Thunderstorms: Part One
*Disclaimer Credit: All existent DC characters and fan fic chars are property of their prospective owners!
Annie sat on her front porch as rain fell in sheets onto the roof. The wind blew the water into her face, drenching her jet-black hair and gi, but she didn't care. Her mistake cost her parents their lives, and she knew that there was no way to atone for such a horrendous error. As she sat there, a miserable sight with her gi sticking to her skin and water dripping off her stubborn nose, her temporary guardian peeked through the silk screen of the front door.
"Ane-san, it is not good for you to be out in this. Haitte kudasai." He said. "Please, come inside."
"Chotto o-machi, kudasai, Hiroshi-san." She said, staring out across the hazy Japanese landscape with an indecipherable emotion in her warm brown eyes. "Just a minute."
"Ii." Hiroshi nodded and started leave, but paused. "Annie—you are not responsible for what happened. You must know that, hai?"
"Arigato, Hiroshi-san." She replied. When he was gone, she murmured, "But I am."
She continued to watch the rain fall with indifference. The only thing that kept her American tears from falling was her Japanese education. It would be rude and disrespectful to disregard Hiroshi-san much longer. Self-disgust boiling inside her, she rose and swiftly delivered a purging spinning heel kick to one of the porch posts with her bare foot. She misjudged the target and would suffer a bruise tomorrow—but she was immune now to the physical pain. Frustrated and ashamed by her lack of concentration and accuracy, she gave the same post a spinning roundhouse kick countered with a right knifehand. This time she nailed her opponent; the whole house shook from the blow. Finding ironic comfort in the exercise, she continued to strike the posts, alternating knife hands with inside blocks and spinning heel kicks with side snap kicks, picking up speed and intensity as if to relieve the pain and rage in her soul. The anger inside her began turning to shame, then grief, and the tears she had restrained for so long now fell, pooling with the rainwater on the woven mats that covered the porch.
"Ane-san!" She ignored her Sensei's son. She was in no mood to talk now, especially not to him. She prayed that he could not see her tears. "Annie!"
"Leave me, Rei!" Annie choked out the order, not daring to take her eyes from the post for fear of losing her focus as she lashed out at him. The young man blocked her half-hearted outside block easily and pulled her into a liberating hug.
"Kekko, kekko." He whispered. "Alright, alright, cry all you want, you've deserved it."
"Rei, don't…" Her protests were weak and she knew it, but there he was, offering a much-needed hug. She clung to him fiercely a moment as she temporarily eradicated her tears and forced herself to calm. How was it that he, Rei Shiva, only three years her senior and whom she had known since the age of four, could know her so well? While everyone else, even her parents, complained of her ambiguous personality, he read her like a book. At last she pulled away, wrapping her arms around her sides and walking to the other end of the porch. "Stop, Rei. I need to pay for what I did."
"David Cain murdered your parents, Annie, not you. You had no hand in that." Rei said. She shook her head and walked to the other end of the porch.
"I knew he was in the area. I could have said something to Mom, or Dad, but I didn't."
"You made a judgmental error. I won't say you didn't, or that you didn't mean to keep it from them." He nodded. "You'll have to live with that decision for the rest of your life."
"All this could have been avoided," Annie growled, "if I hadn't underestimated my enemy. I didn't think he would dare come near us, and he did."
"You can't do anything now, Annie. Byoki desu." Rei told her gently. "You're going to be sick, if you stay out here. Haitte Kudasai." He walked over and touched her arm.
"Iie." Annie shook her head and pulled away from him. "Rei, he tried to kill Jared! My three-year-old brother!" Remembering herself, she lowered her eyes added calmly, "Arigato Rei, but kekko desu. I'm fine."
She couldn't discuss her feelings with him. Not only was he full-blooded Japanese, he was male. She was a female of Japanese-American heritage, and in this culture it was deemed dishonorable to show your feelings publicly. Though his family and hers were close, even their parents did not always share emotional sentiments with one another.
Her parents were murdered, that was true. But the way they were murdered…the pain of the loss intensified as the vision of her parents appeared, her father, Timothy Drake, with a bullet wound to the head and her mother, Mute Cain, an unintended casualty, with a bullet wound through her heart. In their earlier lives, they would have been able to top Cain before a single shot was fired; not now. She came home that day only ten minutes late from her Shotokan instruction with Lady Shiva, Rei's mother, and was not a hundred yards from her door when she heard Jared's terrified screams. She sprinted inside to see her parents on the floor and David Cain cornering Jared. Before she had the chance to think, she dove at Cain; her only thoughts were for her brother then. Cain turned and gave her an evil grin as he attacked her with a drawn knife. The next thing she knew, she had turned the knife on him; the blade struck true and he fell…
It did not bring the peace she had expected. Instead the revenge only increased the pain in her soul and the emptiness in her heart. She was weaker now than ever, unable to face her young brother who cried for her daily. Her shame was too great, and she would bear it alone; she would not allow her transgression to poison her brother. But how could she face him? How could she face anyone again?
A rumble of thunder gave her the answer she needed. Looking back across the lush green hills, she found that the rain had stopped. Insolent rays of light streaked through the treacherous holes in the clouds, and Annie closed her eyes.
"How can the sun shine today? Does it wish to mock me?" she asked Rei softly. He put an arm on her shoulder, then led her out from under the eve and into the yard.
"Maybe it isn't mocking you. Perhaps it means to give you hope." Rei replied, looking up into the clouds. "Your parents wouldn't want you to mourn like this. You must take care of yourself and your brother so that you can keep their legacy alive, Ane."
"I'm not worthy." Annie said, her voice devoid of any emotion.
"Let's worry about that later." He told her, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Come. It will be rude to neglect Hiroshi-san any longer."
"Hai." Annie nodded and walked with Rei back up the steps. Hope. Is there such a thing, was there ever? She asked silently. Turning back to look at the sky, she frowned. I don't even know anymore.
Three years later
Silence and darkness. Atop a skyscraper in the center of Osaka, two shrouded figures crouched. One had a pair of binoculars and was focusing on the bank across the plaza. They spoke in hushed Japanese. "What do you think, Komadori?" he asked. "They're in there, all right." his partner replied. She drew a length of synthetic grappling rope from around her well-defined waist. "Let's go."
Without another word, she launched herself effortlessly over the side of the building and slid down, then belayed away to land softly on the roof of the bank.
"Wai--oh, why do I bother?" the man murmured, shaking his head and following his headstrong companion. "She stopped listening ages ago."
