Bruce Wayne sat alone in his cave, wearing his mask; not his cowl, which rested nearby. No, the mask he wore was the one everyone saw, yet no one suspected wasn't real: the mask of Bruce Wayne. Only a very rare few knew that the billionaire playboy the world saw was nothing more than a fiction created to hide Bruce Wayne's true face, the same face that Bruce had worn since he was eight years old: Batman.
Bruce sat with his elbows resting comfortably on the arms of his chair and his hands clasped in front of his face; his eyes were closed as he enjoyed the stillness of the cave, yet he was aware of all that happened around him. As the silence of the cave stretched interminably, Bruce's mind ran over everything he had learned of the Wizarding World in the last few months since the Justice League's confrontation with Albus Dumbledore, and to say he was concerned about his findings would be an understatement.
The entire society seemed to stagnate at least a hundred years ago, ruled by men and women who still believed in the absurdity that they deserved to rule for no other reason than the purity of their bloodlines. Bruce had spared no expense and used every asset he had, from calling in favors, to paying significant bribes, to outright threatening, all to learn as much as he could about this society that had hidden itself away for the last few centuries.
Slowly opening his eyes, Bruce took in his surroundings with meticulous precision; he was alone, and only the bats above were his companions tonight. Damien and Tim were out on patrol with Barbara tonight. Bruce had only allowed it after forcing the three heroes to give their word that they would call if they encountered more than they could handle. That scenario was unlikely, considering that most of Bruce's rouges gallery was locked in Arkham, and the few that weren't were laying low lest they find themselves back.
As Bruce's thoughts turned to the pair of Robins currently on patrol, a scowl took over his features as he thought of his first partner and the one that followed, perhaps his greatest failures.
When Bruce had first begun his war on crime, he had been determined to do it alone; that determination had lasted just over a year when Bruce decided to attend the circus one night and watched as a boy lost everything, just as he once had. When the decision came to adopt the boy, Bruce had done it immediately, knowing that only he could truly understand the boy's pain. Dick and Bruce's partnership had been a glorious thing, built on trust and a mutual loathing for those who victimized the innocent. But pride and a refusal to change on Bruce's part had caused a split between Batman and the original Robin that had only grown worse as the years passed, and seemingly finally coming to a head a few weeks after the battle with Trigon.
Jason had been Bruce's second partner and been the exact opposite of Dick, so full of anger yet also filled with the potential to be something great if given the opportunity; Bruce had provided that opportunity, and the years with Jason had been a balm to Bruce's soul after his fallout with Dick. But like with Dick, Bruce's pride had caused his partnership with Jason to implode.
And before Bruce could manage to right his wrongs with the boy, Jason was murdered at the hands of the Joker, and Bruce swore that he would never take another partner, not after failing not once but twice. That vow lasted until Tim came into the picture; seeing how brutal Batman had become, Tim realized that Batman needed a Robin to keep him from going dark.
First, Tim had stolen his grandfather's credit card. He traveled to Jump City to try and convince Dick to return to Batman's side, but Dick refused on the grounds that he was a Titan now. With the addition of Raven returning with Harry in tow, Dick simply couldn't leave his responsibilities to his friends just to help Batman pull himself back from the dark. When his plea failed, Tim chose a different route and volunteered himself as the new Robin; Batman immediately refused Tim's offer, causing him to spend the next few months stalking the Dark Knight each night across the rooftops of Gotham.
Batman had first tried to intimidate Tim into stopping, but when that failed, Batman had reluctantly agreed to Tim's request and spent the next few months training him before he allowed Tim out on patrol. Tim had barely been the new 'Red Robin' for a month when Talia Al Ghul had waltzed back into Bruce's life with a son in tow that Bruce hadn't even known existed, hoping to undo all the damage that Talia and her father had done to his son, Bruce had taken the boy into his home.
After meeting his father, Damien decided that Robin was his birthright and nearly killed Tim for "Daring to steal my birthright from me;" Batman had almost been too late, and the animosity between Tim and Damien only seemed to grow from that point on. To be honest, Batman didn't even want to have Damien take on the mantle of Robin, too worried that the boy's time with Ras Al Ghul had done irreparable damage to the boy's view of good and evil. It had been Alfred who finally convinced Batman to allow Damien a chance at redemption as Robin.
