Plot Outline for The Return of Damian Wayne

A/N: The following is a proposed rough plot outline for a storyline to return Damian to the DCU. It would be a roughly 4-5 issue story arc.

The story begins with Batman brooding in the Cave, remembering Damian. Alfred is trying to console him. An alarm rings, someone is digging up Damian's corpse. Batman charges out to the graveyard like a, well a bat out of Hell. He sees the desecrators of the grave are members of Talia's League of Assassins, led by Ubu. A fight ensues, but Ubu manages to escape with the coffin to a nearby airstrip. Talia watches as her son's body is placed into a plane and orders her pilot to take them to Nanda Parabat.

At Nanda Parabat, Talia threatens a monk to perform a ritual to return Damian to her. He does so, and he is killed as part of the ritual, so the body can be given life. A mist rises from the Fountain of Life, taking the shape of Damian's soul. He enters his corpse and the body is restored to life. Damian awakens, his last memory dying in his father's arms. He sees his mother, and panics. He has only one goal: HOME. However, he doesn't get far out onto the frozen tundra outside the Undying City before he is knocked out and captured.

When Damian awakens, he is in a LoA holding cell in a hidden base. Talia says that she wants Damian to be her son again; he refuses, saying he's a Wayne. She says he'll rot in that cell until he joins her. Later, after who knows how many nights, his door suddenly opens. He escapes, but has to fight off some guards before plunging into Tokyo Bay and swimming to the city. As he escapes, he bumps into a young American man, coming back from training somewhere in the city. The two argue over what happened, only for both of them to be attacked. They fight off the attackers (Damian mocking his acquaintance for a supposed lack of skill), and the young man helps him escape to his residence. He reveals he knows who Damian is, and that he's an anomaly. When pressed for his identity, the young man introduces himself as  J. Bowden Hapgood. When his bodyguard appears behind him, J introduces the hulking man as B. He and Damian argue, and J vows to get Damian back to Gotham just so the "brat will be out of [his] hair!" However, for safety's sake, he orders B to prepare to head to Hong Kong. In the meanwhile, Talia orders the Seven Men of Death to find her son and bring him back. And to kill him if need be. She also places a bounty on Damian's return, dead or alive.

J, Damian and B arrive in Hong Kong. Damian notes that J has to be a well off young man to afford such travels. He also assumes the name is an alias. J says that Damian will fail to figure out who he is. J tells Damian to stay put as he needs to make some arrangements for their trip to Gotham, especially if they're being followed. Damian does escape and follows J to a dojo where he sees J is much more skilled than he thought. He also follows J to a post office where he sends a letter. However, J catches him at that moment and begins to clash with the 10 year old "zombie" when they are attacked by Triads, who are after the bounty Talia has placed on Damian. They fight off the Triads, and are given some help from B, who appears with a rifle and takes down several of the Triads. However, one of the Seven Men of Death appears and Damian has to take him down as B and J are surrounded by his henchmen. Damian nearly kills the man, but refuses, saying he's his father's son. J says they need to escape again, this time to New Dehli and perhaps to Jerusalem. When Damian asks why they can't go straight to Gotham, J states that is what these assassins want, with a grin he says its an adventure. Meanwhile, in Gotham, Bruce receives the letter J sent out. The letter, addressed to Batman,  says that Damian has been returned to life and that the person sending this letter is taking Damian back to Gotham. It provides photographic proof of Damian being alive: Damian working on the computer at J's Tokyo residence. Batman can't believe it. The letter concludes with J stating that he should wait for further contact.