She landed softly and silently in the shadows of the bank rafters. Four men stood below, all clad in dark, unmarked clothes. Three stood watch while the fourth worked on the lock of the vault.
"Come on, Eddie! Hurry up! The boss wants the shipment in on time!"
The girl-woman smiled maliciously. "Ooh, Americans. And what are you doing so far from home?"
The man called Eddie moved away from the vault and looked up. "What the--?"
There was no time for any more words. She swung from behind into Eddie's back, knocking him across the floor and into the vault door. Without pausing, she whirled around and gave the speaker a sharp roundhouse to the head. He was unconscious before he hit the cold ground and she turned to the other two who stood with guns drawn.
"Any takers?" she asked, coolly.
"Shoot her already!" the larger yelled.
Neither of them moved. "But…but Ray, she's--she's the komadori!"
"I don't give a damn!" he bellowed, cocking his glock and lifting it.
The woman blurred and a moment later she had the gun in her hands and the man on his knees. "Didn't your parents ever tell you not to play with guns?" With three fluid strokes she disassembled the weapon and threw the pieces aside. "Oh, go on. Shoot me, if you're going to." she said, goading him on with her warm brown eyes. "Go on." She kicked him once more for good measure.
"You bitch!" the floored man yelled, taking a gun from his shaking comrade and firing. The laser bullet sliced through her shoulder and fire flared in her eyes. She moved not one inch from the impact. Instead she grabbed him by the collar and began to beat him, though the blood began to soak her suit. No man pulled a gun on her. Ever. He would pay for such an infraction. She broke his nose and jaw with the same swift stroke, and his collarbone with the reverse. He moaned, being unable to speak, and she continued to thrash him, taking out all her pain and suffering on his pitiful hide. She didn't care anymore who it was that she beat for her parents' deaths, as long as it was someone. The remaining thief backed away as he watched her savagery turn his friend from and strong and able man to a quivering, bloody mess. He was almost to the door when the woman's companion dropped silently behind him.
"Miss me much?" he asked. The thief opened his mouth to scream and the man's hand flew to his throat, squeezing a pressure point that had him unconscious before sound could escape. The man bound him,set him in a corner and turned to see that the man his partner was beating was also unconscious and sitting in a pool of his own blood. "Komadori, stop! Stop!" he demanded in a sharp voice. He took her by the shoulders and dragged her off of him. "Why are you--" he stopped when he saw her wince. Only then did he notice the blood from her shoulder wound. "Let's go. The Police will take it from here."
"What were you thinking, Annie? I've never seen you that angry, that…that primal!" The man yelled. The pair sat within the home of Patrick and Miyoko Kobayashi O'Neal, bandaging the woman's shoulder.
"He pulled a gun, Michael." Annie spat, removing her cowl. She spoke in English out of respect for Mr. O'Neal, but wouldn't have any of the same courtesy in tone for her lifelong friend. "I messed up, I know."
Mrs. O'Neal, a petite Japanese woman with warm almond eyes, carried in a tray of steaming green tea from the kitchen. "Yes, and you got yourself shot because of it, Miako." she replied, using one of Annie's endearments. "You don't need to injure others to still your own pain. You know better than that."
Annie colored, embarrassed to admit that what Mrs. O'Neal said was true. "Hai. Arigato gama sa, Miyoko-san." she said, bowing her head. "Thank you for teaching me."
"Never mind that now. You just take a little break, okay?" Mr. O'Neal remarked. "And drink some tea." he took a cup from his wife and bowed his head as was custom, then handed another to Annie. She took it and bowed. "We all make mistakes." Mr. O'Neal continued. "Learn from them, don't repeat them."
"But Dad--" Michael began to speak but was silenced by his mother.
"Michael Kentaro Kobayashi O'Neal, drink." she ordered, handing him a fresh cup.
He bowed, then placed it aside and knelt in front of Annie. "You could have died." There was a pain in his ghostly green-gray eyes that made her shiver.
"I think he's the one who should be worried about that, Michael." Annie replied, dourly sipping her tea and turning the cup in her hands.
"I mean it, Annie! I couldn't bear losing you. None of us could, especially Jared. You know that."
"Yes, I do." she replied, turning her wrists to see the thin, faded pink scars at the base of her palms. She winced, remembering how selfish she had been shortly after her parents were murdered. At fourteen she didn't know how else to handle her loss and one day locked herself inside the family dojo, slicing her wrists with the sharp edge of her best shukusen, bladed fan, hoping to make it look accidental. To her dismay, although perhaps luckily, Lady Shiva found her and was able to get in. She bound Annie's wrists and proceeded to give her the worst beating of her life for attempting such a dishonorable and selfish act. Her other wounds healed, but the scars on her wrists remained, serving as a constant reminder of her foolish past. From that day on, she committed herself to raising Jared, refusing help even from the O'Neals, her Japanese godparents, and found a new hope in him. It was hardly easy at first, because he trusted her so completely that she found herself lacking in every respect imaginable, and yet he loved her. Some days it was incomprehensible.
"Well, we'll just leave you two to chat, then." Mr. O'Neal remarked, breaking the silence and offering his arm to his wife. "Shall we, my dear?"
"I'll clean up, Miyoko-san." Annie said quickly.
Mrs. O'Neal nodded with a gentle smile and she left the room with her husband.
"There's nothing you can say to change the way I feel, you know." Annie said, running a finger over the rim of her teacup and gazing blankly into the amber liquid. "So don't try."
"I don't want to change the way you feel about your parents." Michael replied. "I just don't want to see you in pain. There are a lot of people in this world who care about you, Annie Drake--"
"Even after what I've done?" she asked coldly, eyes shooting to meet his.
"You weren't the reason your mother and father were murdered." Michael said firmly. "Even if you had said something, fate would still--"
"There is no such thing as fate." she growled. Fate? What was that? There was only destiny, good or ill, but dying at the hands of a maniac? God wouldn't be so cruel to her parents, who fought their entire lives for justice. It just couldn't be.
"All right then." He allowed. Pausing a moment, he pursed his lips. "If it's someone's time, no one can argue that. If I were to die tomorrow, that would be it, Annie."
"Don't even think it." she muttered, fixing her eyes on the tea again.
"There was a time that the light in your eyes flickered for no one. What happened to that hope?"
Hope. The same word Rei used three years ago. Was there such a thing? And again Annie thought, I don't even know anymore. What she knew was dust, and what she understood was nothing but the shadow of memory. She had to start over now, rebuild in her mind what society called hope, called faith, called trust. She would redefine the words, come to accept them unconditionally, and then what? Would those meanings too be dashed?
