#sfirs

After the intense reunion and the following conversation, unforunately Jason's sister and her freinds had to say good bye and make their way back to their hotel. Jason and his siblings would've preferred to keep all six of them in the house with them but, they knew that technically the six were tourists and even though Thana was as Alley as the rest of them she was only person.

It was like losing a limb, watching his baby sister walk away from him, but he knew she was possibly one of the most protected people in this god forsaken city. Between the Birds, they really needed to come up with a new name for themselves, and her various Aunts and Uncles scattered around the city, she would be fine. Hopefully.

Jason got Damian tucked into bed, with Tim and Steph staying in that night since they had had to interact with the Parisians, before they went down into their new cave. He was lost in thought, not really thinking much about where he was going or where he was, so the noise of what could only be extra people in their cave made him stop.

Standing in the middle of the cave was six figures, dressed in what looked like street clothes, although had to be reinforced in some way. They ranged in colour, going from yellow to brown to teal to red to blue-green to purple, but looked like they fit together.

Jason was immediately on edge, not knowing who they were or how they got into the cave. He had to protect his siblings and his son, so he pulled out a gun which had been hidden in a secret compartment in the wall closest to him.

"Who are you and how did you gain access to this place?" Jason deepened his voice as he spoke, trying to make it seem like Red Hood was a different person.

"Oh Robin," the figure in purple, who seemed to be one of the shortest members of the group, seemed to not be taking this seriously, "you didn't think you could keep us out. Did you?"

That, that made him pause. The only people who knew he was Robin was his family. The only one who actually got away with referring to him as Robin was his baby sister. "Pix?" Jason was hoping and praying that it wasn't actually his baby sister. He was praying to every single deity in the multiverse, he didn't want this life for her.

"Hey Jay," she offered a cheeky grin, the same grin that got them into but also out of trouble so many times. "This is my team, I'll see if you can figure out who's who."

Jason looked over the gathered heros, seeing bits and pieces that reminded him of someone he'd met just earlier that day. "Desgracia? That's the name you chose?"

"Figured if it was the name she picked I might as well make it my own." Jason's baby sister seemed embarrassed, rubbing the back of her neck with claw-tipped fingers. Claw-tipped fingers?!

"Excuse you, why do you have claws?" Jason snatched her hand away from her neck, carefully so there was no possible way that she could nick herself even through the suit. "Don't you remember how sharp they can be even on accident? Aunt Lina would be so upset if you gave yourself scars to match mine."

The heroes in yellow, teal and blue-green snickered at that, as if they shared the sentiment. Looking at them closer, Jason could only assume the rest of the heroes were his sister's friends. "Okay, before the rest of my team gets down here, why don't you tell me everyone's names?"

The hero dressed in red, but oddly with pops of yellow, stepped up next to Desgracia. Showing a united front to the foreign, to him, hero. He smiled, a bright cheery smile the likes of which were popularized by Dick as Robin, as if to disarm him. "You can call me Monsieur Punaise."

Jason nodded, offering a hand to the other hero. "Red Hood." He offered his sister a smirk. "You just seem to surround yourself with red heroes."

Duke chose that moment to appear behind Jason with a smile. "Or yellow. Yellow is clearly her favourite colour. Seeing as how I am clearly her favourite brother."

"Hi Glowstick." Desgracia reached a hand out to cup Duke's cheek, a smile on her face. "Don't you know that it's not nice to sneak up on old people like that? You couldn't given him a heart attack."

Jason gasped, a hand dramatically pressed to his chest. "Are you insinuating that I am old?"

The yellow hero, fox themed with brown hair, stepped up to Desgracia's left side. "I am Renarde véloce, as our fearless leaders have failed to mention."

The teal hero, reptilian themed possibly, stepped up behind Desgraca, a step behind her and Monsieur Punaise. "Our people know me as Althaeban." The blue-green hero, possibly bovine in inspiration, stepped up beside Althaeban, behind Desgracia and Renarde véloce. "This is Con bò."

The brown hero, also possibly reptilian themed, stepped up to the right of Monsieur Punaise. "Sup. I'm Salihafa." She leaned against Monsieur Punaise's side, showing that even though they were heroes, this group were friends first.

Several pairs of feet sounded on the stairs, voices drifting down to them. The rest of the birds had finally figured out who was going on patrol that night it seemed.

"Here comes the calvary." Duke gave a laugh before going over to the locker room to get ready to go on patrol.

Tim, Steph, Cass and Wally came down the stairs, clearly being the members of the family going out that night.

"Is there anything going on to- hello people who are not my brother." Steph stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Her eyes flicked across the group, noting the closeness between two of her more prickly siblings and one of the unknowns.

"As far as I know," Desgracia looked at Steoh, a Cheshire Cat grin on her face, "the only thing going on in the known criminal underworld is poker night at Aunt Harley's and spa night at Uncle Ozzy's."

Tim nodded, that had been what he'd heard as well. "And how do you know this?"

"We were invited, to both events, but we chose to be here instead." Renarde véloce tossed her hair over her shoulder before glancing down at her claws. "Because Orchid decided this was the better place to be."

-*-*-*

Thana threw Chloé a dirty look, knowing why she'd chosen that name. She looked back at her brothers before looking at the other members of their team behind them. "Hi, I'm Desgracia."

"Okay, you have us at a severe disadvantage." Wally shuffled awkwardly next to Cass, as if he didn't know why he wasn't really all that upset about them knowing their identities. "You know who we all are but we don't know who you are."

"That's because our identites are hidden behind strong ancient magic which can only be bypassed by a few situations." Monsieur Punaise looked at the gathered heroes. "Granted, this isn't just our secret to tell."

"We have agents active in Paris in our absense and we can't put them in jeopardy." Con bò crossed his arms over his chest, his tail whipping quickly behind him. "If you can figure out our identities, then we can confirm them. But our fight doesn't end with just the six of us."

Thana leaned back against her boys, feeling Kim drop his left arm to better support her. Nino took a step closer to Kim, pressing his left hand to her side and tapping a slow rhythm. Chloé stepped closer to them, causing Adrien and Alix to close ranks around them. The six Parisian heroes were basically one unit at this point, offering reassurance and comfort to each other.

Jason and Duke glanced at the rest of the birds, and a Flash, before turning back to look at the Parisians. Twin grins were on their faces, mischievous grins that reminded Thana so much of her time on the streets that she just knew they were up to no good. "I don't know. It might be too difficult for them to figure you guys out."

"They are kind of bad at discovering people's identities." Jason agreed with his brother. They needed to give them a challenge, otherwise they wouldn't take it seriously.

"Oh, you're on." Tim snapped, turning to the group across from them.

Thana stood up straight, refusing the make it easy of the other group. The impromptu cuddle broke up just as quickly as it started. She knew without having to look that the other four had broken off from her and Adrien to mill about the cave.

She flashed her brothers a grin before getting a good look at the group across from them. She watched as the other group seemed so used to working together that they just seemed to meld together into extensions of one person. She hoped her team would get there one day.

Cass seemed to be observing the lot of them, seeing more than they did. Thana watched as she signed rapidly, only picking up one sign. She held her hands in loosely closed fists with her pointer fingers extended. She started the sign with her right hand pressed to the side of her face before bringing it down onto her other hand.

Adrien moved just enough in the corner of Thana's eye to draw her attention. Adrien had taken a half step in front of her before Wally could get too close.

"Sorry, sorry. It's just, crazy. I feel like I know her." Wally held up his hands in submission.

Thana shrugged, catching Cass do the same signs again and again. It didn't seem like anyone was listening to her. So, Thana walked closer to her and smiled. She wracked her brain trying to remember any of the ASL she learned. She hesitantly finger spelled out hello, before looking at Cass with an open expression.

