NaNoWriMo Day #14
[masterlist] [part one]
Trigger warning: depiction of a dissociative episode, misconception concerning the sentience and sapience of a being. Warning for Jason's language and use is Zalgo text
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Jason was... Well, he was a lot of things, but terrified was near the top of the list. He'd seen and experienced a lot of crazy shit since trying to steal the tires off the batmobile, including his own death and revival, but having control of his body forcefully taken from him by what he could only assume was the Lazarus Pit was by far the most insane and terrifying thing he'd ever experienced. Not even the Joker had made him feel this hopeless, he'd still been able to run his mouth then, but this? This was like sitting in the driver's seat of a high-tech hyper realistic RC car, frantically stepping on all the pedals, pressing all the buttons, flicking all the switches, and trying with all your might to crank the steering wheel, and all of it doing jack shit. You're stuck watching out the windshield as the car goes flying across the haphazard track, your seatbelt is locked, the doors don't even open from the inside, and nothing you do makes a damn difference as someone else takes you for a joyride.
Of course, he's the fucking Red Hood, he wasn't gonna let the Pit just do whatever the fuck it wants, hell no! He'd successfully fought the thing off during the height of his pit madness and homicidal tendencies, there was no fucking way he was gonna let the Pit use him to murder a kid!
"W̸e̷ ̴d̷o̴ ̵n̵o̵t̷ ̵m̸u̵r̷d̴e̵r̶ ̵c̵h̴i̸l̸d̶r̷e̵n̶!̷" Came a voice from inside his head. It was unlike anything he'd ever heard, like a gestalt of different voices from all different walks of life. Time seemed to be endlessly slow as he/it/they screeched a war cry and took off.
"Oh yeah? Why the fuck are we charging the kid, then?!" Jason yelled back. It was weird, his voice was both echoey and soundless at the same time. He didn't like it.
"H̸e̶ ̴i̵s̶ ̴c̶h̴i̷l̷d̶/̸i̶n̶f̴a̸n̴t̵/̵l̸o̴n̴e̷l̴y̷/̴k̷i̸n̸g̷.̵ ̵H̴e̴ ̶i̷s̴ ̶U̸n̵C̸l̶a̵i̸m̸e̶d̶.̶ ̵H̴e̶ ̸i̶s̶ ̵O̶u̵r̷s̷ ̸n̵o̷w̴.̴" As the Pit said that, Jason watched through green tinted vision as the Pit disarmed the goon, extracted the kid, and outright threw the goon into the wall to the side of them. As soon as the goon was out of the way, the Pit adjusted the kid so they were cradling him, and suddenly Jason was drowning in overwhelmingly foreign feelings of comfort/safety/claimed/calm/peace/safe as distinctly nonhuman sounds came from their mouth.
He'd like to say he'd managed to claw his way out from under the flood of emotion by himself, but that'd be a lie, and he tried not to lie to himself too often. It was the sound of a sudden, sharp, almost adorable little frustrated chirp the kid let out that let him breach the surface and actually think again. "What the hell was that?" Jason asked. If his consciousness needed to breathe, he'd be gasping right about then.
"H̴e̷ ̸w̵a̶s̷ ̵p̶a̵n̵i̷c̵k̶i̷n̵g̵.̶ ̵W̵e̸ ̴r̶e̸s̵p̵o̷n̵d̶e̸d̴ ̴a̵p̶p̶r̶o̶p̴r̸i̶a̷t̵e̷l̵y̵.̸ ̷W̸e̷ ̸a̸p̷o̶l̸o̶g̵i̶z̶e̴ ̶f̷o̵r̷ ̷s̸m̴o̴t̴h̸e̵r̵i̷n̷g̸ ̴a̶ ̶p̴a̷r̸t̷ ̵o̸f̴ ̸U̴s̷.̵" The Pit sounded genuinely apologetic, but he wasn't sure he trusted it. Their head turned and Jason saw the rest of the Bats arrayed in wary stances, with Damian taking the lead. He said something about wanting to check on the kid in their arms, but that they could keep hold of him. He could see how much B wanted to protest that, but a sharp gesture from the kid silenced that Bat. "W̴e̴ ̵d̸o̵ ̷n̶o̶t̶ ̷k̷n̵o̷w̷ ̶t̵h̸e̸ ̶o̷n̷e̶s̵ ̶b̵e̶h̶i̴n̶d̷ ̴u̵s̵.̴ ̸A̸ ̶p̵a̶r̵t̴ ̷o̸f̴ ̶U̴s̸ ̵d̷o̵e̴s̶.̸ ̷C̶a̷n̷ ̷W̴e̷ ̷t̸r̶u̶s̵t̸ ̴O̵u̶r̷s̶ ̴w̵i̴t̸h̵ ̴t̸h̵e̴m̵?̸"
Jason thought about the question for a bit. He was fairly certain, as long as Damian was the one taking the lead, they'd be fine. Since Bruce was letting the kid take point, Tim was more likely to follow along, and Dick would only jump the gun if the kid looked injured or terrified out of his mind, which he was neither. In fact, the kid was making some of the cutest fucking noises he'd ever heard, nevermind they didn't have any right coming from a very human looking kid. "We should be good, so long as the baby bird is in control, he seems to grasp the situation better than the rest," he finally replied.
