Chapter 3
Day one of his training rolled around, a Sunday, and Kaden felt more excited than he ever had, but he had to keep a lid on it or he'd blow his and Damian's secret before they even began. So he, impatiently, waited in his room for Star to come in and 'wake him up.' Sure enough the old dog came through his door, tail wagging, hopping up onto his bed. Kaden rolled over and looked up at her, and her face was right in his.
"Good morning girl," he said with a smile, patting the dog's head. Her tail started wagging again and she licked his face. Kaden laughed and scratched her behind his ears before pulling himself out of bed. He jumped into a pair of dark jeans and pulled on a black Nightwing t-shirt (he was a nerd like his papa) and padded out to the kitchen, rubbing the 'sleep' from his eyes.
Dick was wide awake and in a good mood, dressed in naught by a pair of lightning blue dorm pants, as per the norm and cooking breakfast. They were all on some biological alarm clock that Dick seemed to know by heart, so it was no surprise when they found he'd been cooking breakfast for them while they were still sleeping.
Dick glanced up at Kaden and flashed a smile. He flipped a couple of eggs and some bacon onto a plate, then grabbed the toast as it popped and placed it on the table, ruffling Kaden's hair.
"Morning baby bird!" Dick said cheerily. Kaden smiled at his papa and sat down at the table, internally feeling incredibly impatient to get over to the manor and start training with Damian. But again, he had to hide it, hide his excitement, or his parents might get suspicious.
Kaden glanced down when he heard a whimper and saw Star looking up at him expectantly. She tilted her head and activated his kryptonite and so Kaden sighed, glancing back to make sure his pa wasn't listening before feeding her a piece of bacon. She wagged her tail and ate it up, licking his fingers appreciatively before padding off to her doggy bed in the living room.
Dick sat at the table across from Kaden and began eating his own food. He looked up at Kaden and flashed him another smile.
"So, Kade, " Dick began, dipping a piece of toast in egg yolk "dad's birthday is coming up pretty soon. He'll be turning 40." He took a bit, glancing up at Kaden and grabbing his coffee cup. Kaden took a bite of egg, mischief sparkling in his eyes.
"Yeah, you and him are getting old as shit now, huh?" he teased.
"Bite me you little brat," Dick answered with a laugh. Kaden snorted.
"Pretty sure that's dad's job," Kaden replied easily, making his papa's face turn pink.
"You're definitely your father's kid," Dick replied, face palming. Kaden grinned wickedly as he sipped his coffee. Dick looked back at his son again and his smile returned.
"I was thinking we could do something special for his birthday," he went on giving a quick wave of his hand. Kaden glanced down the hallway, then back to his papa, but Dick just snorted and said "he didn't get in until three am. Trust me, your father will be dead to the world for the next few hours."
Kaden looked back down at his plate, grabbing up a piece of bacon and popping it into his mouth as he considered what his pa had told him. Something special for his birthday? But what?
"Well, you've known dad since before I was born. Why ask me?" Kaden said then. Dick leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Because you're his son, my son. Of course we want you involved," Dick replied easily. Kaden smiled and mulled some ideas over in his head while he finished his breakfast. His father's birthday was next week, so there was plenty of time for ideas. He didn't have any at the moment, but he'd think of something.
"Well, we have a week, and I guess...well, dad and I don't really get to hang out a lot anymore, so it'd be kinda cool, y'know?" Kaden answered with a shrug of his shoulders. Dick smiled at him and gave a nod in understanding. It was true that Jason had been really busy in recent months with his work as the Red Hood.
"Listen pa, I gotta go, Damian's expecting me at the manor. You know how he is if you're late," Kaden said with a small laugh, sliding out of his chair and heading for the door. He kicked on his shoes and grabbed his jacket and when he turned, his father was shuffling out of the bedroom, looking like a zombie.
"Morning dad," Kaden called. Jason looked over at him, scowl on his face and Kaden snorted, holding back a laughter before heading out the door. But before he could get fully out the door, his papa called him.
"Hey Kade, why don't you take dad's motorcycle, huh? You got your license, and I don't think he's going anywhere today," Dick called. Jason glared at him.
"No, he's not taking my bike, I need it," Jason snapped. Dick snorted.
"You're tired as hell, you're not going anywhere," he replied. Jason snorted.
"Like hell I'm not." Then Dick leaned in close and whispered in his ear and Jason grinned like the devil. Kaden shuddered at the look on his father's face, a bit afraid to know what he had been told.
"Keys are by the door," Dick called. Kaden looked up at the wall beside the door and grabbed the keys off the wall.
"Thanks pa! Don't worry dad, I'll take good care of it!" Kaden called with a huge grin on his face; he'd only gotten to drive the motorcycle once before, ever. His father had let him after a back and forth with Dick and Kaden decided that day that he loved motorcycles.
So Kaden detached the sidecar and happily hopped onto the bike, revving the engine a bit before taking off down the street. It didn't take him long to reach the manor, maybe five minutes tops, which was a little sad; he was kind of hoping for a longer drive. But when he arrived, Alfred seemed to be expecting him. As soon as he parked the bike the door swung open and the old butler stood there with a smile on his face.
"Heya Alf!" Kaden called, giving the man a hug. Alfred was in his 90s now, but apparently, retirement was out of the question. Jason had once suggested it, and with a straight face, Alfred's answer was "I shall retire when I am dead, sir."
