Thunderstorms: Part Two
Okay, so this is the second part of Annie's intro--it isn't as good as the first part in my opinion, but bear with me, I'm new at this! And I know the ending is…iffy, but there's more to come, so go easy on me, please?
Disclaimer: DC Characters and established fanfic chars are property of their prospective owners!
"Come on, Jared, time to wake up. School's in an hour." Annie nudged her sleeping sibling as he lay curled up in his bed wearing his gi. She smiled to herself. Even after two months in America and a lifetime of batman/superman underwear, he still preferred to sleep only in his uniform. She hated to wake him; he looked so peaceful with deep, even breaths that made his small form move rhythmically. His dark hair matched hers and was still in the same place on his pillow that it had been when he first closed his bright, icy blue eyes.
Slowly, those eyes now fluttered open and he sat up with a yawn. "Ii." He said groggily in Japanese. "Okay…Good morning."
"Good morning, handsome. What do you want for breakfast?"
He rubbed his eyes free of sleep and jumped down in stocking feet onto the slick wood floor. "Can I have some eggs, please?"
"Anything you want." Annie replied with a smile. "I laid out some underwear, shirts and two pairs of pants for you to pick from on your toy chest. Think you can get ready all by yourself today while I fix breakfast?" she asked him with a wink. Her own body ached from the previous night's roof run, but she masked the fatigue well.
His eyes lit up. He was being treated like a big boy! "Sure I can, Annie!" he ran over to the chest and untied his gi.
Annie chuckled and walked into the kitchen. "Don't forget to brush your teeth." She walked to the refrigerator and took out the eggs.
Jared was such a joy, her only joy, it seemed. He was beyond his years in maturity, somehow, always trying not to cry, even when he woke her screaming from a nightmare. He only had one nightmare, but then it wasn't a nightmare at all, it was reality. Three years after their parents' deaths they both suffered from the traumatic and bloody visions, though Annie was sure Jared's were much worse than her own since he had witnessed the entire thing. And yet most days he was a smiling, bright-eyed six-year-old without a care, and always trying to make her laugh. He was a strong one, just like their father. She wondered sometimes if he was stronger than she was; at least he could smile in spite of it all, something she still yearned to master.
She brought out the skillet and turned the burner on low. These days you could put near-to-raw materials into a processor and have a full blown meal in a matter of minutes, but cooking was something Annie actually enjoyed. It reminded her of the days she spent in the kitchen with her mother. She chuckled at the small comfort, one of several she'd found since that fateful day. It was never anything much, that reminded her of her parents. A sound, a smell, a word, an article of clothing…she would make sure Jared would never forget these things. These were the most precious. She cracked the eggs into a bowl and began to beat them. Her eyes wandered to a vase of flowers on the kitchen table and she found irony in the fact that people who knew of their loss went out of their way to extend condolences and send flowers, which only threw salt on the wound as much as it was intended to help. Instead it was the daily things that helped; how Jared had a habit of balancing himself on one arm, the way Tim did, and how Annie always managed to sense something just before it happened, like their mother.
She added salt to the eggs, sprayed the pan and poured the mixture into it. Jared emerged from his room wearing an orange shirt with red pants and his usual blue snap sneakers. Annie tried not to laugh as she scrambled the half-cooked mixture. "Look at you!" she grinned. "Do you want juice or milk?"
"Juice." he replied, climbing onto the stool to get a cup from the cupboard. "I'll get it, Annie. You don't have to."
"Arigato, Jomei." she replied, using his Japanese middle name.
While they finished breakfast, Annie helped Jared go over his addition and then they walked the block to his elementary school. She watched him walk himself to his class and waved when the teacher met him at the door. The kindly woman smiled and waved back. Then she walked another block to the bus stop and rode it all the way to Hamilton. The wind whipped at her body when she hopped off and she pulled her black trench coat around her, lifting the collar to shield the lower part of her face. She hated the winter.
She saw Terry McGinnis with his girlfriend Dana Tan standing on one side of the steps and Nash and his wrestling goons on the other. Great, two kinds of plague today, she thought.
