Not Part of the Job [ORIGINAL]

9. Secrets

One week later and the cast was finally off. This excited Damian for many reasons.

For one, he could fight with the Titans now. For two... what was the other reason? Oh right, his mission. He had nearly forgotten about it.

"Thanks Rae," Garfield said as Raven used her ability to heal his wounds. The team had just gotten back to the tower after battling a pretty rough gang.

Damian just silently watched the two. Raven sensed this and glanced up at him, but he quickly averted his gaze and went to grab some water.

"Next time don't take so long to transform dude," Jaime informed Garfield. "You could've gotten hurt worse."

"Hey, I didn't want to kill them," Garfield responded in aggravation, "A dog was the only thing I could think of that wasn't too strong. You remember what happened last time I lost my cool..."

The team got quiet for a few moments before Koriand'r spoke up. "He has a point, we all need to be in control of ourselves. We do not kill."

Damian flinched slightly at those words but kept drinking his water quietly. From what he's gathered so far Garfield must've lost control and almost killed someone before.

"Whatever," Jaime said before leaving the room.

Garfield stood up after Raven was finished and walked off to his room without saying a word to anyone. Raven just rested on the couch so she could regain her energy.

Dick and Kory decided to go chase after Jaime.

Once everyone left Damian decided to be nosy. "What was that about?" he asked once he approached Raven on the couch.

"Can I not rest for a second without you interrupting me?" Raven weakly asked.

"No," Damian responded before waiting for her answer.

Raven let out a sigh and thought over her words behind she spoke. "One day Garfield lost control of himself and nearly killed someone..." she trailed off.

He was right. But she didn't seem to want to give names. However, Damian was still curious. "On who?"

"Me," she answered before turning her back towards him. "Now leave me alone. Please."

Damian was genuinely surprised. Maybe this team didn't get along as well as he'd thought.

He would've asked her more questions but she really didn't seem like she was in the mood to talk. Taking this as a hint, Damian quietly went to his room.

—

Something was off. Damian could sense it. Someone was following him.

Damian gripped his dagger and quickly whipped around, scanning his surroundings. "Show yourself," he demanded in a threatening tone.

"Abn," a female voice spoke. Damian immediately recognized who this voice belonged to. 

"Mother," he said as he watched her figure emerge from the shadows of the trees. She was wearing her usual black leather outfit. She always wore this when she came to America. Damian didn't know why, he never asked.

"Why haven't you completed your task yet? It's been almost two months," she asked, obvious annoyance evident in her facial expression.

"It's not that simple, mother-" Damian began but was quickly cut off as Talia stepped forward.

"What's so complicated? Just kill her!" she yelled and then let out a sigh, stepping back away from him once again, "Your Grandfather is on the edge and is threatening to send out the league for you if you don't complete your task soon. Time is running out, my son."

"Yes mother..." Damian spoke and averted his gaze to the ground. He hadn't been yelled at like this in several years. That's how he knew something was wrong with him.

Talia frowned at the sight. "I plan to see you soon. Don't let us down."

With that, his mother returned to the shadows. Damian started back towards his mission for the night and made his way towards an apartment building.

Damian had a strange relationship with his mother. She was the only guidance he really had besides his grandfather and they both raised him the same. Talia had told Damian that his father had left him, so he always resented the man despite never meeting him. The most affection he ever really got from her was when he was just a small child, still learning the ways of the assassins. After he turned into a teenager, they began to grow more distant as his grandfather would send him on missions by himself. Honestly Damian missed the affection once he saw how close the Titans were with each other. It was like they were all one big family. He envied it.

"P-Please d-dont-" the woman cried as she struggled to breathe while Damian choked her. Her struggling soon ended as he slit her throat with his sword. Once she went limp he let her body fall to the floor.

"Sick bitch..." Damian under his breath as he looked over at the child in the corner of the room, shaking and crying. He slowly made his way over towards her. "It's okay. You are free now."

"Mo..mommy..." the child cried, raising her hand up to point at the woman Damian had just murdered. Damian's eyes went wide under the mask, but he kept his cool.

The woman he just killed had been running a cult and sacrificing countless people, including some members of the league.

Damian let out a sigh and crouched down to the child, picking her up gently as he stealthily made his way out of the apartment. "She was a bad woman. You need to go find a safe place to stay."

What the hell was he doing? Why was he helping this child? That wasn't what an assassin would do. Emotions were not allowed. 

Damian took the child down the street to the police station and left her, quickly fleeing the scene so he wouldn't be caught. That was a little too risky of him. When did he start becoming so careless?

After cleaning himself up he took a good look at himself in the mirror. You need to get a hold of yourself, he thought as he stared back at his reflection.

That night, Damian decided to sit down and map out a plan to complete his mission and take out his target.

"abn" (Arabic) — son