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Chapter Text

Talia sat on a luxurious couch, in her family's huge, glamorous, mansion. In her arms, lay Damian, a tiny little infant indeed. He was giggling lightheartedly, and she smiled back at him. As she cradled him, she raised her finger to tickle him. His giggles increased, and she began to laugh as well. Every second with him was beautiful, a treasure in their hardworking lives. Always spending each day doing a mission of some sort, usually assassinations, to come home to her little treasure.

But to spoil their moment, came her father. He stopped in front of his grandson and peered down at him.

"He's giggling?" He exclaimed disgustedly, "Doesn't he know there was another problem with the plan to save the earth again, today?"

"No," Talia remarked, "Maybe that's because he's a baby."

"Well you do," He pointed out, "There's no reason to smile, daughter,"

"Every moment with my Dami-Wami is to be smiled at." She stood up, twirling the baby left and right, rocking him to sleep.

"What about when you read him bedtime stories?" Ra's cringed just thinking of them, "Those things are just so..."

"They're nice stories, aren't they?" She commented, "Tamer than what I remember being read as a kid, but that's not necessarily a bad thing." She thought of the stories of burned down villages, war, and disaster that Ra's had showed her as potential stories for Damian. "Happy stories" he called them. With victory against evil parts of humanity. Of course, she had turned them down, despite them being what she had grown up with. She wanted Damian to understand there was slightly more to life than happiness with violence. Sometimes, you could even find happiness outside the league and their victories. Like she had with Damian's father.

"It is a bad thing. How will he learn to kill? Imagine, a child not learning to kill! Absolute Disaster!"

"Disaster worse than what can be found in those books?" She remarked sarcastically, "He's only a baby. I don't want to traumatize him."

"I'm sorry, Talia, but I can't stand how innocent those stories are." He pronounced the word "Innocent" with utter disgust, "Only a few people killed in an entire book. How do they even have a plot? It's like something one of those horrid civilians would read to their young ones."

"Actually, I once read some civilian style baby books. There literally was no plot. One of them the entire book was 'Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet,'. Of course, each color had its own page, and there were pictures of objects that were the color on the page, too. But either way, I don't understand the point of it." Ra's seemed in complete shock when she looked back at him. His jaw was dropped, and he was practically frozen to his place. She was instantly very concerned, "Father, are you okay!?" He snapped back to normal.

"Sorry, I just can't believe it. How will their children learn killing is right? How will they learn to kill?" Ra's was still astonished by the civilian's ways of life.

"They don't. These are civilians, remember? They don't learn to kill." Talia pointed out.

"I sure hope the detective would know better than that. After all, because of your bad romantic intuition he happens to be the boy's father." Ra's narrowed his eyebrows angrily at Talia.

"There is nothing wrong with Beloved. Although there may be an exception with the baby books. He was raised as a civilian, you know. He may think that is what a baby book is." She said.

Ra's sighed, "Talia, it's not that Damian's bedtime stories are bad... Well, they are bad, but I'm just trying to give you some advice. Since I've got experience. I mean, look how you turned out!"

Talia realized it would be hard to argue with that. If she said he was a bad parent, she would be saying she had not turned out well. She wasn't about to insult herself, so she got a better idea.

"But look how Nyssa turned out." She pointed out.

"That's not my fault! She was a bad apple when she was born. It had nothing it do with me."

"Actually, I think it had a lot to do with you." She covered Damian's ears protectively, "But that story is much too scary for my little baby."

"I guess that story is pretty sad," Ra's admitted, "But what's wrong with the stories I read to you when you were small? They always had happy endings. The enemies always died! All of them! They were so calm and joyful."

"Father, killing isn't that calm." Talia argued, "Plus, that's not what I'm going for with Damian."

"What else is there to go for?! What do you want? Him to think violence is wrong?! That would be terrible! Why would violence be bad?!"

"I'm going for that sometimes you only have to beat up your enemies. Sometimes, that is." She added, "And that maybe killing nine-tenths of the world isn't the best way to handle things." They both looked down to find Damian starting to cry. "I better deal with that. Mama's here, Mama's here..."

"You've made him cry, Talia." Ra's accused her, "With the idea that my plan is bad. Poor little guy,"

"I believe it was the idea of the plan at all," Talia insisted, "Or just that he needs his diaper changed."

"Speaking of which, why haven't you potty trained him, yet?" Ra's criticized, "He's nearly 7 months old."

"Why hasn't anyone trained you to not be so hard on babies yet?" Talia replied, "You're nearly 7 hundred years old."

"Actually, I'm closer to 5 hundred. I'm not that old."

"Well Damian's not that old, either." Talia pointed out.

"But he is old enough that your parenting instincts should have kicked in by now. Why have a lot to talk about in that area. Why don't we start now?" He suggested, "To begin, what is that he's wearing? It's hideous. He'll never live the shame down of being in something so unsophisticated."

Talia sighed, "It's called a onesie. Because it's one part." She said frustratedly, "And what's so wrong with it? What do you want me to do? Put him in a suit? Would that be sophisticated enough for you?"

"Actually, why don't we find him an assassins suit, until we find something for while he's at home." Ra's suggested, "Of course, that home outfit should be fancy. Much fancier than that."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Talia said sarcastically, "I didn't realize they had assassin suits for babies."

"Don't worry, we can get it custom made. With a small sword, one that'll fit Damian's tiny hands. Some guns, as well."

"He's gonna kill himself with that sword. Or the guns."

"Very well, we can wait for that until he's one. But then, it's a must-have." Talia facepalmed with her father's ridiculous ideas.

"I'll deal with that on his first birthday," She said, half talking to herself, half talking to her father.

"Daughter, if you really think the assassin suit is too much, then at least get the league's symbol off of there. I don't want people thinking we approve of that." Ra's ordered.

"Okay, fine. I'll get it off tomorrow." Talia promised.

The next day, Damian was, as promised, wearing a onesie with a different design. The design was an "I heart Mama" design that Talia had picked out. Her father entered with another disapproving glare.

"Why isn't my grandson wearing the league of assassins symbol? Isn't he proud of his heritage?" Ra's accused. Talia facepalmed, hard.

"Just yesterday, you said you didn't want the symbol on onesies. Because you don't like them, remember?" Talia reminded him, "I know they say that as you get older, you can't remember things as well, but that was just yesterday!"

"Oh, right. But when are we going to give him his first sword, again? What about his first gun? Or throwing stars?"

"When he's at least 2."

"That's not what we agreed on. He's getting it when he's one."

Talia sighed, "That's it! I'm the parent, you're only the grandparent. I've got more authority." She started to storm off with Damian.

"Have you forgotten? I'm one of the most powerful people on the planet. You don't have more authority."

"I was talking about Damian, not the league."

"Oh, daughter, I'm just trying to give you advice." Ra's spoke in a calmer tone, "I don't want you to completely fail... Like so far, you have been." She just stormed off, fed up with her insane father.

Chapter Text

"How's my little birthday boy?" Talia cooed over Damian. He was about 25 inches tall at the time, being now one year old. He sat on her lap, not doing anything too exciting. Just squirming a little, and making funny noises.

In front of them, Ra's paced indecisively back and forth. He found himself in such a predicament, that it seemed nothing could be done. He stopped to look at Damian once again, taking out a measuring tape and holding it up to Damian.

"I don't understand," He said to no one in particular, "He's supposed to be 35 inches by now. I got his sword to fit him at that height, but he seems to be small for his age! My heir should be tall! Do you think there's plastic surgery for height? We should look into it."

Talia hugged the baby protectively, "He's not getting plastic surgery."

"He may not be getting plastic surgery for looks, but this is different. He needs this to fight. Talia, he won't even be able to use his most special present today, all because he doesn't grow fast enough. He's 10 inches off! The sword I got is bigger than him!" Ra's explained.

"The average for his age is twenty-nine and three-fourths. It's only a few inches, not ten. You're the one that's off. Why can't you just be happy for him? It's his first birthday! Plus, he wouldn't be getting the sword, anyway." Talia argued. On her lap, Damian giggled.

Ra's looked down at the baby. He squinted his eyes at him, studying his appearance. Damian just giggled and reached his arms toward his grandfather, gesturing to be closer to Ra's.

"Look at how he's reaching? If he were taller he wouldn't have to." Ra's observed. He picked Damian up from Talia's lap. She laughed at how Damian's face lit up when his grandfather did it.

"He likes you… a lot." Talia remarked, "Not that we didn't already know that."

"Hello, Damian," Ra's said, in a not at all gentle tone, "You can call me Grandfather. But if you ever call me Grandpa, Gramps, or Grampy, then you'll end up calling me Lord. Calling me Grandfather is a privilege, do you understand?" Talia looked instantly shocked at her father's odd ways of acting to a baby. She swiped Damian out of his hands.

"What are you thinking, talking to him that way? No matter what, he is not calling you Lord. He's your family. Besides, do you really think he's going to learn the word 'Lord' quick enough? He'll call you whatever he wants." Talia sat back down, Damian facing away from Ra's. But Damian looked like he was going to cry about it.

"Even Grampy? It's Grandfather or Lord. But we are having a ceremony, aren't we? For Damian's first anniversary of his birth? In which, he will be presented his very own sword. We really should go now. I'm sure Damian is quite anxious to get his first sword!" Ra's exclaimed excitedly.

"Too bad," Talia argued, "He's going to have to wait a few more years."

"You're right. He didn't grow quick enough to deserve it." Ra's agreed. He looked down at the boy, once again bothered by his small size.

"You know," Talia pointed out, "There are much kinder ways you could have said that he's too small."

At the party, many assassins stood before a grand stage, each of them bowing down instantly at the arrival of their well-respected leader. Ra's announced Damian's first birthday, and the crowd cheered. But before Damian could come out, Ra's realized he had another horrendous problem. He instantly informed Talia of the dilemma.

