Amira pushed Damian aside, not having a moment to yell at him before she was engaged into combat by Deathstroke yet again.

She blocked attack after attack with her staff, having to spring off his blade at one point, connecting the end of her staff to the side of his head, cracking his eye-sore of a helmet. Just as she was about to attack again, she was pushed aside by Damian, Amira rolling and colliding with a destroyed column.

"I told you to stay out of my way!" Damian yelled at her as he exchanged blows with Deathstroke. Metal grinded against metal as Damian drove Deathstroke into a waltz, the two exchanging attacks, using picture frames and statues in hopes of slowing the other down.

Amira watched as frames were destroyed, faces distorted as wood flew all over the place, statues crumbling to pieces as they met a blade or the floor.

When Deathstroke finished introducing himself earlier, Damian quickly launched himself into combat, the two quickly making a mess of the study. Not wanting them to destroy it even further, Amira extended her staff and rammed it into Deathstroke's back, causing him to plant his face onto the wall.

"Stay out of my fight." Damian gritted, Amira not backing down.

"This is my fight as well. This is my home after all." Amira bluntly stated, watching as Damian huffed at her response. "And I want him out and away from here."

Before either could continue their argument, Deathstroke was back up and ready to go, which Damian happily continued where the two had left off.

Amira watched as Damian led Deathstroke to the entrance of the manor, even at the cost of the staircase, Tim almost launching himself into the fight before Amira held him back.

"Isn't your arm injured?"

"Aren't we going to help him?" Tim asked back, flinching when Amira glared at him.

"I will be helping him. You stay here." Amira instructed, extending the staff into its full length.

"I can still fight."

"Not with that arm you can't."

"Let me-"

"Drake." Amira sternly said, watching as Tim sunk into himself. "Remember how I told you a Robin has to be well rounded and excel in combat?" She didn't let him respond. "They also have to know their place in a fight, so for you, it means to stay here, at the sidelines." With that, Amira left Tim alone to provide some type of support towards Damian...

Or at least that was the plan...

Whenever she tried to help Damian, she would get attacked by him or have him collide with her. Or even worse, be his personal shield or decoy. He would then have the audacity to yell at her for interfering and for being merciful. When she would have an opportunity to take Deathstroke by surprise, Damian would get in her way and cast her aside, not caring about having wasted a perfectly good plan.

And that's how it had been playing out for the past few minutes since then, leading to now.

"Argh!" Damian yelled out as Deathstroke had managed to knock his sword out of his hand and stab his own into Damian's arm.

Unsheathing his other sword, Deathstroke was about to use it to pin Damian to the wall only for Amira to catapult her way towards Damian, dropping kicking Deathstroke in the face.

"I had it handled." Damian told her as he pulled out the sword from his arm, the blood dripping onto the floor.

"You're welcome." Amira threw back, taking out the weapons in the holster she had picked up earlier, watching Deathstroke charge at her.

Deciding to meet him halfway, Amira somersaulted, kicking the hilt of his sword, causing the sword to fly elsewhere.

With a quick motion, Amira stabbed his arm with a blade before cartwheeling backwards.

Deathstroke let out a groan as he took the blade out, not expecting to have the blade pulled away from his hand, letting out a grunt as blood seeped from his palm. But just as he composed himself, he was met with consecutive hits from another rope dart, having to remain still as the force of the hits grew stronger.

Amira continued to whirl her rope, alternating hands to increase the speed and force of her hits, only for it to be deflected in the end. That's when he noticed it wasn't a rope dart, but instead a yo-yo.

"Is that all you got?" Deathstroke asked her. She didn't respond, instead, she redirected her rope dart to swing under her leg, the heavy alloy yo-yo connecting with his chin, causing him to take a few steps back from the impact.

"How's an 8-lb yo-yo to the chin feel?" Amira asked, catching the yo-yo with ease before wrapping it around the man, causing him to fall to the floor. "I have some questions for you." She walked towards him, only for him to break free from her grasp.

She froze as he took out a gun, only managing to snap out of it when a small device attached itself to it and exploded, causing Deathstroke to drop it. Judging from its trajectory, it had to have been Tim's doing.

