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call-me-strega · 14 days

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Mating Dances of Moths vs. Bats - Dead on MAYn 2024

Day 1 - Sunday the 19th - Late Upload

Trope | Courting Rituals, Word | Flickering, Situation | Dinner is interrupted by a rogue/gang fight, Dialogue | “Are they gone yet?”

Ao3 Link

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Killer Moth wanted revenge. For too long he had been labeled a D-list villain who was taken out by a rookie Batgirl. For too long had he been mocked and scorned by the villain community. Well no more! With the technology he had paid someone to developed he would show them all why they should fear The Killer Moth!

Large moths the size of cows are flying through Gotham. They flit through the air latching onto buildings, shaking in strange patterns, and causing property damage. They zoomed over crowds of people causing mass panic and hysteria. And that's not to mention the falling moth excrement. Above the city, ineffectively trying to control them, stood Killer Moth.

"Come- no this way! Listen! Mothew no! No! No attacking the building I'm on! Bad moth! Arrrgh!"

In hindsight, he really should have trained the moths before he jumbo-sized them.

The Bats were quickly on the scene Red Robin, Spoiler, and Robin worked on handling the moths while Batman worked with Oracle to take down Killer Moth.

The Moth Control team was quick to get on the case. However, RR noticed a pattern in the moths' behavior. They seemed more interested in their fellow moths than in carrying out any orders given by a D-list villain. Upon sharing his observations, Robin corroborated that the behavior the moths were exhibiting seemed to be similar to a number of courtship rituals.

Now aware that the moths were still following their instincts the team hatched a plan to deal with them. Noticing that bright lights seemed to distract them from mating, they began using their Bat-flashlights and even the Bat-signal to attract them. They were able to make some progress but were quickly overwhelmed by the sheer number of moths wreaking havoc across the city.

As Red Robin and Robin wrangled a wriggly moth, Spoiler contacted Oracle requesting backup. Oracle reached out to Signal, whose light powers would be a great help, and Red Hood, whose long-range weapons would come in handy. Even though she was reluctant to bother them when they were currently off-duty she knew the ground team needed the help.

Jason was in the apartment he shared with his boyfriend Danny when he got a call from Oracle.

He and Danny had been prepping to make homemade chilidogs for dinner, cooking together as almost a mini date night. They were listening to music maneuvering around each other synchronized in a dance of controlled chaos. Danny ducked from where he was covering up homemade buns and resting pie dough Jason had made earlier in the day so that Jason could pull something out of the spice cabinet over his head. Jason was starting on a fruit chaat he had tried in Pakistan, while Danny prepped some seasoned fries.

Danny held up his hand and Jason took it wordlessly spinning them around, switching their positions. Danny began skillfully cutting up some strawberries and rhubarb while Jason took his place seasoning the fries. They worked in peace, matching each other's pace, content to take their time. They had put the chili in the slow cooker about an hour ago and it'd take at least 4 more hours before it was ready, giving them plenty of time to prep sides and desserts.

Suddenly, a beeping was heard over the music, snapping Jason and Danny out of their flow. Jason shot Danny an apprehensive look, knowing that that sound came from his Bat-pager and he might get called out if they were contacting him on his off hours, but his boyfriend just smiled at him reassuringly.

" Go ahead and take that, I'll wrap up the fruit chaat and get started on the pie prep."

" Thanks, babe," Jason smiled back, cleaning off his hands and pressing a kiss to his temple. He left the kitchen to go answer the call in the other room. Danny set the fries to rest since they'd cook them fresh when the chili was done and started topping the chaat with sliced dates and chopped walnuts, before sprinkling it with lemon juice. Then he moved on to the pie filling, combining strawberry and rhubarb in a large bowl. Even from the other room, he could Jason talking to someone on the phone. Then came a large groan and his boyfriend called out to him,

" Hey Danny, O called! She said she needs me to help play pest control! 'Parently Killer Moth thought he'd pull a Penguin and jumbo-size some moths to be his minions!"

Danny simply shook his head fondly and called back.

" It's okay Hun, you go handle the moths and I'll finish the prep. We can do the final steps together once your back."

" Thanks babe!"

And with that, Jason suited up to go out while Danny handled the rest of the dinner prep. He finished up the chaat and put the pie in the oven. While it baked he whipped up a batch of sweet tea and a quick coleslaw. By the time the pie was ready to come out of the oven he'd cleaned up most of the dishes as well.

Danny pulled out the pie and set it up to cool. It'd need at least three hours to cool according to the recipe and the chili would probably be done around the same time. It'd been about an hour since Jason left and he hadn't sent any texts meaning he was still occupied. A seed of worry grew in his chest. He glanced around the kitchen taking a look at the slow cooker timer before making his decision.

He could go help Jason and get home before the apartment potentially burned down.

'Everything will be fine' he thought before going ghost and taking off to find his boyfriend.

Jason was sick of these damn bugs.

After meeting up with the ground control team Jason got assigned to extermination duty since he was better suited for taking out long-range opponents with his guns. Spoiler refocused her effort to helping with civilian evac with Robin covering her back while he, Red Robin, and Signal split up and worked on attracting and taking out the moths.

'Coome oon! I've got something sweet waiting for me back home' Red Hood mentally complained as he shot down yet another moth. He was getting real sick of those things. The thought of his beautiful boyfriend waiting for him back home with a pretty pink pie and an equally pretty pink face flashed in his head, causing Hood to pause for a minute and turn a bit pink himself. That's when he heard the beat of wings an echo-y voice yelling, "Watch Out!"

