Chapter 3! A lot of people were wanting this one! If you haven't read the first chapter, check it out!-
https://at.tumblr.com/poke-me-with-a-stick/well-i-did-it-it-took-me-four-hours-but-here-it/zuvamxpyxtj0
And you can find chapter 2 here!-
https://at.tumblr.com/poke-me-with-a-stick/chapter-two-for-the-story-started-by-this/r29nboa6jg2w
Enjoy!
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Damian wasn't sure what to think. This isn't how he expected his day to go, and that's coming from someone who was quite adept at 'rolling with the punches', as Drake would put it. Days, or nights, tended to vary when it came to the life of a vigilante. And one was not a Robin, let alone the son of Batman, if they weren't able to be flexible. In some cases, quite literally (looking at you, Grayson).
So he started his day as usual, not making any big plans ahead of time incase he was needed, eating breakfast that Alfred provided, keeping his suit with him when he went out to walk Titus. And, lo and behold, he was needed.
Releasing Titus with an order to return home that he knew the dog would follow, he ducked into the nearest store bathroom and changed before rushing to aid his father.
The fight wasn't hard, for a fight against Killer Croc that is. Damian can admit that he was getting a bit cocky. Which was his downfall, as the moment he began to let down his guard, assuming the fight was over, Killer Croc grabbed him by the leg and threw him. Hard.
He thought of many things as he flew through the air. How irresponsible he was to let his guard down, how it went against all of his training with the League, about what he was going to do to get back at that-
It was around this thought when he began to drop. His training kicked in, causing him to flip and angle his feet. He had been to this park before, and knew that there was nothing blocking his way. He would be able to do a perfect roll, then he would be back on his feet and ready to head back to the fight.
Or, at least, there shouldn't have been anything there. But there was. And Damian found himself crashing into a pink- why was the water pink?- birdbath. He was drenched almost immediately, the fountain spraying him as he landed on it, soaking his face and head as he rolled onto the grass.
The liquid seemed to soak into his skin, a sensation that was frighteningly similar to a Lazerus pit, but missing the sense of dread and rage that usually came with the toxic green goo. In its place was a new feeling, one that left him warm, tingly, and light-headed. He groaned as he lay there, struggling to sit up. Why was moving so difficult?
"Are you okay?" A voice called from somewhere above him. He opened his mouth to retort that 'he was perfectly fine, thank you very much, but found his voice gone the moment he looked up. Standing over him, hand outstretched, was the most beautiful person he had ever seen.
Fluffy raven black hair and inhumanly bright blue eyes, which stared down at him with genuine concern. There were squirrels clinging to his pants, one poking its head out of his hoodie pocket, and birds perched on the boy's shoulders and head. Sunlight was rare in Gotham, and yet Damian swore that it peeked through the clouds just to give this gorgeous stranger a bright halo.
'He's and angel', Damian couldn't help but think. He continued to stare at the boy, not bothering to answer or get up. He wasn't completely sure his legs would support him if he tried to stand, a fact that should have made him more wary than he was.
His attention was brought back to the boy in front of him when he saw those amazing eyes widen, an expression that was a mix of horrified and mortified crossing his face. "Oh, Ancients," the boy groaned, "it can be applied topically." The teen grabbed his hand and hoisted him to his feet with surprising strength. Straightening, Damian was slightly pleased to find that he was taller. The shorter teen huffed, seemingly looking for something to say. Not giving him much of a chance to answer, Damian brought the teen's hand to his face, gently kissing the bony, pale knuckles. The resulting deep red blush, and squeak the boy made had Damian preening slightly.
As the boy seemed to try and orient himself, a dark figure decended into the clearing just a little ways away from them. He felt a twinge of annoyance as he recognized his father's suit, not wanting the moment he was having to be interrupted just yet.
Luckily, it seemed the teen had the same thought as he did. Well, probably not the same thought, but a solution to the problem he was facing that suited both of them. Damian felt the grip on his hand tightening slightly before they were moving, the boy ducking into the trees, dragging him along, before Batman had the chance to spot them.
