Batman: Death at the Circus
A/N: Here's the final chapter, guys. I hope you've enjoyed this story, and believe me I had fun writing it. So, next week I'll be starting on season three of Supernatural, and I'm sure the Supernatural fans will be excited about that.
Read, review, and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Batman or from Batman Begins; I only own the characters that I created.
CHAPTER THREE: MAKING FRIENDS
In the months following the trial, Diana worked on adjusting to city life and having an different kind of social life from the one she'd known at the circus, one thing that didn't change was when a large box was delivered to the Pearson's home, and she revealed to her grandparents that it contained a black 1969 Harley Davidson motorcycle.
"Dad and I were working on restoring it," she explained after wheeling it out into the garage…well one of five garages. "He said when I was old enough, I would get to keep it and ride it. It was our project."
Philip walked around the bike, inspecting it, and was impressed by the progress that had already been made. "You already got a lot done, sweetie," he commented. "Do you have a photo of what it originally looked like to work from?"
Diana nodded and pulled out a photo from a folder, handing it to him. "Right here, grandpa."
Philip compared the photo to the actual bike and nodded. "Impressive." And then he looked at his wife, who was eying the motorcycle critically. "What do you think, honey?"
Julia didn't answer right away and walked around the motorcycle, but didn't get too close, and then looked at her granddaughter. "This was a father/daughter project?"
"Yes, grandmother."
Julia looked back at the bike, thinking, and then came to a decision. "Well, if you always make sure to get all of your schoolwork and any other important things done first, you may work on it here in the garage, promising me that you'll always clean up after yourself and not track any mess into the house."
Diana's face brightened. "Yes, grandmother, I promise."
"Good, and within the next year when you have turned sixteen and have passed all of your required driving exams, you may use it as transportation," Julia added. "Providing, that Keith can keep track of you when you're not at home."
"I promise, I promise," said Diana excited and hugged her grandmother, who stiffened for a moment, and then relaxed and returned the hug. "Thank you! Thank you!"
"All right, all right," said Julia, finally pulling free with a slightly flush expression. "Now, I have things to do, and so do the both of you," she tsked and went back inside, but was privately enjoying the fact that she'd managed to connect with her granddaughter, even if it was over a noisy machine, and that was what mattered. 'Normally I would have said no, but that bike is from her late father, and she needs to keep something of him around.'
A week after the arrival of the motorcycle, Diana and her grandparents were attending an social function at the local museum, where many of Gotham's elite were in attendance, including those who had teenage sons and daughters; while the Pearson's socialized, Diana wandered over to the tables that were loaded with food, nodding to Bruce Wayne, who was in attendance with his latest date, and then turned her attention to the fancy food.
'How can anyone not gain a ton of weight after eating all of this?' she wondered, being careful to avoid the caviar, having had a bad experience with it last month, and then she was distracted when she heard arguing at the other end of the table. Looking for the source, she frowned when she saw that several boys, who she recognized since they attended the same prep school she was now attending, were picking on a fifteen-year-old girl, who had long red hair, green eyes hidden behind a pair of glasses, and was wearing a green satin dress and green heels, plus she was clutching a plate loaded with salad and other vegetable-based foods. 'Not again.'
"Look at the green girl eating her green food," one of the boys sneered. "What do you have against meat anyways?"
"Yeah," said a second boy, pinching her arm hard. "You're skin and bones, Ivy, you need some meat on those bones."
The girl pulled away with a snarl. "Don't call me Ivy! My name is Pamela Isley! And I have a medical condition that won't let me eat red meat and you know it!"
This just caused the boys to keep bullying her until Diana stormed over and pushed them away from the redhead. "Leave Pamela alone!"
"Oh look," said a third boy, sneering at her, "its the circus freak- oof!" He then grunted when her fist landed in his stomach.
"Anyone else?" Diana challenged, her fists at the ready, and she only lowered them when the boys bolted. she then turned her attention to Pamela, who was staring with wide eyes. "You okay, Pamela?"
Pamela nodded. "Yeah, you didn't have to step in like that," she pointed out, clearly not used to having others stand up for her.
"I know, but I also know what it's like to be bullied for being different," Diana replied. "Beside, I knew a girl back in the circus who was an diabetic and she got teased for it until I pointed out that teasing someone for a condition that they had no control in getting isn't something to laugh about and they stopped. So-?"
"I have what's known as Juvenile hemochromatosis," Pamela explained. "Basically, I can't have anything too heavy in iron or else I overload-"
"And you could die," Diana guessed. "Makes sense to cut back on red meat like beef."
Pamela nodded and they spent the rest of the evening getting to know each other and became friends. Julia and Phillip watched their granddaughter, happy to see that she was making friends, and decided to let the earlier fight slid…this time.
A/N: And this ends the story. R&R everyone!