Summery: Dick takes Damian to the zoo for a little R an R time, thought Damian`s much more interested in the animals...
Pairing: none
Warning: mention of animal abuse.
Rating T
Characters: Damian, Dick and Nell
Extra notes : Take`s place after Chapter one: Reading stories, and this was actually really fun to write so excepect more from Nell soon.
I do not own these characters nor make any type of profit form these stories.
The moment the two brothers got out of the car, the first thing that hit both of them was the sound, people, children and animals all alike, the second thing that the ten year old took it was the number of people who were lined up to pay to see the various animals, he looked up at Dick who seemed to bask in whatever imagined glow of the Zoo`s outside exterior and it`s obsessive noises and Damian had to keep in mind that his eldest brother had grown up in a circus.
"We should go," Damian growled as Dick lead him towards the front gates, the child glaring at the other children who bounced with excitement or grabbed things with sticky fingers, "Wouldnt it of been more practical to take the plane to africa, at least theres no line to go there." Damian pointed out and Dick chuckled, looking down at him with bright blue eyes, "Oh come on Dami, lighten up, I thought you liked animals?"
"Oh, yes, I prefer them, most of all to these sniveling masses." Damian stated, lowering his head and glaring at the people around him like a cat who had just fell into a pond.
"Then ignore the people and focus on the cool cats," Daick said and he brightened a little more at a new thought, "Hey, you know Haley`s is coming into town soon, if we go I`m sure they let you pet the animals, even the meat eating one."
"Fasinating," Damian growled.
Dick sneered playfully, "Are you still mad that Tim didnt want to come with us?"
Damian snapped his head up to glare at the man hatefully, "Drake is insignificant dolt who doesnt know fact from fiction when he sees it, he`s back to his original state and no longer has as any desirable qualities that would make me wish to spend more time with him, not that he ever did." Damian seethed.
"Really? Is that why when I went to check on him the other night I heard something that sounded strangely like To kill a mocking bird...Tim`s favorite book?" he asked and Damian took in a deep breath about to threaten the man before he just grabbed his lower arm, sure to dig his nails into his skin, "The line is moving Grayson."
"Dont worry Dami, he`ll get over the whole 'Tt' thing soon enough and then he`ll stop accusing you of brain washing." Dick reassured as he paid to get it, getting a strange look from the bored woman behind the glass as she heard the words brain wash. They stepped threw, Dick opening the colorful map up and scanning the page, "Where do you wanna go first?" Dick asked curiously.
"Surprise me Grayson." he said icily.
"Alright, we`ll start with the herbivores, then work up to the meat eaters later," Dick said, glancing at Damian and his narrowed eyes before adding, "And we cant forget the cold blooded things either I guess."
"Lets just get this over with." Damian growled.
They saw the giraffes first, Damian hanging lazily on the wooden fence and wondering if it was possible to sneak into the enclosure when Grayson wasn't looking, but the man`s eyes were on him every ten minutes or so.
After the third enclosure Dick handed him a camera, it wasn't on of those stupid plastic things, it looked similar to what he saw when people too crime photos for forensics, though it still had a little dust on it and Damian was more the certain this had been Drake`s old camera for his old stalking career.
Damian hissed the older man away and they were quite for all about ten moments until Dick spotted a different enclosure, "Dami! Look, bats!"
He gave him a look that clearly was asking what was wrong with him, "We see Bats every day Grayson. Besides, the ones in the cave are bigger." Damian pointed out and Dick pursed his lips, "Only cause something leaked into the cave from Bane`s venom, we tested them though," He pointed out when Damian rolled his eyes, "Their fine. I swear!"
"Tt." Damian growled as they walked into the carnivorous section of the he almost jumped when beside him a lion roared and smacked at the wire bars, he frowned as did Dick who came up to look at the large angry beast, "Wow, someone's not happy."
"Even I know this isnt normal." Damian said watching the lion pace back and forth restlessly, the others in the background laying tiredly in the shade, "Give me me that." Damian growled and Dick smiled handing the boy the camera, the older man walking away to look at the more friendly animals.
Damian clicked a few pictures of the beasts and slightly admiring the visual and clear image the camera gave him, instantly lighting up darker area`s and pulling details into place, maybe Drake wasnt so incompetent as he thought.
He looked back up at the growling animals before looking at the other animals and continuing to take pictures of the few that he saw with strange behavior from his vast knowledge and studies of wild-life, it hadnt been a demeaning task when his mother had made him learn almost everything, so when he came to live with Father he had decided to learn more about what he didnt know, animals being a worthy advocate.
