Time could not go any slower. It was 2:48 PM, 2 minutes left of school but the clock had said that for what seemed like an eternity. I was sitting in my Honors Language Arts 10 class, silently reading a book that I would most likely finish by the time school was out. It had been exactly a week since I had started school, and a week and three days since I had finished my training. High school was very interesting- being the only 12 year old 10th grader and all- but I had made a friend, Dick Grayson, my hero. But he didn't know me as Trixie Quinn, the Joker and Harley Quinn's daughter. No, he knew me as "Running Deer Martin", the Native American girl whose parents lived on the reservation and was only at Gotham Academy because of her scholarship for having an I.Q. of 198. I wasn't lying; I was just- stretching the truth a tad. I am Native American, but I never lived on the res., my dad was born on one and was given the name, "Laughing Man" because, when he was little, the tribe carved a smile onto his face as part of some ritual so that his first born child could have the blessing of the gods and receive powers. It was gruesome at the time but it sure helps me now. I actually do have an I.Q. of 198 so that helped me a bunch. But the point is, Dick Grayson was my friend. I mean, wow. My inspiration, the person who changed my life forever, was my friend. Of course, I couldn't act that star struck around him or he would most likely think I was some insane fangirl…
'2:49. Only one more minute to go, Trix. Relax.' I thought, studying the cover of the book that I had now finished.
"Hidden message in the colors?" I jumped slightly at the joking remark and saw Dick trying very hard to stifle a chuckle at my surprise. I smiled and shook my head, "Not that I could find."
He smiled and the bell rang, making me jump up and gather my things which took me about 1 second. Just as I was bolting to the door I heard Mrs. Johnson yell "Hold it!"
I turned reluctantly around and walked back to face her and Dick at her podium.
"Wow Sacagawea, you really live up to your name." Dick said, grinning.
"Now, I understand that you have places to go, people to see and all that but I have a request," Mrs. Johnson drolled," You and Dick are my best students by far and I have picked you two to represent our class in the school's writing competition. You will write a story together and share it with the school, if and when you win, you will go to the district competition and then the state." She explained, still wasting my time, "Your Final Copy is due to me by next Monday, you have 7 days. Have fun!"
She handed me and Dick a copy of the writing prompt and requirements. I stuffed the sheet in my binder and ran without reading it.
By the time I reached Blackjack's van, I was doubled over, gasping for breath.
"Keep that up and you will be too tired to accomplish your mission." Blackjack teased.
"Don't even joke like that, Blacky!" I climbed into the backseat of the vehicle and he handed me a sparkly purple box with green ribbon. I opened the box and pulled out the amazing contents- a thin sleeved, diamond printed top, long gloves with a concealed knife inside, a stylish utility belt with a 'T' shaped buckle out of pure diamond, black steel toed boots, a purple tutu like skort that doubled as a parachute, a locket filled with joker gas compressed into smoke pellets, and a black domino mask that had heat vision goggles that could be turned on and off. I squealed with delight and pulled the curtain separating me from Blackjack closed, slipping on my new costume and slipping out of my boring G.A. uniform. I yanked open the curtain, "how do I look Blacky?" I asked, not even trying to conceal my obvious excitement.
"Even better than you did a minute ago." He said with a small smile, "Here we are- are you ready?"
"I was born ready!" I laughed, stepping out of the car, my heart racing as I gazed upon the huge museum warehouse in front of me. Blackjack drove around to the back of the building as I took a huge breath and opened the door.
"So nice of you to join us, my dear!" Dad said as he and mom came out from behind the door.
"Oh! Our little girl's growin' up so fat Puddin'!" My mom dabbed a few tears off of her face with a colored handkerchief my dad pulled from his sleeve.
"Come on, the diamonds are over there. The guards are on break but should be back shortly so we must make haste!" Dad pointed out the security panel that would screech if anyone got close to the gems. I pulled a small, silent grenade out of my belt, pulled the tab, and threw it at the panel- successfully disconnecting it.
