Positive

"What did she say J'onn?" wondered Superman.

"Apparently Dr. XYZ created a dimension for a large group of villains. Chelsea is planning to find the core of the dimension and break it to reveal their true location. Once she does that, I'll be able to get a lock on her and we can assist in fixing the matter." J'onn explained.

"Will she be alright doing this on her own?" Wally asked with worry.

Bruce had faith in her, "She'll be fine. We should ready ourselves for our part in the plan."

Lex shifted his weight against the wall and glanced over his shoulder at the door, "What kind of a deal?"

"If you help me, I'll get you whatever it is Gorilla Grodd has that you want." she confirmed.

"You're exceedingly confident." he said with a chuckle, "You'll never be able to get it. Besides, helping you will only land me in prison. I don't trust you. I should turn this whole place loose on you for trying to reason with me."

"Come on Lex," she had never used his first name before, "you hate it here just as much as I do. Give me a couple of hours to sneak around this place. Let me in on what you want and I'll find it."

The door slid open. He stared down at her with cold eyes. Slowly she took to her feet, never blinking from their gridlocked stare, "You betray me… and I'll waste you. I have more money and assets than you could ever imagine. Test me, and I will destroy you… and the only way you will be able to stop me, is to kill me."

She smirked, "You give that little pep talk to Superman too?" she patted him on the shoulder as she started down the hallway.

The next day she woke up feeling a little better than before. Her stomach was still doing circles, but the dizziness had subsided for the time being. There was a pounding on her door, "There's going to be a meeting in the center room in 10 minutes. You better be there." said the voice. Standing to her feet she stretched. Her body was sore from having to lay in uncomfortable, jigsaw puzzle positions just to sleep sort of comfortably. As she made her way down the hallway, she wondered what the meeting could be about. This was unannounced and unexpected. While she walked, she felt a pair of eyes digging into the back of her head. Glancing over her shoulder, she shot Lex a grin before opening the doors and merging with a sea of super-villains. Grodd was getting ready to speak at the podium. Dr. XYZ sat in a chair on the stage nearby him.

"Man, Grodd really likes to hear himself talk, doesn't he?" Chelsea said under her breath.

Lex snickered at her comment, as well as a few other baddies nearby.

"Thank you all for attending our special morning announcement. We are a little ahead of schedule and my friend here says we can initiate operation black-out." the crowd cheered at Gorilla Grodd's news. Chelsea squinted her eyes, trying to understand. What was this plan? She hadn't heard anything about it.

"Luthor, what is operation black-out?" she whispered.

He gave her a glance, unsure of whether he should answer, "Your father has a plan to completely envelop the world in a dimension of his creation. He does that, and this legion becomes the new leaders of Earth as we know it."

"He can't create a dimension that big…" Chelsea murmured with some hesitation. She glanced off to her side, "I'm giving you some warning…" she pulled Lex in closer, "now would be a good time to run. Make a clean exit."

"What about our deal?" wondered Lex, ready to assume she would go back on her word.

"You mean the single chip that remains of Brainiac?" she looked him in the eyes, "I already have it."

"Prove it." he said, crossing his arms.

"One way or another, things are about to get messy. You can escape with your life, having doubt in me, or you could stay here and wait for the league to show up and end this. I'm giving you an out Luthor. Take it or leave it." She told him, pushing him away.

Now Dr. XYZ was at the podium. Chelsea involuntarily shook her head at his pride as he stood there, "Good morning everyone. For me to demonstrate how this is going to happen I need assistance from my beautiful daughter." He picked her out of the crowd, "Come on up… Starlight."

Chelsea raised her eyebrow, trying to analyze what he was going to do. She made sure to move really slow through the crowd and up onto the stage. She had a look of resentment on her face, "Good girl…" he grabbed her by the jaw, "Tell me… what were you doing sneaking around last night, hm?" everyone looked back and forth between each other, unaware that she had been wandering freely. This was even news to Gorilla Grodd, who stood up from his chair.

Chelsea focused on the wall behind her father, east of the stage. Behind that wall was her father's lab. She had found the core the night before. Focusing on the inside of that room, she tuned into the core and cracked it, causing an explosion to blow out the wall. Everyone was startled, backing away from that wall. After that explosion, a succession of sounds that resembled the explosion of the first started echoing as the walls started to crumble, "Destroying the core." she replied simply. When the walls came down around them, an assembly of Justice League members had surrounded the area. From big names to small-town heroes, they all stood ready to fight. Chelsea threw her father back with her telekinetic powers. He was flung into Gorilla Grodd. Floating up into the air, Chelsea's eyes started to glow, "Legion members… you are outranked, outclassed, and outnumbered. Your move." she said with a raise and lower of her shoulder. Many of the league members started to cheer.

