Disclaimer: I own nothing of the DC Universe. I only own my OC's and plot.
AN: I hope you guys like the story, I want to thank my amazing beta TheWickedWizardOfOz (TWWOO). And of course to all of you that reviewed. More of Robin's POV and of course another coma dream/flashback of Nicole. Happy Reading! :)
Robin's POV
As I was contemplating why Alfred wasn't in the kitchen, Alfred bustled in, most likely prepared to leave.
"Ah! Master Richard, what are you doing here? You should march straight up to bed, don't think I don't know about you being up all night." Alfred ordered.
"But…but…fine, I'll go." I said.
I pretended to go up the stairs; I really just sat quietly, watching Alfred leave. Quickly going up the stairs I decided I needed to see what has been going on here at the Manor in my absence. Logging on to my computer I typed in my special program for surveillance.
Huh…what were Superman and Martian Manhunter doing here? I need to go back more hours to see what started it all. I clicked on rewind for two hours prior to their meeting to see Batman carrying a girl into the Batcave. What? Batman has never let anyone beside myself, Alfred and, now, League members into the Batcave. What made this girl so special?
I fast forward to the time of my arrival to see Black Canary arrive at the Batcave too. I tweaked with the audio and played the clip back from the beginning of their conversation.
"Hello, Bruce." said Black Canary.
"Hello, Dinah. I'm sure you must have found my call to be very…odd. But I need you to track one of my criminals for me," said Batman.
Black Canary raised an eyebrow, "You want me to track someone for you? Well, that is odd. But I'm flattered all the same…why can't you catch this criminal, again?"
"J' onn advised against it. And I am needed here…"
"I'm sorry but, what's so important that you can't find your own-"
"Follow me." Batman interrupted.
Black Canary gasped, "That poor girl! What happened?"
"She was injected with Liquid Paresium by the Joker. I can't go after him this time, Dinah." Batman sighed.
"But why, Bruce?" she asked.
"Because she's my niece…"
Dinah nodded, "Ah, I'll get him for you then. Arkham Asylum, right?"
Batman nodded.
I was shocked. Bruce has a living relative? And how come he didn't know about her? And why did the Joker try to kill her? The more I thought of the situation the more questions popped into my mind. I'll have to go down to the Batcave to see for myself.
I stealthily moved around the manor, you never knew if Alfred or Bruce were lurking around, trying to preserve their "secret." Entering the Batcave I stopped just short of the Batmobile when I overheard Bruce and Alfred talking.
"I just got back from the University, sir," said Alfred.
"Yes…" said Bruce.
"It seems that Miss Vale was there to do a piece on the Dean and the Dean insisted that Miss Vale be there while he "handled" my query."
Bruce sighed, "Let me guess, Vicki knows."
"I can probably expect her to run a full story on it by the end of the week. She doesn't know any of the particulars, though. She'll be at Wayne Enterprises looking to interview you for some concrete evidence." Alfred said.
"Did you find her apartment?" Bruce asked.
"Indeed, Master Bruce. The girl was living in a deplorable state; she barely had anything in that tiny space. I had her things boxed and it is to be sent here, sir."
"And school?" Bruce asked.
"She only has a semester left, which requires an internship. I'm sure you'll have no trouble filling out her internship forms for Wayne Enterprises. You wouldn't have her intern for someone who wasn't family, right sir?"
"Of course, we'll have to come up with a story for our cover, one that would satisfy the public and even Vicki Vale."
"I'm sure you'll figure out something, Master Bruce. You always do."
Alfred walked by the Batmobile, as if sensing my presence he raised an eyebrow at me but walked up the stairs to the manor, without a word. Thank you for not blowing my cover, Alfred. I waited another minute before I got up from my perch. I moved around the Batmobile, padding my way towards a room that mysteriously set up itself in my absence.
Peeking through the tarp, I could see Bruce clutching the girl's (from my surveillance footage) hand. He looked concerned, just what the heck is Liquid Paresium to begin with? Looking around the room I could see that she was hooked up to all sorts of machines. But what stuck out the most was her heart rate. The machine was barely beeping; she wouldn't last much longer if she didn't get proper medical treatment. But, wouldn't Batman have already thought of that?
Walking over to the computer, I whispered, "Computer show any files pulled from the last eight hours."
"Access denied; proper requirements to read not met," replied the computer.
I don't believe it! Batman tried to encode files so that I couldn't get to them. Psh! He must think I'm an amateur. In forty seconds I had all of the files pulled cracked and waiting to be read. Now let's see:
Name: Jolene Nicole Morrison
D.O.B.: December 25th, 1993
City: Gotham City, New York
Mother: Damita Morrison nee Jenkins (deceased)
Father: Jack Morrison
-Chemical Engineer
Hmm that would explain why Batman pulled file C-1 from the database. I can't believe that he would have such a pretty daughter. It's downright weird. Okay, it doesn't say anything about her being related to Bruce so what's the…oh, her mother. She's Bruce's older half-sister. He's never mentioned an older half-sister... I'll put that aside for now and call this trail "solved" but what about the chemical?
