Chapter Text
After the war, there was nothing but chaos and ruins left. A small town in Russia was holding on by a thread with airstrikes hitting the military zones day in and day out. Despite being consistently confronted by the U.S Military forces to cease the war, the Russians refused to give in. They were all too blinded and determined to follow the orders from their perverse leader, and five-star general, Makarov.
Unbeknownst to Makarov, however, Damian Wayne, most known by his peers as Demon Head, had an entire task force dedicated to taking them down through a covert mission. The plan was simple. The only issue was that moving through the city felt like walking through a minefield waiting to explode. Damian Wayne, now in his mid-twenties, proceeded cautiously as he guided his teammates through the enemy's compound. The first building they approached seemed abandoned, so that was where they were headed.
“Second missile!” Damian heard someone shout from a distance.
Damian ducked, using a ramp as cover. Above him, a helicopter spiraled out of control, nosediving into the ground at full force. More gunfire came, which meant the Demon Head and his teammates had to stay as stealthy as possible. When the dust settled, Damian signaled for his team to follow him, zooming in on the windows a few times to ensure they were clear.
To his left, Damian noticed Colin doing the same thing as he assessed his surroundings.
“I don’t see anyone.” Abuse said.
“Me neither. Stay put.” The Demon Head instructed.
Jon-El, the Demon Head’s right-hand man, nodded towards the stairs at the back of the building and asked, “Okay, ready?”
Damian nodded, “Let’s go.”
They went inside the building at the same time and slowly walked upstairs. No one was around yet, which was good. They moved forward, and at the end of the stairwell, to their right, was a door partially open. Taking the lead, Jon opened the door, and they were met with a long hallway that led to a series of other doors. The floors were filthy, and the hallway was so narrow that only one person could squeeze in.
Undeterred, Jon-El went to the third door further down the hallway, while Demon Head and Abuse investigated the other rooms. The first door Damian opened led to a room cluttered with papers, broken furniture, and, most importantly, discarded weapons with extra ammo left on the floor. He didn't need to think twice before taking some of the guns for himself. It never hurt to have extra ammo on his side.
“First deck clear!” Damian heard Abuse announce from the other room.
"All clear on my end too." Jon said, also from a distance.
“We’re moving to the second floor, then,” The Demon Head instructed.
They headed to the second deck, where they found a metal door shut. Muffled shouts of Russian soldiers reached their ears, which could only mean one thing: they were not alone.
Demon Head swung the door open and they were met with an explosion of gunfire that made them duck. It was then that a flashbang was dropped out of nowhere, disorienting all those inside the room.
“In the doorway, in the doorway!” Colin shouted as an enemy was about to sneak up on them. Thankfully, Jon took care of that soldier just in time by shooting him in the face.
Intense minutes went by before all the Russian soldiers were dropped the ground. It wasn't a pretty sight with all that bloodshed everywhere, but it wasn't a fate they couldn't escape from. The fight was far from being over, so Damian moved forward by taking another flight of stairs. They still needed to find where the Russians were keeping all their weapon cashe. The Demon's Head kept pressing forward until they reached another hallway with multiple doors left wide open.
It was a trap.
Copying his enemy, Damian threw a flashbang. The trick worked because the Russians were all taken by surprise, giving Jon-El the perfect opportunity to swoop in and take care of all of them.
"Nice work." Said the Demon Head. "Now we need to confiscate the third floor. Jon, wait by the stairs in case more soldiers come. Abuse, you're coming with me."
The young men nodded, “Ok.”
Demon Head and Abuse went ahead and ran to the third desk, which also led to more rooms. After splitting to cover more ground, more soldiers popped out, blazing their guns at them. Abuse was too skilled to let that become a problem, so in a matter of seconds, he knocked everyone down. Meanwhile, Damian finished investigating the other rooms, but no sign of the weaponry cache. The next plan was to invade the second building, then. Things got worse when the sound of gunshots increased.
"Shit, I'm hit! I need to heal!" Damian overheard Colin scream.
