Arsenal - Blog Posts
Arrow-Family
You’re Not Dating a Kid!... Actually This Might Be Worse by heytheresunshine
Ride or Die and Beyond
Jason Todd, at 15, panicked and tired, didn't know what to make of the situation he was in.
Jason Todd, at 13, was oblivious to his best friend, who was, by all means, just as much of a medical professional as Leslie. That totally wasn't concerning.
Oblivious to how he'd always have a copy of Pride and Prejudice on hand whenever Jason was feeling stressed. Oblivious to dancing shadows and tricks of the light that lead him to hidden clues at crime scenes. But he was aware of the promise to be each other's ride or die when they had to beat up older Gotham Academy students that tried bashing them for not being from rich families.
Jason Todd, at 15, was aware that changed when it was his turn to tend to his friend who got a high fever. He had Alfred rush them to Leslie's and stuck by his side because he knew his friend was afraid of hospitals and needles. He held his friend's hand tight and squeezed to remind him that he was there.
They made jokes about how they couldn't avoid each other even in death. That's when it becomes Ride or Die and Beyond. Then he died. Screaming for his friend and for his dad. Jason Todd, at 15, has never failed to grasp that he couldn't get rid of his friend even if he wanted to. It was fucking annoying... and endearing.
----
Danny Fen Nightingale, at 15, never thought he'd be fighting back an assassin lady with a shovel in front of his best friend's grave. He's been feeling off for months. His grief over his friend felt... wrong? Something was happening. No, something was bound to happen. He couldn't explain it until a green sticky note told him to take a little walk down memory lane within Gotham. He dug up some flowers he was growing and stopped by a tool shop to get a bigger shovel to get the flowers closer to his best friend. As close as they could. But someone beat him there. Someone new? No, he knew this feeling. The unknown, the feeling that someone was watching whenever he visited. He failed to crack her upside the head for attending without flowers. But he felt the shift, somethi- time, time decided to set things right. ---- Talia was caught between a sense of shock and pride that the friend of her beloved's ward nearly got the jump on her. She wouldn't deny that it was within her expectation, though. The boy's steps were so light, she would've been hit if he wielded with less drag, something lighter. With the way the boy dodged and weave from her blows, she was ecstatic to see a dagger in his hands. Is this how the boy felt when he slipped out of here mentioning a 2 for one deal? It was only after her beloved's ward crawled out of his grave that the boy let his guard down so slightly while blocking her off from him. The boy lasted without her training. She was sure he had training of some kind, and yet his form was lax. So nimble, so adaptable.
Of course, she made quick work of the two and covered their tracks before making her escape.
Were her maternal instincts activating again? ----
She wasn't sure how to define her relationship with Danyal. The boy has finally seen the effort to correct her and Damien as pointless after months of being here. Yet, he's displayed a strength she hasn't seen in knocking down her father and dragging him through a brighter glowing Lazarus pit for "paperwork". She may not be sure of what or where her father was, but Danyal has ensured his good health with a devilish grin and that he never laid another hand on him. She was positive he was being tortured in a way the soft-hearted boy deemed fitting. But was he another son? He didn't seem opposed to the idea after her insistence to be trained and grimaced at being in a room with them for too long as he said they stink. He visits 3-4 times a week to ensure her beloved's war- Jason was good in his recovery.
She found herself agreeing with Jason less and less as the boy began turning red after they shared the night he was first back in his right mind crying and holding the other close. But Jason assures her that he's just his best friend... Maybe Danyal couldn't be her son. But he could be her son-in-law.
She wasn't against that.
She also wasn't against the glances she shared more often with Damien as two interacted. They grew closer in discussion of how Danyal fell first, but Jason was falling harder. Then there was this Roy character she's been hearing about more. She couldn't wait to take pleasure in Jason's reaction of his love interests assassinating the so-called Prince of Crime. It warmed her heart that they involved her in strategizing and cleaning up. They also seemed to be reaching a similar affection.
Now she and Damien just need to get Jason to realize he has two boyfriends. Oh, the struggle of motherhood.
