AN: Guest- I don't think the whole dynamic about Damian is that he was raised as an assassin, it was more of the fact that he was the only blood son of Bruce and he had issues and yes I do agree that he wouldn't be the same person if he was born to B and D but here's the thing, I tried writing Damian as an evil ninja baby and I totally ruined his character. I just cannot write him, most of the time he is an ass to Tim, had no relationship with Jason as far as I know, is attached to Dick and is rocky with his father. I only ever saw him in two Batman movies and I just can't write him in a way that is realistic.
Another thing is that Damian loved his mother very much despite her madness. I think he would probably try to kill Dinah or cause a rift between them until she left B so that he could focus more on his child which is something that I believe she would do. Sacrifice their relationship for the son who was raised to be evil and is trying so hard to overcome that and B would be blaming himself for the loss of his kids childhood and think he doesn't deserve her.
Damian was once written as the son of Bruce and Selina when they got married and he retired as Batman, it was in the cartoon so I'm taking authors privilege and saying no evil ninja baby here sorry.
I'm glad the rest of you are enjoying the story, please keep reviewing.
Chapter nine
Jason Todd had been in the manor for nearly a week and he still felt extremely weird. When he first came here he had a ratty old backpack and some clothes stuffed into a duffle bag and when he saw the place he couldn't help but feel like he really did not belong in a place this big and fancy. Danny took him to a room that was probably bigger than his old apartment and showed him where he could leave his things, showed him the library and then left him alone to try and settle. He also said something about working on a time sensitive experiment and disappeared, probably to his lab.
He pulled out a library book and settled into a corner of the floor underneath a desk on the fluffy mat and started reading. He felt a little out of place to actually sit on the bed or the furniture. A couple hours passed and Danny showed up to take him to dinner and introduce him to the other people that lived in the house. He met a pretty blonde woman named Dinah and found out that she was Bruce's girlfriend. He liked her, she had a soothing presence but her eyes also showed that she was tough, she wasn't a little pretty wallflower, she had fire in her and he knew that she could tell what he was thinking about her. Jason didn't mind, he actually respected her for it.
There was Dick, Bruce's son and Danny's younger brother, he was playful and made weird puns. He was also very touchy and that kind of freaked him out but he wasn't actually being mean or doing anything, he was just very affectionate and trying to make him comfortable even though it had the opposite effect. Then he met the fucking butler and his brain might have actually broken for a moment because seriously they had a butler named Alfred and he well Jason liked him he had a no nonsense kind of way and he was also the sass master, seriously he nearly lost it when Bruce wasn't paying attention to the food and was on his phone and Alfred raised an eyebrow and glared and the phone quickly disappeared.
He didn't know what to think of Bruce but the man nodded to him and kind of smiled at him before going to back to his food so he assumed that the man didn't hate him. He still felt really weird being here in his house, eating his food and not really doing anything to earn it. It made him feel antsy and kind of angry but he also didn't know what else to do, he supposed for the first time this was what it meant to be helpless.
Danny gave him three days before giving in and asking him what was wrong and by then he was wound so tight he just kind of exploded.
"Everything, I feel like I'm gonna break something by touching it, like I'm gonna dirty something by stepping on it or like I'm supposed to be earning something somehow and I just don't know what to do with myself and its pissing me off because I never needed no one to try and take care of me."
By the time he was finished ranting he realized he was crying and that just made him embarrassed and Danny smiled at him, like he was proud of him.
"I knew this wouldn't be easy for you, for a long time you were the man of the house and now you're here in this place where everything is provided for you and you feel like you no longer have control which was sometimes all you had. Did you know that Dick lived in a circus until B adopted him? My parents were scientists, they weren't poor but we didn't have this much, we had a three bedroom home and a lab in the basement. Dinah worked as a psychiatrist in Star City, she had a two bedroom apartment but now she's Mistress of the Manor, Dick and I we all had to get used to this life as well."
