( o13. how to fuck your life up in one night )
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gotham city, new york
creed establishments
11:57 pm
 

   "DID YOU NOT HEAR WHAT I FUCKIN' SAID? move the shipment to the northern catacomb's base! or do i need to put a bullet to your fuckin' heads to get you idiots to understand me?" creed raged as he threatened the people on the other line of the phone call. he didn't need batman all on his ass for doing some noticeable illegal shit. however, his men couldn't seem to listen to a goddamn thing coming out his mouth. they just had to sit there and whine like crybaby children about what they could or couldn't do.

     donavan creed was an intimidating man who most people heard about and feared. although his name was passed around from time to time, he always managed to stay inconspicuous and to himself. the only time creed had managed capture that much attention was when him and black mask were going back and forth a few years back, but that was a story for another time.

     creed didn't need any of his men fucking up his business. he was already in a tight spot because the assassin had been killing off his men left and right. he didn't know wether he was being targeted or warned, but either way it wasn't easing his nerves one bit.

      keeping his business together had been so stressful lately, and the constant bullshit with his men was making it even worse. he had always questioned why he hadn't been firing people left and right, but they were necessary to what was going on at the moment. just like any other crime lord in that dump of a city, gotham was creed's home. it was always his destiny to take over after his father, and he had no problem doing so.

      creed had slammed the telephone back onto telephone rack, and frustratedly pinched the bridge if his nose with the index finger and his thumb, growling in annoyance.

     "rough evening?" a low, husky voice interrupted him, causing him to quickly turn around, pulling out his gun on instinct. oh no. he had to be fucking kidding. it was the fucking batman. did he catch onto what creed was doing? why was he here? he began asking question after question in his head. even though the dark vigilante had almost gave him a heart attack from sneaking in like that, he had to remain calm and make his business as unnoticeable as possible. however, he continued to glare at batman.

"i never understand why the hell you think it's okay to just come in and sneak up on people like that."

      "calm down. i'm only here to ask a few questions regarding the murders of the three men who worked for you." he blankly reassured the man, not even phased that someone had pulled out a gun on him. he was pretty used to it now.

slowly lowering his weapon, he opened the left drawer on the front of his wooden desk, and put the gun back in there, a hardened look still present on his face as he remained silent. "do you know who could possibly be targeting your men and why they would feel the need to brutally murder them and leave their bodies around?" batman asked creed.

     "no," creed closed his eyes and let out a sigh. "i don't have any enemies that i know of. all i do is run my business and keep to myself."

batman then gruffly asked with a hint of sarcasm, "you sure you didn't piss anyone off within the last few weeks? those killings seemed ... personal."

     there was a hint of aggravation in creed's tone when he replied, "i doubt it," he began to slowly make his way around his desk and sit in his black business chair. "haven't made any personal deals in a while."

batman then asked creed, "what about any of the men that work for you? do you think there's a chance one of them are involved in this?"

      he's outta his goddamn mind. none of them even have the balls to look another man in the eyes. what makes him think they're bold enough to get involved with an assassin?

     the crime lord scoffed. "as if. those idiots don't have to guts to even ..."

     "you'd be surprised," batman responded to creed, sarcasm running out his mouth. the amount of times batman had to deal with people because their bosses were assholes were uncountable.

even though it was a possibility this time, it felt different to him. clearly creed didn't know what was going on either, which also made the entire situation weird and perplexing. he still wasn't getting any closer to tracking the assassin down. the only connection he was able to get out of it was the assassin's association with the league, however ... shiva explained that they didn't know anything, which brought him back to square one.

     "is that all you needed?" creed shrugged as he asked batman.

     taking the time to turn his head and look around the office, he responded, "i'm surprised out of all people the assassin could be hunting for, it's you.

"who do you mean?"

"it's odd that an assassin would go after a private man like you. you said it yourself that you don't make enemies easily. and for some reason an assassin is most likely after you. i doubt they need money. they may want control, but we don't know that. but the point is," batman took a few steps forward to the man's desk. "you must have something they want and they're doing whatever they can to make sure they get it."

creed looked away in thought. "there's no telling what they want, and killing off my fucking men isn't ringing a bell either."

     "you need protection until i get this assassin under control." batman told creed.