"He's still learning how to walk!" He exclaimed.

"So? Can't we just carry him? That's what we did when he was first born." Talia obviously did not see the problem, "Actually, I don't trust you after the way you talked to him earlier, but I can."

"No! It may have been fine when he was just a newborn, but now it's humiliating. They'll lose respect for him, and he just happens to be their future leader! Are we sure he can't walk?" Ra's asked.

"He can walk a little, but what if he falls off the stage? He needs things to hold on to. What's so humiliating about carrying him, anyway? Doesn't anybody else know realistic expectations for babies?" Talia still didn't find any of this a problem.

"You don't understand, Talia. He's supposed to be better than all other babies, and he's not acting like it!" Ra's looked at Damian, "Put him down, and let's see how well he can walk."

Talia headed towards the stage, refusing to put him down. "I already told you, it's too risky. I'm carrying him, whether you like it or not." Ra's could only watch as Damian's life fell apart.

As it turned out, nobody cared that Damian couldn't walk. They just thought he was cute.

"What have you done?" Ra's yelled at her, "Now they think he's cute!"

"And?" Talia asked.

"And will never respect him as a true leader!" Ra's finished.

"He is cute. When he's older, they'll stop thinking so." Talia reassured him. She walked off, showing her little star around.

Ra's was still worried. He had worked so hard to find an heir, but this could have just ruined it all. Not knowing whether or not he had another century to live, or find someone else, he would just have to trust Talia that things would be okay. He drank some tea from the beverage area of the party, and tried to calm down.

Meanwhile, Talia was sitting at a table, giving Damian some herbal tea, and drinking a different kind herself.

"Who's a cute little birthday boy? You are! You are!" She praised the baby. Damian started giggling happily at the sight of Ra's, making his way over to them. Talia found herself wondering why he even loved his grandfather so much. After all, he had only been hard on the poor child. Not that she didn't love her father, but as much as she hated to admit it, he seemed happier to see Ra's than her. She was a little bit jealous. He was her son, so shouldn't he love her the most? It made sense for her to love her father a lot, even with how hard he was on all his family, her and Damian included. But Damian was only his grandson. She was snapped out of her train of thought, though, when she realized Ra's looked pretty angry as he stomped over.

"Why are you insulting my grandson?" He questioned. Talia was relieved he wasn't angry at them, but also confused. She searched for the person who had offended her son. But weirdly enough, Ra's was looking right at her. But why would she have insulted her own son?

"What?" She asked, "Nobody said anything."

"I heard you, Daughter," Ra's crossed his arms over his chest, "You told my poor grandson he was cute! In fact, didn't you do that earlier, too? Poor child, thought of as weak."

Talia couldn't help laughing, "I can call him cute all I want, It's a compliment, Father!"

He simply walked away, obviously still upset. She looked back at Damian, who was sad about Ra's disappearance. After all, if the whole object permanence idea was true, his grandfather was gone to him.

That evening, Damian was playing with his new toy, which his mother had gifted him, and Ra's and her were talking.

"You know toys aren't allowed here, Daughter."

"I can't deprive Damian of them." Talia argued, "It's not like he can spend his free time training, yet."

'There must be something else that'll entertain him." Ra's mused, "And if not, you'll just have to lock him in his room and make him wait."

"Is that what you did when I was a baby? You can't be serious about doing that." Talia accused, "But if you are, you're horrible."

"What? I couldn't think of anything better to do with you. You turned out well, so it must be a good idea. Actually, on the other hand, maybe not. You didn't turn out that well, but that was probably just because I didn't do it enough." He took the toy away from Damian, "Come on, Talia. Why don't we try it?"

"We're not doing that, and did you just say I didn't turn out well?" Talia questioned, "I am so offended!"

"Okay, but it's up to you to find something other than toys to entertain him with." Ra's walk off to his room, bringing the toy with him.

Damian began crying, and Talia couldn't tell whether it was because his grandfather left, his toy was taken, or just that he was hungry for dinner.

Chapter Text

As usual, Damian's mother and grandfather were arguing about when he should get his first sword. Damian, now old enough to care, wanted to start training badly, so he always supported his grandfather.

"He's old enough to start training now, Talia." Ra's argued, "You're only holding him back. He's stated many times that he wants to."

Talia sighed, "Maybe you're right…" She turned to Damian, "Just be careful, my darling." Kissing him on the forehead, she looked back up to his grandfather. Secretly, she was quite sure that her little boy was much too small to start the truly intense training schedule. But after he tried it, he would realize that and want to wait, unlike now, when he was excited to begin. By the end of the day, he'd be on her side. Her plan would work perfectly!

"Thank you, Mother," Damian said, his high-pitched little-kid-voice making his word sound much less formal. "Can we start now?!" Both him and his grandfather began heading out to go to the training area.

"Now, remember, Father," She called after them, "Don't be too hard on Damian. He's only two years old!"

Damian smiled at Ra's as they walked. Being a toddler, Damian had to run to keep up with his grandfather.

"It's a good thing we were able to convince her today." Ra's stated, "You would have been much too far behind if we hadn't. 2 years old is 2 years late if you ask me." Damian felt the same way. He would have loved to be a baby sword-fighter!

Later that day, Talia was talking to Damian about how it went.

"It was exhausting!" Damian exclaimed, "I didn't know if I'd live to see the end of it."

"So.. Do you wanna quit it and go back to it when you're older?" She asked hopefully. He bit his lip as he pondered the question.

"Not really,"

"What? I thought you said it was exhausting! Isn't it too much for your little body?" She asked, starting to realize her little plan to get Damian on her side had backfired.

"Grandfather says I just need to get used to it. If I stop now, I won't be able to get used to it!" Damian explained confidently. He always believed what Ra's said, so he was sure it was worth it, no matter how sore he was.

"What have I done?" Talia mumbled to herself, "He's stuck doing it now." They both turned as the door creaked open.

Ra's entered happily. He smiled at Damian.

"Good job, today," He praised him, "Tomorrow, it'll be other people teaching you, but I thought since today was your first day I should be the one."

"Well, I just had the best idea!" Talia interrupted their conversation, "Why don't I potty train him instead of him getting assassin trained! Doesn't that seem like a more natural sequence of develop-"

Ra's cut her off with his reaction, "YOU HAVEN'T POTTY TRAINED HIM YET!" He shook her as if she were the mad one there, "You better start right now, but that doesn't mean Damian's stopping his other training. Do you understand?!"

Talia broke away from his grip panting, "Yes, I-I understand…" Damian looked quite sad about his family's argument. But also a little confused. What was potty training? Did you spar a toilet? Of course, he would definitely win against a toilet, so he didn't see the point of it. But what if it was training a toilet to fight? How would that even work? Now didn't seem like a good time to ask how it was possible to train an inanimate object, so he kept these questions to himself.

He watched as his grandfather stormed off, nudging his mother towards him. What did training a toilet have to do with Damian? He wasn't a toilet. But what if Damian was the one to train the thing? Then, why was his mother involved? Poor Damian had no idea how unexciting potty training really was.

Talia turned towards him, wondering where to start. The boy knew what a bathroom was, but probably didn't know how to use it, or when.

"Come on, Damian…" She gestured down a hallway, unsure how hard this could be, "Let's… um, begin."

Damian soon decided he was a good sparring partner for anyone. Even, that is, his grandfather.

"I don't think that's a good idea, " His mother rejected the idea, "You could get hurt. He's not about to go easy… Or safe, as a matter of fact. I don't trust him to follow sparring safety rules… Like no broken bones."

"You forgot! I'm gonna win!" Damian cheered, "No one can stop me now! I'm invincible!"

"You've been training for a week." Talia pointed out, "You're not going to win, my sweetheart." She picked up Damian, who tried his best to get out of her arms.

"No! I don't want to be picked up! I can walk myself!" The toddler whined, "Put me down!"

Talia smirked, "If you're such a good fighter, why don't you make me?" Damian squirmed, attempting to show how indestructible he was. She quickly put him down as he started to actually use physical defenses, like punching.

"Ha! I have defeated you!" Damian boasted. Talia just smiled at him softly.

"I could have definitely defeated you," She informed him, "But this isn't the best place to start a fight." His smile started to fade.

"You're lying!" He accused her, "I defeated you fair and square!"

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." She humored him, "I just want you to be happy." Bending over, she kissed him on the forehead. He kept his pouty face, though. Damian simply wanted her to agree to his spar with his grandfather.

"Does that mean I get to spar with him?" Damian asked, tugging on her suit.

"Alright, fine…" She gave in, "But just be careful."

"I will," He assured her, "I'll make sure not to hurt Grandfather too badly." She smiled at his confidence.

"That's definitely what I was worried about," She laughed, "Your grandfather has so many missions and things, it would be such a shame if sparring with his 2-year-old grandson stopped him."

"Those missions are very important, right, Mother? If I defeat him, can I go on one of them? I mean when I defeat him." Damian started bouncing energetically in his place. He tugged on Talia's suit, impatiently awaiting her reply.

"Sure," She approved, confident that he wouldn't win against her skilled father, "But only if you win."

Damian scurried off to inform his grandfather of the wonderful news. Talia sighed, praying she hadn't set Damian up for death by letting him spar. She watched Damian's stumbly little feet run down the corridor, to her father's room. She had forgotten to remind him to brush his hair that morning, so it was a bit of a mess on top of his small head.

That evening, Damian had invited Talia to watch him "win" against Ra's. Of course, Talia was much happier to be there to comfort Damian about the fact that he was much too small to be a threat to anyone, and to check on his injuries. She had been thinking about it all afternoon, and dreading it.

Meanwhile, Damian had spent the afternoon engulfed in intense training, working hard to win his medal. Now, he stood in front of Ra's, head held high, unaware of the failure that would come.