"Annie?"
"What? Oh…I…I don't know." She replied, blankly staring at the table.
"Look," he said, sitting beside her on the couch and running a hand through his jet-black hair, "I talked to my parents, and they've been in contact with Kon-El and Ms. Sandsmark."
Annie snapped to attention. "What about Kon and Cassie?"
"They want you to move to Gotham, New York. With Jared." he said. "I…think it might be good for you. Kon-El and Ms. Sandsmark are your godparents, your legal godparents, Annie. Besides, your entire family is there--"
"My family is here, Michael." she said firmly. "I haven't got family in America, save Kon and Cassie, the other members of the YJ, maybe. But if you mean Bruce Wayne--"
"He's your grandfather."
She let out a burst of laughter. "Hardly! If he were my grandfather, he'd take more interest in us. He's never come to visit, although he has the means. And when Mom was pregnant with Jared? Nothing. Not even when Jared was born. As far as he's concerned we don't exist."
"I don't think that's true."
"I don't want to leave."
"Why?"
Why? She paused; could she answer that question? Would she? She didn't want to admit that she was even slightly afraid of the unknown, of her "family" in America. She'd hardly knew any of them except Kon-El, Cassie, and Kyle Harper, and even Kyle was a mystery.
"I can't tell you."
"Look, I think it's a good idea, Annie. Really." Michael drew her into a hug and she drew him close, releasing the stinging tears to soak his black shirt. She hated crying. It showed her weakness and her need for help. Her parents taught her that crying sometimes helped, but to cry as much as she was now? She didn't know anything anymore except that it felt good to be held by Michael just now.
"I can't do this on my own, Kentaro." she murmured, using his Japanese name and resting her head on his shoulder. "I can't raise Jared by myself."
"No one expects you to." he replied, brushing her hair away from her face. "That's what family is for. Besides, you're doing a great job. Just try it, and if you don't like America, you always have a home with us."
She shook her head. "No, I have to be independent for once…I'll go. But if I come back…I'll find my own way."
"I know. That's what makes you a Drake."
Three months later
Within the sterile, hi-tech walls of the New Justice League of America's headquarters, Annie waited with anxious anticipation. She was finally back in the place where her parents grew up, (or at least spent most of their young lives) and she didn't have any idea what to expect. She had a place to live already; Kon-El and Cassie had purchased an apartment a few blocks from the headquarters for her and Jared to live in, because neither Cassie or Kon-El had space for them, and signed the papers before they even arrived. She tried to talk them out of it, but they would have none of it. Now, while she moved in, Cassie thought she ought to reconvene with at least some of her family. She wondered what they would think, and then asked herself why it mattered. The white light of the fluorescent bulbs above her gave her light brown eyes amber highlights and her tanned skin a warm glow. Her dark hair fell loosely just past her shoulders and her long bangs were tucked behind her ears. Dressed in a form-fitting black tee and khaki wide-legs, she bore a striking resemblance to her mother and in her back pocket she carried her father's collapsible bo staff. His now worn green-tinted shades were perched on her head. She heard footsteps behind her and whirled, pulling the staff.
"Whoa, easy there!" Cassandra Sandsmark smiled. "It's just me."
Annie put the staff away and gave a half smile to her godmother, ashamed. "Sorry, Cassie. I should have been able to recognize your step." Cassie was just as she remembered, with golden curls now cropped in a manageable bob and provocative and intuitive blue eyes that could bring any man to his knees.
"Annie, you're only seventeen." Cassie said gently. "You have time to learn, and with reflexes like yours, it'll come soon enough."
"Mom and Dad could name people by their step at sixteen." Annie rationalized.
"You aren't your parents, Annie Drake." Cassie said. "But you have their skill and ingenuity. You'll learn. You're already better in your respects than most of the younger members of the NJLA."
"I think that's one of the best compliments I've ever received. Thank you." Annie replied somberly, and attempted a smile.
"I wouldn't say it if it weren't true." Cassie smiled, putting an arm around her shoulders. "Come on, I'll introduce you to your American family, Ane."
"Does anyone know why we were called here?" Clark Kent asked. A few members of the NJLA were assembled in the large meeting hall, waiting for Cassie and Kon-El, who arranged the event. No one seemed to know what was going on exactly or who the "mystery guest" was. Bruce Wayne just sat silently as usual while Clark Kent, Diana Prince, Dick Grayson, Wally West, Kyle Rayner and Kyle Harper argued floridly.
"No clue on my end. I'm not even that important and Kon called me, said to be here but nothing else." Kyle Harper replied.
"Cassie told me it had something to do with Tim." Dick put in.
"What?" Diana Prince asked. "But…we haven't heard from Tim since he left years ago…and then Mute left for Japan to find her family and Dick, you left for Europe."
"But I came back." Dick reminded.
"Her point is, the JLA started falling apart after Tim left…what does Cassie know about Tim?" Kyle Rayner asked as he scribbled on a last minute drawing for the newspaper.
"I don't know!" Dick cried, exasperated.
Just then Cassie came through the double doors, a large smile on her face. "Hi everybody!" she said cheerily. "There's someone here I'd like you all to meet. Annie?" Annie emerged from behind Cassie, looking around the room in quiet awe. She hardly recognized the place where she'd spent much of her earliest childhood. Then again, the last time she'd been here was when she was four, and her memory could not possibly have retained it that well.
"Whoa! Mute got younger!" Wally yelped, falling out of his chair in surprise. "That can't be…"
Annie looked at him curiously a moment. "Wally…?" she asked softly.
"Oh yes it can, Wally. Everyone, this is Annie Drake. Tim and Mute's daughter. Do you remember her?"
"ANE MIAKO CASSANDRA CAIN DRAKE!" Cassie's introduction was interrupted by Kon's cry from the hall.
Annie's stomach sank. "Here we go…" Annie sighed. "I'm dead, and I haven't been here ten minutes…" Now she knew why she was afraid to face family, as she looked around the room. No one would understand her, or Jared, and would never be able to connect with them. These people could connect with their parents, but not with them.
Cassie put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile. "Annie, you know Kon has a temper."
"Yes, and I also know that whenever he uses my full name, I'm really in trouble." Annie replied absently, glancing around the room. "Dad once told me about a door…" She moved to the wall directly to her right and slammed a fist into it. Across the room, part of the wall slid up. Thanks, Dad, she thought. At least now she could get away to be with her thoughts. She didn't know why she'd agreed to come, but she'd have to tough it out for at least the week.