Ok so, I’ve been getting into reading Green Arrow n Titans comics cuz most of my faves are there (Arsenal, Black Canary, Starfire, Raven, etc etc) BUT I was rereading the latest Green Arrow series and I noticed something
This scene is from the Rise of Arsenal series, where Roy has to deal with losing an arm and his daughter. BUT i’m like so sure that Cry for Justice was retconned away with the new 52 or rebirth, mostly cuz Roy just has his arm back and a newer backstory in both the new 52 and rebirth (ik for sure in rebirth but idk for sure in the new 52) so how does he get his arm back??? Again I am just getting into the comics but I genuinely dunno how he got his arm back (my theory was that it was infinite frontier where he came back from the dead but I thought it was because of his death in sanctuary where, again, HE HAD BOTH ARMS🗣️) Someone please help, cuz when I tried googling it all I got was the Young Justice TV show explanation ☹️
Estonia
The Outlaw Trio(Jason, Roy, and Misha) are lazing about Misha's apartment. Jason is on the couch, Roy is sprawled out on the chair, and Misha is laying on her own kitchen island.
Roy: "Hey, Mish?"
Misha, watching a pot of water, waiting for it to boil: "Yes?"
Roy: "You said you were born in Gotham, but you speak Estonian really better than anything and said you lived there most of your life?"
Misha, honestly kinda tired and not thinking: "Oh, yeah, I was kidnapped as a baby and raised in Estonia on a cult compound."
Jason, thinking she's joking: "Was it cold?"
Misha, who is absolutely telling the truth but knows that's a whole other can of worms: "Very."
Roy and Jason, still not realizing she's telling the truth: begin laughing
Extra 1
The First Night
The night was warm, no clouds in the sky and you could almost forget the terrible weather of the days before. But the ones that live the same lives as me, don't have time to admire the sky. We are rushing, trying to survive.
I was not at my best, I had bruises, scrapes, and cuts all over my body, my clothes were torn and stained with mud and blood, one ankle was probably sprained, my stomach was roaring with hunger and I felt that at any moment I would faint, but I had promised my companions that I would get something good to eat.
And that's what I did, that was my priority. My backpack was full of sweet bread, some snacks, and energy bars that I was able to steal with a lot of effort from some stores before entering that pharmacy. My ankle was really slowing me down.
I needed some things to at least keep the deeper wounds from getting infected. The streets were a little busier than usual, which made my tasks a little easier. But I was worried that some villain was attacking near the place because the heroes could pass in front of me at any moment.
That's what I was thinking as I searched the aisles for some bandages and hydrogen peroxide. I could tell I didn't belong there, the hallways were white, clean, and neat, smelling of medicine and disinfectant.
When a family entered the place, going directly to the cashier to ask for some product, I knew it was my chance to run away, I took the things I was checking, put them in my backpack, and ran towards the entrance, making the alarms start ringing. But I didn't care and crossed the street without looking both ways, causing a motorcycle to almost run me over, luckily it seemed the guy in the red helmet knew how to drive well.
I would have apologized to the driver if it wasn't for the guy who started yelling at me to return the things I stole, and I started running again.
"Somebody catch her," I managed to hear when I was already reaching the beginning of an alley, where luckily I would lose sight of those people.
To my bad luck, the guy on the bike got off and started to follow me. Being taller than me, he was also faster.
Some stairs a few meters away from me would be my best way out, so as I could I climbed up to the roof of the building. But that man was on my heels.
I started jumping from rooftop to rooftop, climbing the stairs to the tallest buildings, and jumping over the narrow alleys, without my usual agility for obvious reasons. And when I noticed that I had nowhere to go because below me there was a street crossing, the place where I was standing was too high, and the boy was quite close to me, I was forced to face him.
"Please, let me go. I'll return everything, but don't call the police" I said, it was better for my friends to go without food for another day than to lose the person who got them that food. When the light finally hit my companion's face, I noticed he was still wearing the red helmet.
"I'm not calling anyone, but where are your parents?" he said, slowly approaching me.
