#Jason I came back to life and was a big deal Todd | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

spacedace · 10 months

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Here have some snippets of the AU that’s taken over my brain (featuring Elle unintentionally dunking on both of Bruce’s identities, Clark realizing he passed his taste in partners on to his son, a bit of pre/unaware that they are dating Super Serious Chaos, and some blink-and-you-miss-it background Enemies to Lovers Dick/Dan)

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“Sorry, who’s Bruce Wayne?”

The room when quiet. All heads turned to look at Elle at the end of the table. Bruce didn’t visibly react, but Clark could make out the subtle indication of disbelief that his old friend was feeling - that they all were feeling at the interpreter’s question. Elle, suddenly aware she had the full room’s attention, had the look of someone who realized they’d said something wrong, but didn’t know what.

“You’re kidding.” John said, “You know Bruce Wayne. Everyone knows Bruce Wayne.”

Elle blinked. “I don’t.” She glanced from face to face, “Is he like a big deal? Does he work here or something? I haven’t been around that long so I might have missed him.”

It took every bit of self control Clark had not to laugh. His voice still came out a bit strangled from the effort as he offered, “No he doesn’t work here.” If Bruce was the type to do so in uniform, he’d be kicking Clark under the table.

“You live in Gotham. You have to know Bruce Wayne.” Barry said, voice going a bit high with growing bewilderment. “Mega ba-jillionair. CEO of Wayne Tech? Richest man in Gotham - in the world? Has like a hundred kids?”

Their interpreter’s nose scrunched. “So he’s like…in one of those fundamentalist cults obsessed with having a bunch of kids or something?”

Bruce actually twitched at that. The sound of utter disgust in Elle’s voice at the concept, the complete and total lack of any kind of recognition she had for the single most famous non-crime or crime-fighting related person in the city that she lived in, she truly had no idea who they were talking about. Clark had to get a recording of the room’s security feed, Lois would love this. Oh, wait no, Bruce’s kids. Maybe if he was fast enough he could text Dick to get there ASAP so he could see it all in person before it was over.

“No! Nothing like that! He adopted them - well most of them.” Barry tried to explain, looking utterly lost as he turned from Elle to the rest of them and back again. “You’re messing with us right? This is like a joke?”

Elle shook her head, looking just as lost as Barry did. “I have no idea who you’re talking about.”

“Do you know Dick Grayson?”

“I know of an officer Grayson who is a dick. Total tool. He’s been making my brother’s Dan’s life miserable for like a year now. Pretty sure not who you’re talking about though.”

“Jason Todd.”

“The library goon?”

“Tim Drake.”

“Sounds like a Dark Wing Duck character.”

“Cassandra Cain.”

“Isn’t that the author that started out writing incest Harry Potter fanfic?”

“Duke Thomas?”

“What’s he a Duke of?”

Barry snapped his fingers, pointing emphatically at Elle with a look of victory on his masked face as he shouted, “Damian Wayne!”

Damian, who had at that moment just walked into the meeting room with Jon at his heels paused in his place just behind Elle. He did pretty well at hiding his surprise at Barry seemingly shouting his civilian name and pointing at him upon walking in. Though the tense line of his shoulders suggested that if Barry was actually revealing his secret identity without warning or permission, there would be blood.

Stella Nightingale, unaware of the almost-kinda identity reveal going on around her, tilted her head in confusion at the speedster. “I’m assuming he’s related to that Bruce Wayne guy?”

“They’re all related to Bruce Wayne.” John said with open amusement now. The Green Lantern had given up on the research entirely, watching the entire debacle with a growing smirk he kept casting towards Bruce. “That man’s face is plastered absolutely everywhere in the news. How do you not know who he is?”

“If Lois Lane hasn’t written about him he can’t be that important.” Elle said with a casual certainty of one speaking a core tenant of their beliefs. Clark’s opinion of the young woman - already quite high considering her ferocious loyalty and fondness to Jon - rose sharply.

“You’re read the Daily Planet?” Clark asked, warmth curling in his chest at the mention of his wife and her work.

“I read articles by Lois Lane.” Elle said promptly, “I tried reading some articles that Kent guy she partners with sometimes wrote on his own but I couldn’t get past his writing style. Dude sounds like he’s from outer space with his word choice sometimes.”

Bruce, looking far too pleased, gave a quiet and not terribly convincing cough as Clark tried to will his soul back into his body.

It was going to be a long day.

—

“You are at least aware of who Gotham’s vigilantes are, yes?” Damian asked with a raised brow behind his mask.

Elle shrugged, giving him a sly smile. “The relevant ones.”

Clark tried to hide his short laugh with a feigned cough. Elle at least was distracted enough with Jon and Damian’s attention to notice but Bruce was giving him a look over the tablet he was trying - and undoubtedly failing - to review files on.

Jon grinned eagerly from his spot beside Elle as he asked, “Aren’t they all relevant to you? You live in Gotham.”

“I live in Crime Alley.” Elle corrected, bumping his shoulder with hers. “We have different standards of relevancy there.”

“So what are the relevant ones then?” Clark asked, pointedly ignoring Bruce’s burning stare. They’d get back to the research. Eventually. Finding out if the Gothamite who had been spending all her free time with Phoenix and Flamebird for the past year and a half was as oblivious to her city’s heroes as she was its celebrities was too entertaining a notion to pass up.

“Phoenix, obviously.” She grinned cheekily at Damian across the table, ticking names off her fingers as she continued. “Red Hood. Spoiler. Uh…Orphan?” She trailed off, forehead scrunching in concentrated thought.

“That’s can’t be all the ones you know.” Jon gaped, eyes sparkling with amusement as he glanced over to were Bruce was seated, not five feet away before turning back to watch Elle try to rack her brain for any more Gotham vigilantes. Clark could see the moment that the words are taken as a challenge as Elle sat up and looked more determined.

“No, shut up, I know more. Uh…there’s the one, um Red Sparrow? It’s another bird one with red name, I’m pretty sure. And the one with the blue - fuck I should know his name. Nightjar? Wasn’t Nightingale I would have remembered that…shit, dude threw up on our couch once I should remember his name -“

“Nightwing threw up on your couch?”

“Nightwing! That’s the bitch! He got poisoned or something and Dan drug him to our place to patch him up since Doc Thompkins’ clinic was closed.”

Clark shared a look with Bruce and Damian. Dick had failed to mention that little event. Clark could see Bruce reaching for his wrist computer, undoubtedly typing out a message his eldest about what he’d just heard - possibly another to Alfred if he was feeling like pulling out the big guns.

At the other end of the table Elle ticked Nightwing off with a nod, even as Jon squawked that it shouldn’t count since he’d given her the name, “Then there’s…uh…oh! Harley Quinn!”

“Harley Quinn does not count.”

“She beat up a guy trying to mug me last week and got me a hot chocolate afterwards, she totally counts!”

“Someone tried to mug you?”

“Crime Alley, Nix, if someone doesn’t try to mug me while I’m out I get worried that I missed Hood calling in a Street Clear for something big.”

“We’re going to circle back on that later.” Jon said, sharing a pointed glance with Damian. It looked like young Miss Nightingale was going to be getting escorted to and from the Watchtower from now on.

Ah, Clark mused, falling head over heels for someone with no understanding of the concept of self-preservation and a stubborn determination to run straight into the heart of danger without a second thought. It brought back such fond memories. Of both Lois and Bruce. And Diana. And - Hmm. Kara might have been right. Clark might have a type.

Watching the three at the other end of the table and taking them in, Clark realized he might have passed his taste in partners on to his son. Well, at least he’ll be able to give Jon some advise on how to handle the heart attacks Damian and Elle will inevitably give him.

“Harley Quinn doesn’t count. You got any more?”

Elle rolled her eyes, muttering about Harley totally counts, before leaning back in her chair. “I think I’m out. I know there’s more but,” She gave a shrug, “I’m tapped out. Those are all the ones I can think of.”

It was, surprisingly, Bruce that spoke up at that declaration, a slant of amusement to his lips as he asked, “No one else comes to mind?”

Elle waved him off, attention turning to the mountain of alien script they needed her to translate for them. It was the reason she was even there rather than in her office trying to translate whatever incredibly dangerous magic tomb JL Dark had dropped off without accidentally summoning a demon or ending hte world in the process. J’onn was right, they really should give her a raise.“That’s all I got.” She said with a sigh, “Like I said, I know the relevant ones.”

“Hn.”

Twenty minutes of shared looks of amusement and suppressed laughter later Elle’s head shot up, a look of wide eyed embarrassment on her face. “Oh my god.”

“There it is.”

“About time Nightingale, I was starting to be concerned about your mental faculties.”

“Shut up, this so embarrassing!”

“Don’t sweat it kid, we all have our moments.”

“I can’t believe I forgot Signal.”

“What.”

---

Context of this snippet if anyone is interested:

This is actually the same AU as the Steph & Jason sibling bonding Anger Management snippet from a bit ago (I’m calling it my Ghosts in Gotham AU in scrivener so I guess that’s what I’ll call it here lol). This time focused on Elle and her misadventures as a Totally Normal Civilian (TM) working for the Justice League with her two besties Jon & Damian (none of them realize yet that they’ve been dating for months).

No idea when this is supposed to take place in terms of timeline with the other snippet, but kinda vibing the idea that while Steph & Jason are having a heart to heart on a rooftop over their shared background and Jason’s future as a dad, Elle is up in the Watchtower telling Bruce Wayne to his face that she has no idea who he is and forgetting Batman is a Gotham vigilante while he’s sitting at the same table as her.

Anyway, this AU has taken over my life. Expect more nonsense to come lol

#dp x dc #dc x dp #dpxdc #dani phantom #danielle phantom #super serious chaos #superseriouschaos #jon kent #jon el kent #Damian Wayne #clark kent #justice league #bruce wayne #barry allen #john stewart #ghosts in gotham au #batfam #elle doesn't pay any attention to the famous people in gotham unless they're trying to kill her or save her #and she might not even pay attention then #and yes this is more of my headcanon that the Justice League is the world's biggest polycule #no i will never let that headcanon go i love it too much #there's a version of this world where Elle never figures out that Bruce Wayne is supposed to be kind of a big deal #years in the future she Dami & Jon are married & she has a new friend she's made over for lunch #and they see some of the family photos and are like #is that fucking Bruce Wayne at your wedding?#Elle - oblivious: oh you know my father-in-law?#Bruce gets unmasked before Elle knows about everyone's identities & he's freaking out while she's just #full lex luthor moment: I have no idea who this is #Bruce: you know who I am now #Elle - does not know who he is but doesn't want to admit to it guessing: Clark Kent?

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stealingyourbones · 7 months

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Why does DC hate Jason Todd so much??? He's literally Babey!!! 🥺

You probably aren’t me expecting to respond to this factually but fuck it here we go. Because he was a little rat fuck who replaced their favorite Robin character for a shitty carbon copy.

I wasn’t in the comic scene, or alive, when that happened in comics, but Jason originally was a carbon copy of Dick. He grew up in a circus, was in an acrobatic troupe called the Flying Todd’s, and his parents died by the hands of Two-Face.

The next Crisis had his backstory changed but the fans still viewed him as the bad Walmart version of Robin.

(For the readers:)He was a shitty replacement for Dick Grayson that had been Robin for so long and readers didn’t like the new guy taking over the role.

He doesn’t have a memorable Robin stand-alone series, he was uncharacteristically ruthless for a robin, he replaced Dick and didn’t have any of the Grayson charm that made Robin so loveable, he was arrogant at times and bashed in general. People wanted Dick. Not this other guy.

Nowadays why they hate him?

Simple and yet layered reason:

He went from a very wonderful villain in the comics and got later boiled down to an anti hero. Most people I know that dislike Jason now preferred his villain arc. I prefer it too honestly but if we didn’t have anti hero Jason, we wouldn’t have the interactions he has with the batfamily at all and I really enjoy those scenes in the comics.

His characterization is all over too. He goes from absolutely batshit insane in some comics to angsty ninja boy, to essentially a little bit feistier Ric Grayson (I’m so sorry it’s my take DC fans please don’t fight me).

Also, his death was a BIG thing in comics and him coming back ruined the meaning behind his death.

Back in the day there were three deaths in comics that always happened and never changed. They were deaths that grew other characters around them. Those three were:

- Bucky Barnes from Captain America

- Jason Todd from Batman

- Uncle Ben from Spider-Man

Their deaths hold major stepping stones to character arc changes and how the main character acted for the rest of the comics. They were always the main characters greatest tragedy and a core part of their lore.

Of course two of these are now changed. Bucky Barnes is back as the Winter Soldier and Jason is back as Red Hood.

But that death was sacred for a while. For 20 years he was dead. He was Batman’s greatest tragedy. You did not fuck with Batman’s greatest sorrow. And they did it after (incel) Superman Prime punched the universe so hard Jason Todd came back to life.

Additionally, lots of comic writers just don’t fucking want to deal with him. Same with Damian I feel like. They throw both under the bus because they’d rather be writing other characters.

Most of this is my observations but if anyone else has any other comments to add feel free.

#bones replies #DC comics #red hood #Jason Todd

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makethatelevenrings · 2 years

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Just Friends? // J. Todd x f!reader

Requested? yes!

WARNINGS: none

Summary: Jason panicked and told Dick he was dating someone. Now he’s being forced to bring them to family dinner so he turns to his best friend, you, for help.

“You want me to…what?”

The couch dipped beside you and a heavy arm draped across the back. You nudged Jason with your elbow as he crowded up against you and he retaliated by swiping your book out of your hand. Since he didn’t particularly feel like dying again that day, he made sure to slide a bookmark between the pages before he shut it and tossed it onto his coffee table.

“I need you to be my date. To Sunday night dinner.” He said it so simply that you had half the mind to start concussion protocol in case he had landed helmet-first sometime during last night’s patrol. You raised an inquisitive eyebrow and he grinned.

“And this is in relation to…?”

