Bringing My Children Home

A huge Thank You to everyone who Reviewed, Favorited, and Followed!

Disclaimer: I am only borrowing the Bat family to practice my art.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Tim

It had been some time. He was lying on his stomach, with his hands restrained behind his back. The domino was still on. Of course, Ra's already knew who they were. He took careful stock of his body.

There were no new injuries, only the expected stiffness from a brutal fight that ended in motionlessness, and the cloudy feeling left by the sedative. His gloves, gauntlets and pouches were all removed, but his armor and boots were still on, and the secret compartments built into the armor, along his right side, felt untouched. The exhilaration of those compartment's contents flooded him with adrenaline, chasing more of the drug away. His feet were also restrained, and his boots felt lighter.

He was lying on a mat on the floor of a cargo plane. The rumble under him suggested it was in flight. Although his mouth was dry, it did not feel acidic, so it was unlikely they had made him vomit the tracker. It was entirely possible that they had not found that tracker. Hopefully, that little piece of forethought would prevent Bruce from scolding Tim for getting caught.

He shifted carefully, catching the eye of the unmasked ninja standing guard on the other side of the net curtain that separated the front from the back. The man looked unimpressed, before his eyes turned away from Tim, to the other side of the cargo hold. Damian, similarly divested of all but his body armor, and restrained in a similar manner, was lying on a second mat. For once, the jealous twist in his stomach at the sight of Damian was mingled with concern and curiosity.

Damian had saved his life. Damian had saved his life from the preteen's own mother. After months of living in anticipation of a deadly attack from the boy, Tim had some trouble reconciling that fact with Damian. Of course, he had understood that Damian truly wanted to please his father, but why that would extend to saving Tim's life confused the teenager.

A careful scan of his body's signals made him discover he was growing hungry. So, it was likely three or four hours since his snack on the way home from school. This meant he was unconscious for two or three hours. It had been around 10 when they had gotten home, and around 10:30 when the attack began. It was probably a little before or past one, eastern time.

The sun shone in the small windows at an angle that felt later than one. They were traveling east. Since east of Gotham was the Atlantic Ocean, it appeared they were heading to either Europe or Africa. Tim let himself relax into the mat as he perused his memories for the latest reports on Ra's. After the terrifying symbol found in his parents' house, these were fresh.

Everything indicated Ra's was in Africa or the Middle East.

Bruce's fastest plane could make the middle east in seven hours with the need to avoid certain radar areas. It was probable that the league had the same speed and requirements to travel unnoticed by the ever-growing satellites. It was possible the tracker would be out of satellite range at times, but there was enough coverage that even a spotty trace could be used to track their location. The battery life on the tracker was several days, enough time for it to pass through his digestive system and leave his body. At which point it would become a marker of where he had been.

More than enough time for Batman to come find them. His gauntlets were visible in the pile of his removed items and the broken appearance indicated the tracker had been found there. The fact that it did not appear the one in his stomach was found meant it was probably only a visual examination. Time was a factor, but it was possible that Ra's did not feel it important to conceal their location.

About an hour after Tim woke up, Damian finally began to stir. He immediately rolled over and shot up, glaring around the area. The ninja guard was instantly on alert. Tim had intentionally moved slowly to avoid revealing his reaction time. For all his arrogance, Damian had a lot to learn. It was not all bad. Tim now knew the reaction time for their guard.

"Where are you taking me?" Damian demanded.

"Silence. You are being brought to Lord al Ghul. You do not need to know anything more. The Demon's head is displeased with you," the man replied stiffly.

"I am the son of the Daughter. You will address me with respect."

"No disrespect is meant. I am following my Master's orders, Son. He wishes Drake unharmed, but you may be harmed if you fight. Be silent. You will see the Master soon."

Damian narrowed his eyes, but offered no more demands. Instead, he began to take closer stock of their surroundings. Tim wanted to point out his error in not doing that first, to see the flush of shame and frustration on the arrogant brat's face, but logic decreed their personal fight not be shown to their captors. After all, Damian had saved his life, and that could indicate to their captors they thought of each other as brothers.

