tries his best to run an honest business. granted, he’s still a thief and a liar, but kids know that he won’t throw them out if they come in there looking for a warm place to sleep, and girls know that he’ll slam the door behind them, locking the door tight and getting out his gun if any motherfucker has them shaking and scared. 

he scrapes together enough money every month to pay for a shitty little apartment. it’s crumbling and cold, but it’s his. maybe he stays in that little auto dealer for the rest of his life. maybe he starts visiting the library again, learning everything he couldn’t when he was a kid. either way, he survives. sure, his isn’t all that impressive or meaningful, but gotham never meant for him to make it past fifteen in the first place, so jason’s alive and breathing and has a few things he calls his own. that’s good enough for him.

2) he tries to stay away from the gangs. he tries so hard. becoming like them is one of his biggest nightmares. they’re jagged and cruel, they take what they want and laugh at what they leave behind. but he doesn’t have a choice. he’s starving and cold, and carjacking isn’t cutting it. 

just for the money, he tells himself. just for the money, and nothing else. he’s never going to become like those boys, never. that promise doesn’t last very long. they give him a gun, and for the first time in his life, jason knows what it’s like to get drunk off power. he can shoot whoever he wants. the guys that leave women in the alleyway sobbing, the guys that kick innocent animals just cause they can, the guys that used to try and hurt him. he can get revenge for everything. he starts using, too. it’s better than he ever thought, letting himself go for a little bit, untouched by the weights dragging him to the ground every day of his life. he shoves all thoughts of his mom away, and lets himself forget life.

he ignores the stares of the librarian and the auto smuggler and the working girls, shaking their heads in pity and fear, wondering what happened to him, what happened to the boy they used to love? that boy was weak, jason thinks, and he won’t ever be week again. 

soon enough, he starts working for the big names. penguin and scarecrow and even black mask. it’s with black mask that his story ends. batman busts in on an operation, and it’s chaos. jason gets shot somewhere between black mask using his goons as human shields and everyone shooting blindly through the smoke bombs, trying and failing to get a shot on the vigilante. jason falls to the ground, riddled with bullet holes and regrets. batman doesn’t bother to even learn his name.

now, for tim? i really only see one outcome. 

tim’s been obsessed with batman and robin for as long as he can remember. robin’s nightwing now, but he and batman still work together. less dynamic duo and more experienced and knowing colleagues, but they’re still together. he follows them for the rest of his life, his childhood dream leaving the barest mark on the rest of his life, but puts away the hopes and dreams of ever meeting them, of them seeing something special in him. then, he turns his focus to what his father wants.

he doesn’t really have much of a choice. his parents have already slated him as the new head of drake industries. and they’ve been grooming him to be the perfect heir ever since he was a kid, forcing him to go to galas and network, form future connections that he calls upon now. he remembered trying to work up the courage to go say hi to bruce wayne. he never once did it, and it’s far too late now: bruce thinks of him as an opponent, an enemy.

he’s worthy of it. there’s a voice in his head that’s kind of hysterical, telling him that he’s worthy of being someone batman treats as a threat. the opposite of what he always wanted, but he’ll take it. he’s cutting and brilliant, exactly what his parents wanted him to be. 

he leads drake industries higher and higher until it’s the a competitor on the same scale as wayne enterprises, as lexcorp. at board meetings, bruce looks lazy and bored, but tim always notices the way the other man looks at him with a cold, calculating gaze. 

for the rest of his life, he tries to work up the courage to tell bruce wayne that tim knows he’s batman. he tries to work up the courage to say he’s known since he was 9, but he’s only ever kept their secret, sometimes even helping in what small, discreet ways he could. he never does, and he takes the secret to his grave.

anyway yea that’s just my take on it. i wish you good luck with your fic!

[catxsnow]

ELEVATOR MISHAP T.D.

Request: hi if requests are open i was wondering if i could request for tim 👉👈 maybe where the reader is his assistant/secretary at WE and is really smart and accomplished and everyone in the batfam who has met her think that she's perfect for tim in more ways than one. maybe one day the sexual tension gets too much and they end up making out or something like that but she pushes him away because she's older than him and she thinks he deserves better? you can choose how it ends!

Warning: sadly no elevator sex so it’s SFW, angst, yearning, language

A/N: CEO!Tim?? me?? writing it again?? couldn’t be. also that gif tho

Word Count: 2.8k

Mr. Drake was a very kind man.

Though he was young, he made sure to recognize the importance of everyone that worked under him. He learned the names of everyone he interacted with and always showed a smile when passing by. There was never a day that he wasn't kind to his employees, even when it was evident his day was hard.

Mr. Drake-Wayne, though he always pestered for you to call him Tim, was a young man. He was just barely at the age of eighteen. However, it seemed that he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. Dark bags under his eyes every time you saw him, walking as if his joints were too old for his body.

As young as he was, he seemed older than you. Tim seemed to know a little bit too much about everything and he never faltered when something new was thrown at him. He wasn't just a smart man, he was prepared. You respected him for that. While many degraded him for his age, it seemed that he only earned more and more respect from you every day.

You were the secretary for Mr. Wayne shortly after he took over his father's position as CEO. From the start you had been right alongside him, watching him become accustomed to this new life at WE. You took his kindness as being a good boss, not as someone who thought about you in the late hours of the night.

Tim's crush on you - if you even wanted to call it a crush - was more than evident. His brothers saw it when they came to the office, most of your coworkers knew about it. You on the other hand, it seemed as if you were the only one who didn't know the full extent of his feelings. You picked up on the tension, the desire between the both of you.

He was too young for you. Sure, it was only a few years but it felt as if you were far too old for someone who was under constant scrutiny for their role in society. Tim didn't need another added stress of someone chastising him for liking someone older than him. You couldn't do that to him.

"Mr. Drake, you're late this morning," Tim held two coffees in his hands and a tired look on his face. His eyes lit up the second that he heard your voice. He stopped at your desk that was stationed just outside his own office. Tim slid one of the coffees towards you and kept the other for himself.

"That's no way to talk to your boss," Tim looked down at you. He was kidding, of course. "You know I don't like it when you call me Mr. Drake."

"Yeah, but, you always get a little flustered when I do," you beamed up at him. It was true, Tim always felt his cheeks get warm and a little stutter in his words when you called him that name. He seemed at a loss of words for a moment. You took the chance to change the subject, "you've got a meeting at two today."

"Will you be there?"

"If you want me to be."

Tim said nothing. He sent a wink your way and headed to his office. Typical response - never telling you yes or no and never sure what he really wanted. He was a man of many unanswered questions - ones that you'd hope to learn some day. It seemed unlikely.

You teetered between a professional and flirtatious relationship with Tim. It was easy to get lost in the conversation and forget that he was your boss and that you were in the middle of his office. Half the women in the building envied you and the other thought you to be mooching for more money that your job was worth.

No one had any reason to feel this way. There was nothing to envy and you certainly weren't getting any money added onto your paycheque every month. As desperately as you wanted to know more behind the wall Tim Drake put up, there was no such chance.

Less than an hour after Tim locked himself in his office, a familiar face stood in front of your desk. Tall, dark hair, romantic blue eyes that didn't quite hold the same adoration as Tim's.

"Mr. Grayson," You smiled up at him. "What do I owe the pleasure of seeing you today?" Dick sat on the empty edge of your desk. His arms were crossed over his chest and straining against his jacket. A friendly smile spread across his lips.

"Stopping by to see Tim," He vaguely answered. It wasn't uncommon for his family to come into the office, though none of them really spoke of what they were truly there for. "He was going on and on about you the other day about how this company wouldn't survive if he didn't have you to keep him in order."

You felt heat crawl up your neck at the thought of Tim talking about you to his family, talking good things about you. Sure you had to remind him every hour about what he had to do, but he would be just fine without you in the long run. Now, according to his oldest brother, he thought about you outside the office.

He sure as hell didn't make it any easier not to like him, not to think about him as well outside of your workspace. Tim consumed your thoughts at night. It was hard not to - the way his muscles rippled under his dress shirt when leaning against your desk or the smile he had when he knew that he was flirting a little too much with you.

Dick chuckled at how quickly flustered you got at his news. To be honest, he was mad at Tim for letting you stay single this whole time. It was obvious that you both had strong feelings for each other - and he thought that you would be great for Tim. He'd have to remember to smack some sense into his brother about it.

It wasn't just him who felt this way. Jason, who had only met you once, thought you to be a hot and Tim and idiot for not getting with you sooner. There were several threats made that if he didn't, Jason would. Dick had never seen his brother get so angry from a sly comment from Jason.

Damian, the one person it seemed impossible to get on the good side of, liked you too. He found your smile to be kind and genuine, and you didn't treat him like a kid like his father's old secretary did. The only reason that he wanted you and Tim to be together was because any other person Tim was interested in never treated him this way.

"Mr. Drake does just fine without me," you finally managed to stutter out. You took a sip of the coffee he had brought you, hoping to clear the scratch in your voice. Tim's favourite coffee shop - a clear sign that he had been the one to buy it for you. Dick knew his brother well enough that he was well wrapped around you finger.

"We both know that's a lie, (Y/N)."

><

"Join me for lunch?"

Tim stood in front of your computer, coat on and ready to face the cool Gotham air. His hair was tousled since the last time you saw him and you were sure that he was stressed out. He watched you peer up at him from your screen. It wasn't uncommon for him to ask you to join him for lunch. For the longest time you thought it was just because he didn't want to be alone, not because he wanted you.

"How can I say no to a smile like that?" you shrugged. Tim rolled his eyes and proceeded to grab your coat off the hook for you. He held it out, making it easy to just slip your arms in. He hooked his arm into his coat pocket, waiting for you to loop yours around him. The two of you walked side by side towards the elevator.

Tim looked over at you as the elevator door closed. A sly smile was on his face and you couldn't help but wonder what was going through his head in that moment. He turned to face you completely, causing you to drop your arm from him. You were taken aback to see him reach up to your face.

The tips of his fingers were rough against you skin. His hands were callused as if he had lived a life of labor three times over. Though it was shocking, his warmth was welcomed. He glided up along side your jaw, pausing for a moment as his palm cupped your cheek completely. Whatever had gotten over him in this moment had you frozen in shock.

Your flirtatious relationship had never been left to something like this. Tim was never forward about his desire for you - though it was there he never did anything about it. His conversation with Dick the other day left him unnerved. His brother was right - what if you had gotten whisked away from him before he even got the chance to do something about it.

He was scared to meet your gaze. His bold move suddenly feeling too much, too unexpected. There was no sign, no reason behind his sudden need to hold you. It left you bewildered, but needing more. Needing his burning hand to be on more of your bare skin and his lips on yours.

Tim felt himself succumbing to his desires. He felt himself leaning into you. Mostly, he felt himself needing to spill his heart out to you.

Instead, he heard the loud ding of the elevator and the treacherous sound of the doors opening. You peeled away from him before whoever was entering the elevator could see what was happening - what was about to happen. Tim's eyes fell in defeat, he sighed before putting on a fake smile for those who joined the two of you.

He sparked conversation with his employees, talking as if nothing had happened. You on the other hand, couldn't stop feeling the fire along your skin where he had touched you.

><

Tim's subtle touches became problematic.

He often pressed his hand into your waist if he was passing behind you or leading you through an known area with a reassuring hand at the small of your back. Catching you at the wrist if you weren't paying attention where you were going and stopping you from hitting something or someone. Arms brushing as you stood so close to one another.

He had always done those movements since the time you worked with him. His touches that always made you feel comforted, his touches that left you wanting more. Those same touches left a burning print on your skin and consumed your body for the rest of the day. You couldn't get him out of your mind, not after that almost kiss.

It was why you were avoiding him. Impossible to do with your job as his secretary, but you did your best. Tim shouldn't have this big of an affect on you - he was your boss he wasn't allowed to. At least, he wasn't supposed to.

A fat stack of files sat on your desk. They were supposed to be brought into Tim and yet they had remained there all morning. Of course at some point you would need to bring them to him - but the part of you still hoped that they would magically move themselves. After staring at the stack for another moment, you let out a sigh and picked them up.

The walk to his door seemed shorter than normal. It wasn't enough time to collect your thoughts or figure out what you wanted to say to him. Tim hadn't said anything since your moment alone together and as badly as you wanted to forget the whole thing, you were dying to know what the hell was going through his head.

You knocked once before hearing his voice. Tim was furiously typing at his computer, concentrated on whatever the hell he was doing. He stopped immediately upon looking at you, a faint smile gracing his face.  

"Papers, nothing to get excited about," You gestured to the pile in your hands. They were placed on the corner of his desk but before you could turn away and back to the safety of your own desk, his hand was placed over yours. Heat trailed up your skin from his touch, igniting your veins with a fire that you hated to welcome.

"You should know by now that I always get excited to see you." Of course you did. It was impossible not to see how evidently his face lit up around you, how he gained a small bounce to his step when he was at your side. The nervous tic of always pushing his already gelled hair from his face.

He gained a lot of habits because of you, and he was the only one that didn't seem to notice them. You retracted your hand suddenly, causing Tim to jolt at your movement. "I've got work to do, Mr. Drake."

You didn't. He knew that, you knew that. It wasn't hard for him to pick up on the idea that you were hesitant to be with him after that almost kiss. The only issue, was that he was unsure if it was you feared the feelings he had, or genuinely wasn't interested. He wouldn't know unless you admitted it.

You paused before turning back to the door. The question you so desperately wanted to ask right on the tip of your tongue, yet struggling to come out. Tim's eyes were glued on your fingers tapping along your arm. He could easily tell that you were in deep thought.

"Tim..." you finally spit out. No Mr. Drake. No Mr. Wayne. Just Tim. He met your eyes, hope running through him. "Never mind,  I'll see you in the meeting later this afternoon."

Tim jumped up from his desk. Before you could even take a step towards his door, he was blocking it from you. His chest heaved up and down with anticipation, with hope and desire.

A small, faint bruise laid against his jaw. Faint enough that you couldn't notice it unless you were as close as you were. Your fingers trailed along the mark without even noticing that you were doing it. Tim grabbed you hand, pressing it flat against his cheek. Your touch left an electric tail down his body.

"What were you going to ask me?" He whispered.

"The elevator..." You trailed off as his gaze flickered to your lips. Tim didn't need to hear anymore, he knew the rest of your question. He also knew words didn't seem sufficient enough to give you a real answer. He leaned into you, slow enough that if felt as if time itself had slowed.

Tim's lips brushed against yours. He was hesitant this time, worried that you would react badly. It wasn't until your hold on his cheek moved to the back of his neck and pulled him close. Weeks, months you had been dreaming of this moment. His lips just as soft as they always looked to be.

As wrong at this moment felt, you couldn't deny how it was too perfect. Tim's hands like fire against you, his lips molding to yours perfectly. His slow movements were only reeling you in for more, to be dragged into his hold forever. As badly as you wanted this forever, it couldn't. This couldn't.

He felt his breathing catching in his throat as you pulled away from him suddenly. His body cold without you flush against him. Defeat filled him.

"I'm sorry Mr. Drake," You stood my the door. A shake stayed in your hand as you reached for the door handle. Refusing to meet his eyes, the posture you held - it was easy for him to see that this wasn't embarrassment or regret, it was the wish for this to be an occurrence but feeling like you couldn't.

Tim had laid his cards on the table, he expressed how he felt for you, just like Dick suggested. He had done everything in his power to keep you close and it seemed that his acts only pushed you away further.

"I'm sorry, I have work to do."

[redhoodssweetheart]

Blackbird | Three

Pairing: Dick Grayson x Fem!Reader slowly turning into a Jason Todd x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 2K

Requested: No

Warnings: Swearing, angst, some fluff, talk of having a dark soul and not being a good person, death mention, shot with a gun

Description: You were once a member of the BatFam known by the moniker Blackbird.   You and Dick Grayson were close, but when a tragic accident left many members of the team thinking you were dead you went into hiding and tried to build a new life for yourself. But now Dick is back and he’s about to find out your secret.

Dick was lying awake in his hotel room thinking about her when his phone buzzed.  He grabbed it off the bedside table and looked to see who had messaged him.  He was almost certain it was going to be Bruce telling him to get his ass back to Gotham, but instead he saw Kor’i’s name.

Kor’i: Damian said you were out of town on a mission.  Is everything okay?

He wasn’t sure how to tell Kor’i that he had found Y/N, his lifelong friend that had been murdered by the Joker right before his eyes.  He wasn’t sure he wanted to tell her yet.  She was still deceased in the eyes of most of the League and he knew she still wanted to keep it that way.  He was half expecting her to up and vanish again, but before he had left her apartment the night before he had made her swear not to leave.

Dick: Something came up and I’ll be in Preston City for awhile.

Kor’i: Do you need back up?  I can be there in a few hours if you need me.

Kor’i was a good friend, Dick hated lying to her, but he didn’t need her coming here and scaring Y/N off.

Dick: I can handle things here.  Just stay with the Titans.

Kor’i: All right, just call if you need me.

He shut his phone off and went back to staring at the ceiling wondering what he should do now.  Y/N was adamant about staying in the shadows and operating as she had been since her death.  She didn’t feel like she was worthy enough to come back out into the light.  Whatever she had done after she had been reawakened from the Lazarus Pit had messed with her.

He was going to get to the bottom of this and try to help her work through whatever trauma she was still holding onto.  He got up and got ready for the day.  He wasn’t sure where she was going to be today, but he didn’t want her to be alone.

“What do you mean he just showed up out of the blue?” Jason was on the phone with Y/N as she punched away at one of the punching bags in her apartment.  “Did Bruce tell him?”

Y/N and Jason were in similar situations.  They had both been killed by the Joker and resurrected in the Lazarus Pit.  Jason, however, had returned to the fold in a sense rather than staying in the shadows as she had.  Though she had chosen to reach out to Jason after her sanity had come back because she needed someone to talk to that had been through the same thing she had.

“Bruce didn’t tell him where I was, Dick figured that out all on his own.  But once he discovered me, he managed to pry the truth out of Bruce.”  She threw another punch that managed to knock the punching bag off its hook and send it flying across the room.  “Fuck,” she cursed.

“Destroy another punching bag?”  Jason asked in a teasing tone.

“Shut up, Todd,” she hissed.  “You would think I would be better at controlling the super strength by now.”

Jason was quiet for a moment, “Maybe you should leave Preston for a while and come stay with me.  I can keep Dick off your scent for a bit and you can get used to the idea that he knows you’re still alive.”

“He said he loved me,” she whispered.

Jason sat up in his chair and nearly spit out his coffee, “He what?!”

Y/N felt like putting her fist through a wall, “He told me that he loved me and nothing could ever change his mind about that.  I told him that he was in love with a memory of me, but he doesn’t want to believe that.  He wants to think that he can love this newer, broken version of me.”

Jason knew that when Y/N had died she and Dick had grown closer and that there was more to their relationship than friendship.  Dick had never gotten the chance to tell her that he was in love with her before she died and then went into hiding.  Y/N had never really spoken of her relationship with Dick, just comments here and there.  The memories tended to be too painful for her.

“Do you still love him?”  Jason wasn’t sure if that would get a response, but he thought he should at least see what her response would be.

“You know what?  I’ll be at your place in a few hours,” she hit the end button on her phone and went to get in the shower.  

The warm spray of water against her skin helped relieve some of the tension in her muscles as she went through the habitual routine.  It was familiar and comforting when her mind was a jumbled mess of thoughts.  She needed to get away from Preston and Dick for a while and just clear her head.  Staying with Jason wasn’t the best idea, but he was all she had right now.

She would suck it up for at least a week and see if that helped.

She dressed and packed a bag with the essentials.  She jotted down a note to Dick because he would undoubtedly be by to check on her and when he discovered she wasn’t there he would break in to find clues.  Then headed to the train station downtown to catch the first train to Gotham.

When the train began to move she put her earphones in and listened to music that helped soothe her restless soul and watched as the city passed her by.  Dick was out there somewhere looking for her, hoping that he could bring her back.

But she was a lost cause and she hoped that he could see that.

Dick knocked on Y/N’s door an hour after she had gotten on the train.  He hadn’t wanted to go over to her apartment too early, but he couldn’t wait any longer.  He wanted to continue their conversation from the night before and hopefully talk about other things as well.  He didn’t want to focus on all the bad that had happened since they had last seen one another, he wanted to know about the good as well.

There was no answer the second time he knocked and dread settled in the pit of his stomach.  Why wasn’t she answering the door?

He pulled out his lock picking set and managed to get the door open.  The apartment was quiet as he pushed the door shut behind him.  “Y/N?”  There was no response as he moved deeper into the apartment.  

He noticed the punching bag laying on the floor, sand spilling out of it, and then headed for her room.  Lying on her bed as a single sheet of paper.  He picked it up with trembling fingers and read the two words that made his heartbreak.

I’m sorry.

She had left and it was his fault.  He had pushed her to leave because he had scared her by discovering where she was.  He sat down on her bed just staring at the two words written on the sheet of paper.

Y/N stepped off the train and saw Jason waving at her from down the platform.  She smiled and ran toward him, throwing her arms around him.  Sometimes Jason was the only thing that managed to make her smile. “Hey Blackbird,” he whispered against her ear.

She shoved him, “Shut up, you know I don’t go by that anymore.”

“Yeah what is that pretentious name the media gave you?  Phantom?”  He slung his arm over her shoulders and began steering her toward his motorcycle.  “I’m pretty sure you could come up with something better.”

“Having a name implies that I’m a superhero, and I’m not.  I’m just a concerned citizen,” she shot back.  

Jason smirked at her, “Concerned citizen my ass, you just like the thrill of kicking the ass of men twice your size and laughing as the cops and media sit back scratching their heads about who the hell you are and if they should consider you a hero or a menace.”

“Oh, I’m definitely a menace,” she said with a nod to her head.  “There’s no room for heroes in my life.”

“You wound me,” Jason said with mock hurt.  “Am I not a hero?”

“More like a major pain in my ass,” she poked him in the ribs.  

Jason pouted and said, “If I had known you were going to be so mean to me then I never would have agreed to let you stay with me while you get your shit together.”

“You’re a dick, you know that Todd?”  She said as she placed her bag on the back of his motorcycle and grabbed the helmet from his hands.

“You wouldn’t have me any other way,” he said as he climbed onto his bike and waited for her to join him.  When she had her arms wrapped securely around him he took off, zooming through the streets and heading to his small apartment in the east end.  They managed to make it without any accidents and Jason led her up to his apartment.  “Home sweet home,” he pushed open the door revealing his place.

It was surprisingly cleaner than she thought it would be.

“Aw Jay, did you clean for me?”  She sauntered into the home and tossed her bag on the couch.  “Because I’m pretty sure Alfred was always getting on you for having a messy room when we were teenagers.”

Y/N wasn’t an official adoptee of Bruce Wayne.  She had been friends with Barbara and then the others when she learned their secret.  She had a room at Wayne Manor for those nights when she couldn’t go home because of the night time activities.  It worked out okay, her parents were never really home to begin with and they never paid much attention to what she did as long as she wasn’t arrested.

A blessing and a curse.

“Hey, a man can change his ways,” he grabbed a bottle of water out of the refrigerator and tossed it to her.  “Are you hungry?”

“I could eat,” she shrugged.  Her phone lit up and she saw that it was Bruce calling.  She held her fingers to her lips and answered, “Hey Bruce.”

“Where are you?”  He asked.

She sighed, Dick must have called him.  “If I tell you then will you promise not to tell Dick?”

“Where are you?”  He repeated his question.

She felt a little bit of anger bubble up inside her, “You don’t get to demand things from me anymore Bruce.  I’m not one of your kids and I’ve been doing fine on my own for a while now.  I’m safe and okay, I’m not gonna go on a murder spree if that’s what you’re worried about.  I just need some time.”  She hung up the phone and turned it off.  “God, I forgot how annoying he can be.”

Jason came over and wrapped his arms around her, “Just stay calm.  Everything will be okay.  You’ll stay here for a bit, relax, get your head on straight, and then head back to Preston to be your badass self again.”

“Maybe I won’t go back to Preston,” she said as she looked up at him.  “Maybe I’ll go to France or Germany.  Somewhere else that isn’t here.”

“Well if you go overseas then how am I ever going to see you?”

She rolled her eyes, “I’m sure you’ll figure out a way.”  She patted his chest and pulled away from him, “Now what about pancakes?  There’s that place downtown that I loved as a kid that makes those birthday cake pancakes.”  She hummed, “I would kill for some of those right now.”

“And here I thought you weren’t gonna go on a murder spree after promising Bruce you wouldn’t,” Jason headed for the door.

“Hey, no one gets between me and my pancakes,” she said as he opened his door.

He was smiling as he shook his head, “I’ll be back.  Just don’t trash the place while I’m out.”

“No promises,” she said in a singsong voice as the door closed behind him.

[midnights-light]

Ladybug and the Hound

So before I begin I need to say a few things

This is my first attempt at writing a fanfic so it’s most likely going to suck and all that jazz

I do not own any characters in the DC or Miraculous universes (if i did everything would make little to no sense so yeah)

Can we all agree that  @ozmav is an amazing writer?