While a skillful fighter, the boy was still intemperate and undisciplined. Batman had nearly given up hope when Damien met Harry; the boy had been a tremendous aid in pulling Damien from the darkness that had almost consumed him. Harry helped more than Bruce could say in terms of curbing Damien's ego and teaching him a little humanity; Bruce couldn't help but smile slightly as he recalled the day that Damien and Harry had first met.
:FLASHBACK (2 years prior):
Bruce, Tim, and Damien had returned to the cave after a night of patrol; the night had been relatively normal, save for one thing. During a routine takedown of a gang of arms dealers, Damien disobeyed Bruce's orders and charged headlong into battle rather than use the shadows like Damien and Tim had been taught. The result had been that four of the gang members had suffered severe injuries that would require several months of physical therapy to repair, and that was before Batman and Red Robin had to swoop in and save Damien from being overwhelmed and killed.
"What part of 'don't leave my side' did you not understand?!" Batman demanded the moment the three of them entered the Batcave,
"I had it under control," Damien sneered back as he took off his mask and faced his father, causing Batman's anger to fade momentarily; Damien looked so much like Bruce that it was almost like looking at a younger version of himself.
Like his father, Damien had wild black hair that refused to be tamed and icy-blue eyes that seemed to stare straight through you; as Batman stared down at the boy, his eyes drifted over Damien's uniform. It had been Jason's once, but Damien had taken it and repurposed it rather than let it sit behind a glass case as a memorial to his father's failure; the uniform looked almost the same as every other Robins, from the bright-red color to the yellow R and matching belt that every Robin since Dick had worn.
The difference between those and Damien's was that he added golden lines and edging that celebrated his identity as Robin. He had improved the tactical gear on his gauntlets and extended his boots for further protection so that they now ended at his knees. His time living among the League of Assassins also seemed to work its way into Damien's costume design as he extended the tunic like one of his grandfather's men would wear. Damien had also made the cape more jagged-looking, adding microscopic blades to the tips of the cape to create a wearable sword.
The final addition to Damien's uniform that no other Robin had thought of was a hood that could be raised or lowered at Damien's discretion and further helped to hide his identity. Finally, Damien had strapped a large katana to his back, a gift from his grandfather on the boy's sixth birthday.
"Obviously not. Otherwise, we wouldn't have had to save your sorry ass," Tim snarked back, reaching up and taking off his own mask, causing Damien to redden in fury; before he could open his mouth and no doubt cause another argument that would end in a fistfight, Batman intervened,
"Enough!"
For a moment, it looked like Tim might actually respond to the Dark Knight's order, and Batman stared down at him.
Tim had chosen to make his uniform from scratch, and the result was quite impressive, to say the least; Tim's uniform was darker red than was normal, as was the yellow, giving the outfit a much more intimidating look, and that helped him stick to the shadows easier than any Robin before.
Early on, Batman discovered how sagacious Tim was and used that brilliance in creating the boy's uniform; the end result was a technological marvel that augmented Tim's strength, but the best part of the uniform (at least to Tim, anyway) was the computer that Batman had painstakingly created and placed in the boy's right gauntlet that could allow the boy to hack into any computer on earth, effortlessly. Unlike Damien, Time had his coal black hair slicked back onto his head and a perpetual smirk on his face, as though he had some secret he wanted to share but couldn't.
"Go home, Tim." Batman growled after a moment, "I need to speak to my son alone."
Casting one last glance at the fuming boy, Tim shrugged his shoulders and walked away; once he was sure that they were alone, Batman turned back to Damien and leveled a glare that would have frightened the worst of Gotham's scum. Still, to Damien, it simply earned another sneer.
"I thought we had gotten past this, Damien…." Batman said softly, "This isn't the League of Assassins. You don't need to use lethal force like I saw tonight."
"They'll live," Damien sneered contemptuously, "Besides, the League and my grandfather taught me that I should show no mercy to my enemies. So, why do you?"
"Because there is a line," Batman snapped, "It's all that keeps us from becoming them! You can't stop criminals by becoming one."
"There would be no more criminals if you followed my grandfather's example!" Damien all but shouted back, "I don't even know why my mother left me here with you! I should be learning how to rule my future empire, not jumping across buildings chasing plebian criminals!"
