Well I grew up quick n' I grew up mean
Chapter one but this is lowk a reupload cuz no one saw it the first time.
Summary:
Talia is dead Damian's too afraid to speak up about his own existence without his mom. He's not ten, he's fifteen. He's fifteen and still upset about him mom being dead.
Rating: General Audiences / Gen Category
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Talia Al Ghul has been dead for five years.
These years went by agonizingly slow. Slower than anyone would like to admit, slower than Damian would like to admit. There wasn't a thing the boy could do now, his mother is dead, gone with the autumn leaves. And what's left now? Just him and a lie his father was dead. That lie swayed in the winter air, hanging in front of Damian like a threat. Like even the smallest of movements could make it just a hoax. He was afraid. Why now, why so long after his mother's death has the truth been revealed.
The Wayne manor was nothing Damian could ever imagine, it seemed— for a lack of a better word— poor. Embarrassingly poor. Honestly it brought shame to the Al Ghul name to even be in the presence of such poor filth. It was definitely more different than what Damian had been used to, he lived as an assassin, a child of Talia, Talia Al Ghul. It was an honor only two could say. Not only was he a son of Talia, he was a grandson of Ra's, Ra's Al Ghul.
Nevertheless Damian found himself pressing the small ringer to the gate with his left thumb. In response the screen slowly lit, showing an old mans face, staring into the camera. The man had gray hair, an old timey look to him, and seemed unappreciative of the early disturbance. After all it was 4 A.M on a Monday morning. Though Damian did not care— he did not have time to care.— It was finally time to meet a man he thought of as dead, but it felt all too late. At least if he had gotten to meet him when he was younger he would've had a bigger chance to change. he would've been more adaptable, more willing. More understanding to it. But he wasn't a child anymore. He wasn't some kid who's mind could be changed, no. Now-a-days he's fifteen years old. A lot of things can change from a stand point from child to teen, teens are more firm in their ways, less adaptable— like adults, but younger.
He was lied to, told his father was dead. Why had his mother did this, she wasn't all evil, at least not in his eyes. Maybe his father would think differently after meeting his offspring. Or maybe he'd look at the teenager and be annoyed that he ever came. Damian wasn't told a lot about the man, information had been scarce. It came from small information in passing, or things that Damian picked up over the years.
"Hello, who might this be?" The man's voice rang out from the speaker embedded in the intercom system. The man's voice was ridged and tired for the early morning hours. And yet he still managed to speak with such professionalism. He sounded older, way older than Damian expected.
Damian's eyes glanced down at the screen. his face a mix of quiet judgment before he spoke hastily, "I'm looking for the "Batman".
The old man's eyes flickered with a familiar hint of annoyance, the same type he knew all too well. Or at least, he assumed he did. "I'm sorry, The Batman is not apart of this household. You should try heading back to Gotham in sear-"
The man's words were cut off by Damian's annoyance. "The Batman, Bruce Wayne. Where is he." His hands swung down to his pockets at each end of himself, gripping the paper withing his left pocket, the one he forced himself to memorize— engraved in his skull like a test that he may unknowingly fail.
The old man's eyes looked into the camera once again, the clear frustration rising within his face before he spoke once more. "I don't know where you're getting at. Master Bruce and The Batman are not one in the same. Take your childish banter somewhere else!" He then turned off the camera, leaving Damian into silence.
"Guess they don't appreciate people." Damian mumbled none the wiser to the real reason why. Though a moment later he found himself walking away, heading back the way he came. Going back to the city, "Gotham City". "Might as well check the city out myself." He seemingly thought to himself.
The walk was no easy feat, clearly whoever decided that a mansion on the outside of Gotham with it's protector living in it, and so far out at that, was a good idea. Nonetheless Damian made it to Gotham City within the hour. The smell was just purely disgusting, nothing quite like he had smelled before. It was stuffy, filled with a smell that could only be described as the arm pit stench after training. Not to mention that sickening smell of trash. Though by now it was too late to turn back, it was so far too late. His mother was dead, his grandfather died when he was young, now what? The only other person his mother would allow him to turn to honorably would be to a Caped Crusader. And he didn't even seem present at his home. Though he found himself seemingly intrigued, wondering to himself if The Bat was someone so worth his mother's trust within death.
