If there was anything in the dorms that could bother Damian, it was the damn dormitory alarm AKA super loud outdated music. He had came in at what could only be assumed one in the night. Due to not having a full night’s sleep, and the damned alarms blaring too early on at seven, he was grumpy. Damian, as troublesome he was, liked to have a full night’s sleep. The dorms sometimes didn’t allow that, and forced him to get up early on. There wasn’t even a five minute walk to the school, and classes started at eight and a half. However, having no friends meant that his grumpiness would go unnoticed.

Classes slowly went by, not even bothering to take notes, Damian slept through them. The events of yesterday had taken its toll on him and it was only during lunch that he woke up from his slumber, to the sound of snickering. Annoying girls, though not as much as Tina. He almost felt like he could deal with their noisiness now, let alone nosiness.

The girl that had bumped into him yesterday was being bullied, as always. Mean words were written on her board and the snickering happened to be those girls mocking her. Her name was Tiffany, if Damian remembered right. Ever since high school started, meaning two years ago, she was being bullied. Now he felt bad about letting her face all that alone. Even her family and teachers didn’t give a damn.

Fear was a strong tool.

‘Might as well piss of her daddy’s gang, I’m a goddamn hero.’ He thought, and stood up, slamming his palm on the table as hard as he could.

“That’s just about enough.” Damian said, glaring at the ringleader – Sophia. She was one of the popular girls. The kind boys couldn’t say ‘no’ to and also the kind that teachers liked. If her charisma failed, Sophia always had a gang at her back which intimidated some of the so-called gangsters in the school, except they sucked up to her and tried to get into a big-name gang.

Some whispers travelled around the classroom, most of them feeling sorry for Damian than commending his bravery.

“You girls might be going a little too far.” He said, after a small pause.

“Who do you think you are? You’re just a strong boy, nothing like a gangster. My daddy’s gonna make you sorry.” Sophia hissed. That proved it. She was a bitch.

Damian’s eyebrow twitched.

He wouldn’t antagonize a gang alone, but since he was a superhero now, AND had a team, he’d just scoff at its face and take it down. At least that’s what Edwin wanted him to do, since it was the right thing and his brother didn’t like right things. That’s the way Damian understood it and if he didn’t stand up to a bully, he couldn’t call himself a man, could he?

“Yeah, he’ll make you sorry.” Other girls echoed, a so-called gangster with a ohawk and a mean look in his eyes walked over to Damian, and looked him up and down, clearly trying to pick a fight. This was one of the guys who thought acting tough would get him everything he needed. He trained out, maybe, with all the bulk, but fighting a gifted?

Simply foolish.

“You don’t pick a fight with Sophia, get it, shithead?” Asked the bully, patting on Damian’s shoulder. This guy might be one of those sucking up to Sophia, or boyfriend. Didn’t matter to the Dreadnought.

“You gonna do what? Tell your daddy like your hoe?” Damian asked back, smirking. These guys couldn’t take words like these, and the moment this guy snapped, Damian could protect himself.

“You wanna pick a fight? I’m already in the Red Band. I can get your parents killed before your eyes and you couldn’t do shit about it.” He said, spitting at Damian’s face. Things didn’t go as planned.

A hook connected with the bully’s nose. This had happened many times before, but Damian would hurt him really bad. Worse than bad. He’d get him in a coma. And of course, the bully was standing upright without trouble and had a nasty look on his face, ready to pounce on Damian.

“I’ll shove my foot down your throat!” He growled and attacked. The mad swing could be easily dodged by the boxer, but he wouldn’t. He’d take it on, straight to the face, like a real man. Those words would apply if only Damian had been taking the hit on rather than absorbing it, which he couldn’t. That was the way his powers worked. He’d automatically absorb anything that’d damage him, from insect bites to speeding cars. The stingers wouldn’t be able to penetrate his skin, the biters also faced the same problem. The only things that could hurt him were spiders, somehow. Those things were evil.

“Was that all?” Was all the words Damian said, before he swung for real, sending both his stored power and a boxer’s strong right. This time, the nose had been smashed in and some blood left his nostrils. Damian looked at the girls, and with as less anger as he could muster, said, “Stop that.”

“My dad’s gonna make you pay!” She shouted, tears streaming down her eyes.

“I’ll see to that. Oh, by the way, what’s the name of that gang? Red Cross?” Damian asked, as solemn faced as possible. It was more a mock than a question in truth, and she knew it.

Sophia stormed away, tears in her eyes and her lackeys dispersed. She’d probably fabricate some story and complain to the staff and most likely try to get me kicked out. And they’d comply, since they were afraid of the gang. Of course that wouldn’t happen tomorrow. Since Damian was sure as hell that he was going to hunt a gang called Red Band, send each of their members to the hospital, preferably a coma, and move on. Someone who spoiled her to such a degree had to be an arrogant piece of shit.