Damian squeaked happily and jumped up and down, hurrying into the sparing area. But in a matter of seconds, he was pinned to the ground, bruised from head to toe. Luckily, no serious injuries. Only the disappointment that made him slow as he walked away.

Ra's, on the other hand, was smirking, happy to see his grandfather realizing he was beneath him. Ra's hoped now Damian would see him more of an idol than someone he could easily defeat.

Talia ran over to her little boy and hugged him, "It's okay, my darling. You've got plenty of time to train and get better."

Damian still seemed depressed about the whole thing, "But I'm already two! I'm much too old to be so weak! I'll bet every other two-year-old in the world can sword-fight better than I can! I'm so old!" He sat down on the floor sadly.

"Sweetheart, two isn't very old. You're plenty good for your age." Talia sat down next to him, putting an arm around him.

"But I'll never be as good as him! Or even you! I'm a lost cause! I can't even get a bullseye with a bow and arrow! What kind of toddler can't get a bullseye?" Damian wondered aloud.

"Lots of toddlers are incapable of getting a bullseye." Talia informed him, "Don't be so hard on yourself." She wrapped her arms around the little kid, and he hugged back.

"Congratulations, Grandfather," Damian turned towards Ra's, "I've realized now what an honor it is to be your heir. I can't wait to grow up to be like you!" Talia and Ra's both smiled at Damian. Talia, because the boy was getting back his excitement, and Ra's, because he was finally being idolized. Damian hugged his grandfather lovingly. Ra's frowned at this, but didn't say anything about it as Damian skipped off to train more, determined to get better.

Chapter Text

Damian smiled as he pointed to the target. But of course, that smile disappeared as he realized he wasn't quite tall enough to get the arrow onto the target. He climbed on top of a chair, praying this didn't count as cheating, and tried again. Barely on it. He switched weapons.

This would technically count as extra training. He had no adult with him to teach, and this was supposed to be his free time. The adults were never very helpful anyhow, just telling the poor kid how horrible he was. But even with their negative attitudes, Damian did try his very best. Which honestly wasn't that good, but was better than his worst. If he did his worst, then he'd have to say goodbye to his place as heir. That was not what he was looking to do.

Now, it was all up to him how he trained. With nobody bossing him around, he could choose whatever he liked. The sword was his favorite, but Damian was still contemplating how he could do that alone.

"Where were you?" Apparently Damian had just thought it to be his free time. There his tutor was. The one that he had just been reminded he was supposed to be getting lessons from. The tutor was now lecturing him on coming to his lessons, instead of what metaphors are, "How do you expect to become a great leader if you can't be responsible enough to remember where you're supposed to be!?"

Damian followed them into the library. They sat down on the table, where she began the lecture she had originally planned. The one about metaphors. Seeing this as a nice break from training to get some rest, Damian was asleep in no time. But when you're the only one in the class, people notice when you decide to take a nap.

"If you can't manage to sit without sleeping, you will stand instead!" The tutor ordered. Damian reluctantly stood up. He still didn't see why he had to listen to what metaphors and similes are when he was still learning to read. Actually, he also didn't see why the tutor had the right to yell at him. It seemed like all his teachers and trainers could, and yet he had so much more power than them. The only people with the ability to talk to him in such a way should've been his grandfather. Maybe his mother as well, although as heir he probably still had just as much power as her, if not more. But this tutor was nothing.

Damian didn't feel like getting in trouble, so he didn't question the teacher's authority aloud. He simply stood there, reciting the stance he was supposed to have when sword-fighting in his head, and pretending to listen. Tutoring was absolutely no fun.

That was when it hit him. A way he could sword fight alone. By cutting something down… Like trees or something? This idea fascinated him much more than the lecture could ever. He wanted to run outside and try it, right then. So being a three-year-old without much impulse control, he did. Right in front of the tutor's shocked eyes. But to Damian, training like this seemed so much more important than any schooling. He didn't even care.

"What do you think you're doing?!" The tutor grabbed Damian by the collar furiously. Damian tumbled to the floor, "You can't just dash out in the middle of my lessons!"

"But I have to train!" Damian attempted to make his way out again, "Training is much more important than education."

"Right now you're supposed to be here." The teacher stated, "Why can't you just understand this? It's called a schedule."

So Damian had to sit through a lecture he didn't understand a bit of, thinking about using his trusty sword the whole time. When the teacher finally let him go, it was his normal training time. As much as he wanted to test his new idea, training with the instructors would satisfy his need to use the sword as well. He got through the training, but by the time he was done with that, he was too tired to execute his idea.

"Nap time!" Talia exclaimed after his daily training. She did this a lot. Hating the fact that he was training at all at his young age, she decided the only thing good about it was how tired he was after. That was perfect for getting him to take a nap.

"But I don't want to take a nap." Damian argued, "Naps are for infants."

"No, they're not." Talia stated, "Naps are for tired little assassins after training."

"Exactly. I'm not a little assassin. I'm just an assassin." Damian crossed his arms.

"Actually, you haven't killed yet." Talia pointed out, "But you just have to be a tired little guy after training to take a nap. Whether you like it or not, you are little." Damian scoffed at his short body. His body never grew fast enough in his opinion. But little or not, he wasn't about to take a nap.

Ra's walked in, "Daughter, there's no need to baby him. He is in no need of a nap." Damian smiled. His grandfather was always helpful in situations like this.

Damian walked down the hallway to his room. There, he planned to take a little rest. (Just a rest, not a nap, to be clear.) He flopped down on his bed, thinking of his spectacular idea again.

It wasn't long before he was outside, sword in hand, ready to begin his extra training. There were dozens of trees in front of him. They were the perfect target.

He slashed his sword against one of them, cutting off branches until it was bare. He smiled at his work. He then thrusted the weapon toward the poor tree's trunk, cutting the entire thing down. It flopped down on the ground beside him. It had only been a young, weak, tree, so Damian was soon sad to find it was the only one of the trees he could actually cut down. But by the time he was done, branches littered the courtyard's ground. He was insanely proud of the destruction.

He went back inside. At dinner, Ra's was aggravatedly rambling on about how the courtyard was in shambles. Damian hadn't told his grandfather about the training exercise he had used that day, so Ra's was unaware of who had caused such a mess. Damian was not about to tell him now, though. He didn't feel like getting punished.

"I'll bet we have some traitors or spies in the league." Ra's determined, "We'll have to keep a lookout. I just can't believe anyone would do such a thing. It's against the league's morals to cut down trees like that, and not even for any good reason. That rascal will pay!" Damian shrunk in his seat. He hadn't realized there was anything wrong with it. But obviously it was a sin to even think about doing such a thing, much less actually go through with it. He was starting to question whether or not he would be kicked out of the league if they knew. He definitely wouldn't be able to keep his spot as heir. He wanted to cry.

Not being able to take the guilt anymore, Damian confessed, "I did it, okay! I didn't know there was anything wrong with it… I just thought I could use it as training. I'm sorry!" Damian whimpered. Damian was more than surprised to find Talia hugging him.

"It's okay, sweetheart." She comforted him, "Just don't do it again. It's not good for the trees. These things are destructive to our planet. The one the league is trying to protect. Destruction's not good, okay?"

Damian hugged her back, "I promise I'll never do anything like it again. But if destruction is bad… then why are we trying to destroy nine-tenths of humanity?" It was a fair question.

"Grandson, destruction to humanity is good, but destruction to our planet is bad. If you are ever to be destructive to our planet again, there will be severe consequences, do you understand?! The only reason you are being let off now is because you are merely a child who doesn't know any better. Doing things like this can get you in the dungeon. I don't want to put you in the dungeon, but if this continues you will give me no choice. If anything considerably like this happens again, you will have no shot at staying my heir. Do you understand?" Ra's was obviously not happy about this. He paced back and forth angrily, "Go to your room."

Damian instantly obeyed. He was silent as he walked off.

"Don't you think you're being kind of hard on him?!" Talia put her hands on her hips, "There's no way I'm letting you put him in the dungeon for misbehaving. He's only a child, for goodness sakes!"

"As long as he stops destroying the planet he'll be fine." Ra's replied calmly.

"I'm starting to think it may be your 'destroy most of the human population' vibes that got him to be so destructive. Although he was being destructive on something else, the whole concept can be confusing for someone his age. Therefore, it's your fault." Talia claimed.

"It is most certainly not my fault." Ra's stated, still calm.

"Well maybe it's time he met someone not destructive at all. Like his father." She smiled at the thought of her true love.

"You want him to meet the detective?!" Ra's seemed shocked, despite the fact that he knew she loved Batman.

"It's about time he does." She pointed out, "Beloved is very wise, and would be a great influence to Damian."

"Are you saying that you still love that enemy of ours?!" Ra's questioned her.

"Incase you didn't realize this, I never stopped loving him. I never will stop loving him. I love more than anyone else, except my family. Of course, Damian is my everything." She was blushing at the thought of her beloved, which only disturbed Ra's more.

"What about me?" He asked.

"I said except for my family. You get in there. Don't worry. I love you, too, Father." She assured him, "Just because I love Beloved doesn't mean I don't love you, too." Ra's still didn't seem very relieved. He was more focused on whether or not he could keep Batman out of Damian's life.

"Good night, Daughter." Ra's attempted to make her forget about Batman and Damian meeting completely. He couldn't let it happen. Who knew what he would teach Damian? That killing is wrong? If he taught him that, then Damian wouldn't even want to be his heir anymore. If Damian quit being his heir, the league might even be ruined after the death of their leader. Ra's couldn't even stand to think of it.

"Good night, Father." Talia made her way to Damian's room to tuck him in. The two parted ways, Ra's hoping Talia would simply forget about her beloved. But unfortunately for him, she spent the entire night daydreaming about him.