“Dick was trying to set me up with this guy he met at a coffee shop and knowing Dick’s taste in people, I panicked and said I was already dating someone and he insisted that I bring them to meet the family. Because anyone who would date me, and I quote, is a godsend and/or in need of some serious help.”

You hummed and poked his cheek. “What if I’m both?”

“See? You’re perfect.”

You adjusted your seating on the couch so you could face him, one leg tucked under you and the other hanging off the edge of his worn couch. His large hand came down to rest on your thigh and he drew circles against your skin before squeezing gently. You slid one hand to the nape of his neck and played with his hair.

“How on earth are we going to convince your family, the greatest detectives in the world, that we’re a couple?”

You found yourself at Wayne Manor on Sunday with one very antsy vigilante. He kept asking if you remembered the story the two of you had generated and you were very close to throttling him. Two years of friendship and he still didn’t trust your ability to make shit up on the fly.

The heavy oak door swung open, revealing a short kid. He appraised you with a disinterested expression and then delicately sniffed.

“Todd, I see you have brought your lady friend for once.”

“Nice to see you too, Demon Spawn.” Jason ruffled his hair as he passed and the kid swatted his hand, a murderous glare flitting across his face.

“You must be Damian.” You held out your hand and he regarded it coolly before shaking it. “Jay told me you like animals. Remind me later and I’ll show you pictures of my cats.”

Damian’s eyes narrowed for a moment before he nodded and stepped aside. “That is agreeable. Perhaps I can introduce you to Alfred as well.”

You mouthed something akin to isn’t that the butler? to Jason and he snickered as he sidled up to you and slid his hand along your waist. “Butler AND cat. Damian was inspired when he named him.”

“Hmmm, that’s cute. So, one sibling down. How many more to go?”

“Too many.” He leaned down to brush a kiss across your brow. “Thank you.”

“Anytime, bird boy.”

Dinner went off without a hitch. Dick declared his love for you the second he met you, Tim was hesitant at first and fully assumed you were actually a mercenary hired by Jason to try and kill him again, Steph gleefully regaled you with stories of Jason slipping and falling off of roofs during patrol, and Cass had laughed when Jason had tried to steal some of Alfred’s famous mashed potatoes off of your plate and you proceeded to launch a fork at him.

Bruce, as expected, just sat quietly.

“Oh, miss, don’t worry about the plates,” Alfred exclaimed when you started stacking up Jason’s dirty dishes onto yours. “I have it handled.”

“Are you sure? It’s really no big deal.”

“Quite alright, miss. It is my job after all.”

You smiled at the kindly butler. “Jason speaks very highly of you. Thank you for always being there for him.”

“Of course, miss. Master Todd has always been a great joy in my life.” You could see the unspoken sorrow that lingered there too and you briefly thought of the jagged, y-shaped scar that spanned the length of his torso. Jason slid his hand in yours and tugged you into another room.

“Movie night,” he explained. “National Treasure, of course.”

“A classic.” He maneuvered you to fall back onto the couch, leaving a space for him between you and Dick. “Ah, shit, let me go get you a blanket.”

“So, how long have you two been dating?” Dick asked when Jason disappeared.

“I’ve known him for two years but we’ve been dating for three months.” It was the agreed upon date you two had come up with last night when you laid on the couch together, a mess of tangled limbs. “He’s my best friend.”

“He better not be trying to replace me.” Dick pouted but Damian tossed a pillow at his head and let out another scoff. The youngest Robin had Alfred the cat in his lap and stroked the cat’s fur like some kind of evil villain in his lair.

“Don’t worry, Dickiebird. No one can replace you,” Jason drawled as he returned with a blanket. He draped it over your lap and then took a seat next to you. “Good?”

“Yeah, thanks Jase.” You knew you wouldn’t last through the movie. In fact, you probably fell asleep twenty minutes in. Your head fell against Jason’s shoulder and he carefully adjusted the blanket to cover your shoulders before running a hand over your hair.

“If you haven’t already,” Bruce said from behind him. “You should tell her you love her.”

Of course, Jason groused. Nothing got past Batman.

#jason todd imagine #jason todd x reader #jason todd #red hood imagine #red hood x reader #red hood #dc imagine #mine

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lazycats-stuff · 9 months

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Hey, I'd love to request Jason x big brother reader, before Bruce adopted Jason he had a big brother who took care of him, but one day the reader kinda vanished and money just randomly appeared near Jason. The reader made some sketchy deal with someone in exchange for Jason to be taken care of. The reader was an experiment and got turned into some sort of monster (still a human silhouette but just a bit different, memories wiped, can't speak etc.) and years later, when Jason is red hood and on a mission with the batfam, they encounter the reader. Jason remembers the reader through some jewelry he gifted them, and he tries and helps the reader remember who they are.

My poor Jason. And the poor reader. Also, why am I writing such short pieces? What is happening with me?

Summary: (Y/N) makes sure that Jason is taken care of. But there is a catch.

Warnings: experiments, not the good kind, monsters, but not in the detail, Jason doesn't remember (Y/N).

Jason looked at a photo from his childhood. He was sitting on the bed in his apartment, looking at the photo from his childhood. It was Jason, but way before Bruce adopted. Years even.

The photo came in a brown envelope, seemingly out of nowhere. It was in his PO box, just waiting in there. At first, Jason thought that it was dangerous and that it had something like anthrax, but after closer inspection, the envelope was fine.

He didn't know who this boy was. They were happy in the photo, just the two of them. Smiles and happiness. One of the rare moments in the Todd household.

But now he wondered where this person was. Where did he vanish? Why did he vanish? When?

But Jason remembered that once the man left, he was... Taken care off? There seemed to be some extra money in the Todd household and that might have been a first. Some extra money. Huh.

But Jason remembered that thing were better for a while. It was somewhat stable and he didn't worry about being hungry or anything like that.

And then Bruce adopted him. Well, Batman was there first so technically, Batman adopted him. Bruce had to personas. Batman and Bruce Wayne.

What does he even do with this? Who sent him this? Should he talk to Bruce? Dick?

He groaned, hands going through his own hair. What to do now?

Jason sighed. There was a mission. Something about human experiments. Jason shuddered at that. And the worst of all? They were in Gotham, under a guise.

Hugo fricking Strange.

Jason never liked him. He thought he was insane and full of himself. Also, he suggested the idea of Arkham City and that, according to Jason was the dumbest idea ever. A prison in the middle of the city?

Hell no.

The facility was kind of empty, if you disregard the dead bodies of what Jason thought were failed experiments. He scowled underneath the mask, gun in his hand, just ready to strike.

This was a disaster waiting to happen. Something out of a horror movie, but Gotham was a horror movie in real life. A psychotic clown, egoistical man who is obsessed with riddles, insane mob boss, a human crocodile who is nuts-

A crash from one of the rooms made everyone jump. Batman didn't, he just walked slower. Jason pointed the gun towards the sound of the crash.

Who knows what was going to come out of the corner. Jason thought about the fact that they were going to die, because only stupid people would go to a facility where there were human experiments.

" You know everyone, I will say it. This is how white people die in horror movies. "

" What about Robin? " Nightwing asked.

" Robin would scare off the monsters. " Jason said, smirking at the TTs he got in return.

He pointed his gun towards the hall, seeing a normal human here. But it wasn't really normal. It was the man from the photo he got. But who was he?

Jason's eyes fell down onto the necklace he was wearing. Oh my God.

" (Y/N)... You are here?! " Jason screamed out, putting his gun back into the holster.

The others looked at one another. Who is (Y/N)?

" It's me, Jason. " Jason started, taking his helmet off.

" What the hell? " Tim wondered out loud.

" This is my older brother. I now know you vanished. You sold your soul, your body to protect me... Oh my God. " At this point Jason raised his hands up.

" B, we have to take him back. (Y/N), can you say something? " Jason prompted.

(Y/N) was ready to attack, but Jason was quick to jump at him and knock him out.

" I have to find out what happened. I have to... " Jason said, looking at his older brother.

" We will. Don't worry. But you need to explain to me what has happened with him. "

#dc comics #dc x male reader #x male reader #jason todd x male reader #red hood x male reader #red hood #platonic #platonic relationships

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whydoyoucare866 · 6 months

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Moonlight

PAIRINGS:

Titans!Jason todd x reader

SUMMARY:

Bruce has taken in Jason Todd as his youngest son and the new robin some months ago, Bruce’s goddaughter also came back to Gotham after being away for a year.

Some months after meeting Jason she starts a friends with benefits relationship with him, suddenly Jason has to move to the Titans tower and two weeks later Bruce sends her too, but, why is Jason ignoring her and acting like he doesn’t know her and why does it get worse when Rose Wilson arrives to the tower??

A/N: in this story Dick and Jason will not have such a big age gap as they do in the show, Dick will be 23 while Jason will be 19, but for the sake of the plot it will, also ignore that there’s already a dc character called moonlight, also the powers I made up for her make no sense at all but we’ll have to deal with it.

TWS: slow burn, angst, blood, canon violence, mentions of death, anxiety, jealousy, friends to friends with benefits to enemies to lovers?, maybe death of a main character (haven’t decided yet) change of plot

Keep in mind that English is not my first language, I also know nothing about guns, human anatomy or fighting in the language so I'm sorry if I make a lot of mistakes

Story Masterlist / Main Masterlist

Superman by Eminem was playing as the car Bruce sent to get you from the airport approached the gothic styled manor you hadn't seen in a year or so, the way everything looked the same brought you a sense of comfort, you knew Dick wasn’t Robin anymore, you were really close to Dick and he had told you all about how Bruce was a bad father and how he didn’t want to become him, you understood him, although you couldn’t help but feel bad for Bruce, you knew he was trying his best and he may not have been the best father, but he was a great godfather, it probably was because he wasn’t 100% responsible of you, he didn’t have to teach you about emotions, life, problems, or shit like that, he just had to spoil you and talk to you, so it was probably easier for him.

As you grew closer to the manor you noticed that Bruce and Alfred were already waiting for you by the door with some guy, he looked a little bit younger than you, but not too much, you couldn’t see him very well from the distance, but he seemed to be in casual clothes so you assumed he lived here, he was probably another stray that Bruce took in after Dick left so you paid it no mind. Eventually you arrived to the mansion and you could cry, it had been a year since you had last seen Bruce and Alfred, it had been a year since your dad had died, he was the only parent you ever knew, your mom wasn’t a deadbeat who abandoned you or anything like that, but she wasn’t “normal” she had special abilities (which you also have) that you didn’t know were special until you showed them to a boy in kindergarten and made him cry out of fear, at that moment you didn’t get why the boy had cried when you just tried to show him how your hands could glow, you then got a long talk from your mom about how most people don’t have the same abilities as you, therefore you have to keep them a secret, otherwise people would be scared or even worse it would put you at risk because there were bad people who wanted those abilities for themselves. You learned to take the talk seriously when your mom got killed by some scientist who wanted to have her powers and it was all thanks to not hiding them too well, leaving your dad and yourself on your own.

The sound of the car’s door opening pulled you out of your thoughts, and you immediately started getting off the car, you started walking towards the entrance of the Manor and all of the memories came flooding back making you emotional, you approached Bruce and just crashed into him with a hug, he became stiff, but he tried to comfort you as you cried in his arms, you hadn’t seen him ever since your dad had died, you had ran away from your problems and went to Europe for a year thinking it would help, but it didn’t, you were completely alone at Europe, at least here in Gotham you had Bruce and Dick and Alfred, you weren’t completely alone, but over there you were, and it just made you realize how much you missed and appreciated them.

When you calmed down, you moved on to Alfred who looked just as neat as always and also hugged him tight, after all Alfred reminded you of a loving grandfather and always gave you comfort, Alfred pulled away and excused himself to bake your favorite desserts, just like he always did whenever you were sad, it all felt so familiar that you felt comfort for the first time in a year. After hugging Bruce and Alfred and breaking down you realized there was still a boy who probably didn’t know who you were and had to witness you being a mess as his first impression of you, poor boy probably would be really uncomfortable after seeing a stranger come into his house and break down while he just stood there, the thought of it made you feel embarrassed making the atmosphere really awkward as you just stood staring at each other not knowing what to do, or say, Bruce took on the tense atmosphere and started introducing you to each other in hopes that the tension would fade away. You learned that his name was Jason Todd and he had just gotten taken in a year ago, some months after you left for Europe, Bruce also told you about how he found him and how he was now the new Robin, Jason have you a short nod as his way of saying hi and then Bruce started telling him about you, he told Jason about your abilities and how you were the vigilante known as moonlight which made Jason look excited, Bruce seeing Jason’s reaction told you how he was a fan of Robin and Moonlight and it sparked a bit of pride inside of you, but then made you feel embarrassed as you realized you had probably disappointed the boy by showing him how weak you actually were.

After the introductions finished, Alfred came out telling you all to get inside and to let you go to your room and accommodate, which you thanked him, You loved Bruce and Jason seemed nice, but you were exhausted after flying and you just wanted to get some rest, Alfred guided you to your room as if you hadn’t bern there a thousand times and insisted on carrying your luggage for you even though you said you could handle it.

“Here we are Miss (Y/N), you already know where Master Bruce’s and my rooms are in case you need anything, and if you ever need Master Jason his room is the one that’s right in front of yours in Master Dick’s old room .”

You thanked Alfred who excused himself and went to the kitchen and you decided you were too tired to unpack and that you would do it tomorrow, so you took the book you were reading and your headphones out of your bag and laid down to read a bit, you were really tired and after some pages your eyes started to get really heavy and you felt yourself drifting off to sleep.

taglist:

@fairyeoll @singitoutgirl26

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itsscromp · 7 months

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Jason todd/Red Hood x reader

Awww anon this is a very cute request, If it's alright with you, could I do the bat family ??. On another note, I did some research and asked people as well. But if there's anything incorrect please don't hesitate to let me know. :D. Word count:681

Jason and you were best friends when you two were just kids. The two were inseparable and told each other everything and wouldn't judge. He was the first person you told when you decided to come out as transgender to him.

