The Red Hood attacked again. Not at me. Not at Jon. He attacked one of the biggest crime lords to ever live in Gotham, the Black Mask. Jason killed some of his men, and he shot Black Mask multipile times, according to the news outlets. Black Mast somehow survived and he was currently being taken care of at Arkham Asylum, under lock and key thanks to Commisioner Gordon. It will be a matter of time before Black Mask escapes and of course he will go after revenge, but the fact that Jason attacked the crime lord meant one thing: Jason was beginning to lose his sight of justice.
He crossed the line many times, but shooting a crime boss in his own office was a totally new problem. Batman and the others were desperate for Jason's whereabouts. Superman was still recovering and Jon still had to live with us until he got better. But I felt time was running out. I knew Jason was up to something very dangerous. Why did he go after the Crime boss? Was it to purge Gotham of it's sins, like he raved to me back when he kidnapped me.
I had a ton of questions. And so, I delved deepr in the psych of villains. I asked some Titan friends about their own enemies. According to the Aqualads, Black Manta and Ocean Master, two ocean based villains always sought revenge on a personal level. Beast Boy told me when he was younger, there was a mad man that worked with his father, and he took the same chemical that allows change, like Beast Boy. I know all this sounds very confusing, but there were so many villains I learned about, I just had to know more. I went to the library and picked every book I could find about villains and how they act. I lost count how many books I picked up, and Jon was getting very worried for my well being.
"You should take a break. I know you want to know more about bad guys and stuff, but what is there to know?" asked Jon.
"Villains have motivations to all their actions. They all want one thing and one thing only... attention." I said.
Jon shook his head. "Some of them. But not all of them. Many of them want to take back something that was taken from them." said Jon.
"You symphathize with them?" I asked Jon accusingly. I was in a cranky mood that afternoon.
"Oh no! Not all villains. I meant a few. Have you ever heard of a Gotham villain named Mr. Freeze?" asked Jon.
"Yeah." I said. I read a little bit aboout him in an Ice Villains book.
"Well do you know his backstory?" asked Jon.
"Backstory? I don't need to look at their backstory. You said so yourself. What's there to know about one individual villain?" I said.
Jon smiled. "I didn't mean it like that. You are looking all of them up at the same time. I meant have you ever considered Jason's history? And the motivations to his actions?" asked Jon.
I stopped right there. I realized Jon made a good point.
"Mr. Freeze had a wife that was dying of a rare disease. He had to freeze her in ice to find the medication for her. But that was when he was a respectable scientist. Eventually, some buisness executives pulled the plug on his experiments and an accident happend to cause Mr. Freeze to live only in a sub zero climate." said Jon.
I listened to Jon's story intently. I never heard this before. A villain who had a family before?
"Mr. Freeze to this day is searching for a way to heal his wife. But his methods are wrong. He steals chemicals from different labs and he hurts people to get what he wants. The motivation for Mr. Freeze is his wife. What about Jason? What are his motivations?" asked Jon.
"He grew up in the streets of Gotham. He was an abused kid. He was trafficked, sold to, and... I have heard ugly things about his time in the street." I told Jon.
"Well, why not start in the streets of Gotham? Sometimes, villains return to the same place where it all began to find more answers." said Jon.
"How do you know so much?" I asked.
"I just said what came to mind. Also, I have my own motivations for helping you. By helping you, I will learn just who exactly shot my Dad. Jason claims he didn't do it, but I still have doubts." said Jon.
"I know it was Jason. I know it was him Jon. Who else would have done it?" I asked.
"Luthor. But he's in jail now." said Jon.
"Why don't we ask Raven? Can she help?" I said.
"I don't know. Raven is very... aloof. She doesn't allow people to get close to her. She's cold and very uneasy. Are you sure you want to get answers from her?" asked Jon.
"We are going to need all the info we can get." I said.
I knocked on Raven's bedroom door, with Beast Boy by my side.
"This is her room?" I asked.
"Yeah. She usually locks herself in there reading God knows what." said Beast Boy.
The door opened slowly and the boys saw Raven sitting on a table, with a tea set in front of her. There were little cakes with purple frosting and cookies the shapes of pumpkins.
"I'll leave you two be." said Beast Boy as he blew a kiss to Raven.
Raven was expresionless, but she looked as if she acknowledged the air kiss from Beast Boy. I was surprised but I wasn't bothered at all. I wanted to know more about my so called foster "brother" of mine.
I sat down and Raven poured some hot tea on a cup. "Beast boy and I are currently in a relationship. I do adore him for his respect on the Animal Kingdom, although he can be very boyish." said Raven.
"I'm surprised you and he are actually a thing. I never thought you would like someone as cheerful as Beast Boy." I said.
"Gossip aside, you have come for some historical advise from me?" asked Raven, sipping her tea.
"Yes, well, I was reading about super villains. All of them have on thing in common. Revenge and personal gain. The Red Hood is from the streets of Gotham. I was advised to check into the streets, but I feel like that may not be the best place to start." I said.
"Oh? And why is that?" asked Raven.
"Jason would never go where it all began." I said.
Raven shook her head. "I beg to differ. People like Jason have gone through trauma. Sometimes, traumatic experiences return to haunt a person, no matter who you are." said Raven.
"How?" I asked.
"I will use your father as an example. What is the main reason for his transformation into the Batman? What happened in his life to make him make this choice?" asked Raven.
"The death of my grandparents." I replied.
"And as Batman, where does he fight?" asked Raven.
"Gotham." I replied.
"Batman continues fighting the fight, not for himself. But for those who are losing hope. You see Damian, Gotham is not like the other cities. The city is plauged by a history of crime and violence since it's early beginnings. Your grandparents were both angelic like human beings who wanted to make the city safer and they both went through hell and high water to achieve some peace. They are the reason why certain laws in Gotham exist." said Raven.
"But they died and their efforts were in vain." I said.
Raven observed me and shook her head. "Once again, I beg to differ. The Waynes, your grandparents were secretly working together to stop the crime lords in Gotham, by exposing their crimes to the world, not in Gotham. Your grandparents did just that and Gotham became a city that was well known throughout the world. The crime lords were furious when most of thier money making buisness were crumbling all around them. The Waynes were becoming victorious. They were actually very close to saving Gotham from itself. Until that fateful night." said Raven.
"Why did they die then? What was their death for?" I asked.
"The Waynes were both human. And remember that bad things happen to everyone." said Raven.
"Bad things happen to everyone. Even a super human..." I said, realizing Raven's point.
"Superman was shot with a bullet of kryptonite. The most important founding member of the Justice League fell. You see the point Damian? No matter what good you do, bad things will always happen." said Raven.
"I still don't understand why this has something to do with Jason. It's not like he was a good person or contribute something to society." I said.
"But he was loved, and he was given a chance not many would have. And he threw it all away." said Raven.
I was angry at that point. Not at Raven no. At Jason. Mad at the fact that my father who lost my grandparents who were both looking out for the weak, would fall to the dark.
"Do you know where he could be?" I asked.
"I do not have the power to know where a person is, but follow my advice. Go to where it all began for Jason. I sense a powerful force of darkness where Batman found him the first time." said Raven.
And with that, Damian quickly got up, redied his staff and did just that.