Disclaimer: Don't own anything.
A/N: Woohoo! Thirty reviews! [wipes a tear] I'm so happy! Thanks, guys, you're awesome!
Just so you know, this chapter will deal with more of my crazy Alternate Universe. I love Tim Drake, and in my universe, he married Cassandra Cain (Batgirl). They have one adorable little girl at this point (whose story you can read at my site, too. It's called New Thunderstorms. A little darker, and I'm not sure if I'm gonna write more or end it where I have it, so review and let me know!).
Again, keep in mind this is an AU!
Chapter 15: Waking Up
The first thing Natalie saw when her eyes opened was…charcoal. She was staring up at a large mural pinned to her ceiling. Her bedroom ceiling. For a moment she laid there, pondering what the hell had happened to her, when a familiar sting in her arm brought it all back.
Benz.
Her eyes flew to the injured appendage. It was cleaned and bandaged. Why wasn't she at the hospital? Her arm had been slashed just before--
Twitch.
She sat bolt upright. He'd been stabbed. Was he even alive? And what had happened to Rab? How had she come to be…the Titans. God, she hated memory flashes. Why couldn't she just remember everything at once? On cue, she realized. Her uncles were…
"Glad to see you're awake."
Her eyes flew to the voice coming from the left. Her mother stood in the doorway, arms folded. "What happened? Where's Twitch? Is he okay?"
Barbara frowned and moved to sit on the edge of her bed, something she did when Natalie was little. "Twitch will be fine. He's in the hospital, getting care for his injuries. The knife missed all of his major organs, so he'll be on his feet in no time. As will you, but you're going to lie here and rest for the remainder of the evening."
"Mom, I'm fine! I don't need to--"
"Listen to your mother." Natalie was suddenly aware that her father was behind Barbara, standing in the hall. She was sure all the blood in her face was now in her stomach.
"Dad…what are you doing here?"
"I received a call…" He looked uncomfortable, for some reason. He ran a hand through his hair. Natalie knew they weren't on the best of terms, but he'd been perfectly comfortable over the weekend. "Natalie, it's time we told you." He sighed. His words had a kind of finality to them that made her shiver.
She looked at Barbara. "Mom? What is it?"
"You know that Kyle and Roy are the Green Lantern and Arsenal, don't you?" She asked gently.
Oh. Oh God. This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all. "I…Yeah…how do you know?"
"Can I sit down?" Dick asked. She nodded and he did so, reaching into his briefcase and pulling a dark object out of it, placing it in her hands. Looking down, she gasped. It was Nightwing's mask!
"Um…Dad? How…how did you…how did you get this?" She asked.
"The same way I got this." Barbara said, handing her another piece of cloth. Batgirl's cowl?
Natalie's pulse began to race. It couldn't be! There was no way they could be! They were too set against vigilantes! "And…how is that, exactly?" She prayed silently that this wasn't actually happening. Maybe she was hallucinating! That was it! Hallucinations!
Not that she would mind having Nightwing for a father…she'd played pretend about it as a child…and having Batgirl for a mother wasn't all bad either…No! No, it wasn't real!
"Natalie, would you look at me please?" Natalie realized she was staring down at the two pieces of headgear in her hand, and the pleading in Dick's voice brought her eyes immediately to his. For some reason, she began to calm. Something about his eyes did that to her.
"I am Nightwing. Well, I was. I retired when Kale was born." He said slowly, choosing his words carefully. "Your mother was Batgirl at one time. And as I remember, quite good." He smiled at Barbara and she smiled back, if sadly.
"So…you ARE a vigilante? Mom?"
Barbara nodded. "We would have told you a long time ago, but we didn't want you to get caught up in it. It's far too dangerous for anyone, especially kids."
She frowned. She wasn't a kid anymore. "But they do so much good! You did so much good! Why did you stop?"
"Because of what it did to us. What it still does to us." Dick explained. "We had to grow up way too fast. We had to learn to accept death, pain, suffering. We didn't want that for you."
"So instead of telling me early on and explaining this then, and guiding me to make good decisions, you just took the decision away completely?" Natalie cried. "Why could you tell Dominique and not me?"
Dick frowned. "How do you know about that?"
Natalie pulled the two pieces of clothing into her lap and fingered them gently. She didn't want to be upset with them, didn't want to fight with them. She…really liked the idea that her parents were vigilantes, if she was honest. But why hadn't they told her? "I heard you and Kory talking last weekend. She said that even Kale and Dommy knew about this."
"You are different, Natalie." Barbara replied gently. "You are MY daughter. We did what we thought was best at the time, even if I had to make the decision alone for awhile."
Natalie bit her lip. She could understand why her parents had done it, but she didn't have to like it. She was silent for a few minutes, just running her hands over the masks, memorizing the curve and shape of the mask and the feel of the fabric of the cowl. Then she asked, "Who else?"
"What?"
"Who else?" She repeated, looking up at Dick. "Who else is a vigilante?"