The buildings within the city soared high above the ground, so, so high. He felt oddly small compared to the skyline. That only served to make him sick. That sickening feeling only began to rise the deeper he went, the smell of filth doubling after each and every step deeper into Gotham City. Though the people seemingly reacted normal. They went along within their days as though the smell wasn't a gagging sensation in enough itself. "The smell gets worse with every step" he found himself thinking. Not like he was wrong anyway. But he isn't here for that, no. The Batman must be sought out, hunted down— the exact field he was trained into. So he walked, each step only amplifying the smell of Gotham's stench. Each and every turn made him gag involuntary, his body retching in a familiar way. One he grew to learn, and hate. The hours flew and blurred together, and soon enough the sun began to rise, the crowd of people outside began to grow, and the news of last nights crimes— which were stopped by Gotham's favorite "I work alone" man.
Though even now— after so many years of fighting and training— Damian couldn't help but find himself feeling hungry. No, he wasn't hungry. So many years of training just to be weakened by hunger? Of course not. It was just an auto response to the commotion of people heading to their favorite breakfast spots. The smell of food mixed with the sickening smell of Gotham making Damian feel somewhere between throwing up yesterdays lunch or eating enough food that the city would be in debt for the next 500 years. Nevertheless he settled upon a fan-made spot for the Bat, one they call Bat Burgers. As expected there wasn't a line at all, as any normal person wouldn't pick a burger spot for breakfast, though Damian was not of the normal.
He approached the counter with a silent stride, one that could easily be over looked, a simple talent he had learned from his mother as a young child. His eyes glanced up to the menu displayed above the cashier's head, the man's expression seemingly miserable wearing a shitty Batman costume. The man who stood behind the counter seemed so tired of the costume already, it was surprising that they were even open so early. "Usually places like these don't open this early unless its for something— or someone— important." Damian found himself thinking— to himself.
"Welcome to Ba-" The cashier began, though he was swiftly cut off by Damian's belligerent words that followed.
"I'd like a Bat-burger, Deluxe." His voice rang out calmly, his eyes landed back down to the man who was most definitely a few years older then he was.
"Alright," The man seemed annoyed on how he was cut off, though he said nothing in response. The man chose to ignore Damian's attitude. "Do you want anything else?"
Damian's eyes glanced back up at the menu, "Everything on the menu sounds like shit", he thought, "And just water". Damian's hand went to his wallet, pulling it out as he looked for cash, though he found himself pausing. He had come to discover he had forgotten about the fact that he did not exchange his money for USD. therefore the cash he had within his hand was utterly useless.
"Your total is $23.59." The man said simply, his eyes darting to look at Damian.
Damian on the other hand was internally panicking, how could he make a mistake like this so easily, so quickly. Had he truly lost a grip on himself and allowed himself to fall into this weakness? No, right? How was he supposed to pay now? Just leaving would be a total embarrassment, he already put in his order and the man behind the counter was looking at him expectantly.
"How much is it?" A voice— one sounding almost his age. The guy had black hair and blue eyes, a smile so warm it made Damian sick to his stomach. The random act of it was compelling, what would this man possibly want from him.
"Twenty-three dollars and fifty-nine cents." The cashier repeated himself, looking more annoyed then before. "Again, cash or card."
"Card, but add a Red Robin Sub, Two-face sandwich, and three BatBurger Deluxe Oversized. For drinks I want two The killing coke, two waters, and one Dr. Quinn. Oh and add four HUSH puppies." The man replied, completely taking over the conversation with such a flow that seemed almost seamless.
Almost. Damian was seething, his annoyance showing through the way his mouth was clenched, teeth bearing, fingers digging into the palm of his fist.
The man on the other hand didn't seem to notice as he looked at the boy. "Oh yeah, sorry about that, kid." He slid his card over the table, not even asking about the price. "I just thought I might as well get my siblings some food as well. And you clearly seemed struggling to come up with the money for the food which I mean–"
Damian sounded out the man out. He could see the man's mouth moving, but honestly he didn't seem to care. He was simply embarrassed at the fact that he didn't have USD on hand. "Dammit, this guy's talkative." Damian thought to himself. After a moment he turned away from the man, his eyes looking at the cashier who had taken the card, swiped it, and placed it back on the table.
"So, can you?" The man asked, his voice feigning innocence. He seemed to have been asking for a favor, given by the way he asked if Damian could, could do what is to be determined.
