#so there's young commissioner gordon with the dead daughter

[night-wilf]

Writing prompt 76:

There is said to be ghosts that portect the citizens of New Metropolis, remaining from the former city of Gotham. Few speak of these ghosts with even fewer pictures.

The leader of the ghosts in the former billionaire Bruce Wayne, a large bat like creature that rivals Superman. Shot and killed at a young age, likely contributing to his role as a father among the others. Additionally to father figure to the orphaned and lost children as he protects them from the predatory adults.

The first at appear after Bruce Wayne was the ghost of Richard Grayson. Adopted by him as he wondered the streets and became a companion once he died. His form that of a humanoid bird creature who finds joy in entertaining the citizens he encounters. A much kinder face than his mentor.

Tim Drake was a child who followed Bruce, becoming part of his group and new son once he left his human body. His excellent mind not lost in death as he can be found near cafes and student dorms helping them with work. A bird like creature similar to his siblings.

Jason Todd is a darker ghost that haunts the streets. Becoming enveloped by his rage as he forced into a new body and taken away from his family. He spends his time aiding children to move on from their dark homes and uses guns to help his family achieve their goal of protecting everyone. Still with his broken wings in shadow.

'Cass' is a girl not many know the past of, already haunting the city when Bruce took her under his wing. Similarly as bat like in appearance. Robbed of her childhood and using her emotional sensing abilities to find the darkest people, talking to them so they can move on from whatever plagues their mind.

'Steph' is another child of Bruce who appeared one day, said to be the child of a formidable villain in the city. She can found with Cass as a companion and acting as a big fluffy pillow with her feathers.

Barbra Gordon was the old Commissioner's daughter, shot dead on her 20s. She follows Tim to help the police and stressed students. The most human of them all and unable to walk from where she was shot.

Damian Wayne is the biology son of Bruce Wayne who was able to be free of his mother's grasp on life. Joining his family in death and able to live how he wants. He is said to be the most deadly bird/bat of them all.

Duke Thomas has found this strange family after being electricted in a storm, his new home a breath of fresh air from the hopeless life he had. A mechanic bat who soars over the city and providing power to those who can't keep it.

[lfthinkerwrites]

Accountability

Title: The New Order

Fandom: Batman

Rating: T

Summary: With the evidence obtained from Arkham Asylum, Edward and Penelope put plans into action, while Bruce makes a discovery that upends everything.

AO3 Link

preview

Edward paused the recording, then addressed Batman. "We've made copies of the passages in Tetch's journal. Between those, this recording, and the pictures I took in Cell Block Four, we have Strange nearly dead to rights." He smirked, folding his hands in front of him. "So? Who gets the first copies? Commissioner Gordon? Vicki Vale?"

Batman sighed. "Gordon needs to be informed of all this. But other than him, no one. We need to hold back."

Edward's eye twitched. "'Hold back?'" he repeated. "We have Tetch all but saying Strange was behind the attacks last December! We know exactly what he's been doing to the patients at Arkham!" He pointed his finger at the Dark Knight. "You said yourself that Strange has some kind of plan against Dr. Young, that Sharp wants to kill my daughter. I'm not going to stand back and wait for that to happen!"

Penelope watched as Batman's fists clenched. "I need more time. I can't risk the lives of my team."

"But it's perfectly alright for you to risk the lives of my family?" Edward asked. 

[duhragonball]

Hellsing Liveblog Ch. 45-50

This is the “Soldier of Fortune” arc.  I thought there was a song by this title and there is!    Give it a listen.

This opens with a flashback to Pip Bernadotte’s childhood, where he finds out his whole family is a bunch of mercenaries.    His grandfather confirms it, and I should point out that Grandpa Bernadotte is the most mercenary-looking dude I’ve ever seen.   He’s wearing a friggin’ beret while he tells Pip about how his dad died in some war to raise money while Ma Bernadotte was pregnant with Pip.   Was Pip’s mother a merc too? 

I guess my point is that this whole scene feels really stupid to me.   Kid Pip grew up among mercenaries, but he’s literally the last person in town to find out about it.  How do the kids at school know?   Are the Bernadottes that well-known?   I always assumed mercenaries tried to keep a low profile.   Then again, they are entrepreneurs, so maybe the kids in school found ads about the Bernadottes in the phone book.  

Even so, was Pip’s family trying to keep this a secret from him?  Because Grandpa sure wasn’t.   Not with that beret he’s got on.   It’s like he’s been waiting Pip’s whole life to tell him, so why didn’t he mention it before?  You’d think he’d want to raise the boy to follow in his footsteps, the same as Pip’s dad.  Did Pip’s mom not want him to grow up to be a mercenary?  It just seems like she should have known that wouldn’t work out.  

Anyway, Grandpa Bernadotte waxes philosophical about killing people for money, which doesn’t seem like much of a justification.   Pip was very upset about the whole thing, and I don’t think Grandpa said anything to make him less upset, and then we flash forward to the present day, where Pip’s a mercenary.

I mean, what was the point of that flashback?  Pip was horrified to find out his family kills for profit, and then at some point he got over it and joined the family business.   Why didn’t the flashback show us that moment instead?  It seems more relevant.  

At any rate, I feel like the flashback is overlooking the true point of Pip’s character arc.  He starts out a soldier of fortune like his father and grandfather, but by joining up with Hellsing he’s now fighting for a much nobler cause, ridding the world of unspeakably evil monsters.  He still seems to look at it like just another job, but it’s still important.  His defense of the Hellsing mansion is a lot more heroic because he’s fighting against daunting odds with very little hope of surviving to see another sunrise, let alone his next paycheck.  

Back to the main story, when Millennium’s forces invaded London, they sent a company to the Hellsing HQ on the outskirts of the city.   Zorin Blitz was tasked with leading this group, but she was ordered to hold off on attacking until the Major gave the word.   The Major then fired rockets at the mansion, only for Seras Victoria to shoot the rockets down... and Zorin’s zeppelin.   Now, Zorin is trying to lead a ground attack on the mansion, except Pip has turned the entire yard into a minefield.   

Seras disapproves, but Pip doesn’t care.   In this sort of conflict, he and his men, the Wild Geese, are at a complete disadvantage.   Vampires, even the weaker, artificial vampires of Millennium, are faster, stronger, and harder to kill.  He hints at some sort of vampiric ability to read an opponent’s movements, too, which might have something to do with that whole “third eye” trick Seras and Alucard use.   Against all of that, landmines are a sensible precaution, since they’re powerful enough to kill a vampire in one shot and don’t rely on a human operator with killing intent. Seras can gripe, but if Hellsing had used mines back in volume 2, the Valentine Brothers never would have made it inside.  Pip clearly read up on that debacle, since it must have taken weeks for his men to bury all these mines.

The landmines do kill a lot of Zorin’s troops, and the Wild Geese lay down heavy fire from the mansion to keep up the pressure, but Zorin won’t give up so easily.   She uses he powers to create some sort of zany illusion, where everyone sees a giant Zorin Blitz attacking the mansion.

So what the hell is Zorin Blitz, exactly?   I thought she was a vampire, but reading this manga has revealed that Rip Van WInkle is a werewolf, which led me to suspect Zorin is a werewolf too.   But the manga is silent on Zorin being one or the other.  I check the Hellsing Wiki, but it contends that both women are vampires, and the term “Werewolf” just refers to the group of officers in Millennium.   This group includes literal werewolves like the Captain and Schrodinger, but not Blitz and Rip.   

Maybe it doesn’t matter that much, but I find it a little silly to call all four of those characters “Werewolves” and then only two of them are really werewolves.   Clearly, all four of them are a cut above the Major’s other troops, and none of them show any interest in drinking blood, or any other vampire-exclusive traits.   On the other hand, this whole battle takes place under a full moon, and none of them seem to be affected by it.    Unless the Major chose this particular night to launch his offensive because he wanted them all to be at full power.   Maybe Zorin couldn’t do this illusion thing otherwise.

Anyway, the Wild Geese see this giant woman slashing at them with a scythe, and they all panic.   Seras sees it too, but she somehow intuits that it can’t be real.   Then she sees Alucard, who reminds her of her third eye.   I’m not sure if this is a flashback or Alucard is using telepathy to coach her from the deck of the H.M.S. Eagle.  

Either way, Seras uses her third eye and not only sees through the illusion but lines up a shot on the illusion-caster.  But it only grazes Zorin.   It disrupts the illusion, but it doesn’t end the threat.

And even though the illusion is shattered, it still distracted the Wild Geese long enough for Millennium troops to enter the mansion.   Seras manages to shoot them down, but there’s more where that came from.

Because the Nazi bastards figured out a way past the mines.   They just threw a bunch of knives on the ground and played hopscotch to get across.   I guess this means they can only get in one at a time, but it’s still bad news for the good guys.

So Pip adjusts his tactics accordingly.  He and his men will regroup and hold up in a defensible location, while Seras roams the building to take the fight to the enemy.   I guess the idea is to divide Millennium’s focus.   They can attack the Geese or watch out for Seras, but not both.   For some reason, Seras calls Pip “sir”, like he’s in charge, and maybe that is appropriate in this situation, but I thought Seras was in charge of their training.  

Then one of the Geese pats her on the butt and Pip steals a kiss.   I’m not sure what the hell this is about.   I guess they were trying to lighten the mood before they go to face certain death, but if my life depended on some vampire girl killing all the bad guys before they can rip me to shreds, I probably wouldn’t sexually harass her, or do anything else to tick her off.   But that’s just me.

Pip seems resigned about their chances.  He’s confident in Seras’ ability, but there’s only one of her and like... 30?  Let’s say 30, thirty Nazi Vampires heading their way.  If even one of them gets past Seras, the Geese will all die horribly.   But they took this job and the risks that come with it, and besides, there’s nowhere for them to run anyway.    He seems to accept the situation with a mercenary sense of honor.   Like, a mercenary should expect to die in some unwinnable battle, and they shouldn’t complain about it, since it’s the nature of the business. 

Anyway, it doesn’t go well.   The nature of the comic doesn’t really make it clear how the Wild Geese are operating, but I get the impression that they’re doing sort of a fighting withdrawal concentrating their forces as they give ground.    But they suffer a lot of casualties in the process.

This leads to the Geese holing up in the big conference room where Integra met with the Royal Order of Protestant Knights before the Valentine Bros. attack.   One guy panics and wants to bug out, but Pip reminds him of what I said a minute ago.   They’ve got nowhere else to go, and they all got into this for the action, so they should stick to their principles, even in the face of death.

There’s this one guy from “B-block”, who I guess was covering a certain hallway, but B-Block got cut off before they could join the others in the Round Table room.    Zorin Blitz decides to have some fun with him, so she uses her weird powers to make him see himself back home, with his dead daughter.  

This seems especially cruel, because it’s not like Zorin needed this diversion to kill one dude.   She’s just really sadistic.

Meanwhile, some other Millennium guys are eating the Wild Geese they already killed, and one of them shows off his ability to tell blood types just by taste.   It’s this really sick moment, but at the same time it humanizes the characters, which is a weird thing to say when discussing Nazi vampires, but you know what I mean.

Then Seras blows the dude’s head off, which is extremely satisfying.

So Seras is holding up her end, and growing more resolute with each kill.   She’s really improved a lot since the last time she was in action.    Yeah, these Millennium vampires probably aren’t that much tougher than the vampires she killed back in the summer, but there are a lot more of them, and they’re trained soldiers on top of that, and she doesn’t have Alucard backing her up like she did before.

By now, all that’s left of the Wild Geese are in this barricaded room, and they’ve run low on silver bullets, which means even the few shots that don’t miss will have almost no effect.   Pip is determined to hold out, confident that Seras will save them, but...

She runs out of bullets before she runs out of enemies to kill.   When she arrives to save the day, she’s still has to go through Zorin Blitz.

But Zorin doesn’t see this as a problem, and she uses her freaky mind powers on Seras, forcing her to relive memories of her days at the orphanage.    Yeah, Seras was an orphan, remember?   Alucard asked Walter about her parents a while back, and Walter said they were both dead.  How did they die?

Well, Zorin Blitz is about to find out...

[phantoms-lair]

Hey! I really like your Batfam AU and was hoping we could maybe get another snippet? It's totally ok if not though. Have a nice day! 😀

Was gonna save this for later, but...

"Commissioner." Long practice had kept Jim Gordon from reacting. Though he'd had just as much opportunity for practice, Bullock still swore.

"What's going on, Batman?"

"A head's up. In three days a government agency intends to invade Gotham. They are going to be met with resistance. I won't ask you to stand against them, but you need to be ready. They're not known for avoiding collateral damage."

"What do they want and why shouldn't they be getting it?" Jim wanted all his facts in a row.

From underneath his cloak, Batman brought out a picture of a young boy who looked familiar.

"That's Wayne's new kid." Bullock recognized. "Danny Something. The one Masters was trying to get."

Batman nodded. "And Masters is indirectly the reason for the current problem. Masters obsession with the boy, as well as the boy's mother caused him to leave half his fortune to each other them. Which is what prompted Danny to come out of hiding."

"Hiding?" Jim prompted.

"He's a metahuman. His parents were...not as accepting as they pretended. He fled his hometown after his sister freed him from his parents laboratory as they prepped a procedure meant to 'cure' him, but would have ended with him dead. They apparently considered that a more acceptable outcome than leaving him as he was."

"And he choose the street of this city rather than going to the police because?" Bullock challenged.

"Danny exists in a grey area. Metaphysically and legally. His powers are linked to ectoplasm. The Metahuman Child Protection Act guarantees the same protections to a metahuman child as a normal one. However the Anti-Ecto Act states that being made of ectoplasm or able to create it are classified as undead, automatically lose all human rights, and are open season to be experimented on or exterminated. That is the law that the Ghostly Intel & Warfare agency are choosing to operate under."

