**Another DC shot because I've been thinking a lot about this and if Damian didn't come to Gotham until he was 10, then surely he ran into Jason at Nanda Parbat right? I mean, the timelines match up and all that... Anyways, I've been convinced of it. Here's my take on how that discovery goes for the batfam.**

"Damian."

Damian looked over at his father, who was seated at the table, a paper folded in front of him casually. "Yes?"

"I don't want you going out for the next couple days. Tim and Dick will be patrolling with me instead."

"Why?" Damian's voice raised to the hard pitch he used when he was in the League to get what he wanted. He was still learning how to exist in this new world - there were no battles to the death, no special rituals for meeting with family, no isolation.

Bruce sighed. "There's a new crime lord in the city and he's... volatile. We stumbled into his territory recently and he really hurt Dick. We're going to be a little more careful until we know who it is."

"Grayson was hurt?" Damian asked, his head tilted to the side. He was still learning concern and love, but he was fiercely protective of Dick. "Where is this territory? Where is Grayson? I will avenge him."

"You will stay here with Alfred tonight, Damian."

"Tt, this is ridiculous. I can take care of myself."

Bruce ran a hand down his face. Of all his kids, Damian was the one to jump headfirst into unnecessary danger just because he'd been told from the time he was born that danger was a mark of a strength.

"Damian, we weren't going to- Listen, Dick and Tim and I don't want you to get involved with him."

"Why not?" Damian demanded.

"Because he had an al Ghul signet on his coat."

Damian scowled. The al Ghuls were never involved in low-level crime like this. It would only compromise their organization as a whole.

"Al Ghul's do not organize crime territories in Gotham," Damian said. "Whoever this criminal is, he is not an al Ghul, and as the heir of the Demon Head, I will bring him to justice for impersonating one of our agents."

Bruce sighed. "I don't want you out there, Damian. For all we know, this is someone who left the League and is now looking for you. We're just being cautious."

Damian scoffed again, but nodded nonetheless. Bruce dismissed him from the table and went back to reading. Maybe this was a sign of Damian's maturity, or maybe he was just starting to really settle in with Bruce and the others.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As soon as Bruce, Dick, and Tim left for patrol, Damian snuck out his bedroom window and into Gotham. His father was a fool to think he wouldn't put the honor of his name. He wasn't stupid enough to go out in the Robin suit, though, so instead, he dug out his old League robes.

Gotham had one more shadow flying through the city tonight.

It was easy enough to find the territory where Bruce and the others were carefully stalking without actually stepping foot in. It was Crime Alley, a neighborhood that had reminded Damian about his Akhi back in Nanda Parbat.

Damian found Batman, Nightwing, and Red Robin easy. He stood back, hiding in the shadows, before he saw the newest crime lord, who was just across the street. He was tall and broad, with a rugged leather jacket and a red, metal helmet.

He was also carrying a gun, which already put him on Batman's radar. Damian had a passing thought if Batman had noticed the crime lord because of the bloody guns or because of the crime he was organizing. In any case, Batman gave a very familiar hand gesture and both Nightwing and Red Robin moved away, triangulating themselves around the newest crime lord.

The man with the helmet twitched a little to one side, and Damian narrowed his eyes. It was clear he was part of the League - the training was clear. He knew the others were following him closely.

"Red Hood," Batman growled out. "We need to talk."

"Batman!" The man - Red Hood - called back. "Would love to, but I'm a little busy now. Maybe after I blow Black Mask's brains out."

Nightwing and Red Robin pounced, but Red Hood was already swinging his fists up to block their attacks. Damian cocked his head to the side, analyzing. The fighting style was so familiar.

Too familiar.

Damian caught a flash of the signet, and gasped. It was the broach he and Talia wore themselves, and there was only one other person who wore it. His Akhi. Akhi was here, and that meant-

Damian flew through the air, pulling one of his katanas from his holster.

Nightwing, Red Robin, and Batman all backed off, shocked as hell, as Damian and Red Hood danced back and forth, neither one pulling their punches as they fought.

"Akhi," Damian panted.

