do people realise that being disabled in a community of other disabled people that you will know someone who was killed or assaulted or abused for being disabled? hell even if you aren't disabled and you just exist in society. my friend's cousin was a little person and got attacked in the street for no fucking reason and died. if you talk to people with disabled family members you'll hear the same sort of stories over and over again. and people are getting way too comfortable these days dismissing ableism as just some sort of rhetoric. like "yeah it's bad optics to say it but-" and go on to say autistic people are really annoying or mobility aids take up too much space or scars really scare them so they should be covered or some other shit like. get a grip. it's not revolutionary or "saying what we're all thinking" by being ableist. that's actually the norm.
No thoughts just retired!gaz teaching self-defense classes to pass the time, right?
Something to keep him busy and away from more dangerous pass times, a way to help people even when he's off the field. Gaz believes self-defense is the most important thing you can learn, Something he tells you himself on your first day.
Gaz makes it his life goal to teach you when he's within those four walls. You and your whole class go from helpless to able to disarm a grapple by the end of the course. For many, that's enough, but gaz wants to go the extra mile. Teaches you how to handle bigger opponents, or ones with specialized backgrounds, ones with weapons.
You never thought you'd actually have to use your training, at least not so soon.
You're barely two blocks from the studio when you notice him. A man following you. Has been for a while, and dammit the streets are basically empty and you don't have an escape and—
A hand grabs your shoulder, big and gloved and you don't think before reacting. Don't wait for the scorpion to sting you, kyle had said.
So you don't, you slam your elbow back until you hear a pained grunt, turn around and knee the asshole in the dick. Giant, masked, all black clothes. He doubles over with a groan.
You don't hear the footsteps when you reach into your bag for pepperspray until a familiar hand is wrapping around your wrist, and you jerk your head up to see Kyle's wide eyes "woah! What, wait a second."
He turns to the man now having stood back up, but keeping his distance "simon! What the actual fuck?!"
The man, simon, takes a steadying breath before holding your phone out to you "you dropped this outside the studio....strong kick. Good form."
...kyle bursts out laughing.
Of course ghost, in all his wisdom, would think it perfectly fine to follow a stranger in the middle of the night and grab them silently to return a phone. Of course he would, that dumbass.
The whole time kyle is laughing you're desperately apologizing to ghost, only to get flustered when gaz tells you not to apologize and he absolutely deserved it.
"Hey. Consider it extra training." He chuckles, grinning "I'm inviting simon to the studio tomorrow for training on a bigger opponent."
So you'll have to see him again. The guy you just kicked in the dick.
....you wonder if there's a hole nearby to crawl into.
Seems pretty obvious to even mention. But I appreciated the way the Pitt approached the details of the rape case, and I think I’m probably not alone in that. We hear the very beginning of her story, we see her conflict later over it (“he’s my friend” “he didn’t mean it”) and we see Dana and Emma’s reactions, but we the viewers are not privy to the rest of her account. We aren’t welcome to listen in, we aren’t expected to sit through a graphic description of sexual assault. It’s a very deliberate choice from a show that has no problem showing us birth scenes with extended genital-focused sequences, and tackling issues like possible CSA and human trafficking head on. And we do see, with great deliberation and steady pacing, the rest of the examination Dana does on the patient. But the survivor’s story is her own. It’s reserved for her and for the minimum number of people who have to hear it. It shows WHY, for all its gore and punch, the Pitt is not a show that goes in for shock value. It is unwilling to participate in the use of women’s traumatic experiences for horror points in a given plot. This is a story about Dana, and what it means to be a nurse in an ER- we don’t need to know the patient’s story to understand Dana’s reaction, and the way that this case is a placeholder for what Dana and other SANEs go through regularly.