If you don’t like Daminette, don’t read it’s that simple

I am also going to use “Dogs are a Ladybug’s best friend” by @kelelamentia for some inspiration on this cuz I love that idea

All characters are going to be OOC so just be prepared

If ya’ll like it I might write more just let me know if I should write more or if I should never think about writing again (I have low self-esteem so if it look like I am hating on myself it’s because I am but I’ll get over someday but if you criticize me please at least try to be constructive criticism)

Now onto the terrible thing I decided needed to exist

LB-Ladybug

CN- Chat Noir

M-Marinette

Di-Dick

D-Damian

B-Bruce

T-Tim

J-Jason

A-Alfred

The Meeting

It was a normal Tuesday, ya know? Birds are singing, the sun is shining, the Eiffel Tower collapsed, ya know the usual. Well usual for Parisians who had to deal with this for 4 almost 5 years now but for those who just wanted a vacation like the Waynes... well let’s just say they were unprepared to see the Eiffel Tower come crashing down just a few blocks ahead of them as they were walking to get some pastries from Tom and Sabine Boulangerie patisserie for a afternoon snack and to walk Titus (they brought Titus because Damian refused to leave him alone in the mansion for two weeks while they are on vacation so Bruce reluctantly agreed to bring him with them). So them being them ran towards the fallen tower and see a few people dead and some injured. They help the injured, but just as they are about to get the remaining few out of the wreckage a girl in a clearly ladybug themed suit comes crashing to the ground creating a few cracks to form on the ground. She gets up with a groan just as a dog in a fox themed costume came running up to her and helps her steady herself. “Thanks, Hound.” says the spotted girl and as the batfam are about to check if she’s okay a... IS THAT A GIANT BABY?! Well the giant baby comes walking towards the girl and the dog when a voice shouts “If you go on a date with me Ladybug I will come help you just accept your feelings for me already!” 

Damian's POV

As soon as the spotted girl heard that she looked towards the owner of the voice and low and behold it’s a guy in a leather cat suit and on the outside I look indifferent to what is happening but on the inside the only thing I can think is ‘What is going on in this city!’ because I was just expecting a boring two weeks of ‘required’ vacation in the ‘city of love’ I hate the nickname of the city because as Father has shown love is a weakness. But apparently the city of love is not as boring as I thought it would be. The girl (ladybug I think is her name) now has a look of murder in her eyes and the dog (hound is what she called him) growled at him as ladybug said “Chat, you can’t be serious! You just caused the Eiffel Tower to fall and kill and injure people!” CN-“Yes because you can’t realize that we are meant to be together!” LB-”No we are not now either help or shut up so I can focus on gigantitan!” CN-”Fine then i’ll just sit here and enjoy the show” That one interaction makes me question if this is how it is everything something like this happens.

*Time skip because i can’t write smart plans or fight scenes*

Dick’s POV

After ladybug got his watch thing off his wrist she and hound tore it apart which released a black butterfly and the giant baby was now back to a normal sized baby. WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?1 I’M SO CONFUSED! After I stopped questioning reality I realized that ladybug was comforting the kid (HE COULDN’T BE OLDER THAN 4 YEARS OLD!) she picked him up and was about to throw her spotted thing up in the air for some reason but was interrupted by the cat boy saying ‘Pound it!’ and acting like he actually helped her and didn’t just sit there on a roof watching ladybug and hound do everything. What the heck? Ladybug walks over to me and asked if I could hold the kid for a sec and I said sure because she looks ready to murder. After she hands me the kid she walks over to cat boy and started yelling at him about how he can’t just be reckless like that but it seemed to just go over his head as he replied saying something about how she owed hit to him to date him but I quickly stopped listening when the kid started crying because of all the yelling going on so I started to talk and play with him to cheer him up until he pointed to ladybug as she yelled miraculous ladybug and tossed the spotted object into the sky. I was confused about what she was doing until I saw a swarm of ladybugs appear and start fixing the damage, healing the injured, and even bringing people back to life. Then she came back over and was about to ask something but then a shrill beeping noise came from her earrings causing her to ask if we could watch over the kid until his mom came and picked him up. Titus and Hound were playing until she called him over to her and then they jumped, yes JUMPED, up to the roof and left. “What the hell was all that and does anyone else want to kill a cat boy?”

Tim’s POV

“So that all really happened, huh? It wasn’t really just a coffee dream?” I say and then look at everyone else has a different reactions to what just happened: Jason is looking at where dead bodies had been but now they were alive, Bruce is trying to understand what just happened, Alfred looks concerned, Dick is keeping the kid happy, and Damian is trying to keep Titus from running after Hound. I notice other civilians just walking around like nothing just happened and I’m just thinking ‘How long has this been happening and how have we not noticed? WHAT IS LIFE!?’

Jason’s POV

I look at everybody that was dead just walk away like nothing happened and I am about to ask Bruce if he know what that was when I feel someone bump into me. I turn around to see a girl around Damian’s age on the ground picking up the stuff she dropped while rapidly apologizing while a dog, presumably hers, was sniffing her making sure she was ok and had what looked like a glare on his face when he looked at me. M-“I’m so so sorry Monsieur! I wasn’t looking where I was going.” J-”It’s alright little lady, but if you don’t mind me asking, what’s the rush?” M- “Well you see I’m supposed to be helping in my parents bakery after I finished walking Captain but we got caught up in the akuma attack so I’m running a bit late. My names Marinette by the way. I don’t think I’ve seen you before are you visiting?” What’s an akuma? I’ll file that away for later for replacement to look at but for now. J- ”Yeah we are here for a family vacation to take a break from work. Would you mind if me and my family follow you to your parent’s bakery? We were heading to one for a snack but it seems we got turned around during the attack.” M- “Sure just tell me your names first so I at least know you to some degree cause I’m not supposed to talk to people I don’t know. I hate life but I’m not ready to die just yet.” She laughs and I swear it feels like the world just got a whole lot brighter, J- “Of course where are my manners name’s Jason. I have a feeling my family is going to love you and your dog.” I say as I hold my hand out for Captain to sniff and after he does he stops giving me what I swear looks like a glare but he’s still standing near Marinette when I notice my family looking at me and Marinette and Alfred asks me, A- “Master Jason are you going to introduce us to the young miss?” J- “Oh right, guys this is Marinette, Marinette this is Alfred he’s our butler/ grandpa, the one who looks like he’s about to pass out is Tim, the one playing with the kid is Dick, the stern one is Bruce, and the  one with the dog is Damian.” I say.

Damian’s POV

I hear Todd talking to someone and introducing us and as soon as I turn to glare at Todd I see the most beautiful eyes in the whole world. they look like sapphires and her hair is like the midnight sky. She looks like an Angel... wait WHAT!?  I only zone back in as soon as Todd told the Angel my name so I did what not even I  was expecting, I took her hand, gave the back of it a kiss and said, D- “Nice to meet you Angel.” I was not smiling when I saw her blush and I for certain do not want to make her blush again... but if I have a chance to then I will take it. Then I hear a low growl and I then notice that she has a dog (yes she loves animals to!) that is looking at me like he’s going to rip me to shreds and I will forever deny that I was a little scared. M- “Sorry Damian, Captain’s just a little protective of me and doesn’t like strangers being around me.” D-”I understand.” I say then I hold out my hand for her dog (Captain I think it was) to sniff and after he does he still growls at me but doesn’t look ready to tear me to pieces so progress towards getting to know the Angel before me. And then my good mood is ruined by the sound of my idiot brothers and father, the traitor, snickering behind us. I turn and scowl at them but they don’t seem to care. Meanwhile Titus and Captain appear to have met and are now chasing each other around making me and the Angel laugh. Her laughter sounds amazing and her smile makes it feel like the world brightens up just a little. M- “So shall we start walking to the bakery?” A chorus of yes comes from my family and then we start walking. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.

BONUS

*Whispering* J- “Am I going crazy or did Demon Spawn just laugh and smile at Marinette?”

Di- “No I heard it to *gasp* do you think he has a crush?”

J- “Are we sure he’s capable of having a crush?”

T- “Well I’m sure she will be good for him, but what I’m confused about is how she doesn’t recognize who we are. I mean how does she not know us she didn’t even seem to recognize our faces.

A- “I think Miss Marinette will do Master Damian some good.”

And Bruce is just looking at his youngest son with pride. His first crush and he’s able to witness it.

So as I said in the beginning this is my first fanfic and It’s most likely terrible so let me know if I should never write again, if you want another chapter, or if I should just reevaluate my life choices.

Chapter 2

[pl-panda]

Damienette arranged marriage part 4

Credits: Miraculous Ladybug team for the elements I take from MLB show. DC for their characters, @ozmav for the AU, @maribat-archive for giving me access to so many different stories to have take inspirations from, @thyladyanput for idea for Chat Damian and me for the plot.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

NEXT

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

"Sure." She signed it and handed it back. It read: 'Good luck TD, MDC'

Tim Fainted.

Marinette was befuddled. She never saw anyone react like that. Sure Adrien once asked her for an autograph, but this was new.

"Forgive Drake. He first got into what he calls 'music' when he saw the new glasses Jagged Stone wore in Paris." Damian said, looking almost bored with his brother's antics.

"Really?"

"You should have seen him. He also wanted to figure out MDC identity. After three nights he had nothing. We had to cut the cord from coffee machine in the batcave and force him to go to bed." Dick was laughing at the unconscious brother. Tim was often such a nerd that it was miracle he got Steph to date him. But then again, Demon Spawn just got married.

"Tt. As much as I love to embarrass Drake, it's less fun when he is unconscious and we have other matters to discuss."

"Agreed" Bruce nodded. "Do you know what will you tell your parents miss?"

"Not really... They don't know about this." She gestured around. "If they knew I got married, they would ground me for life. Maman and Papa can get a bit overprotective. Last time I brought a boy home Papa got akumatized and placed me in giant prison of thorns."

"Brr... And I thought that having to duel Tamaranian general to be able to marry Kor'i was bad." Dick chuckled.

"Suckers!" Jason shouted before taking a large swing of the whiskey. "I never had such problems."

"Maybe because you never dated anyone, Flappy Bird" Dick grinned maliciously.

"That's enough! I am trying to have a civilized conversation with my daughter-in-law! If you two idiots don't shut up, I will ground you and give you the Watchtower duty at least until christmas!" Bruce was slowly getting done with this bickering.

"Fine/He started it!" Dick/Jason shouted.

"I don't care. Get out if you wish to continue." Bruce cut them off before they got into another argument and turned to Marinette. "No friends that would cover for you? Or a partner?"

"No..." Every member of the batfam (bar the unconscious Tim) immediately noticed the darker note behind this. "My identity is... was the best kept secret in the world. There were exactly two humans who knew. Me and Master Fu. But he lost all his memories." She hummed for a moment. "Well, now I guess you know too. And the League of Assassins. And Order of the Guardians. Oh Tikki I am an awful Ladybug..."

"You are great Ladybug Marinette. The best one out there." The Kwami reassured her. "Nobody in Paris would do a better job!"

Marinette smiled and calmed down a bit. She was still shaking. Jason gave her one look and tried to handle her a glass of whiskey, but one glare from Damian was enough to make him back away from this idea.

"I have a better question." Dick joined the discussion after he was done with Jason. "What about you and Damian."

"Nobody asked you Grayson." Damian huffed. If it was up to him, he would delay this questioning session to next year. Or decade.

"But he did make a very good point Demon Spawn." Jason supported his older brother.

"I... I don't know. That woman, Talia, said that if we broke this marriage, there would be another war. Who was she?"

"Talia Al Ghul, my mother. She is the current leader of the League of Assassins" Damian explained.

Tim, who nobody noticed woke up, was now sitting back in the computer chair. His face was still pretty much pure bliss, but he was typing like a madman. "There must be some way out of this. It would be easier if we knew the specifics of the marriage contract."

"That's not how it works with the League Drake." Damian scowled. "It's not paperwork. When the ceremony is done, the two people are bound. There is no marriage certificate, there is no marriage license, it's the act that counts." His face was in usual frown.

"So basically the marriage is as well as nonexistent. That's good." Tim grinned, but seeing Damian's face he sensed there was more to it.

"No. That's bad. There is no such thing as divorce in the league, except for killing the spouse."

This caused Marinette to let out a fearful yelp and cuddle to Tikki. But at the same time, Bats noticed that she tensed and prepared to fight. Damian internally cursed himself. He did not want to scarry this girl.

"Don't worry, Miss. Nobody would even consider this." Bruce tried to calm her down.

"We wouldn't, but if the League consider that we are not upholding the marriage, they might go after her." Damian wanted to go and butcher the League. He could do it. Well, everyone but his mother. The young Wayne was unsure if he would be able to do it. For all her faults, he still cared about her.

"Let them try!" Tikki shouted in her squeaky voice. "I will get Plagg to cataclysm this pathetic base of their! Nobody messes with my Marinette!" She protectively flew in front of Marinette, ready to fight anyone who threatened her chosen.

"Maybe let's try to refrain from genocide yet?" Dick asked, half amused, half scared about this. While he was leaning toward believing the threat, the idea that someone so small and cute could take on the whole league was just too damn funny. He then looked at Damian and noticed that the boy had same kind of murderous look. Oh this is too good. He is actually falling for her. He grinned, but decided to at least now don't tease him.

"So there is no way that the two of you just stayed on different continents and acted like this never happened?" Tim asked with resignation.

"It is expected of us to stay together." Damian answered shortly. Marinette felt air leave her lungs like someone just punched her. Her whole life was shattered in the span of a week. What will she tell her parents? And what about school? "I am sorry, Du... Marinette." Damian was tempted to walk to her and comfort her, but he stopped himself. She needed space.

The rest of the Wayne family was stunned. Damian rarely referred to anyone by their first name, much less to strangers. Yet, he was acting very protective and even some dare to say affectionate toward this girl. Tim was starting to think someone did drug him, but rest just smiled. Demon Spawn finally got a crush, and on his wife of all people.

"Wait! There might be a way to deal with it." Tim suddenly brightened. "Or at least delay this."

"Just spit it, Replacement." Damian tried to frown, but he couldn't deny the hope. At the same time, there was this small tingle where his heart should be. He was happy that maybe Marinette would have a chance at normality, but at the same time he wanted to stay with her. To get to know her. Just what in hell is going on with me?

"First of all, rude." Tim started. "And secondly, we could file for her to get a formal underage marriage."

"And how exactly does it help?" Marinette asked.

"The state of Gotham allows underage marriage from the age of fourteen with court permission, provided the certain age-gap is retained. The procedure is very lengthy though."

"So how does it help Drake. I am very curious what is going in this few brain cells of your." Damian was getting impatient.

"The League should respect that you try to validate the marriage in the eyes of law. So until the court proceeding is finished, you two could stay separate and go about your lives. And with a bit of work, it could last for up to two years before the judge agreed."

"To even file for this, we would need a solid basis." Dick spoke before anyone got hope. Tim pressed some buttons on the keyboard and displayed the copy of the underage marriage act.

"One of the listed reasons is cultural specifications. And most people know that Damian was raised by his mother outside of the States. With a bit of work, I can draft a betrothal deal signed when he and Marinette were still babies."

"So basically we put this in court and then delay this into oblivion?" Jason grinned. "I like this."

"I am impressed Drake. For once you've actually proven to be useful." Damian commented.

"So I would be able to stay here in peace?" Marinette asked shyly.

"For some time, yes. The League should not go against you then, because it's not your fault you can't legally live with Damian yet." Bruce assured her.

"But what about vultures in the media?" Dick asked.

"Simple: classified proceeding. Public won't know anything is even in motion." Drake was getting more and more confident in this plan.

"I would be able to finish my school here." Marinette smiled.

"Yes, you would. I will make sure there will be no complications." Bruce smiled. "But there are two more problems that still needs to be dealt with. Hawkmoth and your parents."

"I will deal with talking with my parents on my own." Marinette reassured them. "But I don't don't know about Hawkmoth. He went silent after the last stunt, but it won't be over until I take away his miraculous."

"Drake will stay here and help you solve this case. He is the most level-headed in this room, so the risk of him falling under Akuma is the smallest." Bruce declared and others nodded.

"Thank you! thank you! thank you!" Ladybug jumped from the chair and hugged Tikki, then Bruce, then Tim.

"It's no problem Miss. I am sorry League ignored your plea for help. It's the least I could do."

"For your daughter-in-law you mean?" Jason grinned. Oh he would not let this die so easily. Demon Spawn would get it this time.

"Nobody asked you, Todd." Damian scowled.

"Please don't fight because of me. I think it's time for me to go face my parents."

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Marinette arrived at her parent's bakery around 10 PM. The lights were still on. She stopped before walking in, taking one more breath to calm herself. She hated lying. She knew that there was no such thing as white lie, not really. Every lie hurt in some way, just not always instantly. She gathered all the courage she could muster and pushed the door, walking in.

"Maman! Papa! I am home!" She called them and there was instantly a commotion on the first floor. "Here we go Tikki. I hope my detention ends before I graduate..." She whispered to her Kwami and prepared to face her parents.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng!" Her mother barged into the room. "You better explain yourself this instant!" This surprised the girl. She expected her mother to be angry, but also to show some worry. An alarm bell rang in her head. Something was not right.

"How could you?!" Her father was also angry. She could only hope Hawkmoth was still licking his wounds.

"What's going on? Maman? Papa?" She asked in confusion.

"Don't play dumb with us young lady! Alya told us how you decided to run away and try to join Audrey Bourgeois in America!" Her father shouted at her.

"What!? I never did such thing. My mandarin teacher, Master Fu, had an accident. He lost his memory and I was escorting him to the train station for him to meet his friend who would take care of him. You remember master Fu?" She received a nod and continued to bombard her parents with information. It was an advice from Damian. The more she babble the less time they have to actually think this over. "So I handed him over to his friend and they walked into train station, but then I realized I was still holding his luggage and I tried to chase after them. Then, I thought I saw them enter the train, so I followed them, but it turned out this was the wrong train and then it left the station and I was still inside. I panicked and looked for the conductor to sort this out, but he said that they couldn't stop. So I tried to find Master Fu, but he was not there and I immediately got out on the next train station, but I left my purse in the train so I didn't have a phone on me and I had to somehow figure out where I was and then I entered another train, because they said it was going to Paris, but it was misunderstanding and it was coming from Paris and I got even further away, but then I finally got out in some different city, still carrying only Master Fu's luggage and I had to somehow get back to Paris and it took me so long to actually get there and I am sorry that I didn't call but I didn't have any money to pay for a stationary phone and I lost my purse and it would be wrong to go through Master's luggage to get money so I had to sort this out with the train station officials and they helped me get here and I even managed to send the luggage through mail, but only now I got here..." She took a deep breath. Her heart was beating super fast and she was sweating a little bit. Anyone proficient in lies detection could tell this was all bullshit, but luckily her parents wanted to believe her. "What I wanted to say is... I am sorry I didn't call you. I guess I panicked a little."

They hugged her tightly, all three crying a little (her father much). Once they broke apart, she smiled. "Can I go to my room and get some sleep now?"

"Yes. Our little grown up girl." Marinette smiled and was about to run, but she heard her mother continue speaking. "But you are still grounded for two weeks."

"Mom!" She shouted, but smiled and went back to her room.

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

Taglist (sorry if I missed you)@pheonixashtree @sassakitty @unabashedbookworm @vixen-uchiha @maggiecc12 @actualdisasterwoman @tired-butterfly @shizukiryuu @floralfi @imanerddealwith @northernbluetongue @krispydefendorpolice @toodaloo-kangaroo @dast218 @bluesoulblueheart @theatreandcomicfreak @disneyfoxuniverse @mindfulmagics @alwaysnumberonetruth @nyaabinch @jardimazul @lenamau @rosep16 @dramatic-squirrel @sonif50 @daminett4life @lulutheawkwardess @weird-pale-blonde-person @mooshoon @jeminiikrystal @mochegato @moonlightstar64 @dragonflyswing @silverwhiteraven @shamefullove @magic-miraculous @valeks-princess @heaven428 @mlbchaosqueen @winter-gardenflower @spicybelladonna @emo-elaine13 @vetilora @karukofox21 @my-name-is-michell

[itawonka-creates]

Seabourne Burnouts: Chapter 20 - Riptide

Thank you to @rebecarojas07, @batfam-babe​, @kimihonna​ for beta reading! Start [Here] [Part 19]  [Part 21]-OR- [AO3]   TRIGGER WARNING: Suicide If you bothered by this content, stop reading once Staller says "I'll be quick."

“Why are we here again?”

“Because you and Chloe seem to have a good reputation among the staff and Chloe is with Alya.”

“I’m surprised you aren’t with them.”

“I have to do this first.” Jason groaned as Marinette dragged him around on the ship. He could tell they were heading to the staff’s quarters but she didn’t say what for. He thought back to the sudden decision. They were all gathered in the dining hall, she was tired and yawning all day but no one thought much of it. For the most part, everyone was just happy Marinette and Damian made up the day before. Marinette and Adrien were talking, much to his relief, when suddenly she froze. He remembers her suddenly stand up with a yell before realizing she was creating a scene and slowing sitting down. Everyone was clearly confused, but she assured them she’d let tell them after they got some privacy.

“So you think someone has some information on the Akumas? Shouldn’t we just interrogate them?”

“We can’t interrogate kids.”

“Kids?” She looked at her phone and looked up at the room numbers, “Whose kids?”

“Have you heard of a woman named Marleen?” She took a right and continued dragging him along.

“Yeah. She’s a badass who would punch your lights out if you make her mad.”

“Why does it sound like you have personal experience?”

Jason rubbed his jaw and shrugged, “No reason.”

Marinette rubbed her eyes and shook her head, “You’re impossible.”

“No, I’m lovable. You guys just won’t admit it.”

Marinette grinned and rolled her eyes, “Well, her kids were the first Akumas.”

“What?” He stopped in his tracks and frowned, “What do you mean?”

Marinette looked back at him and explained, “They were the pirates that attacked the night of the ceremony.” She bit her lip, “I need your help because Marleen doesn’t like me or my class. She might not let me talk to them!”

“Why couldn’t you bring Damian then? He’s good at getting information out of people.”

Marinette flinched, “Yeah, about that. Since we made up yesterday Alya and the other girls took it upon themselves to – um – rough him up or something.”

Jason snorted, “Ah, payback for making you cry.”

“I did not cry!”

“You totally cried.” Marinette pouted, but that only egged Jason on. “You think they’re still interrogating him? No wonder Chloe left with her. He’s probably dead.”

Marinette's voice was whiny as she continued on her path, “I hope not.”

Jason followed her and looked around, “Well, I can at least take another one of Marleen’s punches if you need me to.”

“I’m hoping you’d sweet-talk her or something.”

“Oh, you think your big brother has game?”

“No, but your weirdness might work in my favor.”

“I’m weird now?”

“Define ‘now’.”

Jason grabbed her and put her in a chokehold, “Oh! She has jokes now!”

Marinette wiggled around and shook her head as he messed with her hair, “Get off!”

“Just the other day you were depressed as hell and a guy tells you he loves you-”

Marinette’s face lit up as she looked up at Jason, “What!?”

Jason froze and muttered a curse as he let go, “What?”

Marinette blushed as she fixed her hair, “He didn’t say that.” Of course he didn’t.

Jason grabbed her phone and looked at the room number, clearly he was jumping the gun. “Marleen’s room is nearby. Her kids should be there.”

“Wait, Jason-”

“Come on.” The roles switched so quickly that Marinette couldn’t question it. She was suddenly being the one dragged along down the corridor.

Marinette let out a small ‘hmph’ and shook her hand out of his grip, “I’m not letting that go.”

“We’re both stubborn. Of course you wouldn’t.” Jason looked at the screen one last time before stopping in front of a door. “You ready?”

“No, but that’s why you’re here.”

“To be the punching bag?”

She twiddled with her pigtails as she said, “To be my big brother and help me out here.” Jason was pleasantly surprised at the answer, despite the bashful delivery. He smiled and held her close before knocking on the door.

It was muffled, but he could hear some kids inside and a woman yell, “Coming! Coming!” Hearing her unlock the door made Marinette tense, but Jason just did his best to stay cool for her. A woman with messy hair opened the door and frowned, “Jason.”

Jason smiled, “Marleen! Good to see you!”

“What do you want? Who’s she?”

“I hear your kids on the ship. We were wondering if we could talk to them.”

“What are you talking about? My kids left after the first attack and-”

“Mom! Mom! Jacob won’t let me look at the ribbon we won!”

Marleen rolled her eyes and called back, “Jacob! Let your brother see it! He helped you win, you know?” There was a whine that could be heard further into the room and she sighed, “Who wants to know?”

“My sister.”

“Since when do you have a sister?”

“Since she boarded the ship. Marleen meet Marinette.” Marinette nervously waved and smiled at the woman.

Marleen was unimpressed, “You’re the girl from the French class.”

