The rain pelted against the glass in a steady rhythm, creating an atmosphere of relaxation and focus. With one constant noise, the repetition inspired an individual's undivided attention to the courtyard, no longer paying mind to the ongoing lesson that was being taught.
The sound of a throat being cleared pierced the veil of serenity, and the young man found himself giving an apologetic nod to the teacher.
"What has your attention, Mr. Wayne?" Mr. Sworkiff inquired in a gentle tone.
The diverse class stared silently at their peer, they had come to expect this behaviour often. Damian Wayne was not one to be social or vocal unless directly asked a question. Most of the time he seemed unapproachable and distant, as if he were wishing to be anywhere else.
Damian paused before answering Mr. Sworkiff's question.
"Nothing," Damian replied calmly, straightening the collar of his uniform and placing his supplies in the black backpack he had picked out weeks earlier. Itching his wrist and nodding once again to Mr. Sworkiff he stood in the class with a few of his peers.
"Mr. Wayne, I have not yet dismissed the class." Mr. Sworkiff smiled softly.
Damian blinked and raised his index finger as the school bell rung loudly in the large classroom.
Mr. Sworkiff chuckled, "Mr. Wayne has a penchant for timing, doesn't he?"
The class giggled but followed Damian's lead as they quickly shuffled their feet and pushed in their chairs.
Damian was about to leave the class when Mr. Sworkiff called out his name.
Turning back to the statuesque geography teacher, Damian waited patiently.
"Yes, Mr. Sworkiff?" Damian asked, fighting the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose.
"Damian, this is the fourth time this week you have been distracted by what is outside, I would move you away from the windows if I knew that was the cause of such ill attentiveness. However, I don't think that it would be solved that easily."
Damian was close to rolling his eyes, "Mr. Sworkiff, with all due respect I am in the top of my classes. You need not be concerned about my attention span when I am maintaining my academics"
Mr. Sworkiff nodded, raising his eyebrows in a philosophical visage, "Ah, that is true, but I am concerned. Not about your well-maintained academics, but with your demeanor."
Mr. Sworkiff signed quietly, "Damian, do you speak to anyone in this class?"
"Yes, of course."
"No, other than the groups I assign you to."
Damian bit back a bark of laughter, "I have no reason."
Mr. Sworkiff pursed his lips, "Damian, do you have friends here?"
Damian let himself roll his eyes this time, "That's where you are concerned?"
"Damian, you are a young man, and it is important to socialize with your peers. Even if you are ahead in academics, you could learn a thing or two from having some friends here."
Damian felt himself grow irritated, "I do not need friends Mr. Sworkiff."
Mr. Sworkiff clasped his hands together, "If not for friendship, I have a mission for you."
Damian bit back a snort, a mission? A mission in the sense of school was not in his vocabulary.
"Don't give me that disdainful look, Mr. Wayne. This is to make up for losing marks when you do not pay attention in my class."
Damian slung his backback over his shoulders, "I do not need a mission from you Mr. Sworkiff. But for the sake of my curiosity, please let me know of this extremely important task."
Mr. Sworkiff pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and pulled a clipboard from the pile of papers on his desk. Clearing his throat once again he began speaking, "Auden Maxwell is a new student beginning Monday, I want you to be the one to introduce them to the academy."
"You're assigning me as a tour guide?"
"A peer guide, actually." Mr. Sworkiff stated smugly.
Damian blinked, "And why would you possibly want me to do such menial work for a grade improvement?"
Mr. Sworkiff ran a hand through his dishevelled black hair and took off his glasses, "It'll be good for you."
Damian shook his head annoyed, "Fine. I will show him around and try to help them navigate this small school."
Mr. Sworkiff chuckled, "Auden is a young woman, Damian"
….
Damian grasped the ledge of the building and pulled himself up. The fire raged inside and all other entrances were blocked, yet the hospital ward had not been properly evacuated.
Pushing through the open window, he placed a mask over his face to protect himself from any possible smoke inhalation. The brightness of the fire scorched his eyes and he had to fight the urge to cover his goggles.
Being careful to not trip over surgical equipment and machinery, Damian balled his hands into fists. The linoleum was blackened from the fire that raged in from the hallway.
Damian quickly took the door from its hinges and pushed outwards, using the door as a shield to fight the flames that were quickly rising.
There were only two patients left, a young man that had broken his leg, and an elderly woman who was undergoing a regular dialysis session.
Batman was involved with a mission brought forth by the Justice League, Nightwing was in Central visiting friends, Red Robin was off with the Titans, Oracle was working with the Birds of Prey, leaving Robin alone in Gotham.
It had so far been quiet, but the fire had been reported on the news, and Damian took no time to stay in the Manor. He promised Alfred he would wear a heartbeat monitor and tracker.
Alfred was hesitant to let Damian go, but he knew he could not stop him once he made up his mind.
Ergo, Damian was fighting the fire with a loose door and trying to locate those who had been left behind.
Yelling down the hallways, he called out for survivors.
Before he could turn another corridor, a loud smash echoed from a closed hospital room. Damian grasped the broken door and threw it away from the fire, it didn't need another item as fuel.
Grasping the door, he swung the handle and pushed inward. Through the smoky room he could see the young man cradle his broken leg on the floor. The young man looked visibly relieved; his ashen face was stained with tears and soot.
"Hang on, we're going to get out of here." Damian bellowed against the sounds of the raging fire.
Damian knew he couldn't just carry the young man, he needed to be supported, but he didn't have time to find a proper gurney. Quickly grabbing the discarded door he threw out into the hallway, he brought it into the room to allow the young man to lay on it.
