The Demon's Assassin (Damirae)

Chapter One

Damian Wayne was in his room when he felt something was off. Titans Tower was uncharacteristically still, and although Damian couldn't say he didn't like the peace and quiet, he felt uneasy. Always prepared for battle, Damian grabbed his katana on his bedside table and walked out of his room.

All the lights in the hallway were off. Damian decided to knock on Raven's door as it was next to him to see if anyone was around. After no answer, Damian proceeded to the main living area. There was nothing but darkness, and no sign of his teammates. Damian could feel his adrenaline pumping, as he focused on every detail around him. This is what he lived for. The looming threat of danger and a fight. It's what he was raised on. Damian rounded the corner and was immediately met by a loud popping sound and lights. This was it. He gripped his katana tighter, prepared to defend himself.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAMIAN," his teammates yelled. Damian was so alarmed he swung his katana and narrowly missed Gar's eye.

"Jesus Christ, dude! Do you have to carry that around in the house all the time?" Gar yelled, while Damian lowered his weapon.

"Sorry for scaring you Damian, but we thought you would enjoy the party of surprise," Kori said. As the leader of the Titans, Kori was always trying to find ways to tighten the bond between the Titans. Something Damian always chose to pass on.

Damian was annoyed with his teammates enthusiasm.  They're a super powered elite crime- fighting team, not a summer camp.

"None of us have time for a party. Deathstroke is loose, and we should be out looking for him. I don't want a party, I want to be out on patrol. You all should too," Damian said.

He understood that Starfire and the Titans were trying to be nice, but Damian Wayne is not one for celebration. When he was younger, his mother and grandfather would celebrate his birthday by having him spar with one League of Assasin warrior per year he was alive. That was the kind of festivities he was comfortable with.

"Look man, if you don't want the party that's fine. But don't be such a dick. Kori worked hard on this," Jaime said staring Damian in the eye.

"And I'm telling you I don't care. I'll be out on patrol, don't wait up," said Damian.

With that, Damian headed back off to his room to suit up. He couldn't help but feel a little bad by his sharp attitude towards his teammates. A few years ago he wouldn't have cared at all. But as the years passed, Damian had found himself thinking of his teammates as more than just liabilities. He trusts them. Even more than that, he cares about them; even if he would never say that out loud. 

As Damian was putting on his mask, he heard a knock on the door. He opened the door and saw Raven with her usual deadpan expression. Damian felt uneasy with her around. Raven was an empath and could feel all emotions around her as if they were her own. Damian hated it because his whole life he was taught to shield his emotions. He felt out of control with Raven and he didn't like it. But, over the last few years, he found he could trust Raven. She never impeded his comfort zone and never confronted him about his emotions.  Even when they were very, very dark. 

"I'll apologize to Koriand'r later Raven," Damian said, already expecting a lecture.

"That's not why I'm here. I just wanted to say... happy birthday. I had a feeling you would not appreciate the festivities but I for one am happy you were born"

Damian met eyes with Raven. Her amethyst eyes contrasting against her gray skin. Damian hated compliments, but this one was genuine. He felt his face turn red. Before he could respond, the the tower alarm system went off, signaling the Titans that there was trouble in the city. Raven and Robin met eyes, and ran towards the rest of the team.

The Titans arrived at the scene of an abandoned warehouse. No one seemed to be around.

"Kori, are we at the right place? There's no one hear," Gar said, still in his human form as he saw no threat.

"Yes, this is the place. Except reports said it was Clayface. He is usually a bit more... messy" Starfire said.

"Scarab just checked for any infrared heat signatures. No one is in there," said Blue Beetle.

"It might be a false alarm, but let's check anyways." Robin said with a breath of arrogant leadership that the team had become accustomed to.

The Titans entered the warehouse focused and prepared for anything, as usual. Raven felt uneasy, but she was not sure if it was her own intuition of if she was just picking up on the emotions of her fellow teammates. The Titans looked around but no threat seemed to be present.

"Looks like it was a false alarm let's go h-," Raven started but was met with a sharp pain in her back. She felt herself stagger forward and then fall.

"RAVEN!" Starfire yelled in shock. The team turned around and saw Deathstroke above Raven. His sword bloody. A twisted smile on his face.

"Invisibility suit. Pretty handy. Covers body heat too," Deathstroke said towards Blue Beetle.

The Titans burst into action, Robin reaching Deathstroke first. His strikes were calculated, but so were Deathstroke's defenses. Deathstroke landed a well aimed punch to Robin's face making him stammer backwards. Deathstroke made quick work of the Titans, knocking Beast Boy across the room, and slamming Starfire into Blue Beetle so hard they both saw stars. Before the Titans could regroup, Deathstroke re-cloaked himself in invisibility.

"Still playing dress up I see, give Nightwing my regards," Deathstroke said before disappearing into darkness once again.

The whole fight lasted for less than three minutes, but the time Robin reached Raven, her blood had pooled all around her small frame. Robin was trying to stay calm, but he felt himself losing his composure. He has seen so much death and injury in his 17 years, but something about seeing Raven like this made him feel so helpless and angry. He felt a familiar feeling of desperate revenge. A feeling he hadn't felt in a long time.  He wanted to kill Deathstroke.

"We need to get Raven back to the tower. She needs to be in her room to heal." Starfire said, as Robin scooped Raven up in his arms and the Titans fled. Robin held Raven in his arms as Starfire drove as fast as she could. The Titans drove one of Batman's old batmobiles, but even it felt too slow for Damian. Before he could yell at Starfire to drive faster, he noticed Raven's eyes open.

"We're almost home, Raven. Try to stay awake," Robin said, focusing on steadying his voice, his hand gently placed on the side of her head. But as fast as she opened her eyes, she closed them again.

"Fuck," Blue Beetle said panicked across the way from Robin and Raven.

"What?!" Robin said in a frantically.

"Scarab...isn't picking up a heart beat.