Jamila sat alongside the cliff as she watched the bases go up in flames. She had a taco in one hand and her favorite Zastava M76 sniper gun in her lap. Couldn't let stranglers get away, right. She had three different men hogtied and unconscious in her truck. She had the absent thought if she should give chase to the women that escaped.
But if she caught them now, she might never know the what secret goodies they could be hiding. It doesn't even really matter. The trackers she injected in their bloodstreams would be enough.
Jamila finished eating her taco before standing up. It would take her three days to get back to America through the underground ways, and she needed a head start.
Jamila had the absent thought to go shopping through the markets when she makes it to her first checkpoint.
Her gaze hardened as she neared her vehicle. Absolute scum. Preying on the weak and innocent. And each of them had a personal hand in compromising her dearest aunt.
She will show them what happens when one goes against the House of Al Ghul. When she's done, they'll be begging for death. For mercy. And instead, she will give them to her cousin. Death Demon may be considered a monster, but no one has ended up on Red Ronin's bad side and lived to tell the story.
Jamila may be cruel and ruthless, but Jason was untouchable. Unstoppable. She recalled being on a mission with him and their target had spent each and every day begging for reprieve until they caved.
She had been impressed. The man had been able to hold out from the various wounds her cousin left. From having one to three fingers and four toes and no longer having his left kidney or the rudimentary tonsil removal surgery… and the missing eyeballs.
And Jason walked away as the man bled out.
Mm. Yes, Ronin will give them the most suitable punishment.
Jason hadn't been surprised when he heard about how half a hidden village in the outskirts of Bavaria went up in flames during the night. Nor was he surprised when the others looked positively sick at the kill count.
Seems like Jamila was having fun.
He received a message through their unused channels that morning. She had some gifts for him. Considering that they rarely used those lines, the message made it to him a few days after her sending it. She should be arriving in Gotham soon.
She would probably arrive during the cover of the lunch hour to keep from attracting unwanted attention. He wondered which safe house she would go to, or would she go to the warehouse where he secretly conducts Red Ronin business.
Either way, he needed to find a sitter for Talia. Maybe he could convince the brat to stay at home for the night. He seems to be enjoying the stories that Talia tells him about his grandmother's family.
Jamila had sat the offenders in the cells lined up at the bottom of Ronin's warehouse. She watched them quietly. She had nothing else to do as she had already unpacked her bags and stored her weapons.
She smiled when one of them had woken. The fear that crept in his eyes was wonderful. Good. They will pay dearly for their crimes. Fear was one of her greatest weapons. You don't grow up in a family like hers without knowing how to use it for your own good.
And if they fear her, she cannot wait to see how petrified they will be when Ronin gets here.
Speaking of her cousin, she looked down at her phone. Scowling as she read the message, it will be awhile before he could make it. She wished none of this had ever happened. She wished that everything could go back to normal.
Jamila stood and gazed across the room. Her facial features were unreadable as she thought about everything that had happened. It was her fault and her aunt paid the price.
Her hands clenched into fist before she spun and punched the wall beside her. She will make her mother pay and she will beg for forgiveness from her aunt. And anyone else that dared cross the Al Ghuls will see how she earned the name Death Demon.
"Perhaps there was some confusion on your part regarding our last communication, allow me to provide some clarity," was all Damian heard before the door closed to one of the spare studies. A part of him wanted to be mad that another brother of his took his place as the leader of his parent's company. But considering that he hadn't even known that his mother had her own company, he's willing to overlook it.
Speaking of his mother, he could see her now hiding in the rafters in the hallway. She was staring at him before she smiled lightly and jumped down. He lurched forward to catch her, but she had landed soundly on her feet.
Her eyes filled with laughter and she tilted her head to the side. This version of his mother made him uncomfortable. She was much more open, and she was warm.
He could see why Jason had always seemed lighter after talking to her. Is this how she is with him when no one else could see?
"Spar," the sound of his native tongue drew his attention. Damian found that he missed it. His father always had this pinched expression whenever he spoke it and Grayson only knew a few words and phrases. Though Damian can acknowledge that Grayson had been taken the effort to learn more. Drake learned it, but Damian overheard him in passing that he won't speak it unless Damian himself asks. The only other person is Todd. He sits with Damian and he wields words in an artform that Damian can paint across his canvas.
He turns his head to the small form of his mother standing before him and slowly nods. She beams at him and he slowly steps forward. She's jumping into his arms before he's even fully aware.
Was he like this when he was younger? So carefree and unburdened by his destiny. Did he have the opportunity to be a child before he was wielded into a tool?
Small fingers rubbed his brows and his mother's face clouded his vision. She looked worried. Had the older version of herself ever look at him that way?
"Okay?" she asks and Damian nods again. He doesn't trust himself to speak. He continues their path towards the Batcave. It is rare for her to even be down here. Todd had been adamant on keeping her away from here. He could see why with all the drop points hidden away. Not to mention, that it was dangerous.
Cain was down here though, and Damian knew she would be looking and seeing things where he could not. He helped her through the motions of protection before leading her through some simple stretches. Once that was done, they began.
He could easily see why his mother was considered the superior child of Ra Al Ghul and one of his Father most formidable foes. She adapted on the fly and incorporated moves into her own style like she was drinking water. She was a fast learner and soon the two of them had drew a crowd.
