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Evil Shadow

6.

Millie

After at least two hours' worth of fake-smiling; talking to strangers who apparently were of the Wayne Enterprises' board; and avoiding journalists as best as they could, they were finally sitting down inside of the huge tent. The performance was finally beginning. They had gotten some of the best seats, right at the front so they could see everything that happened without being disturbed by someone sitting in front of them. To the small eyes of the child Millie was, the tent looked huge. Tall pillars stretching high up to support the tent itself caused Millie to lean her head back in wonder as she stared up, wondering what it would be like to stand up there. The faint smells of popcorn and candy hung in the air along with the scent of hay, and a soft humming noise could be heard from a generator that was stood somewhere unseen by the people.

The show started off with ponies running around while a couple of trainees did some tricks with them. She clapped her hands eagerly, smiling widely. At one point, when the clowns came out, she wanted to turn to Bruce and ask him why everyone was laughing – really, she didn't get it – though Vicki was sitting next to her, while Bruce sat on the other side of Vicki. She saw their fingers were intertwined, and Millie's smile immediately faded into a grumpy one.

One of the clowns saw it and made fun of her, walking up to the front row where she was sat and pointing at her, constantly pretending to be throwing a pie at her. The people laughed at the clown's antics, though Millie did none of the sort. At one point, the clown leaned forward and whispered to her, "Look, kid, just fucking smile so we can get this over with," at which point Millie gave off a forced smile to which everyone applauded the clown before he finally moved off, taking the spotlight with him.

She missed the look Bruce shot her.

Millie's sour look stayed up until the ringmaster walked back on stage, the blinding light shining down on him as he took in the happy looks of everyone (except for Millie's).

"Ladies and gentleman! Boys and girls!" he introduced, "Please welcome, the Flying Graysons!"

Her smile reappeared again as she saw the parents both swinging from pillar to pillar, no safety net underneath of them and not a single sign of insecurity coming off the two adults. To the left, their sons stood in the same costumes as their parents. The oldest started his act, and the youngest (Millie deduced the youngest was around her age) watched with a smile on his face. He waited for his turn and when it was, he swung around with such grace that Millie didn't even dare to blink, fearing she'd miss something amazing if she did. Her heart beat fast as she watched them, wondering how they dared to even do that and how they even did it to begin with.

The parents swung their youngest son over to the large pole again, leaving him there as they continued to do some more advanced tricks with their older son, that Millie supposed the kid didn't know yet. She couldn't help but smile as she watched the kid stare at his parents, proudness emerging from him.

She didn't realize something was wrong. Not until Vicki gasped from next to her. Millie had been too occupied to watch the performance and since she was tired after such a long evening, her brain realized what was happening a little too late. One woman screamed louder than the others and for some reason, it sounded like only she did scream. When the two parents and their oldest son had landed on the floor, the trapeze having suddenly broken, Millie realized she had been the one screaming. Her eyes never left the two parents and their oldest son lying on the floor in front of the crowd, a pool of blood quickly encircling them. As they lay there with no obvious signs of injury apart from the blood, Millie thought they almost looked serene. Calm. Asleep.

Though they weren't asleep. And seconds later everyone realized it. Panic filled the room, people standing up and shouting things Millie couldn't understand. She was relieved when she couldn't see the three dead performers anymore due to the crowd of people appearing around them.

She felt devastated. It had been such a wonderful evening, delight having filled her entire body. Though now, she only felt empty. Next to her, Vicki suddenly stood up and walked away, leaving Millie to sit there, alone. Bruce had disappeared as well, Vicki probably having followed him. Though Millie didn't feel like standing up. All she felt like was to go back to before the performance so that she could tell the acrobats to not perform; to run away and live happily ever after like the nice little family they had seemed to be.

For some reason, every single problem that Millie had ever had when it came to her own family, rushed up from her unconscious mind where she had buried them; Elaine; her unknown, most likely dead, parents; her loneliness during those days and nights that Bruce was away... Everything came back to her and that, filled with the panic of having seen the deaths of those three people, caused her to let out a sob.

Quickly, she stood up and walked the opposite way of which Bruce and Vicki had run. It felt like someone was tying a knot in her chest, a feeling which she had never felt before. It frightened her and all she wanted to do was get away from whatever was making her feel like that.

