The Messenger is Already Dead -1&2

Damian stared at his inbox. There was an impossible email, addressed to him, in his inbox

Addressed to DamianinRobin’semail.

If this was a prank from one of his insipid teammates, Damian was going to eviscerate them.

Damian clicked on the email.

There were barely 3 lines of text, not even 20 words total.

And yet, 3 lines of text and a singular sign-off brought Damian’s world crashing down around him.

To: Robin encryption-B01

From: unknown

Damain, I’m alive.

Mother has found me.

Would our Father help me?

-Gemini

——

Chapter 2:

After fighting back and forth on if it was even worth it to reply, he settles on something small.

How?-is it really you?-

What happened?

Of course he would. What do you need?

There are few that even know of his existence.

Fewer still who would try it, try to claim to be his brother.

And there’s only one who ever called them Gemini.

“Danyal, we’re not Gemini, we were born in January. And anyways, the stars have no effect on our strength, nor our abilities as an opponent.”

“But we’re twins. So that makes us both Gemini. It can be like our secret name for each other.”

Gemini, the sign of twins. Histwin.

But then how??

A knock sounds on his door. Damian whips his head up.

“Damian, it’s time for patrol.” Grayson’s voice sounds through the wood.

Patrol. Of course.

He was patrolling with his father tonight. Not just his.

Danyal’s too.

He had to know.

“I will be down shortly.”

——

Damian entered the Batcave, stepping down from the last step with a slight sound.

It was enough that both Tim and Dick looked over in confusion.

Damian ignored them, staring resolutely at his father in the suit in front of the batcomputer.

Once he was within a few feet he steeled himself and cleared his throat, “Father.”

Bruce turned around, looking down to see Damian and then glancing around confused.

“Damian..? Why aren’t you dressed? I want to leave soon, there’s been trouble at the south side and I-“

“I have an issue I believe I need to share with you.” Damian interrupted.

Bruce shut his mouth with a click and Damian could hear as both Drake and Richard’s eyes bored into the back of his head.

Damiannever interrupted Bruce.

He clasped his hands behind his back in a rather desperate attempt to stop them shaking.

“Of course, what’s wrong?”

Damian paused, took a deep breath, tried to convince himself of the inevitability and then blurted out, “I have a brother.”

“Aww, Dami, you’re finally calling us your broth-“

“No.” Damian cut Richard off sharply, “From the league. I have a brother from the league.”

“..What?” Bruce’s voice came out thick, strangled by an emotion either anger or something stronger.

“He is- was- I- I believed he was dead.”

Bruce’s fists clench and he almost growls out, “Explain, Damian. Now.”

Damian allows himself to go numb to explain it without wavering, “We were twins. Grandfath- Ra’s had no use for both of us. When we began to advance in training individually and stagnate as a pair… We fought.” He paused and forced the words out, “To the death.”

“I won. And Danyal…”

“Didn’t,” Richard finishes for him.

Damian twitches forward but hesitates as his father nearly drops himself to one knee, supporting himself on the chair next to him.

“Danyal…” His father says despondently, “I had another son… named Danyal.. and she took him from me… Again.”

Richard is already next to him reaching out.

“Perhaps not.” Damian whispers.

Both of their heads snap to him. “What?”

“I have been… contacted..by someone claiming to be Danyal. He says Mother has found him and…” Damian grows unsure, “He asked if you would be able, be willing to help.”

“He’s alive? You’re sure it’s him?”

“He used a code I’ve never shared with anyone else and that no one else in the league knew.”

“How can we be sure? I mean, Bruce’s kid? Asking for help?”

“Shut it, Drake.” Damian snaps, Drake raises his hands in surrender.

Just as he opens his mouth to talk again, his phone gently chimes with an email notification.

It’s him.

Damian races to open it.

“He says he’ll be in Gotham tonight. And that he’llfindme.” Damian says as he looks up at his father. The panic, relief and desperation warring in his own eyes reflected back at him.

