~ The Pair ~

Damian was seldom away from Daire. They trained together, studied together, ate together, and often ended up sharing a bed. Everyone assumed that was Daire's doing. She disliked having her brother out of sight. But Tim overheard Damian asking Daire if they could stay together, even at night. Now, maybe it was because he knew Daire would have asked anyways, but it wasn't like Damian to ask such a thing.

Damian was still stuck up, egotistical, and a know-it-all. Daire had her moments when she was similar, but she was also kind and patient.

She was quick to open up to Dick, something that was of no surprise to anyone. They spared together regularly, and Daire often waited near the front door for when he would make the drive over. He was thrilled to have a sister.

Alfred was always around, letting Daire get used to his presence rather quickly. She quickly deemed him not a threat but typically kept her distance.

Tim and Jason were in and out of the manor. Jason quickly took on the role of annoying big brother, picking on the duo every chance he got. He would visit for a few days then stay away for a few days. He was mad at Bruce, that much Daire could tell, but had a soft spot for Alfred. His attitude towards Damian was iffy. He loved to pick on him. He could be patient, though. During training he was tough but not overbearing. He had a temper, much like Damian, and got angered easily.

Tim was difficult. Sometimes he was exactly like Bruce- making her weary- and other times he was a combination of Dick and Jason: friendly and teasing. Much like Jason, Tim was away from the manor a lot. When he was around, he made some intellectual and decent conversations for someone his age. Overall, Daire decided she didn't mind his presence.

It was Bruce who took the longest to get on her good side. Despite knowing what her mother told her was a lie and having her brother beside her as proof, she acted as though she couldn't trust him. Bruce didn't trust her much, either (though that was typical), so he didn't have much room to complain.

Little was known about Daire. Just like Damian and the League of Assassins, there was hardly any info about her. All Bruce knew was what Damian had revealed. She was Talia's daughter, Damian's half sister, had morals similar to his own (which explained why Damian was so compliant with the sudden change in teachings), and was kicked out of the League for refusing to kill.

Bruce could find little about her time away from the League. City cameras caught a few glimpses of her in various places throughout the world. She spent a while under a false identity, where she worked as a waitress and lived an honest life. She had a few acquaintances, maybe some she considered friends. But one day, she disappeared. Day Ivan was still on the missing persons' list, but no one was looking for the loner.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Bruce watched them spar. Her tactics were much like Damian's, but she waited. It would have been hard to tell with unskilled eye, but he had been training for many years.

Yes, he had noticed it before. Her pattern.

Junk forward; dart aside; go in for the real attack; pull back.

Damian knew it, too. But he wasn't as patient. He was too confident in his abilities. He forced his way forward, making Daire step back. She focused on blocking and deflecting his series of attacks, taking mindful steps.

At first, it just looked like she was dodging whenever she could or backing up to avoid a hit, the Bruce noticed it. While her path made zigzag, she was heading for towards something.

She pushed forward every time Damian let her an opening, taking a few steps forward for every dozen or so back. She circled the giant penny twice and the dinosaur skeleton once. This made predicting exactly where she was headed difficult.

But he was the Batman. He could do anything.

And he waited. Waited for his son to lose, and this girl to win.

He'd learn something in the process.

He knew from personal experiences that Damian was a sore loser. But how would he fare this time? Against the girl he grew up with?

Damian had gotten use to their rhythm, not expecting Daire to change anything. Daire suddenly sprinted the final few feet to her destination and back flipped onto the Batmobile. Damian followed in pursuit, blind to any possible plan she had up her sleeve.

Damian jumped up, ready to fight, but Daire dropped her staff, grabbed his forearm, and swung him on the other side before he ever landed.

Damian flipped back onto his feet, now on the other side of the Batmobile. Daire picked up her staff, maintaining the high ground.

Damian let out a battle cry as he raced forward. Without warning, Daire dived into him, throwing them both to the ground.

There was a thud.

There was a grunt.

There was a moment of silence.

Bruce couldn't see Damian. He couldn't see Daire. But he could hear their heavy breathes as the result of their fight settled in.

As predicted, Daire won.

"Tt. You've improved."

"As have you."

There was rustling and two young heads popped up above the hood of the Batmobile. Neither seemed angered. Damian was content, a light frown adorn his features. Daire dared a small smile. It wasn't smug about her victory, instead it was her version of content. She was happy here, with Damian and away from the League.

Daire's lips moved, but Bruce was too far to hear the murmur.

"Enjoy the show, father?" Damian translated.

"Yes." He left his answer blunt, turning back to face the Bat computer. He still had work to do.

The echo of the clock opening and closing bounced.

"Cookies and milk, as requested," Alfred reported, stopping near Bruce.

Bruce heard two sets of footsteps. One was quick but light, eager for a treat. The other walked, though he, too, quickened his pace.