Outside of the tent, close to the parking lot where she knew Alfred was waiting for them by the car, she saw a man run away from the circus. Although she didn't think much of it to begin with since a lot of people were running away, frightened, she did furrow her brow when the man, seemingly dressed as someone working at the circus, started to remove his wig and clothes, leaving him in a dark suit.

He looked back once and made eye contact with Millie before turning back around and running out into the woods, leaving his circus outfit behind. She stayed put for a while, staring at those clothes and wondering about what she had seen. She felt lucky about the fact that this scene had made her forget about her own troubles, though they soon came back to her when she saw Alfred run towards her, worry evident in his eyes.

"Miss Millie," he breathed, though didn't have time to continue talking as Millie quickly embraced him, cutting him off.

He was surprised at first though quickly put his arms around her as well as she hid her face against his coat.

"What happened?" he asked quietly after a while.

"They fell, Alfred," she said quietly. "They fell…"

Elaine

A knock was heard on her door, though Elaine didn't react to it. Instead, she continued to stare out through her window, thinking about the rage she had felt earlier and how nice it had felt…

"Kid," said Mark's voice from the doorway.

She turned her head towards him, seeing him standing there, leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest.

"You should be in bed."

"I'm not seven anymore," she snapped back at him.

He only rolled his eyes, used to his boss snapping at him which was scarier than when Elaine did it; "You're still under eighteen and you're still under my protection. What I say, you do."

"Not gonna miss that when I turn eighteen," she mumbled loud enough for Mark to hear.

Once again, he rolled his eyes at her, only causing the fire of anger to build up inside of her.

"Tell me why you can't sleep."

It was a demand, not a question, and for some reason it angered Elaine even more. Though, the anger didn't build up more, in fact, it couldn't build up more. It was like a fire exploded inside of her and she had to fight against the impulse to march over to Mark and punch him over and over again. Though, when the explosion died down, it left only burning hot ashes behind along with an empty hole inside of her. A hole which she needed to fill with something.

"I feel angry."

"At your sister."

"I guess…" She let out a sigh, plopping down on her bed.

"You guess?" he asked, joining her on the bed. The bed nearly gave in beneath his weight, it not being the newest of furniture in her room, creaking and complaining as he did join her. He smelled of alcohol and smoke, though those scents were the ones she was used to and therefore, the burning smell in her nose made her feel safe. The other thugs usually smelled of… other vile things. At least she could identify what Mark smelled of. "Either you know what you're mad at, or you're not mad. It's as simple as that."

"Feelings aren't that simple," she retorted.

"Sure they are," he explained. "If a gall of mine doesn't wanna do what I want, I know the anger I feel inside of me is towards her. I don't sit around and think about it."

Elaine rolled her eyes, "I guess I'm angry mostly at Millie. She left me on the streets even though she had all the resources to make someone look for me… But there's a part of me that wonders if, maybe, she did try… and then what Tim calls 'the system' got in the way."

Mark chuckled, "Kid, the system always gets in our way. I mean, if we want to live our lives the way we want to, we get arrested for pete's sake."

"Yeah…" she sighed. "Talking about Pete, are he and the others okay?"

"Probably. Bat hit hard though. Those who didn't return might be at Gotham General for a few days before they're taken to Blackgate."

A thought suddenly struck her, "What-What did you guys find over in Dent's territory?"

Mark glanced at her, his eyes suddenly filled with emotions she didn't even know he could harbor. He let out a long sigh, leaning his elbows on his knees. For a while, he seemed to be contemplating, and Elaine was not going to push him to tell her. She knew her place, after all.

But she was curious. Oh so curious.

"You can tell me. I'll stay quiet about it. Nobody else will know."

"If I tell you this… that, when you're ready for it, you'll get the truth. Will that satisfy you?"

"When am I ready?" she whispered.

Mark looked away from her again, "When you're older."

Her shoulders sagged, "Does the truth have something to do with me?"

"Yeah."

"With my parents?"

"Yeah…"

Quietly, she whispered the word 'okay' before shifting on the bed, placing her head on the pillow and moving in under the covers. Mark watched her for a while as she simply stared out at nothing.

