Demons (Damirae)

Chapter Seventy-Six

There had been another confrontation, in the Blue Dragon this time. Creatures of the seas being threatened by shifters. It appeared that the warning had gone unheeded. What was worse, having heard the reports of fights in his club started by the shifters, the owner had done nothing whatsoever. Zeela brought the news to Jason with frustration welling tears in her almond eyes. The community of sea-dwellers was small enough in the preternaturals living on Earth, leave alone those of the Dark affiliation: sea-dwellers had been one of the species of humanoids not to chose sides until millennia after the last Great War of Dark and Light, only once they'd started visiting Earth and spending more time on the land of other realms- those from Zeela's cove had aligned themselves with the Dark less than a thousand years ago, and the sea-dwellers had been shunned by the more...passionate Dark. Such passion was consistent throughout the Dark shifter divisions.

Before the visit of his dear old dad (an interesting experience) Zeela had told him of the events in the Blue Dragon- choking up at the mention of one of her kind, Mazil, falling victim to the claws of a shifter. As Jason made sure his guns were properly loaded, Zeela talked sense in to him to call Damian and Raven before doing anything too rash (a very big disappointment).

Their response was, per usual, 'we will deal with it'.

How happy that made Jason.

After being coaxed in to getting takeaway for the two of them, the trigger-happy man went grumbling off the Chinese down the road (his reservations about leaving her alone were so strong that he needed five minutes of her pushing him out of the door to see sense and finally leave).

Fast forward half an hour and Jason was attempting the death-defying feat of looking Alfred Pennyworth in the eyes. The butler was not amused. And yet, standing in front of one another besides the Batmobile in the Batcave, Alfred's expression softened and his arms wrapped around his grandson. As a kick-ass, gun-slinging, anti-hero, Jason Todd would never admit it, but he melted straight in to Alfred's embrace, transported back to his naïve teenage self. Crisply pressed uniform and impeccable manners, that was Mr Pennyworth. Special cookies, hot chocolate when you're blue and vintage forties cologne- that was Alfred.

Regretfully, the butler relinquished his hold on Jason, one hand still on the man's shoulder as he sighed, "It's good to have you home Master Jason."

Stopping himself from choking up, Jason replied, "Yeah, good to see you Al.". He snapped straight up, eyes wide as they rummaged through his pockets, "Shitshitshitshitshiiiiit!", he pulled out his phone, "I-uh", Jason looked for a way to explain whilst Alfred raised a brow at his vulgar language, "I need to call someone."

Batman swivelled around in his Batchair (TRADEMARK).

Cowl removed, Bruce flicked his eyes up at the screen, "That someone."

Jason's eyes were on fire as he looked up at the Batcomputer screen, showing images of Zeela. She was pictured leaving the Blue Dragon, in one of her usual iridescent dresses, and again stepping out of an alley -this time, concealed beneath a large black cloak, hiding most of her bluish flesh-, once more stepping out of his apartment with her waves of hair tamed in to an elegant chignon matched with another dazzling shift.

He had known Batman too long to ask 'how did you know?' so settled for a short and sweet, "Fuck you Bruce."

Alfred clicked his tongue, "Language, Master Jason."

***

Raven perched herself on the owner's desk: her unfazed response to his narrowed eyes and venomous words. Max Leiwandowsky was a man that kept himself within the higher circles of the Dark, owning a club for the average and sitting in the club of the elites. Owning one of the three main hangouts for the Dark preternatural (that Blue Dragon) had built quite the reputation for Mr Leiwandowsky...that, and his tendency to break troublemakers in his club- a fearsome man in his own right.