PHASE 1
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01 - Prologue.
Alfred watches Master Wayne with concerned eyes. It's dawn, but Bruce is still at home - instead of Batman being on the streets of Gotham.
The reason is that the owl father is concerned about his son, Damian, who remains unconscious since the accident, without showing any improvement in his fragile state.
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— Damian has revived once, he can and will do it again.
— How, Alfred? It's been months since he... — Bruce couldn't finish, the taste of bitterness and guilt took over him whenever he spoke of the fragile state in which his son was.
— Trust him — the butler put a hopeful smile on his face, approaching — Trust that this time he will not take the same right steps in the wrong ways, that he will do everything differently.
— If that happens, Alfred... — He held his son's hand a little tighter — If this really happens I promise to be a different father. I will relive with my son, Bruce Wayne that everyone knows will die and relive being a good father.
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02 - Obliterate.
In the same morning, Damian finally wakes up.
The first people he saw are Alfred Pennyworth and Richard Grayson - Batman is fighting crime. It takes them a few minutes to realize a serious sequel to the accident: amnesia.
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— Who I am!? — The boy was confused, bordering on despair. Trying to understand all that information didn't help, and it made it even worse.
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03 - Restart.
Bruce is prevented from seeing his son as soon as he arrives at Wayne Mansion. After a short conversation with Dick, his eldest son and first owner of Robin's title, he understands how extensive the consequences of that accident were.
This does not prevent him from starting over, as he had promised. The first thing he does as a good father is to reassure Damian.
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— Son, how are you feeling? — Bruce asked again, a little louder than the first time.
— I-I? — The boy stared at him for a few seconds trying to understand what they were talking about and, as soon as he realized, looked down feeling even more out of place — I'm better...
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04 - Fault.
Despite Damian's apparent well-being, guilt bitterly corrupts Bruce. However, he will make a point of hiding it from his youngest son, because he doesn't want to spoil this new chance.
Damian may have woken up, but he is far from the same as before: he is calm, polite... he gives friendly smiles. He's a child, something he's never been before.
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— ... They don't need a chance, they need a father! — Bruce sighed, thinking of all the neglect with which he had raised his "children".
— And you are their father!
— I'm a bad father, Alfred, and I don't know how to become a better one! — He pointed, disappointed with himself — Last night I was away while my son was having a panic attack. I've been gone for most of his life, I've been gone when Dick needed me, Jason, Tim...
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05 - Doubts.
Nothing better than a little interrogation at breakfast!
Damian, in an attempt to get to know more about the Wayne family and himself, prepares some questions to be able to ask his father. Bruce did well, although the answers became increasingly difficult:
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— And who is my mother?
Bruce sighed and drank some more coffee, it would be a long morning. Dick cursed himself again, however, he preferred to run away: he got up with the fruit salad, making some excuse with his mouth full. Even Alfred, who was carrying a jar of juice, decided to go back to the kitchen when he heard the question.
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06 - Brothers.
Jason Todd finally appears.
Unlike the others, he doesn't believe in amnesia, let alone the other side effects. For him, it is just another joke of the younger brother.
But there is one thing that Jason really got right: there is something very wrong with the brat.
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— You might even think you're going to trick me, but I'm not a sucker like Dick or B.
— I-I... — Anguished and shy, the youngest struggled to look Todd in the eye — I'm not lying, I wanted to be, but I don't remember anything. I-I... I... — He stopped talking and put his hand over his ear and squeezed. The tinnitus was constant, but the pain always came in the worst hours.
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07 - Mistake.
Damian would only wake up later, which didn't stop Nightwing and Batman from asking how he was doing all the time.
It only served to irritate Jason even more - he was sure it was all just a bad joke. And just because he believed it was a lie, he resorted to extreme methods to prove his theory.
However, he only proved that he was mistaken.
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-— Oh my God! Alfred shouted. He had been surprised by Jason's long disappearance, but he never expected to see it happen again.
— Alfred, Alfred I didn't mean it! — the boy started trying to explain himself, but was completely ignored. The butler practically snatched Damian from his arms and laid the boy on the floor — Alfred, you believe me, right!?
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08 - Extra.
Jason tells his father that he needs to go home, as Damian will need him around when he wakes up. Or rather: Jason, completely out of his mind, begs Batman to come back because he and Damian need his father.