Cass smiled warmly at her, before repeating the same signs again. She seemed to be looking at Thana expectantly before realization dawned on her face. She started over, with the one sign Thana had caught earlier before looking at Thana. At Thana's frown, Cass seemed to take a moment to think it over before point at herself, making the sign again and then pointing at Jason.

"Does that sign mean, sister?" Thana kept her voice quiet, to keep it from traveling. Cass shot her a grin before making the sign again then pointing between Thana and Jason. Thana smiled at Cass before looking around at the rest of her team. "Who do you think the rest of my team is?"

Cass seemd to study the other members of Thana's team for a moment, taking in all of their mannerisms. No matter how much they worked on it, some of their personal mannerisms came through in their hero personas.

Thana looked at each member of her team, seeing the way that Chloé stood with her hip cocked and Kim was rocking on his heels and Nino was drumming his fingers on his thighs. Adrien wasn't exempt from the bleedover, he kept running his fingers through his hair and Alix could not help but to use her throwing disks like fidget spinners.

Cass turned to look back at Thana, a gentle smile on her face. Cass started by mimicking Adrien's mannerisms before finger-spelling his name. Thana nodded, a smile on her face. Cass then mimicked Chloé before finger-spelling her name. Thana's smile grew as she nodded.

It went on like that, Cass mimicking a member of the team and then spelling their name. Thana's smile only grew, having found a way to communicate with one of her brother's sisters.

"I'm surprised," Thana leaned towards Cass, bumping Cass' shoulder with her own, "you've barely known us an afternoon and you correctly identified the members of my team."

Cass shrugged, leaning into Thana's space. As if it wasn't that big of a deal.

"Our parents barely even notice when we disappear to go to the fights." Thana nodded towards Chloé, "her parents are famous where we live. His too." Thana nodded towards Adrien.

Cass looked like she couldn't believe that, as if the idea of a parent not knowing that their child was out on the streets helping and taking down criminals was something she could not comprehend.

Thana had a realization, the knowledge overcoming her. "He's Batman? He let my sperm donor free and he let Steph's dad free. Does he even do anything in this city or is it left up to the GCPD?"

Cass watched as most of Thana's team seemed to gravitate towards her, it seemed almost coreographed with how easliy and quickly it happened. The other two members of the team were a step behind the first three, but all six of them were soon so close the lines between them blurred.

Jason took that moment to realize what had happened. He seemed to appear out of thin air in front of them. "What's going on?"

"Someone needs to take care of the damn furry before I do it." Thana growled, a deep noise that rumbled through her chest.

"We have to be strategic about it. He has friends in high places, namely the other members of the Justice League."

"The Justice League?" Adrien tilted his head as if he should know that name.

"With Wonder Woman and Aquaman?" Nino offered, a glint in his eye.

"They're allied with us." Kim seemed to surprise Jason. "Hippolyta was a Ladybug, her daughter is allied with us by default. Atlantis only stands because the Miraculous saved the people from the sinking."

Taglist:

Jerome looked at his nephew and nieces and frowned. “How long has she been in the city? Has anyone else seen her? Has her father?”

Jason shrugged, adjusting Damian in his lap as he tried to figure out how to phrase it. “She’s been sighted in Pam’s garden, Oswald’s lounge, and with Jon and Ed. I’m not sure the exact time she’s been in the city but a couple of days, probably. I’m hoping he hasn’t.”

Damian returned his attention to his dad’s face and pouted. “What’s so bad about her father?”

Jerome looked at Damian and thought for a moment. “Has your dad told you about the Mad Hatter?”

Damian shook his head and frowned, “I don’t think so.”

Jerome took in the information and looked at the other three people at the table with him. “Okay, so, you know how your mom doesn’t always do things that are nice? Or, how about her Ma?” Jerome nodded toward Cass and waited for Damian to turn to look at her. “You know how she doesn’t always do nice things, or how she’s mean to people?” Jerome watched as Damian nodded, not understanding the relevance. “Well, your Aunt Thana’s father is really mean. He hurts people. Like the guy who hurt your dad, he hurts people like that.”

“Okay, Kutlat Saghira, you know how some people hunt animals for food and other people hunt animals for sport?” Damian brightened and nodded, drawing a small smile from Jason, “he’s like the people who hunt animals for sport.”

Damian scrunched up his nose in disgust. “I’ll get rid of him so Auntie Tea can come home.”

---

Jason bustled around the kitchen as Damian watched Blue’s Clues in the living room. He didn’t know what to do with the information he’d received at the meeting with Jerome. He certainly never would have guessed that his son would threaten to kill someone.

Tim perched on the counter watching his older brother. “What’re you doing?”

“Thinking. ‘ve always thought best when I was in the kitchen with Alfred.” Jason huffed and pulled out everything he would need to make yorkshire pudding. “Do you want to help make the puddings?”

Tim slid off the counter and nodded. “What do I need to do?”

Jason and Tim listened to Elton John’s discography while they worked side by side making two batches of Yorkshire pudding batter. Jason smiled at his little brother as he copied him, stirring together and adding ingredients in sync. Jason nodded and pulled his spoon from the bowl, gently tapping it on the side to remove the excess batter, before putting the spoon down and turning to Tim.

“Now, the secret to these puddings is you chill the batter before you preheat the oven. So, we’re just going to stash these in the refrigerator for the next half an hour to an hour.” Jason led the way to the fridge, holding the door open so Tim could get his in before Jason’s bowl joined it. “I’m Still Standing” played throughout the apartment, causing Stephanie to groan.

“Why’re we listening to the most boring music ever?”

“If you don’t like it, you can watch Blue’s Clues with Damian.” Jason was surprised that Duke was the one who responded. “Elton John is a gift.”

Tim snickered at Jason’s side and shook his head.

---

Kate Kane looked at her cousin’s children and sighed. “Why are none of you at home?”

Jason rolled his eyes as he continued to push Damian on the swing while his siblings were spread out around the park. “The B-Man said some not very nice things about certain individuals of whom I care very deeply and I walked out. Most of them were at the press conference when B said those things, three of them felt personally attacked by what he said.”

“So, Bruce is just like the rest of the family, got it.” Kate turned and leaned against the leg of the swing set. “So, homophobia? That the thing?”

“No, uh, being the child of a rogue. Which rules out Dami, Cass and Steph, and, uh, this girl I used to know.”

“Okay, cool. So, when do I get to see the new pad?” Kate smiled at Jason and wondered how things got to this point in their relationship because when they met he couldn’t stand her.

“Uh, I’m having a family night tonight, Alfred’ll be there as well as Lina.” Jason smiled as Damian pouted. “I know bud. I know. I’ll keep pushing. I’m sorry I stopped.”

“Do you mind if I bring a friend?” Kate asked while looking around the park for all of the other Bat Kids “also, where’s Barbara?”

“Babs has been at home with her dad for the last while, James Jr. and Anthony took their mom’s death pretty hard.” Jason shrugged, “I get that.”

“Pretty much a requirement to be a Bat these days, having a dead mom I mean.” Kate looked around the park, her eyes ghosting over each of her nieces and nephews before landing on a single head of golden blonde hair. “You have eyes on Blondie?”

“She’s one of the friends of the girl I used to know. Harmless, to us at least. But put her near B-Man, not so harmless.” Jason let out a laugh as Damian jumped off the swing while it was at its highest point. “Slow down Kutlat Saghira, you’ll hurt yourself. Don’t look at me like that, I know you think you’re infallible but you are just human.”

Kate nodded and went back to looking around the park, noting that Blondie was being joined by a slightly shorter blond followed by a short girl with pink hair. All three were wearing red or pink sleeves, in one way or another.

