The Devil Child Appears

[sirrobinv]

Who: Damien and Blaine
What: Arrival! 
When: Friday Afternoon
Where: Just outside of town, near the Anderson cabin...
Rating: PG-13 in case of language
Status: Closed, Incomplete

Comments

[sirrobinv]

"Tsk. I don't need a hospital." It said something that Damien actually managed to sound dismissive, even as he squeezed his eyes shut, trying desperately to stay conscious. "Had worse."

'Like that time I had my spine shot in half. But then, mother was there to patch me up, wasn't she?' Now if his mother was there, she was more likely to casually stroll by and slit his throat.

Oh, how times changed.

"Wait, Canada?!" The sudden exclamation made a lance of pain burn through his side as he looked wildly around and Damien had to blink back tears of pain, whimpering. "Anderson...are you certain?" Not that agents of the Shadows would be easy to spot, but then, the fact that the older boy was standing there was an answer in and of itself. He sneered. "Well, you're alive, which means there's couldn't be any of them here." Those last few words came out soft and vaguely slurred. Looking down, blood was starting starting to bloom and stain completely through the several layers of gauze in his side. The wound was deeper than he thought.

'Damn.'

"There's a hospital nearby?" What he wouldn't give to have Pennyworth there...

[keepcalmwarblon]

Blaine just nodded, unsure of which question or comment he should respond to first. All he was certain of was that whatever the boy might claim, he definitely needed a hospital. "I haven't been there, but there's one right in town. I could call the EMTs here to bring you there, or help you walk there, but I really, really think you need to see a doctor." Now that the boy no longer had his knife, Blaine figured it was probably safe to approach him again. He took a cautious step forward and knelt down, trying to see how bad the damage really was.

[sirrobinv]

Damien knew how badly he was hurt. Unlike getting a clip of bullets through his back he could feel everything, down to the way an early afternoon breeze brushed against raw skin, making it sting; he gasped against the pain.

"Don't...think I could really object to one way or....the other." In spite of everything it still scared him that he was forced to trust this stranger--but with no sign of Grayson, he supposed it was better than letting himself bleed out.

'Just like with Colin...' Damien thought, managing a soft, dry laugh and turned quickly into a cough then a groan. Opening his eyes again he found the world was terribly out of focus.

"Though, if you are going to help, it may be useful to do so before I bleed out." Damien glanced down, sneering. The deep green grass below him glinted wet and purple in the shifting light of the forest.

[keepcalmwarblon]

Blaine nibbled his lip and nodded, trying to work out the best way to do this. Could he carry this kid all the way to the hospital? He wasn't even positive of where it was. But would calling an ambulance work? Would his phone connect while he was on the 'reality border'? Would the ambulance be able to get here if it was part of the "other" world? He looked up and took note-- the instruments Wes had set up at the border weren't too far away. If he could just get the boy that far, he'd be sure to get help.

"Okay, I'm just going to move you a little bit. Okay?" Carefully as he could, he lifted the boy behind the arms and walked him past the border, laying him down again. He seemed to be unconscious, and Blaine panicked for a second before staring at his chest. He was still breathing.

When he was sure they were on the other side of the border, Blaine pulled his phone out and fumbled with it before he managed to dial. "Hello? Hi, I'm Blaine Anderson. There's a boy here... he's really hurt..."

***

[sirrobinv]

The moment of loosing consciousness was never remembered--or if it was, it would come back to him much, much later. The last thing Damien remembered was moving, the burning ache in his ribs giving one final, blinding stab of pain before everything went dark.

****

Damien dreampt while he slept. He was back in Zasz's arena smearing blood over his eyes like a mask; the panicked roar of the crowd was it's own song: melodious in a way that made his nerves sing in response.

'My mistake was thinking Zasz wasn't on my level. So I'll cast off sanity and fight on his.' Damien's thoughts return to him as the scarred maniac lunges for him. They dance, and every time his sword sinks into the man a thrill lances through him. The song of the crowd grows stronger. Finally, he makes his final strike, gutting the slayer of children.