"Jason... I'm transgender, I've always felt like a woman all my life and I always will" You looked down, almost ready for the questions.

Jason just simply smiled and wrapped his arms around you and held you thightly.

"It's ok y/n, I'm so happy you trusted me with this, I'll support you no matter what"

You smiled up at him as happy tears swelled up. "Thank you"

He supported you every step of the way, helping you look out for clothes that made you feel like you, helping you with your hair and everything.

It was until about high school when you came up to him, a little sad.

"Jason... I'm leaving Gotham City"

"What... Why ??" he looked at you sadly.

"My parents are moving to Metro City for their work. Plus I can be able to start hormone replacement there as well. Jason, when I'm finished with school, I promise I'll come back to Gotham City, I promise." You held out your pinkie finger.

He wrapped his pinkie around yours, You two would meet again later in this life, that's a promise.

And 12 years later, You kept your promise.

You proudly fully transitioned into a transgender woman, You have never been so happy in your life, you were now you. You were also excited to see Jason.

You kept in contact with him and asked to meet up with him at the local cafe for coffee.

He was so excited to see you again, And when he saw you for the first time in 12 years, His smile so wide.

"Y/n !!" He rushed and hugged you.

"Jason !!" You hugged him tight

He then pulled out of it and saw your amazing transformation.

"You're you now !!" He smiled brightly

"I'm me !!!" you giggled as you felt so happy.

"I'm so proud of you y/n, You look amazing"

"I know, I feel amazing too" You smiled looking at yourself again.

You then caught up on what's been happening in your life, and showed him your subdermal patch.

"So this patch, even though it's used for contraceptive methods, It's also a hormone blocker, so I have no testosterone circulating in my system. it also helps my voice from dropping too" You smiled proudly.

"That's amazing y/n" He smiled brightly.

"So how's things with you ??" You smiled

"Things have been going okay, Same old Gotham. So nothing surprising" He chuckled.

"Yeah true, Not much has changed from what I gathered" You giggled.

"Hey can I ask you something Y/n ??"

"What's up ??"

"I was wondering If you wanted to meet my family ??" He smiled softly.

"I'd love to" You smiled back.

"Come on"

He then brought you back to the Wayne residence and introduced you to the others.

"Guys, this is y/n, The one who I talk about"

The others came over introduce themselves.

"Hi, I'm Barbara" She smiled as she shook your hand.

"I'm Tim" He waved shyly

"The name's Dick, NIce to meet you" He shook your hand.

As you shook his hand, He saw the patch on your arm.

"I can see you two are taking care of yourselves" He smirked and winked.

Jason froze and blushed deeply, causing you to giggle and pat his shoulder.

"Oh no, I'm transgender actually" You smiled softly at dick, who gasped softly and quickly apologized to the two of you.

"It's ok, It's no big deal" You chuckled "Some people make that mistake a fair bit"

"And plus were just friends dick !!" He turned to him, making you giggle.

You really saw him as your protective older brother and to him you were his sweet sister. You loved his family. They were all funny and sweet towards you. Jason was glad to have you back in Gotham City. His Sister from another mother.

taglist: @callofdudes @fun-k-board

#platonic #reader insert #jason todd gotham knights #jason todd #Red hood gotham knights #jason todd x reader #Red hood #red hood x reader

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smittywing · 11 months

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FicBit: Jason Todd/Tim Drake

Spending the weekend at Awesome Con, but first, the Good Stuff.

Previous parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Jason didn’t seek Tim out. But Red Robin signaled for backup two blocks from Jason’s favorite safehouse. (It was upstairs from a bakery and sometimes he fell asleep to the aroma of baking cinnamon rolls.)

He arrived on scene and counted - well, shit, they were Ra’s guys - two active, four down, and Red Robin whipping his bo staff back into one’s gut. The assassin gasped and stumbled back but he didn’t go down. Jason pistol-whipped the other active one and he went down. Red Robin spun and smacked the first assassin across the jaw with his staff.

Belatedly, Jason realized Red Robin was fighting with his non-dominant left hand. “You okay?” he called, dropping to one knee to start securing the unconscious assassins with zip ties.

“Dislocated elbow,” Tim grunted. “It fucking hurts.”

“Ow,” Jason agreed. “I’ve got a safehouse two blocks from here. You want to drop by and I’ll try to pop you back in place.”

“Yeah. As long as I don’t have to do any grappling.”

“Nah, as long as you can jump a fire escape or two?”

“I'm injured, not unconscious,” Tim said dryly and Jason grinned widely under his mask.

He didn't exactly have to lead Tim to his safehouse - Tim clearly already knew where he was crashing. But he waited politely while Jason disabled his security measures and sat down at the kitchen table with a pained grunt.

“You want a shot of anything before I do it?” Jason asked, taking off his helmet and setting it on the counter. Tim’s elbow was just out of position, almost normal except where it most definitely was not.

“No, just get it over with.” Tim sounded resigned and cranky.

“You sure?” Jason asked and snapped the joint into place without waiting for an answer. Tim screamed silently, an open mouth and a hissing exhale, and then reached up with his left hand and peeled away his domino. He looked exhausted, which was normal, and a little sad, which was not. At least not since Cannon Fodder had come on the scene.

Jason opened the fridge and frowned at the contents. He only had three eggs and no bacon, but he could make a frittata with spinach and mushrooms, maybe. He also had three bottles of beer so he snagged two of them and turned to sit one in front of Tim. “Here,” he said. “You deserve this, at least.”

“Thanks.” Tim snapped the lid off with the edge of the brass knuckles built into his glove and stared into the bottle.

“Is the old man up in your business again?” Jason asked quietly. He and Tim once had a long talk about their respective relationships with Ra’s al Ghul and then never spoke of the topic again. It was more Tim’s choice than Jason’s. Jason would just prefer not to talk.

“He makes a bid now and then,” Tim finally says and chases the words with a long pull of beer. “Hey, this one is pretty good.”

“I told you, it grows on you,” Jason said. If he had picked a sweeter, milder brew than before, it was because variety was the spice of life, or some shit like that.

“I like it,” Tim assured him. “So. Um. What was Dick on about last Sunday?”

“Oh, that.” Jason shrugged his jacket off and sat down in the kitchen chair next to Tim. “It's not a big deal.”

Tim raised an eyebrow, Alfred-style, and wrapped his mouth around the neck of the bottle. The color was returning to his lips, which had been pale when he was in pain, and Jason was having a real hard time not watching that. Not wanting that.

Jason sighed through his teeth. “I was 15 when I died and 18 when I came back and I never really went through puberty. So it never occurred to me that maybe I could possibly like guys.”

“Oh.” Tim’s mouth popped off the bottle. “Oh. Do you think you might?”

Jason shrugged, a little more violently than he intended and tore his gaze away from Tim’s mouth. It didn't help a whole lot because then it landed on Tim’s fingers, which were worrying the edge of the label, and yeah, that was gonna be a problem, too.

“Don't know,” he said. “Never did before.”

This might have been a lie.

“Well, have you ever kissed another guy?” Tim asked.

“I think that would clear things up if I had,” Jason grumbled. “Don't you?”

“Not if it was the wrong guy,” Tim answered easily. “Like, I already knew Bernard and I like him, as a person, but also there's this… I don't know. Chemistry, maybe? Kissing doesn't work with just anyone. If it did, you could just kiss me and you’d have your answer.”

“I couldn't kiss you,” Jason said, his mouth suddenly dry. “You're not even legal.”

“You're not even a legal entity,” Tim retorted and it should have sounded ridiculous but it made Jason grin instead. He sat up and rested his elbows on his knees.

“Maybe not,” he admitted, “but that means I get to sleep more than an hour every three nights.”

“Yeah, thanks, I needed that reminder,” Tim said and then he leaned in and pressed a soft, closed-lipped kiss to Jason’s mouth.

Tim was the right guy.

Jason's body prickled and a hot flush raced up his center. He pressed in and kissed Tim back, a determined, awkward need driving him. Tim wasn't backing off so Jason parted his lips, took a breath, and kissed Tim like he should be kissed, hands coming up to cup Tim’s face, fingertips trailing through Tim’s hair.

Tim opened his mouth under Jason’s and pressed closer.

*Yes* Jason’s body sang. *Yes, this.*

He deepened the kiss and moved his hands down, pressing his palms against Tim’s narrow hips and then closing his fingers, hauling Tim tight against him. He bumped up against him and holy fuck, that was Tim’s cock. Tim was hard for him, too.

With a gasp, Tim pulled away. Jason let go of him reluctantly and watched Tim press a hand to his mouth.

“I have a boyfriend,” Tim said hollowly.

“You kissed me,” Jason said, demonstrating his ability to say the exact wrong thing at any given moment.

“I didn't - I didn't think it would be like that,” Tim said and it's the stupidest thing he's ever said in Jason’s hearing because *of course* it was like that. Jason hadn't had any expectations whatsoever but he realized now that there was no other way it could be.

“Isn't it like that with Cannon Fodder?” Jason. challenged because. Exact. Wrong. Thing.

“Yes,” Tim said. “No. It's different with every person. You should know that.”

“Should I?” Jason wasn't so sure. He’d kissed some women. Had even slept with a few of them. And it was different, okay, but not different like this.

“I guess you do now,” Tim temporized. He rubbed his lower lip. He still seemed a little shell-shocked. “Does that answer your question?”

“I guess it does,” Jason said evenly. Yeah, Jason liked kissing guys. And he fucking loved kissing Tim.

“Okay, well. Now you know.”

Tim stood there, mouth red, eyes so blue, and hair falling over his forehead. He was staring at Jason like he'd never seen him before.

“I won't tell - “ Not Cannon Fodder, Jason scolded himself. Say his real name. Make him real.

“No, no. I - that's on me,” Tim said quickly. “I’ll tell him. “He’ll be okay with it if I explain the context. He will,” Tim repeated and Jason realized he was trying to convince himself, not Jason.

“Yeah,” he said. “The context, yeah. It’ll be okay.”

It was not okay. Jason did not want Tim to go and apologize to Bernard. He did not want Bernard to forgive Tim. He wanted Tim to stay right there and step back into his arms, and kiss him again.

“I have to go,” Tim said. “I - I’m sorry. Are you okay?”

Jason almost said no, just to guilt Replacement into staying there, with him, a little bit longer, but that was so totally off-brand for him. “Of course,” he scoffed. “Don't be stupid. Hey, I learned something new about myself. It's a hell of a lot more fun than returning from the dead. That's a trip.”

“Okay,” Tim said. “Let me know how you're doing, okay? Maybe we can all go out some night.”

Because that's what he wanted, to watch Bernard and Tim holding hands and being cute and being young and in love. Jason didn't watch Tim exit the fire escape window. But he knew by the chill wind that he was gone.

#batbrats #jason todd #red hood #jason todd/tim drake #red hood/red robin #tim drake #jason todd's potty mouth #fic #red robin

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cer-rata · 2 months

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I think the only major comicbook death that gave more than it took was Superman's. Partially because it was always obviously a temporary shakeup, but mostly because we got Kon-El and John Henry Irons out of the deal (and that sweet mullet). It didn't derail big blue long term, but it let some interesting stories play out, and honestly reinforced why Clark specifically was important in the first place. 9/10 a great time.

The death of Gwen Stacy was actually pretty interesting from a story perspective. Peter's lives bleeding together and leading to the death of someone he loved is like, his biggest fear and seeing him deal with that was interesting. It really mattered and the ramifications were wide-spread. But it also kind of cemented the trauma porn incline that he's hurtled down since. I'm fine with traumatizing Peter, but for the love of god after a while it becomes a slog. Plus, the way they did it was...strange. It was jarring to see realistic physics suddenly become important in a Spider-Man comic of all places. Like it worked for shock value in the moment but upon further reflection...eh. 6/10

The death of Jason Todd was a mean spirited affair. I'm not even just talking about watching a teenager get the crowbar and blown up. Jim Starlin actively hated Jason, so it wasn't a respectful well measured sendoff. The story was contrived, wildly racist nonsense. And it was a vote! They left the life of a main character and the narrative fallout of that up to a fan vote! Why?!

Unlike the death of Superman, we didn't get a bunch of fun new characters out of the deal, it actively changed the tone of Batman stories for the worse, (in my opinion) along with the killing joke. But I'm going to say it, I think the Killing Joke was better written, gave better future plot hooks, gave us the path to Oracle and actually had ideas, despite the fact that Moore is cursed to have people completely miss his point every time. It treated Babs poorly, and Moore has admitted that was a mistake. But I'd argue the Babs we got because of that completely elevated and ascended the character.

Anyway, Jason came back and has been a mess ever since. No one knows what they want to do with him but he's too popular to shelve. His personality has worse continuity problems than...than...hmm. Let me get back to you. His very presence is often used to call the concept of Batman into question in the most cynical and uncharitable ways. And any growth he has is often gone by his next appearance. They had him do wildly dissonant acts of violence early on, and then pivoted him away from being a villain but then didn't consistently support that. It's maddening! He's like a player at a D&D table who actively exists to poke holes in the tone and logic of the world. Ahhh! 2/10 fix it in the next continuity reboot.

#comic books #superman #spiderman #batman #jason todd #death #meta #shut up cerata

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shyinadarkplace · 2 years

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Oblivious and Envy

Pairing: Jason Todd x Reader. Warnigns: None I think this is pretty clean. but like bad language maybe. A/N: This is the product of a request given to me by @mariidepp . The request was "the reader is kinda jealous because a lot of women have been flirting with Jason lately and he doesn't seems to have a clue until the reader gets mad." Let me tell you this was fun.