"What on earth? How did you know about that?" Clark asked.
She pulled a small disc from her pocket and threw it out in front of her; it opened up to a round, disc-shaped hoverboard. She wasted no time in jumping onto it and speeding for the door. "Later, Cass."
"Kon, we have got our hands full with this girl." Cassie said as Kon-El walked into the room, looking disheveled and grumpy.
He sighed. "I'll speak with her. Did you know she got herself a job to pay us back for the apartment on 13th and Main?"
"Good. A job builds character." Diana remarked.
"She's too flighty." Bruce said coldly. "If she can't stand still long enough to explain herself--"
"She seems…confused, very lost, Bruce." Diana said, interrupting him. "She's hardly flighty. She's used to solitude, she's always been this way, remember? Just like her parents." Turning to Kon, she added, "If getting a job to pay you back is her way of finding herself here in America and being just as independent, let her do it, Kon-El. I doubt it will harm her."
He sighed and ran a hand through his black hair. "All right. I'll enroll her at the Hamilton and Jared at Thompson Elementary tomorrow. Late registration is better than never."
The first day of classes at Hamilton Hill High School in Gotham, New York. She didn't dress up, she didn't have anyone to impress. Instead she donned her usual khakis, a black tank top and her floor length fitted leather trench coat--her parents had given it to her for her fourteenth birthday, and now she never went anywhere without it. It was a small kind of comfort that no one but she could understand. She dropped Jared off at the elementary, only a block away, and after assuring him that she'd come back as soon as the day was through, she caught the bus downtown to HHHS. Once inside the school, Annie paused to look around. It was her first time in a public school; her parents home-schooled her all her life. The school itself was massive; the different levels and hallways seemed to blur together in an endless maze. How did anyone find their way? She shook her head and looked down at her schedule: History 1100 with Hamill, room 273.
She made it to class just as the bell rang and took a seat in the back corner. While everyone else talked fervently about their summer vacations, she took out her laptop and started typing a letter to the O'Neals. One of her peers, a large football player-type with red hair, looked over and saw her sitting alone.
"Hey gang, look, we've got a newbie!" he smiled. He got up and walked over to her. "Hi there, bright eyes, my name's Nash."
She looked briefly up at him and then went back to typing her letter. "Nice to meet you. Please leave me alone."
"Now don't be rude, babe." Nash smiled and shut the laptop, brushing some of her hair with his hand.
Annie caught his fingers and twisted. "Don't touch me or my things."
Nash yelped, but played it cool when Annie released him, chuckling. "Well, all I wanted was your name."
"Leave her alone, Nash."
Annie looked up at the speaker. What she saw startled her. He was tall and well built, lean with an air of solid character. His hair was raven dark and his eyes an icy blue. Just like Bruce, she thought.
"Shove off, McGinnis." Nash replied.
"My name's Annie Drake. Now would you please leave me alone?" she scowled at him. "Baka." she added softly in Japanese.
"See? Now that wasn't so hard. Drake, eh?" Nash asked. "I'd be careful who you hang out with. You want to make sure you hang out with the right kind, if you catch my meaning."
"Drake?" McGinnis asked. "Is that any relation to--"
He didn't have time to finish as the instructor walked in, but there was something in his eyes that made Annie wonder if he knew about her family. She'd have to watch him, and carefully.
"Welcome back, I'm Mr. Hamill, and I'll be teaching History 1100. Now please answer to your name…"
She zoned out as the names rolled off his tongue. A few moments later, she heard her own. "Here." she replied, still typing out her note.
"Miss Drake, please wait to write your letter until after class. Out of pure curiosity, are you any relation to Timothy Drake?"
Her fingers froze over the keyboard and she slowly closed the laptop, raising her eyes to meet his. "Why does it matter?"
"Who the hell is Timothy Drake?" Nash asked.
"He used to go to school with me here a hundred years ago. He is also a ward of Bruce Wayne."
"The rich guy Terry works for?" A blonde cheerleader asked, indicating McGinnis.
Annie just shook her head at the stupidity of her peers. "Not that it matters, but Timothy Drake is my father."
Hamill nodded. "Really? Give him my regards."
"I'll do that." she mumbled. Even here she couldn't escape the pain. She wondered if maybe that was why she was here…not to escape, but to learn to accept the pain, live with it. It wasn't as though she'd never felt pain. And in that, she found some glimmer of what she might once have called hope.
He finished calling role and slid a disc into the monitor. "Your first assignment is to write a poem--yes, a poem--" there were groans, "about what you would be like were you directly related to a famous person. Any famous person, good or bad, past or present. It must be at least a page long, of any kind of verse."
"Verse?" The blonde cheerleader asked. "We're singing?"
"No, Blade. Verse, meaning blank, free, or a set verse." Terry said.
"Oh…"
"You may begin. It is due by the end of the period, when you will all read them aloud to your peers and be graded accordingly." Hamill said, sitting down at his desk. "The clock is ticking."
If I was related? Annie wondered, and began to type, the words flowing from her brain to her fingertips at an alarming rate, one so rapid that it scared even her. But the words were somehow right, and she didn't stop. Repressed memories of her parents flooded back with each keystroke, good memories, bad memories…ones forgotten to still the pain in her heart and make her hard to life's joys, perhaps even the truth of things. While her peers struggled with a first line, she typed out the last words and reread her work:
I am called the Baby Bird.
The Girl Wonder.
Robin.
Take your pick.
I am my father's spirit.
I am my mother's reflection.
I am their legacy.
I didn't ask for this.
I didn't expect it.
But I was born to it.
The Mantle of Robin.
And the Mantle of Batgirl.
I am expected to follow.
Why did I choose to do this, even when I don't have to?
The truth?
I'm not sure, exactly.
Maybe because I make my parents proud.
Maybe because it gives me something to live for.
All I know is that I do it.
Maybe I should have a reason.
But I don't.
And maybe it's that need to find a reason that causes me to do it.
I love my job.
My job is my life.
And the rest is a façade.
I am Batgirl's child.
I am Robin's daughter.
I am their successor.
She exhaled as she read the last line. Yes, she was their successor, and she would have to behave as such from this point on. No more selfish acts, violent or otherwise. She was in America now, and it looked as though she would be staying quite awhile. All that mattered now was raising Jared and honoring her parents' memory by doing what her family did best--defend justice no matter what the cost.
