Chapter 16: Father can kiss my ass

Like spotlights, the bright rays of sunlight fell between all the fleecy clouds as Damian sat outside, enjoying the weather with his pets. Alfred the cat lay purring beside him and Titus occasionally slept grunting at the side of his outstretched feet, while Batcow enjoyed fresh blades of grass of the green meadow in the distance.

Damian liked this spot behind the Manor, where nature still dominated and allowed him to take a break from everyday stress. Instead of rustling computers, the leaves of the adjacent forest rustled in the shallow wind, and instead of the villains that always screamed at him when he is on patrol, all kinds of birds now sang to each other.

He had truly come to love this peaceful place over time. Not even Arabia had such vast oases and biodiversity as this one.

Briefly closing his eyes, the boy leaned more against the stone he was sitting in front of and enjoyed the moment of peace he found himself in.

It was a beautiful August day. To be exact, the ninth of August. Damian's 13th birthday and he spent the afternoon sitting out here alone with all his animals and drew sketches of familiar faces to further develop his skills in that field.

Although his father had promised to be present today, the Justice League and an important meeting at Wayne Corp did not allow him. After all, Alfred had surprised Damian with a cake this morning when he had just returned from his night patrol. *

The corners of Damian's mouth automatically moved upward as he thought back to it. He shared his experience with the stone he was leaning against:

"Alfred made me a strawberry vanilla cake today. Not my first choice, but it was a nice surprise and quite tasty. Father is unfortunately not here, but I didn't expect him to be. He may have promised, however, I know how busy he always is. You should know that best of all."

Damian shifted his weight a bit and looked off into the distance at Batcow, before continuing:

"I wonder if you would have come? Probably not. After all, you would have had plenty to do in Bludhaven, too. But come to think of it, you never know with your boozy ideas. It's like that movie I saw the other day. Comparable to a box of chocolates."

Damian slid down a bit on the plain headstone, which had the inscription Richard-John Grayson, and pulled one of his legs up so he could casually continue with his sketches.

Relaxed, the boy continued talking:

"You won't believe this, but Todd sent me a message today with 'Happy Birthday brat' on the cell phone he gave me that day. I am surprised that this weirdo knows my birthday date and congratulates me. After all, he doesn't even get father's straight."

An amused snort left his nose as he thought about it, and casually he stroked Alfred once through his black fur, who returned it gratefully with a loud purr.

"But it is also pleasant to have my recruits around me. At least they don't talk as much as you did Grayson. I can finally really enjoy the peace without your annoying voice coming around the next corner with another stupid idea."

Again, his mouth left an amused sound before Damian's slight smile took on a sad undertone:

"It's actually gotten very...quiet since you left. Not just at the Teen Titans, but at home as well. Things are better now than they were in the first few weeks, but Dad is still taking on more work than he should. And Starfire isn't as cheerful as usual either, which is visibly putting a strain on the team. Everyone misses you and I... do too."

Damian paused on his drawing and the initial smile was gone:

"Alfred asked me this morning what I wished for when I blew out my candles. But when you tell it to someone, it doesn't come true. However, I think it doesn't matter to tell you my wish, since it's not tangible anyway. Well, I had wished ...that you would come back and everything would be as it used to be."

Damian's voice grew more and more strained as he continued:

"Somehow the Manor has become much bigger and emptier, and even Alfred seems older. He does all the housework like washing dishes with his hands, even though there are extra utensils for that. And Grandfather sent me a message telling me to return to him and my mother or he would kill me. I don't like any of this."

Damian looked over his shoulder at the tombstone he was leaning against and said in a slightly childish voice: "Can't you come back?"

However, the only answer he received was the wind, which stirred the myriad leaves of the lush green trees.

The boy turned around and looked down at the ground before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a golden bracelet, that showed two robins facing each other. Damian had pocketed it this morning without really knowing why actually. Normally he never did this, but today it somehow seemed right to him. Thoughtfully, the boy rubbed his thumb over one of the birds and sighed heavily:

"What is the Robin to me, if I already do not return to Grandfather?"

The somewhat shaky fingers wandered to his face and ran through his moist eyes.

He hated it. He hated it when his chest contracted like that, giving way to these feelings that weighed heavily on him. Insecurity, pain, despair, everything blurred into a viscous mass and stuck to him like an annoying parasite that you can't get rid of.

Suddenly Damian's thoughts were interrupted by a wet tongue. Titus had apparently noticed that his master was not well and now tried to comfort him with this encouraging gesture. Successful:

"Hey! Hey! Recruits don't mug their superiors!"

Panting happily, the big Great Dane stepped back and sat down expectantly in front of the boy, who was now smiling again. Alfred too, now eyed him with interest and meowed briefly to draw attention to himself. Gratefully Damian stroked them through the soft fur.

"I think you guys are the only ones who can't be fooled. True detectives."

Unexpectedly, someone suddenly tugged at his hair and Damian looked up where two big round eyes were staring back at him. Batcow had apparently also noticed that something was wrong and was now mooing at him in a friendly manner. His grin widened as he scratched the cow's cheek:

"Definitely better detectives than Batman."

