Disclaimer: Does anyone even know who owns DC comics? Well if you don't, it's certainly not me!
Author's Notes: Hello everyone! Okay, I am not going to promise when everything is going to be uploaded b/c I want every chapter to be as perfect as I can make it. But I am hoping to have one chapter per week. Look at my profile for dedications and thanks for tuning in. Now for what you wanted to read today, I proudly introduce …(wait for it) my first multi-chapter fanfiction, Oriole! And this chapter is now edited in its final stage.
Prologue: In the Beginning
Oriole
Time Unknown
Minnesota
Deep in the Chippewa National Forest
Eleven Years Ago
Sara had never been just an ordinary girl. Her parents died when she was just four years old. No, scratch that. They were murdered. Why? The official reason is simply stated as "Unknown". But Sara knew why. Her uncle, Frank, had told her. He told her they would be back. She just wished it had taken longer. She wished she had more time to train, more time to practice her powers. She'd only just gotten them when she was eight and there was still so much she felt she still had to learn.
But now he found them. That monster that killed her parents. As Uncle Frank's cold, sweaty hands wrapped around his young niece, he ran from his cabin through the aspen and pine trees towards Cass Lake, the closest city. Sara's large green eyes darted around the trees behind him as she hugged his neck, hoping not to see the monster, tears blurring her vision.
"Uncle Frank?" Sara mumbled into his shoulder, holding back the sobs stuck in her throat.
"Hush, Sara." He ordered as he suddenly veered off the trail and ducked behind a tree. Frank pulled her closer and petted her hair comfortingly. His thoughts whispered in her mind,Everything's alright, baby doll. Don't you worry. I'm gonna float you up to that tree and you're gonna climb to the very tippy top. Danny'll come and keep you safe.
Danny? Not Danny. He always came home drunk, even though he was only nineteen. He was angry about his mother's death. For some reason, he always seemed to blame Sara for it. And besides that, what about Uncle Frank? Was he gonna stop the monster? No. No he couldn't. Everyone that tried left her. Left her all alone. No. Not Uncle Frank. Not him too. "I don't wanna leave you." Sara muttered in distress, clutching him closer.
Shh, sweety. It's okay. Danny'll find you. He'll keep you safe; I promise.
"Danny doesn't like me!" Sara screeched. Clapping her hands over her mouth, both lapsed into silence. The footsteps behind them paused. Then they started running. "Uncle Frank!" Sara whispered, holding onto her mother's brother with all the strength in her small six-year-old body.
Shh, baby doll. It's okay. I won't let him touch you. Danny will take care of you. He loves you just as much as I do, even if he doesn't show it as well. A twig snapped just behind them. Sara whimpered. Sara, you have to climb now. I love you, sweet pea. Be safe. Stay hidden until Danny finds you. Understand?
Sara nodded, hysteric tears rising to her eyes. "I love you, Uncle Frankie."
Frank smiled compassionately. I love you too, baby doll. Everything'll be okay. You'll see.
Sara bit her lip to hold back a scream as a mini tornado lifted her off the ground and up to the nearest tree branch. Changing into a small oriole, she flitted to the very top and changed back when she found a descent spot to hide in. It took too much energy to stay a bird.
She watched her uncle's figure as he stood up and disappeared into the distance. She nestled into the crook of the branches and pulled her knees to her chest. Tears rolled down her cheeks. Please, if there is a God, keep my uncle Frank safe. Please. A blast of wind blew through the trees suddenly. She could hear two men arguing back and forth, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. She scrambled to a break in the leaves and tried to see what was going on. A bright flash of silver glowed in the distance. Uncle Frank's aura was silver. Then a loud, strangled scream echoed throughout the trees.
"Uncle Frank!" Sara screamed. She almost flew to his location, but then remembered him ordering her to stay hidden until Danny found her. She bit her lip. No. Not Uncle Frankie. Please, no. A shadow appeared in the clearing below. Sara disappeared behind the leaves and pressed her hands to her mouth, suppressing a scream. It was the monster, the shadow.
"Come now, Sara. How much longer do we have to continue this game of hide and seek? You hid from me for two years, but did you really think it would last?" The shadow hollered in the darkness.
No…I just hoped... Sara thought.
Sara's eyes peeled apart. How long had she been in that tree? Where was the shadow? Was he still there? Slowly, she forced her aching limbs to carry her to the break in the leaves. The shadow was gone. Thank God. Now could she go find Uncle Frank-?
