School became hectic.
He did promise an explanation to his friends and classmates and provided them with one. It wasn't exactly a flat out lie nor a full truth.
The explanation was simple.
While in Metropolis for business, he was suddenly attacked and the nearest hero was Superboy. Of course what actually happened was similar to the story but not entirely correct in date, time, and reason.
Now, Damian was readying himself for the gala a few hours away from now.
Apparently, Slade called in and there was going to be a few appearances during the annual Gotham winter gala. Slade would be there for sure, out of mercenary uniform but still on a mission. His mother would also be there but as a guest, courtesy of his father who still remained clueless to Damian knowing his other parent. Lex Luthor was also a party attendant but for no evil purposes, simply to mingle and enjoy the party like he has done for years prior to now. Selina would also make an appearance since she was given an invite by Dick, who she 'adopted' when he was first Robin years ago. There would be plenty of hero attendants as well. Oliver Queen, an obvious seeing as he was one of Wayne Industries' closest partners. Wonder Woman would also be there as well as Jon's dad. Artemis, as Green Arrow's 'niece' would be there the same as Roy.
It's not that the heroes didn't know who their villains' secret identities were. Actually, both villains and heroes, most of them at least, could pinpoint who their rival was in a crowd in a heartbeat, but they all chose to attend the event in peace because while being a hero or villain provided entertainment, making connections, networking, for work during the day was equally as important as bringing justice or wrecking it.
Since there would be so many villains attending, nobody could be blamed for the death of whoever was going to die that night. All the heroes could assume it was a third party, which is why Slade and his mother teamed up with Harley and the Joker for the night to intervene right before Slade would kill their target. It was the perfect coverup and Damian very much admired their way of thinking and deceiving. It was just so perfectly planned out, it brought him satisfaction.
Damian smirked at his polished look and admired his suit from head to toe. Of course he didn't want to brag, but he was blessed with looks of both his mother and father. The door of his room suddenly slammed open and a dressed Jonathan Kent ran in at full speed. Out of habit, Damian pulled out a hidden knife and launched it at his attacker before he could get to him. Jon barely dodged it and gaped at the knife stuck in the door frame. "You could have killed me!"
"I could have ruined your attire. Apologies."
Jon squawked in response but let it go and sat on Damian's bed. He held up the sketchbook sitting there and flipped through the pages with a smile. They were carefully crafted drawings, detailed to the very last space, filled in and blended perfectly. It was perfect and real. Damian, no doubt, was the absolute perfectionist of the century.
He'd found a few drawings of them and awed at the intricate designs because his were most worked on and it showed. In each page that held a drawing of him, there was a printed photo of him there as reference.
Jon huffed. Damian wouldn't dare admit it, but he was as hopelessly in love as he was himself.
How long does it take to finish up? Jon watched Damian wander around the bathroom and room and into the closet a few times looking the same everytime he changed position or location. Rich people are so weird. Jon wanted to roll around and flop around in boredom but he'd crinkle the suit. If he did that, he'd be scared of Damian's reaction and violent scolding at him about appearances.
Finally, Damian spoke. "I thought we were to meet at the gala?" Jon sat up straight when the other turned around to face him.
Now he understood the efforts Damian put in when he dressed up like this.
The boy was sparkling for crying out loud and even when he didn't hold a smile, it just added to Damian Wayne's unexpected charm.
"Well, I'm actually not the only one in your house. Artemis is here with Oliver Queen-by the way, does she know you're Robin? Well, used to be? Does she know Bruce is Batman?"
Damian shook his head. "No. Nobody in the Young Justice knows any of the identites of the bat family aside from you and West. . . and Barbara as well. Oliver and Bruce to Artemis and everyone else are just really good business partners and friends during the day. I'm sure she'll find out eventually though. To her, I'm also just another young teenager to watch over as some kind of responsibility of hers." Jon noticed the way Damian said it and while he looked annoyed by the fact, deep down, he knew Damian liked being just a brother.