"And Danny didn't have any guarantee which law the authorities would choose to follow." Jim concluded.

But Batman shook his head. "He knew exactly what would happened. His hometown has had a rash of problems with malevolent spirits. The go-to response of the authorities is to turn over all matters ectoplasmic to the two resident experts - Danny's parents."

"Ouch." Bullock commented.

"As far as he was concerned, his choices were disappearing or death. But Masters threw him one last curve ball. If he stayed in hiding, his mother would inherit all of Master's fortune. With a comfortable income, his parents have managed to create numerous weapons that would count as war crimes if they were effective against normal humans as well being the main crafters and proponents of the Anti Ecto Act. Imagine what they could do with a billionaire's resources."

"The only way he could stop the situation from escalating exponentially would be to claim his half and use it to counter theirs. But that would let them know where he was." Jim realized.

"They attempted to gain custody back so they could 'fix' him." There was no hiding the contempt in Batman's voice and the other two couldn't help but share the sentiment. They'd seen enough aftermath of parents attempting to fix their children. Some ended with the parent behind bar, some with the child. "Not only did they lose and get slapped with a restraining order, the judge removed their daughter from their custody, deeming them as unfit parents. In retaliation, they informed the GIW exactly where the ectoplasmic son was."

"I've managed to gain access to their plans." Batman slid a folder towards them. "I've already talked with Wayne and his family. I've convinced the rest of the household to leave town before the GIW arrive. Wayne was adamant in his refusal to leave Danny, until it was pointed out that taking him or Tim Drake hostage to ensure Danny's cooperation was written into their plan. And sadly they couldn't just abscond with him as the GIW can track Danny's energy signature, and any attempt to leave the country would likely be met with governmental resistance."

Jim passed the folder to Bullock. "This is stolen government information, I can't-"

"Read it Bullock!" Jim ordered in a tone that brooked no argument. "What's your plan, Batman?"

"Wayne's lawyers are working on making sure Danny is covered exclusively under the MCPA and well as preparing a publicity campaign ready to launch the moment GIW steps foot in Gotham. It shouldn't take more than a day for Danny to either become more trouble than he's worth to the government. At which point the GIW will either give up or go completely rogue, in which case we can bring in the hea-"

Batman was interrupted as Bullock smashed his fist into the wall. He pulled back to punch it again, but Jim caught his arm. "None of that Detective. We're going to need you in top condition in three days, not nursing a broken hand."

Harvey looked like he wanted to argue, but held it in. "Your right. Lotsa of governments agents are going to need their faces smashed in."

"I can't ask you to fight the government."

"You think we need your permission?" Bullock snarled. "Any sickos who'd do that to a kid aren't welcome in my city."

"Gentlemen," Jim came between them. "We have three days and a lot to do in that time. Rest assured Batman, anyone who's sit on the sidelines for this isn't fit to be in my force. Bullock, fill in Montoya. The two of you are in charge of starting to get the GPD prepped. Batman, I'm sure you have work of your own to do."

The dismissal was clear, and Batman stayed just long enough for the most heartfelt "Thank you" either of them had heard from him before disappearing. Jim grabbed his jacket and left the precinct. He understood why Batman had insisted he couldn't ask them to stand against the government. This was going to bite them all badly, but he couldn't not do it. And if the only way they had of protecting the kid was buying time, then what they were going to need was chaos.

He arrived at his destination, and made his request. Soon enough the person he had come to see looked at him from the other side of the glass. "Why commissioner, what brings you all the way out to Arkham to see little old me?"

"You're a criminal, yes, but not insane. Not like most of the others are. You also have your own sense of right and wrong strong enough that Batman trusts you, so let me ask you this. Selena Kyle, how would you like to commute some of your sentence to community service?"

[dont-be-so-shy]

ok so,,, i think imma try a longfic abt the batkids getting stuck in the yj universe. except batman don't exist so they're not heroes (expect cissie and simon)

so imma introduce you to my lesser-known characters below the cut:

babs, dick, jason, tim, cass, steph, duke, and damian are people most people already know, but we also got luke, simon, wendy, helena, harper, cullen, bette, cissie, isabella, kitrina, charlie, olivia, tristan, riko, colin, and carrie

luke: aka lucas fox, aka one of the two sons and four children of lucius fox, aka a vigilante named batwing and ceo of his own company foxtech

simon: simon dark is a really small-time character. so basically, he was created with a mix of mad science, magic, and twenty dead teenage boy's bodies. yes, i know it's creepy. he has enhanced healing and the ability to use each one of the faces of the twenty boys he's made of. he can also do magic, mostly clairvoyance, which for him means being able to tell the secrets someone's keeping from him and see farther than the horizon. he also has enhanced strength, telekinesis, the ability to psychically link people (like miss martian), and the ability to dimension-travel. in canon, he looks a mess of different skin tones and frankenstein stitching but in my fic, he's gonna be looking like a normal(ish) boy.

wendy: wendy white, sometimes called wendy harris, graduated mit alongside her twin brother, marvin, at sixteen and became a caretaker of titans tower. she and her brother were attacked by wonderdog and she fell into a coma while marvin died. her father is a gotham villain named the calculator, who wanted the anti-life formula (i don’t what it is but apparently it’s really powerful) to wake her up. he was defeated but she woke up on her own. she's paralyzed from the waist down and she became babs' apprentice, codename proxy

helena: helena bertinelli, was supposedly the daughter of a mafia guy and his wife, but it turns out she's actually the daughter of the wife and some other mafia dude. well mafia dude (the bio dad) hates the mafia family mafia guy (the other dad) is a part of, so he ordered to have mafia guy and his family killed (helena had older and younger siblings, i think). he told the killer to spare the lady he had helena with and kill the rest of them but the killer done messed and killed the mom instead of helena. helena hates mafia and crime so when she becomes huntress, she has nothing against killing. she's actually still young tho, she left boarding school in switzerland to come back to gotham and be a vigilante. she's also part of the birds of prey and has been both batgirl and batman

harper and cullen: the row twins/siblings. cullen was attacked by his classmates for being gay but the second time he was attacked, batman and robin (i think it was tim) stopped the bullies. harper, who's insanely good with engineering, became bluebird with a few handmade weapons and cullen stayed home. in my fic, he's gonna be catlad, trained by selina, in the field and coeus, fitting the greek myth theme, when on comms 

bette: bette kane is somehow related to kate kane, who's bruce's cousin and also batwoman. bette was the first batgirl but when dc rebooted she was made flamebird then hawkfire instead. in my fic, she's batgirl in the field and medusa behind the screen

cissie: cissie has no origin story which means i can still make her arrowette in a batman-less world. cissie king-jones is arrowette. and her mom wanted her to be a hero. that's quite literally all i know. she's part of the batfam instead of the arrowfam for some reason tho 

isabella: isabella ortiz was part of we are robin under the name robina, and is canonically dating duke. in my fic, she's dating harper instead 'cause duke is dating cullen. anyway, she's poor and also, her dad doesn't know she was part of we are robin 

kitrina: kitrina falcone is the youngest falcone who didn't wanna be mafia so she idolized catwoman instead. she was accused of betraying the family so she ran, becoming kittyhawk and helping catwoman and penguin. in my fic, she's known as stray instead 

charlie: charlie gage-radcliffe aka misfit is a metahuman with the ability to teleport (she calls it 'bouncing'). she didn't wanna be a hero and she couldn't teleport with people without killing them, so when her apartment building burned down with her mom and newborn sibling inside, she ran according to her mom's wishes. she resurfaced as batgirl, but when babs finally cornered her, she gave it up and became misfit instead, tagging along with the birds of prey 

olivia: olivia carr was kidnapped by the dollmaker and brainwashed into becoming part of his 'family'. when jim gordon was also kidnapped, he helped her escape and told her to give a note to batman on the gcpd's roof. she was later handed over to a gcpd cop while batman went to save the commissioner but it turned out the cop was crooked and wanted to sell her to some kidnappers so she slit his throat and ran away. she goes by mannequin 

tristan: tristan grey goes to damian's school along with maps, olive, and pom and a few others. he's a metahuman with enhanced vision, strength, and the ability to "transform" somehow 

riko: riko sheridan was also part of we are robin under the name r-iko. she was actually expelled from damian and tristan's school (damian was too actually). she idolizes batgirl, which is why, in the fic, i gave her the name black bat while cass is orphan 

colin: colin wilkes aka abuse is basically a ten-year-old hulk with control over his hulkiness. he's damian's friend and an orphan who got his powers thanks to kobra venom when he was trafficked 

last but not least, carrie!: she's technically from an alternate universe and was robin after jason instead of tim, then catgirl, then batwoman. in this fic, she's catgirl. she uses a slingshot 

[longitudinalwaveme]

Longitudinalwaveme Reviews More Old Comics (and One New One), Part 1

I’m going to be doing these reviews in chronological order, starting with the oldest of the bunch. 

Batman #292: “The Testimony of the Riddler” 

This issue is actually the second part of a four-part story, “Where Were You On the Night Batman Was Killed?” Basically, everyone thinks Batman is dead, and a bunch of his villains are coming forward to claim the honor of being his killer. Catwoman’s claim was dismissed last issue; now it’s Riddler’s turn. 

The mock trial that the villains have set up to determine the identity of the killer is amazing. Ra’s al Ghul is the judge, Two-Face is the prosecutor, and the jury is composed of the Mad Hatter, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze before B:TAS gave him a good costume, Scarecrow, the Signalman (*snicker*) and the Spook, who I only know as the D-Lister beheaded by Damian Wayne. 

The Riddler begins his testimony, regaling everyone with riddles (some of which seem more like jokes, but whatever), and telling them about a crazy criminal caper he launched, during which time he posed as Bruce Wayne in order to steal a ridiculous jeweled typewriter ( “made of gold, platinum, and ivory...its keys studded with diamonds and rubies...its ribbon made from a Ming Dynasty robe....and its case encrusted with emeralds!”). 

Amusingly, since Riddler doesn’t know Bruce Wayne is Batman, his Batman is not at all surprised to come across “Bruce Wayne” at the party. Batman ends up following the Riddler’s clues to find the Riddler and the ridiculously fancy typewriter in a quarry, whereupon the Riddler uses a knife he has to cut a rope that was holding some rock slabs. According to Riddler, the slabs fell on Batman, pinning him. Riddler then blew him up with dynamite (which he set off using a latern’s flames).

As soon as he finishes his testimony, Two-Face calls him a liar; gets permission to take the entire court outside, sets up a deathtrap using the dynamite Riddler claims he used to kill the Batman, and orders the bailiffs to tie Riddler to the trap and light it all on fire. 

They do, and the Riddler promptly passes out. Two-Face then walks onto the trap himself, and nothing happens. As Two-Face explains, “dynamite does not explode in fire! It can be lighted only by electric spark or percussion!” 

Riddler is eliminated as a potential candidate and escorted from the courtroom (with an apparent $25,000 fine for the dynamite display). 

Several other claimants retract their claims, and Ra’s adjourns the court for the day. 

Also, Bronze Age Riddler makes a surprisingly convincing Bruce Wayne, all things considered (this was back when he still had black hair; rather than red). 

Batman #293, “Luthor’s Testimony”

This issue takes up immediately where the last one left off, with Lex Luthor of all people taking the stand in the costume you can see in the picture above. It’s...certainly something, all right. 

Cluemaster, Killer Moth, the Cavalier, and some random gangsters are also at the trial. Most are impressed by Luthor’s amazing(ly hilarious) new outfit, which I’m pretty sure he only ever wore once (for this trial).

Luthor does his usual grandstanding before launching into the story of his latest plot to kill Superman. 

Said plot involved a fake robbery to lure Batman into a trap that would allow Luthor to put Superman’s mind into Batman’s body. 

Luthor then punched Superman-in-Batman’s-body to death and launched the body into space. Luthor says that now he’s leaving to go back to Metropolis, where he’ll put his own mind into Superman’s body so that he may become Super-Luthor. 

Two-Face proceeds to demolish Luthor’s story, first by calling in one of Luthor’s goons to reveal that Batman had infiltrated Luthor’s gang by posing as a henchman, and then calling in Superman himself to prove that, in fact, Superman’s mind is still in its body.  Superman just dressed up as Batman and pretended to be Superman-in-Batman’s-body to fool Luthor. 

Exposed as a liar, Luthor storms out of the room, but not before yelling at Two-Face for “colluding with Superman” and insulting the criminal pretensions of everyone in the room. 

Also, Two-Face somehow managed to convince Superman to grant every villain in the courtroom amnesty. (Although if I’m remembering the fourth part of the story properly, I think “Two-Face” is really Batman in disguise, explaining why he was so easily able to get into contact with Superman and probably making the amnesty fake.)

The comic ends with the Joker’s signature laughter; he’ll be the last villain to give testimony in front of the kangaroo court. Sadly, I don’t have that issue, so I won’t be reviewing it here. 

Batman #296, “The Sinister Straws of the Scarecrow” 

Scarecrow has henchmen he calls “Strawmen”. They have weird costumes and exist to give him someone to deliver all his lectures to and test his fear gas on. As usual, his speeches to his underlings sound...well...like simplified college psychology lectures. 

Otto the burly henchman’s deepest fear is Batman. What a surprise. 

Phobias namedropped by the Scarecrow (and narration boxes): phobophobia (the fear of fear), pyrophobia (fear of fire), algophobia (fear of pain), pathophobia (fear of illness), taphephobia (the fear of being buried alive), inutilophobia (the fear of not being able to carry on one’s work) and “chiropterhomopobia”. The last is especially interesting since it’s not actually a real word; it’s a fictional one that manages to effectively follow the formula used for naming phobias. “Chiropterophobia” is the fear of bats. “Homophobia”, in this case, is the fear of men (homo referring to our species name, homo sapiens); therefore chiropterhomophobia would be the fear of bat-men. Good work with conjugation there, writer! 