Note: For this to make sense, I highly recommend that you've read:
Chapter 1.0 (overview & context)
Chapter 1.1 (the player experience)
Chapter 1.2 (billeting & school)
NTDP connections, military-edition
"Players are taught that from the moment they join the NTDP, they are representing the United States of America, at home, at school and abroad, 24 hours a day.” - NTDP website x
The crest: “The 13 red and white stripes reflect those on the United States flag.” x
stick tap at the end of every national anthem x
The Russia armed guards story: 'Another item that left an impression...was playing in the Six Nations Tournament in Russia. "There were German Shepherds, armed guards and it was creepy," Leopold said. "We had one phone in the whole place to call home every night." Leopold said they drank bottled water because they were told to not drink the tap water. Political protesters met players at the game and held signs that read, "Get out of Iraq" and "Go home Americans. Our eyes are on you." And there were more armed guards surrounding the rink.' x
You know the iconic win song? "OH MAMA, DON'T YOU CRY" (example: WJC 2025 Ryan Leonard x, 2024 Rutger McGroarty x, 2021 Cam York x)
Well, it's a military cadence call: "Kirk Culik is a cross-training coach and former Marine who’s become a legend with the program since arriving 18 years ago. He’s responsible for the call-and-response military chant Team USA sings in the dressing room." x
They literally sing it while they’re working out, like soldiers. "It’s a chant that the players learn during their training sessions, spat out like the shout-and-repeat songs heard during basic training." x
NTDP’a list of corporate partnerships includes Army National Guard & United States Air Force. x
USA Hockey Arena (remember, "the purpose of the hockey arena is to provide a wholly owned home for the National Team Development Program" x) has giant letters for AIRFORCE.COM plastered around the arena:
NTDP's power play is called the "U.S. Air Force Power Play." x
Side note: there’s a funny old video where the NTDP started using a training aid used by the Air Force...and there was just endless slides of different fighter jets for way longer than one would think necessary for, you know, a hockey video. x
Origins of the NTDP
From "Inside stories behind the start of the United States National Team Development Program": x
An overall lack of international success forced USA Hockey to confront why it was struggling to even reach the podium, let alone win tournaments. [...] He knew from personal experience, having coached the USA at the 1995 World Juniors, where the team struggled due to a lack of continuity between players. [...]
DeGregorio said Jackson came up with the concept that became the NTDP. Jackson presented USA Hockey with a plan: They would take the strongest American male talents between 16 and 18 years old and develop them into players who could excel at the next level. Jackson said doing "it the right way" meant hiring a staff that could recruit players, find billet families (local families who players live with) and enroll the teenagers in high school. [...]
Jackson said the biggest unknown they faced in creating the NTDP was the number of people who spoke out against the program. "Someone said to me that no one knew what we were doing. That's not true," said Mancini, who is now USA Hockey's assistant executive director of hockey development. "It's not that we didn't know what we were doing. There was just no precedent."
Jackson and his staff heard how the program should be a six-week summer course. Jackson said the only way to make change was if the NTDP were a year-round program with two teams separated by age in the form of a U-17 and a U-18 squad.
Proponents against:
Jackson said there was infighting among different factions of USA Hockey, high school hockey and those at USA Hockey's headquarters who were against doing a year-round program. There were states that held meetings with their high school associations about the NTDP. Herb Brooks, coach of the legendary 1980 U.S. Olympic Team, urged Jackson to not go through with the NTDP. [...]
Mancini said the logic for using Ann Arbor as the home base is that it was centrally located. But he said there were college coaches who felt like the NTDP being in Ann Arbor was a recruiting tool for schools like Michigan and Michigan State.
From How USA Hockey went from failure to hockey factory:
Coming up with a blueprint was hard enough, since no such program existed in hockey. And to this day, Monaghan refers to the NTDP as a pilot program – essentially a pair of all-star teams made up of the best under-17 and under-18 players in the country. [...] “People couldn’t get their arms around what we were trying to do,” Monaghan said. “Those first couple of groups of kids, I call them the pioneers. They took a chance. They took a chance on their own development.”
One of those players was Jordan Leopold. [...] Leopold signed on but then had to deal with the fallout: Minnesotans didn’t take too kindly to having some new team in Michigan poaching the state’s best high school talent.
“It was very controversial at the time,” Leopold said. “I remember being invited on to a radio show to talk about it, me and some veteran media guys. They fed me to the wolves. I was 16.”
A 'funny story' from recruiting:
Jackson said recruiting players came with the challenge of competing against agents, major junior teams or even some colleges that may have wanted a player to develop elsewhere before coming to their school. He remembers when a low-level agent held a party for 16-year-old players at an airport hotel where there were kegs and exotic dancers.
"The one positive thing for me with that airport hotel story is we had a young man, his name was Joe Goodenow on the U-18 team," Jackson said. "His dad was the executive director of the NHLPA and all it took was one phone call and that agent got fired. But there are multiple stories like that. Some are funny and some are not so funny."