Worried, Damian rushed out of the empty room he was in just to find an army of Russian soldiers shooting at Colin and throwing grenades at him at the stairwell.
"There are stimpacks in the office room, go! I'll cover for you!"
"Thanks!" Abuse shouted as he sprinted up the stairs.
"Where the Hell is Jon? He was supposed to watch our back!" Damian yelled.
As if Jon could read their minds, his voice suddenly came on the radio, “Guys, I’m on building two! I need backup!”
"Seriously?! You left without us?" Damian shouted as he resorted to his knife for close-up attacks. “You were supposed to hold your position!”
“I know, but a ton of soldiers ran up to the second building! I betcha that's where they're keeping the weapons cache!”
“Damn it, J! It’s probably a trap!”
Colin was back, looking a lot better after injecting himself with some health serum, but he was not happy. He raged as he beat up the rest of the soldiers until they were all down.
“So much for waiting on us, Jon.” Abuse remarked.
“Tt. Yeah, you suck at this, J.”
Despite their annoyance, the Demon Head and his partner, Abuse, evacuated the building to help their other teammate. As soon as they stepped outside, another wave of soldiers jumped on them. The enemy's reinforcements wouldn't stop pouring into Building II, and it was impossible to do anything but try to survive.
“Backup, backup! I need backup!” Jon repeated, his voice urgent over the radio.
“We know, Jon, but we’re a little busy right now!” Damian retorted sarcastically as an entire army bombarded him with firearms.
They were surrounded, and no matter how hard they fought, more soldiers kept coming.
“Sniper on the roof!” Abuse warned.
“Aghh! There are too many of them!”
"Ah, crap." Jon's voice came, "The cache is not here."
Damian was about to lose it now. “I told you it was a trap!”
“I need to get outta here.”
A soldier sneaking up on Damian up-close was one thing, but what he couldn't stand was the freaking snipers hiding like a bunch of cowards. Damian kept shooting his enemies until his gun failed on him.
“Great, I’m out of ammo!”
Jon managed to leave the second building and ran to help his friends, doing his best to neutralize as many opponents as possible on his way.
Desperate, Abuse pointed at the remnants of a helicopter located not too far from them. “Quick! Hide for cover!”
The trio rushed to the broken pieces of the helicopter as the gunfire continued.
“Shooters at the wall!” Jon warned, taking down several soldiers with Abuse’s help.
“RPG!” Colin shouted as a rocket grenade was thrown at them.
“Shit!” Damian cursed under his breath, unable to see anything or even move.
“Dropped one!” Jon cheered.
“I iced one too!” Colin said, doing a dumb victory dance.
With his MP 7 now loaded, Damian ran out in the Warfield, tired of being on the losing side.
“Demon Head, are you crazy?” Damian heard Abuse ask.
Stubborn as always, Damian took down all the enemies who came his way. The bloodshed was massive, but Damian couldn’t hide inside a broken chopper forever. Some of the bullets did pierce through him, his blood splattering, not that he cared.
“Yep, he’s crazy,” Jonathan concluded.
Following his lead, Jon-El and Abuse joined in the fight, taking down as many people as they could.
There was a tall building ahead of them where Demon Head was pointing, “Over there! That’s where they’re keeping all their weaponry!”
The area was clear, so they pressed forward until Jon caught a glance of a few shooters hiding in the windows.
Jon yelled out, “Get down, get down!”
Damian crouched and aimed at the snipers from the building, but to no avail. He was too far away, and his gun wasn’t good enough to take that good of a shot from that range.
“How are they even seeing us?” Jonathan asked, frustrated.
“Gotta love snipers.” Damian sarcastically retorted.
“Abuse, are you still with us?” Jon-El asked.
“Yeah. Almost got hit again, but I’ll survive.”
Another soldier jumped on them when Damian took the shot in an instant. “Ha! Perfect headshot.”
Colin would’ve congratulated him for such an achievement, but he was too worried about the mysterious shooter hiding in the windows.
“Not him again!”
