#creator writes

"Still wild that you're Talia's kids," Dick chuckled, wrapping his hands around his favorite Bludhaven mug. "And the fact that we're Batman's?" Danny asked dryly. "Augh. Even weirder," Dick chuckled, and didn't look at the memorial. "I wish you had gotten to meet him. He'd have loved you both." Danny didn't say anything, just dragging a finger along the rim of his cup. Frost grew in a slow creep as his finger circled it. "Sorry." Dick murmured.

“You know, it’s generally not the best idea to sneak up on a vigilante. Let alone someone like me,” Red Hood drawled as he rest his hand on his gun holster. 

There was an assassin in Red Hood’s warehouse.  He didn’t bother looking up at the man, tucked away in the shadowy rafters that he was, and instead turned back to his men, directing them this way and that. Wouldn’t do to let the would-be murderer know that he had spotted them, and scare them away before Hood was able to dig the name of who hired them from between bloody teeth. It was probably Black Mask -- the man had grown desperate after Hood’s latest few rounds of seizure and was likely looking to get a leg up.  Granted, an assassin was a surprising move for someone like Black Mask, who thrived on public disgust and shock, who wanted to make Red Hood into the biggest statement he could. Attention seeking, always wanting to be the baddest one on the block; Hood couldn’t deal with him sometimes. The worst part is that Mask actually was able to back up a lot of his posturing, hence their nigh on war over territory.  The assassin didn’t move, didn’t so much as twitch as Hood’s people started filing into the warehouse with their ill gotten gains. Crate after crate, a dozen people running around… It was a deterrent. No idiot would want to take on Hood and all his merry men. They left Hood to do his business all into the wee hours of the morning, simply watching as weapons were cleaned and added to the storehouse, drugs sorted and packed away for testing before circulation, money divvied up amongst the people for their work that night.  Red Hood didn’t bother to become tense as more and more left for the night. Either he would kill the assassin, or they’d get unbelievably lucky.  The door to the warehouse shut with a clang of finality, and for a second, a brief moment, Hood let himself sigh in exhaustion. He was beyond tired with how much he had been doing lately, and this little murder attempt really only added to it. But… no rest for the wicked.  He turned, and the assassin was no longer in their little corner. Oh no, they were perched in full view against a backdrop of moonlight, their face hidden by a gleaming white hood pulled down low. He looked up, and met their gaze. Their hands came up, and they put their index and thumbs together into a triangle. They paused, and split the bottom.  Ah.  He glanced up further, past the fingers, and was unsurprised to see glowing golden eyes staring at him from underneath the hood. They blinked at him, once, twice, and the head tilted just so, like an eagle, before the glow faded. There was an Assassin in Red Hood’s warehouse. There was an Assassin in Red Hood’s warehouse.

Unfortunately he wasn’t alone, as evidenced by the frayed red beanie that hid a mop of tangled black hair behind a half brick wall, and that low low whisper against the back of his mind.  “A ha!” Ellie Nightingale shouted, and vaulted over the brick wall to point at him dramatically. “It’s you!” “It’s me,” Jason agreed, and tilted his head curiously. “What do you want?”  “So you’re the guy who’s dating Dani,” she said, punctuated by an obnoxious pop of chewing gum and completely ignoring his question. Jason let his head fall back slightly and prayed for strength. He didn’t believe in god, except when it came to dealing with Little Shits of siblings.  Ellie cackled and clapped her hands maniacally. “Oooh, and you’ve got Dani’s coffee too.”  “Hi,” Jason said, cause he was going to try and be nice. “You must be Ellie.”  “Gimmie.” She said, and reached for Dani’s coffee.  “Ey, no, this isn’t for you!” Jason yelped, and lifted it up too high for her to reach. She glared at him, then jumped up to try and get at it, only to hang from his forearm. She was … light. Too light, for a kid her age and size. She was what, thirteen at most? She could’ve fought Tim for shrimpy sizes at that age.  “C’mon!” She whined, kicking her feet slightly before dropping down with a slight thud. “Jerk.”  “And here I was going to offer to buy you your own,” Jason snarked, and smirked when Ellie’s blue eyes widened and turned calculating.  “Oh yeah? What’s your angle, huh?” She demanded, and it was impressive how light she kept her tone, like she was just joking around, but Jason could hear the thread of hardness in her voice. It wasn’t for nothing that the girl had gotten on with the rest of the street kids, and she fit in with them more than her story said she should.  “A glowing review for your sister?” Jason tried, trying to sound sheepish. He wasn't, but he needed to make a good impression. Aaand maybe if he kept telling himself that it would turn true, just like all those stories about gold under rainbows.   “… Get me a muffin too, and I’ll think about it,” Ellie sniffed. “One of those giant ones, with the chocolate chips.”  “Deal.”