Slowly members of the legion started to put their hands up to indicate defeat. Chelsea concealed Dr. XYZ inside an orb or telekinetic energy, "Your powers evolved then…" he muttered, placing his hands against the energy.

"Beyond your comprehension." she confirmed, looking at him from the other side.

"Always remember you have your father to thank for that. That I got inside your head and unlocked more than you could ever dream of. What will you do now?" he asked with a smirk.

"Send you somewhere, where you will never hurt anyone again, and have plenty of time to think about all of the things you've done in your life." Her eyes started to glow once more. Raising her hands, light enveloped the orb and all at once it disappeared.

"What did you do to him?" asked Superman, levitating behind her.

"I created a dimension, just for him." she said.

"Where's my compensation for all of this?" wondered Lex who stood with his arms crossed, looking up at Chelsea.

She revealed she had the final piece of Brainiac, "This?"

"Don't mess with me, girl." growled Lex.

Chelsea tossed it over her shoulder to Superman, "He can decide what to do with it… and you." She patted Superman on the shoulder and started to help the others round up villains and take them to separate facilities.

Later that evening Chelsea sat in one of the many family rooms in Wayne Manor. She was exhausted and achy. She put on a brave face for her family, "Man! That sounds awesome!" Tim said with awe.

"Yeah," she nodded, "I'm just exhausted now though…"

"It's understandable Miss. You went through something quite stressful." Alfred told her.

Bruce placed a kiss on top of her head, "Would you like me to stay home with you? I know you're still feeling sick."

She shook her head, "Don't worry about it. I'm sure it'll pass soon. It's probably all stress related. I'll just take a shower and pass out for the night."

"If she needs anything I'll be right there." Alfred nodded. The doorbell rang, "Don't be upset with me, but I called Leslie Thompkins to come examine you, just encase."

Chelsea hadn't met Leslie before, but Bruce had mentioned her. She was aware of all corners of Bruce's life, and had worked with his father a long time ago.

"I've got to go," Bruce told Chelsea, grasping her hand one last time, "Tim, let's go."

"I hope you feel better." Tim told her, before slipping out of the room with Bruce.

Alfred and Leslie walked in a moment later. As Leslie started to do the usual check up maneuvers, Alfred left the room to put on a kettle of tea. As she checked Chelsea's heart rate and listened to her chest, she would ask her a question now and again, "Everything seems normal…" she trailed off looking the young woman over. Licking her lip with concern she stared down at her clipboard.

"But…?" Chelsea wondered, seeing the woman's skepticism.

"I'm about to ask you a series of personal questions. I need you to be honest with me." Leslie told her.

"Sure," Chelsea shrugged, "fire away."

"Health history?" Leslie started.

"I had a back surgery a few years ago, and pulmonary embolism a couple of summers ago." She answered.

Leslie clicked her tongue, "Are you a virgin?"

Chelsea's face turned red, "Up until recently…" she looked away.

"I'm not here to judge, sweetie. I know you mean a lot to Bruce." Leslie confirmed, removing her glasses.

"How?" Chelsea wondered.

"Simply for the fact that he speaks about you freely. You're the one thing in this whole world I don't have to drag out of him." she put her glasses back on, "Last menstrual cycle?"

Chelsea sat back in her chair, "Wait… are you saying you think I'm pregnant?" she thought about it. Her period was late… a little over two weeks late. She hadn't noticed due to being so busy.

Leslie placed her hand on the girl's, "I'm not saying you are… but your symptoms lead me to wonder."

Chelsea started to shake. She covered her face with her hands, "I-I mean… I…"

"The best way to tell is to take a pregnancy test." Leslie said, taking a deep breath.

She took Leslie's advice. Later she found Alfred in the kitchen preparing the tea. Alfred turned to her, "What is it, Miss?" Chelsea shook with such ferocity as she weakly clung to the old butler. She sobbed and cried so loud, like he had never seen her crumble before. He held onto her tight, "What's the matter? Please, try to tell me." he begged, but she just kept crying. She held on to him trying to relax, but her body simply would not let her. So he stood there and let her cry. Let her cry until her body physical could no more.

When her swollen eyes dribbled with small streaks down her cheeks she breathed, "I'm going to have a baby, Alfred."

The man momentarily stopped breathing. He sensed her panic, and embraced her all the more tightly, "My word…"

"What am I going… to do?" she asked to anyone that would answer. She started sobbing into his uniform once again.

Alfred didn't have an answer for her.