Jason snapped his fingers, “Perceptive as always. Anyways, we’d like to-”

“It’s your fault that my boys got caught up in this mess.” She glared at Marinette and held a demeaning tone as she continued to reprimand Marinette, “You know how scared I was when the attack started and no one knew where my kids were? Imagine my face when the cops call me to say they had my kids in custody and one of them had a shot leg! I brought them with me to avoid getting into trouble and then your class shows up-”

Jason held his hands up in surrender and stepped in front of Marinette, “Okay! Okay. So I see you haven’t changed.”

“Don’t make me punch you again.”

“Your kids won the balloon war, so they must be doing well.”

“Smartass. After that first stop in Spain, a bright light suddenly washed over us and my son was better. Can’t explain it. It was-”

“Miraculous.”

Marleen looked at the girl and narrowed her eyes, “Yeah. What do you want with my kids?”

Marinette gulped and asked, “Can I talk to them about the Akumas?”

“You a cop?”

“No.”

“That’s your answer.”

“Marleen-”

“Don’t ‘Marleen’ me! The trip was fine until they got on it!”

Jason frowned, “That’s not fair. You really think a bunch of 15-year-olds planned this?”

“Crazy world we live in. Who knows? I’m not letting her near my kids. Might be bad luck.”

“Mom!” A kid ran up to Marleen and tugged at her pants, “Hey, are we-” He looked over at Jason and suddenly went wide-eyed, “Oh my god, you’re alive!”

The sudden outburst made Jason snort, “What? Of course I’m alive, kid.”

“But mom punched you! She said she could kill people with her punches.”

Marleen cracked her knuckles, “I still can.”

Jason held his hands up in surrender, “Your mom knocked me out. She throws really good punches.”

The kid nodded, seemingly accepting the answers before asking, “What are you doing here? Are you going to punch him again, Mom?”

“Maybe.”

Jason ignored her and crouched down to the boy’s level, “What’s your name?”

The boy stepped out from behind his mother’s legs, “David.”

“Hey David, I’m Jason. This is Marinette. I wanted to ask you and your brother about the day of the big ceremony.”

David frowned, “Didn’t the cops ask us this stuff?”

“Yeah, but we might’ve figured out something they didn’t.”

Marleen rolled her eyes, “Oh really?”

“Orders from Batman himself.” That caught her attention.

The boy looked surprised before blurting out, “I’ll go get Jacob! Jacob!” He ran back inside the room, excited.

However, Marleen was skeptical, “Really?”

“I wouldn’t be down here if it wasn’t important.”

“Then why is the girl here?”

“She knows the right questions.”

Two boys returned and David pointed up at them, “There they are.”

The older boy gave them the same look Marleen did. Marinette waved and Jacob looked away with a light blush. Marinette giggled but looked at Marleen, “I won’t ask them anything bad. Please, can I talk to them?”

Marleen looked down at her kids, who nodded and she reluctantly gave in. “Fine.”

Marinette nodded and crouched down next to Jason, “Hi. I’m Marinette. You’re Jacob?”

“Yeah.”

“What do you remember about that night? You know the one, right?”

“Yeah.” David rubbed his leg, probably the one that was shot. “We don’t remember doing anything bad.”

“No, no, I didn’t think you would. I want to know what happened right before that. You guys were playing with your toy guns right?”

David nodded, “Yeah, we were playing Batman vs Joker.”

Jacob crossed his arms and huffed, “We weren’t doing anything wrong.”

“I didn’t say you were. I just want to understand something. So you guys were playing, what happened next?”

Jacob sighed, “We started fighting over the gun.”

“Okay. So you guys are fighting over the gun. Then what?”

David shrugged, “Then nothing. I don’t remember anything. Do you?”

Jacob looked back over at Marinette and his face flushed bright red. He stuttered, “Not really.”

Marinette giggled, “You sure?”

David stomped his foot, “You wouldn’t believe us! The cops didn’t.”

Jason gestured to his face and asked, “Come on, do I look like the cops?”

Marleen answered with a quick and snarky, “No.”

The boys shook their head and Jason shrugged, “So tell us. C’mon.”

The boys looked at each other before Jacob finally said, “There was a butterfly.”

“A butterfly?”

“See! You-”

“No! No! No! I’m just making sure I heard that right! A butterfly? A purple one?”

David nodded, ��Yeah! It was purple and weird looking and it flew into the gun and-” He suddenly stopped and frowned, “I don’t remember.”

Marinette hummed, “I’m sorry about that. Do you remember anything else about the butterfly?”

“Jacob saw it first.”

Jacob glared at his brother and then seemed nervous to make eye contact with Marinette. He stepped a bit behind his mom, but with a gentle pat on the back form Marleen he gulped. “It came from the vent. That’s all I remember.”

Marinette smiled at him, “You did great. Thank you.”

“How did you know it was purple?”

Jason pulled the kid into his arms and jumped up, “Because we’re awesome.”

David screamed in delight and Jacob came out from behind his mother, “I want to do that!”

“You got it, man.” Jason pulled the boy up onto his shoulders without breaking a sweat and Jacob grinned. “You good?” Jacob laughed and David seemed content with swinging on his arms.

Marleen smiled and looked at Marinette, “I gotta admit, he’s good with kids. With women? He’s a total loss.”

“Hey!”

Marinette nodded, “Oh, I know. I’m never going to marry him off.”

“Hey!”

Marinette giggled but Marleen nudged her, “So, how did you know the butterfly was purple?”

Marinette crossed her arms and looked away, “In Paris we deal with them a lot. They’re called Akumas.”

“So the bright light-”

“Was from our local hero. She fixes all damages caused by Akumas.”

“Ah, the Ladybug chick. Saw her when Tess went crazy.” Marleen sighed and rubbed her arms, “It scared the hell out of me. I didn’t know where they were, I didn’t know what happened to them. If it wasn’t for Batman they’d have a criminal record-”

“I’m so sorry. If I knew this would happen, I would’ve never sent in an essay.”

Marleen waved her hand dismissively, “Jason’s right. You didn’t plan this. I just- I need someone to be mad at.” Marinette smiled and held her hand out. Marleen shook her hand, “Alright, truce. Only because Jason seems like less of an asshole and I’m choosing to think it’s because of you.”

The two looked over and noticed Jason being ‘overpowered’ by the two boys. Marinette snorted, “He’s awesome.”

Jason looked up and pointed at her, “So you admit it!”

“Never said I didn’t, Jason.” Jason grinned before getting up and setting both of the children down beside Marleen.

Marleen hummed, “I will say this. My boys get dragged into it again, I won’t hesitate to knock you, Jason, that ladybug chick, or anyone else out.”

Marinette laughed nervously and took a step back, “Noted.”

David whined, “So now you gotta report back to Batman?”

“Yup! See you guys later okay?”

“Okay! Bye!” David was more enthusiastic, but Jacob seemed sadder to see them go. Jason ruffled his hair, forcing out a smile as they started to walk away from the door.

Marleen called out to them, “Don’t be strangers, okay? I promise I won’t punch you!”

Jason smirked, “I don’t believe that for a second, Marleen! See you later!” Marleen waved them off before closing the door. “Good kids.”

“Great kids.”

“Jacob had a huge crush on you.”

“Shut up.”

“Damian has competition.”

“Stop.”

“Gotta let him know about this. Big brother stuff. You get it.”

Marinette lightly hit his arm, “Jason, no.” She sighed and stretched, “Looks like we have another lead.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Akumas are traveling through the vents. No wonder we can’t pinpoint them. They’re traveling in the ship’s best blind spots.”

“Right.” Jason hummed, “So that means they could be coming from anywhere.”

She shook her head, “Not necessarily. All the Akumas were above deck and they akumatized the victims too quickly. They wouldn’t be able to travel through the vents that quickly unseen if they were below deck.”

“So whoever’s behind this is above deck. Makes sense. So who’s above deck that knows how to navigate the vents?”

“No, no. The Akumas would navigate them on their own. Hawkmoth wouldn’t need to lead them anywhere.”

“So anyone above deck that knows about the vents. Great. Narrows that down.” He thought for a bit before sighing, “No wait, that actually does narrow it down to about half the population on the ship. Given that most of the Akumas are on or near the main deck, I’d say they’re on or above deck too. Probably the first two floors.”

“That narrows it down further.” She nudged him, “Hey, you are smart.”

“You realize I was trained by Batman. I’m impulsive, not dumb.” Jason grabbed Marinette’s shoulders and pulled her into a side hug, “You want to be our new Robin? You seem smart enough?”

“Damian would be furious.”

“Damian would love to see you in his costume.”

Marinette blushed and looked away, “Speaking of ‘love’, what did you mean before?”

Jason cringed, “Nothing. You were just so happy, I just figured-”

“We’re in a good place.” She laughed and admitted, “I told him I love him though, but I doubt he’d ever tell me.”

Jason paused and registered this new information in his brain. Curiosity overcame him, “What did he say back?”

Marinette groaned, “He didn’t say anything!”

Jason was disappointed, “Note to self; kill Damian.”

“No! I’ve kissed him like once!”

“Really? Jesus you guys are wholesome. Fine. Once you get that second kiss, his ass is mine for being stupid.”

“He’s not stupid.” She mumbled to herself, “Not all the time.”

Jason rubbed her arm, “Your boyfriend is an idiot. What are you going to do?”

“He’s your brother.”

“Gives me even more of a right to call him stupid.” Marinette laughed, being an only child she was always surprised at how ruthless siblings could really be with each other. Jason was glad they were back on track, but they didn’t have enough time left.

He could hear Bruce’s voice echo in his head and his question held more and more weight each time: ‘You’re really going to rope her into this?’

It was something Jason didn’t think they’d need to worry about. A summer fling was something he didn’t think would ever be in the cards for his emotionally constipated brother. Yet, here he was listening to Marinette admit her feelings for Damian. It really hit him that this would be a more permanent problem once Damian confessed his own feelings to Bruce. When Jason told Dick and Tim, they had conflicting reactions.

Tim was already upset they knew their secret identities, but he expected to just leave the class behind forever after the trip. He was ready to keep this as a memory as a safety precaution. Dick was more optimistic and brought up Clark and Lois. Dick didn’t want to throw this all away when this is the most significant growth Damian has ever displayed. It caused a pretty heated argument and left everyone going to bed angry, but there wasn’t a clear answer.

“Hey, Marinette. Did you think this through?”

“Think what through?” She texted someone on her phone and made a right in the hallway. He could tell they were heading towards the computer room.

“This. With Damian. With us.”

“I did.”

“And you’re not scared.”

“I’m terrified.”

“And you’re still going to do it?”

Marinette bit her lip and clutched onto his arm, “Honestly, I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like without you guys around. I’m not looking forward to the end of this trip.” She took a deep breath and sent him a look full of determination, “Still, I’m not going to give it all up because I’m scared.”

Jason smiled and squeezed her body, “That’s what I like to hear. You’ll be a Robin yet.”

Marinette shook her head, “I’m not going to be a Robin.”

“You can’t be a horse girl superhero your whole life.”

“Jason-”

“I mean Gina would never approve of something so lame.”

“Grandma would be proud of me kicking butt.”

“True.”

“Still, Marinette you could seriously get hurt. Alya, Nino, Adrien, Chloe, everyone could get hurt if anyone found out you guys knew us.”

“We all know that. We all don’t care. I think being chased down by a supervillain every week for two years does that to you.”

Jason frowned, “When this is over, I don’t have to be anywhere. You want me to stay in Paris and help out? You’d have to introduce me to Ladybug and Cat Noir first.”

Marinette looked up, hopeful, “Really?”

“I might not look like it compared to my brothers, but I was still trained by the world’s greatest detective. I could help and I’m good in a fight.” Jason was glad he was the one who got to see this girl absolutely light up the room. She nearly jumped out of her skin, instead she jumped onto him. “Woah!” She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his torso, “Hey-”

“Yes! Please, yes. Please.” The last please sounded so tired and desperate. He just adjusted her and held her as he continued walking. Sure, they got some weird looks by the few staff members that passed them by, but she held him so close. It reminded him of kids he’d save back in the day. They’d just latch onto him and only let go to latch onto their parents. This hold was only ever given by kids who were thoroughly traumatized, which only worried him further. Jason just patted her back and did his best not to jostle her on their way down.

The rest of the walk was comfortably silent. While holding a fifteen-year-old like a toddler wasn’t the weirdest thing he’s ever done, it was something concerning. Jason wanted to ask more questions, but she just rested on him. He patted and rubbed small circles onto her back the rest of the journey to the computer room. By the time they got to the room, he wondered if she fell asleep on him. Her body heat was high and she was relaxed, but the plea made him wonder just how bad it got in Paris.

He opened the door and gave the people inside a small wave. Tim just looked concerned and confused while Adrien walked over and held his arms out. Jason set her down in his arms and realized she actually did fall asleep. Adrien sighed, “Aw man, she was probably up all night thinking.”

“About what?”

“We’re having a debate. We’re good, but I’m just not on board. She’s been trying really hard to convince me though.” Adrien rubbed his cheek against her head and set her down in a chair, “Did you figure out anything?”

“Yeah, a lot actually.” He walked over to the computer and pulled up the ship’s blueprints. “The Akumas are traveling through the vents to avoid detection. I’d say they’re somewhere above ground on the first two floors. That narrows it down pretty well, doesn’t it?”

“It does.” Bruce hummed, “Let’s try to do a sweep of the area first thing in the morning. Having the kids around might work in our favor. The staff thinks they’re just weird teenagers and stopped batting an eye.”

“I mean they’re not wrong.”

Bruce looked around, “Where’s Alya and Chloe?”

Jason shrugged, “Interrogating Damian.”

“And Dick and Nino?”

Tim held up his phone, “Trying to save Damian.”

“Ah.”

“From what I hear, it’s not going well.”

Adrien smirked, “Well, at least he’ll die happy. He made up with Marinette.”

“He did? That’s good to hear.”

Tim smirked, “Be careful, you sound relieved.” Bruce just smiled as he looked over the blueprints. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking that we’ll start in the residential wing. No one is allowed in the rooms without the residents’ consent. There are no cameras in the rooms. Perfect hiding place.”

“Now we’re getting somewhere. Finally. We might be able to get this guy before the end of the trip.”

Jason snorted, “And Damian can finally get a second kiss.” The three guys snapped their heads to Jason and he just nodded. “My reaction exactly.”

“Oh jeez, for a playboy’s son he has absolutely no game. You’ve taught him nothing.” Bruce glared at Tim who simply motioned towards the sleeping girl, “Try to tell me he’d score a kiss from anyone but Marinette. You can’t. That girl was his only chance and he was smart enough to take it.” Bruce initially shook his head before shrugging and nodding in agreement.

Adrien sighed and leaned on the wall, “So we have a plan. Should we go save Damian and find Staller?”

“Staller?”

Tim stretched and got out of his seat, “His niece’s memorial is tomorrow. She would’ve been 26 that day if it wasn’t for the accident. We couldn’t find the pictures so we’ve been brainstorming all night. We pulled it through in the end and made a pretty good gift. Also, we took a bottle from your office.”

“What was that?”

“Nothing.”

Adrien looked over at Marinette before decided to just lift her into his arms, “How did she die anyway? I know she was young but no one ever talks about it.”

Tim frowned and walked towards the door, “Let’s go find Damian.” Adrien wasn’t the best at reading the room, but when it came to loss he might as well have been reading a book. Her death was a sore spot and he wasn’t about to push that despite not understanding why.

Jason walked over and crouched down, “Put her on my back. I can take her.”

Adrien nodded and positioned her in a way she wouldn’t fall once he stood up. “Do you need anything else from us, Bruce?”

“No, that should be all. I’m glad to hear you all made up.”

Adrien smiled and waved as they left the room. He looked over at Tim, “So where are we heading?”

“Up. They’re in Alya’s room.”

“Ten bucks says they put him makeup and a dress.”

“Twenty says he likes it.”

Adrien chuckled, “Guys, be serious. Fifty says Chloe used Queen Bee’s venom on him.”

“Oh, no. That’s a suckers bet. She obviously did.”

“Yeah, I’m out.”

Adrien pouted but soon grinned, “Tim, do you have the present?”

“I can go get it once we’re above deck.”

Jason hummed, “Hope the old man likes it.”

“It’s a thoughtful gift made by his friends. He’ll love it.”

Tim looked over at Adrien as they walked up the stairs, “How’d your mom die?”

Adrien flinched and shook his head, “She didn’t die; she disappeared. No one knows where she went or what happened to her.” He tapped the railing and his smile held no warmth, “I want to think of her as alive and happy. Where ever she is.” Tim patted his back and Adrien shrugged, “So Staller will like it. I know it.”

“Way to go, Tim.”

“Shut it.”

“It’s okay, guys. Really. Let’s just go make sure Marinette still has a boyfriend.”

Jason adjusted his grip on Marinette as they continued up the floors to the residential wing, “He still didn’t tell her.”

Tim groaned, “I’m not surprised but I’m still disappointed.”

“Tell her what?”

“Did Chloe ever talk about a conversation between Bruce and Damian?”

“No.”

“Then don’t worry about it.”

Adrien pouted and looked over at Marinette, “You know she really loves him.”

“We know.”

“I don’t really like it.”

Tim’s sarcasm hit Adrien like a bat to the back, “Really? Couldn’t tell.” Adrien nearly stumbled and looked up at Tim flustered. Tim just chuckled at Adrien’s expense.

Adrien sighed and said, “At school, Marinette was the first friend I ever made. I think I always had a soft spot for her and it’s hard to ignore that.”

Jason asked, “So now what’ll you do?”

“Nothing. We talked and the feelings are more out of loyalty than anything. She loves Damian? Well, I’ll be there to claw his eyes out if they get into another fight.”

Tim was blunt when he said, “We’d probably help out.”

Adrien chuckled, “That’s terrible! You’re brothers.”

“That means nothing. I’ll punch him if you ask nicely.” That made Adrien bark out in laughter. Some passengers looked over at them, but they focused more on Jason carrying Marinette than the laughing blond.

Adrien took a deep breath and wiped the corners of his eyes, “Okay! Okay. I’m good. I’m good.”

Tim grinned as he continued up the stairs, “Nice to see you in a good mood, Adrien.”

“Thanks.”

“Aw, you guys bonded without me? Rude.”

“Says the guy carrying the girl he met a few weeks ago.”

Jason didn’t have a retort for that. It was true, he knew he liked Marinette after reading her paper. The sister thing started as a joke, but after realizing Gina was her grandmother it was like a switch. Suddenly, this girl was family; not just a girl his brother liked. She murmured something incoherent into his shoulder and he just quietly shushed her. If Adrien was right, she’s probably been stressing over things since their fight after Tess was Akumatized. The night before that was probably the last good night’s sleep she had. The fact that Marinette felt comfortable enough to fall asleep on him, it was a testament to how close they got. Sleeping made you too vulnerable. Too open. She trusted Jason. He wasn’t going to take that lightly.

The three continued chatting, Jason did his best to give Marinette a smooth ride as they made their way to Alya’s room. Nino and Dick soon came into view and they noticed Nino knocking on the door. “C’mon Alya! That’s enough!”

They could hear girls giggling and nothing else. Dick ran his fingers through his hair and sighed, “We haven’t heard anything from Damian. I’m starting to wonder if they have him gagged.”

Jason rolled his eyes and stomped on the door, “Alya! Open the door! Marinette fell asleep on me and my arms are getting tired!” Marinette groaned in protest to the sudden noise and he continued to lull her back to sleep.

“Dude!”

“Guys, stay quiet. She’s sleeping.”

“You literally just tried to kick down a door!”

Tim pinched the bridge of his nose, “Do you seriously think that’ll-” The doorknob jiggled a bit and Alya cracked open the door. Tim threw his arms up, “Never mind. I know nothing.”

Jason turned around and Alya’s eyes widened, “Oh jeez, she really did knock out.” Alya opened the door fully and motioned them inside, “We could’ve done more with more time, but you guys seriously ruin the fun.”

The boys filed inside the room and looked around. It was a standard room and by the looks of it, her roommate was Juleka. The girls snickered and whispered to each other before shushing each other. Dick was the first to ask, “So where’s Damian?”

Alix didn’t hesitate to point at the bathroom. Jason set Marinette down on the bed and Dick knocked on the door. “Hey, you alive in there?”

“Yeah, yeah. Give me a minute.” Damian opened the door after a moment and Tim’s eyebrows shot up. “What?”

“You’re alive.”

“Shut up, Drake.” He walked over to the girls and took his seat next to them and leaned on the wall, “Anyways, next question. Rose, it’s your turn.”

Alya motioned towards the group and looked at the group dumbly, “Now will you guys stop ruining our girl time.”

Nino crossed his arms, “Why didn’t you answer us?”

Damian shrugged, “They told me not to.”

Dick perked up, “I’m in. I got stories to share about this dumbass.”

Alix snickered, “Perfect. I need more dirt.”

Damian rolled his eyes, “Oh really?”

Dick smirked and stood beside Mylene, “So when Damian was 12 he stole his father’s car.”

Alix snapped her head to Damian, “You stole his car!”

Damian glared at Dick, “Great. Way to tarnish my reputation.”

“I can do worse. When he was 13, him and his friend Jon-”

Damian lunged at his brother and slapped a hand over his mouth, “No! Stopping you right there! Any story with that idiot is bound to be a bad one!”

Rose raised her hand, “Aw, can I at least ask my question? I have some more.”

Jason walked over and pushed Damian off of Dick fairly roughly, making everyone tense. “I got a few questions too. I think the girls would enjoy this one too.” Chloe let out a soft gasp but didn’t intervene. Jason knew she knew, “Number one, you guys have only kissed once.”

“That wasn’t even a question.”

Alya looked surprised, “Really? Aw man, you guys are shy aren’t you?”

Jason shrugged, “Marinette won’t let me kill you until she gets another kiss.”

Damian rolled his eyes, “And why would you kill me?”

Jason hummed and held out two fingers, “Number two. So why haven’t you told Marinette you love her yet?”

Rose and Mylene both cried out, “WHAT?”

Adrien quickly jumped over to Marinette and covered her ears, “Guys-”

Mylene leaned towards Damian with an unusually angry face, “What do you mean you haven’t told her?”

Rose was just as, if not more, intimidating. “Don’t you realize how crucial that is? You have to say it!”

Damian put his hands up in surrender and glared at Jason, “Where did this come from?”

“Marinette told me you didn’t answer her when she told you she loved you. So I thought-”

There seemed to be an invisible snap in the room as all the ladies pounced onto Damian, yelling and scolding the poor boy. He must’ve sworn to be at their mercy or something because he could’ve easily fought them off. Yet, he took the shaking, hitting, pulling, and other abuse with a brave face.

Dick leaned over to Jason and whispered, “Don’t you think that was a little mean?”

Jason shrugged, “I promised Marinette I wouldn’t kill him. This way I won’t have to.” Dick let out an exasperated sigh before looking over at the frenzy going on. He looked back at Adrien who seemed to struggle as he barely shielded Marinette from all the noise.

Dick tapped on Alya’s shoulder, “Hey, don’t you think this is a bit much? He’s not the type to say those kinds of things to anyone. Not even Bruce.”

“You can’t just leave a girl hanging like that! You have to say something back!”

Damian pushed Rose back, clearly doing so without harming her, “I did say something back! I asked her another question.”

Alya grabbed a pillow off Juleka’s bed and smacked him in the face with it. Chloe groaned, “Here I was, supporting you and standing in your corner, and you do this to me? Do you realize how valuable an alliance with me is?”

Damian rolled his eyes, “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

Alix begged to differ, “You did everything wrong! I’m not even into romance and I know that!”

Juleka sighed and turned his head to face her, “You know, we’ll always look out for Marinette. Do we need to be worried about you?”

Damian shook his head free from his grip, “Of course not! I care about her a lot. I-” Feeling the room’s eyes all suddenly on him prevented him from finishing his sentence. He looked away and growled, “This is stupid. Everything was fine until you guys showed up!”

Jason blinked and poked his cheek, “Are you blushing?”

“You wish.”

“Oh my god, he is.”

“Bro, I can see the pink on his cheeks from here.”

“I’m going to document this and file it under the evidence that proves Damian’s human.”

Damian, much to his dismay, could feel the heat creeping up his neck. Damian looked away from the group, “You’re starting to frustrate me.”

Dick clapped, bringing everyone’s attention to himself. He cleared his throat and motioned to Damian, “While he may not say it, he shows it in other ways. Exhibit A, the kid shows human emotions.”

“Grayson-”

“Exhibit B, he doesn’t curse at us as much anymore. He’s gotten softer.”

“We’ll see whose gone soft-”

“Exhibit C, he’s here. Damian would’ve never come here and let you girls question him this much if he wasn’t serious about her.” Damian didn’t say anything to that comment, but the silence was enough of a response for the girls to back off. Damian straightened himself out and crossed his arms, the blush losing intensity but never truly leaving. “You guys want someone who’s outwardly lovey-dovey, but that’s not Damian. He shows it by just doing things and trying hard for people. He’s always been like that.”

Dick reached out and messed with Damian’s hair. Much to his amusement, Damian didn’t fight it. Dick sighed, “You love her, don’t you?” Damian smacked Dick’s hand away and looked to the ground. Dick chuckled, “God, you haven’t changed at all. You were the same as a kid too.”

