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Damian wasn't sure who he hated more right now.
Grayson for dumping him here, his father and brothers for getting caught, or the Joker. Probably Joker... or Grayson. He didn't deserve to be Richard right now. Not after leaving him in the cave to fight the dangerous rogue on his own. But Garyson had told him that someone needed to keep an eye on Thomas in case watching the cowl footage triggered him. Thomas seemed fine standing next to Damian. Half dressed in his signal costume and watching the same screen as Father got beaten up. Damian started petting Titus absently as the big dog leaned against him. The Joker wasn't monologuing for once which saved them all from hearing his grating voice, but it also meant they didn't know what he was planning.
Damian didn't like that. The feed shook, presumably as Todd struggled from where he was behind Father. Drake was separate from the two, kneeling chained to the floor.
“Now as much as this has been fun, I can’t forget the best part” Damian didn't like the sound of that “... you ruined my plan, such a smart little bird. But too bad…” the Joker went over to Drake grabbing his hair and forcing his head up. Then he paused, a second of silence and Damian saw a flicker of…something before the maniac’s grin grew impossibly wider.
“Oh, now that’s a great punchline…” another irritating giggle “You know that’s my favorite game?”
Drake's jaw tightened reminding Damian of the one and only traitor he had ever seen in The Cradle. Defiant, even on her knees staring down Grandfather. A woman who knew the face of death and chose it anyway. At the time Damain had thought the woman was foolish, it wasn't hard to just go along with the Demon head. Now seeing the look on Drake's face Damian understood what his mother had warned him about. To let people see a face of rebellion killed is to create a martyr Dami.. A broadcast of Red Robin’s face staring defiantly even on his knees, at the mercy of the Joker looked like a death scene from the movies Grayson scolded Todd for showing him. The start of a rebellion.
“Yes, yes break the guide, make them go insane. Break the guide to hear their screams. Shame Harley isn’t here she always loved…” As Drake snapped an answer Damian noticed that Thomas had frozen, looking at the screen unseeing. Before Damain could remember how to handle this, he felt his blood freeze.
“I’ll just have to use you instead.”
***
Damian was five the first time his mother explained الْمُبَارَك to him. She was an الجسم الْمُبَارَك, meaning she had extreme control over her senses. There was also عَقْلمُبارك who had control over their minds and could even use them to fight. After that Damian realized that Grandfather was obsessed with الْمُبَارَك. He was expected to be one. He hoped he would be like his mother, الجسم الْمُبَارَك,completely in control of his body.
Then when he was eight Grandfather had him watch two عَقْلمُبارك fight. It had been one of the most boring things he'd seen. The two just stood there till one of them had dropped whimpering to the floor. The looser had been taken away never to be seen again. Grandfather had then told him that a strong enough عَقْلمُبارك could kill a man with his mind, and if he ever found one, they would be his consort or his heir. The message had been clear, Damian needed to be a عَقْلمُبارك. But he hadn't come online before being shipped off to father who seemed neutral on the topic, but no one spoke a word about الْمُبَارَك or Guides and Sentinels as the Americans called them, unless it related to a case, so he had assumed that it was a taboo topic.
None of his Father's charity cases had been الْمُبَارَك so Damain had assumed that it was something he could hold over them. That was until he had overheard how Father had talked about a Guide during a case, similar to how he talked about Metas. Damiain had assumed that Father hated them. Then Thomas had come around and Damain had other things to worry about.
As the Joker laughed and held Drake's face Damain was reminded of that fight. This was different. That had been careful, controlled. This was….manic. The Joker laughing and Drake had tears slipping out of his mask and Damain felt his gut sour. Only عَقْلمُبارك faught like this
Drake is a guide. Drake who played chess like his Grandfather.
When Damian had been adjusting to fathers return, he had gone back through the files of the other Robins. Richard had been angry and angsty at first. Todd had been surprisingly happy if unsure. Brown reckless. Drake… Drakes early days as robin were under documented, then Drake had vanished for a few months and came back with a grace that anyone trained enough could recognize as Lady Shivas work. As Damian had watched recordings from the cave and observed during patrols he'd came to an uncomfortable conclusion. Drake had been the one holding his family together. Richard may have pretended to be the emotional core of the group, but Drake was the one holding the strings together. He was smart, competent and happy despite everything. Then he’d brought father back from the dead and he was different, more deadly, and somehow more secretive. Damian had decided that he wanted to befriend and possibly , if Drake wanted it, give being brothers another chance.
Then Drake had gotten close with Todd and Damian had felt…jealous. He wanted to be the one to bring Drake back, to help ease the tension in Father's shoulders whenever he looked at the empty chair or station in the cave. Later the feeling had curdled when Damain realized doing so would only have served himself. Drake…Timothey coming back to the family only helped him. Thus chess. It had been an attempted olive branch on Timothys end early on and Damian hoped he could use it now.
He hadn't expected Timothy to agree, nor for Todd to hang around but he could adapt. Damian had been prepared to play the same confusing game of moves that made no sense until the end. Instead, it was like playing Grandfather. Frustrating early memories of losing to him and being told to do better. He wasn't even upset when he lost because he was reeling from the truth.
While he had been gone Drake had not only met grandfather but spent enough time with him to start playing chess like him. When they had talked and started using a metaphor for Timothey's time away, and the revel that it had been a stalemate Damian had felt something fierce. He had never managed a stale mate against his grandfather.
Damian knew he could be…sour at times. His Kent had told him so.
But right now watching as Todd knelt over Drake as the Joker screamed in a pose mirroring that Guide all those years ago Damian knew he would sell his very soul if it meant Ra's would never get his claws on his older brother again.