#terrythad

[dementedspeedster]

V: The Schway and the Shirt Stealer - (Terry McGinnis/Thad Thawne)

Unfurnished, But With Care It Could Be a Home.

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Fics to Update (Batman Beyond!verse Edition) Pt. 5

Which One Should I Update?

To Touch Fate

Would It Kill You?

You're Just Like Quicksand

Sneak Peek

Voting ended onAug 28, 2023

To Touch Fate: Jason attempts to settle down in Southern Italy and live a civilian life.

Would It Kill You?: Thad lives a secluded life as a funeral director, and he hasn't seen his family in years. However, a letter from his Aunt Helen and a phone call from his brother convince him to visit home. Not without reinforcements, though.

You're Just Like Quicksand: Jason Todd is ready to go into semi-retirement after fifteen years working with troubled youth, but one case in particular forces him to confront the sins of his youth and painful memories from his past.

[sleepyspeedster]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Completely overhauled and updated this fic and added a Chapter 2. There may be a Chapter 3 in the future.

Pairing: Terry McGinnis/Thad Thawne

Rating: Teen (May changed in the future)

Fandom: Batman Beyond, The Flash, Impusle, DC Comics

Series: A part of the Dispersed Time AU

Words: 15,496

Summary:

After more than a decade of knowing Thad and fighting by his side, Terry ponders his friendship with him, their time together, and the small gifts he’s left him in the form of healed scars. No matter where or when the speedster was always there to share a piece of himself, a small spark of the Speed Force, and Terry can’t help but wonder why? Why him? Why for so long?

Going through his memories he finally comes to a realization and answers along the way.

[dementedspeedster]

Hilarious Craydl-related Thoughts from my Brain:

Craydl is the closest thing to a parental figure Thad has (He did the raising and most of Thad's socialization I'm sure of it), so that means he gets to give the shovel talk to Thad's romantic partners.

Imagine this glob of neon green goo, who was once subdued by Bart shoving him in a bottle, threatening Thad's potential partner/s and making sure they treat his son well.

[sleepyspeedster]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Pairing: Terry McGinnis/Thad Thawne

Rating: Teen

Fandom: Batman Beyond, The Flash, DC COmics

Series: A part of the Dispersed Time AU

Series Premise: An AU where Thad has suddenly found himself alive and displaced in time. Thad sees this as a chance to somewhat redeem himself and goes about this by righting the wrongs of his family, the Thawne family, and attempts to get rid of them regardless of the cost of his own existence. In this AU Thad comes into contact with Terry McGinnis multiple times, both in a new costume and under a new alias and out of costume while attending Gotham University. This eventually leads to a temporary team up between Thad and Terry, eventually a friendship between the two young men who haven't always been good in their lives, and then maybe something more or unrequited feelings.

Words: 11071

Summary:

After more than a decade of knowing Thad and fighting by his side Terry ponders his friendship with Thad and finally makes some realization about the speedster, himself, and his life.

Excerpt:

         Neo-Gotham is quiet for the night as Terry flips on the lights to his apartment, a rather nice and spacious place for the amount of creds it costs him to rent, it was nothing like Wayne Manor, but it worked for him, and  had a few blindspots that made sneaking in and out undetected a breeze. Pulling off his mask with an exhale, he finally released all the tension he had held onto for the night, trapped in his chest like a breath he couldn’t seem to breathe. Neo-Gotham just did that to you. She took a hold of you, squeezed the life out of you, and you still loved her for it. Because even when she hurt you, even when all the harshness and rough edges of the city seemed to be all encompassing she held a softness too. Its people were worth the pain he felt etched across his skin, and some of it quite literally carved into him too. He traipsed across his home peeling off his Batman suit, his second skin, with each step, a small groan leaves his lips before finally putting it away in a secret compartment of his closet. Closing the sliding door with a click saw the image of himself reflected in the full body mirrors attached to the doors and sees how the blotchy bruises began to form and darken all across his body. They littered his ribs and chest, one darkened on his cheek along with a fresh cut, there were even shallow scratches and gashes sealed with dried blood. All of them, earned for the sake of the city and its people, crisscrossed across his body, his arms, his chest, his legs, everywhere.

          It was a part of the job. Getting hurt so others wouldn’t have to feel this pain. Any pain. No one deserved to lose their loved ones prematurely. And if there was anything he could do to stop that then he would. He still remembered how it felt to lose his father. The sudden unexpectedness of the moment, the shock, the pain as reality hits you and keeps hitting you with every day that passes. Every day you forget that they’re gone and remember explicitly that they are, that you will never see or hug or speak to them again, is another hit. It feels endless and you’re never left alone. His chest hurt with each beat of his heart. Even a decade later his father is still at the forefront of his mind.

          You can never live your life the same way again as you’re beaten down by your memory and your regrets. Things you could have done. Things you could have said to them, but didn’t….So each scar and bruise he received each night for this city? It was a testament to that goal. To his desire to protect. To keep words from being left unsaid just like he had. It was worth it even at the cost of himself. So each night he added another scar to his growing collection. They could have that second chance he never had. They deserved that. They deserved the chance to make things right in their lives.

