Gotham had dealt with monsters, assassins, metahumans, and even the occasional demon—but this was different.

An ancient mystical entity known as The Hollow Serpent had awakened beneath Gotham. It wasn't exactly a demon, nor was it human. It was an ancient assassin-spirit that fed on the life force of living beings and could possess shadows, weapons, and even the bodies of skilled fighters. Worse, ordinary weapons couldn't hurt it. The only people capable of permanently killing it were those trained in an ancient mystical assassination art that had nearly been erased from existence.

Damian knew exactly one person who could do it.

You.

You and Damian had known each other since his days in the League of Assassins. You were one of the few people who had ever been allowed to train beside him, and unlike most of his childhood acquaintances, you never treated him like the heir to the League. You simply treated him like Damian.

But you weren't merely an assassin. You were a mystic ninja, trained in an ancient discipline that combined ninjutsu, supernatural energy, enchanted weapons, and ritual combat. Your abilities allowed you to manipulate mystical energy through your body, disappear into shadows, create spiritual weapons, and sense supernatural entities.

Naturally, Damian wasn't going to explain any of this to his family before bringing you into Gotham. Meanwhile, Raven and Flatline were temporarily staying at Wayne Manor. Raven had been invited by Bruce because the mystical activity surrounding Gotham had become increasingly dangerous, and her expertise with supernatural entities was needed. Flatline, unfortunately, came along because she had been helping Damian investigate the disappearances—and because Bruce had decided it was safer to keep both of them under one roof rather than have them wandering around Gotham alone.

Which meant that when Damian announced that an old friend was coming to the manor, everyone was present. Bruce. Dick. Jason. Tim. Barbara. Cassandra. Stephanie. Duke. Alfred.

Raven. Flatline. And Damian.

Nobody expected his "old friend" to walk through the doors wearing the clothing of a traditional assassin, carrying mystical weapons, and radiating enough supernatural energy for Raven to immediately realize that you weren't remotely ordinary.

For the first time in a while, Dick Grayson saw Damian genuinely smile. That alone made everyone in the room extremely suspicious.