Don’t get me wrong, I know that I am lucky. Not only is Alfred my godfather who has taken care of me since my family disappeared, but also I have grown up with the Waynes. I have been there through everything. However I was closest to Jason, being the same age we were thick as thieves. We did everything together, trained, went to school, and patrolled. Jason was my first kiss. When he died my world went dark. It was a very very long time before I got back to some what normal. Then suddenly one day he was back, I knew it was him the second I saw him. It didn’t matter that he was in the Red Hood costume. Or that it had been years. I knew it was him. In my head that scene from Princess Bride played, ya know the one where Buttercup finds out that Wesley is actually alive. Anyway, let's fast forward. After some healing and when he had returned to the BatFamily, once again Jason and I were joined at the hip. Naturally we started dating and have been for years now. Here is the thing, Jason is gorgeous. I mean absolutely melt worthy. I however am not. I am sort of plain. Obviously I am very fit but I still have a soft tummy, big thighs, ya know . I have never figured out for the life of me how my body retains all this softness with all the crap I do. The past few weeks have been especially hard. Why? You ask. Let me tell you.

Two weeks ago.

Jason and I were out on a date. He’d asked me to dress to the nines and I did. “Fuckin hell (y/n/n) you look stunning.” Jason said as I came down the stairs. I laughed. Dick stood beside him and teased, “Bro you act like you have never seen her dressed up before.” “Shut up. I’ve never seen her dressed in that.” Dick looks me up and down with a hungry look on his face. Jason growls “I’ll feed you your own eyeballs Grayson.” I can’t help but laugh again, I know Dick is just doing it to mess with Jason. He has Starfire, and they are so incredibly in love I don’t think either of them is physically capable of being attracted to another being. “Jason.” I say softly “Come on. Didn’t you say you wanted to show me off or something like that?” His mood shifted and he gave me that gorgeous smile. “Yeah I did. Let's go.” Once in the car his hand is immediately on my thigh. It’s a quiet ride, easy and comfortable. I gasp when we pull up to the restaurant. “Jason, how did you get a reservation?! Oh my god!!!” He runs his hand through his hair and for half a second looks shy. “Well I am an adopted son of Bruce Wayne….Not gonna lie he called. Hahaha.” I just grinned. “Thank you. I am so excited.” “Alright well then lets go. I haven’t had good sushi since Bruce took us all to Japan.” “Same.” I agreed. Believe me there are some great places to get sushi in Gotham but once you have the real deal it is all a pale comparison, though they are fine in a pinch. The valet comes over as Jason helps me out of the car, as I stand and Jason closes the door, he just stares. Jason clears his throat, “Yeah she is hot as hell, but she is mine. Here are the keys. Don’t scratch my car.” As we walk away Jason offers me his arm and I gladly take it. We are ushered in and suddenly it's like we are in Japan again. I gasp. “This is beautiful. Jason, thank you.” “You don’t have to thank me baby,” he was just about to say something else when three women who looked like asian supermodels came up. “Mr. Todd please this way.” as they lead the way they keep looking back at him. Well fuck here it goes. We sit and they prepare the table. “So what would you like to order?” One of them says as we sit down, Jason just looks at me with a wtf look. “We need a moment to look over the menu. But could we get a couple of waters and a bottle of your best sake please.” I smile up at them trying my best to keep calm, something about the women irking my soul. For a moment they don’t move but when Jason says nothing they rush away. After they leave we start looking at the menu, and let me tell you they have everything. I let the shit with the waitresses fade. A guy brings over our drinks and sets up the sake for us. Jason gives him a nod and he is off, we fall into the easiness that is our whole relationship and I couldn't be happier. Finally the waitress comes back over, let me rephrase the three waitresses. Jason gets up and leans over “I’ll be right back. Bathroom.” I nod. Once he is out of sight one of them says “We will just wait until he comes back to take the order.” I look at them shocked. “No. I am ordering for both of us. If you are too focused on gawking at my fiance, I will find other servers or preferably just one server who can do their job.” Needless to say that dinner went smoothly after that. However it really doesn’t help with how I’d been feeling.

Today Ya know I fucking love Jason. I love everything about this man, but right now I really can’t tell if he is seriously oblivious to all these women flirting . Honestly you are right, if he isn’t paying attention then I shouldn’t make a big deal out of it. I guess it is just the blatant disrespect for me that has me ready to flip my shit. We are standing at the counter of our favorite ice cream shop and the chick behind the counter is eye fucking my fiance . “Sooo,” she says, making her voice all low and sultry “Do you see anything you like?” I snort softly and she shoots me a dirty look. As Jason orders for us she sticks a Sugar Daddy in her mouth and continues making advances. When she gives a soft little moan I snap. “ Would you please stop that! He is clearly not interested so could you just give us our ice cream so we can go?” The girl snarls. Fucking snarls at me. “I wasn’t doing anything that concerned you. So mind your business.” That’s it. I snatch the front of her uniform slamming her head into the counter. “Everything about him is my business you two bit hussy. He is MY fiance!” I turn and storm out of the place while she cries on the floor. Jason quickly catches up and herds me into an alley caging me with his body. “Hey now what the hell was all that about?” His voice is low and slightly concerned. I just sigh, pushing him away. “It's nothing, let's just go home.” He doesn’t even budge. Well fuck. “Don’t lie to me. I am usually the one doing face bashing. What is going on with you?” I cross my arms over my chest feeling a little defensive. “Damn it J ! The past few weeks it's like you have been a chick magnet and women are constantly ignoring the fact that I am even around. If they aren’t ignoring me they are giving me dirty looks and making asshole comments. It’s frustrating and kinda hurtful.” He still doesn't move. Damn it he knows me to well. "okay let me count. There was two weeks ago at the sushi place. Later that night on patrol. The next day that woman dropped a stack of books as SHE bumped into you and got all giggly. Couple days after that when we went to the mall women were either eye fucking you or flirting. not to mention that in every store they were rude about my size and basically refused to help. There was a few quite days because we didn't go anywhere. Then yesterday that lady slipped her friggin underwear in your jacket pocket . And today this!" It felt really good to get it all out. For a moment he just stares hotly at me with those 10 fathom sea eyes and I almost forget about all of the bull crap. I forget everything when he cups my cheek and kisses me hard and long. When I am panting for breath he pulls away. “Let me tell you,” his voice dark and husky, “there are more women in the world than men. But there is only one woman that I care about and it is the curvy, sexy, strong, badass little firecracker I have in my arms. Next time give me a tap or something and I can make it blatantly obvious that I am now and forever in love with you.” I can’t help the way my face breaks out in a goofy grin. “I love you too.” He pulls away grinning, “Come on let's go home, I’m sure Alfred has our favorite ice cream anyway, besides I have plans for every inch of your body.”

#@mariidepp #ask shy #jason todd #jason todd x reader #jason todd x reader fluff

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gilbirda · 2 years

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Friendly neighborhood vigilante. Chapter 8

BatmanxDP crossover. JasonxJazz

[Read on AO3] [Read on FF.net]

Based on this post

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Jazz blinked and smiled wider, shoulders relaxed, face open, eyes looking straight at him.

She had to project an aura of calm and don’t make the vigilante - and wasn’t that a thought! - suspicious of her. More than he already was, since he was looking at her with a weird expression on his face.

“Jason!” She said, “Food is ready!”

He looked away from her and noticed the risotto already cooling in the pan. Jazz took the opportunity to quickly clean the blood from her fingers in the rag she picked up before. Her smile was still in place when he looked back at her.

“Do you mind setting up the plates? I need to wash my hands.”

He blinked his remaining confusion away and finally smiled at her. “Sure.”

Jazz tried not to walk funny or show her nervousness at her recent revelation as she passed by him on her way to the bathroom. She really hoped that if he noticed something he assumed she was nervous, or chose to let it go like all the other times she slipped and said something weird.

Once she took shelter in the bathroom she locked the door and sat on the closed lid of the toilet, hands tangled in her hair.

What the hell.

What the actual hell??

Okay, deep breaths. Jazz, you got this. No big deal. The cute neighbor that is pretty jacked and she usually found awake at odd hours and was suspiciously silent in his apartment; that neighbor… Red Hood?

She pulled out the knife she had on her at all times and unfolded it, enjoying the clicking noise of the mechanism. She closed it again, remembering how hesitant the vigilante had been about letting her go that time. They haven't actually met since he gifted her the knife, but she had seen him around doing his thing, even stopping after he beat up some guys trying to molest a woman in an alley to wave back at her.

She also sometimes had the sensation that she was being watched. At first she suspected a ghost, but her pseudo ghost sense - excessive watering of her eyes, Team Phantom joked it was an allergic reaction to ghosts - didn't activate at all; instead, she just had the chill in her spine and a perpetual feeling that someone was watching her.

Was it him? Was it Jason looking after her like some kind of guardian angel?

She had conflicted feelings about it, if that was the case. Even if the intentions were kind and innocent, she didn’t appreciate being watched and followed around. It was also true that she hadn’t been followed before he gave her a ride-

Was he onto her? Was he investigating her? Oh no. Oh fuck.

It’d be so messed up if he was being so sweet and nice and cute and-

If all of this was because the Red Hood was suspicious about her she wanted to scream and get violent.

(Who was she kidding, she would be so heartbroken.)

Deep breaths. She didn’t even have definite proof that Jason Todd was Red Hood. Sure, both were liminal; but all the other clues were at best circumstantial - the disappearances, how he didn’t have a job but was out the entire day or night (sometimes both), how he looked like an athlete but his house didn’t have any trophies.

Think, Jasmine. Think.

She quickly pulled up the research she had about Red Hood and Jason Todd in her mind.

The vigilante came out of nowhere, killed a lot of people, took down Black Mask’s empire and settled as the head of Gotham’s crime underworld. Batman had tried to stop him numerous times, but after a while he just stopped and tolerated the vigilante as long as his operations didn’t get out of Crime Alley and the Narrows.

Jason Todd was Bruce Wayne’s second adopted son, rescued from a life in the streets by the billionaire and with a promising future ahead of him - until he was presumed dead after a mysterious accident overseas.

At first this perplexed her - Jason Todd was supposed to be dead, but he was living next door? It wouldn’t be that weird if two people had the same name, but she saw a photo of the kid before the accident and he had the same deep blue eyes and black curly hair. Sans the white streak.

If she were another person, she would have dismissed it as a coincidence. Who would believe that a dead man looked so alive?

She would, of course.

Of course there were a lot of holes in the timeline, specifically the years between the death of Jason Todd and the sudden appearance of a new vigilante using one of Joker’s old aliases - but it wasn’t such a crazy idea, the more she thought about it.

“It’s just a flesh wound,” her mind supplied the memory, first her encounter with the vigilante all that time ago (weeks, mere weeks), and then now when he cut his hand chopping parsley.

It made so much sense as well why he had so many swords just hanging on the wall, too. They looked used and very much real.

Red Hood killed people. Jason killed people.

She stood up at the revelation.

It was shocking, but not something she found hard to process - death was a constant in her life, and lately she hung out more with the dead in the Infinite Realms than in the world of the living. Until she moved to Gotham, of course.

Focus, Jazz.

Jason had killed people and was a crime lord. The crime lord of Gotham, overlooking all the drug trades and other shady situations that happened around here. She knew Red Hood was kind with the people under his protection, but it was stupid to think that there could be one without the other, that it was possible to be kind without needing to be ruthless.

In her research, she had also investigated his targets, his methods. As the vigilante that dealt with the worst of the worst this city had to offer, she took a natural interest in how he chose his victims. She remembered being impressed when all of them were dirty one way or another; that after dealing with Black Mask, he started cleaning the city of drug cartels that targeted children, prostitution rings that mistreated their sex workers, arms dealers that didn’t care if a kid bought a gun, everything. He took out the brains and the money behind the operations and all of them crumbled in on themselves in a matter of days. It wasn’t senseless killing - it was calculated and methodical.

Jazz looked at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, finding her cheeks painted red.

She liked that man a lot. Love, maybe. She wouldn’t mind it. She had liked him as a vigilante and as a civilian, and now that she knew that both were one and the same, she felt like loving him was only a matter of letting herself fall.

What if he is investigating you? A voice said in her head, circling back to the initial panic. What if he got close to you because he is after your brother?

No.

First, what the hell did the vigilante need anything from her brother? Even if he were looking for answers about his liminality, there was no way on this Earth that he could get information about ghosts, Amity Park and Danny Phantom unless he physically went to her hometown. Tucker, with the help of a reluctant Technus, had taken care of cleaning the wide web of proof that anything about the ghost situation was real.

Second, Jason wouldn’t do that. Not to her. She was dense in the matters of the heart, but in the time they had to know each other, he had been so open and kind and nice and -

No. She refused to believe he had ill intentions regarding her.

That left the question of who the hell was following her… but she had to take care of that another moment that wasn’t now.

She had a dinner date to come back to and she was taking too long in the bathroom.

She washed her hands as promised and then splashed cold water on her face in an attempt to cool her nerves and the blush on her cheeks. Even if she had the realization of her life (her neighbor was Red Hood AND she was in love with him) that didn’t mean she had to make it obvious.

Soon she was back to the main area of the apartment. It still shocked her how, despite having the same distribution, their living spaces were radically different. His apartment had barely the minimum to call it an apartment, the least personality, with the exception of the added kitchen island instead of a proper dinner table.

On the island, Jason had set up two plates, two empty wine glasses and two sets of cutlery one in front of the other. He was waiting for her, sitting in one of the stools. He was looking at his phone, a slight frown in his face as he furiously typed and scoffed before blocking the phone and putting it face down and out of reach.

“Hey.”

Her heart skipped a beat when the frown quickly melted into a smile when he looked at her.

“Hey.” He made a gesture towards her plate of risotto. “Your feast awaits, princess.”

She rolled her eyes, biting back the comment that he wasn’t that far with that expression. Jazz had already let slip too many remarks of that kind, hinting at her double life as the liminal older sister of the High King of the Ghosts, and she really should watch what she said.

“I think I prefer ‘darling’.” She said instead as she sat down, feeling her face still a bit warm.

“Really?” He leaned down to pick something from the floor. “Wine? I wasn’t sure if you liked it so I waited to ask.”

