Work Text:
It all started like this:
It was her usual Wednesday night. Ra’s had made some plans, she foiled said plans, they fought and she parted ways with him.
She hadn’t expected Pru to hand her a flash drive with a severe look. There was no trace of her usual teasing, instead, she just seemed sad. Thea hadn’t seen that look since Owen and Z died.
“Pru? Is everything alright?”
“Just…look at this. And be careful.” She answered, her eyes wandering over Thea’s face as if burning it into her memory.
“What is going on?” Thea felt a sliver of fear traveling up her spine. This was not good. Was something happening to Pru? Was she in danger?
Pru closed her eyes.
“This is not about me. Don’t worry.”
“Then-” Thea began.
“I have to go now.” Pru made to leave, before turning around and hugging her.
Ok. This was getting freaky. Pru was not one for hugging. She was one for stabbing.
“I am here for you, don’t you dare to forget that”
She left before Thea could hug her back.
—
Back in her perch, she looked at the flash drive. It seemed normal, the kind you could buy at the store. But she also knew that there had to be more than that to it.
She trusted Pru. Yes, the other worked for Ra’s, but she has never led her to any serious harm, instead, helping her in discreet ways.
So Thea sat down and connected the flash drive to her computer.
Files appeared on her screen.
Had Pru given her intel?
She opened the first folder.
—
Later she wouldn’t remember how much time she spent reading and rereading the files.
She only knew how much the horror grew. How much she didn’t want to believe these files. How scared she was.
Because these were files directly from Ra’s server. Secret files. Files she never should have read, till Ra’s deemed the right. And then hy wouldn’t have handed her them. He would have told her, tried to bring her to his side.
Thea wouldn’t have believed him.
Because, how could this be?
Maybe the files were fake. Maybe Pru thought they were real and tried to help her. Or maybe…this was Ra’s plan. Maybe Pru wasn’t…a part of her hated the thought. But she was a rational person and she knew that people changed. It was better to go through all the possibilities than to get surprised.
This means…she would need to check.
—
Getting Damian’s DNA was easier than she thought it would be.
She made sure they crossed paths on patrol the next night. As usual, he began insulting her as soon as he saw her. If he noticed that Thea's retorts were nowhere near as snarky as usual, he said nothing.
In the end, she managed to get a few hairs without losing any body parts. All it took was fighting against a gang and a strategic grip.
When they parted ways, she couldn’t help but turn and look at his retreating form.
She would be lying if she said, she didn’t look for similarities between them, be it in bearing or looks.
What scared her was, that she found them.
Thea had always credited Bruce's genes for the fact, that Damian didn’t look out of place in their family. But now, as she looked closer and compared, she could see more similarities to her than Bruce.
How didn’t she notice?
They had the same eyes, Damian’s were a tad darker than hers. His nose was nothing like her delicate one, that was one thing he had from Ra's. But she could see, that he would not grow up to look like his father. He would grow up lean, not as broad as Ra's, but still strong. Tall too, seeing as he was already standing a bit above her at 12 years old. But otherwise, he would be all her. Smooth black hair, a perpetual coldness in his demeanor, and gracefulness in his bones.
She shook her head. It didn’t have to be true. Ra’s could be playing with her, planting doubt in her, that should not exist.
Still….there was this feeling that something was coming, something big and world-shaking.
Something she couldn’t out-think.
It should have made her afraid, and in a way it did, but there was a certain corner in her mind that roared to life, a lion mother ready to defend her cub.
When Damian had been introduced to the family, there was a shift in her world. She had been happy, even ecstatic, though she tried not to show it too much. She didn’t think the others would understand it. After all, she had just met him.
And yet, there was a connection, something that drew her to him, that made her want to protect and hold and…well, coddle him. It was a sense of familiarity, her entire being calling out to him screaming: Look, I found you. You are here and you are mine.
When she realized what she felt, those motherly instincts rearing their head, she was surprised. True, she had experienced something similar with the others, but they weren’t quite so intense and at their core very different. There was no approval-seeking like with Bruce. No hero-worship-slash-crush like with Dick and Jason. No easy friendship like with Stephanie.
Thea knew it ran in her blood. That she was possessive of people and things she loved, the urge to destroy those who could even theoretically harm them strong.
But this took the cake.
Even when Damian said horrible things to her, tried to kill her, and ultimately took Robin from her, she could not help but love him.
He managed to destroy her defense with his sharp words, leaving blood in his wake, and yes, she fought back, but that seemed to hurt her more than it did him.
Thea knew, that if she didn’t have the cape, she would have destroyed herself just to make him happy.
And that thought didn’t scare her as it should have.
When the test result popped up on the screen, she didn’t look right away. She closed her eyes and made a promise.
Ra’s would never get Damian, no matter the result.
As she opened her eyes, the screen lightening up the answer she thought:
He would never get my son.