Colin didn’t even need to elaborate; Damian knew exactly who he was referring to. Looking up, he spotted the damned sniper who had haunted them in the past; the man who went by the name Ghost Spawn.
“I’m going to end his miserable life this time.” Declared the Demon Head.
“D, don’t!” Jon intervened, “We need to find the enemy’s cache first, remember? We're running out of time!”
“Tt, fine. Cover for me, then. I’m going in.”
They went to the third building and ran upstairs again. At the top, there was another hallway with more open doors and windows. The explosion of gunfire only worsened, which meant they were headed the right way. Once Damian reached the top of the building, clearing the way by shooting as many people as he could, he finally found a room with all the cache just waiting to be destroyed. The timing was perfect, if it weren't for those damn snipers shooting from the windows.
“Abuse, take down the snipers!”
“Roger that!”
“Jon-El, watch my back!”
“I can't! I’m hit!”
“What?" The Demon Head looked around, searching for his friend. "What do you mean you’re hit?”
“Shit, I’m down too.” Abuse said from behind.
"You too? Damn it, do I have to do everything around here?”
All Damian had to do was finish activating the bomb. The device took its sweet time to load, and there was nothing else he could do, except wait.
Hurry, hurry, hurry.
If Ghost Spawn and his cowardly little buddies were still alive, the whole operation would be ruined. The windows in the unit room were wide open too, glasses shattered after so much fire, which meant that a bullet from a sneaky sniper could hit him at any moment.
Colin shouted, “He’s right there, he’s right there!”
Damian looked up and spotted from a distance his worst nightmare: Ghost Spawn. He was unable to move or do anything to protect himself, and there were only a few seconds left for the bomb to finish loading. Ghost Spawn didn't care, however. The man carefully aimed directly at Damian, focusing on getting the perfect shot.
Demon Head was on the verge of defending himself when suddenly, everything went black.
“Damn it!” Damian yelled, tossing his controller across the room.
“Ughh, that freaking Ghost Spawn! Hate that guy.” Colin commented from his headset.
“Guys, guys, guys, let’s just start over!” Jon suggested.
“This is our second time playing, Jon, and we keep losing.”
Damian was fuming. “There is no way I’m gonna let this stupid game beat me! We’re starting over. And Jon, what the hell were you doing? You were supposed to have my back!”
“I was trying to, but I got shot!” Jon defended.
“Then do better next time!” Damian scorned.
“You really shouldn’t have gone off to that second building, J,” Collin joined the banter, “We lost a ton of health after you left.”
"Exactly!" Damian scolded, "When I say watch the stairwell, watch the damn stairwell!"
“I thought the weapons cache was at the other place, alright? Besides, we wasted soo much time on that first building. The cache wasn’t even there the first time we played!”
“Yeah, but the map keeps changing every time we reset the game, remember?” Damian remarked, beyond annoyed. “And that room wasn't even that bad. I found a lot of gear, and the extra ammo came in handy.”
Colin interrupted the two, “Okay, shut up, you two. The game’s restarting now.”
The shooting game began, and they were back to a whole different map, but with the same plot.
Damian started saying, “I swear if I see that camper one more time–”
"Hold up, is that him?" Colin asked, alarmed.
"No way! That's him! I’m gonna kill you now, Ghost Spawn!" Damian threatened from his headset, "Come at me!”
“Stop chasing Ghost and go back to the mission, already!” Jon lectured, “You know his team wins when we run out of time!”
“Damn it, got hit again.” Colin exclaimed, “I hate this game.”
“D, to your right, to your right! Never mind, I got it." Jon shouted before approaching the enemy.
Aiming carefully, Jon took the shot and got a double kill simultaneously, earning some points.
“O-HOOO, did you guys see that?!!”
“That was awesome, J!” Colin cheered.
“Camper behind you!” Damian warned.
"Oohh, headshot, baby!" Jon cheered, "Thanks for the warning, D!”
"What the hell?!" Damian shouted, "Where were all these headshots when I needed you earlier?"
The boys kept shouting and cursing until they heard a familiar voice coming from Jon’s headset…
“Jonathan Samuel Kent! Will you keep it down?!”
