Who can say what tomorrow holds
Where I'll end up if I take this road
People come and people go
- Beth Crowley "All I Know"
Gotham NJ
Thursday July 15, 2010
Wayne Manor
When Damian first arrived at his father's doorstep at the ripe age of 8 he had to admit to himself he was impressed by the large manor his father lived in. It was in the outskirts of Gotham, the building surrounded by a large gate that he later learned the hard way was actually electric. They were greeted at the door by an older man with gray hair in a suit.
"Welcome back Master Wayne" he had a British accent "and...this is?" obviously referring to him. Before he could answer his father cut him off.
"This is our newest guest" he put a hand on Damian's shoulder
The man looked back and forth between them. "Right and how long would this guest of ours be staying?"
"Indefinitely" his father answered and to be fair Damian didn't actually know how long he was staying. All his mother said was that he was going to be staying with his father for the time being.
"And may I ask about why there is a sword strapped to the young man's back?"
"It's a katana" he corrected eyes trained on the older man.
"It's a ….long story" his father stated.
"Then please due make it short" the man said.
His father sighed "Damian this is Alfred. Alfred this is Damian…...my son" his father gesture between them. The man's eyes widened clearly surprised at the revelation.
Damian raised his eyebrow "You only have one butler?"
"Alfred is family" was all his father said.
"Son?" the man asked, confused "As in …..shared DNA?" his father nodded "And the boys mother?".
"His mother is Talia".
The butler looked like he was taking in the information took a deep breath. "Are you absolutely sure about this".
"Are you suggesting my mother is a liar?" Damian asked, eyes glaring at the man.
"Perhaps I am? I'm just concerned as this would not be the first time this has happened. A mother accusing Master Bruce of being the father without logical basis."
"He looks like me when I was a child. Only difference is he has green eyes and a darker skin tone. Other than that, the rest is all me" Bruce said.
"I agree Master Bruce…...but I do believe a test is worth the option" Alfred suggested.
"Very well. Damian …..follow me" he stated as his father walked away right hand in his pocket. Just as they were going to go their separate ways there was a large crash from upstairs followed by shouting.
A boys voice filled the house "ALFRED….TELL JASON TO STOP GOING INTO MY ROOM".
Followed by a different voice "WELL TELL DICK TO STOP TAKING MY STUFF". There was loud noise followed by shouting.
"WHY WOULD I HAVE YOUR GAME. IT'S NOT MY FAULT YOU MISPLACE YOUR STUFF".
"TELL DICK TO GET OFF ME"
" TELL JAY TO STOP GOING INTO MY ROOM"
Suddenly they he heard them gasp with a sound of pain. "That's gonna bruise for a week" one of them groaned. Suddenly a little girl came down the stairs without making a sound. She looked of Asian heritage, she was barefoot, had straight shoulder length black hair and she wore a light black tunic and blue jeans. She was possibly only a few inches taller than Damian himself.
She stood in front of the butler and spoke a word with a small smile "Stop".
"Thank you, Mistress Cassandra"
The girl looked towards Bruce with a smile "Home" clearly a statement and took a step towards his father when she stopped and looked at him, and her eyes furrowed and landed on his katana. To Damian's surprise she took a fighting stance a very proper fighting stance "Who?" she questioned.
His father bent down on one knee to get to eye left with her "Calm down Cassandra...this is our newest guest….this is Damian". She was still in her fighting position and didn't look ready to back down. Damian rolled his eyes at the girl before him, as if she could take him with her novice training she did at some dojo in Gotham. However as he rolled his eyes, they caught something in the corner. At the corner of his sight the long decorative cream colored and red carpeted hallway there were pictures hanging from the wall with a bigger picture in the middle.
There were a total of 10 portraits. Damian walked towards the hallway, eyeing the names under each picture. Martha Wayne, Thomas Wayne, Bruce Thomas Wayne his father looked about his age in that photo, followed by a picture of the three of them in one picture. His father was sitting in what he would obviously guess was his mother's lap with his father- his on the right of her. He continued to follow the names, Alfred Pennyworth, the butler he had just met. Richard John Grayson a young boy with jet black hair and bright blue eyes and a wide smile. Jason Peter Todd another boy with jet black hair and blue eyes and a side smile.
Though they had similar features, even without having the last names there Damian could tell they did not share the same parents. He continued on to the next name Timothy Jackson Drake another one with black hair and blue eyes shyly smiling at the camera, he looked rather young in this photo. Finally a picture of the girl who just stood before him. Cassandra Cain the young girl had black short hair and brown eyes and half a smile. Damian looked up reading the name The Wayne Family beneath a portrait of the five names he just read in his head plus his father.
They had smiles on their faces and they all wore the same red sweater and black pants combination; including the girl Cassandra. Damian was confounded by the pictures before him. His mother never mentioned he had other siblings.
"Mother didn't mention anything about siblings. Didn't expect you to be be so busy".Bruce clearly aware of what Damian was implying, rolled his eyes and took in a breath.
"Would you like to meet them? You've already met Cassandra"
"...Very well" he replied curtly
"BOYS…" he raised his voice.
There was a rush of footsteps coming down the stairs. Alfred was met with a chorus of greetings. Three boys; two who looked to be a bit older and one a bit younger who was stuck to his tablet. "So Bruce how was your "business meeting" we know definitely wasn't a business meeting?" the taller one asked. From the pictures Damian saw he could identify him as Richard. He ruffled Cassandra's hair telling her "next time try to hold back ...okay", the girl replied with a nod.