"Damian," Red Hood said, the helmet distorting his voice. "I thought you and mom were planning to come back to Nanda."

"We wanted- Mother brought me here," Damian said, spilling to the side to land a particularly hard hit to Red Hood's ribs. The man gasped, but recovered easily and landed a hard hit right back to the boy. The others stepped forward to defend him, but Damian growled and they all backed off.

"I wondered where you two were hiding. Where's mom?"

"I don't know," Damian admitted. "She didn't think it was a prudent choice for me to know."

Red Hood landed a hit to Damian's arm and snatched the sword away from him. He flipped it around in the air with the grace only a League member would have and the metal was pressed against the boy's neck. "Don't move."

Batman, Nightwing, and Red Robin all froze. Nightwing was biting his lip harshly.

"Please," he said suddenly. "Don't hurt Robin. He's just a kid, okay?"

Red Hood didn't move for a very long moment before he drug the blade up Damian's chin, almost like he was shaving the boy. "I thought I saw a little chin hair, habibi, I was going to get excited. This seems more important, though, you're the new Robin?"

Damian grimaced. "Yes, I am. You care about this?"

"I care about anyone taking that mantel, but I care about you the most."

Damian tsk'ed and pulled away. "Is there a reason you are here?"

"Taking my city back," Red Hood snarled a little, and Damian looked scared for the first time. "I didn't expect you here. I didn't- I want to- Damian, I have to save people and that means taking these people down. I have to do this."

"This is the Pit rage," Damian cried. "This is the Pit again! You said you wouldn't come back here to kill that clown, you promised."

Everyone flinched back. Damian sounded like a child, he sounded like his age and that was terrifying. Since he had come to the manor, he'd been stiff and cold and nothing like the 11 year old he should have sounded like.

"Can we go back to the part where Red Hood said he cared about Damian?" Red Robin asked suddenly. "And Damian's calling him 'Akhi', which means brother."

Batman and Nightwing both whipped their heads around to look at Damian, who was-

"Are you in League robes?"

"Is that the old assassins get-up you used to wear?"

Damian scoffed. "Akhi. Tell me you are not the one who was killed."

Red Hood was glancing between the big, bad Bat, the other vigilantes, and Damian, but they couldn't see it under the hood. "I am. I was. I really do not like you taking it up, Damian, you are-"

"Wait, Damian said clown," Nightwing pointed out. "You know the Joker? You're here to kill the Joker?"

Red Hood groaned. "Yeah, I am. Thanks for throwing that out there, kid."

Nightwing furrowed his brows. "Then... Alright, putting it all together here, you were killed by the Joker, and the Lazeras Pit used by Ra's is part of your story? So that's how you know Damian?"

"Brilliant work, Dickface."

And Batman gasped. Batman. Gasped. All parties moved to stare up at the Gotham Dark Knight himself, each one shocked and a little worried.

"Jason?"

Damian furrowed his brow. "Ahki, you know him?"

"Damian, this was my Dad."

Damian seemed to mull this over for a second, then his face broke into a grin. "Ahki, now you can come home with me!"

Jason reached up to unlatch his helmet. "Does it look like I want to do that? The last place I ever want to step foot in again is the manor!"

Jason looked different to Bruce and Dick, and even Tim, who had seen him in pictures. He had grown out his hair a bit, and there was a white streak sticking up above his forehead. He had gotten tall and muscular and tanned, and his blue eyes were now a striking teal.

Damian grabbed Jason's hand, dragging him along. "Come along, Jason, you are going to return home with me. I want to sit together like we did back home and you may read to me from a book. If you would like, we can also watch movies, which are new to me and seem pointless, but if you would like, I will endure one for you."

Jason smiled this lop-sided smile no one had seen before, but it was calm and fond and at least he wasn't pulling a gun on anyone. Bruce, Dick, and Tim watched them leave, watched Jason tickle Damian under the arms slightly, watched Damian swat at Jason's hands but laugh nonetheless. It was bizarre.

It was familiar.

Bruce finally unfroze and moved to follow them, but Dick was already ahead of him. "Come on," he shouted. "Let's go tell Alfred the good news!"