"V̶e̸r̴y̸ ̵w̵e̴l̸l̶.̸ ̸W̶e̸ ̸w̷i̶l̴l̷ ̴t̵r̵u̷s̶t̷ ̷t̷h̵e̵ ̶B̸a̴b̵y̶ ̶B̵i̶r̶d̵,̵ ̶a̸s̷ ̴p̶a̶r̵t̵ ̷o̶f̷ ̸U̶s̴ ̵c̶a̸l̴l̴s̵ ̶H̷i̵m̶.̸" They slowly turned around, the kid held protectively within their arms, though visible enough for the Bats to be able to determine he was okay.
They all stared at each other, waiting for someone to make the first move. Jason was getting ready to make a sarcastic comment about the stalemate when the kid spoke up. "Hey, so, uh, I'm Danny, it's nice to meet you all."
Oh shit. How could a teenager be so adorable? "I have never thought of a kid as adorable, what the fuck?"
"H̴e̴ ̷i̵s̷ ̸O̵u̶r̸s̵.̵ ̶H̵e̴ ̶i̸s̶ ̶C̶l̷a̶i̴m̶e̵d̷ ̷b̵y̸ ̵U̴s̶.̴ ̵H̵e̶ ̶w̶i̴l̸l̶ ̶a̶l̷w̸a̷y̸s̶ ̶b̸e̴ ̷a̴d̶o̴r̷a̶b̸l̵e̵ ̷t̵o̶ ̶U̸s̴,̸ ̵e̴v̴e̵n̷ ̶t̶o̶ ̴a̷ ̵p̴a̶r̸t̸ ̷o̷f̴ ̵U̸s̸ ̵t̸h̵a̵t̸ ̸i̷s̶ ̷n̵o̶t̴ ̶o̷f̷ ̶U̶s̴.̴"
Wait. "Did you adopt him? What if he has parents! We can't just adopt random kids!"
"W̴e̶ ̵d̶i̴d̴ ̶n̴o̶t̶ ̷s̴e̵e̸ ̷a̸n̴y̷ ̴P̶a̴r̶e̶n̷t̸s̴.̴ ̷W̴e̵ ̸o̸n̷l̷y̷ ̴s̵a̷w̷ ̷H̶i̸m̴.̶ ̶H̵e̶ ̴w̴a̴s̴ ̴U̵n̴C̷l̸a̷i̸m̵e̴d̸,̵ ̷n̷o̷w̵ ̶H̸e̵ ̷i̶s̵ ̸C̶l̷a̴i̷m̸e̸d̶.̷ ̶I̷t̵ ̵i̵s̷ ̴f̴a̴i̵r̶.̶" The Pit was being far too cheeky. It was like the Pit was saying "finders keepers losers weepers". Jason... Wasn't sure how he felt about that, honestly. "A̷n̷d̸ ̷H̸e̵ ̷i̸s̷ ̴n̵o̴t̴ ̴r̷a̴n̶d̶o̴m̴.̸ ̶H̴e̷ ̷i̶s̵ ̸k̸i̸n̷g̵.̶"
Wait, wait, nope, he had to have heard that wrong. "Hold the fucking phone, are you saying he's some kind of royalty? Of what government? His accent sounds Midwestern!"
"H̸e̵ ̷i̴s̴ ̶H̷i̶g̷h̵ ̴K̷i̴n̸g̶ ̸o̶f̷ ̵t̶h̸e̶ ̴I̴n̶f̷i̶n̵i̶t̷e̴ ̶R̴e̶a̸l̶m̸s̷.̵ ̶H̷e̷ ̸i̵s̵ ̴G̵h̵o̴s̵t̸ ̸K̴i̶n̴g̴.̶" The tone with which the Pit spoke of Danny was complicated, though pride and seriousness were prominent. "H̵e̸ ̴i̵s̷ ̴O̶u̵r̶s̶ ̷a̵s̶ ̸W̷e̸ ̴a̴r̴e̷ ̸H̶i̶s̷.̸"
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"Hey, so, uh, I'm Danny, it's nice to meet you all."
The teen in Jason's the Pit creature's arms was remarkably calm, in Damian's opinion. He'd seen many people bathe in the Lazarus Pit come back not right, not themselves, enough to have an idea of how to handle this thing that took his brother's body as its own. Admittedly, this creature was among the most tame he'd ever seen or heard of, though, he never thought someone could become a Pit creature years after bathing in the Pit's waters, either, so perhaps that wasn't saying much.
