#it’s also that…dick said he doesn’t believe he’s a good father figure to Damian despite being his batman
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All Men Have Limits - VIII
Character: Dick Grayson x Reader x Bruce Wayne
Summary: A certain bat believes that Y/N is in way over her head, that she’s too naive to act in her best interest. So, whether she wants it or not, the vigilante family is going to help and protect her before she gets herself killed.
Word Count: 3,600+
Warning: Mention of sexual assault
Previously on…
“Going along with this plan seems rather unlike you,” Tim finally pointed out to Bruce.
It was the two younger boys and Bruce sitting in the cave.
“Without her help, we would have never been able to get the evidence we need to take down The Court of Owls,” Bruce sighed as he looked up at the screens.
“Yeah, but like you said before, we never use our own as bait,” Tim countered.
“Y/N knows what she’s doing.”
Tim and Damian shared a look.
“Are you certain things have not gone too personal, father?” Damian finally asked.
The personal question finally forced Bruce to tear his eyes away from the screens and look at his son.
His gaze shifted between Tim and Damian. From their looks alone, Bruce realized that his feelings towards Y/N were not as subtle and secret as he wanted.
But Bruce knew better than to answer Damian.
The boy had never been invested in his father’s personal relationships before. Why did he have to start now? And with Y/N?
“What happens if things go south?” Tim challenged.
But Damian answered for his father. “You know he has a plan B and C, Drake. He always does, even if he doesn’t share it.”
Bruce was not about to have a conversation about his love and sex life with his two youngest sons. So, he thought of something to escape and he thought of it fast.
He stood up quickly and faced them. “Mandatory family dinner. Tonight.”
“What!?” Damian screamed in outrage.
“I don’t want to,” Tim whined like a baby, even though he was very much a young man standing at the ripe age of 19.
“Mandatory,” Bruce repeated solidly before leaving the cave.
Damian and Tim shared a look.
“This is your fault,” Tim accused.
“How is it my fault?”
“You couldn’t keep your mouth shut about the sexual tension we’re all choking on in this damn mansion!”
“But you don’t disagree. You’ve noticed it as well.”
“I was a little late to the game, but yes,” Tim admitted.
“She’s not like the other ones,” Damian muttered so quietly that Tim almost missed it.
“No, she’s not,” Tim confirmed.
——————
Bruce was slightly surprised to find Y/N sitting at the outdoor pool, reading a book.
She wasn’t in a bathing suit – just shorts and a t-shirt.
Bruce walked over with his hands in the pocket of his slacks.
“If I didn’t know better, I would think that you’re starting to like it here.”
She looked up from her book with a smirk. “For the record, I still think we should ‘eat the rich.’”
Bruce smirked. “Right. Of course.”
Y/N eyed him. “Did you need something?”
“Are you sure about this?”
Of course he was coming to try and talk her out of the plan once again.
“Bruce, I’m not changing my mind.”
“Figured you would say that.”
Y/N could see his mind racing. It was obvious he hadn’t stopped thinking about everything that could wrong with. Bruce needed control. And even if he was going into an inevitably dangerous situation, he always had multiple plans to get out alive. Y/N’s involvement made it harder for him to do that.
“Careful,” she warned him playfully, “It’s starting to look like you’re worried about me.”
“I am,” he retorted.
Her amusement vanished. “I didn’t think you worried. Or got scared.”
He quirked an eyebrow. “I thought you had realized by now that both of those things happen when you’re involved.”
She didn’t know how to respond that. She really didn’t.
“I also came out here to tell you we’re having a family dinner tonight.”
Yes, Dick and Tim were basically living at the manor while they handled this specific case. But it was rare that the whole family ate together. All the boys would come back from patrol at different times. Alfred usually made something and put each of their meals in the oven or fridge for when they got back.
But Bruce made a habit of having mandatory family dinners. They weren’t frequent. And the boys often viewed them as some sort of punishment. But Bruce saw it as a way to remind them all that they were a family. A chaotic and a strange one, but they were still a family.
“It would be nice if you could join us,” Bruce added politely.
Y/N smiled at how obvious it was that he was choosing his words carefully. “It was really hard for you to not me tell what to do, wasn’t it?”
He narrowed his gaze at her from being caught.
She never seemed to miss an opportunity to tease him.
“Yes. I’ll join you.”
Bruce nodded, clearly pleased with her answer.
“Will you miss it?” Bruce surprised her by asking as he looked around at the exterior of the manor, looking almost lost in thought.
“It’s a home,” Y/N sighed. “And even with all the secrets and dark pasts, it’s still filled with happy memories, too. And a family.”
Then she smirked. “Even if it’s a highly dysfunctional one,” she added teasingly.
“Not sure all the boys would agree with you on that.”
“Are you sure about that?” Y/N challenged.
———————
Y/N walked out of her bedroom right as Dick was dragging Damian down the hallway.
“Come on. It’s never as bad as you think it’s gonna be,” Dick tried to tell the boy.
“Why did Todd come? He never comes to family dinner. He doesn’t even see us as his family.”
Dick smirked. “You and I both know that’s not true, no matter how many times he tries to convince everyone – even himself.”
Then both of them noticed Y/N’s presence in the hallway.
“You look pretty,” Dick complimented.
Y/N looked down at her outfit and shrugged. “Figured I could make a bit more of an effort.”
“Let’s get this over with,” Damian huffed before leaving the two of them behind.
Y/N and Dick both laughed lightly at his attitude.
“I’ve never told you how good you are with him,” she thought aloud.
“I don’t know about that…”
Y/N turned to him with an insistent look. “You are. Sometimes I think he listens to you more than Bruce. He looks up to you. I think it’s because…” her words die out.
“What? What you were going to say?”
Y/N still hesitated, but told him anyway. “I think it’s because you’re more available to him…emotionally, I mean.”
“Sometimes I feel like I have to talk to him the same way I do with Bruce. He’s a younger carbon copy of the guy. Just brattier.” Dick sighed. “Deep down, Damian has a good heart and he cares deeply about the people in his life. He’ll just never admit it.”
Y/N nodded.
It did sound like Bruce.
But Y/N never considered Dick would have a similar impact on Bruce that he also had with Damian. She wondered what Bruce would be like today if he had never taken in an orphaned Richard Grayson.
Sometimes Y/N believed Bruce would be completely devoid of any and all emotions if it hadn’t been for an adolescent Dick. His needs and wants as a child had prevented Bruce from turning completely into a callous vigilante with nothing tying him to his own humanity and life.
Y/N was about to continue her walk to the dining room, but Dick softly grabbed her arm.
“Hey, before we walking into the chaos…” Dick cleared his throat. “I just wanted to make sure we’re okay after the other night.” He shifted his weight and looked at the ground. “If I was too forward or I misread something or–”
“Dick?” Y/N interrupted with a smug look.
His head shot up to look at her. “Yeah?”
She had a wicked gleam in her eyes.
Then she moved into Dick’s space, closing the distance between their bodies and did not stop until they could feel each other’s body heat.
Y/N tipped her head as if she was about to kiss him.
But her lips stopped just a centimeter or two from his.
Dick’s eyes turned menacing once he realized she was messing with him.
“Yes,” Y/N whispered seductively, “we’re okay.”
Then she slipped away quickly and started walking away without him.
“That was cruel!” Dick called after her.
But her only response was her laugher from down the hall.
Dick shook his head, but couldn’t stop his smiling.
Maybe it was avoidance or a distraction from the reality of their relationship. But Y/N couldn’t deny that it was also fun.
—
Dinner was in the formal dining room of the manor. This was the first time Y/N had even stepped foot in the room. The fireplace was even lit. Even when Wayne Manor was hardly trying, it reminded Y/N how out of place she was.
“If I have to sit through this bullshit, you’re sitting next to me,” Jason said from behind Y/N, making her jump.
To her horror, Jason pulled out a seat at the head of the table. Two at each end and then two chairs in the middle on both sides.
“Oh, I don’t think–” Y/N stuttered out in panic.
“You’re the guest,” Jason cut her off and gently pushed in the chair when he finally got her to sit.
Damian was already sitting to the right, closer to the other head of the table– probably to be closer to his father.
Jason sat down to the left of Y/N. And when Dick finally caught up to her, he didn’t question Y/N sitting at the head and sat to the right of her.
“Perfect. You’re like our future step mom,” Jason declared.
Damian snickered, despite hating to laugh at Jason’s joke.
But Y/N looked horrified. She was about to jump up and take the remaining middle seat on the other side of Jason. But Tim’s timing was absolutely horrendous.
“Please switch spots with me,” Y/N leaned forward and hissed at Dick.
He smirked. “Absolutely not.”
When he saw her obvious panic, he leaned forward as well and whispered, “That’s payback for earlier.”
Y/N glared at him and huffed.
“Oh, I’m so glad I came,” Jason sighed.
Bruce walked into the room with his head held high. “Tim, no phones. You know better.”
Tim sighed in annoyance but slipped his phone into his back pocket.
Dick leaned to Y/N. “Bruce has a strict ‘no electronics’ rule for family dinners. Phones are forbidden.”
Y/N nodded, even though she would never be so rude as to bring a phone to dinner, especially when she was a guest and this was a literal “manor.”
Somehow Jason had pulled a bottle of red wine from nowhere. Or maybe it had been sitting on the table and Y/N had just missed it.
And Jason had already grabbed Y/N’s glass and gave her a heavy pour. “But drinking is highly encouraged,” he added with a crooked smile.
Y/N barely let him finish pouring before she grabbed the wine and chugged.
When she put the glass back down, Bruce was watching her carefully. She at least had enough shame to sink lower in her chair and give him an apologetic look.
But Bruce was amused more than anything.
He’d never brought a woman to a family dinner like this. And though the situation was not that straightforward, it was still causing him a weird amount of anxiety.
“How are your lessons going, Damian?” Bruce broke the tension with the question.
Damian muttered off what sounded like rehearsed and generic statements about his personal studies.
“I didn’t even know he went to school,” Y/N muttered to Dick as Damian and Bruce talked.
“He doesn’t. He’s technically homeschooled,” Jason answered first. “Which is total bullshit seeing as all of us were forced to go to Gotham Academy with all the spoiled brats of the city.”
“As if it mattered, you died before you were forced to graduate from the stupid establishment,” Damian commented darkly.
Jason beamed and laughed lightly at the comment.
But Dick, Tim, and Y/N all froze and looked to Bruce.
They all knew it was a sensitive topic.
Bruce was clearly trying his hardest not to scold them all night. So he just took in a deep, shaky breath.
“Why get your GED or drop out of high school when you can just get murdered?” Jason offered with enthusiasm.
“Jason,” Y/N warned lowly when she saw the pained look on Bruce’s face that he was trying so hard to hide.
Jason’s death still haunted Bruce and riddled him with guilt – despite the miracle of him being resurrected. Y/N probably knew that more than any of the boys. Maybe only Dick really shared that understanding.
“You’re right,” Jason agreed. “Tonight’s not about me. You’re the guest, Y/N. Why don’t you tell us about yourself?”
Y/N opened her mouth to protest, but the words got caught in her throat when she felt everyone’s eyes on her.
This was not how she imagined tonight going.
But Alfred – her savior – interrupted with the first course of soup and salad.
Everyone was momentarily distracted with the food.
Y/N hoped it stayed that way.
“Who taught you how to hack?” Damian piped up.
Y/N relaxed at that particular question. “No one. I taught myself.”
“Where’s your family?” Tim asked innocently.
Y/N flipped through all the possible lies she could tell, deciding to go with the one that would lead to the least amount of follow-up questions. And it wasn’t a lie at all.
“We’re estranged,” Y/N mumbled without looking up from her food.
“Parents are overrated,” Jason commented with a smirk.
Dick and Bruce glared at him.
However, Y/N couldn’t help but laugh along with Jason.
Little did she know that Jason could relate to her upbringing far more than anyone else at the table. Their childhood’s were parallel. Ones neither of them deserved.
Tim instantly felt guilty for asking an uncomfortable question without realizing it.
“Y/N is not here to be interrogated,” Bruce warned the table.
“Well, why don’t you tell us about her, B?” Jason answered. “How exactly did you two meet again?”
Bruce narrowed his gaze. He knew what game this was. The more emotion and reaction he showed, the more it would encourage Jason to continue with such antics.
“We worked on a case together a couple years ago,” was all Bruce supplied.
“More like she threatened you into working with her,” Dick mumbled as he tried to hide his smirk by licking his lips.
Y/N kicked him under the table.
“So, Y/N, have you always had a thing for older men?” Jason asked.
She gave him a death glare.
“Jason, come on.” Dick cautioned.
“I mean, you of all people should be curious, Dickie.”
Everyone went quiet.
Jason rolled his eyes and looked around the table. “Oh. Are we all pretending there’s not a weird love triangle going on?”
“I didn’t realize my sex life was up for discussion tonight,” Y/N mumbled.
But it wasn’t just sex was it?
“Why don’t we all go around the table and share!?” Jason suggested loudly. “Dick, you first. What’s your number?”
“Jason that is enough.” Bruce grunted.
But Y/N had it with Jason’s pot stirring and she wasn’t going to let Bruce fight her battles for her.
She snapped her head in Jason’s direction. “I hope you don’t have a sex tape laying around, because I will sell that shit to PornHub faster than you can jerk off,” she threatened.
The words slipped out of Y/N’s mouth so quickly that she had momentarily forgotten that a literal child was also sitting at the dinner table.
Her hand slammed over her mouth and her eyes widened in shock.
Jason threw his head back with laughter. This was exactly the chaos he was trying to start.
Her eyes whipped to Damian with horror as she blurted out, “I am so sorry!"
“Please, I know what fornication is,” Damian rolled his eyes. “I’m not so innocent. After all, I was conceived from my mother drugging my father and forcing coitus onto him.”
“I also slept with said mother,” Jason chimed in.
Tim made a disgusted gag noise.
Dick rubbed his face in exhaustion.
Y/N’s jaw dropped at this new information.
But when she looked to Bruce, he wouldn’t meet her stare, only further proving it was all true.
This was no laughing matter.
Yet the whole family seemed desensitized by the subject.
Y/N was processing that Bruce had gone through such an assault – and by the mother of his only biological son, nonetheless.
“Can Jonathan come over soon for a sleepover, father?” Damian suddenly asked.
The subject change was like whiplash on the entire table.
Y/N couldn’t keep up. She couldn’t just move past what she found out like that.
“I don’t see why not,” Bruce answered.
Clearly he was grateful for his son’s short attention span and his inability to read the room and realize he’d said something entirely inappropriate for the situation.
But Y/N could also see the subtle happiness in Bruce’s eyes from his son asking him such a question. And for that split second, this felt like a normal family.
“Who’s Jonathan?” Y/N asked Dick quietly.
She was trying to follow Bruce’s lead and move on.
“Superman’s son,” Dick provided.
“And literally Damian’s only friend,” Jason added.
“I heard that!” Damian shouted.
“I meant you to!”
“Put that knife down, Damian.” Bruce warned. “What have I told you?”
Damian lowered his head in shame. “The knives at the dinner table are for eating, and are not to be used as weapons under any circumstance.”
The table suddenly erupted into various conversations. Tim started talking Wayne Enterprises business with Bruce. Damian and Jason were shooting insults at each other. Alfred brought in another course.
Dick and Y/N shared a moment.
She sighed, realizing that the worst of it was probably over now.
‘Sorry,’ Dick mouthed to her.
‘It’s OK,’ she mouthed back.
The dinner continue with filet mignon, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, mushroom bordelaise, and – thankfully – more wine.
Maybe Jason had helped them all in a way by airing out all their dirty laundry immediately and getting it over with so they could move on.
But as Y/N looked around the table, listening to the boys and Bruce talk, she realized that maybe – just maybe – she didn’t want to leave.
—
Alfred put all the boys to work cleaning the dishes after dinner.
But he refused to allow Y/N to help. Once a guest always a guest.
Alfred handed Y/N a fresh glass of wine and told her to wait in the drawing room and that he’d bring dessert within the hour.
Y/N knew better than to argue with him and did as she was told.
There was a roaring fire in the room, pulling her to it.
“Please don’t take anything Jason said personally,” Bruce said from behind her.
Y/N let out a breathy laugh and shook her head. “He loves to start drama. That’s for fucking sure.”
“He’s constantly trying to get back at me. You weren’t his target. I was. But I apologize that you were caught in the crossfire.”
She turned away from the fireplace to face him.
Her eyes were heartbroken and worried.
“You never told me about…” she hesitated, “about Damian’s mother. I-I had no idea.”
“I try not to speak of it. No matter what happened in the past, Talia is still Damian’s mother.”
“But she still–”
“I’m fine,” Bruce cut her off. “Really, Y/N. I came to terms with it long ago.”
He was irritated, but too preoccupied with comforting Y/N to face the dark truth of how Damian was conceived.
“Well, if you need to ta–”
“I know, Y/N. Thank you.”
Their moment was interrupted by the boys trampling in the drawing room.
Dick had Damian thrown over his shoulder as the boy screamed insults at both Tim and Jason. Clearly Dick was preventing a full-on brawl from errupting.
The bickering and teasing continued but wasn’t anywhere near as awkward or stressful as it was at dinner. Perhaps all the glasses of wine Y/N had were helping with that. She decided to simply sit back and watch the Wayne family.
Eventually it hit Damian’s bed time. Bruce insisted on tucking his son into bed.
Jason took their leave as his cue to leave the manor.
Tim went up to his own room. Except they all knew it wasn’t to sleep, but to get back to work and not stop until he was utterly exhausted.
The drawing room turned relaxing as Dick and Y/N were the only two who remained.
“You survived,” Dick pointed out with a chuckle.
“I did,” Y/N answered with a light laugh.
Dick let a moment pass before he asked, “Why didn’t you ever tell me about your parents?”
She sighed, knowing Dick was going to bring this up at some point.
“Because I don’t tell anyone about them.”
“You told Bruce,” he countered.
Her brow furrowed. “And how do you know that?”
Dick at least looked guilty for answering, “He told me.”
She glared at him. “So is that what you two do now? You talk about me with each other? Swap notes?”