Jason felt a little better knowing that Dick wasn't actually Bruce's son. He didn't know much about the adoption thing, he didn't really pay attention to them rich folk while jacking car tires but it helped him feel less of an outsider when he realized that Dick had to get used to all this as well. For the first time since coming here, he went looking for him and found him flying through the air in his gym.
"Hey, you wanna learn?" asked Dick.
He wasn't going to offer, not at first. He was going to ask Jason what he was up too since he wasn't hiding in his room anymore and hoped that he was finally settling in but then he was the look of awe and decided why not? Maybe it could be a bonding experience and he was still young, it would be easier to teach him flexibility now then later.
Jason did want to learn so the two chatted while Dick showed him the basics, he told Jason of his parents and some fun adventures in the circus and it made him a little sad but it also made Jason happy to hear things about him that made him seem more like him and helped them connect. Dick wasn't poor like Jason was but he had very little when he came here, he too had next to nothing actually. Living on the road, he lived with the bare necessities and some valuables but not much.
Once they cooled off, Dick went to start his homework and then he got stuck with English. He hated Literature, Dick's strong points were math and computers not Literature and essays and themes. He hated poetry as well. He did well with some brain teasers and riddles but Shakespeare count him out. He groaned and Jason laughed and started detailing stuff from the plays that he didn't even realize had importance or even references to the larger themes. Jason helped him with the literature but when he reached math Jason seemed lost, so he dug out the beginners books and showed him the basics. It soon became routine for them to train together for a little while and then Dick would so some homework and teach Jason new sections in math and science.
Danny was glad that Dick was able to help Jason, and when he wasn't around he followed Alfred around mainly pestering him to teach him how to cook and after realizing that he did know the basics he started to actually teach him.
Bruce caught him one day attempting to box in the gym while waiting for Dick, he was mainly messing around and he was using what he saw on television but he wasn't half bad so he called out some corrections and the kid took him seriously and corrected himself. Bruce smiled, Danny was right about the boy, there was a lot potential there and his mind was eager, he wanted to learn and he could be molded but not to Robin. He was already too independent, he wasn't someone who would listen well to orders but if he had Danny teaching him well that just might work out better.
"I wanted to thank you."
Bruce actually smiled at him, "For what?"
"Letting me stay with you." Replied Jason and Bruce ruffled his hair.
"You're doing more for Danny than you know. He was very lonely and he needed someone he could take care off, Dick he is already looking for independence he doesn't want someone looking over his shoulder making sure he's okay and he doesn't need it but you, you're someone that Danny can take care off, you both need each other so thank you for giving him a friend."
Jason smiled brightly at him and then flipped over to join Dick on the trampoline.
Danny kept Jason occupied at night once everyone went out for patrol, he waited for Jason to fall asleep before he joined Dinah on patrol. He knew that they wouldn't be able to keep their secret forever but for right now he had enough change. Danny even suggested that Dinah have a few sessions with him just so that they could be certain that he was adjusting well to all the changes.
Danny also knew that he hadn't changed into his Phantom form in a long time, he was using his powers while remaining in his human form and his uniform was similar to the hazmat suit with a few accessories that B had made for him. His suit was a mash up between his suit and the Robin suit when in human form. His Phantom form was too noticeable with the whole white hair and glowing green eyes thing but he did wonder whether or not his Phantom suit had completely adapted to the changes he had gone through but that was an idea for another time.
Dinah had been acting strange recently and then there was the fact that Tim had been coming to the manor and Bruce had no idea what to make of the mild mannered kid. Jason seemed to think of the kid as some sort of fragile doll considering the fact that Jason and Dick were rough housing and Jason nearly crushed him. He wasn't even that big, none of them were but then again Tim was only seven years old and Jason was 10. The poor boy cried out and turned red as he was crushed under the older boy and Jason immediately started fussing, honestly he was just as bad a mother hen as Danny could be sometimes.
