| DC/Marvel: Age of Infinite Heroes | ||||||||||
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For some reason Alfred asked Damian if he would wait in his room. A strange request perhaps. It was days since Bruce was last here and upset, and he never returned. No one really knew where he went, though if anyone bothered to trace the plane he took it was China, close to the North Korean border. Nothing after that, and no announcement of why he was leaving or where he was going, or when he would come back. He hadn't even returned and stayed in the mansion for a full hour before he left, hasn't stayed in Gotham City for a full day.
Still, surely Alfred's request is not associated with that? Though it does give Bruce after the kids had their breakfast, some time to sneak in, change, and shower before he will hunt for his son in his private quarters.
Damian had been the first to notice his Father's absence and it hadn't taken long for him, or rather, 'Lucius Fox' to find out where the plane had gone. Imitating voices was helpful for things like that. Though beyond there, the trail went cold, and Damian was wise enough to know that if Batman, even this younger Batman didn't want to be found he wasn't going to find him. So, he'd waited, pretended to go to class, and wandered the city mostly. Trying to decide what he would do now. The teacher he'd left his mother for was gone. He was terrifyingly free and angry.
So, when the order came to simply wait in his room, Damian assumed it would have something to do with his Father, either he had returned, or he was not coming back and Alfred would be telling him the news in private. So, he waits, standing by his window, arms crossed and scowling.
There is a quiet knock on the bedroom door before it opens without waiting for approval to enter. Then again, at least this time, Damian was expecting company at some point. What he likely was not expecting was to see Bruce Wayne, the adult Bruce Wayne, in stylish slacks, shoes, a dress shirt and an elegant jacket as if he is about to head out for the public viewing. "Damian," the man greets favoring the neutrality that Bruce often greeting his son before his de-aging.
Yes, who comes through the door is a surprise, and it's registered by a lift of Damian's right brow. "So, you're back," he says with his customary challenging tone falling back into the old patterns of their strained relationship without thinking about it. His arms stay crossed but his brow lowers as he remarks "It seems your time in China was fruitful."
Bruce raises an eyebrow. "I would think you would be happy I was no longer a 'diminished' man," he states after the door is closed beyind him, revealing he has his memories from before. "I was what you wanted Damian. I am Batman, not a Father, and yet you are still not pleased. Do you even know what you truly want or even need?"
Damian regards his father coldly. So he did remember. Having the word diminished thrown back at him stung, but perhaps it was deserved. "I only meant you weren't your old self and that Mother would read that as a weakness. However it seems moot to argue about it now. You're yourself again." He allows a little bit of his true feelings into those words. He is pleased but he quickly puts those feelings back behind his customary walls. However those walls are less thorny now and he sinks back onto the window seat hands clapping down on his knees. "And of course. To learn from the Batman and to claim my birthright, I thought that was obvious."
"It isn't your birthright," Bruce puts that forward immediately. "I realize I never explained myself to you very well, I was always worried about pushing you away as I have Dick, as I have even Tim at times, even Alfred. So I choose the neutral ground, the 'safe ground'," he states. "Batman is no one's birthright, he is a legacy yes, but he is not one determined by blood. It is one determined by action, by perspective, by will, and especially by compassion. It is one defined by heroism and self-sacerfice. You are the son of Bruce Wayne. Batman has no sons, he never will. Batman is a symbol, not a man, he never was."
"I see," Damian says quietly looking down at his hands. Once again he was tripping over his mother's half-truths. He had always believed himself the son of Batman, and Bruce Wayne had been an afterthought, a part his father played to fit in with the rest of the unexceptional people of the world. "So, what now? Normalcy? The faint hope of running Wayne Enterprises one day, or is that Tim's again?"
"You will become what you desire Damian. If you want to work toward learning about compassion, self-sacerfice, and the Batman legacy you will. If it's truly what you want, nothing will stop you, not if you are a Wayne. Wayne males always were the most stubborn lot. If you earn the trust and respect of Lucius Fox, you will earn Wayne Enterprises, because that will mean you will put Gotham City, the world, before your own personal goals or self-rise to power."
Bruce then walks toward Damian, moving to place his hands on his son's shoulders. "Damian, I am not telling you no to anything, but I am not saying yes. I am not saying you have to prove yourself, you will always have my love, you will always be my son. But what you have demanded by bloodright are not things just handed off because of bloodline, it will be given to those that will love and protect what I have dedicated my life to loving and protecting, and that includes looking out for you," Bruce states.
"You are smart and intelligent, just like me, but there is a difference between us. I drove myself to insane heights to obtain goals for those I remembered, those I loved, not because it was merely 'expected' of me, or because I felt I had to do it to obtain approval or praise. I did it because I desired to do it, for my own personal needs and wants. You have been driven to excel, to push yourself to insane limits for your Mother's approval, to be 'deserving' of things you were never even given a choice of."