Despite expecting reprisals or any kind of "punishment" for acting without thinking, as he always does, Jason Todd received only what he needed: understanding - and a hug too.
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I didn't need to be the greatest detective in the world to know what the old Robin was talking about. Nor did he need to be a psychologist to understand that it all largely reflected how much Bruce had neglected his children.
— It's my fault because I wasn't here when they needed me. I was gone once again... — The bat's voice was full of guilt — But I promise to be a better father to you too, Jason.
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09 - Disagreement.
Everyone watched Damian sleep.
He just looked like a tired child after playing all day, which hid the real - and cruel - cause of him sleeping so deeply: his body was still recovering from an epileptic seizure.
Bruce, Dick and Jason disagreed about what caused the crisis and what they should do about it. Alfred had to put everything in order:
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— Gentlemen, if you want to continue with this discussion, I ask you to get out of here! — Alfred stared at the two denouncing how angry and even disappointed he was — The reasons for Master Damian to be in this situation are vast, from badly healed traumas to even a simple blow to the head. If you want to choose the cause, almost slapping to see who is right, leave! — he reinforced — Because what this child needs now is care.
Everyone was silent.
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10 - Red.
Damian is having a nightmare.
Probably what is most frightening about this bad dream is the fact that everything is just mixed memories, with brutality highlighted by various shades of red.
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Almost everything was red.
The same red as when you close your eyes tightly on a sunny day: the red of someone who seeks darkness.
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11 - Awakening.
Damian woke up screaming with fear because of the nightmare. A drastic change in personality is that he now displayed his feelings as transparently as possible - as a child.
Bruce tried to calm him down, but in the end it was Jason who did it - a part of the redemption for what he did. Of course, he did his "irritating brother" role first.
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— But, but...! — Damian protested even in a choked voice — There were horrible people, everything was red, there were strange things and in the end everything was destroyed! — At the end of the short story, he was crying again. At least he managed to give the impression that there were reasons to cry, he thought.
— I like red — Todd smirked, sitting on the bed next to them.
— Holy patience… — Dick murmured before yawning, repeating the rebellious brother's actions.
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12 - Extra.
Richard and Jason take the time to chat while preparing something edible in the kitchen - no one considered Alfred's cucumber sandwiches as an option.
At the end of the conversation, Jason was in pieces again because he felt like a monster even worse than the Joker for what he had done.
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— Jay, stop trying to be the family rebel and admit right away that you like Damian! You are drinking more than ever since you found him, not to mention all the times you fell asleep sitting next to the stretcher because "there was no better thing to do", and...
— Shut up, Dick's head! — Toddy pushed him, opening the cellar and taking one of the bottles.
— ... And I just think you should take advantage of all this to get close to the kid. — he finished what he was going to say before. He didn't want to fight back, he had to watch the popcorn so it wouldn't burn.
— He never liked me, Dick, but at least before he was not afraid to the point of having one of these pinscher attacks...
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13 - Morning.
Alfred got a real fright when he arrived at the mansion in the morning and found the kitchen in real chaos. He only managed to calm down when he saw his children having fun with the video game.
After restoring his usual calm face, he started to put things in order, starting by dismissing everyone for a morning bath:
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— Gentlemen, I believe this is the end of the game. — The eldest walked and stood in front of the TV. Everyone sighed, already imagining what would come, except for Damian, who had no idea whether to leave control or continue playing, as his father was doing. — If you are awake and fed... poorly fed, by the way, you can go wash up and get ready for a family breakfast that will be served in... — the butler checked his watch, they were not yet not six in the morning — … forty minutes.
— You heard Alfred, guys. For the bath, all three... — Bruce said.
— Exactly, Master Bruce, all for the bath.
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14 - Bathtub.
Bruce is in charge of helping his son in the bath. The broken leg served as an excuse for the real cause of not wanting him alone - fear of a new crisis.
While helping Damian, it was possible to remember the terrible state the little one was in when he was found: the scars were there. However, Damian felt nothing at all... nothing but an unusual "will".
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— Do you promise not to think I'm weird?
— Promise.
— ... It makes me want to hit my head somewhere hard enough for it to break, just so I can stick my fingers in there and pull out this insect that keeps buzzing all the time. But I can't do that, it didn't work when I tried.
