nefarious. [hiatus]

II

Gotham: the city with a gruesome reputation- why anyone would live there always managed to confuse Axel. The horrid crimes, the bold criminals, the people who dressed up and played 'hero'. Sure, being raised by the League of Assassins wasn't too far from what Gotham offered- but every new crime that happened in Gotham never failed to shock nor surprise them.

Axel and Talia were in Gotham: currently awaiting Batman's arrival. It's been a week since Axel found out about their father- Talia concluded that Axel should stay with their father. It was for the best. Talia let their child sort out the last of the Red Dragon things since they were leaving the gang- Axel decided to hand over the role as leader to Bones: They knew he wouldn't fail them in keeping the organisation solid while still maintaining its power. Of course, Axel was going to miss them- but what could they do? They could never betray their mother; it goes against everything they learned.

"Your father should be arriving here shortly," Talia said while looking at herself in the reflection of her glass- of course, she got all dolled up, she always does whenever she gets the chance to see her beloved."Don't look so troubled, my child. You and your father will get along just fine," Talia sighed as she looked at Axel staring at themself in the mirror. They were wearing their usual uniform: a simple black sleeveless turtleneck shirt, black cargo pants, bulky black boots, a black strap vest, a leg strap to hold their daggers and- to top it off- black fingerless gloves."I'm not troubled. As long as I'm with Damian and I can fulfil my duties, everything will go fine." Axel stated as they turned to look at the entrance- almost wishing that Batman wouldn't step through the door.

A few long minutes passed, Axel sat in silence- staring into space- slowly becoming impatient.

"Mother." Axel broke the quietness- Talia lifted her head from the drink she was drinking, signalling to the teen that they had her attention so they could continue, "Are you sure he's going to show up? I mean- he has no reason to." Axel resumed as they leaned back into their seat,
"My child, do not fret- there's no doubt he will- just give him time," Talia chuckled as she set a hand on her child's shoulder.

Almost as if it was on cue: Batman stepped through the door- his large stature not moving from the middle of the room.

"Beloved," Talia whispered- barely loud enough for Batman to hear- she moved towards him,
"Talia," Batman said in return, "Why did you call me here? It's not every day you contact me- especially when you request for me to leave Damian at home- and, who's the kid?" He continued while examining the room.

"Axel," Talia said, turning to look towards the teen in a seat several feet away. Axel nodded as they got up and stood a few feet behind their mother- they stood straight with their hands behind their back, looking forward.

"This is Axel." Talia stated, "They are..." Talia sighed, not knowing how to do this for a second time,
"They are what?" Batman said- tensing up slightly- bracing himself for the worst, his eyes not leaving the child behind Talia,
"They are Damians' older sibling." Talia sighed as she began to walk away from Batman, "They are your child. They are older than Damian by a year." She added as she took a sip from her drink.

"What? Another kid?" Batman asked out of pure shock, "Talia...You're not joking, are you?" Talia shook her head,
"I can assure you that they are your child and that this is no joke," Talia said as she leaned against the bar, facing Batman- making Axel stand in between the two.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, father," Axel spoke as they bowed in front of Batman, which honestly caught him off guard- when he first met Damian, he was never as attentive as this: he was snarky and stuck-up, far from what Axel was displaying.

"I regret not telling you earlier- not telling you when I told you about Damian." Talia sighed as she set her glass back down onto the bar, "They may only be a year older than Damian, but do not underestimate them- they could skin you with a blunt knife." Batman sighed as he knew what Talia was going to ask of him,
"You want me to take them under my wing? From what you've been telling me: they don't need my protection, nor do they need my training." Batman said- narrowing his eyes towards Talia.

"This isn't a matter of your supervision: their purpose is to protect Damian, to serve him. Their skill is extraordinary: they'll be able to support you, not only with Damian but also with Batman." Talia explained while looking at Axel: they had stood up straight, anticipating what was to come.

Batman sighed- knowing he had no way out of this- the older Damian got, the harder it was to make him listen, so maybe having another pair of hands that understood how he thought yet was mature couldn't hurt,

"Fine. Axel can come with me."