"Hey, look, it's Robin's legacy." Nash quipped. "How about that poem, Drake? You really are living in a fantasy world!"
"Baka." she muttered, walking past. If she stopped to argue she'd waste her breath. There was never any point arguing with him. He was too thick to understand it, anyway. He hardly knew what a poem was, much less what a decent on was like. One down, one to go.
"Don't pay attention to him." Dana told her gently. "It's not like he matters."
"Did I say he does?" she asked, keeping her pace.
"Annie--"
She stopped and turned. "What do you want, McGinnis?" There was something about him that just annoyed her and she didn't know exactly what it was. Perhaps it was his likeness to her father's guardian.
"Bruce--Mr. Wayne wants to see you. You and your little brother."
She scowled. "Why would he want to see us? Who are we, to see Bruce Wayne?"
"You're his grandkids."
Annie looked from him to Dana and back at him, letting out a low chuckle. "That's a laugh. You're his errand boy and you think you know it all. You have a lot to learn." She kept walking. So Bruce wanted to see them now, did he?
Nash whistled. "So saith the shrew-dyke."
"Be careful what you say about that lady." A warm bass voice cut through the cold of the morning and Annie paused on the step. It couldn't be…
"Oh yeah, and who are you?" Nash asked the man.
"The name's O'Neal."
She whirled around. That voice did sound familiar! But what was he doing here? She saw Terry and Dana give her strange looks and Nash chuckled.
"And what makes you so special?"
"Nothing. I'm only saying that you'd better be careful with that one." Michael caught her eyes and he winked. "She's a real tiger when she wants to be."
She walked back down the steps to meet him, hardly amused. "Michael Kentaro Kobayashi O'Neal, what are you doing here?" She asked in Japanese.
He pulled her into a warm hug. Something she'd missed. "Ane, this is America. They speak English here." he grinned, kissing her forehead. "And as for what I'm doing here, I'm working." He held out his arms to indicate the school. "Kon got me an internship and gave me a job."
"The dyke has a boyfriend?" Nash laughed. "Man, you must be hard-up!"
Michael turned. "For the last time, watch what you say."
"And what are you gonna do about it?"
"Excuse me, komadori. As long as you hide that pretty face, I'll have to do this." he whispered to her. Walking over to Nash, he moved so close that they were nose to nose and looked him in the eye. "You really don't want to make Annie angry, but when it comes to my friends, I'm the one to watch out for. Don't. Cross me."
"Michael, cut it out. Just…go inside." Annie muttered, rolling her eyes. "Go inside!" she went over and hauled him away from Nash. "I don't need your protection and I never did! Get out of here!" she punched his arm rather weakly and he let out a small cry of surprise.
"Hey! Annie, stop that!"
"What are you doing here?"
"I told you already."
"Then why are you here?"
He shook his head. "I'm here for work-study, Ane Miako. I'm upsetting you, I'll see you later, then." He nodded and trotted up the stairs into the building, nodding to Dana as he passed.
"I can't believe this…what am I, a child?" she said after him. "Does he think I can't take care of myself?"
She knew the answer to that, and the answer was no. As angry as she was, she was somehow glad to have him here. A familiar face. So Kon-El had given him a job, no doubt so that he could be here for her. It was a bittersweet surprise, one that she dearly needed and at the same time one that might break her. She glanced over at Nash, slightly surprised to see him duly shaken. She shook her head and went inside, hoping to forget an already stressful day in her studies.
Things went as usual throughout the day, with Annie as the self-appointed outcast sitting in the corner, and when lunch hour rolled around, she went to sit by herself at a corner table to eat her rice ball and green tea. She watched as her peers separated into their various cliques and sat at different tables. There were the cheerleaders, the jocks, the geeks…and then there were the floaters. Among them were Terry McGinnis and Maxine Gibson, a computer hacker with a genius's IQ. Annie was more comfortable alone than with anyone else.
"Is this seat taken?"
She looked up into Michael's green-gray eyes and half smiled. "No." she looked back at her rice ball and poked at it with her chopsticks. She was glad to see him and at the same time a little nervous. Why can't I look him in the eye? She wondered.