"I liked the anger…"

Mark smiled, standing up and moving over to where her head was propped up on the pillow. She glanced up at him. For a moment it looked like a father was going to bid goodnight to a daughter. But then Mark opened his mouth again and spoke something no father would ever say to his daughter, no ordinary father at least:

"Good. Anger's what got the boss to where he is now. It'll make you strong. As long as you keep it under control."

"Keep it under control…" repeated Elaine obediently.

"Don't tame your demons. They're what makes you unique. They're what makes you stand out from all those fake people following the system, getting everything handed to them on a silver plate."

"They're what makes me differ from Millie."

Mark nodded his head, tucking her in.

Bruce

He stood watching as Commissioner Gordon talked to the young boy whose parents and brother were now dead. The Commissioner had placed his coat around the shaking boy and was currently talking to him quietly. All around them, people stood giving their testimony to police officers or waiting for their ride back home. Though their voices were hushed to Bruce who could only watch Richard Grayson sit there, staring down at the ground in front of him, occasionally nodding at something Gordon said.

He was placed on the back of a truck, sitting there clutching the coat that had been wrapped around him. His blue eyes were wide and filled with sadness, though he didn't cry. Bruce recognized himself in the boy at that moment. When he had been about Dick's age, Bruce had been sitting next to Gordon in the same way after his parents had been killed, murdered in front of his eyes. The wide eyes of the boy, filled with sadness, was something Bruce had seen in many pictures from his childhood life and it was a recognizable look for Bruce.

When a hand was placed on his arm, he looked away from Dick and over to Vicki who was standing next to him now, smiling softly at him.

"It's sad, isn't it?" she asked before shaking her head. "I wonder what happened."

"Me too," said Bruce before the both of them were interrupted by the Commissioner walking over to them.

"Mr. Wayne," he said, nodding his head at Bruce before turning his gaze over at Vicki; "Miss Vale. Sorry you had to witness that."

The both of them didn't reply, not finding the correct words to do so.

"How's the boy?" was all Bruce managed to say.

To say that he was in shock over what he had witnessed would be a lie. He had seen much worse things out there in the darkness of Gotham; clowns, ninjas, murderers, demons… psychopaths with dreadful and horrific ideas that would scare even Crane.

The only thing Bruce could think about was the loneliness he felt after his parents' death which he knew the boy was feeling now as well. Of course, he was a part of the circus, a family of its own. Though he didn't need the circus right now. What he needed was a stabile home and an education. Perhaps a loving family was what he needed; not that the circus wouldn't provide the boy with all of that of course. Bruce felt pity for the boy and he knew that what the boy needed the most, apart from everything just mentioned, was someone that understood him. Bruce did, he had been in Dick's shoes before. And sometimes, it still felt like he was. Although Bruce had had Alfred during the hard times that came after the death of this parents, it had been different. Alfred had been one person apart from Gordon, and although he had helped, it wouldn't have hurt to have more people around him.

"I don't know," replied Gordon. "He's not saying much."

"Where is he going now?" asked Bruce.

"There's no legal guardian here at the circus and although they've complained, I can't allow him to stay here," said Gordon with a sigh. "Most likely, he'll go to the orphanage."

"He can stay with me."

It had been an impulsive thing to say. It had been something naïve as well. But he had said it and although it surprised him just as much as it surprised Vicki and Gordon, he felt no regret. For some reason, Bruce felt like taking Dick in would be good not only for Dick, but also for Bruce since he now had the chance to tell his younger self what Bruce himself had wanted to hear at that age.

All he could hope for was that it would work out, what with his secret life during the night.

Millie

"Dark hair and… I don't know. I don't think he was spinky," said Millie with a shrug of her shoulders to which the detective sighed before nodding his head softly at her.

"Great. We'll check it out," said the detective, other police officers picking up the clothes the man had thrown off of him before placing them in a bag and leaving the area.

"Detective Bullock," called Alfred, stepping forward, causing the detective to turn back around. "You haven't seen Master Bruce, have you?"

"I think he's over by that Grayson kid," the detective replied before walking away, a nonchalant strut coming off of his steps.

Millie watched the man with the slight beer belly walk away, for some reason deciding to like him. Although he didn't really have the looks and the personality for it, Millie couldn't help but find him a little handsome and since he was listening to her statement so well, believing her every word even though she was just a child in his eyes, she also found him kind.

