Damian's mother wondered what Damian was doing while she went to work. She noticed that Damian didn't look his age the first time she saw him.
He was 14, but he looked like he was 18 years old. She got curious and asked what Damian was eating to make him look older. Damian told her about his powers because she asked, and Damian didn't use them inside the house.
There was a time when Alice was cleaning and couldn't lift Damian's bat. That's when she realised that Damian was stronger than he looked.
Damian gave his mother the identity document he got from the orphanage when he returned with it.
Alice registered Damian for high school, and Damian didn't know because he would've refused to return to high school... again. Alice told her ex-husband about Damian after one month of living with him.
At first, he didn't believe her because he knew she hadn't let go of her dead son. He never once came to check on Damian, and Alice stopped mentioning Damian to him.
In the middle of 1991, Damian started attending high school. He was placed in the 10th grade (sophomore) in the science class, but he was interested in economics, especially the forex chapters.
He didn't use his powers and just blended in. Girls were interested in him because of his physique and looks.
Within a month at school, he showed his intellect and was number 2 in the entire class. He didn't let it get to him. He would go to the library to study forex.
He didn't have friends because he preferred being alone. There was a lot of racism and sexism in the school. Black kids were being bullied or ignored, while women were not taken seriously. It was happening all around the world. People of colour were discriminated against.
Damian was walking in a hallway when he spotted a Black kid getting bullied, and he knew the kid because he was among the smartest people in the class. He wasn't number 1.
Damian walked towards them and just stood in front of them.
"What do you want?" one of the bullies said to Damian in frustration.
Damian pointed towards the locker and said, "That's my locker."
Somehow, the bullies let the boy go and left. Damian did whatever he was doing and left. The following week, the kid kept following him, and he didn't care about it.
The number 1 kid came towards Damian just to say to his face that he was number 2. She said that and left. Damian didn't know what had gotten into her. Everyone at school kept avoiding him because they were somehow scared of his presence or something.
A month passed, and Damian became number 1. Damian walked up to where she was eating in the cafeteria at lunchtime and laughed. He laughed boldly before saying something.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA! Guess who's number 2 now?"
He left afterwards. Damian became friends with the Black kid, and they stopped bullying the boy when he started hanging around Damian.
Damian lost his virginity to his teacher. He didn't expect that to happen.He kept the relationship going because the teacher wasn't married and didn't have a boyfriend.
They hadn't been caught because Damian had super hearing and could see from afar. Damian hadn't told anyone at school about his powers, and he wasn't about to.
The Black kid's name was Terrence, and the former number 1 kid's name was Sharon. Sharon would try to surpass Damian, but the funny thing was that their scores were the same, and Damian was number 1 because of alphabetical grading.
A year went by without many events, and somehow, Sharon and Terrence began dating by the end of the year. Sharon approached Damian because Terrence was following Damian around. At first, Sharon was interested in Damian because he didn't discriminate against anyone, but she lost interest in him.
[A/N: Mhm women]
Before the end of the year, Damian's mother asked Damian to attend a Christmas gathering at her ex-husband's place, but Damian refused because he'd feel out of place there. So, they celebrated Christmas together again, just the two of them.
In 1992, Damian returned home from school, and his mother was with her friend. Damian knew the woman because she was one of his mother's friends. Damian just greeted them and went to his room.
Weeks passed and Damian somehow slept with a married woman. His mother's friend. It just happened.
Months passed, his mother's friend learnt about Damian's age and argued with him. She thought Damian was 18-19 but turns out, he's 15.
She got angry for a few days, but the relationship kept going, including the one with his teacher. Damian had a fight at school because someone's girlfriend was flirting with him, and Damian got the short end of the stick.
He didn't fight back and let the guy hit him, but somehow he was called to the principal's office even though he didn't fight back.
They both got suspended for a week. Damian didn't tell his mother about it. He would pretend to go to school but paid Gloria and David a visit.
David learned how to fight and steal. Damian thought about something. He returned to Red River and asked the director for Gloria and David's identity documents.
Damian learned that Nadia was adopted for the third time and was returned for the third time because, somehow, the parents ended up dead. He learned that Tony was tortured or forced to train almost every day.
He returned to David and Gloria. He thought they should go to school, but they had no money or guardian. He couldn't ask his mother to take them in because she couldn't afford more mouths to feed. So, he just held on to their documents until they needed them.
The suspension ended, and Damian returned to school. A week later, they sent his mother a letter about his suspension, and they had an argument.
"Mike, what is this letter about?" his mother asked, holding the letter in her hand about a meeting regarding his suspension. Damian saw it.
"It's nothing."
"When were you suspended?"
"Don't worry, Mom. It's nothing."
"WHEN WERE YOU SUSPENDED, MIKE!"
"..." Damian said nothing.
"MIKE, I'M TALKING TO YOU!"
"..."
"TALK TO ME, MIKE! WERE YOU GOING TO TELL ME!?"
"..."
"I'm worried about you, Mike. Where were you going when you went out? As far as I know, you've been going to school all this time."
"It's nothing."
"No. It's not nothing. I'm worried about you. You've never brought friends home, you never asked me about anything, you've done thi---"
"SHUT UP, MOM!!!" Damian screamed at his mother.
"..."
"YOU KEEP TALKING AND TALKING. IT'S IRRITATING. YOU'RE WORRIED ABOUT ME??? ME? HAHA!"
"..."
"ALL MY LIFE, NOBODY WORRIED ABOUT ME. I GREW UP EATING HUMAN REMAINS AND SHIT BEFORE I COULD TALK."
"..."
"I WAS NAMED DAMN BECAUSE THE BASTARD NAME WAS TAKEN. MY BODY PARTS WERE SOLD ON THE BLACK MARKET JUST TO BUY MAKEUP. MY HEART WAS STABBED BECAUSE THEY WANTED ME TO BE TORTURED INSTEAD OF DEFENDING MYSELF."
"Mike."
"SHUT UP!" Dread Aura blasted outward in a 100-meter radius. People didn't know why they were afraid because Dread Aura couldn't be seen with the naked eye.
"..."
"I'VE KNOWN DEATH MORE THAN I'VE KNOWN LIFE. YOU DON'T KNOW ME. I'M DANGEROUS!"
"..."
"THESE HANDS OF MINE ARE COVERED IN BLOOD. I'VE KILLED PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY DISTURBED MY PEACE. I'M A BAD GUY."
"Michael."
"Why aren't you afraid of me?"
Alice walked towards Damian and hugged him before saying,
"Mother's love is powerful, Michael. It doesn't matter if the child is dangerous or not, the mother has nothing but love for her child," Alice said to Damian while hugging him.
She was not affected by Dread Aura. Damian cried while being hugged and figured out the truth.