"My mother, dead. And hopefully my father too" I replied trying to give as little information as possible.
"Orphan, okay. So...are you staying in an orphanage?" he asked, still walking towards me.
"Yes" when he was a few steps away from me, I brought my hands up to the frayed straps of my backpack, holding them out to prevent him from taking it off at any moment.
"What do you have in there?" he asked, kneeling down on one knee and standing almost level with me, and held out his hand as a signal for me to open my bag and reveal its contents. I turned back, and again to face him.
"None of your business," I said, trying to sound confident and ignore the cold night breeze. I tightened the straps of the bag even more.
"I asked for a reason" the boy replied, although I couldn't see his face, I could tell he was smiling. He got up and tried again to get closer, but I could not afford to have the enemy close and with more advantage, so I tried to take a step back, unfortunately, under my feet there was nothing. Apparently, the person in front of me noticed that I would rather fall than have him close, so he stopped and spoke again.
"No, no, don't go back, I'll stay here. See?" he started again, but how could I trust him if he was still wearing his helmet?
I finally gave myself a chance to take a good look at my companion. Red helmet, brown leather jacket, and a gray t-shirt clinging to his torso with a red bat on his chest, before I could come to a conclusion, I saw that he was wearing a gun on each side. This one definitely worked with Batman, not up close like Robin.
"You're definitely not Batman, so who are you?" I asked before the silence became awkward.
"If I tell you my name, do you promise to tell me yours?" he replied.
"I don't promise anything," I said.
"I'm Red Hood, and all I want to do is get you to the orphanage so you can be safe" his answer didn't give me much, obviously he wasn't going to give me his civilian name.
"I'm Jane, and I know the way to that place that is not even close to being an orphanage" I answered looking around for some stairs to go down to the street and withdraw from there to finish with the interrogation.
"Why are you so hurt?" he asked.
"It's none of your business either" I replied, giving up on my search for a way out.
"Is that why you were at the drugstore?" he asked trying to get closer once again.
"No" I replied dryly.
"Don't think I didn't notice you limping as you ran over here" he said. I didn't have much choice, if I really wanted to get out of there I had to act and fast. "I can help you, but only if you let me."
"I don't want your help" after what he had gone through the previous days he should know better than to trust anyone, or accept help from anyone. "I can manage on my own"
"And I'm sure you can, but if you really hurt your ankle it will be hard to get home without falling a couple of times" he insisted, holding out his hand again.
Seeing that I didn't say anything was probably his cue to do something to gain my trust. His hands went to the helmet to remove it, and although I could see his face, I could not see his eyes, as they were covered by a domino mask, at least something was something.
"Fine," I said finally. I had to hurry back to the orphanage before one of the caretakers noticed my presence and punished me again, but if I didn't want to worry my friends, let alone my brother, I had to heal at least most of the wounds.
I took a few steps forward still doubting the person in front of me.
I put my backpack in front of me, slowly opened the zipper, and began to take out the bandages I had taken from the pharmacy. From the look on the boy's face, it was to be expected that he would want me to take everything out, just to check that I wasn't carrying any medicines or tools that could kill someone. I took out the antiseptics, the pain pills, and some ointments to cure scrapes, burns, and cuts. Underneath all that and still in the bag, small boxes of cereal, cereal bars, and two instant soups, and a bottle of water. I let him check and let him think it was just a few late-night snacks.
I didn't let him check any further, because at the bottom were my personal things.
"It's personal," I told him, closing the backpack before he started questioning me further.
"You have some cuts on your face, I'll start there and finish with your ankle, let me know if you feel I'm invading your personal space."
"It's okay," I said, sitting down on the floor. He moved a little closer to me.
From one of the many pockets of his belt, he pulled out a small bottle with a clear liquid and a piece of cotton. He soaked the cotton and brought his hand slowly to my cheek, seeing the doubt on my face he paused and explained. His hand was covered with a black glove, which would probably make the contact less uncomfortable for me.