Damian happily followed the teen, marveling at the feel of the cold, calloused fingers that occasionally twitched in his hand as they walked. He was content to let this handsome stranger lead him, stride quick and purposeful as he wove through the trees and around bushes.
When they did come to a stop, it was almost half-way across the park from where he originally landed. The boy dropped his hand, much to his disappointment, and began to remove the various wildlife from his person. Damian found himself watching in amusement as he tried- and failed- to remove the birds from his hair, words thst Alfred would never tolerate muttered under his breath as he did his best to avoid their sharp beaks. He did eventually manage to weasel them off, setting them gently on the ground near his feet.
Brushing nonexistent dirt off of himself, the teen glanced at him and the assembled animals before heaving a sigh and pulling not a… gun? At least, Damian thought it was a gun. It looked a bit more high-tech than an average gun, and Damian wondered how the teen had managed to hide something that bulky in his canvas bag. As he began to fiddle with it, he spoke again.
"Okay. As fun as this has been, I should really be going…" He trailed off as he turned away, little beating noises coming from the gun in his hands.
Damian frowned at his words. He was leaving already? "Will you return?" He asked hopefully. He wasn't sure what he would do if the answer was no.
The boy startled at his words, but turned towards him as he answered. Part of Damian was a bit annoyed he didn't look up from his gun. "Ah, no. I don't think I'll ever return to this universe." The boy's words were a bit off-handed, as if he wasn't truly paying much attention to what he was saying. All the while he still refused to look up.
Damian froze at the words. That was not what he had wanted to hear. Not at all. His mind glossed over the 'this universe' part, and instead focused on the part where he said that he didn't think he'd ever return.
While he wasn't the most calm and reasonable person in his family, Damian did have a reputation of being rational most of the time. This was not one of those moments. His body acted before his mind could, pulling his katana free of it's sheath and cutting down in one, smooth arch. The device in the boy's hands fell to the ground in two pieces, leaving the teen to stare at it in shock.
"No." Damian stated afterwards, grabbing the boy's arm and tossing him over his shoulder. "I won't let you." He began sprinting, no real idea of where to go in mind, just the fact that he needed himself and the teen away. Quite quickly the Robin found himself outside of the park and tearing down the streets. The very crowded streets.
People of Gotham were generally used to the weird shit that happened on an almost daily basis, but seeing Robin carrying a teen on his shoulder, away from the park, on the ground, in broad daylight? That definitely garnered him more attention than he wanted at the moment.
"Tt." He sneered at the people who had begun to rummage around their pockets for their phones, pulling his grappling hook out from his belt and swinging up to the rooftops for better stealth. The boy still hadn't reacted to his sudden kidnapping, the only action telling Damian that he was still conscious was when he felt hands grip his cloak tightly, right at his lower back. Despite the highly- effective insulation his suit and cape had, he could still feel those icy fingers through the bunched cloth. It made Damian wonder if he was a meta with some sort of ice power. It was something that could wait, though. Right now, he needed to focus on where he was, and where he could go.
His first thought was to take the boy back to the Batcave, but he quickly dismissed it. While that would be the perfect place to keep him from leaving, and to get some answers, his family was there. And they would have even more questions than he did. No, the Batcave wouldn't do. Maybe one of the safehouses?
He looked around, taking note of where he was and trying to remember if there were any safe houses in this direction. A vague memory of Red Hood showing him a map on his phone surfaced. He nodded to himself and jumped, aiming for the alleyway below. Landing lightly, he peered around the corner, making sure that no one was here, before turning and unlocking the door hidden by a dumpster.
It was only once he was inside that he set the boy down, placing him gently onto the bland brown couch. Seeing his face for the first time since picking him up, Damian expected to see anger or fear. Instead he saw a vague look of shock and confusion. But he wasn't freaking out, not that he could tell at least. Something in him warmed at the fact that he was so calm. A level head was quite admirable.
Turning away from the teen, he headed into the kitchen. Opening the first cabinet, he was meet with dishes. Cheep plates, bowls, cups, and mugs. The next cabinet over had an array of different dry boxed foods, but he was looking for something specific. A pleased hum escaped him as he found a small tin of tea behind a box of crackers.