Though Damian only looked at him within confusion. "Yeah, sure." Damian mumbled out a reply, not even knowing what he signed himself up for.
"Great, come on we'll go sit down while we wait." The man turned his head. Walking away and sitting down at booth.
Damian's eyes followed the man for a moment before he sat across from him.
There was a short, barely noticeable, pause before the man spoke, "I never introduced myself, did I?" Before Damian had even the slightest chance to respond, the man continued. "My name is Richard, Richard Grayson. How about you?"
Damian glanced up at the man. His mind went blank for a moment, Grayson. "The flying Graysons. I remember mother whispering about them once. She called it a tragic end within a passing comment." Damian thought to himself. After a moment he looked at Grayson, I mean really looked at him. For a moment he seemed almost hesitant, but why was he? "I'm Damian."
"Damian Kalil."
He couldn't explain why he had a sudden, unexplainable urge to lie. But it seemed like the right thing to do. It seemed like the best thing to do. Damian wasn't exactly one to guess how far his grandfather's 'projects', but for Ra's to have an army, it must've been far.
Richard was quiet for a moment his head tilted as he looked at Damian. "You're not from here… are you? You seem too young to be alone out here."
It surprised Damian on how easy he was to be figured out. That means something about him was wrong, something that allowed other's to know he was a foreigner. "Indeed. I came from a different country to," He paused for a moment, looking at the older man. "Visit family." He decidedly kept it vague. He was old enough to where it could pass, probably.
"Oh really?" Richard asked, his eyes remaining fixed onto him for a moment he seemed to not even believe Damian, like he didn't expect him to be so… alone. "How old are you? If you don't mind me asking of course."
"Fifteen." Damian mumbled out while looking at Richard with an almost unreadable expression.
Fifteen, just now learning that the words he had been told for almost fifteen years were all just lies. Now what, how could he go in front of his father and tell him that he's his son, his child, an offspring. It felt too late to explain now, especially after the previous rejection.
"Damn that's… young." Richard pointed out, albeit quietly.
Though there wasn't enough time to dwell on the fact, as the cashier's voice was heard, "Order 2!"
Richard stood up. His hands moving to his side as he looked at Damian, "I'll be right back." He then moved away, heading to the front to grab their— and Richard's siblings— food.
That gave Damian a moment to think. This grown man who payed for his food, oh so kindly. But why, why was he at a fast food place so early? Should he ask and risked being questioned? "Would I be asking too many questions if I just ask?" Damian wondered silently.
Richard came back, dropping the bags on the table as he spoke, "Come on, help me out kid. You agreed to it after all." Richard looked smugly at the four bags on the table. For $24 it was a steal.
Damian glanced up for a moment, he had forgotten he agreed to do something he hadn't even listened to. That was his fault. "Alright." Damian picked up a bag as Richard grabbed the other two.
"I'll give you your food once we get there, kay?" Richard said as he turned to look at Damian.
"Yeah, okay." Damian got up and out of the booth as he trailed behind Richard out the door.
The winter's cold set into day. Though it was oddly peaceful at the moment. Every step left an imprint from their shoes. Like leaving a piece of themselves behind that not even Damian had noticed before. "So… Grayson, why are you out here so–" Damian paused for a moment, his hand gripping the bag a bit tighter, "– early?"
"I had just gotten off work. So instead of getting breakfast, I decided to just get dinner. And you know, my family and I do have pretty similar schedules, besides my younger brother." Richard blabbered out, his head turning to look at Damian who was still behind him.
"How old is your little brother?" Damian asked, quite curiously. A lot more curious then he cared to admit.
"He's eighteen now, his name is Duke." Richard replied. He then took the silence as a key to continue, "I'm the oldest of five. I have three brothers and a sister."
Richard seemed… fond of his siblings. Like he cared about them so dearly. It was… unfamiliar to Damian to say the least. He wasn't used to it, watching someone with such care and appreciation for his siblings.
"That's nice, I'm happy for you." Damian says, though it sounded more disingenuous.
Richard didn't seem to notice, even if he did, he didn't seem to mind. "Thanks, kid." For a moment he was completely silent, it stretched between the two till Richard looked over at Damian. "You said your family is out here, right? Do you need to be dropped off home?"
