Damian thought this mission was going to be a simple one.
He thought this would be quick and easy, with no complications whatsoever.
He thought the only thing he would have to worry about was augmented weapons but even then, the skills he honed under his father and grandfather would see him through.
He thought wrong.
A green flash of light of light filled the room. That could be concerning.
It most likely is.
Taking out the guards below him Damian moved on heading to the light source. He sees the other guards head there as well too focused on the light to pay attention to their surroundings.
Maybe he wasn't wrong. This should be quick and easy. Ignoring what caused the green light. Ignoring that he was wrong. Systematically taking each guard down quickly, quietly and efficiently just like he was taught. He counted five guards he had taken down. Light work honestly. He arrived at the epicentre of where the green light occurred. Finding a guard on the floor. Checking his pulse. He is alive which means that whatever caused the green light doesn't kill or at least thought the guard wasn't worth the time.
Six guards accounted for. Time for the seventh. Returning to the rafters, he heads to the stairs to the mezzanine. There's the seventh guard no longer conscious as well with a crystal next to his head. Judging from the overall shape of the crystal and the lack of blood this guard should also only be knocked out like the prior.
Maybe whatever knocked them out is not a killer. Hearing a thud where the mezzanine is located, he makes his way there. Walking along the rafters he sees three figures on the mezzanine. One bulky man slumped along the railing. His impact against the railing is what probably caused the sound. He then sees a crystalline man threaten a much skinnier and scrawnier man. Although he would love to see what the crystal golem can do to the scrawny man to assess and plan how to deal with the crystal golem those aren't the rules he plays by. Not anymore at least so he has to save him.
Throwing a birdarang, the habit of asinine names runs through the family regardless of blood, he gains the attention of the crystal golem.
"You will answer my questions now," he says trying to sound intimidating but even with the vocal training his grandfather put him through can't ignore the fact that he's a late bloomer as Alfred likes to say and it's clear the golem is more perplexed and confused than intimidated. Looking at the scrawny man behind him too petrified to move he focused back on the crystal golem.
Turquoise in colour with two large shards coming out of its back where the shoulder blades would be and wearing what looks like black trousers, black shoes, a green belt and a black and green tank top. Looking closer at the belt, at the place where the belt buckle would be a green hourglass is found.
A green hourglass. The odds of Damian finding a potential link to the moth and monkey here in this warehouse are too low, far too low, especially in Gotham where coincidences are essentially a thing of myth.
He needs answers.
He needs this thing to be conscious.
"A kid?" the golem asks.
Damian holds the urge to click his tongue. This thing is looking down on him, underestimating him just like the others all because of his age.
He needs this thing to be complicit, intimidation won't work clearly. This thing is not taking him seriously so what to do?
"Why is there a kid here? It's dangerous here you need to get out of here," the golem said.
Still looking down on him? Whatever this thing is it's extremely aggravating.
"Dude! Is that a sword?" Damian immediately went to grab his sword "That's kind of cool, weird a kid has one but still really cool," the golem admitted.
Ok, that was unexpected. Damian originally thought this crystalline humanoid to act. Well, he had no idea how it would act. He just thought it wouldn't act like that. He thought it wouldn't act like a child. Well, it could be a child, he doesn't know alien biology after all.
Looking at the scrawny man behind the crystal golem, clearly scared of him. He smirks. That's the reaction he was expecting. Pure unbridled fear.
"What's with the creepy smirk kid?" the golem interrupts.
Trying to be civil with this creature is slowly getting harder and harder.
"I'm not a kid," Damian said, gritting his teeth trying to hide his irritation.
"What's your name then?" the golem asks.
"Robin," Damian replied.
"As in the sidekick to Batman? That Robin?" the golem asks.
Damian had to restrain himself at that statement. The blatant disrespect was baffling if not admirable. Even the man behind whatever this thing was shocked by the nonchalance of this thing.
"So, what are you?" Damian asks.