Blondie had on a yellow turtleneck shirt with a blue skirt and a dark red plaid princess-style coat. The friend hanging off of her arm wore a baggy long-sleeved red shirt tucked into a pair of high-waisted blue plaid pants. While the other one wore a pair of black jeans under an oversized army green tee with a dark pink long-sleeved shirt underneath.

---

Jason looked around his apartment, a soft smile on his face, as he gazed upon his family. Alfred, Selina, Kate, and James stood in one corner talking about their children or nieces and nephews. Jason’s siblings sat on the floor around the coffee table with all of the children, Damian, Jai, Iris, and Mar’i, in the middle of their circle. Barbara, who only Mar’i had met before this, sat just outside of the circle in her wheelchair with her half-brothers hanging off of the sides of her wheelchair. They seemed to be getting along just fine.

Maybe, just maybe, everything would work out and Jason would get to have a full family reunion sooner than he initially thought.

---

Kate became a frequent presence in the apartment, often babysitting Damian when Jason and his siblings had pressing things they had to do that required them to act untouchable. Jason, Kate, and Silena would have brunch on Sunday to talk about Bruce while Alfred had Damian, and god only knows what they did while they were together.

Jason and Damian met up with Jerome Sunday afternoon before he got released on Monday morning, the only other people in the rec room that afternoon were Killer Croc, Calendar Man, Cluemaster and Killer Moth. Jerome smiled at his nephew and great-nephew, and couldn’t believe that he was really getting released.

“I’m so proud of you Jerome, you really put in the work.” Jason covered Jerome’s hand with his own and watched as his face split into the biggest grin Jason had ever seen him wear.

“Thank you.” Jerome shook their hands and glanced down at the table. “Do you think she’s going to want to see me?”

“Absolutely. She loves you, you have to know that.” Jason looked at Jerome and offered a smile.

“Auntie Tea, from what I’ve heard, sounds like a good person. I know she’ll be excited to see you.”

-*-*-*

“Fragolina, I’m telling you. We saw him and he has a kid, like a full-on kid.” Chloé looked at her friend and closest confidant with sad eyes. “He has a whole family. I don’t want to say it, but I think he might have moved on.”

“Not necessarily. Maybe he’s just trying to make the best of a terrible situation.” Adrien chimed in from his position beside Nino. “He did seem like he was pondering something.”

Alix snorted as she tried not to shoot her cola out of her nose. “Maybe, but maybe he was just trying to figure out something else.”

“Not helping, Alix.” Kim growled as he held Thana closer to his chest. “Maybe Jason wants to meet you again and maybe he wants to meet everyone who is family to you. We could do that. Set up a meeting before we go back to Paris.”

Thana looked at her friends, the three who had been by her for years and the two newest additions, and felt tears rush to her eyes. “What would you guys say if I said I wanted to push myself to finish the rest of collège and lycée so I could apply to American universities so I could end up over here and talk to Jay-Jay, eventually?”

Kim, Nino, and Chloé looked at their friend and knew that she was very anxious about what they would say. So they shared a look before laughing.

“I think I speak for us all when I say we’d follow in your footsteps so we could be with you, Maestoso.” Nino smiled and glanced at their other two friends. “What about you?”

Adrien shrugged. “We’d need to get my dad’s permission.”

“Piece of cake.” Alix grinned and leaned forward. “Of course, I’m in.”

---

Adrien sat anxiously in front of the laptop, Skype open and his cursor hovering over the call button to Nathalie. “What if she doesn’t pick up? What if he disagrees? What if he won’t let me?”

“It’ll be fine. Stop stressing yourself out over it. If he doesn’t agree to it, I’ll just tell my parents and Aunt Amelie and they’ll knock some sense into him.” Chloé smirked and pressed a kiss to the crown of Adrien’s head. “It’ll work out.”

Adrien nodded and took a breath before clicking the call button. He let the dial tone fill the silence as he held his breath and waited.

Nathalie’s visage filled the screen and she offered Adrien a small smile. “Hello, Adrien. How can I help you?”

“Is my father available? I’d like to discuss my education with him.”

“It looks like he should have a free minute in just a moment, would you like to wait until then or would you like to interrupt his meeting?”

“I can wait. Thank you, Nathalie.” Adrien relaxed in his chair and prayed to whichever gods would listen that this would go well, he wouldn’t know until much later that he prayed to the unbound Kwami still observing the world. (One such Kwami, known only as The Oracle, would turn their attention to the happenings of the next portion of the group’s lives with naught but a smile and a nod of acknowledgment.)

It only took a moment before Nathalie added Gabriel to the call and father and son just stared at each other. Nathalie watched as the blond duo simply stared at each other waiting for one of them to speak.

“Father,” Adrien began with a furrow in his brow, “I’ve been thinking about finishing the rest of collège and lycée so I could apply to American universities.”

Gabriel looked at his son, really looked for probably the first time since his wife succumbed to her coma, and saw what a fine young man he was becoming. “Do you plan on moving to America by yourself? Or do you plan to move in with friends? Will you need excess funds while you’re studying abroad?”

“Father, Father. Calm yourself. We’re still planning things out but, yes I will be moving in with friends. One of my friends, who’s listed in the class roster as Marinette Dupain-Cheng, is originally from this fairly large city on the East Coast. She’s been the only thing keeping us all safe in the city.”

Gabriel nodded, a small smile starting to spread across his face. “Oh yes, the adopted one. Then, Adrien, I suggest you start looking at universities.”

“Yes Father, right away.” Adrien’s face split into a smile and nodded.

“Nathalie, see if we have any connections in the area who could give us more insight into the city Adrien is in.”

“Yes sir,” Nathalie began typing on her tablet before glancing up at Gabriel, “Sir, you have a meeting with the marketing department in five minutes.”

“Yes, yes. Adrien, I shall talk to you later.”

“Thank you for your time, Father.” Adrien waved to his father and Nathalie before hanging up. He let out a deep sigh and smiled again.

Chloé wrapped her arms around Adrien’s shoulders and laughed. “I can’t believe he’s going to allow you to come with us.”

Adrien nodded, a look of awe on his face. “I didn’t either.”

“C’mon, we have to tell the others.”

---

Thana, Nino, Kim, and Alix were sitting in the lobby of the hotel, waiting for Adrien and Chloé to return from Adrien’s room so they could join the rest of the class to leave for their latest tour.

Alix rose quickly when she heard the elevator open, and watched as their two blond friends walked out. “How’d it go? What’d he say?”

Adrien smiled and let out a peal of laughter. “My father has agreed to let me accompany you all to an American university.”

Mlle. Bustier clapped her hands to draw the class’ attention. “Okay children, the bus will be here soon, which means everyone must be on their best behavior.”

Lila and Alya snuck glances at Thana and her friends before devolving into snickers and whispering snide remarks to each other. No one else paid them much attention, since they claimed that Marinette was consorting with Rogues.

“Let’s get on the bus.”

The class left the lobby and boarded the bus, pairing up in much the same way they do in the classroom. The ride went smoothly, and everyone seemed to just take in the passing city. The architecture of the city was different than any of the Parisians had ever seen, sure some of them had gone on holiday to other countries and saw different cities but nothing was like this. Where, in Paris, there would be white and red brick with glass details, Gotham was made of dark gray and black stained bricks and gargoyles lined the rooftops.

“The gargoyles are probably one of the best places to hide, if you can get that high. The ones atop Wayne Enterprises, the big building with walls that appear to be made of glass, are modeled after the Eastern Red Bat, or the Lasiurus borealis.” Thana sounded a thousand miles away as she looked out the window. Kim, sitting next to her, wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

“How do you know exactly which bat they’re modeled after?” Alix asked as she turned to look at Thana and Kim.