He slid beside her and brought out a bowl of cold teriyaki. "Rice balls, hmm?"
"Yeah. Even after three months I still can't bring myself to eat pizza. Sad, isn't it? Rice balls as comfort food."
"There are worse things." He put his hand over hers. "How are you doing? How's Jared?"
She put down the chopsticks. She was making a mess of the rice ball anyway. "Look, I'm sorry about this morning." She blurted. "I just…didn't expect to see you--"
"I know, it's fine. What I asked was how are you doing."
"I'm fine, Jared's doing well in school." Annie looked up at him, expecting to see him angry. Big mistake. What she saw made her heart ache--nothing but concern filled his being. She fixed her eyes on the table again. "Why do you care so much?"
He smiled. That smile always cheered her up, but now it only made the bittersweet pain stronger. "Because I'm your friend, Annie Drake. And friends support each other. You don't have to do it all on your own."
"I don't need anyone's help." She pulled her hand from his and turned away.
"Why are you being this way? I just want to help. Rei was going to come, but Michiko and Akio are engaged, and--"
Annie's mouth dropped open and she turned back. "Michi and Akio are getting married?"
Michael laughed. "I knew that would get your attention. And yes, they've only been in love with one another since birth."
Michiko Midori was another childhood friend, the older girl who lived next door and always knew what to do. Akio Kiyoshi was the son of her Shaolin Kempo instructor and a close friend of Rei's and Michael's. The five youths grew up together in Osaka, always there for one another despite their difference in age. Now Michi and Akio were engaged and Annie hadn't heard?
"I know that."
"You're not even going to smile for that?" he asked her.
She gave a half smile. "Of course I'm happy for them, Michael. I just…there's…" her eyes glazed. She couldn't explain, there weren't words. Instead, she just hugged him tightly. "I'm glad you're here."
Michael sighed and hugged her back. "So am I. Now let's finish lunch or they'll think we're saps."
Annie choked on her laughter. So long since she was able to do that. And it felt good, genuinely good. Suddenly the ache in her body disappeared, and she only felt slightly guilty.
She didn't see Michael for the rest of the day and still felt the jab of remorse for hitting him, even if it was barely enough to bruise. She picked up Jared from school, the thought of her friend still weighing heavily in her mind.
"How was school today?" she asked as they walked home.
Jared smiled and held up a fist of papers. "I got an A on my art project and I'm student of the week because of my math and reading!"
Annie took the papers and looked them over. One was a page of simple addition, the same one they'd worked on that morning. Another was a spelling test, devoid of any errors. She paused when she saw the third; it was a paste collage of construction paper and marker. His art project. On it she saw a house with five people standing in front. Two more, a man and a woman, were in the sky above the house.
"Jared…who are these people?"
"That's you, and me," he indicated each person with his small finger, "and Miyoko-san and Patrick-san, and Michael. That's their house, because we lived with them."
"And who…who are these two?"
"Mom and Dad. They're watching us. See?" he said, pointing to their eyes. "I think about them all the time."
"So do I, Jare…so do I…" She kissed his forehead. "Listen, I have a surprise for you. Michael showed up at my school today."
Her brother's eyes were wide. "Really? Michael's here? In America?"
Annie nodded. "Uh-huh. He's staying with Kon-El until he can get his own apartment. It was Kon-El who brought him here."
"That was nice of him."
"Yes, it was."
"Are we gonna see him soon?"
"Actually, I thought we'd go to see him today. But first, we have to go see Bruce." She said to him. "He wants to talk to us, what about I don't know."
"Maybe he just wants to say hello."
"Somehow I doubt that…"
They took the bus as far as the park and hailed a cab to go the rest of the way to Wayne Manor. For Jared, the manor would be a new sight. For Annie, there were vaguely potent recollections of the immense edifice that was a testament to Wayne's wealth and legacy. Both good and bad, she wondered why after all this time Bruce suddenly wanted to see them. He hadn't even spoken to her that first day she visited the NJLA headquarters.
She paid the cab driver and they walked up to the gates of the manor.
