Pt 5 of forever teen Danny adopted JJ Tim and Red Hood. Damian finally gets to see his Akhi again.
[Pt 4: Here] [Ao3 with more]
Damian only got glimpses of the second group of vigilantes in Gotham over the year and a half he's been with his father before he realized how fallible his Father is. He feels woefully misinformed by his Mother, who only sang the man's praises.
At first, it was because the Bats trust him not to use deathly force as well as the last two Robins' being a fresh wound for Father and Richard. And it stung to hear them make plans to convince a meta child to join them so that the crazed lunatics that loyally follow him will follow suit. Sure, it was because one of the lunatics was the second to last Robin who went crazy and refused their help, but it felt like his Father and supposed big brother simply found him unacceptable and burdensome.
Eventually, he decides to break into their files to learn everything they have on the non-Bat Gotham vigilantes, only to discover that the Bat version of events that he was told was incomplete. Horrendously incomplete.
He found camera footage of how terribly they treated Timothy Drake from the moment he entered the Waynes' lives to the moment he ran away. Damian would stay far away from them, too, if he endured half of what Timothy did. Damian already wasn't planning to help his Father and Richard to bring him back into the fold, but now the reason for why is completely different. Damian shall aid him if the moment arises.
The second "lunatic" Damian could recognize anywhere. It's his Akhi from the league! Mother must have sent Jason to Gotham ahead of him. He's using the name Red Hood and became significantly less violent since being adopted by Timothy and the Meta. Damian didn't know pit madness was curable, but the reports prove they did something and helped his Akhi. He wonders if he could ask at some point. Healing others with the affliction before they have to be put down would be amazing! Damian had been terrified of the day Akhi would be next, but now he doesn't have to worry.
Obviously, he's not going to help the Bats arrest his Akhi.
The last person of the group, the meta called Phantom is a complete unknown to him, and the Bats apparently. They estimate him to be 13, or a small 14, year old, but he's the clear leader of the group if the trio has to make a decision together. They've seen him use superstrength, fly, turn himself invisible, and turn himself intangible. He can transfer the last 3 abilities to other people or things so long as he's touching them. He seems to have a rigid moral code, but it isn't the same as Father's. Phantom is perfectly fine with murdering those he deems unacceptable, like the now deceased Joker or Black Mask (both were killed after a Robin was harmed. Which makes him feel a little safer.) or the random serial killer or rapist they find.
Father believes he can sway Phantom to his way of thinking, but Damian is not so sure. Phantom has made his hatred for Father and Richard well-known. And anytime they attempt to corner Phantom, or Timothy, or Akhi, the other two come in swinging.
Damian isn't sure what tonight's plans had been, but he had a bad feeling when he saw them taking John Constantine with them. He already figured out Phantom was a supernatural. He hasn't aged a day since he was first documented, and he's fairly sure Akhi counts too. He's just not sure what Akhi is. Damian is going to be pissed if Father and Richard have Constantine kill Phantom and Akhi just so they can get Timothy back. He'll personally break Timothy out of wherever they decide to lock him away and get them both out of Gotham if the hypocritical Waynes hurt the odd group.
He was forced to take the day off because of a sprained ankle. Which is ridiculous, he's done more with worse injuries, but decides not to argue so he can watch through their mask cameras. Damian seethes at the lies and half truths his family feeds to Constantine to get him to comply.
The trap they set works perfectly, unfortunately, and just as Constantine is about to try to exorcize Jason, the teens breakout into their own chant. The video feed becomes nearly completely static and voices cut in and out, but he can understand what's happening. Damian feels hysterical as he realizes what kind of fire these idiots were playing with and can barely scrape together sadness and guilt for them. He stares at the screens long after Phantom and his adopted children leave, only getting up to prep the med bay after Constantine moved Bruce and Richard to the batmoble. Gordon already called for the doctor, so there's nothing else he can do.
This stunt has broken any trust or safety Damian may have felt in the men he's supposed to view as family. He thinks about his options. He refuses to go back to his Mother or Grandfather, but he's not sure he wants to stay with the Waynes either. It feels like being stuck in a rock and a hard place.
Then he remembers how Timothy got adopted by "The Ghost King" after he tried to go to the Bats.
As much as he hates to leaving behind what feels like his responsibilities, he can't live here. He found plenty of recordings, from different Bats eavesdropping, of usually Phantom telling his sons that just because you can do something doesn't mean you have to. So just because he can help Bruce and Richard, doesn't mean he has to or should. Phantom was very clear on what he wanted THEM to do. Damian isn't part of the equation, and honestly doesn't want to be, he already was walking on egg shells when they weren't going to be belligerent.