“Then let’s make it easy for him. Still up for patrol, Little D?” Richard sounds with a smirk.

—-

The night is quiet but tense between Batman and Robin.

They hop the rooftops in sync, stopping a small crime here or there. There’s been no sightings of anyone unusual, even with Nightwing and Red Robin scattered across the lower districts. Even Red Hood was called in about the situation, though they’re not sure he’s really looking as all they got in response was a scoff and a derisive “Another one? Really, B?”

Damian shoots his grapple after his father over one of the main roads, only to get yanked back. For a second, he fears he will plummet into the sea of cars below.

Then his back hits the gravel rooftop.

The shouts of his family are but white noise in his ears as he stares at the dark, hooded figure in front of him.

“Hey, brother. Long time no see and the first thing I catch you doing is jumping off a building? Not a great start.” The figure-his brother- says with a sharp smirk.

Damian stays awestruck for a second before scowling, “I had a grapple.”

“Robin!” His father barks from above them, swinging down from a water tower like a vengeful shadow.

Danyal makes a suspicious squeaking sound and vanishes from sight.

Both are immediately on guard as Batman puts himself between Damian and where the stranger was.

“Are you Meta? Who are you? Stop hiding!” Father says again, growling.

As Danyal’s shape fades into existence yet again, Damian tries to push past his own questions for the sake of them all.

“Father. It is alright, this is… Danyal. My.. twin.”

Here, his father falters. Apparently, so does Danyal if the cringe he gives is anything to go by.

“I don’t really go by- anyways, yes I’m Da..mi..an’s? twin. And I need your help. Talia’s found me and she’s trying to make me join back with the league.”

Damian tensed even more as the person in front of him stutters over his name, “Why don’t you know my name? What did you call me when we were younger? The code you signed on your email.”

Something in Danyal’s eyes went pained, “I called you Gemini, because that’s what we are, even though you always emphasized that we were Sagittarius and ‘besides the stars have no effect on..”

“On our strength or abilities as an opponent.” Damian finished for him, “It is you..” he said amazedly as he stepped closer, “But how? How are you here? How are you alive?”

“Simple answer?” Danyal pulled down the hood of his black sweatshirt to reveal a head of fluffy white hair, “I’m not.”

“And as for how I’m here? Well that’s a rather complicated answer, but it all starts with one thing. Ghosts.”

Their father made a strangled sound beside them and Damian took a stuttering step back, “You’re a ghost?” “You mean, you didn’t survive? … I killed you?”

Danyal’s eyes zoned out before flaring an angry green and then settling as he looked back up, his edges going fuzzy for a second, “Yeah, I mean.. I guess? Listen, I don’t really remember much from when I- we- were 6, and I don’t much care to. My ghostliness, I think it’s why Talia is trying to get me back. I can’t think of another reason.”

Damian scowled, “Perhaps it is because she is our mother and believed you dead and lost-“

“That woman is not my mother!” Danyal shouted, glow flaring, eyes flashing as he leaned in.

He took a breath and pulled back to collect himself, “Talia was not a mother to us. You have to know that by now at least, Damian.”

Damian looked away and scowled again.

“You barely knew her,”

“Because she sent me to my death!” Danyal flung his hands up.

Batman struggled to choose a side between the two children in front of him. He had loved Talia once too, but he had also seen the toxicity of their relationship.

“Danyal, Robin, we need to focus. If Talia came to recruit one of you, she might be coming for the other.”

“She is. She kept saying some nonsense about ‘making our family whole again’ now that she’s ‘in control.’ I came because I had a feeling she’s not gonna take my Hell-No as an appropriate answer with that goal.”

Batman froze, “The League of Assassins. She’s finally been able to regain control over all of them and become the Demon’s Head after Ra’s Al Ghul’s death.”

This could be bad. Verybad.

“I can’t be half-dead,… I have homework,”

-Danny Fenton