He maintained the pin-drop silence the night provided him and stood motionless, his eyes focused on a single window. Inside a man slept soundly, his large gut moving up and down with each breath. His eyes danced over the window as thoughts kept circling his brain, mutilating, burning, twisting, his many learned methods of torture bombarding him.
The sleeping target Damian faced was Kyle Benard.
-A male in his mid 30s
-An employee of one of Gotham's narcotics firms
-Clean track record
-Divorced
-Single dad of two kids
These were some of the attributes linked to Kyle that would show up on a surface level dive into the man's life, but he didn't do surface level, he went deep, very deep.
Kyles wasn't the charming and dedicated father everyone saw him as. He was an obsessive man, and unlike the usual addicts that could be found in the streets of Gotham, he was obsessed with his family.
He craved control of them, a twisted sense of control that his wife was the first victim to. Prior to their wedding, he played the act well for a solid six years. Ensuring enough time to woo his fiance, Stacy, and to establish connections with her family, eventually having her place trust in him.
But once night fell on their wedding, he decided to slowly drop the act, bit by bit, he began to let out his inner desires. It started off with removing obstacles, Stacy's connections, slowly but surely, he would sever her relations, getting her into a deeply isolated position in life.
After the obstacles were out of the way, his control wanted her full, undivided attention. What she wore, who she talked to, when she could go out, all were no longer under Stacy's free will. But his hunger didn't stop, rather, it turned physical. Soon enough, showering with visible dark bruises, self suturing, popping back dislocations, and becoming desensitized to blood became norms of Stacy's new life.
Just like everything, she had a breaking point, she couldn't take it any longer. Over the years Kyle had begun to get bored with her, there was no love or any deeper meaning behind his obsession, it was just fun for him to break his toys.
And he didn't see Stacy as a fun toy anymore. Divorce. Despite the hundreds of times she dreamed of running away, of killing him and escaping, of killing herself and ending the pain, the whole process of 'escape' took only a week.
Kyle only demanded a few things from her. Her silence, a clean divorce, and lastly, the kids.
Kids who were not a result of love or happiness, but an outcome of Stacy trying to meet Kyle's horrific demands, Kyle wanted new punching bags.
The pain she endured, the eyes and smiles of seeing her loved ones again tempted her, she knew they would still accept her, that she could come up with a plausible reason as to why she disappeared out of their lives later, she knew she'd be safe with them.
Still, she was a mother, she had children, if anything, they were biologically hers. But when she looked into their eyes, all she remembered was Kyle, how she was just an object to him, as if just looking at them brought back the pain.
It was wrong, in every way she was guaranteeing their suffering, but she'd been broken a long time ago. When the papers were signed, she left.
Leaving Niel and Cindy with him. For him.
The outside world was witness only to Kyle's mask, a perfectly sculpted charade that he'd mastered over the years. A good husband, whose goal in life was to always please his wife. He easily twisted the truth, that Stacy had up and left, finding a new man and leaving the children for him. People thought of him as a hard-working father, who, when his wife left, didn't succumb to the pain and instead worked to step up in the working field. Creating a better and more stable life for his son and daughter.
People would go about their days interacting with him, interacting with his children, even visiting his home at times. None of them noticed a thing, no one had a thread of suspicion.
Except for Damian Wayne.
Batman was many things to many people, even his other identity, Bruce Wayne involved standing up for what was right and being a helping hand to the people of Gotham. But Damian couldn't stand him, couldn't stand the mansion, and hated the restrictions.
Ever since he arrived on his father's doorstep, his life changed drastically. He was trained from birth to be a weapon, to be ruthless and efficient. But after the truth about who he came from and his grandfather's early demise, Batman became his new guardian. With it came a new use for his skills.
Damian didn't mind at first, he only killed because that was what he was taught, he held no personal interest in it, he was simply carrying out his role as heir to the League of Assassins. Or so he thought.
He didn't notice at first but spending some time with his father away from his previous life, he began to notice oddities. At times his heartbeats would speed up, his fingers would twitch, his eyes would obsess over Alfred using knives, he'd wake up in the middle of the night feeling as if he was drowning. Everything in his body would scream at him to hurt, to tear, to attack. To Kill.
He was able to control himself up till now but as stood on the rooftop of a nearby building, eying Kyle's window, he knew there was no going back as he jumped forward.