“Course not. But don’t you think it’s a little hypocritical getting mad about it?”
“Hypocritical?” She shot back.
“Yeah, hypocritical. You did a background check on every single member of this family. You know my entire past. You know every woman I’ve been connected to in my life. But the moment I know something about you, it’s not OK?”
“As if you wouldn’t offer that info freely if I asked…”
“That’s exactly my point, Y/N.” Dick sounded exasperated. “I’m trying to get to know you. I’m really trying. But now I know you’ve done it before. So I’m asking you to trust me enough to do it again.”
“It’s not that simple,” Y/N mumbled before walking out of the room.
Dick let out a groan of frustration and rubbed his face.
That definitely could’ve gone better.
But Y/N’s night wasn’t free of the Wayne men yet.
Just before reaching her bedroom door, Bruce crossed her path.
“Hey!” She snapped at him. “My past isn’t something for you to announce to whoever the fuck you want.”
“Y/N, that’s–”
“Save it,” Y/N snapped before he could get a word in. “Whatever broody and cryptic bullshit you’re about to spew…just…save it, k?”
And with that, Y/N slammed her bedroom door shut.
---------------------
Part 9
A/N: I know a lot of people really hate the Talia/Bruce sexual assualt storyline. But that was the version of Damian’s conception that I was most familiar with. I didn’t want to make light of it, because we all know male victims of sexual assault are not taken seriously – and that’s fucked up. But I also didn’t want to linger on it too long since it’s such a disliked plot point
Let me know what you thought of this chapter!!! Pretty, pretty please. 😔
#all men have limits#all men have limits part 8#bruce wayne x reader#bruce wayne reader insert#bruce wayne x reader x dick grayson#dick grayson x reader#dick grayson reader insert#dick Grayson x reader x Bruce Wayne#batfam#batboys#batman x reader#nightwing x reader
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Taking Chances Ch. 22: Petrichor and Bibliosmia (Library/books)
AO3
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Marinette frowned at the rain outside of her window. She had wanted to go to the botanical gardens with Harley and Ivy today. But with the rain, both women decided it would be better to just reschedule. They didn’t want her to get sick. Which, to be fair, was sweet. But still upsetting because she really wanted to go to the gardens. She’d planned on using the plants as inspiration to make something for Ivy.
“Tikki, I’m bored.” She says, looking at her smallest friend. Tikki just looks at her.
“You’ve been stuck inside because of the weather before, Marinette. Why don’t you design?” Tikki suggests. Marinette huffs, flopping back down onto the cushioned window seat.
“But there’s nothing inspiring in my room, Tikki.” She mumbles, before shooting back up. “Do you think any of the boys are here?” She asks.
“Only one way to find out!” Tikki says with a smile, obviously relieved to have avoided any more whining from Marinette. She jumps up, throwing one of Dick’s old hoodies on over her t-shirt. She’d always gotten cold easily, and becoming the holder of the Ladybug Miraculous didn’t help. That, and the manor was cold on a good day- it would probably be freezing with how bad the weather was. She slides down the banister, knowing her Dad was at work and couldn’t yell at her.
“Miss Marinette, if you insist on behaving like your brothers, I will have to resort to treating you like your brothers.” Alfred says with raised eyebrows. But she can sense the smile wanting to break through. She just grins apologetically.
“Sorry, Alfred.” She says. “Speaking of my brothers, are any of them here right now?” She asks. If they’re not, she could probably convince Alfred to bake something with her. As long as she promises not to slide down the banister again.
“I believe Master Jason is in the library. Masters Dick and Damian are in the gym and Master Tim is at Wayne Enterprises with your father.” He says and she hums, thinking. She could go do some training with Dick and Damian, or she could go sit and sketch in the library with Jason.
“Thanks Alfred!” She says, giving him a wide smile before turning and walking down one of the many halls. She glances in open doors as she walks. Despite having lived here for nearly a month, she still got lost going anywhere other than her room, the dining room, the kitchen, and the Batcave. They were kind of the places she’d gone the most. She could also easily find her dad’s study and the main sitting room, most of the time. But the library wasn’t really a place she’d spent a lot of time in. And while she loved Dick and Damian, she also knew that they hadn’t gotten time to hang out just the two of them in a while. She’d talked to Dick before, about how when their dad was missing, he was basically Damian’s father. She knew that bonds like that didn’t just go away, knew that neither boy wanted it to. So she figured she’d just annoy Jay instead of barging in on the others’ bonding time.
Finally finding the library, she grins. Pushing the cracked door open a little more, she moves into the room, jaw dropping. The floor to ceiling bookshelves were packed. There were huge overstuffed couches, and the large windows had window seats attached- perfect little reading nooks. Quickly making a mental note to come to the library more, she starts to search for Jay. She knew he had to be in here. Alfred is never wrong. She grins when she spots him, sitting in what looked like an insanely uncomfortable position, but one she knew from experience was the best.
“Whatchya reading?” She asks, walking over and getting comfortable on the couch next to him.
“<i>Pride and Prejudice<i>.” He says, continuing reading for a moment before putting a little scrap of paper in the book and shutting it. “What’s up, Pixie Pop?” He asks, looking at her with a grin. Marinette sighs dramatically and moves so that she’s upside down on the couch.
“It’s raining. And I was supposed to go to the gardens with Ivy and Harley but they canceled because of my ‘health’ and they were ‘concerned’.” She says with a pout.
“And you decided the library was the best place to curb your boredom? No offense kid, but you don’t seem like the type to read.” He says and she huffs.
“I like books! It’s just-” She pauses, remembering the way Lila had teased her for it back in Paris. Her classmates hadn’t joined in, not really. They’d just agreed that she was a little odd.
“You okay, Pix?” Jason asks, his earlier grin replaced with a slightly concerned look. Marinette winces and nods.
“Yeah it’s- I can read. I swear I can. But when I’m looking at a book, or an article or anything with a lot of text, it gets hard to pick out the pieces. Things just kind of swirl together and then I can’t decode it and I get frustrated and just stop reading. It sucks, ‘cause I do like books. I listen to audiobooks while doing commissions.” She rambles, stopping and turning red. Though that may be from hanging upside down on the couch. Sighing, she sits up and shrugs. “Sorry I’m so weird.” She says. Jason’s face morphs into a scowl.
���Just ‘cause you learn differently doesn’t mean you’re weird, kid. Just means you’ve got your own style. Don’t let any of those little shits you go to school with tell you differently.” He says, reaching out and ruffling her hair. She smiles at him, a genuine happy smile. She was so relieved that he didn’t think she was weird. Or stupid. Lila had thrown that word around. That one hurt. Marinette prided herself on her quick thinking and cleverness. And her grades. They were some of the best in the class! So for Lila to call her stupid…
“Pixie.” Jason says, drawing the nickname out in a sing-song voice. She looks at him and raises an eyebrow. “You were zoned out, kid. So, was there something ya wanna do?” He asks. Marinette glances down at the book in his hand and frowns.
“I don’t wanna keep you from reading. I can just sit in here with you. I’ll probably end up grabbing my sketchbook.” She says. Jason waves in a ‘no big deal’ motion.
“I’ve read this book a million times.” He reassures her. She glances at the cover again, realizing it’s not one she’s really heard much about before.
“What’s it about?” She asks. “I’ve never read it.” Jay’s face morphs into a huge grin.
“You said you like listening to books, right?” He asks. She nods. “Well, then settle in because I’m going to read to you.” He says proudly with a grin.
“Oh, you really don’t-” She tries to say. She didn’t want to make him read to her. That was not-
“Oh but I want to.” He says, effectively cutting off her mental ramble before she can complete her meltdown. “Listen Pix, this is one of my favorite books. If you go listen to some dumb audio book, you won’t get my commentary. Trust me, this is the best way for you to read the book.” He says and she snorts, shaking her head lightly.
“Okay, Jay, let’s read a book.”
---
Finally arriving home after being stuck at the office, Bruce sets off to find his daughter. Since his apology a few days ago, he’d attempted to make an effort to check in on her and see how she was doing. He tried to also do the same with the boys, but they had all given him odd looks, so he didn’t continue. He checks her room, the Batcave, the sitting room- nothing. He finally decides to check the kitchen. If he had to guess, she’d be there baking with Alfred. He walks in and sees Alfred, but no Marinette.
“Good evening, Alfred. Have you seen Marinette?” Bruce asks, silently hoping she hadn’t left the planet again.
“I believe she’s in the library with Master Jason.” Alfred says and Bruce blinks in surprise. He’d never seen her read a book before, while Jason always had a book on him. He supposed it could be a hobby of hers that he just hasn’t noticed. Or, she could have just followed Jason. Which seems more likely. The two of them were all but attached at the hip ever since the Gala. It was surprising, but at the same time welcoming. Thanking Alfred quickly, he walks towards the library. He’d just say hi and leave. No need to make them stop reading if they were having fun. Gently pushing open the library door he walks in and pauses at the sight. Marinette had wrapped herself in a blanket and was almost sitting on the edge of the couch, leaning forward with an intense look of concentration on her face. Jason had his legs swung over the arm of the couch and was reading out loud. Immediately recognizing the book as Jason’s favorite, Bruce slowly leaves the library, careful not to let the door slam. He’d have the chance to talk to Marinette later, but for now, he’d let the two continue reading in peace.
Next
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Phantom Children Ch. 6
Hi guys! I'm back <3 (also, I'm currently looking for alpha/beta readers for Phantom Children, so if you're interested, feel free to shoot me a message!)
In Which: Danny Attempts to get Answers, Bruce Learns, and Dick Finally Learns What's Inside the Door that Doesn't Exist
AO3 | Prologue | 5 | [ 6 ] | 7
DANNY IS KNOCKED DOWN three, four, eight times on the ice. Each time made his back ache, his bones bruised and tired, and his mind burning with embarrassment and a drive to lash out. But each time he gets back up. Each time he lasts a little bit longer against Talia.
The ice still shifts, cracks and rumbles with every wrong move. Danny learned to roll with it. Move on light feet but attack with a firm stance, gauge which parts of the ice are stable and which should be avoided. Multi-tasking has never been Danny’s strong suit, but he’s good at learning and learning quickly.
Talia corrected his form as much as she beat him down. Exploited every one of his openings until he learned to defend them and praised him whenever he managed to pull one over her. The League’s martial arts was the holy amalgamation between almost every single fighting style there is, mashed and refined to perfection to become almost unpredictable to the untrained. A vast improvement to Danny’s previous ‘fuck around and see what works’ brawling and had the added benefit of meshing together with his spontaneity.
“You are doing well, Daniel,” Talia said as she sheathed her sword, hand resting just above her hip. “You have improved greatly in such a short time, as I have expected.”
It takes every ounce of Danny’s superhuman energy to not collapse to his knees, his every breath a ragged shudder as he tries to get his breathing under control. “Still can’t beat you, though.”
“Very few can boast that feat.”
“I’m not exactly sure if that’s supposed to make me feel any better or not. Do I get my prize at least?”
Tahlia tossed her braid over one shoulder with a laugh. “Come, then, let us rest in the caves. The sun is to set soon and we must make camp before we freeze to death.”
“Hypothermia is so last season. I’m way too cool for that.”
He didn’t know whether to be disappointed that Tahlia didn’t react to his pun. It was pretty clever, in his opinion.
('Puns are the lowest form of comedy,' said mind-Jazz.
Says the one who named the Box Ghost the ‘Crate Creep.’
'That’s alliteration, not a pun.')
It was kind of pathetic that even his mind-version of Jazz was smarter than him.
“What would you like to know first?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Sarcasm dripped from Danny’s voice. He sheathed his sword and let it hang loose at his side. “Maybe how old this mysterious brother of mine is?” Ancients, his life was weird enough already, it wasn’t supposed to sound like the B-plot to a bad soap opera.
“Damian is younger than you by a little over four years. He will turn eleven this year.”
“Huh. Never been an older brother before.”
“Perhaps you might have been, if circumstances had been different.”
Cryptic. Great. Danny stepped over a particularly large crack in the ice and scampered over to solid ground. “You gotta give me more than that. What’s he like?”
“Prideful,” she said. “But skilled enough to warrant it. He was raised like a prince—as how you should have been.”
“And he lives with…our dad?”
“Yes. In America.” The cave was deep enough to shield them from the worst of the eventual mountain winds. Tahlia had already started building a campfire with equipment from her knapsack, embers eating away and growing into a steady flame. He sat down, legs crossed, beside the fire, hands tucked beneath his armpits.
He bit his lip, a question forming in his mind. “Do…do we have the same dad?”
Tahlia looked up at him. “Of course. Only your father has had the privilege of being called my beloved, and only he is worthy enough to have sired my children.”
Once night fell, it fell quickly. Blanketing as far as Danny could see from the mouth of the cave in a thick darkness. Snow fell from the skies in thick tufts and covered their footsteps.
“Does he—do they know about me?”
“No, they do not.”
“And you probably aren’t going to tell them anything about me, if you could help it.”
“That is very perceptive of you, habeebi.”
“You won’t tell me anything more about them, will you?”
“In due time, I will.”
Danny blew part of his fringe away from his face. Figures.
Despite the ever-present niggling at the back of his mind, Bruce had yet to see what was in the flash drive. The weeks since his strange meeting with Vlad Masters suddenly exploded with criminal activity with the recent breakout in Arkham and the brewings of another gang war in the shadows of Gotham’s paved streets. It was all hands-on deck. And Bruce, whether as Batman or Wayne, had always prioritized Gotham and its citizens over anything else.
The flash drive remained on his person despite the crisis, tucked away in one of the sturdier compartments of his utility belt to prevent the data inside from becoming damaged. Sometimes he found his hands gravitating towards it, fingers brushing against the button that would release the mystery from its confines before he realized what he was doing and steeled himself. Hands fisted to his side and attention forcibly directed elsewhere.
Eventually, the rogues were placed back into Arkham, and Gotham let out a shuddered breath of relief as it remained standing for another day.
Most of the family were out on a light patrol, cleaning up the remains of the breakout and helping where they can. Jason and Dick bickering over the comms whilst Barbara laughed in her clocktower.
(“It’s not that bad.”
"‘It’s not that bad’—shut the fuck up.” Jason spat. Bruce could hear him revving his bike. “You’re a fucking idiot, you know that? Certified Grade A idiot. B’s gonna kill you.”
He could hear Dick roll his eyes. “Sure, pile it all on, Jaybird. Blame the victim.”
"It was your fault.”
“It’s not my fault I didn’t see it there!”
"You tripped and got a concussion. From a stick. A. Stick.”
“Can we please just leave that out of the report?” Dick groaned. Barbara laughed. “Oh god.”
“Richard motherfucking John Grayson. I swear if you vomit on me then—”
“I’m not gonna vomit on you! You just turned the corner a little too fast. It’s nice to see you care though.”
"Fuck no, I just don’t wanna smell like regurgitated cereal.”)
Damian was benched from a patrol. Their last conflict with Poison Ivy ended with Damian sticking a bad landing and twisting his ankle. He dealt with it with as much grace as can be expected. Meaning that he spent the last few days sulking as he caught up on his missed schoolwork and shooting daggers at everyone else who came back from patrol.
Bruce flicked the flash drive open and plugged it into the computer. The flash drive contained only a single folder dated six months ago.
He clicked it, and a news headline popped up.
LOCAL TEEN DIES AFTER DRIVING OFF CLIFF
Beneath it, a picture. Blue eyes. Black hair. A familiar face.
Blood pounded in Bruce’s ears. He could hear nothing except a sharp gasp from Damian behind him.
When Dick and Jason arrived at the batcave, it was to an eerie silence. Not that it was usually loud, only that Bruce spent most of his free time down in the cave and Dick had come to expect hearing some signs of him around. Typing on keys, the clicking of a mouse, the heavy thuds of a fist meeting a punching bag or a training dummy, etcetera, etcetera. Or maybe even Alfred cleaning up around the cave, feeding the bats, or restocking their med bay.
(Dick, it turned out, didn’t have a concussion. Probably. Not a severe one anyway. What mattered most was that he managed to convince Jason to have dinner at the Manor. Alfred was making a tarte tatin for dessert tonight and those were absolutely to die for. )
One of Tim’s cases took him to the other side of Gotham. The only person in the cave was Damian, who was staring agape at the batcomputer.
“Why the hell is the demon spawn looking at old pictures of Bruce? We get it. They look alike.
“Uh, Dami? What’s up?”
Damian snapped his mouth shut. “I believe it might be best if you asked father that, Grayson.” Despite his clipped tone, there seemed to be little anger in his voice. His proud shoulders were hunched over on the chair, eyes trained on his lap.
He looked so small.
Damian clucked his tongue. “He’s upstairs, if you need him. So is Pennyworth.”
Dick shot a glance at Jason who raised his hands in mock surrender. “You’re up golden boy. Whatever the fuck the old man’s problem is this time, I’m not dealing with it.”
Dick sighed. “Fine.”
There was a door in Wayne Manor that didn’t exist.
When Dick was a child and recently adopted by Bruce Wayne, one of the first things he did was explore the manor. It’s the prerogative of every child that somehow found themselves in a large mansion—even more so given the castle-like exteriors of Wayne Manor. All castles have secret passages, and if the Batcave lay in the subterranean depths below, then surely the manor proper must have its own secrets.
Dick would tumble and cartwheel along the hallways, opening any and every single door he came across. A lot of them were just empty bedrooms or unused parlors and sitting rooms; the furniture covered by white sheets to keep the dust away. Alfred was probably magic, but even he can’t keep the entirety of the manor dust free.
The majority of the unused rooms were unlocked.
Except for one.
It was a room in the west wing, on the second floor. A couple doors down from where Bruce’s and Dick’s were. Why it was locked, Dick never found out. But he was curious since it was the only room on that floor that remained shut.
When he asked Alfred about it, the old butler only said that it was an unused storage room they preferred to keep locked just in case. When he asked Bruce about it, he’d be quick to change the subject. Usually something Batman related. Which, well, always worked, because it was Batman related. And Dick, young and spry and itching to fly under Batman’s wings, would quickly forget about that curious little mystery in favor of punching bad guys in the face and flipping over rooftops.
