Chapter Text
The roar of a great wind shakes the windows of the thousand year old temple tucked away from the eyes of the world somewhere in the Nepali Himalayas. A winter storm is blowing in and with it an opportunity. From the very moment he had come alive something in him knew his time here would end like this, leaving in the night without a word. Though, nothing could have forewarned him that he would not be leaving this place alone.
He takes a meditative breath as he enters the moonlit room. The time he had to contemplate has run out. Now, there is only time to act. “Damian,” Jason whispers, kneeling at the bedside of the young heir.
The child sleeps peacefully in lavish bed made for a prince. Jason feels an odd pinch of guilt in his chest for even waking the child. He looks so small and innocent with his little limbs buried in the down quilt. When he sees him sleeping like this, it is hard to remember the power the child holds. Jason does not have time for more frivolous thinking. He reaches out for the child, ”Wake up. We need to leave.”
The boy rubs his eyes with the back of his hand, peering down from his bed at the lone ninja dressed in a red hood. “Todd?” the young boy mumbles, groggy from sleep. Jason gives the boy a gentle smile before the low rumble of voices from the hall catches his attention. Jason tips his head toward the door, listening to the soft sounds of staff shifting through the family’s quarters in the night. They cannot afford to be seen. His eyes dart back to the boy, conveying increased urgency. They need to move.
“Get dressed,” Jason orders as he pulls a somnolent Damian out of bed, carefully lowering him to the ground. To his surprise the boy complies quickly, crossing the room to his wardrobe with purpose. Jason waits silently, still kneeling by the child's bedside. The only sound in the room is little feet padding the polished wood floor. The child quietly finds and dawns his clothes, as Jason had instructed. He gestures to the child’s jacket and shoes, instilling haste in the child with his intense gaze.
Once the child is dressed, Jason tosses him a black duffel bag and motions for him to pack whatever clothes will fit. Damian hesitates for a brief moment but follows Jason’s silent command. With the duffel full, Jason takes Damian’s hand in his and heads for the door.
“Wait!” Damian blurts out in a loud whisper, hastily pulling from his grasp. A panicked feeling rises from Jason‘s chest. The fear the kid isn’t going to leave quietly rips through his mind. He is prepared to take him by force but that will make things much harder. Before he can grab Damian and drag him out of the room, Damian runs to his bedside. Standing on his toes to reach over his ornate four poster bed, the little boy plucks a red dragon plushy from the messy covers. Dragon in hand, Damian trots back to Jason with a confident look on his face.
Jason lets out a tense breath. “Right. Can’t forget Goliath,” he thinks to himself. He reaches out for the boy's hand once again, this time Damian holds his hand back. The two exit the room and wined through the dimly lit passageways the thousand year old fortress etched into the mountain side.
“Where are we going?” the boy tenses in Jason's grasp. “Has Mother ordered you to take me somewhere?”
Jason delicately considers how to answer the, seemingly simple, question. In the fewest of words, the answer was no; Talia had not told Jason to leave here with Damian. He was doing this on his own accord. Technically, he is defecting from the League of Shadows. Though, he didn’t see it that way. He never chose to be a Shadow, therefore never really was one. From the moment he arrived, he was destined to leave. But taking Ra’s Al Ghul’s heir with him as he fled was a recent development. The boy was in great danger if he stayed and Jason had a responsibility to keep him safe. It is what big brothers do, after all, protect their younger brothers from harm.
Stopping abruptly, Jason turns into the boy. He wonders if Damian shared his feelings of kinship. They were kin. Not by blood, of course, but by a shared relation to a father. Crouching down, he gazes deep into Damian’s emerald eyes like he is searching for an answer. Jason’s brows press together before he whispers, “Damian, would you like to meet your father?”
Damian's eyes flicker with interest. A barely noticeable reaction on the face of a child trained to be the highest echelon of assassin from birth, “You are taking me to see the Batman?”
“Yes,” Jason nods mechanically.
Damian pauses before nodding in return. When Jason pulls him down the corridor this time, the boy's feet move a little faster. The pair picks up speed as they make their way to the exit.
As they turn the corner, every muscle in Jason’s body freezes. A tall figure looms in front of the exit. Jason knew this had been a possibility. The threatening figure stares down at the teen abducting her son with a power that always went unspoken.
Jason readies for a fight. He didn’t know if she would try to stop him or… It was only natural for a mother to fight for her son, he guesses. Jason’s stance widens and his eyes narrow in her direction. He is resolved to leave with the boy no matter the obstacle. However, if he is being truly honest with himself, a fight with Talia is a fight he is unlikely to win. He opens his mouth to reason with her, “Talia, you know as well as—“
Jason's words are cut short as she swiftly pushes him aside with trained precision. He falls against the wall, pawing at the ancient stone to stay on his feet. She lowers herself to her knees in front of her son, pulling the boy in a tense hold. Jason ignores what sounds like a soft cry coming from his lips.
“Mother?” Damian questions, still and stiff in her embrace.
Jason watches as she pulls her child in close to her, breathing in deeply to take in the fleeting moment with her only child. “Do well in Gotham my love,” she whispers in his ear. Pulling back, she gazes into her child’s eyes and gently peppers kisses all over his face.
“Talia…” Jason warns gently, only now understanding the gravity of what Talia is doing for the benefit of her son. A part of him wonders if this was her plan all along.
Their narrow window to escape is closing fast. Once the servants take notice of the missing heir, Ra’s will be notified. By then, any chance of escape will be frothed. She releases her son and turns her attention to Jason. She stands.
While shorter and smaller than him in size, her presence dwarfs him. “The Lazarus Pit does not perform it’s miracles for everyone that touches it’s waters; it chooses. It chose you, Jason Todd,” she tells him. “I thought you would be a warrior I could release on my enemies. It’s laughable my folly. I believe now you rose to be my child's salvation. I will do what I can to hold off the inevitable but leave Nanda Parbat as fast as you can.” Bowing her head she steps silently back into the shadows.
Her words leave Jason in a state of shock and for a moment he feels paralyzed. The spell is quickly broken as she disappears in the shadows. Jason grabs Damian’s hand, pulling him forward toward the small service exit of the fortress. Talia’s final words to him continue to whisper within the confines of his mind. “I am no ones salvation,” he thinks.
Before Jason shoves the door open and the two depart out into the snow storm Damian squeezes his hand. “We are going to Gotham?” the boy states the questions as a fact. It is clear to Jason he understands what is happening now.
“Yes, we are going to Gotham,” Jason answers firmly.
Damian grimaces slightly, “To be with Father?”
“To be with family…”