He couldn't ask for that, no. Damian had looked up at Richard he was silent for a moment. "What do I even say?" Damian thought to himself. "No, I'm good, Grayson. There's drama happening there."
"Drama, what a way to describe a revolution so big my entire world shifted." Damian thought to himself. He looked down at the bags, he didn't know if he had his food or Richard did. He wanted to run, to avoid, to maybe hide. And yet he didn't.
"Oh, really, damn. I remember one time my… uh." Richard had paused for a moment, his head turned while he looked down the street. It was pretty, all things considered. Maybe minus the garbage on the streets, the broken in buildings, the almost constant sirens, maybe minus it all it'll be beautiful. "Hm, well I've had a few instances with my dad. I stopped talking to him for a while."
Damian, for the first time, turned his head to look at Richard, he was observing him. For the first time he was actually looking at Richard. "Really?" Damian had tilted his head sideways for a moment before glancing down at the bags.
"Yeah," Richard had a long moment of silence till he finally sighed. "Ah, lets see…" He was once again silent, it was almost like he was calculating something. "My brother disappeared for a while."
"How long?" Damian raised an eyebrow as his gaze turned over to the nearby alleyway, he saw absolutely nothing besides pounds of junk and trash. Beside it there was a store, one that had not yet been torn by the thieves of Gotham. It seemed to have been more of a new establishment to the street.
Damian felt almost tempted to ask for more details, he had always been more of a curious person. It had gotten to a point where it could've been considered almost nosy. He was a trained assassin, they always drove for more details, they always wanted to know about the space they were in, they always knew. The need to know was in Damian's blood, from his mother to his grandfather, he always had to know. While he couldn't speak for his father, or the life he had outside of what his mother told him.
"Long enough," Richard's words were shortened for a moment till his gaze shifted upwards on a large billboard on the side of a building.
Across it was sliding photos of blurry images of Batman. Occasionally there would be a clear photo of Batman, but usually there was nothing more than a photo of him using a grappling hook to swing across buildings or the edge of the smoke from Batman just disappearing out of thin air. "When he finally came back he was… different. Different in a way that I didn't know how to feel about. Nevertheless with his arrival I had been somewhat alright with my father. But, you know, everything will eventually fade over."
"Eventually?" Damian raised an eyebrow while looking Richard. He couldn't exactly place it, but the way Richard described it, it seemed like he wasn't exactly talking about just a missing brother.
Richard had nodded his head "You have to find peace somewhere, everyone does, even if it's for a moment."
Damian finally tilted his head, noticing the huge billboard. "Ahuh…" he had stopped paying attention at the moment. He couldn't help but notice Bruce with other people, he hadn't taken the time to do any research outside of Bruce Wayne himself. Not to mention his 'research' had been through Ra's so it had been less than… much.
The two finally stopped walking by the outskirts of the city, there wasn't much past this point, it seemed like Richard had picked off a random part to stop at. Richard had bent down, finally opening one of the two Batburger bags he had on him. He closed the bag before looking through the other, finally he found Damian's portion of the meal. He grabbed what was put with Damian's meal and moved them into the other bag. Finally he picked up the bag that contained Damian's meal. "Here, this one's yours, and thanks for helping me, kid."
Damian pushed both bags he had into his right hand as the two exchanged the bags. With his own bag of food in his hands, he glanced down at the contacts inside after opening it. Everything was there, from the Bat-burger deluxe to even the water bottle. "Your welcome…" Damian had mumbled out he only looked up because of the creaking of a bag that didn't come from his own hand.
Richard had pulled out a chocolate chip cookie that had been wrapped in parchment paper with a box around it for the clear plastic that showed said cookie. "Here, take this." He offered Damian he cookie, though seeing his hesitance, Richard had awkwardly come up with an excuse, "Ah, you know… I uhm. It goes with my meal, don't worry, you're not taking anything from my siblings."
Damian had slowly nodded his head, his expression a bit questioning till he slowly reached out his hand, grabbing the cookie before stuffing it into the bag he held. "Thank you, Grayson."
With that, Damian turned around, walking back into the city before turning back to look at Richard for a moment. He didn't see him, Richard was… gone? How was he gone? He disappeared from mid air. He could have sworn that Richard was behind him just a moment ago.