Jared's eyes looked ready to pop from his head. "This is where Grandpa Bruce lives?"
Grandpa. He called Bruce Wayne Grandpa. She supposed he was in a way, being their father's guardian and their mother's mentor, but in that way only. Were he really their grandfather, he would have shown some interest long before now.
"Yes, Jared. This is where he lives. If I remember correctly, he has a dog that you'll like very much." Annie pressed the buzzer at the gate.
"Who's there?" McGinnis's voice. What a surprise.
"Annie and Jared Drake, McGinnis. You said earlier Bruce wanted to see us, so here we are."
"Oh. Yeah, just a sec."
There was silence and then the gates began to open. Jared tugged on Annie's jacket. "Why are you so mean to him?"
"I'm not mean, Jared. I just don't know him. I don't trust him."
"You should at least give him a chance."
She was stuck; of course Jared was right, but she still wasn't sure. Jared slipped his hand into hers and they walked up the driveway to the mansion. McGinnis waited at the door for them, trying to keep a large Doberman at bay and losing the battle. Annie sighed. There was a time Alfred would have been standing in McGinnis's place, and she would have given him a hug and he….she shook the thought away. That was in the past. Alfred was dead, and there was no bringing him back.
"Ace! Hey, easy Scooby!" The dog pulled from McGinnis's grasp and bounded over to Annie, knocking her over.
"Ow! Oh, come on, Ace! Yes, I'm glad to see you too. Now get off, come on." She laughed and the Doberman obediently stepped away and sat. As she got up and dusted herself off, Ace began to sniff Jared's hair, level with his large head.
"Er, sorry about that."
"It's okay, McGinnis. Ace and I are old friends. Except he was half that size last I saw him."
"You know, you can call me Terry." he offered.
"Why are you being so friendly?"
"Why are you being so stubborn? Oh yeah, it's in your blood." Terry replied sourly. "You know, Michael O'Neal said you'd be like this."
Her eyes had wandered to Jared and Ace, now getting duly acquainted, and they snapped to meet Terry's. "You talked to Michael?"
"We're what I'd call friends."
"Well, just because you talked to Michael doesn't mean you know me."
"Just because you're hurting doesn't mean you can take it out on everyone else." Terry retorted, his eyes growing sad. "I oughtta know."
"Look, I'm only here to see Bruce. I don't need your lectures."
"Maybe if you hear it enough it'll stick." Terry spat. "I know what you're going through, believe me."
"You have no idea what we're going through." Annie said, eyes dark. "Come on, Jared. Bring Ace, too. We don't need him getting sick." she brushed past Terry and Jared followed suit with the dog.
"Wait, Bruce is--"
"I know where Bruce is."
"Annie's just a little grumpy because she didn't get much sleep last night." Jared explained to Terry. "She's actually really nice."
"I hope you're right, kid."
Walking into the manor was like turning back the hand of time. Very little, if anything, had changed since she'd last walked the halls. It was still the most melancholy place she knew, dark and drab, with very little color.
Jared caught up to her and took her hand. "This place is scary, Annie."
"I know it is." she said gently. "But I promise I won't let anything hurt you."
She walked into the library and over to the familiar shelf. She remembered little else as vividly as she did these books. Tim and Mute had visited Bruce only once with Annie when she was seven, but the memories remained burned in her mind. She ran her fingers along the worn bindings of the books, now archaic by modern standards. Selecting one, she pulled it halfway from the shelf and the entire bookcase slid away. A vast, dark corridor was revealed and Jared hid behind Annie.
"It's okay, Jared. Do you remember me telling you about the Batcave, where Mom and Dad used to train?"
"This is it?" Jared gulped. "Well then…let's go see it…"
She gave her brother a pitying smile and hugged him tight. "You're such a brave guy. What would I do without you?" They started carefully down the dusty corridor and left Terry standing with Ace.
"She's a puzzle." He told the dog. "Two personalities, one person."
Ace only sneezed and shook his head.