At some point that locked door quietly disappeared, leaving a blank expanse of wallpaper and a decorative vase where it once stood. It was never brought up again. And Dick slowly forgot that it was ever there in the first place.
Until now.
The wooden table and vase were shoved off to the side. Wallpaper sliced away to reveal the lines of a doorway. The door, covered in its faint damask wallpaper, was kicked open, the wood around the bolt splintered and cracked. He could hear voices—Alfred’s and Bruce’s—speaking softly on the other side.
He pressed his back against the wall and kept his breathing quiet.
“Three times, Alfred.” Bruce’s voice was hoarse, barely above a whisper. “Three times she’s done this to me.”
“Master Bruce…”
“I don’t—I don’t understand why—” Bruce choked, swallowing a shuddered breath. “Damian, I can understand. Jason, I can too. But…This? I—” Bruce suddenly quieted. Dick knew the jig was up.
He unlatched himself from the wall and slowly slid through the once-hidden-door, a hand kept on the frame. “Um. Hi, Bruce? Alfred?” The words fell flat, stilted. Dick winced as he said them. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop but, uh…” He trailed off the second he registered what was in the room.
It was large, as so many rooms in the manor were. The room was covered in peeling green wallpaper with faded pictures of baby deer and owls and other woodland creatures prancing about. There was a dresser on one wall. A shelf filled with little picture books and stuffed animals on the other. A brown teddy bear had fallen on its face on one of the shelves.
In the middle—where Bruce was hunched over—was a crib. The wood streaked and aged with time, the beddings within pristine and untouched, if not dusty. Hanging overhead was a mobile with little animals dangling on a string.
“Worry not Master Dick. It is good that you are here since it will inevitably involve the rest of the family at some point.”
Dick nodded absentmindedly, trying to lock eyes with his guardian. “B? What’s—what’s going on?” Dick took one step deeper into the room. “The pictures in the cave. I thought they were you since they were too old to be Damian—” Bruce’s hands on the crib’s railing flinched.
Dick’s breath hitched.
“They’re…not your photos, are they.”
Bruce took a deep breath in, the lines of his shoulders tense. “No. They’re not.”
In their line of work, the answer could have been anything. Clones, magical doppelgangers, alternate universe counterparts, hell, even just someone’s genetic code being coincidentally similar to another person. But…this room, this nursery, pointed towards only one conclusion.
“Who is he, Bruce?”
Bruce angled his head towards Dick, unshed tears glimmering in his eyes. “He’s my son, Dick.
“He’s my son.”
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Summary: Jason Todd was raised on the streets, in Gotham’s filth, but the blood that was running through his veins was everything but. Jason was the last of a line of gruesome, death stained mages, necromancers who dealt in souls and flickering images of immortality. Jason was a fifteen-year-old boy who crawled out of his grave, weeks after he died, reanimated by powers he couldn’t understand or control, and struggled to feel alive even when his father was holding onto him.
AN: I finally get to post my @batfam-big-bang fanfic! I My lovely beta readers for this wonderful project were @nycis and @queerbutstillhere while my amazing artists were @darkmagyk and @paperedking and @zannakai. Check out their stunning pieces!!!
Read on AO3
I had a night I had a day
I did one million stupid things
I said one billion foolish things
I'm not okay
If there are two emotions Jason knows well, they are fear and anger. Both had accompanied him since his earliest childhood memories. His father’s shouting had been a constant source of anger and fear. His loud voice had forced Jason to hide beneath the table, his bed, the closet, all spaces he had falsely assumed would be too small for his father to reach. With bated breath he had waited for the screeching to stop until only his mother’s soft sobs had echoed through the rooms. Those too had angered Jason. He didn’t know whether it was on her behalf, because he had hated his father so much for causing her any pain, or because that anger had been for himself, the poor child whose mother wasn’t strong enough to leave her piece of shit husband.
On the streets, anger had kept him warm at night and fear had ensured he stayed alive. He had marveled at the shiny tires of the Batmobile, but even then, deep down, he had been so incredibly angry. He was going hungry while another drove a car like that. He had ignored his fear then and stolen the tires regardless.
It had been the best decision of his life.
So now, when once again he was stuck between fear and anger, he chose to dismiss his fear and lash out instead.
“You can’t be serious!” Jason hissed, throwing up his arms.
Rage boiled beneath his skin like an active volcano. It infected his voice, his stance. He rose to his full height, making him the tallest in the room, but none of his siblings even blinked at it. They were too used to such simpleminded intimidation tactics, employed similar ones in front of villains who thought they could get the better of them.
“This is the right way,” Dick said, his voice strained with finality, a kind of authority he had no right to evoke.
He was not their leader, and he sure as hell was not their father. Dick barely understood what Jason was capable of and when he did, was too scared of it. The others didn’t see it, but Jason knew a coward when he saw one. Dick always tip-toed around Jason’s room like he expected the undead to crawl right out of it and drag him into a bloody casket. Beyond that, he also always took the patrol routes far away from Jason’s apartment complex and city district. Jason didn’t mind, he preferred it when the others kept their noses out of the Narrows and Crime Alley. His people didn’t particularly enjoy it either when the other bats and birds came around to play there as they tended to mess with the wards and ask uncomfortable questions. Jason understood too well how unsettling his presence could be and therefore knew very well that Dick had no room to make such decisions or judge Jason for them.
“The right way,” Jason repeated. “Do you even hear yourself? If everything was right, Bruce would still be here!”
Tim and Steph both winced when Jason said his name and even Dick’s face fell. They all didn’t understand it. Death was so final to them instead of just another state of being, one that Jason could reverse.
“I can bring him back,” Jason continued, desperation seeping into his voice. “Everything will be alright again. It’s all in these books. I just need your help.”
Why couldn’t his siblings just understand that he would fix it and then everything would go back to being the way it was before Darkseid had torn their lives to shreds. The Cave had become messy since Bruce’s death. It had been barely a month ago but it already showed despite best efforts. Jason had dragged all his books here to study and take notes, the constant hum of the technology as much a motivational hymn as it was a lullaby. His notes now were spread out all across the table, proudly displaying the work Dick was disregarding so very easily.
Dick only stubbornly shook his head. “No, Bruce wouldn’t want that.”
This wasn’t about what Bruce wanted, he was dead. This was simply about deciding how they were going to fix it.
“You don’t know that,” Jason countered. “It’s not like he wrote it in his will.”
Dick let out a low breath and dragged his hands through his hair as if Jason were causing him a headache. They had attended the reading of the will just hours before. Alfred had made sure they had all dressed up in proper suits the way they had for the closed casket funeral because there hadn’t been a body to recover. It would make it all more difficult to bring Bruce back without his original body to tie his soul too, but Jason was confident that he would be able to pull it off. Jason had only listened half-heartedly to the reading of the will. He knew its contents by heart, they all did. Every hero had a will set up and about ten proxies who knew every word and could recite it in case their death had been unnatural.
Alfred had been given custody over Damian while Tim had been emancipated. The Wayne fortune had been split five ways between Dick, Jason, Tim, Cass, and Damian while Steph and Barbara both got a huge stipend. It was all for nothing, Bruce would be back. Cass knew it as well, or so Jason hoped. She hadn’t even bothered to show for the funeral but had left the city the night before. Jason wished she had stayed, she would support him.
Instead, Jason had to make everyone else listen to him.
Tim was still straight up in denial and didn’t believe that Bruce was dead. His parents had died around the same time, just two years earlier. Of course, he wouldn’t be able to handle it and escape into his delusions instead. Steph, for all that she was a part of the team and family, Jason’s closest confidant out of all of them, had chosen to stay neutral while Dick protested vehemently.
Damian, meanwhile, just thought that Jason wouldn’t be able to pull it off, but that could be blamed on his superiority complex. While the kid, a perfect mix of Talia and Bruce, could imitate Bruce’s accent and body language as well as he wanted to, he still reeked of al Ghul arrogance and the Lazarus pit’s side effects. It was a foul stench, poisonous, and foreign to this world. It had hurt Bruce when Jason had told him what exactly was keeping Damian’s heart beating, but there was nothing that could be done about it. It wasn’t like anybody else besides Jason actually noticed.
“Had he wanted to, we would know,” Dick said.
“But-“
“Jason, stop.” Dick’s order, his tone couldn’t be mistaken for anything but a bark, was harsh. “Bruce is dead and he will stay dead. You will not experiment on his soul just because you think you can bring him back.”
“I don’t think so, I know so,” Jason argued. “You’re just incapable of trusting me! You still think I’m a foolish kid who is just playing around with powers he doesn’t understand!”
His voice rose with every shouted word. It had always been like this. Dick thinking that Jason was crossing too many lines, wasn’t good enough to be Robin or anything. Hell, he had accepted Tim more readily as Robin than he ever had Jason.
“Jason-“ Tim tried to speak up, but was harshly cut off by Dick.
Trust big brother to always know best.
“Because you are!” Dick shouted back. It hurt, cut into flesh like sharp knives, but at the same time it was liberating. Finally, Dick was actually speaking his mind. Honesty, so Jason had learned, was the only way to keep moving forward. They all lied, it was a part of their training, came as natural as breathing, but there was a line you had to be aware of.
“Bruce is dead and you can’t let go. Instead of helping me figure out how to keep Gotham running, you run off and bury your head in old books to find a solution to a problem that isn’t there! He’s gone. I needed you on patrol tonight and you didn’t show.”
Patrol had been just fine, Dick hadn’t needed him. Jason had kept an eye on the comms, they had done as good as they could with three men down. It hadn’t even been a busy night.
“You’re just giving up!”
“And you’re delusional!” Dick retorted.
He picked up one of the pages the closest to him. The originally white paper was covered by ink stains, diagrams smeared uncaringly all over it while Jason had been trying to figure out what exactly his ancestors had gotten up to when they tried to raise the dead.
“This is too much, Jason. You’re only setting yourself up for my failure. I let you keep researching because I thought it would help, but it’s only hurting you. You have to let go.”
“And leave?” Jason spat out. “Like you always do the moment something goes wrong with Bruce?”
Dick froze. His annoyance and misguided worry slowly twisted into dark anger. At that moment, it just felt right. Dick had ceased pretending that he was so much better than them, that he wasn’t struggling without Bruce around. Jason loathed how he sat at breakfast every day, acting as if it was all still alright and fine, smiling and lying continuously.
“I-“ Dick interrupted himself, reigning in his anger as everybody else watched him with keen eyes. “No, no, I’m not having this discussion with you. None of us are on board with your reckless endeavor, so you’re not doing it and that’s final.”
Jason turned to look at the rest of his family, but they were all averting their eyes. Of course, they would all side with Dick over him. He was older, more experienced, the first Robin out of all of them.
He wasn’t the resurrected boy who talked to ghosts and turned living beings to worthless decay with nothing more than a touch.
“I see,” Jason replied and grabbed his jacket from the chair.
Fine, it wasn’t like he needed any of them anyway. It would have been easier with more living anchors, but Batman had left his mark all over the city. Gotham was his, even the magic that buried itself so far underground that hardly anybody could see it knew who it belonged to. Jason had plenty of anchors he could use to bring Bruce back. What were five children compared to an entire city?
“Where are you going?” Tim spoke up. He had barely said a word since Jason and Dick had started fighting, but Jason supposed that it made sense given that Tim thought both of them were wrong.
“Away from here,” Jason replied. “Since Dick is so keen on running this show himself, he can do it. I’m out.”
“What?” Steph asked. “Wait! Jason, no, you have to stay!”
“What I need to do is fix this.”
Jason picked his backpack up from the ground and started stuffing his papers into it. He didn’t particularly care in which order he did it, he would have to sort through them all anyway once he was back in his apartment. He needed to toss those that were trash and copy the calculations and incantations that actually made sense and seemed like they were a good first step onto fresh sheets. Maybe he should get actual parchment. He didn’t usually work with dead writing materials, but with whatever he had on hand. His spells were powerful enough without, but he couldn’t afford any mistakes here.
Once he was finished, he threw his backpack over his shoulder and headed towards his bike, not sparing the group behind him another glance.
“Jason,” Dick started once more.
Jason just threw his hands up, dismissing him.
“Don’t worry, Richard,” he said. “It’s not like I can stay dead for long if something goes wrong. Don’t bother contacting me. I’ll come back once I’m finished.”
He couldn’t see his older brother’s reaction, but Jason would bet that he had flinched. They all hated to be reminded of Jason’s death, but it wasn’t like Jason could erase that part of him.
Jason put on his bright red helmet and turned on his bike. Then, without looking back, he drove off, disappearing into the dawn of a new day.
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Deaged Jaybird anyone?
Well, judging from ao3 and tumblr, I think the answer to that question is ‘everyone and amazingly so,’ but I might as well throw my hat into the ring, thank you <3
I thought this was gonna be sweet and funny. It didn’t exactly turn out that way.
rewind, fast forward, stop
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply - Childhood Trauma, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Underage Prostitution, Temporary Character Death, Angst
Relationships: Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake & Jason Todd, Dick Grayson & Jason Todd
Characters: Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, Damian Wayne, Duke Thomas, Cassandra Cain, Alfred Pennyworth
Additional Tags: Age Regression/De-Aging, De-Aged Jason Todd, Family Issues, Family Feels, Loss of Trust, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Hurt with Temporary Comfort, Jason Todd Needs A Hug, The Batfamily Needs Therapy, Bittersweet, Unreliable Narrator
“If he says the words unstable molecules one more time, I’m going to hit something,” Dick muttered.
“Jason’s been gone for two hours, and you’re already trying to replace him?” Tim asked. It was a weak joke, and Dick didn’t laugh.
Nygma and Crane were still arguing at metaphorical gunpoint (i.e., genuine sword end), bent over the makeshift crib.
“I didn’t expect this to happen, either! What’s the point of posing riddles if he’s a baby?”
“Well you still fucked up and now we’re here, basically hostages—”
Bruce held up a hand. Everyone fell silent.
“So. His age will change several times?”
“Yes.”
“You cannot predict the intervals.”
“No.”
“What does he remember?”
“I don’t know. We should ask him…”
“…when he reaches an age where he can speak, yes. Will this stop once he reaches the age he’s supposed to be?”
“I don’t—”
“Then we will find out. Nygma, you have 24 hours to fix this.” He turned and looked at Dick. “Call reinforcements and start the lab work.”
Dick nodded, but whatever he was going to ask wasn’t going to be heard because Jason chose that moment to start wailing.
Everyone froze. Despite all the arguing, the fact that they know had to care for a baby hadn’t seemed real until that moment.
Bruce, though, just lifted Jason up and to his chest with the same natural competence with which he handled explosives and batarangs. “There, there, Jaylad. You’re hungry, hmm? I bet Alfred has already prepared a bottle. Let’s go find him, shall we?”
——
Dick volunteered to stay home and watch the baby that evening. Except when he returned to the crib with a freshly prepared bottle, it was a toddler staring back at him.
“Hey there, little man,” Dick greeted him.
Silence.
Dick tried again. “Jason, are you in there?”
The kid stared back at him, clearly wondering what the strange man was talking about. His eyes were so blue. “Me.”
“Yes, you’re Jason,” Dick agreed. “Do you remember me?”
Jason’s brow furrowed as if he was concentrating really hard. “No?”
“That’s okay. I’m Dick. I’m—” your brother. But how did you explain that to a toddler who didn’t remember any siblings? “A friend.”
After a minute of stern evaluation, Jason’s expression melted into a smile, and he held up his short chubby arms. “Up?”
“Of course.” Dick bent down and scooped Jason up with one swift motion, bouncing him up and down for a few seconds, to Jason’s great delight and giggles. Then he settled him onto his hip. “How about some food, buddy?”
“Hungry!” Jason declared. It sounded like ‘angry.’ Dick wanted to record that and use it as Jason’s ringtone forever.
He couldn’t very well give him the baby formula now, so: “Let’s go to the kitchen, then, huh? I like midnight snacks, too.”
“Snack,” Jason repeated. He seemed to like that word. “Snack, snack, snack!”
“Yes, snack. Hey B,” he called softly through the non-emergency line as they walked through the corridor, “listen to who woke up.”
“Baba?” Jason asked. Dick had no idea whether he meant Bruce or was asking for his own father. Either way, it was devastating.
“Jaylad,” Bruce murmured back. Dick didn’t call him out on the use of real names. “Why aren’t you sleeping?”
“No.”
Dick tried not to laugh at the sleepy pout. “To be fair, I don’t know how ‘slept like a baby for hours,’ literally, affects his sleep schedule.”
“How old is he?”
“About… two? Maybe?” Dick was not an expert in estimating the age of children, so sue him. “Maybe younger. He’s real small, and he doesn’t remember me.”
Silence. “N, we’re coming home.”
The bats had barely been out for an hour. “Sure. See you soon.”
——
It was Tim who discovered the next transformation. He’d taken over the early morning shift by virtue of not sleeping anyway. Jason’s room had been quiet; Tim had just wanted to make sure he was doing okay when he was greeted with a much larger shape in the bed than he’d expected.
Which, fuck, that couldn’t be good, right? Last time Jason had only skipped a couple of years, but now he was at least six.
The figure was also too still to be asleep. Tim switched on the nightlight they’d installed by the door and looked at Jason. Yeah, his eyes were definitely open. It was eerie, the way he held himself still as if he was trying to disappear into the darkness. Don’t notice me, his position screamed. I’m not here, go away.
It was so familiar. Tim couldn’t breathe for a second for the way it was a perfect reversal of the way he himself had spent his childhood. Notice me, look at me, don’t leave.
“Hey,” Tim called out softly, unconsciously imitating Dick’s voice. “Can’t sleep?”
“Who are you.” His voice was clear and hard, a far cry from the sweet toddler who had played with Tim’s cape when they’d come home from patrol at midnight.
That had been four hours ago. It was going to be a long day, wasn’t it?
“I’m Tim,” he said. “You don’t remember me right now because you’re… sick, but we know each other.”
The distrust did not wane. “Where am I?”
“At my father’s house. Wayne Manor.” Tim smiled. “Maybe you’ve heard of it?”
“Who else is here?”
“Your family.”