“I spent a lot of time hiding up there with my boys as a tyke.” Thana had a faraway smile as she turned to look at her friends. “Jay-Jay and I would scale the building to look out over the whole city and imagine a life where we didn’t spend the whole time running from adults. My Little Glowstick and I would spend all night looking up at the stars, pointing out constellations and bumming the Wayne Enterprises wifi.”

Nino chortled and glanced at his friends. “You looked at the stars?” He shook his head, “I can’t believe you can see the stars through the light pollution.”

“Alright class, we’re here!” Mlle. Bustier clapped her hands to emphasis her point and the Miraculous Court looked at the building.

Wayne Enterprises, here they come.

Taglist:

Thana was being followed, which wasn’t unusual in a city like Gotham, but the person doing the following seemed too small to be on his own. She led him through a series of back alleys and tunnels which would lead them to one of her hidey-holes. She knew that he would be able to fit through all of the tight spaces, unlike Jay-Jay.

She glanced over her shoulder and recognized the bright safety yellow hoodie he wore. “Hello, Little Glowstick. What’re you doing out so late?” She refocused on the ground in front of her and slowed down to let him catch up.

“Could ask you the same thing.” He reached out and grabbed the hem of her hoodie. “‘Sides, it’s not like anyone’ll miss me. Ma and Pa are running errands and none of the rest of the adults’re really all that keen on havin’ me ‘round.”

“Well, you can stay with me for a while. I don’t mind.”

---

Thana draped a red hoodie over top of Duke’s ridiculously bright hoodie and ushered him into the Iceberg Lounge. “Uncle Ozzy!”

“Oh, my little Chick. You get bigger every day, maybe someday you’ll be as big as me.” Oswald smiled at Thana and glanced behind her at the boy whose hand seemed to have a vice-like grip on her hoodie. “And you must be this new boy she’s been spotted with. Oswald Cobblepot, most people call me Oswald.”

“Duke, uh, Duke Thomas. She calls me Little Glowstick.”

“Uncle Ozzy, play nice. Where’re Pere and Gale?” Thana searched every face she could see for her uncle's righthand women.

“They’re out right now, on a liquor run. Should be back soon. Why don’t I take you both on back to the VIP area?”

Thana seemed to brighten at the idea. “Is Aunt Lina back from her trip?”

“Selina is in fact. She’s back there with Edward and Jonathan now.”

“C’mon Little Glowstick.” Thana reached back, grabbed Duke’s hand, and started pulling him back to the VIP area. “You’ve gotta meet Aunt Lina, Uncle Jon, and Uncle Ed.”

Oswald chuckled as Thana dragged the boy through the club, bobbing and weaving around the patrons. He knew he’d do anything for his niece, even if all he could do was provide a safe place for her to retreat to when she needs to get away from things.

---

Duke dropped in on Thana often, nearly every day for weeks. The duo was seen in the Iceberg Lounge every few days, occasionally they were at Pam’s garden, but mostly they were just seen around the city. They grew close and most nights would find Duke tucked against Thana’s side as she whispered old stories to him.

His favorites were always the ones about her and Jason, and how their meeting wasn’t the best.

---

Duke burst through the doors of the Iceberg Lounge, one of Thana’s red sweaters pulled over the top of his obnoxiously bright yellow hoodie, and fell into Oswald’s arms. “She’s gone.” Duke’s voice cracked and his eyes filled with tears.

“Who’s gone?” Oswald whispered and he stroked Duke’s back. “Peri, Gale, can you watch over this lot while I go to my office?” He received a single nod and turned away from the masses.

Duke buried his face in Oswald’s chest and sobbed his heart out. The last month had been hard on him, first losing his parents to the Joker and his Joker Gas, and now this. He felt like his whole world was crashing down around him.

“Hey, Kingfisher,” Oswald knelt down to Duke’s level and wiped his tears away, “can you tell me what’s wrong? Who’s gone?”

The tears returned and he crumbled to his knees. “Thana, she’s, they, the fuzz, they, she’s gone. The fuzz got her.”

Oswald held Duke close, promising that he’d look after Thana’s Little Glowstick in her absence. “Hey, Kingfisher, calm down. It’ll be okay. You’ll be okay. I’ll still let you in here in your yellow.”

Duke grinned a little at that. “Thought red was the only colour you let kids in wearing.”

“You’re not kids, you’re Kingfisher, you’re my Chick’s chick.” Oswald brushed away the tears on Duke’s cheeks and offered him a smile. “That makes you my nephew, and family is always welcome in my club.”

---

Duke frequented the Iceberg Lounge, spent many nights camped out on the couches in both the VIP area and in Oswald’s office, he grew close with several of Thana’s aunts and uncles over the years. Thana was never far from Duke’s thoughts, because in all the time they’d spent together, Thana treated him like he was her little brother or if he were to be so bold he would say that she treated him much like his mother did before she lost her mind. Duke was, after all, Thana’s Little Glowstick.

Taglist:

Thana watched as all of the patrons of the Iceberg Lounge turned to look as they entered. She knew they weren’t the usual crowd, seeing as how Adrien had on a fanny pack, but since they all had red, or some shade of pink, sleeves Uncle Ozzy would let them in.

“I’m sorry. Do I-” Oswald Cobblepott was, fundamentally, a good man. He would never turn away a child in need and he remembered the children he gave shelter to, so imagine his surprise when the person standing in his place of business was none other than the girl who’d managed to burrow under his skin and earn a special nickname. “Chick? Is that- are you- you’re really here?”

Thana let out a laugh and rushed at the man, throwing her arms around his neck before letting out a louder laugh. “I’m taller than you Uncle Ozzy!”

Oswald laughed before his gaze drifted back to the rest of the teens gathered just inside his place of business. “Chick, as much as I love seeing you, who’re they?”

“Oh!” Thana pulled away from Oswald before turning to her friends. “Well, the tall boy with black hair and frosted tips is Kim, the blonde girl is Chloé, the guy with short brown hair is Nino, the other blond is Adrien, and the short sporty girl is Alix. They’re friends I made in Paris, with my mother’s cousin.”

Oswald smiled and waved. “I see my niece has given you a heads up on the dress code around here.”

Kim nodded, a smile on his face. “Mèo con’s always reminding us that we have to wear red when we’re in Gotham, says she’ll ditch us if we don’t.”

Nino snorted before his eyes drifted over to the turntables. “Do you mind if I?”

Oswald smiled and nodded. “Go ahead, you can’t be any worse than my usual guy.”

Nino drifted over to the turntables and began playing some music.

Chloé strode over to the duo, a smile on her face. “It’s so nice to finally meet Fragolina’s Uncle Ozzy.”

“You must be the one my Chick won’t stop saying reminds her of the second Robin.” There was a twinkle in his eye as he pulled Thana close.

Adrien and Alix followed Kim over to the trio, where Kim draped an arm around Chloé’s shoulders. “That’s a possibility.”

---

Thana and her friends, accompanied by Thana’s Uncles Ed and Jon, toured Gotham. Thana made sure to show her friends around, showing them shortcuts to use to get around if they ever get separated from Madame Bustier. Eventually, the group came to an overgrown looking park.

“Uncle Ed, Uncle Jon. I’m going to show them around, and if we run into her introduce them. If we don’t, could one of you text her to let her know where they’re staying so we can do the introductions there?”

“Of course Mini Todd.” Her Uncle Jon nodded and wrapped an arm around Ed, who smiled softly at the act before nodding as well.

“And we’ll keep an eye out for You-Know-Who. He seems to think that you will come crawling back any day now.” Her Uncle Ed rolled his eyes.

“Thank you both so much.” Thana pressed kisses to their cheeks and smiled. “If we ever come across him, I’ll send an SOS to the group chat and then beat his ass.”