     "and how do you exactly plan on doing that?" creed asked, sarcasm slipping out of his mouth as he casually leaned back on his chair with his head resting on the palm of his hand.

     before batman got the chance to say anything back, his earpiece beeped, interrupting the two adults. "batman?" dick's voice said through the com. he sounded serious.

     "i'm busy." batman responded in slight irritation.

     "it's damian, he's gone."

     "... damnit."

[two hours ago ...]

gotham city, new york
wayne manor
9:00 pm

    DAMIAN LET OUT A RELIEVED SIGH as he flipped a page in the current book he was reading. bruce was busy finding information regarding the victim's connections with his other siblings, leaving him left out by himself. damian didn't feel like arguing with his father about the matter at the moment, considering he didn't have the time, nor energy to hear bruce go on about him being stubborn. not like he wasn't, but still.

     closing the book shut, he tossed it to the side of his bed and laid there, staring at the ceiling. damian hated feeling helpless. he needed something to do other than school, homework, and constantly taking his boredom out on a punching bag almost everyday to kill wasted time. anything else would be better than doing nothing. hell, he'd rather deal with storm's annoying company than sit there in boredom. just anything.

     damian thought back to his time at the league where you were anything but bored. there was no way you could be bored. there was definitely always something to do there. training over seventeen hours a day, the other seven used for sleep.

     damian spent most of his life having to wake up at 4AM to swing katanas around, run up and down hills, and climb three hundred feet up snowy, tall mountains for either training or actually going out on missions to kill his grandfather's enemies for him, and he wasn't done until about 9PM. and he had to do the same thing again and again. definitely some shit he didn't want to experience anymore.

a sudden knock at the teenage boy's bedroom door seemed to snap him out of his personal thoughts. he still wasn't really in the mood to talk to anybody in the manor. alfred was most likely the only exception.

"go away." damian demanded at the person outside his door, irritation present in his voice.

     "is this what i get for wanting to take you out on patrol?" dick's dramatic and sarcastic voice spoke, pretending to be offended at damian's words as if he weren't used to hearing them on a daily basis.

     confused, damian got up, opened the door and stood there with a blank expression. "isn't it you and drake's day to patrol tonight?" he asked in a bored tone.

     "well yeah, but," he started with his finger pointed out to the air. "i know you're feeling miserable and you need some air. so i convinced tim to let you take his place tonight. i mean unless you wanna go back to locking yourself in your room all night like prisoner then ..."

     rolling his eyes at dick's sarcastic remark, he simply told his older brother, "i'll be out in five." and closed the door in his face.

was this some type of brotherly thing to make damian not be mad at him anymore? where was he really going with this? damian refused to believe his brother was only trying to give him some fresh air by letting him take tim's spot in patrolling gotham city tonight. damian still wasn't over what happened. he was still angry that his family still didn't trust him, no matter how much he's changed over the years. therefore, he wasn't ready to forgive them at the moment.

     damian quickly changed into his robin costume as finally caught up with nightwing, who waited on top of a medium sized apartment building. it took about two minutes for damian to get there.

      "you were supposed to wait on me, grayson." robin spat at nightwing, who grinned and shrugged his shoulders in return.

     "hey, you were taking too long." nightwing responded.

     robin rolled his eyes and scoffed at his older brother. "whatever. i know you're only doing this because i'm pissed at you."

nightwing's expression began to shift into a more serious one, a small sigh escaping his lips. "i mean, i understand why you feel the way you feel. can't force you to not be mad anymore. but," his lips curled back into a smirk. "i can force you to stop acting like one of those depressed emo teenagers from those weird movies."

"shut up, childish imbecile," damian said in an aggravated tone with his eyes staring straight ahead of him. "it's not really you, it's my father. he ... pisses me off. i can't seem do anything without him cutting me off, like he doesn't even care. he still treats me like i'm fucking ten." damian let some of his anger out, obviously needing to rant to someone.

     nightwing listened to the words that came out of his little brother's mouth. he appreciated that damian had learned to open up a little more. it showed that he trusted him. dick remembered how shit damian was at expressing himself all those years ago, and when he did, it was always out of violence and anger. he could see he had grown a lot within the past five years spent with them.

damian wasn't perfect, none of them were. they all had their inner demons and trauma that made them who they are today. damian was only a kid, therefore he deserved to live a normal life, a life the rest of them never got to have.

he could see that damian truly did want to change his ways, but his tough relationship with bruce wasn't helping at all. bruce wasn't used to having a biological son he didn't know about and who also grew up with opposite morals as him, so obviously the two had contradicting opinions when it came to how they viewed things. damian was taught that killing was the answer while bruce was a man of justice. it caused lots of arguments and debates on whether damian could handle fighting along side with bruce at first.

