"Unholy guacamole- how did you know?", Barry's eyes were saucers as he stared at the three demons.

Drawing his brows together in a near-grimace, Damian stated in a 'no-shit-Sherlock' tone, "The news."

Allowing Damian and Raven to deal with the formalities of introducing their relevance to the JLA (well, those of the Justice League that were actually there), Adyn kept his sights on the weapon sitting in front of Batman. To no avail, Adyn attempted to coax a rosy curl behind his ear, squinting as to better view the details of the gun-like object.

"What do you know about these weapons?- I have never seen anything like them.", Wonderwoman spoke, and it took a moment for Adyn to realise that she'd been addressing him.

A tad jumpy, Adyn's eyes slammed up  to the Amazon's before darting to his sister's (seeking assurance that it would be fine to divulge this information). Clearing his throat, the demon tried not to think of all the powerful people waiting to listen to what he said: all their eyes on him, all judging, waiting for him to mess up because he's a failure to the name of Wra-No! Shut up! Shut up! Adyn pushed the darkness out of his mind, concentrating on the object whilst willing his sister or her friend to take control.

Sensing her brother's unease, Raven stepped in, suggesting, "A closer look would be helpful.", even though she could already feel the magic of the object.

The three of them now closer, the waves of power omitted by the weapon were overbearingly strong, warring with their dark, demonic magic. And just as Raven and Damian had suspected, there, imprinted on the side of the gun was a seal.

Noticing the look of confirmation that passed over his son's face, Batman said, "You know what this is."

It wasn't a question.

Looking up, Robin stated, "Light magic.", expanding, he offhandedly gestured to the weapon. "It's powered by light magic- to an extent, it is light magic: the crystals embedded in to the frame; the magic infused in to the metal; the seal by the trigger. All light magic." Damian bit back a snarl, "It's repulsive."

"So it isn't related to...", Hal trailed off, not knowing how to be inoffensive.

Raven perked up, almost scoffing, "To us? Not in the least. There isn't a trace of Dark magic in that thing- it reeks of purity.", she shuddered as a strong wave of magic drifted through the air.

Somehow, the demoness felt that Damian's father was relieved by the news, though his stony countenance revealed nothing. Batman and the others continued to shove questions in their direction, the gravity of the situation not lost upon anyone.

"Do you know who could be behind this!", Clark, arms folded, asked. "Because by the sounds of things, humans didn't make these guns."

Damian and Raven were at one of those points again: ought they tell the entire tale to the JLA, or not, was the matter at hand. Adyn had obtained knowledge of their investigations in to the Council a few days prior, however, he thought Damian and Raven were best served to deal with the problem until they needed him. That being said, Adyn was engulfed in the significant exchange of looks as they decided on the next course of action.

Having taken a moment to deliberate the matter (which caused a flare of suspicion among the Leaguers), Raven began on behalf of the three of them, "We believe this could be the workings of the Council and or a group within..."

The Leaguers listened with rapt attentions as the demons (predominantly Robin and Raven) wove a complex plot wherein the Council leaked its Light Magic devices and weaponry in to the black market for illegal profit from humans, potentially exposing the preternatural world. Throughout their hypothesis-presentation, a single thought kept nagging at the back of Bruce's mind.

That thought stuck like PVA to such an extent that the moment the explanation had concluded, Bruce demanded, "And you didn't think to tell us this beforehand?"

His indignation was clear, and what was also clear was that he wanted a straightforward response from his son.

Well, Damian was all about straightforward responses.

"You didn't need to know.", he shrugged. "There was no reason to involve anyone else in a matter not concerning or affecting them."

Knowing fully well that Bruce would transform the situation in to a spat with his son, Clark intervened, "So, I think we should just think about what to do next", he turned to Batman, "-you can save this conversation for later."

Somewhere around them, Hal let out a quiet 'ooh, recked!' Receiving a signature eye roll from J'onn.