Responsibility and honour were two concepts he valued with his very soul and did almost everything in his power by those two righteous ideas.
One of the many aspects Jon admired Damian for. Damian was Jon's complete opposite and both of them loved that fact.
"Alright. I am finished. Shall we greet the guests?"
Jon nodded and flew to the door in a rush. Damian grabbed the back of his collar and yanked him backwards. "And we're going to walk down the stairs like we're civilians, okay?" With a quiet grumble, Jon reluctantly let his feet touch the ground and be dragged through the mansion and into the living room where everyone was waiting. Artemis beamed. "Aww, you're both taller than the last time I saw you guys." Dick agreed and went to ruffle Damian's hair only to be stopped by the smaller boy who shot him a deathly glare. Every strand was already placed to perfection so he wouldn't let anybody mess with it.
He forced a smile. "I really don't believe I've gotten taller. Kent is actually a little taller than I am, sadly." Jason, who sat on a loveseat, squished with Roy, was pulling at his collar to loosen it slightly. He looked at Damian with a strainrd smile. "Yeah, Dami will probably be short forever. He grows an inch every two years."
"Maybe it is because father is also short."
Bruce awkwardly waved a hand. "Okay, why don't we all go now? Is everybody ready? All things in hand?" Oliver nodded and was first to stand from the couches to exit the room. Honestly, he just wanted to be as far away from Damian as possible.
The archer was in denial.
Damian, a former Robin, was Renegade.
Ever since the night where Slade released him from probably eternal torture, that's all that's been on Oliver's mind because it really didn't seem possible.
Now, in the limo, Oliver unluckily sat straight across from Damian in the parallel seats.
Damian's eyes met his.
They read something he couldn't say.
It wasn't of evil intent but it seemed challemging almost, as if Damian were taunting him, daring him to tell everyone smiling and talking their hearts out, declare that Damian was Renegade, the rising new villain nobody has been able to stop for the past few weeks.
Oliver looked away first and forced a smile while he started a conversation with Roy and Dick.
Damian observed the other across from him. He supposed Oliver wouldn't come out to his family or anyone else really because of the shock it would cause all around. Their families were close too so things were awkward between them specifically now, since Oliver found out.
Slade would also be at the gala too so that could have been trouble itself between the two rivals.
A sigh escaped his lips but he decided to stare out the window to his left instead of dwell on negative outcomes of his betrayal to the heroes.
They arrived an hour before the gala officially started to find there were already over a hundred guests inside and talking up a storm with other businessmen and women about their personal lives and business projects they've worked on recently, anything really. The press was lined up and swarming behind the bodyguards and police as they tried to grab pictures of the newcomers, mainly Bruce Wayne and Star City's Oliver Queen walking together down the red carpet and into the large building.
This was where everybody separated to mingle and greet other rich people and employees alike. As a Wayne, Damian reluctantly separated from everyone to venture off alone to greet many of the people there. It was good for his reputation.
After nearly thirty minutes of greeting as many people as possible and even making small talk with a majority of them, he ran into a certain two.
Talia wore a stunning lapis blue cocktail dress and had an arm hooked with a fancily dressed Slade Wilson. "Mother. Master, how nice of you to be here." Damian could feel eyes on him from somewhere behind and looked at the two adults in question. Talia smiled softly. "Bruce is just watching, making sure you're safe. It's not easy to trust some villains. Unfortunately for him, he doesn't know you know who I am." She pat his head and nodded to herself. "You poor child. We've been watching you force yourself to talk with all of these random people." Slade nearly rolled his eyes but laughed anyway. "Must suck to be rich sometimes. Anyway, don't mind us much, we'll be chatting with these people too." The mercenary dropped his voice in the slightest. "The attack won't happen til sometime later, don't worry. But be prepared, Damian, you haven't met the Joker as Renegade yet so he doesn't know your face. You might get hurt."
"Yes master."