Anyway, the Scarecrow uses a crook named Skibo’s taphephobia to convince him to give them the location of the turnpike bond money he stole from Gotham City’s National Bank several months ago.

The next day at the bank, the money is returned, puzzling Bruce Wayne. Wayne goes to interrogate a crook who talks in confusing criminal slang, who tells him that Skibo was the one who fenced the stolen bonds. 

Batman tracks Skibo down...and finds him being assaulted by the Scarecrow, who believes that the bonds he returned to the bank were counterfeit. This is problematic for the Scarecrow because it suggests that Skibo was able to withstand his fear of the Scarecrow and disobey his orders, which would interefere with his ability to intercept criminals who are obeying his orders to return stolent money and take the money for himself. 

Batman, Skibo, Scarecrow, and his goons get into a free-for-all that ends up causing an explosion. In the chaos, Scarecrow and the goons escape and Batman gets information out of Skibo about the Scarecrow’s plans. 

Scarecrow and his goons then go after a thief who stole a valuable Gutenberg Bible, but before they can use the fear toxin on him, Batman shows up and they use it on him instead. It affects Batman, but he shakes it off and manages to defeat the Scarecrow and his goons as well as capture the thief who stole the Guetenberg Bible. 

The story ends with Batman telling Commissioner Gordon that he found the case exhilarating. 

All-in-all, a pretty standard Scarecrow story. 

Batman #308, “There’ll Be a Cold Time in the Old Town Tonight” 

Some guy named Jacob Riker has betrayed Mr. Freeze. The man in question is promptly murdered by Freeze and his henchmen. 

In this issue, Mr. Freeze is wearing an outfit that’s reminiscent of Captain Cold’s, but with a bubble-helmet and pink shades. 

Catwoman shows up in Bruce Wayne’s office to tell him that she’s reformed and wants to invest money in Wayne Enterprises. Bruce agrees, and also agrees to meet her for dinner at some point next week. She also brings a cat with her to this meeting, because of course she does. 

Lucius Fox introduces Bruce Wayne to his daughter, Tiffany, who works in a drug rehabilitation program sponsored by the Wayne Foundation. After exchanging pleasantries, Bruce tells Lucius to give him a complete rundown on what Selina’s been up to, presumably so that he can know if she’s on the level. 

He moons over Catwoman for a bit before getting called into action by the Batsignal, and he subsequently arrives at the scene of Riker’s murder. The guy is frozen solid and very dead. 

Some rich guy name Mr. McVee comes to Mr. Freeze; he’s exchanging all his wealth in exchange for the promise of immortality. 

Unfortunately, the process turns the man into a Popsicle zombie. His body is alive, but his brain is dead. 

Also, Mr. Freeze has a girlfriend named Hildy, whom he loves and is planning to make immortal (as he himself effectively is). Unfortunately for him, she does not reciprocate his feelings and is using him solely as a means of staying young forever. Interestingly, she’s blonde, just like Nora usually is (Nora, of course, didn’t exist at the time this was written). 

Meanwhile, at STAR labs, a medical treatment goes wrong and kills somebody. 

Batman finds and breaks into Mr. Freeze’s hideout...and is promptly attacked by Mr. Freeze and his Popsicle zombies. Mr. Freeze dubs them his “Ice Pack”. 

Mr. Freeze manages to take Batman out of the fight by freezing his legs, which causes him to fall to the floor. This allows him to be captured by the Popsicle Zombies and put inside Mr. Freeze’s immortality machine. 

Batman is apparently turned into another mindless Popsicle zombie as Mr. Freeze exposits about how lonely his life is and how much he loves Hindy. 

Mr. Freeze leaves Hildy in the room with the Popsicle zombies, at which point Hildy starts to talk to Batman about how she thinks he’s cute and she’d rather be immortal with him rather than with Freeze (who she’s planning to kill in any case).

Unfortunately for her, Mr. Freeze overhears her and is predictably furious, pointing his Freeze Ray directly at her face. 

Batman saves her from an icy fate by attacking Mr. Freeze, revealing as he does so that he had only pretended to be frozen by the machine (having disconnected several of the building’s extra power lines). Cue another fight with Freeze and the Popsicle Zombies. 

Batman uses a piece of ice to break Freeze’s bubble helmet; preventing him from giving any more orders to the Popsicle Zombies. He then fights Freeze some more. The Freeze Ray goes flying and gets grabbed by Hildy, who plans to kill both of them. Unfortunately, the gun backfires on her and she’s killed instead. Mr. Freeze is arrested. 

Meanwhile, we learn that the dead guy was the Blockbuster, Mark Desmond, and that he isn’t quite as dead as the people at STAR Labs think. 

Justice League of America #167, “The League That Defeated Itself!”

The splash page is of Superman punching Hal Jordan Green Lantern in the face.

The explanation is pretty quickly forthcoming: the Secret Society of Super-Villains has swapped bodies with the Justice League. The Wizard from Earth-2 is in Superman’s body, Professor Zoom the Reverse-Flash is in Green Lantern’s body, Plant-Master is in Wonder Woman’s body (ew), Star Sapphire is in Zatanna’s body, and Blockbuster is in Batman’s body.

The real Justice League are trapped in the bodies of the villains and locked in a cube-shaped cell. Superman guides Hal into using his new super-speed to help them break free of the cube.

The Joker stars in a Hostess Fruit pie ad!

The villains have left for Earth, leaving the heroes (who are trapped in their bodies) alone on the JLA Satellite, along with an unconscious Red Tornado, whom they promptly wake up.

Naturally unaware of the switch, the Tornado attacks them and they fight. Zatanna manages to bring the tornado down using Star Sapphire’s powers, and the JLA go off to find their bodies on Earth, with Batman telling Zatanna that she’ll have to reverse the spell as their only magician.

Green Lantern gets some information out of Hijack (who I think is a member of the Royal Flush Gang) by pretending to be Reverse-Flash. The information helps them locate the Society’s HQ.

As soon as they break into the building, however...they’re promptly incapacitated by Green Arrow (except for Zatanna, who remained outside). Green Arrow is suspicious of the way Superman is behaving and decides to keep an eye on him and the others who “located” the HQ of the Secret Society.

Justice League of America #168, “The Last Great Switcheroo”

This issue picks up where the last issue left off. Ollie and Hawkman are supsicous about the behavior of their allies, while Black Canary ad the Elongated Man don’t think anything unusual is going on.

Eobard traps the “villains” in a diamond cell, and then the Wizard chucks the diamond into another dimension!  

The Wizard covers for himself by claiming that the “villains” have been put into “time-stasis” by “Green Lantern”’s ring. “I just tossed the diamond into an orbit around the solar system! They’ll remain there until science perfects criminal rehabilitation.” For some reason, everyone except Green Arrow immediately accepts this excuse.

Red Tornado breaks free of the trap Zatanna-in-Star-Sapphire’s-Body had to put him in last issue and criticizes the decisions he made in the fight with them.

Zatanna then arrives on the satellite and convinces Red Tornado of the swap that’s taken place.

Meanwhile, in Mexico, the Secret Society and the remaining members of the Justice League are, at least allegedly, guarding some jewels for the Mexican government. Elongated Man, Hawkman, and the Flash are also becoming suspicious of their supposed allies.

And then Eobard ruins everything in the most Eobard way possible: forcing a kiss onto Black Canary!

The real Justice Leaguers fight and defeat the impostors (except for the Wizard, who left to “patrol the city”)...but before he can step in to salvage his plan, Superman uses the Wizard’s own magic to take his body down.

Zatanna reverses the mind-swap, and the day is saved.

Was it this story that later got retconned to include more mindwiping thanks Identity Crisis, or am I thinking of a different storyline?

Flash #275, “The Last Dance” 

In this issue, Iris Allen dies! 

The story starts with Barry in the grip of a teenaged girl with ESP powers (no, really. Cary Bates, the issue’s writer, really liked the paranormal). His marriage with his wife Iris has been struggling, and she fears that he might be cheating on her. 

She’s also spying on him by bugging his costume rings with “micro-mini homing signal devices”, which just goes to show that literally anyone in the DCU can invent amazing technology at the drop of a hat. 

Stalking the stalker is Clive Yorkin, a character from the plot thread that’s been building up to this issue. He’s kind of based off of the brainwashing scene in A Clockwork Orange and hates the Flash and Barry Allen. 

The teenager uses her mental powers to force the Flash to meet her at a motel and take off his mask, which he does. She’s apparently disappointed by the results, complaining that there’s nothing remarkable about him, and promptly storms out. 

Iris arrives in her car just as the girl storms out, and discovers that she’s coming from the room that her tracker has Barry in. She storms inside and accuses Barry of cheating on her, then runs out in tears.

Also, right before she storms out, Barry looks at himself in the mirror and thinks “ “Ordinary”? What in blazes is that supposed to mean? I may not be Robert Redford...but I always thought I was sort of sexy...at least, that’s what Iris told me.” It’s mildly hilarious. 

Iris promptly gets into a car wreck with a tanker truck. Barry manages to save both her and the two truck drivers from the massive explosion that this causes. 

Barry convinces Iris that he wasn’t cheating and the two promptly make  up. 

Meanwhile, Mysterious Shadowy Man on the Phone tells someone to kill Barry Allen at a philanthropist’s upcoming costume party for all of the employees of Central City’s government (e.g., police officers, firefighters, etc.) The Mysterious Shadowy Man on the Phone will eventually be revealed to be the corrupt police chief of Central City, Chief Paulson.  

Iris and Barry decide they want to have kids, then kiss. D’awww! 

Iris’ costume for the party arrives; she’s going as Batgirl. Barry was planning to rent a Batman outfit, but it was already rented, so Barry ends up going to the costume ball dressed as himself (that is, the Flash).

Clyde Yorkin is still stalking both of them. 

Barry’s friend from work, Frank Curtis, arrives to pick the couple up. Hilariously, he’s also dressed as the Flash. 

The theme of the party is “Dress as Your Favorite Super-Character”. Iris comments “it’ll be interesting to see whether we get more heroes or villains!”...which raises a question: Namely, why is everyone totally okay with people dressing up as people who are, in their world, real costumed criminals? That’s always seemed odd to me. 

Clive Yorkin sneaks into the trunk of Curtis’ car and slips out as the other three head for the party.

Inside the mansion, we see a huge number of people dressed up as famous DC characters, including Hawkgirl, the Calculator, Heat Wave, two Green Lanterns, Zatanna, Aquaman, Green Arrow, two Black Canaries, Abra Kadabra, Batman, Wonder Woman, Professor Zoom the Reverse-Flash, Star Sapphire, Supergirl, Pied Piper, Poison Ivy, Captain Cold, the Golden Glider, the Top, mustachioed Superman, some guy in a purple costume I can’t ID, Mirror Master, the Golden Age Sandman, and Captain Boomerang. 

The Golden Age Sandman is actually an assassin in disguise; he was hired by Chief Paulson to get rid of Barry Allen before he discovered his corruption; he drugs Barry by “shooting” him with his Sandman gun. One of the Green Lanterns is actually Hal Jordan, who pops up to say hi to Barry and Iris. A later story will reveal that the Captain Boomerang in this issue was the real Captain Boomerang, and that some of the other Rogues were also actually at the party so they could, quote, “party and pick pockets”. Yet another subsequent issue will reveal that the Reverse-Flash at the party was in fact the real Eobard. So...which of the other Rogues do we think were at the party? We know that the Captain Cold isn’t real; he’s “Phil from Vice”.  That means that the Golden Glider alongside him is probably not the real one either, and it seems unlikely that the Top here is the real one, since he was dead at this point. So that leaves the Pied Piper, Mirror Master, and Heat Wave as possible candidates. 

Chief Paulson calls Barry to meet him in his office at 9 AM the next day; Barry agrees but notes that the man seems oddly tense. 

Curtis, still dressed as the Flash, goes outside for a smoke break and gets jumped by Yorkin, who mistakenly believes him to be Barry (until he rips his mask off, at which point he just throws him off the balcony.)

Barry sees a Green Lantern making the moves on Iris and gets upset until Hal reveals that he’s the real Green Lantern and congratulates them on their plan to become parents. He then flies out the window, and somehow all the party goers are fully convinced that it’s just a really elaborate costume. Huh?

Iris tempts fate by saying that “this might be the happiest moment of my life!” The two go off together to get some privacy...but then Barry begins to feel dizzy, as though he’s been drugged. Iris goes into the bathroom to get him some water...and then Barry hears her screaming! He bursts into the bathroom to see Iris on the floor, with Yorkin standing over her. Yorkin then jumps out a window as Barry runs to his wife. 

A bunch of the guests, including Mustachioed Superman, burst into the room to see what the commotion is, and Barry passes out. Curtis bursts in a few seconds later to learn that one of his friends needs a hospital....and that the other is dead! It’s a very effective cliffhanger. 

[thirsty4theextraordinary]

Everything Burns - Chapter One

Story Description: Inside of Scarlett a monster lurked, only once has she let it breath, but that was long time ago. Now she was normal just like anyone else, that is until The Joker smashes his way into her life. She must choose go with the Joker and live a life of anarchy and exhilaration or stay where she is living the life of everyone else, the choice seems simple to her.

This story will include slightly OCC joker as I am writing to him as an evil lunatic but for one girl he is kinder and protective.  If you do not like this kind of Joker do not read any further. 

Also as many DC Fan knows The Jester is already a character, I am aware of this, and I also am aware that he is a vigilante. However, as he is a relatively unknown character I am going to be using his alias in my story as an unconnected person. 

