#cherry pop

I groaned in pain, my head thumping from where it had hit the side walk. I’d literally told Flash not to try and run while I had sweaty palms! We were trying to get to a crime scene and he’d grabbed my hand so we could both get there faster and my hand slipped out his grips.

Apparently, I was still in Gotham- my suit all wet from landing in a puddle. Just great. I brushed myself off, scowling, arms crossed as I walked down the grimy streets, boots clicking.

A newspaper tumbled towards me and I instinctively picked it up. But it didn’t make sense. It said the author was Mara Laurie. I’d never written this. I’d remember an article on ‘the Arkham knight’.

But there was something off about it. On every single paper, the Mara Laurie was circled in red with the bold words ‘ACE OF HEARTS’ scrawled messily over the writing so I couldn’t see the article.

what the hell was going on?…

Whatever.

I was more on edge now, so I kept my fingers tight around my garatte wire, just in case.

Now that I thought about it, Gotham looked…different.

There were more less people, a larger military presence…what the hell was happening?

I wandered to my apartment, sighing and chucking the keys into the bowl on the table by the door. Except it wasn’t there and my keys clattered to the ground.

Maybe Jason had a nervous breakdown and started reorganising everything?

He wasn’t on patrol tonight so he was probably- hopefully- asleep.

But he wasn’t. He was with some girl. I didn’t see her face but she was wearing a heart themed costume- like some sick mix between Harley Quinn’s colour scheme and personality and the Joker’s weird card motif. Her hair fell in wavy red and bleached blind streaks.

I stood there in the doorway, mortified,

“Jason what the *fuck*?!” I screamed, confused and shocked and hurt. But he looked different too. There was a J scar on his cheekbone that had never been there before.

before I knew it, he had pulled a gun on me, fired a warning shot millimetres from my head,

“Who the fuck are you?!”

“Jason it’s Mara?!” He looked just as confused as I did,

The girl looked confused now too. And then I realised something. She looked identical to me…costume and hair aside our features were exactly the same, and my brows furrowed further,

“How the hell do you know my identity?” Hissed Jason, before firing another shot, “Answer me.”

“Wait wait wait put the gun down for two seconds while I try and figure something out ok?” My voice came out more shrill than I intended, “Listen, listen- I just- I have no idea what’s going on- I was with Flash and- and we were going to solve a crime downtown and he was running and I let go of his hand and I-.” Slowly, almost embarrassingly slowly, it dawned on me. “Shit. Fucking shitting holy mother of-.” My hands balled into fists and I tugged at my hair, “You’re- you’re me!” I pointed at the girl.

“Listen lady, the hell y’a talkin’ about? Maybe ya should sit down- y’a look a little…” she grimaced a little at the end to demonstrate how bad it seemed. “Maybe y’a hit yer head a lil when y’a fell?”

“No no- you don’t get it- when speedster’s travel they- all the atoms and molecules or whatever align and- what I’m saying is that I ended up in another universe! You’re me! Except you aren’t Cherry- what or who-.”

“Ace a’ hearts- what’s it to you lady? You new in town?”

“Why d’ya talk like that?” I raised an eyebrow. She sounded like Harley.

I noticed Jason’s thumb was still rubbing circles on her hip,

His other hand was still on his gun. And he had an itchy trigger finger,

“Lady if you’re just gon stand there, criticise me n’ be an eyesore you can j’st fuck off so I can keep making out with my boyfriend.” She scoffed. Ok- rude.

“Hm. Together in every universe, I suppose.”

“The hell is that meant to mean?” Jason growled,

“Well- in my universe, I’m dating my universe’s version of you. Jason Todd, the Red Hood.” I smiled fondly, “And here? If you tel are together, that makes me quite happy I guess.”

I turned to leave. I got to the front door before Jason was stood behind me, gun pressed to the back of my head. He was alone. Ace of Hearts was still in the bedroom.

“I cant let you leave. Not if you know my identity.”

“What…what happened here? In my universe you’re so- you just aren’t like…this.”

“Shut up.”

“Let me help you. I’ve- I’ve always felt guilty. About what my father did to you in my universe. I was a child and couldn’t stop him but that’s no excuse. But here I might be able to help you, save you, do some good I just.”

“I said shut up!”

He grabbed my neck, thick, large hand squeezing slightly and holding me up against a wall. My feet flailed slightly, not touching the floor-

“J-Jason-.” My fingers scrambled to get purchase on his hand, clawing at him to let go as tears welled in my eyes

With all the strength I could muster, I kicked him in the chest. It didn’t do much considering his body armour. But it caught him off guard enough for me to catch my breath.

“Cherry!”

Red hood entered, bursting through the window.

Both Jason’s looked at eachother. Then back at me. Then eachother.

“S-See? I’m not crazy- I was telling the truth.”

Red Hood and Arkham knight had each other at gunpoint.

“Listen. I’m just trying to get my girlfriend back to our universe.” He was side stepping towards me, his gaze never leaving Arkham Knight’s. He grabbed my hand tight,

“Jason I wanna stay-.” “Baby we don’t have time for this- come on- Flash is waiting for us outside so we can go home-.”

“I just wanna- please. They need my help and I-.”

“Now is not the time to play martyr!”

“Jason I can’t.” I couldn’t. I had an obligation. I had failed to save my Jason. The least I could do was save this one.

“Just- just put the gun down Arkham. We can just talk-.”

And Arkham Knight? He’d had Cherry for a day and a half but if anyone hurt her he’d kill everyone in the room and then himself. He was still loyal to his girlfriend. Ace of hearts. *His* Mara. But this Mara was softer, sweeter, less malnourished- he didn’t feel bad for nearly killing her. He felt it was necessary. And he’d do it again if she proved to be a threat. But for now she was just a girl. Some girl who was another universes version of his girlfriend.

Cherry slept on the couch that night. Well, not really. Arkham Knight had been in a meeting and the pink glad girl had been sat on the floor by his feet, as she didn’t have a chair, and fell asleep with her head on his thigh and his hand in her hair.

He’d carried her back himself, setting her on the couch and tucking her in.

“Love you Jay-.” She yawned- sleepy and half conscious and confused, mistaking him for her Jason. His breath caught and he tucked her hair behind her ear, kissing the top of her head lightly and letting a blanket rest over her shoulders.

Him and his Mara hadn’t said that yet- both too emotionally constipated to accept the vulnerability- even if they did love eachother. They’d kill for eachother, die for eachother. But would they live for eachother, like Cherry and Red Hood did? Maybe that was the last step.

He crawled in bed with his girlfriend, slightly more affectionate for a man who would inevitably leave in the morning, to the point where ace would roll over and the sheets would be already cold

a/n: very sleepy and low on energy after a day with my grandma. This is more an intro