It was an unconscious but natural response to Damian. Out of plain humour actually. Deathstroke had personally trained Renegade. Their relationship was mentor to mentee. Slade just got a kick in being superior so adopted the name Damian jokingly called him while they sparred once (it caught on patrol once so now all of Star City knows the apprentice dynamic).
Before Damian left, he perked up a little and turned back to the two. "Will Rose be here?" Slade gesture around. "You just have to find her. Good luck." Slade walked off first. Talia pointed to the balcony. "I'll see you later, okay?" He nodded and watched her follow after Slade. He began to make his way to the balcony.
Before he could arrive though, he heard the classic 'Mr. Wayne' and stopped in his tracks. With a silent groan, Damian forced a smile on his face and turned to greet whoever called out.
In front of him stood Lex Luthor.
"Mr. Luthor. I believe we haven't been properly introduced yet?"
Luthor nodded and held a hand out which Damian quickly took. The height difference irritated Damian a but but he pushed that thought aside. "Shall we talk somewhere more secluded?" Because that wasn't sketchy at all.
Damian nodded slowly and followed after Luthor to the side of the large ballroom. Luthor leaned back against a pillar while Damian stood silently.
"Who would have known Renegade was a former Robin. I have to say I was quite surprised when Slade had told me."
Now Damian understood. "Are you here to talk business, Luthor? Or are you just going to mock me?" Luthor offered a laugh and pat his shoulder gently. "I'm just curious, trust me. How can Renegade, a villain, live with dating the son of Superman? It's all over the news, Damian, I'm surprised you haven't been pestered much about it yet."
"He doesn't know and he doesn't need to know. So don't go babbling off to Superman while you two fight and you talk about your villain schemes. I'll kill you if you do."
"Ah, how threatening, spoken like a true villain. I commend you. And I admire you for being able to hold the hero name for so long when you're truly just a villain in hiding. A villain waiting to blossom into his best."
Luthor opened his blazer a bit and pulled out a card, offering it to Damian. "Well, seeing as it's already official of who's taking over the Wayne company, I expect we'll be great business partners in the future, Damian. I look forward to our future meetings. Have a good evening."
And sooner than he thought, Damian was left alone in his thoughts again. Every hero knew Luthor was a villain, that was common knowledge actually, so when Damian found his father glancing his way from across the room, he waved him off and turned away to the balcony once more.
There he found Rose in a short red dress along with Jason and Roy.
"Wilson."
All three older teens turned to him with surprise. Rose grinned and dragged him over to the small group. "You finally found me! Congrats! We were all just talking about a recent killing I accomplished." Jason's eyes widened. "You and Damian know each other?"
"Well duh, he's Deathstroke's apprentice, of course I know him. We're together like everyday."
It was Roy's turn to act surprised. "Deathstroke's apprentice? As in Renegade? Dude, is that why the fourth Robin stopped? You became a villain? Sick but awesome." Roy nudged Jason. "Looks like he beats both of us in being rebels."
Damian watched the friendly exchange.
Everyone was so nice to him for some reason, even when they knew he was a villain. It was just so amazing and unbelievable that he loved it so much.
Jason suddenly turned serious.
Dropping his voice lower than Damian would have expected. "But why. Why? You're getting more than any of us in the fam, Damian. You get Bruce's company and second best inheritance. Why the switch?"
He made a good point.
"I'm tired of living as a shadow. In my father's shadow."
Jason rose a brow. "But aren't you in your mother's shadow now? Ra's too?"
"It's different with the League. There are rules but success and rank is based upon merit. We find our own paths. While I have a destiny set out for me already like with my father and his company, through the League, I'm able to kill and complete my missions on my own in order to climb to the top. It's right. I'll get to the top on my own. And like my grandfather always wanted, I'll take over the world first."
Roy leaned against the balcony railing with arms crossed and head bowed down with a little smirk. "Couldn't stop at one city?" Rose shot him her own smirk of triumph because she believed Damian could take the world unlike Ra's. And when the little bird did, she was able to sit at his side because she was family whether they admitted to that fact or not. He wouldn't be the only one to stand in glory.