"Thank you," came the quiet words. Bruce looked up to see Daire bit into the soft chocolate chip cookie in her hands.

He reach up, taking one, too. Daire's eyes widened in alert for a moment then forced herself to calm. "Yes, thank you, Alfred."

Having Daire around wasn't going to be as bad as he originally thought.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Bruce hadn't tried to dissuade them much, so it was no surprise when Daire joined them on patrol. For now, she was dressed as Thorne, but she would need a new name and outfit soon.

"Sparrow?" she quietly offered over the com's. "Like Robin, a bird."

"Tt, you can do better."

Their conversation came to an abrupt end when a bank alarm sounded. "It'll do," Batman settled. "Head over to-"

"On our way," Robin cut off. Though relatively new to Gotham, both younglings studied maps and landmarks for hours and knew their way around Gotham.

They were only a few blocks away from the bank and arrived in the middle of the fight. There was one person, many times larger than Batman and swinging a safe that surely weighed a ton.

"Bane," Thorne recognized. Uses a drug called Venom to make himself nearly unbeatable. Weakness: cut off his supply to Venom.

Batman released a loud grunt of pain as the safe collided with him. It slipped from Bane's grasp, sending both Batman and the safe to the other side of the bank. With his light weight (in comparison) Batman slammed against the wall, while the safe fell and slid several feet, almost crushing the vigilante.

The security guard made his way around the corner, raising his gun and firing. Robin and Thorne hopped out of the way of stray bullets, and the others did next to nothing to Bane. With a roar of fury, Bane charged at the poor guard, wrapping a beefy hand around his waist and squeezing. The man let out a yelp of pain as Robin swung in- using a grappling hook and beams on the ceiling- and surprised Bane.

The blow did little more than make him stumble, but it did grasp his attention. He tossed the security guard to the side, earning another grunt of pain.

"Dad!" a young voice called, seeing her father on the ground. Bane had finally gotten a hold on Robin's cape and threw him through the front windows.

"Robin!" Thorne and Batman shouted. Neither had the chance to check on their teammate.

Bane was stomping towards the little girl, who was frozen with fear at the loud monster before her. Thorne was quick to respond, tossing smoke bombs around Bane. Thorne ignored Bane, running through and snatching the girl around the waist and taking off. Bane stepped back with a cough then charged forwards, knowing his prisoner was being rescued. The small yelp of shock didn't help either girl.

But Batman had recovered from the earlier blow, throwing Bat-a-rangs and distracting Bane long enough for Thorne to get the girl away.

Batman got in close, attempting to pull out the tubes feeding him Venom. But Bane wasn't having it. His plan was foiled, he wasn't going to get his money even if he could escape the Bat, and his hostage plan was not a possibility. He was mad.

He swung blindly at Batman, making the smaller and weaker man focus on dodging.

Thorne brought the child outside, using the chance to check on Robin. Said bird was already up, ready to charge back into the fight.

Thorne went to go with him, but the child held her back.

"Dad! What about Daddy? No! Please don't leave me!"

"Robin!" she growled.

"On it." Within a minute, the security guard was running out of the building: hurt but not broken.

"Daddy!" the girl cried, finally freeing Thorne to run into her father's arms.

"Get her out of here," Thorne demanded, running back into the bank.

She arrived just in time to watch Bane wrap Batman to one of the columns with a metal pole (one of the poles that once connected support beams/ columns).

Batman was stuck, slowly melting the bar while watching his partner and new teammate take on his strongest (physically) villain.

His fears proved to be for nothing. The young duo worked well as a team. It was pleasant surprise for the Dark Knight. They had each other's backs and easily made up what the other lacked.

Ruthlessness and compassion; quick and planned; attack and trap. Both the children were skilled and had years of experience together. They reminded Batman of the first Robin and himself.

Robin was quick and demanded attention, becoming the target of most of Bane's attacks. Thorne was more calculated but just as quick. She fit well into the background, blocking and delivering blows as needed.

They moved in time and never got in the other's way. Their upbringing showed in their fighting style, matching and most strikes meant to be deadly. But both swayed their blows a little, avoiding the kill. Every now and then one caught a punch, but the other kept Bane occupied until they recovered.

One of Bane's blows knocked Thorne up in the ceiling. She flew up around the triangular structure, barely catching a beam before her trip down. She pulled herself up, needing a breather. Though it took a minute, she caught her breath and followed the fight from above. She pulled out a borrowed bat-a-rang, waiting.

Robin noticed, subtly guiding Bane to the perfect spot then holding him there. It was the perfect balance between dodging and attacking.

Thorne let herself fall, easily slicing the tubes filled of Venom open and leaking the chemical all over. Without his fix, Bane quickly shrunk to normal size and was handcuffed just as Batman freed himself.

He kept his praise simple and short. "Good job."

Having Thorne around might not be so bad, after all.