Chapter Twenty-Four
"I see… Good. Now you need to admit that should have been the first thing you told her."
"I won't be lectured by my thirteen year old son, Damian. I've done things a certain way for many years and they've proven to work. I admit that I should have warned Carrie sooner. Don't treat me like a petulant child!" Bruce snapped. "Carrie wishes to speak with you. Yes, you can have a five minute break, Carrie. Then we're getting back to training. Do you understand?"
"Yeah, boss!" Carrie said, picking up the phone.
"So… Damian… I hear there are a lot of pretty girls in California. You aren't looking at other girls, are you?" Carrie asked jokingly, though Damian could tell that she was nervous. Damian scoffed.
"What do you take me for? Of course I haven't. The girls on our team are either several years older than I am or involved already.
"Actually, it's a real mast fest in this tower. I never got that reference until I got here and realized that there are five men, including myself and only three women. Nightwing… I know, ridiculous name, right? Well, regardless, he's dating Raven, and as I understand they have a fairly intense relationship. The alien woman, Koriand'r is no longer dating anyone as far as I'm aware, and Garfield is dating Tara Markov."
"Tara… Why does that name ring a bell? What's her superhero name?"
"Alright, and get this. It's Terra. She manipulates earth and decided to call herself Terra. These people I'm stuck with have no imagination… Garfield is at least good for a laugh occasionally with his ridiculous antics and pathetic puns. The half-robot is close friends with Garfield and he seems to have a good sense of humor as well.
"Honestly, I can't tell necessarily if he's brilliant or just good with machines. I've already figured out ten ways I could defeat every member of the team… Well, except Nightwing. He defeated me in single combat with such ease that I wonder if he has any weaknesses that could be exploited by anyone without comparable powers. He got his ass kicked, though by three women who had taken the names of three Greek goddesses."
"Oohh… Which goddesses?" Carrie asked excitedly. Greek mythology had always been a subject of interest to her.
"Hecate, Artemis and Athena. Their abilities were consistent with the names they took. Hecate used magic that sapped our strength, Artemis was exceptionally skilled with bows and arrows and Athena defeated Nightwing with ease in single melee combat.
"It's amazing to me that they've settled for simply being petty criminals. They could easily join an international terrorist organization and make the world tremble before them. Their physical abilities and tactical prowess were beyond anything I've seen before, and they claim to have defeated Deathstroke with ease and that because he couldn't beat them, they refused to work with him. I don't know if that's necessarily true, but to make that claim, they must be exceptional in their abilities."
"How is your training going, Damian? Are you learning to harness your new powers properly?" Carrie asked. Damian sighed.
"Well… Nightwing has created a room that allows us to cram hours upon hours of training into a fifteen minute period. He calls it his Time Dilation Chamber. Time moves faster inside than outside."
"Sounds pretty impressive. I didn't know he could manipulate time." Carrie said.
"Just a minute, boss! I'm finishing up!" The young woman protested.
"I'm sorry that I had to leave home like that. I'm sure that if I had told Father that I was dating you, he might have reconsidered. I don't think I've said this to you yet… I was never really taught to express my feelings. Mom trained me as an assassin. Dad trained me as a vigilante. But… I love you." Damian said. For a painfully long moment, Carrie was silent on the other side of the phone. Had she dropped it? Had she hung up, disgusted by his display of emotion?
Damian knew he should have trusted his instincts and not said anything. It was better to just erase your emotions. Relationships were fine, so long as he didn't get emotionally involved. He could like her, but he should never have gotten so attached to her.
"I'm sorry I wasted your time, Carrie. Good luck with your training…" Damian sighed, about to hang up until he heard a shout from the other end.
"Wait!" Carrie shouted, her breath coming in gasps. She had been holding her breath.
"Sorry… I… Wasn't expecting that! I love you too, Damian. I always kind of assumed that your relationship with me was just casual… Or something of convenience. I guess I didn't mind. I really like you, and I hoped one day you would start to like me, too. But you always seemed so cold… I just…"
"Carrie… You don't need to explain yourself. I told you, I was trained as a lot of things, almost from birth. But an emotional human being wasn't one of those things. I apologize for seeming cold. I'll try to make it up to you when I get home. You're about to graduate from Middle School, right? I wish I could be there. I bet you'll look good in your graduation robes." Damian said, smiling shyly.