“Oooh, someone’s in trouble…” The Gotham boys teased.
“Ugh, you’re playing that shooting game again?” Damian and Colin heard Mrs. Kent complain, “Can’t you play something else? Something less… Violent?”
“Your mom’s right, Jon!” Damian started to tease, “You should go play a more kiddish game, like Minecraft!”
“Hey, don’t diss on Minecraft!” Jon protested.
“That’s a kid’s game, Jon.”
“It is not!”
“It is. But it’s okay, that game is made for ten-year-olds, so it makes sense why you like them.”
“I’m not ten, I’m twelve! And even being younger than you guys, everyone thinks I’m your age because of my height! Which reminds me that I’m still taller than you, Damian!”
“No, you’re not! You’re just as tall as me, not taller. There’s a big difference!”
Colin couldn't help but laugh at his friends. To Damian's defense, however, he did have a growth spurt over the summer. He wasn't as tall as his father yet, but he would get there someday.
“Hey, honey! Is everything okay?” Clark’s voice resonated through Jonathan’s headset.
“Jon’s gaming again...” Lois responded.
Jon’s parents must have been standing right next to him because everyone could hear their conversation. “I’m trying to finish my article, but I’m starting to get a headache from all this shouting.”
“Jon,” Clark sternly called, “I think it’s time to put down your game now.”
“No way, Dad, we’re so close! We just need to finish the mission, and then it’s over!”
Lois sighed, “Can’t you go over to your friend’s house and play together, then?”
"Can't. This game doesn't have split-screen."
“Split screens?” Clark asked confusedly, “What in the world is that?”
Jon groaned, “Uugh, you guys are so old!”
“Not as old as Damian’s Grandpa.” Colin cut in for only the boys to hear, “How old is he, Dames? 780? A thousand?”
“Who even knows. He’s close to 450, I presume. But yeah, like you said. He’s old.”
A random camper suddenly appeared out of nowhere and shot Damian from behind, taking him out of the game.
“WHAT?! But I dodged that! This is BULLSHIT!”
“Master Damian!” Colin and Jon heard the very familiar voice over their headsets, “Watch your language! This is not a place for profanities!”
“Actually, a video game is a very appropriate setting for profanities, Pennyworth–”
“Then, off you go. Enough gaming for you, young sir."
“Pennyworth, don’t–!”
There was a moment of silence before Colin asked, “Did we lose Damian?”
“I think so.”
“I’m still here,” Damian said as he eyed a very displeased butler who was just waiting on him to finish the conversation before plugging off the game.
“Hey, guys?” Jon interrupted, “Looks like my parents are kicking me out of my own house."
"We're not kicking you out, Jonathan!" Mrs. Kent protested.
“Same.” Damian agreed, ignoring the comment from his friend's mother. His game was soon to be turned off by Pennyworth anyway, no point in trying to argue.
"Soo, HQ, then?" Colin suggested.
"Sure." Jon shrugged, “My parents are cool with it. I even think they would prefer it. ”
“Same here.”
“And my foster family is not even home, so I’m good! Let’s go!”
Putting down their headsets, the boys got ready to head out of their homes.
Teen Titan Tower
It didn't take long for the boys to meet at the Tower, thanks to the Zeta Tube watch that Cyborg created for them. The watch only worked to get them to the tower, which was fine, better than having to fly each time. Damian was the last to arrive (would've been the first if he didn't have to listen to Pennyworth's lectures), but seeing his friends still waiting by the door was confusing. Both Colin and Jon had puzzled looks on their faces as they stared at the security panel by the entrance.
"What's wrong?" Damian asked, making his friends jump.
"Oh, Damian! Soo... Funny thing happened, hehe..." Jon laughed nervously.
Damian arched an eyebrow. "What?"
"We forgot the code." Colin finally answered.
"What? You guys forgot the code to your own HQ?"
"Yeah, well, maybe we would've remembered if a certain person didn't keep changing the code all the time!"
"Don't be ridiculous, Jonathan."