*Disclaimer Credit: All existent DC characters and fan fic chars are property of their prospective owners!
Annie sat on her front porch as rain fell in sheets onto the roof. The wind blew the water into her face, drenching her jet-black hair and gi, but she didn't care. Her mistake cost her parents their lives, and she knew that there was no way to atone for such a horrendous error. As she sat there, a miserable sight with her gi sticking to her skin and water dripping off her stubborn nose, her temporary guardian peeked through the silk screen of the front door.
"Ane-san, it is not good for you to be out in this. Haitte kudasai." He said. "Please, come inside."
"Chotto o-machi, kudasai, Hiroshi-san." She said, staring out across the hazy Japanese landscape with an indecipherable emotion in her warm brown eyes. "Just a minute."
"Ii." Hiroshi nodded and started leave, but paused. "Annie—you are not responsible for what happened. You must know that, hai?"
"Arigato, Hiroshi-san." She replied. When he was gone, she murmured, "But I am."
She continued to watch the rain fall with indifference. The only thing that kept her American tears from falling was her Japanese education. It would be rude and disrespectful to disregard Hiroshi-san much longer. Self-disgust boiling inside her, she rose and swiftly delivered a purging spinning heel kick to one of the porch posts with her bare foot. She misjudged the target and would suffer a bruise tomorrow—but she was immune now to the physical pain. Frustrated and ashamed by her lack of concentration and accuracy, she gave the same post a spinning roundhouse kick countered with a right knifehand. This time she nailed her opponent; the whole house shook from the blow. Finding ironic comfort in the exercise, she continued to strike the posts, alternating knife hands with inside blocks and spinning heel kicks with side snap kicks, picking up speed and intensity as if to relieve the pain and rage in her soul. The anger inside her began turning to shame, then grief, and the tears she had restrained for so long now fell, pooling with the rainwater on the woven mats that covered the porch.
"Ane-san!" She ignored her Sensei's son. She was in no mood to talk now, especially not to him. She prayed that he could not see her tears. "Annie!"
"Leave me, Rei!" Annie choked out the order, not daring to take her eyes from the post for fear of losing her focus as she lashed out at him. The young man blocked her half-hearted outside block easily and pulled her into a liberating hug.
"Kekko, kekko." He whispered. "Alright, alright, cry all you want, you've deserved it."
"Rei, don't…" Her protests were weak and she knew it, but there he was, offering a much-needed hug. She clung to him fiercely a moment as she temporarily eradicated her tears and forced herself to calm. How was it that he, Rei Shiva, only three years her senior and whom she had known since the age of four, could know her so well? While everyone else, even her parents, complained of her ambiguous personality, he read her like a book. At last she pulled away, wrapping her arms around her sides and walking to the other end of the porch. "Stop, Rei. I need to pay for what I did."
"David Cain murdered your parents, Annie, not you. You had no hand in that." Rei said. She shook her head and walked to the other end of the porch.
"I knew he was in the area. I could have said something to Mom, or Dad, but I didn't."
"You made a judgmental error. I won't say you didn't, or that you didn't mean to keep it from them." He nodded. "You'll have to live with that decision for the rest of your life."
"All this could have been avoided," Annie growled, "if I hadn't underestimated my enemy. I didn't think he would dare come near us, and he did."
"You can't do anything now, Annie. Byoki desu." Rei told her gently. "You're going to be sick, if you stay out here. Haitte Kudasai." He walked over and touched her arm.
"Iie." Annie shook her head and pulled away from him. "Rei, he tried to kill Jared! My three-year-old brother!" Remembering herself, she lowered her eyes added calmly, "Arigato Rei, but kekko desu. I'm fine."
She couldn't discuss her feelings with him. Not only was he full-blooded Japanese, he was male. She was a female of Japanese-American heritage, and in this culture it was deemed dishonorable to show your feelings publicly. Though his family and hers were close, even their parents did not always share emotional sentiments with one another.
Her parents were murdered, that was true. But the way they were murdered…the pain of the loss intensified as the vision of her parents appeared, her father, Timothy Drake, with a bullet wound to the head and her mother, Mute Cain, an unintended casualty, with a bullet wound through her heart. In their earlier lives, they would have been able to top Cain before a single shot was fired; not now. She came home that day only ten minutes late from her Shotokan instruction with Lady Shiva, Rei's mother, and was not a hundred yards from her door when she heard Jared's terrified screams. She sprinted inside to see her parents on the floor and David Cain cornering Jared. Before she had the chance to think, she dove at Cain; her only thoughts were for her brother then. Cain turned and gave her an evil grin as he attacked her with a drawn knife. The next thing she knew, she had turned the knife on him; the blade struck true and he fell…
It did not bring the peace she had expected. Instead the revenge only increased the pain in her soul and the emptiness in her heart. She was weaker now than ever, unable to face her young brother who cried for her daily. Her shame was too great, and she would bear it alone; she would not allow her transgression to poison her brother. But how could she face him? How could she face anyone again?
A rumble of thunder gave her the answer she needed. Looking back across the lush green hills, she found that the rain had stopped. Insolent rays of light streaked through the treacherous holes in the clouds, and Annie closed her eyes.
"How can the sun shine today? Does it wish to mock me?" she asked Rei softly. He put an arm on her shoulder, then led her out from under the eve and into the yard.
"Maybe it isn't mocking you. Perhaps it means to give you hope." Rei replied, looking up into the clouds. "Your parents wouldn't want you to mourn like this. You must take care of yourself and your brother so that you can keep their legacy alive, Ane."
"I'm not worthy." Annie said, her voice devoid of any emotion.
"Let's worry about that later." He told her, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Come. It will be rude to neglect Hiroshi-san any longer."
"Hai." Annie nodded and walked with Rei back up the steps. Hope. Is there such a thing, was there ever? She asked silently. Turning back to look at the sky, she frowned. I don't even know anymore.
Three years later
Silence and darkness. Atop a skyscraper in the center of Osaka, two shrouded figures crouched. One had a pair of binoculars and was focusing on the bank across the plaza. They spoke in hushed Japanese. "What do you think, Komadori?" he asked. "They're in there, all right." his partner replied. She drew a length of synthetic grappling rope from around her well-defined waist. "Let's go."
Without another word, she launched herself effortlessly over the side of the building and slid down, then belayed away to land softly on the roof of the bank.
"Wai--oh, why do I bother?" the man murmured, shaking his head and following his headstrong companion. "She stopped listening ages ago."