Chapter Text

"Damian? I'm not going to let you drown. I promise." Talia was pointing towards a lake. The dark blue water glistened in the sunlight, "I thought you liked training…"

"This isn't training." Damian insisted, "This is drowning." He cautiously stepped away from the water. Talia was still holding his hand. Inside her head, she was counting the seconds until he'd pull away, saying that he wasn't a little kid. It was already past their previous record.

"How are you supposed to learn to swim?" She asked him, "I'm not sure how your grandfather will feel about having an heir that can't swim. If you'd rather just not be his heir, that would be okay, but…" Damian looked one more time at the water. It was ever so still. But to him, it was more violent than the weapons he handled daily. Just waiting to suck him up. But he'd have to brave it to prove his loyalty to Ra's.

"I'll go in for a little bit." He gave in, "But only for a little bit." Talia smiled at him.

"C'mon, my darling. Let's go." She let go of Damian's hand and jumped in, splashing him. He looked down at his wet clothes. He may have been wearing a swimsuit, but they had felt so much better when they were dry.

"I don't think I need to go in." He argued, "I'm already wet enough." He started to leave, shaking the water off himself like a dog. Talia pulled herself onto the land. She sat on the ground, her feet dangling into the water. She reached out her arm and gently pulled Damian back.

"It's not really about how wet you get." Talia explained, "It's about how much progress you've made with learning to swim. You may have gotten wet, but you have made no progress towards being able to swim." She motioned for him to sit down next to her and put his legs in the water. He did, figuring he wasn't likely to get sucked up by the water if he was still mostly on land. His mother wrapped one of her arms around him.

"This isn't helping me learn to swim either." He pointed out, kicking his legs around in the water. Small splashes flew onto his lap.

"It is going to help you get comfortable with the water. You're obviously scared, my darling." She pulled him close to her, only for him scooting away, crossing his arms. He was acting like a teenager, despite being only 4-years-old. He in no way wanted to be considered dependent upon his mother, for that would make him weak. Even being sweet with Talia could get him labeled "Weak" in the league of assassins. He had to be strong and powerful, because sadly that was the most important thing to the league.

"I'm not scared." Damian protested. He felt a lump in his throat. He was scared. There seemed to be no bottom to the lake, and he was sure of it. He looked down at the water once again, thinking of all the many things it could do to him. That stuff was absolutely terrifying.

"It's okay to be scared sometimes. You're pretty brave as it is." Talia comforted him. She scooted closer to her little boy. His fear may not have made sense to her, but that's just the way fears are. The boy had seen people killed right in front of his eyes, and yet this was what he was afraid of? He wouldn't flinch at a dead body, and dealt with insanely sharp weapons everyday. But there he was, staring at a body of water like most people would look at a dead body.

"It doesn't matter. I'm not scared." Damian insisted. He frowned at her. Being still a little kid, his frown was more like a pout.

"Okay. Well then, why don't you go in with me?" She pushed herself back into the water and put her hand out to help Damian in.

Damian turned away, "I can't because…." Damian glanced around the room, searching for a reason. He bit his lip as he brainstormed.

"Because of what?" Talia asked.

"Because… I forgot to go to the bathroom before we went here." Damian held his head high proudly. He whipped his short, stubby, legs out of the lake and began his walk back happily.

"Okay. We can come back when you're done." Talia followed behind him. As they walked, she'd occasionally nudge him in the right direction when he started turning the wrong way.

Wait, Damian thought as they walked, we have to go back after? His plan was not working as well as he had hoped. Hopefully she'd just forget about the lake.

Soon enough, they arrived at the League of Assassins lair. Talia stood outside the door as Damian went to the bathroom. He came out and began heading towards his room to get into clean clothes.

"Damian? Where are you going?" She asked him. His face turned red. Only turning around for a second, he pretended not to hear her, "Damian? Are you listening?"

"What did you say, Mother?" Damian finally spun around. He looked up at his mother, praying she would leave him alone.

"Damian, my darling, we're supposed to be going back to the lake…" She explained.

"But look how dark it's getting!" The four-year-old stammered. Talia peeked out of a window. The sun was bright, high in the sky. It lit up the outdoors blindingly. Damian peeked out as well, a sheepish smile on his face.

"You're not making much sense…." Talia pointed towards the window, from which light was streaming into the hallway. Damian looked down at his feet, considering what excuses he could come up with next.

"Uh…" He stuttered, "Maybe I should take a nap…" Talia's eyes lit up at the idea. She didn't hesitate to lead him towards his room, completely forgetting about swimming. Damian grimaced at how she was squeezing him in a hug.

"C'mon! Let's get you into something cozy!" She suggested. Damian was now realizing that he had accidentally brought out the side of her that babied him to the limit. Some, of course, would say that she had the right considering he practically was a baby. Despite Damian hating this side of her, he knew it was worth it. Anything to save himself from the wrath of the lake.

His room wasn't far from where they were before, "Doesn't this look like a nice little outfit to keep you warm during your nap!" Talia was holding up a pair of pajamas Damian was surprised his grandfather had allowed him to have. The pajamas had little bears all printed all over them. He cringed at their juvenile appearance. He was not going to ever wear those.

But then he remembered the lake, out there waiting to drown him. He reluctantly put the clothes on. Talia looked down at the little boy like he had just made his first kill. (Which in a league dedicated to killing nine-tenths of the human population is pretty good.)

She wrapped him up in a hug, "You look so cute!" Talia exclaimed. Damian winced at being insulted in such a way. Maybe he should have just gone into the lake…

Pouting, Damian pulled out of the hug, "I'm not that cute…" He laid down on his bed. Talia simply smiled at him. She pulled the covers over him.

"Sweet dreams, my cutie,"

At dinner time, Damian was happy to know it was too late for them to go to the lake, and they hadn't gone back that day. But his grandfather was hoping he had actually made progress in learning to swim.

"How did your visit to the lake go?" He asked Damian, smiling. Damian's face turned red.

"Okay…" He fibbed.

"Actually, it might take Damian a little longer than expected to learn to swim." Talia commented, "But I'm sure he'll learn pretty soon."

"Okay…" Ra's was obviously not pleased. They all sat in silence for a while. Damian picked at his food nervously. He kept fidgeting.

"The superheroes keep calling us a cult." Ra's broke the silence with his complaint, "We've got nothing to do with religion!" Damian found himself wondering what a cult even was. But seeing that his grandfather was already irritated, he decided to keep this question to himself.

"I wouldn't say that they're entirely wrong." Talia argued, "Sometimes it seems like the members of the league worship you. Except, of course, us, your family."

"I thought you guys worshiped me too!" Ra's stated, "Don't you? I'm making the planet a better place! Don't you care about the planet?"

She facepalmed, "You literally just said this wasn't a cult…." Talia sighed, "Since when did we worship you?"

"I worship him!" Damian blurted. Everyone at the table looked over at him. He just smiled at his grandfather.

"Do you even know what worshiping is, my darling?" Talia asked.

"Uh…." Damian stammered, "Loving?"

"It's a lot more than that…" She replied.

"We can explain that to him later. But I should say, daughter, that just because they worship me doesn't mean this is a cult. They'd have to worship me religiously for that." Ra's pointed out. Talia simply sighed.

"I still worship grandfather!" Damian blurted out yet again, "He's better than a god. He's real!"

"Some gods are real." Ra's argued, "But thank you anyway." They went back to their silence. Damian smiled at all of his family. He was so happy he could ignore the fact that he could hardly reach the table on the chair he was sitting on. The chair was meant for an adult, and Damian wasn't even close to the size of one. He was so happy he could forget the bear-covered pajamas that Talia had sneaked into his wardrobe. He was just happy that he was with his family, safe and sound. But what made him truly this happy was the fact that he hadn't drowned earlier that day in the scary lake.

Chapter Text

Talia stared out a window in her room. Outside, the sun was setting. A million colors shined in the sky. Why hadn't she invited him over early enough that they could've watched it together?

She made her way towards the door of her home, figuring he'd be here soon. Impatiently, she kept opening and closing the front door, checking whether he had arrived. Every time, Talia frowned at the empty porch.

"You're going to let all the bugs in, daughter," Ra's reminded her. She quickly realized she had forgotten to tell him about the visit. He would not be happy. "Why are you even opening the door, anyway?"

"I… uh… invited Beloved over…." She admitted, "I'm sorry that I forgot to ask for your consent. But I won't tell him about any of your newest plans. I just… didn't know how else for him and Damian to meet." She watched her father's reaction closely. He frowned with frustration.

"He's our enemy, Talia." Ra's stated sternly.

"He's your enemy… Not mine…. Or Damian's…" Talia mumbled under her breath. They both turned, hearing a knock on the door.

"He's here." Ra's grimaced, "I guess there's no cancelling it now. He just better not be here for long." Talia watched as her father stormed off. Not wanting to leave her beloved waiting, she opened the door.

Batman smiled at her, "Talia…" She moved out of the way to let Batman in. He did, happily sitting with her on the couch.

"I've missed you ever so much, Beloved…" Talia said, leaning over to kiss him.

"I've missed you, as well." He replied, "Wasn't there someone you wanted me to meet?" She eagerly stood up.

"Stay here. I'll go get them." Talia scurried into another room. Batman leaned back on the couch, waiting for her return.

Meanwhile, Damian had been enjoying a nice, warm, cup of tea. Ra's ran over to the room he was in, startling Damian into spilling tea all over his clothes. In a panic, Ra's pulled his grandson, under the table.

"WHAT IS IT, Grandfather?!" Damian screamed. He stared at Ra's, who was using his arms to restrict Damian from getting out from under the table.

"We're, uh… being attacked. We had to hide." He lied. Ra's had overheard that Talia was about to show Damian to Batman. Not wanting Batman's "Brainwashing" to get to Damian, he knew he had to do something. So, he faked an attack. Now Talia wouldn't be able to find them and Batman wouldn't meet Damian.

