Chapter Text
Two months, two months passed !, and nothing. Bruce didn't know how to contain his frustration anymore. He did everything, deployed everyone he could, and NOTHING !.
Every moment he spent trying to find Damien , was filled with expectations and hope to find a clue. And every time he didn't make any progress, he went deeper and deeper into the deep hole he dug for himself mentally. He knows he's not ok , somewhere deep inside he knows, not that it helps him , or stops him.
Dick saw it too, that's why he confronted him, not that Bruce listened.
"You're acting like it was when Jason died, you're destroying yourself Bruce" The desperation in Dick's voice almost broke Bruce , almost .
"This is different, do not compare the cases" Bruce scolded his eldest son.
"But it is the same, you can't see where you're spiraling into again, how do you expect to find Damian like this?" Dick threw his hands up in question, he was still wearing his costume, he had just returned from Europe after a month of searching for Damien. He had returned to a broken family, Alfred had welcomed him, but Bruce had not, he was still in the cave, still searching, Alfred had informed him that he had not been out of there except to search for the last two weeks, since he had returned from his trip around the world. Alfred had told him it was bad. And Dick could not sit still and watch it, could not sit by again, not after he had not been there when Jason ..
"So now it is my fault that we cannot find him?" Bruce narrowed his eyes in anger at Dick's comment.
"Don't twist my words, that is not what I meant" Dick replied aggressively. He knew what he was getting into, going head to head with his dad in such a mood was usually hopeless, but Dick would be damned if he wouldn't at least try to set some sense into him.
"I'm doing everything I can to find him" Bruce growled bitterly.
"I know"
"I activated the League like way you wanted" he continued.
"I know"
Bruce breathed heavily, sleep deprivation clouding his senses , he knew what he wanted to say, he knew, he just, Damian, Damian is gone, he can't find him, he ..
"I'm doing everything.."
"I know" Dick replied again, and this time he also came closer to standing in front of his father, he was still taller than him, Dick stopped maturing a long time ago, he knows that he would never outgrow his dad's height, he used to want to, wish he was taller than Bruce, because it would be funny. His father had always looked more threatening like this, tall, a head above Dick, but now, when he was in this state, he looked so vulnerable, Dick was glad it was just the two of them here in the cave.
"Dick we can't find him, we can't find him and it's driving him crazy" Bruce put both hands on his face, Dick saw that he was shaking, just a little, but it was there. He put a hand on the shoulder of his father, Batman, who is supposed to be the strongest and scariest person there is, that all criminals, and heroes, are afraid of.
"We will find him, he's out there, I'm sure of it". He must keep hope, hope that they will find his little brother, he hasn't had time to connect with him enough yet, hasn't had time to break down Damian's walls down , to integrate him into the family, he hasn't had time to hear Damian call him by his name yet, Grayson doesn't count. They must find him.
"But in what condition?" Bruce became serious again, his hands coming down from his face.
"Bruce.."
"What good would it do to find him now, after we failed him for two months" His expression turned dark.
"We're doing everything we can..." Dick tried to argue.
" No , we're not" and then Bruce walked away, leaving Dick standing there, without looking back, and got into his Batmobile. That had been a good few hours ago, no one had tried to contact him since. He knew he had been unavailable to his children, the last two months, he had brought out a side of him that he hoped his children would never have to see, in Dick and Tim's case, never again. He drove to one of his safe houses in the city. The drive did little to calm his nerves. He entered the house, the dust that had accumulated not even visible to his tired eyes. He slammed the door behind him and made his way to the couch. But then he regretted it, and made his way to the liquor cabinet, he stared at the cabinet for a few long seconds, debating whether to take his grief out on booze, and the booze had won.
He promised himself he wouldn't do it, wouldn't be like a typical man who runs away to alcohol, but he needed something to help him relax, forget, fall asleep. Another glass and another glass, the bottle of brandy was now lying on the table, spilling what little was left in it, the glass cup was loose in his hand, almost falling, and he couldn't give a slight damn.
His alertness was slipping in and out of consciousness, everything was spinning every time he opened his eyes. Only one thought haunted him, Damian. Then, one after the other, the other thoughts started flowing, why hadn't he made contact by now? Is he alive? Is he injured? What is Omar doing to him? How has he not found him yet? He's a terrible father . He left his son in the hands of a pedophile for two months, he's supposed to be Batman, the best detective in the world, and he's not even capable of finding his son.
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Tim has known sorrow in his life, he's known sorrow when his parents abandoned him and then when they died, he's known sorrow every time he failed a mission and a civilian was killed or injured because of it, he's known sorrow when his teammates were injured or killed. But sorrow like this, he hasn't known yet. He didn't think, didn't imagine he'd feel this way about the spawn demon. But here he is, two months later, and still no Damian. Maybe it's the desire to solve the mystery, to close the case, he can say that, say he doesn't really care about the brat, people will believe him, he hasn't exactly been on good terms with Damian, ever, well, in the months he's been at the mansion, which is never for Tim.
So he can say that, pretend that it doesn't really hurt him not to wake up every morning and see Damian at the dining table in front of him, that he doesn't really miss Damian's snobbish comments, that it's not really hard for him to see the whole family falling apart because of his disappearances. No, he couldn't really, he could at first, but when it became a routine, living without Damian, waking up every morning and knowing that his little brother, his 9 year old brother, wasn't home and safe, he couldn't pretend anymore.
But no one really asked him about it actually, no one in the family had really talked to each other lately anyway. Tim understood , he wasn't exactly a fan of talking about personal matters. But it was getting too much. It was becoming like it had been after Jason died . Only worse. Because Jason was here now, and there were other people, it wasn't just him and Bruce and Alfred.
Tim really hoped he wouldn't end up in this situation again, the situation where he had to piece this family together from fragments. The situation where he pulled Bruce to wash his face after he passed out on the couch. But that was exactly the situation Tim found himself in. He looked at the person he had thought of, for the past six years, as his dad, lying on the couch, passed out, drunk. Wow. Yeah, Tim didn't ever want to end up in this situation again. But after Dick called, well, he had no choice.
"It's bad Tim, he's not listening, he wouldn't even let me start trying to convince him " Dick said over the phone, and Tim knew it was bad, because Dick always tries to shield them from the truth and the hard stuff, and now he's unpacking everything.
"How did you do it? How did you get him out of it last time?" Dick sounded desperate, scared even, Tim understood him. He knows how important Bruce is to Dick, not that Bruce isn't important to him too, but Dick, he's the oldest, he's holding this family on his shoulders, he's Bruce's son for more years than he was his parents' . Watching his dad fall apart like this, and not being able to help, is hard. And adding to the fact that all this is happening because Damian is missing, doesn't help. Dick is really the only one, the only one !, that Damian has tolerated, or liked, it's hard to tell with Damian. But he's truly the only one he could talk to without being in danger of being stabbed. And Dick bonded with Damian, and as impossible as it sounded, it happened, causing him to spiral into his own kind of depression. Strange. But that's how Dick is, Tim is sure he's actually a fairy, he'll one day prove his theory.