The younger one looked up from his tablet, a smug look on his face "Done" he said "Here ya go" he walked over to the man and gave him the tablet. This one was Timothy. The boy tilted to the side, and spotted him his eyebrows raising in surprise.
"Thanks Tim" Bruce ruffled the boys hair " I can always count on you for the job". Job?
"We're not kid's y'know, you can tell us where you're going…..we'll Timmy and Cass are but I'm not" this one was Jason
"You know I'm older than you right?" Richard bantered.
"By three years, and I'm two years older than Tim and Cass"
"Uh….Bruce ...why is there a kid behind you" Tim asked. Jason and Richard looked behind him.
Jason groaned "Seriously Bruce….. another one?"
Saturday, February 18 2012
Gotham, NJ
Wayne Manor
9:30 a.m
Damian stood before the large portrait, dressed in a black jacket a blue jeans on hands fold, hands in his pocket. The Wayne Family. His thoughts about them then changed over the course of the years. He heard footsteps coming down the hallway, light as they were and turned to look at his father on his tablet swiping at the screen.
"Hello Father" he greeted
"Morning Damian, I thought you would be training by now" his father put the tablet underneath his arm. He stood tall in black button up shirt and beige pants, hair swooped back slightly wet as if he'd just came from a shower.
"Grayson suggested I 'take a break' as overworking myself at this age could 'cause severe damage'" he added air quotes around the things his brother claimed. Richard always looked out for him the most and if Damian was being honest during that time his father went missing Richard stepped up and took care of him he didn't hate it. Rather he felt it was a time of self discovery, he atoned for many things he had previously done, he even managed to make a friend in Maya Ducard who would stop and visit him every once and awhile. Should she keep to her schedule she would be showing up in few weeks time.
"He has a point. A boy your age should be playing with friends, focusing on school-" his father walked the halls.
"Grayson, Drake and Todd were able to remain active on duty without problem. What's so different me being Robin" Damian rolled his eyes "I know everything there is to know and more. I am far beyond my years and far beyond those …...children". He detested being compared to those beneath him.
His father opened the door to his office and made his way to his desk and took a seat. "And that is the reason I sent you to school. Besides Dick Jason and Tim all went to school too even if Jason never got to finish, did you know he loved going to school more than either of them? He would never admit it though, but I could always tell."
Damian sat quiet in the chair, uninterested in what his father was replying to him. Bruce sighed and took a breath.
"It gave them an opportunity to make friends and be surrounded by those their age. They even made friends in the field." his father said.
"I do have friends in the field, two in fact. Jon and Maya" Damian argued "though I suppose that's extended to Jon's blonde friend".
Bruce sighed "If you don't know her name, she's not your friend."
"Beacon."
"Her real name."
Damian gave a puff "It's not like everyone in the League knows your real name"
"They do in fact. As I know thier's."
"Through investigating perhaps" Damian put a hand to his cheek and looked away from his father.
"Through trust. Trust does not come easy but when it comes son, everything becomes easier."
" I fail to see how any of this pertains to me. What's this about?"
"Starting today. I'm trusting you with an assignment."
"Whatever it is I will complete it in no time" Damian stated sharply
Bruce gave his an exasperated look " That girl you found is going to be joining you at school soon an-"
"Are you mad?"
"Tim and Barbra tried looking into things and they found no record of her. No missing child report that matches her description. No reward. Nothing. Then according to Barbara and Commissioner Gordon she claims that she doesn't remember anything"
"And you people are sending her to school?"
"She needs normalcy."
"She needs therapy is more like it"
"She already has that and in a few weeks she'll start school and she will be going to Gotham Academy on a sponsorship by me. There you will keep a close eye on her, Tim believes there's something strange about her."
"So Drakes paranoia is enough to send me on a wild goose chase"
"Damian" his father stated sharply. Damian suggested he may have crossed a line.
"It will be done. Is that all."
"Yes."
"I will….. take my leave then." He began walking towards the door before he reached for the door.
"I have faith in you Damian, never forget that."
Damian nodded his head and walked out of the office. He made his way to the kitchen where he found Tim on his laptop and Jason chewing on an apple, scrolling through his phone. Damian greeted them with a nod then made his way to the refrigerator and began looking through it.
He heard Todd open his mouth "So you got the mission debriefing".
"You guys knew about it"
Tim didn't look up from the laptop "'course we did. We're the ones that agreed to let you go."
"Excuse me?"
"We all think your ready for your first official solo mission. 'Cause those trips you take on your own plus the ones with Jon, Maya and Beacon don't count".
"Even Cass and Alfred think you're ready" Jason pitched in.
Damian was shocked, he didn't show it though. They actually believed in time to do this.
"And Grayson?"
"Was the first person to assign you the job" Tim replied
"Don't fail us Baby Bat. We….. Bats.. have reputation to uphold" Jason said
"You're one to talk" Tim said as he took a sip from his mug
"Shut it Timber. I do good work, not like either of you can infiltrate a crime gang. I would pay good money to see that shit." Jason put his arms behind his head.
"I won't fail" Damian smirked "Unlike you two I have actual skill"
Damian settled for an apple and walked out of the kitchen leaving his brothers to argue among themselves. He knew many things for a boy his age. However all he knew in this moment was that he would not fail.
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