"Who me?" the golem said gesturing to themselves, "No one special, just your average Petrosapien,"
"Ok, so who are you Petrosapien?" Damian said, bringing his sword closer to the golem's eye. The sword reflected in its green eye.
"Careful dude you could poke an eye out with that," the golem chuckled nonchalantly as he pushed the sword away with a single finger, "names Diamondhead for now and I'm here on business,"
"What kind of business and what do you mean for now?" Damian asked eyes narrowing.
"That would be telling kid, I don't know how much I can say but I fix leaks," Diamondhead said.
"Like a plumber?" Damian asked.
"You have no idea how funny that is," Diamondhead chuckled as he turned around to face the scrawny man behind him "where did you get this tech?"
"I don't know I just found it like this," the scrawny man stammered.
"Hmm no," Diamondhead replied.
"No?" the scrawny man responds.
"I've been doing this long enough to know what kind of person you are, guys like you in work like this usually get by using information, connections, intelligence and ratting other people out. By being careful that's how you survived not by taking risks like the doofus over there" Diamondhead said as he gestured to the unconscious man by the railings, "people like you are slow, careful and meticulous. You probably did hundreds of tests with this tech to understand what it can do, so try again where did you get the tech from"
"My crew found a bunch of these drone things when bringing in a shipment of... produce," the scrawny man said.
"Fancy way of saying metas and drugs," Damian countered as he moved closer to the scrawny man his sword now focused on him, "where's the rest of these drones,"
"We only found a small amount most of them were repurposed into the augments, there's only one intact drone left," the scrawny man said.
"Where?" Damian questioned.
"In that room there," the scrawny man pointed to the room on the mezzanine.
"Well thank you wannabe gang leader no.65, I'll take it from here," said Diamondhead as he walked to the room.
"What do you mean will take it from here?" asked Damian.
"What do you mean?" Diamondhead turned around confused, "This doesn't concern you kid so go home,"
"First of all, I am not a kid," Damian said walking closer to Diamondhead irritation slowly becoming more apparent on his face, "second of all anything that happens in my city will be dealt with by me,"
"Well, aren't you possessive you little edge lord? Keep talking like that and you will make someone jealous," Diamondhead chuckled to himself, "now move aside kid you can deal with wannabe gang leader no.354 over there,"
"Hey!" an indignant squawk was heard in the background.
"Dude it's true, now Robin step aside and let me do my job," Diamondhead tries to walk past Robin but Robin blocks his path "dude, do you seriously want to do this? I'm like three times your size and I'm pretty sure my body will be able to take anything you throw at me, so are you sure you want to do this?"
Damian shifted his stance analysing Diamondhead looking for any weakness he could exploit, anything he could take advantage of.
Looking at Diamondhead he saw no physical weakness, his crystalline body was solid, but that is to be expected from a creature made out of crystals. No matter it just meant he had to tackle this threat mentally, looking at Diamondhead his posture seems lax. Confident. Probably relies on its natural constitution to protect itself. Damian knows he doesn't have the strength to take him down nor the firepower to.
"So, death by a thousand cuts," Damian muttered to himself.
"You're a bit extreme dude," Diamondhead admitted.
Damian readied himself, widening his stance. His sword was in front of him.
"Guess we are doing this?" Diamondhead admitted as he saw Damian's commitment, "Let's do this then but first," pointing towards the cowering man behind him Diamondhead and shooting a blunt projectile knocking him out.
Seeing this Damian immediately charged, sword above his head preparing a downward slash. Diamondhead didn't move allowing the sword to hit him. As the sword bounces off Diamondhead's body, Damian jumps back throwing smoke bombs as he retreats.
"Smoke bombs as well? Dude, are you just a tiny ninja?" Diamondhead asked curiously as he walked through the smoke.
Suddenly Damian coming from above Diamondhead hits him with an open-palm strike to the top of his skull.
