Don't Fear the Reaper

4) Secret Friends Are the Best Type

Damian felt nervous, something he rarely felt while wearing a mask. He was used to the worry that came with school and being around civilians as  a civilian, but he had trained himself not to be nervous while in a mask.

"You feel it too?" Jason said, standing next to him while they both stood on the edge of the roof, looking out at the city. He didn't need to specify what he was talking about. They both knew.

Damian gave a short nod, his face still schooled. "It's been 4 years."

"3 for me," Jason said, his voice quiet. "Ran a mission in Moscow a while back. I was walking down the street and there he was, in an alley with a dead body. He saw me staring and almost attacked before he realized who I was. Grabbed me by the arm, took me back to his safe house, and we caught up a little bit."

Damian smiled lightly. "What'd he say?"

"Asked me why I didn't kill B," Jason said with a quiet laugh. "He'd apparently kept tabs on me since leaving. I told him all about it. He listened and told me he was happy for me."

Damian nodded. "Sounds about right. He say anything about his life?"

Jason shook his head. "Not much. Said he found out he had another sister though. He seemed happy about it."

"You two ready?" Dick's voice called, appearing on the other side of the roof in Batman's costume, Tim by his side.

Damian gave a nod, running after his eldest brother as he jumped to the next building, Tim and Jason close behind. They chose to keep the meet up just to the 4 of them, not wanting to come off as an ambush with the entire bat family there.

Within 5 minutes they were at the meetup.

"Where is he?" Dick asked, his voice shifted to the deep gravelly tone their father took on as the Bat.

"He'll be here," Jason said, standing to Dick's left.

Damian's eyes scanned their surroundings before he saw a familiar shift of the shadows and had to suppress a smile as he said. "He's here."

"I don't see-" Tim cut himself off as three people appeared on the building across the street, sprinting full speed before hurtling over the gap and landing on the same building they were on.

Tim and Dick moved to grab their weapons, but Jason and Damian stopped them. The duo of ex-assassins stepped forward a few paces before giving short head bows to the trio, knowing that chances were that Reaper stood among them.

The trio gave bows in return before looking to Batman and Red Robin.

The duo hesitated before giving small bows, getting them in return before Damian stepped forward once more.

"Which of you is Reaper?"

The three assassins stood motionless, their eyes unrevealing of any intentions or emotions.

Damian eyed all of them carefully, attempting to figure out which one was his old friend, before letting out a breath and turning to his eldest brother. "They wish to hear the assignment before deciding."

"Deciding?" Tim questioned.

"If Reaper accepts the job, we will find out which one he is. If he does not, they will leave."

Dick narrowed his eyes at the assassins that stood motionless, like stone gargoyles that overlooked the city.

"A man has gone missing," Dick said, using the deep gravelly voice of the Bat. "We have exhausted all leads, and all signs point to the fact that he is dead. We need confirmation."

None of them moved a muscle for a long moment before all at once, the three of them turned to leave.

Damian's eyes widened. Reaper was turning down the mission. He didn't want to help. He didn't care.

"It's my father," Damian said suddenly, causing one of them to freeze. The other two froze as well a half a second later, but the damage was done.

Damian's eyes locked on the one to the left, sure that it was Reaper, and walked up to him. "Please," he said quietly. "I need to know if my father is alive."

Reaper almost looked like he was going to leave again before he tapped his foot twice and the other two assassins jumped from the building, disappearing into the fog of the streets below. The assassin slowly turned around to face Damian, who was only a few feet away, and studied the vigilantes face for a long moment before giving a short, almost indiscernible nod.

"Tomorrow," he said quietly before he too jumped off the roof and into the fog.

Damian felt relief rush through his body before he was punched on the shoulder.

"Dude, what the fuck was that?" Tim said, looking angry.

Jason took off his helmet, still having a domino mask on, and rolled his eyes. "Give him a break. They already knew it wasn't really Batman. At least this way, Reaper will help."

Dick narrowed his eyes at Jason. "How would they know?"

Damian scoffed. "Batman doesn't bow."

Dick glared at him. "You were the ones that didn't warn-"

"Well, if you had let Hood and I go alone like we originally wanted, this wouldn't have happened," Damian bit back. "Neither of us bow to Reaper unless there is an audience."

Tim scoffed. "And why is that? You both seem to trust this man so much, yet you won't say shit about how you know him."

"Tt- it's none of your business."

"It is  our business," Dick said, voice hard. "If we had voted not to ask for his help, then maybe it wouldn't have been, but this was both of your call. You chose to include him, so now it's time to explain."

Jason glared at the oldest. "We don't own you shit," he bit back. "You weren't there, so you wouldn't get it."

Dick crossed his arm. "If this is about being assassins, then I think I would. Slade-"

"Slade left the League before you ever trained with him," Damian said, looking away from the Bat Glare that was staring down at him. "Slade was a monster, but training with him doesn't mean you can claim to understand what it is to work for the Demon's Head."

Tim's face flashed with confusion before a suspicious look took over. "I thought you said he didn't  work for the League."

Damian clinched his jaw, looking back at his brothers with an unreadable look. "He doesn't, but that doesn't mean that he is free from my grandfather's grip."

"If he works for Ra's then how can we trust that-"

Jason cut off Tim. "He doesn't have anything binding him to the al Ghuls, not technically. He doesn't have a contract or oath or anything like that."

Dick looked at them analytically. "Why are you both defending him?"

"Because we need him," Damian said quickly.

"No, it's more than that," Dick said, eyes unwavering as he stared them down. "If it was just for necessity, you would be rationalizing, not defending. What aren't you telling us?"

Damian glanced at Jason who simply shook his head slightly.

"We'll meet him here tomorrow," Damian said stiffly. "I'll go with Hood for patrol tonight."

Before Dick or Tim could say anything, Jason and Damian were already jumping off the building and grappling away. 

A/N: I am currently writing and editing this story before I even finish my last book and it's so annoying that I can't even read the comments yet. Like, I wanna know what y'all think. 

Vote. Comment. Tell me your thoughts on bees (I think we need to save them from extinction, however I do not want them near me. They freak me out).