TOMORROW MORNING - OUTSIDE SCHOOL GROUNDS
Cindy and Niel exited school grounds together, both were always on time and were practically attached to the hip. Having them deal with their father's beatings made them wary of others, they reserved their trust only for themselves. Though today, their hold on each other's hands was tighter than usual. It was a long weekend.
Both watched as other students rushed outside to meetup with friends, catch the bus, or excitedly hop in the cars of their parents. They probably had expectations of going to the movies, playing video games, or other weekend plans the pair of siblings had never experienced.
Neither said a word as they walked, leaving their only sanctuary behind. A long weekend meant that there wasn't any school to keep them from their father, no work to keep their father from them. Nothing but three full days with just their father.
Often they thought about taking a wrong turn, diverting from the path home. On rougher weeks they even thought about going directly to the police, but as they thought about what could happen their bravery would dwindle.
What if the police didn't believe them? What if the police told their father? What would their father do to them? How much worse could he get?
These thoughts were enough to push them into trying to withstand the pain. But even though it had become a routine, they could still never get used to the beatings and bruises.
Both went directly to their room when they got home, continuing to hold each other's hands and not uttering a single word. Trying to instill some sort of strength in each other. They waited for the clock to tick, to signal their father's car pulling in, to signal the beginning of a painful cycle.
They kept waiting until it was time, they continued waiting even when they didn't hear any cars, and they continued sitting still when they didn't hear anyone come up the stairs. Stacy couldn't handle the silence any longer and went up to the window, the car was gone so their dad must still be at work she thought.
"Maybe he's just late?" Questioned Niel. "Yeah maybe," but both knew that wasn't the case, their father was a calculative man, he'd never been late once over the years. They ventured downstairs and were still greeted by emptiness and silence.
"Woah, Stacy look at this, there's a bunch of food here." Stacy followed her brother's eyes to a fully stocked kitchen, another contrasting event from their usual lives. Most people would start to worry when they witnessed this many out-of-the-ordinary incidents in a day, but most didn't have Kyle Benard as a father. The food and the temporary calm was enough to ease the minds of the children, as well as unconsciously making them put off calling someone about their missing father.
ACROSS THE ROAD
Damian peeked through the curtains of the house across from the children's. It was a new house looking to be sold, which is why it was locked except for designated house tour days. Which also meant he wouldn't be disturbed anytime soon.
"Hey, do you think your children will like the food? I'm not quite familiar with the cuisine of this place, however, I've seen many children obsess over this…what is it called, 'junk food' I think," Damian asked, facing a restrained Kyle with his ankles, legs, arms, and torso tied to a chair, wearing boxers and a hood over his head.
"W-who the f-fuck are you? When I get out of here I'll ri-AHH you fucking little…"
Damian retracted his blade from his leg, "you'll do well to watch your mouth with me. I won't be as generous next time, trash." That was enough to quiet him, Damian watched how rapid the man's breaths were, he could practically taste the fear coming off of him.
Damian being…well Damian, his skillset wasn't quite as normal when compared to others his age. He was trained to be an assassin, with that he also knew methods to get people to talk, methods of torture.
He took a needle whose vial was filled with a dark purple substance, he grabbed Kyle's arms (who knew better than to move) and injected it. His father had used the substance for when he was facing espers and beings whose powers were based around sleep, it was a powerful drug that could keep the user awake for up to 72 hours.
Damian, however, was using it for less than heroic reasons. He didn't need the full 72 hours but he wanted the man awake, alert, conscious of every morsel of pain. He proceeded to place a gag in his mouth, this next part had no need for words.
Putting away the blade that was as long as his leg, he pulled out a pocket knife. It was a gift from his grandfather for having completed a successful mission, the knife was handcrafted by assassins for assassins. He cut two parallel lines on Kyle's arm, then he inserted the knife in one side of the cut and had it come out the other end.
Gliding along he removed a long thin strip of his skin, of course Kyle struggled against the restraints in response to the pain, squeaking through the gag. But Damian paid him no mind, he was mesmerized by how easily it cut and removed skin, it was his first time using it on a person. He carried out the same process on the rest of the man's arms, and legs.
Damian wasn't aware but throughout the process his eyes never strayed from the target and dopamine flowed for every blood drop.