But back to the problem at hand, Bruce, who's passed out on the couch so hard that he doesn't notice Tim's presence in the room, which is worrying, or he's ignoring him, Tim lifted Bruce's hand, and let it fall back on its own, okay, not ignoring, passing out then. He made his way to the kitchen, "Where does he keep the glasses in this place?" he muttered to himself, Bruce really could be the most untidy person there is for someone who grew up with an English butler. He finally found a glass and filled it with water.
He had a slight hesitation, as he stood over his dad with a glass of cold water, but that hesitation flew out the window when Bruce let out a snore . It also completely melted when he saw his face contort into complete surprise and panic from the water that had been spilled on him.
"Bruce, get up " he said and took a step back, just in case, Bruce was still Batman.
Bruce groaned, it took him a few seconds to look at Tim, but he finally focused his eyes on his son and sighed.
"You should come home, it's morning already" Tim continued, he placed the glass on the table. Bruce didn't answer him, just sat down more comfortably on the couch. It was always annoying, not getting an answer from Bruce, Tim liked to imagine that he was answering in his head, and accordingly continue the conversation.
"You still have a point , Damian is not lost forever" this earned him another look and a sigh. With that Bruce got up from the couch, he bypassed Tim and walked towards the balcony.
"I have an idea how to get him back " Tim said , he didn't have to turn around to know that Bruce had stopped. They were with their backs to each other, Tim wondering if Bruce would give in to his curiosity , Tim patient , he could wait for an answer.
"How?" Bruce's voice was tired, not just tired, exhausted.
"There's one person we haven't contacted, Enchantress" Tim heard Bruce turn around, his feet dragging on the floor.
"Enchantress?" he said in disbelief.
"She can find him" Tim turned around too, he looked at his dad, his expression unreadable, as it should be.
"How do you know?" Bruce's eyes narrowed suspiciously.
Tim shifted uncomfortably , he knew he would have to reveal this to someone eventually , he just didn't think he would do it now. "I've become .... interested in magic, dark magic to be exact. There's a spell that only someone who practices blood magic can perform , it can locate people" Tim explained , he tried to keep eye contact with Bruce, but it was hard , because it was Bruce, and it seemed like he was looking into your soul.
"And why haven't we done it yet?" Bruce asked with renewed suspicion. He studied Tim, he saw his discomfort, he considered whether to ask more , whether to investigate further, the hangover that had been the most resonant thing in his head a second ago suddenly passed.
"Because it's dangerous, and blood magic has a price, that's why Zatana didn't suggest it, she doesn't do things like that" Tim explained.
Bruce was silent , he continued to stare at Tim, who had already averted his gaze long ago , he thought about the possibility in his head, not really thinking, more like wondering how he hadn't thought of resorting to dark magic, why it had taken his son two months to come up with the idea, but more importantly, would it work?
" Okay " he finally said.
Tim turned back to him in surprise, "Really?.
"Make the contact " Bruce said seriously , a new hope burning in his heart, he would do anything, pay anything, to get Damian back.
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Jason wasn't sure it would work, like everything else his family did, but this... come on, and worse, it came from Tim, fucking Tim. It's a bad, terrible idea, and it's weird that he's the only one who thinks it is, good thing Golden Boy didn't offer himself up as a sacrifice when he heard about the idea. Jason objected, said how stupid and fucking dangerous it was, but did anyone listen to him? No!. And now he's stuck in front of a scary house, literally horrifying like in the movies, with crows flying overhead and lightning and everything, fucking magic, he hates magic, and he thought Bruce hates magic too, why are they hereee ?.
He stood behind the group, Bruce in front with the replacement and DickBird, Duke behind them along with Cass and Steph, and Zatana next to Jason, equally unhappy with the idea. Jason doesn't know why she came at all, she was against it and told the old man as much, 'blood magic is dangerous blah blah blah', but he just assumes she's weird like all the other sorceresses, and wants to be around a creepy place like this. Or she wants to keep them from doing too much crazy shit, that's also a possibility. Jason doesn't care, he doesn't know why he came at all, he's busy, like really, there's a new drug lord breaking out in Crime Alley who's selling to kids. He, he's busy, he doesn't have time to keep coming to every family reunion thrown at him. He's busy.
But maybe, this is a way to find Damian.
Jason sighs dramatically behind his helmet as Batman , enters the scary house first , his siblings follow him like sheep to the slaughter, and Jason too, because he always has to be involved in all his family's dramas , it's a must , you need a funny guy in the group , he needs to play the role.
The house creaked and Jason swore it moved in several places, and houses aren't supposed to move, but they all looked equally terrified as him, so he was satisfied. He couldn't believe what he was willing to do to find the kid. A house of horrors ?. Fuck. He wouldn't have come in here if they had paid him all of Bruce's checking account money. Well, maybe. But for the munchkin? No way. At least not until some months ago.
He looked around, everything was cobwebs, and rats were running around, and this house was going to collapse on their heads any second. And he didn't really know Damian that well, he might be his brother legally, but really, they'd known each other for a few months. Even though that was a lie, because he lived with him in the league. But Jason didn't remember him, not really, and Damian didn't give any hint that he remembered Jason, he just said he knew he was there. So Jason wasn't connected, not really.
But he's a kid, he's supposed to protect kids, that's what Red Hood is all about, protecting messed up kids, and Damian is one royal messed up kid. Not his fault, but still. Jason still remembers the first few times he saw the kid, he was like a murderous angry Chihuahua, it was funny, even though he was the only one who found it funny . Then it got serious, with all the murder attempts, Jason had to take sides, and well, he'd known the others longer, he'd been more connected to them. He'd be lying if he didn't say he felt bad for the brat most of the time, he'd seen how alone, angry, and secretly scared he was, Jason had been like that once, but he couldn't connect with him either, they were too similar, and Jason had too much ego and a hot temper to slide by all the kid's attempts at insults. So he ignored him, threw insults at him when he saw fit, and let Dick deal with him, that's Dick's job anyway, he's the eldest, Jason is the second born, the crazy, irresponsible one, it's not his problem.
Now it's his problem, they haven't found the kid in months. At first he was seething with rage, then, he started to wonder if Damian even wanted to be found ?. He went back to the conversation they had the day Damian disappeared, about him not wearing short clothes. His siblings are so dense, he can't believe that him, him ! The only one who said a logical and real reason. Like, daaa , it's clear he's not confident in his body, Jason doesn't need to see the scars to know that the League of Assassins fucked this kid hard. But the conversation went deeper than that, it showed that none of them, in the months that the kid has been living with them, bothered to try to get to know him, not really. They know he loves animals, is vegan, and has a temper. But beyond that? They didn't know him, not that Damian had given them a chance.