USA Hockey
Hiring process (or lack thereof):
'Approximately five months after leaving the Chicago Blackhawks amid sexual assault allegations in June 2010, Brad Aldrich joined USA Hockey as a video coach. [...] Though USA Hockey requires background checks for coaches, the organization did not contact his previous employer to check his references or inquire about the nature of his exit. “We have no records/knowledge of anyone from USA Hockey calling the Blackhawks for references of Brad Aldrich,” USA Hockey said in an email in response to a number of questions about his employment history with the organization.' x
Why would USA Hockey be so quick to hire Brad Aldrich? Well, his uncle, Scott Aldrich, is a beloved long-time equipment manager for the U.S. National team. x
(Side note: Brad Aldrich's father, Mike Aldrich, is the equipment manager for the San Jose Sharks who suggested everyone take their shirts off for the infamous group photo. x x )
Safesport probe in 2020:
May 2020: "USA Hockey president Jim Smith is under investigation by the U.S. Center for SafeSport concerning his handling of allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse by a youth coach." x
"According to the report, Smith was told in 1989 that Chicago-area coach Tom Adrahtas had sexually abused several junior players. Through a spokesperson, USA Hockey acknowledged that Smith, among others, is under investigation for not taking action as a result of that complaint." x
"The matter was closed by SafeSport, but Smith later announced he would not seek re-election, referencing the allegations [...] Smith has since rejoined the organization." x
Safesport probe in 2023:
March 2023: USA Hockey employees 'alerted an accused party of an investigation and provided the accused party information “about the underlying allegation of misconduct” and coordinated communications surrounding the matter.' x
Reid Boucher (NTDP player) assault case:
Note: this story contains information about sexual assault of a minor. Please proceed with caution, or feel free to exit this post since this is the final section of this chapter.
From "What a police report shows USA Hockey knew about ex-NHL player's sex assault case" (excerpts):
-> In 2021, Reid Boucher, a former NHL player, was brought to the attention of police and arrested in a decade-old sexual assault case involving a 12-year-old girl in Ann Arbor.
But back in 2011, USA Hockey removed then-17-year-old Boucher from the scene of the reported assaults — the residence of his USA Hockey National Team Development Program host family, according to an Ann Arbor police report and a USA Hockey spokesman.
The police report suggests Ann Arbor Public Schools had at least enough information to conduct an interview back then. And it shows USA Hockey had a note about that conversation. The report does not indicate that police or Children's Protective Services were called — something USA Hockey spokesman Dave Fischer confirmed Monday.
A USA Hockey program executive, when interviewed by police last year, said he didn't recall the gravity of Boucher's removal from the so-called "billet" home. And Fischer said the school only alerted the program to a girl saying she had a boyfriend on the team, an allegation that, at the time, was deemed to be unfounded.
But the woman believes USA Hockey and Ann Arbor schools should have called police.
"I am so disgusted that the solution was only to remove him," the woman said.
The woman told the Free Press that, back in 2011, Boucher twice pressured her into use of her mouth for oral sexual assaults at the age of 12. A witness told police that she told her stepfather and he, in turn, contacted the USA Hockey team coach, according to the Ann Arbor police report.
Fischer said the girl's school contacted USA Hockey after the school heard that the girl was telling friends she had a boyfriend on the team. The woman recalls that she was pulled from school one day and, by the time she got home, Boucher was gone from the residence.
But the information provided to police by the current assistant executive director of the USA Hockey development program, Scott Monaghan, suggests a counselor did interview a seventh grade student around that time, and that USA Hockey was given a note about it. Monaghan spoke with police multiple times, according to the police report.
The first time, in early April 2021, he said he recalled moving Boucher from the home but said he did not have any recollection of the gravity of the situation, the report showed. He said he'd look for any documentation and contact the program's lawyers about releasing it.
He then called police back later that month and said the only complaint he had after the move was about the house not being cleaned up, the report showed. But he also said he found a note from a middle school counselor about a student with a boyfriend on the hockey team. He sent police a copy.
Fischer said the school conducted an investigation and found nothing. However, he said the program also spoke to Boucher, his parents, and the girl's parents, he said. Despite the finding that nothing happened, he said USA Hockey decided to move proactively.
"We still felt it was the best to remove Reid from the billet home," he said, later adding: "There was never anything of any kind .. that there were any sexual (assault) allegations."
The woman's parents denied that they were ever interviewed.
Boucher was removed from the woman's home around the same time as the notification and interview, the police report indicates. An email included in the report and dated March 16, 2011, discusses picking up "the rest of Reid's stuff."
