"Blah blah blah..."

I wasn't really paying attention. Bruce had decided that it was time I went to school. I felt that I was too smart for these classes and I was definatly the youngest in my grade. Some of the bigger ones tried to beat me up on the first day, but I showed them a taste of my skill and hadn't seen them since.

Father said I wasn't allowed to be too much like Robin. We couldn't let anyone get suspisious of who I was. Not that they could take me down or anything. It's just a secret identity is just that. A secret.

Some of the nicer students had tried to make friends with me, but I really couldn't make one. I wasn't used to being around kids my own age. I wasn't sure how to act, what to say, or who to be. So I just kept to myself. No reason to get attached to someone I had to lie to all the time.

The day dragged on. I found school extreamly boring and a waste of time. I could hack any computer, take down a man three times my size, use a sword, I used to be ready to kill. What other skills did I really need?

What's even worse is I was put in Gotham Acadamy. A prep school which was very strict on, well, everything. I couldn't seem to get away with anything. Not even an eye roll.

When Bruce had asked me how school went that night, I had told him just what I had thought. He had firmly told me it was important for me to interact with other kids and to learn to be somewhat normal. I was trained by my grandfather. I didn't think I could be normal. And what was so bad with being me? I didn't need friends, they would just get hurt because of me. Besides, I had Batcow in the Batcave, along with the rest of my animals. Who needs humans?

I decided to walk to school every day. I didn't like drawing unwanted attention to myself. The only reason people wanted to be friends with me was to bribe me into giving them money. Everyone know who I was now, and they were always trying to be friends with Bruce Wayne's son. Half of them didn't even know my name. The other half called me Richard or Dick, which made me want to punch them in the face. Grayson had been Father's ward a long time ago, and my teachers always compared me to him. Not. Cool.

Anyway, I was walking to school about my tenth day of school. It was raining pretty hard and I hadn't brought an umbrella, but I didn't mind. Pennyworth didn't want me walking to school today, but I convinced him that I'd be fine. Well, sort of. I mostly just snuck out of the house.

I was about half way to school when the rain poured down harder. I could hardly see three feet in front of me. I didn't see the car that pulled up in front of me until I was about three feet away from it. It slammed on the breaks in front of me and the door flew open. I jumped back to avoid it, my senses on high alert.

A man jumped out with a gun in his hand, pointing it at me. I started to get in a fighting position until I realized that I wasn't Robin right now. I clenched my teeth, turned, and ran. The gun went off, but I jumped to avoid it. I glanced behind me, but couldn't see the shooter. I ran into an ally and scurried up the fence at the end of it. I flipped over the top and landed on the balls of my feet, running as soon as I landed.

I was practically blinded by the rain and almost ran right into the barrel of another gun. I dropped to the ground as the trigger was pulled and rolled away. I quickly jumped to my feet and started running again. Someone grabbed me by the back of the overcoat. I slipped out of it and kept running.
I had no idea where I was. I didn't even have my Robin costum with me. I brought out my phone to call father, keeping in mind I was being chased by people trying to kidnap me. I remember Father warning me that Grayson had been kidnapped multiple times out of costume when he was younger. He almost didn't tell anyone about me because of that, but I hated hiding myself. I was more than a ward, I was his flesh and blood. People deserved to know about me.

"Hello?" Bruce's voice answered.

"I'm in a bit of a prediciment..." I said.

"What's wrong?"

"There's a couple of guys chasing me. Don't know what they want, but I'm guessing money." I spotted one of the guys behind me. "Gotta go." I hung up and slipped my phone in my pocket, putting my hands up in a novice fighting position. I may not be able to fight like Robin, but Damian Wayne couldn't be a total coward.

I heard faint footsteps from behind me. I dropped to the ground as a gun went off over my head. I jumped to my feet and tried to run, but I soon found out that I was surrounded. If I tried to flip over one of them, I'd revel who I really was. I was still forming a plan when three of the guys grabbed me. I tried to wiggle out of their grips, but something was plunged into my neck. A syringe. My vision went fuzzy and I fought even harder to get out of their grips. Eventually the shot took full effect and I was outcold.

~
When I regained contiousness, I was tied up in a chair in the middle of a room. A man was standing at the door with a gun in his hand. He pressed a hand to his ear and said, "The boy's awake."

I pulled at the ropes that held me in place. A gag was in my mouth. I tried to force it out, but it wasn't working.

The door opened and a tall man walked in. He looked like a failing business man. Cheap suit, old shoes, cheap 'rich-guy' haircut. I knew this guy was holding me for ransom.

He looked down at me with a smirk. "Well isn't it baby Bruce? Are you comfortable?"

I shouted some insults, but the gag stopped my colorful language from reaching the man's ears. He simply laughed while he grabbed my hair, forcing my head back. "Daddy's gonna have to pay a lot of money to get his little brat back, hm?" He reached in his pocket and showed me the note. "Two million bucks on you, kid. But trust me, your not worth that much."