So maybe they weren't important to the boy at all ? Maybe he preferred not to live with them ?.
Jason looked around as strong winds began to blow through the house , he caught sight of Bruce from the front, standing tall and looking to the sides , the others were in fighting stances, ready for whatever was coming. And it came. The witch appeared, hovering in front of Bruce.
"Batman" she giggled , Jason almost threw up when he saw the cockroaches crawling all over her. Repulsive .
"Enchantress, we're here to make a deal " Batman said. Jason held his gun in his hand , it was with real bullets, not rubber , not that Bruce needed to know that, but he wasn't going to take any chances with a psychotic witch.
"To find your lost songbird?" Enchantress smiled and flew away from Batman, now standing on the steps of the house.
The others looked at each other, probably wondering how she knew about it , "What do you want in return?" Tim asked, covering his eyes from the wind , the wind then stopped abruptly and everyone lowered their defenses a little.
"Ummmmm, what to want?" Enchantress muttered to herself, Bruce's patience was starting to fail, he didn't want all his children to come with him at all, it was too dangerous, but once Tim told Dick, who told the rest, it was too late. And now this witch was playing with their time, precious time they could fill looking for Damian.
" Nothing " she said, and Bruce hardened his expression under the mask.
"Nothing?" Dick asked in astonishment.
Duke looked towards Stephanie, who shrugged her shoulders unknowingly and went back to looking at the witch.
"Consider it a good deed, I hate to see a family torn apart " the witch said in a voice that Dick assumed was supposed to sound sweet and thoughtful, but it was so creepy that he wanted to get out of the house and never look back, it was madness, madness to try and trust a crazy witch, but what choice do they have?.
Batman said nothing , he stared at the witch behind his mask, thinking about the possibilities , the risk .
"What do you need to find him?" he asked , he didn't believe her , that she didn't want anything in return , she was hiding something, but he didn't have much bargaining power here.
"Blood" the witch smiled.
They followed her , Zatana hurried forward next to Bruce , to ask him again if he was sure he wanted to do this , his answer didn't change. They arrived at a dark room , it lit by candles with a purple flame when the witch waved her hand , it was full of inscriptions , Bruce recognized them from spell books he had studied and seen before , in the middle of the room was a high round table , engraved with a large number of symbols.
"To find the blood child, one must willingly lend their blood " the witch said and stood in front of the table , Bruce stood on the other side of him, his cloak hiding what was happening from his children so they had to enter the room and gather around him. Enchantress pulled a knife out of nowhere, and Tim couldn't help but roll his eyes , witches are always so theatrical.
Bruce took the knife, looking at it suspiciously , he raised his eyes to Enchantress, her face went serious. "Blood is needed" she hissed.
"What spell are you going to do?" Zatana asked , she didn't trust Enchantress for a second , this whole thing was a terrible idea, but what could she do ? Besides being there for her friend and his family in time of need ?.
"A vision spell " Enchantress said towards Zatana her smile turning menacing again.
"That's not a location spell " Tim said angrily .
"Blood is needed , to find the boy " Enchantress said again, ignoring the rest and looking directly at Batman.
Bruce hesitated for a moment, but then took off his glove and brought the knife to his palm, "Batman are you sure?" Dick asked worriedly.
"For Robin" Bruce replied, the knife slowly cutting through his skin and flesh, Bruce is not a fool, he knows how to cut himself to avoid hitting major nerves and preventing complications, it hurts, of course, but it's all worth it, if he finds Damian, it's all worth it. The witch smiled happily and grabbed Bruce's hand, she brought her face close to his hand, hovering over it for a few seconds, then she began to cast a spell, the words shooting out of her mouth rapidly. The room began to shake, Bruce could feel his children getting closer to each other, he couldn't move, he looked at his blood flying from his hand, and landing on the round table, it filled in the engraved symbols, symbol after symbol, then the witch pinned his hand to the middle of the table, looking him in the eyes as she continued to cast the spell. Her eyes turned black and her hair started flying in the air, Bruce used all his willpower not to throw her hand away from his, it's for Damian he told himself in his head.
Dick wondered when it would end, and what should end anyway. He didn't exactly know what was happening, or was supposed to happen, but he guessed that if Tim thought of it, it was a good idea. He looked up, and slowly white cuts began to appear in the air, he kept looking, it was mesmerizing.
"Pay attention, Batman " Enchantress said with a raspy and creepy laugh.
The cuts grew and turned into squares , all around the room they floated in the air, each one no bigger than a baking tray. Bruce looked at them, expecting something to happen, and then...
One of the squares turned from a white rectangle into an image, it was stars, then, it was Damian, Bruce's breath was caught, it was Damian, he was standing on a balcony, they saw his back, but it was him, he was bent into a telescope, then Omar appeared, behind him, his hand on his back, "What do you see?" he asked, Damian rose from the telescope with a smile, "Orion" he said happily, he looked at Omar with a big smile. Bruce's breath had not yet returned, Damian, it was Damian.
Another square lit up in , where they saw Damian running in the jungle, he was shoeless, with black clothes, he dodged branches and roots, jumping from tree to tree, his face filled with purpose, then a shadow appeared above him, a large one, Dick's eyes widened in panic, but then, a large red creature passed Damian and stood before him. Damian stopped, he panted a little and looked at the creature with a frown, "You are a cheat, are not supposed to fly" he said with a finger pointing at the creature . The creature came closer, Dick recognized it, it was the monster that took Damian with Omar, and to Dick's disgust, it stuck out its tongue and licked Damian all over. Damian screamed in disgust and started yelling at the monster, calling him Goliath over and over with a smile that only continued to grow on his face.
Tim looked to his side, where another window opened, this time they saw a large market full of people, they were dressed in colorful and old clothes, it seemed like they were seeing a view from someone's perspective, "Do you see the stall?" Omar's voice was heard, then the image moved and they saw hands grabbing someone's black hair, "Right! right!" Damian declared and giggled, Tim's gaze hardened, he tried to identify where they were, it seemed that Damian was on Omar's shoulders. "Okay okay, don't pull my hair" Omar giggled back. "But I am Rami, you are Luigi" Damian retorted and pulled again.
Stephanie looked above her, the new window began to show curtains, then the image moved and showed a children's room, decorated in star theme. Then, Damian, he was on a bed, next to him was Omar, Stephanie recognized him immediately, she looked in surprise, at Omar reading a story to Damian, it was a book she knew, 'The Hungry Caterpillar', a children's book. "You are not making the sounds....." Damian muttered, he had his head on Omar's shoulder, half asleep, Omar giggled, "Of course I am, you're just tired" he said, stroking Damian's face. "Not tired" Damian answered, but immediately yawned afterward. Omar's smile was soft as he watched Damian yawn.