Jon and Ed pressed kisses to her cheeks and smiled. “Be safe.”

“With Aunt Pam? Always.” Thana turned towards the park and took a breath, smelling the local flowers and feeling better than she had since she’d been removed from the streets.

---

Thana led her friends around the park, pointing out all of the Poison Ivy original plants and warning her friends to stay away from them since they hadn’t built up an immunity to the toxin within the plants, with a smile on her face. “Aunt Pam always has a new plant that she’s making, and she’s been sorta kinda courting my Aunt Harley since she first saw her, although Aunt Harley used to be with this abusive asshole. I do wonder what happened to Aunt Harley’s daughter, I know she said she was with her sister but still.”

“Who?” Adrien asked, his hand hovering dangerously over a hybrid Venus Flytrap and Trumpet Pitcher plant, as he looked back at the group.

Adrien’s hand was saved by a wall of Boston ivy that shot up out of the ground. A loud scoff could be heard just beyond the plants before a beautiful head of red hair appeared through the leaves. “Didn’t your parents ever teach you not to touch wild plants?”

Thana smiled and allowed Kim to pull her into his side. “Are all of your relatives ridiculously attractive people?”

“You’ve met my Ma’s cousin,” Thana shrugged and settled more firmly against his side, “and Jervis Tetch is a rotten man, he’s rotten to the core.” Thana’s head rested against Kim’s chest, her ear close to his heart, as she forced thoughts about her birth father out of her head. “My Uncles and Aunts have this friend, Harvey Dent, who’s a little disfigured. He was in this really bad accident a while back and his face is a little hard to look at. He’s kind of nice, never really been mean to me specifically. I think he’s kinda cool though, he’s got a whole schtick about truth and luck.”

Kim nodded, his eyes flitting over the rest of their friends. Kim had never really had a big friend group, not until Thana joined their class, and then suddenly Kim was always around other people, had a shadow who was nearly as protective of him as his Mẹ was, and suddenly his fledgling crush was one of his best friends. Kim would probably always be thankful that Thana showed up when she did. Without Thana, Kim probably would have always been just a dumb jock who fell for some perfect princess. Kim knew his Mè was as thankful as he was that Thana had shown up in their lives, that Thana had stayed after she learned about the skeletons in their closets.

Kim looked at Thana, and he could see how much lighter she was here in what was the darkest city Kim had ever stepped foot in compared to back home. He could only hope that no matter where she went after Lycee, she would keep in contact with him and his Mè.

---

Thana and her friends left Robinson Park just before dinner that evening, her Uncles Jon and Ed escorting them back to the hotel when Thana’s friends went in for the night. Thana, however, followed her friends in and ate a meal with the class before ducking out of the hotel to go spend the night on the streets.

Thana refused to spend any more time in that building than absolutely necessary. She could still feel the cold lead encased in steel as it pierced her abdomen.

Thana hunkered down in an old spot, one she knew like the back of her hand, and could only hope that she would be safe here. She could only hope that she wouldn’t catch a cold while she slept on the streets.

Thana’s friends, however, slept fitfully that night in their comfortable beds in the hotel. Their thoughts filled with worry about Thana on the streets.

-*-*-*

Jason puttered around the kitchen, his feet encased in his slippers, and let out a yawn. He looked at the counter and noticed the already full coffee pot. He glanced around the room and frowned when he didn’t see anything before the sound of the TV reached him a moment later. “Duke?”

Duke’s head popped up over the back of the couch and he gave Jason a sheepish smile. “Yeah?”

Jason let out a breath and his whole body sagged for a moment. “Just had to make sure. Little twitchy after our late night visitor last night.”

“Who stopped by last night?” Duke stood up off of the floor and walked into the kitchen, sitting down on one of the counters like Tim, Steph and Cass had started doing.

Jason set his coffee mug (which read “World’s Greatest Dad” in a similar red to his helmet) down on the counter with a little more force than necessary. “The Bat.” Jason turned to the fridge to pull out the coffee creamer, but frowned when the only creamer left was the Southern Butter Pecan Pie flavour. He simply reached past and grabbed the milk to add to his coffee instead of creamer. “He wanted to know why I’d ‘taken you as well’. Because he sees you all as things to be taken and not children to be taken care of.”

---

Jason pressed a kiss to Steph and Cass’ foreheads before hitching Damian further up on his hip. “I’ll be back later. I just need to take Damian to finish introducing him to his aunt’s aunts and uncles. Unless of course, you two wish to join us.”

Steph looked at Cass and shrugged. “Timmy’s got work. I think Bart is out running around.”

Cass nodded before mussing up her hair and frowning at her sister in question.

“Kon might be in Kansas, I think he mentioned going to visit Clark’s parents. Cassie is hanging out with Donna, getting advice most likely. Cissie is spending the day with Oliver.” Steph slung an arm around Cass’ shoulders and smiled. “Give us a few minutes to get dressed and then we’ll join you.”

Jason nodded, a small smile on his face. “Of course. Take all the time you need.”

Steph and Cass disappeared into the room they had officially claimed, coming out a few minutes later in coordinated outfits.

Steph walked out wearing a dark purple crop top with black shorts and a black sweater tied around her waist. Her hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and a pair of black sunglasses, easily recognized as Kon’s, sat atop her head.

Cass, who walked out just a step behind Steph, wore a black t-shirt under a black and yellow flannel paired with black high-waisted jeans. Her hair was freely flowing around her shoulders while her wrists sported scrunchies she’d pilfered from Cassie and Cissie.

Jason shook his head at his sisters, Cass who was just a scant six months older than he was but acted so much younger and Steph who was just a few months older than Tim, and smiled. “Any particular reason for the attire today?”

“Just felt like coordinating.” Steph smiled at Jason and slung an arm around Cass. “Well, what are we waiting for?”

---

Jason led the way into the Elizabeth Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane, his sisters just behind him and Damian clinging to him like he was the only thing keeping him attached to the planet.

“So, not to question your sanity or anything but, why are we here?” Stephanie’s voice was filled with trepidation and Cass’ arm was wrapped around Steph’s in an act of comfort for both girls.

“One of Thana’s uncles is here right now. He’ll be out soon. Do not compare him to the guy who killed me.” Jason smiled at the guards on duty and continued into the building.

The person at the front desk, a young individual of indeterminate gender with short brown hair and brown eyes, looked up from the clipboard in front of them and deadpanned. “Name of the patient you’re here to see?”

“Jerome Valeska. He should be expecting me, Jason Todd.” Jason smiled and shifted slightly so Damian’s face was more comfortably buried in his neck. “My son and sisters will also be joining us today.”

The receptionist nodded and jotted down the details relayed to them. “Identification?”

Jason handed over his identification card while Steph and Cass pulled out their driver’s licenses. “My son is only nine and only has a passport, will that work?”

The receptionist nodded and smiled. “A passport will work.”

Jason pulled Damian’s passport out of his pocket and handed it over. “We’ll come back to collect those when we’re finished visiting.”

“Have a good visit.”

“Thank you.” Jason smiled and led the way back into the rehabilitation center, his sisters sticking close to his back with their free hands clinging to the back of his shirt just over where Damian’s leg rested, passing the cells filled with the more humane residents of the asylum. Jason paid them no mind, having grown used to their hooting and hollering as he passed on his previous visits.

The little four person group of the family finally reached the rehabilitation center and were let in by one of the orderlies, a bulkier individual dressed in teal scrubs. They all gave the orderly a smile and a nod as they passed into the room.

Jerome was sitting at a table with blank sheets of paper mixed in with sheets of paper filled with writing, and as soon as Jason could read what was on the paper he could see that the pages were filled with apologies and plans to become a better person if for no one other than his favourite niece and her wellbeing. Jerome looked up when Jason started to cast a shadow across his paper. “Hey buddy. You’re standing in my- Jason! What a surprise!”