She wasn’t a big fan of wine, but it painted a more romantic scene and she had decided that she wasn’t going to dance around the issue anymore. If they fell into love, then let it fall.

“Sure,” she nodded. “And about pet names, ‘princess’ is too close to what my father calls me and I’m not that ready to call you ‘daddy’, so pass.”

He choked and had to put the wine bottle on the table to laugh without making a mess. She laughed with him, enjoying how his cheeks and ears were red - she wasn’t usually this forward with her flirting, but he didn’t know that she had been holding back.

“Never call me that, thank you.” He managed to say, still giggling, but able to pour wine in their glasses without spilling it all over the place.

“What should I call you, then?”

When he looked up at her his blue eyes were shining with mirth. She loved how his emotions were so clear, how he wasn’t afraid of letting her see what he thought in his eyes and smiles.

“Jay is fine.”

“Jay-bear, then.”

He bit his lip, his body shaking with another fit of laughter.

“Do that and I’ll keep calling you princess.”

Jazz chuckled, picking up her spoon to finally taste the promised risotto. She didn’t know if it was because she was so hungry already, if she was floating on the realization that she loved Jason or if she was used to bland food; but it was the best thing she had ever tasted.

Apparently she showed it on her face, because Jay started crackling at her expression, his fork halfway to his mouth.

“Is it good?”

“Jay, this is amazing!” She rushed to get more of the delicious risotto in her mouth, chewing with delight at the flavors and textures. “I didn’t know rice could taste this good!”

“It can, it can. It’s the magic of spices.” He was so proud as he ate, albeit at a more normal and slower pace.

“Spices?”

“Yeah, cinnamon, cayenne, paprika, the like.” He lifted an eyebrow.

“Uh, yeah of course!” She shoved more food in to hide the fact that she only recognized the cinnamon and because she liked the cinnamon rolls from the bakery a few streets down.

“Jasmine Fenton, do you not use spices in your food?” He put his fork down, like this was a high offense.

“I… uh,” she looked down at her plate. She was halfway done already and Jason only had eaten a few bites. “I put salt? And pepper, when I remember.”

There was silence. She dared look up from her plate, finding a very offended neighbor glaring at her.

“That’s it. You are forbidden from the kitchen.”

“Forever?” She followed with a joking tone.

He scoffed. “Forever and ever. I will only allow you to get those prepackaged and ready to serve meals from the supermarket. You have a microwave, yeah?”

Jazz nodded, taking a sip of her wine. “I can’t live off pre-made food forever, though.”

“I can feed you,” he hid his slight blush behind the wine glass as he sipped as well. “I have proven to be the superior chef between us, so it’s my duty to show you how it's done.”

“Are you asking me to come back for more dinner dates, Mr. Todd?”

She saw all the emotions happen behind his eyes. Finally, he settled for not showing her his thoughts and went back to his food.

“What if I am?” He carefully chewed with his eyes fixed on his plate.

She smiled despite knowing he wouldn’t see it. “Then I’d be delighted to accept your offer.” She let the hand that wasn’t occupied by the spoon slide on the surface of the island towards him, palm facing up.

He took it without hesitation, a spark of something passing between them at the soft touch.

Jason went for another bite of rice and chewed in contemplative silence, his eyes now stuck on their joined hands. She could feel he had something to say, so she waited patiently.

“What if-” he stopped, rethought his words and shook his head. She could almost hear ‘fuck it’ in his inner voice from where she was. “What if I wanted more dates? Not only to make sure you eat real food-”

“Hey!” She complained softly, enjoying when he finally looked up at her and smirked.

“- but more like dates, dates. Actual dates. With movies and nice walks and milkshakes and that kind of romantic shit.”

Jazz felt her heart start beating so fast it would fly out of her chest. This was happening. It was not a drill.

“And handholding and kisses and cute selfies?” She asked.

His hand twitched over hers.

“Yeah. That, too. If you like that kind of stuff, of course.”

Jazz took another bite of her food, chewing very slowly as she acted like she was considering what to say. He started looking more and more nervous every second she took to finish chewing and swallowing.

"Are you asking me out, Mr. Todd?" Her voice wasn't mocking, but soft.

"I… Yes?" She really liked how he tried so hard to keep the hope out of his expression. “Only if you want to. Go out with me, I mean.”

Jazz could hear her own heart beating at full speed behind her ears. She could barely hear herself as she nodded and said: “Of course I want to, Jay. I like you. A lot.”

The smile he had at her words was small, but transformed his face completely. He looked so vulnerable, so hopeful, so young. She had glimpsed a troubled childhood and a difficult life, beyond the obvious years in the streets, when he had opened up about his past during their dates. With the new context of a ruthless vigilante, she could understand that lately he didn’t have that many chances at being happy.

She wanted to protect that smile at all cost. She wanted to make him smile like that all the time.

“I also like you a lot.” He finally said, his hand still in hers giving a little squeeze. “When do you want to give it a first run at this romantic dating thing?” He picked up his fork.

Oh, right. Food.

She stuffed more risotto into her mouth as she thought about when she was free in her schedule.

“Tomorrow?” She asked after she swallowed.

He frowned a little. “Busy. Friday?”

She would bet he had Red Hood business tomorrow and she wanted to know what they were. Ahhh. She had to wait until he told her himself to ask about his other life. If it was annoying when she found out about Danny this was worse - she wanted to know so bad!

"Friday is fine. Any specific plans?"

“Would a walk in the park and dinner in a fancy restaurant be too cliché?”

She made a face. “Nothing too fancy.”

He thought about it for a moment. “Cool, I know a place.”

They spend the rest of the dinner working out some details, like the time and where to meet, finally deciding that going from their apartment and then on his bike to the park was fine. Then, the conversation derailed into friendly arguments about food preferences and how they learned to cook - he was vague about it, saying something about a kind person taking the time to teach him, but she got the feeling that this ‘person’ was someone important. She didn’t pry, but saved the question for another time.

He did seem worried when she made a passing comment about how bland food gave her a sense of security, but she quickly told him that her mother wasn’t a very good cook and it was a family trait. She could still see that he made a mental note about it.

Soon it was getting late and she had work the following day, so despite being so comfortable in their happy bubble, she had to make the first move and say goodbye.

“I should be heading home,” Jazz sighed after a lull in the conversation. “This was amazing, Jay. Thank you for sharing your delicious food with me.”

He blinked, noticing how late it was for the first time. “Anytime.” He stood up and started collecting the dirty dishes.

“Let me help-”

“Nah.”

“Hey!” She protested, going to grab her plate, but he was faster than her.

“Too slow.” He grinned at her like it was a competition or something. Once again she was struck with the need to protect his smile. To hide her blush, she crossed her arms and acted offended. “You are cute when you pout like that.” He added.

Despite her best efforts, she felt her face burn at his words. She wasn’t the only one that had been holding back on the flirting, apparently.

“I can’t be mad at you if you say things like that.”

Jason put the dishes on the sink to wash later and walked back to her, softly flicking the frown between her eyebrows.

“You look like an angry kitten when you frown.”

She didn’t comment on how his hand stayed on her cheek, his thumb mindlessly caressing the blush she was sure was still visible.

Jazz lifted an eyebrow. “Is that another pet name?”

“Kitten?” He cringed. “No thank you, that gives me some serious psychic damage.”

“I still like ‘darling’,” she said, sneaking one hand to touch the white curls falling into his face, “is not that cheesy and I like how it sounds when you say it.”

“Darling.”

“Yes?” She didn’t miss how he was leaning in slowly, on how his eyes went to her lips when she spoke.

“I just wanted to say it.”

He was close now. She would only need to tip toe a bit to reach his lips for a kiss. It wasn’t the first time they were this close or that she thought they would kiss; but all the other times she chickened out because she wasn’t sure if that was what he wanted.

Jazz realized she could just ask.

“Can I kiss you?”

He licked his lips, nodding with clear relief. “Yeah.”

So she did, meeting him halfway for the kiss. It was soft and chaste, just a slight press of lips to test how it felt for both of them, and Jazz decided she liked it very much. She had closed her eyes, letting the sensation of his warm lips on hers occupy her mind, letting herself feel his hand still cupping her cheek, her fingers getting tangled on his curls.

When they parted she opened her eyes, finding him looking at her with those intense blue eyes. She saw a slight green tint swirl in them for a moment, making her smile at the familiarity.

“See you on Friday?” She finally said.

“Huh.”

“Friday. Date. Us.”

He finished rebooting, finally understanding what she said. She giggled. “Yeah. Of course.”

“Thanks for the dinner, darling.” She pulled his hair a little until he got the message that he needed to lean down. She kissed him again, but this time it was quicker. “Good night.”

“‘Night.”

To say she ran away would be an understatement, but Jazz was really about to scream into a pillow and needed a cold shower and needed to talk to someone about this. She didn’t look back as she unlocked his door, got out into the hallway and speed walked towards her apartment.

Jazz ignored the light switch, she didn’t need to turn the lights on to see, choosing instead to beeline to the bathroom to get that cold shower and calm down before attempting to sleep.

She stopped at the mirror.

Glowing eyes looked back at her, reflecting the scarce rays of moonlight illuminating her dark apartment. It wasn’t the first time she saw her eyes do the whole tapetum lucidum ‘cat eyes’ routine in the dark. It came with the territory of being liminal, after all.

It’s just-

She turned on the lights in the bathroom. When she blinked her eyes were back to their usual teal, but she knew there was nothing normal about them.

All the warmth and good feelings vanished from her chest.

There was nothing normal about her - she was tangentially human, she was liminal, she needed to eat ectoplasm to survive. Her crazy life had led her to become a person she never thought she'd ever be, very far from the normal goals she once upon a time had of becoming a child trauma psychologist, maybe get a Nobel Prize, maybe settle down in Amity with her own office. She scraped all that the moment she had to step up with Team Phantom and train to be the warriors his brother needed.

Jazz angrily shed the sweater and the shirt under it, watching her body in the mirror. Her scars. She had many, after fighting alongside Danny to defend the throne from the people that didn’t want him to rule. She still remembered where she got each one of them.

She sighed, picking up her toothbrush and spreading some toothpaste on it. If she had killed her mood at least she could start getting ready for bed.

It was as she was brushing around her fangs that she had the realization -

She had fangs. She was used to it by now, despite Danny’s teasing about her becoming one of the characters from her crappy teenage vampire novels. She didn’t hide them when she was in the Castle, but learned to hide them when she came back to the living world.

She had kissed Jason. They are dating now and she wanted more kisses in the future.

Jazz heard the toothbrush clatter in the sink, making her look down at her hands, her heart beating fast in her chest for completely different reasons than the sweet kiss they shared.

She couldn’t kiss him, not if she didn’t want him to know who - what she really was. She got carried away with his warmth and the sense of security he gave her, but at the end of the day she was still hiding something this important from him.

She shouldn’t have kissed him. She should have left his apartment. She shouldn’t have gotten so addicted to his soft smiles and delicious food and his companionship.

Jazz looked back at her reflection in the mirror, her teal eyes now shining toxic green with ectoplasm, her mouth open with her sharp fangs peeking through. Her scarred body she usually hid under her clothes. Her baggage as a princess from what some would call Hell.

She wasn’t supposed to fall for anybody. She had been so caught up in the euphoria of her discovery that she forgot she had a mission here, that all of this was temporary, that she was taking a vacation from Zone business to learn more about dealing with dangerous criminals.

Love was not part of the plan, and never was.

***

Jason would later admit that he stood there like an idiot for a good minute or two, touching his lips as he replayed what happened again and again in his brain.

They had kissed.

They had kissed and it was the best thing ever.

They had kissed and they were a couple and they had a date next Friday and how did his afternoon go from almost burning dinner to this?

Not that he was complaining.

He could still feel the ghost of her touch on his lips, of her hand in his hair. He could still hear her voice asking if she could kiss him, making sure it was something he wanted despite having openly flirted with her and asked her out that same evening.

It made him feel… It made him feel so many emotions. Secure. Warm. Loved.

Undeserving.

He frowned at the thought, but he knew where it came from. He wasn’t stupid, he knew he had issues with stuff like this - the first few months after Bruce adopted him he was waiting for the moment he decided Jason was not what he wanted, or that he was regretting taking him in, or that he had found another kid that fit better in the family. The moment never came and eventually he believed him when he said he was welcome to stay forever if he so desired.

Being with Jazz felt kind of like that. She was too kind, too pure, too understanding. She pushed him when she saw he wanted to say something, but let it go when it became too much. She was comfortable to be around, she was someone he didn’t need to be so on guard with, someone to share his thoughts without being judged about it.

And now he was so scared of losing it. He was scared of her deciding one day that he was too much to deal with, that he wasn’t as open as she needed him to be, that he wasn’t as reliable as what she looked for in a boyfriend.

He couldn’t even entertain the thought of telling her about his other life. He wasn’t like the others, a self-righteous hero that jumped around Gotham’s rooftops stopping crime and punching thugs. He was a crime lord. He oversaw all the shady business in the worst parts of the city. He killed people, for fucks sake.

Jasmine didn’t need that in her life. She deserved better, someone more heroic-

(Someone like his perfect older brother, the Golden Boy.)

- but for some reason she wanted to be with him. And he didn’t want to let her go, not after being hooked to the feeling of her company.

His phone screen lit with chat notifications, interrupting his spiraling thoughts. He had muted the stupid ‘batkids’ groupchat the moment he joined out of necessity, so it had to be someone else.

Speak of the Devil. Dick was asking if he was still up for patrol tonight. Somehow it felt like a trap, especially since the damn family dinner was that Friday.

Ha. Jokes on them. He had already made plans for that day. He smiled, thinking about Dick’s face once he turned down the offer for good, now that he had a ‘real reason’.

But again, he would want to know all about this date. And then he would tell the others like the damn gossip he was, and then they would follow them like they have done the other dates while they thought he didn’t notice them watching.