"But what about Mother? Won't the enemies hurt her?" The five-year-old boy looked into his Grandfather's eyes scaredly. During the five years of his life, they had never been attacked at their own home. He suddenly didn't feel so safe in the place.

"I already got her into hiding." Ra's continued his lie. A silence flooded the lair when the two stopped talking. There was no sound of swords and knives clashing against each other. There was no piercing boom of bullets shooting through the air. Just the normal calmness of the home Damian knew so well.

"You're sure we're under attack?" Damian asked skeptically. He peeked out from under the table to check on what was going on.

Ra's quickly pulled him back under, "I assure you, we are."

Damian attempted to see for himself once again, "Perhaps the battle is over…" He broke away from his grandfather's grip to get out of hiding. The only thing that seemed out of the ordinary was the man that hid under the table. Ra's was the only one in a panic. Everyone else was just going along on their normal business. A servant passed through the room, "Excuse me, servant? Is everything okay?" Damian asked the person.

"Why wouldn't it be, Master? Is something wrong that I am unaware of?" The person seemed quite confused by the question. They noticed Ra's under the table, "Would you like some help to get out of there, my Lord?"

"Thank you, but I'm okay…" Ra's reluctantly got out of the hiding place. But he quickly heard another noise, under the sound of Damian asking him why he thought they were under attack.

"Damian!" He heard Talia calling. She was getting near. Before Damian could hear it, Ra's grabbed the child's arm and tugged him into another room.

"Grandfather?" Damian looked up at him, confused. Ra's dropped his arm and began brainstorming excuses. Damian began tugging on his grandfather's cape, "Grandfather?"

"Yes?" Ra's answered. Damian was pouting at him.

"Why did you pull me out of there?" Damian asked frustratedly. There was a gap of silence as Damian pouted.

"Uh… That servant…" Ra's began. He glanced around the room, searching for ideas, "That servant was a... um, traitor…"

"How do you know that?!" Damian whined. He watched as his grandfather paused for a few seconds.

"I recognized him as a spy…" Ra's stated. Damian still looked skeptical about the entire event. His grandfather had already said there was an attack when there wasn't. Why should he believe this?

"Okay… Are you feeling okay, Grandfather? It seems like your imagination is tricking you today. With the attack and all that…." Damian questioned him.

"I'm fine." Ra's led Damian over to a couple of chairs and they both sat down, "How has your training been going lately?"

Damian looked at him, confused, "It doesn't matter. Shouldn't we take care of the traitor?" They both peeked into the other room, where the servant had gone back to doing their normal chores. Ra's knew the poor servant had done nothing wrong.

"Uh…" he stuttered.

Meanwhile, Talia had just about given up looking for Damian. She returned to Batman alone.

"I just… can't find him… anywhere." She informed him. He put a hand on her shoulder.

"That's okay. I'm sure it's not that important." He comforted her. Talia smiled back at him sadly. She knew it was very important. But maybe if she just waited a little she'd be able to find Damian.

"Do you want something to drink?" She asked him as she poured herself a glass of wine.

"That would be nice, I guess…" Batman answered. She handed him his cup and sat down next to him. He wrapped one of his arms around her as she snuggled up close to him.

On the other side of the lair, Ra's was coming up with an excuse for why they couldn't kill the servant. He didn't really want to lose a perfectly good servant.

"Actually, I think we should get as far away from the traitor as possible. They're dangerous!" Ra's claimed, "You're too young to be near someone like that." He led Damian into another room, purposely even farther from Talia and Bruce's date.

"I guess that makes sense…" Damian commented. They both just stood in the room in silence for a few minutes. Damian wandered around the room as they stood there, silent. The silence eventually got tiring though. For both of them.

"Can I go train?" Damian asked. The training area was considerably near Bruce and Talia. Ra's started to panic.

"NO!" He quickly cut in front of Damian, "I mean, you need to stay away from the spy…"

"Going to the training area would be staying away from the spy. It's even farther than where we are now." Damian explained. Ra's did not get out of Damian's way, though. His face simply turned red with embarrassment as he thought of how to keep Damian there.

"Actually, you need to just stay here. I need to know where you are because I'm going to go get rid of that spy." He stated. Damian waved goodbye as his grandfather left the room.

Ra's walked into each room, heading towards where the servant was. But being a human being rather than an inanimate object, the person wasn't still in the same room. Ra's began searching for them, worried they would go into the room Damian was in. Things would get quite complicated if that happened. He would have to tell Damian he had made a mistake thinking the person was a spy. That would turn into lots of trouble, because Damian would likely go off to the training area. He would run into his parents there. Ra's could not let that happen. Batman would most definitely teach him things like "Killing is wrong" and nonsense like that. If Damian were to believe him, then Ra's would have to say goodbye to having an heir.

Luckily for him, the servant was just one room over. He began engaging in conversation with the servant, hoping to have this conversation last as long as the rest of Talia and Bruce's date.

Talia and Bruce, of course, had finished up their drinks. Talia stood up, ready to search for Damian again. She was beginning to wonder if he was alright.

"I really must continue my search, Beloved. Wait here." She rushed off, calling the boy's name. Had he been kidnapped? Or worse, killed? Worries for him filled her head. Where could he be?

She gave up after a while of searching and headed back to her beloved. He smiled at her as she approached.

"You're back! Did you find them?" Bruce asked her hopefully. She shook her head.

"I hate to cut our date short, Beloved, but I really can't seem to find them. Perhaps another time, soon, you two can meet." She sighed. He hugged her.

"I hope we can see each other again, soon, Talia…" He whispered into her ear as they hugged.

"Me too. Bye, Beloved." Talia kissed him once they were done with the hug.

"Goodbye…" Batman headed towards the door. He glanced back at her, but then turned around and left. She waved as he did.

Out in his batmobile, Batman was trying to decode what had even just happened. He wasn't even quite sure who this person was, and why she wanted them to meet so badly. But figuring it was nothing, he had forgotten by the next day. He had absolutely no idea this person was his very own son.

Chapter Text

Damian sat, kicking his legs back and forth impatiently. His mother said there was someone she wanted him to meet. Out to get the person, she had left Damian to wait. Not being the most patient person in the world, Damian was starting to wonder if she would ever come back. He didn't think this was worth his time.

But just when Damian was about to give up and abandon his mother, the door opened. Talia was there, next to someone Damian didn't know. The stranger wore a small red mask around his eyes, a brown coat, and dark pants. Damian looked up and down, studying the visitor. He noticed that the person had a white streak in his black hair.

"Hi, kid," The person said. His voice sounded younger than Talia's. He seemed to be a young adult, around 20 or even 18. That was quite a bit older than Damian's squeaky 6-year-old voice. "I'm Jason… or Red Hood…" The stranger introduced themself.

"Yes. He is a friend of mine." Talia explained. She smiled at both of them, "Why don't you two try to get to know each other?" She left the room, leaving them to talk.

"So…." Jason stuttered, "What's your favorite color, little guy?" Damian was starting to get frustrated at this person. What authority did he have? Why should he be allowed to call him "Kid" and "Little guy"? Sure, he was little and a kid, but that didn't mean he should be referred to like that.

"My favorite color is black." Damian stated, "If you are to pry such information from me, I wish to receive it back. What is your favorite color?"

"Geez! All I asked was your favorite color. I didn't know it was top secret." Jason laughed to himself, "Mine's red."

"For the color of blood?" Damian asked, "If so, you may have potential."

Jason raised an eyebrow, "There are quite a few things I like about the color red. Blood's probably one of them." They both stood in silence for a few seconds. Damian wondered if this should mean his favorite color should be red, too. He liked blood. It was one step closer to his grandfather's plan being fulfilled. But black was a good color, too. Darkness is also beneficial to his grandfather's plan. The league wasn't sometimes called "The League of Shadows" for nothing. He decided he should stick with black. Jason soon broke the silence between them, "What do I have potential for, again? The League of Assassins? If so, I'm not planning on joining. There's something about killing most of the human population that doesn't appeal to me." Damian ignored the sarcasm in Jason's last sentence.

"If you are not a member of the league, then who's side are you on?" Damian asked skeptically.

"Uh…. It's kind of complicated. I'm like, the mix between hero and villain." Damian had absolutely no idea what Jason meant by this. To him, the world was separated into 2 different categories. With the league, or enemies to the league. There was no grey area to the world. But (mistakenly) figuring Talia was one of the most loyal members to the league of assassins, Damian thought his grandfather probably wanted him to make friends with this person.

"So… kid, do you know how to use a gun?" Jason asked him.

"Yes. But they are quite easy to learn. I like to challenge myself with the sword." Jason wondered why he'd want to challenge himself. Guns were easy, quick, and they got the job done. The job Batman would never do, especially using a gun. But the league had quite different standards and morals, so he didn't question it.

"Funny…. Guns are my favorite weapon…." Jason replied.

"Uh….." Damian wondered what to say, "Do you wanna spar or something?" Jason began to wonder why a six-year-old would ask to spar. Of course, the league was definitely different from the rest of the world. But even so, he couldn't help but ponder the fact that most kids his age spent their time at the park, playing, and yet this kid seemingly spent all his time doing highly intense training. It made Jason feel bad for him. Not really having a real childhood, just like the chunk of it that Jason had spent on the streets.

"Why don't I just help you train or something…." Jason suggested. So off they went towards the training area. Damian then began to show Jason how good he was.

"See? I can do this. Bet you can't do this." Damian rambled on.

"Sure." Jason humored him. It was actually very possible this kid was almost as good as him. They continued to spend their time there.

"Maybe you should throw throwing knives at me, and I'll show you how well I can dodge them!" Damian suggested. Jason shook his head at the idea.

