Demonfire: Welcome to the Family

Chapter 7

Mari POV

When I was little, my mom and I lived in a small apartment on the east side of the city. I dont remember much about it, except for the fact that I met Lian there. But with my mom gone, I wanted to go back and see it.

I made up excuses in my head for why I didn't just take the safe route, but I knew deep down what I was trying to do. I was just so tired of everything. My mom was all I had. And I no longer had her.

Anyway, I took the 'scenic route'. Most of what I saw was disappointing. A lot of community service projects and awareness posters. Not what I was looking for.

Finally, I reached the building. It was condemned now, which made me wonder what state it was in when my mom and I lived here. I just shrugged it off and used a trick that Uncle Jay had taught me to unlock the door.

I was kind of suprised by what I saw. The inside was really old, but nice at the same time.  There was an old chandelier and the walls had pretty, cream-colored panels that went all the way to the ceiling. If I focused hard enough, I could even imagine people laughing and talking while wearing designer clothing and eating exotic foods. I couldn't believe it, so I checked the address. Sure enough, this was it.

What happened here?

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Damian POV

I still couldn't stop thinking about what Grayson had told me. I wasn't happy with him keeping this information for such a long time, but I understood. And I guess that part bothered me the most.

I knew how it felt to make a big decision. One that would define you for the rest of your life. How can people judge you based on what group of people you are with.

One night on patrol I was thinking about Grayson's decision. I tried to stop and focus on the task at hand, but it was plaguing my thoughts. So I decided to see what the problem was.

Brown would be coming shortly to relieve me, so I sat down on the edge of a building overlooking the more shadowy parts of Gotham.

After a couple of minutes, I heard footsteps behind me. I stood up and brushed myself off, still looking over the city. Stephanie occasionally tried to jump scare me, but she was horrible at being sneaky.

"You know Brown-." I stopped short after hearing a gruff grunt behind me. I spun around to see Red Hood.

"Obviously, I'm not her." I could hear the grin in his voice. I stood straighter.

"We haven't heard from you in awhile," I said," I was under the impression that you had died again."

"And let me guess, daddy-o didn't care."

I rolled my eyes. "About as much as he did the first time."

He just nodded and sat down on the edge of the building. I waited for him to do something. Finally, he spoke.

"I need to see Dick."

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Mary POV

As I explored, I realized that it was getting too dark to see. I pulled out the flashlight on my phone and kept on. The more I went, the more suprised I was. All this place needed was a little update. There was barely anything wrong with it.

Finally, I made it to the floor that our old apartment was on. I made my way down to the end of the hall, checking the door numbers as I passed them.

I stopped when I got to room 625. This was it. I couldn't figure out why I was so nervous. I pried open the door with a metal pole that looked like it used to be part of a chair.

This can't be right.

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Damian POV

"And why would that be Todd?" I asked, hoping he would simply leave. But of course life isn't as easy as that.

"Business...stuff you wouldn't understand," he said, smirking at the last part.

"I understand much more than you would expect," I said. He rolled his eyes.

"I forgot, you have been staring at the ground for so long, you probably get that pretty well," he said in his usual arrogant tone. My nostrils flared.

"Did you come here simply to tease me?"

"No-baby brat- like I said, I'm here to see Nightwing."

"Look at the manor, you know where he lives."

"I'm not allowed at the manor."

"I wonder why..."

He growled. "You know what, I'll just break in."

"Good luck."

It took a few minutes after he jumped off of the roof to realize that he may hold information that could be..useful to me. I sighed I ran in the direction he left.

I hate Todd.

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Mary POV

There was caution tape over the doorframe. And the room inside seemed to be stale and uninviting. I wasn't afraid, but I kept the bar in hand, just in case.

As I stepped through, the only sound I could hear was my own breathing, along with the movement of my feet as I avoided things that were lying on the floor. A broken chair (coincidentally), some picture frames, and black soot seemed to cover what would be the living room floor.

The kitchen had a lot of broken glass, but still managed to look chic and modern. I picked up a singular frame that I had a picture in it and wiped the dust off.

Who are they?

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Jason POV

I broke in through my bedroom window. My old bedroom some would call it. Sooner or later someone would convince Bruce to let me come back. Not that I needed to. It was just interesting here, never a dull moment. Especially when I was here.

I was almost soundless when I jumped through. Much better than last time. I took my time going down the hall, actually being careful not to wake up anyone. This was private business.

I knocked on his door until he opened the door, looking sleepy. I couldn't help but grin.

"You high bro?" I said and he actually seemed to think about it.

"Wha-no...what are you doing here Jay?!" he whisper-yelled. I remembered my mission.

"Let me in, I gotta tell you something...important," I said, getting sad when I realized what I was about to tell him.

I hate it when bad things happen to good people.
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A/n : pay attention to POVs for the next chapter(s). Thanks for reading.