Assertive and keen to gasp more of this 'preternatural world' that his son and the Titan were depicting, Batman was the first to propose that the League (i.e. him) take over the entire investigation and Damian and Raven surrender all the information they'd gathered. That idea, of course, went down spectacularly...and Hell had frozen over; and Donald Trump was a respectful and articulate man; and Damian was a happy person.

Yeah...not so much.

"That's absurd!", Robin raged at Batman. "There is no logical reasoning for such actions to be taken- you just want to be in control! Tt.", the venomous green of his eyes flickered amber, "None of you possess connections or contacts relating to this case, nor the knowledge on the matter as a whole, or the social and political climate surrounding the case leave alone the impacts of any minor actions made! Resigning it to the League would simply hinder progress if not entirely halt it!", speckles of ruby surpassed the golden colour of his irises, sparking with demonic fury.

Facing his father (and experiencing odd gratification at being a similar height), Damian narrowed his blazing eyes, "Just accept for once that you don't need to know or do everything."

Physically separating the two, Clark pushed them apart, sensing both of them cautious glances. Neither Robin nor Batman broke eye contact, stating one another down until Bruce noticed that his son's eyes had changed colour. Shock registering on his face, Batman dropped the contest of wills, allowing the Justice Leaguers to intervene and give their thoughts.

Praying that the two Waynes could keep level heads, Superman stepped back, saying, "Look, I think Batman's got a point.", before Damian could butt in, he continued, "You guys could probably do with help -it isn't a small situation."

"Besides,", Barry added, "we've just been attacked by some lunatics using these 'light magic' weapons."

"Yeah, no offence or anything, but we can't just leave you to deal with our problems- we're the freakin' Justice League!", Hal contributed.

At this point, Raven couldn't keep her silence. She had thought it best that Damian deal with the JLA -Raven wanted to keep her cold profile with the League- however, the comments they had made were nonsensical!

"I'm sorry, but I have to call it as it is," Raven spoke up, bringing all eyes in her direction as her's darted from purple to carmine.

Scathing and trenchant, Raven's soft voice hit the air like a schoolmaster's cane, "that is, frankly, bullshit.", taken aback, the Leaguers listened in stone silence. "Everything Damian has said is entirely true and makes all to much sense. Why you can't see that is beyond my reckoning.", she sardonically clasped her hands, "But since these clear reasons aren't being acknowledged or understood, allow me to expand:", a mocking turn edging in to her voice, Raven derided, "no one of you knows anyone of consequence within the preteen community that you could gain information from- you haven't any preternatural links, leave alone any Light links-; none of you fully grasp the preternatural hierarchy, your placement on it, the repercussions of messing with those above you in the hierarchy (and there are a lot, I assure you); not to mention that there is a general lack of understanding when it comes to the balance needed within the Dark and Light communities to insure that this unstable treaty we're in doesn't collapse."

Fixing glares across the conference room with eyes so red one might have thought she had Superman's later vision, Raven ended her cold address with a solid statement, "The impact this situation goes beyond that which you comprehend, stop asserting control  and allow us to deal with the problem."

Stunned silence.

Then Damian spoke, his voice low and icy as Raven's.

"You haven't a clue what you're dealing with; we do. Don't interfere where you aren't needed."

***

Graphite trailed over the blank space, leaving fine lines in its wake. In a trance-like manner, the rod flew over the sea of white, altering the lapping waves to smooth grey streaks and forming an image worthy of the glory of the sea. The faint scratching of the graphite stained the air as well as the page. And that was all that greeted the air. No disturbances. Simple quiet.

Damian could sit in that silence for an age- bask in the comfort of serenity- and fill the plain papers of his book with all the musings of his mind. And those musings had filed down to a lone, beautiful thought.

That thought transpired in to thoughtful pencil strokes running over the page and bringing to existence the drawing of a face shaded by a hood. The rough, short locks of her hair peeked out from the cowl's folds, flaring like the lashes framing her keen eyes. Such emotion poured from his heart to the page that the charcoal black of her eyes could damn well have been glinting their true, fiery amethyst.