"Sara!" Sara whimpered and dove back into cover. "Come on out, you little brat! The bastard's gone!" Little brat? Only one person called her that.
She crept to the edge of the branch and peered out. "D-Danny?" She called.
"No fucking duh, Sherlock! Get the fuck down here!"
Of course he's drunk. Sara sighed, changed into a bird and flew down next to Danny. "Danny?" She called when he didn't turn around.
Suddenly, he spun around and backhanded her across the face. Sara yelled in pain as a large welt appeared on her cheek and tears sprung to her eyes. Danny grabbed her arm and pulled her closer. "Where the fuck is my dad?" Danny demanded.
"I don't know!" Sara sobbed, the smell of alcohol on Danny's breath overwhelming her senses.
"He told me he would come pick me up at the bar! I got in an accident on the way home! What the hell happened?"
"The shadow, he…he came after us! Uncle Frank-" She screamed as Danny slapped her again.
"Don't call him your uncle, you bitch!" He screeched, eyes glowing dimly with insanity.
"I-I'm sorry…" Sara mumbled.
Danny scoffed. "You're useless. Come on, you're gonna help me find my dad." Danny dragged her away, Sara wondering if she would've been better off if Danny never found her.
"Brat, hurry up and get packed! You ain't makin' me miss my flight!" Danny roared.
Sara packed what little possessions she had into her small backpack. The only thing she needed to carry was her blanket that her mom gave her (thank God Danny let her keep it). "Danny, why can't I come with you?" Thought Danny was an abusive drunk, she still didn't want to be separated from her only family. Besides, she still didn't know who would be taking care of her. She hoped it was Ricky Coleman, Danny's friend. He did owe Danny a favor (for what, Sara didn't know), so maybe Danny would have him repay it through her?
"Cuz I don't need a spoiled brat slowing me down! Hurry up!"
Ever since Uncle Frank died, Danny traveled constantly, keeping his promise to his dad to taking care of her, trying to find some other relative to dump her on. Danny thought he found a trace of her father's uncle's cousin. Sara sighed and slung her backpack over her shoulder and followed her cousin out the door.
It was indeed Ricky Coleman, as she'd hoped. Ricky was the only one of Danny's friends that was halfway decent.
One day, Ricky received word that Danny had gone missing. So then he tried to get rid of her. That's when Sara found a guy named Dick Grayson. Though the how will remain undisclosed…for now. All you need know is that she became a hero, named the Oriole.
Robin
12:32 am
Gotham City
Ice Cube Club
Four Years Ago
"Hey Freeze, over here!" Freeze looked Robin's way. Robin was secretly holding an ice pellet in his gloved hand. "I think you need to chill!" He threw it at Freeze, who caught it and laughed.
"You think that using my own weapon against me will harm me?"
Robin shrugged. "Nope, just stalling."
There was a flash of purple just above Freeze, but he didn't seem to notice. Mr. Freeze laughed maniacally. "Can't you take care of yourself-?"
Then, a girl with jet black hair, porcelain skin and green eyes-wearing a dark purple costume similar to Robin's-landed on top of Freeze. Before anyone could react, fire lit in her hands and curled around her fingertips, and claws had grown where nails should be. Oriole sank her claws into Mr. Freeze's helmet and fire seeped in. Then she jumped off of the now unconscious villain, flipped in the air once, and landed gently on the cold, frozen ground, Freeze slumping to the ground behind her.
Robin smiled encouragingly at her as the hologram flickered and died, Freeze and the Ice Cube Club fading and being replaced with the Batcave. "Simulation terminated," a robotic voice chirped overhead. "Challenge passed." The bats took off into the night over head. As the lights faded, Oriole costume looked black instead of purple. Then again, that was the purpose. If they were true to an oriole's coloring, it would've been orange or yellow.
The computer chair turned towards them, revealing none other than the Dark Knight. Batman walked over to them, his face unreadable as usual.
He nodded to Oriole, "Good," Oriole beamed proudly, "for your first time." The pride quickly died in her eyes and was replaced with anger.
"What happened this time? The real Freeze would've never seen that coming." She argued.
Robin took her hand, squeezed it and smiled at her. "He's just being nitpicky, as usual. Don't worry about it, you were awesome!"
Bruce cleared his throat. Dick took a hint and sighed. "Fine, I'll go help Alf with the finger sandwiches or something."