One witness, believed to be another friend of the woman from back then, and the woman's parents both told police they believed USA Hockey changed a policy regarding housing players following the incident with Boucher. Details of the change were not included in the police report. Fischer said he did not immediately have information on the policy Monday to comment.
The woman said she has to recognize that views and handlings of sex assault has changed, somewhat, since the timing of her incident, a decade ago. But she raised concerns about whether that school counselor was equipped for a trauma-informed handling of a child sex abuse report, and said she feels USA Hockey buried it and should have done more.
From "Ex-NHL player from Michigan gets deal in sex assault case — and survivor is 'disgusted'" (excerpts):
-> Reid Boucher has pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a minor in 2011, when the girl was 12 and he was a 17-year-old in the USA Hockey National Team Development Program. Boucher, 28, pleaded guilty to third-degree criminal sexual conduct involving sexual penetration with an individual between the ages of 13 and 16 years old.
Boucher was originally charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct, which carries a sentence of 25 years to life in prison. However, during the December hearing, Circuit Judge Patrick Conlin agreed to let Boucher enter a plea for the lesser charge and agreed to sentence him with no upfront jail time through the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act, or HYTA. Under HYTA, the case won’t appear on Boucher’s public record if he successfully completes his sentence.
Boucher was the woman’s “billet brother,” she told the Free Press.
Her family served as a host family in Ann Arbor for several members of the USA Hockey development program when it was based there. Boucher was one of them.
His attorney declined to discuss details of the case, but the woman said Boucher quickly became close with her family — much closer than her prior billet brothers, with whom she recalled some awkwardness.
But she said he made her uncomfortable at times, that he played songs with overly sexual lyrics, told her about his sex life, tickled her, roughhoused with her to the point of a bad rug burn, and once took off his shirt and hit her with it to wake her up.
But the worst came when he found videos she had made on her mom's computer of herself dancing and he called her down to the basement, where his bedroom was, she said.
"He just kept giving me the idea that he was going to post them," she said. "He was like, 'I'm going to show everybody.' "
It felt like the end of the world to a 12-year-old who’d grappled with bullying, the woman said. Then the situation escalated, with Boucher showcasing a stash of alcohol in his room, pressuring her to drink, then turning the conversation to sex, all while teasing her, she said.
Ultimately, the now-23-year-old woman said she recalls then-17-year-old Boucher on two occasions pressuring her into the use of her mouth for an oral sexual assault. She said when the first time took place following the discovery of the videos, Boucher coaxed her to continue despite a plea that she wanted to stop, and the second time, on a different date, he pressured her by saying that he would tell people about the prior time.
Boucher was removed from the home and was out by at least mid-March 2011, according to emails contained in the report concerning the collection of his belongings and an issue with a carpet. //
Yandere batfam or justice league with a reader who’s afraid of strong people/men due to a past abusive relationship? She never wants to feel that powerless and weak again so she actively avoids interacting with anyone stronger, bigger, taller any more than necessary. She doesn’t hold it against other ppl she just has a lot of trauma that she’d rather not work through and feel safe in her little bubble
Hit me Hard and Soft
Synopsis: You get saved by Robin, but not everything is as it seems.
Pairing: Yandere!Poly!Romantic!Batboys X Gn!Reader
Tw: All characters aged up, of course; Mentions and descriptions of violence, including physical, psychological, sexual and financial abuse, and Damian fighting criminals (I'm particularly proud of the action scene I wrote); Drugging and being unconscious; Mentions of death of minor characters and suicide; Mentions of past grooming (Reader's ex) and age gap (Reader’s ex, Reader X Bruce, and the batboys age is not mentioned); Implied stalking; Mentions of kidnapping; Reader's very traumatized and weary of everyone; Reader doesn't trust the police; Mention of a panic attack and descriptions of actual panic; Guns and knifes; Mention of cigarettes; Implied needles; English isn't my 1st language.
Requested? Yes.
Extra notes: Wish I had more interactions between Reader and the batboys here, but I'm more than willing to make a part 2 with the right idea.
General masterlist | Hit me Hard and Soft - Series masterlist
He's back again. You wish you could say you didn't know why he always came back, but you did. The food wasn't that great and it wasn't that close to where he told you he worked or lived. It also didn't help that he always made sure to be served by you. And that he flirted with you.