The blush came back with a fury, “Shut up!”

Dick smacked the back of Jason’s head, “Hey, what the he-”

“That’s for putting him in this position, Jason. Yeah, it’s frustrating to hear that because we all love Marinette. Still, you know how he operates. He’s not normal.”

Damian grabbed the pillow out of Alya’s hands and threw it at Dick, “Aren’t you done yet?”

Dick caught it and smirked, “Yeah, yeah. I’m done.” Dick has known Damian just as long as Bruce does, considering the time they spent together as Batman and Robin he’d argue he’s known him even longer. He’d like to think he’s the closest to him out of everyone in the family and he wouldn’t be wrong. Damian may never actually state the words ‘I love you’, but it doesn’t mean the feelings aren’t there. “I love you too, Damian.”

“You are so full of yourself, Grayson!”

Adrien sighed and shrugged, “On that note, I think it’s time. Chloe, can we continue this another time?”

Chloe groaned and looked at the group, “Interrogation over. Same time tomorrow?”

Damian’s eyes widened, “I’m not off the hook after that?”

Mylene shook her head, “Oh no, not yet. We still have a lot of questions.”

Rose stood up and stretched, “That was fun! I can’t wait for the next session.” She giggled and leaned towards Damian, “I guess you can be romantic without words, huh?” Damian rolled his eyes and gently pushed her face away.

Damian let out a long groan got onto his feet. He looked over to the figure on the bed and finally realized it was Marinette. He scrunched up his nose and walked over to her. “She okay?”

“Yeah, she knocked out on me on our way back to the computer room. We have some news.”

Alya and Chloe looked at each other before looking at the rest of the girls. “Hey, we need to talk. Do you mind?”

Juleka sighed and nodded, “Yeah. Yeah. We’ll go hang out in the arcade. Looks like it might rain today anyway.”

Alya smiled and said a quick thank you as they waited for the girls to leave before continuing further. “Well, I learned something new today. I’d say today’s interrogation was a success.” Damian glared at her but she just laughed it off, “You can’t touch me.” Damian looked away, frustrated because she was absolutely right.

Adrien closed the door behind the girls as the last one filed out. Adrien then motioned for Jason to explain what he found. Jason just repeated himself while petting Marinette’s hair, “The Akumas are traveling through the vents to avoid detection. Based on how quickly they move, I’d say they’re somewhere above ground on the first two floors. We’ll start a sweep tomorrow.”

“Wow, you figured that out on your own?”

“Marinette was the one who thought to talk to the first Akuma victims and the kids were good. Marleen almost punched us though.”

Dick rolled his eyes, “How many times are you going to bother that woman?”

“She’s a good time when she isn’t in a bad mood.”

Damian yawned and hopped up onto Alya’s bed, careful not to move Marinette too much. “You’ll have to do that without us. We’re spending the day with Staller.”

“You do that anytime you’re on the boat.”

“And I call the man if I’m not.” Damian shrugged and asked, “Did you finish the present?” Tim nodded and Damian didn’t miss a beat, “Then go get it.”

Tim grumbled and left the room. Damian looked over his phone, making small notes and messaging someone. Nino was the first to point out, “You seem more, what’s the word, mellow? You seem mellow.”

“I’m in a good mood.”

Alya snorted, “I wonder why?”

“Shut it.”

“Never.” Damian looked over the girl and stretched, “I’ll take her to her room after Tim gets back.”

Chloe exaggerated her words as she poked fun at him, “Oh, staying in a girl’s room! Damian Wayne! Looks like if he’s not going to say it, there’s one way you can show-“

Damian glared at her, “Keep it up and I’ll tell Adrien that you-”

Chloe quickly ran over and clasped her hands over his mouth, “I can and will use my venom on you!”

Damian pushed her hands away and looked over at Adrien, “She feels bad for losing the balloon war.”

Adrien seemed a bit relieved, “Is that it?”

Chloe blushed and waved her hand dismissively, “Yeah! Yeah! That’s it!” Damian pinched her cheek, “Hey! What was that for?”

“For putting your hands on me.”

Alya groaned, “You guys are worse than my sisters.”

Jason shrugged, “I’m just glad to see you guys getting along again. Seriously, you guys brought the mood down.”

Damian frowned, “I didn’t mean to.”

Nino walked over and patted his back, “Aw, don’t feel bad. No one understands girls. A fight or two is inevitable.” Alya pinched his ear, “Ow! Tell me I’m wrong!”

Alya let go and shrugged, “You’re right. Arguing is bound to happen. That’s just normal.” Nino held out his fist towards Adrien who reluctantly fist-bumped him.

“You’re so dumb.”

“You love me.”

“Yes, but at what cost?”

“Adrien, we made this agreement years ago. You can’t get rid of me now.”

“Nino, I would never.”

“Bro.”

Dick laughed and leaned against Juleka’s bed, “You guys seriously make me question how far your relationship goes.”

Alya shrugged, “You get used to it. They’ve been inseparable since they met. They started laying it on thick a few months ago.”

“Why?”

Nino hummed, “I don’t know. Just felt like it. Adrien?”

“Yeah, no real reason. Just kind of happened. I think it’s hilarious.”

Chloe looked over her nails and said, “I think it’s annoying.”

Alya smirked, “I think it makes for good blackmail down the line when you guys look back on this and cringe.”

“Bold of you to assume we’d ever stop.”

Jason shook his head and laughed, “I forget you guys are teenagers sometimes. We’ve all been acting so serious lately. When was the last time we were all together like this?”

Dick thought for a moment, “The sleepover. Or that first stop before Lucas.”

Alya cringed, “I still feel bad about how that day ended.”

“Water under the bridge, Alya.”

“In this case, water under the boat.” The group groaned and Dick threw a pillow at Adrien.

It took a little while but once Tim finally returned, he walked into the room confused. Adrien was being held back while the girls beat him with pillows. Damian and Dick stayed back and watched the scene unfold while Marinette seemed to have just woken up from her sleep. Tim handed Damian the bag and asked, “What-”

Nino called back from over his shoulder, “We’re beating out his sins.”

“Puns are not sins!”

Chloe frowned, “Adrikins, you need to pay for that last one.”

“All I said was-”

Alya smacked him with her pillow, “Don’t repeat it! It was terrible!”

Adrien laughed, “You guys just can’t handle my comedic charm.”

“Oh please, you’re worse than Dick.”

“I’m funny!”

Damian looked over to his brother and deadpanned, “No, you aren’t. Women just laugh at your jokes because they think you’re attractive.”

Dick smirked, “I am attractive.”

“But you’re not funny.”

Dick suddenly pulled Damian into a chokehold, “What’d you say?”

“Grayson!”

“I’m not what?”

“Get off!”

“I’m sorry. I don’t speak loser.”

“Dick!”

Tim sighed and rubbed his temples, “I didn’t drink enough coffee for this.” Damian bit Dick’s arm, making him pull back and flinch.

“Damian!”

He ignored him, “Marinette, you want to go to your room? Staller’s probably working until later tonight. We can catch him in the den and give him our gift.” Marinette yawned and nodded.

Adrien looked over to Marinette and pleaded with her, “You can’t just leave me here!”

“Alya, let him go.”

“In a minute.”

Marinette shrugged, “You heard her. In a minute.” Adrien’s mouth hung open and stuck out his tongue in protest. Marinette yawned, “We’ll talk later okay?” She tapped her earrings and he nodded. “Good luck.”

Adrien sighed, “I’ll keep you in my will.”

Marinette giggled and grabbed Damian’s arm. He didn’t outwardly express anything, but his body visibly relaxed seemingly without him noticing. Marinette waved as they left the scene behind them. She looked at Damian and noticed something was different. “Are you blushing?”

Damian froze, “I most certainly am not blushing!”

Marinette put her hands up, “Okay! Okay. Sorry. The girls didn’t talk about anything weird did they?”

Damian visibly gulped and looked at his phone, “Nothing of interest, but we have another session tomorrow.”

Marinette leaned over to get a better look at him and pouted, “You’re a bad liar.”

Damian pinched her cheek, “That’s my line!”

Marinette flinched but giggled all the same. He let go of her cheeks and then hesitantly leaned towards her. By the time she realized what was happening, he placed a gentle kiss on the cheek he pinched before continuing down the corridor. Marinette could feel the heat coming up her neck like a forest fire. “Hey! You can’t just do that!”

He stopped, but he didn’t look back at her. Instead, he just held his hand out and waited. “Now you can have Jason come after me later, if you want.”

Marinette was confused at first before realizing what the comment referred to. She sighed and ran up to him, clasping onto his hand as soon as it came into reach. For a moment, they didn’t say anything. She was always used to grab his arm and that was that. This was new for both of them. Despite the greater distance it put between them, it felt more intimate. Still, neither pulled away. Instead, they walked towards the main deck to get to Marinette’s wing.

Marinette let out a half-hearted laugh, “I can’t believe I fell asleep on Jason.”

Damian expressed his own concern with her current state, “I have to admit. I’m surprised too. You sure you’re okay?”

“I’m just tired, I guess.” Damian frowned and she nudged him, “Hey, things are looking up. We’re together again, our friends are getting along, and we’ll spend time with – Oh! Staller!” Damian looked up and noticed the old man walking around on deck and Marinette didn’t hesitate to run up to him. Staller seemed to be in a haze as he looked over the water. Luckily, he was pleasantly surprised at the girl jumping up to hug him and he reciprocated.

Damian chuckled and jogged over to the two, “You’ll break him.”

“He’s sturdy.”

“Not as much as I used to be.” Staller rubbed his shoulder and rolled it to adjust it. “Although, I’m happy to see you two. I haven’t had the best company lately.”

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing to worry about.” Staller brushed back her bangs and smiled at her, “What brings you here?”

“We have something for you to make up for the photos.”

“You didn’t have to-”

“We wanted to.” Damian held up the bag and smiled, “We need to take responsibility.”

Staller sighed and patted the boy’s shoulders, “You do this every year. I still don’t understand why.”

The question made him apprehensive but he played it off well, “I respect you, old man. Least I could do.”

Staller grabbed the bag, “We’ll open this later. I assume it’s for Anne?”

“It’s for Anne.”

Staller nodded and looked over the railings. It was a sober moment to watch him look down at the water, thinking, until he finally asked both teens a question. “Would you like to walk around for a while?”

“Don’t you have work?”

“My co-captain needs to pull his own weight. He’ll be fine.”

Marinette snorted, “Lazy, huh?”

“Exactly.” Staller motioned for them to follow him as they wandered the ship.

Damian poked Marinette’s arm and asked her, “You up for this?”

“I’ll be fine. That was a good power nap.”

“You’re pushing it.”

“Probably!” Marinette smiled and pleaded, “Come on! I’ll be fine.” Damian’s shoulders fell and Marinette took it as a sign of defeat. “Let’s go.”

Damian groaned as he let himself get dragged away by the girl. He wasn’t annoyed, quite the opposite. Falling into their little trio made things feel like they were going back to normal. He did his best to ignore growing the pit in his stomach to enjoy himself with these two people, but he knew it wasn’t going to ever go away. It’s been there for a long time and the reason he’s so close to Staller in the first place.

Damian watched Marinette and Staller bond over a casual conversation. Marinette managed to rope him into it and suddenly he found himself between the two. Being made fun of. Being laughed at. Having conversations about nothing but things they noticed around the ship. Everything was calm for the first time in a while. Damian wondered what’d happen next.

He understood his father’s concerns, but seeing her in action put him at ease. Yet, he doesn’t get the feeling she understood just how bad things could get. She’s been facing magic, he’s been facing monsters. She can erase the damage, he has to live with it. Still, despite that, she still has a lot of the same insecurities. It’s probably more intense for her; she’s been on her own for the most part. He had networks, she had a partner who didn’t know her identity until a few weeks ago.

Damian continued to laugh along with Staller and Marinette, but it wasn’t entirely heartfelt. Probably because it wasn’t anything he was used to. This was a new world he usually hid from; forever in the shadows and watching over it. However, Damian found himself being yanked into the sunlight. Marinette was gentle in her approach, and he didn’t struggle, but he wondered how long it’d take before he was burned.

As they spent more time together, he started to notice things about Staller that made him anxious. There was a faint scent of alcohol on his breath, his speech showed that he was present in the conversation but his eyes screamed vacancy, and he still didn’t even peek into the bag. Marinette hasn’t noticed anything or she’s ignoring it.

He looked over the rails and noted how restless seemed compared to the other days. He looked up and the sky was grey, making it darker earlier. He looked around the deck and people seemed to be dressed in sweaters for the rare storm. He wondered if they should head inside but Marinette pulled him in a new direction and into a new conversation. Damian looked around, giving general comments and paying half a mind to his friends. Something was keeping him on edge, despite wanting to relax with the only two people on the ship that have broken through to his walls. Looking back at Staller, Damian noticed the man wilt as he did his best to keep a brave face in front of Marinette.

Later into the night, the storm was definitely starting to roll in. Most of the people left the deck to their room, but there were still a few who chatted amongst themselves. Damian felt his phone vibrate and noticed it was from his father. He looked around and noticed his father on an upper level looking down at the deck. Dick, Adrien, and Alya seemed to be discussing something next to him before noticing he was looking in their direction. They waved and Damian waved back before reading his father’s message. It asked why he was still up; he didn’t even notice they were close to hitting midnight. He looked back up to see his friends running away, most likely to meet them.

He looked over at Marinette and Staller, still enthralled in their own world. He hated being the person to throw them out of it. “Hey, guys. It’s getting late.”

Staller looked at his watch and blinked, “Oh. I guess we did lose track of time.”

Marinette giggled and leaned against the railing, “I guess. Should we go back to the den?”

“The den? You two need to go to bed.”

Marinette whined, “Staller, what about tomorrow? We don’t want you to be alone.”

Staller smiled at the kids and opened the bag, “Let’s take a look at this stuff.” He pulled out a bottle and smiled, “What’s this?”

“There’s more in the bag.”

Staller handed Damian the bottle before reaching further inside. He pulled out an envelope and looked confused, “You’re giving me money?”

Marinette rolled her eyes, “Just open it.”

Damian didn’t realize he was going to be nervous as he waited for Staller’s reaction. He could feel his body tense as he opened up the envelope and pulled out the photos inside. Both teens waited with bated breath as they waited for Staller to say something. Anything to tell them they did a good job.

Staller flipped through the photos and leaned against the railing. His eyes waters and a smile threatened to form on his face as flipped through them. Suddenly, the lights in Staller’s eyes were back. Staller struggled to keep his voice even before finally asking, “What is this?”

Marinette was cautious when reaching out to him, almost worried the man would collapse if she wasn’t careful. She put her hand on his arm and smiled, “We got a hold of Anne’s wife. We asked her to send over some photos. Tim printed them out for us.”

Damian nodded and surprised himself at how soft his voice was when addressing the old man, “We know it’s not the originals and some of those photos aren’t the same as the ones we lost, but we hoped it would help.”

Staller continued flipping through, looking for something until he finally stopped on one. Damian peered over to look at the picture and felt relieved. It was arguably his favorite one; with him, Anne, Anne’s wife, and his brother. That was the one he showed him when they first got close. Based off of Marinette’s face, he must’ve shown her the same one.

Marinette looked up at the captain, “Do you like it? We also looked into the whiskey bottle Robin broke and managed to find something similar in Bruce’s office. Just something to-” She squeaked as Staller pulled both kids into a bear hug. It took Marinette a second to realize what happened but soon sunk into the embrace. She looked over to Damian and sent him a small smile; a quiet victory for the two. 

Staller pulled away and laughed, “You – You’re good kids.”

The guilt ate at him, but he wanted to live in the moment. Right here, right now, things were good. Damian suddenly felt a swell of emotions and Marinette was seconds away from probably crying. Staller gulped and looked behind the two, “I think your friends are here.” The two teens turned around and saw Dick, Adrien, Bruce, and Alya watching from the entrance to the main atrium. They seemed just as moved by the scene as they were. Marinette sent over a bright smile and a thumbs up, “He liked it!” Alya cheered and Adrien and Dick fist-bumped. Bruce simply watched the two teens proudly, but Damian knew better.

Call it instincts, maybe a dumb hunch, but something told him to keep looking. Someone was watching them and it put the hair on his neck stand up. Damian couldn’t find anyone out of place, but still worried. Damian looked back at Staller and noticed something in his eyes that put him on edge. Staller still smiled, but it was fake. Damian’s been around the man long enough to tell. The light that was there when he first looked through the photos was suddenly gone. Staller held his hand out to Damian and motioned to the bottle. Damian stepped back and suddenly felt defensive, “Why don’t we go to the den first? Crack open the bottle there and I can pour you a glass. We’ll talk more.”

Marinette looked up and nodded. The wind started to pick up around them and Marinette shivered, “Looks like it might rain anyway.”

Staller slowly nodded, “Right. Go on ahead. I just remembered why I came out here in the first place. I’ll be quick.”

Something in his voice must’ve tipped Marinette off because she suddenly looked concerned, “Staller?”

Staller handed Marinette the envelope, “I’ll be quick.” He gently pushed the two forward and waved at Bruce. Bruce waved back and turned to take a call. Marinette looked over at Damian, confused. Something didn’t feel right. They looked back and Staller just continued to look over the waves. Another gust of wind caused Marinette to tense up and she quickened her pace, doing her best to get out of the cold. Damian was slow to follow but he looked down at the bottle in his hands. He made it nearly halfway to his friends when he noticed they’re faces morph.

Time seemed to slow down as he took in everyone’s reaction. Alya was first. She was laughing at Marinette’s weakness to the cold but suddenly went wide-eyed and stared directly behind them. Adrien and Dick started yelling something, but Damian couldn’t make it out over his heartbeat. His father’s made his heart drop; Bruce dropped his phone and suddenly pushed himself forward. Damian and Marinette looked back and realized what was happening.

Damian felt the bottle slip through his hands as he quickly turned and started running. He saw Marinette in his peripheral vision running beside him and reaching out her hand. The sight of Staller climbing over the railings was almost unreal. Damian realized what that look was about earlier, why he was outside on deck earlier. This was his plan all along.

The shattering of the bottle suddenly made time move forward. Staller didn’t even react to the screaming, nor did he look back at them to acknowledge it. He just looked down and stepped off. Damian took out his grappling gun and he could hear Marinette scream, “SPOTS ON!”

It was instinct and pure panic. Both jumped off the railing and dove for Staller. As soon as they grabbed his hands Damian shot the gun. The rope sprung up and both Bruce and Dick were there to catch it. Both let out a small grunt at the weight they were pulling while Ladybug wrapped her yo-yo around the railing. The sudden stop caused her to let out a small whimper. Damian could feel his shoulder burning and tingling, but his focus was on the man barely hanging on.

“ARE YOU CRAZY?”

“STALLER, PLEASE, WE CAN TALK ABOUT THIS!”

Staller looked up at the two and started to almost analyze them. Damian cursed to himself once he felt the rain start pouring over them. Staller didn’t even register it. Instead, he laughed, “I knew you were Ladybug!”

Ladybug breathed heavily, “Really? We can talk about it! Just – Just grab my arm so you don’t slip!”

Staller didn’t respond. He looked over at Damian and got a good look at the grappling gun, “I know that thing. You were the Robin that ruined my den.”

Damian nodded doing his best to ignore the numbing sensation in his shoulder, “Yeah, old man! Come on! You can yell at me all you want! Just hold on!”

Staller smiled and shook his head, “I’ll be quick.”

“NO! No! Staller, please!”

“Come on, Staller! Who else is going to go to take care of all those ships, huh?! What about Anne?! You think she’d want this for you!? No!”

Ladybug shivered and her hair stuck to her face as the rain only got more intense around them. She was losing her footing against the ship’s side. She tried to pull Staller up, but if she even jostled him he slipped further out of her grip. “Staller, please listen to us! We’ll help you! We can call your family! We’ll call doctors! Just please hold on to me!”

Staller looked almost calm. The storm around him meant nothing. Maybe it was the lightning, or maybe it was the water in his own eyes, but Damian saw something flash over Staller’s eyes. Ladybug must’ve seen it too because she suddenly shrieked, “STALLER, NO!”

Staller let his hands go limp.

Damian’s seen people die before so he knew what their eyes looked like. When he was little, the eyes really stood out to him. Living people always have a glimmer, dead people have a dim glassy glow to them that tell people no one’s home, and then there’s those who die. It’s like a light just goes out with the final breath. As Staller fell out of their grip, he saw the lights just evaporate before he even hit the water.

“NO!” Ladybug used the ship’s side to propel herself off and dove into the water after him.

“LADYBUG!” Damian cursed under his breath. He wouldn’t be able to withstand the waves with his shoulder like this. He knew it was dislocated. He looked up at Adrien and barked at him, “GO AFTER HER! CAT NOIR! GO!” Adrien seemed to snap out of a shock before he nodded. Dick and Bruce started to pull while Adrien took out a container. He picked out the blue piece of cheese and threw it into the air. Plagg quickly flew out of his shirt and ate it, transforming, before Adrien jumped onto the railings.

“PLAGG, CLAWS OUT!”

Cat Noir dove into the water while Damian struggled to get over the railings with his brother’s help. Damian slipped and landed on his side. The sharp pain went through his body and he writhed while doing his best to keep from crying out. He could hear Alya running around the border of the deck, “I don’t see them! I don’t see them!”

Dick pulled Damian to his feet where he noticed a small group of the remaining staff members that didn’t go inside when the storm came overhead. Tess was among them and she just looked at the rope and then over the railing. Tess blinked, snapping out of the initial shock, and motioned for them to follow her. “The ship’s moving! If we’re going to see them, we have to go towards the back!”

Damian didn’t hesitate to chase after her. He held his shoulder and cursed each time he slipped. The four of them crashed into the railing and looked around. Alya was starting to hyperventilate, “I don’t see them! MARINETTE! ADRIEN!”

Tess screamed and, after looking down, he understood why. The dark water coming from the back of the ship suddenly gained a red hue. Damian felt sick, “No. No. No.” He kept looking around for a sign of something, anything. Alya looked like she was going to be sick as she covered her mouth and shook her head. He walked over and shook her shoulders, “They’re magic, right?! They’ll be okay, right?!” Alya didn’t seem to register his words at all.

Dick snapped his head to his brother and wiped the water from his face, “You knew?! Damian, you knew!?”

“Shut up!” Damian ran over to the railing and looked around one last time. His vocal cords hurt just as much as his shoulder did when he cried out, “ADRIEN! MARINETTE!” Bruce walked over to his son, reaching for him before Damian slapped his hand away. “No! No! They’re fine! MARINETTE! ADRIEN!”

“Damian!”

“Father, they’re fine! MARINETTE! ADRI-”

It was sudden, but the green stood out almost immediately once Cat Noir broke the surface of the water. He was holding Ladybug in his arms, unconscious. Cat Noir started waving desperately and Dick pulled out his own grappling gun and aimed it at the hero. Cat Noir starting swimming towards the rope, careful to keep Ladybug’s head above water.

Bruce took the chance to grab Damian's shoulders and turn his body to face him. Damian flinched and hissed at the pressure on his shoulder, but Bruce continued to apply it. “What were you thinking!? Damian, you are supposed to report everything! Everything!” When Damian didn’t answer, Bruce shook him. “Damian!”

Bruce watched as his son retreated so far into himself, any expression or emotion escaped him. Bruce found himself yelling at a complete and utter husk as his son detached himself entirely from the situation. Damian only looked at Bruce’s watch and licked his lips, “Its Anne’s memorial.”

Bruce didn’t know how to respond. He heard a loud ‘splat’ sound next to him and looked over to see Cat Noir heavily breathing over an unconscious Ladybug. Ladybug de-transformed and the kwami wilted next to Cat Noir. Alya ran over to her and put her ear over Marinette’s mouth, “She’s not breathing! GUYS!”

“Move!” Dick pushed Alya out of the way and started performing CPR. Tess ran over to check Cat Noir, but Cat Noir kept his focus on his partner. “Bruce!” Bruce looked over to Dick who just scolded him, “Get a gurney!”

“I got it.” At least the Robin part of still him kicked in. It was a shred of himself that he held onto that kept him tethered to reality. Damian ran off and Bruce just glared at his son.

Marinette suddenly starting coughing up water and turned over to throw up whatever was left in her system. While the others fussed over her, Bruce simply walked over to Tess and held out his hand. “Give me your phone.” She didn’t argue.

He dialed a contact he knew by heart and when the sophisticated old voice answered Bruce felt somewhat relieved. At least one thing stayed the same. “Hello? Wayne residence. This is a private line.”

“Alfred. We’re going to need to do some heavy damage control out here. We’re still 10 hours away from the nearest port and we need authorities now.”

“Master Bruce? What on earth happened?”