Then he’d see the snobby prick try to pick on anyone. Damian could skip class as he wanted to, considering he wanted to. And he wanted to today, and hopefully leave before the sellouts came and he got in trouble. Damian quickly grabbed his backpack and got it on his back. Aside from running away in time, Damian was worried about his pals. He was anxious about Simon and Adam.

The school didn’t have much security except some passing janitors and teachers, and sometimes the student council guys, as there was a fence outside the school and the only way to get out was to pass right through the guard’s eyes. That was a fine line most didn’t cross – Damian wasn’t included in that most.

Exchanging a few small talk with the guard, Damian left the school complex and strode to Downtown. He just prayed Simon hadn’t been messed up. When Adam had said they got him, it didn’t sound one bit like a lie and that fear was genuine. The downtown was just as usual. The pungent smell of urine and feces hanging in the air, the graffiti-filled walls passing by and shady people passing each other by with little to no glance at each other.

Some random thugs passed him by as he entered the apartment complex. He had his key, so he put it in, and thankfully it wasn’t locked twice. They’d lock it once if they were there, and lock it twice if they weren’t. After a single click, the door opened and Damian found who he was looking for: Simon. He was injured, his left leg in a cast and placed atop the sofa’s back. Aside from that and a bulge over his right eye, he was all fine.

“You got done in.” Damian said sarcastically with a smile. He was competitively playing against Barry, and Adam was cooking just as he always did.

“Yeah, they ganged up on us. Richard had hired some mooks.” Simon said, but Barry and Adam was rather surprised to see him, or that was their glad look.

“And you got busted, bro.” Said Barry, with a smile. Then turned back toward the game, and after noticing he had started to lose, he quickly tapped the restart button, ushering some complaints from Simon.

Damian took a seat behind the table, next to Adam cooking what was supposedly dinner.

“So what happened at the police department?” Adam asked, stopping from his cooking endeavor, all with his left hand. The right was tied into a cast as well, but a plastic glove was plastered over it, protecting it from dirtying itself.

“Yeah, that’s what I’m gonna talk to you guys about. I’m filthy rich, so who’s up for pizza? The sky’s the limit!” Damian said, throwing both hands to the air and flashing his credit card. He had fifty thousand. He could eat pizza everyday and not run out of it for two months, when he’d be getting his pay. “And we’re moving. Barry, find a good apartment on the internet.”

“What the hell happened? Your half-sister and brother got into an accident?” Simon asked, raising his eyebrows.

“As far as I know, no.” Said Damian. They were his father’s non-bastard children and would inherit all his money, which was enough to buy quarter a city. That was how he ruled a quarter.

“Wait, did it rain money yesterday or did it rain bricks and one miraculously managed to hit D’s head?” Asked Barry, as unbelieving as Simon was. Since he didn’t have much allowance other than daily needs like a few bottles of water, Damian could never really pay for his food and got them to pay. It was of course a surprise to them, a miracle even, that the freeloader was talking about moving out.

“I’m serious, dude. Go look up an apartment, in the numbered streets. No more downtown. I got a job and my pay’s too much I’m literally throwing eight thousand crescent away.” Damian said with a grin.

“Ok, that’s a little too far. Eight thousand? That’s friggin more than my parents make a year.” Adam interjected from the side.

“Try me.” Damian said, turning to look at Adam with a smirk.

“I’m pretty sure your siblings are dead.” Adam said, “But who are we to care? Let’s eat till we blow up. Chance mightn’t come again!” He said, throwing both hands up much like soccer players did after winning.

“Then that solves it. Order some pizza on the internet. I’ll put in my card number.” Said Damian, taking a seat where Simon was playing against Barry. It was as if nothing happened yesterday, and everything that happened to Damian was nothing more than a dream. That Tinker-tech, Edwin and the Red Comets. It was as if everything didn’t happen. But the money was in his card and he was tired last night. It had to be real.

Everything was peaceful, just for one moment. Then Barry’s phone started ringing. He picked it up and put it between his cheek and right shoulder as he continued to play.

“Damian? Yeah, he’s here.” Said Barry, and threw the phone at him. Damian caught it, and noticed it was from a hidden number.

“Hello?” Asked Damian, and put it on his ear.

“Hello, Damian. It’s me, Edwin. I’ve been looking for you. The school said you left, and my best guess was where you were arrested yesterday. Am I correct?” He asked, from behind the phone. There was a sense of urgency in his voice.

“Yeah. What is it?” Damian asked again, turning to look at his friends.