With a slight smile on his lips, Damian slowly awoke. Only sluggishly did his eyes open to reveal a bare white ceiling, which, together with the smell of disinfectant, seemed somehow familiar to him. He blinked a few times before the boy sat up, grumbling as he held his bandaged head. He had a terrible headache.

Damian took a closer look at the room and realized that he was in the infirmary at his and Jonathan's headquarters in Metropolis. How the hell had he gotten here?

He began to remember what had happened. Starting with the fight against that stubborn beast to the moment he had realized who was behind all those feathers:

"Grayson!"

Agitated, Damian threw the plain white blanket off his legs and was about to jump up when his legs buckled out under him and instead of the door to the hallway, he was now painfully greeted by the cold floor. The boy cursed angrily at this circumstance, while the torment in his head grew even greater.

Suddenly, quick footsteps from the exit filtered through to him and only a moment later the dark wooden door was opened by a horrified butler entering the room:

"Master Damian! What are you doing?"

Alfred didn't hesitate and rushed to the boy lying on the floor, who was visibly having trouble getting his legs under control. He helped him back onto the bed and was immediately allowed to listen to an angry scolding triad in return:

"I don't need any help! Why am I even here and what about Grayson?!"

Concerned, the old butler eyed his protégé and tried to calm him down first:

"Sir, you mustn't get so upset. It's not good for your health."

However, this attempt left Damian cold:

"I'm fine! So tell me why I'm in Metropolis!"

Briefly, Alfred paused and raised a brow as the butler found himself confronted again by the uppity Al Ghul scion.

"Your father has ordered that you spend some time in Metropolis, so that you can recuperate in peace and get some distance from yesterday's events. He himself will continue to search for a solution to this case."

Alfred saw the wrinkles on the boy's forehead deepen in anger before Damian spat back at him:

"The last thing I need right now is distance! We're not talking about anyone here, we're talking about Grayson and that he needs help right now! Father can't just exclude me from that!"

A sad undertone graced the old butler's face as he continued in a melancholy voice:

"Master Bruce is still undecided how to deal with this situation and is very upset himself. He is worried about you master Damian and does not want you to get any irrational thoughts by which you might venture too close to Master Dick. In his present condition he would not hesitate to attack and perhaps even kill you."

An exasperated hiss escaped Damian:

"-tt-, I can take good care of myself. He doesn't need to dump me for it, like an unimportant understudy, and even though I don't like Todd and Drake very much, they still have a right to know that Richard is alive!"

Alfred sighed heavily. He too questioned keeping quiet about Dick's return, but nevertheless he replied:

"Master Bruce does not want to confront the two of them with this matter until there is a solution in sight. They have their own problems to deal with and such news would only stir up their tempers unnecessarily. Don't feel left out. It is only for your own safety."

Visibly irritated, Damian folded his arms in front of his chest before growling sourly:

"Like I said, I can take care of myself!"

Alfred's brows drew together and he eyed the boy anxiously:

"I ask you for now to rest here and refrain from reckless actions. Should you still try to come to Gotham, I'm afraid Master Bruce will find out and you'll have to face consequences accordingly."

Damian's eyes grew wide when he heard the last sentence. He knew exactly what it meant, but said nothing more about it. After all, his anger was primarily directed at his father, not Alfred. However, he couldn't believe how little trust his father had in him. So much for Batman and Robin.

"If that is all then, I 'll go to the kitchen and prepare a suitable meal for you. Also, tonight I will return to the Manor, and according to Master Bruces orders, you will resume your usual routine along with young Mr. Jonathan in two days. I am sorry Master Damian."

The old butler turned and was about to head toward the kitchen when Damian's dream memory came to mind again. The initial anger faded so that a slight melancholy marked the boy's features and he now quietly addressed Alfred once again:

"Alfred, what I wished for my birthday back then...I think...it will come true."

The old butler paused again at the doorstep and then replied with a small smile on his lips:

"You shouldn't underestimate candles on a cake sir."

Before he left the room and Damian went with the butler's request for now.

His body was still more pudding than anything else, let alone the severe headache would really annoy him should he get up. No clear thought could be formed in his present state.

Strained, the boy ran his hand over his face. Damian was now really aware of how tired he actually was.

He hated it when his mind wanted to, but his weak child body forced him to shift down several gears. The lack of sleep, as well as the injuries plus blood loss made themselves quickly noticeable.

Damian snuggled under the blanket and involuntarily gave his weak limbs a break, even though the current situation actually demanded the opposite of him.

It all just pissed him off.

So three days passed in which Damian didn't leave the headquarters in Metropolis and spent most of his time secretly hacking into Batman's system to get data on Dick. Bruce had actually blocked him from accessing it, but that didn't stop the boy from using his own secret back doors. He always downloaded any new information right away, just in case he got caught. Then at least the data would still be there.

Apart from that, Damian thought every day about an idea of how to get in and out of the Batcave undetected, so he could take a closer look at Grayson. Records by his father are one thing, his own something else entirely. It could take the boy a big step closer to Dicks recovery. However, in the end it was Batman he was trying to outsmart here. He had to be well prepared.