Jason’s face grew soft, a smile on his face and pulled out the chair next to Jerome to sit down in. Damian was settled into Jason’s lap while Steph and Cass sat down in the chairs next to Jason’s. “How are you today Jerome?”

“I’ve been better.” Jerome had been better, before his parents and his uncle died, before his twin fell apart and brought him down with him. Jerome had been happy in the circus, performing with his family for crowds of people who adored their act, and then everything changed.

“Jerome, I’d like you to meet my son. Damian al Ghul-Todd, nephew of your niece Thana Todd, as well as my sisters, Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown.”

“Oh come on Jace. Why’d you have to use last names?” Steph pouted and punched Jason’s upper arm.

“Because now that Uncle Jerome knows of your parentage he’ll be less likely to toss anything you say aside.” Jason smiled as Jerome spoke about himself in the third person.

“What he said.” Jason let out a chuckle. Damian frowned at the lack of attention he was receiving and simply headbutted Jason in the chin. “Yes, yes, we know you’re here Kutlat Saghira. I’m sorry that we’re not paying attention to you.”

Damian pouted and puffed out his cheeks. “Baba, not here.”

Jason smiled at his son, knowing that he was safe in his arms. “I love you my Little Nugget.”

“Baba!” Damian frowned and looked towards the table, effectively ignoring the four other people at the table.

Steph and Cass watched the moment between father and son, sharing only a look before looking back at the duo.

Jerome watched as his niece’s brother smiled at his child, glad that he got to see it but all he really wanted was to see Thana.

“She’s in the city.” Jason’s voice was quiet, barely heard over the lull of the rest of the patients in the center. “She’s in the city and she, she got so big Jerome. She has a really good group of friends. You’d be proud of her.”

Taglist:

Jason startled awake, his eyes opened wide as he listened for the noise which had startled him awake. The repeated knocking of the door to his apartment had him slowly springing out of bed, trying his hardest to not disturb his Little Nugget. He silently padded through his apartment, glancing into the room Dickiebird and Replacement had crashed in that night to check on them, before opening the door and freezing when he had a mess of blonde hair pressed against his chest.

The girl attached to the blonde hair was sobbing, that much he knew, but without seeing her face he didn’t know who she was.

“Hey. Hey. I’m not sure why you’re crying but I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s wrong.” Jason rubbed her back and let her calm down at her own pace.

The girl pulled away enough to let Jason pull her into the apartment and close the door.

“I’m sorry to have just dropped in unexpectedly. I just,” her blue eyes filled with tears and at the moment Jason could see that she’d been one of the people who’d been backstage when Bruce had blown up at him, “he doesn’t really mean that, does he?”

“I don’t know.” Jason pulled her back against his chest and held her to let her finish crying. “Can you tell me your name? I don’t think we’ve been introduced since I returned.”

She sniffled and nodded. “Stephanie Brown, my dad’s the Cluemaster.” She looked up at Jason with tear-filled eyes and Jason knew he’d do anything to protect her.

“You’ll always be welcomed here. My little sister in all but blood is Mad Hatter’s daughter.”

Stephanie’s eyes widened and she nodded. “I never realized, I never thought he’d have kids.”

—

Jason had just gotten Stephanie settled in the last bedroom after her fit of crying and returned to the living room when a shadow darkened his living room windows. He watched the shadow open his window from outside and slide into his apartment before he strode across the living room and pulled the shadow to his chest. “You were there when Bruce made his proclamation, right?”

The shadow nodded and pulled away from his chest, just enough to allow a stray ray of light from a nearby streetlamp to stream across her face. The shadow turned out to be one of Bruce’s other kids, a girl named Cassandra Cain. Jason recognized her features from his time with the League, her mother was Lady Shiva.

“Oh Cassandra. You’ll always be welcomed here. My sister in all but blood is the daughter of one of Gotham’s rogues.” Jason smiled and brushed Cass’s hair away from her face. “Do you want to stay here tonight?”

Cass nodded and slumped against Jason’s chest.

Jason smiled and swung Cass up into his arms. “I hope you don’t mind sharing a room with Stephanie. She’s crashing here tonight too.” Jason carried Cass to the room Steph was sleeping in and smiled. 

He was happy that his siblings trusted him enough to have their backs. But could he trust them to have his in his search for Pixie?

-*-*-*

Thana stared at Kim’s red sleeves, knowing her friends would give her the time she needed.

“Thana. Fragolina?” Chloé asked her friend. “Are you okay?”

Thana looked at her friends and felt her eyes fill with tears. “My big brother’s alive and I’m not there.”

Nino, always good at keeping Thana grounded, started humming a song he’d realized helped her focused over the years. “Isn’t there a contest held by Wayne Enterprises?”

Alix nodded before looking at Thana. “Isn’t it an essay contest? Where everyone mentioned in the essay gets to go?”

Thana looked at the two and tried to figure out what they were talking about.

Adrien smiled and nodded. “I’ll write the essay. Just get me a list of everyone’s achievements. We’ll have to ask someone here in Paris to hold the horse miraculous if we go on the trip.”

Kim laughed, a deep rumbling laugh that vibrated his chest, and rested his head atop Thana’s. “Who would have thought all those years ago when Mèo con arrived in Paris we would all have become friends and found ourselves with the opportunity to go back to the city she was born in to meet her big brother?”

Thana grabbed Chloé’s hand and whispered. “What if he doesn’t want to see me?” Thana’s blue grey eyes locked with Chloé’s blue eyes and Chloé saw the fear reflected back at her. “He’s got all these new siblings, better siblings, why would he want to see me?”

Chloé’s response was cut off by the Akuma siren outside. She sighed before standing and stretching her arms above her head. The white gold metal of her Miraculous glinted in the light before Trixx landed on her shoulder. “Duty calls.”

The team rose to their feet, their Miraculi glinting in the light.

Adrien let an easy smile spread on his face before he shook out his shoulders. His Miraculous, a pair of silver clip on earrings, shined in the light. “Tikki, spots on.” Adrien was engulfed in a dark red light and when the light vanished, he was no longer Adrein. He was dressed in a black long-sleeved shirt, dark red pants, a dark red jacket covered in black spots surrounded by light yellow rings with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, a pair of black combat boots with light yellow accents, black gloves, and a dark red almost black mask with light yellow spots. He had a dark red yoyo settled on his left hip with black spots surrounded by light yellow rings.

Chloé tossed her hair over her shoulder before smiling. “Trixx, let’s pounce.” Chloé was engulfed in a yellow-orange light and when the light vanished, she was no longer Chloé. She was dressed in a pale yellow bodysuit, a dark orange-brown skort, knee high light brown platform boots, a light brown jacket left unzipped and dark brown gloves that ended in claws. She had a fluffy light brown tail that was tipped in black. She had a pair of fluffy fox ears atop her head, the ears and her hair a light brown that darkened as it moved towards the tip. She had a pale yellow mask with dark orange paw prints outlined in brown. A dark brown flute rested on the small of her back.

Nino stretched his arms over his head and smiled. His Miraculous, a bronze snake wrapped around his wrist, twinkled in the light. “Sass, scales slither.” Nino was engulfed in a dark green-blue light and when the light vanished, he was no longer Nino. He was dressed in dark green pants with a black long-sleeved shirt, black combat boots with a dark blue bandana wrapped around his right ankle, a dark teal hooded jacket without sleeves zipped closed over his chest with the hood pulled up over his head, dark blue gloves covered his hands and wrists, and a dark green mask with a blue scale pattern concealed his identity. A bronze lyre was secured on his back.

