Work Text:
"Hey! Back off!" Stephanie yelled whilst Jason hissed like a wild cat and put himself between Edward Nashton and Arthur Brown.
The taller, stronger one trembled with rage but luckily he didn't engage in a proper fight, otherwise he'd easily have the upper hand.
"So that's why you ditch me, Eddie?" Arthur spat with so much venom his voice seemed saturated with hatred. "Because you find it 'cool' to hang out with my daughter and a street urchin?! You abandon everything you designed for the... ridiculous reason you suddenly discovered yourself a soft spot for stupid children you don't want to disappoint?!"
Ed tentatively stood back up, after the violence of the punches he received made him fall to the ground. Shaking with fright and shame, he wiped the blood that trickled from his split lip. A crack appeared on the lower right lense of his glasses and his whole skin felt hot where Arthur's fist collided with the right side of his face. Given the burning sensation, he'll probably inherit of a swollen eye, a large bruise on the cheek... he just hoped his nose was not broken.
Jay and Ed went to the Brown household, Edward firmly resolute to do something about the remnants of him and his followers' 'plan'. He asked Jason to get Steph and stay upstairs with her whilst he has a talk with her father.
Naturally, the curious children spied on their dispute... and hurried back to the living room after Arthur hit the smaller man when Edward told him he cancels everything and will certainly not go on with the 'grand final' they initially envisaged.
"Get out of my house," Brown commanded in a menacing voice. "You disgusting coward."
Having been bullied his entire life, Eddie learned how to identify beneficial opportunities not to get beaten further.
"We're going," he approved, shivering. "I just... wanted to warn you and... take Steph with me."
The blond man arched an eyebrow.
"You have no rights over my daughter. As far as I'm aware, you and I don't have a shared custody. Stephanie," he added, a cavernous growl to threaten her. "If you follow him, I am calling the police to say a stranger broke into my house to kidnap my kid."
"If you don't let me leave," the brave little soldier retorted, chin in the air, "I am calling the police to expose your involvment in Oswald Cobblepot's branch of the drug dealing network. You don't remember that I have an excellent eidetic memory, dad? I heard you talk over the phone. I can give names, numbers, locations... so many compromising informations. That's what you get, not paying attention to what your genius of a child may or may not hear from what you share with associates of yours. Yes, I know... I'm just that good."
Edward felt a strong sense of... pride, blooming in his heart at the sight of this way too smart girl acting like a boastful peacock strutting around.
Stephanie may not be his child, at this instant he felt like he taught her well.
"We're outta here!" Jason concluded, grinning.
When they exited the house, they worried about Eddie's injuries.
"Do you wanna see a doctor?" Steph asked while they followed him to the nearest bus station.
"I'm fine," he denied softly. "And it's not a doctor I'll consult in near future but... a detective. Preferably an handsome, dreamy detective who has a vampire fetishism. And then a lawyer. Arthur may be dumb, he is not wrong on that point: for now I have no... legal rights over the two of you. If I want to remedy this issue though, first thing I must unmask the end of the plan Art and... a few other followers crafted with me."
"... Before all of that," Steph corrected, acting more mature than her age at the moment, "we are going back to your house, you will check yourself in a mirror, clean the blood, make sure nothing is broken, treat the forming bruises and tell us how we can help."
"Yeah," Jason backed-up casually. "One thing at a time: patchin' you up is da priority, since yar face is slowly but surely resembling chopped beef."
"... Thanks a lot, Jaybird," Eddie sighed.
"Ya're welcome."
They ended up giggling like three complicit kiddos.
That was before Ed whined like a big baby once he indeed cleaned the bruises in his minuscule bathroom, repeating it 'stings' and 'hurts' despite the injuries being only blows, he had no broken bones or anything of the type.
Jay and Steph's skeptical remarks about Eddie being worse than a spoiled little girl when it comes to handle pain didn't help.
They may be teasing, at least they made him a hot chocolate and opened a box of candies when he finished to apply cream over the purple bruises.