Damian refocused and gave the older teen a small smile. "Hello, Danny, are you alright? You've had a rather stressful day, haven't you?" He needed to figure out a way to get Danny away from the Pit creature without provoking it. He had no idea how long it would stay reasonable and he didn't want to chance Danny getting hurt by what was once his brother.
Danny let out a snort. That... Wasn't the response he was expecting. "Honestly, the past week was significantly worse, this was nothing. This was almost expected, honestly. No, yeah, I'm doing pretty well now that Goony McGoonface over there isn't trying to use me as a meat shield anymore." The creature let out a short screech, and Danny glanced up at it, face contemplative, almost confused for a second, before understanding flashed across his features. He then let out a few chirps that, to Damian, sounded almost like he was asking for clarification for something. The creature responded with a trill and a few chirps of its own. Danny nodded and turned to look back at Damian with a slightly apologetic expression. "Um, he said you can come closer, Robin. He trusts you not to hurt me, but the others will have to stay back for now. Something about you being vouched for? I guess?"
He wasn't sure what to make of that, but Damian could work with this. He nodded before either of his brothers could argue, silently grateful his father was following his lead like he'd asked. "Thank you for passing along the message, I will gladly take you up on that. How close may I get?"
Danny turned to the creature again as it tilted its head in thought before chirping something at Danny that caused his eyes to widen. Danny trilled a question back, the mental impression of a disbelieving, "Really?" strong enough Damian could have sworn he'd actually heard it instead of imagining it. The creature repeated the trill back with a few chirps at the end and Danny's eyes widened further as he turned to look back at Damian. "You, uh, you can get as close as you'd like, he says he remembers you, now. You must have made a good impression, I wouldn't have thought he'd let anyone near me for the next hour, at least."
Well then. That was significantly closer than Damian had expected based on previous experiences with Pit creatures. What did Danny mean, the creature remembered him, though? How could it remember him? "Thank you again, both of you," Damian said as he started forward, being careful not to move too quickly or make any sudden movements. The closer he got to the two of them, the more he started to notice a deep rumble and slightly higher purr coming from the two he was approaching. They seemed to resonate within his own chest, touching at something he'd never noticed was tense and on constant alert until it started relaxing at the interaction. It made him just the slightest bit less hesitant at getting closer to the two of them.
It was only when he was within reach of the creature that he realized that something in his chest had started buzzing, an answering purr that startled him enough for him to pause in his tracks. That... He'd never... What? His purr hitched at his disjointed thoughts. The Pit creature slowly sat down, shifted a suddenly worried looking Danny to sit on its lap, and carefully extended an arm in Damian's direction. His purring hitched again at the movement, and the rumbling shifted in tone slightly. Somehow, the rumble seemed to draw his purr into harmony with it and the other purr, which Damian was starting to suspect was Danny's. The Pit creature chirped softly, and somehow, Damian understood it this time. "Baby bird. It's okay. You're okay. You're safe."
It—the Pit—Jason—Damian took a quick moment to sign back to his father that he had a plan he didn't, he didn't need one, either before diving into the being's arms. He'd been wrong, this wasn't a Pit creature like he'd assumed, and he could only be glad he'd said nothing about his previous assumptions aloud.
He'd only ever heard hushed rumors about it, but once, a long time ago, near the beginning of his grandfather's reign as the Demon's Head, there had been a being who'd bathed in the Lazarus Waters and came out not less than they had been, but more. They had still been themselves, they had still been healed like others before them, they'd just also become the avatar of the Waters in the process. They'd been honored by many, hailed as a great protector and given many titles as thanks, though his grandfather had apparently taken exception to someone else having such an elevated position. His grandfather had killed the being and destroyed all mentions of them as he could, even going so far as to ban talk of them. But thoughts and ideas cannot be bound, and there were those who still revered the being more than his grandfather, even within his own League.
Somehow, Jason, his brother, had become the next Avatar of the Waters. His brother was still there. His brother wasn't dead again. He held back his sobs as he let out his own quiet trill. "You're still here."
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WOW. Didn't expect I'd be able to write this sequel any time soon! Well, surprise, dp×dc week has provided the prompts I needed to write a number of my more requested sequels! ✧\(>o<)ﾉ✧
Good news, I'm feeling better today than I have this entire week lol hopefully this continues through the rest of the week, right? (^～^;)ゞ
If anyone thinks I missed a trigger warning for this ficlet, PLEASE let me know! I've tried my best to cover all the ones I thought might be an issue, but I'm not the most knowledgeable on what topics can be triggering yet (´-﹏-`；) I want my readers to know what they're getting into before they get into it, y'know?
Thank you all so much for your patience! I've got some people who asked to be tagged when I wrote the sequel, so hopefully I got them all! @stealingyourbones, @ghoststoneguard, @meira-3919, @onyxlightdragon, @gatorgoose, @rainbowbunny0159, @jarlyd, here's the update y'all asked to be tagged in! Hope you liked it ಡ ͜ ʖ ಡ