Hood turned just in time to see a moth, coming at him from behind, demolished with a bright green energy blast. A frankly gross shower of moth guts rained down on him. He traced the origin of the blast to a floating figure with pale white hair and a smoking fist.

He grinned under his helmet, "Thanks babe! You here to come get me?"

Phantom rolled his eyes, bantering back, "Yeah, your exterminator gig was taking too long. I finished all the prep, baked the pie, and even had enough time to clean!"

He scoffed, continuing to pretend to scold his boyfriend as he jumped into combat with him.

"Besides it looks like you need the help. That moth would have taken you by surprise if I hadn't been there! What are you even thinking about in a battle to let yourself get distracted like that?"

" Oh~ you know, just your beautiful face babe!" He answered truthfully, albeit teasingly.

" Uh-huh, sure Hun."

And with that, they wordlessly threw themselves into the eclipse of moths.

In an echo of their synchrony from the kitchen earlier that night, the pair woven through the battle like a well-rehearsed dance. If Hood shot down two moths, Phantom covered his back and shot down a third. If Phantom herded the moths into a corner, Red Hood was there, lying in wait to take them out. If Phantom created a few glowing constructs to attract them, Hood would pick them off one by one. If Hood managed to get his hands on a flamethrower, Phantom made sure to ice any stay embers that could start a fire.

And just as it felt like they made a dent, another swarm took their place.

" MAN AM I GETTING SICK OF THESE THINGS!" Hood complained as his flamethrower ran out of juice. "There's gotta be a more efficient way to get rid of these!"

"Agreed!" Phantom nodded, shooting another moth that was latched onto a storefront. As moth guts splattered over the window, Phantom happened to catch sight of a DVD cover that sparked an idea for him.

" Hey Hood! You ever watch Wreck-it Ralph as a kid?"

" Think so! Why?"

" You remember how they took out all those creepy bug things at the end of the movie!?"

"Yeah, why!"

" I have an idea!"

" Wait!"

Jason turned franticly to see Phantom flying up above the city. He lifted his arms over his head and formed a large sustained ectoblast into the sky like the beacon in Wreck-it Ralph, basically making a giant an ecto-powered bug zapper. In Hood ear the comms crackled to life.

" ~bzzzzt - What the heck is that! - bzzt~ " Red Robin yelled out over the comms.

" Relax, it's Phantom. He came to help a while ago and he's got an idea!" Red Hood replied trying to explain. "He's turning himself into a giant bug zapper!"

" ~bzzzzt - Well it's certainly effective - bzzt~ " Spoiler chimed in, watching as droves of moths flew right into the giant glowing beacon.

Hood made his way across the rooftops, trying to get closer to Phantom, taking out any of the distracted moths he could along the way. He saw hordes of moths making their way across the city towards Phantom. He could also pick out where the other Bats were trying to thin out the crowd.

A drop of sweat rolled down Phantom's face as help kept up the constant intensity of the prolonged blast. His shoulders began to ache from keeping them in an outstretched position. His eyes began to sting from the brightness of his energy. The smell of moths disintegrating burned in his nose. He kept going.

After what felt like years, but couldn't have been more than an hour tops, a voice called out,

"It's okay! You can release it now!"

And all the exhaustion he'd been fighting back flooded his system at once. The power from his hands begins flickering before it goes out. Wearily, he floats down, wobbling and falling into the security of his lover's arms. He tilts his head up and forces a tired smile.

" Are they gone yet?"

Hood pulls him close.

" Yeah baby, they're gone now. You can rest."

" Go check on the chili," is the last thing that comes out of his mouth before he passes out.

Danny wakes up to the smell of warm spices and the sound of sizzling oil. He groans, pushing himself out of bed. He find himself back in his apartment and realizes Jason must have brought him home. Rubbing his eyes, Danny makes his way to the kitchen. He finds the table set with all the food they prepped earlier and his boyfriend grilling hotdogs for the buns he has set out. Danny blinks the remaining tiredness from his eyes and stretches.

" I'm coming from behind," he warns his boyfriend as he approaches.

" You're good, babe" comes his reply.

" Thanks hun."

And with that, Danny wraps his arms around Jason's waist, plastering himself against Jason's back. He holds him for a few minutes while Jason finishes the hotdogs, simply enjoying the contact. He hears the grill turn off, and then Jason turns to take him in his arms. He presses Danny into his chest.

" Thanks for your help babe, but you had me worried at the end there Dee."

" I was just a bit tired, but I'm sorry for worrying you Jay."

Jason pulls back to smile at him, pressing a kiss to the top of his forehead.

" Its okay Dee. Now let's enjoy this dinner we made, I'm dying to get my hands on dessert!"

Danny laughs back at him. "That'll just have to wait Jay! Let's take our time and enjoy dinner, okay?"

"Okay babe," he replies, nuzzling into his boyfriend's hair. "Let's have dinner."

Hi guys, hoped you liked this! I'm running behind on my DeadonMAYn fics but I'll try to get them out as soon as I can. This is for Day 1. I made this needlessly harder on myself by trying to use all of the prompts but I think it turned out okay? Hopefully, I can deliver with the rest of the one-shots I've got planned. I love feedback so let me know what you thought!

Also just in case anyone's interested here's the strawberry-rhubarb pie recipe.

#dc x dp #jason todd #danny fenton #danny phantom #red hood #dead on main #deadonmayn24 #killer moth #batfamily #dinner #pet names #one shot #fluff #a smidgen of angst #like it barely even counts #cooking as a love language

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