Stupid family, getting their noses in other people’s business.

He grumbled all the way to his room and as he prepared to do the stupid patrol with his brother. He did owe them all the favor for looking after Jazz when he couldn’t, so he could put up with Dickie’s nagging for a few hours.

He wasn’t going to sleep anyway.

He was still replaying the kiss in his mind even as he jumped out of his window and into the cold night, lowkey wondering if she was doing the same.

He also wondered if she would be up to many many more kisses.

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#danny phantom #batman dc #danny phantom fanfiction #jazz fenton #jasmine fenton #jason todd #jazz x jason #anger management #jazz/jason #friendly neighborhood vigilante #neighbors au #anger management ship #dp x dc #dc x dp #batpham #dpxdc

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rubydubydoo122 · 4 months

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Based off of the first chapter of “in Every Universe; Still I Rise” by Rubydubydooooo122

#jason todd #dick grayson #bruce wayne #batman #red hood #nightwing #dc comics #batfam #jason i came back to life and was a big deal todd #the batfamily #Bafam fic rec

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nabtime · 10 months

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Our Empty Graves IX

Fandom: Danny Phantom / Batman: Under the Red Hood

Pairings: Danny Fenton/Jason Todd (Dead on Main)

Rating: Mature

Tags: batfamily, hazmat AU, Nobody Knows AU, Mute!Phantom, potential ghost king danny, slow burn?, DC means Disregard Canon, AU means AU nothing is exactly the same, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, more than canon typical violence, danny is a Halfa and also a Fetch, no beta we die like basically everyone

Summary: They say that Red Hood has a loyal mutt. The man rules his territory in Crime Alley with an iron fist and a guard dog at his side. They say that Hood calls him Fetch, sometimes Fetcher. No one's ever heard him speak. Anyone who's ever seen him says he looks like an experiment gone wrong, that Hood picked him up somewhere unspeakable. They say he'll do anything Red Hood asks of him and he'll do it well. That he's strong and fast and probably inhuman. The girls say he's sweet; quiet but charming in his own way. Rival gangs say he's vicious; that he'd sooner rip your throat out than let you go.

Jason just wants to help him.

Chapter 9: and I cant fix what was done to you (but ill shield you from the rain)

Chapter Summary: A few moments of calm before the storm. A little help goes a long way.

Chapter Notes: title from Small Hands by Radical Face Links: AO3 // Chapter 1 // Chapter 8 // Chapter 10 // Spotify

Nadi had never seen hair like Fetcher had. It wasn’t- hair- not properly. It was soft like fog, wispy like a cloud. And it moved like it was underwater, flowing and floating and altogether, frankly, a bitch to cut. But it needed to be trimmed, because it looked like someone had taken a torch to some parts of the poor kid’s skull. Chunks were burned off. She also wasn’t about to give up after all the trouble she’d been through to get little cujo to agree to this.

She’d walked ten blocks round trip to her apartment and back, Charlie huffing and puffing from just a simple folding chair and bag the entire time. Packed a sheet and all her usual hair-cutting tools. She knew her way around some scissors- a lot of the girls came to her for trims instead of paying for a full stylist. She used to be a barber, way back in what she liked to think of as her past life.

That time felt so long ago. Before she was Nadi, before she walked the streets of Park Row. She used to live in the nicer parts of Gotham, sitting pretty with a stable job, stable apartment, stable family. Then she transitioned and everything went to shit. Fired, evicted, disowned. The whole nine yards or whatever. No big deal, though. She liked where she was at in life now, despite it all. And most of the time she was genuinely happier here, working the corner as the woman she was always meant to be instead of suffering as the man society wanted her to be.

She’d found her people here, in Park Row. Crime Alley. The other cast-offs and has-beens. The others that didn’t belong. And this poor baby boy was yet another reject. A poor soul left for dead in the slums. He was such a sweetheart, and she wasn’t about to let him fend for himself so completely. Not if she could help it. And she could, if only a little bit. She would cut his hair, she would feed him, she would offer a shoulder to cry on and an ear to listen. She wouldn’t let anyone else feel like she once had. Alone and abandoned. All it ever took was a small kindness, a tiny gesture of good-faith. She could do that. She’d move heaven and hell if it meant the sweet boy that had saved her, had saved many others in the Alley, wouldn’t be so skittish. So alone. Sure he was vicious, but only when he needed to be. Only to protect others. Boy didn’t have a mean bone in his body. She wasn’t completely sure he had bones in his body but that wasn’t important.

What mattered was getting his hair fixed.

She couldn’t do much for him. Couldn’t even begin to fix all that was wrong with him, all the wrong that was done to him. She could kill Hood for scaring her baby off. She didn’t know what he did but she was going to kick his ass for it. Crime Lord or no, he deserved it. She’d already kicked him where it hurt when she’d gone after him about Fetcher being missing in the first place, but he could do with a few more.

The boy was purring under her hands as she carded her fingers through his hair. Purring. That was goddamn adorable. How dare Red Hood do anything to upset him when the boy could purr.

She snipped away, gently brushing as she went. Thankfully, even with the singed edges, his hair still had a bit of length so even after she was done it would still hover around his shoulders. Literally hover. He looked good, fluffy like that, and she didn’t want to cut it any shorter than she had to. He’d already flinched once at the scissors coming close to his little pointed ears, she wouldn’t have that again.

“Almost done, mi vida,” she murmured, trimming the last strand and dropping it to let it float. “You doing okay?”

The purr rumbled like he was humming in agreement. Fuck that was cute.

She ran her hands through his hair a few more times, shaking out loose strands and fixing any tangles. Just enjoying the cool feeling- like mist and fog with only the slightest solidity- whirl around under her touch. Enjoying the purr it kicked up when she did it.

“All done, baby,” she said, reluctantly pulling her hands away and tugging off the sheet she’d wrapped him in, shaking it out to let the cuttings fall to the ground. They were, strangely, black. The moment she cut it away, his hair would turn black and solid like normal hair. She didn’t ask. It was none of her business.

She circled him and smiled. He looked a little goofy, still touch-drunk with his eye-lids drooping, all slumped into the chair like he was melting. His hair didn’t look half bad now, wavy and curling around his face, kissing his neck and cheeks as it swayed in an invisible wind. She’d done a pretty damn good job, all things considered. She wanted to coo at the sight of him, but she held it in. She didn’t want to spook him. They’d been doing so well so far.

She didn’t want to go. Didn’t want to leave him here. But she knew he wasn’t going to come, no matter how many times she asked.

“Do you wanna have a look?” she asked, moving to pull the hand-held mirror from the bag she’d made Charlie lug with them.

Fetcher’s gaze sharpened and he tensed in the chair, looking ready to flee. His purring had ceased. He shook his head fervently and she wanted to despair. What in the world had happened to him? What horrors had descended on her sweet, sweet boy?

“Okay,” she placated. “That’s okay.” She waited until he’d relaxed again, though not as much as he had been before. “You’ll just have to trust me when I tell you that you’re a very handsome young man.”

He rolled his eyes and she grinned.

“It’s true! You’re a pretty boy, and my handiwork only made you prettier.”

He stuck his tongue out and folded his arms.

She laughed. She wanted to stay. She wanted him to come with her. But it wouldn’t happen. Not yet, at least. Not until she could kick Hood’s ass and get him to fix whatever he’d broken here. She rummaged in the bag and brought out the thick blanket she’d packed and the bimbunuelos and gansito snacks she’d grabbed from the gas station for him.

She sighed and made sure she had Fetcher’s attention. “Alright, baby. I know I can’t convince you to come with me,” she said slowly. “I’m still sure I could smuggle you in and Hood wouldn’t say a word if he knew what was good for him,” she murmured vindictively, “but I can’t force you.”

He simply watched her as she handed the blanket and the treats over. “But, please,” she begged,” take care of yourself out here, mi vida.”

He gathered everything up in his arms and gave her a serious nod. She smiled at his solemn look, wishing with all her heart he’d learn to smile more instead.

“I’m going to head back to work now,” she said, backing up to give Fetcher some space. “But I’m going to visit again.”

She gave him a stern look this time. “So you better take care of yourself, baby. I’ll be disappointed if you don’t.”

He pouted, petulant, and huffed before giving her another quick nod and floating himself back up into the bough of the hickory he’d claimed for himself.

It was a small kindness, giving him that haircut, but she knew it meant more than that for the both of them. It was about acceptance. Accepting him as he was. About permission. Permission to seek comfort from her. Permission to see and be seen. She hoped he understood that.

Now, she had a Crime Lord’s ass to kick.

═════ ◈ ═════

Alfred Pennyworth had served the Wayne family for many years now. Seen and done more things serving Bruce than he ever had in service to the Crown. One would think being a butler would be less exciting than a top ranking M15 agent, but one was not often employed and trusted by The Batman as a butler.

Seeing Bruce grow and raising him were some of the most rewarding moments of his life. Seeing him grieve and break after every death that piled upon his shoulders were the most heartbreaking moments of his life. Seeing him obsess over the possibility that one of his wards, one of his ‘fallen soldiers’, had made their way back to the grave, was nothing less than harrowing.

Once again, Alfred was witness to Bruce passively trying to kill himself- ignoring anything and everything but the case he was working on. The facts in front of him. Solving it all like a puzzle that had pieces one could fit together in the first place. Getting frustrated when it didn’t all fall into place. Bruce rarely acknowledged that sometimes cases didn’t have all the pieces, couldn’t be solved by fact alone, because to do so would admit defeat in his eyes. He needed logic and sense and many times life was far too messy for that. People were unpredictable and murders and villainy more so. But his boy had never been comfortable with things he couldn’t predict.

Like Jason Todd rising from the grave.

Alfred knew in his bones that Jason had returned, changed and broken, but returned all the same. He wasn’t about to say so to Bruce, the man would never understand the certainty he felt without the facts to confirm. But he knew . And it broke him just as well. He was over the moon to have one of his wards back in the living realm with them, for him to be alive again. But to see him torn and angry like he was… To see him so full of pain and hatred… Alfred couldn’t stand it. Couldn’t stand to know that he’d had a hand in the boy’s death. Had a hand in the neglect he’d suffered upon his initial return. It might not have been directly, but guilt never cared degrees of cause, especially when one cared . And Alfred Pennyworth cared more than anything.

He was nothing more than a sentimental old fool.

But he would help where he could. He would stand vigil with Bruce, care for the man wherever he would allow. He would keep in contact with Richard and Timothy, check in on them as often as possible ( he would not lose another ). He would place another cup of coffee by the Batcomputer and lie in wait. Nothing would move Bruce from the screens, not even much needed sleep, so he would do what he could and bring him finger-foods- easy to eat while typing away and staring, staring staring.

He would receive cheeky letters from anonymous ( Jason ) persons and deal with his badly behaved Bat as best he could. Scolding the man for being unnecessarily cruel and letting his anger cloud his judgment. (And he would hope it would be enough for Jason, that his scolding would get through Bruce’s thick skull so that he might not make an ass of himself even more. That the crimes Bruce had committed against Jason would lessen rather than stack. That there might one day be a chance at reconcile. That Jason might one day come home .)

But for now he would do what he could. He would wait and he would serve, doing all the little and big things to help. He would keep the manor running even if no one but himself had set foot in it for some time. He would clean and sweep and cook and weed and dust and wash and do everything he possibly could to make the manor clean and welcoming and warm. All in the hopes that someday, someday , the family that had been so painstakingly built and torn apart here, might return. Rebuild.

That all his wayward children might call the manor home once more.

═════ ◈ ═════

Tim had come back to a mess. Alfred had warned him, greatly under-sold the mess- sure, but had still warned him. Bruce hadn’t said anything at all about what had recently been happening in Gotham, only that he needed help with multiple cases.

Bruce needing help with multiple cases was always a bad sign. But Tim had never imagined something like this.

His predecessor potentially coming back from the grave. And murdering people. And Bruce absolutely losing his mind about it.

It wasn’t all that hard, in Tim’s experience, to make Bruce lose his mind. He wasn’t a particularly mentally stable man in the first place. It’d been the whole reason he’d insisted so much about becoming Robin in the first place. Batman needed a Robin. A balance. Otherwise Bruce could so easily lose himself to his grief and get swallowed up in the darkness. He’d seen it first hand after Jason’s death. How he hit harder, cut deeper, and had less mercy for his rogues all around. An inexcusable use of excessive force- all in grief and anger and guilt.

Bruce liked to pretend that he had no emotions. The he had the control to shut them on and off at will. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. The man was made of nothing but emotions. Anger and grief and fear and, astoundingly, compassion . Yes, he was logical and could be cold, and he didn’t talk about his emotions very well. But Tim knew they were there, brewing under the surface.

Bruce could talk about detachment all he wanted. Talk about shutting everything off in order to make a deduction. But that wasn’t what made Batman a brilliant detective. It was his stubborn nature, his drive. His empathy. It’s what made him a hero .

And Tim admired that.

But it also meant cleaning up his messes sometimes, and Tim admired that much less.

He’d barely been given a ‘how are you, chum,’ before Bruce was racing off to find Ra’s and question him about Jason. Leaving Tim to investigate a possible new meta hiding out in Crime Alley. Working with Red Hood. Working with Jason. To puzzle out motive and power set. To find a way to neutralize him should he be a threat ( and Tim didn’t think about how callous that was, how cruel that would seem ).

And thus, Tim did what he did best. Chug a lethal amount of espresso and hack into every governmental database conceivable. He’d find something. He always did.

Except, hours later. He’d found nothing . Not a damn thing. No one outside of Gotham had any record of a glowing hazmat-clad meta that had green blood . He’d scoured any and all social media accounts across the world and no one had ever posted about it. No weird deep-web forum dedicated to sightings of the guy. No newspaper articles complaining about his presence. No tourist commenting about seeing him. Nothing. Usually with a meta like him, someone so conspicuous , there was something. A short video. A dedicated cult. A local news segment.