"Good morning master Kaden," Alfred said with a slight bow of his head. KAden smiled at the man and made his way inside, his grin growing wider when he spotted his Uncle Tim, talking with grandpa.
"Uncle Tim!" Kaden called. Tim glanced over at Kaden and his face lit up and Bruce's too. Kaden approached the two of them, giving them both a big bear hug each.
"Hey Kaden, how's it going?" Tim asked, clapping the teen on the back. Kaden chuckled in amusement and glanced over at his grandfather.
"Oh you know how it is; school sucks ass, dad's overprotective of me, and Damian is-"
"Damian is what?" came Damian's voice from behind him. Kaden turned and smiled at his half-brother.
"A pain in the ass," Kaden replied, giving Damian a hug. Damian snorted and pushed him off; Kaden had picked up his hugging habit from Dick.
"Get off of me and let's go," Damian said flatly. Kaden snorted and followed after the older man, waving to his grandfather and uncle.
"I guess I'll talk to you guys later!" Kaden called back, following Damian down into the batcave. He looked forward at Damian and added "and dude, you seriously need to work on your people skills."
"I hate people."
"I noticed." Kaden followed Damian down into the training area, then onto the lockers where the gear was kept. Damian dug through it and tossed him a black Kevlar suit, followed by some gloves, boots, and a utility belt. Kaden caught it all and set it down nearby.
"Huh. Nice. How do you know it will fit?" Kaden asked. Damian looked him over, briefly, and answered "it'll fit. You're about your father's size when he was your age, at least from what I've seen." Kaden looked down at the gear and then back at Damian.
"Really? So this was dad's gear?" Kaden asked. Damian nodded.
"Yes and no. It was supposed to be but..." he paused, not sure whether or not to mention the...incident...where Jason went missing for five months, kidnapped by the Joker.
"But what?" Kaden asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"Nothing. It's unfinished, as you can see. Once you have your identity, then we can finish it. But for now, try that on and see how it fits," Damian ordered. Kaden gave a curt nod and went about pulling on the gear. As Damian had guessed, it fit snugly. The Kevlar uniform was completely black and the gloves and boots were reminiscent of Dick's Nightwing gear.
"Huh, nice. Fits like a glove," Kaden said, looking himself over in a mirror nearby.
"You still have that oni mask?" Damian asked. Kaden pulled the mask out of his jacket and flashed it to Damian. Damian snatched it out of his hands and tossed it. Kaden gasped and chased after it.
"Hey! That was a gift from Uncle Tim!" Kaden snapped, brushing it off. Damian snorted.
"You can't use that. But you'll need to cover your entire face so Dick and Jason don't recognize you. A domino mask won't work," Damian said firmly. He then pointed to Kaden's ears.
"And the piercings gotta go. And this-" Damian moved toward Kaden and ran his fingers through the locks of white hair hanging down in front of his face.
"This has to go to."
"What, why? I like it!" Kaden protested. Damian snorted and shook his head, running a hand through his hair.
"First of all, emulating your father is a bad idea, because he's a fucking idiot," Damian snapped.
"Hey, watch it!" Kaden snapped, taking offense to Damian insulting his father. But Damian ignored it.
"Secondly, no identifying marks, remember?" Kaden sighed and ran his fingers through the white strands. He'd originally done it to be more like his dad. But over time, he came to like it because it looked cool.
"What about temporary dye or something?" Kaden suggested. Damian shrugged.
"That could work I guess. Next, you'll need an alias." Kaden looked back at Damian and then down at the oni mask in his hands. Some ideas began forming in his mind as he considered the possibilities. Then he grinned as an idea came to mind.
"How about "Ghost"?" Kaden asked. Damian frowned at first, mulling the name over in his head a bit. He scratched his chin, and paced a little bit.
"Not bad. But how about "Revenant" instead?" Damian asked. Kaden's face lit up; he really liked that name.
"Or what about "Reaper"?"
"Or "Wraith". Hmm, either way, you may be onto something with this 'ghost' theme. I like it" Damian suggested, nodding toward the oni mask in the teen's hands. Kaden grinned widely as Damian slipped past him and gestured for him to follow.
"We can worry about that later. For now, your training begins. Now," Damian called, gesturing Kaden toward the sparring ring. Kaden carefully placed the gear back into the locker and followed after his half-brother.
"First, we need to get a feel for your style, and then we can work on improving that. You've been training in martial arts by Tim, Dick, Jason, Bruce, even me, but everyone has their own style. Now let's go, come at me!" Damien called. Kaden nodded and took up a fighting stance. He charged Damian and in one quick motion, Damian took him down.
"Well, it's clear you're definitely your father's kid. Overly aggressive," Damian said with a slight smirk as Kaden groaned from his place on the ground. Damian pulled him up to his feet and said "again, but this time, not so slow. And try not to telegraph your moves too much."
Author's Notes: Okay, so another choice, I present to you! Choosing Kaden's alias! You the readers will choose his vigilante name! Ghost, Wraith, Revenant, Reaper, or propose a name of your own! Majority wins! I'll combine the tally with that of AO3's as well!
On another note, I apologize for the delays between posting chapter. It's winter time and that's when my desire to write tends to wane. A lot. Winter time is the worst time of the year for me, as I tend to lose the desire to do a lot of the things I usually love to do, but I'll try to keep writing and getting the chapters out.