That did not have the expected effect, at all. Jason shrank back, hands gripping the blanket tight even as his expression remained blank.
Tim’s hand moved to his bracelet and pressed a button. He’d promised Bruce to wake him up if there was a development. Besides, he was in over his head here, and he knew it.
“I’m going to call them, okay?” There was no answer.
It took less than two minutes for the doorway to be filled with people. Bruce was first, of course, closely followed by Dick, with Damian, Duke, and Cass lingering just behind them in the hallway.
“You’re going to crowd him,” Tim pointed out. “We’re all strangers.”
“Tim is right.” Bruce stepped forward. “Stay back.”
They watched as he crouched down in front of the bed. “Hi, Jason. You don’t remember me, and I know that’s scary.”
“I’m not scared.”
Tim couldn’t see his face, but he would bet good money that Bruce smiled at that. “No, you aren’t because you’re brave, aren’t you.”
“Hmm. Where’s mom?” Jason asked.
“She’s not here. I’m sorry. You’re staying with our family and me for now.”
“Where’s dad?”
“He’s not here, either, but—”
Jason’s shoulders deflated.
Oh. Oh.
Tim could feel the tension rack up in the room as every single family member was simultaneously filled with rage.
Bruce, however, looked calm. “As long as we are here,” he said, quietly but with the kind of conviction that could move mountains, “no one is going to hurt you. Your mother is fine, and so are you.”
And Jason looked up and believed him. Tim could see it in the way he relaxed, how he slumped down against Bruce’s bulk as if it was the only thing holding him up. He didn’t say anything.
Tim felt a gentle tug on his elbow. He followed the others outside, quietly, leaving Bruce to keep vigil. It was touching, but something about the scene bothered Tim.
“Do you think,” he quietly asked Dick as the group dispersed, “that we should call someone else? His friends? You have Roy’s number.”
“It will help, being here, when he reaches Robin age. They’re strangers until he’s an adult.”
That wasn’t the point. Tim frowned. “I know you think he should be with family when he’s like this. But Dick—we haven’t been his family for a long time. We shouldn’t see this stuff.”
Dick swallowed, but he didn’t argue with that. “B already knows.”
“Not all of it. Not what will happen when—”
“Yeah.” Dick’s shoulders slumped. “But do you think you can convince B of that?”
“No.” Tim sighed. “No, I don’t.”
——
“Master Jason, what are you doing in the kitchen?”
It was eight a.m., and even Master Tim was asleep by now. Alfred had kept an ear out for the sound of a preschooler waking up, but Master Jason must’ve aged again. He looked to be about nine now.
The kid frowned. “I don’t know who you are, but I need to make breakfast, or mom won’t eat.”
Alfred took a moment to fix his apron, blinking discreetly. “Of course, Master Jason. Your mother, however, isn’t here at the moment. Would you like to help me prepare some pancakes?”
——
There was a sound like something heavy falling, then a curse. “Where the fuck am I?”
Dick and Tim exchanged a glance. They’d installed Jason in front of the tv, at first, but he’d been more interested in the few children’s books Bruce kept around for guests.
Tim had tagged along—at this point, he had somehow wound up one of Jason’s primary caretakers, and wasn’t that a sentence he hadn’t expected himself to ever think? Looked like the time for children’s books had run out.
When they walked over to the armchair Jason had buried himself in, they found a pile of limbs in front of it, scrambling to get up and look at them. The family had taken to dressing Jason in the largest clothes they could get him in without them falling off, just to spare his modesty at the next change. Not that Jason had really grown much over the last few episodes…
At least he was dressed as he woke up in an unfamiliar living room because he couldn’t remember the previous episode or his adult life, Tim thought. Honestly, this curse/science mishap/whatever seemed hellbent on making their lives as miserable as possible.
Dick advanced cautiously. “Jason—”
“And you would be?” the boy asked, his voice suddenly much lighter.
“My name’s Dick Grayson, and you’re safe here.”
“Hmm, am I?” There was something wrong with the way Jason looked at Dick. His weight was shifted to the side, pushing his hip to the front, his long lashes almost fluttering, and there was something challenging in his gaze as if he was daring Dick—as if he was—
The idea was so incongruous—so impossible—that it took Tim too long to connect the dots. It was the exact pose he saw the working girls and boys adopt, night after night when they approached a car.
The thing with Tim was: He could be thrown off a building, and his brain would still keep on working all the way down. (No, seriously, that happened several times.) It was just how it was. So he could be shocked at what was happening, at what he’d just learned about Jason, and still notice that Dick wasn’t.
Perhaps he was making a mountain of a molehill, then. Perhaps Jason had just seen too much on the streets and was trying to play along, to give Dick what Jason thought he wanted, and then he’d punch him when he got too close and get out of here.
Perhaps.
“Let’s just—wait it out, okay?” Dick sighed. “You got temporary amnesia. It’ll all be clear tomorrow.”
“Sure.” Jason looked like he didn’t believe him, but was willing to run with it. “You got some food?”
——
“Oh, hey Dick! You look different!”
Dick thought he was about to cry with relief. Finally, a Jason that knew them, that wouldn’t have to be reassured about their intentions every few hours. “Hey, Jason.”
“Is it for a case?”
“Something like that,” he said. “You’re in the future, sort of. We have to wait a few hours before you can go back.”
Jason’s eyes went wide. “Really? That’s so cool! Can I talk to myself? Where am I? What year is it? What am I doing?”
“We can’t tell you that,” Tim said suddenly. “You know. Time travel code. Gotta follow the rules.”
“Ah.” Jason nodded as if that made any sense. “But you can tell me about other things, right? What about the cave? Can I see how it changed?”
“No, not the cave—” not while that damn memorial was still there, “—but Alfred has a collection of photos in one room if you want to see.”
That would be fine. Jason wasn’t in any of those, anyway.
“Whoa,” Jason commented when he saw how many pictures there were. “This family sure has grown. Wait, who is that?”
“That’s me,” Tim said.
Jason frowned. “That’s a Robin outfit. Are you Robin after me?”
And Dick—he could see how Tim tensed up. Understandably so, they had all heard what Jason called him. “Yeah, I—I didn’t mean to repl—you were—”
“It’s okay,” Jason shrugged. “Robin is more than one person, right? Dickie here said that. You don’t stop being Robin. You just share it.”
Tim blinked once. Then again.
Dick watched in some concern, because—surely that’s what he said to him back when he gave Robin to Damian, too? Right? It was all such a blur, but he must have.
Jason was already moving on to the next picture. “Wow, are these your wings?!”
“Yeah.”
“Did you make them? That’s so cool, I wanna fly too!”
Dick watched in amusement as a blush spread across Tim’s face. “I could show you the plans?”
“That would be fun! It could be a project.” Then he whirled around. “Do you go to school?”
“Uh, not really.”
Jason frowned. “You should. Grades are important. You can’t go superheroing forever if you don’t have money.”
“That’s true.” Tim looked suitably chastised. Dick bit down on a laugh as he watched Jason walk along Alfred’s little gallery, commenting on everything he saw and pulling Tim along.
God, thinking about the kid they saw yesterday, this Jason was a miracle. Dick knew what it meant to pull yourself up after darkness crashed down on you, how to find a way to smile after you lost everything.
And he knew, too, what a single person who cared for you—who believed in you could do.
(Maybe Dick should’ve remembered that when Jason became a miracle for the second time.)
Bruce had been that for both of them. Even now, Dick could see him at the doorway, watching Jason with such pride and unbearable longing on his face. Then a shadow fell over his expression, and he turned away.
“Dick!” Jason called over. “Tim has never heard the train story! C’mon, you’re the best at telling it.”
“He hasn’t heard it because it’s embarrassing,” Dick whined, but he walked over and joined them. Might as well make the most of this, right?”
——
“I’m sorry, Bruce,” Zatanna said. “There’s nothing I can do.”
She was magic, Cass knew, and Bruce didn’t like magic. So if he was asking her for help… Duke, next to her, looked worried, as well.
They weren’t letting the two of them see Jason, and that was okay. Neither of them had ever been close to Jason. Not that Dick or Tim had been, exactly, but they cared in a way Cass and Duke admittedly didn’t.
“Is there anything that could slow down his aging process, at least?”
“Nothing but putting him into stasis, and he would not thank you for that, Bruce.”
Duke dared to ask: “But Nygma said the effect of the gas should stop once he’s reached his proper age, right? So that should be… alright?”
“And what,” Bruce ground out, “if the next time he phases forward, he’s dead?”
“Bruce.” Zatanna put a hand on his shoulder, empathy in every line of her body.
Bruce shook her off as if he couldn’t bear the touch. “We don’t know if he’ll wake up this time.”
For a second, Cass wanted to hurt everyone who made Bruce sound like that. But she knew there was nothing she could do. Love, she knew, cut like that sometimes.
——
Damian was well aware that they would prefer to keep him far away from Todd. To a certain extent, he understood. He would not wish more people than necessary to watch him relive his own childhood, either.
However, no one in this family was prepared for what was coming next. Damian knew.
The minute the screaming began, Damian walked into the room.
Jason was convulsing on the bed. Dick was frantically checking him for injuries, and Damian clicked his tongue. “That won’t help. He is not bleeding.”
Bruce turned to him. “Damian, what—”
“He’s in pain. His body is half-alive, half-dead,” Damian told them calmly. His voice wasn’t shaking. It wasn’t. “It won’t stop until he swims in a Lazarus Pit.”
His father should not look like this. Helpless. Pitiful. Damian resented him for it, just a little bit. Father had not been there the first time. This would only last for hours, and all he had to do was wait. The crushing weight of how to fix this was not on him as it had been on Mother.
“I’m going to get a tranquilizer,” Dick murmured.
——
Duke wondered what they would do if Jason woke up in full rage mode. He had seen the files, had read everything he could the minute this started happening. Cass had told him the rest, pieced together from hints her brothers had dropped over the years. There was no way they could deal with that if they were unprepared and Jason was in their home. No way.
So he was… nervous. Just a bit. Enough so that he was camping out in front of the bedroom that they were keeping Jason for now. Sure, Jason had been medicated, but Duke had seen Bruce trying that on Red Hood before. Red Hood had barely slowed down. Whatever the Lazarus Pits were, exactly, they sure did a number on a person’s metabolism.
Duke got his answer when Bruce sent everyone out of the room. Batman would wait alone, then. Dick and Tim obeyed, albeit reluctantly.
Tim, however, returned a minute later with Bruce’s utility belt, shock full of batarangs and other weapons. The older man, however, hesitated to take it.
“Bruce,” Tim said, and he very gently touched a scar on his neck.
Bruce took the belt.
——
The next morning, Jason left.
Minutes before, Bruce watched him as he woke up.
He had known as soon as he had seen Jason as a toddler that his son would not forgive him for this. The others, maybe. They had only tried to help. Bruce was the one too selfish to let Jason keep his secrets, bring him to people he trusted.
Because that sure as hell wasn’t him anymore. Deservedly so or not, Bruce had had to face that reality a long time ago.
Still, when Jason opened his eyes and there was only a tinge of green in them, nothing like the rage of the pit, just like they had been the last time Bruce had seen him without the mask—for that one moment, Bruce allowed himself to hope.
Maybe, just maybe, Jason wouldn’t remember. Then he could use the whole thing as a learning experience—see it as bonding, even—something that would allow them to finally move on; that would help Bruce to find the right trigger to get Jason to give up his mad crusade and come home.
Then Jason blinked, and his eyes were empty even of hate.
“My phone?” was all he asked.
“In the cave.” Bruce kept his voice even because what else could he do?
Jason nodded. Then he left, and he did not come back.
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Guide to writing Cassandra Cain
I’ve seen a lot of people in the Bat Family fandom say that they often minimize or exclude Cassandra from their works because they don’t know enough about her. While I HIGHLY recommend reading her Batgirl comic from 2000, I’ve compiled a guide to her personality, abilities, and relationships with other DC characters here for easy reference. (I’ve tried to be as comprehensive as possible, but I’ve probably forgotten something so please feel free to add onto this if you know the character well)
PERSONALITY
Cassandra has a difficult time with language, spoken or written. This generally manifests through her relying on body language and single-word sentences to get her point across. When she needs to speak, it is halting and awkward, but not broken. She will pause frequently, mumble, or use Malapropisms, but she is a perfectionist and is frustrated when she doesnt use perfect grammar or pronunciation. At times she will be unable to find the words for a particular thought. She usually is portrayed as being unable to read or write.
Cass sometimes uses mimicry when she has trouble putting words together herself, quoting films, tv shows, and plays.
Cassandra is compassionate above all else. She values life, and protecting it is her highest priority. She will not hesitate to put herself in danger to save others, and does not tolerate killing.
Cassandra has a strong guilt complex. Anyone who dies on her watch weighs heavily on her conscience, even if there was nothing she could’ve done to stop it. She does not let go of these “failures” easily.
Cassandra has little regard for societal norms and expectations. While generally caring and compassionate, she often comes across as rude due to spending most of her life either locked in a bunker or surviving in the wilderness. This includes poor table manners, a tendency to lurk in the shadows, and mirroring her adoptive father’s habit of coming and going without warning.
Cassandra has great pride in her physical prowess, but little in her moral character. Though she has a strong moral code and is quick to intervene when others break it, she does not see herself as above them and may even have more faith in them than in herself, as she still feels that she may not be able to rise above her upbringing. She can be rather arrogant about her superior agility and combat prowess, however.
Cassandra is fond of friendly jibes and snark, usually but not always expressed nonverbally. Her sense of humor is slightly unconventional, but usually good-natured.
Cassandra wears her heart on her sleeve. She is very emotional, and her past trauma can make her emotionally vulnerable, especially because of her lack of communicative skills. Her emotions show through her entire body, even when she doesn’t vocalize them.
Cassandra is quick to leap before looking, but excellent at adapting to unexpected situations. She is a poor planner and rather impulsive, with a rebellious streak that sometimes makes it hard for her to listen to instructions. However, she is great at thinking on her feet and analyzing her situation in the moment.
Cassandra does not do things in half measures. When she wants to learn something, such as reading or detective work, she is eager to dive into the deep end even if it’s not always the best way to approach it. As mentioned before she is also a perfectionist when it comes to herself, so this approach often leads to frustration.
Cassandra is very physically affectionate, with little mind for personal space. This often comes in the form of gently touching the face of someone she believes to be in pain.
Cassandra is extremely empathetic, to the point that it can be overwhelming for her at times. She is very good at spotting falsehoods, hidden pain, etc.
Despite this, she often misinterprets social cues. For instance, when Barbara and Dick were going through a rough patch in their relationship, she though Dick had intentionally done something to hurt Barbara, and threw him out a window.
ABILITIES
Cass is fast. Really, really fast. She can move incredibly quickly and quietly, making her very hard to track.
Cass has a shocking amount of strength for her small size. She has punched through 3-inch thick quartz glass, kicked down concrete walls, and thrown a metahuman more than twice her size without issue.
Her primary advantage comes from her ability to read body language and predict her opponents’ actions, allowing her to dodge bullets and outmaneuver pretty much any non powered opponent. This ability does not work on robots, animals, or sufficiently nonhuman aliens.
Cassandra is a contender for the world’s best martial artist, along with Lady Shiva and Richard Dragon. She can pick up new fighting styles nearly instantly, allowing her to learn and adapt techniques she’s never encountered before.
Cass is an incredible acrobat, though not as good as Nightwing.
Cass is able to control the amount of force she uses to the point that she doesn’t usually have to worry about killing even when using normally lethal techniques.
She is able to use pressure points to paralyze someone nearly instantly, though she has only shown the ability to use it on those who do not expect her to attack.
She can stop a person’s heart using a special technique, and in later appearances was able to do so without endangering the person for a good length of time, though they’d still die if not revived within that time period.
She is very good at analyzing her surroundings, which has helped her solve cases.
Cassandra is exceptional at dividing her attention and energy, able to coordinate herself to the point that government agents assumed she was a metahuman.
She is very good at the intimidation side of the job, able to terrify even trained killers.
RELATIONSHIPS
Cassandra is very close to Stephanie Brown, who was her first real friend. She can be a bit overprotective of her, even using violence to keep her out of fights that Cass thinks will be too much for her, though she has largely grown out of that and these days has a lot more faith in her. Cassandra is able to unwind with Stephanie in ways that she has trouble doing with around other people, even those she trusts like Barbara and Tim. When Stephanie seemingly died, Cassandra was deeply affected, becoming shorter-tempered and more violent.
Cassandra sees Barbara as the mother she never had, and values her insight. Though she often chafes at Barbara’s well-intentioned attempts to get her to see beyond her life as Batgirl, she still cares deeply for her.
Cass sees Bruce as somewhat of a father figure as well as a bit of an idol, and seeks his approval. When she believes that she has disappointed him, it can be devastating for her. However, she also recognizes his pain and trauma, and sympathizes strongly with it. Her admiration also doesn’t always mean she’ll do what he says.
While Cassandra and Dick don’t always get along (as mentioned earlier), she usually sees him as a mentor and big brother, and she is often more relaxed around him than most people.
Cass and Jason’s interactions have been largely confrontational, and it’s likely that further encounters would be similar, as she is strongly opposed to lethal force and would endeavor to stop him if she could. That said, she would almost certainly understand the pain he went through, and would try to get through to him with words as much as she is capable, rather than immediately resorting to violence.
Cass and Tim have a long and complicated history. While the two of them started off rather tense, with Tim being somewhat intimidated by her, they soon grew very close, and treat each other as siblings. Their strengths complement each other, and they are able to work in synch with each other very well. She has also been known to break into his house to steal food and take a shower.
Like Jason, Cass’s interactions with Damian are few and far between. Their first meeting didn’t end well, as Cassandra pulled him from a building when he was disarming a bomb despite his protests that he could handle it. While she found some of what he said hurtful, she didn’t seem to hold much of a grudge, and I think they could find common ground due to their similar backgrounds.
Cassandra and Duke seem to be friends, though beyond that little is known of their relationship.
Cassandra is close with Harper Row, and the two of them definitely care for one another despite the troubled history between them.
Cass and Jean-Paul Valley bonded quickly over their shared inexperience with society, and they are both very fond of one-another.
