Damian vs TMNT

A New Foe

The wind whipped harshly against Damian's face as he soared through the city. This was his first patrol without Batman and Damian was determined for nothing to go wrong. He landed gracefully on his feet on the rooftop of Wayne Tower. Nothing interesting so far, he thought to himself. No wonder Bruce let me go on my own.

"Quiet, isn't it?" Damian snapped his head around to find Nightwing standing only a few feet behind him.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Damian snapped. "Batman sent you...didn't he?" He narrowed his eyes at his father's lack of trust.

Dick gave a small sigh. He knew Damian would react like this, but he couldn't go against Bruce's orders. "Yes." He said reluctantly. "But he was just-"

"Just what?! Making sure that I don't screw things up?"

Dick took an involuntary step back at Damian's outburst. "He cares about you, Robin. He wants you to be safe."

"No, he just doesn't trust me." Damian spat. "Never has...never will." With that, Damian launched his grappling hook and swung out of sight before Nightwing could make him feel worse. He landed with ease on the ground, deciding to walk off some of his anger before he came home. Damian clenched his hands as he cursed his father inside of his head. How could he not trust me! After all this time! Damian walked over to the nearest trash can and gave it a hard kick, spilling out its contents. I've been nothing but his loyal son. I've given him no reason to-

A loud crash brought Damian out of his thoughts. He reached into his utility belt, his fingers gently brushing a small knife. Damian's eyes slowly glanced from side to side, looking for signs of what emitted the sound. Suddenly he saw a shadow and a brief flash of something scaly. Killer Croc? Damian crept forward with caution. He had gone up against Killer Croc many times before and he sometimes proved to be a bit of a challenge for the young hero.

"Come out and fight!" Damian clutched his knife tighter. Suddenly he felt himself being thrown forward. His legs flew up to wrap around the arm of whoever thought he could throw him, and tossed him out in front of him. Damian landed on his feet to find that it was not Killer Croc laying on the ground. Damian took a hard look and found that he did not recognize this villain at all, however it did share many similarities with Killer Croc.

The huge reptile slowly stood up and flashed a loud growl in Damian's direction before running off. Damian stood there with a look of confusion plastered on his face. "What the hell?" This guy came out of nowhere and left as quickly as he came. What did he want? Damian shrugged it off and decided he had to face his father sooner or later. Now was as good of a time as any.

~~~

Bruce did not look happy. Then again, when did he ever? Bruce narrowed his eyes at his son who now stood a few feet in front of him. "Dick told me what happened."

Damian saw Tim smirk out of the corner of his eye. He clenched his fists. "I don't see why I need a babysitter. I'm your partner and should be treated as such."

"Despite what you think Damian, you're still only ten years old. There's a lot you have yet to learn."

"I'm not like Tim, or Jason, or even Dick." Damian finally met his father's eyes. "I'm light-years ahead of all the past Robins, in skill and training. I'm either your partner in this or I'm not." Damian silently held his breath. He knew what his father was going to say next and he was dreading it. His father would ground him and ban him from patrols for at least a week.

Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose and looked down. He stayed like that for about a minute and then met Damian's eyes. "You're right."

Well that was unexpected. "Excuse me?"

"I shouldn't have sent Dick after you. You've more than proven that you are fully capable of taking care of yourself and I trust you to keep Gotham safe on your own."

Damian was shocked but he didn't let it show. "Well..good." He couldn't think of anything else to say. "I think I'll head to bed then." With a confirmation nod from Bruce, Damian headed out of the Batcave, ignoring the shocked looks of Dick and Tim.

As soon as Damian was out of earshot, Tim spoke up. "Umm...what was that?"

"What was what?" Bruce turned his attention back to his computer.

"What makes you think the little demon is more skilled then we are?" Tim crossed his arms and looked to Dick for support. He received none.

Bruce swiveled his chair around to face his adopted sons. "You are all skilled. And each of you are more skilled at certain things than the rest of you."

"That doesn't answer my question." Tim huffed. "I could kick his ass any day of the week and the both of you know it. Even though the brat probably wouldn't fight fairly."

"Damian wasn't taught to fight fair. He was taught to win."

Tim opened his mouth to retort but soon closed it. Bruce was right. Damian had been trained practically since birth to fight and do whatever it took to win that fight. He may be 10 but he had quite an advantage over the rest of them. Even Jason had his limits. But Damian...no. Damian would do anything and everything to make sure he succeeded and took his enemy down.

~~~

The room was dark and shared many similar smells of a sewer. It was not the most pleasant secret headquarters but it was the best he could do given the circumstances. Shredder stood with his back to his latest addition to his team. "Leatherhead. Report." He commanded.

Leatherhead bowed his head and sunk down to one knee. "The scouting mission went well. Gotham City is rich in opportunities for us to strike." Leatherhead took a small breath. "Although I did run into a...small vigilante. He could prove to be problematic."

Shredder turned around, his eyes blazing through his mask. "You mean to tell me you were beaten by a child!"

Leatherhead tried not to let his fear show. It didn't work. "Y-yes, well no. Not really. I mean, if I ran into him again I would prob-"

"You're a large, mutated, deadly reptile." Shredder sat down his chair. "See to it that this boy does not interfere with our plans. Or else." Shredder spat menacingly.

Leatherhead gave a brief nod. He would not fail his master again.