Colin chimed in, "Damian, sorry, but you're pretty paranoid about all these security settings and passwords. Now, not even we can enter the Tower, and we're all Titans here."
"I am not paranoid, I am cautious. Besides, may I need to remind you two about the break-in we had a few months ago?"
Colin and Jon refused to meet their friend in the eye, opting to look at the exterior walls instead.
Jon then said, "No, but it'd still be nice to have a code easy to remember!"
"Tt. Fine, the code is 180375." Damian said as he entered the code for them, "...Which now needs to be changed again because I just said it out loud."
"Ughhh!" The other boys groaned in unison.
Damian waited for the panel change from red light to green, yet nothing happened.
"The Hell?" Damian tried the code a few more times, but the door was still locked.
"See?!" Jon started, "Not even you remember it!"
"Shut up, Jon, of course I remember the code! Someone changed it!"
"Stop, you're gonna lock us out--!" Colin tried to warn, but it was too late. The panel went completely red under a 'locked-out' mode.
"Damn it!" Damian swore as he punched the panel.
A female voice then suddenly came from the panel, stating, "I changed the code, silly goose."
"Maya!" Damian called out in anger, "I knew you were behind this! Why did you change it?"
"Because those numbers were too random! No one's gonna remember them."
"See?" Colin pointed out, receiving an angry glare from his friend in return.
"This is unacceptable, Maya. How did you even gain access? Only I should be the one able to change the code!"
"Your security system is ridiculously easy to breach, Damian." Emiko's voice suddenly cut in.
"Emiko?!" Damian asked, in shock, "You helped her??"
"Of course I did!" The archer confirmed, "Someone has to be able to hack the system behind your back around here. What if you go evil on us and turn the Tower into an entire weapon against us?"
"Damn, that's a good point," Damian confessed, thoughtful.
"Soo, are you gonna let us in, oor..." Jon started to say, making Maya laugh.
"Ha, ha, here you go, Superboy. I'm buzzing you guys in."
With that, the doors to the Tower unlocked. The boys took the elevator that led to the living area, where they spent most of their time when they weren't training. Emiko looked like she had just finished a solo training session, based on her attire: a black tank top, tight leggings, and workout gloves. Her hair was long and tied in a ponytail, with a few strands framing her chin. Damian would be lying if he said she didn't look incredibly attractive.
Maya, whose hair was also longer and a bit wavy, was wearing a more casual outfit, a striped t-shirt loose on one of her shoulders, and denim shorts. She was the only Titan who lived in the Tower for the most part, despite having a house of her own. It was mostly so she could watch Goliath, but also because she didn't like being alone.
The TV in the living room was paused on a screen that looked incredibly familiar. The boys leaned in at the same time, the puzzle pieces slowly coming together.
"Uh, Maya..?" Colin was the first to ask what they were all wondering. "Have you been you playing... Search and Conquer?!"
"Oh, that?" Maya looked at them, amused. "Yeah! Haha, you guys should've seen it! I've been spending the whole day roasting these losers! Hey, do you wanna hear my Russian accent? Been practicing all day: 'Vat do you mean, my frriend? Now, pass me Vodka!"
Maya laughed to herself while the boys stepped even closer to the TV, glaring at the screen in disbelief.
Jon connected the dots, "Wait... Are you--"
"--Ghost Spawn??" Damian shouted, incredulous.
Maya busted out laughing, "Oh, man, this is so funny! You guys suck at this game!"
"We do not!" Damian protested in anger, "And you're a freaking camper, you coward!"
"Hey, my team won, didn't it?" Maya laughed before clearing her throat to go back to her accent, 'In Soviet Russia, bullet dodges you!"
Even Emiko chuckled, as silly as the joke was. The boys, on the other hand, were too shocked to enjoy any of that.
"Dude, that's not funny--" Colin shook his head, still in disbelief at the discovery.
Maya couldn't stop laughing. "And what were those usernames?? Do you boys want the whole online world to know who you are?"
"Demon Head is an excellent username!"