"Please Alfred… I'm begging you. Keep this between us until I can figure out what to do…" She pleaded.

"Of course," nodded the butler, patting her back, and gently rocking her in his arms. This one was definitely up to her, for her to tell Bruce. He would stay out of the way this time. He knew it would be better this way.

She finally got up the strength to pull away from the man. She wiped her swollen red eyes and tried to calm down, "I'm… I'm going to go upstairs for a while." She exited the kitchen and went up the staircase. She walked passed a room and paused, feeling herself drawn in. She looked about the room that was still empty, but held such an important memory to her. Her paint pressed against the walls, displaying Gotham's night skyline, and Batman standing over his city, protecting it. She laid flat on the floor in the middle of the room, as more tears streamed down her face and disappeared into the plush carpet below her.

"So, what'd you think?" he asked into the silence.

She about leapt clean out of her skin, "Bruce! I mean uh- Mr. Wayne!" she stuttered.

He came forward, standing closer to her now. He wore a royal blue turtle neck and black pants, with shiny polished black shoes. They certainly didn't look like they belonged in the same room. His eyes, they stared right down into her. It reminded her of someone, "You can call me Bruce," he chuckled.

She stared at him for a time, just taking him in. He was even lovelier in person. She snapped back into focus, "So uh," she gestured to her portfolio, "I brought samples of my work and I'm willing to do just about anything to you-FOR YOU!" she corrected quickly, her face turning red.

"I call it, Gotham's Guardian." she said coming in behind him.

His palm pressed against the wall, as he tightly closed his eyes. He was masking the fact that without a word spoken, Chelsea had driven him to shed a tear. He quickly wiped at his face and turned toward her, "It's… incredible."

She smiled, "I'm glad you like it."

"Whose is it?" Dr. XYZ asked her.

The fact that her father knew even before she did, made her feel all the more ill. She curled up into a ball on the floor. More tears came. How was she ever going to tell him? She got up some time later and started for the bedroom. It was nearly midnight. She was wide awake. Her body wanted to collapse from exhaustion, but she could not bring herself to rest. She stared at the phone for a long time, contemplating making the call. She hesitated, and slowly pressed each button, giving herself time to change her mind. It started to ring as she brought it up to her ear, "Hey Wal… did I wake you?"

"It's almost midnight… are you alright?" he asked with concern. She sounded terrible.

"Wal, can we meet somewhere? I need someone to talk to…" she covered her eyes with her free hand, trying to abstain from crying all over again.

"Name it and I'm there." he said without missing a beat.

"My office is closed… can you meet me there?" she wondered.

"I'm sure I can find it." he confirmed.

Chelsea stood leaning against her desk about twenty minutes later. There was a knock at the door, and Wally came walking in. He was in front of her before she could react. He looked her up and down, "What's wrong, Chels? You had me worried."

Her lip quivered as she looked up at him.

"How bad is this? Like the pizza down on 4th street bad?" he wondered.

"Worse…" she sighed.

"You can tell me anything, Chels. I'm right here." he held her arms firmly, looking her deeply in the eyes.

"I feel selfish calling you of all people over something like this… but I'm so scared," her lip trembled as tears slid down her face, "I'm so scared, Wally." she sobbed, leaning her face into his chest.

"What's going on? Is Bats okay?" he feared the answer. Batman had the craziest of wackos to look after.

"He's fine… but…" she pulled herself away, "I'm sorry I dragged you into this."

"Drag me in sweetheart, I'm here for you, no matter what. I did a terrible job of being your best friend these last few months, but I'm here for you now, and I always will be no matter what the problem is." he held her face in his hands, "I'm right here, okay?"

She nodded weakly, and put her hands over his, "This stays between us."

"Of course," he confirmed.

"Wally… I'm… pregnant." she told him, feeling like she was chewing glass as she said it.

His eyes widened, "Are- Are you sure?"

She nodded.

"Well it's a little early, but I get it with Bruce approaching his mid-thirties. Normally I'd say it was a bit soon for you, but you're about to graduate college, you've got a nice job, and your boyfriend isn't exactly pinching pennies so, why not?" he shrugged.

She found his response nearly laughable. He actually got her to smile for a moment, "That's not why I'm upset you goofball." she shook her head, so happy she had him to help her.

"I don't get it then." he said with confusion, "I mean, are you afraid he's going to get mad? He doesn't mind kids from what I can tell. Doesn't he technically have adopted sons and all that?"

"You don't get it Wal… if I have this child… I'll be killing Batman." she looked down.

"What are you talking about?" he looked at her, trying to figure out her mindset.