"Your mother left you here to give you the chance to choose your own fate," Batman said softly, "Instead of being a slave to the whims of Ras Al Ghul."
"My grandfather is a great man!" Damien snapped back angrily, "And one day, he will lead humanity down the path to true peace, not the pathetic path you choose to follow."
"That's enough!" Batman snapped, his temper coming free at last; closing his eyes and taking a calming breath, Batman opened his eyes again and stared down at the boy as Batman's butler, Alfred, finally made his presence known.
"Is everything alright, master Bruce?"
Rather than answer the man, Batman stared at his son momentarily before making a decision.
"Until further notice, you are forbidden from going on patrol as Robin," Batman said simply, causing the boy to stare at Batman in equal parts shock and anger.
"You're grounding me?!" Damian asked in shock, "You can't do that! I'm not a child!"
"I'm sorry to interrupt, Master Damian," Alfred said with a smirk, "But perhaps you should look in a mirror before making such statements."
"You're staying in the manor." Batman growled as Damian turned crimson and opened his mouth to retort, "And if you disobey me in this, I will make sure that you never wear that uniform again."
Without another word, Batman spun on his heel and stalked away, his cape billowing behind him as Damian stared at his back with unhidden fury; a moment later, Alfred placed a calming hand on the boy's shoulder,
"He only wants to keep you safe, Master Damian," Alfred said gently, "Master Bruce has lost too much to suffer another loss."
"I don't need your pity!" Damian snapped, shaking Alfred's hand off before storming away, leaving Alfred to stare sadly at the boy's back.
Alfred found Bruce an hour later in the study, standing in an expensive suit and staring out the large window at the moon above, his hands clutched tight behind his back; carefully setting down the tea tray that he had brought in, he turned to the man who he had all but raised and smiled at Bruce sadly.
"You can't blame yourself, Master Bruce," Alfred said gently as he placed a comforting hand on Bruce's shoulder, "In time, things will get better."
Bruce scoffed at that before turning to the man who had been almost a second father to him,
"Damien's spent nine years with the League of Assassins, Alfred," Bruce said sadly, "Who knows if he even can be saved at this point? Perhaps Talia was wrong in her assumption that being with me would benefit Damien."
"I don't believe that," Alfred replied firmly, taking his hand off Bruce's shoulder and locking his hands behind his back, "And neither do you, Master Bruce. The boy is just lost and in need of guidance."
"It's been six months, Alfred," Bruce said softly, "And his anger still consumes him-" Bruce looked down, took a deep breath, and looked back at Alfred, "-and I don't know how to help him through it! My god, it's like watching Jason all over again!"
"Jason's death was not your fault!" Alfred stated at once, "And he knew how much you cared about him before the end. I know it in my heart."
"I hope so…" Bruce said so softly that he might have been talking to himself; Alfred looked past him, causing Bruce to turn around and glare angrily at the Bat signal currently hovering in the night air.
"The war never ends…" Bruce muttered before turning and storming out of the study; before he left, Bruce turned and looked at Bruce one last time,
"Make sure that Damien doesn't leave the manor," Bruce growled, earning a stiff nod from Alfred; a moment later, Bruce was gone, and Alfred turned to stare back at the symbol with equal feelings of hatred and acceptance.
As usual, when Batman landed on the roof of the Gotham Police Department, he found his old friend, Commissioner Gordon, waiting for him with a smoking pipe clamped tight between his teeth.
"Jim," Batman said simply, making the elderly man start momentarily before turning around to face the Dark Knight.
"Must you always do that?" Gordon said as he put out his pipe and stowed it away in his jacket, "You do realize I'm not a young man anymore, right?"
"What do you have for me?" Batman responded gruffly, causing Gordon to shake his head momentarily before looking at the Dark Knight and stowing his hand in his coat pockets.
"Scarecrow managed to escape from Arkham a half hour ago after leaving four guards dead," Gordon said in a tired voice, "My officers chased him down and managed to corner him in a sandwich shop but are afraid to go in and take him down since he now has control of hostages."