"Demon Head?!" Emiko asked her boyfriend in shock, "That's the name you chose, really?"
"Oh, Jon's is worse!" Maya tapped Emi's shoulder, still laughing, "His username is Jon-El!"
"You're kidding!" Emiko exclaimed, too entertained by the whole thing.
"Hey, at least it didn't type the hyphen!" Jon defended.
"Nah, it's a little on the nose, Jon," Colin admitted.
"As if yours is any better!" Jon argued back, making Emiko afraid of knowing what name Colin had chosen.
"Oh, please don't tell me..!" Emiko cringed, but in a playful way.
"He used the name Abuse!" Maya gave out, breaking out into more laughter.
"Oh, wow!" Emi covered her mouth and nose, embarrassed for her friends. "That's pretty bad, you guys..."
"What?" Colin raised his shoulders, "What's wrong with Abuse? No one even knows who I am!"
"Except for all of our bad guys..!" Maya reminded them, finally recovering from her fit of laughter.
"Well, your username sucks too!" Damian retorted, "What kind of a name is Ghost Spawn??"
"Hey, Ghost Spawn is pretty dope and original. A ghost is not seen, right? Like my codename, Nobody. Which was used by my dad, hence the Spawn part."
"Oh, wow, that is original!" Emi smiled at Maya, making her reciprocate the gesture.
"Aw, thanks!"
"Tt. Regardless, you cheated, Maya. The game was practically over; it's not my fault that it takes five hundred years for a bomb to load in that stupid game!"
"Yeah, and playing on the Russians' side is the easy mode," Colin added.
"I think you boys are just bitter because my team kept winning every time!"
"What was your kill count, anyway?" Questioned Damian, refusing to accept defeat.
Maya looked up to think, "Mmm, like 20 or so."
"Ha!" Damian pointed at the girl, victorious, "That's not even that high!"
Jon joined in, "Yeah, you weren't in the trenches like we were!"
Maya just shrugged, "Meh. Still won. That's all it matters."
"Dang snipers..." Colin mumbled, making Maya and Emi laugh again.
"Well, now that you children are done joking around, don't you think we should be tackling more serious things? Like analyzing potential missions... Or training?" Emiko shot her friends a pointed glare. "Because unlike you lazy people, I trained today and even surpassed my goal this time."
"Really?" Damian perked up, interested.
"Yeah. 3 minutes, 72 arrows, using my recurve bow this time. Hit the targets at an 80-meter range without any trick arrows, just in case I run out of those in the field when we're in actual danger. Hit the bullseye every time."
"Wow!" Damian perked up, moving closer to her to touch her hand. "That is very impressive, Emi!"
Emiko's face blushed from the contact."Oh..! Thank you..."
They were still not the greatest at showing affection in front of others, but everyone knew those two were into each other.
Still thinking of Emiko's snide remark, Jon protested, "We're not lazy! What we did today was training. Sort of."
Colin crossed his arms and nodded, "Yeah, we trained and learned lots of lessons today. Like how our friends can turn out to be our enemies!" The redhead narrowed his eyes at Maya, making her chuckle.
"Tt," Damian started to scoff, "Yeah, and how Jon sucks at following orders both virtually and in the real world!"
"Hey!"
"Jon, I know what I'm doing out there, and you didn't even bother to listen! When you leave to do as you please, people get killed!"
Jon argued, "That's not true, and that has never happened in real life! I do listen, and we always work as a team!"
"Not always! Besides, you're always letting your guard down because you think you're invincible, but you're not!"
Maya rolled her eyes, sighing, "Here we go again..."
The fellow Titans were used to Jon and Damian arguing like an old married couple from time to time.
"--And obviously I gotta hold back!" Jon said. The argument was still going, somehow.
"Yeah, but do you listen?" Damian shot back, "No! You haven't even worked on your freeze breath!"
"Because I can't do that yet!" Jon's voice rose, defensively, "I can't force my powers to come, it happens naturally! Did you know it took years for my dad to master his freeze breath?"
"Guys..." Colin started to say, but he was already being ignored.