"You know who Roy and Kyle are. Garth is Tempest, Wally is the Flash. Bruce is still running around as Batman, even though I keep telling him he's going to have a heart attack. Your uncle Tim was Robin, after your father." Barbara paused. Natalie nodded. Her mother had explained how the first Robin--her father--had once had a falling out with Batman and broke away to become Nightwing. "His wife Cassandra, your aunt, was the third Batgirl. She was mute for a long time, do you remember that?"
Natalie nodded. She still remembered some of the hand signs that her mother had taught Cassandra. "So I guess this is why we never got busted for stealing cars?"
Dick sighed. "You returned them." He said. "You have stopped that, though, haven't you?"
"Rab said we're going legit." She nodded. "This way we can make a little honest money for college…" Her thoughts drifted to her friends again. Her parents were vigilantes. The ones that Rab had always feared. How was she going to explain this? "What time is it? Can I go visit them?"
"It's nine-thirty. You can visit them tomorrow." Barbara replied. "What do you think about this?"
"I don't exactly know what to think, Mom. I mean, Dad walked back into my life just a few weeks ago, acting completely alien to the way I always pictured him. Then I told you my darkest secret and you packed me off to stay with him for the weekend," she paused to look at Dick, "which was wonderful, don't get me wrong, but then I heard Kory talking about some big secret about you and Dad, Mom. I didn't know what to do about it, and now that I know…it's not exactly what I was expecting, but it could be worse."
"I thought you liked vigilantes." Dick remarked.
"I do, Dad! It's just…it's not every day a girl wakes up and finds out her parents were! When I was little, do you know what I did? I sat up late listening to Roy and Kyle and Wally and Garth tell stories about vigilantes, one in particular." She held up Nightwing's mask. "I used to imagine that he was my father, and the reason why he was always gone was because he had to fight the bad guys…" she chuckled. "I guess I wasn't that far off, was I?" When she looked up, she saw Dick's eyes shining with tears. What had she said? "Dad, you okay?"
"I had no idea." He murmured, pulling her into a hug. "I'm sorry, sweetheart."
Her throat tightened. She didn't want to go down memory lane again. "It's okay, Dad…really."
"Is it?" Barbara asked.
Natalie pulled away from Dick and hugged her mother tightly and sighed. "Yeah…I just have one question…"
"What is it?"
"Are all the stories true?"
A/N: Okay, so it was a sucky chapter. This was pretty hard to write--like Natalie said, it's not every day you wake up and find out your parents are vigs! I hope I stayed true to her character and to Dick and Barbara's. I'm thinking this story may only have a couple more chapters left, unless my readers (that's you!) want to suggest plot ideas, which I am wholly open to…
A/N: Woohoo! Thirty reviews! [wipes a tear] I'm so happy! Thanks, guys, you're awesome!
Just so you know, this chapter will deal with more of my crazy Alternate Universe. I love Tim Drake, and in my universe, he married Cassandra Cain (Batgirl). They have one adorable little girl at this point (whose story you can read at my site, too. It's called New Thunderstorms. A little darker, and I'm not sure if I'm gonna write more or end it where I have it, so review and let me know!).
Again, keep in mind this is an AU!
Chapter 15: Waking Up
The first thing Natalie saw when her eyes opened was…charcoal. She was staring up at a large mural pinned to her ceiling. Her bedroom ceiling. For a moment she laid there, pondering what the hell had happened to her, when a familiar sting in her arm brought it all back.
Benz.
Her eyes flew to the injured appendage. It was cleaned and bandaged. Why wasn't she at the hospital? Her arm had been slashed just before--
Twitch.
She sat bolt upright. He'd been stabbed. Was he even alive? And what had happened to Rab? How had she come to be…the Titans. God, she hated memory flashes. Why couldn't she just remember everything at once? On cue, she realized. Her uncles were…
"Glad to see you're awake."
Her eyes flew to the voice coming from the left. Her mother stood in the doorway, arms folded. "What happened? Where's Twitch? Is he okay?"
Barbara frowned and moved to sit on the edge of her bed, something she did when Natalie was little. "Twitch will be fine. He's in the hospital, getting care for his injuries. The knife missed all of his major organs, so he'll be on his feet in no time. As will you, but you're going to lie here and rest for the remainder of the evening."
"Mom, I'm fine! I don't need to--"
"Listen to your mother." Natalie was suddenly aware that her father was behind Barbara, standing in the hall. She was sure all the blood in her face was now in her stomach.
"Dad…what are you doing here?"
"I received a call…" He looked uncomfortable, for some reason. He ran a hand through his hair. Natalie knew they weren't on the best of terms, but he'd been perfectly comfortable over the weekend. "Natalie, it's time we told you." He sighed. His words had a kind of finality to them that made her shiver.
She looked at Barbara. "Mom? What is it?"
"You know that Kyle and Roy are the Green Lantern and Arsenal, don't you?" She asked gently.
Oh. Oh God. This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all. "I…Yeah…how do you know?"
"Can I sit down?" Dick asked. She nodded and he did so, reaching into his briefcase and pulling a dark object out of it, placing it in her hands. Looking down, she gasped. It was Nightwing's mask!