She landed softly and silently in the shadows of the bank rafters. Four men stood below, all clad in dark, unmarked clothes. Three stood watch while the fourth worked on the lock of the vault.
"Come on, Eddie! Hurry up! The boss wants the shipment in on time!"
The girl-woman smiled maliciously. "Ooh, Americans. And what are you doing so far from home?"
The man called Eddie moved away from the vault and looked up. "What the--?"
There was no time for any more words. She swung from behind into Eddie's back, knocking him across the floor and into the vault door. Without pausing, she whirled around and gave the speaker a sharp roundhouse to the head. He was unconscious before he hit the cold ground and she turned to the other two who stood with guns drawn.
"Any takers?" she asked, coolly.
"Shoot her already!" the larger yelled.
Neither of them moved. "But…but Ray, she's--she's the komadori!"
"I don't give a damn!" he bellowed, cocking his glock and lifting it.
The woman blurred and a moment later she had the gun in her hands and the man on his knees. "Didn't your parents ever tell you not to play with guns?" With three fluid strokes she disassembled the weapon and threw the pieces aside. "Oh, go on. Shoot me, if you're going to." she said, goading him on with her warm brown eyes. "Go on." She kicked him once more for good measure.
"You bitch!" the floored man yelled, taking a gun from his shaking comrade and firing. The laser bullet sliced through her shoulder and fire flared in her eyes. She moved not one inch from the impact. Instead she grabbed him by the collar and began to beat him, though the blood began to soak her suit. No man pulled a gun on her. Ever. He would pay for such an infraction. She broke his nose and jaw with the same swift stroke, and his collarbone with the reverse. He moaned, being unable to speak, and she continued to thrash him, taking out all her pain and suffering on his pitiful hide. She didn't care anymore who it was that she beat for her parents' deaths, as long as it was someone. The remaining thief backed away as he watched her savagery turn his friend from and strong and able man to a quivering, bloody mess. He was almost to the door when the woman's companion dropped silently behind him.
"Miss me much?" he asked. The thief opened his mouth to scream and the man's hand flew to his throat, squeezing a pressure point that had him unconscious before sound could escape. The man bound him,set him in a corner and turned to see that the man his partner was beating was also unconscious and sitting in a pool of his own blood. "Komadori, stop! Stop!" he demanded in a sharp voice. He took her by the shoulders and dragged her off of him. "Why are you--" he stopped when he saw her wince. Only then did he notice the blood from her shoulder wound. "Let's go. The Police will take it from here."
"What were you thinking, Annie? I've never seen you that angry, that…that primal!" The man yelled. The pair sat within the home of Patrick and Miyoko Kobayashi O'Neal, bandaging the woman's shoulder.
"He pulled a gun, Michael." Annie spat, removing her cowl. She spoke in English out of respect for Mr. O'Neal, but wouldn't have any of the same courtesy in tone for her lifelong friend. "I messed up, I know."
Mrs. O'Neal, a petite Japanese woman with warm almond eyes, carried in a tray of steaming green tea from the kitchen. "Yes, and you got yourself shot because of it, Miako." she replied, using one of Annie's endearments. "You don't need to injure others to still your own pain. You know better than that."
Annie colored, embarrassed to admit that what Mrs. O'Neal said was true. "Hai. Arigato gama sa, Miyoko-san." she said, bowing her head. "Thank you for teaching me."
"Never mind that now. You just take a little break, okay?" Mr. O'Neal remarked. "And drink some tea." he took a cup from his wife and bowed his head as was custom, then handed another to Annie. She took it and bowed. "We all make mistakes." Mr. O'Neal continued. "Learn from them, don't repeat them."
"But Dad--" Michael began to speak but was silenced by his mother.
"Michael Kentaro Kobayashi O'Neal, drink." she ordered, handing him a fresh cup.
He bowed, then placed it aside and knelt in front of Annie. "You could have died." There was a pain in his ghostly green-gray eyes that made her shiver.
"I think he's the one who should be worried about that, Michael." Annie replied, dourly sipping her tea and turning the cup in her hands.
"I mean it, Annie! I couldn't bear losing you. None of us could, especially Jared. You know that."
"Yes, I do." she replied, turning her wrists to see the thin, faded pink scars at the base of her palms. She winced, remembering how selfish she had been shortly after her parents were murdered. At fourteen she didn't know how else to handle her loss and one day locked herself inside the family dojo, slicing her wrists with the sharp edge of her best shukusen, bladed fan, hoping to make it look accidental. To her dismay, although perhaps luckily, Lady Shiva found her and was able to get in. She bound Annie's wrists and proceeded to give her the worst beating of her life for attempting such a dishonorable and selfish act. Her other wounds healed, but the scars on her wrists remained, serving as a constant reminder of her foolish past. From that day on, she committed herself to raising Jared, refusing help even from the O'Neals, her Japanese godparents, and found a new hope in him. It was hardly easy at first, because he trusted her so completely that she found herself lacking in every respect imaginable, and yet he loved her. Some days it was incomprehensible.
"Well, we'll just leave you two to chat, then." Mr. O'Neal remarked, breaking the silence and offering his arm to his wife. "Shall we, my dear?"
"I'll clean up, Miyoko-san." Annie said quickly.
Mrs. O'Neal nodded with a gentle smile and she left the room with her husband.
"There's nothing you can say to change the way I feel, you know." Annie said, running a finger over the rim of her teacup and gazing blankly into the amber liquid. "So don't try."
"I don't want to change the way you feel about your parents." Michael replied. "I just don't want to see you in pain. There are a lot of people in this world who care about you, Annie Drake--"
"Even after what I've done?" she asked coldly, eyes shooting to meet his.
"You weren't the reason your mother and father were murdered." Michael said firmly. "Even if you had said something, fate would still--"
"There is no such thing as fate." she growled. Fate? What was that? There was only destiny, good or ill, but dying at the hands of a maniac? God wouldn't be so cruel to her parents, who fought their entire lives for justice. It just couldn't be.
"All right then." He allowed. Pausing a moment, he pursed his lips. "If it's someone's time, no one can argue that. If I were to die tomorrow, that would be it, Annie."
"Don't even think it." she muttered, fixing her eyes on the tea again.
"There was a time that the light in your eyes flickered for no one. What happened to that hope?"
Hope. The same word Rei used three years ago. Was there such a thing? And again Annie thought, I don't even know anymore. What she knew was dust, and what she understood was nothing but the shadow of memory. She had to start over now, rebuild in her mind what society called hope, called faith, called trust. She would redefine the words, come to accept them unconditionally, and then what? Would those meanings too be dashed?