Duke was shocked, he had never seen such magic before, he was a little scared, when a window appeared right in front of his face, and jumped back, everyone looked at his window, like until now every time they looked at another window that showed Damian, the window showed a wooden floor, you could hear crying from somewhere, then the window moved and showed Damian, sitting on Omar's lap, his face buried in the man's neck, sobbing hysterically. They were on the couch in a living room. "Shhh, shh baby" Omar comforted Damian, holding the back of his head with one hand, and with the other he stroked his back. "They took me" Damian sobbed hysterically, "It was just a dream my child, just a dream " Omar said and kissed the side of Damian's head. Damian continued to cry.
Cass felt the window open behind her and turned quickly to it, where she saw Damian, sitting on a swing outside, surrounded by a clear blue sea, sun, and a cloudless sky. "What are you doing today?" Omar was heard behind Damian, but Damian didn't turn around, and continued to look at the horizon, "Playing" he answered. Omar approached him, and put a hand on his shoulder, "With your dolls?" he asked and added a hand to Damian's other shoulder. Damian looked up at Omar, his cheeks were a little red, "They are not dolls, they are action playthings" he claimed with puffed out cheeks. Omar giggled, "Sorry mami, action playthings" he said, then he walked away from Damian, who turned back in confusion, Omar then picked up a package that was on the floor and returned to Damian, "Maybe you'll like this then.." he said with a side smile and handed him the package. Damian's eyes lit up, he took the package, thanked Omar and opened it excitedly, when he took out a Barbie doll from the box, his smile doubled. "A girl doll?" He said excitedly and stood up from the swing quickly. "I'm glad you like her" Omar said happily, "I have to introduce her to others" Damian hugged Omar and ran into the house quickly. The window showed Omar's face, he was happy, looking at Damian running into the house.
Jason exhaled quickly, all this information, Damian, he saw everything and couldn't believe it, he took two steps back but a shock of electricity ran through his hand, he turned with a shout from the pain, and saw the window next to him, he looked at the window, he saw the sea, it was blue and beautiful, still glassy, but with waves this time, and then, saw a hand, it was carrying a surfboard, it wasn't Damian, it was Omar. He was wearing a pair of swimming trunks, looking out at the sea. Jason felt the rage bubbling inside him, but then, Omar turned around, and Damian came into the frame, he had a surfboard in his hand too, and he set it down on the sand. He looked up at Omar and stood up, and Jason let out a gasp, Damian was dressed like Omar, with only a pair of swimming trunks, green with dinosaurs on it. He was about naked, Jason had never seen him without clothes. And, fuck. He was covered in so many fucking scars. "Fuck" Jason muttered, he could hear the rest of the family gasp as well, a few curses flew too.
"Are you ready my sunshine?" Omar asked with a smile. Damian looked at him with a smile of his own, "Ready to tear you apart" he teased lightly. "In your dreams " Omar said and ran into the water, Damian shouted after him that he was a cheater, picked up his surfboard and ran after Omar. He tackled him into the water with a battle cry. Then the window showed Omar and Damian surfing, Damian was great, but all Jason could see was his scars.
Zatana looked at the window that opened under her feet, she could recognize the boy, Damian, he stood in the dark, looking at the beach from the foot of the balcony, his form was stiff, as if he was waiting for someone to come, to attack. "Damian!" A man's voice was heard shouting, Damian turned around, "Time to shower and go to sleep" was heard again, and Damian without thinking twice, ran back to the house calling "I am coming baba", He closed the door behind him with a bang.
The windows stopped showing moments, and instead showed Damian's face, more and more windows were added, in some he was happy, laughing, in some he was crying, he was irritated. One last window opened above everyone on the ceiling, Damian could be seen in his room on the floor, on a moon rug, sitting sullenly with his feet crossed and his hands clasped. The door opened, but Damian didn't turn around, he frowned more and ignored the figure that entered the room and sat down next to him. "Are you done being angry?" Omar asked gently. Damian didn't answer, and turned himself to the side, "Damian..." Omar said tiredly.
"This is not fair" Damian shouted and turned to Omar , tears streamed down his cheeks, and a little snot came out of his nose , Omar made a sound of disapproval and wiped the snot from Damian's nose with his hand. "You're too young , we talked about it " he said stiffly.
"But I want to try at the very least" Damian argued and moved back from Omar's hand with a disgusted face.
Omar didn't accept it, his face leaning forward, "This is too dangerous" he said.
"I have done more dangerous things than that" Damian argued, tears still streaming down his face.
"My lobe, we talked about this, remember? What you did, it wasn't right, kids shouldn't do dangerous things like that, okay?" Omar said seriously.
Damian scrunched up his face like a little boy in a tantrum, but before he could say anything else Omar beat him to it , "Tigers are dangerous animals , they're not creatures to adopt, and definitely not to approach in the wild" he scolded the boy.
Damian scrunched his nose, crossing his arms higher, "He was different, he was a nice tiger" he argued.
"Nice huh? He told you that? Before or after he almost ate you?" Omar raised an eyebrow.
Damian smiled a little shyly, "He would have not caught me".
"Hmm.." Omar said and pushed Damian a little playfully.
"I am sorry" Damian sighed.
"I'm happy" Omar smiled a little.
"It was dangerous and stupid, and I promise to never approach another wild animal in the forest" Damian promised, now on his knees in front of Omar.
"And.." Omar tilted his head.
"And I would not run in the market anymore " Damian said and wiped the last tears from his eyes. Omar seemed satisfied , "Does that mean I am not grounded anymore?" He asked with a small, embarrassed smile.
"I don't know" Omar looked up and said questioningly.
Damian's eyes opened and he quickly latched onto the man "Uhh come on baba.... I have been here for an hour" he whined.
Omar laughed and lifted Damian up with him from the carpet , he put Damian on his hip and gave him a kiss on the cheek , "Little crybaby" he declared and rubbed his head against Damian's.
"You said I was allowed to cry" Damian whined again and moved his head away from Omar.
"Of course my moon , you are allowed to cry as much as you want , how about some baklava?" Omar said and started to walk with Damian out of the room.
" Yeahhh !" Damian cheered and kicked his feet excitedly.
The window stopped. Bruce continued to look at him, refusing to take his eyes off the picture of his son.
"Blood child, truly lost?" Enchantress said , Bruce almost forgot she was there , she let go of his hand , and walked away from him. He looked at her angrily , he didn't like what she intended in her sentence.
"The fuck?" Jason muttered.
"Be gone" Enchantress suddenly said threateningly. A second later they were enveloped in a black cloud, and when it dispersed, they were by the road , the house was gone. Bruce remained frozen, the wound on his hand bleeding onto the road. He continued to look at the hill that had housed the cabin a second ago. Images of Damian wouldn't leave his mind.
"Fuck, fuck, FUCK !" Jason shouted in frustration, he took off his helmet and threw it on the floor, it felt tight against my hand, suffocating. He needed air. No one stopped him, everyone was too busy with their own emotions, processing what they had seen.
