Making Waves

Chapter 21

Watching Perseus fight Damian felt different now that Dick knew where all the experience had come from. It was finally making sense why she could parry nearly every one of Damian's moves despite his attacks becoming increasingly feral. But even then, his brother's demeanor remained surprisingly collected. Every time Perseus pushed him back or swept him off his feet, Damian just gritted his teeth and stood, coming back with a slightly different strategy.

Dick stood at a safe distance away, with the rest of his family, although 'safe' was only a temporary label, seeing as though they'd already had to back up twice after nearly getting sliced up. Damian feinted right, then tried to kick Perseus in the chest. She let the foot graze her, before turning sideways at the last second to dodge. Damian stumbled, but recovered quickly, whipping back around with his blade.

"How are they still going?" Jason asked, disbelief coloring the helmet's mechanical voice.

"I bet I could go put my clothes in the dryer and come back before they're done," Steph snorted, even though she was watching intently.

Tim broke his staring to turn to her, incredulous. "You do your laundry here?"

"Duh, why would I not?" she replied, frowning, ignoring Tim's quiet retort that she didn't even live there, "Actually, I probably should—"

"Stay," Bruce interrupted.

Dick glanced at the older man, who had yet to take his eyes off the fight. He was clearly watching carefully, but Dick couldn't tell which one of them he was analyzing. With the amount of normally forbidden moves Damian was performing, it was a miracle Bruce hadn't stopped the spar long ago.

"Watch her feet," he continued, using a very familiar voice that took Dick back to his training days.

He listened, and it was clear that the rest of them did too, all of his siblings falling silent to follow the order. The next time Perseus slashed downward with her sword, her ankles shifted, leaving her flank open and Damian instantly took advantage, trying to lay a hit. Dick tensed, unable to help himself, but just before the blade grazed her side, she twisted her foot again, and Damian's sword stabbed through empty air.

"On purpose," Cass said, almost smug, as she echoed exactly what she had noticed on the rooftop.

"I figured, yeah," Tim frowned, "But—"

Perseus attacked again, but this time she didn't shift her feet at all, and Tim paused, getting it.

A slow smile crept onto Dick's face as he finally noticed what Bruce was trying to point out.

"She's making it progressively harder," Dick realized, a little awed, "Forcing Robin to find a different opening every time he learns a new one. She's not sparring with him, she's teaching him."

"Looks like a spar to me," Jason snorted, crossing his arms.

"That's the point," Bruce said.

Finally, Perseus whirled around Damian's thrust, elbowing him in the upper arm. When he dropped his sword with a hiss of pain, she immediately held hers up against his neck. Damian tensed, limbs looking for a way out of the hold, but then slumped.

"You did great!" she beamed, and Damian grumbled in response.

"Let us go again," he commanded, retrieving his weapon.

Perseus laughed, easily sidestepping his raised sword to cup his face. "I'm serious, Robin, you learned a lot, but recovery's important too, and you should get some water."

She patted his cheek, then pushed him gently to where Bruce had set up a large cooler for training breaks. Damian, to Bruce's slight surprise, stalked over without much complaint.