"How many?" Batman asked at once as his mind began to plan,
"A class full," Gordon said quickly, making Batman's eyes widen in alarm as Gordon continued in a sad voice, "It's a bunch of kids from Jump City here for the national Academic Decathlon competition. Apparently, their coach/teacher wanted to reward all their hard work in getting this far and took them out for some food when Crane's getaway vehicle interrupted their meal. Crane wanted to show that he meant business and used his damn gas on the teacher. Now, he's using the kids to ensure my officers keep their distance."
Batman's eyes narrowed at that, and he felt his temper flare at Scarecrow's senseless murder of innocents and felt disgusted as well for how cowardly Crane was to use children in such a way. A moment later, Batman's eyes widened as he remembered that Raven's younger brother was one of those students in Gotham for the competition; Dick had actually called and asked if Bruce could keep an eye on Harry while he was in town. At least until Dick and the other Titans could come down to watch Harry compete in two days.
"He needs to be stopped before more are harmed," Batman growled, causing Gordon to nod at him,
"On that, we agree," Gordon said firmly, "Here's the address."
Taking the piece of paper that Gordon was handing him, Batman immediately turned and pulled out his grappler gun; an instant later, he dove off the roof and shot his grappler into the free air, swinging away as Commissioner Gordon watched silently.
When Batman returned to his vehicle, he immediately put the pedal to the metal and began speeding toward the address that Commissioner Gordon had given him; he had only been driving for a few moments when a light started beeping on the dashboard, making him reach down and activate the communicator on the Batmobile, showing Alfred's worried face on the small screen.
"Master Bruce, I am sorry to report that Damien is not in the manor,"
"What?" Batman growled, "Where is he?!"
"He was in the cave training when last I saw him," Alfred responded at once, "When I returned shortly thereafter with dinner, young master Damien was gone, and there was a report on the computer showing that Scarecrow had escaped."
"Stupid fool!" Batman snarled, punching the steering wheel as he pushed the Batmobile to go faster, "He's going to get himself killed!"
"I agree, sir," Alfred nodded, "I suggest you hurry before master Damien discovers his error too late."
The communication ended at that, and Batman couldn't help but offer a silent prayer that he made it before he was forced to bury another son.
XXXX
Damien scowled down at Scarecrow from his hiding place in the vent; the crazed villain was still dressed in his bright-orange Arkham jumpsuit and was currently stalking back and forth in front of a group of children, who all looked very scared. Sneering in contempt for the madman, Damien slowly dragged himself along the vent toward a nearby grate that stood directly over the villain. Scarecrow and all those monsters in Arkham were but rabid animals and should have been put down as such.
Yet, for some inexplainable reason, his father chose to spare them and lock them away in perhaps the most insecure prison on earth, all so that they could break out and do it all over again. Had his father been more like his grandfather, none of these villains would have been given a second chance; they would have been executed for their crimes as they should have been from the beginning. As he reached the opening, Damien pulled a miniature laser cutter from his belt and began to cut a hole in the vent; as the red light did its work, Damien couldn't help but remember the day his mother left him in Gotham.
She had told him that she was doing it because she loved him, that he needed to see more of the world than just the stronghold where he had spent the last nine years of his life, and that his father would be a good influence on him. But after six months of living with the man, Damien was ready to leave and never return, for arguing was all he seemed to do with his father. Whether it was over Damien's brutal methods or Batman's continued slander of the great Ras Al Ghul and his ideology on how the world should be.
As the laser cut through the last of the metal, it made a whining noise that made Scarecrow look up just in time to see it falling to the ground; the villain only had enough time to widen his eyes before it landed on top of him, with a loud 'clang,' knocking Scarecrow to the floor, causing his gun full of Fear Gas to fly from his fingers, and skid across the floor. Damien dove through the hole seconds after the grate fell, landing on top of it and making Scarecrow "Oof," painfully as the boy's added weight landed on his chest; pulling a Birdarang from his belt, Damien pressed the blade under Scarecrow's chin and growled,
"You are beaten! Surrender or die, monster!"
"Ah, the Bat's newest brat," Scarecrow said silkily, uncaring about the blade at his throat, as the children watched in terror, save for one green-eyed boy who seemed to be trying to calm the other children down, "We've yet to have the pleasure of a session together. Shall we have ours now?"
Before Damien could ask what Scarecrow meant, the villain shot his right arm forward toward Damien's face, revealing a small secondary gun filled with Fear Gas; Damien only had time for his eyes to widen in alarm before the gun went off, sending a large amount of gas straight into the boy's face, and making him jump back in alarm as he tried to breathe through his coughing.