When the batmoble barreling in, Damian decides his last act of service to the Waynes will be to help Constantine and Pennyworth get them to the med bay. He doesn't leave the cave until everyone is settled or left, and Pennyworth ushers him to bed. He glances at the peacefully sleeping Bruce and Richard (they were drugged to make setting their bones easier) one last time before complying with Alfred's order, sort of. He goes to his room.
While in his room, he pulls out the bag he arrived at the manor with. He packs 2 changes of clothes, his sketchbook, his pencil case, and his "allowance". He doesn't take more than that. He doesn't want to be indebted to the Bats anymore than he already feels he is. He feels like this will be an unforgivable betrayal in their eyes, but he finds he doesn't mind as much as he feared he would.
He decides to leave them all notes.
[Dear Pennyworth,
Thank you for your hospitality. I shall remember your lessons and think of you fondly, but I can no longer be in Father's care. His dealings with Poltergeist, Red Hood, and Phantom have been unacceptable. He rather kill an undead than reassess his ways. An undead that is my Akhi. I won't be returning until I feel they've actually changed.
Warmest Regards,
Damian Wayne Al Gul]
[Richard,
You preach of brotherhood, but I found the recordings of how you treated Timothy and Jason. I don't see why I would be treated differently. I suggest you figure yourself out and apologize to both of them before trying to "big brother" any other strays Father attempts to bring into the fold.
Damian Wayne Al Gul]
[Father,
I can no longer stay under your care. You have proven to be just as unsafe as Mother and Grandfather. I shall be staying with my Akhi until you are less of a danger to mine and others' safety. Hopefully, this is a wake-up call, but I don't see it being anything more than another excuse for you to punish and push everyone who cares about you away. Your track record is telling.
Damian Wayne Al Gul]
They're not much, but he feels better for writing them.
Damian has outgrown the LoA gear he came in, so he dresses in black jeans, combat boots, a dark green, almost black (Richard said he needed more colour in his wardrobe) hoody, and a surgical mask. He knows Alfred shall be retiring soon and that all the windows and doors leading outside are alarmed. He'll have to sneak out of the cave and use Bruce's codes to get out without an alarm immediately going off. Richard's go off, so Bruce and Alfred know he's been there, and Damian's are so he can't leave without a Bat with him.
It took him two weeks to see enough to piece it together and was infuriated when he realized it was Jason's death date. It's completely disrespectful to Jason and clearly just another form of self flagellation, plus it's like using a birthday as a code, someone IS going to guess it eventually. It killed a lot of whatever respect Damian may have held before tonight.
When the time comes, he doesn't hesitate. It feels surreal to him as he escapes the Manor for probably the last time. He doesn't linger on the fond memories that seem to dig their fingers in as he sneaks away and makes his way to Crime Alley. He swallows the bitterness of realizing his blood relatives have never made him feel safe, only his Akhi. A man who willingly lives in the worst part of Gotham when he deserves the best.
But Damian knows how Jason's heart works. Crime Alley has always been his home, and he'll guard its people till his dying breath.
He climbs down a building and tries to not spook the pair of sex workers, "Excuse me?"
Mission failed, they both startle. The one with mostly straight hair and colourful makeup yells. "JESUS, KID! Ya tryin' ta scare me inta an early grave!?"
"Sorry." Damian mumbles apologically, "I was wondering if you could call Red Hood to pick me up?"
"Sure, kid, but why? Someone try ta sell something to ya?" The other one, with dredlocks and white and black makeup, asks.
"He's my brother, actually... I, um," Damian decides to lay it on thick, wobbling his voice and forcing himself teary-eyed. "I ran away from our relatives. They kept me trapped, and I haven't been able to contact him to tell him I wasn't as safe as we thought I'd be. I ran away, but don't know where he or Poltergeist live..."
"Shush, kid, alright," Black and white sighs, pulling out her(?) phone and hitting call on a contact. "Don't make me regret this!"
Damian nods and stays silent during the phone call, only speaking once she(?) hangs up. "Uh, where should I wait? I don't want to disrupt your business more than I have."
"Ya a doll! Just like our Hoody!" Colourful coons.
"Ya know how to get to the roofs?"
"Yeah?"
"Then wait up there. A kid hangin' about is definitely bad fo' business and Hood will be comin' from the roofs anyway."