That and the fact that she doubted Damian would do anything to try and defend her when his pride and ego were on the line.

However, within that second, a kunai found itself digging into Deathstroke's eye, Amira feeling the sudden urge to retch. She watched as Damian flew past her and dug the kunai further into the eye socket, only then causing Amira to react.

"Stop it!" She yelled, pulling off Damian of Deathstroke and facing him. "You're going to kill him!"

"He needs to be killed for trying to-"

"We still need to-" Amira grunted as she was forced into Damian, causing the two to tumble forward.

"Squabbling while turning your back to your opponent? Not a very smart thing to do." Deathstroke reminded them, taking out another gun and aiming it towards the two of them. While Damian tried to pry Amira off of him, he stopped when he noticed her frozen expression of fear.

Just as Damian was going to roll the two of them away, someone slammed a staff behind Deathstroke's helmet, causing the thing to split into two.

"Tim." Damian heard Amira whisper, watching as fear still filled her eyes. She pulled Deathstroke back when she saw him make a dash for a retreating Tim, Tim using that opportunity to drop an axe kick.

Damian watched as the two continued to fight together, Amira calculating every strike, not wasting a single swing. Damian watched as Tim dodged and danced with Amira, not a single word spoken between them as they fought Deathstroke together.

He felt like he was being casted aside...unnecessary...not needed...

As he continued to watch them fight, Damian noticed them leading Deathstroke to the center of the lobby, Damian eyeing the chandelier above them. He then noticed the other rope dart Amira had brought in with her, lying abandoned at the side of the room.

It was then that he remembered the other thing he always found himself carrying with him...

A small plan began to form in his mind, Damian quickly picking up the rope dart to start setting it up.

Tim regretted having missed Amira's soreness from having been using her weapon for the past ten minutes, watching as her attack barely reached Deathstroke's face. With an attack having gone to waste, the man used the opportunity to focus on Tim alone, allowing him to throw the boy in the direction he had finished jumping from.

Amira managed to grab Tim before he met the floor, not noticing the incoming attack from Deathstroke. Just as his dagger was about to reach her, something hit Deathstroke in the face, Tim noticing a black case landed at his feet.

"Over here!" Damian yelled, causing everyone to look up, watching as Damian landed perfectly square on Deathstroke's shoulders, the boy not only wrapping his legs around the man, but also the chain of the rope dart Amira recognized as her own.

Amira watched as Damian kept Deathstroke in the hold, watching as the man was starting to find his way out of it. "Use the thing inside the case!" Damian yelled at Tim, Tim freezing when he saw what was inside.

"I-I can't use this." Tim whispered, turning to Amira after having read the label. "We can't-" He watched as Amira grabbed the case and casually walked up to Deathstroke.

"Don't worry Tim." Amira took the needle out of the case, wondering where Damian even managed to get his hands on the venom. "We're not killing him, just torturing him."

Without hesitation, Amira stabbed it into a patch of exposed skin (courtesy of Damian's sword), watching as the man screamed and grunted as he fought against the pain. "After all, we don't kill."

"Well said, Amira." Tim jumped from Amira's flinch when Bruce spoke up.

The three turned their heads to see Bruce at the doorway, an elderly man with a smile on his face next to him. While a majority of his hair was tied back, tufts of white poked a bit from the side, Amira knowing who he was the minute he saw his eyes...

So he was the man whose eyes she inherited....

"Father...Ra's." Damian addressed, tying up Deathstroke before going to them, his heart sinking a bit when Bruce walked past him and went towards Amira, not even bothering to acknowledge him.

"Are you alright, Amira?" Amira turned away from her father as he fussed over the bruises and cuts on her face.

"I'm...fine." She said, swatting away her father's gentleness, only then noticing that Alfred had silently joined them. "Grandpere."

"Amira, my child, look at yourself." Alfred softly spoke, Amira letting him examine her face. "Lets get those cuts cleaned in the infirmary. Master Tim," he addressed, Tim flinching when he was called. "That goes for you too. I can't have that ghastly gash of yours infecting under my watch."

"Yes, sir." Tim said with a nod, going to join them when he watched the other elderly man make his way towards Deathstroke.