Word count: 2,047

Pairing: Heath Joker X OC

Warnings: Suggestive language, mild violence

---------

Chapter One: The Jester

Her head hung forward as though she were dead. Her body held no tension whatsoever apart from the Cheshire smile plastered across her face. Her long legs stretched out in front of her, resting on the heels of the PVC platform boots she wore. Her arms hung by the handcuffs tethering her to the chair, she was sat in. They were biting into her skin as her body hung forward forcing her arms back, though she didn't seem to notice or even care. The interrogation room was cold and damp, the paint was new and left an unsavoury flavour to the air. Gotham Police Station was recently rebuilt after the explosion just over a year ago.

She had not moved at all since she was placed in that room, nor did she make a sound. She wore make-up not dissimilar to his, but it was smudged and running in places leaving patches of skin bare. The bangs of her midnight black hair hung in front of her face, hiding her eyes from view.

The bells on the ribbons in her hair jingled as the door to the interrogation room was opened.

She did not even attempt to look up as he entered the room, her pose set like a statue.

He was of average height, aged 40 to 50, his dark hair showing signs of grey. He wore a simple suit and pair of glasses. His face was aged beyond his years with a deep heaviness that told of his long work hours and hardships. He was a seemingly unremarkable-looking man, yet to so many, he was an icon of strength and righteousness. His face was grim as he stared at the young woman in front of him.

Behind him hovering in the doorway was a young officer in uniform. He was tall and strong-looking, he looked around uneasily his eyes lingering too long on the girl in the clown getup. He clearly knew exactly who she was.

"Go on," said the older man to him and with a nod the young officer left locking the door behind him.

Finally, the girl looked up at him her smile never ceasing. It was the kind of smile that young children do for a camera, wide and cartoon-like. He dropped a file in front of her, her eyes fell on it and she began to laugh. The sound grew louder and louder until she was bent over in hysteria. It was the kind of laughter people fear, full of desperation and bitterness but most of all insanity.

He sat across from her his eyebrows knitting together in sadness and confusion as to how she had fallen this far, but maybe she hadn't fallen at all maybe she had been in this place all along and was simply hiding all this time.

"Scarlett?" he said softly the laughing instantly stopped and the room echoed with her last laugh. Her gaze went black and the smile fell, this face was far more terrifying than the last.

"YOU DARE CALL ME THAT!" she screamed her voice going unfathomably deep and dark.

"What should I call you then," he asked calmly, trying not to allow his shock to be known.

"Jester," she said simply her face lighting up with that strange smile again and her voice returns to that of a high childlike sing-song manner.

"Is that what he calls you?" he asked his eyes motioning to the holding cell through the door where she had come from, where she knew he still sat, waiting for the right moment, she had no doubts in him, he had never let her down before. Not now, not every. He had broken them out of Arkham, he could get them out of here.

"Yes, sometimes," she said her voice high and happy, her eyes glazed over for a second and a new smile filled her face, it was the first real emotion he had seen in her since she had been taken here. But it faded fast replaced by the skin splitting grin that she was now known for.

"Shall we have a look at your file then, Jester?" he asked but he had already begun to open the file.

"If you wish, Commissioner" she sang his title happily, her eyes never leaving his, internally he shivered.

It had been 23 years ago that Jim Gordon had first met Scarlett Jesterson.

She was only four years old and yet had gone through a lifetime of suffering.

He was a newbie cop when they found her, he was not yet tarnished by the scum of Gotham city. The call had rung in, screams and cries had been heard late last night coming from a shipping container at Gotham Docks.

No one was prepared for what they found inside, but they could hear the child screaming, her voice hoarse. It was early morning, the light was dim, so as the doors opened they pointed their torches inside, the screaming of the child louder than ever.

That moment as he looked inside that container, he realised the true evil of the city he called home, he realised the true evil of humankind.

He doubted that he would ever get over seeing something so hideous and evil, but even worse he worried about that little girl, he knew she would never truly recover from what her young eyes had witnessed.

The doors were pulled fully open and a joint gasp left the lips of all who looked on, a few lost their lunch and others stared unable to look away from the horror inside.

There, in the shipping container was a little girl of maybe 3 or 4 years old, stood in the middle screaming for all she had lost. She was dressed in a pretty light blue frilly dress, but it was stained with blood. From head to toe, she was drenched in thick red claret. She wailed her voice cracking as she held on tightly to a severed head and stared desperately at an empty blood-stained chair in the corner.

The container pooled with blood, the girl soaked through as she stood in the depths of it all. Her face was red from the body that had been slaughtered before her young eyes. Later when the police would identify the that there were in fact 2 victims, the child's mother and another woman. A chainsaw would later be discovered as the murder weapon used to not only kill but completely dismember the bodies.

Gordon had been the only one to tear himself back to reality and rush forward to snatch up the child cradling her in his arms, as the head fell from her grasp and she screamed, he wondered if she would ever truly stop screaming.

The child was cared for at first by a foster parent who though had cared for children with troubling pasts, had never quite had anything as bad as what this little girl had witnessed.

The police would later try to interview the child but she would become hysterical and proved to be far too traumatised to give evidence. After a year of foster care, the child was given to her father, who had been in prison during the murder, for fraud. Gordon was wary of handing the child over as he had become slightly attached to the young girl, as well as her father was a well known English con artist, though it had never been proved with evidence that he was dangerous, Mick Jesterson was well known and feared in the streets of Gotham.

Less than a week later, unable to find any reason to have the child taken away from his care, Mick and his daughter Scarlett returned to England a strange smile on the toddlers face. The murderer with the chainsaw was never found.

To be honest Jim never thought he would see Scarlett again and then just over 11 years later he met a happy well adjusted intelligent 15-year-old girl. She had gained an English accent and showed no signs of her horror-filled childhood. Jim wondered if she didn't remember it, he hoped she didn't remember it.

She had returned to Gotham with her father and his new bride to be, Jackie who had been born and breed in Gotham itself, but Jim suspected other reasons for the Jesterson's return.

Though she seemed happy and as though her past was but a forgotten drop in the ocean, alas it was not. She remembered it, she remembered how the chainsaw sounded as it ripped through her mother's spine, she remembered how her mothers leg still kicked when they were no longer attached to her body, she remembered how her mother had begged for Scarlett to be let go, as her arms were removed. She remembered it all and it tainted her very existence. Gordon wondered sometimes if she had had a normal life would she still become one of Gotham's most wanted criminals and one of Arkham's most notorious patients.

He looked up at the grinning woman in front of him the jagged scar from her bottom lid of her right eye running down to the top of her cheek, looked like the streak of a tear in this light. It led from her right eye which was completely white, as though frosted over. It was a haunting look. He wished that the horrors she had seen had been forgotten just like he thought they had not so long ago. He sighed and she giggled a high squeaky sound.

There was a loud booming sound outside the interrogation room, but Gordon ignored it. The woman in front of him right now was far more important.

"Did he give you that?" Gordon asked motioning to the scar trying not to stare at her haunting eye. He wondered if she could see out of it at all. She seemed to be thinking for a second then she laughed again.

"Yes and no," she said and the grin spread across her face again.

"Does he often hurt you?" asked Gordon as he shut her file.

"When I ask him to" she replied still smiling. "Sometimes I like it rough," she said winking at him.

A laugh was heard over the intercom, it was him, there was no way you wouldn't recognise that manic laugh. The one-way mirror exploded as the bullet hit it. As the dust settled the Joker stepped over the small wall and into the interrogation room. He hit Gordon hard with the butt of his gun as the police officer tried to attack. The older man's body falling to the ground in a heap.

Joker pulled a string of keys out his pocket and approached the girl on the chair.

"Your knight has arrived," he said winking at her and she blushed under her white make-up.

Gordon tried to move as he watched The Joker un-cuff The Jester and help her to her feet. If they hadn't been wanted murderous psychopaths the scene would have been almost cute as she pecked The Joker on the cheek and thanked him. Jim's head was swimming and he couldn't focus as he tried to stop them.

"Come on gorgeous, our ride is waiting," said the Joker to his girlfriend who simply nodded and held onto his hand.

"This has been fun Jim, we should do it again sometime," said The Jester as she and The Joker made their way back over the small wall and out of the interrogation room.

The police station was filled with dust from the explosion the Joker had used to free himself and Jester. They ran out of the station and into the van that was waiting outside, the driver did not need to be told as he floored the accelerator and the van took off down the street.

Scarlett looked over at the painted face next to her and grinned he looked back and mirrored her expression.

"I do love, that smile," he said to her as he pulled her onto his lap, and slipped his arm around her waist.

"Same here!" she said happily before the pair kissed his red lipstick mixing with her purple.

The Joker pulled away and rested his head on Jester's forehead and grinned madly at her and she laughed.

[ladyanput]

Seeing Green Ch.11

I gave zero fucks this chapter. I promise I'll make up for it in the next one.

---

    Marinette stared down at her cell phone with a blank look, before she took in a deep breath, raising her gaze to Bruce, who was sitting across the table from her. She and the Waynes were seating in the dining hall, with the kwami from the Miraculous box flying around, exploring everything they could get their tiny hands on.

    “Mr. Wayn- um, Bruce? I was thinking, since you said you were going to get the Justice League in on the entire Paris situation, I want my team in on it too.” Marinette said firmly as Alfred set down a delicate china cup in front of her, filled with fragrant, flowery tea. 

    “You have a team? I thought you just had the pervy cat.” Jason rose a brow, his hand clenched tight around a mug of coffee. He had been tense ever since they had returned to the manor without Eva, but was holding himself together rather well. 

    “Oh, I have three other members in my team. Queen Bee, Viperion, and Ryuko.” Marinette sipped the tea, then hummed in approval. She motioned to Wayzz, who made his way down and indulged himself in some of the tea as well. “They are keeping Paris safe while I’m away. I find it odd, from what they’ve told me there has been no akuma attacks in the city since I left.”

    “Maybe the crazy butterfly man is taking a holiday?” Tim snorted as he downed his coffee as well, ignoring a glare from Damian. “Or maybe he left the country?”

    “Angel, are you sure Paris would be safe if you brought your team here and left the city unattended?” Damian reached over and gently took her hand, lacing their fingers gently. He smiled at her and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “I just mean that, I wouldn’t want anyone hurt.”

    “I’m sure. A lot of things need to be done now, thanks to all that’s happened.” Marinette got to her feet, a determined look on her face, her blue eyes sparking with a fierceness. “I need to find Hawkmoth, I need a stable team and I just want this all over. I mean, first I need to find a new Black Cat holder, then I need to introduce Lady Vixen to the team, and hopefully Alya won’t be akumatized, and-”

    “Miss Marinette.” Alfred quieted her by setting a hand on her shoulder when he noticed the girl had begun to tremble. The older gentleman gave her a kind smile and a gentle pat on the shoulder. “There is no need to fret for now. Just take a deep breath, your parents are on a flight over here, remember? They are due to arrive in a few hours, perhaps you should just take some time to collect yourself? You were just faced through many traumatic incidents in only a short week, so I suggest just laying low for at least a day?”

    “Alfred’s right. If you get too worked up right now, you’re going to overexert yourself, maybe even make rash decisions.” Bruce gave the girl a kind smile, then after a moment of silence, he nodded. “But once your parents are here and settled, you can bring your team here without issue, then we can contact the League. Hawkmoth has tormented Paris long enough and he needs to be dealt with before it gets too far out of control.”

    Marinette visibly relaxed, but then tensed when she heard the sound of someone running. Evangeline appeared in the doorway, clutching the Fox miraculous tightly in her hand and seeming visibly shaking.

    “Eva, what happened, are you okay?” Marinette took a step towards her, but Eva held a hand up, stopping her in her tracks. “Eva?”

    Evangeline was quiet as she went over and embraced Jason tightly, buried her face in his chest and trembled. Jason held her close, concern flickering across his features before he led her out of the room before anyone could say a word.

    Marinette stared after them before she hugged herself tightly. What on earth had happened?

    …

    When Marinette’s parents arrived and rushed to embrace her, the young girl let loose the tears she had been holding in. She wept and sobbed in her mother’s embrace, while her father talked quietly with Bruce, thanking the man for paying for their tickets to get to Gotham.

    “Well I know she would have wanted her family with her after facing such an experience. And the two of you must have been worried sick when you heard that Marinette had gone missing.” Bruce shook Tom’s hand, exchanging a look with Damian as a confused look crossed the parents’ faces.

    “We were never informed. We only heard about it when you called us, Mr. Wayne.” Sabine admitted, fury brimming at the edge of her tone as she spoke. She held her daughter tighter as realization settled in. “We had never been told about the incident with the other villain either.”

    “I-I’m so sorry, Mama, I should have called, I’m so so sorry..” Marinette hiccuped as she tried to wipe away her tears, her nose and eyes red from crying.

    “You mean to tell me Caline never called you? She never once informed anyone of what happened in Gotham?” Evangeline, in a much better state now, looked ready to take something heavy and go beat up one Miss Caline Bustier. “She should have called you the moment she realized Marinette was missing! The moment she knew that your daughter was being held captive with a gun to her head! Tom, Sabine, I’m sorry that I didn’t call.”

    “That’s enough, both of you” Sabine’s firm tone made any more apologies die off both ladies’ lips. “What matters is that Marinette is safe and that horrible boy is in jail. Honestly, I hope his foolish father doesn’t try to turn this around on her.”

    “Knowing Gabriel Agreste, he’ll get his secretary to handle everything while he stays back in his mansion and cries about his missing wife.” Eva commented dryly, crossing her arms and grinning when she heard a giggle leave Marinette’s lips. “Okay, enough of this sappy stuff. I am starving and I think we’ve all cried enough for one day. No one is dead, so let’s get some dinner and talk about our course of action from here, such as getting Marinette home.”

    “But the Wayne Gala!” Marinette blurted out the words before she could stop herself. She suddenly looked sheepish at all of the stares being sent her way, and shifted uncomfortably. “I-it’s in a few days and I was really looking forward to attending. Please? I made Eva and I dresses and everything.”