— Evening, (N/N)! Is there something as sweet as you on today’s menu? — You gave a small and polite laugh.
— Strawberry pie… As always…
It was kinda sad, but mostly scary. If it wasn't for your ex, you would be thrilled to have gotten the attention of Dick fucking Grayson. The whole city knew he was handsome, rich, talented and charismatic. Gotham's sweetheart, Gotham's golden boy. And from your daily interactions, he lived up to the expectations. He was polite even when flirting with you and asking you out. Yet, something held you back.
— Nice! Since you get out in a few, why don't you bring in two slices? One for me and one for you, it's on me, of course. — You shook your head quickly, with an empty heart, just wanting to get away from him as fast as possible.
You were with your ex since you were 17 to 26. Almost 10 years wasted on a dirtbag. He convinced you to leave your friends, to leave your family, to leave your job. As soon as you started living together, you were completely dependent on him. Sometimes you blamed him, sometimes yourself, sometimes the people you had around you, but back then, where you came from, people weren't questioning the imbalance of powers between a 17 year old highschooler with no job and a 23 year old man with a steady job and living alone.
He convinced you that going to college and ending your relationship was the worst decision you could take. Then, that you didn't need your family, he could take care of you. One day, he decided you couldn't have friends.
He often locked you inside the house, cursed your skills and appearance, neglected your overall health, intimidated you, screamed at you, broke your things that he did and didn't pay for. He hurt you physically, even sexually. You knew both dating him and leaving him was hard, you just expected living with the scars was going to be easier.
And it was! You decided to run away from him and to Gotham when you received the news that your mom died and he didn't even want to let you go to the funeral. The grieving made you reflexive and you realized how shitty your situation was. For years you just thought that it would eventually get better, that you just needed to be strong, that he showed he loved you when he wasn't being an asshole, that you couldn't get anything better, that he made you feel special.
You couldn't even go to the police, he was a cop, you knew the chances that in any scenario you would lose. So you ran.
You knew it was dangerous, but you had nothing to lose. If he didn't kill you, you would do it yourself. You made a plan, drugged him, took some of his money, used his house keys, left everything behind for the second time in your life. You didn't waste time asking for help from the people you knew. You took the bus and went as far away as you could.
Your paranoia was so bad that for almost a year, you would settle in a city, work to save up enough, and leave again, rinse and repeat. Eventually, Gotham seemed big and far enough to go by unnoticed.
Or that's what you thought, until Dick Grayson stopped by the diner you worked to have breakfast before going to work, as a cop, and decided you caught his attention.
Since then, he came back everyday. Either breakfast, lunch, dinner, or just to hang out with some family member, usually one of his brothers, his dad appeared with him sometimes too. Your boss loved the attention Bruce and Tim attracted, the two most media active ones, since they both led Wayne Enterprises.
Eventually, even them started appearing multiple times a week. You thought you were healing, until you found yourself crying for almost four hours at home in a panic attack.
You didn't want their attention. Not only was it weird, but they were just so… Superior to you.
They were all taller, more muscular, faster, smarter, richer. It was like reliving the beginning of your relationship at 17, plus 10 times worse. Five because they were five people mirroring your ex, and more five just because of your trauma, experience, negativity and lack of naiveness.
Also, why were they ALL into you??? And they were aware of it! It was weird! Why??
Bruce Wayne was disarmingly charming in his dilf way. Dick was surprisingly accessible. Jason was soft spoken despite his resting bitch face and leather jacket. Tim was cute in a nerdy way. Damian almost made you laugh with his sarcastic humor.
Either way, you never wanted to feel as little as you felt before, so you just did your job, acted polite, but ultimately kept your distance.
Freedom has its difficulties, one of them being that you need money, and for money, you need a job, which means sometimes you have to stay until closing time, at 11 PM, in Gotham.
You're not the only employee to stay so late, but you and your co-worker live in opposite directions, so walking alone it is. They're taking the bus, but you only live two blocks away, so you gulp down your anxiety and keep walking. One hand on your pocket, holding your taser firmly, and keeping your head up, turning to look at every sound.
It's cold, and the street is empty and dimly lit. Some places are so dark that you wonder why you're even paying taxes if the streetlamps won't work.
Two men turn the corner a few meters in front of you, one at least a foot taller, the other, two inches max. They're wearing hoodies and their hands are on their pockets, the light behind them creates a shadow that doesn't allow you to see their faces, nor where they're looking at, but they are coming in your direction.