The motions of making tea soothed away the remaining tension in his body, heating water and steeping the bags, and pouring into mugs. He let out a sigh the scent wafted from the mugs. This wasn't his favorite blend, but it was good for calming nerves, or so Alfred said. Something sweet and slightly tangy. Picking up the two mugs, he made his way back to the teen.
The boy hadn't moved from where he was sat down, resting his head in his hands. He looked up as Damian approached, carefully taking the mug that was offered to him. He glanced at it, but made no move to drink it. Instead the teen seemed to observe him, taking in his vigilante suit, along with any physical features that were visible. Usually such scrutiny would have Damian bristling, moving to take such close attention off of himself, but with him, he found that he didn't mind one bit.
Still… Damian frowned at the boy. "You should drink that." He said, bringing his own mug to his lips and taking a long drink. The boy copied his actions, taking a sip from the mug. He watched the boy blink in surprise at the taste before setting it down on the table. Damian took another long sip from his drink, observing the teen much like he was just observed.
The birds from the park had followed them here, which was very odd. They nibbled and pulled at the boy's hair, pulling out small bits of leaf litter and debri he had picked up on their trek. His clothes consisted of a Nasa hoodie, obviously loved jeans, and a pair of ratty red and white running shoes. Under the dim lamplight of the living room, his skin looked exceedingly pale, almost sickly. And his bright blue eyes seemed to glow, as he purposefully kept his eyes fixed on the tabel.
His eyes weren't the only thing that gave away his nerves, though. His hands bounced along his knees, the only thing making noise in the quiet of the safehouse. It wasn't hard at all to hear the little sigh he let out as he stood. Clearing his throat, he turned towards Damian, but had his body angled towards the door. "Well, as much fun as this has been, I really do need to get going."
Damian stood up as well. "No." He said simply. The boy froze as Damian took his hand.
"N-no?" He repeated. Damian sat him back down, putting himself between the door and the boy.
"No." He repeated firmly. "I don't want you to go."
The boy looked up at him, confused again. "Why not?" He asked. Damian had to stop himself from scoffing.
Instead he turned away taking a moment to reign in these new, strong emotions. When he turned back, his expression was cold. "You said you weren't going to back."
The teen's face stalled, before he groaned. "Of course, the potion." He mumbled quietly. His palm met his forehead with a strong, painful sounding slap. Scowling, Damian grabbed the boy's wrist, pulling it away from his face and into his lap, huffing slightly. A light blush spread across the boy's pale face, turning his cheeks a very attractive shade of pink. He waited for the boy to explain himself, admiring the 'view' he had as he waited.
"Of course!" He suddenly exclaimed, startling Damian as he dove for his bag. He watched carefully as the boy rummaged through his bag. "What are you looking for?" Damian asked warily.
The teen didn't answer him, continuing to dig until he found what he was looking for. With a quiet 'aha!' he pulled a book from the bag, and for a moment Damian could have sworn the boy had fangs. Instead of fear or suspicion though, all Damian felt was intrigue.
But he turned his focus back to the boy's find. He eyed the book with a healthy amount of suspicion. It radiated the same feel as the artifacts that Zatana and Constantine handled. A tingling feeling in the air, something significantly other about it. He didn't trust it, not without knowing what it was. The birds, that were also startled by the teen's sudden movement, settled back on the boy's shoulders and head, one of the Bluejays pulling harshly on a lock of raven hair. The boy didn't seem to register it, but Damian shot a glare at it anyways.
Setting his mug down on the tabel, Damian moved closer to the boy, peering over the teen's shoulder as he began to flip through the pages. None of the writing made since to him, the script shifting constantly in a Latin-like dialect.
He stopped on a page, his finger following along as he, presumably, read the strange shifting script. "Aha! Here it is!" He stated excitedly.
"What is it?" Damian asked. He was beginning to get impatient. He hated being left in the dark. The boy glanced over at him, letting out a small squeak at how close their faces were. Looking back down at the book with a slightly deeper blush than before, the boy cleared his throat and began to explain.
