The Rising Trinity

The Team

Mar'i nervously smooths her skirts as she makes her way to the kitchen. Today is her first day of school at Gotham Academy. After school, Jon and Damian promised they'd take Mar'i to their headquarters. Mar'i brushes her school uniform one last time before sitting down in the kitchen. 

"Good morning, Ms. Mar'i," Alfred says with a smile. "I took the liberty to prepare you blueberry pancakes, this morning. Would you like some butter and syrup?"

Mar'i sits down and smiles, "That sounds delicious, Alfred. Thank you." 

"My pleasure, miss," Alfred says with a smile. Mar'i pours extra syrup on her pancakes and dives in.

Damian walks into the kitchen in his freshly laundered school uniform. He grabs a cup of yogurt from the fridge and starts eating. Damian and Mar'i eat in awkward silence. Dick prances into the room and takes a look at his two beautiful children. (Well, Damian isn't really his child, but you get the idea). Dick whips out his phone and takes a picture to commemorate Mar'i's first day of "Earth School." 

Mar'i sighs, "X'hal, Dad. It's no big deal."

"No big deal?!" Dick says. "My baby girl is going to school for the first time, on Earth and I want to be sure I'll remember it for the rest of my life."

Dick hugs his daughter and swings her in the air. Mar'i laughs and hugs her dad back. Damian scoffs at the scene and finishes his yogurt. He stands up and throws the empty container away. "Come on, baby Grayson. We need to get going," he says. 

Dick kisses his daughter's head and hands her bag over. "Have a good day, Starshine!" Dick calls after his daughter. Mar'i chases after Damian and Alfred and they board the helicopter to Gotham Academy. Mar'i squirms in her seat the whole way there. Damian tries his best to ignore Mar'i. He hates the way Grayson pays more attention to her than to him. He knows it isn't Mar'i's fault, but part of him still feels defensive about it. 

As the chopper lands, Jon walks up to his friends. He pats Damian on the back and hugs Mar'i to say hello. "How are you adjusting, Mar'i?" Jon asks his new friend. 

"I am fitting in quite well at the manor, thanks," Mar'i replies. 

As Jon and Mar'i chat about life at the manor, Damian shoulders on. Baby Grayson was taking everything from him. Everyone was swooning over her, and Damian was left in the dust. Once again, Damian is glad that Jon and Mar'i are younger than him. Jon and Mar'i make their way to their homeroom and Damian to his. 

Mar'i sets her things down in the seat next to Jon. She looks at the chalkboard and starts to copy the instructions in her notebook. The teacher, Mr. Davis, stands at the front of the classroom and calls everyone to order. "OK, OK," he says, "Settle down. We'll talk about the bellwork in a minute, but first, we have a new student to introduce. Mar'i? Would you like to share something about yourself?"

Mar'i looks around the classroom. Everyone is looking at her, and Jon is giving her an encouraging thumbs-up. Mar'i stands up and brushes her skirt. "Um, hello! My name is Mar'i and I'm new here, obviously. Um, I'm excited to be attending school here." Mar'i sits down and glances at Jon. "How'd I do?" she mouths. 

Jon mouths back, "You were fine."

School passes by fairly quickly, and at the end of the day, Mar'i is bouncing with excitement. Jon tries to calm Mar'i down as they meet up with Damian. "Hi, Damian!" Mar'i says, bouncing on her toes. "Are we ready to go?" 

Damian sighs, "I guess so, Baby Grayson." 

Mar'i slightly frowns at Damian's nickname, but quickly shakes it off. Jon rambles about how fun school was with Mar'i and his other friends. Damian tries to listen to his best friend, but his mind starts to wander, anyway. When he was with his mother, Damian was the center of attention. Sure, his mother never had the best intentions for him, but it still felt good to be appreciated. Those months after he chose to live with his father, he was an outcast. It took him almost a year to form his relationship with Dick and Jon. They were the people he could confide in, but now, Baby Grayson was stealing everything from him. Damian lets out a little huff and mentally swears to give Baby Grayson, Jon, and Dick the cold shoulder until they see the err of their ways. 

When the trio makes it to the HQ, Mar'i flies at super speed to look at everything. She lands in front of her two friends. "X'hal! This is spectacular!" 

Jon chuckles and Damian rolls his eyes. The tour is interrupted by red, flashing lights. The crime alert goes off and Damian rushes to the computer. "Armed robbery on Fifth and Main. Superboy let's go." Jon rips open his school uniform and reveals the famous 'S.' Damian undoes his tie and unbuttons his shirt to reveal his Robin uniform. Mar'i follows the boys to the pods, but Damian turns around and stops her. "You stay here, Baby Grayson. This is no time for rookies."

Mar'i is taken back by the harsh comment. Jon steps in between the two. "Damian, let her come. She has to learn somehow."

"No," Damian says firmly. "She can learn on her own time. We are the Super Sons, not daughters." 

Mar'i huffs and storms out of the room. Jon looks at Damian with shock and disbelief. "Damian, that was uncalled for!" 

"Was it, Kent? She is inexperienced and that is a weakness we can't afford to have!" Damian spits.

Jon sighs, "She's was so excited to prove herself and you go ahead and shoot her down. She doesn't deserve that. She's your family." 

"She is not my family," Damian says coldly. "She is an alien, and in my opinion, she should just go back home. I don't want her here." 

A green starbolt grazes past Damian's ear. Mar'i is hovering in the doorway with tears running down her cheeks. Damian and Jon turn to face the crushed girl. "So that's what you think," Mar'i says, choking on her sobs. "Fine. I'll do you all a favor and leave." Mar'i soars out of the room in a blur of green. 

Jon glares at Damian, "I hope you're happy." Jon flies off in a streak of red, trying to chase Mar'i. Damian stares at where the two had just flown off. He curses under his breath and wishes he could take it all back.