A/N: I'm a horrible updater. I know this, feel free to berate me and such, I deserve it.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, kudos for someone who can spot an ode to my favorite vampire family in this chapter. It's really obvious.


+Chapter Seven+

This is the story of a girl
Who cried a river and drowned the whole world
And while she looks so sad in photographs
I absolutely love her
When she smiles – Three Doors Down "Story of a girl"


"I don't want anything to eat."

"But you haven't eaten anything for two days Michelle, you need to eat."

Mitchie sat curled in a ball on one of the bunk beds of the orphanage. It had been about two days since she'd been away from Bruce. She wasn't allowed to call him, write to him, think about him even. Two foster families had been in to see her but she was distant and cold to them. Refusing to acknowledge their presence in the room. Her caretaker, Mrs. Cullen, had tried to get her to eat and be social but it was to no avail. Mitchie just retreated deeper and deeper into her subconscious. Night fell upon Gotham and as Mitchie watched the news in the playroom with the other teenagers she could feel a hopelessness seep into the room.

"This madman will be stopped. Not by the vigilantism of Batman, but through the law and the fine men and women on Gotham's police force." Harvey Dent said confidently. Mitchie huffed, yeah right. The Joker was in the wind as far as anyone knew. He was a ghost. A burly boy of about seventeen turned the TV down,

"This is all Batman's fault. That freak should be locked up in Arkham with the rest a those fuckin mooks!"

A few other kids murmured with agreement, "Yeah, he deserves whatever the police decided to dish out!"

Mitchie gritted her teeth but stayed silent; she just wanted to suffer in peace.

"I'm with the Joker, kill Batman!"

"What the fuck is wrong with you people?" Mitchie said calmly as she stood up and walked to the door. The tall boy blocked her way, "Don't tell me, gotta crush on the Batman?"

Mitchie shoved him, "Shut up dickhead." She barked coldly. He pushed her back; she crashed over one of the teal colored tables, taking their drinks with her. The boy, who she thought's name was Marcus, stood over her; "Awww, got a lil' dirt in your skirt?" he said nastily. Mitchie lunged at Marcus, this time she had him pinned to the table. Being she was Robin and everything, this wasn't a very fair fight. Bruce had trained Mitchie in everything from Judo to street fighting, from fencing to ninja throwing stars. She was a well trained creature of the night, and oh how she longed to return to her knight.

"Oh my God she's going to kill him!!" someone cried. Mitchie looked at Marcus, her hands tightened around the boy's meaty throat as his eyes bulged.

"Michelle! Let him go!" Mrs. Cullen said, the other children huddled behind her. Mitchie watched with a sick satisfaction as Marcus turned purple, a detached fascination wormed its way into her normally calm face. Her hands suddenly felt slack and she let him go. He squirmed away like a bug meant to be stepped on, "Got a little dirt in your skirt?" Mitchie shot back to the cowering boy, and walked out of the room past Mrs. Cullen who was threatening to call the police.


"I'm worried about her Alfred. She's never been away from home this long."

Alfred sighed as he poured Bruce another brandy. Recently, meaning since Mitchie left, he'd taken to drinking quite a bit.

"I'm sure she's just fine Master Wayne. She's a strong lass."

Bruce leaned his head back as he downed his glass, placing the crystal tumbler on the table. What had he done wrong? He was a good parent, a little forgetful and backwards at times but he was still a good influence on Mitchie. Wasn't he? Between Harvey pretending he was Batman and his Rachel troubles, now this? Bruce was running on empty. The phone rang, making Bruce jump.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Wayne?"

Bruce sighed, if it was another Goddamn telemarketer. "Yes, this is he."

"It's Mrs. Cullen from the orphanage. Michelle she-"

Bruce sat straight up in his chair, his blood running cold, "What? What happened to Mitchie?"

"She got in a fight with a boy today."

"Is she alright?!"

"Oh she's fine. The boy on the other hand is not. He's been passed out for hours, Mitchie almost killed him."

Bruce didn't even let her finish. He let the phone drop and left, not bothering to grab his coat.


"I don't care how the law works! I want to see my niece!!"

Ophelia Davenport argued with the woman at the front desk of Little Angels orphanage. Her mousy brown hair was frazzled and she was holding a blue suitcase in one hand and an umbrella in the other.

"I'm sorry, Miss Davenport can't have any visitors right now, she's not feeling very well."


Not feeling very well…

"Michelle…"

Mitchie didn't bother to look to her small window, afraid the voice she was imagining came with a form.

"Mitch."

Mitchie peeked out from under her sheets, gasping at what she saw in the middle of her tiny locked room.

"Batman!" she ran to him, jumping into his open embrace, not really caring how hard his suit was against her pink cotton pajamas.

"I missed you." He said, pulling her into a kiss. Mitchie thought her chest would burst as their lips connected. When he moved away he looked down at her, "We have to help Harvey, the Joker's going to kill him."

So much for being romantic. Mitchie sighed, "Yeah, whatever. BTW I don't have my costume so unless you've go-"

"Taken care of." Batman said, a hint of a smirk twitching at his lips. He threw down a small backpack and Mitchie squealed with delight as she went into the bathroom to change.

"Hey B-Man, is my bike fixed yet?" Robin asked with an eyebrow wiggle. Batman smiled, glad to hear his ward's voice again, "You'll see."

The Batmobile was parked a few blocks from the orphanage in an ally, right next to a crimson and black Redbird; Robin's new and improved cycle.

"Holy shit!"

"Language."

"Sorry." Robin said her face still in a bright smile. The Redbird was longer than before, making it so she would almost be laying flat on her belly when she drove and had one wheel in the front and another in the back. The bike had 20" front and rear tires. As his ward admired her new ride, Batman thought it would be important to elaborate on how it worked, "It's powered by a high-performance, water-cooled, single-cylinder engine - geared toward the lower end for faster acceleration and there are no exhaust pipes. The exhaust is routed through the hollow steel/aluminum/magnesium tubing used for the frame of the bike. It's steered by the shoulders instead your hands, and your arms are protected by shields."

Robin ran her fingers over the black paint. It was flecked with silver for a shiny appearance and jagged crimson racing stripes ending in a Robin logo on the side. Robin hugged Batman again, "Thank you! Thank you! I promise not to be mean ever again!"

Batman patted her shoulder, "Right, I'll try to remember that."

Robin slid into the Redbird seat, "C'mon old chum, we've gotta 'n assassination attempt to foil."


Yay!! The team's back together!! But what about Mitchie aunt? Ohhh, you'll have to find out about that later... muahahahahahahahhaha. No, I'm not that mean. BTW the part where Marcus says 'gota little dirt in your skirt?' is from that movie The Longshots. It sounds really goos so I kinda wanna see it! Salt water taffy for those who review, that's b/c I'm in Atlantis in the Bahamas and just had some taffy. It was so freakin good!! So as always, read, review, and tell me what you think!