After being done with the knife he put it aside and put on his gloves, he stared at the man before him, with the skin stripped he saw the exposed muscles. Then, without hesitating he started throwing jabs, elbows, and punches to the exposed area, relishing the splatters of blood they made across the floor, as well as how 'jumpy' Kyle got from each hit.
He hadn't noticed but his lips had formed into a smile and he was feeling euphoric, he loved finally having this release, after being cooped up with the bat and weak-ass patrols he would go on, he finally was able to let loose.
He fell backwards and started laughing, feeling his entire body lighting up, after a couple minutes he stopped and removed the hood and gag.
He was greeted by Kyle's face that was covered in sweat and looked as pale as a ghost. "What the-y-you're Robin. You're with Batman! Why the fuck are you doing this! I ain't no crook!" With that he was met with a left kick to the jaw, "I don't enjoy it when you lie to me Kyle, you know why I'm here." Damian responded, standing straight with his Robin uniform on.
Kyle just stared, at first it seemed like he was about to talk, but then he stopped as if in thought. "Y-you're here because of…the kids…and Stacy" he managed to stammer out. "L-look, I've learned my lesson okay? I'll treat them better, a-a-and I'll even talk to Stacy again."
"Alright" replied Damian as he sliced off the restraints. Kyle shakily stood up, the injuries he received made him slow and caused him to have to lean against the wall. Damian could see relief take over as he saw how his breathing became more steady, though it was short-lived as he side-stepped in front of the door.
"Well, you see, there's a problem here" Damian spoke while pacing back and forth with his sword. "I can't take your word for it, after all, doing so would put your kids at a risk." Once again relief flooded his face, "O-okay, I get it. I'll turn myself over to the cops. That way I can prove I'm sorry for my crimes."
"That'll suffice," Damian responded without emotion, moving out of the door's way. "Thank you, thank you, I'll make sure to never hurt them again I–. Ummm, the door's locked…Robin? I thought you were letting me turn myself in".
"Tsk tsk tsk, who would've thought you'd be this gullible. I lied." lectured Robin, as if he wasn't talking to an abuser, but rather a dumb child. "W-why? I promise to go straight to the cops. I won't tell anyone about you either. I swear!"
"The reason the door is locked is because one of us is not going to leave this place. Alive that is. Can you guess who?" Damian noticed the paleness start to return to his face. "I'm going to kill you now and I want you to know I'm going to. Don't bother trying to talk your way out of this."
Damian watched as Kyle stood there, even more scared than before. Perhaps he thought he was able to play on Damian's sympathy, but this was his plan all along, he never intended on letting him leave. Kyle's mouth twitched as he was about to talk again, before he could, Damian charged him with his sword, killing him.
Damian fell to his knees as he felt the pleasure take over, his entire body was tingling as he finally gave in to the urge. He stayed there for a while and when he got back up his desires had been subdued. At Least for now.
After that point Damian wasn't acting on urges, he was acting on his training. Using bleach to ensure no blood was left, swabbing down the crime scene for any prints, ensuring complete removal of the body from the house. The process came to him naturally, combined from his grandfather's training as well as his knowledge on crime due to Batman, Damian had erased any sign of him being there.
The rest was simple, prior to coming here, he had also taken a closer look as to how Kyle made his money, and to his lack of surprise, it was fraud. Which allowed everything else to fall into place. When he left food for the kids, he had also taken anything of value (he did plan on converting it to cash and anonymously returning it to the kids when it was safe to do so) and took a suitcase of Kyle's clothes.
With the house being set up, he also left an anonymous tip for the police, regarding Kyle's less than legal income. When the cops eventually showed up the next day, based on everything, their reasoning led them to think that Kyle, having found out the cops were on his tail, had fled the country with anything he could grab and his suitcase. Of course abandoning the children in the process.
Damian wasn't a huge fan of this ending, as he knew that no one would know what Kyle truly did. However he knew he didn't have much time, the weekend would end soon and it wasn't a wise idea to let his father get suspicious. Plus, he felt justified in leaving things as they were now because he knew that Kyle wouldn't harm anyone again, and that his children will be given a proper home.
With that, Damian returned home, feeling at ease that his desires had stopped eating away at him. He knew for the next little while he would no longer have panic attacks or wake up in the night, but he knew the urges would return eventually. The thought didn't bother him, instead it excited him and made him start daydreaming on who he might go for next.