Last chapter was kind of...uneventful, but this one will have more drama, I promise you.  ((and it may also reveal my evil endgame, but who knows, it may not?)) :) also, to make it a little clearer before you read this chapter, this one takes place before last chapter

Batman stumbled his way into the Batcave, holding the place where Jason's knife had hit him. He made his way over to the medical area of the cave and started working on patching himself up, grunting as he was sore from the beating that Jason gave him.

His son had gotten considerably stronger since the last time he saw him, that much was evident.

The door from the manor opened up and Bruce turned slightly, noticing Tim and Dick enter the cave. They saw the condition their father was in and rushed to his side, immediately asking questions. "What happened? Who did this to you?" Bruce gave them a look and they clamped their mouths shut, looking to the ground. "Jason."

Bruce nodded, finishing patching himself up before walking off to get changed. "Come on, we need to pick Alfred up from the hospital."

Ten minutes later the trio of bats were in the family car and on their way to pick up their beloved butler from the hospital. The car ride to the hospital was silent, nobody even played music as they drove to get Alfred. 

Once they arrived at the hospital, they stepped out of the car and made their way to the wing that Alfred was being treated in, showing their IDs to the staff at the reception desk and stating that they were there to pick up Alfred Pennyworth. They were shown the way to his room and left to stand outside, none of the three ready to go inside just yet. 

That is until they heard a young voice talking to Alfred inside. 

" - expect as much from father, after all, he is Batman."

The trio decided to head inside at that, finding a young boy perched in a chair next to Alfred's bed, both of them with calm expressions on their faces and cups in their hands. Alfred looked away from the boy when his charges entered the room, something flashing across his face when he saw Bruce. "Ah, master Bruce, master Richard, and master Timothy. I'd like you to meet - "

"Damian. Damian al Ghul-Wayne." The boy spoke with confidence, eyes boring into Bruce's. "And before you ask, yes, those al Ghuls. I am the son of Talia al Ghul and Bruce Wayne, heir to the Demon's Head and the Batman."

Bruce stared at the child before him, seeing the similarities in features to Talia and even himself. "I am - "

"Going to need a DNA sample. Of course, I expected as much." Damian nodded, standing up. "Well, Pennyworth's paperwork is all in order, so whenever you are all ready, we can depart for your manor."

"Wait, who said we were taking you with us?" Tim narrowed his eyes at the young boy, crossing his arms over his chest.

Damian raised a brow, helping Alfred out of the bed as he addressed the other three men in the room. "Drake, would it really do any good to father's already strained public image if he left behind the boy that has been by Pennyworth's side since he got out of surgery, hm?" Tim continued to glare for a moment but relented when Bruce put a hand on his shoulder. Damian smirked. "Very well then. Shall we?"

The five males made their way out of the hospital room and down to the waiting family car, Bruce getting into the driver's seat seeing as Alfred has a broken knee and cannot drive in his current state. Damian sat in the back with the the other two, Alfred in the passenger seat, and like the car ride to the hospital, the car ride back to the manor was shrouded in silence. 

Once they were back at the manor and safely inside, Bruce turned to Damian with a glare. "Talk."

Damian scoffed. "You think you are intimidating with your 'bat-glare'? I grew up in the League of Shadows, father. Need I remind you so soon who my mother is?" Bruce narrowed his eyes further and Damian rolled his in return. "Fine. We will do things your way. I am here because my mother sent me away. Apparently, I was 'meddling' too much in her plans and I was messing everything up. So, she sent me to find my father, which would be you, to keep me out of her hair. She wants me to train with you."

"And why didn't Talia contact Bruce herself to tell him that they have a son?" Dick asked.

"Please, after she detonated the self destruct in Jason's brain bomb, do you really think father would accept her calls?" Damian snorted when the rest of the males eyes all widened. "Why the looks of shock? Do you really expect me to grow up in the League and not know of Jason Todd, Red, the one who took out the Demon's Head and Slade Wilson in a single battle? As if."

Dick looked closely at Damian. "Wait a minute, you...you're the kid I saw on the roof that night with Cheshire and Jason! You were spying on them for your mother!"

Damian nodded. "Correct."

"What does Talia want with Jason?" Dick snarled. 

Damian sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Mother said you were a family of detectives, yet you are appear to fairly inept. Mother wants Jason back by her side, of course."

The family of bats looked at one another. "Why does Talia want Jason back? What is her endgame?"

"Does she want to kill him for killing her father?"

Damian chuckled. "No, no. Mother wants Jason by her side to be her faithful servant, of course. She wants him to do what she herself cannot, what she will not allow herself to do."

The bats all felt a chill go down their spines. "And what is that?"

Damian looked at his father. "Kill the Batman, of course."