"What? Graduation robes? We don't do that at our school. It's just moving from eighth grade to ninth grade. Nothing special, and I wouldn't attend graduation if there was one. It never seemed that vital. Well… Bruce is getting impatient. I guess I have to go. I'm going to a carnival with some friends soon. I'll send pictures if you like."
"Sounds good." Damian said. "Have a good time with your friends." Damian said, hanging up. He sighed. She was so beautiful… Her red hair and green eyes… But she was also a nicer person than he had ever been. While he was learning to kill people without leaving a trace, she was spending time socializing with friends and learning how to be a human. He wasn't sure he would ever be good enough for her.
"Hey… Nightwing…" Damian said shortly as Dick walked by his room. Dick stopped and looked at Damian.
"Yeah? What's up?" He asked. Damian scowled nervously.
"You've had a few girlfriends in the past. Police Chief Gordon's daughter, Koriand'r, Rachel… Are you able to relate to them?" Damian asked. Dick sighed and asked if he could come in. Damian stood aside and Nightwing sat down.
"Well… I had trouble at first. Dealing with women wasn't something Batman taught me. In spite of his exploits in that field, it wasn't something he considered worth teaching his sidekick.
"Barbara… I don't really know whether she was ever really a girlfriend. We went to a movie or two, but nothing serious ever happened. Starfire was my first serious relationship, and it wasn't without its bumps along the way. I don't know if I would say I couldn't relate to her. But I had trouble expressing my feelings for her." Damian laughed at this.
"Too much muscle on the mind to get it up?" He asked sardonically. Dick rolled his eyes.
"That's not what I meant, and if you really want my help, I'd advise that you don't mock me."
"Sorry." Damian said, seeming fairly abashed now, though whether because he feared Dick would leave or because he was actually sorry wasn't clear.
"It's alright. My relationship with Starfire started in earnest when we were in Tokyo. I won't bore you with all the details, but we went out for about two years… And we kind of fell apart. Raven… I'm not sure if it will last, after all. What can anyone be certain of in life? But I love her, so hopefully whatever happens, it won't affect our working relationship. I was lucky that my breakup with Starfire didn't affect our ability to work together.
"This young woman, Carrie Kelly. Could you describe her?"
"Mm… I can't describe her without making it emotional." Damian said, blushing slightly. He was taught to always assess everything impartially. He was having trouble doing that with Carrie.
"That's okay. A slightly emotional response is normal, as far as I know."
"Well… She has beautiful straight red hair. She keeps it cut shortish, and deep green eyes… Irish by background I think. I haven't met her parents yet. She doesn't really like to talk about them. She's thin, but flexible. She specializes in acrobatics… She's a little bit like you. She likes to go Freerunning in the morning. I can't remember ever feeling this way about anyone… I'm not sure what to do about it."
"Do you want to go back to Gotham?" Dick asked. It didn't seem like he was suggesting that Damian shouldn't. It was more like he was trying to understand Damian. Something about this situation felt simultaneously disarming and disconcerting.
"Yes. I never wanted to come here in the first place. I've… Strangely valued the chance to get to know you and the Titans… And I feel like I've become a better man for Carrie…
"But I want to go back to Gotham… I don't want Carrie put in the kind of danger that being Robin entails. One dead Robin at the hands of the Joker, one tortured to madness and brainwashed by the Joker. I don't want Carrie to have to see that side of Gotham. Anyone with a brain can tell that Gotham is a terrible place. But that doesn't mean that a thirteen year old should have to suffer simply because she's talented." Damian said. Dick nodded.
"I'll speak to Bruce, see if I can convince him to take you back to Gotham. I've never been able to change Bruce's mind. But maybe I can convince him that it's in his best interest, in these tumultuous times when we're nearing the possible second coming of Trigon to have a more experienced Robin. We'll teleport to Gotham tomorrow and see what we can arrange."
"Thank you. Hopefully Carrie and I can both work with you in the future. You would like her." Damian said, seeming uncommonly tender in talking about Carrie.