"Batman was born the moment Bruce lost his parents. He believes that every child is entitled to having their parents… Finding out that he, himself is going to have a child, do you think he would deny that child the very right that was stripped from him so long ago?" she asked. Wally paused, realizing she was right, "I don't think he'll be upset. Honestly there will probably be a part of him that's happy… I love seeing Bruce happy… but if Batman disappears…" she shook her head, "Gotham needs their Batman… we all do, but he would give that up… I know he would… to give his own child a chance at having their parents."

Wally leaned against the desk beside her, "Wow…" he was silent for a time, "Do you know what you're going to do?"

She sighed and shook her head, "No… No I don't."

"You're not gonna like hearing this but-" he started to say.

"No." she said, cutting him off.

"But you don't even know what I was going to suggest!" He protested.

She gave him a cold stare, "You're going to suggest I just talk to him about it right? No. We'll just end up arguing about it…"

Wally looked at her saddened. Glancing down at her hand, he clasped it tightly with his, "It's gonna be okay. No matter what happens, I'm here for you. Don't forget that." he stood up straight and pulled her into an embrace, resting his chin on her head, "Give yourself a couple of days to get your head on straight. You've got time… but Chels, you really need to tell him."

She took a deep breath, "I know."

Wally took her home sometime after. She wandered up the long staircase and fell into bed. She turned her head to watch the sun come up from the horizon. She heard the door creak open and turned her head back toward the door. Bruce came in with bags under his eyes. It had apparently been a long night. He looked at her with a raise of his eyebrows, "Did I wake you?"

She simply shook her head, "I haven't actually gone to sleep yet."

He laid down beside her and pulled the blanket over top of them. He then used his strength to pull her against him, his front to her back. He placed a tender kiss against her neck and then rested his head against hers. Releasing a breath of relief through his nose he wrapped his arm around her waist, "Thank you."

She placed her small hand on top of his, "For what?"

"Allowing me rest." he closed his eyes, "You know I'm not good at this sort of thing, but… I'm so thankful you're in my life. It makes it hard for me to remember what it was like before you were here… like it was a dream." she rolled her upper body over to face him, "Do you still believe fate puts us where we're meant to be?"

She smiled slightly and pecked his lips, "Think of how precise things have to go for us to meet. There's so many people on this planet… more than we can dare comprehend… We have to be born in the same time frame… our paths have to cross… we have to be brave enough to make eye contact… talk… give each other the power to break us… everything has to go so right in a world full of wrong." she looked up at the ceiling, "Nothing has ever been more right in my life, Bruce. You make the world a beautiful place. I couldn't picture a world without you… without Batman…" she closed her eyes tight, seemingly pained by the realization.

Bruce lifted his head. When she opened her eyes, she was looking up at his concerned face.

"You mean so much to this city… for so many reasons…" she could feel her eyes watering so she shut them again, "Would you ever stop doing what you do?"

He ran his fingers through her hair, "When you got shot… I told Clark that if you died, Batman would right along with you… I had it in my head that if I couldn't save the one person who made me feel alive, than what right did I have to live at all."

"That sort of thinking brought Batman to life though," she told him, looking into his sorrowful sapphire eyes, "I want you to promise me something…" she gave him a serious look, "I mean it… don't ever give up Batman. Not for my sake. I would never want that. He means too much. You mean… so much." A single tear slid down her cheek.

"Talk to me," he said, leaning his head against hers and whispering in her ear, "Something's wrong. I can feel it."

She looked up at the ceiling and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, "Promise me."

He continued to stroke her hair, "You talk as if we're two different people. We're one and the same, Chelsea. As long as I'm around there will always be a Batman."

He pulled away and looked her in the eyes. She nodded her head and leaned in to plant a kiss on his lips. Letting her head fall back on the pillow she closed her eyes, "Just hold me for a while… okay?"

He rested his head down beside her and squeezed her body, before closing his eyes, and relaxing once more, though worry still lingered in the back of his head. What had her so worked up?

Author's Notes: Another chapter so soon? I got some unexpected free time so I decided to work on it since my summer classes keep me busy and I might not find time to write right away this week. I hope everyone's enjoying this new element I have added to the story and is excited to see where it goes. Some people might be like "But Bruce was still Batman when he found out about Damian", (also bear in mind this is the Batman from Batman the Animated Series, Justice League and Unlimited, so only Dick Grayson and Tim Drake were introduced to that storyline.) but he also found out about Damian after he had grown up some, so he probably didn't have the connection to him a father would have watching his baby being born and raising that child. That's my mindset anyway. Anyway thanks for reading guys. Hit me up with a review and I'll see you at the next chapter.