A visceral silence ensued.
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15 - Sketchs.
Damian was in his old room, they thought it best to put him in a new room when he woke up - due to a lack of memories.
Alfred joined him. The butler closely followed the child's charm with his drawings; this charm that instigated him to want to draw something:
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— Hun... — Damian tried to think of something, but considered everything difficult enough to not be a good idea — Here?
— ... On here?
— ... It's where I live. Here... — The youngest tried to think of a better explanation — This big house... Mr Pennyworth, is this a mansion?
— Yes, this is Wayne Manor.
— ... Wayne like my father's name?
— And same as your name too, young man.
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16 - Relationship.
Selina and Bruce were arguing about the relationship that they apparently no longer had. It all started when she asked about Damian, since she didn't see him in the cave lab - which left her fearing the worst.
The discussion ended before she could get the answers she wanted from Bruce. However, she won something much better: Damian Wayne, safe and sound, right in front of her... in fact, she won something even more valuable than that:
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— Promise me, Damian.. — She sighed, holding his face by her cheeks and asked for both you and your bat: — Promise that you'll never worry us again!
— I promise, mom — The youngest replied feeling his face heating up by the shyness in saying that, in calling a "stranger" in such a close way. He wanted to have her around, even if it was problematic...
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17 - Perception.
Richard was calming his younger brother. Damian was nervous because the "parents" had a fight - Bruce didn't think it was right for Selina to take it all as a joke.
Now it was Dick who was nervous, because his beloved little brother was not getting any better. Everything only got worse when Bruce and Selina went to see how Damian was, finding him in the middle of a new crisis - something that the older brother did not notice due to nervousness.
... Only Alfred had the courage to see what everyone feared:
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— Alfred, does that mean… — Bruce began, without the courage to finish.
— Yes, Master Bruce — the butler replied without looking at him, preferred to dedicate his attention exclusively to Damian — Damian is, unfortunately, epileptic.
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18 - Extra.
To know what Damian really had, it would be necessary to take him to be examined by professionals in the field, which Bruce and Alfred were preparing to do - in haste, because the faster the better.
However, he insisted on saying goodbye to his children, like a good father:
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— I'm done with the documents, I'm ready! — Bruce sighed, holding tightly the folder with all the medical exams and so many other papers that he would need to hand over to the specialist doctor in Metropolis. All duly organized, as well as changed as to "causes".
— Send news... — Richard asked, was already a little more calm.
— And bring some hamburgers… — Todd asked, pretending to be indifferent about everything.
— And you two: behave yourself — This time it was Bruce who asked for something, pulling the two older children into a hug, a hug that was even returned by the rebellious son.
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19 - Examined.
Damian discovered that he hated hospitals as soon as he arrived at the Metropolis Neurology Clinic, when he was almost forced to undergo an examination.
Bruce found that as much as he hated being in hospitals, he would stay there as long as necessary to know what his son had.
Alfred discovered that it was not just Damian who was being examined in that place by Dr. Garner:
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— Believe me, Pennyworth. This is not the first case of a millionaire who can end my professional life with just one call, so feel like you can trust me. — At this point, Alfred regarded him almost certain that Batman and Robin had been discovered — Damian suffers abuse or neglect?
— ... Y-yes? I'm sorry, I didn't understand the question — The old man broke off, letting out a snicker — I believe the age is coming.
— I'll be even clearer: Bruce Wayne allowed his son to get hurt in some way? I'm not saying that it was exactly him who threw his son from the top of a snowy mountain, perhaps one of the older brothers...
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20 - Extra.
It was Bruce Wayne's fourth day in Metropolis and Clark Kent, as a best friend and a reporter, went after him to try to get anything that could explain his long stay at a Neurological Clinic:
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— The last time you were like this, the Earth was under...!
— Does not matter. — interrupted him, continuing shortly afterwards: — What matters to me is my son, my pressure I deal with later. The rest of the world: the Justice League takes care.
Clark Kent, again letting his journalistic side come to the fore as he took his friend down the hall in slow steps, began:
— I already have the title of my article: "Father of the year has a heart attack trying to take care of his son", a really new experience for you... No! It's not flashy enough! How about this: "inconsequential father died leaving his children orphans", hun? — without being able to control himself, he ended up giving one of his stupid smiles and continued: — Poor Alfred, needing to pretend he hasn't noticed his condition yet... he must also be on the verge of a nervous breakdown!