After a few more hours Tim's stomach was insistent on eating, and his bladder was begging to be emptied. Damian was in no better situation, but neither wanted to be the first to ask for something from their captors. Instead, they used their rivalry to distract themselves from their body's needs, staring across the small room at each other.

It became mere contest of wills and they started making faces at each other, silently telling the other to break first.

"Up. We will be landing in a couple of hours. You may relieve yourself back here." Their guard pulled Tim to his feet and led him into the back where a single toilet served the whole plane. His hands were untied, but the man watched his every move. It was quite useless to fight while in a plane that was in the air, controlled by more than their sole guard. Tim did his business, ignoring the blush that came from the lack of privacy.

When they returned to the mat, Tim's hands were tied together in front of him and then attached to the wall. Again, it was rope, a medieval binding, but effective since his lock picks were one of the few tools still hidden on him, but both the small knives had been located. He flexed hard, so the rope was a little looser, but it would still be a chore to undo. After Tim was restrained again, Damian was taken to the toilet.

His high boy's voice berated the guard for the lack of privacy, but he had the wit not to start a fight. Tim was familiar enough with Damian by now, to recognize that fear made him even more overbearing and belligerent. It was a good sign that they were treating them the same. Damian could be punished, but not tortured for fun.

They were given water and then left alone for the last two hours of the journey. The guard was visible through the net wall, and could hear anything they tried to say over the noise of the plane. It was possible they were being watched through a camera as well, but Damian had enough information on the signals the bat family used for them to briefly, silently discuss where they were going and what they should do when they arrived.

Although they disagreed on how they should go about escaping, both agreed they should make the attempt as soon as possible.

Tim stayed relaxed as they landed, glaring at Damian, who initially began to tense up in preparation for the escape attempt. While the boy glared at the older boy, he followed the example. They remained quiet and obedient as they were untied from the wall and guided towards the exit of the plane. The sun was gone by now.

It appeared it was the middle of the night where ever they were. Since Tim's time calculation indicated it was only six or seven in the evening at home, it was probable that they were in the middle east. He looked at Damian. The boy gave a slight nod. Damian knew where they were.

A truck was approaching, and Damian was tensing up again. Tim frowned, keeping his own body relaxed. Despite Damian's actions in saving his life, the older boy had the thought that Damian might be working with the League to get Tim to Ra's. There was no evidence to support this, but Tim had learned not to ignore his gut feelings, even if they were not always correct.

Damian was a skilled offensive fighter, far more trained than Tim's weekly martial arts classes had ever given him at twelve. He was athletic enough that Dick and Jason's defensive lessons were starting to pay off. Like Tim with his bo, and Dick with his eskrima sticks, Damian was a skilled blade user. What he lacked mostly was subtlety and the open mindedness to learn from those he did not like. It was the lack of subtlety that worried Tim.

"Do not test us, boy," the ninja in charge said. "It would be better for you to come quietly."

"Of course, I would obey a mere peon," came the sneering reply and Damian struck out. Jason's repeated reminders not to telegraph intent had not rubbed off as much as his sarcasm.

Tim held still, cataloguing the response. One of those guarding him glanced at him.

"No fight from you?"

"Why would I fight? I am outnumbered and do not yet know where I am," Tim replied, grudgingly admiring Damian's skill in battle even when the use of his hands was restricted. "For all his training, the brat gave away any chance of surprise we might have had."

He let his shoulders slump a little, wincing when Damian took a hit. The guard laughed and looked toward the fight. His mistake. With the men around him distracted, having swallowed the lie of his words and body, Tim had the element of surprise. He had been quietly working on his ropes since the change in position.

From his relaxed position he pretended to stumble forward, throwing his bound arms up and around the neck of the shortest ninja present. She gasped, but Robin was already swinging her around, using her body to trip another man, while planting his stronger right leg and using the left to kick in the groin of another. He heard Damian scoff.

"I was starting to think you were going to make me do all the work."

"Well," Tim answered as he got the rope off his hands and used it to choke the woman unconscious, "you ruined the chance of a surprise, so I had to make my own chance. When we get home, you are going to learn how to leap into battle from a relaxed poise." If this was not a lie. If Damian had really chosen the Bats, over the Assassins. If Damian was going to be a Bat and take Robin's cape one day, when it was time for Tim to move on, then Tim was going to have to teach the little Assassin Brat some of his secrets, so the cape's reputation would not be marred.

