Chapter Text
Gotham City, June 14th, 2X20
Dick hums to himself while he removes the gloves to his Nightwing suit, watching the others begin removing their gear, a little bored. Patrol had been…okay. Nothing bad had happened, but nothing good had happened either. Honestly the only notable thing that happened was that-
“What the hell is wrong with you, Demon?”
Dick sighs and prepares himself to break up another fight between Damian and Tim.
“Tt. You obviously need to be checked for a head injury, Drake. As you can see I am in peak physical condition.” Damian replies haughtily, glaring up at Tim with his arms crossed and his mask already removed.
“Don’t try and act dumb, something has been up with you all night! The last few days even!” Tim glares back at him. The thing is, Dick noticed, was that Tim was right. Damian had been distracted during patrol for the past few days, which was unheard of from the miniature workaholic. The point only got nailed further home when instead of snapping back at Tim with some sort of scathing remark, Damian instead looks away with a troubled expression on his face. Seeing Damian not escalating a confrontation was all it took for Bruce to interject.
“Damian, is everything okay?” Bruce asks, his expression neutral but his eyes concerned.
Damian sighs, and then looks Bruce in the eye, his expression almost guilty.
“I… I have been keeping a secret from you, at Mother’s behest. However, I now believe that it would be cruel not to tell you.” Damian takes a steadying breath, and if Dick hadn’t been raised by the world’s greatest detective, he wouldn’t have noticed Damian clenching his fists too. “I am not the only child you and Mother had together. I have a twin. Two years before Mother brought me here we were split up, and sent on different missions by Grandfather. I never saw him again after that, but Mother told me his mission was intended to take years to complete.”
And after that metaphorical bomb gets dropped, Dick watches as an absolutely devastated look crosses Bruce's face before he manages to reign it in, closing his eyes and taking a moment to collect himself. Once he’s ready again he opens his eyes and looks at Damian, expression once again neutral but eyes undeniably sad.
“What’s his name?” Bruce asks quietly. Damian seems to study him for a moment before replying.
“His name is Danyal, and he is formidable.”
Amity Park, June 14th, 2X24
Danny couldn’t believe this, a B-?!. He’d been studying for this for weeks and he got a B-?!. Surely Mr. Lancer just made a mistake while he was grading, he’ll have to speak to him on Monday.
“What’s got you looking all scowly.” Tucker and Sam are both looking at him while they’re walking home, the warm summer air lightly breezing past. Danny lets out an exasperated and dramatic sigh.
“Mr. Lancer gave me a B- on our book report, which sucks because I actually tried this time!” Danny throws his arms in the air. With the ghosts finally starting to leave him alone and Vlad coming to terms with the fact his mom is not available, Danny thought he’d finally have time to get his grades back up. Turns out when you miss the majority of the school year the curriculum gets a bit more difficult.
The trio keep walking while talking about their plans for the weekend until they get to the corner of the street, where Danny turns left and Tucker and Sam continue forward. When Danny reaches his house and enters, he immediately notices that something is wrong. It’s not a tangible feeling, the house is the same temperature as always, everything is in the correct spot, even the dust on the bookshelf is the same, but Danny can feel in his gut that something isn’t right.
“Mom? Dad?” He calls while cautiously making his way further inside, making sure to keep his eye on the dark corners and the windows as he walks towards the basement.
“We’re in the lab, Honey!” His mom calls out from downstairs, and he feels some of the tension in his body release. If his parents are okay, then maybe he’s wrong about whatever it is that's setting his League training off. As he walks down the steps however, he notices that the lab is suspiciously quiet, absent are the usual sounds of tinkering and his parents talking to each other. When he gets to the basement door he sees his mom standing a few metres away, looking at him expectantly.
“Your Dad and I have something to show you.” She waves her hand to call him over, and he begins to walk to her. Before he makes it all the way, he sees as her eyes seem to sharpen right as he hears the crackling of electricity behind him. Something jabs into the back of his neck and his throat tightens before he can even let out a scream, and the last thing he sees is his parents' dark forms above him, a modified taser with green electricity in his dads hand.
The last thing he does is press the button in his pocket, which will notify any League of Assassins member in the area that he is in danger.