As Above so Below
A few weeks later.
Jason was used to the unusuality of his life by now, and how it became more complicated by the moment. What happened on this particular evening, though, was unsettling at best.
He had always known Dick to be overprotective. Even at his most distant, if he heard of any of the youngins receiving severe enough damage in any way, he was inclined to fall into his bloodlust.
A few memories came to mind, but the most prominent was when the Joker nearly killed him and Charlie. It caused a huge commotion in the manor for a few reasons.
It was the most severe reaction they had seen.
He found the Joker before Bruce.
And last but certainly not least, he killed the Joker. It was a point of contention between Dick, Jason, and Bruce, seeing as the older man brought him back to life.
So having him on Charlie’s case wasn’t too much of a surprise. Having Roy join and eventually Wally made sense. They needed someone to hold him back when they finally caught the bastards.
Though, in retrospect, they didn’t hold Dick back very much.
Jason knew this for a fact because he was currently staring at the aftermath.
Frederick was currently bloodied and beaten, his body hanging from the clock tower in the ‘As above so Below’ form.
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His jaw was hanging on by one side, his eyes appeared to be gouged out, while the skin on his face was burned, charred like he was face first in a fire. Obvious arm and leg breaks dripped down his limbs, landing on the concrete beneath.
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The more intriguing factor was the fact that the Death Eater symbol was drawn behind the body, in Nightwing blue, with a giant red X over it.
The message was simple but clear.
Jason wandered away from the scene. After all, it was almost curfew; he couldn’t possibly be late for that.
The man was groaning from his place on the clock tower, miraculously alive, somehow.
Jason smirked as the sound faded away, his steps overtaking the quiet night. Breakfast would be interesting.
---
Fred loved being a twin, he loved the mischief it caused, but he hated sometimes that it was the defining factor. He was so much more than just a twin. His family didn’t see that, but his friends did. Jason, particularly, was excellent at telling them apart. Then there was Angelina, beautiful, powerful, and funny Angelina. She slowly was becoming his favorite to hang out with. She was sharp, witty, and down-to-earth.
And the way her eyes locked with his, twinkling with mischief, made shivers trail down his spine.
So when he and George were strolling along the corridors, finishing up a prank for Professor Snape, he confessed his feelings for the witch to his best friend.
“Take her to the ball then! I think you’d make a strapping couple.” George smiled at his brother, trying not to let him know how nervous he was about what he was about to confess.
Fred stopped in his tracks, looking at his brother. “You like Angelina, don’t you?”
George was taken aback by this. “What?”
“You do, don’t you?” Fred’s eyes widened. “You’re nervous. Oh man, I really like her too. I don’t know how we can solve this. Maybe we ask her, see who—”
“I’m dating someone already!” George bellowed out, causing some portraits to grumble at him. He grabbed Fred's arm and dragged him away from the spot and into a little alcove.
“You’re dating someone? Why haven’t you told me?” Fred didn’t even try to hide the fact that he was hurt. This was his other half hiding stuff from him, after all.
George chewed his lip for a moment. “I wanted to be sure before I told you.”
Fred narrowed his eyes. “Well, I would prefer if you told me sooner! But who is the lucky lass?”
George’s eyes were focused on his shoes as they played with some imaginary dirt. “It’s a man.”
Fred blinked his eyes for a few minutes, unsure of how to process the words.
“Fred?”
“Give me a moment.” Fred stared off into the distance. “You aren’t sleeping with Jason, are you?”
George reeled back. “What? No!”
“Okay, sorry, just had to ask.” Fred cracked a smile. “You were so nervous, I thought— Oh God, please tell me it’s not Snape?!”
George physically began to dry heave. “NO! No one at this school.”
“Really? Who is it? How’d you meet?” Fred tilted his head.
“You remember the fancy party last year, Jason and Hari’s dad held?” Fred nodded, listening. “You might remember him. His name was Kaldur’ahm. The Atlantean?”
“That hunk of beef? Or should I say fish?” Fred joked. “But seriously, him? He was so... stern. Isn’t he like 20?”
“17, the same as Jason. I don’t know. I was talking with him about the Atlantean tech he uses and distributes to select Wayne facilities, thinking we might be able to use it for the shop when we finally open it. Then we were talking about the difficulties of feeling out of place. Next thing I knew, I was meeting him in the boathouse, sharing meals and laughing.” George blushed as he remembered the first time they kissed. “So we’ve been dating.”
“Are you going to tell Mom?” Fred asked, slightly worried about her response.
George shook his head. “Not for a long while. But I was going to bring him to the dance. If that’s alright with you.”
Fred pulled George in for a tight hug.
“George, you don’t need my permission to bring your boyfriend. You really don’t need my permission for anything. I’m glad you’re telling me now. I can’t wait to get reacquainted with him!”
“You don’t remember what he looks like, do you?”
“Vaguely. I can’t remember the details of his face. And if he is making out with my look-alike, he better be handsome.”
The boys giggled to themselves as they separated, George wiping a few tears away from his eyes, relieved that his other half was perfectly okay with his choices.
They began to sneak back to Gryffindor Tower when they were stopped by an ear-piercing scream.
Fred was faster than George as they raced towards the scream. It wasn’t a prank-type; it felt more urgent, like danger was near the person.
The twins stopped as they saw a figure curled up on the ground, small and thin.
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Her emaciated body was covered in rags, and they carried a smell on them. She also had bloodied ankles and wrists, her overgrown hair covered most of her face. Her lips were chapped and bleeding, but her eyes watched them as they came closer. It was apparent she used the last of her energy to scream for help.
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George held his mouth as he realized who it was. “Fred, that's Charlie!”
Fred motioned for his twin to help up the girl. Her long hair brushed against his arm as she struggled to stand. “I’m going to carry you now.”
A weak nod was all he received as he picked her up gently. “George, go to Madam Pomfrey to let her know we are coming. I don’t want to jostle her too much.”
George ran like the devil was on his tail.
“It’s alright, Charlie. We’ve got you now.”