"Back at the park, you landed in a bird fountain filled with pink liquid, remember?" Damian nodded. That was what had happened. "Well, that was a love potion. And I got the potion recipe from this book." He lifted the book as imphasis. "So, I figured that if this was a potions book, then there had to be a potion that would cancel the effects of the potion that's influencing you right now!"
Damian sat back slightly, brows furroing as he thought over this new information. 'It makes sense,' he thought. 'Usually I wouldn't be this…out of control.' He glanced over at the boy, who was looking over what he could only assume was a potions recipe. Just to be sure, he asks what he thinks he already knows. "So you're saying that my actions aren't my own at the moment?"
The boy hummed in acknowledgement, setting the book on the table and turning to look at him. "Ueah. You're under the influence of a love potion right now. You aren't actually in love with me." Damian scowled at that, a protest welling up in his throat, but he remained quiet, letting the boy continue. "And the dose you got dunked in always a pretty big one. So any emotions you feel towards me, your actual emotions or not, are going to feel… amplified for as long as the potion remains in effect."
Damian huffed at the boy's words, but thought them over. While it was true that his emotions were a bit much, from what he usually experienced, he also didn't feel wildly out of control. He found it hard to believe that the emotions he felt were all fake. He wouldn't be so infatuated with someone without it having some sort of founding, potion or not. Yes, maybe some of this interest was artificial, but the thought of all of it being fake didn't seem possible. He was an Ah Ghul. He was taught for most of his life how to handle his emotions, as well as his mental and physical states. An assassin must be in control of themselves all the time, after all.
The silence between the two stretched on, only broken by those birds that had followed them, until Damian spoke again. "I don't believe you." He said, c quite confident in his evaluation of himself. The boy's face dropped, a look of exasperation crossing his lovely features. "While I do believe what you say about the 'love potion', I don't believe that all my feelings are false."
The boy looked at him, confused once again. "What do you mean?" He asked.
"I mean, that I know myself." Damian stated. "While you may be telling me the truth about being 'under the influence', as you put it, I believe that I would know if something was tampering with my emotions."
The boy sighed. "Alright," his expression was carefully blank as he spoke. "Then what now?"
Damian rubbed his hand along his lower jaw. "Now, I will help you." He stated plainly. There was nothing else he could do, aside from keeping the teen locked in a safe house for the foreseeable future. While he wasn't opposed to that idea, it wouldn't be the best. His family would get curious eventually, and it was obvious what the boy thought about the situation as it was now.
"Help me? With what?" The teen asked stupidly.
"With the antidote." Damian responded resisting the urge to roll his eyes. Not that the boy would have been able to see it anyways. "I will help you get whatever you need." The boy's expression lightened. "But," Damian added, "I won't stop trying to convince you that my feelings are real." He counted it as a win when all the teen did was shrug in response.
"Well, if we're going to be working together," the teen looked at him. "What do I call you?." Damian stood up, being careful to keep his body between the teen and the door. He didn't seem to be trying to leave at the moment, but one could never be too sure.
"In costume you can call me Robin," Damian said, his hands lifting towards his face. "But my real name is-" the teen moved suddenly, leaping forwards at a speed that would be impossible for most, and slapped one hand across his mouth, the other batting his hands away from his mask.
"No, don't just reveal you identity to me." The kid spoke, his voice firmer than it had been a few moments prior. "No big reveals until after I get you the antidote. I would rather you be in your right mind if you do that."
Damian huffed, but lowered his hands. He had no doubt that he wanted the teen to know, but…
"Tt." He responded with a scowl. "Fine, if it makes you feel better, my identity will stay secret. For now."
The boy sighed in relief before offering his hand. "It's nice to meet you Robin. I'm Danny." Damian took the boy's -Danny's- hand, giving it a firm shake. Danny smiled at him slightly. When he felt Danny's hand loosen around his, Damian held it tighter, bringing it up to his mouth and planting a kiss on the boy's cold knuckles. He couldn't help but smirk when Danny let out a small, startled noise and yanked his hand back. With a sigh, the boy returned to his book. Damian left him to it, walking back into the kitchen.