Cassandra is friends with Dinah Lance, who she has been shown to train with on occasion.
Cass does not get along with Helena Bertinelli for obvious reasons, and when they worked together during the Battle for the Cowl there was quite a bit of tension between them.
Cassandra had a close relationship with Basil Karlo/Clayface during the time that he had reformed, as she had faith in his ability to change. His apparent death devastated her.
Her relationship with her biological father is complicated. Though she has always despised what he does for a living, it took a long time for her to come to terms with how badly he treated her.
Cass’s relationship with her biological mother is even more complex. In most depictions, Cassandra respects Shiva in some ways, but is also troubled by all of the lives that she’s taken.
#cassandra cain#Bat Family#bat fam#batkids#batfam#DC comics#bat kids#batgirl#black bat#orphan#kasumi#cass cain#cassandra wayne#blackbat
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Is Bruce a good father to Damian, specifically? I mean, he seems to have learnt from past mistakes... but in preboot, does he even care about Damian at all? Didn't seem like it most of the time (especially in Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul, where he didn't even seem to care that Damian's life is in danger). Do you think he cared about Damian preboot?
Well, you are both right in that reboot!Bruce puts his preboot counterpart to shame where Damian’s concerned. The thing is, the reboot gave a much bigger place to Bruce and Damian’s dynamic than preboot ever did. Those two actually don’t have that many scenes together in preboot, and said scenes were usually part of a bigger plot/narrative that left little room to focus on their relationship.
I’ll answer this in three stages in order to address everything our Anons mentioned:
Bruce & Damian’s dynamic as portrayed by Morrison
The Resurrection of Ra’s al Ghul
Conclusion: does preboot!Bruce care about Damian? And was he a good father to him? (spoilers: yes and no, respectively.)
The conclusion summarizes everything so jump there if the argumentation part is too long.
A) Morrison’s Damian & Bruce
Disclaimer: I really, really hate Morrison’s writing. I’ll try to be reasonable when criticizing it but be extra aware of that bias. It makes me put most of Bruce’s action on the writer rather than the character and while I have my reasons & probably won’t change my opinion, it’s still a pretty categorical take.
Honestly I think Morrison’s Bruce does feel responsible for Damian. I’m even sure he cares about him too:
[Batman (1940) #657]
Actually, the whole issue is pretty good where Bruce & Damian are concerned. Must be my favorite thing Morrison has ever written. He installs interesting things character-wise, like Bruce making an extra effort to make Damian comfortable in the Manor & be patient with him, or Damian being an insufferable brat up until Bruce snaps at him, at which point he immediately switches off to “yes sir” in front of that new figure of authority.
Those are interesting bases to construct a dynamic upon. Problem is, they’re not gonna be exploited.
Here Bruce shows clear intent to provide guidance to Damian. But rather than give Bruce the occasion to follow up on that intent, and to develop a real relationship with Damian, Morrison gives us the incident Anon mentioned in the next frickin’ issue : an explosion set by Morrison’s godawful “““Talia””” that should’ve killed both her and Damian, and Bruce staring dramatically into the distance.
Does Bruce investigate their disappearance while Damian is being hardcore abused by his mother? Nah, he’s too busy skiing with one Jezebel Jet– a relationship Morrison needs to install since Jezebel has a notable role in Batman RIP.
My point is: as of #658 Morrison considers this arc finished & that there’s nothing to add. By that logic it’s valid to forget Damian until he’s relevant again plot-wise. It’s not (i think?) a way to tell us Bruce doesn’t care about Damian.
Let’s fast-forward to the disputable editorial & writer choice to launch Batman Inc/Leviathan just after Bruce’s return from the “dead” without A) leaving room for a confrontation/closure scene between him and Damian beforehand; or B) letting them actually interact more than the strictest minimum in said arc. From a strictly in-universe POV though, it’s not ooc for Bruce to decide unilaterally that Damian doesn’t need him or to focus on the crisis to come without talking to his son first.
I guess I should be talking about Batman Incorporated Vol. 2 too, ‘cause while it’s technically N52 it’s very much in the continuity of the storyline Morrison started in preboot. It also has a few Bruce & Damian moments where despite terrible miscommunication Bruce seems to worry for Damian… But then the plot requires Bruce sending Damian back to the mother who, in this dumbass version, abused him all his life.
[Batman Incorporated (2012) #4]
If I got that right this is a “Hero must make Big Sacrifice for the Greater Good” moment. The fact that Bruce loves Damian isn’t put into question: it makes the sacrifice more significant.
And that’s kinda my problem. First we’re told that Bruce wants to provide for Damian, but then whatever affection he feels for the boy is sidelined or even sacrificed to other narrative considerations.
So basically Bruce’s love for Damian has no significance in itself. It’s a given that doesn’t particularly need to be illustrated or expanded on; it’s stocked until we need it to breed impact in some scenes. Like the one above or, you’ve guessed it, Damian’s death. So yeah Bruce loves Damian. He loves him so much he’s sad when he dies. Ahem.
All in all it’s not a father-son story: else there would be more banter, slice of life sequences, time for the dynamic to develop, etc. It’s a hero-who-loses-stuff-in-war story. One story isn’t better than the other, they just appeal to different types of audiences.
“Does my father love me” is a personal thus small stake. Batman Inc/Leviathan or “Can I keep this future from happening” are world-wide to city-wide thus big stakes. I think a marked interest in the Big Ideas is what characterizes Morrison’s writing. Thus the portrayal of character relationships has a very specific place in his stories.
Anyway: I don’t think Morrison ever wanted to imply Bruce doesn’t care about Damian. It’s just that he’s a plot-driven writer and that both characters’ interactions & smaller stakes, although somewhat present in his narratives, will always come second in the big schemes of things.
If you consider that Bruce behaving like he does under Morrison’s pen proves he doesn’t give a damn about Damian though, I sure as hell won’t fault you for it.
B) Bruce & Damian in The Resurrection of Ra’s al Ghul
(God re-reading an in-character Talia these days is an oasis in the desert. Gotta love that arc all the more for that.)
Not gonna lie fam. Our two Anons are right when they say Bruce is pretty cold in that one.
But A) Bruce is also dealing with a crisis, which means he’s emotionally removing himself from the situation; B) he’s not treating Damian differently than he is Dick or Tim… which we’ll see is the problem tho.
It doesn’t excuse Bruce’s behavior (I think he’s out of line myself), but I just don’t think it implies he doesn’t care about Damian.
You’ll notice that his apparent aloofness applies to Tim too (and Dick although he’s not mentioned), and that it equally unsettles Talia.
[Nightwing (1996) #138]
I want to stress the apparent in aloofness. On several occasions during RoRAG Talia reproaches Bruce that he’s not confronting his feelings what else is new. I believe he’s worried about the boys, all of them, but he also trusts them to handle themselves. He also thinks that if he so much as voices his worry, he won’t be able to focus and do what he has to. So he represses them and goes fully in Batman-mode.
Fast-forward. When Bruce is barking at Damian to pick up a sword and fight, it’s his way of protecting him– he needs Damian to defend himself.
[Detective Comics (1937) #839]
Because it’s not fair to show this without context: 5 seconds before Bruce legit bites Damian’s head off, chill out dude, he goes all protective batdad upon seeing Ra’s trying to steal Damian’s body.
So yeah. I have reasons to believe Bruce is scared out of his mind here. Hence the very aggressive way he tries to shake Damian into action.
So far Bruce gets a pass. It’s afterwards that he deserved to be punched in the face imo, and that’s probably the scene our Anons had in mind:
In fact, Bruce is expecting the same from Damian than he’s expecting from his two other sons. To be precise, he’s not treating either of them as sons— they’re on the field, they’re Robin & Nightwing right now. Aka soldiers/partners/teammates rather than family. And Bruce is putting Damian on that exact level when he shouldn’t be.
It’s harsh, and that’s emphasized next to Talia (who is actually written like a Talia). She’s all aggressively worried mother and Bruce’s all cold commander, the contrast is off-putting.
Talia reacts like a mother first by fleeing to save herself and her son. But Bruce can’t let Ra’s to his own devices, and he expect his sons to fight beside him.
It’s unfair to Damian ‘cause he’s not Robin yet, he’s not part of Bruce’s war the way Dick and Tim chose to be, he didn’t choose to be dragged into Ra’s schemes: he’s snapping to attention at Bruce’s order out of a childish need for validation, not out of a conscious & thought-out choice to make this his life. Also he’s ten. Yet those considerations fly over Bruce’s head: right now and unlike Talia, he’s not thinking like a father.
Do I think Dini balances the Greater Good vs Familial Attachment dilemma better than Morrison does? Hell yeah. He took the time to show Bruce ripping Ra’s apart at the beginning of the issue to prove us Bruce cares. And for all that Bruce’s wrong here, Dini has him fighting beside Damian, not sending him off on his own. Talia’s fleeing with her son gives the reader a reality check & puts the validity of Bruce’s choice into question as it should be. The stakes are also so much more concrete that “distant dark future to avoid”.
Next is probably my fave line ever written about Bruce & Damian ‘cause it gives so much sense (or depth) to Bruce’s hands-off approach.
And like. Everything that Bruce says here is true. That’s exactly what Damian’s character arc should be about. But dude maybe try to have a relationship with your son outside of the Batman legacy? The thing is Bruce built his relationships with all his kids through vigilantism and I think he just. Doesn’t know how to do it differently. The idea doesn’t even cross his mind for god’s sake.
By my understanding it’s not that Bruce doesn’t love Damian. It’s that he genuinely believes Damian’s better off without him.
It’s low key confirmed in Bruce Wayne: The Road Home.
[The Road Home: Batman & Robin]
((Don’t trust anything Bruce says about Dick’s “casualness” or whatever in this issue tho. Nicieza just… doesn’t know Dick’s character all that much.))
So Bruce is basically taking the easy way out, yeah. Both in ‘Tec and in choosing it’s not worth trying to work with Damian as his partner. He decides Talia is a better parent & Dick is a better mentor than he could be, and he’s off fighting the good fight against Leviathan.
We can stretch it and say Bruce probs decided he’ll take care of his relationship with Damian after the Leviathan thing is dealt with but tbh I don’t know if DC or Morrison thought that far ahead.
Conclusion
Morrison’s narrative installs that Bruce does feel morally obligated to care for Damian. And although I get why it can feel uncertain, I’m not sure we’re supposed to doubt Bruce loves Damian.
Bruce not looking for Damian after the explosion is is more due to the writer’s choice to consider the “Damian issue” closed for now so that he can focus on his next plot/installment. I guess.
When Bruce has the idea to send Damian back to fake-Talia, I guess his love for his son is a tool used to show how much Bruce is a selfless hero*. and a terrible dad but he’s a Hero™ so it’s okay.
Bruce in RoRAG doesn’t come as indifferent to Damian’s safety to me, he’s being his dumbass self in a crisis situation. He’s got no excuse for sending Damian alongside Dick & Tim when he did though.
On two occasions Bruce unilaterally elects that Damian is better-off without him. First with the in-character Talia who actually loves her son, second as Dick’s partner.
* Actually it’d be very interesting if someone who liked that comic-book could explain me wtf I didn’t get about its narrative significance. Sometimes our personal tastes just render us blind to some things guys.
TL;DR: Does preboot!Bruce love Damian? Yes. Was he a good father to him? No.
And I’m feeling way more comfortable giving a categorical answer here than when I was asked if Bruce is, in general, a good father.
To be fair Bruce does try to step into a fatherly role in Morrison’s Batman #657, aka just after he meets Damian. Afterwards we get sidetracked; and later storylines just. Don’t really give Bruce & Damian the opportunity so share father-son moments.
His behavior in RoRAG is just plain bad. The fact that it’s not due to indifference doesn’t change that. The ten-year-old who didn’t ask for shit should be treated differently that the seasoned vigilantes Dick and Tim are, period.
Obviously leaving Damian in fake-Talia’s clutches or wanting to send him back to his abuser goes under “bad father points” too. If you consider the whole of Morrison’s run should be integrated into your personal understanding of the character, that is. woops look at that terrible bias showing its ugly face again
In later episodes, it’s tempting to give Bruce a pass by saying that he just didn’t get the chance/time to be a good father to Damian, and part of it is true. But again, failing to invest in that relationship is completely in-character, and tbh it’s the part I find the most interesting character- and narrative-wise:
It’s A) self-depreciating (”Talia or Dick can provide my son what I can’t”); B) self-centered, in that Bruce doesn’t stop to consider what Damian thinks or wants; and C) cowardly, in that the second there’s someone else available to take care of Damian, Bruce stops trying to be a father and to invest himself emotionally because gasp, feelings!
As a comparison, think of how long it took for Bruce to go from mentor-protégé-e to father-child in his relationship with Tim and Cassandra; and to admit that’s how he felt about those kids. He didn’t adopt Dick until he was an adult either. Batdad needs time to un-constipate. It’s a Bruce thing, not a Bruce & Damian one.
(Jason is the only kid with whom Bruce immediately builds a wholesome relationship and that’s where you cry because if Jason didn’t die Bruce wouldn’t have half as much trouble getting close to his kids.)
Hope this word-vomit answers that. Thanks for the asks!
#bruce wayne#damian wayne#batman#dc comics#batfam#batfamily#meta#batdad#dick grayson#tim drake#talia al ghul#ra's al ghul#jason todd#robin#nightwing#red robin#zae chatters#asks#my stuff
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Care is Earned (Damian)
It was another boring day working with your grandfather, Alfred Pennyworth. Gramp for short. You help clean the manor despite being told you don't need to. But Mr. Wayne agreed to let you stay there after your mother died. It is the least you could do both for him and Gramp. The boys are all close to you. Dick is always your confidant. Jason is the protector. Tim is the one always happy to nerd out with you on various topics and even teaches you hacking. You love all of them like brothers though equal in each of their own special ways. Then you have Babs and Steph to help with my female dilemmas. Luckily you're only ten so you have only been told of them. Girl problems sound terrible.
"Alfred, prepare a room. We are having a guest." Bruce's voice rings through the Batcave.
"Oh goody...." Gramp says in his signature sarcastic tone.
You look at him. "Who do you think it will be Gramp? Think they will like me if we haven't met before?"
"I have not the slightest clue sweetie." He smiles at you. Everyone says you're the last of what is innocent in Wayne Manor. You find that hard to believe but can't argue it either. You just don't see the dangers and heartbreak they see everywhere.
Your thoughts are broke by the sound of the Batmobile zooming in. It parks and opens revealing Batman, a man who would put fear into anyone else but simply brings you joy, and a boy near your age who looks as though the world has handed him the worst and told him to simply get over it.
He gets out and looks you over before giving a cocky attitude about only being one servant and a child here. You give him a glare and snap, "Who do you think you are, calling Gramp a servant?"
"I'm entitled to all of my father's property. You will make a fine servant if you learn to control that tongue, young Pennyworth." He says in that annoying tone. Already he has given you an unwanted nickname. Maybe if he used it in a different tone it wouldn't be so bad.
"I'm servant to nobody. Brat." You nickname him then walk off.
Not your most cleaver moment, or finest, but you knew you had to leave before Gramp became upset with a retort you come up with if you stayed.
The next morning you are sipping tea in the garden in peace. This peace is interrupted by the brat chopping down the animal shaped bushes. Brat.
"Cut it out!" You shout annoyance clear in your tone.
He finishes cutting up the poor bush he was on then glares at you. "Why, Young Pennyworth?"
"You look like an ungrateful brat. Brat." You say sassy, but it comes off more childish than you plan. Que mental face palm.
"My name is Damian. Not 'Brat' though I understand where you get your poor attitude from." He retorts. He seems to ignore the childish behavior and write it off as poor attitude. It only upsets you more because Alfred Pennyworth is the best man you know.
"And my name is (Y/N)," You snap and stand up, " and you have no right to talk down on Gramp like that. Do you have any compassion?"
"I do for people who deserve it. So far that is nobody." He states plainly.
You can't tell if he is just naturally rude or actually trying to be rude to hide something. Like, how does somebody have no compassion for anyone? Doesn't everyone love their mother and father innately? Well, I will get Him to care for me. Maybe he will even open up his shell and share what he wants to hide. And you have all the time in the world to figure it out.
"Well Damian. As of now we are friends. I care about you, and you should care about me." You say with a small smirk. This is going to be fun, or the death of you. Not sure which one right now.
This is a challenge you happily accept. You also plan on winning his care and approval someday
Two months pass and you have formed a daily pattern at the manor. Every morning you wake up and make tea for you both, Earl Grey with two cubes brown sugar and a fresh lemon slice. You both then share the presence of each other in the early morning air of the garden. You sit silently in the peace and it almost feels like you have a connection between the two of you. The days then normally take two separate paths as he goes to work on something and you help clean the house. After super, you sit in the Batcave and wait for Damian and Bruce to get back. Once back, you help bandage the two up and request they be more careful. Especially Damian, who seems to think he is invincible.
This morning you bring out the tea and decide to strike a conversation. “How did you sleep?” You ask softly.
“That’s a ridiculous question. But I slept decently.” Damian says and looks at you.
“Me too.” You smile at him then add, “what do you dream about?”
You say this because you can hear him through the walls crying some nights. Last night was one of them.
“I don’t dream.” Damian states coldly.
“But I can hear you at night..” you start, but Damian inturupts.
“You have no idea what you are talking about. You have no right to question me.” He snaps and storms off.
Well, that’s not what you ment to do. You wanted to comfort him. To get him to open up to you. Instead his eyes just got sad and his composure got defensive.
His eyes are how you can always tell how he feels. It’s the only way he allows emotion to show. Although even his eyes can hold composure really well.
You leave him be for about an hour before going back in to him.
“Damian?” You say somewhat reluctantly. “I just want to help.”
“How could the grandchild of a servant help me.?” Damian says in an entitled manor.
“Because we all can help each other.” You reply trying to not feel totally offended.
“You could never help me. Now why don’t you run along and clean something like a good servant does.” He snaps then goes back go fighting the ballistics dummy.