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21 - Extra.
Tim Drake finally appears, he wanted to talk to Bruce. He hadn't gone before because he was too busy trying to study the "divergent timelines".
Jason and Dick explain to him that the elders are out, they took Damian for exams. Such a statement triggers a concern different from that expected in young Timmy:
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— Wait... Are you serious? Is this serious? Is Damian really sick? — the boy stood up — How serious is that? I... — he started walking from side to side — I thought it was just a way for the gremlin not to be harmed by all the problems he was in, but if this is happening it might be the point of reflection and...
Suddenly, there was no one else in that game room. Not even it existed. All that went on in Timothy's mind were the various variables that he had studied in recent months and how some of them converged to a common point. It was close.
— I think it broke — Jason murmured as he watched the younger wandering from side to side talking about things he had no idea about.
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22 - Tested.
After calming Damian down for another exam, Alfred will see how Master Wayne is doing. Bruce had a principle of heart attack and was at rest.
Upon arriving at the "son's" room, Alfred is surprised by the visit of a much more insistent journalist than the previous one: Lois Lane.
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— Now I understand the "inconsequential father died leaving his children orphans" — The reporter said with some grace, preventing Bruce from doing what he wanted — He needs to be well to be able to take care of Damian, Bruce.
— If trying to be heard would solve anything, Ms. Lane... — Alfred sighed, tired.
— I know what's going on: I have my own tough head at home! — She ended up laughing — I already have a new headline: "After a heart attack, a millionaire is still inconsequential".
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23 - Extra.
After spending an entire afternoon interviewing the Wayne, Lois already had his news to stamp the front page of the Daily Planet. However, she would not do that to an old friend, she would not take advantage of the misfortune of others to promote herself...
Mainly because part of all that misfortune surrounding the Wayne seemed to be something much more planned than simply due to chance.
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The journalist started the car again, the report was coming to an end.
— I wouldn't say that in front of Bruce and much less Pennyworth, they are too overwhelmed. I sent Jon home and I hope he'll be there when I get there. I just want to forget all this during dinner, I don't want to be crying next to my boys... — She tapped her fingers on the steering wheel, getting ready to get back on the track — You are the only one who can get them out of that place without explosions, shouting and anything else that makes more journalists go there. Honestly, I don't know how many of them are not ready as vultures...
She took the phone out with one hand, ready to end that message.
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24 - Extra.
Jonathan Kent followed Damian's stay at that Clinic and was absolutely sure that something very wrong was going on with his best friend. Disobeying his mother's request, ventured into scary Gotham to ask Damian for help.
However, things did not go as well as he wanted: the only one at Wayne Manor was Jason Todd.
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— No! Is not it! I-I... — The youngest took a deep breath and decided to take courage, after all, one of Damian's brothers - whom he insisted on not considering as brothers - could help him — I know where Damian is and I know he is sick, you don't have to pretend with me! But someone needs to save him, they are doing terrible things with Dami in that place and...!
— Hey, hey... — Todd murmured, chuckling at the end — Since I don't have to pretend, Superboy, how about this: save the stinky brat yourself. That's not my problem! — And closed the door.
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25 - Rescue.
It was already dawn on the fifth day that Damian would spend at that damned Neurological Clinic. Alfred and Bruce were not with him, a fact of great benefit to Dr. Garner, the neurologist who "took care" of the little one.
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— If there are no results this time, I will have to be more drastic — Dr. Garner said annoyed, approaching Damian — It would be a shame to have to open you to get the answers I want, Damian. So be a good boy and collaborate this time — he threatened, holding the little boy's face by the cheeks.
— ... no! — He tried to sound brave, when in fact he just wanted to be saved.
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And, against all expectations, Jason arrived to rescue his younger brother. He justified any questionable devices he used as "necessary for a good deed".
But taking care of Damian now required getting rid of any old hurt and facing that annoying brat as a fragile child, because that was just what Damian Wayne was now... it wasn't that bad, after all.
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Jason, who was beginning to find that version of little Demon Wayne amusing, asked:
— Hungry? — When he received a positive nod, he put his hands on the steering wheel and prepared to take advantage of all the speed of that car in conjunction with a clean track — Let's solve this!