"Now boy…" Scarecrow's voice purred as the lights in the restaurant began to dim around him, making Damien's eyes widen in alarm, "Let's see what you're REALLY afraid of. It should prove to be an enlightening experience."
As Damien struggled to breathe, Scarecrow and the rest of the restaurant faded away, leaving the boy standing alone in darkness; spinning around, Damien raised his weapon defensively, yet saw nothing but darkness. He was alone.
"Hello!" Damien shouted, his voice echoing back to him a moment later, "Where are you, Scarecrow!"
"Damien…" A voice said from the darkness, making the boy spin around to see its source; the boy's eyes widened a moment later when he saw his father step out of the darkness,
"Father?" Damien asked in surprise, "Where is Scarecrow? What's happening?"
Batman said nothing, just continued to stand in front of Damien and glare at the boy, his hands folded inside his cape.
"What's happening?" Batman growled, his eyes narrowing, "What's happening is that I'm being forced to foster a child I never wanted! A child, you were forced upon me by a rapist!"
Damien's eyes widened in shock at his father's words, and for a moment, the boy was rendered speechless; his father had never spoken like this to him before.
When Damien didn't respond, Batman continued speaking in the same cold, emotionless tone as before, his cape falling away to reveal his clenched fists by his side.
"I never wanted a child with Talia! You were forced on me, and you've been an embarrassment ever since!"
Damien took a step back at the words as though they were physical blows, and his Birdarang fell from his loose grip, landing on the ground at his feet with a dull thud; part of Damien's mind screamed at him that this wasn't real, that it was all an illusion. But Damien's greatest fear was currently suppressing that part, the fear that no one, not even his mother, knew existed, the fear that he had desperately tried to deny even existed at all: his father scorning and abandoning him. As much as Damien might sneer at his father's methods, a small part of Damien still wanted to make the bastard proud, and Damien couldn't understand why he wanted such a thing, yet there it was.
"Bred from a killer!" Batman snarled, "Raised by killers! What should I have expected except that you would become one as well?! Perhaps I should end you now rather than risk you becoming the monster Ras Al Ghul wants you to be."
Damien took another step back at the phantom's words, and Batman stepped forward as he lowered himself down to attack.
"You don't kill," Damien whispered, all trace of bravado gone as the terror overtook him, "Batman doesn't kill!"
"I'll make an exception in your case," Batman growled before lunging forward; an instant later, Damien's head was rocked to the side from the devastating blow that Batman had just delivered, sending the boy crashing to the ground with a painful cry.
Rolling to his feet, Damien ripped his katana from its sheath on his back and held it at the phantom that was currently taking his father's image,
"You are not my father!" Damien roared, his voice echoing in the darkness, "Your illusions do not fool me, Scarecrow! And you're a fool if you think otherwise!"
"You're the fool," Batman sneered as he raised his fists, "If you think that you'll be leaving this 'illusion' as you called it, alive."
Without another word, Batman charged at the boy, ducking under Damien's swing and delivering an uppercut that sent Damien several inches into the air before crashing onto his back with a painful 'oomph.'
XXXX
When Batman crashed through the glass window of the sandwich shop, his eyes immediately took in the situation; Scarecrow was currently standing over Damien, who seemed to be having some kind of fit on the floor. Nearby, five children were huddled together in terror while Harry tried to keep them calm by whispering soothing words; seeing his son twitching on the ground filled Batman with a level of rage that he didn't think was possible.
Issuing an animal cry of rage, Batman covered the distance between himself and Scarecrow in less than a second and knocked away the weapon that the villain was trying to use; grabbing hold of the Arkham jumpsuit, Batman smashed his fist into Scarecrow's face, relishing the sight of two of the man's teeth flying out from the impact. Grabbing the jumpsuit in both hands, Batman raised the man into the air and spun before releasing his hold and sending the villain crashing into the far wall.
Before Scarecrow could register what had just happened, Batman was on top of him, delivering one devastating punch after another and quickly turning the villain's face into something closely resembling ground beef.
"Batman!" A voice cried out, making the Dark Knight turn around in mid-punch; Harry was trying desperately to hold Damien down, a Herculean feat as Damien thrashed around as though he were having a seizure, "Robin needs help!"