"Yeah, but at least your dad knew he had freeze-breath powers. You can't even blow out a candle right."
"That's it, I'm gonna fry your hair until you're bald!"
"Go ahead, farm boy!" Damian challenged with open arms, ready for his friend's heat vision, "I'm not scared of a little haircut! You'll probably miss it, anyway!"
"Aallriight!" Maya jumped in the middle of those two, extending her arms to break the tension between them, "Guys! We're all friends here, no need to start a fight! We were just joking around a second ago!"
Emiko also stepped in, pushing her boyfriend aside."Damian, chill! What has gone into you?"
"...Sorry. Guess I'm still mad at the game..." Damian looked down before facing his best friend, "Sorry about that, J."
Jon offered his friend a brief smile, and dismissed the incident by saying, "No problem, D. I'm sorry for what I did too."
"Alright, now how about we all relax and watch a movie, huh?" Colin proposed, changing the channel with the remote control. "Oh, or we could watch the new thriller TV series that just came out!"
"Ehh, not really in the mood to watch a TV show right now..." Jon confessed, unenthusiastically.
Damian nodded next to his best friend, "Same."
Ignoring his friends, Colin clicked on the streaming channel and started scrolling through the movies. They were all in the same genre.
"Ugh, can we not do the action-packed movies again?"
"What's wrong with action-packed movies?" Colin asked innocently.
Maya turned to Emiko, confused. "Yeah, since when don't you like action?"
Emiko sighed, "Don't get me wrong, action movies are great and all, but I'd like something calmer for a change."
"Disney movies are calm!" Maya suggested cheerfully.
"Ah, geez." Emiko wanted to gag. Damian couldn't blame her.
"They're not too bad." Colin gave a casual shrug, "We could always watch Pirates of the Caribbean or another classic like that."
Damian shook his head and emphasized slowly, "Hard. Pass."
The banter made Jon chuckle. "I betcha if Dick were here, he'd be voting for Disney!"
Damian's face broke into a smile, "Ha, I wouldn't doubt it for a second. He watches Disney movies more than his own daughter!"
Jon laughed at that while the others bickered over movie choices. Eventually, they all came to an agreement to watch a movie that was recently released, one with a mix of comedy, mystery, and action. It felt nice to relax, for once. After years of being forced to watch movies with Richard to become more 'Americanized', Damian had grown accustomed to settling down and watching films, even if his preference was to read.
As the movie started to reach its climax, everyone began to tense up. Damian could feel his girlfriend holding his arm a little tighter when suddenly, the TV screen changed into a call from an anonymous number.
"What the heck?!" Even Jon jolted on the couch.
"Rob--Robin--"
The Titans tensed up, scooching closer to the screen to hear the call better.
A message then appeared requesting to have the audio call turn into a video instead. Damian urged Maya, "Hurry, accept the call!"
"I am!" Maya clicked on the button again, and the screen showed a Middle-Eastern kid the same age as them. His hair was shaved, his skin was tan, and his eyes were brown and looked desperate. He looked so familiar. Damian narrowed his eyes, searching his brain. He had to have seen that kid somewhere, he just couldn't remember where...
"Robin-- Robin of Gotham-! Al-Musa'ada! Al-Musa'ada!"
Damian's adrenaline started rising as he recognized what the boy on the other line was saying.
نحن نحتاج مساعدتك! سيحدث الانقلاب قريبا!"
Emiko turned to her boyfriend, "Robin..? What is he saying??"
Damian didn't respond. His green eyes were too glued to the screen to pay attention to anything else. His heart started pounding as the memory of the kid started to slowly come to him.
"Man 'anta?" Damian questioned, and no one had a clue what was happening.
"Ekram! Min kuliktif! 'ant 'anqadht hayati! Ana--hum sawf yak--htatifun"
"The call is breaking up!" Damian shouted, desperately, "Ekram, speak slower!"
"The prince-- Coup d'etat!-- They're going to attack the prince-! We need your help--"
And just like that, the call was dropped.