Tim was the first to regroup , he quickly started playing with his arm computer , "My body camera recorded everything , we can extract information and try to locate the areas to find him" he said.
"Are you crazy ?" Jason shouted at him. Tim looked at him angrily. "Find him? Find him ?, what the fuck did we just see? What was that?" Jason continued to shout, his frustration at being the only one who found it completely crazy driving him mad.
"It was a vision spell" Zatana stepped forward , everyone's eyes were now on her. "She used Bruce's blood to connect with Damian , it showed us moments from his life" she explained.
Duke looked down, his face confused, "That's not what you meant Tim, is it?" he asked his brother.
Tim looked uncomfortable , "No, not exactly, but that's what we got , I can already try to run the location of the market to try to see where it is and ..".
"Why bother?" Dick stopped him, Cass and Stephanie looked at him in astonishment, and Tim also turned to his older brother in confusion. "What do you mean? The whole idea was to find him" Tim said.
Dick looked at Tim, his exhaustion was clear on his face, he looked empty, hollow, as if a part of him had been taken from him, it was scary, seeing their most optimistic team member become an empty shell of himself, for the last few months as well. But now, now Tim saw the severity of the situation.
"What's the point? You saw him" Dick said grimly, he let out a single laugh, mocking, "He's happy, he was so happy, why would he want to come back with us?".
"You're the one who pushed so hard for him to come back, for us to save him" Tim shouted at him.
Dick's face hardened and he stood up straight, "That's when I thought he wanted to go back, that he was kidnapped, not when he was more clearly happy there, he wasn't kidnapped, he was saved, saved from us " Dick said decisively.
"How can you say that?" Duke asked in astonishment.
"Why would he want to go back to us? He..."
" Enough " Bruce's voice stopped the conversation , he still had his back to everyone, but quickly turned and started walking towards the Batmobile without looking at everyone , "Red Robin, run the software to find the market and any clues you can gather from what you recorded" he ordered.
Tim nodded and went back to working on the computer on his arm.
"Bruce you can't be serious" Dick shouted at him angrily.
And Bruce stopped, "I'm going to get my son back " he told Dick, his voice was low and dangerous, one that Dick usually didn't argue with, but now ..
"He doesn't want to go back with you" Dick argued firmly.
" HE HAS NO SAY IN THE MATTER " Bruce exploded, his shout startled Stephanie who took a step back from them both. Dick stood his ground.
"So what are you going to do? lock him up in the mansion? never let him leave? kill Omar? Now you want to pay attention to him? Now you're showing concern? He's happy Bruce! You saw that!, he cried at the thought of us taking him away, if that hasn't shown you his desires then I don't know what will" Dick growled at his father. How could he be so emotionless? How could he still want to take Damian after what he saw ?.
Bruce didn't answer, his fist clenched at the side, blood still flowing from the cut, he channeled the pain, of the wound, of Dick's words, of what he had seen, and without words, he walked to the car.
Dick saw his dad walking further and further away from them, he saw Tim running after him, Duke joining after a quick look at Jason and Dick. Stephanie stayed where she was, until Cass took her hand and pulled her towards their motorcycles. Dick just stayed there. Frozen. It was clear, it was expected that Bruce would not finish the conversation, he was never willing to stay and talk about the conflict, it was his way or the high way . Always was and always will be.
Jason took a cigarette out of his pocket, he had trouble lighting it at first, but after he managed, and took one puff, he breathed a sigh of relief, his hand with the cigarette between his fingers rose to be placed on his face, the other hand on his hip. He took a deep breath, and took another puff. Dick continued to stand there, watching the lights of the cars on the other side of the road disappear. Zatana approached him, and put a hand on his shoulder, she didn't know what to say, didn't know how to behave in the situation. "You don't have to say anything Zee , thanks for being here, you can go " Dick said, he closed his eyes and Zatana took that as her sign to disappear. "I'm here if you need me " she said, then said her spell and disappeared.
" Sooo , what do we do now?" Jason asked.
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Duke didn't know that a bat computer could be so slow. But it had been 5 days since Tim started running the software to search the market where Damian was seen, and nothing. Nada. Dick and Jason hadn't shown up at the mansion in the last 5 days. Duke didn't know how he felt about it. On the one hand, they were closer than ever to finding Damian, and on the other hand, what Dick said was true. Damian looked, happy, happier than Duke had ever seen him. He didn't think he'd ever seen Damian smile like that, really smile.
They talked about it, he, Steph, Cass, and Tim . That night.
"What Dick said, it's absurd, right?, obviously we need to find Damian " Tim said, he was on the couch in one of the living rooms they had.
"Damian looks, happy for the most part..." Steph said hesitantly, she stood by the fireplace, looking at Tim. They returned home without Dick and Jason, who hadn't answered their calls.
"It could be manipulation , he's under Omar's control , you heard what Talia said" Tim argued back.
"I don't know bro, he seems , really happy, he seems .. " Duke tried to find the right words to say.
"Like, a, kid" Cass completed him, and Duke nodded at her words.
"Little brother, happy, us, disturbing" Cass continued , her eyes were round and sad , she still couldn't get the sight of Damian crying after his nightmare out of her mind.
"Wow come on Cass, you want to tell me you believe Damian would be better off with this crazy man? , Steph, you said yourself he's completely nuts , how can we leave Damian with him?" Tim said in disbelief at his siblings' opinions.
"I didn't say he wasn't psycho, but you saw him Tim , he was finally a fucking kid, he was playing, fucking playing, did you ever imagine Damian doing something like that?" Steph said impatiently.
"And it doesn't matter that Omar kidnapped hi m? , he could have developed Stockholm syndrome, or he's getting groomed, or he's being controlled by technology or magic" Tim testified back.
Steph looked away, unsure of what to say.
"Tim's right , it's not normal , even if Damian is happy with him, it could explode in a second , he's our brother , he needs to live here" Duke backed Tim up.
"Not normal? You want to talk about not normal? Have you seen his scars? No wonder he didn't wear shorts, he's like a canvas of fucking pain" Steph exploded, her voice rising above what she meant, but the sight of Damian, shirtless, his body. She couldn't get it out of her head.
Tim was silent, and Duke looked away at the floor. They both understood what she meant, Damian's body, Tim recognized some of the scars, recognized their origin, from cases of torture victims. It was sickening, to think of what Damian had been through, what they had done to him, to a kid. How much pain he must have been through. His whole body was covered in marks, every inch, every scar more horrible than the next, he looked almost leprous, marks on top of marks, making his skin scarred forever.
The image of Damian standing in front of the sea, with a pair of dinosaur-themed swim trunks, a kid's shorts, on the body of a boy who looked like he had been through the Holocaust, it was horrible. He was sure that image would keep popping up in his mind every time he looked at Damian from now on. Every time he spoke to him.