    “I don’t know…” Tom’s brow furrowed as he didn’t quite grasp why his daughter didn’t want to leave the city where she had faced such horrible things. But when he caught sight of how one of the Wayne boys and his daughter were looking at each other, it clicked, it was the same look he always gave Sabine. The two of them were in love, even if they didn’t realize it yet. “Well… One or two days couldn’t hurt, but afterwards we’re going straight home and contacting the school board about this entire incident. It wouldn’t have happened in the first place if your teacher had been more careful.”

    There were many hums of agreement and Marinette hugged her father tightly, squealing in excitement. She’d get the dream night, one last perfect night with Damian before she had to go home to Paris and deal with the headache that is her class and the torment that is one Lila Rossi.

…

Gabriel frowned as he entered the filthy, disgusting Gotham police station with Natalie. This is why he hated going out in public, people were so disgusting, so sloppy and uncouth. He had to get his son out of here before they all corrupted him.

"Pardon me." Natalie stepped forward towards the reception desk, her face a perfect blank slate as she gazed the woman at the desk now. "We are here to take Adrien Agreste home."

"Are you his legal guardian?" The woman behind the glass rose a brow, before Gabriel stepped forward and showed his ID. The receptionist nodded and pushed a button on the com. "Commissioner, Adrien Agreste's legal guardians are here."

Gabriel felt an irk of irritation as a gruff looking cop stepped through the doors, eyeing the duo before holding out his hand.

"Commissioner Gordon. I take it you're Gabriel Agreste? Sorry that we had to meet under these circumstances." Gordon kept his hand held out, but when he got none in return, he dropped his hand and guided the man back towards the cells, where Adrien was being kept. 

Adrien was found curled up in a corner, looking dazed, his left cheek covered in scratches from Lady Vixen's sharp claws.

"Son, what have you done this time?" Gabriel stepped forward, barely hidden fury being heard in his tone. Adrien raised his gaze and met his father's, allowing Gabriel to see the madness in his eyes.

"Father, I had my Miraculous taken away."

…

Marinette sighed as she stepped into the library and saw Eva sitting in one of the comfy chairs, staring down at her Miraculous with Trixx on her shoulder.

"Evangeline, what happened today?" Marinette stepped forward and nearly froze when Trixx's and Eva's eyes snapped up, both pairs of eyes the same shade of unearthly purple.

"I don't deserve this Miraculous." Eva blurted out, moving to unclasp the necklace, but Marinette quickly moved to stop her, her gut clenching at the sight of the shakiness in Eva's eyes. "Marinette, I'm a loose cannon, I attacked Adrien so easily, I-"

"Why did you, though? I've seen you angry, but never so ready to cause physical harm like that. I mean, it was so out of left field for you." She hugged her friend, giving her back a few gentle pats.

"... My ex boyfriend said the same thing to me. I was trapped because he had me in this horrible abusive relationship and I didn't ever leave because… Because he kept threatening to kill himself." Eva stared down at her trembling hands, before letting out a shaky whimper. "One day I did. And as I was shoving my bags into my car, he came out of the house with a gun. He called me name, put the barrel in his mouth, and-"

Marinette didn't need to know the rest.

"But I saw a therapist and I worked through that shit. He did that to hurt me, to spite me. It wasn't my fault, he would have done anything to control me or to hurt me. So that's why I'm so adamant on you seeing a therapist, sugar cookie." Eva took her hand gently, giving it a squeeze. "It wasn't your fault. It was never your fault, Adrien was bound to do this because no one ever told him no, no one ever taught him right. Yes, like Plagg explained, the Miraculous may have corrupted him, but that shouldn't excuse him from what he did."

Marinette was quiet for a long time, trying to digest those words as she left the library, allowing Trixx to talk to her newfound kit in peace.

Marinette wandered the halls of Wayne Manor, her mind just… Gone. Off trying to process all that had happened to her in only a few days. When she finally came out of her senses, she found herself standing in front of Damian's bedroom door. With a small smile, she knocked.

Damian answered the door, his eyes lit with concern as soon as he realized who it was. But before he could get a word out, Marinette reached up and pulled him down for a soft kiss.

"Thank you. Thank you so much for respecting me." 

"Angel, where did this come from?" Damian let out a surprised laugh as he gathered Marinette close, giving her forehead a soft kiss.

"Today just made me realize that if you find shut that treats you right, you should never let him go." Mari shrugged and smiled, pulling him in for another kiss.

Tim, who decided to exit his bedroom just at that very moment, made a gagging noise and went off to discuss with his brothers that he needed to stop coming across random make out sessions. It was getting utterly ridiculous.

…

Marinette set the Miraculous box down on the coffee table, as the Wayne family watched. She pulled out what looked like a pair of glasses, and smiled as Kaalki gave her a muzzle, then opened up a portal.

Out of the portal stepped Chloé Bourgeois, Luka Couffaine, and Kagami Tsurugi. The trio brightened at the sight of Marinette and rushed forward, old friends hugging onto each other for dear life.

"Are you sure the League will listen this time?" Kagami took a step back, wearily eyeing Bruce Wayne. "They've been ignoring our calls for years."

"They'll listen, we'll make them listen if it's the last thing we do." Marinette said firmly.

Soon the entire team was down in the Bat cave, facing the monitor. Ladybug stood with Ryuko, Queen Bee, Viperion, and Lady Vixen as the Justice League came onto the screen.

She forced a smile as she introduced herself, and fought back tears as she thought of the partner that would never be introduced.

If only she had been stronger, she could have saved him.

Taglist: @realrandomposts @interobanginyourmom @ladybug-182 @ladylb @zalladane @mochinek0 @persephonebutkore @urbanpineapplefarmer @vixen-uchiha @angelofmusickaterinapetrova @thewheezingbubbledragon @northernbluetongue @violatiger8 @thequestionablyhuman @ginamarie1512 @maude-zarella @2sunchild2 @saphiraazure2708 @ayuchan07 @virgil-is-a-cutie @thepeacetea

[bluebellhairpin]

No Strings, On Me!

Dick Grayson/Nightwing X Villain!Reader

A/N: Am I shamelessly using a Marvel song for a DC fic? Yes, I am. Fight me! - Nemo

Song: “No Strings on Me (Trailer Soundtrack)’ from Avengers: Age of Ultron

Warning(s): Blood, Violence, Death (of no one too important though) 

Summary: In the beginning, as far as Gotham went, you were just another pickpocket. Your simple pocketing moved to stealing, and eventually you became the most renowned and feared thief in Gotham. Then your gear upgraded too, and with that you donned a proper name; The Operator. 

Masterlist  

Your story, like every story, started small. 

You grew up in one of the worst parts of Gotham, your parents were nobodies, and they did some horrible things to simply get money for rent. Eventually your life and theirs became two parallel lines. All it took was one rainy night in Gotham, and you never saw either of them again.

You were taken into one of Gotham's crime rings, giving their boss a pair of small, nimble fingers to weave in and out of pockets and around the wrists of the wealthy at galas. 

As you grew, as a person and as a pick-pocket, you found your bargain with the leaders of the ring wasn’t very pleasing to you. It was very one-sided, and that made you very upset.

One job gave you an opportunity to correct this bargain. So now as a young adult, your plan was falling into action. 

A gala you were meant to steal from was meant for showing off a companies technology to help combat the Joker, and aid soldiers fighting in wars. The prototype in prime place was your commission, and was worth millions. It was as deadly as it was costly. 

All it took was one fire alarms and a couple codes, and it was all yours. 

I've got no strings To hold me down

You made it back to your boss’s penthouse a couple hours after you stole the weapon. It was a staff, one end tipped like a glaive with a razor sharp blade, the other end looked like a halberd axe. The dual bladed ends wasn’t what caught your attention most, instead the power that surged through you when you first grabbed hold of it. 

Previously you hadn’t known exactly what the weapon was, and now it was yours and you had forever to work out the kinks. 

Still clad in your gala clothes, you stepped through the elevator. Your ‘Boss’ was there in the sunken couch with a couple businessmen, busy chatting them up and dishing out orders for drinks. He didn’t even notice you until the look of horror came across the others faces. He turned to face you standing above him, not being able to move further due to the blade at his neck. 

“(y/n),” he started, his voice going quiet, swallowing hard and flicking his eyes from yours to the staff in your hand, “What are you doing?” 

“Did you know that one sting from a box jellyfish can cause a grown man to go into cardiac arrest?” you said, running the blade slowly from his neck up his throat to his chin. “I wonder what exactly I’d have to do to cause you cardiac failure, instead.” 

To make me fret Or make me frown

Despite having many headlines, one stood out to Dick most. 

‘Long-Time Gotham Crime-Lord found Dead’ 

A picture of the man flashed on the screen, and Dick noted it was a man Bruce had been after for a while. The only way he could be dead is if someone got to him before Bruce.  Not even five minutes later Bruce called and asked if he could come back to Gotham to help figure out who did it.

Who could’ve done it was obvious; either a rival or someone from his ring that got too riled-up. Which definitely helped narrow down the suspects to a smaller group. When the bat-signal went off that night, both he and Bruce went to it. There they found Commissioner Gordon, he gave them a USB, telling them that it was best they watch it back at the cave. And that they did. 

‘I had strings, but now there are no strings on me.’

The last sickly-sweet words of the woman who killed the Crime-Lord rang out in the vast cave.‘I had strings, but now there are no strings on me.’ 

“Looks like we have a new villain, huh?” Dick said, leaning back on the desk with crossed arms. 

“No, only you. I’m too old to deal with anyone new.” Bruce said, mimicking Dick and leaning back in his chair. “I already have one crazy blood-thirsty super villain in the form of Joker. Her? Man, Dick, she’s all yours.” 

I had strings But now I'm free

The first time Dick and You met, you both had blood on your hands. Him from the men he had to fight to get to you, and you from the man you were interrogating before he got to you. 

“So you’re Nightwing.” You said, circling him with your staff in your hand. “Batsy’s original Boy-Wonder.” 

From Intel and research Dick had gathered on you, the staff as what caused you to go off the rails. Despite being mostly human-made, it had a power source that was other-worldly that enhanced emotions of the wielder. If you were striving for justice you’d be a much nicer person now, but instead all you wanted was vengeance. 

“And you’re (y/n) (l/n), it’s not rocket science.” he said, eyeing you and you kept walking. 

“Oh dear Bluebird, I’m sorry, but your sources got that one wrong.” you said, lazily draping yourself over one of the couches nearby, motioning to the bartender nearby to get you a drink. “‘(y/n)’ died the same night old Mr. Lord did. She was the one who did the nasty work of dumping his parts into the closet he was found in.” you said, wiping your knuckles free of the red with the cloth the bartender brought with your drink.

“So ‘Not-(y/n)’, who are you?” Dick said, ‘casually’ making his way to sit on the couch opposite you. 

“You’re funny,” you smiled into your glass, “And I already like you, despite you smashing to pieces some of my men. I’m The Operator.” 

I've got no strings Now, I'm free

Unlike Bruce’s relationship with Joker, you and Dick were much friendlier. 

You had information Dick sometimes needed, and you’d give it to him in exchange for his help. 

One such instance was that of a girl named Ace. She was the daughter of one of your most loyal allies, and had been taken by someone you miraculously didn’t know. What Dick needed was information on Joker for Bruce, and you needed Ace back. To you it was a fair trade, and you did rather like Ace’s piano playing. After all you had a policy of not hurting children. 

A policy Dick scoffed at whenever Damian popped into his head. 

Dick did managed to track her down, and when he organised to get her back with the help of some of your men, he was more than a little shocked when he found you rocked up to help too. When your group found Ace, he was shocked further when you handled her so gently. A far cry from the later ferocity you had when dealing with the handful of men who’d taken her. 

It made Dick think you weren’t so far gone after all. In fact when he thought about it, you only ever hurt someone if they genuinely deserved it. 

He told you if you ever wanted to do the proper thing, the true ‘right thing’, that the Titans were there. You declined with a knowing smile, but told him that if there was ever another girl in Ace’s situation in Gotham that you were ready and waiting to help. 

He knew why you said no, and it all had to do with what he first heard you saying. 

There are no strings on me

[cornholio4]

Left Behind

Note: Based on a prompt left on the Tumblr of Miraculous-Of-Salt but not Daminette. Sorry but personal opinion and you are free to like the ship if you do but I don't left Marinette X Damien. My fave crossover ship of Marinette is with the Peter Parker Spider-Man. It's mostly due to not liking Damian from the comics and media I have seen with him as a murderous brat. I don't see Marinette actually tolerating him. That's just my view and I have liked Daminette fics I have read (though for the salt) and they are fine.

Ms Caline Bustier had gotten her class back from the long flight home; she had the class on a weeklong field trip to check out Gotham Academy, all the way in Gotham City in the US! It was also funded by none other than Wayne Enterprises as well.

It had taken a lot of work to do and set up along with the permission slips and not everyone was allowed to go, especially not Adrien Agreste due to his strict overprotective father. She never thought she was allowed to directly criticise parenting but Gabriel Agreste was too strict a parent to Adrien, it had only been recently that he even allowed him to go to school like a normal child.

Most of the School Board needed to be convinced and she along with Principal Damocles was sternly warned that anything that goes wrong will be on their heads.

It was mostly due to the infamous status that Gotham had; corrupt politicians and police officers that were replaced by dangerous Villains and insane criminals. She swore she had everything under control.

She was happy to report that everything went off without a hitch; nothing happened. The only disappointment was that Marinette seemed to be distant from her classmates and especially when Lila was nearby. She seemed to go out of her way to talk to the Gotham Academy students instead of joining any conversations that Lila was involved in.

She frowned at this and decided when they got back she needed to have a small little talk with Marinette; she noticed she was becoming more distant from her classmates and it couldn’t be good for her. She had been hoping she could reconnect with her friends which was why she insisted to her parents that she go.