Anything about the guy was all from Gotham. All recent and none of it helpful. It didn’t explain where he’d come from . What he was capable of . Didn’t explain why he went by the name Fetcher of all things. Was he an alien instead of a meta? Had he been looking in all the wrong places this entire time, because they’d just assumed he was a meta when he wasn’t? Meta, alien, science experiment gone wrong. All questions and no answers.

Tim wanted to rip his hair out.

Bruce had said that it was definitely a hazmat suit, even if it was glowing and slightly customized. Customized to what conditions, though, was the question. Any lens footage had been corrupted so Tim could only rely on B’s overly detailed report for a description. A level B suit. So working with something that was a severe inhalation risk but less of a risk for skin contact. But the SCBA was described as something Tim had never encountered before. A lightweight tank connected to a full face mask and tinted eye-shield. Working with a substance that glowed ? Something that caused the glow that Fetcher let off? But the only things he could think of were either occult or radioactive, and if it was radioactive then he’d be wearing a level A suit. And the green blood. Bruce had described it as similar to Lazarus Water.

Tim shuddered.

What the fuck kind of lab accident might make you bleed death juice?

And then, miraculously, he found a lead. A pair of scientists that worked in hazmat suits that matched the description. He’d need confirmation from Bruce that they looked the same, but the tint to the eye-shield or goggles, despite not working with radioactive material was a big enough clue. The substance they did claim to work with didn’t make much more sense, though. Ectoplasm. From ghosts.

There was no way.

He refused to go down that rabbit hole without confirmation from Bruce. It didn’t matter how morbidly curious he was. He’d fall down that trail later if he wanted. For now he’d need sleep. He couldn’t go any further in his research and the lead he’d found was already slim at best. He felt like a failure, like he needed to keep going. But Alfred was already breathing down his neck about resting and there wasn’t much more he could do anyway.

He saved what he’d found on the Doctors Fenton and trudged up the stairs to his room in the manor.

He couldn’t do much, but he’d help where he was capable. Not with the main case. Bruce wouldn’t let him touch it. But he could look into the secondary one as much as possible on his own, he’d ask about the similarity in the suits and then keep digging himself. He didn’t want B to fall into the same spiral that he had before, to get lost in grief with no one to help. He would be the Robin to his Batman. His support. His balance.

What little help he could give, he would.

═════ ◈ ═════

Bruce would go to the ends of the earth if it meant righting his past wrongs. If it meant undoing the one mistake that weighed on him the most. If it meant bringing back his second ward, his second Robin. If it meant never having to go through the pain of having that little soul slip right through his fingers.

Nothing would ever change that though. Even if Jason was really back from the dead, it would not change the fact that he had died. That Bruce had lost him. Failed him. It wouldn’t change the pain that both of them had felt. The pain of dying. The pain of coming back. The pain of losing someone he never should have lost.

He’d made a promise . And he’d broken it. He was much more careful with those now. Much more careful with everything .

Except Ra’s’ skull.

He had the man pinned to the floor, unmerciful as he questioned the master assassin about Jason. About the sudden appearance of Red Hood. About Ra’s’ possible involvement in his resurrection and why he hadn’t done it sooner or told Bruce about it happening.

“You don’t have all the facts, detective,” Ra’s said, voice strained from the force of Bruce’s weight pushing him into the tile of his fortress.

“Then enlighten me,” he spat, knowing full well he was starting to let his temper get the best of him. He was better than this, but when it came to Jason- everything felt like it was too much. Like his anger and grief could boil over in an instant.

“The Waters cannot bring a person back from the dead!”

“That’s not a fact,” Bruce argued, trying valiantly to tamp down the fury that threatened to overcome him. “That’s a theory.”

“A well founded one,” Ra’s grumbled, indignant. Then quieter, “We tried to bring him back. Initially. Nothing was said about it because it didn’t work.”

Bruce lifted from Ra’s back and stepped away to give the man room to stand, watching intently for any sudden movements the entire time.

“Elaborate.”

“The boy died,” Ra’s began, brushing dust off his robes as he stood, “partially at my fault. I should never have worked with that mad clown in the first place, and the little Robin paid the price for it.”

Bruce stood in wait. He knew all this. Ra’s working with the Joker is what allowed the villain to capture Jason. It was a solid rule in the underworld of Gotham to never work with the Joker. He could not be accounted for, could not be controlled. Ra’s found that out the hard way.

“So, in order to rectify the mistake, Talia stole the body and replaced it with a convincing replica.”

Bruce closed his eyes and held everything in. He would not break here. Not in front of Ra’s. He’d been so overcome with grief when he’d dug Jason’s small little body out of the wreckage, that once he’d finally let it go- he hadn’t had the strength to look at it again afterwards.

“We dipped his body in the Pit,” he continued flippantly, “and nothing happened. We kept the body monitored for a time and then switched it out again after a continued absence of life.”

“So you wouldn’t know about a possible connection between the deceased Jason Todd and The Red Hood,” he stated.

Everything was slipping from his fingers. All his leads were turning to dead ends that didn’t make sense . He knew that The Red Hood was Jason. That was his Robin , returned from the grave. He could feel it, and there were so many clues that led to that conclusion. But they didn’t add up. Nothing was adding up. He felt like he was going insane, trying to shove together pieces that didn’t fit to complete a puzzle he already knew the answers to. He wanted to believe, more than anything, that Jason was alive, but he couldn’t trust that he was (because the disappointment would hurt him more than anything else if he wasn’t) because he didn’t have confirmation .

“Now, I didn’t say that,” Ra’s said, back turned to face the window and the red of the sun rising over the horizon.

“Explain,” Bruce gritted out for what felt like the thousandth time. Always asking for an explanation and never quite getting what he needed.

Ra’s sighed. “Jason Todd was found wandering the streets of Gotham,” he turned to give Bruce an inscrutable look, dark eyes heavy. “He was more akin to a walking corpse than a person. Running on instinct alone. We did not alert you to his resurrection because he was still not himself.”

“You don’t know how he came back,” he said more than asked. This was the more important question. How Jason could walk among the living so long after his death when Bruce would have done damn near anything to bring him back if he could.

“No,” Ra’s answered simply. “But a second dip in the Pit waters after he shambled in with Talia brought his mind back. Which was rather more of a miracle than his initial awakening.”

“Could the first dip have brought him back, but delayed?” None of this made any damn sense. This is why he hated working with magic and mystical things. They never made any sense.

The other man stared, hard and unforgiving. Irritated. “I have worked with the Lazarus Pits for a very long time. And yet I am still no closer to answers for questions such as yours. Your guess is as good as mine.”

“You can’t confirm, definitively, the reason Jason Todd came back to life.”

“No,” Ra’s said with a sneer, body tensing to strike. Bruce had overstayed his welcome then. “That’s for you to puzzle out, Detective.”

Bruce turned and left. There was nothing else he could gain from interrogating Ra’s and inciting the man’s temper. Bruce’s own was on a hair-trigger as it was. He would begin his long journey back to Gotham, only partial answers acquired and more questions whirling in his head.

There was little he could do now. He needed to get back to his city, regardless of what was happening with Jason. Regardless of if he’d come back as the Red Hood or not.

There was little he could do to make up for all the ways he’d failed his second Robin, all the things he hadn’t done in time, hadn’t done when it was needed. But he’d do every small thing he could, now . As Batman, all he’d ever been able to do was small things. One criminal apprehended here, one rogue put back in Arkham or Blackgate there. But the city was still torn apart, citizens still ended up dead. Like putting a band-aid on a gaping chest wound.

He’d never fix everything, but he’d do damage control.

═════ ◈ ═════

Jason wasn’t much of a fan of waiting. Not when he was so much closer to executing the best part of his plan. He knew where the Joker would be soon. He had everything he needed ready. He would capture the crazy clown, beat him near to death with a crowbar to see how he liked it, and then set him like the spring in a trap. Bruce would be back from whatever jaunt he’d fled the city on and he’d be able to goad the big bastard into a chase.

Then he’d snare him and finally get the answers he’d so desperately been wanting.

Why hadn’t Bruce killed the Joker already? And what would it take for him to do it?

What would finally make the Big Man snap?

But first he had to catch the clown. He didn’t know what Harley was up to or what the party she’d mentioned was all about- and maybe he was being hasty in planning to just barge in guns blazing without gathering more information. But he was already antsy. He wanted this done already. He wanted to make Bruce choose . Either Bruce would finally kill the Joker or Jason would die by the man’s hand. Again. He would make Bruce suffer the choice, make him realize the severity of his decision to keep the mass murderer alive. Jason hadn’t been the only one killed by the clown, not by a long shot, and people would only keep dying if he was still free.

The Joker would find his end, one way or another. Jason would make sure of that- even if it had to be from beyond the grave again.

If Bruce chose to kill him instead of the deranged clown- Jason didn’t really know what he would do, but at least he’d have his answer. That Bruce had cared for whatever asinine definition of justice he had more than he ever had Jason. That Bruce cared more for his own personal morals than actually doing something to save the people of the city he’d sworn to protect.

He didn’t have confidence in which answer Bruce would choose.

Waiting also had the downside of giving him time to think . Something he currently didn’t want to do. Not when it made him reflect on his own mistakes. Made him reflect on the ways he’d hurt Fetcher so badly.

He regretted his actions in the dojo that day. But he knew he couldn’t take them back, couldn’t take back the tears he’d caused the other to shed. He was supposed to be better than that. To not let his paranoia get the best of him and allow him to hurt the ones he cared for, they way Bruce often did. It hadn’t taken very long for Jason to go back through everything that had happened with Fetcher and realize that he had severely jumped the gun.

He’d come to trust the kid way too fast, sure, but that wasn’t the other’s fault. He’d been desperate for an ally and he’d seen just a bit too much of himself in the poor soul he’d saved. He’d wanted to protect Fetcher from a fate like his, but all he’d ended up doing was hurt him.

But his eyes- the green- the sharpness there-

Jason paused where he stood in his kitchen, hands gripping the cast iron skillet just a bit too tight. He could hear the metal creak under his grip, likely to snap if he didn’t relent. The kid’s eyes had reminded him too much of the Pit- of when he’d died and come back. Of the torture of resurfacing to a new world he didn’t understand.

If Fetcher had been working for Ra’s he’d been doing a poor job of it. It took Jason far too long to realize that. No movement from Talia or Nanda Parbat. No whisper of activity from Ra’s. Nothing at all to indicate that Fetcher was one of their agents. Whatever mess the kid had gotten himself mixed up in, it wasn’t necessarily connected to the League. And Jason had yelled at him. Called him a monster. And all he’d done- was cry.

Jason was the monster here, not Fetch.

He was likely better off sulking in the graveyard Jason had found him in anyway. It would have only been a matter of time before Jason turned on him. Or did something else to get him hurt, get him killed. Like father, like son.

When Nadi had come to yell at him about Fetcher’s disappearance, it had been something of a relief. Even if she had kicked him in the balls, it was still good to see that someone cared about the kid. Someone good . Someone that could help him where Jason couldn’t. And when she’d come back a second time to demand that Fetcher be allowed back into Crime Alley, he’d reluctantly agreed. He couldn’t face the other after everything he’d said and done, but he wouldn’t banish him for Jason’s mistakes.

He hasn’t seen the other since then. But he knows that he’s in the area. Seen the faint glow of the other brighten a dark alleyway, trailing after Nadi like he used to trail after Red Hood.

Jason shakes off his thoughts and goes back to cooking. Only to realize that he’d made two servings.

Silently, guiltily, he packs it away. He’ll hand it out to the first person he sees once he leaves for patrol (no use in good food going to waste- even if his first instinct is to trash it). The sight of it made him sick.

He’d have to live with what he’d done and that was that. There was little he could do to fix things. Little he could do to help. But he’d keep his distance and let Nadi take care of Fetch where he’d failed so spectacularly. He didn’t want to face the other again, and it made him a coward- but he didn’t want to risk hurting the other more than he deserved. He’d already done enough damage.

( You’re too angry, Jason. You take it out on the wrong people. It makes you reckless. You’re going to get an innocent person killed one day because you couldn’t control your temper. This is not why I let you become my second Robin. You’re benched . Indefinitely. )

Jason was far from perfect and he knew that. But he’d take his imperfection and still try where he could. He’d fix the city, little by little. Build it up where Bruce couldn’t and clean it out where Batman wouldn’t.

Even if he died again proving his point to Bruce, even that little bit, would help in its own way. Make Bruce see where he’d gone wrong or else prove where Batman was failing. If the bastard was too stubborn to see that Jason was right about this, then Gotham had long been doomed anyway. His second death wouldn’t change that.

All he had to do now, was wait.

#naps fics #dp x dc #Our Empty Graves #dpxdc

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iyeriing · 2 years

Text

Diplomacy of Chaos

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

pairing: Batfamily x Ghost!Originalcharacter!female

summary: a chaotic day for Bruce organize a mission.

warnings: none, i guess.

notes: Another test with my original character till i learn the settings here. Thanks for the feedbacks on the last post :), i promise ill get better on this.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The day seemed to drag on and I couldn't tell if it was a good thing or a bad thing, in 1 hour I would have a meeting with Bruce, apparently we would decide which of us would take which part in the current big case that we were all working together.

The part that bothered me wasn't necessarily the division of the task but the meeting, all such events were extremely boring and easily taken as a relaxation session to get some more sleep by all of us in the Bat family.

I leaned my body against the back of the chair at one of the mansion's library desks, Damian was stretched out on one of the sofas reading some book that I had absolutely no interest in knowing what it was. I didn't even take off my patrol clothes when I arrived, I just came to seek some peace in the library, my luck was that Damian wasn't a difficult person to deal with in silence. Dick, Jason, and Tim were on patrol together, while Steph and Cass were in their rooms doing who knows what, they usually call me when our breaks coincide to throw a little party, but today, as far as I know, Cass had Patrol with Bruce and Steph were grounded for destroying the Hall of the house chasing Titus who had apparently stolen her ham sandwich.

