I'll be good

Grace Is Just Weakness... Or So I've Been Told

Damian stayed quiet, averting his eyes away from Dick's questioning glare.

"Dami," he whispered, careful and hushed, "who was it?"

"Oh good, you found him." Tim's voice startled the two as he rushed over towards them, Jason hot on his heels.

The two stopped just short of colliding into Dick, unaware of the conversation they had interrupted just moments ago.

"What's wrong?" Tim asked his brother, once his breath had caught up to him. Dick said nothing, glancing quickly over towards Damian, who had refused to look their way. Tim followed suit, his relieved smile fading as he did.

"Where's your mask?" Jason spoke first, echoing Dick's words and breaking the long stretch of silence that had descended upon the group.

"That's just what he was about to explain," Dick answered as he folded his arms and came to stand by his brothers, all three of them waiting for Damian to spread some light on the situation. "He says somebody took it."

"Well, who?" Tim pressed, "who took it?"

Damian was caught now. There was no way he could lie to the three of them and sound convincing. He was so sure-- had it only been Dick-- he would have been able to tell the truth and it would have been easily accepted. But now he had three pairs of blue eyes staring into his, and begging for an answer.

"It was Talia Al Ghul," Damian confessed.

Damian had said it so quietly that it was almost inaudible, and the three boys staring back at him dropped their jaws, wondering if they had truly heard him correctly. They slowly looked at each other in disbelief, a million questions tearing through their minds at the speed of light.

In the end, it was Dick who stepped forward— the understanding that was once filled in his eyes was gone, now replaced by heavy uncertainty and a hint of betrayal, "why would Talia Al Ghul take your mask?"

"Forget that," Jason interrupted, taking a step next to Dick, "why is she here in the first place?"

"she was looking for me," Damian couldn't help the words falling out of his mouth; it was as though he had lost all control.

"Why?" the three of them questioned in accidental unison.

"She's my..." Damian peered up at them hesitantly, biting the bullet so to speak, "she's my mother."

Son of a...

"What?"

The hairs on Damian's neck stood up the instant he heard the chilling voice spoken behind him. He turned around, searching into the darkness until the shadows began to take form. Batman stepped into the light, and it was unsettling to Damian how intimidating it was to be under the sharp glare of the vigilante.

Bruce hadn't heard correctly, he was sure of it. But Damian's eyes spoke a different story, not to mention his hearing was impeccable, "you're the son of Talia Al Ghul? The grandson of Ra's?!"

Ra's Al Ghul.

"Motherfu..." Jason trailed off as he instinctively reached for his gun the moment he heard the name.

"So... what? Did she send you here to spy on us, gain our trust, and then turn against us?" Tim accused.

"What? No!" Damian raised his hands in defense, taking a couple of steps back from the group circling around him. He knew this was a bad idea, why didn't he just keep his mouth shut? "No, no you don't- you don't understand."

It all suddenly clicked into place-- why he was afraid of his family finding him, the reason why he ran. Dick suddenly remembered the secret conversation he and Damian had on the roof some time ago, how he'd told him that he didn't want to be like them-- didn't want to be a murderer-- and he ran away. It all came screaming back to him, how upset Damian was, and how he had immediately comforted him without knowing all the information of his past, because that's what you're supposed to do for your little brother, right?