" Complicated " Cass said, her legs crossed on the couch, her face showing the sadness they were all feeling. She knows what Damian feels, she has experienced some of what he experiences. She knows what it's like to grow up as a weapon. Without a childhood. With scars that shouldn't be there. But she hasn't experienced the same thing as Damian, she doesn't know what he went through, what they did to him, she can only imagine, the horrors. And she understands the difficulty of the situation, even if she can't exactly convey her understanding to her family in words, she understands. She also wants to side with Dick and Jason, to believe that Damian is happy there, on the beach with this Omar, that he's finally getting a normal childhood. But, she also wants him close, she hasn't been too close to him, mostly traveling or on missions, but she saw him as more than the weapon he was taught to be, saw him as a child, even when others saw him as an assassin. She regrets that she wasn't able to emphasize to him that she cares about him. Maybe when he comes back she will succeed.
"It's not complicated , he was kidnapped, we need to get him back" Tim insisted and got up from the couch , he then walked out of the room without looking back.
Duke keeps coming back to this conversation, he should have had more say, he always lets others take the reins, he knows. He went back to looking at the software, they still haven't found something that fits 100%, it's frustrating everyone, especially Bruce. Duke knows he's not exactly in the place to provide too much of a say, he's only been here for almost a year, he's not really , integrated completely into the family yet, although he did feel very loved and included, he knows that there are just some things that are out of his control and that he shouldn't mess with.
He's not like the others, he has a father, he doesn't see Bruce as his dad, more like a helping uncle. But the others, for them Bruce is their dad, maybe not Stephanie, but Jason, Dick, Tim and Cass, they were all legally adopted by Bruce. And Damian, Damian really is his kid, the blood son, as he always liked to mention. Actually, when Duke thought about it, he hadn't said that in the months before he was taken, he hadn't, hadn't said much in general. He wondered for a moment, what if Dick was right, what if Damian really didn't want to come back to the family, Duke couldn't blame him, they hadn't treated him the best, hadn't accepted him properly.
He sighed and turned around in the chair, being a computer babysitter was boring, he turned around a few more times, until he heard a ding, the chair stopped abruptly. He slowly turned back to the computer, eyes focused, "a match was found" it stated, it worked!, without another second to waste, he called Tim to tell him the news.
A few minutes later, everyone, minus Dick and Jason were in front of the computer, Tim was typing furiously on the keyboard, searching for the necessary information. "It looks like a match has been found for the market, a relatively large island near Indonesia" The map showed the island in question.
Bruce leaned on the back computer, his eyes focused, a serious look, he looked at the point on the map, determination feeling his entire muscles, "We got him".
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" Omer, come play with me " The little girl pulled his hand, Omar had no choice but to follow the hand. It was a beautiful, sunny day, not too hot. He kept walking, following the requests and the hands that pulled him.
Suddenly a ball was pushed into his hands , dusty, half torn and falling apart , but it didn't matter to him.
" Throw it Omar " the innocent voice giggled , Omar looked at the ball , then at his little sister , Basma laughed , her laughter was the only thing Omar could hear , the street wasn't crowded , Friday afternoon made many people go to nap, but Omar and Basma were outside , their mother told them to play there because she was a cleaning , Omar was supposed to look after his sister.
He was going to throw the ball, he was going to answer Basma's request, but then he heard shouting, he looked back, the shouting only got louder, he dropped the ball to the floor, his hand going back towards Basma, to make her come closer to him, " Omar, Basma, children come home " their mother came out and screamed. Basma ran home immediately, the crying immediately started, she was only 4 years old. Omar hurried to follow his mother's instructions, the screams of the people and the sounds of metal clashing with metal were getting closer and closer to their little house.
His mother closed the door, and pushed the cupboard against it, Omar wanted to ask what about his father? What if he came back and the door was closed ?. His father was at the market, he wasn't home, what if he couldn't get in. His mother grabbed Basma, who was still crying, and Omar's hand, and quickly led them to a bedroom. " Under the bed " she ordered them. And Omar hesitated, Basma didn't stop crying, " Under the bed I said! " His mother shouted, she was nervous, Omar could see. He decided to listen and crawled under the bed, his mother managed to separate Basma from her, and push her together with Omar. She then brought blankets and pillows, and pushed them under the bed. " You have to be quiet, my moon and sun, okay ?, you have to be quiet, Omar, shut her up " she said, continuing to try to hide the gap between the bed and the floor.
Knocks were heard on the door, Omar thought they were too loud, it was not polite, mom always said to knock pleasantly. It sounded like someone was kicking the door. His mother rushed even faster, and Omar managed to silence Basma with his hand. He looked at his mother, through the only hole left, she looked back at him, " My moon, you have to take care of your sister, under no circumstances do you come out from under the bed, okay? " She said, her voice was shaky.
Omar nodded, unable to find his voice. His mother hurried to close the last hole, and Omar heard the door open and close. He lay still, Basma trembling in his hands, the knocking on the main door grew louder, until he heard a big boom. There were screams, men shouting. He heard a terrible noise, a noise like when mother slaughtered the Sheep last month for the holiday behind the house. The screams continued, someone opened the bedroom door hard, Omar was not breathing.
The darkness under the bed was destroyed with the shifting of the blankets, hands grabbed him, pulled him and Basma under the bed. He screamed then, screamed and cried and so did his sister. The men were dressed in black, they had war rifles in their hands, Omar recognized the rifles from the market when he helped his father sometimes. He trashed around in the hands of whoever held him, he had to get to Basma.
He was taken from the bedroom, on the way out, he saw his mother on the floor, all around her, was blood, the blood was red, it soaked the beautiful dress his mother was wearing. He tried not to look, like he didn't look at the sheep, but it was in front of him, right in front of him.
He was taken out, he no longer saw Basma, she was no longer next to him. He screamed, and cried, and resisted, but he was only 6 years old, the man was bigger than him, stronger. " Stop ." He recognized that voice, it was his father. He cried even more, and tried to look for where the voice came from, and then he saw him, his father was standing next to him, he was saved, his father was here.
Another man with Basma came out of their house, and his father looked in their direction. " Let go of the girl, you can take the boy " he said.
Omar couldn't believe what he was hearing , he knew his father preferred Basma, always took her side, and loved her more, but , he was his son, he ..
" Baba " he shouted. His father didn't look at him. Basma was transferred to his hands and Omar saw them standing there, he saw his father comforting Basma, while he was taken around the corner of their house. He stopped resisting at this point, the tears didn't stop, but the war had stopped. He was taken to a truck, and thrown in, there were many children there, all his friends from the village. Two men with guns got into the truck , and shouted at the children to sit down and stop crying, they beat the children who wouldn't stop, Omar stopped.