"If your sword did nothing then what did you—" Diamondhead stopped talking as he heard beeping, "You did not—" An explosion fills the space interrupting Diamondhead once again.
Damian covering himself with his cape peeked over his shoulder to see Diamondhead looking more impressed than hurt or damaged.
"So, a tiny ninja with explosives," Diamondhead said, "that's actually kind of cool,"
"Do you ever shut up?" Damian growled as he threw more explosive birdarangs. As the warehouse lights up from the explosions Damian sees Diamondhead brushing himself off, still undamaged. Frowning Damian prepares to jump to distance himself from Diamondhead once more but fails feeling something hold his foot still. Looking down he sees his foot covered in crystal.
"Sorry kid but I have a job to do," Diamondhead admits as he walks past Damian into the room on the mezzanine "Those crystals should naturally deteriorate in like 10 minutes,"
As Diamondhead walked into the room he saw one thing. A Vilgaxian drone, it's an old one, a model Vilgax used back when he was 10 but its appearance here is troubling and the implications even more so. How did it come here? If it did come here that mean, there are others here? If this is here it could mean that other stuff is here. Could the Annihilarrgh be here as well? Shaking his head to rid himself of these thoughts Diamondhead thought about how to tackle this problem.
"Well kid, we need...Dude another smoke bomb?" Diamondhead asks as he exits the room noticing three small silver balls release a green gas. Looking up at Damian, Diamondhead sees that Damian has put on a miniature gas mask.
"Knockout gas? Really?" Diamondhead said as he made a visor covering his mouth, "What don't you have? Well besides a way of beating me," Diamondhead walked towards Damian ignoring his annoyed expression, "Well as I was saying before you rudely tried to use knockout gas," Damian grunted in a mixture of annoyance and defiance, "Let's work together, I know this tech better than you do but you know this city better than I do and once we are done we can leave and go on our separate ways. What do you say?" Diamondhead asked hopefully.
Damian stared at him considering his words, the deal sounded good but life with the League and in Gotham had taught him many things, one of them being: that there is no such thing as a good deal. At least one party is trying to do something behind the other party's back and Damian won't be played today. Even if he did accept the deal how can he trust Diamondhead to keep his word? He doesn't have anything to keep him in check, for now at least.
"Robin, I suggest you take the deal," Barbara said interrupting Damian's thoughts, "And before you ask. Yes, I can access your earpiece from my side without you picking up and I do know what's going on because you have been sending a live feed through your mask, which does involve both visual and audio, if you forgot. Bruce does think of everything,"
Damian grumbled "Fine, but if this backfires I'm mounting this thing's head on a wall,"
"And how are you going to do that? Last time I checked you couldn't harm him," Barbara countered.
"You forgot who my father is," said Damian with a smug grin.
"And who's your dad?" Diamondhead asks.
Damian looked back to Diamondhead and curtly said "Not important," thinking over Barabara's advice, "How do I know I can trust you?"
"You don't but," said Diamondhead as he removed the crystals covering Damian's foot, "If I let you in a little secret of mine do you think you can trust me?"
Damian raised his eyebrow in curiosity and gestured to Diamondhead to show his secret. Smiling Diamondhead reached for the green hourglass on his waist and promptly hit it.
A green flash fills the air once again making Damian shield his eyes from the bright light. Opening his eyes again he looks for Diamondhead but instead sees a human teenager looking at him.
"My name is Ben Tennyson, and I may need your help, so are you willing to work with me, Robin?"
A/N
Hey, I'm not dead yet hopefully. I know I haven't updated this story for a while and I'm sorry about that, kinda of didn't realise that my notes for this thing were gone, so the little planning I had is no more. So I am fully pulling a Toriyama. Got no news to speak of but if anyone wants to help beta read this please contact me cuz Grammarly can only do so much. I'm still experimenting with chapter length so any feedback on that would be appreciated. See you next time and hopefully, it doesn't take 6 months.