You can’t help but to feel offended. You know he only said this to get you to back off but it really hurt you. There’s one thing everyone else in the family has always done, and that is make you feel like one of them now that you only have Alfred, but Damian doesn’t seem to care.
You go to your room and cry for some time before just reading and book and going to sleep early.
You are not sure why, but this time Damian has gotten the best on you.
The next morning you wake up to the smell of tea in your room. When you look around you see Damian sitting by the window.
“Listen, Young Pennyworth, I did not mean to hurt you.” He says softly.
You look at him confused. He’s never apologized before.
“(Y/n), I hope you are not too mad at me to not forgive me…” Damian says soft.
“Yea… I mean I forgive you Damian.” You say still unsure. You move to the seat beside him and accept the cup of tea he made you.
After a few minutes he opens up to you letting you know all of the reasons he is so reserved about feelings. How his mother only trained him harder if he showed to many feelings. He then explains the horrors he faced during training. It’s enough to break your heart.
He then surprises you by giving you a hug and adds, “I know I’ve been hard on you but thank you for never giving up.”
All you can do is nod and hold him close. You finally earned his respect and care, but you also feel like there’s something else between you. You just can’t tell what, yet.
#damian wayne#damian wayne imagine#damian wayne x reader#damian wayne headcannon#robin imagine#robin x reader#robin headcanon#robin#batfamily imagine#batfam headcanons#batfamily headcanons#batfamily#batfan#batfam#batfic
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Only If You Add Honey: Dickkory AU
This story is meant to be funny and for my own amusement. Just a cute Superhero AU story where Kory sucks at being a villain and does not know her boyfriend is the famous hero, Nightwing.
For @lightdusk96 and @nightglider124 because you two are amazing.
–
Her plan was suppose to be fool proof.
As Starfire the Terrible, she was going to go up to her favorite Greek food place in the mall, and demand that they give her free food…or at least a huge discount. While that happen, she planned on stomping on stuff in the mail to get rid of her anxiety she had been feeling.
Of course, she would take her anger out on minor things. Starfire the Terrible did not hurt the people who got involve in her rampages.
That was the plan, and she was doing so well until actual robbers decided to come and steal stuff from some stores. That was when the screams and shouts started as the robbers started waving their gun.
Starfire was slightly jealous because people never really scream or panic when she does something evil. They usually just tolerate her or call her cute.
But she did slap that one guy who tried to squeeze her butt and he cried.
Starfire the Terrible thought about stopping the robbers, to get the attention back on her, when suddenly Nightwing appeared on the scene. A gun went off and more people started the scream.
“Everybody stay whelmed!” Nightwing shouted as he did multiple back flips to dodge the bullets. The robbers were stupid, so they only brought with them one gun. That meant once they were out of bullets, Nightwing quickly knocked them all out, just in time for the police to arrive.
Then came the cameraman and reporter.
Starfire the Terrible tried to get the attention back on her, to prove that she also caused damage to the mall, but Starfire was quickly forgotten as people swooned over Nightwing.
She saw that as her cue to leave.
♥♥
When Kory got home, she quickly discarded her costume in the carefully hidden evil lair… which was really just a secret closet concealed behind the white walls of her bedroom closet. Honestly, now that she thinks about, she is surprised her boyfriend has never noticed it.
“Ahh!” Stripped clearly of all her clothes, saved her underwear, Kory jumped upon her bed and started kicking and punching the mattress. “Stupid Nightwing! Stupid Nightwing! Always getting in my way!”
While Starfire the terrible was still an up and coming villain in Bludhaven, Kory saw that it was getting difficult to act out her evil prowess as long as that tights wearing vigilante hanged around this city. Since moving to this crime ridden city a few years ago, that stupid Nightwing kept stopping her from causing mayhem and striking fear into the hearts of the people.
(P.S. No one was scared of her, and she was starting to lose her little credibility as a villain.)
Nightwing was a really good hero to say he does not have any powers. In fact, he even has his own billboard as the “Welcome to Bludhaven” sign.
Starfire wanted her own “Welcome to Bludhaven” sign.
After a couple more minutes of kicking and punching her bed, Kory decided to just give up for the night and freak out tomorrow.
Kory Anders story started off just like any other person. Her home planet was about to be destroyed, so her parents sent her flying through space in a mini ship for survival. That ship then proceeded to crash land on Earth where she was found by a couple and raised just like a normal human. It is not until Kory was a teenager that her adaptive human parents would reveal the truth about her heritage and tell that her powers would make a big impact on society.
And Kory was making a big impact by trying to strike the fear of aliens into the hearts of others or blowing up stuff when she is frustrated, inconveniencing everyone. As Starfire the Terrible, her mission is to simply scare people and cause a little property damage.
See! She was totally not copying from another super powered alien at all.
Despite being a villain though, Kory really did not want to hurt anybody or take over Bludhaven. She also did not believe that her profession meant that she was crazy and needed to be locked up in the Arkham Asylum. It’s just that being a villain was an easy way to blow off some must needed stress. And besides, earth already had another super powered alien protecting earth.
She did not want people to think she was following the leader.
The ‘S’ on her costume totally meant nothing but Starfire.
As Kory let out a silent yawn, she could hear some footsteps creaking on the floors. In a matter of seconds, she heard the bedroom door close
“Kory I’m home.”
She quickly sat up and crossed her legs. Despite Kory’s earlier frustrations with Nightwing (and life in general), the view of her wonderful boyfriend made her heart fill with butterflies and willed Kory to put on the widest grin possible.
“Dick, you are home early!” She followed her boyfriend every moment as he began to strip out of his uniform. “The station usually keeps you overtime…or you volunteer to put extra patrol hours in.”
Dick smiled at her as he unbuttoned the last button of his uniform shirt before throwing it on the carpet floor. He then reached for the buckle of his belt. “Chief thinks I need a break. Says I work too much and,” he winked at her. “he thinks I should spend more time with my beautiful girlfriend.”
Kory mentally cheered in her head, but she did not know if it was because of what Dick said or because he was now only in his briefs. “So that means we get to spend a little more quality time together?”
Dick chuckled as he sat on top of the bed. He reached over towards her and connected his lips to hers. There was no tongue entry though, just a soft peck. “I thought we could start the weekend together early. I’m off tomorrow and you had a short day at the aquarium tomorrow.” She felt his fingers playing with the hook of her bra. “I thought we could get some time alone before we have to drive to Gotham tomorrow evening.”
There goes the headache again.
Her boyfriend pulled back. He grabbed her bottom and picked her up gently so that Kory was now sitting on his lap. “Alfred says to call him if you think of anything special that you want to eat. I was thinking some kind of chocolate cake for desert since since it’s always your favorite. Since it’s Alfred, we are already going to have an extravagant dinner. Oh! Jason said he will attempt to show up but...”
Kory started to drown Dick out as missiles started going off in her head. A Wayne Family Dinner at the Wayne’s manner where she would spend a few painfully long hours socializing with her father-in-law, eh, she meant her boyfriend’s adoptive father.
Bruce always had this small habit of mentally judging her every time they had to be in the same room together. When they first met, she thought he had flawlessly figured out her identity as Starfire the Terrible, but later she realized it had more to do with her dating his son.
He never really said anything, but his looks were really intimidating. Like if he was not a billionaire playboy, Kory would really suspect that he was Gotham’s vigilante Batman.
Kory wrapped her hands around Dick and kissed his chest. “How about we just stay home tomorrow. We can lie and say I ate some really bad chocolate and now have a stomach virus.”
Dick kissed the temple of her forehead. “Baby, we can’t do that. Bruce is already expecting us. Plus, I haven’t seen my brothers in a while. Of course besides Damian.” Dick’s little brother always finds a reason to come visit them.
Kory sighed. She should of terrorized an ice-cream place tonight. That way she could of ate her way through her frustration. She started to get lost in thought again before she felt the snap on her bra disconnect and her bra slowly pulled off her.
Dick wrapped his arms around her as his way of connecting them together. Her chest was smashed against his chest in an attempt to bury any space between them. He whispered, “Just stay whelmed and you will do fine tomorrow.”
That is when Kory’s eyes widened.
For some reason, Dick’s words reminded her of that unfortunate “encounter” with Nightwing earlier, but she could not understand why though. It’s not like her boyfriend was secretly Nightwing or something.
Dick came from a rich adoptive family. Rich Families never become superheroes because they are rich. It would not make sense. It would be like finding out some minor reporter was actually Superman in disguise.
Just doesn’t happen.
Kory rubbed her head against Dick’s chest. “Don’t worry about it.” She told herself. She was just tired and stressed out, so she was starting to imagine signs that were not there.
Dick smiled down at her. He shifted his head so hat his mouth was against her ear. “How about we have some fun in the showers and call it quits for the night? We will deal with Bruce when we see him tomorrow.”
Now that Kory could deal with.
♥♥♥♥
That night Kory had a dream that she was in her Starfire the Terrible costume on top of a Bludhaven building. She was not alone though.
No. In fact she was with a superhero… with his arms wrapped around her body, holding her tight as their lips connected together.
It was Nightwing.
It was weird because she would like to say that she never experienced any unresolved sexual tension for Bludhaven’s vigilante before. Nightwing was just there to always make sure her evil (because they were evil!) plans were ruined. Also, she always pegged him as being too righteous to associate himself with a villain like her.
Sure he had a bad habit of treating her like minor threat, and was reasonably nice to her, but he was still her arch nemesis!
When Kory felt his hands start to go lower, she panicked and backed away. “How dare you?!” Her hands started to glow as she got her star bolts ready to fire at him.
Nightwing held both hands out, signaling for her to halt. “Just stay whelmed okay!” He reached for his stupid domino mask and started to slowly peel it off.
That was when Kory woke up from her nightmare.
She placed her right hand to her chest. She could feel her heart beating fast and her body was drenched with sweat. She turned to her left to see Dick sleeping peacefully with just a slight hint of a snore. His face looked like he did not have a care in the world.
Kory reached down and stroked her boyfriend’s face. She circled the area around his closed eyes as if she was drawing a mask. She woke up before her unconscious would tell her who Nightwing really was, but a part of her truly believed she was just over reacting.
There was no way Dick Grayson was a superhero. He was a cop who came from a rich family. He was a beautiful (ordinary) guy who just happened to be (unknowingly) dating a villain.
That was all.
The next morning started off with Kory hastily trying to get her work uniform on while Dick tried to find them quick to eat for breakfast. He said he had made a reservation at some fancy Italian restaurant for lunch, so something small for breakfast should do.
“Cereal?!” She heard him yell throughout the hall. “We still got some cheerios left!”
Kory poked her head out of the bedroom door to answer back. “Only if you add honey.”
Dick laughed at her statement. Kory always did have a knack for combing strange things to her food. Even now, Dick still looks at her funny whenever she adds a big amount of mustard to pizza. He did throw the line when she suggested pancakes taste better when they were only half way cooked.
As she walked down the hall, fully dressed and starving, Kory could hear faint noises from the television. When Kory walked into the living room, she saw her boyfriend sitting down on the couch, watching the news.
Bludhaven’s news always ranged from the typical things like murder, robbery, and when do girl scouts cookies season start.
So basically another Gotham City.
While Kory hated being compared or leveled to the same category as the other crooks in Bludhaven, she always felt proud when even they mentioned her in the news. Starfire the Terrible should always be a villain people recognized and fear.
Kory poured milk into her cereal bowl and walked down to sit next to Dick.
Secretly she was waiting for them to mention her, but as it got closer to the end, Kory started to get worried. Starfire the Terrible was an evil genius, so they had to have mentioned her somewhere in the news.
“And on top Nightwing’s heroic feats, he even saved the local mall from a minor inconvenience.” There was only one short second view of her before the cameras starting showing Nightwing catching the robbers that were trying to steal from the store.
Kory started choking. Minor? Not Bludhaven’s best super villain, but a minor inconvenience?
Dick turned to her and started patting her on the back. “Kory are you okay? I always tell you not to rush and chew your food properly.”
That brought her back to reality. She jumped up. “I’m going to be late for work!” With the quickness that only the Flash or Superman could rival, Kory ate the last bit of her cereal and grabbed her stuff.
She felt embarrassed that the news team was not taking her seriously, but she could not let that worry her today. Today was day she got to spend quality time with her boyfriend’s father for dinner.
She would just have to prove to the people of Bludhaven that she truly was evil next time.
Before Kory could stand up all the way, Dick grabbed her arm and pulled Kory close to him. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Dick connected his lips to hers.
“Have fun at work today, Kory.” He then moved down to kiss her neck. “I love you so much. You know that right?”
It was a rhetorical question, but she still answered him back. “Of course I know. I love you too Dick. Nothing can change that.”
And she meant that… right?
♥♥♥♥
By 12:45, Kory was ready to skip out the door.
Dick had just texted her that he was waiting outside, ready to take her to that restaurant he wanted to try out. He also hinted that he brought her roses and a surprised present.
Kory looked at the lady next to her who was putting on her name tag. The lady was Kory’s replacement tour guide since Kory had permission to leave early today.
When she was not Starfire the Terrible, Kory worked as a guide for Bludhaven’s Aquarium. Initially, she wanted a job that involved feeding and pampering the sea life, but her boss told her she had a beautiful face that everyone deserved to see.
So most of Kory’s job entitled guiding school kids that were on a field trip, brave souls that actually wanted to visit Bludhaven, and small groups that just liked having a guide tell them facts about the sea life at the aquarium.
It was always a very fun job…unless a kid sneaks off or tries to get in the water with the penguins and dolphins without permission.
That was when her work life was stressful because she always had to file out a report when that happened.
Today was smooth sailing though. Most of people that showed up today were couples on a date. Bludhaven Aquarium was discounting tickets for couples. There were dolphin shows happening throughout the day and the new Shark 3-D virtual game was now ready, so they had a reasonable attraction today.
But Kory did not care much for that. All she wanted to do was spend quality time with her boyfriend before they had to make the struggling hour long trip to Gotham later on today.
That was the plan, and Kory was almost out the door when she heard an explosion coming from outside the Aquarium. She could hear screams and suddenly all of the Aquarium’s security guards were blocking the front exit.
“No!” She heard a woman scream from the outside. “Orca is attacking!”
That is when she saw the whale-hybrid woman attack the front entrance to the aquarium as the guards started shooting at her. It did not seem to have an affect on her as she bent down to grab the door and throw it at a crowd of people.
Some people got hit by the doors, the others were flown away by the aftermath of the winds Orca’s actions brought. As Kory tried to peak through the police, she spotted her boyfriend. Rather than looking scared, Dick actually looked determined, like he wanted to do something, but as Orca got closer, he decided at the last minute to run away.
That was normal because her boyfriend while her boyfriend was a cop, he was also just human. Kory suddenly got scared at the thought of him getting hurt.
Sure Starfire the Terrible was a villain too, but she never caused harm to people. Hurting innocent people just was not part of her evil job description.
That did not make her any less evil though!
That being said, Kory still had to get out there some kind of way to protect her boyfriend. Since the front entrance was being blocked off, Kory quickly ran towards the staircase. The first exit she got, she took it and leaped out of the window.
Since she was still Kory Anders and not Starfire the Terrible, she made her flying powers just look like she just made a really high jump from the second floor. Kory quickly ran up to Orca and started punching her with as much force as possible.
Orca quickly caught one of her punches and threw Kory across the field, landing her all the way by the parking lot, straight into someone’s car. “You are one of these aquarium workers who thinks it is nice to lock such precious sea life up in these overgrown fish tanks.”
If she still wasn’t pretending to be a human, Kory would of defeated her by now, but she could not use her starbolts or super human strength. She had a fast healing process, but being thrown towards a car still hurt.
As Kory struggled to get her head together, she suddenly felt herself being lifted up from the ground.
“KORY ARE YOU OKAY?! SAY SOMETHING!” She strained a little at first, but when she opened her eyes, Kory looked up to see Nightwing staring right down at her. He looked worried, but also relived that she was responding to him.
At first Kory was a little confused that her nemesis was worried about her, but then she remembered she was still Kory Anders right now, the brave human that was trying to rescue her boyfriend.
“Dick!” Kory started pushing away from Nightwing’s embrace. “Let me go! I have to go fight her!”
Nightwing’s grip on her tightened. “No, you are going to stay here and call an ambulance so you can get yourself looked at. I’m going to fight Orca.”
“You don’t understand!”
“There is nothing to understand! Kory just listen to me!”
Kory got down and turned her attention to Nightwing. “My boyfriend was one of the people who got caught in Orca’s path. Once I find him, we’ll leave while you do your hero thing.”
There were more screams being heard.
Nightwing placed his hands on her shoulders. “You stay here, and I’ll find your boyfriend. I’m sure he would not want you getting hurt.”
“No.” She said. They were wasting valuable time Kory could be looking for Dick right now.
“Kory please.”
“I’ll fight with you.”
Nightwing sighed and grabbed Kory’s right arm. Before she had time to process everything, Kory was handcuffed to a car.
Now Kory was literally burning. Nightwing was running back to where Orca was. “Just stay here until I get back.”
Kory mentally cursed at Nightwing as she turned her attention towards the handcuffs. She used her available hand to make a mini starbolt that broke the cuffs on her.
She was so going to kill Nightwing next time they fought, but if he was so eager to defeat Orca, she would just get her boyfriend and get out of here. She was still a villain. Kory did not have worry about anyone else here except Dick Grayson.
The problem was trying to find him though.
While Nightwing and Orca fought, everyone else was being safely evacuated. Kory knew her boyfriend like playing the hero, but literally could not find him anywhere. She know he did not run away because Dick would never leave without knowing she was okay.
They both had that problem, but that is what they loved about each other.
Once Orca was defeated and was being carried away in some police van, Kory started getting worried. Dick was still nowhere to be found and Kory was starting to fear for the worse. Despite police warnings to not touch any damage in fear of getting hurt, Kory ignored them for any signs of Dick. Kory wanted to call him, but she had lost her phone somewhere in the chaos.
While Kory was lost in her thoughts, she felt a finger tap her shoulder. “Could it be my wonderful girlfriend Kory Anders not listening to authority and potentially getting herself in danger.”
He had said in a joking manner, but Kory could tell he was slightly mad. She decided it was better to just ignore it and jump into his arms.
