Not Part of the Job [ORIGINAL]

29. Family

Fire danced around Raven as if it were performing a ritual. The entire city was burning before her, and all she was able to do was watch. She was completely and utterly useless.

Stupid little girl. Do you really think you can win against me?

The words echoed in the back of her mind as tears streamed down her throat. She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out.

"Raven!" a voice called to her, but she was alone. The fire that swarmed her had been put out, but now darkness swallowed her whole.

***

"Raven!"

Raven gasped for air as she quickly raised up from the bed. Her heart was racing and sweat dripped from her forehead. Outside her window rain poured while thunder and lightning flashed every so often.

She turned her head to look at Damian, who was sitting beside her on her bed. He had turned the lamp on so that she could see.

"Nightmare?" he questioned as he looked at her with a concerned look on his face.

Raven cleared her throat before speaking. "No..." she trailed off, her face falling, "A vision- or rather a warning."

He noticed her grim expression and raised his eyebrows. "I take that it was bad," he assumed.

Raven squeezed her eyes shut. "My father, he's coming. Soon."

Damian cleared his throat. As much as he wanted to protect her, he wasn't sure how he possibly could. Her father was much more powerful than him, and even more than her.

"Is there any way we could place you somewhere your father couldn't reach you?" he decided to suggest once the idea popped in his head.

Raven's eyes lit up. "Actually, there is a room in the tower built for me," she confirmed.

Damian raised an eyebrow. "Wait, really? I was just throwing out ideas... why exactly is there a room built for you?"

"I asked Dick to make it when I first joined the team. It was originally built in case I couldn't control my powers," Raven explained as she stood up from the bed. "That's when I was still learning how to use them. But, it might be more useful now."

Damian followed her to the door. "Wait- are you going there right now?" he asked, a concerned tone in his voice.

Raven turned to face him before turning the doorknob. "Damian, I need to do anything possible to prevent this from happening. It could be the end of the world."

Damian's gaze moved towards the ground. "Right, sorry, I'm just... worried."

A bittersweet smile made its way to her lips as she stood on her tip-toes to plant a kiss to his cheek. "Let's go," she said and opened the door.

—

After waking up the entire team, everyone hurriedly tried to get Raven set up in the safe room that was on the highest level of the tower. The news of course outraged everyone due to the fact that she had been hiding this major information, but they quickly put her safety as their main priority.

"I will see you again, right?" Damian questioned, grabbing Raven's hand before she shut herself away.

"Yes," Raven said, squeezing his hand once more before flashing him a reassuring smile, "I promise."

"Alright, let's get everyone back to the living room so we can watch the tower," Koriand'r decided and led the others down the hall.

"I won't let anything happen to you," Damian decided to say before hesitantly releasing her hand and following behind the others. Raven glanced at him one last time before stepping inside the room and locking herself inside.

—

"No way," Garfield said as he paced back and forth in the living room. "This isn't happening. Tell me this isn't happening."

"Calm down, Gar, I'm sure everything will be fine," Jaime assured him as he stopped the other boy from taking another step.

Dick turned on the monitor, making sure it worked. Displayed on the screen was Raven in the room. "Alright, looks like we're set. Raven, can you hear me?"

"Yes," Raven responded as she looked towards the camera.

"Perfect. I've called in the other Teen Titans to help, in case we need it. I avoided mentioning it to the Justice League, for obvious reasons," Dick informed and sat down on the couch.

—

Not long after that, several other Teen Titans members arrived at the tower for backup. This included but was not limited to Superboy, Kid Flash, Aqualad, Wondergirl, Robin, and even Red Hood and Arsenal.

"Red Hood?" Nightwing questioned when he watched his younger brother step in the door.

"Night-weenie," Red Hood greeted and watched as the other boy tried to hide a smile. Before he said anything else, his gaze fell on Damian, who was sitting on the couch and not dressed in his vigilante uniform.

"Oh, right, uh, Damian," Nightwing said before nudging him. "This is Red Hood. Our brother."

"Our?" Red Hood questioned.

"He's the only blood son of Batman and Talia Al Ghul," Nightwing enlightened him, a nervous smile on his face. Damian's expression changed when he realized that the other children of his father were all adopted. Red Hood stood there for a moment as he took in the information.

"I'm not even surprised at this point..." Red Hood said before placing a gloved hand on his head, ruffling the hair. Damian raised an eyebrow at the older boy and fixed his hair once the hand was lifted. "Welcome to the shit-show, kid."

"The what?"

"He means welcome to the family. Hey- Robin's here too," Nightwing said, changing the subject as he watched the said boy make his way over towards the other three.

"B's already suspicious," Robin said once he made his way over. "I don't know how long until he catches on. I can distract him, if you want."

"Why wouldn't you tell Bat- I mean- father?" Damian innocently asked, the name feeling strange as it left his lips.

Red Hood and Robin exchanged glances as they both fought back a laugh. Nightwing placed a hand on Damian's, a nervous smile on his lips. "We haven't mentioned it to any of the Justice League members. If they found out, they would take over everything because they think they know what's best. But, sometimes they really don't. Does that make sense?"

Damian was quiet for a moment as he processed his older brother's words. "I think so," he admitted. He jumped at the feeling of another hand falling on his shoulder. When he turned his head, it was Robin.

"You've got a lot to learn," Robin spoke and gave him a reassuring smile, "But don't worry, we'll help you. That's what family does."

The word caused Damian's heart to flutter, resulting in crimson red seating through his cheeks. He never had a family, not a genuine one. But, now he had a family who accepted him and a girl that truly loved him. He wouldn't trade that for anything.

"Thank... you," Damian suddenly spoke, surprising all three of the boys. "I've never had a real family before, but I'll try my best."

Nightwing, Red Hood, and Robin exchanged glances before pulling the other boy into a group hug. "Glad to have you, kid," Red Hood commented.

"Hey, group hug!" Beast Boy pointed out before joining the boys. With Beast Boy's words, the rest of the young vigilantes joined in, all embracing one another.

Raven smiled at the scene over the screen as she stayed in her room of solitude, a smile on her lips when she saw Damian's face in the middle. However, her smile soon faded when the sight of the glowing red gem on her forehead in the reflection of the screen caught her eye.