A couple days later, Damian and his increasingly reluctant rescuers arrive in Jerusalem. A quick flashback shows they were attacked by one of the Seven Men of Death almost immediately in New Dehli and had to leave even faster. J says he has something to do before he makes more arrangements. He takes a blue velvet case out of a suitcase and heads out. B goes to give Damian lunch, only to see Damian has left. Damian follows J to the Western Wall, where he sees his benefactor praying there in kippah and tallit. J does see Damian and gives a signal not to approach. Damian does, but the ultra Orthodox Jews start hassling him, calling him some ethnic slurs based on his Arabic facial traits. J reprimands them, stating he'd rather help the kid than exclude. Having finished his prayers, he leaves with Damian and takes him to lunch in the Old City. Damian and J talk, J apologizing for his fellow Jews. J even states he'd rather hang out with the Palestinians than the "black hats" most of the time. When Damian asks why, J states that both Israel and Palestine are suffering due to zealots controlling the governments. It takes the people to show their governments how to live in peace. Damian takes this in, only for them to be attacked again by another Man of Death. Here, they are helped by both Palestinians and Israelis, who provide distractions, to defeat him. A couple days later, the trio takes a boat to Istanbul. J sends another message out to Batman, saying he should have his son back in about a week.

From Istanbul, Damian, J and B go onto the Orient Express to Paris. During the trip, they are attacked three times; twice by M.o.D, and once by bounty hunters. In Paris, they are attacked again by another M.o.D who chases them up to the bell tower of Notre Dame. In the resulting fight, Damian pushes the man off the bell tower to his death. J berates him, but stops when Damian actually shows remorse at killing for once. Damian admits the last thing he wants is to be like his mother. J nods, but says should he see Damian kill again, he will end their partnership and he will send Damian to Gotham alone. However, they are soon on a flight to Gotham. J sends a letter to Batman, saying to meet him at My Alibi in two days.

In Gotham, the trio check into a hotel. J puts on makeup and hair dye to disguise himself as an old man and leaves for his appointment. He tells B to be on his guard. However, someone is watching them; Merlyn the Archer, the remaining M.o.D. At the meeting, J, in disguise, meets with Batman, who is in disguise as Matches Malone. J reveals he knows who Batman is, but Batman can't place J, though he feels he knows J from somewhere. J says he will deliver Damian to "the family home" as soon as he can, but then he gets a text from B. B is wounded with an arrow in his shoulder, and Damian had to escape with Merlyn and his men in pursuit. Matches leaves to become Batman, J fades into a back alley where he loses his costume and makeup. While Batman takes on Merlyn, J fights off Merlyn's associates. Batman is reunited with his son and defeats Merlyn. As the Wayne family rejoices, J watches from the gates of Wayne Manor before leaving. That night, Damian looks up J and finds his alias is a character from one of Sondeheim's rare flop musicals: Anyone Can Whistle

Epilogue:

J and B are now in an exclusive hotel in Gotham. Here, J's name is revealed to be Joseph and B's is Brighton. Brighton asks why Joseph did all this. Joseph states that he's a brother, and he didn't want his old friend to suffer. He knew that if his little brother died and came back, he'd want him back. So when he hacked the LoA's HQ in Tokyo Bay, and found Damian, he knew what he had to do. He hacked the HQ, and planned a path from the dojo he trained at to intercept Damian. He didn't realize Damian would be so annoying. Brighton then reveals that "the package from Okamura" has arrived at the hotel. Joseph opens it and we see it's weapons, armor, gadgets. Joseph holds up a blue domino mask and smiles. He reveals he had a second reason; a happy Batman won't interfere with his plans should he catch wind of Joseph's planned activities back home in New York. He says he has been away for five years and wants to go home and begin his mission. Brighton says that the "bunker" is almost done. Joseph nods, but he says the main reason he wants to go home is to see his own baby brother. He tells Brighton to charter a plane to New York, but to rig up a fake manifest stating they flew from Japan but stopped for fuel in several places, including Gotham. Joseph also says that since this is Brighton's last tour before retirement that he will miss his old friend. Brighton tells Joseph that he's more than ready and heads out. Joseph goes to the window to look out over the city. He sees a flutter of movement and looks around. He doesn't see anything and heads back in. He doesn't see Damian, returned as Robin, swing away behind him.