Besides him being mad at her, she could take. Dick being dead would completely end her.
Kory rubbed her face against his shirt, dampening it from her tears. “I was so worried about you! I was trying to save you-I really was- but that stupid Nightwing kept getting in my way!” The more she yelled, the faster the tears started falling down. “I’m just so happy that you are okay.”
That’s when Dick grabbed her by her shoulders to pull her back. Kory slightly protested, but she understood Dick was angry… at least that was what she thought at first. Her boyfriend looked more guilty than mad, like he had done something he was not proud of.
“Kory,” He took a deep breath and tried to smile. “Can we go talk somewhere private? In fact, let’s forget about our lunch reservation and just go straight home.”
Not knowing what to say, Kory just shook her head as an agreement.
♥♥♥
When they got home to their apartment, Kory admittedly went to go sit on the couch. Dick had shut and locked the door behind them, but he did not dare try to sit down next to her. There was a weary silence between them before her boyfriend let out a cough, bringing her attention straight to him.
Kory’s instinct was telling her that Dick was mad at her for going off on her own to fight a villain. Her second instinct was telling her that some kind of way Dick found out about her being Starfire the Terrible.
Maybe today was the day he was going to break up with her?
Dick walked next to her and leaned down to kiss her on the cheek. “Kory,” he took he deep breath “You know that I love you and I’m really serious about this relationship. No…I’m serious about us having a future.”
Kory started to smile. It did not sound like he was breaking up with her, so that was good. But why the serious tone?
“Kory there is a secret I have been holding from you?”
“A secret?”
Dick then reached down again to kiss her nose. Kory slightly rubbed against his face. Dick’s voice got low. “I kept this a secret not because I didn’t love you, but because it was simply ingrained in me for so long that I just forgot about it.” He bent down to the floor, slightly pulling Kory with him. “Do you know the hero Nightwing?”
Kory blinked. The one who is always messing up her evil villain time. “Bludhaven’s beloved Superhero? The one who saved the aquarium today?”
Dick nodded. He slowly reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a domino mask. “Kory, I’m Nightwing.”
No. No. NO. NO!
Kory pushed Dick away, causing him to slightly hit the bottom of the couch. “But you are a cop?!” A normal human that she constantly worries about every day.
“Yeah, what Officer Grayson can’t do Nightwing can.”
“But you come from a rich family? Rich people don’t become superheroes!”
Dick chuckled at her statement. “Bruce taught me a great deal about protecting the innocent, helping those who are powerless.”
Now Kory found herself chuckling. “You are powerless as well.”
“I have been studying and mastering multiple martial arts since I was eight. I’m also the world’s greatest acrobat known to man.” Dick winked at her. “You have seen me.”
Kory stayed silent. Suddenly her anxiety was rushing back to her, causing her chest to hurt. If her boyfriend was Nightwing, that meant that he was against villains. If the person she loves the most in this world was also her enemy, that meant Dick probably secretly hated Starfire the Terrible.
“Can I tell you something too Dick?”
“Yes honey, go ahead…As long as you are not breaking up with me of course.”
Maybe it was because of the moment everything was happening, but Kory found herself forming words that she had said she would curse herself before admitting.
“I am Starfire.” She had said.
“What?”
Kory started laughing. “I’m Starfire the Terrible and you are Nightwing. We are sworn enemies.”
She expected Dick to flair up and yell at her, tell her to get her things out their apartment. She half expected Dick to call the cops.
Instead, Dick crawled over to her and wrapped his arms around her. “That’s such a relief.” He laughed. “You know Kory, I been having a crush on Starfire the Terrible for a long time. Maybe since the day you moved to Bludhaven.”
“You have?”
“Starfire sucks as a villain, but it was always cute when she tried to do something mincing. I think I was first attracted to you so fast was because you reminded me of her so much.” His embrace got tighter. “Of course, I ended up falling for Kory Anders more than Starfire the Terrible.”
Kory wrapped her arms him as Dick’s last statement got to her. “I’m glad you said that because last night I had a dream I was kissing Nightwing. Now I don’t feel so disgusted.”
Dick pulled back so that he was facing her. “You thought kissing me was disgusting?”
“I think kissing any guy that is not Dick Grayson is disgusting, but…making out with Nightwing knowing I have a boyfriend would prove I do not suck as a villain.”
Dick smirked as his eyes started to shine. “Is that right?”
Kory slowly got up and dusted any dirt on her uniform. “I am such a good villain that I would not even think about it if were to take a shower right now and come out with Nightwing sitting on my bed.” She started to walk towards the bathroom, unbuttoning her blouse. “Because I am a villain, I will get Nightwing to kiss me wherever i want.”
“Sounds really evil.”
“Well, I am evil.”
That day, they really did not talk much about the whole secret identity dynamic they had going on. Dick and Kory did, however, spend the rest of day with their Nightwing and Starfire uniforms on and off (mostly off) having fun.
In fact, Kory would say they were having so much fun that they forgot they needed to be in Gotham that night until they got a very angry call from Bruce. It was worth it though.
#dickkory#dickkori#starfire#koriand'r#richard grayson#dick grayson#dc#dc comics#fanfic#might have to later go back and edit#i should feel slightly guilty for typing this instead of doing hw#kory anders
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Whole (Part 2) - brood au
Characters: Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Dick Grayson, all the kiddos
Pairing: implied/past/future superbat
Summary: Despite his kids’ claim, Clark didn’t make all these photo albums just for himself.
A/N: Equally as bad as the first part I guess. Conner is also in this album, I just didn’t mention any specific ones. Jon’s gonna take over this reunion at one point. And despite his ridiculousness, Bruce absolutely loves him already. The ending is probably a little too figurative, but it’s basically Clark thinking ‘oh man, I want to spend all this alone time with Bruce.’ but then also: ‘God I fucking love these kids so much, and I love these little moments of spending time with just them just as much as I want to spend time with Bruce.’
Part 1.
Other Brood AU things.
~~
It was like herding sheep, getting everyone back inside. The kids could barely let go of Bruce, and Dick was already off, chatting Bruce’s ear off before he could properly climb the porch steps.
They piled into the living room, Lois motioning to the sofa, offering it to Bruce. Bruce nodded silently and took it. His children began to swarm around him, Cass and Tim on one side, Damian tight to the other. Jason was going to sit next to him, but Jon beat him to the spot, curling his legs up and leaning against Damian like a scared puppy. Jason just snorted, ruffled Jon’s hair, and sat on the arm of the couch next to him.
Lois took the other chair, Conner mimicking Jason’s position on its arm. Dick and Clark remained standing.
“Do you want any photo albums, Bruce?” Lois asked, trying to cover a laugh. “Clark loves to document. Especially milestones.”
“I think there’s a whole album for each of us about losing our teeth.” Jason added quietly, smirking. Clark returned the grin.
“I just…wanted to make sure Bruce didn’t miss anything.” Clark mumbled sheepishly.
“For Jon and Conner too?” Dick teased.
“…Well, Batman does like to be informed.” Clark laughed. “…I do have some, if you want, though.”
“…Sure.” Bruce hummed. “I’d love to see some.”
Clark nodded, swallowed the lump in his throat, and silently moved up the stairs towards his bedroom. Heard Dick take over the conversation, asking Bruce about his ride here, what city he came from, if he’d seen Alfred yet.
So far, so good.
But still, ever the dad, he worried, even his small distance away. Were Bruce’s kids coping okay? Was this too much? Should he have reintroduced them one by one? And what about his own children? Conner isn’t feeling left out, is he? And Jon? Just…Jon?
As he reached under the bed for the box, he thought about maybe worst of all – his own heart. It was thrown back into the emotions of ten years ago. And he realized, more than his worry for the kids, more than his worry about how today would go, he was worried about the realization that had been smacking him in the face every second since he’d set eyes on Bruce getting out of that car.
He was still in love.
Hell, he was still head over heels. And now really wasn’t the time to be focusing on that, was it?
It needed to be about the kids. He needed to focus on the kids.
He sighed and shook his head, grabbing as many photo albums as he could carry. Made sure they were all about Bruce’s kids, though brought one down for Jon and Conner each, in case Bruce wanted to see them. Would look at them himself, if not.
He hadn’t just made these things for Bruce after all. He wanted to relive his own kids’ lives too.
Things were still calm when he went downstairs. Dick was still in charge of the conversation, still rattling on. Bruce was listening intently, matching soft smiles on both his and Lois’s faces. Jon was still as close to Damian as possible, but Jason had somehow convinced him to now lean back, against his knee. His eyes were darting between Dick and Bruce, and he was still clearly on edge, though the fact that Damian was letting him hold his hand seemed to be helping.
Dick just kept talking, even as they became aware of Clark’s return. Clark didn’t interrupt him, just carefully set the stack of books on the coffee table, handing Bruce the one on top – the one his mother Martha had made, when they all believed this custody agreement was temporary. Before Conner and Jon, for the most part.
The book was ragged and old-looking. Not because of Clark’s frequent looks through it, but because of the kids themselves. Damian looked at it a lot, when he was missing his father, or his older siblings as they went off into the real world. Jason looked at it when he was starting to feel like he didn’t belong. Cass liked to go through it with Jon, who found such a simple joy in seeing his family before he existed.
“Ho, boy.” Dick commented, as Bruce took the volume, staring almost nervously at the front cover – a picture of Clark sleeping on the floor surrounded by all five of Bruce’s kids, then babies and barely above his hip. “Good luck, Bruce.”
Bruce smiled and opened the front cover almost eagerly. Tim and Damian immediately leaned over his arms to look themselves.
Jason snorted in amusement.
The first page, and the few after, as Bruce learned, was the kids’ first day on the farm. Or rather, their first day with Grandma Martha. She was in each picture, holding Damian, wiping Jason’s face, carrying Cassandra on her back, holding Tim on her hip between her and her husband. Dozing with Dick on the sofa, and then dancing with him in front of the barn right below that.
The next page was groupings. Tim on Dick’s back. Jason holding Damian, the two with matching pouting faces. Cassandra and Damian both napping on Clark’s lap. Dick and the dog, Tim sitting on a cow, Dick climbing the barn rafters, Damian petting a horse from Grandpa Jonathan’s arms.
There was one of Dick holding Damian, squishing their noses together. But in the background, almost too blurry to be seen, was Jason. He was crying, hands balled into tight fists, held at the corner of his eyes. Clark was kneeling in front of him. Trying to calm him down, soothe him any way he could.
Bruce silently wondered why he was crying. If anyone would remember.
Though if he were honest with himself, he already knew.
“What was it like?” Bruce found himself asking. “Growing up here?”
“Quiet. Good. Nice.” Dick answered. Despite being asked to the room it was most likely aimed at him. “Different from Gotham for sure.”
“Clark actually made us do stuff.” Jason grumbled, but it was almost fond. “I spent the first year here asking why we couldn’t call Alfred to milk the cows.”
“You tried to teach Damian ‘Where’s Alfred?’ as one of his first sentences when you were mad at me.” Clark reminded, a nostalgic smile appearing on his face too. “Right behind ‘Clark is stupid.’”
“To be fair, you were being stupid.” Jason countered, pointing thoughtfully at Clark. “So, I mean, it’s not like I was trying to teach the kid how to lie.”
“Still just as bad.” Clark laughed. “I’m glad Damian decided to find his life influencers elsewhere.”
“He didn’t, quite.” Dick added. “He’s totally the one who taught Damian how to swear.”
“Jon too, apparently.” Lois chimed in pointedly. Both Jason and Clark looked at her, and she shrugged. “He had a…slip-up, a few weeks ago. And immediately claimed ‘Jason says it all the time!’ as little brothers do.”
Jason glanced down at the boy leaning against him. Jon smiled nervously, then tried to hide against Damian, even as Jason wrapped his arms around him and began to mess up his hair once more.
“I didn’t know what else to do!” Jon whined, pulling against Damian’s sleeve to save him. Damian ignored him, still looking into the photo album. “I didn’t want to lie!”
“No, you wanted to save your own little butt.” Jason cackled teasingly. He released Jon slightly, then looked back to Lois and Clark. “But see? Never taught either of them how to lie.”
“And we’re very proud.” Lois laughed. Clark smiled too, but kept his eyes on Bruce. Did it bother him, the easy relationships his kids had with not only him, but Lois? If it did, he didn’t give anything away, just quietly listening, quietly smiling, while turning pages in the book.
Damian suddenly lashed out, pointing at a picture. “That was when I started getting my teeth.” He explained.
“Oh yeah?” Bruce grinned instantly. Glanced at him, then pointed to a handwritten scribble beneath it. “And what’s this note down here about?”
“For which album the rest our dental milestones are in.” Tim smirked. Bruce looked at him now. “We’re serious, Bruce – Clark documented everything.”
“I’m glad.” Bruce laughed, then raised his gaze, absolute mirth in his eyes. “I just hope he was as thorough in his journalism.”
“Well, I still have a job, so I hope so.” Clark joked.
“Clark taught all of us to be that thorough, in everything we do.” Dick hummed. “Taught us even to be detectives just like you, Bruce.”
Bruce’s smile faded a little. “I…heard.” He muttered. Glanced up at his oldest. “…Nightwing, huh?”
“Can’t be Robin forever.” Dick countered. “And Clark isn’t the only hero dad who inspired us, B.”
“I’m Robin now.” Damian quipped.
“Will be, eventually.” Jason added quickly, even as Tim opened his mouth indignantly. “Timbo is now. And Conner is Superboy. You and Jon are still too young, squirt.”
Bruce glanced at Clark for clarification. “I benched Dick after you left them with me, for safety. But then when it was clear you weren’t coming back…well, you know as well as I do how hard it is to keep Dick in one place. And once they saw big brother doing it…”
“Not to mention when Conner came along with his own abilities.” Lois hummed. “But don’t worry, Bruce. Robin always went out with Superman.”
“Still does.” Clark said sternly. “And on the rare chances he doesn’t…I listen.”
“One of the downsides of having Superman as a dad.” Tim sighed dramatically. “He can hear me anywhere in the world.”
“But we can’t complain too much.” Dick smiled. He suddenly glanced protectively up at Jason, and Jason instantly looked down at Damian and Jon, fussing with their shirts. “Some of us would be dead if it wasn’t for that.”
Bruce didn’t ask. Just made a mental note to ask Clark later, when they were alone. If they were alone. Just another question to the list of a million.
Still, he could sense this taking a dark turn, so returned to his original query. “Isn’t Nightwing a Kryptonian legend, though?”
Dick snorted. “I’m not old enough to be Batman yet!”
“Damian went as Batman for Halloween a few years ago.” Cassandra added quietly.
“I was five! That’s more than a few years ago!” Damian argued haughtily. “Besides, Tim went as Batman for Halloween once too.”
“You all did.” Clark smiled. “At some point. Except maybe Dick. He just chaperoned your trick-or-treating and stole all your candy as payment.”
Bruce pointed to a page, a laugh bubbling out of his throat. “I can see that, here.”
“That’s a perk of being a big brother.” Dick grinned, waving it off. He glanced back at Bruce, who was turning another page in the book. “Whatcha got now, B?”
Bruce had a small smile on his face. Emotion in his face and a near-tears mist in his eyes.
“If I’m correct,” Bruce tilted his head. Damian and Tim looked up at him, even as he glanced over at Jon. “The birth of your youngest.”
Jon’s face exploded in a blush, even as Jason dragged him back against his leg and kissed his hair.
“Oh boy, what a day.” Lois chuckled, fanning herself in memory. “Dick snuck into the delivery room when he heard crying.”
“I see that, too.” Bruce laughed, pointing to another photo. “Hopefully he let the two of you hold Jon first.”
“Barely.” Clark snorted. “He also left the other kids in the waiting room alone. Damian ended up in the nursery screaming because thought the nurses stole his little brother, as he wasn’t there yet.”
“Oh my god.” Bruce kept laughing. The chuckles grew louder and louder, and Bruce eventually had to cover his face, the amused tears slowly starting to leak out. “I am…so sorry.”
“It was…something else.” Lois admitted fondly. “Wouldn’t want it any other way, though.”
And even when Bruce lowered his hand, Clark could see the tears still flowing. Still amused, still happy, but…quickly turning into something else. A sorrow of being left behind. A sorrow of missing out. A sorrow the kids definitely didn’t need to see, not right now.
Bruce always kept his emotions hidden. Was always pretty good at controlling them. But it was no surprise that his threshold here, today, might’ve been a little thin. That he might’ve reached emotional exhaustion a little quicker than normal.
Clark silently tapped Lois’s shoulder, and waved a lowered hand at Dick. He got the memo.
“Bruce, are you staying the night? You’re going to need a room to stay in.” Dick asked, already pushing off against the wall he’d been leaning against. “Damian, Jon, Jay. With me. We gotta get the rooms set up.”
Damian groaned, and kicked his feet in a small tantrum as he reluctantly left his father’s side at the request of his brother. Jon followed sheepishly after.
“And I’m no housewife – I’m going to need help in the kitchen getting all the food out and set up. I’m sure you’re starving, Bruce.” Lois stood. “So the last three of you, with me.”
Conner scoffed in amusement as he disappeared into the kitchen first. Tim and Cassandra followed silently behind. Lois winked at Clark as she took up the rear.
Bruce kept looking at the book, flipping through the last few pages, smiling every so often, even though he continued to cry. When he reached the back cover, he sighed, staring at it as he ran his hand down it. “…Thanks, Clark.”
“I know how you are about emotions. I know how that’s not the first thing you want your kids to see.”
“I mean.” Bruce started, looking up. His eyes were still pouring those silent tears. “…For everything.”
Clark smiled, heart fluttering, just a little. “We can talk about all that later. For now, this is probably the only moment they’ll be separated so you might want to make it count.”
Bruce smiled, running his fingers along the edge of his eyes. “Yeah, I will. I just.” Another sigh. “Can you give me a minute?”
“Whatever you need. I’ll go help them in the kitchen.” Clark nodded, backing up a little. “And Lois and Dick understand, so, you know. If you need more time or whatever, just let them know, and they’ll help you out.”