The room went dead silent as everyone stared at Damian, waiting for an explanation. The Boy Wonder froze for a moment, trying to process what he had just heard.
Emiko cocked her head as she asked, "So... what the heck was that all about?"
"Yeah, what just happened?" Jon also inquired.
Damian's heart was still pounding. He couldn't let Ekram down, not like he did last time.
Without any explanation, Damian got up from the couch and left. He was headed to the garage, ready to ride his jet, when the Titans came following him like lost, confused puppies.
"Where are you going?" Emiko demanded to know, rushing to catch up to him.
Everything could be explained later, just not now. Damian kept heading to the jet when Jon appeared in front of him in a blur, his hand stopping him. "Hey! You can't just walk away and leave us guessing like that. Talk to us."
"I'd love to explain, but I don't have much time, Jon."
Having caught up to everyone, Colin also asked, "What prince is being attacked? What is going on, Damian?"
Angry, Emiko narrowed her eyes at her boyfriend, "Damian, don't you dare get on that jet without explaining yourself. You know we're coming with you, so you better start talking now."
Maya nodded, "Yeah, you can't just take a super juicy mission all for yourself!"
His friends seriously needed to leave Damian alone on this one, but they were all so stubborn. "Ugh, FINE! Ekram is a Leviathan survivor. My father and I rescued him years ago, and he's been living in Qurac ever since. He works at the palace, but apparently, someone is trying to take over the throne."
"I got the coup d'etat part." Emiko pointed out, arms still crossed, "But how do you know anything about that kid?"
"We kept in contact over the years." Damian confessed, "Not a whole lot, but I know of his whereabouts, thanks to the files on the Batcomputer. He's a good kid, Ekram. He's lost too many people in his life, and if he's this worried about the prince's safety, then we should be worried too."
"Sure, but how is that our business?" Emiko pressed. "Sorry, Damian, I understand that random guy is an old friend of yours, but you do realize we'd be stepping into a political warzone if we intervene, right? You know Qurac has always been a messy country."
"Yeah, but things have significantly improved since the King implemented some changes in the country." Damian explained, "They even offered Ekram, a refugee, a place to work, and he's happy there. If someone is trying to overtake the throne and hurt the Royal Family, then it is my job to stop them!"
Maya stepped in, "Ahem. You mean our job."
Emiko shook her head. "I don't know, Dames. The United Nations is on our side, and those types of countries want the Justice League and the likes to stay faar away from them. We don't want to accidentally start a war just because we showed up."
"I understand why you think this way, Emi, but we're not the Justice League." Damian reminded, "We're the Teen Titans, and we're not globally known like the Justice League is. We take the minor cases, the easy ones that no one cares about. The people in Qrac won't even know who we are if they see us."
"...We're Nobody to them." Maya stated with a smile, "Sounds good to me. We go in, save the Royal Family, then leave. Doesn't sound too bad of a mission!"
The archer was still not convinced. "Guys... If this leads to an international conflict, we're screwed. Don't you think we should stay out of this case this time?"
Damian shook his head, determined, "I can't. Ekram is my friend, and he called me directly. I have to take this case."
"Okay! You don't have to do it alone, tough." Maya added with a sweet smile.
"Exactly," Colin pounded his fists together with his absurdly large hands. He was getting a lot better control over his powers, and he could randomly change different parts of his body in his Abuse form and then go back to normal as he pleased. "Better take the bigger jet cuz we're coming too."
Damian looked at his team and hesitated. Years ago, he would never have imagined having a whole group of teammates, no, friends, willing to fight by his side for what was right. Yet there he was, surrounded by impressive people whom he cared about. The mission was going to be dangerous, Damian was sure of it. He barely even knew where to start, but he knew he needed to meet with Ekram first and foremost as soon as they arrived there.
It was true that the Titans stayed away from other countries or even planets, but this was an exception worth taking. The Teen Titans changed into their hero attire and got on the Batjet, with Damian leading the way. After all these years, Damian didn't become the leader of a simple group of teenagers.
He was leading heroes.
The future.