"That doesn't sound like a good idea. Why don't I give you a piggyback ride or something? We've spent long enough with the training."

"What's a piggyback ride?" Damian asked. Yet again, Jason felt bad for the child.

But just as Jason was going to answer, Talia and Ra's came in. "Hello, Damian. Hello, Jason. It looks like you're both having fun." Talia greeted them.

"A lot more fun than if Ra's had already went through with his stupid plan…." Jason murmured.

"Greetings, Mother and Grandfather. I was about to show Jason how well I can dodge throwing knives." Talia's expression turned into confusion.

"I already told you that I'm not going to throw knives at you." Jason stated sternly, "Do you want to get stabbed?"

"I wouldn't. I'm better than that." Damian announced arrogantly.

"What is he doing here?" Ra's pointed at Jason.

"I thought him and Damian could be friends." Talia explained. Ra's frowned.

"I'm not going to teach him any of my morals that don't apply to the league as well. I promise." Jason assured him. Ra's simply stomped off, knowing it was too late to stop them meeting. They could spend this one time together, but he would make sure this was their only interaction.

"Don't worry about him. He's just being grumpy." She told them both, "Now, what were you two doing that doesn't involve my cute little Damian getting stabbed?"

"You agree with him that I am too weak to dodge the knives? I'll show you!" He began to gather up throwing knives. They both watched as he held one of them, realizing they would be impossible to throw at himself. "Uh….."

"I just don't want to risk you getting hurt, my darling. I don't think you are incapable." Talia explained to him, "But I really should be going." She left the two alone once again. They began to wander from room to room together. By the time they had made it back, another person was using the training room. Damian's rival, Mara.

"Hide!" Damian whispered at the sight of her. He pulled Jason behind a doorway.

"Why?" Jason questioned him.

"We must ambush her." Damian explained. He suddenly burst out of hiding, ready for battle. But Jason grabbed his cape to stop him from hurting his cousin. Damian came falling to the ground. Mara turned around due to all the commotion. She found Damian to be on the ground, in a quite embarrassing position, with his cape flipped over his head.

"Damian?" Mara croaked. She tried to hide the laughter coming from her mouth.

Ra's, who had been in a room next to the chaos, entered. He looked at Damian disappointedly, "I am very disappointed in you. This, my heir, is why you should have just challenged her to a duel right in front of her."

Jason argued, "Actually, I think he just shouldn't have-"

"I thought you weren't going to try to persuade my grandson against me." Ra's cut him off, "The way you grabbed his cape didn't exactly help the situation, anyway…"

Damian quickly picked himself up from the ground. "She laughed at me!" He exclaimed accusingly.

"Normally she would suffer consequences for laughing at her superior, but you were, indeed, quite an amusing sight. You weren't exactly acting like the superior I know you are compared to her." Damian crossed his arms and pouted in disagreement.

"Superior?" Jason wondered aloud. Ra's glared at him.

"Now may we duel, cousin?" Damian asked, "I shall make you my first kill!"

"I'm sorry, Damian, but Dusan wouldn't be too happy if I let you kill her. But go ahead and defeat her, with as many injuries as you please. I shall watch your fight." Ra's moved aside for them to begin.

"Why should they do this? It's not like she replaced him or something…." Jason wondered aloud. Ra's grimaced at him long enough to make sure he would be quiet. Damian barely won, to the disappointment of his grandfather. He had only even accomplished what he did because of the confidence Mara lost everytime Damian or Ra's was near.

A bit later, Talia and Ra's were talking. Ra's, of course, wanted to express his distaste towards Jason. But on the other hand, Talia wanted to tell him how nice it was that Jason and Damian were becoming friends.

"Why again did you invite that guy? You know he's a rival of mine." Ra's argued with her.

"Because I wanted him and Damian to meet. Just as I thought, they are becoming quite good friends. Like brothers…." Talia explained, "Actually, they are brothers, I guess. They share a father..."

"That father they share Red Hood is trying to kill! Actually, he might be a good influence after all…." Ra's pointed out to himself. Sure, he hated anyone from outside the league seeing Damian, but some were worse than others. Batman was the worst of all. Rivals aren't nearly as bad as enemies…. He reminded himself, Maybe Red Hood will teach Damian to hate his father. That would be helpful. But I still wish Talia would stop showing Damian the world outside the league. All I want is for him to be obedient and strong, and the obedience matter won't be helped by his knowledge of other ways of life. It was always so easy with Talia. But then again, even she isn't too obedient. I need to do this manipulation better. I mean parenting better…. I would never manipulate my own family. There's a big difference from what I do and manipulation. I'm just using lack of knowledge and a little bit of fear to mold my family into the exact people I want them to be. Very different.

"I'm sure Jason will get over that soon. He's not actually going to go through with it." Talia insisted. They both stood in silence.

That evening, Jason had to leave. He hugged Damian.

"Don't get yourself stabbed, okay, little guy?" He reminded him, "Goodbye. It was nice meeting you, kid."

"You've been a very good influence on Damian today, Jason. I'm proud of you." Talia smiled at Jason.

"Thanks…" Jason replied. They all waved as Jason left.

Chapter Text

"Mother! Mother!" Damian called down the dark corridor. Light spilled in from one of the rooms. He speedwalked toward the room, trying to contain his excitement. He found Talia there. She held a book in her hands. The title was written in Arabic, but Damian, knowing how to speak and read in both English and Arabic, could read it. "How a lazarus pit works by Ra's Al Ghul" it read. Underneath it, there was a subheading in parentheses. "(By the way, the whole permanent mental damage thing is a myth. All mental damage is temporary. I'm not insane, do you understand?)" Was what it said. Damian was always puzzled by how much time his grandfather seemed to have. He could not only plan the league's plans, but also managed to find the time to write books. Damian simply figured it was probably because he got bored having over 500 years of life. That was a lot more than most people's lifetimes.

Talia put the book back on it's shelf, "What is it, my darling?" She asked him.

"Grandfather said he has a mission he wants me to be a part of!" Damian declared, "He says it's very important!" Damian put his hands on his hips, posing like some sort of hero. Damian was about to see if there was wind outside, the kind that would make him look even more heroic, when Talia replied.

"Is it safe? Aren't you a little young to go on a big, important, mission?" Talia expressed her concern, "Is there any chance that you'll end up getting injured? Or worse, killed?"

Damian frowned, "T-t, every mission has a chance of me getting hurt. But I am not too young for them. I can handle myself in the face of danger. Stop being so overprotective."

"I'm not sure I approve of you going on this. I'll need more details on how dangerous it is." Talia argued.

"But if you won't let me on this trip I might get behind Mara. Mara is weak! I must be better than Mara!" Damian pleaded with her. He wasn't about to try puppy eyes, like some kids, though. He would never try to look cute.

"Damian, I'm glad this came up. You need to be nicer to your cousin. She's not weak. I'm sure the two of you could be friends if you'd give her a chance..." Talia insisted, "You've said some pretty hurtful things to her."

"T-t. She is weak." Damian declared, "Everything I've said to her has been completely true. Now, will you let me go on the mission or not? I'm sure the mission will go very badly if I'm not there to insure victory."

"I haven't decided. Stay here. I'm going to go ask your Grandfather about this whole thing." Talia scurried off to find Ra's. Meanwhile, Damian sat down on the chair. He wasn't about to let his mother ruin this for him. If he went, he'd even make his first kill! Damian would finally be a real assassin! Being seven-years-old already, it was about time he became one. He was the heir to the league of assassins, after all. What kind of heir turned eight before they made their first kill? He couldn't let that happen. Damian would sneak out if he had to. But that would be difficult, so he decided the best way to handle her doubt was to just convince her it was safe.

A few rooms away, Ra's and Talia were talking. So far, Ra's hadn't done the best job explaining to her how "safe" it was. By now, he should've just lied it was safer than it was. There was a perfectly good chance Damian would come back with some scratches and cuts, but Talia didn't need to know that now. Of course, despite the risks, Ra's was confident his grandson could do it. Damian was very impressive when he trained, so it seemed only right to assume he'd be impressive on the battlefield, as well. Because of Damian's young age, he was almost certain to come back with some minor injuries, but nothing like a broken bone or anything else very severe. He would be okay…. For the most part.

"He'll be fine, Talia." Ra's insisted, "He's not going to get killed."

"Maybe he'll survive, but will he be injured?" Talia questioned him, "The league's missions can get quite intense..."

"Daughter, I'm not dumb. I know he's only a child. The mission is not as intense, nor as important as I told him. Sometimes a child his age must be humored." Ra's assured her. She was still concerned, though.

"Even the small missions are a lot for his age. All your plans are too big for my little boy..." She argued.

"I can't say he's not little. I mean, even you're little." Ra's stated in agreement. Talia was completely confused.

"I'm little….?" She asked him confusedly, "I'm a full grown adult…"

"Adult? You're merely a child!" Ra's declared in front of Talia's puzzled eyes. She had no idea what he was talking about anymore, and was quite frankly aggravated at him.

"I may be your child, but I'm not a child in general…." She argued.

"That's not true. You're a child in general." Ra's stated calmly. Talia resisted the urge to yell that she was an adult in his face.

"Father, explain yourself!" Talia insisted.

"When I was younger -a lot younger-, you see, I was like you. I thought people your age were adults. But now that I am older, and maturer, I understand that in the grand scheme of things you young folks are merely children." Ra's explained.

Talia facepalmed, "So this is all because of how you are insanely old?"

Back where Damian was sitting, he was brainstorming how to convince his mother. Perhaps he could prove his skill by beating her in a spar. Then, surely she'd have no choice then to let him go. It seemed perfect. How hard could it be to beat her anyway?

Damian ran into the room where Talia and Ra's were having their conversation. They spun around at his entrance.