“…You turned him into an outstanding young man.” Bruce smiled weakly, leaning forward to put the photo album on the table. “All of them, really.”
“No, you did, Bruce.” Clark promised. “I just tried to clean up the rough edges.”
He left it at that, spinning away into the kitchen. He kept his eye on him, though, and his ear. Kept peeking into the living room when he felt he needed to, listened to his heartbeat when he didn’t. After he had cleared his face of tears, Bruce had picked up another photo album. And another, and after that – another.
And suddenly, Clark had a vision. He couldn’t wait until everything died down. Until the kids went to bed, or went out or just left them in peace. So he could go sit on the couch with Bruce, and go through those albums together. Talk about the things the kids wouldn’t want to, like why Dick looked at Jason when talking about almost dying, or what Bruce was actually doing during those ten years.
He couldn’t wait.
But then – Damian and Jon came stumbling down the stairs. Jon flopped onto the sofa on Bruce’s right, and Damian retook his perch on Bruce’s left. Bruce smiled, and answered all of the questions thrown his way, laughing when Jon admitted they snuck away from the older two. Let Damian take control of the book he was looking at, watching fondly as he flipped the pages to the ones he wanted.
Just a dad and two of his boys.
(In your dreams, Clark.)
He smiled as he turned back into the kitchen, and continued to help Cassandra and Conner set the table. Just a dad and two of his kids too.
(Because sometimes dreams do come true, right?)
…Maybe he could wait a little while longer after all.
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MQKA Chapter 1
An irondad/batfam crossover fic
AO3 link
(Do not tag as s*arker or bat*est)
Tony chuckles and swings an arm around Peter's shoulders. They were out celebrating the end of Peter's sophomore year with burgers and milkshakes. Sure Peter was a genius and it wasn't a surprise he made straight A's, but Tony knew how it felt to not have that acknowledged. So since May was away at a two-week nursing seminar and Peter was staying with him, Tony had taken it upon himself to celebrate with the kid. They were originally meant to eat out at some new sushi place, but Pepper had to cancel last minute, so Tony and Peter had exchanged one look before happily changing out of their dress clothes. Tony had gone with his classic sunglasses combined with a hippie type beanie he had bought just to embarrass Peter as a disguise.
They had taken the subway to Peter's neighborhood and Tony had let the teen drag him everywhere before they finally stopped for food. At the moment they were leisurely making their way back to the tower for Mario Kart.
"I'm serious Mr. Stark, there is no way you can beat me. With my extra experience and Spidey Sense-"
"I still like Peter Tingle more."
Peter glares at Tony and he smirks back.
"I just think we should play something more fit for you."
"Oh like what?"
"Like Wii golf." Peter smirks.
"Wow I am-"
Suddenly a red glowing light bursts to life in front of them. Immediately the hole begins to pull and tug them towards it. Tony taps his chest and pushes Peter behind him. He hears the tell-tale sound of a web being shot and barely has time to see it whip around and away from its trajectory, towards the portal before he's sucked into it himself and the world goes black.
________________
"Grayson!"
Dick groans and pulls his plush blanket over his head.
"Richard!"
He groans again.
"Richard! If you do not get up within the next five minutes I will refuse to watch any more insipid cartoons with you for the next week!"
Dami's quiet steps sound as he walks away from Dick's door.
Is that worth getting out of his warm cloud for? Really? They could just watch more next week.
Except the next movie was a sequel, and in Dami's own little way he had expressed… anticipation for the next one. And with the crazy lives everyone around here led Dick was happy to get his littlest brother interested in something age appropriate.
Fine.
Dick drags himself out of bed legs first and picks a blue shirt out of his dresser to go with his sweatpants then heads downstairs to the kitchen. Alfred's idea to keep a few outfits at the manor was really paying off, just a couple of months ago he had been forced to borrow one of Bruce's shirts after an impromptu stay over.
Even if Dami isn't in the kitchen grabbing some coffee would probably be a good idea. Despite Damian's seemingly uncaring attitude he wouldn't have woken Dick up on the only morning he allowed himself to sleep in on without good reason, it would be a good idea to be alert.
Pushing the door open reveals Damian sitting at the kitchen table speaking with Alfred. Dick can get coffee and talk to Dami. Good.
He purposely scuffs his feet against the floor causing the youngest bat kid to turn in his chair and look at his brother. His eyes soften around the corners and his mouth twitches, obviously relieved Dick had gotten up. Dick grins in return, sleepily ruffling his brother's hair on the way to the coffee machine. He smiles at Alfred too, as he pours equal parts creamer and coffee into an oversized Batman mug.
"Good morning Master Richard."
"M-" Dick clears his throat, "Morning Alfie."
He takes his mug to seat across from Damian. The fact that not one of his other family members are at the table speaks volumes about what an early hour on a Sunday this is. Saturday nights are always some of the heaviest for crime so the Family had almost always allowed themselves to sleep in the morning after. Even when Dick was Robin he and Bruce never did anything more strenuous than watch T.V. before twelve on Sundays. It felt very wrong to be up at, (what is the time? The clock says a little after eight), eight on a Saturday.
Dick looks at the kid in front of him, his face impassive, only something that he did when anxious lately, and hands tightly clasp.
Dick takes a long sip of his coffee then asks "Alright Dami, what was so urgent?"
Damian's face twitches a little. "Todd called."
Well that was unexpected. Jason rarely called, preferring to just show up unannounced. And considering they had just spoken the night before he must have had some kind of news to share with the family. Though none of that explained why Damian had been the one to pick up the call. Dami doesn't elaborate. Dick arches an eyebrow in a way reminiscent of their shared parent.
Damian sighs. "I was on way way back from using the facilities when the house phone rang. As such I decided to answer it."
Well if it was the house phone than it probably wasn't the most urgent thing. Dick relaxes a little and opens his mouth to say so, but Damian cuts him off. "Todd said he had first tried to contact everyone's comms, even Drake's, before calling the manor."
"Oh."
"Yes."
Dick waits, but Damian doesn't volunteer any more information. Dick lets out an exasperated breath and prompts "And?"
Damian's eyes narrow. "And what?" he snaps. Dick is used to his littlest brother's prickly attitude after four years of knowing him, so he simply rolls his eyes before elaborating, "What did Jay want?"
"He said he wouldn't tell me while I was alone. As if I am some pathetic child, I could easily dismember-"
"Ah, ok. Let's not go there, I'm sure Jay had a perfectly acceptable reason not to tell you."
Or he was just an a**. But Dick wasn't going to tell Damian that, considering that would undermine his efforts to get him to accept his other brothers. And probably make Alfred withhold anymore coffee creamer.
"Did he say anything else?"
"Just that I should wake either you or Father and bring you to the Batcave before nine."
That's not creepy at all Jason. Nope, completely normal request. Totally. Also should Dick be flattered or concerned that Damian chose to wake him up instead of Bruce. Or maybe he knew more about the nature of Jason's message than he was letting on and simply knew that Dick was less likely to bench him.
"Well see, it's not as if he's completely excluding you. Knowing Jason it's probably just some stupid prank or something. It'll be fine Lil'D."
Damian looks skeptical but relents anyway, turning his attention to the newly arrived Alfred. The cat, not their adoptive grandfather. Dick finishes off his coffee and announces that he'll meet Damian in the cave after he changes into some more presentable civvies.
"I would remember to bring a mask Master Richard, you never know with Master Jason," Alfred's lips quirk a little.
Dick laughs. "You're right Alfred, for all we know Jay has brought home another orphan, or worse. Thank you for reminding me. You should probably bring one too Dami."
"-Tt-"
_____________
"It seems that your guess was not too far off Grayson," Damian deadpans, still looking at the two limp bodies stuffed into the back of Jason's car. Or the car he stole from Bruce about six months after he started associating with them again, not that anyone cared anymore.
"Dickiebird! I thought we were past automatically grouping me in with violence," Jason grins sharply. He knew they were past that, if it had ever truly been a problem any way. But… He did have two bodies in his backseat so…..
"To be fair Jaybird I said orphan not….. whatever they are." Dick glances back down at Jason's back seat. "Ok, give us the story. Watch their parents die? Find 'em stealing your tires?" Dick smirks at his little brother's scowl, he obviously didn't like the comparison.
"Todd obviously didn't mean to find these ruffians Grayson," Damian puts in smirking, "Of course, neither did Father."
Jason scowl deepens, but the light in his eyes let's Dick know that both of his brothers knew the other was teasing. He grins as Jason snarls back with a "Shut up demon spawn, at least we weren't assassin babies. And one if these guys are as old as Bruce, and the other one is probably as old as Tim is."
"Well-"
"Ok baby bros, you can do this again later. For now, Jason, where did you find them? And why are they dressed like that?"
The first figure was dressed mostly normal, in a blue hoodie and jeans. The only oddity was the guy's socks, they were visible where one shoe was missing and they seemingly spread upwards as far as the bats could see, and were red with black lines running across them. The guy was obviously a teen, his brown hair framing a face still holding onto the last remnants of childhood.
It was really the second man who concerned Dick, if he was really a man. He seemed to be mostly encased in a shell of red and yellow armor, only his right hand and half of his face was visible. A cyborg maybe?
Jason gives a huff at the questioning but shifts his focus from Damian to Dick. He smirks knowingly, "I don't why they're dressed up like that, but I assumed that you bats wouldn't like it if I saw a couple of random tin men drop out of a portal while I was on patrol and didn't report it."
Dick's eyebrows shoot up and even Damian's face morphs into something resembling shock before he covers it up with a scowl. "You can't honestly expect us to believe that Todd."
"It definitely wouldn't be the weirdest thing to happen in Gotham lil'D, and Jason is usually honest."
"Exactly, plus why would I go through the trouble of kidnapping a couple of civvies and dressing them like Comic-Con just to fool you dickheads."
Dami scowls but otherwise doesn't protest anymore.
"Is there anything else we should know? Dick glances up from the limp figures to lock eyes with his brother.
"Nope. They fell out of a portal. I saw them. I called mini bat. I brought them here."
Dick runs a hand through his hair and exhales. "Sooooo, any ideas?"
"Wait for them to awake," Damian suggests.
"Unarm them," Dick can't tell if Jason is serious or not.
"Both good points, but we don't know how long it'll be until they wake up or what they are actually carrying. So I think the right course of action would be to wake up B and transfer them to the infirmary," Dick puts on his 'you should definitely agree with me face'.
Damian nods, and Jason sighs adding, "As long as you're the one who goes to wake up B, I don't want to deal with that mood."
"Todd is right Richard, we will situate the prisoners onto the cots," Damian agrees, showing little sympathy for his favorite brother.
Dick cringes and nods, turning his back on his brothers and climbing the stairs back to the manor.
____________
Dick wisely grabs a travel mug of Bruce's favorite coffee from Alfred before traversing the staircase up to his dad's room. On the way he briefly considers waking up Tim too, but the knowledge that the teen is actually asleep for once holds him back, if Bruce wants to alert the rest of the family they will, but not until then.
He braces himself as he quietly pushes open Bruce's door and pads inside. Dick has found that over the years Bruce has built up some sort of unconscious family awareness, not automatically waking up like he would with any stranger. This is both a good thing and a bad thing. On one hand Dick couldn't count the times he had gotten away with things just because Bruce didn't wake up, on the other hand all the family members had the extra honor of dealing with the bleary eyed mess that was a Batman that wasn't abruptly woken into fighting mode.
Bruce is sprawled in a very un-batman position, his comforter is twisted around his legs and Dick can barely see the Superman socks Dick got him for his last birthday peeking out from under the covers. The only thing keeping the image from looking like a teenager collapsed after a night of partying is the lack of drool. Even Bruce's black hair is tousled in a way reminiscent of Tim before his first coffee.
Grinning fondly, Dick places the coffee mug on a side table and reaches out to lightly shake Bruce's shoulder. "Bruce, B, wake up." The man grumbles and shoves his head farther down into the mattress. Dick’s grin stretches further and he sits down on the edge of the bed still shaking his father's shoulder. "C'mon Dad, get up."
Bruce finally rolls over and cracks his eyes open, holding that slightly stunned look he always has when Dick calls him Dad, no matter how many times he does it. Dick knows it's because of all the crappy mistakes Bruce made when Dick was a teen, he also knows that they generally worked past those quickly, but Bruce still beat himself up about a lot of them. Bruce clears his throat and responds with a "Good morning chum."
Dick's grin softens a little and he passes him the coffee. Bruce sits up against the headboard, yawning and rubbing at his forehead. He accepts the mug with a quiet "thank you" and takes a few gulps before placing it to the side and focusing on Dick. He raises a sardonic eyebrow as if to say 'Why am I awake before ten on a Sunday?'
Dick's face becomes a little more serious. "Jason called the manor around six this morning." Bruce's face sobers, Batman slowly creeping in to his expression. "He found two guys being thrown out of a portal on one of his patrol routes. Damian was actually the one to answer the phone and wake me up, he's in the cave helping Jason get the portal guys onto cots."
Bruce nods sharply scooting off the bed. "They could be dangerous, it's probably best to restrain them in the holding cell until we can get a read on them. We should all at least have masks on, if not full costumes. Is Jason certain it was a portal?” Bruce heads to where Dick knows a Batman suit is stashed, he sighs and hangs his head. If Bruce is wearing his uniform they all probably should.
“He said it was definitely a portal and that they were unconscious when they came through. We should expect major disorientation and confusion.” Dick scrunches his nose. “And based on my own portal experiences, maybe some puking. I’m gonna go suit up, you should head down and get Dami to put on a mask. I'll see you down there."
Bruce grunts in the affirmative as Dick leaves the room to go suit up.
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Im sorry if you've already answered this but what do you think is the hogwart houses of the batfam, why you think they belong to it, or if you have headcanons for HP aus?
Oooh, my first headcanon ask :D
So I did not answer this question, precisely, but I DID write a JayTim Hogwarts AU before. That said, that doesn’t include everyone in the batfam and I made some house choices for plot reasons, sooo here we go.
I should mention that I honestly think you can argue for most houses with most characters. Also, I’m using less the ‘these are the traits a house has’ and more the ‘this is what a character values’/‘how a character sees magic’ theory of sorting into houses.
Bruce
Bruce takes magic for granted and see it as a tool to be wielded. He also believes that everything can be learned and is, let’s face it, a total nerd. I’d say the hat wants to put him into Ravenclaw.
But maybe Bruce chooses Gryffindor because it fits his mask better. Brucie, here, is the type that’s ‘brave because he’s stupid.’
Dick and Barbara
Look, I just really want them to be the rulers of Gryffindor. They’re the trailblazers, the ones who come first, who possess immense physical and mental courage and entertain their house with their bickering.
They’re also nerds that could go to Ravenclaw, and hardworking enough for Hufflepuff, etc. Neither of them is ‘all heart.’ But I still think Gryffindor fits.
Jason
I made him a Ravenclaw in my story because he immediately goes on a rant about how the sorting system is stupid, which I still think works. As a muggleborn, he looks at magic as a fascinating puzzle at first, something to figure out. He wants to know the how and why. Later, the immense practical uses would become more obvious, but Ravenclaw lets him keep some of that initial wonder.
That worked in the story because he was adopted by Bruce before he learned about magic. If he’d still have an immediate need for magic to help him and his family, the sorting might’ve been different.
Bonus: He really values Hufflepuff. If he could go back and choose, that’s where he’d go.
Tim
I chose Slytherin for him. One reason is that I’d imagine the Drakes are a real old wizard family and it’s just expected, whether he shares those values or not. At eleven he plays the game and escapes in his own ways.
He’s really smart, but he doesn’t acquire knowledge for knowledge’s sake despite his immense curiousity. Magic as he knows it is a tool to be wielded to help his friends and the greater good. It’s very much about what purpose it can serve. Slytherin lets him be that, encourages that side in him while never letting him be alone.
Steph
Gryffindor would be the obvious one here, but I like Hufflepuff.
Like Jason, she’s muggleborn, and she sees the advantages of magic immediately. On some level, she takes that and runs with it. Out of all the Robins and Bats, she’s the one that toils. The one that has to keep trying and get up again and again. Hufflepuff will cheer her on, and she, in turn, sees the outsiders in the other houses and invites them in.
Cass
Hmmm.
Maybe she gets into Slytherin because that’s what she thinks she wants. What’s expected of her. It’s not a bad fit; she’s loyal and smart and wields magic like a sharp dagger.
It’s only with time that she realizes that’s not all she is. There’s Steph, in particular, and later the others. Her sharpness is tempered with her innate sweetness. To her surprise, the rest of the house doesn’t turn away from her when her alignment changes; she’s one of them, now more than ever.
Also, I really want her to communicate in sign language with the mermaids.
Duke
I’m going Ravenclaw here solely because of the riddle thing. Also I think his sense of humour and fascination fits. With him, it’s not so much the how and why of magic as the what else.
Jason graduated before he starts, so he’s super disconcerted when Family Rebel No 1 congratulates him on getting into the best house. Steph snorts and calls them nerds.
Damian
He wants to be a Gryffindor like his father and Dick. It’s what he expects. He’s brave, there can be no question about that. He would accept Slytherin, too. Cass is there.
The sorting hat puts him into Hufflepuff. Because there, he can be a child. He’s already kind, but Hufflepuff will teach him that it’s okay to show that. They value his drawings; his talent at caring for creatures, magical or not; they never treat him differently because of his family.
It takes some time, but in the end, he’s fiercely protective of his house.
Alfred
Everyone has different theories.
Hufflepuff. He’s the most caring person they know, and endlessly patient and accepting. He works hard and uses his magic to assist him. His kitchen magic is most precise they’ve ever seen.
Gryffindor. Don’t you know he was in the army? No one who has seen him defending their home will doubt his bravery.
Ravenclaw. He’s the one who gave Jason all his Theory of Magic books. His bedtime stories were so good. He’s the one who always encouraged that side in Bruce.
Slytherin. That man basically runs the house without any of them noticing. He’s loyal to a fault, or he would’ve left Bruce’s ass long ago. Clearly a Slytherin.
Alfred smiles and doesn’t answer.
#batfamily#I do have several more HP plots I can think of but this post is already too long#guess i need an ask tag now#dc
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