If there was one thing he knew, it's that his family wouldn't let him go off and help this stranger without a word. And if he knew his brothers, they would be seeking him out regardless. The best thing he could do was call in. 'Hopefully father will keep them from doing anything rash.'
Turning on his comm piece, Damian winced as his ear filled with static. Hurriedly he pulled the comm out, rubbing his ear as he glared at the small black bud. 'Odd, our equipment almost never breaks.' Puzzled, and a bit annoyed, Damian slipped the bud into one of his utility belt pouches. It didn't matter if the comm was fried, they always kept spares hidden around. Especially in safe houses.
It wasn't hard to find one, pulling out the fake bottom of one of the kitchen drawers. Comm in hand, he went further into the apartment for a bit more privacy.
Turning it on, he tuned it onto the public channel and was immediately greeted with a worried-sounding Oracle. "Robin! Oh, thank God! Are you alright? Where are you?"
"Tt." Damian scoffed. "I can assure you, I am fine." Better than fine, actually. But she didn't need to know the specifics. "I was only checking in. Let the others know that I will be busy for a while." With that, he shut the comm off again, ignoring Oracle's protests. With that done, he returned to the living room.
Danny was sitting on the couch again, mug drained of tea and scribbling on a sheet of paper. He looked up as Damian entered, stretching a bit as he set the pencil down. Damian glanced over the paper. "Is this everything?" He asked.
Danny nodded. "Yeah. That's all the ingredients." He grabbed the book and shoved it back into his bag and stood up. Grabbing their mugs, Damian took them to the kitchen before returning, looking the teen over.
"Are you ready?" He asked, holding out his hand. Danny nodded, takingnhis hand and following Damian out the door. Damian surveyed the alleyway before crouching down. "We'll have to travel by roof, if we want to avoid attracting too much attention." He told the boy. The teen grimaced, but didn't protest as he was lifted onto Damian's back. He weighed very little, a fact that he would have registered before, had he not been in such a panic about Danny leaving forever. It was worrying, how little effort it took to carry him. Sure, he was a Robin, and could lift a lot more than one person if need be, but he could barely feel the teen on his back.
Ignoring that for now (he was definitely going to bring that up later-) he aimed his grapple towards the nearest roof, and they were off.
—
"Nothing?" Dick asked Tim, hovering beside the man as he typed away at the Batcomputer. They had, after an hour of persuasion, convinced Bruce to go upstairs for a bit. In his absence, the two, along with occasional input from Oracle, had been working hard to find their missing brother.
"Not even the body cameras!" Tim groaned, his head hitting the desk in front of him with a light thump. "They aren't turned off, but the feed is so messed up that I can't get anything useful!" He pulled up a tab that showed nothing but static and the occasional random shape, the entire thing covered in a blue-green haze. "And his comm is still offline. I can't even track its last location, it just pings off everything!" His head remained on the table, and a small part of Dick was glad about that. He already had one brother missing, he didn't need a second with a head injury.
He opened his mouth to responded, but was cut off suddenly by a frantic Oracle. "Guys! Damian just called me on a backup comm!"
Both batboys straightened and stared at the screen, full business mode. "What did he say?" Dick asked.
"He said that he was okay, and that he was going to be busy for a while." Oracle's frantic typing could be heard over the comm, a testimate to how much she didn't believe the words.
Dick and Tim shared a look. "Did he say anything else?" Tim asked.
"No," the answer was quick but a bit hesitant. Like she wasn't focused fully on the conversation. Knowing her, she probably wasn't. "Dammit!" She cursed suddenly, making both men jump. "I can't even track the backup comm. Unless he has a signal scrambler on him, he shouldn't be able to do that." They shared another glanced this one worried. It usually took quite a bit to make Barbra this frustrated.
Something beeped on the Batcomputer, making both Tim and Barbra snap to attention. "What is that?" Dick asked.