It had Damian stop in his tracks, he could only turn around and stare at the empty space where Dick had once been. It was a shocker to him, infact it had him in awe how easily the man disappeared. For a moment Damian had wondered if Richard was even, well, there. Did he just walk away without Damian noticing?
Damian had walked right to the spot where Richard had been, he began looking around, though, by now, even if he had just ran off, he was gone. Not a trace of him was left behind. The silence that followed Richard's sudden disappearance was enough to make Damian completely forget his next dilemma.
Damian Al Ghul was completely alonein Gotham City of all places.
Damian had turned and walked down the street into Gotham. He had food, at least. Not to mention there was an entire day waiting for him. The sun had just began to rise anyways, he still had hours to waste.
The first hour ticked by painfully slow. Damian went to a grocery store, for the first time. He panned across ever Isle, occasionally picking up an item or two to look at them. The first one he grabbed had been Easy Cheese.
the way the yellow top seemed to have grooves in them had almost fascinated him. It was cheddar and it swirled down onto some… thing. After setting it down Damian began wandering to another isle, though eventually he found himself right in front of a mother. She was pushing a cart with a toddler in the front and a 14 year old off to the side. She had pulled off to the side before getting Damian's attention with a hand wave before she approached him.
"Hey, are you alright, where are your parents kid?" Her voice had been almost sincere. The way her eyebrows furrowed for a moment as she looked around for Damian's parents.
"Ah, they're…" Damian trailed off for a moment till he finally spoke up again, "They're at home, I'm just getting groceries."
The woman had approached Damian as she had gotten closer to Damian, "Oh dear, sweetie, this is Gotham. There's nothing safe about here, I mean, the crimes have been going down thanks to Batman and his group, but there's no reason why you should be alone here!"
That caught Damian's attention.
Batman, his group. What does that mean. Talia told him nothing of the sort, she probably didn't have time to. Damian never won against his mother, not once. She died long before he ever could. A blade pierced through her body right through her heart. It was a good thing it had been quick, at least, that's what Damian was told. There hadn't been an attempt to revive Talia with the pit, he didn't know why, he didn't ask why, he wasn't to ask why.
"Batman has a group?" Damian had a sudden surge of interest in the conversation, any information he could get about Batman would be of great help.
The woman, for a moment, had paused. She shifted back to look at her children before wiping her hands down on her floral yellow dress. She then spoke, "Ah, yes, the Batman has many people who he works with. When I was a young teen, I remember he used to only work with two. Though those boys seemed to be all grown up by now."
Damian had chuckled, not a real one, a flat toned fake one. One to make it seem like he was enjoying this, enjoying talking, he was not. "Ah, who are they?"
The woman had twirled a strand of her hair aimlessly as she began speaking, "The first one, he's mostly the protector for Blüdhaven these days. My mother would tell me that he had been such a sweet boy, he was bright and happen. Then the other one came along. By then the older one went through a hard teenage phase. If anything, the second one was brighter than the first, a lot happier too.
"I remember seeing that boy on TV, he was so sweet. Then he disappeared… god were some of us so sad with his sudden disappearance. Then the next one appeared, he didn't last long though, honestly, I think he retook the mantle after the girl."
Damian had nodded his head, at this point he had been standing there for three-ish minutes just listening. "I didn't know any of that."
The woman had slowly nodded her head, her soft brown curls bouncing with her head movement, "Trust me, not everyone gets it the first dozen times."
Suddenly the toddler began waving her hands widely, she seemed to have been pouting, "mom!! Mom! Mom!! Please let's go!"
The woman had turned to look at her toddler before facing Damian once again, "Good luck out here, sweetie. Make sure to get home safe."
The woman had then turned and left with her two children, not before looking back at Damian with concern once more before leaving.
Damian had been left alone, once again, though this time he had a bit more information on his father. At least this time he knew the man didn't work alone. But what if he already had enough people in his life, what if Damian turned out to just be another orphan out in the world? What if Damian wasn't enough, would he be sent back to Ra's?
Shortly thereafter Damian left the store— empty handed. He thought about heading over to the bank, but it seemed too busy, he'd try later. He didn't even have a bag on him, not a single thing other than money on him. He had no time to pack. Wasn't like he had a way to contact Bruce now. Would it be stupid to turn up now? He didn't even know the man.
[Chapter 2]