He looked over the scene before him and scowled, “All hell broke loose.” ******************************************************************************************* For anyone who is struggling with Suicidal Thoughts: US Hotline - 1-800-273-8255 Thank you for being patient and enjoying the lastest chapter of Seabourne Burnouts! Tag List (Bitch I have a tag list whAT!?!?!): @maribat-archive @ozmav @thornangelic727@imfreakingmagical@constancetruggle @chloe-bourgeois-is-big-gay@someone-ev   @zazzlejazzle @tinybrie @mewwitch @rhub4rb@saphiraazure2708 @never-neverland @unholykrow @slytherinhquinn @literallytryingmybestbutok @redscarlet95 @grimmhallow31 @fandomkitten9653 @myriad-of-passionate-pettiness @fanboy7794 @mystifiedgal @shizukiryuu @ vixen-uchiha @resignedcatservant @mystery-5-5 @miraculousl4dybug @blackcanary13 @origamieater @moonlitarchangels @mochinek0 @imfreakingmagical @you-will-never-know-how-i-think @derpingrainbow @unabashedbookworm @skyel0ve @northernbluetongue @cadencehood @sizzling-fairy-oil @crazylittlemunchkin @saphiraazure2708 @mysteriouslyswimmingfan-blo-blog @ginamarie1512 @kae690 @ivette0712 @zalladane @ellerahs @auradonfairy @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @scribblinggraveyard @nyctamaximoff @snow-swordswoman @maude-zarella @thebookwormfairy @melicmusicmagic @zalladane @ivette0712 @ginamarie1512  @bookreader20003 @silvergold-swirl @celestiacq @themcclan @amethyst-starr5 @tamoni112 @lunar-wolf-warrior @alexzandria-747 @nataladriana9 @moonlitarchangels @iglowinggemma28 @hunter-shyreen @mermaidofthelost @jessigurl-design @vgirl-10123 @lunar-wolf-warrior @casual-darkness @xxmadamjinxx @normal-piece-of-shit @tinyterror333 @romanoff-queen @schrodingers25 @alessialeone6997 @mindfulmagics @slytherin-heartthrob @da-tasuky @asianfrustration13 @eliza-bich @kuhakuanon @my-name-is-michell @theatreandcomicfreak @interobanginyourmom @starry-bi-sky @etheralentity @creator-josie @kurogaya913 @st0rmy-w1th1n @casual-darkness @vgirl-10123 @poshplumcot @thebookish3lf @queenmj10 @corabeth11 @goblinwhoships @ilovefluffbutsmutisalsogreat @violatiger8 @maribat-owns-my-ass @captainartsypants @deathofafangirl01 @maribat-owns-my-ass @nickristus-dreamer  @amayakans Let me know if I missed anyone and message me! I’ll be sure to see it then!

[nitholites]

Assuming someone in the BatFam is the end game:

It's been only a week or so since Tony figured out who Ladybug is

She's captured everyone's hearts, but has to go to Gotham soon

For help, but also because of her internship

The Stark Gala becomes a 'you better live and come back one day, Mari or I STG' party, hosted by Tony Stark, of course

She makes all the outfits of the Starks, her parents, herself, Jagged, Penny, Luka, and Kagami (the last two friends minus Chloe from Paris) and she makes extra in case someone has a wardrobe malfunction

Meanwhile, the Waynes have heard a lot about the newest Stark: MDC

Tim is a fanboy. He's found everything related to his favorite rock star's designer/niece there is to find ("I'm not obsessed! They're just super talented, and I'd like something from them! Stop laughing at me, Dick!")

Dick has no room to tease him, as both him and Jason are pretty much in the same boat

Kor'i and Mar'i love MDC, as well

Every one of the Bats are huge Jagged Stone fans

Like... Nearly rabid

(Damian, Bruce, and Alfred redact that statement)

They're invited to Tony's gala thing (he only started it to surpass the Wayne Gala, like the Lil Shite he is)

The night of the party, only Bruce and Jason go, since the rest of the bats are busy

Bruce, Jagged (who brought Fang), and Tony are all chatting in the middle of the floor, 2/3rds of the group are just talking up Marinette

Jason, meanwhile, accidentally runs into this small, adorable child who proceeds to spill her punch all over his suit

He insists it's fine, but she won't take 'no' for an answer ("I am so sorry, please let me make it up to you" "Kid, it's fine, accidents happen" "No, seriously, let me help")

There's a look in her eyes that insists she do something, and he eventually agrees

Cue to Marinette having a suit jacket that matches and fits Jason because "You look like you're the same build as Mr. Stark (she's all for joining Peter in calling Tony 'Mr. Stark' to get under his skin)"

"you know Tony?"

She shrugs, and doesn't comment anymore on it

"give me your address, and I'll bring this back when it's clean again. I'm moving to Gotham for a while soon, anyway"

He does, she doesn't realize he's a Wayne, and they part when the party ends

Cue the entire BatFam sprinting into Jason's room, chasing after a full on scream

Like, they didn't know Jason's voice could get "so high and squeaky, what the hecc?"

They pause as they see Jason litterally jumping up and down

"What the hell, Todd."

Instead of answering, he shoves the jacket in Tim's face with a shite-eating grin

It takes a moment, but Tim scowls and pulls out his wallet

When the rest of the family only look confused, Tim sighs and explains

"He got an MDC original first."

"...you had a bet on that?"

Jason freezes, eyes widening

"HOLY SH*T, I MET THE MDC! SHE WAS SO TINY, OH MY GOD, BATS, WE HAVE TO ADOPT HER!"

They're confused for a solid minute

"YOU DONT UNDERSTAND SHES AN ANGEL AND HAS BLACK HAIR AND BLUE EYES!! SHE'S OBVIOUSLY A WAYNE!"

It takes all of Bruce's willpower not to adopt her on the spot when she visits them

Like, he almost brings up adoption papers

But he knows Stark would fight tooth and nail to keep this baby

So he restrains himself

(for now)

(he swears if one of his children doesn't marry her, he's bringing the adoption papers to court)

She doesn't stay long, only meeting all the Waynes at the house and going back to her hotel

The next day, a villain goes after Mar'i, near the park/mall/something Marinette is by

Instead of becoming Ladybug, she heccin kicks arse

As Marinette

She gets both her and Mar'i out of danger without a scratch using a yo-yo of all things and meets Batman and Robin as they clean up the rest

She's all like "no, it's alright, I'm sure anyone would do the same please stop thanking me, my family's gonna kick my ass to next year for scaring them like this"

Bats comes up and takes her statement, and she happens to mention the situation in Paris

"oh, this was nothing compared to some of the Akuma I've faced" "What's an akuma?" She paled, eyes widening in shock. "You don't know? About Ladybug, Chat Noir, Ryuuko, Viperion, Queen Bee, Red Wasp, Multimouse, Hawkmoth, Mayura, Carapace, Rena Rouge, and all them?"

She explains a little, giving basic information everyone knew, then shows him the app she made a while ago

The Akuma Alert app that held much more than just akuma-related things

She leaves soon after, and Batman has a goal in mind

Within the day, Diana is furious at the lack of response towards the Paris situation

"This Ladybug was left alone for all this time?! Shame on you all, leaving my mother's successor alone!"

When Ladybug is later spotted (hehe, get it?) in Gotham, the entire BatFam finds her and gets her in touch with the League

She explains how she asked both the League and the Avengers for help, all those years ago, and was pushed aside with warnings not to send in prank calls anymore

Of course, Iron Man has already looked into it, but he's not exactly a detective and the more brains on this, the better

Meanwhile, as civilians...

The normal shipping stuff happens

With the exception that nearly every criminal in Gotham low-key adopts Marinette

They may think she's the next Wayne, but the Angel of Gotham is off limits

And not because the little Wayne chases after anyone who even looks at her wrong with a katana

Not just as Robin. As Damian

Marinette actually meets a few villains on the street

She was going to a commission, carrying some hero, vigilante, and villain themed macaroons when she got lost

(before meeting the Waynes officially, actually)

She was in a park, looking lost when Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn came up

She offered treats, and ever since she's the Angel of Gotham

Once, when on a date with her romantic interest, Killer Croc tried taking the restaurant hostage after robbing a bank

Key word: tried

Marinette calmly slipped behind him, grabbed his tail, and dragged his butt outta there

(he blames the fast French girl and the tile on the floor, which didn't let him get a good grip)

By the time Bats and the police got there, Croc was in tears as this tiny French girl lectured him about manners and interrupting dates

(the BatFam can't think of a funnier time)

When the Joker actually kidnaps her as a way to get to Batman, literally everyone rages a rescue mission

Harley, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze (Marinette reminds him of the daughter he's always wanted, with his frozen wife), Two-Face (Marinette talked philosophy with him, showing him he still had choices beyond the black and white), Killer Crock (who was impressed by the tiny French girl who threw him out of a restaurant by his tail that one time), Batman, Robin, the Teen Titans, Red Hood, Red Robin, Wonder Woman (she could feel Tikki's influence on Marinette and guessed her identity), Nightwing, all the Avengers, Red Wasp (Chloe, with the Bee Miraculous because she earned it back ages ago), Sabine (no one messed with her baby. No one), a teenage boy wielding a potato gun (who let this kid here?), Pepper, Penny (the two women were fast friends, bonding over their husbands' eccentric ways), Jagged with Fang, Audrey Bourgeois, and the entire police force storm the Joker's hideout

He didn't have a chance

Later, they admit it was kinda funny watching the small Sabine beating the crap out of the deranged clown

Fang, who was usually a puppy with scales, didn't hesitate to bite off the Joker's hand, reminiscent of Captain Hook and the Croc

Marinette's fine (or not, depending on how much angst you want in the story. It's easy to have her tourtured and nearly killed in the Joker's clutches {or actually killed and focused on angst from everyone who knew her [possible heavy Lila/class salt]} and see her move past her PTSD) and she gets home eventually

Around this time, she's made the Guardian of the Miraculous

She eventually goes back to Paris with her huge family (or everyone she thinks could keep their emotions in check)

They kick Gabriel's arse, but Adrien gets away with his mother (who was healed by Ladybug)

Possible second book

Marinette's ship becomes the Black Cat

Time skip, fiveish years later, some of Marinette's classmates see her for the first time since she left

They insult and sass her, not changed since school

Her S/O scowls and debunks them easily, defending Marinette

When they don't stop, Marinette's S/O calls Bruce, Tony, Jagged, and the rest of the League and the Avengers to destroy the morons in the class because they know how long they've waited for this moment

Mari puts her head in her hands, but doesn't stop them because she knows how long they've waited for this moment

Three hours later, the speeches and lectures aren't done yet

Lila eventually goes to Gotham or wherever Marinette is, and tries to warn the person on her arm about Marinette's 'bulling tendencies'

That gets another lecture

Or, her class gets a tour at either SI or WE, depending on when in the story you write it (could be both, and the class just doesn't learn or Tony, Pepper, and their kids were visiting WE to talk about Mari Protection Measures when they overhear it)

Lila goes off on how Mari's S/O is actually Lila's, or how she's BFFS with Batman/Iron Man/ Bruce Wayne and his kids/ Tony Stark and his kids/ the Avengers/ the Justice League

Cue the class seeing Mari

Instant bullying

The resident children and billionaire steps up, insulting and embarrassing the class while defending Mari

Lila tries to turn it around, but they're having none of that

First the kids jump at the chance to defend their little sister and/or girlfriend, then the big guns show up

At WE, it's Bruce, a highly protective Jason, and Tim, who has every single sin/mean thing/lie pulled up in a folder

It's thicker than his hand, and hard to hold

It's both in digital and physical form and sent to every single member of Mari's family- blood related or not

At SI, it's Tony and Pepper

FRIDAY steps up, too

Harley shoots Lila with the potato gun mk 3 until she leaves

The class don't know what they did wrong, but they swear to make it up just to get the scary CEOs and relatives

Also, if anyone knows the AU where Marinette was a street kid with Jason and his little sister (I can't remember who made it or what it was called, but I fell in l o v e), that could work with this one too. Jason would be so proud of his Lil sister being so famous and awesome and "how dare you let me think you were dead!! Do you have any idea how worried I was?!" "I made you worried?! You up and nearly got killed last I checked!"

Jason swore not to tell her he actually died once. He prays she never finds out.

@tired-butterfly @evil-elf16 @doggiediva13 @krispydefendorpolice @mochegato @legallyspawned @kryptored

[ellana-ravenwood]

“I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore...” 1/3 - Batfam x Reader (Marvel crossover)

A while ago, my computer got wrecked and I couldn’t afford to buy a new one. People suggested I open a “GoFundMe” and all and I ended up doing it. A lot of peeps came to my rescue, and I was able to buy a new computer...This story is for one of the people that helped. Thanks very much, Anna, for your 35 euros. It’s a huge amount (at least to me) and it really made my life better and helped achieve the goal of a new laptop. I hope you will like this story : 

PART 2 My masterlist blog : @ella-ravenwood-archives

__________________________________________________

“Klarion, NO !!”

“Klarion yes ! Hahahaha”

“You have no idea what it will do, you-”

Too late.

But of course, as if someone like Klarion would wait and listen to the Batman trying to reason with him.

Nope, double nope. He wanted to do it, and he didn’t care much about the consequences right now, as he was too excited ! Maybe he’ll regret it later, but that was his future self’s problem !

Klarion’s laugh is the last thing you hear, as a bright light encircles you all.

Your mother instinct kicking in, you grab your nearest kid, who happens to be Jason.

Frankly, as he’s the tallest out of all your children and is even a bit taller than his father, you can’t actually do much to protect him really. But when this specific instinct kicked in, you didn’t think  about the technicalities of things, and just acted, grabbing his arm and yanking him to you. Holding him tightly, feeling like this was very important.

Damian wasn’t far either, and you were reaching for him when your world turned upside down. Your last sight was of your youngest boy trying to get to you…

A heavy dread fell on you, as you felt yourself being flung all around, clinging to Jason so you wouldn’t lose him too. Because as you saw Damian’s image fade into the light, it felt like this. Like you just lost all your kids but Jason. And lost Bruce too, while being thrown…wherever.

************

Klarion stole “Michael’s sword”.

The actual Archangel Michael.

It belonged, as of late, to Zauriel, a fellow Justice League member. But Klarion stole it, and ran away with it. And in a cruel twist of fate, he was last sighted in Gotham City and it was bestowed to your family to find him and bring the sword back. Zauriel was on his way when you caught up with the “Witch Boy”.

You found him below the city. In an old abandoned subway station, long out of use because weird things always happened in it. The city closed it down decades ago, putting all the problems it had on a disfunction in the electric system...But you knew the truth.

John Constantine took a look a while back, and said it was a place to keep an eye on as it had all the specificities to have gates open, whatever that meant really. He didn’t actually give more details...Typical Constantine.

Obviously, Klarion didn’t choose this place randomly.

Of course he didn’t.

Michael’s sword. A weapon capable of  “tearing through realities” (according to Zauriel).

A place known to be favorable to “gate opening”.

Klarion.

Nothing was random. Duh.

************

And here you were, feeling like you’d been falling for ages. Just falling and falling, or were you standing still ? 

All your senses were confused, and you couldn’t figure out wether your head was up or down. When the light finally died down, and you opened your eyes, you were…exactly in the same place ? 

Still in that old abandoned subway station.

Except it was just you and Jason now. 

The rest of your family was nowhere to be seen.

You let go of your son, who was looking very green.

Jason has always been car sick, so that weird trip across the light, not knowing wether you were up or down, must have been a nightmare for his weak stomach. 

You almost smile at the thought of what people would think if they knew the ruthless Red Hood couldn’t handle an hour car trip without getting really nauseous (and oh my God you still remember the “Dineyworld’s tea cups debacle” for his 9th birthday).

Yes, you almost smile at the thought.

But you don’t.

Because right now, your biggest worry wasn’t the fact that your kid might throw up (though you took a few steps away from him, worst case scenario, you’d comfort him after), instead, it was...where were your other children ? Where’d they go ? And Bruce ? Were they ok ?

You could only hope that just like you, they just ended up...elsewhere. But were safe. Because except for Jason feeling nauseous, he didn’t seem to have anything wrong with him. And you were definitely fine. 

At least, the thought of this was comforting. There was no reasons that you and Jason came out of “this” (whatever “this” was) unharmed, and the rest of your family would get hurt...Right ?

And that dread that took over you as the blinding light appeared came back full force. When you started to be tossed around in that “light” (or were you just standing still and everything moved around you ?), that feeling that you might lose your family forever wouldn’t leave you.

Zauriel used Michael’s Sword to change dimension, and you assumed this was what just happened, right ?

What if you all ended up in different universes ? How would you ever get back to each others ?! Oh God did that mean that Damian was on his own ?! But he was so young !! And Tim too ! 

Oh who were you kidding ? 

The fact that even Dick, who was a grown man, or Bruce, who clearly could handle himself, were alone stressed you the hell out too.

Because who knew where they’d end up ?! What if they were in a hostile world ?! You were starting to hyperventilate a little bit at the mere thought of not seeing them ever again, when you felt a comforting warm hand on your shoulder.

“Are you ok, mom ?”

This brought you back to your senses in a matter of seconds.

Every time one of your kids would try to reassure you, this motherly instinct that was always inside you would kick in. Because in your head, you were supposed to comfort them in tough times. Reassure them when they were scared.

Be there at their worst moments, ready to pick them up.

You smile at him, and take a good look around. And that’s when you start to see the slight differences between Gotham’s station and this one. 

The architecture is almost same, but the colors aren’t. And there, in the corner, instead of  the “Gotham City” you’re used to see, it reads “New York City”. Mm. Which NYC though ?

It seems like you’re in a similar world, at least the subway looked the same. But what would you find once you’d get out ? 

You turn to Jason, who looked more worried about you than the situation he was currently in, and with a smile, you say :

“Well my boy, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore...”

************

One quick look around, and Bruce knew he wasn’t in Gotham anymore.

He knew his city by heart, and though some of the architecture was similar, he was sure he wasn’t home no more. He actually was pretty certain to be in New York City.

When the light died down, and he opened his eyes, he was in an alleyway that could’ve been one in Gotham but wasn’t.

And his family was gone.

So Bruce entered his “dark mode”, as you’d call it. Where he shuts out all of his emotions and focuses on whatever the problem he’s faced with is.

It was his “defensive mode”, the one he would enter to not lose his mind. Because right now, if he was thinking for too long about the fact that you all most likely were scattered in different dimensions...he would lose it.

The chances of ever finding all of you were extremely low, even if he managed to find Klarion and Michael’s sword. There were billions and billions of different dimensions, and Bruce was already calculating the probabilities of ever finding his kids and wife again...It would most likely take him a lifetime to even just find one...

So Bruce didn’t think about that, and instead focused on his surroundings.

He was pretty sure he was in New York City. And that he was in a World similar to his original one. It wouldn’t quite make sense for Klarion to use the sword just to move through space. He could always just use magic...Mmm...This was arising another question.

Why did Klarion need the sword anyway ?

He already had the ability to travel through dimensions by opening gates. He never struggled to do it, so why would he need Michael’s sword ? Bruce was trying to think of every possible reasons, but he couldn’t quite find any.

Mainly because even if he was trying to shut down his emotions, he couldn’t help but think about what happened to you and his children. If you were harmed in any way, he had absolutely no way of knowing. Which was driving him crazy.

And what if you’ll never see each others again ? Bruce didn’t think he could survive living in a world without any of you...No. No he couldn’t think about that, or he’d crumble ! Ok. First things first.

He installed trackers in your costumes a long time ago (he was pretty sure that, except maybe for Tim, none of you knew that fact). There was a slim chance you’d all end up in the same world, but there was still a chance. Even if it was just one of you, it was better than none. 

Bruce Wayne was never really a hopeful man. Life taught him that hoping for good things to happen never ended well...But right now, as he activated the trackers, he hoped to every gods he knew that you did indeed beat all statistics and ended up in the same World.

The familiar “beep” of the trackers resonated in his earpiece. One. Two. Three. Four. And five. And...

************

Damian opened his eyes after the bright light disappeared and...He was standing on the roof of a building, all alone.

“Ummi ?”

Was the first thing to come out of his mouth. 

The last thing he remembered, was trying to hold onto you. But the light “grabbed” him and threw him all around...and here he was. 

At the top of this building.

All alone.

Was he still in Gotham ? Most likely not. His father’s briefing of the situation said that Michael’s sword had the ability to “transport” people into different dimensions. Was it it ? Was he in a different dimension ?

It looked similar enough to his. He bend down to look at the streets below. Cars, people dressed like they were dressed in Gotham, dogs on leash (of course Damian would notice the dogs). 

Yellow cabs. Mm. So he was in NYC huh ?

He twisted his neck to try to see more of what was happening down there. Maybe there were some things that weren’t quite like back home. Or maybe there would be a confirmation that he was still in his own World, but just not in Gotham anymore ?

Damian was wishing with all his might that the sword malfunctioned and send Klarion to another dimension, but only send him and his family through space, and teleported them in other places of their own world. Because if you were all scattered through multiple dimensions, how would you ever find each others ?

Even if Damian felt in his heart that nothing could stop you or his dad to find him...realistically it would still be very difficult right ? If not impossible ? 

He’d like to think that nothing was impossible for you, when you entered “full on mom mode”, but this was quite the situation. He hunched over the side of the building even further, thinking that maybe he could-

“You shouldn’t bend down that much at such a high height, buddy. If you fall, you’ll be as flat as a pizza.”

Damian turned around in one move, taking a fighting stance, ready for whatever.

In front of him was a guy, raising his hands into the air to show he meant no harm, and wearing a red and blue costume from head to toes, with...was that a spider drawn on his chest ?

************

Dick couldn’t breathe, and he couldn’t understand why.

The blinding light wasn’t enveloping him anymore, but he still couldn’t figure out where he was, or wether the world was up or down. He flailed his arms around, trying to get his balance back, but all his senses were disoriented.

Everything was so cold as well, the world around him was so damn blurry and Dick just couldn’t find an exit to it all.

He felt like he was slowly loosing consciousness when...

Someone grabbed his arm, and then he felt a similar sensation than when he was in the light, but not quite the same thing.

And all of a sudden, he could breathe again, and the world was slightly warmer.

“Mein Gott, what would make a man want to jump into the Hudson river by such a weather, I wonder !”

River ? Oh. It would make sense. Now that Dick could breathe again, and he slowly started to regain his senses, it did feel like he was in water. But after whatever that light travel was, he was just too confused to understand what was going on.

He slowly opened his eyes, and was faced with the most eclectic group of people he ever saw.

“Ya alright bub ?”

One of them asked. Dick rubbed the dirty water completely out of his eyes and finally took a good look at them, sitting up on the cemented dock they dragged him on (he assumed they were the one that got him out of the water somehow?)

The man who talked was short and stocky, very hairy too. Definitely not conventionally handsome, and yet he had an aura about him that made Dick think he must be quite a man !

Next to him, was the most beautiful woman Dick ever saw. Tall, dark skinned, incredible white hair... She looked worried about him, and if Dick had regained all his senses by then, he would have most certainly said the cheesiest pick-up line that ever existed ! Wow !

Finally, right next to her, was a...fuzzy blue man ? He had a bright friendly smile and...a tail ? Um, ok ? I mean, Dick saw weirder in his vigilante career but somehow, those three made him feel like he was actually in a dream.

However as his brain slowly started to function normally again, he just as slowly came to the conclusion that...Ah of course. Michael’s sword. Other dimensions. Mm. Where the Hell did Klarion send him, exactly ?

And were was the rest of his family ?!

************

Tim knew immediately he wasn’t in his original world.

Mainly because he was immediately faced with a tall blond guy threatening him with a hammer (????) and a massive green...man (?????) in purple shorts.

The light barely disappeared, and his eyes were just adapting to the surrounding daylight, that he heard a thunderous (haha) voice yelling :

“WHERE IS MY BROTHER ?!”

And bam, he was held upside down by the huge green man. Strangely, his hand around his ankle was rather delicate, given the size of him...Tim had no doubts that that dude could crush him if he wanted to. But for now, it seemed like holding him upside down was enough.

Tim was known to be one of the most quick witted of your family, and that was for a reason. Even as he just came out of a very confusing event, where all his senses were attacked, his brain was working a hundred miles per hours.

This was definitely not his World, his family was gone, and those two guys were definitely meta-humans (if they were humans). They were most likely some of this dimension’s heroes. Tim came to this conclusion thanks to their costume, and the fact they didn’t immediately kill him. Then again, maybe they were just waiting to question him about that “brother”, and were actually villains.

A quick look around and it seemed like this world was somewhat similar to his, as he saw cars passing by a bit further. Him and the two dudes where in a park, and given how big it looked, even as he saw everything upside down, Tim guessed it must be Central Park.

After all, this particular place was easily recognizable.

Connections were quickly made in his brain, and only a few seconds passed as he came to all those conclusions.

Ignoring the voice in his head whispering to him that his family was probably lost in other dimensions too, and  that it would be statistically impossible to ever find them again if it truly was the case, he focused on his current situation.

“Where is my brother little man ? We know he’s been in contact with you for the past few months, now tell us where he went ?!”  

Brother ? In contact with him for months ? Once again, Tim’s quick thinking definitely came in handy to him.