"I guess you know more than I do, don't you boy? It's going to be really interesting having her around here. Especially if she accepts Bruce's offer. "
Okay, so this is the second part of Annie's intro--it isn't as good as the first part in my opinion, but bear with me, I'm new at this! And I know the ending is…iffy, but there's more to come, so go easy on me, please?
Disclaimer: DC Characters and established fanfic chars are property of their prospective owners!
"Come on, Jared, time to wake up. School's in an hour." Annie nudged her sleeping sibling as he lay curled up in his bed wearing his gi. She smiled to herself. Even after two months in America and a lifetime of batman/superman underwear, he still preferred to sleep only in his uniform. She hated to wake him; he looked so peaceful with deep, even breaths that made his small form move rhythmically. His dark hair matched hers and was still in the same place on his pillow that it had been when he first closed his bright, icy blue eyes.
Slowly, those eyes now fluttered open and he sat up with a yawn. "Ii." He said groggily in Japanese. "Okay…Good morning."
"Good morning, handsome. What do you want for breakfast?"
He rubbed his eyes free of sleep and jumped down in stocking feet onto the slick wood floor. "Can I have some eggs, please?"
"Anything you want." Annie replied with a smile. "I laid out some underwear, shirts and two pairs of pants for you to pick from on your toy chest. Think you can get ready all by yourself today while I fix breakfast?" she asked him with a wink. Her own body ached from the previous night's roof run, but she masked the fatigue well.
His eyes lit up. He was being treated like a big boy! "Sure I can, Annie!" he ran over to the chest and untied his gi.
Annie chuckled and walked into the kitchen. "Don't forget to brush your teeth." She walked to the refrigerator and took out the eggs.
Jared was such a joy, her only joy, it seemed. He was beyond his years in maturity, somehow, always trying not to cry, even when he woke her screaming from a nightmare. He only had one nightmare, but then it wasn't a nightmare at all, it was reality. Three years after their parents' deaths they both suffered from the traumatic and bloody visions, though Annie was sure Jared's were much worse than her own since he had witnessed the entire thing. And yet most days he was a smiling, bright-eyed six-year-old without a care, and always trying to make her laugh. He was a strong one, just like their father. She wondered sometimes if he was stronger than she was; at least he could smile in spite of it all, something she still yearned to master.
She brought out the skillet and turned the burner on low. These days you could put near-to-raw materials into a processor and have a full blown meal in a matter of minutes, but cooking was something Annie actually enjoyed. It reminded her of the days she spent in the kitchen with her mother. She chuckled at the small comfort, one of several she'd found since that fateful day. It was never anything much, that reminded her of her parents. A sound, a smell, a word, an article of clothing…she would make sure Jared would never forget these things. These were the most precious. She cracked the eggs into a bowl and began to beat them. Her eyes wandered to a vase of flowers on the kitchen table and she found irony in the fact that people who knew of their loss went out of their way to extend condolences and send flowers, which only threw salt on the wound as much as it was intended to help. Instead it was the daily things that helped; how Jared had a habit of balancing himself on one arm, the way Tim did, and how Annie always managed to sense something just before it happened, like their mother.
She added salt to the eggs, sprayed the pan and poured the mixture into it. Jared emerged from his room wearing an orange shirt with red pants and his usual blue snap sneakers. Annie tried not to laugh as she scrambled the half-cooked mixture. "Look at you!" she grinned. "Do you want juice or milk?"
"Juice." he replied, climbing onto the stool to get a cup from the cupboard. "I'll get it, Annie. You don't have to."
"Arigato, Jomei." she replied, using his Japanese middle name.
While they finished breakfast, Annie helped Jared go over his addition and then they walked the block to his elementary school. She watched him walk himself to his class and waved when the teacher met him at the door. The kindly woman smiled and waved back. Then she walked another block to the bus stop and rode it all the way to Hamilton. The wind whipped at her body when she hopped off and she pulled her black trench coat around her, lifting the collar to shield the lower part of her face. She hated the winter.
She saw Terry McGinnis with his girlfriend Dana Tan standing on one side of the steps and Nash and his wrestling goons on the other. Great, two kinds of plague today, she thought.