His mother flew and danced around the mats as if she was born to perform. As if it were in her blood to be warrior.
And that's where Damian's mistake came.
He always knew his mother was a difficult opponent to beat. Only idiots would see her as anything else. But to see her now in this shrunken form, eh could see that even as an adult, she holds back.
Nobutora. He had down research into the name and found the great lineage he descended from. A family of warriors through and through. It sang in his mother's blood in a way that it didn't in his.
And while he was contemplating the family that he did not know, he was hit with a ferocious kick to his solar plexus that knocked him out the ring. The demon inside of him howled with pleasure at such a fierce opponent, but he wasn't like that anymore, so he pushed it away into the corners of his mind.
He looked up when he heard yelling and noticed the almost fearful look on his mother's face as Father and Grayson berated her.
He wasn't surprise at all when the warning shot fired into the air. Todd descended the stairs dressing as in a different kind of armor. He had rolled the sleeves back on his dress shirt and his tie was loosened. He looked like an enemy no one would want to meet in a boardroom. He casually tucked the gun back into his trousers. His eyes glowed not green, but red. It was a flame that not even his alien friend's hair could match.
They were no longer dealing with Todd.
"Step away from the kid or my next bullet is going through your throat."
He didn't yell. He didn't grow. The words were spoken in a matter of fact tone. Father and Grayson turned their anger onto him and yet their words held no effect.
They were no longer dealing with Hood.
"Are you okay, Demon Baby," the words were addressed to him in the same slow drawl. Damian could do nothing but nod his head.
"Jason," Grayson snapped and a presence that Damian hadn't felt for years filled the room with one look.
"Shut up," was the reply without even a glance. A glance at Cain and he could see that she recognized this force also. He watched her abort the movement of moving forward and turning his head he could see why she almost moved.
His mother was being lifted and cradled. Words were exchanged too soft for him to hear before she was being let back down to the floor. He watched as she made her way to him. "Sorry," she told him softly.
"I forgive you," he replied. "We were sparring."
She smiled lightly at him and held a hand out. "Jason said you are an artist. May I see them?"
Damian startled a little at her use of full sentences before taking her hand. He knew this was just Todd's way of getting her away. He picked her up and placed her on his hip. His body flinched harshly at the move, but Damian ignored the pain and continued his way out.
"I thought I made it clear on how she was to be treated," and Damian could hear the underlying threat. His mother had her head turned towards Todd's direction as the two of them near the stairs.
"He reminds me of the Ronin that Father consults with."
Damian spared a glance back and he could see the calm and relax stature that Todd held while Father and Grayson hurled their insults and complaints at him. He shook his head as they made their way into the manor.
The Red Ronin indeed.
Jason was shaking with anger as he made his way into the warehouse. He had left Talia at his apartment with Cass and Damian. He dressed in a uniform that he only pulled out on special occasions.
Walking pass the interrogations rooms and offices, he headed downstairs where he knew his cousin to be. Having Talia's and his own funds at his disposal turned this simple warehouse into the ultimate headquarters. The floors above ground functioned as a living area. Anyone to come here would think it was another home.
And it was. It was where he and the others lived whenever there no missions (or weren't vacationing on the Outlaw's Island). It's where he's bringing Talia as soon as his makes the upper levels more kid friendly.
The second floors are for training as it's the only place where Kori and Artemis and Biz can really let loose. Metals from Tamaran and some planet named Vegeta made up these floors and everything underneath. The floor directly under that one was dedicated to Roy's workshop. Under Roy's floor, there was a medical and whatever else they threw in there.
And finally, the ground and been caved in and hollowed out until it resembled what it was now. This where he handles a mixture of Red Hood and Red Ronin's business.
He cast a glance around his surroundings before he made it down to the cells. Three of them were occupied and when he stepped into the room, all eyes snapped towards him. His cousin didn't even spare him a second look from where she was picking at her nails with a knife.
"Cousin mine, nice of you to drop by," she stated as she stood lightly. She made her way over to hm and dropped into the traditional bow. "To what do I owe the pleasure of the Born-Again Prince?"
Gasps and a whimper floated from the cells and Jamila's shook with laughter. "I heard that you brought me presents."
Jamila rose slowly and green was dancing on the edges of her pupils. "These are the men that have turned their backs on the sanctuary Mistress Talia provided. They have betrayed the Al Ghul clan and committed treason against our family name with the help of the Forgotten One."
Her hand had flung out in their direction before she abruptly turned towards the weapons' wall. She grabbed a syringe and an ice dagger before facing him again.
"I humbly request to initiate the punishment for their actions, my liege."
Inwardly, Jason was crying laughing at her theatrics before he himself headed over the wall. He picked up a weapon that would have him flinching or falling into panic attack years ago. Now it only brings him discomfort. Now it was weapon no one else would expect from him.
"I think that this is something we should do together. After all, it was our family they crossed. And it has been awhile since we've truly worked together."
The answering smile on his cousin's face brought tears to the eyes of the man in the left cage. The two of them made their way over.
"The man in the middle is the one we shall spare. He was the leader of the operation after all," Jamila muttered in Farsi.
Jason hummed in reply as he headed left, and she headed right.
"The Joker once ask me which hurts more. A or B? Forehand or Backhand?"
Their eyes bled red and green and the only sound left to be heard was the sound of screams.