It didn’t work so she would have to do more.

She made sure to check all the names on the list before leaving but there was one that was crossed out weirdly with a pen but she guessed it was a name that cancelled at the last minute.

She made sure everyone was sent home that Friday afternoon when they got back. However on Monday morning she got an urgent email from Principal Damocles that she was to report to his office immediately after arriving. She was stunned but rationalised that he must just want a report on what happened.

However she was met with a unhappy Principal Damocles; several people she did not recognise, Marinette’s parents who looked uncharacteristically furious and several representatives of the School Board. The representative’s fury was only overridden by the Dupain-Cheng couple’.

She could not even begin to ask what wrong before Sabine Cheng went on a tirade about how she left her daughter alone in one of the most dangerous cities on the planet when she assured them she would be totally safe.

She was in the middle of asking what they meant before her brain frozen when she realised something: she did not remember seeing Marinette on the line to come back at the airport or on the plane.

Marinette had phoned them home saying no one had told her when they were leaving so she was waiting at the meeting place at the hotel having been unable to find any of them. She had been found by Bruce Wayne who had to contact her parents arrange for her to be flown back in a private plane.

Ms Bustier was relieved that Marinette had gotten back safely then but one of the representatives passed her a tablet and saw it was the Gotham Gazette website. Ms Bustier was asking why she was being shown it and was about to get back on the topic of Marinette but she was harshly told to read it.

She saw it was about something that happened on the Friday Night after their flight left, the hotel they were staying at was attacked by criminals after a VIP guest who was in a luxury suite. The photo showed several criminals being handcuffed by GCPD police officers, she could make out the dark vigilante of Gotham ‘the Batman’ (a pretty bleak figure if you asked her) and next to her were the superheroine Starfire and the Bludhaven vigilante Nightwing. The two were comforting a teenage girl.

A teenage girl who looked a lot like Marinette....

Oh no..........

The backlash had been enormous and school was cancelled indefinitely for the students; the School Board and Marinette’s parents were furious that not only was Marinette left behind in a different country but it was in one of the most dangerous cities ever with her life at risk by an attack by criminals.

It was a miracle it was not someone like the Joker, the Batman Who Laughs, Killer Croc, the Scarecrow, King Tut or even the Bookworm who was involved. The criminals were being personally led by someone called the Ventriloquist and what had happened was that they were not willing to harm a teenage girl so they let her get to saftey just before the Superheroes had come.

Of course that was the official story; the one Batman had told the GCPD who related it to the Gotham reporters. The criminals were not contradicting the story due to their embarrassment of what had actually happened:

Batman, Nightwing and Starfire had arrived to see the criminals all tied up to a pole with a Yoyo, there was Ladybug there. Tied up was Arnold Wesker a middle aged grey haired balding man with glasses and was tie up along with Scarface his mobster ventriloquist dummy who he still had his hand in.

Ladybug was actually tickling his cheek asking who was a cute mob boss and Scarface was shouting to his men that anyone who lets this go out will be a dead man walking.

The story became everywhere in Paris; Nadja Chamack made sure to get it out through the news media. She was angry that the daughter of her friends had her life endanger by being left behind in a different country.

Marinette was interviewed about it in the investigation and was asked about the record of her having been bullied by the mayor’s daughter for years at the school. She related what had happened and asked about what Ms Bustier had done about it. She had to say that she didn’t do a whole lot and had taken her aside to encourage just be a good example for Chloe after she had ruined a birthday present she had made for the teacher.

That did not look good at all.          

It turned out that when the classmates were asked they said that Lila Rossi promised she would tell Marinette when they were going and didn’t. There were apparently some beef between them and looking into their file they found claims of disabilities, diseases and absences that didn’t have notes.

Her mother was called in for a talk.......

Ms Bustier was on indefinitely suspension but knew she could not count on keeping a teaching profession and didn’t know if Principal Damocles would survive the ordeal. Ms Bustier came to the bakery and gave a well deserved apology Marinette and their parents even knowing it would not do much. Marinette looked apologetic but her parents just said they didn’t have anything to say to her.

She felt that even the look Marinette had given her was more than she deserved.

Marinette had gotten home and despite what happened did enjoy her time in Gotham. She had a few souvenirs including a communication device with a T on it, it seemed like Ladybug was now an honorary Titan.

Her classmates had come to the bakery and given her apologies for what happened along with her parents. She accepted them but was upset about what happened.

She was more than happy with the other classmates (the ones who didn’t go) who wanted to make sure she was okay along with other students. Juleka and Rose had come to make sure she was alright along with Luka.

When she next saw Alya she was enveloped her into a hug that seemed to last forever and tearfully told her that she was glad she was okay. She hugged back. Alya was vehemently refused permission to go by her parents; they knew what she was like in wanting to get Superhero footage in the Ladyblog and the lengths she went.

They did not trust her to do the same in a city like Gotham.

On social media and TV interviews Bruce Wayne talked about making sure the visiting Marinette had gotten home safely and criticised the French school officials who allowed it to happen. Former GCPD commissioner and current Gotham City Mayor James Gordon shared the sentiment.

There were tweets and interviews from Bruce Wayne’s foster son Dick Grayson and his fiancé Kory Anders (a beautiful young woman who most people swore that she did not come from this world) who talked of making sure the poor girl was consoled until they were able to send her home.

Marinette was asked what it was like meeting Bruce Wayne by her friends but she was being humble about it and didn’t like saying anything. It was not like her classmate Lila.

Said girl was angry about the attention her hated rival was getting and the enormous trouble she was in. If she came back to school she knew she would have to face tougher and sharper personnel.

Why did she decide to make sure Marinette was left behind again?

[ivesblosson]

Fantasy AU

Day 5 at @official-batfam-week:   Fluff | Take Your Child to Work Day | Magic/Fantasy AU

(FYI, this is a really long post, since I make an aesthetic and wrote a paragraph for each character.)

In a world of magic, creatures of darkness lurks in the shadows. In Gotham, the dedicated vigilantes who stand between civilians and demons are members of an elite squad known as the Batman Inc. These are their stories.

Bruce Wayne is a vampire and Gotham City’s supernatural protector. He fought as a Confederate soldier in the American Civil War (much to the displeasure of his parents), but his military career was cut short when he met Silver St. Cloud, daughter of the owner of the largest cotton plantation in Virginia. Unbeknown to Bruce, Silver was a vampire, and having fall in love with him, transformed Bruce into one so the couple could be together forever. After being reborn, Bruce not only killed Silver and the rest of her family, but returned to Gotham to slaughter his own family. But since no evil deed goes unpunished, Gotham’s patron saint, St. Dumas, cursed Bruce to feel the pain of every victim of his for the eternity… Unless Bruce can find a way to redeem himself. 

Now, using the codename Batman, Bruce protects the city from evil in a attempt to remove the curse. During his quest, he has acquired many allies and friends,  and is a completely changed person from who he was before.

Alfred Pennyworth is a ghost and acts as Bruce Wayne’s butler and friend. Born in England and sent to America during the Revolutionary War, where he changed alliance and began to fight for the independence. He was shot dead in a battle and his soul began to haunt the grounds of what would one day become Gotham. Currently, he helps Bruce in his mission for redemption by providing information as well as keeping the Wayne Manor organized.

Richard “Dick” Grayson is one of the last fairies in the world. After Richard’s parents were murdered by an evil wizard, Bruce Wayne adopted him and raised him as if Dick was his own son. Trained in martial arts since a young age, Dick combines his magical abilities with his training to fight crime under the name Nightwing. He is currently dating Barbara Gordon, a.k.a. Oracle.

Barbara Gordon was born with a special ability: she can predict the future. Her dad is Gotham’s Police Commissioner, and she used to help him catch killers, until an attempt on her life resulted on Barbara becoming paraplegic. After that, her dad forbid her from getting involved with police work. But her powers had already caught the eye of Bruce Wayne, who offered her a position in he Batman Inc.. Now, she works as Oracle, gathering clues and spiritual trails to help Bruce solve supernatural mysteries. She is currently in a romantic relationship with Dick Grayson/Nightwing, who also works with Bruce.

Jason Todd was orphaned at a young age after his parents were killed in a vampire attack. Bruce Wayne managed to save the boy, and taking pity of him, adopted Jason. Jason felt left out, since he didn’t have powers like Dick or Barbara. Trying to prove to Bruce that even though he was only human he could fight, Jason confronted the Joker, an ancient trickster god, by himself. Jason died in the conflict, but luckily he didn’t stay down for long, as he soon crawled out of him grave as a zombie. Now he uses the disguise of Red Hood (which was one of the Joker’s many names) to fight monsters by Batman’s side.

Timothy “Tim” Drake comes from a lineage of sorcerers. Having deduced Batman’s true nature as a vampire, he convinced Bruce to let him help, despite Bruce feeling unsure to work with a mortal kid again, given the recent death of Jason. Tim eventually proved himself to be very necessary and was accepted as Bruce’s protégé. He is the boyfriend of Stephanie Brown/Spoiler.

Stephanie Brown is a nymph born in the woods surrounding Gotham. When she discovered her father’s plan to destroy all humans in the city, she allerted Batman by leaving clues all over Gotham. She managed to foil her father’s scheme, and taking the name of Spoiler, she joined Batman in his crusade against evil. She’s currently dating her teammate Tim Drake/Robin and is best friends with Cassandra Cain/Orphan.

Cassandra Cain was born to a family of powerful kitsunes. Raised by her father to become a soldier on his war against humans, Cass rebelled and ran away from him, eventually finding her way into Gotham. There, Bruce Wayne took her in and treated her like a daughter. Under the alias of Orphan, she helps Batman fight magical related crimes in Gotham. She is best friends with Stephanie Brown/Spoiler.

Dinah Drake Lance inherited her mother’s powers as a banshee. Following her mother’s footsteps, Dinah took the moniker of Black Canary set of in the streets of Gotham to stop any supernatural threat in the city. Her adventures led her to cross paths with Batman Inc. many times. A close friend of Barbara, the two girls often work together, and sometimes are even aided by the mysterious Huntress.

Helena Bertinelli is the last living member of the Bertinelli House, an once powerful elfic house in Gotham. When she was just a little girl, her whole family was murdered by dark elves and in that moment Helena swore to avenge her family. Calling herself Huntress, she spent years traveling the world and killing those responsible for her parents death. Helena’s quest eventually brought her back to Gotham, where she took upon herself to clean the city from the influence of the Dark Houses and to protect the few remaining Light Houses. Her violent tactics often result in conflict with Batman Inc., but despite that, she is know to sometimes team up with Black Canary and Oracle. 

[thegreenfairy13]

A Gotham Ghost Story - Part 5

When Oswald shoots Jim on the pier, his ghost is doomed to haunt the mobster. You can read the full story here. 

Thank you @mexican-texican for the beta! <3</p>

What follows feels like an onslaught. Jim is left with no choice but to follow the woman down gloomy corridors as he’s being pulled around corners and up the stairs. He wonders if death will always remain like this, being reduced to a sentient being that only observes but is unable to act.

A door behind him slams shut and the blonde hurls around to lock it. Finally, the cop can take a better look at her and gasps. He knows her, recognizes without a single doubt on his mind Gertrud Kapelput’s face however it can’t be . It’s a cop’s curse, being unable to forget a face, and even if he only ever saw her once he’s still absolutely certain.

But when looking closer, he notes how it can’t be, mustn’t be. The fragile woman might resemble Gertrud, they share the same nose, cheekbones, lips…but it can’t be. This woman is in her twenties, at most, and most notably, she’s got a ferocity and purposefulness to her that Oswald’s mother always lacked.

This young lady might be terrified but she’s not helpless. Jim observes her shoving a couple of dresses and some personal belongings into a bag before turning towards the window, for sure assessing the height and her chances should she be forced to leave the house by jumping through it.

They both freeze at the sound of steps coming down the hallway and before Jim can react, the woman does. “Hold the door!” she shrieks, looking directly at the Commissioner. When he doesn’t budge she repeats her request, more commanding this time.

Unable to process what’s happening, Jim does what he does best: saving someone. Turning, he drops his entire weight against the door. Closing his eyes, all he focuses on is the task at hand. James Gordon is still a cop and this woman is an innocent citizen demanding help. All he has to do is keep this door closed - at all costs. He sinks into the wood, feels each and every little atom, breathes the scents of wax, wood, and metal, imagines the lock fusing with the frame, imagines this single door holding up entire armies because if he doesn’t, whoever makes it through will kill her. He knows that with the same certainty he knows he’s dead, and he knows he won’t allow for it to happen.

The woman glances at him from the other side of the room, smiling gratefully. Jim smirks back at her and it suddenly hits him. She’s resilient, she’d make it without him too, but he buys her the time she needs. Another item follows the ones already in the bag and for a reason unknown, it makes him incredibly happy she’s able to gather everything she requires.

“I’m ready,” she states, already opening the window, preparing herself for the jump from the first floor. Holding out her hand, she invites Jim to follow her. Dazed, he takes it and for the second time today, he actually feels anything . He senses her warmth, picks up on her scent, which is also vaguely familiar, and vows to protect her.

“We’ll land softly,” she orders and Jim nods.

“You can see me,” he states, slightly awed and noting how his state of mind resembles being drunk. Not that he minds - it’s wonderful, as if someone had taken his brain and wrapped it up in clouds.

“Of course I can see you, silly,” she responds. “I conjured you,” the woman declares matter of factly. “I prayed for a guardian to watch over me and my child, I made the sacrifice - what good would it be if you’d appear and I couldn’t see you?” She shrugs as she tries ushering Jim toward the window.

Someone’s banging against the door already. However, Jim is certain they have all the time they need. Not a single second extra, but not one less, even. It’s a funny thing of her to say that though, that she made a sacrifice when he’s the one who died, he muses.