"Hey, look, it's Robin's legacy." Nash quipped. "How about that poem, Drake? You really are living in a fantasy world!"
"Baka." she muttered, walking past. If she stopped to argue she'd waste her breath. There was never any point arguing with him. He was too thick to understand it, anyway. He hardly knew what a poem was, much less what a decent on was like. One down, one to go.
"Don't pay attention to him." Dana told her gently. "It's not like he matters."
"Did I say he does?" she asked, keeping her pace.
"Annie--"
She stopped and turned. "What do you want, McGinnis?" There was something about him that just annoyed her and she didn't know exactly what it was. Perhaps it was his likeness to her father's guardian.
"Bruce--Mr. Wayne wants to see you. You and your little brother."
She scowled. "Why would he want to see us? Who are we, to see Bruce Wayne?"
"You're his grandkids."
Annie looked from him to Dana and back at him, letting out a low chuckle. "That's a laugh. You're his errand boy and you think you know it all. You have a lot to learn." She kept walking. So Bruce wanted to see them now, did he?
Nash whistled. "So saith the shrew-dyke."
"Be careful what you say about that lady." A warm bass voice cut through the cold of the morning and Annie paused on the step. It couldn't be…
"Oh yeah, and who are you?" Nash asked the man.
"The name's O'Neal."
She whirled around. That voice did sound familiar! But what was he doing here? She saw Terry and Dana give her strange looks and Nash chuckled.
"And what makes you so special?"
"Nothing. I'm only saying that you'd better be careful with that one." Michael caught her eyes and he winked. "She's a real tiger when she wants to be."
She walked back down the steps to meet him, hardly amused. "Michael Kentaro Kobayashi O'Neal, what are you doing here?" She asked in Japanese.
He pulled her into a warm hug. Something she'd missed. "Ane, this is America. They speak English here." he grinned, kissing her forehead. "And as for what I'm doing here, I'm working." He held out his arms to indicate the school. "Kon got me an internship and gave me a job."
"The dyke has a boyfriend?" Nash laughed. "Man, you must be hard-up!"
Michael turned. "For the last time, watch what you say."
"And what are you gonna do about it?"
"Excuse me, komadori. As long as you hide that pretty face, I'll have to do this." he whispered to her. Walking over to Nash, he moved so close that they were nose to nose and looked him in the eye. "You really don't want to make Annie angry, but when it comes to my friends, I'm the one to watch out for. Don't. Cross me."
"Michael, cut it out. Just…go inside." Annie muttered, rolling her eyes. "Go inside!" she went over and hauled him away from Nash. "I don't need your protection and I never did! Get out of here!" she punched his arm rather weakly and he let out a small cry of surprise.
"Hey! Annie, stop that!"
"What are you doing here?"
"I told you already."
"Then why are you here?"
He shook his head. "I'm here for work-study, Ane Miako. I'm upsetting you, I'll see you later, then." He nodded and trotted up the stairs into the building, nodding to Dana as he passed.
"I can't believe this…what am I, a child?" she said after him. "Does he think I can't take care of myself?"
She knew the answer to that, and the answer was no. As angry as she was, she was somehow glad to have him here. A familiar face. So Kon-El had given him a job, no doubt so that he could be here for her. It was a bittersweet surprise, one that she dearly needed and at the same time one that might break her. She glanced over at Nash, slightly surprised to see him duly shaken. She shook her head and went inside, hoping to forget an already stressful day in her studies.
Things went as usual throughout the day, with Annie as the self-appointed outcast sitting in the corner, and when lunch hour rolled around, she went to sit by herself at a corner table to eat her rice ball and green tea. She watched as her peers separated into their various cliques and sat at different tables. There were the cheerleaders, the jocks, the geeks…and then there were the floaters. Among them were Terry McGinnis and Maxine Gibson, a computer hacker with a genius's IQ. Annie was more comfortable alone than with anyone else.
"Is this seat taken?"
She looked up into Michael's green-gray eyes and half smiled. "No." she looked back at her rice ball and poked at it with her chopsticks. She was glad to see him and at the same time a little nervous. Why can't I look him in the eye? She wondered.