Brow drawn in concentration, Damian etched the defining curve of her Cupid's bow, redefining the dip until it met his need to copy her, shade for shade, on to the sheet. As he worked at the contours of her lips, Damian's teeth tugged at his own, biting as his focused reached a meditative state.

Deeper and deeper he travelled in to that state of attentiveness, fixated on capturing the image of this enchanting demoness. Then, as is always the case, that calm was overcome by a storm.

And that 'storm' would be, in this situation, a ringtone.

Agitation flaring, Damian dropped the pencil and sketch pad besides him on the bed, reached over to the beside table's top drawer, then retrieved a phone. Not an expensive, Waynetech model; a cheap, fivers-worth phone with no possibility of being hacked or tracked- a convenience not achievable in any pricey models.

Answering the call, Damian held the phone to his ear, not allowing a word to escape til the caller had spoken.

"Brother, what news!", a lively voice greeted.

Damian smirked, "Jackson. Nothing much- what news for your end?"

"A heck of a lot, I tell you now- you won't believe the half of it."

"Oh? Pray tell."

"First off though, is Raven with you because she ought to hear too?"

Damian wasted no time in summoning the demoness- who had been reading in her room. Both now seated on the bed, Damian gave Jackson the go-ahead to retell his findings, mouthing to Raven 'It's Jackson.'.

Dipping her head, Raven listened to the half-mage's findings, her and Damian's eyes widening as their accomplice told a tale contradicting their initial assumptions. Meeting the looks of one another, Damian and Raven's minds worked overtime to lay out all the new possibilities.

"And that's as far as I was able to go.", Jackson concluded, bringing the two in to the present.

Mumbling her thanks, Raven signed off on Damian's behalf: he appeared too deep in thought to do so himself. Ending the call, Raven plunged the room back in to quiet, now only wounding the air with their soft inhales and exhales.

"So...", she winced

Damian ended, "Shit."

Despite the sombre matter, Raven snickered, " 'Shit' just about nails the description.", her snide laughter was met by Damian's. "I mean, now we have to comb through the entire Council!"

Again, Damian drew a laugh from her, commenting an ironic, "Shit.", though he soon sobered, reassuring, "Not the entire Council, merely the few thousand or so members from the Gotham branch. It's perfectly feasible."

Raven dragged a hand through her chin-length locks, sighing, "I suppose it is. We'll manage somehow, it's not rocket science."

To which Damian's egotistical self smirked, "Tt. I mastered NASA grade science by the age of five."

Raven pushed him off the bed.

"OWW!"

***

Jason darted through the clanging gates, a burden lifting from his back as he did so. With the moon peeking through the clouds above, The Redhood melted in to the shadows, observing from an alleyway as the doors to the building (secured within the gates) opened and three adults emerged from within. It took only a moment before they had taken the poor creature on the steps inside, cradling the child like a newborn baby.

Lips lifting behind his mask, Jason watched with satisfaction as the door closed and the little boy moved on to another stage of his life. That place would take care of him- Mother Marge ran the home and, from what the kids on the street had told him, she was a kind woman who would take care of all those taken in. The boy would live well. Better than Jason ever did.

Smiling, he dashed through the alleyway and out of sight once more.

A.N:

So my lovelies, that was quite a nice ending, no?

It wasn't an eventful chapter per say, but one that was needed to move on in the story- nothing I write is written just for the sake of it, no matter how slow it may make the story appear to progress!  😉

Anywhooo! To those of you that celebrated Christmas, I hope you enjoyed yourselves. If you didn't, I still hope you enjoyed yourself!

Thank you

-Bats :3

Will you sing us a song,
And we'll sing it back to you.
We could sing our own,
But what would it be without you.

This heart, it beats, beats for only you.
My heart is yours.

-Paramore -My Heart