"It's true, Damian," Tim said solemnly. "If you plan to fight under the mantle of the Bat, it's necessary."
"I don't believe you," Damian groused. "Besides, I am the true blood heir to the mantle. I need nothing else."
Tim shrugged. "You're also true blood heir to the Demon's Head. And yet what is the Lazarus Pit without ceremony and ritual? Are you saying Ra's Al Ghul submits himself to something you wouldn't need, that you're better than he is?"
Damian looked like he had been slapped. "No, of course not!" he snapped. "How could you suggest such a thing?"
"I didn't suggest anything," Tim answered. "I simply said that if ceremony and ritual was unnecessary to a true blood heir, then it sound like YOU'RE suggesting that you are superior to Ra's."
"Fine!" Damian hissed. "If you, Todd, and Grayson all did it, it should be no challenge for me."
"Just going through the motions, no, that would be no challenge to anyone," Tim said. "But taking it seriously, honoring the tradition and the legacy, separating yourself from what you were before as you make a new start, that kind of commitment and seriousness is a great challenge."
Damian thought for a moment, and then he silently extended his hand to Tim and took the razor, the shaving cream, the bottle, and the towel before walking into one of the darker passages of the cave.
Tim was in the kitchen nibbling on one of Alfred's gourmet chocolate chip cookies while Bruce read the financial section of the Gotham Times. They both looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps and their reactions as Damian entered the kitchen were quite different. Tim nearly choked on his cookie and immediately excused himself. Bruce raised his eyebrows and asked, "Damian, what on earth have you done?"
"I have completed the ceremony and ritual, affirming my place under the mantle of the Bat," Damian announced proudly, albeit with a slight wince.
"What ceremony and ritual?" Bruce asked. "And why did you shave your head?"
"To separate myself from what I was before in a new start, just as Grayson, Todd and Drake did," Damian replied. "The removal of the hair that grew before symbolizes removing the person I was before, and as the hair grows back, it symbolizes the growth of the person who shares in the Mantle and the Mission. Granted, it's not much of a ritual in comparison to the Lazarus Pit, but ... "
"What are you talking about?" Bruce growled. "There may have been an oath at one time, but nobody shaved their head."
"Not their heads?" Damian asked. "And if not their heads then not ..... " His voice trailed off as he handed Bruce a bottle and hissed, "And what about this?"
Bruce took the bottle with a professionally appearing label that read, "Bat Nair". He looked the bottle over and started to tug at the label, which fell away to reveal another label that read, "Liquid Heat".
Bruce tried desperately to stifle the laugh that struggled to get out, and only the steeliness of his will limited him to a short snort. He didn't trust himself to speak, and he simply handed the bottle back to Damian and shook his head no.
Damian's eyes narrowed, he took a deep breath, and he bellowed, "DRAAAAAAAAKE!"
Down in the garage, Tim hurriedly belted himself into the Redbird, and as he accelerated out of the cave, he touched the comlink. "Hey, Nightwing, is it okay if I bunk with you for a night or two? Or maybe a year?!"