“We need your help. The Smithy’s caught Comet’s parents and keeping them hostage. We need you, in other words someone directly unrelated to her to go and rescue them. Then Comet can go and take care of them, you following me?” Edwin asked.

“I got it. I’m coming.” Said Damian, and looked at them for a while. “I need to go. Don’t take more than you have to. Here, the code’s 4829.”

Simon caught it, and Damian threw Barry’s phone at him. It was his job, after all. He couldn’t slack off. As he left the apartment, he noticed a black car in the driveway, vacant most of the time which meant this was Edwin. He dashed toward the car, and surely enough, Edwin was in the backseat with the window open to let Damian see him.

He entered the car, and sat next to him. Edwin wore a black suit, and had shades on. There was a suitcase sitting between the two, and Damian jumped to the situation at hand.

“So what exactly happened?” Damian asked.

“Comet lost her civilian identity. Since she launched an attack at the Smithy yesterday, they were out for blood and kidnapped her parents. You know what the cops can’t do. They can’t get involved with anything related to the Smithy. This hasn’t reached brother yet, though it will if you rescue them. Will you?” Edwin said, knocking on the briefcase. “I need you to go solo. The costume’s in here, along with anything you might need. I went out of my way to make it unique, to let them see you were working solo and not with the Red Comets.”

“They know about us?” Damian asked with a raised eyebrow as he opened the suitcase.

“Yes, of course. I told them. My job is informing them. I’m their tracker.” Said Edwin with a straight face. “Had to make them fear you. Let them see how terrifying you were. The best bet’s letting the council take brother down and get me up, or they’ll change cities. The former is highly preferable.”

“You become boss and no more crimes, right? At least from the Smithy.” Damian said looking at his costume. It was a stark contrast to what the Red Comets wore. It was electric blue, for the color, and had a white ‘D’ letter on the chest. There was no cape and nothing eye-catching, just the way Damian liked his clothes. There was also a belt of some sort, a pouch at the left side.

“Exactly. I’ll absolve the Smithy and turn our resources to Smith Co. Secondly, the lord will inform the queen of your success and you will be operating on an Imperial scale. Thirdly, of course you’ll be recognized as war heroes and given the government’s pay along with mine. Sounds good?” Edwin said.

“It does.” Damian said, and took off his uniform and shirt and everything except his underpants, of course. He hastily put the costume on, and it showed some muscles through the thin fabric, tight-fitting.

“That’s made from a fabric used in the military. They use it as vests under their uniform, so I thought why not use them as a costume.” There was also a mask that covered the entirety of his face with two holes that he could see through, and the face part was made from hard material, a nose sticking out from the otherwise featureless mask. “They have two gifted. One of them can control machines from a distance much like he’d do to his body and has a military-grade Acronym, meaning it doesn’t have any safeguards in place. The other one is tricky. He can turn into something like a mist and travel through solid objects, and then he can solidify the mist to create weapons though only turn for a short time.”

“I see. I think I can take care of them, or at least do the rescue part.” He said, putting on his mask. The car sped around, and the driver joined the conversation.

“They don’t know I’m in the team, or wouldn’t even care, so I’m joining you.” Said Clinton from the driver’s seat.

“You were there?” Damian asked, his mouth agape.

“Yeah. No one notices I’m any different than normal if I don’t want to point it out myself.” Clinton said. “And call me Shadow when we’re in costume. Have to protect my civilian identity. What’s yours?”

“I suppose Dreadnought is good as any.” Damian said with a shrug. It was disturbing how natural he appeared as a driver, and how he didn’t even notice even with Clinton in full ninja costume.

“I see. The plan’s we get in and rough them up, like we don’t even care about the hostages and act as if it’s just a raid on the Smithy. We will happen to save Comet’s parents, and they’ll try to track us down. They’ll fail since their tracker is sitting next to you. Well, you get the story. Pent up some stress and the mafia’s as good as gone.” Clinton, err… Shadow said. He had to correct himself, or Damian would mess it up and say the civilian name out loud. “We’re here. It’s not far from here. Edwin’s car, can’t let them see it.”

“That’s fine, but please tell me it’s closer than yesterday.” Damian said with a sullen face. He’d gotten tired and wouldn’t have done much fighting even if he had the chance to.

“I’d say about a quarter of that, or fifth. It’s in one of the Smithy’s hideouts in the numbered districts. Psycho is attacking another one of their bases. One of us will find her parents and save them.” Clinton said, stopping the car near a department store.

“Wait. Psycho means Tina, right? How is she attacking alone?!” Damian asked quickly.

“She’s real scary behind that cutesy act. She can scream in people’s heads, many people’s heads. Yelling took me to my knees, you get what happens when she screams.” Clinton said, and just for a second, Damian got a migraine.