Out of My League

Chapter 4: Superhero?

When you've been fighting for it all your life

You've been struggling to make things right

That's how a superhero learns to fly 

- Superheroes by The Script

I don't know how the day had turned out so catastrophic. It had started out pretty normal to me. Or as normal as it can get when you're an assassin living with teenage superheroes. Sometime during the ungodly hours of the morning, before the Sun had even risen, I felt my bed shift and immediately stirred from my sleep. Blinking my eyes hastily open, I tried to focus on the scene before me. Damian was trying to silently crawl onto my bed. When he saw I was awake, he gave me a sheepish smile. I simply smiled back and opened my arms in welcoming. He seemed happy enough to snuggle next to me. It wasn't long before he was sleeping again, snoring softly in my embrace like he used to do when we were younger. Satisfied that he was safe in my arms, I was also able to drift back to sleep. 

The next time I woke up, sunlight was already streaming in through my windows. But that wasn't the reason I was dragged out of my dreams. People were standing by my open doorway, and I was pretty sure Damian hadn't left it open the previous night. And a more thorough observation made me realize it wasn't just a few people invading my privacy, it was the whole team. And yes, Bruce and Alfred included. 

I carefully untangled myself from Damian's still sleeping form so I could sit up, causing him to stir uneasily. Still he grumbled something about giving him a few more minutes of sleep and went back to snoring. Turning back to the problem at hand, I saw most of the expressions on everyone's faces had morphed into some form of disbelief or awe. 

"Is that really Damian?" Impulse whispered to Jaime, though everyone was able to hear him due to the silence. "He looks so... angelic." He said the word as if it couldn't possibly apply to Damian. 

Before I could tell them to get out and mind their own business, an angry Tim pushed through. "I don't care if he looks angelic right now. He's so dead," he snarled. 

At his words, I immediately snapped back into action. My sleepy mind stood on alert due to the threatening words directed at Damian. Even though I knew Tim probably didn't mean what he said, I still got out of bed to block his path. "Whoa there, buddy. Nobody's dying today," I replied, making my voice cool and leveled to let him know I was not messing around. "Especially not Damian."

"But he dyed all my laundry pink!" Tim exclaimed in rage. A few snickers sounded from behind him, and without even glancing, I knew it must've been Bart and Jaime. 

I grimaced, not exactly knowing what to do. Assassins didn't necessarily have fashion problems. "Err... buy new clothes?" I said uncertainly. 

It was at that exact moment the little man in question decided to finally wake up. When he caught sight of my stand off with Tim and the rest of the team hanging by the doorway still dressed in pyjamas, he wrinkled his nose in what seemed like disgust. "Well, this certainly isn't the best scene to wake up to in the morning," he mused, his voice still sleepy. 

"Why you little-" Tim said a very improper word as he advanced towards Damian, seeming to forget I was there. 

"Master Tim!" Alfred exclaimed, probably because of Tim's language. 

I put a hand against Tim's chest. "That's far enough Drake!" I warned. 

Shock registered on Tim's face at the threat in my voice, before he realized what he had been about to do. I could see he was about to step back when Nightwing cut in. Wouldn't be a completely perfect morning if he hadn't.