tushanshu_logs

Current Mood: careful

Entry tags:

Open

Characters: Damian and Bruce Wayne, Robin (

demon_brat) and Robin (

hackingyoursensors), and also Robin (

demon_brat) and anyone!
Location: Here, there, and everywhere. Mostly rooftops, probably a lot in the Metal and Fire sections.
Situation: Meet Robin, if you wish!
Warnings/Rating: TW for child abuse. Because it's Damian.
A/N: Prose or actionspam welcome. Thread headers for Bruce and Dick, anyone else who wants to meet or talk with Robin, welcome after that!

It took Damian a couple of days after Grayson showed up to return to his, ah, usual levels of visibility. After that first conversation, he did his best to vanish out of sight, making sure not to fall into his usual patterns of anger at circumstances he did not welcome. Because neither Father nor Grayson would approve - his Grayson, this one had no reason to care - and the urge to not fail his Batman was suddenly double strong. Or, at least, more explicit.

Eventually, almost a full day later, he found his way to his Father's suite.

And the next night, and the one after that, he was cautiously back to patrol.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

And that wasn't, by far, the first time Damian's killed. Though it was just about the last.

"Mother," he spits in an answer to Grayson's question. Then, after a moment, adds, "Grandfather only wanted my body trained, he was not concerned with what I would choose to do, unlike her."

And that is a whole different can of worms.

Oh, and Todd does believe he's fighting the good fight, too. Maybe not the one here, yet, but the one back home. Where does that leave things, with the rules of the Bat?

Really, everything Damian says just compounds Dick's confusion. Okay, so his mother wanted him trained as an assassin-- someone meant to rule the world and strike down anyone who gets in his way. He understood the logic, as twisted as it was. But...

"What did Ra's want with your body?"

That sounds very, very strange. And a little creepy.

"It." Damian's teeth flash in a not-smile in the eerie light.

Then he clarifies.

"Eventually, the Lazarus Pit was not enough to keep him alive. But he wouldn't let go, and possessing other people... didn't work out that well for him. So it had to be flesh of his flesh, what he was preparing me for.

"He is currently inhabiting the body of the White Ghost, a son he considered... defective."

Did Damian look to you as younger than you, Dick? Let's say that he is a pro at creepy, his short life more than filled with the weird and the hurtful, and the nearly flippant way he explains this part of things (too angry, still, to be flippant, and the tension still leaks in his voice. Though not fear) might just provide an inkling about that.

Dick looks disgusted and shocked. The more Damian talks about his life, the more it sounds like some twisted nightmare. This? This was somehow the worst. Dick isn't and never will be a fan of Ra's but this is way beyond what he could've ever imagined Ra's would do.

"That's.... that's disgusting! I knew he was messed up but this is on a whole new level."

Damian is... a little surprised. By how strong the reaction is - back when it happened, sure, Grayson fought to protect him (or the Manor, whatever), but he didn't react anything like this.

But he just shrugs. "So aiming to be Father or Grandfather? It is not a very complicated choice."

Of course, it is more complicated than this.

To be fair, Dick is young enough that something like this is way more shocking than it probably will be when he's older and seen more of the depravity of the world. Not that he's sheltered: it's just a matter of probability and experience.

"Considering your options, yeah, it's a no-brainer."

As a matter of fact, Father told him about the differences in a person between, well, the age of this Grayson and the one he knows, but it's still something Damian has to actually learn first hand. And, let's be real, he rarely learns well in other ways, not the people stuff, anyway.

"Exactly."

So he also wants to be the best Batman. Is that surprising?

"But I still don't get it-- why is it an either-or choice?"

Then again, wasn't he doing the same thing? Trying to grow up to be Batman, because that was obviously what he's supposed to do?

"Why would I settle for anything less?"

And this is... as good an answer as Damian can think of.

Dick pauses to think. He could ask more questions, but he's not sure Damian will really understand. His understanding of the world seems a little inflexible. But nobody really gave him choices. Conquer the world, become Batman, be tied to your bloodline one way or another.

"So you think there's nothing better than being Batman?"

Better... is not the exact word Damian would have used. Greater, maybe. Or worthier.

At the question asked like this... he shrugs. "Is there?"

That makes Dick really stop and think. Was there really anything better than being Batman? It... depends.

"It depends on what you want out of life, I guess."

And Damian... just looks at him. Not scowling, not smiling, just a steady look from behind the green domino mask.

Because that is a problem. Knowing what he wants. He's been taught he has the right to rule the world. To tame it and make it his own. He's been taught that life is worthless and it could be taken at will or whim. He's been taught, later, that life is the most important, that people's safety matters and crimes are to be fought.

And, aside from not wanting to see children hurt? He does not know what he wants.

After few minutes of silence, he looks away.

">Tt.<"

He smiles a little.

"If it helps, most people can't answer that question. Not even most adults."

"Do you?"

It's just... filler. A retort. In a way, Damian knows the answer already; and also... no. The fact that most people can't answer it helps not at all. Damian is not most people; he's never been supposed to be. Being put under a common denominator with them?

He does not like that at all.

"I have a general idea."

Fighting crime, saving people. He knew he wanted to do that for as long as he could. But as Dick Grayson? That was a little trickier.

And, at that, Damian just... decided to go with the first thought that popped in his head. Which was... a tease. With barbs, sure, but the barbs were unlikely to snag on this young Grayson. He thought.

"You have a plan?"

He just smiles.

"Not really."

And Damian shoots him a look.

"I... don't understand you. At all."

Dick, meanwhile, looks amused.

"I hear that a lot."

Wait, what?

"... not where I come from."

"Let's just say some of my teammates think I'm a little strange."

Because he kind of is.

This... is as close as Damian is likely to get to a joke.

"Then consider what they would think of me."

Deadpan. And, no, Damian doesn't care what strangers think of him. But it... seems appropriate. And sufficiently mean without actually hurting anyone.

"They'd probably assume that being strange is a Robin requirement. I think you'd like Aqualad, though."

He's sensible and calm. Who couldn't like Aqualad?

"... you are not strange. From what I can tell about most people's standards. And >Tt.< "

... ... somebody who generally doesn't do a lot of liking?

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