There's a car, parked between you both. Some people might think at this point it's just paranoia, but you’ve heard stories of people walking next to cars, getting pulled inside by someone who was hiding in there, and getting kidnapped.
Your first instinct is flight, so you turn around, ready to run, even if you look weird in case those guys weren't planning to do anything with you, just to see other two guys emerging from the other corner, those two almost as tall as that first guy. Aside from the smaller one, they're all broad, even with their thick clothes covering them.
One of them has a cigarette on his mouth, which he throws on the ground when you turn your attention to him. Your fear might have caused you to hallucinate, but you're almost sure he's smirking.
You freeze for a second, your only escape is to run to the side, and pray their long legs don't get to you first. You think you hear one of them start hollering at you.
You only take a step to the side, when a loud crash startles you so hard that you have to look behind, while walking backwards to the street. You take a second to process the sight.
Robin is standing in the middle, just a few steps behind where you were standing a second ago. He's at least half a foot taller than all of them, and a lot broader. He's holding the tall one by his neck with his right hand, repeatedly hitting his head against the car’s window.
You're shell shocked, torn between staying put to watch this disaster, as interesting as a car crash, or running away. Gotham is so big that you never thought you would encounter one of its heroes, you weren't sure if you even wanted to.
When the guy seems to stop moving, Robin throws him against one of the other tall ones, the guy practically flies across 2 meters before hitting him, and when he does, they both fall to the ground. You remember all the times when your ex pushed you to the ground.
Your eyes are wide, horrified, watching the shortest guy take a pocket knife out of his pocket. Your throat locks, even if you want to scream for Robin to turn around, you only manage to stare and stay in place, however, the vigilant turns halfway around just in time to grab the guy by his wrist and his arm, just as he launched to stab him. He uses his body’s impulse to push the guy forward, the knife going to the fourth guy's shoulder, you hadn't even seen him get so close to him.
You look at the man from the car, he's still unconscious, the one who got tackled with him, however, is already standing and walking to the fight.
Everything’s happening too fast, you turn to the side to see the guy with the knife on his back on the ground, groaning and twitching in pain, while Robin is punching the shit out of the other guy, movements faster than you could ever dream of achieving. You remember being on the receiving end of someone's fists before.
With a final elbow to the cheek, the guy stumbles to the ground, you don't know what level of consciousness he’s in, by his posture before, you knew he was already compromised since the first hits he took.
Robin doesn't move, doesn't even turn to look at the guy who just fell, he's just looking forward, and when you notice this, you look at the remaining guy.
He's pointing a gun at him.
You don't think you can watch someone get shot in front of you, and you know if he gets rid of Robin, it's over for you. Logically, you knew these vigilantes somehow never die, still, it's counterintuitive to think he won't.
And he doesn't, in the blink of an eye, Robin's on the air, his right boot kicking the gun away, while still on the air, he wraps his legs around the guy's head, bends backwards, puts his hands on the ground, then launches his whole body to the front, the guy getting thrown over him. He falls to the ground, Robin stands on top of him with perfect balance. You don't even have time to process what just happened, the coolest and scariest thing you saw your whole life, when Robin punches him one last time. Now, he's definitely unconscious.
You’ve felt like a bystander this whole interaction, it felt like ages, but in reality all of this couldn't have taken more than 20 seconds, maybe even less than 15. You don't know what to do now. You're theoretically safe, but Robin’s still too big, too strong, too fast. He knocked out four guys without getting touched a single time. He broke a car's window. He threw around two guys who weighed at least 80kg. He's not even panting. And now he's looking at you.
A whimper gets stuck in your throat. You don't know if you should thank him, stay silent, or yell at him to stay away from you. When he takes a step in your direction, your instincts get the better of you and you turn around, running.
You hear him call your name, although your brain doesn't process it. You see headlights and look towards it. It's a car. You don't trust you’ll get help, but at least you're not alone. You run in it's direction, waving your arms and screaming bloody murder.
The car almost hits you, but you don’t process that until the last minute, but you get tackled to the ground just in time by the hero from before. You scream again, he's too close. Now, he's trying to hold you down. You keep screaming and trying to escape. You look to the side and the car just kept driving away, likely the driver wouldn't stay behind to be another victim to Robin's hands. You know you're not being rational right now, those guys are known for helping people, he just saved you, he's still trying to stop you from getting hurt, but you're scared. You've been scared since you were a teenager.