Alix bounced on her toes before cupping Wayzz in her hands. Her Miraculous, a malachite turtle bracelet, gleamed in the light. “Wayzz, shell on.” Alix was engulfed in a dark pastel green light and when the light vanished, she was no longer Alix. She was dressed in a light brown bodysuit with black spots of various sizes on the ends of the sleeves, matching light brown leggings with black spots of various sizes on the ends of the legs, a slightly darker brown skater skirt, black gloves, matching black sneakers, a light brown mask with black splotches, and an oversized stiff leather jacket with a myriad of splotches in an array of shades of brown and yellow. Her normally puffy pink hair was slicked back under a dark brown swimmer’s cap, with an expandable circle throwing disk hidden under her jacket and a pair smaller throwing disks hidden under the heels of her sneakers.

Kim twitched his nose, a habit he picked up from Stompp, before letting a grin spread across his face. His Miraculous, a red nephrite septum ring, glimmered in the light. “Stompp, olé.” He was engulfed in a dark sienna light and when the light vanished, he was no longer Kim. He was dressed in dark jungle green cargo pants, a dark blue-green sleeveless shirt with light seaweed blue details, a dark sienna long-sleeved high neck shirt under the sleeveless shirt, a light seaweed blue sleeveless jacket, black combat boots with dark blue-green accents, black biker gloves, and a dark jungle green mask with dark sienna accents. He had a thin dark blue-green ox tail which whipped violently behind him, dark blue-green ox ears and light seaweed blue ox horns which curled up over his head. He had a black extendable bo staff strapped to his back.

Thana let out a sigh before letting a tiny smile grace her face. Her Miraculous, a gun-metal gray ring, shined with a hazy gray shine in the overhead light. “Plagg, claws out.” She was engulfed in a dark hazy gray light and when the light vanished, she was no longer Thana or Marinette. She was dressed in a smoky black spandex suit which was so high necked that it covered the lower half of her face and covered her hands with tiny, but sharp, claws. Over her suit was a deep black jacket with dark purple lining and baggy dark gray pants with dark purple detailing. She wore what appeared to be oversized olivine sneakers (but were actually Heelys) with dark purple cat paw detailing on the soles of her sneakers (and matching cat paw detailing on the palms of her hands). Her mask was a black domino mask just like her brother’s had been, except instead of white eye lenses her’s were the same blue her brother’s eyes had been. She had a deep black hood (not unlike the hood her brother’s mentor wears) topped with deep black cat ears, a fluffy deep black cat tail which waved lazily behind her. She had a black and olivine staff secured at the small of her back.

The six teen heroes exchanged grins before they dove out the closest window.

—

Madame Bustier stood in the front of the room with a smile on her face. “Okay kiddos. Listen up.” She waited for everyone to turn their attention to her before her smile grew even bigger. “Thanks to one of your classmates, who wishes to remain nameless, we’ve won a trip. The trip is being funded by Wayne Enterprises, although that doesn’t include souvenirs, and everyone will need to have a permission slip signed by their parents because the trip is taking us to Gotham.”

Thana shot Madame Bustier a look before raising her hand. “Technically my father is in Gotham, do I need his permission?”

Madame Bustier glanced at Thana before sighing. “Ms. Dupain-Cheng. I do not approve of this newfound snark.” She shook her head before turning back to the class at large. “Everyone take one and pass them back until everyone has one.”

—

Kim sat on the settee in Thana’s Parisian room, the smaller girl held against his chest. Nino was playing music in the background while Adrien and Alix were playing Ultra Mecha Strike 3 and Chloé was going through Thana’s closet trying to find clothes for them to wear while in Gotham.

“What is the fashion like in Gotham?” Chloé glanced over her shoulder at Thana. “Colour-wise and actual fashion wise.”

“Darker than here. Unless you’re one of the rogues.” Thana sat up and scrambled for her laptop before returning to Kim’s lap on the settee. She quickly unlocked her laptop and went to Skype. She waited all of a few minutes before the familiar noise of a Skype call filled the room. The four other teens crowded around the settee and waited to see who was on the other end of the line. Thana’s face brightened and she couldn’t seem to contain her excitement.

A tall man with short red hair and green eyes sat beside a tall man with long brown hair and hazel eyes. The tall man with short red hair and green eyes smiled, the smile bringing light to his green eyes. “Hello little Hood.”

“Mini Todd.” The tall man with long brown hair and hazel eyes smiled, allowing his hazel eyes to twinkle behind his thin wire frame glasses.

“Uncle Ed. Uncle John.” Thana’s face brightened further when she smiled at the two men. “These are my friends. Kim, Nino, Alix, Adrien and Chloé. Friends, these are my Uncles Ed and John.” The seven other people waved at one another.

“Fragolina. Why did they call you little Hood and Mini Todd?” Chloé asked with a single finger on her chin.

“Jay-Jay’s last name is Todd and I used to sign all of my assignments Thana Hood.” Thana shrugged before leaning back against Kim’s chest.

“Did you hear, Mini Todd?” John asked, a smile on his face.

“Big Todd is back on the streets.” Ed continued.

“I’ll be back on the streets soon enough.”

Taglist

@southamericangothamite @maribat-is-lifeblood @mystery-5-5 @our-preciousss @mochegato @chocolatecatstheron @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen @2confused-2doanything @wannajointhecrabcult @dreamykitty25 @tomanyfandomsonmymind @moonlightstar64 @justafanwarrior @mialuvscats @pheony1882 @pepelachanel @moongoddesskiana @abrx2002 @ladybug-182  

Thana, because she would almost always refer to herself as Thana because that is the name her mother gave her and the name her brother knew to be her’s, looked around the overly pink bedroom her new parents had furnished for her. She knew her new parents had always wanted a little girl of their own, a little girl who was of their own blood. Thana looked down at the pink dress in her hands, she was to attend a function with Chloé and her parents this evening and she was to dress up.

Thana looked at her reflection in the mirror, her hair was in a pixie cut with the tips dyed black. She frowned at her reflection, she didn’t look like Thana Todd anymore. She looked like Marinette Dupain-Cheng, with her hair fading back to her normal dark red hair and her face gaining weight in ways she hadn’t expected. Thana pressed her hand against the mirror, just to see if it was real or an illusion.

She turned around and shook her head. She took a calming breath and smiled to herself. “You can do this. Just, think about what Jay-Jay would say. He’d be so proud of you.” Thana nodded and started to change out of her everyday clothes into the pink dress. She needed to get ready faster.

Thana sat at the vanity in her room, pulling out the makeup her new mom had gotten her. She added light pink eyeshadow to her eyelids before putting shimmery white eyeshadow in the inner corners of her eyes. She applied a light amount of eyeliner before swiping mascara onto her lashes. She applied a light pink gloss to her lips and smiled. If Jay-Jay saw her, he’d say she looked pretty.

Thana got up and grabbed a small white clutch, into which she put her wallet and the light pink gloss, before looking in the mirror again. She glanced into her hair, where Plagg tended to hide. “Plagg? What do you think?”

Plagg poked his head out of her hair and looked over her outfit in the mirror. Plagg’s little face split open in a smile and he settled down in her hair again. “You look pawsitively purrfect kitten. Although, you can stand to use more of our colours.”

She giggled and nodded. “I know I could. Should I use the black clutch instead? With the emerald clasp?”

Plagg considered that before nodding. “With the matching shoes. And the emerald necklace and earrings.”

Thana smiled and glanced behind her at the cheese danishes. “Would you care for a cheese danish? I’m sure we’ll be able to find some of that rich people's cheese at the function.”

Plagg dashed out of her hair and went over to the plate of cheese danishes. “You’re the sweetest kitten.”