Jim already wants to contradict her when remembering he still has to get his facts straight first. “You’re Gertrud, indeed,” he asserts, waiting for her to confirm.

“Who else would I be?” she laughs a little bit, probably wondering what type of third-class guardian her magic procured. Given the circumstances, Jim accepts the concept of conjurings with shocking ease. Compared to dying, it’s not that outlandish though.

The lawman wants to laugh out loud. When truly taking in her physique, Jim wonders how he possibly could have missed her circumstances in the first place. Gertrud is delicate, way too thin for it to be healthy, therefore the slight swell of her belly should have caught his attention earlier.

“You’re pregnant,” he points out, feeling a bit foolish for stating the obvious the second time in a row.

Instinctively, she covers her belly with her free hand. “You’re here to protect him first,” Gertrud orders. “My safety is secondary. We made the deal, demon!”

“Demon?” Jim chuckles bemused and Gertrud’s face falls.

“You’re not…?”

“A demon?” the dead man finishes. “Hardly. I have no idea what I am. I only know I died and it was because of the baby you’re carrying.”

The women’s eyes open almost comically as she backs away from Jim in sudden horror. She grabs her bag, makes for the window once more, however backs down in sudden desperation.

“But you helped me,” she cries out, frantically looking for another way out. Feeling guilty, Jim raises his hands placatingly.  

The door behind Jim rattles again, louder this time, and the cop feels a sudden wave of urgency, as if he was forced to carry on, else he might give away his chances.

“I’m a cop, I help people,” he says matter of factly, opting for a soothing tone.

“You’re a liar, demon!” she accuses instead, eyes rolling wildly from here to there and suddenly, it hits him. Jim didn’t recognize her right away but now, as she’s pacing the room hysterically, running her hands through the strands of her hair, he perceives the madness.

In later years, her mental decline will be clear for everyone to see, but today the illness is nothing but a small seed. One day, she’ll seek salvation in the illusions her mind will gracefully procure for her and the thought alone saddens the cop. How must it have been, being raised by a mother gradually unable to differ fiction from reality? Is it the reason Oswald never told her about his true profession? It must have been easier, leaving her to her delusions and letting her see whatever she chose to.

Stomping her feet, she focuses all her rage towards the cop. “I’ll raise a good boy!” she declares with conviction. “I’ll have a beautiful baby boy, and he will be happy, he’ll be honest, he’ll be generous, and he’ll know nothing but love. I swore,” she almost screams and Jim shakes his head.

There’s something about Gertrud that makes arguing quite difficult, impossible even. “I said your baby is the cause for my death,” Jim sighs wearily. “I never said he’s responsible for it.” That’s not entirely true, but it’s a lie Jim can live with. Everything considered, dealing with men like Oswald on a daily basis is like playing Russian Roulette; he had it coming, especially after meddling with his freedom the way he did. Heck, he got ten good years, even.

Jim wishes he could close his eyes for a second, escape this new reality for a second. The only grace he’s being given is the ability to stare at a stain on the wall. He wills himself to focus.

“So it was an accident?” the future kingpin’s mother inquires curiously. “And even after your death, you’re here to help?”

“One could put it that way,” Jim admits drily.

The door rattles for the third time, a warning for the both of them to hurry up as a vivid image flashes before the cop’s inner eye: he observes himself stepping away, sees a lock breaking and wood splintering, he sees an outraged man storming inside, Gertrud screaming. Jim sees blood and he feels nauseous. He never could, could he?

Taking a deep breath, he imagines Gertrud’s lifeless body, a baby never born. It feels wrong and terrible, this death.

‘I will faithfully serve and protect anyone in need of a helping hand. I will never kill unless there is no other option to fulfill my vow.’ Jim silently recites the oath he took when joining the force, pushing away an image of his daughter running joyfully towards him. All of this is just a test, Jim tells himself. None of this is real and the past can’t be changed, he remembers his physics-teacher from fifth grade saying so.

Face lighting up, Gertrud claps her hands. “He’ll be exceptional, won’t he?” she muses. “What a man he’ll grow up to be, how much he’ll be loved when his friends even seek to protect him after their death?”

“You are friends, aren’t you?” she urges after a moment, giving him the same treatment he received the first time Barbara introduced him to her parents. It’s a look of pure scrutiny as she carefully sizes him up, for sure wondering if he’s good enough for her precious Oswald.

“We’re friends,” Jim rushes to clarify, fully aware he’s finally saying the words her son longed to hear for years.

Gertrud opens her mouth, indecisive. Jim isn’t sure why he’s secretly proud of the fact that she seems to be slightly disappointed in the statement before her demeanor changes again. It’s slightly endearing how much she and her son have in common.

Narrowing her eyes suspiciously, she assesses the dead man once more. “You said you’re a cop,” Gertrud recalls. “If you are indeed a cop, why would you , the corrupt scum of Gotham, be friends with my baby boy?”

Rolling his eyes, Jim prepares for his well-studied not-all-cops speech, the very same he bestows upon hesitant witnesses.

“I’d teach my child better than to hang out with cops and robbers,” Gertrud declares furiously and honestly, Jim can’t blame her, yet he’s got a trick up his sleeve that works even better than any type of persuasion.

“All honest cops have either quit or died,” he snaps back. “As we both can see, I’m the latter,” he adds drily.

Despite herself, Gertrud chuckles. “Can’t argue with that, darling,” he declares warmly.

“We should leave now,” Jim reminds her when he feels something pressing against his back. There’s no urgency though. He feels it again, this floating, unearthly sensation of being a mere pawn in a greater game, unable to act but to follow the path of destiny.

“Do you think you can help me?” he wonders out loud when taking Gertrud’s hand, leaping out of the window together with her.

He hears the wind rustling through the trees the very second she shouts her answer. They land on the grass, both chuckling in delight when she brushes off the leaves from her dress while Jim is still completely unaffected.

“Who was that lunatic anyway,” Jim wants to know, already running into the woods with her, admiring the long strands of hair dancing through the air. She looks so alive , like that, not even knowing how close indeed she’d been to death. If just one tiny thing had turned out differently, if she had tripped, if she had been silent instead of loud, if the door had not been made from oak, if���

Life always beats death, Jim decides. There’s no hidden romanticism in a life cut short, in a heart stopped from beating. Gertrud is gorgeous, and full of hope and love for her son’s future. He couldn’t take that from her even if there might have been a chance it would have stopped his own suffering.

Laughing in sheer relief, Gertrud runs through the trees, the bag flapping over her shoulder. “Who should it have been,” she grins. “My baby boy’s grandfather, of course.”

Even Jim has to giggle. For Gotham’s standards, that sounds like such a mundane family-drama.

“I need your help, though,” he shouts in lieu of an answer. “I need to be alive again,” he adds and Gertrud stops.

The good mood from mere moments ago is lost instantly and Jim swears he can almost feel the temperature dropping himself when his stomach falls.

“Oh, my poor baby,” Gertrud says, cupping his face lightly between her hands. “My poor, poor baby,” she repeats sadly. “The dead can’t return to life. Not like that. Either, they are gone, or they need to fulfill their purpose.” Jim hopes it’s only a trick of the light she suddenly sounds crazed.

After pondering for a moment, her face suddenly lights up. “But I can do one thing for you,” she proposes excitedly. “I told you I’d make sure my son stays away from cops. I’ll teach him not to befriend one, maybe…”

The gunshot echoes through the woods, cutting her line of thought short. That has been the last warning and Jim can practically feel the time running out as his mind is getting dragged through space and time, hurled mercilessly through the void back to where he started.

The feeling is similar to a cramp, only worse, and a hundred times more painful. Here goes his only chance for help, Jim thinks, as Gertrud leaves him behind, taking his ability to communicate with another living being with her. He screams after her, begs her to call him back, to help him however possible.

Turning, she reaches for him, tries grabbing his hand again yet they both already know she can’t follow. “I promise,” she shouts after him and Jim wants to weep.

[bonyarishitafuan]

10-80: Pursuit In Progress (111835 words) by tori1116 Chapters: 12/12 Fandom: Red Hood/Arsenal (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), DCU, Batman (Comics), Batman: Under The Hood (Comics), Red Hood: Lost Days, Batman: Streets of Gotham (Comics), Batman and Robin Vol.1 (Comics), Young Justice - All Media Types, Green Arrow (Comics) Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Roy Harper/Jason Todd, Past-Roy Harper/Jade Nguyen (Mentioned), Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Lian Harper & Roy Harper, Kate Kane/Renee Montoya - Implied, Pamela Isley/Harleen Quinzel - Mentioned, Past-Essence (DCU)/Jason Todd, Past-Roy Harper/Other(s), Past-Jason Todd/Other(s) Characters: Jason Todd, Roy Harper, Bruce Wayne, Damian Wayne, Colin Wilkes, Professor Pyg (Lazlo Valentin), Scarlet (Sasha), Artemis Crock, Lian Harper, Renee Montoya, Harvey Bullock, Helena Bertinelli, Jade Nguyen, Arnold Wesker, Essence (DCU), Cassandra Cain, The Joker, Barbara Gordon, Grace Choi, Leslie Thompkins, Grant Emerson, James Gordon Additional Tags: Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Alternate Universe - Police, Alternate Universe - No Capes, but With As Much Dramas As The Cape World, and Probably Some Capes I Donno, Roy is a Detective, Jason is a Detective, and Also the Red Hood in The Before Part, Language, Canon-Typical Violence, Adaptation of Canon Events, Police Brutality from Det. Jason, Past Drug and Alcohol Addiction, Past Physical Traumas, Angst, Established Relationship at Present, Non-Linear Narrative, Workplace Relationship, Past Psychological Traumas, I don't really know how cops and lawyers work, Morally Ambiguous Character, Moral conflicts, Roy's only just known his daughter, The Joker is dead, Things Aren't Off To A Great Start, But They'll End Up Better Than How They've Started, Pre-52 Characterization, The Canon Roy Who is a Hero and a Buddy to Everyone, and a Total Slut, Crime Alley Kid Jason with His Controversy, cuz That's the Jason I Love, Artemis Is More Like Lian's Big Sis Than Her Aunt In Here, off-screen sex, Closeted Character, Bats Dysfunction, Mention of Teenage Drinking & Drug Use, Bisexual Character, Not a Love Story, Just a Story of Jason and Roy Each being The Hero of Their Own Story, while Mixing Up with Each Other and Being the Better for It Series: Part 2 of The Fuzz(y Logic) - The Jayroy Cop Drama Summary:

The prequel and also sequel of The Thin Red (Blue) Line, which can be considered as a standalone story and I don't think is really necessary to read first in order to know what's going on in here. You could read it anytime if you'd like to know more about this AU (which would be much appreciated), but if you don't want any spoiler, you could just leave it until this whole story is finished.

*

In a universe which is quite like the Pre-52 comicverse but without (or with a lot less) super people, instead of dressing as a Bat, Bruce has joined the law enforcement in order to protect his city from crimes and is now a police commissioner; "Under the Hood/the Red Hood" isn't so much as a Batman's story but a Jason Todd's story co-starring Roy Harper, who is a great many things: an orphan, a Navajo, a former junkie, a cop, a very good friend and partner, and also, a father (to be).

[lakecountylibrary]

Staff Pick: Batman: The Black Mirror

Batman: The Black Mirror, nearly ten years after its publication, remains the quintessential Batman story for the 21st Century and one of the Dark Knight’s greatest tales of all time.

Originally published in Detective Comics #871-881, the story is written by Scott Snyder and drawn by Jock and Francesco Francavilla. (Available on Hoopla)

The Black Mirror follows Dick Grayson as Batman as he plunges himself into an insidious mystery involving a body found inside a dead orca and a secret society known as Mirror House. Concurrently, Commissioner Jim Gordon responds to the reemergence of his son James Gordon, Jr., putting him at odds with his daughter Barbara.

Snyder weaves a tightly-wound detective story that is heavy on psychological dread and light on over-the-top scraps. In many ways, The Black Mirror acts as a delightfully sinister horror story, with its tone and atmosphere reminiscent of David Fincher’s Se7en.

(Editor’s note: putting this under a cut for both length and details, though major spoilers are avoided.)

Though few villains from Batman’s rogues gallery actually make an appearance (with one notable exception, which I dare not spoil here), their presence still permeates throughout. A young circus boy bites the hand off a fellow performer after consuming Killer Croc serum; a woman commits atrocities against her will via Mad Hatter tech; the crowbar allegedly used by the Joker to kill Jason Todd is auctioned off to a gathering of sniveling socialites. Over the course of ten issues, Dick is confronted by the grim reality that Gotham may not be in need of saving but rather the very thing its citizens (and himself) need saving from.

The artwork by Jock and Francavilla is both drastically different and strangely complimentary. Jock’s portions, most of which follow Batman’s adventures, feature sharp, jagged lines with a muted color palette by David Baron that doesn’t extend much beyond heavy blacks and grays. Dick faces the horrors of Gotham City head on, claws, jagged teeth, and all.

Gordon’s conflict is more internal, so it makes since for Francavilla to take a more subtle, naturalistic approach to his style.

His lines are smoother and curvier while his colors are more vibrant with heavy contrast. These portions may look less grotesque, but it’s the dread of knowing something isn’t quite right that sinks in like poison from pretty little berries.

Or maybe I’m just remembering the rat eating the baby birds inside their own nest. Yikes.

-- Reader’s advisor Ian

[violetsmoak]

Appetence [3/?]

AO3 Link:https://archiveofourown.org/works/20251420/chapters/47997634

Blanket Disclaimer

Summary: Red Robin is investigating the disappearance of a friend and stumbles into a spot of supernatural trouble. He doesn’t expect to be saved by Jason Todd, miraculously alive five years after his death and now with the inexplicable ability to commune with the dead. Meanwhile, when Jason returned to Gotham he meant to maintain a low profile and not get involved with Bat business. That was before he found out how hot his Replacement is.