He released her hand and went over to the elevator, before Oriole pulled him back and said, "No, you're staying here." She smiled and added with her thoughts, Please stay. I need you to protect me from tall, dark and brooding over here.
He thought his response as she'd taught him, "Sorry, Sara. You got into this mess, you have to dig yourself out.
She pouted and muttered out loud, "Fine."
Bruce pulled down his cowl. Oriole and Robin followed suit and took off their masks. Sara's was a little more open than Dick's. Literally. Basically, it just covered the area around her eyes, unlike Dick's whose mask was opaque. Dick laid his on a nearby silver cart, alongside his folded pile of street clothes, and headed back to the elevator. He almost laughed as he saw Bruce and Sara already arguing through the window. The computer scanned him and after a moment, the doors slid closed and took him up to Wayne Manor. Meanwhile, Sara and Bruce started arguing about how that much heat could've killed the real Mr. Freeze and how Sara didn't "give a damn if that maniac died."
Dick sighed.
Come on! He jumped at Sara's thoughts in his head. You gotta help me out here! You can't say that Freeze doesn't deserve to die.
Even if he does, is that really up to you? He snapped.
"-Richard? Master Dick, are you quite alright?" Dick snapped back into reality and looked up at Alfred.
"Sorry, Alfred. It's hard to have a psychic conversation and move at the same time."
Wuss. Sara teased. Mind telling Alf to come down and distract Bruce?
No. You need to talk to Bruce about this. Just because you killed people doesn't mean you can as a hero. It's not right.
But…ugh, you're no help. Just like that, she pulled out of his mind.
"I don't appreciate when she does that myself." Alfred grumbled.
Dick shrugged. "She's got a lot to learn. But if how fast she picked up fighting with bo-staffs are any inclination, she's a fast learner."
"I hope so. If not, she and Master Bruce are going to have many fights in the future."
"-not up to you, Sara!" Bruce's voice boomed from downstairs.
Dick shuddered. "I just hope she doesn't roast him."
"Or put him in a coma." Alfred added mildly, retreating back to the entryway.
"But hey, at least she can heal him right?"
Alfred chuckled. "I suppose so."
The door slammed to Sara's room, just across the hall from Dick's bedroom. She screamed into her pillow. Dick got to his feet and walked over to her door. When he knocked, Sara yelled, "Go away!"
"It's just me." Dick called.
There was a pause. Then footsteps padded on the wooden floor and Sara opened the door. "What?" She demanded.
"Just checking on you. Bruce chewed you out huh?"
"You know what he called me? He called me a cowardly little girl who had to depend on my powers to save me. Ugh! I hate him!" She stomped back into her room and plopped down onto her bed.
"You know," Dick replied, easing the door shut. He sat down beside her and continued, "I used to think that too. But then I realized that if not for him, I'd be an orphan in a delinquency joint. Now I have a permanent home, top of my class at a private school and I kick bad guy butt every time I'm mad at something. He's not so bad once ya' get used to him."
"That's kinda hard when he's never around."
"Maybe. But you know, he's really just trying to help. I mean, how many times have you had nightmares about the people you've killed?"
"On accident!" She defended.
"I know, I know. But you see? You say that you don't care about killing criminals, but you know that you'll just add to your nightmares. He's just trying to help."
Sara sighed. "Yeah, but he could do that without yelling."
"Could he?" When she glared at him, he added, "Sorry to say, but you're not exactly the listening type, Sair."
She snorted. "What's your point?"
"My point is that maybe he yells at you because you're a little too headstrong."
She opened her mouth to protest, then closed it again. "Yeah…maybe." At Dick's look, she added, "Alright, fine! I'm stubborn as an ox sometimes. Maybe instead of a kitty cat, I should be able to turn into a donkey."
"But then you'd really be an ass."
Sara shoved his arm. "Shut up!"
Dick laughed so hard that eventually, Sara joined in.
Oriole
12:30 am
Gotham City, New York
Wayne Manor
Three Years Ago
Sara Thompson hated being sick. You think that being able to sneeze flames would be cool right? Think again. And now she was benched! And she wasn't even that sick! So, she thought she'd be happy when Bruce and Dick came home. After all, then she would have something better to do than sipping down some hot cocoa or Alfred's homemade chicken noodle soup and trying not to burn the carpet. On the other hand, she was more excited for Dick to come home. Needless to say that Mr. Tall, Dark and Brooding wasn't exactly the best company.
