Silence

3) Tim - Green Eyed Monster

I was seething as I walked into his room. How dare Bruce bring in a new kid to replace me already? Just because I was getting ready to take over Wayne Industries didn't mean I would no longer be able to go out at night as Robin. And the kid? What a brat! He got all annoyed when he saw that he had siblings - Tim could see it in his face - and he even ignored Bruce a couple times until Bruce got in his face! Did the kid even know that Bruce was Batman? Actually, who was I kidding? Of course he did, he was the heir to the League of Shadows! I snorted with disgust, remembering the sense of entitlement that Damian had adopted as soon as Bruce announced his parentage. And that was after he had only been here about a week! Taking a deep breath, I promised myself to let the kid know exactly how unimportant his title was in Wayne Manor. Satisfied with this decision, I stalked back out of his room.

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I walked through the Zeta tube as Robin, ready to vent to Bart and Gar. Before I could open my mouth to say anything, though, Bart zipped over and sat me down next to himself and Gar, stuffing popcorn in both their mouths to finish off the effect. Next thing I knew, we were all watching a movie together. Dragging my thoughts away from Damian, I took a deep breath and settled down to enjoy Lion King II. Seeing how Scar's daughter so easily replaced the place that Simba's son had taken in everyone's hearts, however, I got worked up all over again. I got up and turned off the TV, then faced my friends.

The anger must have shown on my face, because Bart and Gar looked at each other. "We need to talk," they agreed, and the three of us went into my room.

I explained the whole situation to them, and told them why it was such a bad idea to have Damian there.

"He's Talia al Ghul's son! He can't be trusted! He will leech off all of Dick's love and trust, and then shatter it and leave us to pick up the pieces," I insisted, "I just don't want Dick to get hurt! The League of Shadows has taken enough from him."

"You're right," Gar frowned, "We can't trust him."

"But we can't just start hating him, either," Bart countered, "He hasn't done anything yet. We haven't even met him!" 

"Ok, fine," Gar conceded, "We'll meet him first. When can you bring him here?"

"I'm not sure..." I said hesitantly, "I guess he'll come when Dick brings him. I'm not going to try to be friendly with him just so he can meet you guys."

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A few days later, I was working on some last-minute business transactions with Queen Industries when I realized it was patrol time. I quickly ran into the Batcave, where Batman, Nightwing, Spoiler, and Orphan were all already gathered around in uniform. I was about to come forward and join the circle, but then I saw the brat also standing there, wearing all black and sheathing his katana.

"What is he doing here?!" I asked, furious. "He can't be trusted to go out and not kill people. He holding a freaking katana! How do you see this ending , Bruce?"

"Don't worry," Batman assured, giving me a look to show he was worried about this too, "He won't be alone. He'll stay with me the whole time, so I will ensure that he does not lose control or fall out of line. If he does, he will no longer be allowed on patrol, and I will confiscate all his weaponry."

Momentarily satisfied, I fell silent, allowing Batman to continue with his debriefing. For the past month, we had been following a string of mercenaries who had been hired to kill completely random people. So far, even Batman had been unable to find a connection between the victims, who professions ranged from teacher to drug lord. Even the mercenaries had been consistently different, along with the methods of killing each victim. 

"We think they might be targeting one of the police today," Batman said, then assigning each of us to our roles, "Robin and Spoiler, you two keep watch on the prisoners, in case the mercenaries are trying to break someone out. Orphan, you will stay inside the precinct and watch to see if there is anyone helping them from the inside. Make sure you remain unseen. Nightwing, you're on the roof with Batgirl. As for-"

"Redbird," Damian supplied.

"As for Redbird," Batman continued, "You will be watching the main entrance with me."

As soon as Batman finished assigning everyone their roles, we silently drifted to the respective areas.

"Do you really think that Dam-I mean, Redbird, is going to lose control?" Spoiler asked me. "I mean, Cass is also from the League, and she was trained probably even more vigorously than he was, and she seems to have adjusted just fine." 

"True," I conceded, kind of annoyed that people didn't believe me right away, "But she chose to come. Bruce saved her from her father, because he saw something in her, and she reciprocated that. This brat just shows up out of nowhere and expects V.I.P. treatment because he's Bruce kid!"

Steph pursed her lips, and I saw that she wasn't convinced, but I decided to let it go. We both sat silently for a while, watching the prisoners' holding cell, when suddenly we heard a cry of pain.

"Batman?" I asked through the earpiece, "What happened?"

"Our information was inaccurate," Batman answered, "We need to get back to the Cave. Now."

Hoping that Dick or Cass hadn't gotten hurt, I relayed the message to Steph, and we both headed towards the Batcave.

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By the time Steph and I got there, we saw that Bruce was furious.

"What. Happened?!" Bruce demanded, "You were supposed to stay with me the whole time, But then you disappear and then show up injured?"

I looked around to see who Bruce was talking to, and I saw that the brat only sat there, eyes closed liked he was in pain. Disgusted, I rolled my eyes. Wasn't every member of the League of Shadows trained to not show pain unless it was a great amount? What a faker.

Suddenly, Dick ran up to the pair, "Calm down, Bruce. Steph, get Alfred down here ASAP. Babs, help me take off Dami's top so we can see where he got injured."

Painstakingly, Dick and Barbara took off the top of the uniform, then gasped in horror at the mutilated back that was laid bare. A third gasp joined in from behind me, and I whirled around to see Cass slowly coming forward to join them.

"Indignus," Cass breathed, staring at the kid's arm, which was newly bleeding.

I was confused. Indignus is a Latin word. Why would Cass randomly say that?

"Unworthy?" I asked, "Unworthy for what? Who wrote that?"

"League brand," Cass explained.

Babs' eyes widened, as they followed Cass's gaze to the blood collecting under Damian's arm, "So Damian is being targeted by someone from the League of Assassins, maybe the same person who is behind these random killings. And whoever it is thinks Damian is unworthy for something. But for what?"

"Ask," said Cass.

"Cassie, if we could ask the guy, we wouldn't be chasing him," Steph admonished, having returned with Alfred.

"Ask," Cass insisted, and left the Batcave.

But all I could  think about in the meantime was how the kid was obviously awake, even though his eyes were closed, and yet he seemed to act like he couldn't hear a thing that was going on around him.