Gotham's Hate Child
Disclaimer: I don't own Batman Beyond or the characters.
Chapter 3: The Truth
Lisa stood in front of a house that could pass for Dracula's lair. It took her a train ride and two cabs to get to this address but she hadn't minded so much until she thought she was lost. The cabbie had taken off right after she got out of the cab so she had no way to get back. She had left the apartment after work with only her memory book and birth certificate believing she was going to meet her father. Now, she was stuck in Transylvania with who knows what inside that creepy house.
Lisa was shaken out of her thoughts when a large black and brown dog came out of no where and jumped on the gate. She gave a little scream when that happened and a single light came on in the house. She watched as the front door flung open and a dark figure came running out of the house and to the gate. Panicking, Lisa ran for cover under the shrubs and trees surrounding the gate. The figure came to the gate and looked around. It was tall with broad shoulders indicating it was a man.
"What is it, Ace? Did you see something, boy?" He had a sweet voice, kinda like Terry's. The dog growled in her direction and she crouched lower, too afraid to introduce herself. The figure left, practically dragging the dog with him. A moment later, a red motorcycle with the guy on it came speeding out of the gate and down the road. She had to be at the wrong address. She was about to walk away when a voice, stern and menacing came out of the speaker box.
"What are you doing here?" The voice startled her into yelping. She looked around to see all the lights off in the house.
"I think I'm at the wrong address. I'm looking for Mr. Wayne. Bruce Wayne." She said hesitantly to the speaker box.
"You're at the right address. Who are you and what do you want?" Lisa bit her lower lip.
"Does the name Selina Kyle mean anything to you?"
Everything seemed to go quiet for a moment before the gate opened. Lisa walked up the path to the house, doubt creeping into her gut. The door opened and an old man in black with a wooden cane stood there. He called off the dog behind him and stepped aside. Lisa entered the building feeling like she'd entered Dracula's lair once again.
"Explain yourself." He said simply. He narrowed his eyes, sizing her up.
"What do you want to know?" Her intelligence deserted her.
"You mentioned Selina and you were the one wanting to talk to me. Explain." Lisa bit her lip so he motioned for her to enter what looked like a living room. He sat in an armchair while she took the sofa by the fire. She pulled out the memory book that now held her birth certificate and handed it to him.
"This should explain everything." He took it from her but didn't open it.
"I'd like an explanation first. Why are you here?"
"I came to give you that and talk to you about what it means." He raised an eyebrow.
"What is in this book?" He inclined his head to the object she handed him.
"Pardon me but you could just open it and find out. The first page should explain everything." He nodded and opened the book on a large oak coffee table in between her and him. He looked at her in annoyance.
"A birth certificate? Just tell me what you want."
"Look at the names. Parent's names." His brow furrowed as he looked back at the old folded document. His eyes widened as he found the reason she was here.
"This can't be true. Selina was too old to have a child. It's impossible." Lisa chuckled sadly.
"Believe me, it's possible. I'm living proof." He sat back in his chair, in shock.
"When did you know I was your father?"
"All my life. Mom kept telling me I was 'just like that damn man.'" He looked up at her when she said this.
"'That damn man?' That's a lovely way to be remembered. She must have really hated me." He chuckled slightly but she just looked away.
"What's the matter?" Lisa bit her lip.
"Mom never treated me good. She was really cruel because I was like you. She made me bleach my hair blond and wear green color contacts. She always put me down even if I was the best at anything. I wanted to find you sooner but the laws in the European countries aren't as liberal as those here in America. I had to wait until I was 18."
The tears rolled down her cheeks freely though she tried to stop the sobs. An arm went around her shoulder and she looked up into the aged eyes that mirrored hers in color. She cried into his chest, letting out all her pain and sorrow she had suffered every year she had lived in his house. His hand closed around hers and lifted it. Lisa looked up to see him staring at the ring he would have given her mother.
"This is…"
"Mom's engagement ring. She told me she stole it along with your heart the night she got pregnant with me. I took it from her because it meant that you had once loved her and she had loved in return." He kissed her hand and cradled her against his chest.
"You left that life behind. Did your mother tell you I was difficult to convince?" Lisa nodded.
"Impossible, actually." He smiled down at her.
"Tomorrow, I'll call my doctor to do a blood test. We'll see is she wasn't just being cruel to you." Lisa looked at him skeptically.
"But you're Batman. I thought you could do it in your lab." He raised an eyebrow.
"How did you know?" She shrugged.
"My aunts, uncles and mother figured it out one day when they were all complaining that Batman stopped them in their prime. I was eavesdropping." He chuckled.
"I guess we could go down to the cave." He got up and she followed him to a clock in a room across the hall. She didn't see what he did but a passage opened and she followed a little more closely down to the vast cave filled with trinkets of his past. He sat in front of a computer and typed in something.
"Hold out your arm." She did as she was told and he drew a small amount of blood. He did the same to himself and inserted it into the computer.
"How long will it take?"
"A few minutes."
Lisa sat on the floor by her father's side and laid her head on his thigh. He stroked her hair lovingly. She was already drifting to sleep when the computer displayed the results. She heard him say something but she didn't hear what he said as oblivion welcomed her. Exhaustion did not allow her to hear the happy news.
"It's true."