He doesn't know how long they drove, but it was already night, they didn't stop, there were children who urinated on themselves, Omar also had to go but didn't. They finally reached a stop, the men got out of the truck and took each child, they tied their hands, and tied them all to each other with a long rope. The rope rubbed Omar's joints. They were taken to a broken, large, dirty house. Omar doesn't know how long he sat there, in this house, but it was days. They were given little to eat, and drink, and there were children who died , Omar knows what dying is, his mother explained to him. He knows that she died, he knows that the boy sitting next to him in the truck died because the guard shot him two days ago. He knows that it's not good to die, so he decided not to die.
When a man dressed in black arrived at night, with a sword on his back, Omar sat quietly, he hadn't cried, not since they took him. The man pointed to some children in the house, he pointed to Omar, they were taken, those who were chosen. They were taken to another truck, and they drove off. As soon as they arrived at the new place, new people, dressed in black like the guy with the sword, took them and led them to a house that looked much nicer, they told them to shower, gave them clothes to wear, and gave them food and water.
Omar was with a few other children, he doesn't know how to count properly yet, but he thinks it's not many. A new man arrived, he took off his mask and ordered all the children to stand up, " You are now part of the League of Assassins, this is your life now, obey, and live, refuse, and die " he said. The children looked at each other, no one said a word. Omar looked the man in the eyes, the man looked at him Back, " Welcome to your new life " he said.
Omar shot up in panic, he tried to blink, to understand where he was, but found that his hands were tied, he looked down, he was tied to a chair, his head was spinning a little, he tried to shake it off to get rid of the feeling. He looked around, he was in an empty room, there was still some sunlight outside, even though it had set. What was the last thing he remembered? He was in the market, at noon, he, something stung him in the neck, he, was taken!, Damian!. With renewed adrenaline, he tried to free himself from the ropes but they were strong, he turned to the sides, trying to see if there was anything that could help him. The room was empty.
He looked towards the door, it was closed , he tried to listen, but he couldn't hear any voices. He cursed himself in his head , he was stupid , he thought they were safe , he was lucky that Damian was home, that he hadn't come with him to buy groceries. He just stood there for a long time, trying to free himself, trying to think of a plan, until he heard voices , he froze, his eyes locked on the door.
It was comforting, that at least it was the Wayne's and not the League. That's what Omar told himself in his head when Batman entered the room, followed by his entourage, one after the other, all in costumes, Omar was flattered, they disguised themselves just for him. The door closed behind them, each one taking up a place in the room. Omar let out a small, involuntary laugh at the show of menacing silence they were trying to create in his face.
"Something funny to you, you piece of shit?" Jason shouted at him, adding a punch to Omar's face. Omar took it, spat the blood aside on the floor and looked at Jason, he was without his helmet, only with the mask. "Hello to you too" he replied. Jason growled at him.
"Enough" Batman's voice was deep and strong, he advanced towards the two and ordered Jason to stand down. Jason threw one last, unseeing glance at Omar, but moved aside. Omar looked around, at Dick Grayson, standing on the side of the room, he expected more from the young hero, with how much Damian would talk about him. Instead, he looked, almost insecure.
Omar looked towards Batman, his face hidden by the mask , "To what do I earn the pleasure Wayne?" He asked , he tried to sound brave, although he wasn't afraid for himself , not really , he was afraid of what would happen if he wasn't there for Damian anymore.
"Where is he?" Bruce growled, his large build looming over Omar menacingly, he would be scared, if he didn't know Batman doesn't kill. This isn't the League.
"Oh .. and wouldn't you like to know? You haven't found him yet? I thought you were supposed to be the best detective in the worl d?" Omar looked him straight in the eye, he kept his voice calm and condescending.
Bruce saw red , he swung his hand, which collided with Omar's jaw in a fist , the chair almost tipped over from the blow. Omar stayed to the side for a few seconds, but then he got back up and lay back in the chair. " Ow " he said mockingly.
"Cut the crap Omar , we found you, it's only a matter of time until we find Damian " Tim Drake said, oh.. how much Omar hates him, how much he made Damian cry.
"You're right, it's only a matter of time until Damian realizes I'm not coming back from the market, please tell me what your intentions are? Will you also tie him by my side and beat him? Ask him why he ran away from you?" Omar shot out the questions like a snake. Looking at Bruce's face to see the reaction.
"Kidnapped, you kidnapped him, you nut job " the girl, Stephanie Brown said. So absent-minded, even in her words, he understood why Damian mocked her.
"Released is more accurately , saved is also a common word" Omar shot back.
"You absolute psycho you actually think that you saved him?" Tim shouted at him, the tension began to rise in the room, Omar could feel it, but adrenaline controlled him, making him ignore the discomfort and fear.
"Of course I saved him, from you, from the League, he is mine" he hissed at them.
In a second Bruce's hand was on him, he lifted him, along with the chair, from his shirt. Omar was surprised , but also not surprised by Batman's strength. " HE IS NOT YOURS " Bruce screamed at him, his voice deep and terrifying.
"I'm the only one who cares about Damian" he screamed at the accusation, "The only one who sees him as he is, a child. You all pretend to care about him, his feelings, you're hypocrites. All you do is use him for your games, don't believe that only Ra's and Talia are the only ones who led him to this kind of violence, you, the great Bruce Wayne, did exactly that, even if you don't kill. Making a kid play superhero, endangering himself, how many times has he gotten injured with you? How many times has he stayed up all night to run with you on rooftops in the cold? You're just like the League, only worse, at least the League shows its true identity and doesn't hide around the lies of honor and sky-high codes" Omar was seething with anger.
Bruce's grip tightened on his shirt, Omar felt the hairs on his chest getting plucked. "You are crazy, you took a child from his own family, HE IS MY SON " Bruce said and threw Omar across the room with the chair.
Omar landed painfully on his side, the blow causing a shock in his vision, he looked up, Bruce was above him. He picked him back up, the chair still somehow not broken. Omar breathed heavily, trying to ignore and control the pain.
"We'll try it again , where, is , Damian ?" Bruce shouted, his face an inch from Omar's. His mask obscured his eyes, showing only white.
"You pretend that you cherished him, that you accepted him into your family, even though it's clear that's not the case, have you ev er made an atte mpt to connect with him? Have you learned about his hobbies? About his struggles?".
"Stop stalling and answer, we all know what your intentions are for Damian, stop playing coy you pedophile " Duke said angrily, tired of Omar's game, of his accusations. Even though the way Bruce treated him was a little more violent than usual, Duke said nothing.
Omar couldn't help but laugh out loud, his laughter belittling the accusation, "A פedophile? Is that what you think I want from Damian? Sex? You're all crazy" he said in disgust. He assumed they would think that way, but to hear that, after everything Omar went through with Damian to help him, from situations like this, was insulting.
"Liar" Cassandra Kane yelled at him, Omar rolled his eyes.
"Let me promise you girl , I have never touched him and I have no intention of doing so, he is my son" Omar replied.