"Bruce!"
He took another picture, looking over the setting a few times before he felt a hand on his shoulder and he spun around, throwing the hand off, ready for an attack that never came, instead he saw the dark skinned girl he`d met once under cover, he had told her his name was Bruce and he swore if 'Fatgirl' ever mentioned it then he would stab her in her sleep..maybe.
From what he remembered, her name was Nell, he tried to act as normal as possible, "Oh, yes...hi...Nell."
"I never thought I`d see you again," she grinned, "I thought you said you said you were new, as in you were coming back to the school, but I never saw you after wards, what happened to you."
"Home schooling," Damian said quickly, looking around before glancing at his photo.
"Cool Camera," she smiled sliding in next to him and looking over his shoulder, he tired not to flinch away, witch was easier then he originally thought seeing as how he was used to Grayson doing the exact same thing. "Yeah, that one was weird with me too," she said, pointing at the lion that he and Grayson had seen earlier.
"Interesting." he muttered not paying attention as he looked over the picture, beside him, Nell nodded, "Yeah. But I actually ran into the Zoo`s vet earlier, so cool, she said he`s got a few cuts and scrapes and stuff, she thinks he`s been trying to fight with the other lions when no one`s looking, he used to be so gentle too, sleeping all the time and playing around with the other lions but now all he does is pace and growl, doesn't seem right."
"The Zoo vet?" Damian asked instantly pulled from his thoughts, instantly he went back to the page and looked, frowning , "Yes, see, he has cuts on his face and chest and rear right above the tail and on the thigh, their small and thin but I`m sure they sting."
"Dont Lion`s only go for the jugular?" Nell asked biting her lip curiously and Damian nodded, "And the marks are too neat, something's not right, if the other lions arnt attacking this one-,"
"Fuzzy Cat," Nell said.
"What?"
"His name is Fuzzy Cat," she said, "The named him because when he was a baby he was super fuzzy."
"Oh, yes, Fuzzy cat, if they arnt attacking each other then what is?" Damian growled looking up and around like the answer might come walking past him, Nell gaped, hiding her face slightly, "You think the trainers are hurting them?" she asked and Damian narrowed his eyes, "With out sufficient evidence the possibilities are endless."
"Nell? Nell, where are you?"
"Sorry," she smiled sheepishly, "Gotta go, nice seeing you again Bruce!" she waved and he waved back , watching her leave till he felt a dark shadow fall over him, he looked up and wanted to bury his face into the sand, similar to an ostrich at the sight of his eldest brother and his smug look.
"So...who was that?"
XXX
Later that night he headed down to the cave, ignoring the obsessive teasing that Dick had done at lunch, with a mild shoulder pat from Father and a sneer from the ever observant Drake who couldnt help over hear the conversation Dick was having with himself about Damian and a 'crush'. It was infuriating, though it kept his mind on earlier, the Zoo.
The animal`s behavior and the scrapes and cuts on the lion he`d seen had given enough evidence to go and check out the Zoo at night, slipping past the animal statues in the front parking lot and flipping over the fence to land quietly over on the other side. He ducked down, slipping past the guard booth where a man watched the computer screen tiredly, he could already see the sleep in the man`s eyes.
He slipped past the enclosures, trying to remember where the carnivores were at, maybe he should have taken the map with him...
Looking around in the dark, the sound of the animals calling out in their enclosures Damian was taken off guard and smashed head first into something warm, hearing the slightly loss of breath in front of him as he staggered back, but the other figure fell onto their but.
He looked down, more then surprised to see Nell rubbing her head before looking up at him sheepishly, her eyes turning to instant amazement in only a moment, "Ohmigod, Rob-," He pressed a gloved hand over her mouth, "Shh." he growled before standing back up, narrowing his eyes as she stood up and dusted herself off, "What are you doing here?" he asked
"Looking out for the animals." she said plainly as if it was obvious, she looked up at him, "Are you here for the same thing, you gotta be, unless the janitor is running a drug ring behind the counter."
"No, the animals, I`ve had...suspicions for a while and now I have to know, if I was accurate," he said and started walking ,hearing the girl following he turned around, "No, go home civilian."
"Civilian?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, "No offense but I`ve seen and I like to think helped out Bat-girl a few times, I got this covered." She said looking slightly smug and Robin snorted.