"Mother, I challenge you to a spar! If I win, you must let me go on the mission." Damian declared proudly.

"Okay…" She answered skeptically. She stared at him, knowing there was no chance he would win. As long as she made sure to be gentle with him, there was no reason to decline his offer. She followed as Damian raced to the training room.

"Come on, Mother! We don't want to be late!" Damian called back to her.

She laughed, "Late? There was no scheduled time…" He ignored her. The scheduled time was now, so they would be at least a minute late.

They soon arrived at their destination. Damian hopped into the sparing area, "Ready, Mother?" She soon followed.

"Of course, my darling," Talia responded, and their fight began. To Damian's surprise, he was quickly beaten. But unlike his spars with his grandfather, he did not end up bruised. His mother was incredibly gentle with him, making sure he didn't get the slightest bit injured.

Talia held out her hand to help him get up, "You didn't win, so I don't have to let you go. But the fight lasted longer than I expected, so I think you're ready for the mission." She smiled at him proudly.

Damian jumped up in the air with happiness, "Thank you, Mother! I won't let you down." He ran back into the other room to tell his grandfather the news.

Damian found Ra's sipping tea. He looked up from his cup when Damian came in.

"Grandfather! Grandfather! I am able to go!" Damian exclaimed excitedly. This news was so startling to Ra's he nearly spit out the gulp of tea he was sipping.

"First of all, if you see your mother later, tell her I'm very disappointed in her for losing to a child. But also, congratulations, Damian! You've proven to be an excellent heir." Ra's speculated. Damian's face turned red.

"I… uh…. Didn't win…" He admitted, "But she still decided to let me go…"

"That makes much more sense. I didn't exactly expect you to win, my heir or not." Ra's found this explanation far more plausible, "I was a little worried about your mother's skills, so I'm glad I have nothing to worry about."

"Uh…" Damian now felt very nervous about the fact that he lost, "I still get to go though. Isn't that good news?"

"It is," Ra's assured him, "Hopefully when you are an adult you'll be able to win against her. Your training, I'd like to think, is better than hers. I need to give my full attention to my heir."

"Yes, I hope I will…." Damian agreed nervously. Talia came in and ruffled Damian's hair.

"Be careful on your mission, my darling," She kissed the top of his head, "When is it, again? Will I be going as well? I'm not very comfortable letting him go without me…."

"Mother, I do not want you to overprotect me. Please don't go." Damian begged her.

"She has her own mission that day. One she'll be leading, so she most certainly can't go on Damian's." Ra's informed the two of them. Damian tried to hide the smile creeping onto his face and pretend that he was sad about his mother not being with him. But he was truly relieved she wouldn't try to get him the smallest and safest job in the world.

On the day of the mission, Talia took forever to kiss him goodbye. Damian was starting to get annoyed by her behavior. He would surely be late if she continued. But she couldn't help it. Talia was worried he'd get captured, or even killed. There was no guarantee he could handle the mission, or would survive it. Their conversation was almost like an "embarrassing" parent's goodbye to their teenager when dropping them off at the movies. But this was much more serious than going to the movies, Damian was only seven, and Talia had every right to be worried about him.

She hugged him tight, "Are you sure you want to do this? Did you remember your sword? What about your utility belt?" She double checked he had everything to be prepared.

"T-t, I have everything I need but a-" Damian was cut off by his mother's worried guesses of what he needed.

"A communicator? Another hug? A lollipop?" Talia spewed out her questions rapidly.

"Why would I need a lollipop?" Unlike most seven-year-olds, Damian didn't care much for lollipops, "What I need is a less overprotective mother."

Talia frowned, "I guess you are ready. Just be careful, my love."

"I will, Mother," Damian assured her. She watched as he ran off excitedly to make his very first kill.

Chapter Text

Villains of all types filed into the large room. Almost every single one of them scrambled towards the donuts to get their share the instant they were in. It really was a ridiculous sight to see, all of them pushing past each other for something as insignificant as a dessert. But that was the true reason most of them were there.

You see, today was "Alliance day". A convention dedicated to bringing villains together for the making of alliances… or at least that's what everyone told themself to make them feel better about this silly tradition. Truthfully, that wasn't at all the reason they were there. At every alliance day, there was a mountainous stack of donuts in the middle of the room. It was everyone's favorite thing about the annual holiday. Villains were so interested in having as much donuts as they pleased that the crime rate usually went down immensely for the couple of days after. It seemed that most people ate so many donuts they got sick.

Many of the guest's were even happier about the holiday this year than they were others. Since the League of Assassins was hosting it this year, the mountain of donuts was even bigger than usual. The League was much richer than previous hosts, so this was the outcome of it.

Damian was excited as well. Sometimes he could be quite an odd child, but when it came to donuts, even he couldn't resist. Normally, he didn't get any sort of sweet, sticking to the nutritious Arabian food that would help him grow strong. Like rice, and lots of other not-that-sugary foods. But today he could have all the donuts he could imagine… With the small price of sickness afterwards.

Ra's wasn't exactly happy about this. He wasn't even sure why he had chosen to host it. The idea of an ally seemed nice, though, so he figured that was what had led to his decision. But he was almost certain that by the end of this, most of his family would be vomiting. The whole donuts thing was dumb. It was as if a superhero had started this tradition as a way of getting the criminals to stay home sick.

On the other hand, Talia was happy to be able to have conversations with people outside the league. She was hopeful of possibly making a new friend…. Or Damian making a friend would also be wonderful in her opinion. But that didn't mean she saw the convention as completely positive, though. She was ending up in front of a mountain of donuts when she hardly ever got access to anything sugary…. Which may sound like paradise, but it also completely rid her of her impulse control. Meaning she always ended up sick, no matter how hard she tried to control herself. Before Alliance day had begun, she had promised herself this year would be different. But was breaking a promise to yourself really all that bad?

Talia went over to the donut table to get what she told herself would only be one donut. But who knew what others she would end up getting before the night was over? Either way, she was going to try to focus on the social parts of the convention. Before she could even start a conversation with someone, though, a villain approached her.

He wore a metal mask that was half orange and half black. Only one eye peeking out through a hole in the mask, she recognized the man as Deathstroke. He made a small, quick, bow as he came up to her.

"You're Deathstroke… I mean, I'm Deathstroke! And I'm Talia Al Ghul -I mean you're Talia Al Ghul- Sorry…." He fumbled with his words as he introduced himself. Even a fool could tell that he was nervous around her because he had feelings for her. On the other hand, they had just met and Talia in no way found him attractive. He seemed dumb to her, just standing there awkwardly. She had even heard of him doing some pretty bad things… Other than killing people, of course.

"I know who you are. I've heard you're an, um, quite advanced villain." She tried to ignore his feelings for her and make the conversation a good one.

"So.. how has your day been? I hope it's been as beautiful as you…" Deathstroke attempted to flirt with her. She had decided to make it as obvious as possible that she wasn't interested, though, as long as she didn't completely give away that she knew he liked her.

"So either you think I'm beautiful and wish for me to have a good day… Or you think I'm absolutely ugly and want me to have a horrible day." She processed his flirting aloud.

"Uh… The first one," Deathstroke turned red in embarrassment.

"Good," She stated. They both stood in silence for a while until Talia blurted out a lie to get him off her tail, "As long as we're making small talk, I want you to know that I'm lesbian." At least it was only half a lie. She was bisexual, but telling him the truth wasn't going to get him off her tail at all. It would only prove that her falling in love with him wasn't impossible.

"You are?" Deathstroke's cheeks turned red once again. He had no idea that she was in love with Batman, otherwise he would've known instantly that she was fibbing. Instead, he had totally been left heartbroken.

"I've heard some things about you… I don't know if they're just rumors, but I want answers." She glared at him accusingly, "Who was Terra? I heard you were abusing and manipulating her, even though she was only an innocent child."

"Innocent?!" Deathstroke found this statement ridiculous, "The girl killed me, for goodness sake!" Talia continued to glare at him.

"Well then how are you here talking to me right now? Hmm?" She questioned him.

"I made a deal with a demon to get my life back. I'm not lying, this really happened!" Deathstroke claimed, "By the way, you can't pick on me about how stupid it is to make a a deal with a demon. He may have betrayed me, but at least it did work out and your last name literally means "Of the demon", so…"

"How do I know you're not lying to me? Besides, even if that's true, was that after or before you abused her? If it was after, she kind of had the right…" Talia crossed her arms at Deathstroke.

"I didn't abuse her!" He lied. Normally, he wasn't ashamed of this, but she definitely found what he did wrong, so he didn't want to make her angry.

"I'm not sure I believe that." Talia may have killed people before, but she was not okay with hurting children. "By the way, what about your first apprentice? The "mysterious" one? He just disappeared. What happened?"

"He um… The Teen Titans killed him!" Deathstroke made up, "Those horrid children!"

"What was his name?" Talia questioned him.

"Uh… Bob?" Deathstroke went with the first name he thought of.

"Bob? You expect me to believe this? You obviously killed him or something!" Talia spectualted. But no matter how much she tried, she was sure he wasn't going to crack if she just kept asking him questions. So she decided she had to be clever and trick him into telling her, "Wait a second, you're right. That does seem like it could be real. Since you seem to have so much experience taking care of children, I was wondering if I could possibly get your advice on something with Damian. He's getting pretty disobedient and I'm thinking it's time to do some physical punishment with him…" This was obviously a lie, so it was perfectly possible he'd just see through the trick, but it was worth a shot.

"Well, there's beating, whipping, or if you're going to go soft, spanking. I personally use beating..." Deathstroke accidentally suggested some pretty bad stuff.

"I knew it, you monster! Beating is child abuse!" Talia accused. She shoved him against a wall, clutching his throat, making him gasp for air. "If you even touch Damian, I will cut off the body part you used to hurt him, and injure you until you bleed to death." She warned.