“I think you have the wrong person, and that we have the same end goal !”

“Is this a trick ? We won’t fall into it, if you’re working with my brother you cannot be trusted !”

“Wait let me finish ! My name is Red Robin and I’m pretty sure I’m not actually from here. I come from a place called Gotham City, and I was, along with my...sidekicks, following a guy called Klarion who stole a sword that allows people to travel through dimensions. I think he’s the guy you’re after.”

The blond man seemed to think about what Tim just said, looking at him deep in the eyes, as if trying to see if he was lying or not. It seemed like what he saw in Tim’s eyes satisfied him enough as he gestured to his friend (?) and the green dude put Tim back on the ground (once again, being surprisingly delicate for his size and stature).

“Alright, I looked into your soul and decided you were a trustworthy man. Well. Trustworthy boy, really. After all our radar indicated multiple places where gates to other dimension opened, so it means that not just my brother’s friend came in. I am called Thor Odinson, from Asgard. And this is my good partner Hulk.”

Thor ? As in…God of Thunder Thor ? Well, the hammer suddenly made sense.

“Hulk happy no smash little man. Hulk not like hurting little men.”

“Um. I’m…also happy you didn’t … « smash » me.”

Tim said a bit awkwardly, and the green giant smiled widely at him. It was kind of cute. But also terrifying. Tim turned towards Thor and asked :

“Thor ? So your brother is…Loki ?”

Thor looked surprised, and, raising his eyebrows and becoming suspicious again, asked :

“You know him ?”

“Well, not really. I just know my North mythology. Which I guess isn’t mythology in this World…Mm, interesting.”

“Do you always talk to yourself like that boy ?”

“Unfortunately, yes. Sorry about that. So. Loki. Is he the God of Mischief here too ?”

“Yes he is ! How do you-”

“Sorry to cut you off mister Thor, but I think I might know what is going on right now...”

************

“Well, I guess our only option is to go up ?”

You tell Jason, looking at the stairs that seem to be the only exit out of this place. Your son is about to reply when...he just start to stares at you, eyes wide. You barely have the time to ask what is going on that he jumps on you and tackles you to the floor, protecting you with his entire body.

And then...

Then nothing happens.  

“What the hell Jace ?!”

You say, pushing him off of you though he seems reluctant to move. 

What got into your son ? He’s looking around like a crazy person now, until his eyes focus on a specific spot and he gets one of the batarang he stole from his father out and shoots.

“OUTCH, MOTHERFUC-”

There’s a soft sound of someone falling on the concrete, and you can’t help but be very confused about what the hell just happened. Who the hell just yelled and...what ?!

Jason bolts on his feet and runs towards the source of the sound. He disappears in the shadow for a few seconds, before dragging a man out of it. 

Your son looks absolutely pissed, even though he’s the one that shot that...who was that dude ?

He was wearing a red and black costume and could very well have been a super from your World. But you’ve definitely never seen him before. He had the batarang stuck in his shoulder. In his hand he had...a laser pointer ?

And all of a sudden, connections were made in your head. Jason throwing you on the floor and covering you with his body, then getting angry, the stranger with a batarang in his shoulder, the laser pointer...You crease your eyebrow and turn to your son, hitting him on the chest.

“Don’t you ever do that again !”

“Outch, sorry mom but I thought he was going to shoot you ! What was he doing pointing a laser at you for no reasons like that anyway ?!”

“What ? No that’s not the problem, that guy’s definitely fishy. I’m mad about you protecting me by jumping in front of me like that ! What were you thinking ? If something happened to you I don’t know what...AAAAH !”

You hit him once more and turn around, trying to hold back the tears that came to your eyes and choking on your own voice. Damn it. They always did that. Your kids and Bruce. They always goddamn jumped in front of a bullet or some stupid shit like that ! Not realizing you’d rather die than live without one of them.

You already had to live through the death of almost all your sons. You couldn’t handle this kind of thing anymore. So whenever they’d do such a thing, you’d get all choke up and angry at them. How dare they...how dare they ?!

Jason was rubbing his neck awkwardly, not knowing what to do as you turned your back to him and was sniffling loudly...man, you could be so sensitive sometimes. Though he guessed the fact that he was basically ready to sacrifice himself for you was reason enough to shake you up.

He was about to reach for you when the stranger who was playing with that damn laser pointer started to move again. Without thinking about it Jason reached for him and immobilized him on the floor, saying :

“Not so fast buddy. You’re gonna tell me who you are and what you want with us ?!”

“Wow wow wow, if you want me to explain stop blocking my airways like that “buddy”. Sorry for the bad joke ok ? I haven’t been a superhero for long, I don’t know all the specificities about the job ok ? But you know what, don’t joke around with laser pointer, dully noted.”

“Jason, let him go. You’re knee is most definitely stopping him from breathing. It’s quite something he managed to say such a long sentence really...”

Reluctantly, Jason let go of the man, but kept a careful eye on him. If that guy was trying ANYTHING, especially towards his mom, he was dead. And Jay didn’t care that he promised not to kill anymore, if one of his family member was in danger, he wouldn’t hesitate !

“Pfewwww. Thank you lady, you...Oh. Wow. You’re beautiful. Do you want to ma-”

Rolling your eyes, you catch your son’s arm before he shoots yet another batarang, and make a head gesture to the stranger so he’d continue talking.

“Ok sorry, it’s your mom, I get it, you don’t like hearing about how hot she is. You’re defending your daddy’s honor...if um, there is a daddy ?”

“There is one yes. And he’s extremely jealous, and some would say violent.”

You roll your eyes again. Though Jason isn’t wrong, if Bruce was here, you’re pretty sure another batarang would have been thrown. The dude with the laser pointer continue :

“Ok ok sorry. I’ll stop now. My name’s Deadpool, I’m a hero in training and was send by the Avengers to fetch you two.”

Silence. Deadpool ? Avengers ? ...hero in training ? But “Deadpool” takes your silence as you not believing him so he adds :

“Ok ok, heroes aren’t suppose to lie either I heard. So what if I wasn’t really send by the Avengers ? And what if I’m not really in training but more like stalking them to see how they’re doing things ? Is there really a difference ? They were coming to get you anyway. I just reached you first.”

A few more seconds of silence, and as your brain is trying to work everything out, “Deadpool” starts to hum an elevator music. Jason is the first one to break the silence :

“You said “they” were coming to get us ? How do you know where we were ?”

“Ah ok so, and I know that totally not because I hacked into their surveillance system and am spying on it, but I heard them talk about dimension gates opening kind of everywhere in New York, and having to check it out. So I got one of the location, that happened to be the one that was the least specific because, I guess since you’re underground their surveillance system wasn’t as performant...like I’m pretty sure there’s lead in those walls so...maybe it’s like a certain hero wearing his underwear above his pants, can’t see through it ?”

“Did you just refer to Superman ?”

“Who ? I have no idea what you’re talking about. But in any case they’re looking above ground. I think they don’t know this old abandoned subway station exist. But I do. And here I am, finding you before them.”

“Ok um...”

“Deadpool.”

“Right, Deadpool. You keep referring to “them”, who are they ?”

“The Avengers !”

“Ok...”

“The Justice League of this universe.”

“Did you just-”

“No. I didn’t.”

“You’re-”

“I’m not. Hey now come on, Cap and Iron man are just up there, I bet they’d love to meet y’all. And maybe I’d get back on their good side if I’m the one bringing you to them.”

You exchange a look with your son, and you know you’re both thinking the same thing. There is NO WAY you’re going to follow that mad man. But then he says :

“By the way they’re not the only team that was sent all around NYC to find you and the others that arrived at the same time than you. I’m assuming you know them ? If you want to see those other guys again, you should follow me.”

Once again, you exchange a look with your son, except that this time, it’s full of hope. Could it be ? Or is he lying ? He doesn’t really have any reason to lie, after all, but what if ? Was this a false hope and you were about to get your heart crushed when you’ll realize he’s not talking about the rest of your family ? What if it’s a trap ?

You have no knowledge of this world after all, those Avengers could very well be super-villains or whatever. 

But as you look  at the man, and though you can’t really see his face with his mask...your guts are telling you he’s saying the truth. 

And so, making sure Jason was on board, you nod and follow him out of the abandoned subway station. Still being ready to fight, just in case. 

************

The trackers are on, and Bruce’s heart starts to beat like crazy.

They all turned on, and you were all very close from each others ! By some miracle, you all ended up in the same universe ! Or did Klarion plan this ?

Ah but for now, Bruce couldn’t think about that, because you were all here. In this World. Not scattered across the multiverse. He was going to see you all again. He was going to see you all again !

For some reasons, you were all converging towards the same place. Bruce’s eyes narrowed. Were you ok ? Oh if you were harmed, he was ready to let hell break lose on whoever did anything to you !

Now, his heart was beating to the rythm of his stress. 

What if you were all hurt ? What if you had been less lucky than him and fell on ill intentioned people ? Kidnapped ? What if you ended up in a part of town that was hostile ? After all, he knew nothing of this world, except for the fact it was somewhat similar to his own...but to what extent ?

Bruce’s mind was racing, raging, he was-

“Seems like he or she is already gone.”

“Ah come on Clint, we didn’t even look.”

“Well nobody is here. And honestly I don’t really fancy looking for “someone” we don’t even know in the entire city. You can though, I’ll look at you while eating pizza. There’s a great restaurant just around the corner from here and-”

Bruce, hidden in the shadows, was listening intently to the two strangers who arrived. 

One was wearing a black and purple costume, and had a bow strapped to his back. The other one was a woman, wearing all black, crazy beautiful red hear surrounding her face. 

They were clearly looking for him, and as Bruce wondered why their wrist watches started to beep. 

There was a small silence, as they seemed to listen to something, and then the man the woman called “Hawkeye” turned to her and said :

“Ah, well I guess we won’t have to search for anyone now huh ?”

“I wonder why Spider-Man is calling us back. He said it was important to thoroughly check any discrepensies the system was showing, and now...”

“Ah well you know what they say, Stark is a genius. People rarely understand geniuses. People like us. Normal, totally normal people.”

The woman scoffs and shakes her head, before saying :

“Ah well, I guess there’s some news. Come on smart ass, let’s go see what is up. They said they caught some of them, I’m curious as to what actually happened...”

Some of them ? 

Bruce’s blood froze and boiled at the same time. 

Were they talking about his family ? Looking at the trackers on his 3D map, Bruce calculated the direction the two strangers were taking and...it seemed everyone was converging to the same spot.

Without hesitating, Bruce started to follow them.

***********

“I’m not here to hurt you. What are you doing up here all alone ? ”

Damian didn’t lose his fighting stance, and eyed the man with the spider costume suspiciously.

“Who are you ?”

“Ok ok calm down little dude. I’m really not here to fight ok ? Unless you’re here to fight. Are you ?”

“Depends, do you want to fight ?”

“Not particularly. Especially not with a kid.”

“I’m not just a regular kid !”

“Yes, the mask and cape makes that much clear. Are you a super ? I’m one too, I’m one of the good guys !”

“That’s exactly what a villain would say !”

“Ah, you got me there...um...Listen, I’m really not here to fight ok ?”

“Who are you ?”

“Spider-Man.”

“Spider-man ?”

“Spider-man.”

“...You have spider superpowers ?”

“Pretty much. Anything a spider does, I can do too.”

“Spiders can do a lot of things...”

“I can do a lot of things. And even more.”

Damian detected no animosity in that “Spider-man”, and slowly disengaged his fighting stance.

“I’m Robin.”

“Ok. Ok cool. Like the bird ?”

“Yes.”

“Alright. Can you do what birds do ?”

“...Not really. Metaphorically, I guess.”

“Oh. Ok. So um, Robin, what are you doing here ?”

“I’m not sure. We were after a...bad guy, and then I ended up here.”

“We ?”

“My parents and brothers.”

“Ok ok. And where are they now ?”

Damian didn’t know why, but faced with that Spider guy, he felt all his emotions about the possible loss of his family surge all at once. Maybe it was because, even though he was fully masked, Spider-Man was reminded him of his older brothers ?

There was a sort of brotherly aura surrounding that guy.

And so Damian’s shoulder flopped down, and letting his sadness catch to him, he said, voice breaking at the end :

“I don’t know...”

Damian could feel the tears slowly rising to his eyes. It was so strange. 

But that Spider-Man made him want to show his true feelings ? Again, must be because he reminded him of his older brothers. But it was also the fact that Damian knew now that he wasn’t in his own world, and that there was a high chance he would never see his parents and siblings ever again.

And all that emotions ? Well until then he kind of kept it in check, but faced with Spider-man’s gentle voice, Damian kind of cracked. It didn’t happen to him often, that he felt like the kid he actually was. But here, in this other world, all alone...Well, he just wanted his Ummi.

And she wasn’t there. And it was scary, and lonely, and what if he was going to never see any of his family member again ?! But Damian still stayed strong. He did not cry. Though he really wanted to.

“Um ok, ok. Where did you see them last ?”

“Before the light.”

“The light ?”

And without quite knowing why, Damian started to say everything that had happened so far to that total stranger. But there was just something about Spider-Man, that made the boy instantly trust him.

Maybe it was his gentle voice, or the fact he wasn’t rushing him. Maybe it was how he first talked to him, or how calm he seemed. Or maybe it was how clearly Damian could see that he was indeed one of the good guy, and had a kind heart ? Your youngest son didn’t even talk to Spider-Man for more than a few seconds, but he felt it in his guts. 

He was definitely one of the good ones. Maybe one of the best ones. 

Damian wasn’t quite sure why, but he just trusted him.

“Ok so that would explain a lot. I’m um, from a team of superheroes ? We’re called the Avengers.”

“What are you avenging ?”

“What are we avengi...um...nothing in particular. It’s just our name.”

“Oh.”

“...Anyway. We have a defense system against invasion from other dimensions okay ? And it went haywire not long ago. Multiple gates got opened.”

“Multiple ? How many ?”

“I don’t know, a few. I just received a call from mister Stark, and he gave me your location.”

“How did you know I wasn’t a bad guy ?”

“You’re just a kid.”

“The guy who send us here is also technically just a kid.”

“Yeah well...My spidersense didn’t went on when I approached you so...”

“Spidersense ?”

“Like a sixth sense that warns me whenever a threat is about to happen ?”

“Sounds useful. And made up. Spidersense ?”

But as he thought about it further, Damian actually realized it didn’t sound that ridiculous in the end. After all, his father also had the bad tendency to put “bat” in front of every words too...

“Well it’s not made up. And it usually helps me knowing wether people have good intentions or not. And you ? You weren’t hostile. Just scared.” 

Well, that much was true...Damian really was scared. Scared to never see his family again. 

“Listen, come with me and we’ll try to clear things up ok ? Try to find your parents and brothers, ok ?” 

Yes. Yes there was definitely something in Spider-Man that reminded him of his older siblings. He had Dick’s way of talking, and Tim’s talent to find exactly the right words. But also Jason’s stupidity. Geez. “Spidersense” ?!

But all of that made Damian want to trust him. Ah, it’s not like he had much other options anyway...

************

“Wow, this is so cool ! I mean, I flew on someone’s back once, but this is so much-aaaaaaaaah- cooler !”

Damian was holding onto Spider-man’s back who was flinging from building to building thanks to his webs. They were going so fast, and Spider-man was so in control of their fall and all ! It was awesome ! 

“Haha right ? Ah look, that’s the Avengers’ tower !” 

“Oh geez, can you be more obvious ?” 

Damian couldn’t see it, but under his mask, Spider-Man blushed a bit. It’s true that the place wasn’t particularly discreet, what with the gigantic neon lighted “A” on the side of the building...

************

At first, he thought they were going to think he was crazy. But then the short hairy man said “he ain’t lying” and they just kind of rolled with it (later, Dick would learn that that said guy had the ability to “smell” when people lied). 

Plus they apparently heard weirder in their lives. Which didn’t really surprise your son much, they definitely looked like they went through many adventures.

After Dick explained what had happened to him, and his theory as to how he actually ended up in the goddamn Hudson river, they started to do some explaning themselves in return.

Dick had to admit, this was all a lot of informations for him to take in, right after almost drowning. But he was aware all of this was important. He was stranded in an unknown world, the more he knew the better it was. Even more so since he was learning valuable informations.

Like the fact that “Storm”, “Nightcrawler” and “Wolverine”  (the name of the people who saved him) were where he appeared after the defense system from a team called the “Avengers” received warnings that tears in the reality were opening kind of everywhere in NYC.

A guy named...Tony Stank ? Or something like that ? Dick received so many infos that he didn’t catch everyone and everything’s names. 

In any case, that guy settled a security system all around the World that would instantly detect any otherworldly threats after their dimension was attacked by aliens years ago (man could Dick relate...), and that’s what warned them about the tears in reality.

They told him there had been seven gates opened, and Dick’s hope went high all of a sudden. Seven ? Including him ? His mom, dad, Jason, Tim, Damian and Klarion. Plus him. Seven. Please, oh please Gods make it so that it really was his family members, and not other errors because of whatever Klarion did with the sword.

But for now, Dick climbed into a car with his saviors, hoping they’ll be able to help out find the rest of his family (if it really was them in the other gates). Thanks to “Wolverine” they trusted him, and were now bringing him to...

“So, we’re going to the...Avengers’ tower ?”

“Exactly mein Freund. It’s quite the place. Not as interesting as the Xavier Institute, but still quite the place. Wolverine here was giving us a private visit of the building. We’re not Avengers you see ? We’re X-Men, but Wolverine here is both.”

“The...Xavier Institute ? X-men ?”

“Our school for mutants. And our team of mutants.”

“Mutants ?”

“Yes, mutants. People with special abilities.”

“Superpowers ?”

“Here we go.”

The woman called “Storm” (a codename, certainly. Dick himself told them he was called “Nightwing”, just in case) rolled her eyes and said :

“Nightcrawler, relax on all the informations. The poor boy is going to be completely lost. We already told him a lot.”

Dick gave her a thanksful look. He already started to like a lot those three people, but he was having an information overdose and couldn’t follow much anymore. And so, for the rest of the way, he started to talk to them about his original world. It was more relaxing to do so, really...

************

“So you think that Klarion, is the one that communicated with my brother ?”

“I’m almost 100% sure yes, their personality seems to really fit each others.” 

“On a scale from an angry raccoon to Ragnarök, how dangerous the both of them could be together ?” 

“Well I’m not too familiar with the Loki of this World, but if he’s anything like in the mythology stories from mine ? Then we’re very close from total Mayhem indeed.” 

“So, Ragnarök.” 

“Yes, Ragnarök.” 

Tim said dramatically, as Thor’s eyebrows almost joined each others in the middle of his brow from the force with which he creased it. 

“That’s not good.” 

“You don’t say.”

“No, I do say it.” 

“It’s an expression...”

“An expression of what ?” 

“...Nevermind. So, where are we going ?” 

Tim was sitting on Thor’s back as he was...swirling his hammer around so that he could fly ? And Hulk was following them closely, jumping from building to building. 

“The Avengers’ tower. Where my friends are. They’ll find a solution for sure, they’re very smart. Like you.”

“How do you know I’m smart ?”

“Well little man, you kept your cool as Hulk was holding you upside down, and managed to form theories as to what is happening in matter of seconds. Even an idiot like me can get that you’re very smart.” 

“Thank you. I don’t think you’re an idiot.” 

“Oh believe me, when it comes to hitting things ? I’m great. But I often let my emotions overwhelm me and tend to just jump into a situation without forming a plan first.” 

“Well, at least you seem very self-aware of your flaws ?” 

“Not even ! I’m only repeating what Bruce told me.”

“Bruce ?”

“Yes, the green guy down there. Sometimes he’s Hulk, sometimes he’s Bruce.” 

“Ah, kind of like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ?” 

“Exactly like that ! Well when he’s Dr. Jekyll, he’s very smart too. And a great therapist.” 

“He’s a therapist ?” 

“No, he’s a scientist.” 

“Oh. Ok...”

There was a short silence, before Tim started again : 

“I still don’t think you’re an idiot. If you truly launched yourself in a situation without thinking, then you would have crush me with your hammer, right ?” 

Thor’s face brightened, and he turned to him : 

“Ah, you’re right !” 

“I think you’re too harsh on yourself. Don’t listen to what Bruce says, Bruces have the tendency to think they know everything but they can definitely be wrong.” 

“You know a Bruce too ?” 

“Yes, my dad.”

“Is he like my Bruce ?”

“He’s also somewhat of a scientist. And he says things like your Bruce seems to say a lot too.” 

Tim smiled at Thor, who smiled back. For some reasons, your son felt like he could trust that Thor guy. He seemed a bit too naive for his own good, for sure, but he also seemed very kind. And no matter what he thought of himself, Tim knew he wasn’t as stupid as he said he was. 

He probably just had some confidence issues (even though he was technically a damn god !), and if he was hanging around geniuses he...Oh god. Tim stopped his thinking, as he realized he was starting to sound like his father ! 

But he didn’t have time to be freaked out by that thought, as Thor said : 

“Well, we’re here ! The Avengers’ tower !”. 

************

“Ah, seems like we’re the first here. You can sit down and-” 

“DAMIAN !” 

Spider-man jumped to the ceiling in surprise, and turned to the source of the sound. It was a woman, with a costume kind of similar to the boy he took with him to the tower. And with her, was a guy he never saw with a red helmet, and...Deadpool ?! 

The boy stood up from the seat he just took, and ran as fast as he could towards the woman. And from the way she grabbed him and held him tight against her heart, Spidey guessed it must have been his mom. 

For some reason, the fact that this little one found his mom back made Peter incredibly giddy. He didn’t know that kid since very long, only a handful of hours (time for them to cross New York thanks to his webs), but he already felt oddly protective over him. As if he was his little brother or something. 

“Oh my God, are you ok ?” 

“Yes yes I’m fine, are you ?” 

The woman was now checking every inch of Robin’s body, looking for bruises and such, inspecting his face with attention. Satisfied that he seemed unharmed, she went back to hugging him, kind of suffocating the poor kid a bit. 

“I was so scared I’d never see you again...” 

Damian held you back with force, clearly sharing your fears. But everything was alright now. Well, not quite everything as most of the family was still missing. But at least, he wasn’t alone anymore. He had his Ummi back. And you always found ways to soothe and reassure him. No matter what the situation was. 

Jason approached his mom and little brother, and ruffled Damian’s hair. His heart skipped a beat as Damian let go of his mom to hug his older brother. The boy’s head barely reached above his belt (Jason really was the tallest one), but he hugged him back. 

Of course. Damian truly was afraid he had lost his family for good, so he didn’t care to keep up appearances and act as if this all thing didn’t touch him. He was glad to have one of his big brother back, he was gonna show it. 

Distracted by that heartfelt reunion, Spider-Man didn’t notice Deadpool slowly moving towards him. It’s only when the man whispered in his ear : 

“Hey Spidey...” 

That once again, he jumped to the ceiling, sticking up there with ease...And then he came back down, his mask creased in “anger”. 

“What are you doing here Wade ?!”

“Ah well you see, I found those two at one of the tears location. I found them BEFORE Cap and Iron Man. But when I wanted to go introduce them to Cap and Stark, they started to shoot at me ! At us ! So we narrowly escaped and I took them here.” 

“Of course they shot at you Wade, after what you did last time we saw you ! And how the hell do you know about the tears ? And how did you get into the building ?!” 

“Ok. What did I do last time ? Don’t remember a thing. Also for professional secret reasons I can’t answer your two other questions. What if you use my informations to infiltrate the Avengers ?” 

“...I AM an Avenger ! And you’re not !”

“Are you sure it’s not the other way around ?”

“No I-” 

“Um, excuse me, but could you two fight another time ? We have bigger problems in front of us.” 

Spidey turned around, to be faced with Thor and Hulk. And a third person he never saw before, but again, his costume was similar to Robin. 

“Tim !”  Damian saw him first, and rushed to him. And oh Tim knew that his little brother must really have been through quite an ordeal, if he was calling him by his first name AND hugging him like that. 

Well, getting thrown into a different dimension and separated from your family was quite traumatic really. So traumatic in fact, that Tim didn’t quite register immediately that by some miracle, he just found half of his family back ! 

After a few more hugs, and you not wanting to let go your two youngest son...

“Ah, it’s a cute tupperware reunion ?” 

A voice with a heavy German accent said from the entrance. Jason, who was the closest from there, got tackled first...by Dick. 

The voice was Nightcrawler’s, and he just had arrived with his friends and Dickie. And your oldest son definitely didn’t hide how relieved he was to be reunited with his little siblings and his mom. 

Only one person was missing now, but there was no reasons to think he got transported into another universe than this one. And hope wouldn’t leave you, as you thought of your husband, hoping a team of those “Avengers” reached him too...

Ah. They reached him alright. 

Right after you gave a huge kiss on your oldest son’s cheek to welcome him back, two new people entered...dragging your Bruce tied up behind them. 

What the hell ? 

Ah but of course, maybe he fell on people that were a bit more...heated than those on whom you fell (well, you admit that that Deadpool guy was quite something really) and got into a fight ? 