Your eyes burn, your arms and throat hurt, but adrenaline doesn't let you feel anything. Not even the invasion of a needle on your side.
— Was it really necessary? — Tim deadpans Damian, who growls.
— You would have done the same, Drake.
— No, I wouldn't. You were supposed to use the psychological first aid approach and (Y/N) would've calmed down and trust us more in the future. But of course, you never use your brain. — Damian growls, stepping towards Tim, but he is stopped by Dick’s hand resting on his chest.
— Damian, calm down, Tim’s right. You knew better than to sedate them. You knew of (Y/N)’s trauma and you knew the route we wanted to take. — Damian's brows furrowed and he crossed his arms.
— I knew your feelings toward (Y/N) would make you become impulsive again. — Tim looked at Bruce, who was silent, with hands intertwined and elbows on the table, focused on your vitals on the screen and the sight of you laid on the bed on the medbay. — Will you now consider just letting you, me and Dick keep an eye on them during patrol? — Damian and Jason scoffed.
— Why you aiming at me now? It was the demon who gave that guy brain death! — Jason protested and Tim looked at him.
— Just to be sure you won't freak out like him and kill thrice as many people, on purpose this time. — Jason glared at him.
— B, you better add more security measures around (Y/N), before Timbo tries to clone them or something. — He muttered with snark.
Dick shook his head and sighed, going to stand on Bruce's side, crossing his arms and looking at you through the camera with him.
— What's the plan now, B? They're probably waking up soon. — Bruce hummed, relaxing his stance and resting his back against his chair. The silence lingered for a few seconds, everyone just looking at you, waiting for the oldest’s opinion.
Bruce turned around, looking at them.
— … Damian, Tim's right. You were impulsive today and you killed someone, even if it was an accident. I stopped expecting that from you since you were 12, you're an adult now. You not only broke our trust, but (Y/N)’s already shattered trust. They need to know they're safe with us, and drugging them, instead of puting to use more time and effort to bring the comfort to them, is not going to do that. You weren't much different than the man who hurt them tonight. — His father's words were like a punch to Damian's stomach, leaving him speechless. Dick pursed his lips, not turning around as to make it easier to not comfort his brother just yet. Bruce turned to Tim. — Tim, I understand you want to take measures seriously. But you need to give Jason a chance. That was unasked for. — The mentioned blinked, still unacostummed with the treatment he received from his dad when he followed his rules. Tim looked away. Bruce turned to Damian again. — Damian, no patrolling around (Y/N) until you prove we can trust your temper again. — He waited for a confirmation, which came with a sneered lip.
— Yes, father.
Dick looked back a Bruce.
— What about (Y/N)? — He bit his lips. Bruce hummed, turning to look at the monitor again.
— … What do you all think?
— Well… Damian said their name, they might not remember it, but they can't just wake up at home. They’d try to flee from us. We could bring them home earlier, but our ideal plan was to make them come willingly, in the period of at least two years, in the best case. We could leave them at the hospital, and just keep our plan going. — Dick listed the possible strategies they could take. Bruce hummed.
Tim piped up.
— I already altered their phone's algorithm to send the job application as my assistant at Wayne Enterprises to them. And the Wayne Foundation’s application for the internship at Gotham Uni. — Bruce nodded.
— Damian? What do you understand about that? — It was clearly the beginning of his test.
— The more secure in their independence they feel, the easier it is to heal and open themselves up to new opportunities. — Damian exclaimed with confidence. Bruce nodded.
— Jason, are you still interested in college? — Everyone looked at Jason surprised, he was also surprised, he hadn't talked to Bruce about college since before he died.
It took a few seconds to processes what it would mean.
— Uh… I think so?! — Bruce nodded.
— What about me, father? — Damian spoke inquisitively. — I also want more opportunities to get closer to (Y/N)! — Bruce narrowed his eyes at him.
— We will think about that when you're in the clear.
— But-
— That's final. You reap what you sow. — Damian huffed and nodded begrudgingly. — … Now, since Robin was the one to save them, take the batmobile and leave them in the hospital. Then come straight back home. Understood? — Damian clenched his jaw and nodded silently, leaving to get your unconscious body.
Moments later, when you were both out, on the way to the hospital, Tim fiddled with the computer, the scream showed the batmobile’s tracker, your tracker, Damian's tracker, Damian's contact lenses’s camera and the car’s camera. They all looked at him.