"I need to clean the wound," he said, "it is only an antibacterial, then I can apply the ointment" he finished explaining, and finally he lightly pressed the cotton against a cut I had on my cheek, and I instantly tried to move away again. "I know it burns, if you want you can hold my hand and squeeze it if it burns too much" he raised his other hand, also covered by a glove, and I held it between mine.
He continued to clean my face wounds for a while, when he finished, he threw the cotton on the floor and took out another piece.
"Do you have any other wounds on your arms?" he asked, soaking the cotton wool again.
"A scrape on my elbow," I said in a whisper, every minute with him I was losing a little more of my confidence and the adrenaline I had escaping from the pharmacy, making sleep, tiredness, and pain begin to win me over, I closed my eyes for a moment, but I needed to be alert for anything, how long had it been since I slept well?
"I need you to take off your sweatshirt, I would say just roll up your sleeve, but you will hurt yourself more," he said looking me directly in the eyes, or so I thought because of the mask and the white spaces in his eyes didn't let me see.
I didn't want to take off my sweatshirt, the night was cold, and my t-shirt was torn and dirty. But the constant rubbing of the fabric against my scrape made that my only option.
Minutes later he was already applying the ointment, for that he had taken off his glove. I could tell he was nervous, he had probably never healed someone's wounds before or he didn't want to hurt me anymore.
A breeze caused me to shiver, something my companion noticed.
"I don't have any band-aids for the scrape, so I'd better put a piece of the bandage on your elbow so you can put on your sweater," he said, opening the package of bandages I stole.
"Okay," I replied, after yawning, already giving in to sleep. "Why are you doing this?" I asked, trying to ignore the dream.
"Because you remind me so much of me," he said, finishing covering my elbow with the bandage. "The ankle will be the hard part" he began to say, more to himself.
Not realizing I was still holding his hand, I leaned against his shoulder, closing my eyes and letting my mind rest a little.
Masterlist
Princess of Gotham
Chapter 25: Truths & Problems
50 minutes passed in total peace. Or as close to peace as possible. Olive handed me back my thermos, asking me where I had been, I replied with a sign to tell her later. Sure she would scold me but what was done was done. It's not like I had a friend with a magical time travel device, no sir.
The teacher was obnoxious, if it wasn't for the fact that my grandfather had great respect for that lady, she would be dead by now. My brother, who also had classes with her, said that she would be more demanding with me in the coming years, and who told my brother that I was going to continue studying in that horrible school?
The only thing that made me happy in those moments was to have the lovely thermos full of coffee, or half full, the point is that I had coffee and that was the good thing. Before the last change of
"Miss Jane Pasley Wayne, report to the principal's office," was heard throughout the halls of the school.
"What did you do now?" she asked quietly, rather angrily.
"Let's say I broke someone's nose," I replied simply, before getting up and heading down the hallway, which was completely quiet, except for the teachers leaving or the shouts of students asking for extra points. The secretary, who was clearly not there because she wanted to be, told me to enter with a simple nod of her head.
The principal's office was a huge room, with a neat wooden desk, a huge bookcase behind the chair, it was very well lit. In front of his desk were two smaller chairs, and in one of them was Angella, with a cloth in her hand, trying to stop the blood from coming out of her nose. I couldn't help but smile when I saw her angry face.
"She did it, professor. She broke my nose," the girl began to scream, as I approached the second chair.
"First of all, good afternoon," I said to the principal as formally as I could, sitting down as Bruce had taught me, raising the Wayne mask that Grandpa had taught us to wear in public and with influential people.
"Good afternoon, Miss Wayne. I'm sorry about this whole situation," he said, as kindly as he could, and then looked at my companion." Unfortunately, Miss Wilson, there is nothing to incriminate her. The camera in that hallway was turned off, probably a technical situation, or some student broke it by accident. But without proof, we can't report it," The principal was young, a few years younger than Bruce, we always addressed him as a teacher. He was the reason I wanted my father to stay off the phones.
Jason was not considered my tutor by the school, as he was hardly ever home and it was usually Bruce who answered for me, but there were times when, for some reason, my father would be called and he would answer.
