Chapter Twenty-Three

"You can keep it from the Bruce if you prefer, but I do not think you should. He is your father. He would want to know about someone special in your life." Starfire said. Damian nodded. Starfire was occasionally naïve, but she sometimes had good advice. He would write to his father as soon as they were done training. Maybe Bruce would actually understand. Damian was so distracted now, though that he couldn't get his head in training.

After about an hour of missing his cues and getting knocked around by opponents that should have been no match for him, Nightwing called off training until Damian was more with it. The young Titan seemed glad to go, and ran upstairs to his room and started writing.

Dear Father,

I am not sure if you are aware of my true relationship with Carrie. To you, she's just your newest Robin in a long line of sidekicks who've either been fired, quit, died or been victim to some terrible tragedy that made them unsuitable for the role thereafter. To me, she's not just some girl in an interchangeable position that could be replaced by a dozen different kids. She's special to me. She and I were dating for almost two months before you sent me to the other side of the country to join the Teen Titans.

So if I seemed exceptionally belligerent over your decision to turn authority over me to the Teen Titans, it's likely because I was infuriated over your decision to arbitrarily decide my future for me. I'm not sure if she has a new boyfriend by now. She's very pretty, talented and intelligent, so I don't doubt that she could have gotten one so quickly. But regardless, she still means a great deal to me, and I expect you to treat her as a person and not an expendable soldier in your eternal one-man war.

Do I make myself understood? Dick has assisted in her protection by creating a suit of indestructible metal thread that will assist in keeping her from harm. But I expect you to do your part, since I am aware that tools can only go so far. If someone stabs her in the back with a knife, all the impenetrable thread clothes in the world won't stop that knife from killing her, since fabric is by its very nature flexible.

Your war is a dangerous one, and I am certain that her position is not without its risks, which I'm certain you explained to her fully, including the details on the deaths and harm to which several of your previous Robins came, and if you didn't, shame on you. I will come home if I have to in order to protect Carrie from your almost pathological crusade against evil. I'm making friends here, so I would not want to lose them simply because you can't even keep a child safe while you fight crime.

However, Carrie means more to me than these friends, and as a result, I will return if you cannot promise me that she will stay safe. I'm aware that this is a steep demand, but I expect you to make it all the same, or release Carrie from your service. Tell her from me she can date as many boys as she wants. It's not my place to tell her she needs to be a nun in my absence. My position on your treatment of her will not change regardless of her relationship status. Am. I. Clear?

With Regards,

Damian Wayne

Damian ran to Nightwing, sealing the letter in an envelope and asking him to send it to Bruce. The young leader of the Titans nodded and it disappeared with a crack from his hand. Less than a second later, Bruce was holding the envelope and opening it.

"Mm…It's from Damian. Apparently he's doing well with his new team, Alfred… Carrie… Oh, this letter is about you, Carrie."

"Really?" Carrie asked, looking over Bruce's shoulder and reading it along with her boss.

"Aww… That's so sweet. He still thinks about me."

"You and my son are dating?" Bruce asked. Carrie blushed slightly.

"Yes… Damian asked me not to say anything to you. He didn't think you'd understand."

"He didn't think I'd understand that he had feelings for someone? My crusade against crime may take up most of my time, but I have had lady friends in the past. Surely he knew that. His mother was one of them." Bruce said. Carrie nodded.

"I know… I said the same thing to him, but he was adamant. Do you ever plan to bring him back home?"

"For the time being, he seems to be learning humanity quite well. I think I'll leave him there for a while more. Are you insistent that I bring him back? There may be a time when we're all needed in the same place to prevent the world from ending. Trigon, Raven's father is apparently attempting to come back."

"Come back? Then he's been here before?" Carrie asked, astounded.

"Yes. Trigon used Raven once as a conduit to enter our dimension and thus Earth, and the Teen Titans defeated him and returned him to his prison dimension. Trigon is a little bit like Cthulhu."

"Cthu-who?" Carrie asked, raising an eyebrow at the strange word that had just left Bruce's mouth.

"Cthulhu, Call of Cthulhu was a short story by HP Lovecraft. It's an extradimensional being that exists in a prison dimension under the sea until such a time when the stars are right for its return. It's a godlike being in power and its return would signal the end of the earth." Bruce said.

"Wow… Cheerful guy, this HP Lovecraft, eh?"

"Mm… Cheerful stories were not his strong point. He wrote mostly about twisted alien beings from other dimensions that have existed since before the current universe and are waiting until they are released and can destroy humanity. They have worshippers, but most of them are mad by most people's standards and are unreliable as witnesses. Some people in the know say that Cthulhu was actually a story about Trigon… That Lovecraft knew about the being, but not its name, so he used the name Cthulhu.

"If you pay attention to the similarities between Cthulhu and Trigon, you can see why people assume that they might have been the same creature."

"Yeah, but what IS Trigon exactly? A demon? The Devil?" Carrie asked. Bruce sighed.

"It would be incorrect to call Trigon a Demon or the Devil, but its nature is similar in some ways to what the Judeochristian religions call Satan.

"Back a while ago, I don't know how long exactly, there was a cult and they tried to create a utopian dimension that they called Azarath. And to create that Utopia, they used a magic ritual to banish their own negative and harmful thoughts and emotions from themselves. These thoughts, emotions and sins coalesced into a being that they called Trigon. In essence, Trigon is an amalgamation of pure sin and evil.