I closed the files and erased my history of reading them. I didn't need Bruce getting paranoid. Well…even more paranoid than he already is. If Vicki Vale gets her hands on this information, it would most likely ruin both Bruce and Nicole's lives.
Hearing a grunting sound, I peeked back into the makeshift hospital room: Bruce had fallen asleep. His snoring wouldn't be able to wake her, at least. I stepped into the room to get a closer look at her, my previous observation was right. She is pretty. But all the machines hooked up to her were what were keeping her alive; if one touched them I'm sure she would flat line.
"Bryn! I do not feel like going to a carnival right now. I've got a huge test to study for on Monday. Why won't you let me study?" I asked.
"Because, it's Saturday and you've been studying all week and you're seventeen. You need a break, live a little! C'mon, it's not that far, it's in Old Gotham. You need to have fun!" Bryn laughed.
Bryn and I got out of my apartment. The Narrows was located in Crime Alley, even during the day you had to watch your back. Bryn pulled me forward as we walked for several blocks ignoring the jeers and leers from average criminals.
"You haven't told me what we're doing yet."
"I swear! Don't you read, Nicky? Old Gotham is hosting a less classy version of October Fest!" Bryn smiled.
"So…"
Bryn scoffed, "So, I got us two tickets to go." She pumped her fist into the air, "we're gonna pig out on Baklava until we puke!"
"Whatever, Bryn. Let's get this over with." I sighed.
Gotham Fest was actually pretty fun, we'd devoured enough sweets to make us sick. And then we ate some more. It wasn't until we happened upon a strange booth, which changed the mood of the day.
"Hey! It's a psychic's booth, we should go. It could be fun." Bryn said.
"Oh please. Don't tell me that you believe in that? It's fake!" I laughed.
Bryn smiled, "Don't wimp out on me, I'll go first!"
I waited for Bryn for about ten minutes before she came out with a huge grin on her face. I wonder what she could've been told to make her so happy.
"You next!" she smiled.
I moved back the curtain of the booth to be met with smoke. I knew it! Bryn just got high off of fumes, no wonder she's so happy. A woman dressed silk fabrics in princess Jasmine from 'Aladdin' style, was perched behind a round table. She had dark ebony hair grey eyes and a pale complexion. She was shuffling what seemed to be tarot cards.
"Ah! A non-believer, those are always the best," said the woman.
I scoffed, "Look my friend made me come in here-"
She smiled, "I know, Madam Aleera saw you coming, my dear. Now sit."
"Okay…"
"Give me your hand" Madam Aleera requested.
"Sure, but I don't see how you're gonna read much from me…" I said.
I watched as she scrunched up her eyebrows and shook her head. Madam Aleera traced the palm of my hand… no, she was caressing it. The whole thing was weird.
"Hmm I see that you were taken away from your father when you were very small. It has caused you to live a life without trusting men…"
"Excuse me! What does that have to do with-" I squeaked.
"Oh! It has everything to do with your life. I see there is a man in your life now…he's dark haired, blue eyed and handsome…but he is not who you shall marry," said Madam Aleera.
"What!"
"No, your man is taller and pale. Yes, yes…you will marry a red head!" smiled Aleera.
"Oh, really?"
"Yes. But the road to accepting him, that will be the challenge. You'll go through various other lovers before you realize your love for him. You'll love him without even knowing it." Aleera smirked.
"That's a load of bull." I scoffed.
"Fine, how about I read from my tarot cards instead?" she picked the cards up, shuffling them again.
Aleera spread them out and asked me to pick three cards. I did as she asked.
"Hmm, the Emperor…"
"What does that mean?" I asked, excited, though I'd deny it.
"It means…you have the wisdom and authority to achieve your goals."
Aleera turned over the second card, "The Hermit, like a child full of wonder, gaze into the mysteries of your inner life."
"Again, what-" I asked.
"It means that in the near future, you will be given the opportunity to reflect on your life through your inner child. Sometimes when we grow older, we become forgetful of things from our past…our childhoods mostly. You will see what you've most desperately wanted for years." Aleera said, a little impatient.
"Oh yeah, what's that?"
"Only you can unlock that for yourself. And the last card…Death," Aleera grinned mysteriously.
"What! Why are you smiling? Am I going to die?" I yelled.
Aleera clutched at her stomach, "No, child," she giggled, "This card means to shed old identities to express new ones, much like a snake shedding its skin."
I exhaled, "So, I'm not going to die? Funny, you really had me going there."
"I only hope that you will take our meeting into consideration, child. The man you are with will only bring you sorrow and pain," Aleera warned.
I walked out of the booth, removing the curtain to be met with fresh air. I gulped up big breaths of it before turning to Bryn.
"What did she tell you?" Bryn asked.
"That I should break up with Jason."