"Annie?"
"What? Oh…I…I don't know." She replied, blankly staring at the table.
"Look," he said, sitting beside her on the couch and running a hand through his jet-black hair, "I talked to my parents, and they've been in contact with Kon-El and Ms. Sandsmark."
Annie snapped to attention. "What about Kon and Cassie?"
"They want you to move to Gotham, New York. With Jared." he said. "I…think it might be good for you. Kon-El and Ms. Sandsmark are your godparents, your legal godparents, Annie. Besides, your entire family is there--"
"My family is here, Michael." she said firmly. "I haven't got family in America, save Kon and Cassie, the other members of the YJ, maybe. But if you mean Bruce Wayne--"
"He's your grandfather."
She let out a burst of laughter. "Hardly! If he were my grandfather, he'd take more interest in us. He's never come to visit, although he has the means. And when Mom was pregnant with Jared? Nothing. Not even when Jared was born. As far as he's concerned we don't exist."
"I don't think that's true."
"I don't want to leave."
"Why?"
Why? She paused; could she answer that question? Would she? She didn't want to admit that she was even slightly afraid of the unknown, of her "family" in America. She'd hardly knew any of them except Kon-El, Cassie, and Kyle Harper, and even Kyle was a mystery.
"I can't tell you."
"Look, I think it's a good idea, Annie. Really." Michael drew her into a hug and she drew him close, releasing the stinging tears to soak his black shirt. She hated crying. It showed her weakness and her need for help. Her parents taught her that crying sometimes helped, but to cry as much as she was now? She didn't know anything anymore except that it felt good to be held by Michael just now.
"I can't do this on my own, Kentaro." she murmured, using his Japanese name and resting her head on his shoulder. "I can't raise Jared by myself."
"No one expects you to." he replied, brushing her hair away from her face. "That's what family is for. Besides, you're doing a great job. Just try it, and if you don't like America, you always have a home with us."
She shook her head. "No, I have to be independent for once…I'll go. But if I come back…I'll find my own way."
"I know. That's what makes you a Drake."
Three months later
Within the sterile, hi-tech walls of the New Justice League of America's headquarters, Annie waited with anxious anticipation. She was finally back in the place where her parents grew up, (or at least spent most of their young lives) and she didn't have any idea what to expect. She had a place to live already; Kon-El and Cassie had purchased an apartment a few blocks from the headquarters for her and Jared to live in, because neither Cassie or Kon-El had space for them, and signed the papers before they even arrived. She tried to talk them out of it, but they would have none of it. Now, while she moved in, Cassie thought she ought to reconvene with at least some of her family. She wondered what they would think, and then asked herself why it mattered. The white light of the fluorescent bulbs above her gave her light brown eyes amber highlights and her tanned skin a warm glow. Her dark hair fell loosely just past her shoulders and her long bangs were tucked behind her ears. Dressed in a form-fitting black tee and khaki wide-legs, she bore a striking resemblance to her mother and in her back pocket she carried her father's collapsible bo staff. His now worn green-tinted shades were perched on her head. She heard footsteps behind her and whirled, pulling the staff.
"Whoa, easy there!" Cassandra Sandsmark smiled. "It's just me."
Annie put the staff away and gave a half smile to her godmother, ashamed. "Sorry, Cassie. I should have been able to recognize your step." Cassie was just as she remembered, with golden curls now cropped in a manageable bob and provocative and intuitive blue eyes that could bring any man to his knees.
"Annie, you're only seventeen." Cassie said gently. "You have time to learn, and with reflexes like yours, it'll come soon enough."
"Mom and Dad could name people by their step at sixteen." Annie rationalized.
"You aren't your parents, Annie Drake." Cassie said. "But you have their skill and ingenuity. You'll learn. You're already better in your respects than most of the younger members of the NJLA."
"I think that's one of the best compliments I've ever received. Thank you." Annie replied somberly, and attempted a smile.
"I wouldn't say it if it weren't true." Cassie smiled, putting an arm around her shoulders. "Come on, I'll introduce you to your American family, Ane."
"Does anyone know why we were called here?" Clark Kent asked. A few members of the NJLA were assembled in the large meeting hall, waiting for Cassie and Kon-El, who arranged the event. No one seemed to know what was going on exactly or who the "mystery guest" was. Bruce Wayne just sat silently as usual while Clark Kent, Diana Prince, Dick Grayson, Wally West, Kyle Rayner and Kyle Harper argued floridly.
"No clue on my end. I'm not even that important and Kon called me, said to be here but nothing else." Kyle Harper replied.
"Cassie told me it had something to do with Tim." Dick put in.
"What?" Diana Prince asked. "But…we haven't heard from Tim since he left years ago…and then Mute left for Japan to find her family and Dick, you left for Europe."
"But I came back." Dick reminded.
"Her point is, the JLA started falling apart after Tim left…what does Cassie know about Tim?" Kyle Rayner asked as he scribbled on a last minute drawing for the newspaper.
"I don't know!" Dick cried, exasperated.
Just then Cassie came through the double doors, a large smile on her face. "Hi everybody!" she said cheerily. "There's someone here I'd like you all to meet. Annie?" Annie emerged from behind Cassie, looking around the room in quiet awe. She hardly recognized the place where she'd spent much of her earliest childhood. Then again, the last time she'd been here was when she was four, and her memory could not possibly have retained it that well.
"Whoa! Mute got younger!" Wally yelped, falling out of his chair in surprise. "That can't be…"
Annie looked at him curiously a moment. "Wally…?" she asked softly.
"Oh yes it can, Wally. Everyone, this is Annie Drake. Tim and Mute's daughter. Do you remember her?"
"ANE MIAKO CASSANDRA CAIN DRAKE!" Cassie's introduction was interrupted by Kon's cry from the hall.
Annie's stomach sank. "Here we go…" Annie sighed. "I'm dead, and I haven't been here ten minutes…" Now she knew why she was afraid to face family, as she looked around the room. No one would understand her, or Jared, and would never be able to connect with them. These people could connect with their parents, but not with them.
Cassie put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile. "Annie, you know Kon has a temper."
"Yes, and I also know that whenever he uses my full name, I'm really in trouble." Annie replied absently, glancing around the room. "Dad once told me about a door…" She moved to the wall directly to her right and slammed a fist into it. Across the room, part of the wall slid up. Thanks, Dad, she thought. At least now she could get away to be with her thoughts. She didn't know why she'd agreed to come, but she'd have to tough it out for at least the week.