He slid beside her and brought out a bowl of cold teriyaki. "Rice balls, hmm?"
"Yeah. Even after three months I still can't bring myself to eat pizza. Sad, isn't it? Rice balls as comfort food."
"There are worse things." He put his hand over hers. "How are you doing? How's Jared?"
She put down the chopsticks. She was making a mess of the rice ball anyway. "Look, I'm sorry about this morning." She blurted. "I just…didn't expect to see you--"
"I know, it's fine. What I asked was how are you doing."
"I'm fine, Jared's doing well in school." Annie looked up at him, expecting to see him angry. Big mistake. What she saw made her heart ache--nothing but concern filled his being. She fixed her eyes on the table again. "Why do you care so much?"
He smiled. That smile always cheered her up, but now it only made the bittersweet pain stronger. "Because I'm your friend, Annie Drake. And friends support each other. You don't have to do it all on your own."
"I don't need anyone's help." She pulled her hand from his and turned away.
"Why are you being this way? I just want to help. Rei was going to come, but Michiko and Akio are engaged, and--"
Annie's mouth dropped open and she turned back. "Michi and Akio are getting married?"
Michael laughed. "I knew that would get your attention. And yes, they've only been in love with one another since birth."
Michiko Midori was another childhood friend, the older girl who lived next door and always knew what to do. Akio Kiyoshi was the son of her Shaolin Kempo instructor and a close friend of Rei's and Michael's. The five youths grew up together in Osaka, always there for one another despite their difference in age. Now Michi and Akio were engaged and Annie hadn't heard?
"I know that."
"You're not even going to smile for that?" he asked her.
She gave a half smile. "Of course I'm happy for them, Michael. I just…there's…" her eyes glazed. She couldn't explain, there weren't words. Instead, she just hugged him tightly. "I'm glad you're here."
Michael sighed and hugged her back. "So am I. Now let's finish lunch or they'll think we're saps."
Annie choked on her laughter. So long since she was able to do that. And it felt good, genuinely good. Suddenly the ache in her body disappeared, and she only felt slightly guilty.
She didn't see Michael for the rest of the day and still felt the jab of remorse for hitting him, even if it was barely enough to bruise. She picked up Jared from school, the thought of her friend still weighing heavily in her mind.
"How was school today?" she asked as they walked home.
Jared smiled and held up a fist of papers. "I got an A on my art project and I'm student of the week because of my math and reading!"
Annie took the papers and looked them over. One was a page of simple addition, the same one they'd worked on that morning. Another was a spelling test, devoid of any errors. She paused when she saw the third; it was a paste collage of construction paper and marker. His art project. On it she saw a house with five people standing in front. Two more, a man and a woman, were in the sky above the house.
"Jared…who are these people?"
"That's you, and me," he indicated each person with his small finger, "and Miyoko-san and Patrick-san, and Michael. That's their house, because we lived with them."
"And who…who are these two?"
"Mom and Dad. They're watching us. See?" he said, pointing to their eyes. "I think about them all the time."
"So do I, Jare…so do I…" She kissed his forehead. "Listen, I have a surprise for you. Michael showed up at my school today."
Her brother's eyes were wide. "Really? Michael's here? In America?"
Annie nodded. "Uh-huh. He's staying with Kon-El until he can get his own apartment. It was Kon-El who brought him here."
"That was nice of him."
"Yes, it was."
"Are we gonna see him soon?"
"Actually, I thought we'd go to see him today. But first, we have to go see Bruce." She said to him. "He wants to talk to us, what about I don't know."
"Maybe he just wants to say hello."
"Somehow I doubt that…"
They took the bus as far as the park and hailed a cab to go the rest of the way to Wayne Manor. For Jared, the manor would be a new sight. For Annie, there were vaguely potent recollections of the immense edifice that was a testament to Wayne's wealth and legacy. Both good and bad, she wondered why after all this time Bruce suddenly wanted to see them. He hadn't even spoken to her that first day she visited the NJLA headquarters.
She paid the cab driver and they walked up to the gates of the manor.