The ropes around my legs were loose, but I kept the information to myself, for now. I just had to wait for when the best time to escape was. The man dropped my head and walked to the door. "And don't get any ideas, brat. If you do anything wrong, your daddy's ransom money goes up ten thousand bucks." He slammed the door shut behind him. The guard locked the door. I watched carefully to see where he put the key.

"What are you lookin' at?" The guard asked gruffly. I shrugged, trying to act like an innocent little kid. He rolled his eyes and took out his phone. I knew this was my chance. I slowly worked my legs free and started to whine. The guard glared up at me over his phone. "What?" He asked.

I jutted up my chin, gesturing to my gag. He sighed and walked up to me, taking it off. "What?"

I connected my feet with his abdomon, forcing him to slam his head into the wall. The chair I was in was bolted down so I was still in the same position. I slowly got my arms off the chair and then got them in front of me. I took the guard's knife hilt into my mouth and cut the bonds on my wrists. Then I took his gun and key. I unlocked the door and held the gun in front of me. I promised Batman that I was done killing, but that didn't mean I couldn't threaten or maim. I know he doesn't like guns, but I didn't have much of a choice.

A guard came rushing over when he heard the door open. I pointed the gun at him. He was holding a similar one in his hands. "Drop it," I said. He couldn't kill me. Heck, he probably couldn't even shoot me. I smirked as he dropped it to the ground. "Remove the rest of your weapons," I commanded. The man obliged. I stole his handcuffs and trapped his arms behind him. He was at least five foot seven, but I grabbed him anyway. I aimed the gun at his side and started walking towards the exit with my hostage. I ran into a few more guards, but none of them stopped me.

It wasn't until I saw the exit did anyone stop me. "Stop right there!" The man yelled, pointing his gun straight at my head.

"Let me through and no one gets hurt," I growled, tightening my grip on the trigger.

The guard didn't back down. He aimed at my leg. I quickly changed my target and hit my hostage's foot without looking. He cried out in agony and I let him fall to the floor. "I'm not afraid to shoot," I said. I fired the gun at him, but I made sure to aim a little to the left. "That was a warning shot.

The guard growled at me. "I'm gonna enjoy putting you back in that cell!" He threw down his gun and lunged at me. I used his size against him. He was slow. I simply stepped to the side at the last minute, causing him to run into a wall. He jumped back onto his feet with a glint of pure rage in his eyes. He was being beat my an eleven year old. I smirked and got in a novice fighting stance, dropping my gun as well. "You sure you can beat me, fatty?"

The man growled and lunged at me again. I rolled under his legs. I smiled and ran to the door. "Another time then?" I asked with a smirk. He got up to run after me, but I slammed the door in his face. I heard a thunk as soon as the door shut. I smirked and turned to find myself face to face with Batman.

"What a surprise," I said sarcastically with a smirk. "The Dark Night was a little late."

Batman gave me one of his famous bat-glares. When would he learn that they didn't work on me?

"Let's just get you home," he said. I followed him to the batmobile. "Are you hurt?"

I shook my head. "You should know that I could get out of myself. I'm not some little kid."

"I heard gunshots," he said. "Was that you?"

"And what if it was?" I challanged.

"You know I don't like guns."

"It's not like I killed anyone," I said, crossing my arms.

"I don't care," Batman growled.

"What did you expect me to do?" I asked, throwing my arms out. "Get killed? Wait for you to come? I'm not some little kid who needs rescuing, especially when it's just a couple of thugs out for some money! And I didn't even blow my cover as Damien, just so you know. Happy?"

Batman still glared at me. It didn't soften. He only broke it when he started the Batmobile. Even then, I could almost feel the rays of his anger coming off him. I crossed my arms again and slunk down in my seat. "Your probably glad I got kidnapped," I muttered. "You had me out of the house for a few days."

"Damien-"

"I'm just a nusince to you, aren't I? Just some mistake that was made between you and my mother. You would be happy if I was gone. All I've done is slow you down and cripple people, and killed when I first started out. There's no way I would've changed, is there?"

I didn't know I'd wanted my father's aproval until now. I glared out the window.

"Damien," Father said. I didn't turn around, but he went on. "I do care about you, and when I found out you were kidnapped, I looked everywhere for you. And I would have kept looking for a hundred years if I hadn't found you. I didn't know what state you were in. I know you're totally capible of freeing yourself, but you could've been drugged, crippled, shot, even dead."

I turned towards Bruce. "Y-you really want me?"

Father nodded. "More than anything else in the world. I would have payed three times that ransom money to get you back."

I swollowed. "Really?" I couldn't believe it. I had always thought I was taken care of because he felt bad for making me and thought he should take me in to redeem the sin, but he actually cared, no matter what my circumstance of birth was. I cleared my throat and shrugged. "Well, I am your son after all."

He ruffled my hair, which I hated, but endured. "That you are, Damien. That you are."