So when she heard Alfred greet Dick downstairs, she smiled to herself, carefully set Alfred's chicken noodle soup on the bedside table, slid out of bed and into a pair of slippers, and raced downstairs. Just in time to see Dick slam his bedroom door shut so hard that it broke off the door handle. Startled she glanced at Alfred, who was standing at the bottom of the stairs. Alfred motioned for her to go after him, and to hurry!
Sara knocked hesitantly. "Dick?"
"What!" He snarled.
Picturing a mad dog foaming at the mouth, she answered a little hesistantly, "It's Sara."
There was a pause. Finally Dick growled, "Fine come in."
Yup, definitely rabbies, Sara thought as she entered the den of the roaring dragon. Dick's suitcase was open on his bed. He crouched next to his closet, throwing random junk into the suitcase.
"Going somewhere?" Sara asked in a small voice.
"Leaving. And you should too. He's insane! And just…UGH!" He grumbled as he packed a pile of shirts into his suitcase.
She didn't have to ask who "he" was. With a sigh, she asked, "What did he do now?" When Dick didn't respond, she sighed. "You know if you don't tell me I'll just read your mind and find out the hard way." Again, Dick said nothing. Sara sighed. Her bright green irises glowed a brilliant emerald green. She saw Bruce and Dick arguing back and forth about…Whoa, hold up! Did Bruce tell Dick that he couldn't be Robin anymore? Snapping out of Dick's thoughts (which were hard to navigate through due to his anger), her eyes widened in shock. "He didn't! He can't! He has no right!"
"Yeah well he did. Look I'm telling you Sair, next thing you know, you're next. He'll be taking away your cape too. And God knows you need the mask more than I do." Dick zipped his suitcase shut and swung another bag he packed full of weapons (bird-a-rangs, explosive disks, bo-staffs, etc.) over his shoulder. He took Sara's hand and squeezed gently. "Come with me. There's a whole world out there, probably ten times better than Gotham City. Let's just go."
"We can't just leave Bruce alone. He needs us!"
"He has Alfred. He'll be fine." Dick growled.
Sara shook her head. "I don't think you realize how much you helped him, Di. Come on, he probably just overreacted. Don't leave after one fight."
"Are you blind! He's been thinking about saying that ever since that thing with Two-Face."
Sara winced at the memory."Can you blame him?"
"Are you siding with him?"
"I'm not siding with anyone!" Sara snapped defensively. "I'm trying to be the only reasonable one around this place. Honestly, me and Alfie are always the mediators around here."
"You can't say you haven't argued with him!"
"I'm not saying that I haven't. I'm saying it doesn't happen nearly as often."
Dick scowled at her. "Are you coming or not?"
Sara stared at him, her mouth slightly open in shock. After all that, he was still so fixed on leaving?
After a while, Dick growled to himself and brushed past her, stomping down the stairs. Only when she heard his motorcycle rev downstairs did she snap out of it. She slid down the banister, to Alfred's dismay, and ran down to the Bat Cave. Batman, his cowl hanging around his neck, was typing on the computer as the last remnants of motorcycle fumes cleared out of the Cave as if nothing had happened.
Sara's eyes narrowed at Bruce. "How could you just sit there?"
Bruce ignored her. Sara scowled. She pulled his computer chair back away from the computer and leaned over him menacingly. "Dick just left, you machine! Why didn't you stop him?"
Bruce glared at her. "It's his decision," was all he said. He stood and stepped around her towards the changing area. Sara stopped him.
"For once in your life, will you just talk to me!" Sara screamed, her pupils suddenly swallowing her iris. "What the hell happened? Why was Dick so mad? Why did you let him just run away!"
Bruce yanked his arm out of her grip. "I told you; it's his decision. He didn't like what I said, so he left."
"Well what did you say?" Sara demanded.
Bruce's eyes narrowed. He growled under his breath, "I don't have to explain myself to anyone. Least of all, you." Bruce disappeared behind the door to the changing room.
The girl huffed angrily. She stuck her tongue out at the door. "Or you're just a pain in the ass."Sara hurried back upstairs to consult Alfred. "You think he'll be alright?"
"I'm sure he will, Miss Sara. Dick can take care of himself."
Author's Note: We're going to find out how much of a pain her abilities can be. And how well "Dick can take care of himself." Tune in next week! Oh, and don't be afraid of chopping this up. Like I said, I want this to be as perfect as it can be. Don't feel bad if you think you're being mean, I won't hold it against you ;) See you all later! Godspeed (whatever that means).