"Trigon was banished by those of Azarath, but years later, Trigon came back through a summoning ritual in Azarath that went wrong. They meant to learn about their history from this being, but they lost control over it, and raped one of the women, Raven's mother. She gave birth to a Half-Demon child, Raven. And through a prophecy that came about as a result, it was Raven's destiny to bring Trigon back to Earth. She did that, but created a situation where the Titans would be spared the fate of the rest of the human race.

"As a result, they fought and brought Raven back to herself and Raven defeated Trigon, banishing it once more. Trigon isn't destroyed though. It's very hard to destroy an amalgamation of a concept as it exists and it doesn't. Trigon can be banished again with enough power. But it would be next to impossible to destroy Trigon." Bruce said. Carrie nodded.

"Listen, Boss, I asked you if I could be your new Robin after Damian left…"
"You want to take his wishes into account and you're asking if you can quit?" Bruce asked. Carrie shook her head.

"Not exactly. I just want to know what Damian meant about your previous Robins dying." She said. Bruce sighed. He didn't even like to think about what happened to Jason and what happened to Tim wasn't much better, really.

"Well… My second Robin, the one after Dick was named Jason Todd. He was captured by a maniac named the Joker, lured into a trap and taken captive. The Joker is known for being brutal. If it came down to a straight physical fight between the two of us, I would win, but the Joker doesn't fight fair. He kicked, punched and beat Jason to death. R'as Al Ghul used the Lazarus Pit to bring him back to life. But something went wrong and Jason's mind was broken.

"He somehow returned to sanity but he had become a criminal and used the abilities I trained him in to kill mob bosses, working up to the Joker. He scared the underworld into taking that risk, hiring the Joker, all so he could get to him. Neither of them died. I made sure of that. But Jason escaped, and I hear he became Red X in Jump City, a petty criminal to be sure, but a criminal all the same. Fortunately, Dick seems to have reached him somehow and now Red Hood is a member of the Titans." Bruce said.

"And your other Robin that died?"

"Tim Drake didn't die. But sometimes I wonder if his fate would have been less tragic if he had. Again, the Joker. He seems intent on doing everything he can to bring me down to his level. If he can do something so horrible that it breaks me and forces me to kill him, then he'll have won. It's all a game to him, and I've never come closer to crossing that line than when I fight against him.

"He's made it his life's goal to destroy everything and everyone that I care about. All so he can see me lose control. Tim Drake was just another victim in the Joker's attempts to make me cross the line. He and Harley Quinn kidnapped Tim and tortured him, brainwashed him to make him a miniature Joker. I suppose he thought that was a great laugh, to see me have to fight and kill my own former apprentice. Fortunately, Tim retained enough of himself to shoot the Joker instead of me.

"Joker didn't die. He was just returned to Arkham and after Tim had been fully deprogrammed, I made him a civilian again. I wouldn't put him in that kind of danger again, and I swore to myself that I would never put a child in such danger again."

"Seems you slipped up a bit." Carrie said with a laugh. Bruce scowled.

"Well… Damian came along. He was already fully trained if a bit arrogant. But I've never had a more talented Robin, and he demanded that he was either my partner or he was nothing to me. So I made him my new Robin. But he needs to learn some humility still. He's arrogant and all too willing to use lethal force to subdue an opponent. So I sent him to the Teen Titans where he would be around people closer to his own age. I never realized that he had a girlfriend.

"If I had known, perhaps I would not have sent him so very far from home. He wouldn't even talk to me for any extended period after I told him though. He only glared at me and shot belligerent comments occasionally. I didn't think that he had anything or anyone keeping him here. I thought he was just angry that it seemed like I was discarding him. I suppose I'll have to apologize for my actions. I won't bring him back just yet. He's making good progress. His concern for you tells me that much." Bruce said.

Carrie nodded as Bruce went to writing.

Dear Damian,

You're right. And I have fully informed Carrie of the dangers we both face nightly. I suspect that she will be much better protected now that we have such strong armor. I'm happy for you that you have someone you care about so much. I wish you would have told me. I won't bring you home just yet. Your progress is impressive already and I foresee a time when we'll all be needed in the same place to defeat Trigon. Until then, I'm sure you can stand her absence for a while more.

Besides, it seems that you're getting good training in teamwork and in controlling your new abilities which I'm sure are highly impressive. You were already far and beyond greater than any of my other Robins, having trained from birth and been created "perfect". Still, I suspect that you could use more training and I expect you to act as a team member until such time as I come to collect you and bring you back.

I promise that I will do all that I can to keep Carrie safe. Most of what she does now is to act as a distraction and provide minimal backup and train in martial arts. Since she is still going to public schools, I'm waiting a while until I approach her parents and suggest that they accept private tutoring at my expense. I'm certain that I can convince them. But I would like to wait at least until she finishes middle school.

That way, she isn't ripped out of her environment in the middle of the year. Still, her training is progressing exceptionally well. Her talent for martial arts is impressive. I'm sure even you would agree if you could see her. I look forward to the day when we can be together once more and Carrie has assured me that she is not interested in dating anyone else. Bruce wrote this as Carrie said it, having read the letter from Damian once more and scoffing at the suggestion.

Regards,

Bruce

Bruce then sealed the letter in with the original letter and said "To Damian". The letter disappeared with a crack and a flash, returning to Damian.