It was kind of nice to have the house filled with kids, Bruce did always want lots of children but the life that he had chosen, it wasn't a path to be filled with children but even though they were not of his blood they were his family. Dinah on the other hand was acting strangely recently and she wasn't going out as much as she used too and he didn't know why. When she approached their bed he grabbed her hand and stroked her cheek. He never thought that he could have something like this but now he was worried, she had promised to stay for as long as he was willing to make it work and he was still trying so why was she acting so strangely?
"There is something bothering you. Talk to me Dinah please."
Dinah smiled at him, for once it was him reminding her to talk to him instead of the other way around and she really wanted to tell him, a part of her was excited, the other part was terrified but she wasn't sure how he was going to take this. He adopted pre-teens this was something so totally different and it would change all their lives, she wasn't sure what was going to happen or how this was going to change things but she really hoped that she wouldn't lose him.
"I'm pregnant." She whispered and she felt him stiffen before his eyes widened and he fainted. Dinah was so stunned she couldn't even laugh, Batman, the world's greatest detective, a man that instilled fear in every villain across the world, a man that some rogues had nightmares about while only the totally insane took him on fainted because his girlfriend told him she was pregnant, it was such a typical male response that she eventually did laugh.
He went through the whole 'how' question to which she just glared at him and he nodded sheepishly and she calmly reminded him that condoms were not always 100% effective and this was possible. Then he asked her to marry him and she scrowled at him.
"There is no way in hell that I am going to marry you just because I'm pregnant. There are many couples who can have a baby without getting married and we will be such a couple until we get to a point where you ask me to marry you because you want to spend the rest of your life with me and not because you feel like you need to take responsibility. We've been together nearly a year, we can take our time."
Dinah stopped going into the field until after the pregnancy and Dick and Danny just took it in stride. They already had Jason and Tim spent more time here at the manor than he did at home and he was slowly getting more comfortable with B and he was also thinking along the same lines of Danny. The kid would make a pretty good Robin so basically their family was growing so why not add another kid to the family? Dick was actually pretty excited and B was well he was freaking out since he knew nothing about babies but Dinah was there to calmly remind him that they would learn together.
Danny also hired a tutor, mainly because when Dick was tested into Gotham Academy he was two grades higher than the rest of his age group. Jason hadn't been in school for a long time and no one was sure where he would test into and since he was helping Dick with his literature homework and no one was really sure what Dick taught him when they were having their lessons some of which Tim joined in on and then they realized exactly how fast the kids brain worked and B was already thinking of getting in touch with Janet Drake so he could rattle her for her poor parenting skills and he really wanted to test Tim's IQ, there was no way that kid was normal.
Jason had a pull plate for a while until he figured out that there was something that everyone was hiding from him and then he started snooping as well and then he found the bat cave. Honestly, all he did was wait until Danny thought he was asleep and follow him into the study, saw the clock open and well once you see it you can never un-see it. It really was similar to what Dick had done and how he figured it out. Tim wasn't there but he wasn't really mad at anyone but he did want to help and Danny immediately started on the whole training regime.
Jason also realized that B wanted Tim to be the next Robin and he asked Danny why he couldn't do it first, Tim was much younger and Dick wasn't looking to pass the mantle just yet and Danny smiled at him and shook his head.
"Robin is Batman's protégé, but it also means that he expects complete obedience. You're already crawling out of your skin here in the everyday life where you still don't feel like you fit in, if we put you in the Robin suit then you're going to have to obey B, all the time even if you think differently and you cannot argue with him."
Jason already looked like he didn't like what Danny was talking about and Danny smiled at him, "Dick he works with B because he didn't really give him much of a choice but the reason why we all think we need to train someone else to be Robin is because Dick isn't going to be okay with doing that much longer, he is going to want to be his own man and call the shots and he cannot do that as Robin. Jay you're too independent to be Robin. Your mentor needs to be someone that you can argue with, someone that you can talk too and compromise with, that isn't who Batman is and the two of you will probably tear each other apart. You can create your own name, B and Dinah will train you, so will Dick and me and when you're ready you can take to the streets."