"you know, damian, you're only a fifteen year old boy," nightwing said, damian looking back at his older brother. "and when i was ten wasn't even doing half the things you were doing. but, you've grown a lot, even though you're young and still a pain in the ass." he managed to throw in a joke.

     nightwing couldn't notice it, but robin flashed a half second crooked smirk. although damian wasn't the kind of person to show appreciation or gratitude, he could tell his older brother really wanted what was best for him. he was glad he believed in him, but how could he find what was best for damian if he, himself, struggled with finding what was best for him.

      growing up with his new family, he always questioned what his place was in all of this. yeah, he was robin. but how the hell could he find a purpose for himself if his father kept on pushing him aside whenever he wanted to help?

"i suppose you're forgiven." robin scoffed as he closed his eyes and crossed his arms.

before nightwing could say anything back, there was an enormous scream that pierced through the night. it sounded like it came from a nearby alley, obviously not far from where they were. the two looked at each other confused and then immediately sprang into action, jumping landing from building to building until they reached where the sound was coming from.

     what the hell? is that...

     "an assassin," nightwing finished his exact thought with wide eyes. "i think we found them."

there was a man who's face went as pale as a ghost, fear present in his eyes as he kept begging for his precious life to be spared. crimson red blood dropped down his forehead and from his nose. and he was wearing a suit with a 'security' label. the other, a figure in all black clothing, a fancy katana in his right hand. they couldn't even make out their face, but they could tell this person was most likely who they were looking for.

"please, don't kill me! i'll tell you whatever you need to know, i promise! oh god, i have a family, please!" the man begged as a kept attempting to back up against the brick wall behind him, even though he couldn't back up anymore.

     "god, you're so fucking whiny," the figure spoke. "maybe i'll let you live ..."

     "... right after i get rid of these dumbasses watching me from above." the assassin, who was clearly a guy, said as he pointed the katana towards robin and nightwing's direction, their eyes going wide during the process. his face was mostly covered, a mask protecting his nose and mouth and a hood over his head.

     "you both think this is some type of movie that you can just sit back and watch? or did you think you were gonna sit there and listen like i wouldn't notice? kinda defeats the whole purpose of being an assassin, don't you think?"

robin was taken aback by this assassin. not only was he skilled at killing, he was really skilled in identifying others' presence without even trying. ready to take the assassin on, damian immediately shifted quickly towards the assassin with his eyes narrowed, determined to take him down.

"robin!" nightwing called out. "shit," he sweared under his breath as he was forced to follow after the reckless teenage boy.

robin immediately pulled out his own katana and began attacking the assassin. the sound of katana blades clashing was present as well as grunts of frustration as robin struggled to keep up, the assassin clearly being more advanced than him.

nightwing jumped in and tried using his baton to get a hit in, but the assassin was able to dodge it and send a forceful kick below his chest, sending him back while at the same time, holding off robin. robin managed to kick the assassin in his side, even though the mysterious killer was a split second from blocking him.

     damn, he's fast, robin thought.

     "can't you both just stay down? i have shit to do and you weirdos are keeping me from getting it done." the hooded assassin said in a bored tone.

     "yeah," nightwing started while breathing heavily. "not gonna happen, buddy."

     with that, the assassin, who was started to get pissed off at the two vigilantes, swooped left while grabbing a mini dagger from a pocket in his left leg and sliced nightwing twice on his right leg and once on his side along with a quick punch to the stomach, causing nightwing to yell out in pain.

damian on the other hand, was trying to figure out some weak points. he would've been able to stop him like that if he wasn't so quick and sturdy with his reflexes. he saw nightwing was down at the moment, which meant it was up to him to try and stop him ... in which he knew damn well it was going to be one hell of a fight.

     "unless you wanna end up like your friend here, i suggest you drop it and let me handle my business."