Bruce growled at him angrily, "You are sick" he accused furiously.
"How many times did he die, do you know?" He saw that the question shook everyone around him. He chuckled, "Wow, didn't even know that piece of information? Talia sure did hit a lot of things from you, and you all claim to be detectives..." He mocked.
"What are you talking about?" Jason shouted angrily.
"Oh Jason, you think you're the only Robin who died ?, That's cute" he said and enjoyed the way the anger intensified on everyone's faces, "Damian died 28 times in his short life, he took his own life the 25th time he died, after I disappeared, but even then, Ra's wouldn't let him stay dead" he said.
"You're lying" Tim accused him, panic written all over his face.
"Am I?, have you never seen his scars?, some of them are fatal wounds, he died in training, on missions, under torture" he continued to tell, enjoying everyone's shocked faces.
"I remember every death of his, at least the ones I was there for, remember the moment he was brought back each time by the Pit, how he was less and less himself, less of a child, more of an emotionless killing machine. Exactly as Ra's planned".
The room was quiet , Omar's breathing was the only t hing heard , he saw the lines on Batman's mask getting stronger. He w ould show them, show them that they had no idea who Damian was.
"You weren't there for him , you don't know a shred of the suffering he went through, what they made him do, what they did to him" he emphasized the last sentence , he tried to wordlessly explain to them how much they knew nothing , and , it worked.
"No..." Dick murmured in understanding.
"You really don't know what the League is capable of, what they made him endure" Omar continued , he could see that Batman's eldest understood what he meant.
"Dick, what?" Jason asked in confusion.
"Always the last to understand I see " Omar said with amusement.
"You shut your trap" Jason screamed.
"Jason, he means that... he means that Damian was sexually abused" Tim clarified, he understood what Omar meant.
Jason's face fell in horror.
"More like endured sexual resistant torture, according to the league" Omar completed the sentence, he took a deep breath, and leaned back in his chair again. "You think you know this boy, who was with you for so little time ? Did you ever hold him after a nightmare? Did you hear him cry at night and beg not to be touched? You didn't. And you never will, because he's not coming back with you, ever. He's with me now, where he's supposed to be, where he was always supposed to be, safe".
Bruce's hand was shaking , Omar managed to make Batman tremble. He looked into the face of this person. This selfish and heartless person . The one who made his child cry so many times , he had to continue he was on a roll he had to break them.
" You , who made him cry so many times, you , who didn't make an effort to know him and love him, you !, who let a 9-year-old child go fight and continue the twisted path he's learned his whole life, instead of showing him that there's another world, another way to live. You have the audacity to come to me with complaints?" Omar shouted. Bruce let go of his shirt, and took a step back.
"With me, he's thriving, with me, he's finally a real child" Omar continued.
All Bruce could hear was Damian calling Omar Baba, over and over again it played in his head. That moment at the witch's, when Damian said that simple word, a word that had never been said or come close to being said to Bruce.
"Damian deserves a parent not a mentor. He deserves a dad not a boss, He deserves to live a life far from crime, far from war, from violence, from you . He deserves, to be happy".
Omar looked Bruce in the eyes "And you can never give it to him".
The faces of those around the room were horrified. Duke and Stephanie looked like they wanted to throw up, Dick had tears streaming down even with his mask on, Tim was frozen, along with Cass. And Jason, Jason was shaking with rage. Bruce just stood there, Omar could see the wheels turning in his head, the information coming in, sinking in, the realization that Omar was the best solution for Damian.
"You bastard" Jason growled in quiet anger, he lifted his head towards Omar, his gun was quickly pulled out from the side, aimed at Omar "Absolutely fucking BASTARD" he shouted, the safety clicked indicating that it was removed.
Tim looked at Jason in horror, Bruce still hadn't moved from his spot, Omar was shocked but tried to remain indifferent. "Jason no" Tim shouted.
Just then, the glass from the window behind Omar shattered, shards flying around the room, Jason moved the gun to the window, only to quickly lower it when he saw who it was.
Damian rose from his crouched position, the sword he was holding gleaming in the last light of the sun. He raised his eyes towards the people in the room, his face hard , devoid of emotion.
"Damian" Dick breathed.
Damian didn't answer , he raised the sword and cut the ropes that tied Omar to the chair , Omar didn't miss a moment and quickly stood up and went beside Damian. Damian turned to him, his hand touching Omar's face, the other hand held the sword pointing it towards the rest of the people in the room.
" Are you okay ?" he asked in Arabic, concern mixing with his anger.
" I'm okay " Omar replied with a smile.
Damian turned his gaze to the others, "What do you think you're doing?" He shouted angrily. The others looked shocked.
Bruce looked at his son, who was dressed in a long black shirt and long black pants , but with blue shoes with a red train to them. He had grown so much , in these two months , he had grown taller, Bruce was sure of it , and had lost some more baby fat off his face, his hair was longer.
"Damian .. " Bruce tried to say, he tried not to look threatening, to be soft, his child was in front of him, within touching distance , after two months .
"What are you doing here?, Why did you take Omar? What did you do to him?" Damian asked, he looked only at Batman, the others did not interest him.
Tim was the first to recover , "Damian, we are here to, well, to rescue you" he said, but sounded unsure on the last part of the sentence.
"I do not require a rescue Drake, on the contrary, I have become a rescuer as you can see" He pushed Omar a little behind him defensively , he turned his head half to the side , " Go through the window , Goliath is waiting on the roof " he ordered Omar.
" Not without you " Omar replied.
The others didn't know what they were saying, but Bruce did. "Damian, please I just want to talk" he begged.
Damian raised his eyes to his father, a man he once admired , wanted to take his mentality on his shoulders one day. All he saw was a broken man , Omar was right , he didn't deserve to be called his father. "I have nothing to tell you Bruce , we are leaving" he announced decisively and took a step back towards the window.
"Damian wait, please" Dick shouted forward, but stopped after a few steps when he saw the hysteria in Damian's eyes. "Please, don't go, I want you to come home, we've been looking for you all this time, please wait a minute" Dick begged, tears streaming down his face.
Damian looked at his older brother , no, Bruce's oldest son , he wasn't his brother anymore , "I am sorry Richard" he said calmly , " I am not coming back with you , please accept my decision to leave, and , do not look for me" he said and turned to go to the window , Omar went out first , Damian put one foot on the window when Bruce's voice stopped him.
"Son please " he said, his voice thick with sorrow.
"I am happy, let me be happy " Damian said quietly , but loud enough for them to hear , without turning around, he jumped out the window.
Bruce ran forward, his hand outstretched , he didn't catch anything. He looked up , the figure of the red monster could be seen , and two figures on it. The creature was getting further and further away with every passing second, flying above the clouds and disappearing. Bruce felt his heart clench in his chest, his eyes burning, his breaths were hollow. He had lost his son , again.