Rating: PG-13 (rating may change later)

JayTimBingo Prompts This Chapter: #incubus (sort of) #paranormal investigator 

Canon-Compliance: Alternate Universe; Jason still died but was not found by Talia when he was resurrected. All other events mostly follow the same chronology as New Earth continuity, with mentions made to events in New 52

First Chapter

Author's Note(s): Bit of a shorter chapter today because I have stuff to do later so I'm updating early.

Beta Reader: I’ll get back to you on that.

________________________________________________________________

It’s another two hours before Jason returns to the East End. It had taken all of his concentration to keep Cole’s ghost focussed on him and his stories, instead of whatever unnamed force might tempt him back to gravesite. After the boy vanishes in the gradual, whispering way spirits do when their unfinished business if met, Jason doubled over at the sudden migraine.

He much prefers when unfinished business can be completed in one place instead of having to carry a phantom passenger with him.

Being tired—and now that he thinks about it, hungry—does not help his bad mood.

Another kid. Another victim of the fucking Joker.

Just how many more kids was the nutcase going to take out? How many more Robins? Because Jason’s seen pictures of the new kid—blurry and imprecise as anything to be found in a Gotham tabloid, but enough for someone with an eye for it to judge some facts—and he’s fucking tiny. It doesn’t matter that the girls in the Bowery where Jason lives say he’s meaner and more dangerous than any of the others. He’s smaller than Jason’s replacement—smaller than that girl even. What the hell is Bruce thinking?

Again, the temptation rises within him to hightail it over to the manor without warning and rip Bruce a series of new ones while he’s too busy gaping in shock to defend himself.

He doesn’t, though.

Knowing Bruce, he’d think it was a trick and beat the snot out of Jason, then stick him in a cell somewhere until he could confirm his identity. Jason’s been behind the door of enough cells to last him a lifetime, and that alone holds him back.

And who’s to say he doesn’t blame me for getting myself killed in the first place?

He knows that’s not likely, somewhere deeply buried inside, but it’s hard to shake the idea. Old insecurities return in full, memories of pity and concern and frustration, and his final moment waiting for his dad to save him and being disappointed.

And then being disappointed again when his wits returned to him and he discovered the Joker was still breathing. That Bruce didn’t deal with it—didn’t kill the fucker that killed Jason and shot Barbara.

He remembers that horrible week, wondering if she was going to live or die, and then being told she’d never walk again. Vibrant, ass-kicking and beautiful Batgirl with her wings forever clipped. In a way, he thinks he’s angrier about Barbara than himself. As Robin, he was always going to be a direct target of the Joker; Barbara wasn’t shot and tortured because she was Batgirl—she was shot and tortured because she was Commissioner Gordon’s daughter.

And after all that, Bruce just put the bastard back in Arkham, where he could have a taxpayer-paid vacation then break himself out again whenever he felt like it.

Something needs to be done about him, and B’s sure as fuck not going to do it.

With every step, Jason finds himself getting a little angrier. It’s a cool rage, different from the volatile mess of hormones and emotions he was as a kid, but it’s still there. Say what you want for the brain damage, but he was so out of it that it’s probably why John’s meditation techniques took when Bruce’s didn’t, tempering him.

He’s still prone to rash action, of course, but for something like this—something as serious as the Joker—he’s going to have to think it through. Somehow, he doubts it’s just going to be as easy as walking into the asylum and shivving the guy. And Jason’s not exactly keen on getting arrested, not after he worked his ass off to set himself up with an identity and a job and everything here in Gotham.

It bears thinking about, and he can’t do anything immediate about it now, so he’ll sleep on it. Something will come to him.

Jason turns the corner, intending to do just that as he heads for his apartment.

Well, it’s not really an apartment. It’s more office space over a bar on the border of Crime Alley and the Bowery. It’s just cheaper to rent an office than an apartment these days; with housing costs soaring, even property in the worst parts of Gotham are wildly out of his price range.

(He’s not a billionaire’s son anymore.)

Might stay out of my price range for a while. PIs don’t make much, to begin with, and my niche is kind of…specific.

Mediumship isn’t exactly a lucrative business, nor is paranormal investigation. Both jobs attract the crazies, but he knows from experience the ones who are legit will pay good money for his services.

Still, the whole set-up isn’t so bad.

He’s been getting his food from the local bodegas and the bar downstairs, and he’s sure after a bit of saving he’ll even be able to go out to the occasional sit-down restaurant when he gets a craving for something gourmet-ish (He doesn’t think about how Alfred could whip up a do that would put the cordon bleu to shame).

Jason sprung for a decent quality sleeper sofa, so it’s not like he’s kipping on the floor and the office even has a bathroom with a shower, which was a big plus when his landlady, Trista, showed it to him. The ambulance chaser who occupied the space before him said he used to work a lot and needed to be able to shower between jobs. He’d also said if he hadn’t been so keyed into his job, he’d have noticed his life falling apart around him and not shot himself three months ago.

Yeah, that was a fun one…

Since helping the previous owner move on and then taking up residence in the cramped office space, Jason’s made a point of warding the entire office against any other wandering spirits.

I happen to have very strict office hours, ta very much.

He pauses on the street leading to his place, his stomach growling again, and decides he’ll head into the bar for a pick-me-up beforehand. Trista, who also owns that place, doesn’t offer a lot in the way of food, but what she does is pretty good. Hers is the only place he’s been so far that can make decent fish and chips.

As he heads in that direction, he notices a familiar face standing on the corner across the street. He decides to make a quick detour.

“Rhonda,” he says with a grin, “you’re lookin’ especially gorgeous tonight.”

“Boy, I don’t need you to tell me shit I already know,” the woman tells him with a sniff. “And if you’re cruisin’ for a lay, I’ll tell you what I always tell you—you too young.”

“You’ve been tellin’ me that since I was twelve,” he grins.

Rhonda is the only person here in Gotham that knows he’s back, and that’s only because recognized him one night while he was heading back from a job. When he first landed himself on the streets as a kid, Rhonda was one of the girls who looked out for him and whatever other orphan was wandering around here at the time. After he was adopted by Bruce, he made a point of checking up on her as Robin, chasing off johns that tried to get over her time (even though she was already pretty good at managing that herself) and buying her food whenever he could. He never expected her to still be here when he got back, but she’d taken one look at him and cursed.

“I knew that story about you bein’ dead was bullshit,” she informed him as she took a drag of a cigarette. “What you do, run off on the rich man or some shit? He been tellin’ everyone you’re dead for years now.”

“To him, I am dead,” he’d replied, not wanting to go into it. “And everyone else better keep thinkin’ that too.”

“Ain’t gonna hear it from me,” she’d shrugged. “But why the fuck did you come back to this shithole?”

“Home’s home,” he had shrugged, and she’d nodded because she knew exactly what he was talking about.

Now, she sizes him up and considers his face. “Rough night, it looks like. You gettin’ in trouble again?”

“Nah, just exorcisin’ some…personal demons. Quiet night for you?”

“Mostly. There was a cape around couple minutes ago, though, so keep an eye out.”

She knows he tends to avoid them.

Jason raises an eyebrow. “Which one?”

Christ, I hope it wasn’t Batman or Robin. Don’t think I could take seeing either of them tonight.

“It was Red. Came through to ask some questions.”

It takes him a moment to connect the name to the roster of vigilante’s he made himself memorize before coming back here. Red Robin is the one he suspects used to be his replacement, probably got graduated or replaced himself when the newest brat was put in the boots.

“He came here?” Jason asks. “Why?”

“Usual mask thing, comin’ down here to talk to the little people who might’ve seen somethin’.”

Jason makes a thoughtful noise, a bit impressed. He was always the only one who bothered coming down here; even Bruce avoided the minor crooks of the Alley after he started getting more invested in Gotham’s rogues.

“Red’s good people,” Rhonda says then, looking like she’s considering something. “He’s the only one that tries with us. Pays good money, buys food—sorta like Robin used to. And you know he’s doin’ it on purpose, ‘cause when he’s around the city, he usually sticks to Chinatown or Tricorner. That’s what the news say, anyway.”

Jason is again surprised. “Definitely goin’ out of his way then.”  

“Hm.”

He thinks about it a further minute and then shrugs. “Anything else interesting happening tonight? You need anything?”

“Yeah, for you to get off my corner so I can get to work,” Rhonda retorts. “Unlike you, I don’t like livin’ off bar food. Gotta be careful what you put in the temple, you know?”

“I dunno, give me a chili dog any day…”

Jason chuckles as she shoes him away, and then continues on his way to the bar. Maybe he’ll pick up something to go—

Just as he’s about to step into Trista’s bar, the hair on the back of his neck stands on end, and he feels a minor flicker of vertigo.

Something’s off.

Turning back to the street, he casts his eyes about, looking for anything out of ordinary to explain the sudden unease. Something nags at him, something that feels…hungry almost.

Since his senses are only attuned to the spirit of the dead, a hungry presence is never a good sign. Ghosts can sometimes become so enraged over their deaths, so tied to the mortal realm, that they become psychic vampires, attaching themselves to the living and feeding off of them like a parasite until they drop from exhaustion.

Fuck. Can’t leave one of those wandering around, if that’s what this is.

He gives an irritated groan and walks away from the bar, turning his focus on tracking the sensation. It’s not exactly calling out to him personally, but it’s still present enough for him to notice.

Jason digs into his pocket, winding his prayer beads around his wrist and checking if he’s still got any iron on him. Nothing big enough to make much difference, but for distraction if it comes to it.

As he reaches the end of the block, Jason catches sight of the cape first.

Damn, I don’t miss the days of having to wear gear like that.

Because that cowl thing the vigilante is sporting is almost as much a tragedy as the green leotard Jason used to sport (they weren’t panties, fuck you very much, they just looked that way—as if Alfred would allow someone to go outside the house in just their underwear). And the cape is so thick it gives him no idea as to the stature or body behind it.

At least this Red Robin guy is smart enough to have a full body-armor suit instead of pixie-boots and a t-shirt.

Might be the only thing he’s smart about, judging by his company.

The too-perfect-looking young man that beckons the vigilante to follow him into the alleyway is all cold blue eyes, sharp smile, and sleek movement. And even if Jason couldn’t read the malevolent aura emanating from the direction of the two men (and that’s a doozy, especially if it’s coming from only one individual), he’s seen that look before in eyes just as cold.

He knows the tactics of an incubus seeking its next meal, and this one seems to have decided it has a taste for vigilante tonight.  

This isn’t really Jason’s thing—incubi are low-level demons, more John’s area of expertise than his. Getting involved would mean willingly crossing paths with one of Gotham’s masks, which he’s been taking pains not to do since returning.

But he’s also not allowing any kind of unrestrained feeding and killing to happen on his turf. And these darkest, dingiest parts of Gotham have always been his. Even when he was trailing after the big Bat.

Plus, this guy is Red Robin.

Jason hasn’t had any particular interest in the growing number of masks cropping up in Gotham over the years, but this guy’s obviously a bird. Which means Jason has a kind of personal connection to him. Call it brothers-in-arms or something poetic like that, even if they’ve never met.

Also, the way incubi feed…no one deserves to have that happen to them, especially in a filthy alley like this one. Jason’s always had concern over consent issues, and with incubi, the way they get that consent literally straddles the line far too closely for his taste. This Red Robin might be Bat-trained, but unless he’s taken a master class in the occult (doubtful, considering Bruce’s distrust of anything resembling magic), he’s being led away like a lamb to the slaughter.

Probably he’s already been ensnared by the thing’s powers and doesn’t even realize it. Like a baby bird in front of a snake.

Jason sighs in defeat and rolls his shoulders in preparation for what he knows is going to be an unpleasant interlude.

“Time to be a hero,” he mutters to himself and stalks toward the shadowy alley where the two figures have disappeared.

⁂

Next Chapter

[theimpossiblescheme]

Been doing some further thinking for Oracle ‘66 and refining the timeline for my girl Babs...

I know that The Bionic Woman is part of the Batman ‘66 extended canon by way of the comics (seriously, this world is getting bigger by the week, it feels like), so it’s entirely plausible that this universe’s Oracle could just snag herself some cybernetic legs... but I really don’t think she ever would.  Not just because we seriously need to grow out of the “implausible cure for disabilities” trope, but also because I just don’t think that’s the kind of person Barbara Gordon is.

Because so much of the Batman ‘66 ethos, especially where the Batfamily are concerned, is leading by example.  Batman is very aware that children look up to him in this universe, and he’s very tuned into their reactions to what he does, so he does his best to be a role model for them and instills those values into Dick as well.  And if Barbara’s been spending so much time around such an image-conscious person, it would definitely rub off on her.  Besides, she’s got a lot to be image-conscious about--in her civillian life, she’s the daughter of the police commissioner and the head of a lot of nonprofit community organizations, and as Batgirl she fills the same role as Batman does as an action-oriented role model, only for girls.  She’s going to be hyper-aware of how young women all over Gotham think of her... and if those young women have injuries and illnesses that can’t be easily fixed with advanced technology, why should she?  After all, ‘66!Oracle wouldn’t be paralyzed--she has scarring and burns that make walking very painful, but not impossible.  Some of these girls who look up to her might never walk again.  So the example she gets to set changes; if she could show able-bodied girls that they can kick just as much butt as the boys, then she would get to show disabled girls that they can kick just as much butt from crutches or a wheelchair.

She’s always been the kind of character whose thesis statement is, “Think you know what I’m capable of just by looking at me?  Well, you’re dead wrong.”  And I think it’s important to preserve that, both as the able-bodied Batgirl and the disabled Oracle.  “I’m no ordinary woman, Batman” is always and forever her driving force, no matter her physical ability.