Thana giggled and placed her white clutch on the vanity table. “You just like getting carbs with your cheese.” Thana hurried to grab the right clutch and transferred her things from the white clutch to the black clutch. She slipped on her black shoes with emerald details, grabbed her emerald necklace and earrings, and put them on. “Okay Plagg.” Thana picked up her clutch and turned to him. “What do you think now?”

Plagg smiled. “Pawsitively purrfect kitten. You’ll be the Cinderella of the ball.”

Thana and Plagg laughed before Plagg finished his danish and flew back to her hair. “Let’s go. Chloé, Kim and Nino will be here soon.”

---

Thana, the shortest of her friends, stood glumly in a corner as her eyes were focused on the screen on the opposite wall. She felt her mood darken further when the international news rolled along and displayed a story from Gotham.

“Yama Lingpa, reporting live from the Wayne conference.” Yama Lingpa was an attractive woman of Tibetan descent, with long brown hair and deep brown eyes. “Mr. Wayne is addressing the world today regarding his sons.”

Bruce Wayne became the focus of the camera, despite the four black haired boys behind him, with an easy smile on his face. “First of all, I’d like to thank you all for being here today. Second of all, I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge and remember all of the parents who don’t get their children back.” Bruce bowed his head in silence, an action quickly followed by the rest of the people in attendance. “Finally, I’d like to introduce you all to my sons. One of them you’ve all probably heard of before, as we believed we’d buried him some years ago.” Bruce cleared his throat before motioning for two of his sons to step forward. Bruce pointed to the younger of the two, who bore a striking resemblance to him. “This is my son Damian, who was conceived through less than ideal means. He’s the only one who’s actually biologically my son but that does not mean I love the rest of my sons any less.” Bruce pointed to his other son, older but not the oldest, who’s blue eyes kept Thana’s eyes affixed to the screen. “My second son, Jason Peter Todd, has returned. He’s the one who brought Damian to me, after being kidnapped by Damian’s mother.”

Thana could no longer focus, a gasp escaping her, as she gazed at her brother for the first time since she’d been forced out of Gotham.

“I know. Isn’t he dreamy?” An older girl asked from beside Thana. “I would climb on top of him and ride him like the prize stallion.”

Chloé appeared out of nowhere and cleared her throat. “You do know that’s her brother, right? And no girl wants to hear that another girl wants to ride their brother.” Chloé seemed to process her words for a moment before turning to Thana. “Your brother? But,” she shook herself before placing a hand on Thana’s shoulder. “I’ll go get the others. We’ll go back to mine and talk. Collect some snacks.”

Thana walked over to the buffet-style table loaded with various foods, grabbed a variety of different foil containers, and filled them with the snacks each person would enjoy. She did everything as though on autopilot, barely noticing when Chloé returned until Nino took the containers from her, and Kim, with his red suit jacket, pulled her against his chest. Behind Thana’s friends stood Chloé’s oldest friend, Adrien, and Alix Kubdel.

The six teens walked out of the hall, hushed whispers following them out.

-*-*-*

Jason let the smile slip from his face as soon as he joined Dick and Tim backstage. He turned away from Bruce and Damian, feeling the younger boy grab his left hand anyway. “What did you mean? You couldn’t possibly. Dickiebird, Replacement. Please tell me you’re kidding.”

Tim shrugged sheepishly before pulling out the polaroids. “It happened in broad daylight. I’m sorry, I was nine I didn’t know what to do.”

Dick frowned. “I wasn’t even in the city that day.” Dick looked at his little brothers and pulled them close. “I promise, we’ll track her down.”

Bruce frowned and narrowed his eyes at his oldest. “You will do no such thing. No son of mine will be running around with the child of a rogue.”

Jason pulled away from his brothers and raised an eyebrow at Bruce. “Alfred would call you a hypocrite. I’ll call you an ass. Pixie is my little sister and she will always come first.” Jason turned back to his brothers before gently pushing Damian towards Tim. "You're still living in the manor, right? Can you take him there for a while? There are some things I need to take care of before I can take him in."

Tim nodded before wrapping an arm around Damian.

Dick tugged Jason into his arms a final time before letting him go. “You’ll find her.”

---

Jason frowned at the red haired man from his hiding place amongst the shadows.

“Where oh where has my little Alice gone? She was so sweet, so tiny, so much fun to play with.” Tetch’s voice would have sent shivers down a lesser man’s spine, but Jason would never forget the night he met Pixie.

Jason silently leapt down from his hiding place and pulled a gun on Tetch. He felt a sinister smile spread across his face and tilted his head in a rather Joker-esque manner. “Watcha doin’ Hatter?”

Tetch jolted before a crazed laugh poured from his lips. “Oh my little Alice’s white rabbit! So pleasant to see you. It really has been so long, hasn’t it? Since poor old Joker sunk his claws in you and ruined you.” A manic smile spread across his face and he mimicked Jason’s head tilt. “Oh but my poor sweet Alice’s white rabbit has grown up to be such a dick.”

Jason growled and moved his gun to put a round in Tetch’s arm. “Back to Arkham with you. And tell Joker, he won’t get a second chance.” Jason hauled the bleeding man up and off they went.

---

Jason had dropped Tetch off just inside the gates and set off the alarm before booking it in the opposite direction. He systematically checked the city, going over all of the known haunts for street kids before going over all of his haunts with Pixie. He just wanted to find something that would lead him to wherever his sister had been carted off to. He was sitting on the roof of a building when he felt a presence looming over him. “If B sent you, you can fuck off. If Joker sent you, I’ll break your kneecaps.”

The presence, who turned out to be The Riddler, sat beside Jason. “Neither of them sent me. Neither of them would send me. I’m a free agent. However, we have something in common. Our affection for Hatter’s girl.”

Jason turned to look at the rogue. “Hatter’s girl?”

Ed smiled and pulled out a worn photo from his wallet. He held the photo so that Jason could see it and smiled. “She saw me. The real me.”

Jason glanced at the rogue with a newfound affection and smiled. “She was funny like that.”

---

Jason smiled as he looked around his new apartment. He had rented an apartment with three bedrooms, on the off chance he would find his sister again and one of his brothers stayed over because Damian, his little nugget, refused to sleep alone.

Jason straightened his shoulders before straightening his clothing in his closet. He was excited, today was the day his little nugget was coming home. He walked from his bedroom to the kitchen and wiped down the counters again.

A knock sounded on his door before his excited nine-year-old babbled something in Arabic before just opening the door.

“Little Nugget!” Jason smiled and crouched to accept the nine year old into his arms before standing up and adjusting his little nugget onto his hip. “Replacement.” He cleared his throat before looking over at his older brother. “Dickiebird.”

Tim smiled and shrugged. “Do you mind if I crash here for a while?”

Jason smiled. “Mi casa es su casa.” He smiled as his excited nine-year-old babbled at him. “Ya hayati, I’m going to put you down now. Okay? You can either stay here or go find our room.”

Damian ran off to go find their room with excited laughter falling from his lips.

Jason turned back to his brothers and schooled his features. “Before you say anything, I’ve been the only one to show that boy any affection since he was born. Also, he sleeps better if he’s laying down with someone.”

---

The four brothers sat on the roof of the apartment building, Damian on Jason’s lap and Tim leaning against Dick’s side.

“Thank you for being here for me. I appreciate your support.” Jason smiled at his brothers and the four just watched the sky for a while before going back into Jason’s apartment. He would always search for his little sister, but until he found her he was grateful that he had his brothers to help watch his back.

Taglist

@southamericangothamite @maribat-is-lifeblood @mystery-5-5 @our-preciousss @mochegato @chocolatecatstheron @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen  @2confused-2doanything @wannajointhecrabcult @dreamykitty25 @tomanyfandomsonmymind @moonlightstar64 @justafanwarrior @mialuvscats @pheony1882 @pepelachanel