Chapter Text
Damian thought it would be a normal kidnapping mission. After all, no one was specifically targeting Neal Caffrey.
So when three low-level thugs attacked him and Burke ,he let them take him. He was quite proud of the panicky-terrified first-time-kidnapped way he had acted. Maybe he could work on a movie.
Of course he was in peak physical condition; though he had been aged up for this particular undercover mission by Zatara.
Letting out a quick sharp exhale, he opened his eyes slowly. It would not do if he revealed his identity now. It had been nearly five months since he had started this, and it had been only to prove Brown’s insufferable bet wrong.
Losing control of the situation would result in possible mind wiping by the Martian; who knew what damage it could cause with such a long period of time being wiped. It could cause the agents of the office to be catatonic; and Damian did not want that on his conscience.
“Neal? Are you okay?” Burke was sufficiently calm, though Damian heard the tremor of panic and terror in the man’s voice. Really, he should have retired already. He was nearly Father’s age, and he wasn’t in as good condition.
“Yeah-h. Are you hurt?” Damian made sure his voice trembled, holding back a look of proud.
Burke shot him a look of pity.
“Well,this is your first kidnapping experience. It can be scary, so just follow my lead okay? Don’t antagonize the kidnappers.” Damian held back a scoff; kidnappings were chores.
“O-ok,” Damian filling his voice with dread while simultaneously untying his bounds with one single movement.
Really, it was laughable how badly they bounded him. Now able to get a good look around the area, he noted it was a eerie basement. How long had he been passed out? There were no windows, only a few old-fashioned candles positioned highly on the ceiling.
This was very familiar, in a Nanda Parbat type of way. Damian ignored the blaring sirens in his head.
Burke was shaking. Footsteps were approaching them. Multiple, Damian realized. Four heavy footsteps, and one light, teetering on the edge of loud and silent. Like they wanted him to know he was there.
Ra’s Al Ghul stepped out into the light, handing cash to the three thugs that had kidnapped Burke and him before motioning for an extra assassin to join his side.
“Damian. It is time to rejoin us once more. I have watched you; you’ve gotten weak. You do not kill anymore. It would be a shame if all that work was wasted on another of the detective’s goody soldiers.”
Burke scoffed, and Damian pushed away the urge to pinch his nose bridge. One does not scoff at Ra’s Al Ghul; besides, how did the man even find Damian? He had enlisted both Oracle and Red Robin’s help on the mission, and his personality and name were completely different.
“Neal isn’t an assassin. Look, you’ve got the wrong guy. He handles mortgage fraud!” Burke was supplying evidence, Damian could weasel out of this.
He would be absolutely mental not to.
Pretending to be this Neal character for months had been exhausting. How Grayson did it he didn’t know.
“He-es right! I’m not Damian or whatever! I’m Neal Caffery!” just saying that made him nauseous.
“Oh really? That ridiculous facade is unbelievable. Then if I murder this Burke fellow, will you be unable to stop me? Mission always comes first, hm?”
Grandfather was taunting him. The assassin beside Grandfather’s katana was for him to take, he realized. Because Grandfather thought him not good enough to beat him.
His blood boiled. What other options did he have? He knew Grandfather did not bluff; he spilled blood to get what he wanted. He could try bluffing his way out, but what good had that done?
One more time.
He had already called for help; though no one was near Nanda Parbat,and coming here would already take hours.
“Neal! Don’t do anything. He’s probably bluffing.” Damian appreciated Burke’s words of consolation but Ra’s Al Ghul did not ‘bluff’.
“Hurry up, Grandson. I do not have all day for you to make your decision.”Ra’s threatened, jabbing the edge of the katana closer to Burke.
Gosh, did Burke really think he was faking it? He wouldn’t when his neck would be spilling blood. Damian couldn’t risk another life.
Damian caught Burke sending him a strange look. Damian realized that in the midst of the crisis that was Burke possibly losing his head, his face had dropped to its usual scowl.
Whatever, the civilians life was more important than whatever identity he had conceived.
It would be what Grayson would’ve done, and he was not going to defy Grayson.
He was going soft, he thought as he took out the assassin nearby. Brandishing his katana, in one fluid motion, he stretched his arms as he got ready in a defensive position. He allowed a second to admire the intricate pattern on the hilt before snapping his eyes back onto Ra’s figure.
“Leave the civilian out of this, Grandfather. You have no business with him.” Damian demanded, losing the Neal Caffery charm,sending a quick look at Burkes way, which the latter prompted responded with a “We’ll talk about this later” look, as Grayson would say,in which Damian in reply clicked his tongue against his teeth.
Well,they wouldn’t. Who was Damian Wayne if he bowed to some common plebeian?
There, he was back, the shell of Neal Caffrey properly discarded.
“Ah, there is my soft grandson. I presume you will fight me? And lose.”
“I have not gone soft,” Damian scoffed, adjusting his weight onto his right ankle, a move he’d seen Grayson do hundreds of times.
“I have simply developed a better moral code. And why should I return?” Damian taunted, riling up the older man.
“Neal! What are you doing?” Damian did not spare the man a glance. Did the man not understand what was going on?
A distraction in a battle against Ra’s Al Ghul meant instant defeat.
“You are nothing without me! I raised you, trained you! You can not beat me!”
Now, his mind supplied.Damian leapt forward, attacking Ra’s. Like some well-practiced dance, they circled each other, his Grandfather’s cape billowing in the air every time he leapt at Damian. His grandfather was good, but Damian had picked up tricks from Grayson.
And he’d learnt that winning didn’t necessarily mean he had to fight without cheating.
He struck Ra’s legs suddenly, grabbing his shoulders and spinning over the man, somersaulting and facing his back.
While Ra’s recovered, Damian cartwheeled, electrocuting him with a strong taser and stabbing him through the back. He had destroyed Damians mission; Damian had put in blood, sweat and actual tears into Neal Caffrey. He deserved a missing spleen.
Before he left he had to find Drake’s missing spleen, he realized.
Hooray, thats Drake’s birthday present solved.
Dusting Ra’s blood off, Damian stood up from his crouch, turning to leave.
“What just happened.” Burke asked, though it sounded more like a statement with how it was phrased.
Ah, Damian had forgotten about him. Damian untied Burke’s bounds in a rush, grabbing his wrist urgently.
Turning to Burke very suddenly with a stern expression, he snapped.
“We will not speak of this. You will not speak of this to anyone out of this circle. I will know. Should you spread the word, I will personally see to that you will wake up with a sword in your stomach.” Damian watched in glee as the man paled, then dragged him, crashing out of the nearest window, landing the two of them in the back of the Bat-copter.
“Bat-copter. Was that the best you could’ve come up with?”
Dick turned behind with something akin to a mock-pout on his face.
“Don’t be mean, the name’s awesome.”
“It’s really not, Nightwing.”
“Nightwing?!”
“Didn’t I tell you I would cut off your tongue if you spoke again?”