"Well done, sweetie!" Mom said, wiping off the remnants of her tears. We walked over to the crate which held the diamonds and Dad handed me a crowbar- his favorite crowbar. "You're gonna let me use your special crowbar?"
"Of course, my beloved burglar. I'd say you earned it."
I beamed a huge grin up at him and opened the crate. Flawless sparkling filled my eyes; I reached in to grab one.
"Ah-ah-ah," I heard, "the exhibits in cases are for looking, not for touching."
The diamond in my hand was gone at the sound of the cackle. I turned around and saw a big black bat and a small red, black and yellow bird. A flicker of surprise crossed Robin's face when he saw that it wasn't just Dad and Mom robbing the place, but the look was gone as quick as it came. A look of disgust mixed with a scowl stuck to the Bat's face, he glared at me.
"I don't believe we've been formally introduced." He said in a gruff voice,
"Oh, how rude of me, I'm… Trixter. How very nice to meet you both." I grinned at my quick improvising for my name,
"How'd you get stuck with these clowns? Totally not astrous." Robin questioned as I prepared myself for a fight.
"Stuck is such a powerful word, Boy Blunder. On the contrary, I was bornto be with these 'clowns.'"
I ran at full speed towards Robin and flipped over his head, kicking his legs out from under him. He jumped back up and threw a punch at my middle which I easily missed by jumping backwards. My mom was working on securing the diamonds while my dad was busy trying to stab Batman. Dad was only able to get a few good licks in, and even then any distraction made by Robin could make him lose the fight. I decided to do the one thing I knew would distract both Batman and Robin.
Over 20 feet above me was a steel bar, I took a deep breath and flew up to the bar, grasping it tightly in my hands and did a quadruple to the long metal beam about 8 feet away and landed in a perfect bow. The fact that I could fly and due a quadruple was enough to make both Bird and Bat look at me so that Dad could gain the upper hand.
Robin jumped onto the beam with me, keeping his distance and strategizing.
"Where'd you learn those tricks? Last time I checked, joker and Harley can't train people to fly or teach them acrobatics."
"You would be surprised what they taught me."
I lunged at him and we started fighting. 'Left hook, block, backflip, duck…' I concentrated hard, not letting anything else distract me. I heard a clatter down below but neither Robin nor I took any notice. A second crash caught the Bird's attention and I was able to get a good hit in.
Robin stumbled off of the beam but caught himself with his grappling hook, I simply jumped down and let my para-skirt slow my drop- but nothing could stop the drop of my heart when I saw what the sounds had come from. Batman was leaning over my dad and my mom was sprawled out next to the crate of diamonds.
"No," I breathed, rushing over to Dad, Batman stepped out of my way and I checked Dad's pulse.
Nothing.
I put my ear on his chest to listen to his heartbeat.
Nothing.
I took off my glove and put my hand under his nose to feel him breathing.
Nothing.
I ran over to Mom and repeated the process.
Nothing, nothing at all.
"No, no, no. No, please… PLEASE!" I screamed, on the verge of tears.
"No, y-you can't leave me- you can't! Please! I'll do anything- don't leave me, please, please, please don't!" I was sobbing now, I turned to face the murderer, a deranged smile on my tear streaked face. I pointed a shaky finger at the Bat, stepping closer to him.
"You did this. You took away my parents- YOU ****ING DID THIS!" I got the knife from my glove that I still had on and started slashing, nothing mattered anymore- I would destroy Batman and Robin.
Batman dodged everything I did, a stupid look of shock on his face- he wasn't even man enough to handle what he had just done.
I felt arms wrap around me and I struggled, Robin held on tight as Batman came forward with a needle.
"Let go of me!" I struggled even more as Batman emptied the syringe into the crook of my arm. I suddenly felt very heavy, like my legs couldn't support me anymore, and collapsed. I fought the urge to sleep for a few minutes, but eventually I succumbed to the darkness.
"They can't leave me…"