"One city isn't enough to satisfy me. Once I am sixteen, I will ascend to the throne and I'll begin leading assassins to battle against the heroes. We'll take over the closest city and spread out. It'll be a battlefield I'll win. Gotham will be mine once I turn eightteen and once I take my father's company, I'll bring back weapons and we'll spread out in the northern part of the country and go from there. With our connections with people like Luthor and Deathstroke, we can easily branch out all over the nation. Once this country is mine, we'll move on to more."
Jason shuddered and snapped his fingers in front of Damian's face. The boy hadn't realized he'd been so deep in thought because he was gripping onto the sides of his arms aggressively to where skin turned whiter than it already was. He forced himself to relax, body and mind. His brother clapped his hands once. "Why don't we get inside. I'm done smoking. Let's have some fun." Rose grinned and threw herself at Roy. "Come on, I'll race you to the food, speedy." He glared at the old name then bolted off only for her to trip him as she ran forward too.
Damian turned and moved to follow after when Jason stopped and grabbed his wrist.
"You know you're kind of scary when you say your thoughts out loud? World domination? Is that the goal, Damian? Really?"
He pulled away from his adopted brother. Was Damian reading this correctly? Did Jason look worried? He awkwardly shuffled forward and wrapped his arms around Jason's body.
Jason stilled and stared down at him with surprise. He also awkwardly wrapped his arms around him while combing a hand through Damian's hair. "Pfft, even though you want to take over the world, you really just want to be loved." Damian kicked his shin then separated with something resembling an angry pout. "Shut up, Jason!"
"Oh? First name basis now? Awww, you really do like me."
He attempted a glare but couldn't help but smile. "Shut up, Todd. It's unlike you." And Damian's voice was so unnaturally soft, Jason couldn't helo but grin and begin dragging the young teen inside.
"Unlike me? More like unlike you, but don't worry, baby bird. I told you, I'll support you. Promise. Swear it on my life."
Damian swore to himself that night too.
Swore a lot of things on his own life.
He'd do anything and everything in his power to make sure the rest of his family members at the Manor didn't find out about his little villain secret.
That he really would do everything he physically could do to train and become the best leader of assassins ever to surpass even the famous Ra's al Ghul.
And to take the world on his own and for himself to take and you with and make a better place and everyone else would be thankful for his actions. He'd have respect and order, there would be control and villains would be able to live happily and in peace like everyone else.
Damian would not live in anyone's shadow any longer than he already has.
He'd use his resources and any opportunity given to him to take over the world and end up on top of the food chain, of humans and animals and even the filth he got rid of on the streets and in their pristine and perfect houses. It was his turn to be selfish. It didn't matter who he stepped on or framed to come out on the top of the pyramid.
This was, afterall, survival of the fittest.
Slade, from afar, watched Damian strut through the crowds and beam with a smile at everyone passing by. However, under that perfect rich boy smile was a grin that screamed danger and mischief. His emerald green eyes shimmering a deadly green flaming colour. Every villain in the room could see the look.
Damian Wayne was no more.
Before them was a villain.
An al Ghul.
Slade smirked to himself when he thought back to a brief conversation he had with the boy only weeks before now. It was late at night and they'd just gotten back from a bloody mission. Many lives were taken and Damian didn't mind how many he slaughtered with a straight face and merciless death to each of the victims. Slade commented on the observation.
Renegade, covered in blood, in all seriousness, stopped and turned to look him in the eyes, a quote spilling from his lips in perfect memorization and purpose.
"If the misery of the poor be caused not by the laws of nature, but by our institutions, great is our sin."
Damian believed in survival of the fittest.
So here he was, surviving.
At the top.
---
I have so many plans for these upcoming chapters and so many possible routes for all the characters. I feel antsy just deciding what to do.
Well, I hope you all enjoyed!
Thanks for reading~