"You want to teach me?" Damian asked in a surprised voice as they finally got back to back. "You could teach me how to be someone else?"

"Let's get out of this before we, uh, discuss what you need to learn," Tim replied, taking a hard blow in his weak shoulder.

"Enough!" The ninja in command shouted. Several clicks around them spoke of guns being cocked. Both boys froze, searching for the source. Tim sucked in a deep breath, seeing that the weapons were aimed only at Damian. "Your attempt is made, there is no shame in your failure. It is futile to continue, and we will shoot the Daughter's Son, not to kill, but to cripple."

Tim felt Damian stiffen in anger and reached his hand back. "They have a sniper on the truck. Bruce will come for us, I promise."

For a moment he was afraid the boy would continue fighting, for he could feel the terror running through Damian's arms. Damian was afraid to face his grandfather. A sense of relief, that his gut feeling was wrong, filled Tim as he held the boy's arm firmly.

"We will stand down, but you do not need to restrain us. We will come with you, but only together," Tim replied. "If Damian is harmed, I won't stop fighting."

"Drake?" Damian whispered.

"They don't want me harmed," Tim replied openly. "We are at a great disadvantage in the dark and on unfamiliar land. We've shown we can make things very difficult. They are smart enough to know this works better for all of us."

Damian relaxed a little. The ninjas around them slowly stood down.

"Then come," they were told. Tim turned around to face the same way as Damian, towards the truck that was reaching them. He placed a hand on Damian's shoulder, determined that they were not going to be separated.

They were told to get in the back of the truck. Tim obeyed, leading Damian, who had become quiet and was keeping close to Tim. That was weird enough, but when they were in the truck and Damian was sitting against Tim, with their bodies touching, Tim had a moment of is-the-brat-actually-trusting-me-to-protect-him. Was Bruce right that Damian's recent observations of Robin was not to find further weakness, but to figure out his strengths, to make them his? Considering the stress Damian's watchfulness had caused Tim, it felt surreal.

The journey was brief for such a remote location. It was no more than half an hour before they were approaching the Demon's Seat. Even in the dead of night, the sight was awe inspiring. It was like stepping back in time, with the fortress built into the side of the brown cliff, lit by flickering torch light, and guarded by men and women in ceremonial garb, visibly armed with only swords.

The truck was like a jarring intrusion.

As he kept his hand on Damian's shoulder, while they were climbing out of the truck, Tim looked up. On an upper floor balcony, Ra's al Ghul stood looking down at them, lit by firelight. Tim's gut clenched in fear. This man's attention was never something he had wanted, and even if it was because Ra's believed Tim to be the greatest of all Bruce's children, there was no pride in the thought.

The boys were led into the main entrance. Tim was fascinated by the fortress, but used his awe to hide the fact that he was marking every location of all the ninjas present. Damian was not even looking around, keeping his pale face turned forward and inching ever closer to Tim. Determination to protect Damian, from this place that frightened him so much, welled up in Tim. Maybe, they would never be more than jealous of each other, resentful of the place the other held in the family, but here and now, Damian was part of the Bat Family.

"The Master wishes them brought to the Demon's Hall," a servant quietly informed their guards.

They were led deeper into the cliff fortress, into a large, ornate room lit by candles and torches only. The history of the League was on its walls in the weapons and trophies from centuries of their plots. Ra's was awaiting them at the end of the hall, where he sat in a throne. Next to Robin, Damian stumbled. Tim reached out and pulled Damian closer, glaring at Ra's.

"Timothy, it is good to see you here, where you belong. Do not concern yourself with my grandson. I do not mean to uselessly harm the child, but he will be punished," Ra's said.

"Not while I'm here," Tim answered, and for that moment, all the hurts and jealousies were gone. Damian was Tim's brother and that was all that mattered.

Ra's smiled. "You are as strong as I expected. For now, until you understand what you are being given, I will allow you to keep him with you. You both must be hungry after your journey. I will call for food and drink." He nodded to a pair of servants standing in the shadows.