"Okay. Thank you for all your assistance." Damian bows slightly towards her before climbing up to the roof to wait. He can't be sure how long he waits, it feels both like hours and mere minutes have past when he hears Jason's familiar footsteps.
"Dami?" Jason sounds confused, which is valid. Last time they spoke Damian was willing to do anything to prove himself to his Grandfather and Bruce. "What are you doing here?"
"I have found both sides of my blood relations to be lacking." Damian admits. "I feel unsafe and wish to stay with you. If your new family would be amenable to it."
"Uh, dad?" Jason asks, tilting his head to the side. A voice coming from open air is very odd to witness in person.
"I don't see why not, but we'll have to ask your brother first." Phantom fades into view and drifts closer to Damian. It feels like the (APPARENTLY) Ghost King (??? Damian is still processing that detail to be honest.) can see Damian's soul. Who knows, maybe he can? Will he find Damian lacking?
"Right, okay, one second." Jason pulls out an odd looking phone and dials a number. "Don't get me wrong, Dami. I would love to have you, but it's a family decision to let you live with us. I cou- Oh! Yeah, so funny situation! How do you feel about adopting another bird?... Yeah...pfft yeah, okay, you have a point...And it'd be funny! .. Sweet! See you soon!"
"He said yes?" Phantom sounds amused and looks fond and unsurprised.
"Yup!" Damian can hear Jason's grin. "You're bunking with me until we upgrade our apartment again!"
"Very well." Damian easily accepts. Phantom tilts his head, eyeing Damian as if trying to get a read on him about something.
"Do you plan to continue being a vigilante?" Was not the question Damian thought he was going to be asked.
"I would like to. I left the Robin costume in the cave, though, so I'd need a new one." Phantom nods in acceptance. Damian doesn't know what he'd do if Phantom said no.
"I will allow it and help you make a new identity IF you promise to stay with me or your brothers when you go out. I won't have any of you dying before you're old and gray." Phantom looks like he will burn the city to the ground at the thought of his children dying. It's comforting. Damian can see why his throughly traumatized predecessors were drawn to him.
"I accept these terms so long as I have more independents as an adult."
"Hm.. we shall revisit the issue when you're 19." Phantom concedes, which is good enough for Damian. "I shall fly us home now. It's getting late and it's faster than parkour."
Damian barely has time to process that before they're rocketing through the Alley. Phantom's strange powers protecting him from wind resistance and gravity. It's the oddest thing he's ever felt, but not bad. Phantom simply phases them through the wall when they get to their apartment.
The frontroom is colourful. Furniture is random, but not clashing, colours. There's pillows and throw blankets of every colour folded to the side or scattered like someone pulled it off in a hurry. Books, games, and puzzles are crammed on multiple bookshelves. It's bright and chaotic, but also lived in and cozy.
Timothy skips in from the kitchen with a tray of 4 steaming mugs of hot cocoa, somehow not spilling a drop. "Hi!"
"Hello, Timothy. Thank you for letting me stay." Damian bows at about a 45 degree angle to show his respect.
"Oh! Um, no problem." Timothy's wide, but calculating eyes show he understands the significance of Damian's bow. "I made everyone hot chocolate. I wasn't sure how you liked yours, so I made it how Jason likes his. Yours and his are the navy and red cups. Dad's is the Nasa one, and this one is mine!"
Timothy says, holding up a rainbow cup with unicorn impaling someone on it.
"Thanks, Tim." Phantom says with a fond smile before something unexpected happens. Phantom turns into a human as he reaches for his cup. After a sip or two, he notices Damian's confusion. "I'm a halfa, kid. My name's Danny Kronoyios in this form. Still legally a dead guy and a ghost. I can just digest things easier in this form and access my powers in the other, can still do both in both, though."
"It's weird, but you get used to it." Jason says while ducking into a hallway. Damian awkwardly grabs the blue cup and sips at it. There's a lovely mix of spices in the cocoa, making it slightly spicy. Jason returns in pajama pants and a band t-shirt Damian doesn't recognize and plops on the couch Timothy has curled up on. "It's been one hell of a day!"
"Indeed." Phantom (because what kind of name is "Danny" for an undead king?) hums, "Want to watch an episode of something before bed?"
And that's how Damian's surreal night ends. He and his possibly new family, drinking cocoa while watching an episode of some show Damian doesn't really understand, but found amusing anyways. Timothy gives him some of his pajamas when they realize Damian didn't bring any. And Jason using him as a teddy bear when they all go to bed. It's nice. It's the safest he's felt since arriving in Gotham. He is positive he made the right choice.