"What on earth? How did you know about that?" Clark asked.
She pulled a small disc from her pocket and threw it out in front of her; it opened up to a round, disc-shaped hoverboard. She wasted no time in jumping onto it and speeding for the door. "Later, Cass."
"Kon, we have got our hands full with this girl." Cassie said as Kon-El walked into the room, looking disheveled and grumpy.
He sighed. "I'll speak with her. Did you know she got herself a job to pay us back for the apartment on 13th and Main?"
"Good. A job builds character." Diana remarked.
"She's too flighty." Bruce said coldly. "If she can't stand still long enough to explain herself--"
"She seems…confused, very lost, Bruce." Diana said, interrupting him. "She's hardly flighty. She's used to solitude, she's always been this way, remember? Just like her parents." Turning to Kon, she added, "If getting a job to pay you back is her way of finding herself here in America and being just as independent, let her do it, Kon-El. I doubt it will harm her."
He sighed and ran a hand through his black hair. "All right. I'll enroll her at the Hamilton and Jared at Thompson Elementary tomorrow. Late registration is better than never."
The first day of classes at Hamilton Hill High School in Gotham, New York. She didn't dress up, she didn't have anyone to impress. Instead she donned her usual khakis, a black tank top and her floor length fitted leather trench coat--her parents had given it to her for her fourteenth birthday, and now she never went anywhere without it. It was a small kind of comfort that no one but she could understand. She dropped Jared off at the elementary, only a block away, and after assuring him that she'd come back as soon as the day was through, she caught the bus downtown to HHHS. Once inside the school, Annie paused to look around. It was her first time in a public school; her parents home-schooled her all her life. The school itself was massive; the different levels and hallways seemed to blur together in an endless maze. How did anyone find their way? She shook her head and looked down at her schedule: History 1100 with Hamill, room 273.
She made it to class just as the bell rang and took a seat in the back corner. While everyone else talked fervently about their summer vacations, she took out her laptop and started typing a letter to the O'Neals. One of her peers, a large football player-type with red hair, looked over and saw her sitting alone.
"Hey gang, look, we've got a newbie!" he smiled. He got up and walked over to her. "Hi there, bright eyes, my name's Nash."
She looked briefly up at him and then went back to typing her letter. "Nice to meet you. Please leave me alone."
"Now don't be rude, babe." Nash smiled and shut the laptop, brushing some of her hair with his hand.
Annie caught his fingers and twisted. "Don't touch me or my things."
Nash yelped, but played it cool when Annie released him, chuckling. "Well, all I wanted was your name."
"Leave her alone, Nash."
Annie looked up at the speaker. What she saw startled her. He was tall and well built, lean with an air of solid character. His hair was raven dark and his eyes an icy blue. Just like Bruce, she thought.
"Shove off, McGinnis." Nash replied.
"My name's Annie Drake. Now would you please leave me alone?" she scowled at him. "Baka." she added softly in Japanese.
"See? Now that wasn't so hard. Drake, eh?" Nash asked. "I'd be careful who you hang out with. You want to make sure you hang out with the right kind, if you catch my meaning."
"Drake?" McGinnis asked. "Is that any relation to--"
He didn't have time to finish as the instructor walked in, but there was something in his eyes that made Annie wonder if he knew about her family. She'd have to watch him, and carefully.
"Welcome back, I'm Mr. Hamill, and I'll be teaching History 1100. Now please answer to your name…"
She zoned out as the names rolled off his tongue. A few moments later, she heard her own. "Here." she replied, still typing out her note.
"Miss Drake, please wait to write your letter until after class. Out of pure curiosity, are you any relation to Timothy Drake?"
Her fingers froze over the keyboard and she slowly closed the laptop, raising her eyes to meet his. "Why does it matter?"
"Who the hell is Timothy Drake?" Nash asked.
"He used to go to school with me here a hundred years ago. He is also a ward of Bruce Wayne."
"The rich guy Terry works for?" A blonde cheerleader asked, indicating McGinnis.
Annie just shook her head at the stupidity of her peers. "Not that it matters, but Timothy Drake is my father."
Hamill nodded. "Really? Give him my regards."
"I'll do that." she mumbled. Even here she couldn't escape the pain. She wondered if maybe that was why she was here…not to escape, but to learn to accept the pain, live with it. It wasn't as though she'd never felt pain. And in that, she found some glimmer of what she might once have called hope.
He finished calling role and slid a disc into the monitor. "Your first assignment is to write a poem--yes, a poem--" there were groans, "about what you would be like were you directly related to a famous person. Any famous person, good or bad, past or present. It must be at least a page long, of any kind of verse."
"Verse?" The blonde cheerleader asked. "We're singing?"
"No, Blade. Verse, meaning blank, free, or a set verse." Terry said.
"Oh…"
"You may begin. It is due by the end of the period, when you will all read them aloud to your peers and be graded accordingly." Hamill said, sitting down at his desk. "The clock is ticking."
If I was related? Annie wondered, and began to type, the words flowing from her brain to her fingertips at an alarming rate, one so rapid that it scared even her. But the words were somehow right, and she didn't stop. Repressed memories of her parents flooded back with each keystroke, good memories, bad memories…ones forgotten to still the pain in her heart and make her hard to life's joys, perhaps even the truth of things. While her peers struggled with a first line, she typed out the last words and reread her work:
I am called the Baby Bird.
The Girl Wonder.
Robin.
Take your pick.
I am my father's spirit.
I am my mother's reflection.
I am their legacy.
I didn't ask for this.
I didn't expect it.
But I was born to it.
The Mantle of Robin.
And the Mantle of Batgirl.
I am expected to follow.
Why did I choose to do this, even when I don't have to?
The truth?
I'm not sure, exactly.
Maybe because I make my parents proud.
Maybe because it gives me something to live for.
All I know is that I do it.
Maybe I should have a reason.
But I don't.
And maybe it's that need to find a reason that causes me to do it.
I love my job.
My job is my life.
And the rest is a façade.
I am Batgirl's child.
I am Robin's daughter.
I am their successor.
She exhaled as she read the last line. Yes, she was their successor, and she would have to behave as such from this point on. No more selfish acts, violent or otherwise. She was in America now, and it looked as though she would be staying quite awhile. All that mattered now was raising Jared and honoring her parents' memory by doing what her family did best--defend justice no matter what the cost.