"Bat-girl is a far less worthy member of our grope-,"
"Take that back Jerk, Bat-girl is awesome!" She growled instantly and Damian was taken aback by her protectiveness, instantly the girl covered her mouth, "sorry." she muttered, behind them a light shinned and Damian could just see someone's shadow coming around the corner. He grabbed her wrist and they ran down the path before jumping into the bushes. Waiting for the man to pass.
Light flooded the bushes as the man passed and the two children ducked lower into the bushes, Nell pulling her hood over her head, both watching the man walk past. Nell was the first on out of the bushes, making her way to follow the man before he grabbed her hood to stop her, "where do you think you going."
"That guy had a whip," she pointed out, pulling her hood back into place, "um...the marks on the lion were neat and small, I`m sure a whip could do something like that." she said, mimicking his earlier words though she didnt know they were actually his word, he hid his smirk and walked past her, ignoring her as she ran up to follow him a smile on her face, "This is pretty cool huh? Robin and Nell working side by side to fight crime...can I have a cool nick-name too?" she asked and he rolled his eyes looking at her, "No, your not adequately trained to do any type of fighting, the most likely thing to happen would be that you get killed."
She ignored him, "You guys fight super-villains right, like how is going up again Bane and stuff, or the Riddler, I bet thats a head scratcher sometimes, do you cheat, you know just use Google or something, what about Joker, I`ve seen a few pictures but I wouldn't find clo-,"
"Never mind."
"What?" she asked stopping her chattering at raising an eyebrow.
"I said never mind," he hissed, "You can have a nick name, how about Girl who never shut up? Seems adequate."
"Seems rude. Isn't Robin supposed to be like...nice or something, I thought batman was the brooding jerk here." She said.
"Batman isnt here." he pointed out, "So that leaves me to fill his place in protecting the animals, and civilians...no matter who obsessive they might be, and honing a seriousness that can only be mastered-,"
"Ohmigod! Look, the hyenas are awake, their so cute!" She cooed grabbing his arm and pointing at the enclosure. Damian mentally smacked himself for letting the girl stay, he could almost hear Grayson`s laughter echoing in the back of his mind, damn him.
He pulled the girl away from the giggling creatures before finding the lion`s enclosure, jumping into the bushes with the girl that were just outside the fenced area, grabbing the bars and looking into the light flooded enclosure where the same large lion was romping around, pacing back and for, growling menacingly.
"There!" Nell said in a loud whisper, pointing to the back door where they delivered food for the animal, a skinny man, around early twenties, baggy clothes and a backpack, along with the slightly hidden whip in his hand and the badge on his shirt that said night staff.
The man grinned at the beast and the moment the lion saw him became tense, agitated and angry, ears pulled back into it`s thick mane as it swiped at the ground in warning. The man pulled the whip of long lengths and Damian growled grabbing his grapple, "Stay her-." he was about to say before looking at the spot where the girl had been moments ago. He swallowed, damnit where had she gone!?
"Who the hell are y- OW!"
Damian snapped his head to the enclosure to see Nell, having given the man a swift kick between the legs that made him fall to his knees in pain, "animal rights bub!" she hissed, looking up at the lion who growled and snarled, "it`s okay Fuzzy cat."
"Nell!" Damian snapped, grappling into the enclosure and landing down in front of the girl, holding his arms out at the lion who swatted at the ground again, Damian leaned down and picked up the whip, jumping a little as the lion snapped at him fervidly while he put it into his belt before grabbing the man beside him by the collar, he pulled out a grapple wire and tied it around his and Nell`s waist and held onto the other man tightly before pressing his belt and they were off, landing safely on the other side of the fence, Damian threw the man down, "Disgusting trash." he snapped, pulling out the whip and a piece of meat, he tossed the meat over the fence, the lion sniffing it cautiously before mauling it intensely while Damian looked over the whip, it looked similar to the one`s Catwoman used, thick, strong and long but the tips of the leather string at the ends had small pieces of metal glued into it and Damian took the end and smacked the man with it, "Doesn't feel so good now, does it?"
"OW, man stop that hurts!" he cried and Damian shook his head, wishing he could just beat the man to a pulp but Nell was here and he would not subject her to that. "Were going to drop you off at the police station and you will confess to your crimes and give them this, if not it wont be the lion you have to answer to." He growled, white optic lenses growling in the dark.
The man nodded vigorously and Damian smirked before grabbing his collar and dragging him back to the car, he looked over his shoulder at Nell, "Come on, I...give you a ride, unless you`d rather walk home?" he asked blandly and Nell raced up with a smile, "I get to ride in the bat-mobile?" she asked and he nodded.
"Best. Day. Ever!" she giggled jumping up and down happily.
