It's About Falling
Chapter One: Fathers and Heroes: One and the Same?
"But Mom, why can't I just know his name?" the now twelve year old Mar'i protested.
"Because, I know that as soon as I leave you'll get on the computer and Google his name. He doesn't know about you, Mar'i, we had only one night together. He simply got caught up in good-byes. I see no point in rocking the poor man's whole world. Look, Mar'i, I'm running late. Mr. Alexander is going to fire me if I come in even a second behind schedule."
"But Mom-"
"You'll be alright, correct? There is a box of macaroni and cheese in the cabinet and plenty of soda in the refrigerator. Please tell me you can handle this," Kori pleaded anxiously.
"I'll be fine, Mom."
"Watch television and go to bed by ten o'clock, Mar'i. Make sure you lock the door. I love you, sweetheart," Kori cried hastily as she rushed out of the apartment.
"I love you too, Mom," Mar'i replied. "I'll be fine."
She locked the door after her mother.
"Let's think," she murmured to herself. "I know Mom is Starfire from the Teen Titans. She has to be…"
She makes a quick PB and J sandwich. Mar'i strolled over to the refrigerator, and after pushing aside a bottle of mustard, finds a Pepsi. She crossed the apartment's living room again and sits at her computer.
"The Robin and Starfire Shrine?" Mar'i questioned, staring at the results of her Google search.
Mar'i clicked the site out of curiosity. The website seemed to feature pictures the Titans' fans had taken when the Titans were out and about in town.
"Crazy fans," Mar'i muttered to herself.
There were pictures of her mother and a boy with black hair on a Ferris wheel, ones of her mother and the same boy dancing at a junior prom and even one of them dancing at a wedding-the same Richard had in his apartment.
Mar'i leaned in closer. This had to be Robin, the ex-leader of the Titans.
'He looks like me,' Mari thought. 'Same hair, same nose…even our complexions are the same: pale like a glass of milk…'
"Meow," purred Mari's kitten Simba. He leapt into her lap.
"Good boy," Mari told him absently. He pressed his head into her stomach. "Do you need to go out, boy?" Mari asked him. Simba purred again.
"Alright. Come on."
Mari let the kitten out of the apartment and returned to the computer.
"I wonder…" she mumbled to herself. "Maybe…"
She scrolled down farther.
Boy Wonder and Mysterious Girl Lip-Locking…
Our Favorite Feathered Friend has Kiss Stolen by Pretty Alien…
What Would Batman Think of His Young Friend Now?
"Weird," Mari breathed.
Under the headlines was a short article.
'It is believed Robin and Starfire did have a romantic relationship, starting from the day they were found making out in public,' Mari read. 'However, Starfire's sudden disappearance, Robin's new persona, and his separation from the Titans imply that it didn't work out between our Boy Wonder and alien friend.'
"Robin's new persona?" Mari wondered out loud. "Well, whoever he is, he has to be my daddy."
Mari returned the mouse to the top of the page and did another Google search.
'13 results found for Grayson.'
"Of course it's ten," Mari grumbled, glaring at the clock. "I'd better get Simba inside."
Mari shut off her computer and wandered outside. "Simba," she called. "Mama has to go to bed now."
Mari sighed when her kitten didn't appear. He was such a playful kitty, of course he was hiding. She raced down the stone steps that led to the street.
"Simba," she hollered again.
And suddenly she was grabbed from behind.
TT
Nightwing made his rounds quietly through the Jump City residential areas. There had been a string of robberies lately, scattered throughout the city's living quarters. He hoped to catch the burglar (or burglars) in action.
He squatted on a fire escape outside of an apartment which was, thankfully, dark. Nightwing shivered in the cold winter air, wishing his costume included a cape.
There was a shriek across the street, the shriek of a little girl.
Stealthily, he moved, perching on the very edge of the fire escape. Only years of circus acrobatics and Bruce's hard-core training prevented him from falling.
The little girl was struggling against a much bigger man, who had her arms pinned behind her back.
"Hero time," he said to himself, his breath rising in a mist before him. He sprang from the fire escape, pulling his grappling hook out just in time. It connected with a loud clang to a fire escape adjacent from the one he'd been stationed on seconds before.
Nightwing's steel toed boot made contact with the thug's face, breaking his nose easily. This made the man's hands fly to his face, releasing the girl.
"Get out of here!" Nightwing shouted to the girl.
She didn't need telling twice. She ran back to an apartment building and dashed up a flight of stairs and leaned over the rail to watch the fight.
As the man was a common thug, he stood no chance against Nightwing. (A/N Duh…Nightwing is sexy and strong…)
"If you ever come anywhere near her again the consequences will be much more serious than a broken nose," he growled, seizing the man's jacket and lifting him a few inches off the ground. "Do you understand me?"
The man nodded, and Nightwing released him. The girl's assailant scampered.
"Are you alright?" Nightwing called up to Mari.
"I'm fine," she replied, still shaking. "I just want to get my kitty and go to bed."
"You've never seen him before?" Nightwing questioned.
Mari shook her head. "Never. Can I have my kitty now?"
"This him?" Nightwing queried, pointing at the black and white kitten that was rubbing against his ankles.
"Yes," Mari exclaimed happily. She returned to the street level again and gathered Simba in her arms.
"Make sure you lock your door," he told her absently. 'Why does she look like me?' he wondered. 'It couldn't be…could it?'
Nightwing was tempted to watch which apartment the girl went into, just to see who her mother was. What if his suspicions were true? What if her mother was Kor-
"I can't," he told himself harshly. "She's just a girl with black hair and blue eyes who happens to have my nose. That doesn't mean she's my kid."
However, it didn't matter what he told himself; he stayed watching the apartment for another two hours. Around midnight, though it could have just been his imagination, he swore he saw a weary-looking woman who looked remarkably like his Kori trudge exhaustedly into the same apartment the girl had.
'Ello me duckies…sorry this took so long. I have been rather lazy recently, due to the fact that I now have about one billion TV channels, two of which air the Batman Beyond movie frequently ; ) (And if you read my Rachel/Terry stories, I will be writing another…)
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this and I'll have chapter 2 up soon.