"First, young Timothy, I wish to give you a gift. As you take your place with me, it is a needed step, but considering what they have done to you, I think even now you can appreciate it."

Ra's pointed to the side of the hall, and torches were brought to light the area up. Tim flinched back as his parents' faces were revealed. They were going to be furious with him. They would know he was Robin and use that to blackmail Bruce. Suddenly his knees were buckling, and Damian was the only thing keeping him upright, as all his fears were crushed into shame and guilt.

His parents would never be able to do any of that.

They were dead.

Damian

It was not often that Damian felt his age. He despised the few other children he knew for their naivety and silliness. It felt foolish that children were usually protected from the bad in the world. When he had woken on the plane and realized they would be going to his grandfather, a man Damian had tried to emulate, who he had respected (feared), he wanted Dick and Father to be there. He wanted them to hide him away and tell him it would be all right, when it was possible it would not be.

He only had Drake, which had started out as irritating. When they had landed, when he had realized where they were, Drake had become his only ally and protector. When Robin had stepped up to be that protector, keeping Damian from being harmed, the preteen had felt relief. In the back of his mind, he was faintly annoyed with himself for acknowledging that Timothy Drake, who had won Damian's place in Father's life and grandfather's fascination, was better able to see a way out of this.

It had been nice to be able to feel Drake at his side, always keeping a hand on him. Despite the punishment looming in front of the Daughter's Son, Damian had felt protected. With Damian al Ghul surrendered to Damian Wayne little more than eight to ten hours ago, the previously dangerous, traitorous thought that he needed the love of his family to thrive had roared to life. The jealousy and fear of Drake's place was dimmed. Tim was protecting Damian.

Tim was telling grandfather he could not punish Damian with a beating, or being locked up. And grandfather had humored him.

When Drake's legs buckled, Damian was still pressed against him, so he could keep Robin upright. Considering what Damian knew about the Drakes, he felt a bit of vindictive pleasure that they were no longer a threat to his protector. Drake, however, was horrified. He should have felt relief, but he did not.

"They can't do anything," Damian pointed out.

"They're dead," Tim mumbled. "Because of me."

Although Damian had had a few moments of understanding father's refusal to kill, it did not make sense that guilt was the teenager's response. He had not sent them into danger, nor had he killed them himself. It was not his fault. They had abused and neglected Tim. He owed them nothing.

"They were your weakness," grandfather, Ra's, said. "You could have defended yourself from them, but you wanted their approval, so let them deprive and harm you. Oh, Batman did an excellent job of hiding that information. A few threats to them and they spilled the whole sordid story of why Bruce Wayne was raising their son. When they realized I was going to kill them, they even tried to promise to never think of you."

With a few words, Ra's was destroying Timothy. Grandfather knew exactly what showing him his dead parents would do. Worse, Robin believed his parents really would make such a promise. Mother would never make that promise about Damian. She had hurt her son. Dick and Stephanie had said that over and over, but Mother's recent actions to try and keep Damian out of this battle, going against Ra's himself to do so, showed she did care in her own way.

Tim had no such consolation.

"There was no need to do this," Robin said in a cold, dead voice. "They were happy, living out their dreams. They were never going to change their minds about what was more important."

"That is true, but it was your hope," Ra's answered. "Bruce Wayne may be a father to you, but there was a little sliver of you which thought, maybe one day. If you are to serve me, there is no place for futile hopes."

"There is no chance of me serving you. I wouldn't have before this, but now? Now, you have my attention. Is that what you wanted? You won't. I can manipulate Batman. I can make meta teenagers obey me. You won't see me coming."

Once again Damian was struck with Tim's ability to become a different person in every situation. Oh, Robin was confident, liked to be the smartest person in the room, but this was something more. Drake believed every word he had just spoken. In Stephanie or Jason, it would have been just angry arrogance. Grandfather looked impressed, which was proof that he respected Drake's abilities.

Damian had made the mistake of not respecting what the teenager could do. Would it make a difference that Grandfather did respect Drake?

Batman's son hoped it did not.