You couldn’t possibly see him lose though. What happened ? What power did those two persons hold to manage to catch your husband like that ? 

Oh but as your eyes met his, you suddenly realized his angle and before you could warn him that they weren’t hostile, he already entered in action. 

He got rid of the metal ropes tying him up. And as the archer and that redhead woman who brought him in just stared in amazement, he tied them up with some of his batropes, and they both fell heavy on the floor. He then managed to jump in between you and your kids, and the rest of those “Avengers” people. 

“I don’t know who you are, but know that I rigged the entire building with enough explosives to do a lot of damage, and help us escape. So let us go without any fight, and nobody will get hurt.” 

Oh man. Oh geez. It’s in those moments, that you remember how much of a badass your husband could be. You’re pretty sure there was heart in your eyes, as you just stared at him in all his glory, standing protectively in front of his family, and daring a bunch of clearly powerful superheroes to do something...

Meanwhile, the archer and the redhead untangled themselves from the batropes (proof that they were exceptional beings too) and got into a fighting stance, while the rest of them stayed completely flabbergasted as to what was happening. 

“Father wait ! They’re not bad...I think.”

“Yes just a second dad. You’re not one to jump to conclusion usually, what got into you ?” 

Bruce turned to Damian and Tim, who just talked, and, his face as stoic as ever, he said : 

“Well once I noticed we were all going in the same direction, I made myself known to them...And they attacked me without any warning. Which made my deductions as wether they were friendly or not very easy.” 

“Wait a second dude, what did you expect us to do ?! You jumped out of the shadows, dressed like a goddamn nightmare. Of course our first instinct was to fight !” 

The archer said, bow still in hand. 

That’s the moment Captain America and Iron man decided to chose to come in. And who is the first person they saw ? Deadpool, who somehow managed to sneak to the “Bat” side for some reasons. 

And then they saw Clint and Natasha in a fighting stance, and a guy dressed like a bat just as ready to throw hands. Of course, their first reaction was to-

“STOOOOOOOOOOOOOP !!” 

The loud scream took everyone by surprise, and they all put their hands to their ears...damn that was a strong voice. 

The Hulk was the one that did it. He settled himself in the middle of Bruce and the others, and just...pushed them. A tiny little push. 

They all fell flat on their ass. And you couldn’t help but laugh at the vision of your stunned husband falling over like a child. 

“You listen to little man. He knows.” 

The green juggernaut added, and he pointed to...Tim ? Oh. Oh no. Your poor baby. He had a serious case of stage fright. And there, as so many people stared at him...

But it seemed like the vision of his father and clearly powerful people falling as if they were mere keel in a bowling game had a sort of soothing effect on him. You know, like imagining your audience in ridiculous clothes or something ? 

Plus seeing how surprised his father was was quite something, therefor, a smile on his face, he said : 

“Yes. If you could please let me explain everything and hold the fighting for a little bit ? It’d be very appreciated. Thank you very much, Hulk.”

“Welcome.” 

The giant said, waving his hand as if it was nothing. 

************

You were so proud. So proud of your little boy (who wasn’t so little anymore). He had figured out what even his father didn’t think about (though he had a theory close to the one his son had, and obviously lacked some crucial details...like the fact that Thor’s brother, Loki, was involved). 

“So that Klarion guy is planning on teaming up with Loki ?” 

Clint asked, still eyeing your husband suspiciously. 

“It certainly seems like it, yes.”

“Wait a minute, Thor, I thought Loki was in locked down on Asgard ?” 

Thor suddenly became very red, and avoided the man who was called “Tony Stark”’s eyes. 

“Um yes. Well. I guess he um..”

“Fooled you again ?”

“Yes.” 

The entire Avengers team present, plus that “Nightcrawler” fella, and “Storm” lady, rolled their eyes. Clearly, it wasn’t the first time Loki did something like that. 

“So, we have to find them then...” 

“Klarion was probably the one that appeared at Brooklyn Bridge. Vision and Scarlet Witch are the one that went over there, but they still didn’t find a thing.” 

Captain America said. Bruce answered : 

“They won’t find him. Unfortunately, Klarion is a very resourceful kid. And I think I know what he wants to do with that sword now...”

“What ?”

“Well, you see, Klarion doesn’t need an artifact to travel from universe to universe. He can open gates thanks to magic. But he can only cross them alone. Well, his cat somehow is able to follow as well..but the point is, he couldn’t travel with someone else. Now with the sword ? He could just use his own powers, and his partner could use said sword. I actually think he brought us here as a test...And it clearly worked.”

“Wait, you mean that once Klarion and my brother find each others, they’ll have the ability to...travel through universes ?”

“Yes.”

“Well, that’s really not good...You were right little man, Ragnarök level.” 

There was a heavy silence as the news sunk in in everyone’s mind. Every persons present had witnessed really weird and dangerous things, in their lives, and they all came to know exactly when a situation was dire. 

And this one ? Two kings of Mayhem reunited and able to go from one universe to another ? Definitely a very dire situation...

“Well, we need to find that kid !” 

Thor exclaimed, but you shook your head, being faster than your husband to answer : 

“It’s not that easy. Klarion has certain...powers, to hide himself. None of our technology will work, and unless you guys know someone who has the power to know where everyone in the world is...It’s really not going to be easy. I guess we have to start from the Brooklyn Bridge and try to find clues and-”

“Wait. Sorry to interrupt you Darling, but I think I have an idea.” 

Bruce turned to whoever dared to call you “darling”, and glared at him. It was that short hairy guy that brought Dick back. And though you were thankful he apparently helped save your son...how dare he call you “darling” ?! And hey, HEY ! Why were you blushing ?! You never blushed when people flirted with you, you always brushed them of nonchalantly, or sometimes somewhat flirted back when Bruce pissed you off...But you never blushed ! 

“Someone who can find anyone in the World you say ? I think I know just the one.” 

Everyone was turned towards Wolverine (who seemed completely oblivious to Bruce’s glare, but definitely noticed you blushing as he winked at you...Bruce saw red, and it’s only thanks to all his sons getting a hold of him that Logan wasn’t suddenly attacked by a very angry man “twice” his size and could finish his sentence) : 

“We have to go to the Xavier Institute. And we have to talk to its headmaster. We have to go see Charles Xavier.” 

To be continued...YOU CAN FIND PART 2 HERE : clickclickclick

__________________________________________________

And here, the first part of this fic. This is basically the INTRODUCTION to this new series so it’ll most likely be the weakest chapter..it’s to settle everything ya know ? So that’s why some characters might be more quiet blahblahblah...I’m basically planning of splitting them into teams and..Well you’ll see ! This was just a small introduction to get the Batfam in the Marvel World !

I originally wanted to write just a funny one shot ya know ? But um, as usual I ended up being completely lost in my own head and wrote a plot much more complicated than I originally planned...I’m still gonna try and write some funny moments and all. I basically just will have more time to write about more characters haha. Ya wanna know something funny ? I jumped in this without knowing exactly how many parts there would be. So 1/??????, I have a feeling this will be my longest series so far, I just want the Batfam to meet so many of my fav characters...So I hope you’ll like following the Batfam traveling across the Marvel World (oh I really want to write them in the Savage Land and in Wakanda...) in pursuit of Klarion and Loki !

Aaaaah...So much for saying I’d never write series ever again huh.

[hell-heron]

Ok, go on and ramble all you wish about "patience perforce and willful choler meeting" sweets 💖💖

Oh gosh. Thanks so much for asking but omgg I'm taking seven years. Lets do in bullet point form https://archiveofourown.org/works/22016362

- I had the idea of Benvolio having given Tybalt the eye scar he has in the Italian production as kids in his first real brush with violence quite a lot ago, tho it was meant to be Bencutio hurt/comfort so I repurposed it. Nothing to do with the weird Reylo phase I had around then I swear. The scene of Romeo trying to curl up to him and Benvolio freaking out bc this is just fucking up and corrupting him more is from there too  

- I do love this one so much style wise. I really wish I could have done transitions/logistical parts more smoothly (a common problem with my writing is that I always end up setting it over too many days bc I need stuff to happen at night and the sense of time is conveyed weirdly then?? My first awful 12k production was set over years and much better paced I think) but overall I feel great about it and I'm happy I experimented with Tyvolio.

- The kids I imagine for this are like. A lot younger versions of Daibalt and the cute baby Volio from the 1968 movie, tho personality wise they take a lot from the Cocciante's Giulietta e Romeo's dynamic. I couldn't help myself but include "you're fighting with yourself" agdhsj

- I went through a LOT of titles. the Google doc was called Little victims after, I'm ashamed to say, that Emis Killa song that goes "two world that should always be apart/that of children and that of grownups/mixing them makes the worst damage in the best years/turns little victims to big bastards". But I also considered "Rondinini", baby swallows, from X agosto which you know (could actually be a good team name for the Batfam AU...) some lyrics from, I shit you not, French Nightmare before Christmas that's like "there are too many good children here/we prefer the rabid ones" and some basic Shakespeare stuff like "drawn and talk of peace" and "hell all Montagues and thee". But I really loved this one bc its both a badass Tybalt quote and, on a symbolic level, a good description of the kids

-I have NO IDEA what's up with weird 14 yo edgy atheist Volio beyond the fact he's just a fucking plague in this fic. Maybe Contrast to Tybalt's well known sexy and catholic vibes

- I seriously considered switching the whole thing to modern AU for the sake of the poor soul this was from several times. Implying Volio having to break in Tybs' hospital room yeah... and the Lammas'eve ball here was the street party for Italy's victory at the 2006 world cup which I'd rather not comment the Projecting levels

- I feel REALLY bad about how I ship Vincenzo and Sandro now bc the implication here is definitely that the kids' dads somehow stabbed each other to death lol. And I don't think i made it was clear but the idea is Benvolio did see that, but he has a kind of mental block because he really couldn't handle that memory, and the fact he would be expected to want revenge if he knew

- I really kind of wish I had Tybalt's POV here bc it would really change how the final scenes came off I think. He wants someone to love him and take care of him so badly but he has no self worth and doesn't really think he can have that without being Humiliated, and there's this conflict between Benvolio just having naturally a soft and comforting personality so he would be ideal but also scaring him because he's an Enemy and the one who hurt him and Definitely Judging Him. And he absolutely can't be alone and needs to aggressively pack bond, which tbh Benvolio is definitely heart eyed by how affectionate and protective with the girls he is

- Mayhaps projecting but... Tybalt is in a phase where he really feels that he isn't growing up properly. That he's passing the age where all that matters is being good with a sword and he just doesn't know who he is beyond that very structured role and how like... reputation or common sense work (contrasted to Benvolio who is hyperaware of it in a really unhealthy way but ofc Tybalt doesn't really know how much he's bullshitting too under all the Perfectionism) So he's used to being considered stupid and he's already taken being not particularly wanted by anyone for granted long ago so he really really really doesn't want to think about what happens when he isn't doing his one job anymore.

- Lord C definitely uses things upsetting Juliet which definitely didn't do any of that kind as an excuse to beat up Tybalt so often. Mostly bc its the only way to make him feel guilty enough to stop being fighty for five seconds. Sigh

[ranger-jedi-knight]

I Was Lost Until I Found You. Part 1

Link to AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22340749/chapters/53368603

Ok, so I fell in love with another ship. This baby of an OC, named Xander, is just a lovable dork that all my friends on discord loved seeing be with Damian. Then I thought about how cute theyd be with Mari n this happened. So I just had to write it. So I hope you enjoy seeing the three together yourselves. I had fun writing it!(next fic will just be Xander n Dami)

P.S. Xander and Damian are the same age, just Xander is a few months older than Damian. Mari is a year younger than them.

When Xander was 14, he discovered he had two soulmates. He learned it by finding something from his new, in a sense, soulmate. He knew it was from them cause it wasn’t something the other lost usually. His first soulmate usually lost pens, notes, and the like. Not that. Underneath his bed was a knife, and it wasn’t a kitchen knife.

It was a dagger.

Something used to hurt and kill.

That wasn’t something his, now known to be French, soulmate lost. Seeing the knife freaked him out. He lost it pretty quickly after that since he didn’t want to have to explain it to his sisters.

Right now though, he wished he had kept the dagger. In front of him was Joker in all his clown glory. Xander was worried, the clown was walking toward him and he knew that meant trouble. He couldn’t fight Joker himself, he was defenseless. He tripped going backward and Joker’s smile grew bigger. Xander looked around and found a Batarang, he was really glad that the Batfam lost one. He picked it up and threw it at Joker.

Joker grunted when it hit him in the stomach, but didn’t react in any other way. He pulled out some cards and Xander scrambled back. He could hear sirens in the distance getting closer, but he knew they would be too late. He was alone with Joker. He had no one to help him. He scrambled backwards, and stumbled up to his feet. Joker laughed as he prepared to throw his cards.

The police and batfamily arrived just in time to see Joker launch the cards. Xander raised a hand out to them.

They rushed forward.

But they could only watch as the cards flew towards him.

Only watch as Xander jerked as the cards hit. A chocked out shout left him. He was mid-stride when they hit. He fell to the ground as Joker laughed maniacally behind him. His vision was blurry. He could feel a card dig into his neck. He reached a hand out toward the bat family. To his sister with the officers.

“Xander!” Alya shouted and went forward but Nightwing stopped her. “Let me go! He needs me!” she shouted, tears going down her cheeks. She could only watch as Xander look at her before his hand and head drop back onto the ground, not a sound leaving him. “No! Xander, please!” she shouted and cried. The other members went forward to attack Joker while Nightwing stayed with her and hugged her, keeping her away from Joker.

“No!” everyone was confused at her shout. Joker was tied up, still smiling. They looked back and were shocked. Nightwing was looking around confused while Alya was on her knees sobbing, right where Xander was.

Was.

The only thing that remained was one of Joker’s cards. Xander’s body was nowhere to be found.

~~~~~~~~~~~~(⋟﹏⋞)~~~~~~~~~~~~

Damian Wayne knew he had two soulmates since he was with the League. He just wasn’t allowed to keep anything. When he moved in with Bruce, he got to keep the things he found. He got to keep the sparkly pens his french soulmate lost. He got to keep the mechanical pencils, little doodles, and little trinkets his other soulmate lost.

He felt his breath catch as he stepped into the dining room for breakfast. His family turned to him worried. They watched as he picked up a familiar teal sweatshirt. Damian turned it to look at the back and he swallowed the lump in his throat. The back was covered in blood and had holes in it. “I....I need air,” he said walking outside still holding the sweatshirt. He leaned against the railing, the sweatshirt laid across it next to his arm.

Alfred walked outside and placed a hand on his back. “I’m sorry you found out like this, Master Damian,” Alfred said and Damian nodded.

“Yeah. I just....how do I tell our other soulmate what happened?” he asked and Alfred hummed at that.

“I’m not sure, Master Damian. But, I can fix and wash this for you,” he said picking up the sweatshirt and Damian nodded.

“Thank you, Alfred,” Damian whispered and Alfred nodded.

“Of course. Why don’t you eat something? I’m sure your family will want you to be strong as you look for him,” Alfred replied in the doorway and Damian gave a nod, the barest of smirks on his face.

“Of course,” he replied.

~~~~~~~~~~~~(⋟﹏⋞)~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mari stared in horror as a bloody shirt appeared on her desk in class. Everyone was looking, equally scared and sympathetic. Even Lila, the girl that vowed to make her life hell, was sympathetic. Alya and Nino led Mari out of the room while Adrien took a plastic bag from the teacher and put the shirt in it. They then cleaned the desk so that when Mari came back calmer, she wouldn’t panic.