     "what fucking business do you have randomly murdering people?!" robin yelled his response, clearly frustrated.

     the assassin refused to answer, and his covered face turned back towards the terrified man who was just watching the fight in complete shock, instead of just running away like any other smart person would do. robin caught on to what he was about to do and immediately jumped on top of the assassin's back, punching him in the process, attempting to take him down.

     the teenager yelled at the security man to run, and he finally did. he ran for his life.

     robin managed to get a few good hits in before the assassin swung his hand over and grabbed him, pulling the vigilante over his head and slamming him down on his back, the force of the impact being enough for it to feel like he got thrown into some hard ass concrete.

     while robin was down, the assassin took that as an opportunity to run off and finish off the man before things started to get out of hand. of course, robin wasn't just gonna let him slip away that easily.

     dammit ... robin sweared in his head as he managed to get up, his back still in lots of pain. he was used to that kind of pain, though. at the league, if you were still able to move, you were useful. hurting his back would considered a minor injury in nanda parbat.

"robin, he is gonna kill you." nightwing groaned as he sat up, clearly experiencing way more pain than robin.

"i'm not letting him get away that easily." robin sternly said back before grabbing his katana again and running off after the assassin. call him stubborn and reckless, but he wasn't gonna get casted aside this time. as soon as robin caught up he saw as the assassin looked back at him as he irritatedly took a breath.

"robin, damnit!" nightwing yelled out for him. not being able to stand on his left leg, he just took out his communicator, ringing batman and hoping for him to pick up. he knew he was busy, but it was urgent.

"batman?" nightwing acknowledged him.

"i'm busy." batman blankly told nightwing, but you could clearly hear the annoyance in his tone.

he's gonna be pissed.

"it's damian ... he's gone."

" ... damnit ..."

     robin looked over to the side and saw the man ... dead? how? did he kill him that quick?

"what the hell is your problem?" robin said in a low voice, anger and frustration present in his tone.

"gotta be more specific there, i have many." the assassin carelessly responded to the teenager.

he really thinks this is some kind of joke, robin thought to himself. robin sprinted at the assassin assassin once more, not caring about his back aching whenever he moved.

     both of their katanas continued to clash together. the assassin was surprised the vigilante could still move after landing on his back the way he did. he had to admit, robin was stronger than he anticipated, which was a problem.

"i'd suggest you stand down and turn yourself in before you make this even worse for yourself." robin got out while attempting to dodge each one of the assassin's attacks.

     "if i wanted to, i would've."

     the assassin swung his katana again as damian dodge, earning a clear opening for him to strike. he took his katana and gave him a clean stab through the leg. the assassin lowly grunted in pain, however it earned robin a punch to the nose, causing blood to rapidly flow out his right nostril.

while the punch somewhat caught him off guard for a half a second, the assassin took out a dagger from his leg pocket and pierced it through robin's bottom left forearm, causing him to yell out in pain, giving the assassin a chance to kick him back to the brick wall of a building behind him. robin felt as the back of his head hit the wall hard, along with another blow to his back.

     robin laid there in defeat as he was sure he had a mild concussion from hitting his head so hard on the wall behind him. his nose was bloodied up and his arm needed stitches. the assassin stood tall before him with his ancient katana pointed at his face as robin stared at him with a scowl on his face.

     "really, a kid? what the hell are you, twelve? where are your parents?" he sarcastically asked robin.

     "going to kill me or what?" robin aggressively asked him.

     pennyworth's gonna be pissed ...

     "listen closely," the the older assassin started. "stay out of it, or get killed. your choice."

     "i know you're involved with the league. what are your intentions for killing those people, if you have any?" he ignored him and asked.

     the masked man took a slight step back. "none of your business, kid. now i suggest you go home and worry about your homework or something. you're not who i'm looking for."

     "tell me, now. or i'm just going to assume you framed the league to keep us off your back."

     the assassin only let out a dry chuckle that left robin confused. "the league ..." he said with venom as he dropped the katana away from the teenage vigilante's face and turned around, walking away. however, he turned his head towards him and pointed the sword in his direction one last time. "stay in your place or i won't hesitate to end your life next time. cool?"

     and within a swift moment he was long gone, leaving an injured robin by himself.

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PUBLISHED ──── 01/16/2022

AUTHOR'S NOTE ──── okay so like ... i deadass just gave yall a glimpse of the assassin 😩🙌🏽✨ mf really said "ion got time for this shit piss off" 💀

and i promise i don't hate nightwing even tho i had him get his ass kicked 😭 damian just needed his moment i swear. and i can't write fight scenes for shit i'm sorry 💀💀💀

and yes this is the longest chapter i've ever written so far 💀