"You will try, but when you understand what I am offering, you will turn your mind to aiding me. For now, you should eat. We still have a few hours before dawn. More than enough time for you to pass the test of the Pit," Ra's replied.

"I won't take your test," Robin spat.

"You do not have a choice. Eat. You will need your strength to face the madness. I have no doubt you will come through. I understand that my presence may be a deterrent at this moment. By morning, you will understand. Grandson, I am sorely disappointed by your betrayal. Your mother has not trained you to my expectations. Drake needs to feel he is protecting you, but when he has sworn loyalty to me, then you will be punished. Perhaps I will have him punish you."

Ra's left them then, while the guards backed away to stand around the room. Food was laid on the low table.

"It won't happen, Damian," Tim said in a quiet voice. "I promise."

He stood up and walked to his parents. Damian scrambled after him, ashamed of his need to stay near the only person here who wanted to keep him safe. Despite Ra's words, they had been killed with a single gunshot each. It had been through the heart, so their faces were only a little dirty with remnants of tears and dirt. Mother had suggested they were dead under twelve hours ago, but it was obvious they had only been dead an hour at the most.

"I'm sorry I got you killed. You wouldn't believe me, but the man who murdered you will be sorry for it."

Tim closed their open eyes and then stood up, his body tense.

"Come on, we need to eat. Bruce will be here soon," he said, putting his hand on Damian's shoulder again.

Damian felt a little frightened by how quickly Tim had suppressed his grief and guilt, and returned to the matter at hand. It felt unnatural. Nonetheless, Damian squared his shoulders and led the way to the table. Any hunger either had was hidden by the fear of their situation, but Tim made them both eat some meat and bread and some dessert. Ra's had provided them with coffee. Despite Alfred's dislike of the boys drinking coffee, both had secret stashes in the manor.

"Drake, the pit," Damian began.

"I know, Damian," Tim replied. "I was the one who figured out how to combat it for Jason."

"Not everyone reacts the same way. Grandfather is somehow controlled when he comes out."

"I have a plan. Hopefully I do not end up in the pit, but I have a contingency for if that happens."

"What is your plan? What am I supposed to do?"

"When the time comes, you will fight. That is all you need to do. Everything else is on me."

Damian wanted to ask for more, but Tim was acting like father at his sternest. So, he kept quiet, prepared to follow the older boys lead. It was puzzling how Drake's promises made Damian feel better, but now was not the time to work that out.

"Why did you save my life?" Tim asked as they finished their meal.

"You said Father might break if you died. If he broke, the whole family might break. It's just starting to feel like I belong. I couldn't lose that."

"But that's why I told you about it. You could have forced them to not break. You weren't supposed to risk your life. If Bruce lost any of us, it would be hard. His whole life has been spent trying to stop that from happening to everyone else."

"Do you really think Father would be that affected if he lost me? He's giving me a second chance, but only out of duty."

"The secret to Bruce isn't that he doesn't care," Tim replied. "He cares more than anyone I know. He just isn't emotionally capable of showing it. It terrifies him each time his family grows and the risk for loss grows. But the moment he knows he cares, he doesn't try to stop.

"Dick, Jason, and Cass were children in need, children he took pity on and grew to love. You and Stephanie and I, we either were put into his life, or forced our way in, until suddenly he realized that he cared for us, too. It took him months to warm up to me. He's already much more comfortable with you than he was with me after six months. He loves you, Damian, I promise. Whether we were chosen or chose him or given to him, he loves us all."

It was at the word of Timothy Drake, the boy Damian had tried to kill, the boy who had what Damian had wanted, the boy who had stood up to Batman and Nightwing, who had saved Phoenix from being Red Hood, who had done all he could to protect Spoiler when Batman would not, the boy Damian had hated and envied, it was his word that made Damian believe it was no longer an unfulfilled desire. Dick had said it, Stephanie had promised it, Todd had tripped over it, but until then, Damian had believed Tim would always be the loved one. Now Damian realized they could both be loved.

"I trust you are both rested and refreshed," Ra's interrupted. "It's time for the test."

Thanks for reading! Use the awesome review/comment section to let me know what you think. I welcome constructive critiques, and it is so encouraging to hear that you enjoyed my story.