Looking down at Scarecrow, Batman could see that the battle was over. The villain's face was covered in blood; his eyes were both swollen shut, and his nose looked as though any chance of fixing it might already be a lost cause.
Delivering one final punch to Scarecrow's face, Batman quickly rose and walked over to Harry, pulling a syringe filled with golden liquid from his utility belt. However, he'd barely taken three steps when Scarecrow jumped onto Batman's back, blind and screaming incoherently and causing Batman to drop the syringe as he spun around, trying to get the villain off his back.
After several moments, Batman finally managed to get a decent hold on the villain, pulling him over Batman's shoulder and throwing him across the counter; turning to Harry, Batman snapped immediate orders.
"Get the antidote into Robin while I deal with Scarecrow!"
"Me?" Harry asked in shock, "I'm not a doctor! I don't know how to stick someone with a needle!"
"Learn!" Batman snapped as Scarecrow rose from behind the counter, holding a large knife, still blind and screaming.
As Batman began to duck and dodge around Scarecrow's blind slashes and thrusts, he saw out of the corner of his eyes as Harry leaned over Damien's body and grabbed the syringe before looking at it with trepidation.
"Stick it on his damn shoulder!" Batman snarled as he blocked Scarecrow's attack with his forearm and quickly disarmed the villain by breaking his arm, causing Scarecrow to scream in pain; not wasting a moment, Batman reached out and grabbed the man's head and slammed it onto the counter as hard as he could, instantly knocking the man out.
Turning back to his son, Batman saw to his relief that Harry had done precisely as he had ordered and stuck the syringe into Damien's shoulder; as Batman approached, he could instantly see the boy shaking even as he tried to act brave. Laying a calm hand on Harry's shoulder, Batman gathered Damien's unconscious body into his arms.
"You did well, Harry," Batman said softly before turning away and leaving the children staring in wide-eyed wonder; as Batman left, the last thing he heard (which made him smirk slightly) was one of the children asking Harry in an awed voice,
"You know Batman?"
XXXX
As Damien finally regained consciousness, the first thing he registered was the steady beep of a heart monitor; the next thing he noticed, as he cracked his eyes open slightly, was that someone was sitting next to him. Opening his eyes fully, Damien saw that it was a young boy, about his age, with strikingly similar features; the only difference between Damien and the boy was that the boy had the greenest eyes that Damien had ever seen, like fiery emeralds. The boy was wearing a dark-red long-sleeved shirt and blue jeans, around which a car seatbelt hung like a belt; as Damien stared, he saw that the boy was currently reading a book with rapt attention, and as Damien zeroed in on the book, he saw, to his surprise, that it was a book of poems by Edgar Allen Poe.
"Who are you?" Damien demanded in a dry voice, making him wince, "And where am I?"
"I'm Harry Potter," the boy replied as he sat down his book on the table next to him and scooted his chair closer, "And we're in the Batcave now."
Reaching over to the table next to Damien, Harry grabbed a glass of water with a straw and brought it close to Damien's face; Damien looked at it with suspicion for a second before gratefully taking the straw into his mouth. After several seconds, Damien stopped drinking and nodded at Harry in gratitude, to which the boy quickly returned before placing the glass back on the table.
"So, Harry…." Damien said suspiciously, "You mind telling me what happened? And why are you in the Batcave? Father doesn't usually give out visitor's passes."
"You got sprayed with Fear Gas," Harry said softly, "It messed you up pretty bad, but Batman showed up soon after and beat the Scarecrow up, and then he brought you back here."
"That explains why I am here," Damien stated haughtily, "But why are you?"
"Because Harry is the one who saved your life," Batman said gruffly as he stepped out of the shadows, causing Damien to look at Harry in shock.
"YOU saved me?" Damien asked in a soft voice, "You? Saved me?"
"Um…. Yes?" Harry replied as he began to rub the back of his head, "I mean, all I did was give you the shot. It was Batman who had it already prepared."
"Don't be modest," Batman said simply, "Scarecrow prevented me from administering the antidote. Had you not been there, I might have been too late."
Damien's eyes widened even further at his father's praise of Harry; Batman was hard to impress, so if Harry had done so, then it was worth remembering.