"I can look out for myself," Damian protests, but it's reflex, and most tellingly he doesn't shrug out of his father's grip. He listens to the rest and when his father is done, he adds "Your approval too," well Batman's but he trusts his father understands that. "Had you not come for me I would have come on my own. I tried when the worlds merged, but I failed, why do you think Mother chose islands for me to live on?" He says not looking at his father and not trusting himself to keep his emotions in check. "Everyone brings up choice like I should be grateful I have one. I wasn't bred for choice, I wasn't trained for it, I need a purpose," he looks up at Bruce then the walls behind his eyes barely holding back his emotions. "Just set me to a task, set whatever rules you want, and I won't fail you."
And Bruce moves to bend down and rest one knee on the floor as he looks into his son's face. "But you need a choice. They aren't easy, I never said they where, but you deserve them. And the point you remove choice from your life, is when you lose control over your life. You aren't anyone's puppet Damian, you are your own man. And you will discover your own purpose, or you will shape it yourself, and it will be amazing just like you are." Bruce smiles a little bit.
"One of my Masters spoke to me once when I was taking defeats in training hard. He said there is still much to learn from your failures, and they can be just as rewarding as your successes. At the time I didn't understand, as failure meant death. However, what he meant was to understand why you failed in a task, and to discover your own flaws so you can improve on them. He meant to give me direction rather than beating myself up on the inside," Bruce strives to explain. "I'm not going to disown you because you stumble Damian, I know you are learning, you are growing, and it isn't going to be an easy road for you. But you also aren't alone, you have a family and friends now that you can depend on to help you up, and to protect your back. Does that at least help a little bit?"
Damian frowns when he's not given a purpose, a task. "I can still train though, and patrol, while I figure out this purpose?" he asks the smile is registered with a nod. "And of course whatever I do will be amazing, I'm me," he says with a shake of his head as though that was painfully obvious, though there is just a glint of humour in his eyes that suggest he's not entirely serious.
The rest is processed and considered carefully before he replies. "Somewhat, I still think Tim is an idiot, but Carrie, Dick, Alfred and yourself make up for his insufficiencies in support and back covering," another joke in under ten seconds, even if it is a touch snarky, still a new record. He lets out a breath breathing out his pent up emotions with it. "What now?" he asks.
"Of course. You are still part of this family Damian," Bruce assures. Imagine, Bruce assuring someone, how strange. And he smirks a little bit, "Duh, what was I thinking to say something so obvious?" A chuckle comes from Bruce, "Don't be too mean to Tim now, you could learn a lot about investigation from him," ruffling your hair a bit.
As for what now? "I will go back to being Batman, as it should be. Dick will be going back to being Nightwing. He will also be helping your training a lot now, as I expected your answer, and he will be needing your assistance in Bludhaven as activity has increased there. I've also asked Nightwing to work with you and Aquaman in tracking down his son's murderer, my godson's murderer," his expression hardening a bit at that. "I cannot afford to be away from Gotham City right now, but Arthur needs friends he can trust at his side right now."
Bruce is quiet for a moment, before he adds, "Mr. Fox will likely be increasing your business lessons about business practices if you are still interested. But there is one more thing we need to discuss."
There is obvious relief when Damian is told he can continue training. His shoulders ease slightly only to tighten again, briefly when his hair is ruffled. "Tt. Fine," he says about learning from Tim, but adds "And, duh? Really Father?" he shakes his head.
"I am fine with the training you've set up for me, Nightwing, Dick, is not unskilled and he and I have already established what we need to work on together. However, with your permission, I would like to reach out to other teachers too, in Gotham, who have skills I need. Cassandra, Oracle, others, I figure your example is a good one to follow, fortunately living in Gotham these days means I do not need to go so far to find my teachers."
He smiles a little then. "And yes, that would include Mr. Fox. I enjoy his lessons and have come to at least tolerate his impertinent tone." Though the smile wilts a little at the last statement and he nods. "I suspect I know what that is."
"That would be fine, just remember to let Dick know what you are working on, alright?" Bruce raises an eye, "If you mean Talia, that is something later. I am..investigating in those that attacked you and Carrie," likely to see if Talia set it all up. "In either case, only you and Dick are to know that I have retained my memories of what happened. No one else, not Carrie, not Tim, not even Alfred should have confirmation on anything that is not 'he does not remember' exactly what happened. Can you honor my request?"
"Hm, yes Mother too," Damian says, apparently not meaning her but he nods and moves on. "One of them was the Toyman, I found him in the Batcomputer, but the other one, the blonde bored looking one, he's still a blank," clearly Damian had done a bit of probing on his own. The request though that gets a nod. "I will honour it Father," he promises.
"Very well. I'll look for your report in the Bat Computer, if not there, make sure you get it in before tomorrow alright? Your safety is important to me." And it's awkward, but Bruce does move to hug his son. "We will work through all of this." Bruce hopes he made it clear just how important Damian is, and just how important his son has control over his own life and his own life's direction, but that he is more than welcome to be part of the legacy. He isn't sure he achieved his objective, but for the first time in a while, he prays he did.
Damian nods. "It's there. You taught me proper procedures," he says before he sees the hug coming. It's one of those things you learn when you hang out with Carrie as much as he did. He returns the gesture but the awkwardness is not entirely one sided. When it's over he nods again "I know. Thank you," he says. He may not have understood all of it, but he had a purpose at least, and that would be enough to start.