Tim answered him this time. "We set an algorithm to scan through CCTV footage and alert us if it found Damian." He pulled up said footage, showing Damian room hopping with a slightly blurred figure on his back. He dipped in and out of frame for a solid minute before the camera lost track of him.
"Where was that?" Dick asked.
"I'll send you the coordinates." Oracle responded. He nodded, even though she couldn't see it, and made his way to the changing room. Re-emerging a few minutes later, Nightwing headed towards the last place his little brother was seen.
–
It was an hour later when Nightwing finally found his missing brother. Crouched on a rooftop, looking at a piece of… paper? He didn't get a good look, because the moment he landed Robin was on his feet, tossing his cape over his back and shoving the paper into one of his belt pouches.
"Baby Bat! We've been so worried!" Dick ignored how his brother was acting, slinging an arm over his shoulders. Or, he tried to. Robin ducked before his arm made contact. Nightwing frowned, but didn't say anything as he eyed his youngest brother with concern.
"Tt." Robin practically snarled at him. Straightening with his signature scowl, he eyed Nightwing with disdain. "What are you doing here, Nightwing?" He demanded, pulling one of his knives free and brandishing it threateningly at the man.
Nightwing raised his hands in a plactating manner. "Easy Robin!" He cautioned the teen. He watched the boy put a bit more distance between them, one hand reaching up to his shoulder. Before he could get a good look at what the teen was reaching for, one of Damian's knives flew past him. Strangely, he didn't see Robin move, but there was no one else here, from what he could see anyways. He ignored it, focusing solely on his brother.
"You gave us all quite a scare, Robin." He sat down on the edge of the roof, letting Robin maintain his distance for now.
Despite the mask, Dick could see Damian's confusion and agitation. "I told Oracle I was fine." He growled, sheathing his knife but not coming any closer.
"You disappear after a fight, no word and no way to track you. Why wouldn't we worry?" Dick raised an eyebrow at the teen.
"Well, you've seen me now. As you can tell, I am fine. Now, I have something I need to do." The teen walked over to the other side of the roof, peering down into the alley below.
"Hold it, Baby Bat." Nightwing jumped to his feet, closing the distance in a few long, paced steps. "You have to come home! You can't just run off without letting anyone know where you are!" He grabbed Robin's shoulder, briefly pausing at how cold and bony it felt, before Damian whipped around, grabbing his arm and twisting.
Releasing Robin's shoulder with a pained noise, he had no chance to block as Damian released his arm and gripped a bit higher. Before he could really register what was happening, Robin had flipped him over the edge of the roof. Acting on instinct, Nightwing reached out and caught the railing of the nearest fire escape.
Quickly, he made his way back up to the roof. But Robin was gone, no trace of him left on the roof. Sighing, Nightwing crouched back down, rubbing his sore shoulder. This wasn't going to be easy, was it?
Standing, he made his way back to the Batcave. Maybe if he got there quickly enough, he could keep the footage of this moment from reaching the group chat.
The buzzing from his pocket told him he was already too late.
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(I know there might be spelling and grammar errors, but I tried my best. That's all that matters!)
I'm thinking of naming this story 'Articficial Wingman', what do you guys think?
To all the people who wanted to be tagged in the next update, as well as the lovely person who wrote the prompt for this story:
@halfblackwolfdemon @manapeer @xxwintrynightzxx @im-totally-not-an-alien-2 @blu-lilac @academicpurposes @secretdestinywerewolf @passivedecept @naluforever3 @postit-nope @spiteismymiddlename @2t-productions @plague-daisy @feet-achy @bubblecookies16 @thesapphiredragon13 @justwannabecat @magicalcollecter @adeniumdream @amuseofminds @lupagrim @readerkayden @dr-syko-pharm-4 @ladythugs @angelheartgamer @markthespot68 @kyrianclawraith @michikoy-yuki @servasvictoria02 @your-emo-nightmare @vala-dreams @scarlett-green-rose @t1dwarrior-of-earth @charlie-the-frogie @akikoyuii @mysticalcomputerdetective @roseuniverse999 @im-totally-not-an-alien
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