Alfred was about to say something to Millie, when Bruce and Vicki walked over to them, hand in hand. Millie narrowed her eyes slightly, though stayed as calm as possible, not wanting to seem mean.

"Let's go back to the manor," said Bruce, glancing over at Vicki. "We can drop Vicki off at her apartment."

"Yes, I've got early work tomorrow so," she said as they all followed Alfred to the car again.

"Where were you?" asked Millie, feeling a little taken aback by the fact that Bruce wasn't asking her how she felt or where she had been.

"I was with the Commissioner," explained Bruce, earning a look from Vicki.

"And the Grayson boy," added Vicki quietly.

"Dick, yes," continued Bruce. "I wanted to help the boy as much as possible."

"That's nice," said Millie, nodding her head. "What are we going to give him?"

"A roof over his head, food on the table, education and a loving family," said Bruce, causing Millie to cock an eyebrow at him.

"You mean, he's going to the orphanage so he can be adopted. Or, is he staying here?" asked Millie as Alfred opened the car door for Vicki to enter. "The orphanage is not going to provide him with that much… Believe me…"

"No, he's going to live with us."

Millie (a few hours later)

Dick Grayson had not been allowed to come with them back home immediately. Instead things needed to go through a special sort of process before he could. Millie and Alfred had waited by the car while Bruce and Gordon made sure the boy truly wanted to live with him, and once Bruce was satisfied with his answer, the three returned back home. First, though, they had to drop off Vicki at her home. Luckily Millie did not have to watch Bruce 'say' goodbye to her as they entered her apartment for that bit.

Alfred kept glancing back at Millie during their wait for Bruce to return, though said nothing. And once home, Millie immediately went up to her room. Things were going to change now. Her place in the family was going to have to be shared with the Grayson boy, even though he was not going to be officially adopted. They would not be siblings, but they would have to share Bruce's attention. Seeing as Millie already had troubles sharing Bruce's attention with Vicki or any other woman, she thought there would be some troubles for her to adjust. Though she was aware of her problems… so surely that fact would make it easier to stay friendly to Dick, right?

She placed herself on the bed after changing into her pajamas, staring up at the ceiling… Her mind was blank, just as she wanted it to be. Was it not blank, her mind kept returning to those three bodies lying there on the ground. Dead. Bloody.

A knock on her door roused her from her unmoving state, and she sat upright when Bruce entered the room. His eyes were cast down to the floor and he moved over to Millie with unsure steps. For a while, he simply stood there, staring at anything but Millie. And then his gaze caught sight of something and he suddenly looked relieved.

"You still sleep with Tiny?"

Millie glanced to her right, where her teddy was lying on a pillow, his glass eyes staring up at her. She grabbed the soft teddy and held him in her hands.

"Yeah."

Bruce sat down next to her on the bed, looking at the teddy though still avoiding looking at her.

"I had a teddy once when I was a kid. I remember my dad always used him to tell me… to tell me news I didn't like. Maybe he would have to go away for a while to work, or maybe they both had to go away for a while… Basically, he did that so he would not have to face telling me something he felt bad about… or uncomfortable with…"

Millie stared at Bruce intently as he reached out towards Tiny, gently holding his head up so he was truly staring up at Millie. She feared for a moment that Bruce was gonna tell her that he would have to go away for a while, which she would not have been happy about as this was her summer break.

But then Bruce began to speak, moving the teddy's head with his words as though it was Tiny telling her this. And her eyes filled up with tears. Not sad ones. But happy ones. Loved ones. It was as though her body was overwhelmed by these feelings and the only way it could handle everything was by pushing some of the feelings out of her in the form of tears.

"Bruce is still going to love you even if there's a second child in the family."

Bruce is still going to love you…

He loved her.

Not saying a word, Millie embraced Bruce tightly, putting her small arms around his neck and resting her head against his broad shoulder. Bruce tensed up, but still hugged her back. When he noticed her crying, he began to rock them back and forth slowly, and never in her life had Millie felt this; protection, fatherly love, the love of a parent. This was all new to her.

And she would be damned if she was ever going to let it slip away from her.

"I know that…" she whispered quietly. "I know that… dad…"

Bruce stopped tensing up, now hugging her back more intensely. That was the first time she had called him her father. Somehow… that made their relationship more official than that stupid adoption paper did.