Jason seemed a lot more settled after that explanation and he also started taking a closer look at the relationship between Batman and Robin and he couldn't help but agree. Batman demanded for every order to be met without even a word and those standards were not something that he would be able to work with, a mold that he didn't fit. He could never just follow, not without arguing his ways and points and Danny wouldn't expect something like that from him so there was that.
Danny took Jason to Gotham Academy. He wasn't enrolling now but he did come to take a placement test which would tell him where he was going to be placed next year when school opened again. Danny promised that he would wait for him while he took the test so that he wouldn't have to wait for someone to come and pick him up.
While Jason took the test, Danny took a walk around the campus. He had to admit it was a pretty school, very different from his old school with Dash and Paulina and the rest. He caught sight of blonde hair and she was backing away from what appeared to be some seniors. Danny nearly rolled his eyes, he recognized the boy with brown hair, he was good looking in the preppy rich kid sort of way and he sort of recognized him Matt David, Davies, Harvey? Or something, his father was a business man who spoke to him about one of the projects he was working on and he was an ass as well.
Artemis looked pissed so he listened a little more carefully and realized that they were propositioning her and he scrowled. Rich kids were such a pain in the ass, she was here on a scholarship so they thought that they could pay her for some fun, it was insulting and humiliating and exactly the type of bullying that you see in rich schools where the people on scholarships were seen as outcasts and since she was trying to keep her cover as a normal civilian she couldn't knock the guys teeth out which he was pretty sure he was very close to doing as the guy leered at her and got closer.
"Artemis are you ready to go?" he called out and the group of five guys broke up as she looked at him, recognized him and looked like she was going to throttle him as soon as she was done punching them in the nuts and he sighed, why did he always find the dangerous women who were not damsels in distress and would never be happy with being saved? Because he was an idiot that was why.
"You're Daniel Wayne." Muttered Matt or maybe it was Brad? Honestly he wasn't even sure, the guy just didn't matter enough for him to care.
"Obviously. Artemis you coming or not?"
Artemis decided to go with Danny, at least he wouldn't push her to kick someone's ass and maybe cause her to blow her identity.
"Why did you do that?" she asked and she knew that she was glaring at him she just couldn't find it in herself to be grateful, she didn't need some sort of hero to save her.
Danny barely looked at her instead he checked his watch, "Technically I wasn't saving you, I was saving them from getting beat to a pulp."
She was actually so shocked she almost froze and then she really did growl out, "What do you mean?"
Danny smiled at her, that boyish smile that made her tummy do silly flips and replied, "I'm not stupid. I know when a girl can kick ass and you are definitely one of them besides if you got into a fight and won then you would be in trouble, suspension maybe even expulsion and they were jerks. People like them are the reason I chose to go to college."
Artemis smiled back this time, he wasn't even gloating about the fact that he helped her and when they reached the office Jason was done and it was time to go home. She was about to say goodbye and thanks when Jason smiled at her sweetly and asked if she wanted to come with them.
"We're gonna go get ice cream. Will you come too?"
Danny nearly walked into a wall when Jason asked Artemis to come with them because firstly they weren't supposed to be getting ice cream, they were going home to a training session. Secondly Jason hated missing his sessions because he really wanted to patrol as soon as possible and thirdly since when did Jason like other people enough to invite them for ice cream and then before she could reply he tugged on her hand and ran to the car while Danny trailed after them both wondering what on earth happened to the kid and wondering if he should alert B that Jay might be mind controlled or abducted or replaced by a pod person.
Jason dived into the backseat of the Jaguar that Danny was currently driving and pushed Artemis to take the passenger seat while they waited for Danny to actually come and you know drive the car to the park. Danny climbed inside and raised an eyebrow in the mirror at Jason who smiled back sweetly and turned to Artemis who looked just as confused to how she got here as he did but he just shrugged and went with it, he learned to just roll with the weird since coming to this dimension so he said, "Ice cream it is." And drove off completely forgetting Dick and the rest of the school who were just in time to watch their exit and if there were people recording then it was a problem for another day.