"To think I treated him like a son once." Ra's said, disappointment visible on his face. "To think I ever considered him to be my heir at one point. Never would've thought he would be the one to try and betray me."

"Him?" Damian asked the question in Bruce's mind. "He was the one who you considered worthy of succeeding you?"

"At one point, yes. But then, you came along...or rather, the two of you came along." Ra's said, turning slightly to see Amira's reaction. The girl mentioned stopped in her tracks. "Two grandchildren, but only one was able to claim the throne."

"More like only one was considered to be your heir." Amira spoke once turning to look at Ra's in the face. "After all, ever since you found out my mother was going to have me, you wanted me dead. Me, a mere infant."

No one noticed the paleness in Damian's face, the way his eyes widened upon hearing those words.

His grandfather...wanted his sister, their own blood...dead?

"I gave your mother the opportunity to let you live."

"You threatened her to get rid of me!" Amira yelled, remembering her mother's retelling of Ra's threat.

"You, a mere infant who I could've easily disposed of myself. But instead, I choose to show you mercy."

"You kept me alive to keep her in line!"

"Be grateful, child." Ra's snarled, causing Amira to take a step back. "You're the only being in the world whom I've shown mercy to. Because of me, you got to live and learn from your father, a skilled fighter. A great detective. If it weren't for my generosity, you would already be de-"

"That's enough!" Bruce sternly shouted, standing in front of Amira who's eyes were filled with unshed tears. Alfred placed a hand on her shoulder, frowning when he found her trembling as well. "I will not allow you to speak to my daughter that way, nor anyone in my family for that matter.

You said that you came here to leave Damian in my care. To keep him safe until you found your traitor." Bruce walked up to Ra's, allowing Alfred to guide Amira and Tim to the infirmary.

He motioned to the passed out Slade. "Well, now he's taken care of, so I suggest you continue your way back to the League to ensure that it's safe enough for Damian to go back home. After all, that was your original goal, wasn't it?" Bruce and Ra's stared each other down, waiting for the other to back down.

Surprisingly, it was Ra's who broke the contact.

"Very well." Ra's huffed, looking over to Damian. "You got to see firsthand how skillful those who learn under your father are, so just imagine how much you can improve by learning under him as well. I expect you to learn everything you can during your stay. Understood?" Damian nodded. "Good."

Without a second to spare, Ra's disappeared into the night, Damian wondering when would be the next time they would see one another.

—

Adrien lifted his head the minute he heard the apartment door open, hearing laughter fill the room.

It's been a few hours -okay it's been seven or eight since he's heard about any news about Marinette. Seven-ish hours of being in the dark about Marinette's whereabouts...since then, he had been by Chloe's side, making sure she was doing alright.

He held back a sob, gently pulling himself away from Chloé and headed down only to not find Marinette among them. Walking into the apartment was Dick, Wally and Nino.

"Where's Marinette?" Adrien asked, everyone's laughter rescinding. That's when he noticed Jason, or rather recognized him. Wasn't he...wasn't he...the dead Wayne?

"Freund von dir? [Friend of yours?]"Jason asked Dick, Adrien looking at Nino for clarification. He simply shrugged.

"Nien. Favoritinnen. [No. Favorite's]"Dick answered back. "He's Adrien and the one you met earlier is Nino."

"Y el novio, cierto? [And the boyfriend, right?]" Jasón asked, a grin on his face as he pointed towards Wally. Wally quirked a brow.

"They're not quite there yet."

"Seriously?"

"Yup."

"Gotta do something about that, don't you think?" Jason asked, causing Dick to chuckle, confusing the others in the room.

The shattering of a teacup was heard, everyone whipping the heads to see who dropped it.

"Jason." Selina whispered, slowly walking towards him, Jason hesitating to move forward. "That's really you, isn't it?" She placed her hand on his cheek, wiping away a stray tear on his face.

"Yea. It's me, Ma. It's really me." Jason let himself get pulled into a hug, letting Selina crush him to death...well not really, but let her hug him until she was satisfied in knowing he was still alive...and with them once again.

Adrien's eyes darted between Jason and Selina. Then to Dick. Then back to Jason.

