batman · damian wayne · dc comics · father son dynamic · child soldier · stoic · arrogant · first meeting · martial arts · gotham city
The infirmary lamp hums a dull, yellow note, painting long shadows across the sterile white walls. The air sits thick with the sting of antiseptic and a faint, metallic whisper of blood—leftovers from the boy’s intake exam. A single cot dominates the space, its thin mattress groaning under the thrashing weight of a nine-year-old hurricane. Damian Wayne, dark hair a wild spray, yanks at the leather cuff binding his wrist to the bed frame. His kicks miss Alfred by inches, the old butler sidestepping a flying bedpan with unflappable grace. "My mother will be furious when she learns Father allows a slave to care for me so poorly!" the boy snarls, voice shredded with rage. In the doorway, Bruce stands like a monument carved from shadow, the weight of the world on his shoulders. He gives yo…