"This is going to be uncomfortable, but you are going to live." Damian warned, lifting his mask to give to the young man. The young man took the mask with a shaky hand.
Damian set to work on breaking the handle on the opposite side of the door. He shuffled to the young man and lifted his torso onto the debris. Grabbing the young man's left hand, he wrapped it on the remaining handle on the other side.
"Do not let go of this handle," Damian warned, his teeth clenched.
The young man sniffled but nodded obediently.
"Brace yourself, I have to lift your injured leg," Damian stated, wishing he didn't have to cause more pain.
Quickly lifting the injured man's leg, he placed it onto the door.
A howl of pain could be heard down the hallway.
"Okay, hold on to the door handle with both hands!" Damian demanded.
Damian clenched his teeth and grabbed the door by the head of the young man. His hands wrapped around the door and he began to pull away from the fire.
Trying not to inhale the smoke was a difficult task, but Damian managed to limit his breathing.
The problem arose when he realized he was on the 2nd floor of the hospital and needed to descend to the first floor. Cursing out loud, he made his way to the stairwell away from the fire.
As soon as he opened the door to the stairwell he grimaced. It was going to be an uncomfortable few moments for the young man.
Realizing the predicament, the young man breathed into the mask deeply and nodded to Damian.
Damian he knew he had to do this quickly or it would be only prolonged pain for the young man.
Before he could think twice, Damian pushed the door down the stairs, allowing the man's leg to be elevated upwards towards him.
The man was jolted but looked relieved when his head was resting against the door at the bottom of the stairs.
Damian rushed to the man's side, "Alright, we're almost to the alternative exit. Hang in there."
Grabbing the door once again, Damian pulled with all of his strength and began to work his way to the exit.
The fire had burned its way through the stairwell door, creeping down to the first floor and caused Damian to inhale the thick smoke that it spread.
Fortunately for Damian and the young man, the doors burst open and several firemen sprinted towards the tired duo.
Damian closed his eyes in relief but began coughing from all of the smoke in the corridor. Fighting the urge to continue to cough, Damian began to whip his head back and forth trying to stop himself from wheezing.
The firemen managed to take the young man out of the building, but Robin shook his head.
"There's another….." he coughed once more, "…another woman…"
Damian couldn't help it anymore, he began to inhale more smoke, and cough much more as a result. Damian lost his footing as he continued to wheeze on the ground.
"I've got him, go get the other woman," a deep voice Damian barely recognized commanded the firemen.
Damian felt himself being lifted off the ground, but he did not have the strength to fight his savior. Damian felt the coolness of a metal material against his face and the smell of genuine leather.
Before he could think of who it was that was taking him out of the burning building, he felt himself lose consciousness from the lack of oxygen.
…
"I came just in time, Alfred." The voice stated astounded, "I thought Bruce would never let him go alone anywhere, he hasn't learned a damn thing has he?"
Alfred sighed, "Master Todd, if you remember, you were the same with danger."
Damian fought the haziness he felt, he needed to hear.
"No Robin should be alone in the field. What would happen if I weren't there tonight? I hate the little twerp most of the time, but even he doesn't deserve that fate."
Alfred spoke, "Master Todd, Master Bruce is coming back soon, please stay here."
"Alfred, you know I can't." Jason stated plainly.
"I will not hide that it was you who saved Master Damian." Alfred sounded sad.
"You don't have to Alfie. I'm sure you'll see me again."
The next thing Damian heard was the sound of a motorcycle revving in the cave and the screech of its tires as it left the garage.
Damian felt a lump in his throat. Quickly taking off the mask, he began coughing into his hands. As he felt his cough die down, he looked at his now blackened hands.
"You will be coughing that up for some time, Sir." Alfred stated calmly, taking a handkerchief and wiping Damian's stained hands.
"Pennyworth," Damian croaked.
"Shh, lay down, you are fine." Alfred soothed, laying a hand down on Damian's shoulder, easing him back on the gurney.
Damian grasped Alfred's hand, "What happened?"
Alfred took the handkerchief and placed it onto the metal table beside Damian.
"Master Damian, you are lucky to be alive. Master Todd was in the same area as the fire in Gotham General and stopped to see if he could be of any assistance. He told me that he found only his former bike and went in after you."
Damian narrowed his eyes, "Why would he do that?"
Alfred sighed, "Master Todd uttered a sentence when he first broke in here. He said 'no more dead Robins'. He began giving you the first aid you needed."
Damian blinked, trying to decode what Todd's actions meant.
"In his own way he cares, Sir." Alfred managed to state.
Damian nodded once, "My father?"
"Coming home soon, Sir. Please rest."
Damian nodded again, placing his head back down on the pillow on the gurney.
After a few moments of silence, save for Pennyworth's shuffles and footsteps, Damian began to doze off.
He later found himself back in his room, feeling someone beside him and his hair being stroked.
"Damian," Bruce stated, sitting beside his son.
"Father." Damian replied, his throat still irritated by the smoke inhalation.
"Rest easy, Damian. Don't speak. I'm here."
Damian found his father's hand and squeezed, his father was there. He was not in the hospital dying of asphyxiation. He was safe and at home.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Damian placed his head against his father's chest and felt himself being embraced.
They would never speak of Damian's fear of dying alone, but Damian could not deny the comfort and ease he felt when he was near his father.
Damian wrapped his bandaged arms around his father's torso and sighed into his thick sweater. He felt tears spring from his eyes, but if his father could feel it, he never said anything. Instead he was embraced tighter and felt a large hand rubbing his back in a soothing rhythm.
He was safe. He was home.
