I'll be good

Grace Is Just Weakness... Or So I've Been Told

Batman threw the last punch, sending the man in the sand-coloured suit crashing to the floor, unconscious. Soon enough, a flash of red and blue lights appeared outside the run-down building, alerting the masked vigilantes that the GCPD had arrived in time for the arrest.

Bruce and the others quickly retreated into the shadows, slipping out of the building unnoticed just as the officers swarmed in.

They circled back to the building they'd left Damian at, only to find he wasn't there anymore. Bruce quickly ordered everybody to fan out and search for him, all the while trying to reach him through their intercoms but had no such luck.

Damian wasn't far, however. He hadn't intended to walk away from the building, he just needed to clear his head of Talia's voice, in fact, he didn't realize how much he had walked until his feet came to a stop and he was glancing up at unfamiliar surroundings.

He sighed deeply, raising his eyes to the black sky above, still wishing that he'd somehow just sprout wings. He dug the heel of his hand into his eyes to stop the frustrated tears from flowing, why now? He thought, why must she show up the minute everything started to go right?

Damian pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut in an effort to calm himself down; there was no point getting worked up now, it wouldn't help him any. Still, he couldn't help the dread that formed in the pit of his stomach the more he thought about his mother's surprise visit.

Dick was weaving in and out of alleys, dipping his head around every dark corner there was. He hoped to god that Damian hadn't run away again or worse been kidnapped by some insane miscreant.

Dick was on the verge of just standing in the middle of the road and yelling Damian's name, when he rounded the corner and spotted someone clothed in a green, red and black suit with a yellow cape flowing out behind him.

Damian stood with his back to him, unharmed from what Dick could see.

He blew out a puff of air in relief and jogged over to him, "Hey kid!" Dick yelled as he approached, careful to not use any names out in the field.

Damian visibly flinched when he heard Dick's voice, mostly from the unexpected yell of the nickname, he gathered. He didn't turn to face him, though, even as Dick slowed to a stop behind him.

"Where have you been?" Dick questioned breathlessly as he laid a hand upon Damian's shoulder, "we were starting to worry..." he trailed off, sensing unease radiating off the boy.

"Hey, kid... You okay?" Dick let his hand remain where it was on Damian's shoulder as he swiveled himself around so that he was now facing him. Damian kept his eyes down, the thoughts in his head still racing; he hadn't even registered that Dick was stood in front of him now.

Dick released his shoulder as he took a step back, confusion settled on his face as he regarded Damian's attire... something was missing.

"Where's your mask?"

Damian lifted his hand to his eyes, touching skin rather than the olive green mask that concealed his identity. It only now dawned on him that Talia had left with it, and he'd been wandering around Gotham aimlessly without it.

"I... It's..." he racked his brain for an answer, but Damian didn't know what to say to satisfy Dick's question. There was nothing he could think of; there was no excuse valid enough. So he opted for the only thing that was left.

He opted for the truth.

"Somebody took it."

"They saw you!"

"They- they won't say anything, you don't have to-"

"Kid," Dick said, his voice steady and calm in contrast to Damian's panicked breaths, "you look like you've just seen a ghost, and now you're telling me that somebody stole your mask? Did they do that to you, as well?" He asked, referring to the deep cut in Damian's palm.