Jared's eyes looked ready to pop from his head. "This is where Grandpa Bruce lives?"
Grandpa. He called Bruce Wayne Grandpa. She supposed he was in a way, being their father's guardian and their mother's mentor, but in that way only. Were he really their grandfather, he would have shown some interest long before now.
"Yes, Jared. This is where he lives. If I remember correctly, he has a dog that you'll like very much." Annie pressed the buzzer at the gate.
"Who's there?" McGinnis's voice. What a surprise.
"Annie and Jared Drake, McGinnis. You said earlier Bruce wanted to see us, so here we are."
"Oh. Yeah, just a sec."
There was silence and then the gates began to open. Jared tugged on Annie's jacket. "Why are you so mean to him?"
"I'm not mean, Jared. I just don't know him. I don't trust him."
"You should at least give him a chance."
She was stuck; of course Jared was right, but she still wasn't sure. Jared slipped his hand into hers and they walked up the driveway to the mansion. McGinnis waited at the door for them, trying to keep a large Doberman at bay and losing the battle. Annie sighed. There was a time Alfred would have been standing in McGinnis's place, and she would have given him a hug and he….she shook the thought away. That was in the past. Alfred was dead, and there was no bringing him back.
"Ace! Hey, easy Scooby!" The dog pulled from McGinnis's grasp and bounded over to Annie, knocking her over.
"Ow! Oh, come on, Ace! Yes, I'm glad to see you too. Now get off, come on." She laughed and the Doberman obediently stepped away and sat. As she got up and dusted herself off, Ace began to sniff Jared's hair, level with his large head.
"Er, sorry about that."
"It's okay, McGinnis. Ace and I are old friends. Except he was half that size last I saw him."
"You know, you can call me Terry." he offered.
"Why are you being so friendly?"
"Why are you being so stubborn? Oh yeah, it's in your blood." Terry replied sourly. "You know, Michael O'Neal said you'd be like this."
Her eyes had wandered to Jared and Ace, now getting duly acquainted, and they snapped to meet Terry's. "You talked to Michael?"
"We're what I'd call friends."
"Well, just because you talked to Michael doesn't mean you know me."
"Just because you're hurting doesn't mean you can take it out on everyone else." Terry retorted, his eyes growing sad. "I oughtta know."
"Look, I'm only here to see Bruce. I don't need your lectures."
"Maybe if you hear it enough it'll stick." Terry spat. "I know what you're going through, believe me."
"You have no idea what we're going through." Annie said, eyes dark. "Come on, Jared. Bring Ace, too. We don't need him getting sick." she brushed past Terry and Jared followed suit with the dog.
"Wait, Bruce is--"
"I know where Bruce is."
"Annie's just a little grumpy because she didn't get much sleep last night." Jared explained to Terry. "She's actually really nice."
"I hope you're right, kid."
Walking into the manor was like turning back the hand of time. Very little, if anything, had changed since she'd last walked the halls. It was still the most melancholy place she knew, dark and drab, with very little color.
Jared caught up to her and took her hand. "This place is scary, Annie."
"I know it is." she said gently. "But I promise I won't let anything hurt you."
She walked into the library and over to the familiar shelf. She remembered little else as vividly as she did these books. Tim and Mute had visited Bruce only once with Annie when she was seven, but the memories remained burned in her mind. She ran her fingers along the worn bindings of the books, now archaic by modern standards. Selecting one, she pulled it halfway from the shelf and the entire bookcase slid away. A vast, dark corridor was revealed and Jared hid behind Annie.
"It's okay, Jared. Do you remember me telling you about the Batcave, where Mom and Dad used to train?"
"This is it?" Jared gulped. "Well then…let's go see it…"
She gave her brother a pitying smile and hugged him tight. "You're such a brave guy. What would I do without you?" They started carefully down the dusty corridor and left Terry standing with Ace.
"She's a puzzle." He told the dog. "Two personalities, one person."
Ace only sneezed and shook his head.
"I guess you know more than I do, don't you boy? It's going to be really interesting having her around here. Especially if she accepts Bruce's offer. "