Authors note: Hello everyone. Just so we're clear this does take place during the episode True Heroes in S3 and with the break in between I'm just running with what I think would happen, so this is pretty AU anyway, especially with my own OC getting thrown in. And yes I realize my grammar is and can get pretty bad but any criticism is good criticism. Let me know what you guys think and if you like the story. Enjoy. =)

Chapter One

It had been years since the Shadow had last been seen fighting crime or even mentioned anywhere as the world had forgotten him, and had long forgotten his many accomplishments that had happened over the years, especially when defeating his foe Shiwan Khan whom had dreams of world domination. No one knew where he went and no one knew the truth, he had vanished entirely once there were more heroes to defend the innocent. I guess he felt it was time to hang up his guns and fedora never to use them again, or, at least until I found them in the attic after my dad's funeral.

A young girl sat on the floor of an old looking spacious attic in a nice looking black dress that she was getting dirty with dust, and whatever else may have been on that old floor. A repeated thud kept happening as she was purposely bouncing a nerf football off the nearby wall so she could catch it, and repeat. Her fair face was flushed pink and her blue eyes had a tint of red to them from crying so much earlier. Even her long dark hair had been up but she had let it down and her headband she had on sat beside her. There was a mix of emotion on her small features it was hard not to see as there was confusion but more sadness than anything, now she felt like she had no one. The thoughts in her head of her father leaving this world was enough, she thought she was at least sort of lucky she never knew her mother as the woman died in childbirth. The feeling of losing them both would have been unbearable, she thought, because losing her father was enough.

The football she was bouncing she didn't manage to catch this time because she had been in her own little world, and it had smacked off the wall, and right past her. It hit against something hard and she could hear it. With a roll of her eyes and a sigh she was on her feet to go fetch the toy and as she was searching for it she found it, it had been next to something big and flat, with an old looking sheet over it. She had picked up the nerf toy but as she saw closer that the big thing was a trunk, curiosity got the better of her. Ditching her toy she pulled the old sheet off the trunk gingerly while seeing it didn't have a lock.

Quickly she looked at the door to the attic and listened for anyone that could possibly be coming up this including her grandfather whom she affectionately always called Pop-pop. Her hands went to the lid of the trunk and at first it was hard to open, it was like no one had literally opened it in years, and then it finally budged. The first thing she saw when she opened the trunk was a red scarf and fedora as both looked to be in good shape, it seemed the trunk had done it's job well keeping out critters an insects. But as she reached in and lifted up the hat and scarf she dug deeper past that and found a very old looking black suit, what she found at the bottom though, made her eyes widen.

"Whoa..." She whispered softly as she pulled up old leather gun holsters with the guns still in them of course and as she pulled one of the guns out, a ring fell out also. It was becoming confusing, but her head snapped to the door as she heard it open nearby. In all of the snooping, she didn't hear anyone coming.

The attic door opened and an older man walked through the threshold that was in black just as she was. "Vanessa?" His voice was smooth as he called out to her, but his eyes widened, and he stopped in place as soon as he saw what she was doing. "Put that down!" He bellowed while quickly coming towards her at the trunk.

Vanessa actually let out a squeak of fear and had dropped the guns back into the trunk unceremoniously as she had a look on her face of worry from being busted. The old man quickly closed the gap and as she was clear, he closed the trunk with a pretty loud crash. "Don't ever come up here, do you hear me?!" His voice was raised as he turned on her but as soon as he saw the girl's face he immediately softened since it looked like she was going to start crying again just from being yelled at.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, come here." He had quickly gotten down on the floor beside her where she had ended up in the chaos and his arms went around her to hug her, and hold onto her comfortingly. The young girl Vanessa sniffled as she held onto her grandfather, "I'm sorry...I-I didn't mean to..Pop-pop." She choked out as he smoothed out her hair on the back of her head with his hand while he held onto her.

