New Addition To The Family
It had been three years since Andrea revealed to Kevin that his father was Bruce Wayne, The Batman. Kevin was willing to accept who he was, and given that he was raised in a Catholic upbringing, he got his first communion and even got confirmed. But there was a part of Kevin that wished he could meet his father Bruce. Part of him wanted to move to Gotham to meet his father when he graduated high school, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to risk that. How would his mother react? Of course, there was a part of Andrea that wanted to tell Bruce about Kevin, risks be damned.
It was another typical day in the Beaumont household, and for once Andrea had a day off from work. She was reading a book while Kevin was cutting out the recent news article about Batman from the Gotham Gazette newspaper. Despite the fact that she lived in Bellevue, Andrea still liked being subscribed to Gotham Gazette to see what was going on in the city. Kevin would also cut out news articles about his father be it as his Wayne Enterprise CEO persona or as the Batman and put these articles into a scrapbook. He would even put news articles from the local Bellevue newspapers if Batman or a Justice League hero like Superman or Green Lantern had visited Bellevue. Another reason that Kevin liked Gotham Gazette was because of the comic strips, and especially since Gotham Gazette was one of the few newspapers to syndicate Calvin and Hobbes despite the fact that the comic strip series ended in 1995. But if Peanuts could continue to syndicate in newspapers despite the death of its creator Charles M Schultz, then Calvin and Hobbes could do the same. Kevin had finished gluing the article about Batman and Robin foiling Two-Face's recent heist into his scrapbook, showing his accomplishment to Andrea. "What do you think, Mom?" Kevin asked. "Looks good," encouraged Andrea, "y'know I remember meeting Dent a few times in college. I felt bad for him..." Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. "Now who could that be at this time of day?" Andrea thought to herself as she and Kevin went to the front of the door. Andrea wasn't expecting any visitors today. She opened the door and found what looked to be a ninja outside. "Are you Andrea Beaumont?" The ninja calmly asked, his voice having a Japanese accent. "You're not here to kill me are you?" Andrea asked, ready to fight if necessary. "No, I just wish to talk," said the ninja, "It is regarding your former lover Bruce Wayne. I am not your enemy."
Andrea noticed there was a large cloth sack on his back. Her eyes narrowed and said, "I'll be the judge of that. Come in. But if you try anything funny-"
"I am not one to attack in front of a child," said the ninja as he went in and took off his mask. He looked to be a Japanese man in his late '20s early 30s. "How do you know about me and Bruce?" Andrea asked skeptically. "My name is Suka. I was once an assassin for an organization known as the League of Assassins," explained the ninja, "Its leader was known as Ra's al Ghul. For many years, Ra's has been trying to find someone to be an heir to rule The League when his time comes. Ra's thought that Bruce would be a suitable heir to his kingdom, and had tried for many years to convince him to join and wed his daughter, Talia."
"I take it Bruce refused?" Andrea asked, smirking. "To put it lightly, yes," replied Suka, "The League's ideologies come into conflict with the Batman's beliefs. But for many years, Bruce also had feelings for Talia. But in the end, Talia chose her loyalty to Ra's, and Bruce chose to remain in Gotham. But, the story is far from over. You see after the last time Bruce and Talia met, they had conceived a child. His name is Ibn al Xu'ffasch, otherwise known as Damian." Kevin listen to what Suka had to say and asked with surprise, "wait, I have a half brother?" Before Andrea could tell Kevin to not interrupt, Suka replied, "yes Kevin. You are Damian's half brother. This is your brother." He revealed the front of the cloth sack and opened it, revealing a three month old baby boy. His skin was a light tan and there was a hint of black/dark brown hair. He could almost be mistaken for white. "You stole a baby from his mother?!?!?!" Andrea asked incredulously, but then she rubbed the brow of her eyes and muttered, "oh I should talk..."
"I admit that what I have done would be considered morally questionable," confessed Suka, "but you do not know Damian's mother Talia al Ghul. She is one of the deadliest assassins in the world trained to kill from the moment she quite literally took her first steps. Children born from the League of Assassins are raised into a world of cruelty, forced to endure horrific torture and become mindless killing machines, some forced to be mute." Kevin gave a look of horror and said, "That's horrible!" Andrea said in a stern but calm tone, "Kevin..."
"No, horrible is an appropriate adjective Kevin," said Suka, "children who are born to the League of Assassins do not get to experience a normal childhood, something that others like you would take for granted. If I was to do nothing, Talia would use Damian for her own self-benefits. He would not experience the simplest joys and his life would be decided for him... She also would have most likely put technological trackers into his bones and made him her puppet. Criticize my morals all you like, but if I had done nothing, Damian would be a mindless killing machine. Damian deserves a chance to live a normal childhood with a family that will love and nurture him. Who better than someone like you, Andrea?" She and Kevin listened to what Suka had to say. Andrea looked at the sleeping baby boy, and she thought back to when Kevin was born and she held him in her arms for the first time. Her maternal instincts kicked in and she asked, "can I... Can I hold him?"
"You may," replied Suka. Andrea gently took Damian out of the black sack and cradled him in her arms. He was so small and innocent. Damian then opened his eyes, they were dark blue like Kevin and Bruce. Kevin's heart melted at the sight of his baby brother, as did Andrea's. "Ohhhh, you're so cute," cooed Andrea, and the baby laughed. She looked at the former assassin and said, "we'll protect him and raise him. Damian is family now, and we always protect family." Suka nodded and replied, "I am glad I made this decision. He will be safe. Farewell, Miss Beaumont."
"Wait, where will you go now?" Kevin asked. "The League Of Assassins will chase me to the ends of the earth for my treacherous actions," said Suka, "I will not know a moment's rest again. I will go wherever the road leads me, if it be a safe journey." The former assassin looked at Damian and said, "farewell Damian. I hope I may see you grow up to be someone that will contribute goodness to this world. Mata au made, sayōnara kodomo." Suka then left the household and shut the door behind him. Damian looked at his brother and reached out to him. "I think your brother wants to meet you..." Andrea softly laughed. She gently gave the baby to Kevin as he held him. Kevin smiled and said, "I always wanted a brother. It's nice to know we have a new addition to our family."
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