Not Part of the Job [ORIGINAL]

23. Paternity

"Son?"

That was the first word to leave Damian's mouth when he came to consciousness. His eyelids felt heavy to open. He was inside what seemed to be an underground hideout.

The tall man turned his chair around to look at Damian who was sitting up against a wall. "That's usually what you call your offspring, isn't it?"

Damian furrowed his eyebrows. "There's no way in hell I could be your son," he growled at Slade.

He went to stand up, but his face roughly planted into the hard ground when he made this attempt. He looked down to see that his hands and feet were bound at the wrists and ankles. He tried to pull the ropes loose, but couldn't. His captor was smart enough to make it into a compact knot.

"I knew you might lash out so I took precautions," Slade informed. "And to correct you, I've had some DNA tests sent off to be analyzed."

"Even if it's true I will not call you my father," Damian spat as he pulled at his restraints.

"I don't doubt it. But, I would like to earn the title," Slade replied and met the boy's gaze. "Nobody else wants you, so if I were you, I'd be grateful for my offer."

Damian narrowed his eyes. "What is that ridiculous mark on your forehead?" He asked, changing the subject. He didn't want to believe Slade's words, but he'd be lying to himself if he said he didn't consider the thought.

"I made a deal with someone superior to me," Slade vaguely answered. "I plan to collect my reward tomorrow. You can too, if you come to your senses and join me."

"Tomorrow?" Damian questioned. That would be Raven's birthday. "What does this have to do with Raven?"

"Yes," Slade answered. "Tomorrow will be the end of all mortals. But, you and I will be immortal. We'll help take over worlds. She is simply the pawn in her father's plan."

"You're insane," Damian responded. "I'd rather die than live with you forever."

"Give it time, dear boy," Slade said, pulling his mask off and making his way over towards the boy. "You'll want to join me. Trust me. Hell, maybe you'll even be good enough to take up my mantle."

"After hearing what happened to your other kids, I'd rather not end up the same way," Damian responded and watched as Slade placed his steel boot on his shoulder, turning him over to face him.

"The League manipulated, abused, and brainwashed you. All I want to do is fix you," Slade confessed as he placed the metallic mask over Damian's agitated face. "If I'm being honest, my true intention was to use you as bait to capture the girl, but she doesn't seem to be interested in you now."

"Yeah, thanks for rubbing it in," Damian retorted as he jerked away from the man's touch. "The thought of your filthy blood running through my veins is a nightmare."

"Master Slade, your test has been completed," Wintergreen asserted as he entered the room, a stack of paperwork in his hands.

Slade stood up from the spot and set his mask on the desk as he made his way over towards his butler. "Thank you, Wintergreen," he said as he took the papers, his eyes frantically scanning over them as he read.

"Something wrong?" Wintergreen questioned, noticing Slade's now glum expression.

"That whore..." Slade cursed and let out a sigh before grabbing his mask and putting it back on. "I need to make a call."

"If you're talking about Miss Talia, then you'll be happy to know she's closer than you think," Wintergreen informed as he pulled up the name on the screen as well as a GPS app. The blinking dot on the screen, which he assumed was his mother, was moving towards Titans Tower.

"Perfect," Slade said as he sat back down in his chair and studied the screen.

Once the butler left, Damian turned his head to look at Slade. "I take it you're disappointed?" he asked. Slade didn't respond as he tapped away at his keyboard, seeming to be trying to contact someone.

Eventually, Damian heard the sound of a video call starting, but he ignored it. He tuned it out as he focused on the task at hand. While the older man was distracted, Damian had started working his way out of the restraints. It would take some time, but it wasn't impossible.

As soon as the ropes were off, he wasted no time and stealthily crouched down, making his way towards the back of the chair. Swiftly he reached his arms around and wrapped one of the ropes around Slade's throat. He ignored the computer screen so he could focus on taking Slade down.

"Big mistake," Slade said as he reached up and grabbed Damian's arms, pulling him over the chair and crashing onto the desk in front of them.

"Damian!" A familiar voice called out to him from over the computer speakers, but it was barely audible as his ears began ringing from the impact. Blood began to slowly drip from his nostril.

"I won't... let you... hurt her," Damian muttered as he felt Slade's hand fasten on his throat. His head was spinning now.

"The girl has made you soft," Slade noted as his grip got tighter, causing Damian to gasp for air. "Pathetic."

It took Damian a moment to get to his senses. He narrowed his eyes swiftly used his legs to kick the man away from him, giving him enough time to recover and get more ground. After taking a few breaths he dodged a hard punch, landing onto the floor.

"I'm not soft," Damian corrected as he grabbed a broken pipe from the floor and jumped back to his feet, holding it to Slade's chest, mere centimeters away from penetrating the suit. "I'll kill you right here."

"If that's the case, then do it," Slade said, his mask hiding a devious smirk. "It's what you were raised to do, right?"

The sharp metal pipe hovered over the man as Damian hesitated to strike. Slade took this opportunity to laugh as he grabbed the pipe and tossed it to the ground. With ease he grabbed Damian's arm and twisted it behind his back.

Damian fell to the ground with a thud as he cried out in pain, his face pressed against the cold concrete. He winced as he felt a sharp pain in his neck. "What the hell are you..."

"That should quiet him down," Wintergreen said as he pulled the needle from Damian's skin.

"Good," Slade said as he stood up from the spot and watched as Damian's eyelids fluttered shut.

After he caught his breath he glanced over at the computer and noticed it was still online, the video call still open. He made his way over towards the computer and sat back down in his seat to face Batman.

"He's definitely yours."