*****

All the lights in the arena snap on, forcing Damien's eyes open. The song continues unbroken but it's different in the waking world--softer, calming. He turns his head to see the familiar face by the edge of the bed.

"Were you...singing at me?" His voice is hoarse, which only seems to add to the incredulity of the statement.

[keepcalmwarblon]

Blaine wouldn't be able to offer any kind of explanation whatsoever for why he'd started singing. Or why he'd stayed at the hospital for hours. Why he was sitting at this possibly insane boy's side, waiting for him to wake up. But the singing, that was the hardest of all to comprehend. Well, Blaine tended to sing in every situation, but he usually at least knew the people involved.

And the song choice wasn't so ridiculous, really. "Nothing's gonna harm you... not while I'm around. Nothing's gonna harm you, no sir, not while I'm around. Demons are prowling everywhere nowadays... I'll send them howling, I don't care, I got ways..."

Somehow, considering everything, a lovely, comforting song from such a morbid, twisted musical seemed fitting. Blaine let the song trail off when the boy opened his eyes and turned. Then, he had to laugh. "Yeah. I do that sometimes." He leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees.

[sirrobinv]

"Tsk." Damien rolled his eyes, squinting back tears--his pillows were flat on the bed and the bright halogen lights of the small hospital room shown directly into his eyes. He could feel the IV in the crook of his arm before he turned his head to see it. There was a half empty blood pack hooked above him as well--he'd needed a transfusion.

He was also in a hospital gown, which, while understandable, was also moderately alarming because it meant his clothes--and his utility belt--were god knew where.

"My clothes..." Gritting his teeth Damien sat up in bed and looked at the older boy, honestly surprised to see him there. "What are you even doing here? Waiting for the right moment to smother me with a pillow? Your timing is pathetic." He picked up a pillow for emphasis and glared at the boy, but one look revealed that no, he wasn't some assassin trying to gain his trust and wait for a moment of weakness (not that there were that many, current situation not withstanding.)

Sighing, Damien arranged his pillows and fell grudging quiet a moment.

"Thanks." He said at least.

[keepcalmwarblon]

"They're in that drawer," Blaine pointed to the nightstand by the bed. He had no idea what to make of this person-- this child-- who spoke like an adult and a pretty nasty one at that. But whatever his story was, Blaine had known he couldn't leave him. He shrugged. "Why would I go to the trouble of getting you to the hospital just to smother you?" he asked. "I was worried. I wanted to make sure you'd be alright."

He lifted his eyebrows at the thank you, not expecting it. But with that one word, he was pretty sure he was starting to see viable proof of what he'd suspected-- there was something about this boy that was worth saving. "You're welcome," he replied. After a quiet moment, he added, "I should probably go let the nurses know you're awake. They're going to have a lot of questions for you." Which makes two of us.

[sirrobinv]

He would have reached for the drawer in a heartbeat--and he tried, but a deep jab of pain in his side put an end to the motion prematurely. Damien felt naked without at least his mask.

"Let's just say there's a long list of people in the world who wouldn't mind it if I...suffered an accident while convalescing." He told Blaine with a sarcastic turn of his lips. "It's why I asked you if you'd seen anyone else in the forest." But at the subject of nurses, Damien shook his head.

"No. I'll tell you, you couldn't hurt me." Though the words were sneering, almost derogatory in the way Damien said them, the deeper implication was that for now, Blaine was the only person he dared trust.

[keepcalmwarblon]

Instinctively, Blaine reached out a hand when the boy flinched. He didn't ask about it, getting the feeling he wouldn't want him to. He brought his hand back to his side, then nodded after a second and settled back into his chair. "Okay," he said quietly. "But before you explain... I feel like I should ask your name. I don't actually know it yet."

[sirrobinv]

It was impossible for Damien to miss the movement Blaine made, obviously without thinking; for a moment it reminded him of Grayson and it took a moment for the stab of melancholy associated with that to pass.