"Apparently they all know each other." Nino spoke up, Adrien realizing he had been standing beside him for a while. "Mlle Kyle, Dick, Barbara and M.Bruce...they all know Jason. And apparently, so does Marinette."

Adrien turned to look at Nino with wide eyes, failing to notice that Barbara had joined the reunion at that moment.

"What?"

"Yea. Apparently they've known each other for quite some time. Heard Jason telling Dick that he had been catching up with Marinette before she went off to tell their grandfather about...him. Wonder what they meant by that."

Nino looked at Jason, who was busy annoying a flushed faced Wally. "While their entire dynamic was odd, that wasn't what had me confused the most."

"So she's not here..." Adrien told himself. "And what do you mean by 'the most confused'?"

"You know how everyone has some type of nickname, whether it comes from a family member or friend?" Adrien nodded. "Could Marinette have another name as her nickname?"

Seeing Adrien's confused face, Nino continued. "Marinette once told me that her friends have only ever called her two nicknames: Mimi and Baguette.

Wally and Dick call her Mimi while you call her Bugette. So then...why...why was Jason referring to Marinette by Amira when her name is Marinette?" Nino asked.

Adrien froze.

"Nino...Are-are you sure that's-"

"Positive." Nino confirmed, watching as Adrien's face morphed into a stern expression. "Dude, what-"

"Nino." Adrien said in a low tone, causing a shiver to run down Nino's spine. "Whatever you do, don't tell anyone else what you just told me."

"Dude, why-" Adrien placed his hands on Nino's shoulders.

"I'm I clear? Don't. Tell. Anyone." Adrien enunciated, looking over at Dick ruffling Jason's hair. "Promise me that."

"I promise." Nino promised, wondering what it was that Adrien had found out.

Letting Nino go, Adrien looked at the group of family and friends talking within themselves, as if forgetting about the crisis just moments ago.

Or was it more than that?

Did they trust Marinette being fine even after her kidnapping? And what about the kidnapper? Were they going to let them roam free after what they did to Marinette?

Whatever it was, Adrien knew it had to be linked with the other secrets they held...even the one he found out by complete accident...

—

It didn't take long to get patched up. It did, however, take very long to convince Alfred and her father to let her leave the Cave, Amira having to use the excuse that she was tired to be able to retreat to her room.

And once more, everything looked just like she had left it months ago...

She headed to the wall of photos, dragging her hands over them, until she stopped over the one she took of the Parisian night.

It was already two in the morning in Gotham, meaning it was eight in Paris. She hoped her friends would forgive her, especially Wally. She hopes he would forgive her for scaring him like this for the second time this month.

Which reminded her, she had yet to tell Grandpere that-

"Amira," She quickly turned, half wondering if her grandfather could read mind, only that instead of finding Grandpere there, she saw Damian. A scowl found its way to her face.

"How dare you mock-"

"It was the only way to get your attention." Damian cut off, joining Amira by her wall of photos. "Out of everyone here, Pennyworth is the only one who you-"

"Grandpere is Grandpere. Of course he would have my complete respect. He's my grandfather after all."

"Ra's is also our grand-" Amira's scoff caught him off guard.

"Ra's is not my grandfather and in no way part of my family." Amira felt her hands begin to shake. "What I heard from him had portrayed him in a bad light and today," she quickly dug her nails into her arm to try and prevent herself from trembling. "Today proved those stories to be true."

"We have his blood-"

"Blood doesn't just make family, Damian." Amira sternly said, looking at a new photo she hadn't placed on her wall at all. It was taken from days ago, one where Dick was trying to engage Amira into a conversation with his other friends. Wally was there beside her, holding her hand in case it was too much for her. "And even if it did, so does trust, acknowledgement. And love.

And while I acknowledge Ra's to be our mother's father, our grandfather, I do not trust him. And I never will, as I will never love him either.

After all, he never dared to acknowledge me as family, so why should I? Why should I bother to respect him when clearly, he doesn't deserve it?"

Damian stood there, soaking in his sister's words, because...she had a point, even if he thought it was a point that was stupidly based on emotions. "If that's all you came to talk to me about, then I suggest you leave. I have a few things to do before I have to go elsewhere."