          As he stretched and turned himself in the mirror he saw them all. Scars over the years were scattered across his body, some jagged and rough and old, some long, short, deep and shallow, and some fresh and new showed and stretched across his skin like he was a map, long worn and long used. It was dedication to the job even when he wanted to quit sometimes. Even when Bruce wanted perfection he couldn’t give. The old man was never easy to work with. He expected what he couldn’t give. He wasn’t a detective though he tried. He was smart and savvy, but not a detective like Bruce. And Bruce wanted from him things he refused to do at times. Things he could never do. Their instincts were too different at times. A part of him was still trusting, willing to extend a hand and give a chance like he had gotten time and time again. To the confused ones like Erica Electra, to villains like Inertia who had been walking that path for a long time. He would always argue with Bruce about this. The old man had changed over time, the time for second chances was behind him, or maybe it was just Thad. Distrust always in his eyes when he came up. It reminded him of the way he had spoken of Melanie. How he shouldn’t underestimate her no matter how she acted toward him. But when it came to Thad he would always say the same thing, “People like him don’t change,” as if he knew a thing about it him. It was frustrating, but it taught him at the same time. He might not have been Bruce Wayne’s kind of Batman, but he was his own kind of Batman. He protected people. Even people like Thad.

           …Where had that speedster gone?

         With his fingers Terry traced at the scars on his arms and hands lightly, moving across his body, staring at how familiar and foreign they all seemed. He traced across his shoulder, his sides, and his chest, seeing how far and wide they covered him, reminiscing over his long career. There were burn scars from fighting Blight, multiple stab wounds from Curare and her underlings, along with bullet wounds here and there from Jokerz just to name a few.

        Across his shoulder one deep and wide scar rose across his skin, jagged and raised almost like a mountain. That one he wouldn’t forget. For that one he had been chasing after Inque after she had ransacked a lab for some component. Though he hadn’t been the only one at the time either as Thad had been chasing after her as well. It hadn’t been either of their intention for a team up, but when their goals aligned they aligned like stars.

         ‘ A personal affair ,’ Was all that Thad had told him before muttering something about a “family reunion,” but before Terry could question him further he felt a lance of pain through his shoulder. He didn’t even hear his own scream that ripped through him and tore their attention away from the fight while Inque slipped away with ease as his own blood began to run down his arm.

        Thad could have easily left him, he could have chased after Inque and what he was really after that night, but he had stopped in favor of him. The pain was searing and the blood kept running down his arm as he tried to staunch it. His own hand was soon covered in blood, and Thad’s were too as he applied pressure Terry couldn’t give with only one hand. Pale skin was soon stained red and those bloody hands still tried to help him as he rummaged through his utility belt.

          ‘At least it’s for a good cause for once.’ Thad struggled to laugh at his own terrible joke behind the fear in his eyes and the smile that was forced on his lips as he pretended as if he knew everything would be okay.  

         It was the first time Terry had ever seen fear on the speedster’s face. His helmet thrown off, gold eyes wide, terrified, as they flitted about between Terry’s face and his hands as he kept pressure on the wound with one hand and the other searching through Terry’s belt. His hands were slick with blood and trembling as he tried to find the medical sealant among the pouches to temporarily seal the wound.

         ‘Where is it?’ He could hear Thad’s voice pick up an octave at the realization, ‘ Where is it? ’

        With hands bloodier, slicker, and stained to the point you could barely see the skin upon his hands, his voice became sharp as he hissed with a panic Terry had never heard in his voice, “ It’s not there!  ” A part of Terry couldn’t help, but be surprised by this discovery even despite the situation, he was dying, and yet enamored and saddened by how Thad, who was always calm, cool, and collected, sounded too scared for him. So concerned. Thad who didn’t care that he hurt others at time, that could threaten others so easily for information, who raised his fists to fight first for whatever unseen scars were scratched into his body saw in the same man’s eyes that could be so cold and distant and hurtful…genuine fear. While the only concern he could muster up for himself was:  Huh. It must have been worse than I thought .

        Thad’s hands pressed down hard against the gash, forcing a wave of pain through Terry, but through his wavering vision and a world that began to spin, there were suddenly sparks. A bright cascade of literal green sparks burst from the speedster’s body and arched off from him, his arms, down to his hands, and to Terry’s open flesh.

 [Read the rest on AO3]

[dementedspeedster]

Relationship Moodboard || Terry McGinnis/Thad Thawne

[dementedspeedster]

Relationship Moodboard || Terry McGinnis/Thad Thawne

[sleepyspeedster]

Hey! Anon from a bit ago. I just read your recent thad/terry fic and I love it! Thad's pining and thoughts feel very in character for him

I'm glad you mention how much thad values his speed abilities because that's feels in character for him. Hes a clone who's supposed to be better than bart. To him theres no before and after getting speedster abilities, it's just the way hes always lived life. Knowing how speed stuff alters the way you experience the world, itd be scary if suddenly everything is different too.

I'm thinking about the time thad lost his speed abilities, and how he felt he had no choice to take velocity 9, which has serious side effects.

Him giving up some of his spark so that terry could heal and the implications it came with were wonderfully written.

I wonder what's going on in terry's head. I imagine in a couple years, he'll look back and think "oh."

-EXCITED YELL-

Aaaaaaaahhh thank you so much! And it's good to see you again, anon!

You get it exactly, anon! That's exactly how I think of Thad as well. He's always had his speed; therefore, without it he'd probably feel as if something was missing in him. The time with Bart encapsulating the Speed Force, having to take Velocity 9 (though his version didn't have side effect) to circumvent being without his speed, and just doing whatever to get his speed back from Bart is one of the reasons I write Thad as so possessive of his speed.

Aww, just thank you so much! I'm really glad you appreciate it and like it!

As for Terry's reaction I think he wouldn’t get it at this period in time, but later on he would really have that "Oh" moment like you think, as he gets to know Thad things begin to solidify with how he acts and behaves.