"Damien...my name is Damien Wayne. My father is Bruce Wayne and my mother is Talia al Ghul, head of the League of Shadows." He waited for the name Wayne to register with Blaine, and when it apparently didn't sharp brows furrowed. "Wayne Enterprises?" Damien tried again, "One of the richest companies on Earth?"

[keepcalmwarblon]

Blaine racked his brain but couldn't get the name to ring a bell. He shrugged sheepishly. "Sorry." The kid's wealth maybe could account for his attitude a little, but then, Blaine had known plenty of rich kids in his life-- sometimes he was considered one himself-- and most of them weren't the stereotypical spoiled brat. He had a feeling there was a lot more to Damien than that.

"So, Damien Wayne... how is it that you ended up in the forest with a life-threatening injury?"

[sirrobinv]

"Wonderful. I suppose Gotham City doesn't exist either?"

At least Damien was starting to have a good idea of how his mother's rather inventive attempt at killing him had failed. He hadn't been lost to time, like his father, but lost to space.

'Like father, like son.' If only Damien was the type of person to appreciate irony.

"Would you believe that for most of my life I was raised by a secret organization of underworld assassins, betrayed them, and ever since they've been trying as hard as they can to kill me?" Damien said it as if there was no way someone so common would ever believe him, and really, if the League was here, they knew him and hiding his identity and origin was useless. All he could do was be as out in the open as possible and force his would be killers to take absurd risks to complete their mission.

Eyebrows quirked as something occurred to Damien at the last minute. "The nurses...doctors...was one of them a short man with light brown hair and a short beard?" Leave to his mother to send a team of assassins into another universe just to finish the job--all the better if one of them was his actual doctor.

[keepcalmwarblon]

Blaine tilted his head at that. Suddenly, the name 'Wayne' sounded a little more familiar. But... no, no way. Things in this town were impossible, but not that impossible... right? "Not that I noticed," he answered the question about the doctors first. It was the easier question. Then he hesitated.

"I... think I've heard of Gotham City," he answered. "But um... it's... not real, where I come from? That's where Batman takes place. This comic book hero. I'm not huge into comics but it's pretty famous."

[sirrobinv]

"Tsk, if it exists as a story it still exists." The one advantage to Damien's parentage was that very little in terms of alternate dimensions, nonsensical time lines or even deeply metaphysical discussion after having the (second) transfusion of his life bothered him very deeply.

"And yes, I'm familiar with Batman, I'm only his son." If Gotham didn't exist in this universe there was no reason to worry about keeping his identity too secret. "Though I'd highly prefer if you not shout that to the hills Just my luck there's a freak around here somewhere looking for a punching bag in tights." Damien stretched gingerly, testing his range of movement. As much as he hated to admit it, is doctor had been right about his new spine; the pain came and went usually, but he'd been lying uncomfortably for too long and now sharp twinges shot up his back.

As he stretched towards his toes the back of the hospital gown opened slightly, revealing a long dark scar that ran from the base of his neck only to disappear at the hem of his boxers. There were a number of thin, paler scars cutting across it, as well as an arching line of six ragged looking holes. Bullet wounds. He could feel Blaine staring and quickly straightened again. "Hand me my shirt...please."

[keepcalmwarblon]

Blaine probably should have been a little less ready to accept that as quickly as he did. But, in light of everything else, was finding out Batman actually existed in some universe really that hard to believe? Come to think of it, Batman was probably the most likely to be real, of all the superheros Blaine knew of. After all, he didn't really have superpowers. Just a lot of money and people who could build things.

Standing, Blaine went to the drawer and took out Damien's shirt. It had been washed, though some of the stains couldn't be completely removed. He bit his lip glancing at the wounds all over the child's skin, but it was clear he wasn't supposed to mention it. He decided a change of subject was best-- Blaine was always good at steering a moment away from the uncomfortable.

"You know, I have a lot of friends who would freak out if they knew you existed," he laughed quietly, thinking of Jeff and Nick and their massive shared collection of D.C. comics. They'd once begged the council to let the Warblers do a cover of the Batman Animated Series theme.