Moulting: The Way of Being

by TwinEnigma

Standard Disclaimer - I do not own Young Justice, Batman, Kingdom Come or any of the characters therein. I do not do this for profit, but rather for fun and skills building.

NB: originally posted on the YJ Anon Meme, de-anoning because I've already admitted it was me; this is in the same universe as Moulting, though can stand alone.

Warnings: AU, mentioned character deaths, spoilers for Batman and Robin Reborn, YJ season 1: Failsafe

Damian's first nights in the cowl were nothing short of an exercise in masochism. The Justice League was worried, some of them heavily suggesting he turn the cowl over to his older brother, Tim, who was furious with Damian for just taking the cowl without so much as a word to his siblings. The police didn't believe he was Batman. Most of the criminals didn't either, not even when he was beating the tar out of them. He'd gotten more than his fair share of comments from perps about his height and a lot of speculation about whether or not he was even old enough to shave. In their eyes, he wasn't Batman: he was just another Robin, putting on the suit, and playing dress-up.

And then there was the matter of Robin.

Mar'i didn't trust him and wouldn't listen to orders, as he was not her father and, more inexcusably, was both of lesser birth and just a stupid human in her eyes. Worse, she was a lot stronger than a normal human child and the Tamaraneans had not trained her to go soft on opponents. Damian was well aware that several of the perps she'd subdued would not make it to the precinct for booking, much less out of the emergency room. But, still, he's trying not to judge her too harshly: he's been guilty of much the same in the past, after all, and if Dick was willing to help him learn how to scale back, then he must be willing to do the same for Dick's daughter, even if she seems dead set on driving him up the walls.

Damian, still in the Batsuit, sits down on the stairs to the turntable, looking at the space where the Robin-cycle should be, and sighs, running a hand through his hair. "What should I do, Dick?"

The cave is silent.

Then, there's a whoosh of air, the tell-tale blur of a speedster passing by him, and the Flash is standing there.

"I was wondering how you were holding up," the Flash, one Wally West, says and takes off his own cowl. "Alfred said I'd find you down here."

Damian snorts, turning his head away and covering his face with a hand. Of course, Alfred would.

"So, what's up?" Wally asks. A look of concern crosses his features and he adds, "You look like you could use someone to talk to, kiddo."

"No one believes I'm Batman," Damian states and it feels like he just ripped off a band-aid. After that, he finds that it's impossible to stop: "I'm there and I'm in the costume and I'm getting the job done, but it's not enough! And then there's Mar'i… she won't listen to me at all. She doesn't want to listen to anybody that isn't her father or the Tamaranean high council. What the hell am I supposed to do?"

Wally lets out a heavy sigh, as if suddenly completely exhausted, and sits down next to him.

They sit in silence for a while.

"You know, Damian," Wally pipes up, finally, "A long time ago, when Dick and I were kids, back on Young Justice, there was this training simulation. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Dick was forced to make a harsh call between our safety and the mission. And after that simulation, Dick was so shook up that he said he didn't ever want to be Batman."

Damian snorts, running a hand through his hair. "And look at how it turned out. He became Batman anyway."

"No, no," Wally says with a sad smile as he shakes his head, "That's not it at all. Being Batman isn't the same as becoming a Batman. It's like how I'm the Flash, but I can never be the Flash. I'm not Jay Garrick any more than I'm my Uncle Barry. I can't be them. All I can be is myself. Dick understood that. It's what made him able to take up the cowl after your father…"

The speedster pauses and stands, looking down at Damian as he pulls up his own cowl. "Look, you're not Dick, Damian. You're never going to be him anymore than you're going to be Bruce."

The words sting and Damian bows his head, trying not to flinch because it's the truth: he's not as good as his father and he's certainly not as good or socially graceful as Dick. He really is just a kid putting on his dad's clothes and pretending.

Then, there's a hand, clad in red, shoved in his face. He looks up.

That speedster is grinning at him like an idiot, hand outstretched. "But you don't have to be them, Damian, because you are a damn fine superhero on your own terms, and it'll be an honor to call you Batman."

He stares at Wally and his hand like the speedster has just started speaking in Portuguese completely out of the blue.

"No one ever said your Batman had to be the same as theirs. Just be yourself and the rest will come," Wally adds, moving his hand a little closer. "Trust me, as one legacy to another, I know what I'm talking about."

Damian lowers his eyes.

And then, slowly, he accepts the outstretched hand, letting the Flash pull him to his feet and give him a friendly clap on the back.

"Atta boy," Wally says, smiling. "Dick would be real proud of you, you know that?"

Damian certainly hopes so.

AN: Because you know Dick would have wanted Wally to check up on his baby bro if anything happened to him.

And, of course, I enjoy bringing up parallels and discussing the concept of legacy superheroes and how they might deal with the concept of being a legacy, of succession and self-identity within the role, which was one of the things Dick and Damian's run in Batman and Robin had handled so beautifully.