Mari was pale when they came back in. She barely restrained herself from shaking. Ms. Bustier nodded and Adrien grabbed their things along with the bag and took her home. Where a note then appeared on the table saying what happened, from her other soulmate.

~~~~~~~~~~~~(⋟﹏⋞)~~~~~~~~~~~~

After a year and a half since Xander disappeared, Damian found something that wasn’t from their french soulmate. But it was something that didn’t reassure him. He took a picture of it and lost it quickly, knowing what would happen if he didn’t. He also put on a note in french in case it went to their french soulmate. Once that was done he went to find his family. They were in the kitchen making a cake for Alfred’s birthday. He handed his phone with the picture pulled up already.

“Is that...?” Tim asked, trailing off and Damian nodded. “But how?” Damian glared at the ground.

“Xander lost it, that’s how. The League took him,” Damian said and a snap rang out. Jason dropped the broken spoon he was holding.

“I thought we were fucking done with them,” he growled out and Damian shook his head.

“Apparently not,” Damian said.

“Done with who?”

They turned and saw Jason’s soulmate, who also happens to be Xander’s sister, waiting in the doorway. She was holding a bag of cake decorating items. She set the bag onto the counter and pushed back her red bangs and looked at the phone Jason was holding. “What’s with the dagger?” they all shared a look.

“That was...lost by Xander. He was taken by....by mother,” Damian said slowly and watched as Lana leaned against the counter, her mouth opening and closing as what he said sunk in.

“Will...do you…” she tried asking a question but couldn’t get the right words out. She swallowed the lump in her throat and looked at Damian. “Do you think he’ll make it?” she finally asked as Jason set a hand on her shoulders.

“I’m not sure. We can only hope,” Damian said and Lana nodded at that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~(⋟﹏⋞)~~~~~~~~~~~~

Xander gripped his head with a groan and stumbled into a wall. There were shouts. French. Hands. Hands were over him. He knocked away all the hands that were touching him and slid to the ground. He blinked several times, clearing his vision, his hearing was buzzing, nothing truly making sense. But he slowly regained function in seeing and hearing.

“-he’s wearing strange clothing. Where’s he from?” a boy asked.

“He has weapons on him! He’s a mercenary!” a girl said fearfully.

“Hey! Stop it. We don’t know if he can understand us. Not to mention, he doesn’t seem aware of where he is either!” a girl said. He looked up and saw a petite french girl with blue-tinted hair standing in front of him. Her hands on her hips as she scolded the classroom.

“He’s a danger! Why would you protect someone like him, Marinette? Oh wait, I know why. You’re his soulmate!” a girl with sausage hair cried and people started glaring at the girl defending him. Marinette, the name fit her.

“Of course your soulmates with a dangerous person. It fits,” Alya spat glaring at her ex-friend.

“We don’t know anything about him, Lila, Alya. We shouldn’t assume anything. What if he’s a hunter? Or perhaps he uses those to defend himself from threats? Hmm? Who knows where he came from,” Marinette said.

“I don’t even know where I came from,” Xander replied back softly in french and the class looked at him shocked. Marinette kneeled beside him.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“I....I was taken from my home, I think. Everythings...fuzzy. Bad people took me. I...I remember a name, Nanda Parbat. But I don’t...I don’t know what or where that is,” he said, his brow furrowed in confusion and frustration. People around the classroom looked sad at that. “Where am I? What’s the year?”

“You’re at Collège Françoise Dupont, in Paris, France. Your name is Xander, isn’t it?” she asked and Xander nodded slowly. “You...you disappeared two years ago. Two years ago today, your bloody shirt, this one to be exact,” she pointed to the shirt she was wearing, it was his, she fixed up the holes, “appeared before me. Our other soulmate found your sweatshirt,” she explained softly. The class looked shocked at that. To learn this teen, who appeared out of nowhere, wearing strange clothes and carried weapons, was the same teen that lost the bloody shirt. They watched his face fall as he learned that. It turned pained then turned to confusion. “What?” she asked softly.

“I-I don’t understand. I-I remember that day. I...I should be dead. Joker killed me. I know it,” he said and that had the class gasping.

“Ms. Bustier, can I take him to my grandfather? He’d be able to help,” Mari asked and Ms. Bustier nodded.

“I’ll help,” Adrien said gathering all their stuff and walking behind Mari as she helped Xander up and lead him out. They soon reached Master Fu’s place and entered. Fu looked at them confused as they brought in a confused teen.

“Master, he’s my soulmate. But,” she trailed off and he nodded.

“I feel it too. Come, sit down,” Fu said and Xander nodded and sat down in front of Fu. “I feel the twisted magic of the Lazarus Pit on you. You must have been revived using it. But it’s left a twisted and corrupt aura on you. We’re lucky it hasn’t messed with your mind much yet. We can heal you of this aura,” Fu explained and Xander nodded. Fu then had him lay down on a mat and began working. “Marinette, you need to become Ladybug to purify it,” Fu said and Marinette glanced at Tikki who nodded. She transformed and Adrien stood back with Plagg and Wayzz, watching them work.

Once they’re done, Xander is sitting again but is gripping his hair. Mari’s transformation drops and she pulls Xander to her. “What do you remember?” she asked and Xander gasps as tears fall.

“I hurt so many people. I’ve dont so many horrible things when I was with them,” he gasped out and Mari shushes him gently.

“It’s ok. You had no choice. We don’t blame you,” she whispered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~

For a month since Xander returned, he’s stayed with Mari and her family to heal. She told their other soulmate he was ok now. She was told that his sisters were grateful to know that. He went to class with Mari and Adrien and Chloe. But they soon learned he didn’t need it since he was ahead of them. He could technically be transferred into Luka’s class, but he didn’t want to. He’d rather stay in the same class as his soulmate. She helped him stay calm when he had panic attacks.

Which were sadly, pretty often. But that was because of Lila. She would lie about her soulmate and bring things up that Xander asked not to around him. But Lila didn’t care. And Ms. Bustier didn’t try stopping her even though she can see how Xander reacts.

But thankfully, with Xander’s help, they take Hawkmoth done at the end of the month. After that, Xander, Mari, and Adrien all moved to Gotham. Chloe would follow soon after. Everyone at the airport was tearing up at seeing Xander hug his sisters tightly, all three crying and falling to the ground. Most everyone in Gotham knew of how he disappeared.

After that, they took him to see, meet really, his other soulmate, Damian Wayne. They reached Wayne Manor and standing outside waiting, was the Wayne family. Mari led Xander over to Damian with a smile when the exited the car. “Xander, this is our other soulmate, Damian,” she said and Xander smiled.

“Hey,” he replied.

“I’m glad you’re safe. I was worried when I learned of where you were,” Damian said and he nodded at that. Mari pulled them into a hug. She could see Damian wanted to, but was hesitant. Damian wrapped his arms around the two and pulled them as close as possible.

Ok, so. This happened. This was cute. But man, damnit, I was tryin to do funny/cute all the way. But my friends got me in an angsty mood. But, I hope you liked it. The next chap WILL be an alternate of pure hilarity and cuteness between the three ok? Cause I was really wanting to do that with this type of soul bond. See ya soon! -Love Willa<3<3<3

[miraculous-trinity-leo]

Whacky Gotham, Goofy New York, and Chaotic Paris.

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6) (Part 7) (Part 8)

Chapter 6: Evade The Bats, and Beat The Crows

•—–—–·†·–—–—•

The girls are in the old living room setting up clues (that are absolutely... useless) around Gotham. One being a picture Harley and Multimouse took earlier that day.

"They might think to look here after they realize the clues are fake." - Steph

"Then where else would they not think to look?" - Maria

"W.E, I can get you and Harley in without them knowing easily." - Barbara said with a confident smile.

"But they'll have to go incognito... especially you Harley, no offense, but your outfit stands out just a tad." - Steph

"Ehhh, none taken, I'm sure I can tink of somthin' else tuh wear." - Harley

"I can help with that, but I'll need some clothes and some sewing supplies." - Maria said already thinking of what she could make.

Cass gave a nod and headed out of the room, after a few minutes she came back with t-shirts, jackets, sweaters, shorts, jeans, etc. and droped the pile of clothes infront of the group. She then handed Maria a sewing set she got from Alfred.

"Thanks Cass. I'll get to work on making our costumes." - Maria

"Let me help yuh wit' dat hun." - Harley said as she picked up most of the clothes for Maria

"Thanks." Maria

•—–·Let's see the Chaos shall we·–—•

"You never told us she could use magic!" - Red Hood looking under the table

"I wonder if she can infuse magic with coffee..." - Red Robin said looking in the cabinets for the third time.

"Stop looking for coffee!" - Red Hood

"She could've hidden in here." - Red Robin said while crabbing a mug

"I haven't had enough sleep to deal with this." - Selina then walked over and flopped herself on the couch and proceeded to fall asleep on impact.

"Maria get your tiny self back here right now or else!" - Tony

"Or else what? She Knows MAGIC! What else does she know that you haven't told us?!" - Red Hood

"... I never told you becuase it's meant to be a secret!" - Tony

"Oh, so now you agree with keeping things a secret?" - Red Robin grabbing the coffee

"What else can she do Tony." - Batman

"Well... she's great with tech, can kick butt in a LOT of different ways, has magic, and if she wants to, she can find and know where everyone or anyone is, but I think she gets massive headaches from a wide search like that." - Tony

"Anything else?" - Batman

(Tony thinkng of all the tiny gods she has in jewelery, and that she keeps Paris/friends and family safe on a daily basis, and that she is the well known designer MDC...)"No..." - Tony

As ivy was listening to them talk, she continued to search her garden, until one of her plants had a message fo her.

"Hello Ms. Ivy, please don't help Batman and Iron Man find us, we promise we'll be careful." - Maria

"Where are you?" - Ivy asked whispering into the plant.

After a few minutes Ivy got a detailed plan that Maria, Harley and the girls came up with to evade The IronBat group (Maria thought that would be better than ManMan group 'But it's Bat MAN and Iron MAN, so it has tuh be The ManMan group.' was Harleys defence, but Maria won that one.) and Ivy agreed to help as best she could.

•—–· Over to the Miraculous gang ·–—•

Plagg is cackling like there's no tomorrow.

"Guys something must be wrong, Plagg won't stop cackling, he won't even touch the cheese I gave him!!!" - Adrien

"There's no time for that, we need to find out where the hell Maria is!!" - Chloé

"Hahahaha, Ti- heheh Tikk- pffhaaaaaaahaha!!!" - Plagg

"He's trying to form words!" Adrien cradling Plagg in his hands "What is it my friend? Don't do this, you're to young...*sniff * you're to beautiful!"

"Hehehehe Shhhh- hahaha, she- she- haha...heheh- I'm so p-hehe-Proud wahahaha " - Plagg

"Proud?! She?! Where?! Who, is it Maria?!" - Chloé

"Hhhhhhhhahhaaaaaaaaaa" - Plagg

"Oh God he's wheezing!" - Adrien

"Hey guys, Peter and I got the snacks, found out where Maria might- oh kwami." - Alix walking into the room to a zombie looking Chloé, a panicked Adrien and the Kwami of death/bad luck/chaos laughing himself to death.

"Has he finally lost it?" - Peter

"She has become a true cat! hahahahahaaaaa heheheheeeeeee." - Plagg

Everyone in the room but Plagg "Oh fu-"

•—–· Over to the Batfam ·–—•

So everyone is panicking because for the past hour none of them could find Multimouse. Robin is sitting on the couch next to a now fully awake Selina, Red Hood and Nightwing are once again feeding each other the worst possible situation she could be in, Tony may or may not be hyperventilating, Red Robin is drinking coffee, and Batman is as stoic as ever... well on the outside anyway, on the inside, it's a warzone. Ivy is drinking her tea, slightly worried, but also hiding a small smile.

"What if we ask Oracle to try and help us find her?" - Red Robin

"... Right... Yes, ok let's do that... Bats you do it, I need to sit down." - Tony

•—–· Back to the girls ·–—•

The girls moved everything to the Bat-cave so they could set the route they would take, then the Bat-Computer started ringing.

"Hide!" - Steph

"Where, dere's nuttin' tuh hide behind!" - Harley

"Quick under the Bat-Computer." - Barbara

As soon as Harley and Maria hid under the Bat-Computer, Batman and the rest of the Batfam was on video call.

"Hey guys, what do you need?" - Barbara acting like nothing happened

"We need you to search for Maria, she's in a dark gray suit with pink accents, and she's with Harley." - Batman

"Ok, no prob, I'll contact you when I've found something." - and with that Barbara exited the call.

"Should we start heading out?" - Maria

"Yup, and here are your ID badges, don't lose them. I'll give our Batfam fake sightings, and lead them far away, then once you reach W.E I'll slowly start leading them closer to you." - Barbara

"Thanks, keep in touch if they decide to split up." - Maria

"Roger that." - Steph said giving a solute

•—–·–—•

Soon Multimouse and Harley are running over roof tops again, doing tricks, and stopping petty crimes, Barbara is leading the Batfam all over Gotham, and then they got to W.E, after Maria transformed back, they entered the building. Thanks to Babs, they entered without any problems and had free roam for the entire building, with some exceptions like new weapons designs, or the roof. They were hiding in the building for about an hour on the 7th floor when Barbara called in.

"Hey girls, you might want to be careful, I spotted some of Scarecrows goons a few blocks away, they seem to be heading in your direction, I'd say about 6mins tops until they reach W.E. Best to find a good room to stay in, or get out of there." - Barbara

"Thanks fawh de heads up Babs." - Harley

"Ok, we'll try to get out, let us know if we should turn back or not." - Maria

"Got it, and be careful." - Barbara

Maria and Harley then made their way back down, they were taking the stairs, because they figured it would be quicker, once they were on the second floor, they started to calmly make their way through the doors of the stairwell. That's when Scarecrows goons busted in, shouting for everyone to get down, Harley made sure to stay as close to Maria as possible as the goons gathered everyone to a wall. They were told to not move, talk, or do anything to anger them, once everyone was up against the wall, that's when Scarecrow came in. As he entered the room some of the employees started to look very scared, when Maria looked over to Harley, she saw her mouth 'it's ok', afterwards the goons had them all tied up and on the floor sitting down. Scarecrow scanned them before speaking.

"One of you will be testing my newest and most potent fear toxin as of yet. We can do this one out of two ways." He said lifting up two of his needle syringed fingers. "1. You can be a hero, and let yourself be my newest test subject, aka the boring way or 2. I pick whoever I want, aka the slightly less boring way. Now, who wants to go first?"

•—–· Over to Batman ·–—•

The Batfam was running around the other side of Gotham, now without Tony, because someone ( ehem Thor, ehem) was making a giant mess at Avengers Tower, and was fighting Loki... again. It was when they decided to call Oracle that things took another turn.

"Oracle have you foun- " - Batman

"They're at W.E. and Scarecrows there, I can't get in contact with them, and I can't get into the cameras at the moment, I need you to get your butts over there now!" - Oracle

"Wait you were in contact with them?!" - Red Hood

"Not the time! Just get over there before someone gets hurt!" - Oracle

"We're on our way." - Batman

They all then kicked it into high gear and were running to W.E, and out of everyone, Damian seemed to be the most visibly panicked, if him running twice as fast as everyone was any indication. At the speed they were going, they would be there in 20mins or less... hopefully.

•—–· Back to Maria and Harley ·–—•

So while Scarecrow was giving his little speech, Maria whispered into a plant to let Ivy know their situation, she wasn't able to get an answer before she and Harley were pulled away from the crowd.

"And what do we have here? Harley Quinn and a child. How interesting, well then, which one of you would like to test my new fear toxin?" - Scarecrow

"Eh, do me, I bet I got a lot o' trauma and fears from my time wit' Mistuh J. dat yuh would just love tuh see." - Harley

"... As tempting as that sounds I think I'll test it on your little friend here, after all, I know better than to mess with one of the Sirens." - As Scarecrow said that, one of the goons dragged Maria over to him. She didn't panic, she was actually really calm, which worried Harley even more because, remember all that emotional trauma she saw Maria had? Yeah, not the best match for the fear toxin.

As Scarecrow grabbed Maria, she locked eyes with Harley, and gave a brief smile before she felt a sharp jabbing pain in the side of her neck. Her vision went hazy, and from Harleys' point of view, she went a little limp from it.

As Maria started to see again she could hear screams, car alarms going off, and explosion in the distance, when she looked up, she saw them, her friends, her team... her family, they were all there lying infront of her... none of them moving, all of them were lifeless, looking as though turned into a gray husk of what they once were, and beside them were all the Kwamis, and their respective Jewelery, broken and shattered. She felt the tears fall as she looked around. Paris, the once beautiful city of lights, was now a wasteland, everything had a gray tone to it, people, animals, everything that had life... was dead.

And then she heard laughing, a sick disturbing laugh that was all to familiar... Lila. When she turned and saw Vulpina, she felt sick just looking at her.

"You have failed Maria, everyone you knew and loved is gone, all because you weren't here." - Lila

All she felt in that moment... was pure anger, she began to struggle, but somthing was holding her. She kept hearing that stupid laugh, and kept struggling harder and harder.

"You were never good enough, you were meant to always be our everyday Ladybug, but you never were, you never cared for us, and that's why, they're all gone, because you weren't good enough." - Lila

The last four words kept playing over and over in her head, until something clicked, she wasn't in Paris, so how did she get there? The last place she was at... was with Harley, she was in the W.E. building, and had fear toxin injected into her. As she came to that realization, she could hear the laughing fade just a bit, she closed her eyes and focused on finding everyone's souls, when she did, she saw that Scarecrow was right infront of her, a goon next to Harley, and a goon behind her, the other goons had left and were on the first floor. She snapped back when she heard Lilas' voice again.

"You always were stubborn and never accepted the real truth, as class president aren't you supposed to just roll over and do as you're told." - Lila

Maria was done listening to her, and decided to kick Lila in the face (since someone didn't think to tie up her ankles.)

"Just go rott in hell already you lieing fox!" - Maria

Maria didn't get any answer, all she knew was that she hit whatever was really infront of her hard. Maria then heard Lilas' voice morph into a heavier, more distorted voice.

"That's a first, guess I'll have to increase the dosage." - Scarecrow

She then felt another jabbing pain in her neck, all she could do was scream from the pain, her head was spinning, and all she could hear was laughing, sickening laughter that came from both Lila, and now Hawkmoth. One thing Scarecrow didn't account for, was the deep hatred Maria held for both individuals he made her see. Because soon after he gave her more fear toxin she got her footing, pushing back into the goon behind her before using the goons' grib on her to do a half backflip into kicking the guys face in, quickly knocking the goon out, when she stood back up she only saw Hawkmoth, surrounded by her lifeless team and family, she only saw red, and charge right at him. She kept punching and roundhouse kicking him, giving one final charge, ramming into Hawkmoth before she felt weightless. She never heard the panicked scream Harley let out, she never heard the shouts that came from the Batfam just reaching the second floor, before she hit something... something rapped around her holding her from falling any further, causing her to start thrashing around thinking it was Hawkmoth, before seeing he was also grabbed by something. She struggled ignoring the slight pain that went through her harms and legs. She slowly calmed down as she felt her feet touch the ground again, she then saw another Hawkmoth that was now mixed with Lila hug her, she tried to break free, but realized that it wasn't Lila or Hawkmoth... It was calming, and her voice was gentle, it was Ivy. She only heard a few words, that's when she felt something blow on her face, and after a few seconds, she lost conscientiousness.

Harley came sprinting down and was by Ivys' side in less than a minute. Ivy could tell Harley was worried and joined her in hugging a now sleeping Maria.

"I'm sawhry Ives, It all just happened so fast, and she was so awesome at kickin' Cranes @ss, I din't get her out of dere quick enough." - Harley said as she looked Ivy in the eyes, with tears threatening to escape.

"It's alright Harley, none of this is your fault." - Ivy replied comfortingly to Harley

As the two hugged Maria Batman came over.

"We'll take it from here." - Batman

"Hell no. We ain't leavin' her side." - Harley

Batman just let out a sigh, after he dealt with Scarecrow and his goons, Batman, along with his sons, Ivy and Harley, all headed back to the Bat-cave where the other girls and Alfred were waiting.

If anyone noticed Robin looking over to Maria with a concerned look, they just ignored it, and continued their way back home.

•—–·†·–—•

Chapter 6 complete! Hope you'll liked it, and are havin' a fantabulous day, stay safe and rock all those positive vibes. !BUG-OUT! 🐞💮🐞

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[thepackwantsthed]

batfam-sitcom

replied to your post

“I absolutely adore the Griffin x Lance story you're doing, would it...”

GOD I JUST WANT MORE I NEED THIS CONTENT BLESS YOU

Of course!

Here’s what I plan on being the final part for my Lance x Griffin au. Though, obviously, if anyone wants something specific after this part, I’m open to writing more. 

Part Seven | AO3

They send rescue teams out to each of the crashed Lions. Most people in the Garrison think it's pointless, believe that the Paladins are all dead, but they have to go to check, to make sure, to be there on the off chance that the Paladins are still alive.

That doesn't stop Griffin and Veronica from racing to the team that's being sent out to the Red Lion. There's only room for one of them to join the team sent to check on Lance. While Griffin knows Veronica loves Lance just as much as he does, he's fully prepared to knock her out if it means he gets to go out there.  Griffin has been trying very carefully not to think about what state they're likely to find Lance in, but he's not stupid. And whether Lance is dead or alive, he's determined to be there when they extract him from Red, determined to be there for the boy he loves whether he knows it or not. Later, Griffin will admit to Veronica just how far he was willing to go to get that seat and Veronica will laugh, slinging her arm around him and telling him that its cute that he thought he could knock her out.

In the end, there are no fisticuffs. The two of them get there within moments of each other, but Veronica must see something in his eyes because after a moment of staring at each other she backs downs. Tells him to bring her little brother back to her.

Griffin tells her that he will even though he knows he can’t promise that. He tells her that he will because he’s hoping desperately that he can.

Halfway to the Red Lion's crash site, Keith wakes up. Hunk comes next, then Princess Allura. The three of them manage to climb their way out of their Lions, heavily injured but still able to get out.

The Red Team has almost reached the Lion when Pidge wakes up. She's been knocked around pretty badly and thinks she has a concussion, something which the rescue team convince her means she needs to stay put and wait for extraction rather than fighting her way out the way the others did, but she's okay.

It gives Griffin some kind of hope. Red and Green are similar sizes. If Pidge, who is significantly smaller than Lance, can get out of this, than maybe Lance has gotten out of this mess im bad shape, but still okay.

Lance is not okay.

Between the crash with Veronica, the battle against the bases the Zaiforge cannons were at, the battle against Sendak, the blast his Lion had taken after the shielding, getting up and pushing himself after that before then others, the battle against the Altean Mech, and then the fall....

The Red Lion was made to withstand fire and lava, but she's small and she had already been beaten all to hell when the crash happened. She had never stood a chance at protecting the Paladin flying her, but especially not when her pilot had already been beaten to hell and back.

And Lance is very much not okay. He's the only one of the Paladins that doesn't wake up at the crash site, the only one that needs extraction because their knocked out, the only one that they have to prep an emergency surgery room for.

But he's breathing and Griffin tries to hope for the best as he watches them airlift Lance out of the desert, trying to get him to surgery to repair the organs punctured by his shattered ribs.

But it's hard to have hope after everything and Griffin doesn't know if he'll have any left after this. He knows he won’t if Lance dies.

Griffin doesn’t leave Lance’s side until he’s woken up.

The Garrison tries to tell him he has to come back for a briefing with the other MFEs pilot. They send Iverson, because Iverson had taught Griffin for years and he admires the man. Griffin bites his head off just for stepping into Lance’s hospital room - because Griffin admires Iverson, but Iverson was shit to Lance when they were in the Garrison and he has no right to be there - and then he tears into him for daring to suggest that Griffin leave the boy he loves when there’s no guarantee Lance is ever going to wake up, when he could slip from between Griffin’s fingers any moment. He attacks him so viciously, with nothing but words, that Iverson takes a physical step backwards.

Luis, Lance’s brother between Veronica and Marco, lets out a low whistle when Iverson is walking out. Griffin ignores him as he settles back into the chair next to Lance’s bed, taking Lance’s hand in his and pressing soft kisses against his knuckles.

Nothing is pulling him away from Lance, not this time.

The McClain’s rotate through the room, one of them always with Lance and Griffin. Everyone from Lance’s father to Veronica to Lance’s cousin Isabella to Marco’s children assures Griffin that he can leave for a little while, that they’ll be sure to tell him if something happens.

Griffin waves each of them off, shaking his head. They are a family and it’s easy for them to trust that another family member will take care of Lance, will watch over him in a way that only family can. Griffin grew close to the family after Veronica brought them to the Garrison together, brought together by the love they have for Lance and the desire to talk about him with people who really knew him, but he can’t trust that he won’t get lost in the McClain’s insane family phone-tree.

They seem to understand, though.

Griffin finds himself a little surprised when they start taking care of him the way they take care of each other. Veronica comes to relieve Lance’s father after a shift at the Garrison and brings Griffin a burger and fries from a nearby fast food restaurant. Marco’s wife comes in with the kids, she’s supposed to be relieving Marco and sending the kids off with him but they wanted to see uncle Lance for a while, and the kids crawl onto Griffin immediately, trying to comfort him the way they comfort their father and grandparents and Luis and Veronica. Luis relieves Lance’s mother, bringing with him a bag of deodorant and toothpaste and other small hygiene products for Griffin to use in the tiny bathroom connected to Lance’s room.

It’s nice. He understands why they mean so much to Lance. Griffin loves his family, but they aren’t close like this. He hopes that one day he’ll get a chance to be part of this family, to become a McClain the same way that Marco’s wife has.

A week passes.

Lance wakes up with Griffin on one side of him and his father the other.

Griffin watches as Lance’s father ducks down, tears streaming down his face as he embraces the son he thought he had lost, and gathers Lance in his arms for a tight hug.

Griffin feels so profoundly relieved and happy that he starts crying as well. 

And when Lance’s father lets him go, Lance looks over at Griffin. He calls him love in this soft affectionate voice as he reaches up to wipe tears from Griffin’s face and apologizes for scaring him. Griffin just shakes his head, squeezing Lance’s hand harder. Lance’s father slips out of the room phone in hand so he can call his wife and Valentina, and Griffin barely notices because he’s so focused on Lance. He leans in to press his lips against Lance’s, kissing a boy that he was worried he’d never get to kiss again. And when he pulls away, he rests his forehead against Lance’s and mumbles that if Lance ever does this to him again, he’s going to kick his ass all the way across the solar system. 

Lance laughs, the sound music to Griffin’s ears after everything, and nods. 

Griffin knows that it’s a promise Lance is likely to break, knows that Lance is a Paladin of Voltron and he’s going to have mission that will get him hurt. But it means something that Lance tries to reassure him anyway.

And Griffin is going to be there every time Lance is hurt, holding his hand and waiting for him to open his eyes. It hurts to sit there without knowing how things will turn out, but Griffin will do it every single time without hesitation. 

Griffin is hoping to stay by Lance’s side, when he’s injured but also when he’s sick and when he’s healthy, for the rest of their, hopefully, long lives. 

[letaliabane]

Give Me A Chance

Bruce Wayne x Reader

Prompts (CLICK HERE FOR LIST)

1: “ Give me a chance. ”

30: “ So that’s it? It’s over? ”

A/N: HELLOO! Oh its so good to be writing again! Year 12 is a fucking pain in the backside. I needed a break and thought you all deserved this and though t that there wasn’t enough Bruce Wayne out there so here you little munchkins go. Know that the ask box is open and you may choose a prompt and send it in (REQUESTS OPEN ONLY FOR THE BATFAM, SORRY! + NO NSWF), but I may be a bit slow so be kind to your writer pleaseee.

I sat at my desk, the sounds of the tapping of keyboards and high shrill screams of phone making me sit a little straighter every so often. I had been a cooperate assistant at WAYNE Industries for a couple of years, having started off as an apprentice before working my way up through the jobs.

Suddenly the doors to the elevator of our level opened with a loud ding, making me look up to see who it was before looking back down with a small gasp, praying   under my breath that he hadn’t noticed me. I heard the footsteps creak over the voices and activity in the office, and cursed under my breath. My prayer had gone unanswered, gulping before looking up into the eyes of Bruce fucking Wayne. The White Knight of Gotham, its Prince, its Salvation.

I didn’t think of him as a bad person, oh no. Bruce and I had been going out on a few dates in the past few weeks. And they had been absolutely perfect. I loved them. And, I loved him. But i knew that I couldn’t just dive deep into the relationship, I didn’t want to get hurt … Not again, especially by billionaire playboy, and become the face of embarrassment in the company.

‘Good morning Sir,’ I said courtly before looking back down over the stack of papers in front of me. Bruce couldn’t help but sigh heavily, ‘Morning Y/N.’

‘Is there something I could do for you?’ Once again he sighed. ‘Could I have the itinerary for today as well as the files for this morning’s conference.’ I searched through the piles of paper, taking the manila folder and handing it to him quickly before looking once more for the itinerary. God damn it, of course I had to lose it. ‘I seemed to have misplaced it, just give me a minute.’

‘Seems we work you way too hard, Y/N.’ I couldn’t help but smile a little, but it was gone just as fast as it had came. After pulling a stack of files out of the way, I sighted the itinerary with a sigh of relief. I reached over to grab it before I felt Bruce’s hand brushing against my own, a shiver running down my spine instantly as he hooked his fingers through my own. I looked up into his eyes, the first eye contact we had made that entire day. His eyes were filled with pain as I flinched away from his touch, ‘Here you go Mr Wayne.’

And without another word, I fixed up my desk, and the tapping of my keyboard continued. I only looked up at the sound of Bruce’s office door slamming. With a sigh I slouched in my chair, pushing my hair out of my face. I my line of vision, I caught sight of a bunch of women huddled in one of the cubicles, sniggering and scoffing at the sight of me.

‘What does he even see in her? I mean she probably doesn’t even get a quarter of what he makes a year!’

‘She doesn’t even have a figure like the women he hangs out with, I mean why would he even associate himself with her!’

‘And can you believe the nerve of that girl?! Dismissing Bruce as if he were beneath her!’

‘Perhaps she likes all her men to be submissive like the whore she is—’

That was the last straw. I slammed the lid of my laptop down, making them shriek and many heads turn towards me. I threw the important files into my bag, as well as my laptop before rounding my desk, glaring at the women who had insulted me before entering the elevator. I looked up in time to see Bruce, a deer caught in headlights at the  glimpse of my tears falling as the doors shut.

-

I rush into my apartment, throwing my bag onto the floor hurriedly before racing to the bathroom. I let the cold water run, throwing the substance up on my flustered skin. I gasped for air as I looked up into the mirror, the women’s voices echoed in my head before whispering to myself, ‘Oh Y/N, what have you gotten yourself into?’

I groaned loudly, rubbing the heel of my hands against my eyes gently before deciding on taking a hot shower. I groaned as my muscles relaxed beneath the heated water, wiping my face slowly. After I changed into some sweat pants, a t-shirt and hoodie, all in grey. Wonderful.

Since I was at home I might as well do some work. So I sat down, opening my laptop, and just as my fingers began to tap once more against the laptop when suddenly there was a loud banging upon the front door, echoing lavishly throughout the almost empty apartment.

I rolled my eyes, making my way down the hallway, “Who on earth is it?” I didn’t even bother to look in the peephole, opening the door and ready to curse at who had interrupted my peace. But without another second I slammed the door shut, only for Bruce to shove it back open, walking in without a care in world. ‘Bruce what the hell-’

‘Why have you been ignoring me?’ ‘What?—‘ ‘Don’t fuck with me Y/N, why have you been avoiding me AND ignoring me!’ I flinched lightly at his tone, taking in the anger in his eyes. ‘So that’s it? It’s over? I mean we had a great time at dinner last week and suddenly this happens? Is it something I did? Something I said? I mean I don’t understand—’

‘No … Bruce-It’s not you!’ I said as I felt the tears already coming up, sniffling slightly. My breathing was uneven as I got nervous, my hands sweaty and wringing each other to distract myself from the current situation. Bruce instantly picked this up, tone of voice becoming much softer. 'Then … what is it?’

I shook my head. 'Its-Its complicated you see, its too hard to explain …’ ‘Just take your time, take all the time you need. I’ll be patient …’ There was silence between us, the only sound resonating was my sniffling. Finally, I spoke, 'I-I’m sorry.’

'What for?’ ’For ignoring you. I shouldn’t lead you on like this, I shouldn’t have.’

'What do you mean? What are you talking about?’ He says, coming closer to me, my whole body shaking now as he stood only a short distance away, our feet nearly touching.

'I-I was scared … I’m scared …’ I whispered softly, but I knew he heard me as he took my face into his hands, pulling it up so I would look up at him only to show the tears that fell fast down my cheeks.

'I-I think I’m in love with you and I’m terrified Bruce …’ I said softly as he wiped my cheeks with the pads of his thumbs, ‘In all the relationships I’ve been in, yeah there’s been something. However with you … I’ve never felt like this with anybody! But I just-I’m scared that I’m not good enough to be standing beside you, Gotham’s prince, their glory!’

Bruce couldn’t help but chuckle at this, gripping my face just a little tighter in his palms. How could, he thought to himself, this little piece of light not be worthy, it was he who was not worthy. He himself wanted this to be more than a mere fling, saw that the innocence in his hands was something he wanted to uncover and understand like nothing he had ever encountered before. 

'I understand, but just know Y/N. That, whatever you’ve been through before me, know that I will NEVER mistreat you. I know that you’ve heard about me being this billionaire playboy who cares about nothing but his money and title … but I’m different, I WILL be different! We’ll have our bad days of course, but all couples can’t be perfect can they? But most importantly I don’t care about your money, or your title or anything! I just want you, and only you. Just give me a chance, please.’

I nodded slowly, unable to look away as he gave me a small smile, one that I had come to love and appreciate over time. The way his lip curled and his dimples tinted just a little. Slowly, he began to grow closer, his heated breath batting against my lips, his forehead pressed against my own. A gasp left my lips at this, his nose nudging mine delicately. His eyes searched my own, those ocean blue eyes that made my head spin whenever I stared just a little too long.  And in that moment, I just couldn’t help but let myself go.

He pressed his lips against mine softly, almost like a feathers touch against glass. I couldn’t return it, not just yet as I trembled under his touch, gasping softly before letting my hand creep to one of his own that held my face. Bruce pulled away with a grateful smile, kissing my forehead gently before he embraced me into his chest, holding me tightly.