"But it was her, she whipped me against the sink and the toilet bowl." Until that moment I hadn't noticed the energy Angella was emanating.
"Professor, you know that my relationship with my classmate is not on good terms, in fact, we have rarely spoken even though we share classes," I began to speak when I noticed that Angella was about to start shouting, "But why would I feel the need to hit her, knowing that I would get into trouble with you and my grandfather?
"You always get into trouble," my companion replied, her anger showing several meters away. From one moment to the next, she grabbed my wrist with an enormous force: "Confess," she looked me in the eyes. My mind went blank for a few moments.
"I hit her in the girls' bathroom in the hallway from the third-grade classrooms to the cafeteria. I spoke without even thinking about it, it was as if my shadow, a dense and completely black cloud, had covered my mind and when I became aware of what I had done, I got out of his grip as fast as I could.
"Miss Wayne, I will have to call your grandfather or your father so that we can solve this situation," said the headmaster, standing up to go to my file, where my tutor's number was.
"My grandfather is very busy today, last I heard he had some very important meetings, I don't think I want to bother him with this," I told him, trying to convince him to call my father, who would have to stay away from his cell phone if Roy loved me as much as he said he did.
Angella was still standing next to me, pretending to cry and trying to stop the blood from running from her nose. The principal grimaced and then told me he would call my father.
"Mr. Todd?" the principal asked as soon as the call was answered, "I need your presence at Gotham Academy, your daughter is in trouble again." Yes, again.
In previous years I would have been depressed, thinking that with so much trouble I was causing the Wayne's would come to the point where they would abandon me on the street again, but now, after all, I had lived through, I felt I could survive without them, I didn't care so much anymore.
Half an hour passed, Angella was still crying in her chair, still with the tissue in her hand, the director was trying to comfort her and I was just amusing myself by tying knots with a rubber band I was wearing on my wrist. At one point in that horrible boredom, the office door was slammed, revealing a red-haired man with green ink tattoos.
"Sorry, I'm late, there's a protest a few streets down. And there's a villain causing havoc near Wayne Enterprises. You know the traffic that goes on in these situations." Roy Harper, you saved me, you deserve the title of my favorite uncle.
"I understand the situation, just as I understand that Mr. Todd has sent you instead, don't I?" At last, something was going my way, and the stupid principal had to ruin it.
"Yes and no. Actually, Jaybird sent me for the brat and Olive Wayne. I got..." Roy started digging through his pants pockets. If my father took me out of school it was because he really needed my help against that villain Roy mentioned," Ah, here it is. I have a copy of Jay's ID, a signed message from him, a prescription for Olive that Dick gave me, according to him it says paracetamol, unfortunately, I never learned Ancient Greek; a message from Bruce Wayne and... An audio where they scold me for not hurrying."
"There is no need to play the audio. The copy of the ID and the message will be more than enough." It would be assumed that being a prestigious school, in a city with a high crime rate, there should be more secure when letting a student go with a stranger. "But let me tell you that there will be sanctions against Jane, this will not stay that way.
"I understand perfectly well Principal, although you still haven't told me what happened, as I told you, we are in a hurry." Jane, you will be without a phone for a week, now go get your things and let your cousin know, we are getting the hell out of this prison.
As soon as he said that I got up from my seat, gave a little nod to the headmaster, and went to my classroom. I checked my wristwatch to see roughly what class Oli might be in. If the class was outside the classroom, I wouldn't have time to go find her and let her know. It was better if I texted her later. If the class was in the classroom, I would have to submit to an interrogation by the teacher on duty.
Before I got to my classroom I bumped into Jared, and before he asked I yelled out that I would see him in the afternoon. The room was completely empty, I didn't stop to think and advanced to my seat so I could put my things away, grabbed the thermos Tim gave me, and ran back to the principal's office, ignoring the signs that said: "No running in the halls".
I would let Oli know on the way. The important thing now was to know the reason for my departure. Before arriving with the principal, Roy intercepted me, saying that he had already "settled" things with the gentleman. He also said that we should leave quickly, as my father was waiting for us.
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