Silence Speaks Volumes

A Young Assassin's Failure

Damian was preparing himself. Preparing himself for punishment. He failed his last test and his Grandfather was going to make him pay dearly. He should have been better, but he couldn't. So, here he was, waiting for the time for him to leave to receive his punishment. He didn't want to be punished, but he knew he deserved it. He just hoped they wouldn't break his hands this time. He could feel the nervousness at the pit of his stomach.

When it was time for him to leave, Damian carefully went into his window seal. He could feel someone behind him, but he hoped they wouldn't comment. "What're you doing?" 'Dang it,' Damian thought. Damian ignored the voice and tried to jump, but he was grabbed and pulled back in. It was no other than Timothy Drake. "Where're you going?" Damian shook his head and tried to get out of Tim's grip, but Tim held him tightly. Damian could've have nerve struck him or hit him somewhere sensitive, but he decided against it. "Stop squirming," Tim complained. He sat Damian on the bed and sat on the boy. It was undignified, but it worked. Damian kicked Tim off him and locked Tim in between his legs. "Damian," Tim choked out. He couldn't breathe. The boy got off him and Tim coughed for a bit. Damian took this chance and escaped.

...

When Damian returned, he was happy enough. At least they didn't break his hands. They broke everything else, though. Tim must have told because the whole family was waiting for him and they weren't happy. "Where'd you go?" Bruce asked with his Batman voice.

I had an engagement with Grandfather .

"Where?"

I can't disclose that.

"Damian, you're hurt. Obviously it wasn't a good a meeting. What happened?" Damian shrugged. He didn't feel like recointing, yet again, how he failed. "Answer me," Bruce said.

It was just a meeting.

"It obviously wasn't just a meeting. It had to have been important. You choked Tim for it."

I didn't mean to. Damian's lip quivered but he bit it.

"I need to know what you did."

May I go, please? Damian looked at his father pleadingly. He was in a lot of pain from his injuries and walking. He just wanted to patch himself up and go to bed. Bruce sighed. Damian took that as a 'yes' and limped passed them to the med bay. He could finally stop walking correctly. It really hurt to, but his grandfather would have kept going if he hadn't. He sewed his cuts up and popped his nose back in place. He still couldn't breathe well. They held him by his throat until he almost blacked out. He could feel his collapsed lung. He grabbed a needle and inserted it to raise his lung back up. Everyone gasped at that. Damian then got up and slammed his shoulder into the wall. It relocated correctly. He removed the needle from his chest, but he was still wheezing. It hurt to breathe, but it wasn't like he could just stop. Damian set his ankle then headed up the stairs to his room. At that point, Jason recovered from his shock enough to pick the boy up and carry him. Everyone else just followed. Jason laid Damian gingerly on the bed. Dick came behind him and covered Damian up. The boy could feel their stares, but he ignored them and close his eyes. He wheezed as he tried to go to sleep.

"Damian," Bruce finally said. The boy opened his eyes. "What happened?"

I failed . He signed it simply. He reached over to grab his iPad. He called his mother. He remembered that she always wanted to see him after the punishments. She needed to know that he was okay. She answered quickly. She was speaking in Arabic.

"I see it went poorly. I hope you do better next time." Damian nodded and gave her a small grin. She smiled at that. "Who is with you? I hear people." She was speaking in English now.