Pairing: none, mentions of TimSteph, DickBabs… Maybe DamSteph if you want that.
Summary: Years have passed, and most of the Bat family has died. Damian is Batman now, with his own "family." After years away, he returns to the Manor with his Red Hood, Robin, and Batgirl.
Notes: May seem OOC on Damian's part. There's another note after the story to clear up a few potential questions.
Wayne Manor loomed before the small group that approached from the rusted – and now useless – gates, a darker stain across the night sky. The leader of the quartet frowned as he noticed the front door hanging on its hinges, the latch useless and scarred from a crowbar. So, the old place had been broken into, and possibly vandalized, since he had abandoned it.
Warily, the younger members who were following him made their way into the house, weapons at the ready as they checked for squatters or an ambush. The older man pushed the door behind them closed, holding it steady a moment to lessen the chance of it swinging back. As all three of his team gave an 'all clear' signal, he pushed the horned cowl back off of his head.
"Welcome to Wayne Manor," Damian growled to himself, looking at the dilapidated state of his father's ancestral home.
"So, this is where you grew up, Dami?" the oldest of the trio piped up, flipping the catch on his red helmet to pull it off. "I remember Dad talking about it, but this place is kinda sad, ain't it?" Thomas Grayson looked over at his mentor, but felt the half smile slip. The third Batman was staring at the remains of a chandelier, smashed to bits on the floor of the foyer. He looked over at his adopted siblings, who both shrugged; they had no idea what was up with Damian, either.
Damian could hear a childish laugh echoing off the walls – one that he had heard in the deeper tones of a man – and almost-saw a boy swinging from the chandelier, pristine and hanging. He had never actually seen such a thing, but remembered Alfred's stories of the first Robin's antics. As the last echo faded in his mind, he shook himself from his reverie and looked at his partners.
The moon had managed to break through the constant haze that permeated the skies above Gotham, leaking pale light over his team. He could see his daughter, Roxana, on the stairs; the black-haired Batgirl was making her way to the location all the stories she had been told gave for an entrance to the Cave. The blonde girl skipped after her, eager to see the rest of the building. The current Red Hood was ambling towards the dining room, obviously more eager to scope out the lower level. After a moment, Damian followed the youth, only to find him staring at the texts lying out over the table.
"Either you guys left in a real hurry or some unfortunate kid's been hanging out here and trying to study..." Thomas addressed him over his shoulder.
"Or someone pulled out books from the study to try getting a better idea of what they were up against if they came after us." Damian jerked his head back towards the door, and the kid got the hint. As the boy left to follow the girls, the new Bat felt his expression soften, ghosts of memories drifting past.
An elderly butler was leaning over to help the Asian girl read, encouraging her timid smile as she made progress. "Very good, Miss Cassandra," Damian could almost hear as he turned to follow the children. "You've made excellent progress."
The hallway to the study was just as crowded with memories as the rest of the house. Damian could believe he caught a glimpse of blue in an empty bedroom, and bent to pick up a stuffed elephant sitting just outside the sagging door. The toy dissolved at his touch; however, and he walked past.
The thud of socked feet quickly approached, making Damian tense in anticipation as he turned towards them... but he only saw a memory of an angry Tim running through him, shouting at the child he used to be. The Knight closed his eyes and sighed, then continued into the study to follow his protégés into the darkness below.
As the group made their way down the stairs into the original Bat-lair, Damian was happy to note that, while the place needed a good scrubbing (that would undoubtedly take days to accomplish), everything seemed to be in working order. Dick's son only took a few minutes to get the generators up and running, which gave Jan Drake – the current Robin – the opportunity to get the computers back online.
There were ghosts down in the Cave, too. They were easier to ignore, however, as Damian was used to focusing on other things here, and the ghosts of the past had been there in his own days as Robin. Some just refused to be quiet and drew him to their side, like the case holding the first memorial for a fallen bird. Damian's hand came up to rest on the glass, but quickly yanked it away as a laughing - but slightly tinny - voice echoed off the rock and metal environment.
"This is the best day of my life!"
His eyes came to rest on the wide-eyed girl at the computer. Jan held her hands up, babbling apologetically for her mistake.
"I didn't mean to, Damian! It wasn't labeled, and -"
"Turn it off and get back to work," he cut her off. The blonde ducked her head and spun around to go back to her task, and he saw Roxana move closer to squeeze the Robin's shoulder.
With the kids set to their tasks, Damian made his way back up the stairs. He had somewhere else to visit, and he would rather be alone for that particular event. His route took him through the manor, past some sheet-covered furniture, and out into the garden.
With a small amount of longing for the lovingly manicured flora that had been the norm during Alfred's tenure at the manor, Damian looked at the brambles and various weeds that had overtaken the beds. Unfortunately, the garden was just as haunted as the rest of the former home...
There was an echo of Dick and Babs, the former holding the original Batgirl with her back to his chest, both of them swaying in the night and smiling softly. With nothing to distract him, Damian continued staring out at the overgrowth, content in letting the memory play out. His final destination, however, weighed heavily on his conscience, so he let the ghosts fade back into the shadows of his mind.
He had memorized the path to the Wayne family's graves as a child long ago, and although there were some trees growing on the worn trail, he was still able to navigate his way. As he passed one of the newer trees, a hand shot out and grabbed his wrist, quickly followed by the echoed image of Stephanie's form, smiling brightly and tugging his hands to a dancing position. In his surprised state - it had snuck up on him with no warning this time - Damian complied with the ghost of his memory, moving along as she started humming The Blue Danube Waltz.
He never noticed that they were moving forward on the path, not until Stephanie stopped the dance and looked at him with a sad smile. "I'm glad you came back, Damian."
Damian's eyes widened a little; this wasn't a memory. This had never happened. When he didn't speak, Stephanie urged him on.
"Go on. You have somewhere to be."
He looked towards his destination for a moment before looking back at her, but she had faded into the trees again. He made his way forward once more with leaden steps, eventually coming to a stop in front of the tombstones, and one last ghost that turned towards him. Damian wondered if the pride showing on the original Bat's face was his own wishful thinking, or if his father was actually expressing such.
"Father..."
A/N: Ok, so… Jan Drake is supposed to be Tim and Stephanie's daughter, Thomas Grayson is actually canon in something, and I recycled him as Dick and Bab's son for my purposes. Roxana is Damian's own daughter, and is named after the woman Alexander the Great actually was purported to love. I'M NOT SAYING WHO HER MOTHER IS BECAUSE OF REASONS.
No, I am not going to do a follow-up. I leave everything in this story up for your own interpretation. There is no right or wrong, except in believing that anyone is alive except for Jan, Roxana, Thomas, and Damian.
The story came about because of having sad feels from one song followed up by "Plant Life" by Owl City. And the original idea was actually a vastly different AU with only Dick, Stephanie, Jason, and Cassandra having died. This one was much easier to write, and more likely for me to finish.