"I won't hurt him! I promise!" Deathstroke pleaded, barely able to get the words out as she suffocated him.

"You better not," Talia let him go, crossing her arms at him as he fled away.

Well that didn't go very well…. Deathstroke thought, At least she didn't shoot my eye out, like last time something like this happened. He thought of Adeline Kane, his ex-wife.

Meanwhile, Damian rushed over to the stack of donuts to grab one. He munched on it as he searched for someone to talk to.

"Greetings," He walked up to a girl. She was a young adult, but still one of the closest people to his age. She flicked her black hair into the air, scanning the room for anyone around her age, barely noticing when a little boy approached her.

"Uh… Hey. So are you looking for your mommy or something?" She stared down at the little guy. He crossed his arms at her assumption that he was in need of help from her.

"No, I know where Mother is." He stated, "What is your name? Why didn't you bow at me? I am superior to you, and you should know that! Can't you recognize me?" He questioned her impatiently. He was positive that she should know who the heir of the "Great Ra's Al Ghul" is. But she simply squinted her eyes at him, as if trying to remember if they'd met.

"My name's Blackfire…. Have we met or something? By the way, I don't bow. To anyone. Especially not toddlers…" She rolled her eyes, thinking he was just a stuck up little kid who thought he was the star of the world. But this only aggravated Damian more.

"I'm not a toddler! I'm eight-years-old! And mentally I'm a thousand!" He exclaimed, "We've never met before, but I'm an important enough person you should know who I am!" Damian couldn't take the way she was treating him like he was just your average child.

"Sure you are, Honey. Sure you are." Blackfire humored him sarcastically, "Seriously, kid. Mental ages don't exist, and you're not the star of the world. As a real live princess, I can assure you you're no better than me." She obviously didn't know who he was, or that he had an enormous league filled with high trained assassins as his inheritance. Damian had just about had it.

"I'm Damian Al Ghul!" He announced proudly, expecting her to instantly apologize and plead for forgiveness.

"Uh… Doesn't ring a bell…" Blackfire replied.

"Let me try again. Damian Al Ghul," He emphasised his last name.

"Still nothing," Blackfire stated, "Look, Kid. I'm not gonna keep playing this little game with you forever."

"Wait! My grandfather is Ra's Al Ghul! The Demon's head! You have to know him!" Damian stopped her from leaving. She shrugged yet again.

"Maybe your grandpa is some sorta celebrity… But for goodness sake, I'm an alien! I've only been on earth for a few years. How do you expect me to know everything?" She asked him.

"How do you not know who's hosting this year's Alliance day?" Damian questioned her more.

"I don't know… I don't pay all that attention to those things. I guess your grandpa's a villain or something? I don't know every villain there ever was, you know." She shrugged.

"He is one of the greatest masterminds ever!" Damian exclaimed, "Actually, he's not only one of the greatest, he is the greatest!"

"Uh… Sounds like he's a narcissist of something. Not that we villains aren't all a little narcissistic, but he seems really into himself." She insulted him, "What makes him so great? That he doesn't have to use a cane or something! How old is this guy that something like that is impressive?" Blackfire joked.

"He's 500… Or something like that. He lost track." Damian declared, making Blackfire burst out laughing. Damian couldn't seem to figure out why, though. His grandfather was that old, no doubt about it. But she was still practically crying with laughter.

To Be Continued

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The more she thought about it, the more Deathstroke taking Damian made sense. Deathstroke had a history of kidnaping, or "illegally adopting" kids and turning them into his apprentice using abuse and manipulation. He always only chose kids that had some sort of training or powers. Damian had training, lots of it. For his age, he was an unbelievably good fighter. He would make the perfect apprentice. In addition, he didn't even need to be manipulated into thinking that killing was right. The child had already killed a fair amount of people. There was no way she was wrong about Deathstroke being the one responsible for taking him.

After lots and lots of searching in other rooms and even other villain's cars, Talia decided she was sick of looking in places that Damian obviously wasn't. Deathstroke had abducted him, and she wasn't going to let Deathstroke keep telling her otherwise.

"That's it, Deathstroke. I believe it's about time you admit that you have him." Talia turned around to face Deathstroke, "Where is he? Tell me NOW."

"But I didn't take him! Please, I don't know where he is!" He replied, "There are tons of villains here who abduct kids. God, even your father abducts kids sometimes! Why would it be me, out of all people? I'm the one that's been helping you look!"

"But we've looked in most of the other villain's cars. You can't hide it anymore. I'm going to search your car, and when I find Damian, you will pay." She marched off. Deathstroke wasn't worried, though, as he had no such child in his car.

When Talia came out with nothing, she was baffled. He must have already managed to get Damian to his hideout. But it wasn't like he was just going to bring her back to his hideout to search, especially if Damian truly was there. As much as she was sure Deathstroke still had him, she figured checking around the League of Assassins headquarters a little more couldn't hurt, in case she was wrong.

She looked around, and after a while of searching, came across the medical area. Not exactly sure why she thought he could be in there, she wandered in. To her surprise, she found both Damian and Ra's inside.

She threw her arms around Damian, "Damian, you're okay!" she exclaimed. Talia kissed him all over his head, "I was so worried." Damian was puzzled by the big reaction.

Deathstroke, who had been following her, smirked underneath his mask. "Looks like I was right about your father being the child-abductor. Talia, I think you owe me an apology."

"I don't think I do. You're the one that's bad enough it was so believable you'd take him." Talia refused, "Just go back to the party." As annoyed as he was, Deathstroke figured there was no point fussing about some stupid apology. He made his way back to the stack of donuts.

"Father, why did you two go over here? I was so worried!" Talia asked.

"It seems Damian has been, well, hallucinating…." Ra's explained, "He imagined a guest saying that I couldn't be real. It's quite an odd thing to hallucinate, but we couldn't find the guest anywhere, and it had only been a minute since he'd had the conversation with her."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Talia questioned, "Is he okay now? Do you know?"

"The doctors say everything seems normal, so as long as nothing like this happens again I believe we're not supposed to worry." Ra's assured her.

"That's good. As long as it's nothing serious…" She looked down at Damian and ruffled his hair.

"I'm fine, Mother. Now may we go back and keep having those delicious little… donuts, are they?" Damian, knowing this was one of his only times to have anything very sweet, wanted to get back to the Alliance day convention quickly.

"Okay, just be careful around Deathstroke. I believe he might have the intentions of kidnaping you. In fact, Father, can you just kick him out? I'm sure it would be much safer for Damian that way." Talia insisted.

"Has he done something wrong?" Ra's asked, "If he hasn't done anything wrong, there's no reason for me to kick him out."

"Hmm…." Talia thought about what had just happened. Technically he hadn't ended up being the cause of Damian's disappearance, and it wasn't like her father was going to take kidnaping kids and abusing them as something wrong. It was really only her that thought hurting children was wrong. But there had to be something she could get him kicked out for, right? He had technically slightly insulted Ra's when he said, "Looks like I was right about Ra's being the child-abductor," as that was implying that Ra's couldn't take his Grandson over to the medical area if he thought it was needed. But she didn't want to get him kicked out for that, since even she wished Ra's would've at least told her before taking Damian over. Besides, even if she did want to get him kicked out for that, it most likely wasn't enough. Luckily, the party would soon be over and then everyone would be kicked out, except her, Damian, Ra's, and the rest of the league obviously.

"Um…. Not much," She admitted.

"Well, we don't kick people out for 'Not much', daughter. Just go back to eating donuts and doing whatever else you want at the convention." Ra's began to walk out of the medical area.

Talia followed, thinking that this time she'd keep a much closer eye on Damian… Although there was something she had to do quickly before she went back to the convention, and figured that Damian would be okay for just a few minutes.

Later, once the convention had ended, Deathstroke left. But after only a few minutes of driving home, his car stopped. He got out to see why, and noticed some large rocks sticking out next to the tires. Weird. But then he noticed two superheroes standing in front of him, one that he was much more terrified of than the other.

Terra and Nightwing. Both of his apprentices. They may not have been in a volcano, which was basically how Terra managed to kill him the first time, but he had every right to panic.

"Stop right there, Slade!" NIghtwing exclaimed, "We've got you between a rock and a hard place." Deathstroke looked at the rocks in his tires. Nightwing may have been getting stronger since being the little, easy-to-beat, Robin, Deathstroke loved taunting with the fact that he could always defeat, but he had also been getting more, well, punny.

"Yeah… If I can kill you once, I can kill you twice, right? I'd hand yourself over to the police, if I were you. They're a lot better to be dealing with than me." Ever since Terra had come back to life, she had loved freaking him out like this. The Titans, who both of these guys were members of, technically had a rule against killing, but that didn't mean she couldn't threaten all she wanted. And, despite her not actually planning on killing him, it always freaked Deathstroke out anyway.

"I…. I think I'll do that now." Deathstroke stuttered.

"But Terra, don't we want to at least beat him around a little… Give him a sense of justice?" Nightwing asked. He didn't normally go out of his way to beat around criminals, but he was still upset about how Deathstroke blackmailed him into being his apprentice with his friend's lives. Plus all the rest of the sleepless nights Deathstroke caused.

"Who says we can't? It could be a while until the police arrive, and he deserves it." She threw a large rock at Deathstroke's arm as Nightwing kicked him in the chest.

"Y'know, you may think this is bad, Slade, but you're still lucky Raven's not here. She would have completely done destroyed you. Remember? Even back when you were hurting her she could beat you." Nightwing reminded Deathstroke.

Meanwhile, Talia smiled as she talked to Damian, "Don't worry, Sweetheart, the child-abuser got what he deserved. I made sure of it." She said as Deathstroke was getting shoved to the ground only a few miles away, "That's what he gets for thinking about hurting you… I'm sure he was at least thinking about it."

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