"Thank you, then… Harry," Damien said, bowing his head in respect and causing Harry to smile shyly.
Turning to his father, Damien was surprised to see worry in his father's face, along with…. Was that relief? Was his father relieved to see him alive? But why? Had they done naught but fight since first introduced? His father should be annoyed that Damien was still alive, not relieved.
"How long have I been unconscious, father?" Damien asked after two unsuccessful attempts to rise up from his current position.
"You've been unconscious for a week," Batman replied, "The rest of Harry's class returned to Jump City a few days ago, but I got permission from his guardians to let him stay with me until you awoke."
"You know his guardians?" Damien asked in surprise,
"I live with the original Robin and the other Titans in Jump City," Harry said with a smile which quickly fled at the sight of Damien's scowl,
"Ah yes, the usurper."
"Hey!" Harry cried in outrage, "That's mean! Don't be mean to my friends!"
"Your 'friend' tried to steal my birthright!" Damien cried back, wincing in pain,
"No, he didn't!" Harry cried back, "You're a liar!"
"That's enough, Harry," Batman said sternly, causing the boy to turn and stare petulantly up at him.
"But he called Robin a us-usa… He called Robin a bad word! And a thief! Robin's not a thief!"
"I'm Robin!" Damien snarled weakly, causing Batman to shake his head wearily at the boy before turning back to Harry.
"You're right, Harry," Batman said gently, "Robin isn't a thief, Damien's just hurt. And hurt people tend to lash out."
"Oh…. Ok then," Harry said softly before turning back to the glaring Damien, "In that case, I forgive you."
"Forgive…. Forgive me?" Damien sputtered as Batman tried to keep a straight face, "I didn't ask for forgiveness!"
But Harry was no longer listening and instead had risen from his chair and turned to leave,
"Can I go ask Alfred if he has any more tea?"
"Go ahead," Batman nodded; before he left, Harry turned one last time to Damien and waved shyly at the gaping boy,
"It was nice to meet you, Damien."
A moment later, Harry was gone, leaving Batman to stare down silently at his still-confused son,
"That boy is very strange," Damien said simply once he regained his ability to speak, causing Batman to smirk slightly.
:END FLASHBACK:
XXXX
That one encounter had led to a great many more over the years. Each encounter deepened the relationship between Harry and Damien, and, as Batman saw, each encounter seemed to make Damien a little less angry; perhaps having a friend his own age was working better than Batman had dared hope. Now, that boy who had helped Batman's son was in danger from a madman and his idiotic racist followers on one side, and the machinations of an old man whose self-delusions had somehow convinced him that he was the second coming of Merlin on the other side.
Batman would have agreed to help Harry for no other reason than how much the boy had helped Damien. The fact that Batman owed Harry a great debt for nearly killing the poor boy during that botched exorcism made his decision even easier. That was why Batman dedicated as much time as possible to finding out as much as possible about the Wizarding World, especially about Voldemort and Dumbledore. A sudden notification beep from his computer brought Batman's mind back to the present, and he turned his chair to see the results; it appeared to be a file from a now-destroyed orphanage in London, England.
"Tom Riddle, hmmm…." Batman growled thoughtfully as he began to read.
XXXX
Author's Note:
Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!
Okay, I realized too late that I had boxed myself into a corner regarding the ages of some of the heroes, primarily because I hadn't foreseen the story growing this big. I then realized this was my story; I could make them any age I wanted. But at the same time, I didn't want to make the ages too great of a change. So, here we go:
1.) Dick Grayson was nine years old when he became the first Robin and fourteen when he left Gotham to create the Titans. Seventeen when Raven returned with Harry and is currently twenty.
2.) Jason Todd was twelve when he became the new Robin and fifteen when Joker killed him.
3.) Tim Drake was ten when he became Red Robin and is currently twelve going on thirteen.
4.) Barbara Gordon was thirteen when she became Batgirl and has only been part of the Bat Family for six months.
5.) Damien Wayne was nine when he became Robin and is currently eleven, going on twelve.
I hope these changes don't bother you too much and help make the story clearer.
In the next chapter, the price on Arcane and Lunatic's head hits the streets, bringing all manner of monsters and villains to Jump City to try and collect the reward. And Harry learns the hardest lesson about being a hero: you can't always save everyone…