"No, no, I'm sorry darling for yelling at you. I was afraid you were going to hurt yourself. I didn't expect you'd find my old weapons up here. I hid them when your dad was a boy, I guess I forgot they were up here." The way he spoke was always believable even when he was telling a lie because of how smooth he seemed. She still sniffled but was quickly beginning to calm down since her grandfather was comforting her, but she then saw the ring that had fallen out of the gun holster. Her hand picked it up from the floor but her grandfather didn't see it yet, but she could see it was some sort of opal that was beautiful.

Vanessa gently pulled away from her grandfather's arms but also showed the ring to him too so he could see it. "Why were you hiding a ring, Pop-pop?" She raised an eyebrow as she looked at him and he had a bit of a puzzled look as he was going to try to play it off like he had no idea about it, but he didn't get the chance.

"You're the Shadow." Her voice had been pretty blunt and matter-of-fact as she glanced from the ring to the older man's face for confirmation, he was a quiet stone wall, but she persisted. "Aren't you." Her eyebrows raised as she waited for him to answer her.

His face was still like stone as he looked at the young girl and he thought of many things he could do, he could try to convince her easily that he wasn't. He could cloud her mind. No, he couldn't do that to his own blood, he didn't want her to resent him later if she found this information out for a second time then remember this moment on top of it. With a bit of a defeated sigh he smirked a little bit as he looked at the girl, slowly shaking his head. "How do you even know about the Shadow?" He was genuinely curious.

A weak smile came onto her lips as her small shoulders shrugged. "Dad used to talk about him sometimes, and he let me read some comic books." She said but a look of disgust came onto the mans face as he said, "I never did like those books, they'll rot your brain."

"So you are the Shadow!" Vanessa squealed out but Pop-pop put a finger to his lips to shush her and she quieted pretty quickly with a sheepish look. "Sorry..." She whispered.

That same smirk returned to his face as he looked at her, a hint of pride shown through. She was indeed his blood after all, and he expected nothing less. "You're just like your father, he found out too. Long time ago. You're both too smart for your own good." He said as he tickled her side for a moment, making her giggle before settling.

"If dad found out then why didn't he become the Shadow after you stopped? He could of kicked so much butt!" She said excitedly as he chuckled. "How do you know he didn't?" He asked her as she stopped and looked like she was pondering before he spoke again.

"No, that life was very dangerous even back years ago. And there's heroes now that are doing well. Plus your grandmother threatened to shoot me with my own guns if I tried to let him do what I used to do." He said as he thought back fondly of his late wife.

Vanessa was giggling somewhat from what he said but she grew quiet as she was thinking before she said anything again. "I want to do it." She said seriously as he raised an eyebrow and replied a simple, "no." Before he began to stand up.

After finding out her grandfather was the Shadow it took weeks to convince him to teach her what all that he knew and it was a good distraction from losing her father as her grandfather was now her legal guardian. Her grandfather Lamont Cranston finally relented since Vanessa was a very stubborn child, and all of this happened when she was seven.

Now seventeen and graduating high school there was talk about kids being kidnapped all over and it was also sometimes on the news, metahuman trafficking. Against Lamont's wishes she had donned the fedora and his guns to join the fight. She was able to do as he used to being able to change her appearance to people. In all of it, it had gained the attention of one of the Justice League. Batman. The caped crusader had contacted her in secret and now they were traveling in one of his many modes of transportation in order to get her to Bialya in a hurry.

"You'll be infiltrating an auction for metahumans and you may encounter another team that is being sent in." He was speaking to her while piloting and continued. "The mission is to disrupt or destroy the auction and save as many as you can that are being held."

"Oh that's all? And here I thought it was serious." Vanessa had a bit of a smirk on her lips as she was different now compared to years ago when she began this journey with her grandfather. While they traveled she had gone ahead and gotten her long black coat on, fedora, and scarf as she already had her guns underneath the coat that had belonged to Lamont. Her blue eyes changed from blue to black and her nose changed shape, smaller, just something to make her unrecognizable at least as she was preparing for the battle.