With that in mind, Damian sat on the big couch and once again went through the last steps of his plan 'Father can kiss my ass'. Everything should work without problems as long as his last factor for victory played along. The latter was hovering not far from him, sitting cross-legged just below the ceiling, quietly concentrating on his breathing.

Jonathan had joined him yesterday, so Damian was able to instruct him in the art of meditation right away. He was a greenhorn and had trouble mustering the patience needed, let alone maintaining his calm breathing. As he did now.

Without a shred of mercy, the young mentor pulled out a throwing disc from his pocket and skillfully threw it at his student's head. This blow caught the distracted Jon so off guard that he lost his concentration with a startled gasp and fell crashing to the ground, where he immediately let out an angry snort:

"Hey! Can you at least stop doing this? That was already the third time today!"

Serenely, Damian only replied:

"Your breathing has become too uneven and you have to learn to perceive objects around you without your eyes. Besides, I need your attention now."

Curious, Jonathan's eyes widened and the Kryptonian floated up from the ground to his team partner:

"Did you receive a mission from our fathers?"

The corners of Damian's mouth slid down a bit as he answered him:

"It's not that. I need your help to get into the Batcave undetected. My father would know immediately if one of his planes or cars were even turned on, and his surveillance system doesn't sound the alarm at smaller flying objects. So you would have to fly me there and back again."

Jonathan couldn't believe what Damian was saying. He knew about the ailments that adorned the Wayne heir's body. They were the only thing he was told about this whole case and despite the impairment, Damian wanted to get right into trouble again.

The super boy was not amused at all:

"Oh no! It hasn't even been five days since I last disobeyed the rules because of you and you wouldn't believe what's been going on at my house since then! Besides, that wound on your side has to heal first, before you can even think about anything like that!"

Annoyed, Damian gritted his teeth. Jonathan's childish behavior and all the anger he had felt over the past few days, were now visibly causing his usually guarded composure to crumble. Enraged, the boy jumped up and spat in Jon's face:

"This isn't about me, it's about my...my brother! He's in big trouble! The only way I can help him is to get into that stupid cave and find out what's going on!"

A brief moment of silence ensued, during which the Kent boy could only stare wide-eyed at his unusually emotional counterpart, and Damian became aware of his outburst. Stressed, his fingers slid to his eyes and rubbed over them, struggling for composure, before he continued speaking more calmly now:

"I helped you with your father, now help me with my brother!"

Jonathan had been unable to find an answer at first. He was too confused by the fact that he had never seen Damian so distraught. It troubled him greatly.

Finally, Jon's gaze took on a serious tone:

"Okay, I'll help you."

He could see a spark of relief creep onto the older boy's face and he exhaled more relaxed now.

Really strange.

But typical Damian, he wasted no time:

"Tell me, how is your X-ray vision? Can you detect smaller inorganic objects in a body?"

Puzzled, Jon tilted his head:

"What do you mean inorganic?"

Damian could only roll his eyes in response and stretched his arms out to his sides a bit:

"Do you see any small object anywhere in my body that doesn't belong there? It should be about the size of a grain of rice."

Jonathan wondered about this request, but followed it without question. He focused on his eyes, trying to filter the various layers of Damian's body to detect anything out of the ordinary. At his current level, he could only see objects with this size as long as they were made out of metal.

It took a moment before something caught his eye:

"Your left arm, there's something right...there."

Jon pointed his index finger at the said spot and eyed his counterpart curiously.

To his surprise, Damian suddenly reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a small butterfly knife, revealing its blade with practiced movements. Precisely, he placed the metal on the spot Jonathan had pointed at earlier and pressed the tip into his own flesh, causing thick drops of blood to spurt out.

Jon just watched the whole scene with a mixture of disbelief at this unexpected self-injury and disgust due to the sapschy noises this action caused. With a contorted face, the caught off guard Halfkryptonian inquired in shock:

"What are you doing?!"

Without a facial expression, Damian continued to poke inside his arm as he spoke:

"Alfred said my father would know it as soon as I got close to Gotham. I knew right away he meant a microchip, father must have put in me at some point and I'm removing it now."

Even as he said this, the Wayne boy made a leveraged motion with his knife and something small, barely larger than a grain of rice, fell to the ground. Grinning diabolically, he said:

"There it is." And then pressed a previously prepared towel onto the bleeding wound.

Jonathan, on the other hand, could not believe how calmly his counterpart handled it. Kids shouldn't be cutting fucking trackers out of their arm with an indifference like talking about the weather!

"Your family is really...out of it's mind."

Damian just shrugged his shoulders:

"Depends on how you view it. My dad put one of those inside every Robin at some point. He likes to be in control, but one of us got behind this little arcanum a long time ago. It's an open secret among us Robins."

John just looked dumbfounded at the now red towel, while Damian continued to speak calmly:

"Father has a meeting in three hours, which we'll take advantage of. We'll get into the cave, I'll do my analysis, and then we'll sneak out unnoticed. No one will know anything and as long as the transmitter is here, we won't be suspicious either. Can I count on you?"

Jonathan just nodded briefly, even though he was unsure. He didn't have a good feeling about this, as usual, but he knew that this time it was really important to Damian.