BEEP BEEP BEE-
"That's quite enough, master Damian. This is the sixth time you've ignored your alarm. Are you trying to break your father's record? You have school. Get up now," demanded Alfred.
"Can it Pennyworth," he responded while tucking his head under his pillow. "I'm aware of your…dislike towards loud and obnoxious people, but if you're not down in ten minutes I'll send master Dick to come get you," with that the butler left.
He would have rather slept for a few more hours, still tired from last night's activities, but he wasn't in the mood to handle Dick so early. Begrudgingly he got up and came down the stairs to the breakfast table. Jason, Dick, and Tim were already there, their father, currently away following a lead in metropolis.
"Morning Damian," greeted Dick, who was often the most outgoing and extroverted of the batfamily. "Grayson," he responded. "And why's the little assassin so late today? Is Dami twyred?" mocked Jason, he always enjoyed messing with Damian.
"Why don't you put a sock in it, it's too early for your bullshit," grumbled Damian. Joining in on the conversation was Tim, "Wow, it seems like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed." Damian didn't respond this time, it was clear he wasn't going to be able to eat in peace.
"That's quite enough from you all, please finish your breakfast and be on your way, you wouldn't want to miss class," everyone quickly stopped making a commotion, Alfred wasn't someone who enjoyed repeating himself. Damian began eating at the toast that the butler had placed in front of him. Once everyone was done they all went to their rooms to freshen up.
One of the benefits of having a billionaire for a father, was that all the bedrooms had personal bathrooms inside them, there was actually quite a lot that the batbrothers didn't have to share, compared to your average Gotham family. Except for their school, that is.
OUTSIDE SCHOOL GROUNDS
Gotham academy was a large institution that boasted many amenities and would consistently appear on yearly rankings for academic performances. It was a highschool combined with a university, often because of its prestige, rich parents would enroll their students, who would then continue to stay in the same school for their post-secondary education.
This meant that Dick, Damian, Jason, and Tim, all went to the same school. It was also the reason Damian had arrived an hour and a half early. Unlike his siblings, he wasn't a fan of walking to school together or being crammed with the others in Dick's car. Which was why he often left much earlier than the others in order to avoid them.
It wasn't a problem though, the school was open 24/7, with security doing rotations. As long as you had an official school ID, you were able to get in at any hour. Being the prodigy that he was, he would often use this time to ponder…'non-academic' ideas. In this case, it was the torture and murder of Kyle Benard.
He wasn't worried about being caught and retracing his steps mentally only helped to confirm his confidence. Working with Batman in cracking down on criminals, he was able to learn their methods of coverups and this time, not make the same mistakes as them.
As much as he tried to tell himself that this was only for release, in his mind he knew that this was personal. He hated Batman's approach to criminals and how Arkham had essentially become a revolving door for criminals.
His grandfather may have been ruthless, but even he believed in not giving criminals second chances.
Kyle got what he deserved, but nobody other than him knew about it. It was a clean cover up, but how is it supposed to instill fear in other would-be criminals. He had to take a page out of Batman's book, he had to make himself a symbol.