To tame a Demon (english)

Chapter 18: Trust

It was a beautiful sunny afternoon in Metropolis when Damian was just on his way back from that annoying school. Normally he always used his father's helicopter to get from A to B, but today he went home by walking. He just wanted to clear his head a bit and fill his brain cells with fresh oxygen so he could think more easily.

Five days had passed, during which Damian and Jon had sneaked into the Batcave again and again to find out more about Dick's circumstance. But in the end, their investigations led to nothing, or rather Damian's did.

In the end, Jonathan didn't have the sufficient level of knowledge to contribute anything productive to the matter, and Damian had advised him that instead of sitting around in the Cave, he should rather visit the arcades of Gotham or other places that interested him more.

However, Jon didn't do that.

Instead, the boy sat next to him every day anew, playing his portable video games.

Damian just passed a railroad crossing when the thought elicited an amused snort from the boy.

That faithless jerk had really become quite a burdock, especially in the last few days. And while the devil was on the mind, he wasn't far away either.

"Damian, wait!"

The sticky tape instantly ran joyously torwards him from behind at a monkey's pace and was far too busy waving at the Wayne heir to pay attention to his own feet. Damian saw the disaster coming before it even happened.

Jonathan got one of his feet caught on the recessed railroad tracks and was now stumbling more badly than good towards Damian, one hand outstretched in search for help. But the older boy did not even think of helping. Pain was just another form of learning.

So unimpressed, Damian took a step aside just before Jon could hold on to him, and left the rest of this lesson to the hard asphalt floor.

Ratcheting, the Kryptonian slithered face-first across the rough surface before coming to a halt barely a meter away and sitting up in protest:

"Ouch, couldn't you have given me a hand?"

While Jonathan was still rubbing his face a bit annoyed, Damian only replied dryly:

"You have to take the consequences for your own mistakes. Especially since you're supposed to learn to keep an eye on your surroundings. Besides, it's not like it's going to hurt you."

Then the elder walked on as if nothing had happened, and Jon called after him:

"That doesn't mean I don't feel anything!"

Immediately, the Kryptonian rose again and joined Damian:

"The others told me that you didn't even fly back in the helicopter today, and they're already speculating about whether your father is going bankrupt."

Bored, the latter replied:

"I don't care what those Neanderthals think."

"But you usually take the helicopter. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, what should be? I can walk for a change, can't I?"

Jonathan now drew his brows together suspiciously:

"You're really worried about your brother, aren't you? I mean, he's calmed down a bit, but still growls at us when we get too close and also refuses to eat. Isn't that starting to be dangerous?"

Damian bit his clench in annoyance, knowing Jonathan was right. He was really worried about Dick, especially because he had begun to show signs of deficiency. The fact that he became calmer was primarily due to the fact that he neither drank nor ate. Alfred had told him that their problem child, out of sheer stress, was snarling at everything that was offered to him and hurling it through the cage as if the food was poisoned.