"Um…Dad? How…how did you…how did you get this?" She asked.
"The same way I got this." Barbara said, handing her another piece of cloth. Batgirl's cowl?
Natalie's pulse began to race. It couldn't be! There was no way they could be! They were too set against vigilantes! "And…how is that, exactly?" She prayed silently that this wasn't actually happening. Maybe she was hallucinating! That was it! Hallucinations!
Not that she would mind having Nightwing for a father…she'd played pretend about it as a child…and having Batgirl for a mother wasn't all bad either…No! No, it wasn't real!
"Natalie, would you look at me please?" Natalie realized she was staring down at the two pieces of headgear in her hand, and the pleading in Dick's voice brought her eyes immediately to his. For some reason, she began to calm. Something about his eyes did that to her.
"I am Nightwing. Well, I was. I retired when Kale was born." He said slowly, choosing his words carefully. "Your mother was Batgirl at one time. And as I remember, quite good." He smiled at Barbara and she smiled back, if sadly.
"So…you ARE a vigilante? Mom?"
Barbara nodded. "We would have told you a long time ago, but we didn't want you to get caught up in it. It's far too dangerous for anyone, especially kids."
She frowned. She wasn't a kid anymore. "But they do so much good! You did so much good! Why did you stop?"
"Because of what it did to us. What it still does to us." Dick explained. "We had to grow up way too fast. We had to learn to accept death, pain, suffering. We didn't want that for you."
"So instead of telling me early on and explaining this then, and guiding me to make good decisions, you just took the decision away completely?" Natalie cried. "Why could you tell Dominique and not me?"
Dick frowned. "How do you know about that?"
Natalie pulled the two pieces of clothing into her lap and fingered them gently. She didn't want to be upset with them, didn't want to fight with them. She…really liked the idea that her parents were vigilantes, if she was honest. But why hadn't they told her? "I heard you and Kory talking last weekend. She said that even Kale and Dommy knew about this."
"You are different, Natalie." Barbara replied gently. "You are MY daughter. We did what we thought was best at the time, even if I had to make the decision alone for awhile."
Natalie bit her lip. She could understand why her parents had done it, but she didn't have to like it. She was silent for a few minutes, just running her hands over the masks, memorizing the curve and shape of the mask and the feel of the fabric of the cowl. Then she asked, "Who else?"
"What?"
"Who else?" She repeated, looking up at Dick. "Who else is a vigilante?"
"You know who Roy and Kyle are. Garth is Tempest, Wally is the Flash. Bruce is still running around as Batman, even though I keep telling him he's going to have a heart attack. Your uncle Tim was Robin, after your father." Barbara paused. Natalie nodded. Her mother had explained how the first Robin--her father--had once had a falling out with Batman and broke away to become Nightwing. "His wife Cassandra, your aunt, was the third Batgirl. She was mute for a long time, do you remember that?"
Natalie nodded. She still remembered some of the hand signs that her mother had taught Cassandra. "So I guess this is why we never got busted for stealing cars?"
Dick sighed. "You returned them." He said. "You have stopped that, though, haven't you?"
"Rab said we're going legit." She nodded. "This way we can make a little honest money for college…" Her thoughts drifted to her friends again. Her parents were vigilantes. The ones that Rab had always feared. How was she going to explain this? "What time is it? Can I go visit them?"
"It's nine-thirty. You can visit them tomorrow." Barbara replied. "What do you think about this?"
"I don't exactly know what to think, Mom. I mean, Dad walked back into my life just a few weeks ago, acting completely alien to the way I always pictured him. Then I told you my darkest secret and you packed me off to stay with him for the weekend," she paused to look at Dick, "which was wonderful, don't get me wrong, but then I heard Kory talking about some big secret about you and Dad, Mom. I didn't know what to do about it, and now that I know…it's not exactly what I was expecting, but it could be worse."
"I thought you liked vigilantes." Dick remarked.
"I do, Dad! It's just…it's not every day a girl wakes up and finds out her parents were! When I was little, do you know what I did? I sat up late listening to Roy and Kyle and Wally and Garth tell stories about vigilantes, one in particular." She held up Nightwing's mask. "I used to imagine that he was my father, and the reason why he was always gone was because he had to fight the bad guys…" she chuckled. "I guess I wasn't that far off, was I?" When she looked up, she saw Dick's eyes shining with tears. What had she said? "Dad, you okay?"
"I had no idea." He murmured, pulling her into a hug. "I'm sorry, sweetheart."
Her throat tightened. She didn't want to go down memory lane again. "It's okay, Dad…really."
"Is it?" Barbara asked.
Natalie pulled away from Dick and hugged her mother tightly and sighed. "Yeah…I just have one question…"
"What is it?"
"Are all the stories true?"
A/N: Okay, so it was a sucky chapter. This was pretty hard to write--like Natalie said, it's not every day you wake up and find out your parents are vigs! I hope I stayed true to her character and to Dick and Barbara's. I'm thinking this story may only have a couple more chapters left, unless my readers (that's you!) want to suggest plot ideas, which I am wholly open to…