The library door was flung open giving way to 3 male voices while one of them shoots in an unpretentious and proud way:

"Hey, I didn't kill anyone today!''

The animation present in the voice of who I deduced being obviously Jason was completely destroyed by Tim replying in an ironic way:

''What do you want for doing the bare minimun? a golden star?"

Jason shoots Tim a murderous gaze, prompting Dick to step in between the two while they still weren't trying to kill each other by knocking over bookshelves and rolling on the floor.

"What's the point of a library if the zoologic invades it? everything was chill while S and I were here"

The book in Damian's hands is slammed shut with a muffled clatter, while Dick's effort is rewarded by Jason and Tim pulling away in curses and middle fingers. They fight, but we all know they love each other, like every sibling loves each other.

''Hey S, How are things going so far? Bruce arrived?''

''Well... for now well, I have no idea if he is in the mansion, after I arrived I came immediately to the library, I needed some silence... I hate fireworks and bomb dealers.''

I put my hands on my temple lightly massaging it looking at Dick who seemed to have found my outburst of my solo patrol amusing.

Sometimes I really thought about burning the Ghost identity in the fire and living a normal life...with Jason maybe...

I sigh and grab the table in fear of falling when Jason pulls back my chair, how had he gotten there without me hearing him?! THIS BITCH!

''JASON! ARE YOU DUMB?! YOU SLUT!''

I get up from the chair quickly, turning to him while listening to his laughter at high volume along with the others and even Steph's who had just arrived. Sometimes I wanted to KILL Jason Todd.

I pull myself together, straightening my clothes and pulling my hood down again, taking a deep breath so I don't chase after this man all over the house.

''Jason?''

''what, princess?''

''Do me a favor?''

''Anything princess''

I guess its better i make a note here saying that i HATE being called by 'princess' and he fucking knows that very well.

''Go to fucking hell''

I smile in a sweetly ironic and venomous way.

''I'll wait for you there sweetheart."

He winks provocatively and I pretend I don't see it for the sake of general security of the nation, I cross my arms impatiently finally seeing Steph already inside the room with a disgusted face as Duke and Cass enter and try to understand the reason for the chaos.

''EW, are you guys flirting in the murderous way you always do? disgusting.''

Steph scrunches up her nose, unfazed by the others' laughter or if she wants to bother looking at Jason and me.

''Father says he's going to have meetings on a schedule and he's always late and after I'm the one who has to 'revisit my priorities''

Damian complains rolling his eyes leaning against one of the bookshelves.

''I'll ask Alfred ground him, and then we won't have any more problems with meetings or appointments he makes up at the last minute.''

I suggest leaning on the table I was using as a footrest…before Jason scared me.

''Good luck, the chaos will be fun.''

Jay says suggestively arching his brow leaning on the same table next to me.

Everyone had already taken their positions in the library, it was always like that, somehow we always ended up in a single comfortable formation for everyone, and it wasn't even a matter of groups, it was simply places that made us more comfortable, more confident... I dont know how to explain to be honest.

Finally Bruce appears through the door, looking surprised to see everyone in the same place before him, a sigh leaves his lips, that was the 'tired father of family Bruce Wayne' posture, and honestly... it was hillarious.

''Thanks for being here already guys, sorry for the delay, I was...busy.''

Whispers and whispers fill the room, and obviously giggles were just as much a part of it.

''I've already sorted out your role in the mission as a matter of saving time, and I'll pass the position to you now.''

Bruce ignores the fuss, and I cross my fingers that I get something decent this time, I didn't deserve to be in the van with Dick's dad Jokes again, I really like him but throw me to the wolves instead of making me listen to his jokes .

''Okay... whoever I say can leave the room so that I... don't get lost... in strategic order we start with who will gather the information until the day of the prom, Orphan, Cass this task is yours, and as we suspect that the traffic is intense Signal, Duke will be your partner''

Duke seems to be thrilled with the news internally while Cass is not so much, the two leave the room reasonably excited.

I can't help but think how easy this task would be for me, it was part of my solo work and always has been, but now we're a team so... it is what it is.

''In the second part of the operation we have the security infiltrators, we need to know what kind of weapon we're dealing with... and for that I want Tim, Red Robin and, Stephanie, Spoiler to take care of this, you can't blow the cover, you'll have the support of the building plant by Oracle.''

A high five echoes through the room as they jump hapilly out of the library, my leg is restless with the tension I felt for my role. Not diplomacy...

It's not that I didn't like it or didn't know it... it's just that this kind of game was usually the easiest to get rid of because it always ended up with the corrupt dead and my hands full of blood.

''Robin, Damian, you are responsible for defusing the situation if it gets out of hand.''

Damian nods simply and walks out the door making me even more anxious. Me, Dick and Jason in the same room, waiting for functions, reminded me of the good old days.

''Red Hood, Jason and Ghost, Sophia, you will maintain control over the negotiations infiltrated inside the party, will be responsible for not losing sight of the objects we want, and if necessary negotiate for it in a diplomatic way. while Dick and I will be responsible for guiding the situation the way we want it to happen.''

Before either of us can protest, Bruce simply turns and walks away leaving us both looking at each other in frustration.

''Can someone explain to me, in small words, why I'm being assigned to this diplomatic mission?"

Jason says facing the door and turns his gaze between me and Dick as if he's still trying to assimilate the position Bruce had given him, I don't even have an answer for myself, i definetely havent one for his problem...

''Don't panic, we're the oldest, it's natural that he trusts us more for that, besides, S is good at diplomacy Jaybird , don't worry''

''Why do people think im good at diplomacy? Does no one remember that time that i literally started a riot against Nightwing aka YOU Dick, or the other time I started a fucking riot with a lot of blood against Riddler?!''

I ask genuinely curious drawing a sincere laugh from Jay and Dick, I can't help but accompany them laughing, we all knew we would handle it, but it was good to relax about that too.

''It's just details, I'm sure you'll make it, you are the perfect balance so that nothing out of control happens''

''Just to be sure, I think you should wear a red dress, just in case you want to do the slaughter thing... so it doesn't stain so much...''

Jay jokes getting a punch from Dick on the arm, which makes me laugh too, at least good humor wouldn't be lacking between my partner and me on this mission.

''Make sure you wear your red suit too Jay, I don't promise anything.''

I laugh purposefully evil right after bursting into laughter as I leave the library.

Would be tiring, but I was willing to bet on the fun we could get out of it. it was good to work alone, but having a team was better... and having a family was unparalleled.

#jason todd x reader #batman #batfam #batfamily #dick grayson #damien #wayne manor

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oracleisonline-a · 2 years

Text

march 29, 2016. “why are you doing this?” “to prove a point. here’s to crime.”

There was a loud knock on the door, and Barbara frowned as she looked up from the monitor in front of her. The code in front of her continued to scroll, Barbara keeping a passive eye on the progress after she’d glanced towards her apartment door. She’d been working steadily through the project, had made a good deal of progress in the past few days (after letting the project sit for….much longer than she liked, with everything that had happened). Enough progress that she’d taken a break to scrounge up some snacks from the back of her pantry and had her laptop open with her ongoing side-project: an e-mail drafted to her superior to ask to work remotely (since, well, all of what she did was able to be done from wherever she decided to park herself), tabs and tabs open of apartments in the locations she deemed her top five, a running to-do list of what she’d need to before she left Gotham in typical Barbara Gordon fashion. The idea that had been drunken desperation after that could be labeled as the worst night of her life had formed into something much more solid, much more doable, and Barbara was gaining momentum. Gotham was home, always would be..though there was no denying that the air surrounding the city was poison to its inhabitants (sometimes literally, often literally). Barbara had always been aware of this, had been raised by the determined yet so tired police commissioner that was determined to try to make Gotham the city that the people deserved, had become Batgirl when she was still a child herself in an attempt to do the same….but after her brother had come back to Gotham and the events that followed, there was no pushing through it anymore. Gotham was poison, and she needed to come up for air. She had plans for what came next, big plans that she believed would be for the greater good, but she could not do that if she was distracted. It was time for a clean break, some time away, and then maybe the noxious fumes that surrounded the city would seem more tolerable when she decided to return. There was only one person she was expecting, though the front door was not usually his preference and she’d left the window leading to the fire escape unlocked for that reason. Jason Todd. Had to be. The man that had returned to Gotham was certainly not the boy they’d lost, but he was Jason all the same. No longer Robin (her Robin) but still Jason. Another key factor in the decision she was making, and he’d shown up at a good time in her list-making. Convenient timing, but an inconvenient entrance. Shrugging, Barbara paused her work, collecting her coffee mug from her desk as she stood up. “I’m pretty sure I gave you a key,” Barbara spoke loudly so that the person from behind the door could hear her. “A key that you’ve never used, but I definitely gave you one.” She was moving across the living room of her apartment, reaching to unlock the deadbolt. “I was starting to think you had a thing against doors with all the times you came up the fire-escape. You’re starting to remind me of a stray cat.” The smile that came with that was wide, easing across her face as she opened the door. That smile was frozen in place when she was greeted with the bright green hair and white face of the Clown Prince of Gotham. His own smile was broader, unhinged, just as crazed as the glint in those over bright and sickly green eyes. Her coffee mug hit the floor before the gun fired, shattering at her feet. She made contact with the coffee table with her momentum backwards after the bullet penetrated her abdomen, crashing through it to the hardwood floor beneath. She could hear the crunch of glass beneath her as her weight settled, heard the maniacal laughter coming from the doorway. The pain was immediate - excruciating, blinding, centered in her abdomen and radiating outward. Barbara’s mind was moving ahead, computing quickly like the program still running behind her on the monitors she’d left behind just moments before, assessing the damage like she’d been trained. Less immediate, there was a thick layer of glass beneath her, penetrating skin. More immediate, she’d been shot once through the abdomen, though she couldn’t tell if the bullet had gone through and through. Most immediate, she could not move. She couldn’t move above the waist, and she could not feel her legs. Blood was collecting beneath her (her blood, too much blood, warm and sticky and it was hers –), rapidly spreading around her as she scraped the heels of her hands against the floor in an attempt to brace herself or scoot back even an inch, tried to lift the upper half of her body but found herself crying out in pain instead. Barbara felt her own breathing, rattled and too shallow to be sustainable, as she heard the crunch of glass beneath her assailant’s shoes as he approached. “There’s a psychological complaint common amongst ex-librarians,” he began, in-between laughs as she heard the click of the camera (hanging around his neck from a strap above a Hawaiian print shirt, she could remember that now even as she was staring at the ceiling). She couldn’t see him, not from where she found herself flat on the floor with every inch of her hurting and on high alert; she was assessing the situation, what she could use as a weapon to defend herself if he came into her line of view. Shards of glass, hardcover books, they were within her grip and she slowly moved her fingers, searching to inch them closer to herself with a fingertip grip in preparation. Even minute movements were difficult, and even so Barbara was mindful to be slow so as to not draw attention to what she was doing. “You see, she thinks she’s a coffee table edition.” That laughter continued, loud and startling with an inconsistent beat as the camera continued to click and Barbara heard his footsteps beginning to circle her, reaching for that hardcovered book nearest to her a little more earnestly. “Mind you, I can’t say much for the volume’s condition. I mean - there’s a hole in the jacket and the spine appears to be damaged! Frankly, she won’t be walking off the shelves in that state of repair!” Her heart was kicking loudly in her ears (her own blood pumping, pumping out of a hole in her abdomen and onto the floor beneath her), beating wildly at the base of her throat. The rhythm was uneven and wild, off beat from the maniacal, too-loud laughter that left the Joker wheezing. “In fact, the idea of her walking anywhere seems increasingly remote but that’s a problem with soft backs.” The laughter cut off abruptly, and the Joker came into view above her - in and out of focus, and his expression had changed from gleeful to annoyed. “God, these literary discussions are so dry.” The book she’d finally successfully inched her way was kicked clear across the room, and Barbara felt her mouth go dry. Her breath was shallow, much too shallow, and she wheezed out in pain as she tried to take in a more substantial breath. “Why are you doing this?” The words were thick, stuttered and slow-moving, her tongue feeling thick and fat as Barbara struggled to form the words. But she had to ask, she had to know. Batgirl or Barbara: who was he after? The vigilante that had tied herself to Batman’s mantle all those years ago or the police commissioner’s daughter? Or both, she supposed, if he’d managed to put the puzzle together. Had he? Did he know that Barbara Gordon had been Batgirl? In truth, there was a cold wash of relief running through her like water dumped overhead at the notion that it may be Batgirl he was after…but that could’ve also been the shock, slowly settling into her limbs and weighing her down like sand. Either way, if it was Batgirl that had been his intended target, she was glad that it was her. It was her, and not her successor. She’d take the bullet any day if that were the case, if it meant keeping her safe from the fate that Barbara had just endured. The flash of a camera was bright in her face, stars swimming in her vision though that had started even before the streak of light. There were white and black spots in her vision, the ever-present fairy lights lining her apartment seemed to be blinking overhead like real stars or satellites passing overhead. She was dizzy, having trouble focusing, green eyes dulling and threatening to close…though that focus came back to hyper-vigilance as the shock from the camera’s flash wore off and all she could see was that white face. White and glowing like a thing from a child’s nightmare, that smile sickly and nauseating and getting close enough that Barbara could see the cracks in the red clown make-up around his lips as the Joker leaned in ever-closer. “To prove a point. Here’s to crime.” Her apartment was spinning now, the white of the Joker’s face twisting grotesquely with the red of his smile and green of his hair. Dulled green eyes were blinking slowly, eyes hot and lids heavy as that laughter continued to play as though on a track. That laughter sounded more distant now, warped and cutting in and out as her attention started to fade. Everything had begun to fade. Flash.

#do i have a self para tag #self para tag tba #tw guns #tw violence #tw blood #tw the joker #barbara muse is struggling hard so naturally this is what i do to kickstart it #why not rewrite the killing joke for sr purposes

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