Batcave – March 3 – 5:00 AM
I smacked myself against the cave wall to dodge my "mother's" fire blast. She was relentless in her training - I wish she would just let me sleep a little bit more in the mornings. Between getting up early for training with Xynia and Xylia, my internship with Mr. Fox, and then more training after work, I was starting to think that this line of work is not all it's cracked up to be.
Dick assured me that it would get easier with time but after two weeks of this double life I've started…I didn't think I could keep it up. Viola and Bryn know that something is wrong with me and I can't keep lying to them. I'm going to have to tell them about all of this sooner than later. Dick also assures me that I won't have Bruce training me at night for the foreseeable future. Which is a relief to me, I really can't stand to be around the man who ruined my life.
"You need to focus! Our power comes from our core," Xynia said
Every morning Xynia preaches the same thing over and over again. "Our power comes from our core", whatever that means. I barely make it out of our sessions alive most mornings, why can't she be more like her twin? Xylia was sweet and whenever we did exercises together I responded better under her care. But Xynia? Dick warned me about her, she's angry… all the time,
"And you aren't paying attention, which will screw you over." She yelled.
I literally flew from across the cave as a huge ball of fire engulfed me and threw me from my hiding spot. I've had it with mommy dearest, it's time to end this. I hurled a ball of blue flames towards her but she deflected it and laughed. Ugh! I hate when she laughs at me, I hate when anyone laughs at me. I'm an intelligent woman and I will defeat her, I will.
While fuming I wasn't paying attention and found myself face planted into the cave floor in a very painful way. Xynia got the drop on me…again. Her cackles filled the cave for a good five minutes after that.
Batcave - March 5 – 6:30 PM
"I hope Bruce hasn't gone too easy on you, because I never go easy on any of my students."
I love Dick Grayson. Not only did Dick get me a different teacher, he got me the one woman I would definitely pay attention to. Black Canary arrived at the cave thirty minutes ago and already had my attention…fully. When she arrived she officially introduced herself as Dinah and that I could call her that too.
Dinah ran through the maneuver that she wanted me to perfect by the week's end and how it should look. She also said that I should practice it on Bruce. Now that's training I can get behind. Anything that can cause me to possibly kick his ass is something to learn quickly and one day I'll use everything I learn on him. It's just a matter of time.
"Nicole, you're not using enough force behind your attack. You need to relax. Just imagine that dummy is an ex-boyfriend," Dinah said.
"Yeah, I've got one of those but I choose not to think about him."
She smirked. "That's going to change because I think I know how to teach you from now on."
And just like that my punches became stronger and my kicks knocked off the practice dummy's head clear off every time. I was starting to get good at this, but Dinah said I should hold off of the dummy and get some laps in. By the end of our training session I was exhausted. Maybe asking for another teacher wasn't such a good idea after all.
Batcave - March 15 – 10:30 PM
"You're really picking this up; you'll be in the field in no time!" Dick said.
"Not quite, Robin, she's still a bit rough around the edges." Dinah replied, and then winked.
"I can hear you, you know! I'm trying to focus; it's not every day that you spar with the Batman. Who has the knowledge of a billion different fighting styles, remind me why this is a fair fight again?"
"Because you are going to go up against opponents who are much faster, stronger and more skilled than you are." Xynia said.
"You're not helping!"
Instantly I was thrown on the mat laid out in the middle of the cave. Damn him and his ninja skills! I couldn't even hear him approach me. This isn't fair. Can't I just use my powers? I mean fire can incapacitate almost anything, right?
She sighed, "You can't just use your fire ability, little girl. Hand-to-hand combat is useful during any fight, even we aliens know that," Xynia said.
"How can you read my mind again? I wasn't paying attention the first time you explained it."
"Xylia and I were born with both of the royal family gifts. Fire, telepathy and telekinesis, is that simple enough for you, daughter?"
"It's creepy, please stop it!" I said while rubbing my backside.
Bruce didn't have to throw me so hard. He's lucky I don't burn him to a crisp after what he's done.
Everyone had gathered in the Batcave to watch my nighttime training with Black Canary. This is the first occurrence of it since she's taught me but I guess there's a first time for everything. I couldn't help noticing Dinah and Xynia whispering to each other throughout the whole night. Something is up, I could feel it.
"Enough! You need to figure out your signature move, Nicole. Bending fire to your will isn't enough, you need absolute control over it." Xynia snapped.
"Yes, mother."
"Training with your mother can't be that bad. She's just trying to make sure you won't get hurt when going up against someone." Dinah smiled.
Kensington Hall - March 20 – 6:45 PM
Wayne Enterprises was holding a charity gala for the Wayne Foundation at Kensington Hall in downtown Gotham City. Security was at an all time high due to expensive auction items and the high profile guest list. It seemed every billionaire and millionaire was present - except for my boyfriend, who I haven't seen in almost a month.
"I'm sure he's busy and couldn't make it. Relax, do you think he's cheating?" Viola asked.
"No, he hates these kinds of events. Can't say I blame him," I said while glaring.
Bruce brought Vicki Vale as a date again. Ugh! I can't stand seeing that media whore at every single one of these events. I will not allow Bruce to date her or marry her. There is no way in Hell that I will share Wayne manor with her.
"You have got to stop glaring at your Uncle; you don't want Vale to come over here." Bryn said.
"Okay, you've really got to start telling us what's going on." Viola replied.
"There is nothing going on."
Bryn smirked. "Oh, so this new found hatred for our boss didn't just appear out of thin air. Did he do something?"
"Maybe."
Bryn placed both of her hands on either side of my face and looked me straight in the eyes.
"You're hiding something, Nicky. I've known you for most of your life, I don't want to be in the dark again."
"Bryn, this isn't about Jason. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about him when that was going on but I told you about me finding out who my father is. I told both of you hours after I found out, okay?"
Viola slapped Bryn's hands. "We know how hard that must have been for you, Nicky, we just want you to know that we'll be there when you need us."
"Oh look! Bruce is calling me over…I'll be back ladies," I sighed, while briskly walking over to Bruce.
I ignored Vicki Vale's smug expression and turned towards Bruce. He motioned for me to greet someone but I wasn't paying attention to him. There was a petite woman that stood next to him in a navy blue halter cocktail dress, the dress brought out her eyes and that was the problem. Her eyes. She was seducing me with her eyes, not on purpose I might add…but still. I'm starting to think I might I have a fetish for redheads.
"Nicole, this is an old friend of mine, Dawn Golden. Dawn, this is my niece that I've told you all about." He smiled.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Nicole. I'm finally meeting the girl that keeps Bruce on his toes." She laughed.
"Well, someone has to, or else he'll just get rusty or boring. We can't have that now, so…how do you two know each other?" I asked.
Golden is right, a bright glow seems to permeate from around her. I have got to stop rambling, I have a boyfriend and I can't be seduced by this chick's eyes anymore. I shouldn't allow it…but those deep blue eyes keep luring me back.
"We met when we were children and went to the same college." Bruce said.
Ugh. That's code for we used to date and it didn't end well…it figures.
"I see. Well, I have to get back to my friends now. Enjoy your evening and it was nice meeting you, Dawn." I smiled, walking away slowly.
What the hell was that? Could I be any more obvious about my attraction? I've been around other people at these events before but she's just so…different.
"You forgot that you have a boyfriend, didn't you?" Bryn laughed.
"Shut up, please." I begged.
"Dawn Golden? You do know that she used to date your uncle, right?" Viola said, raising an eyebrow.
I scoffed. "I'm insulted that either of you would think that I'd go after Bruce's sloppy seconds."
"No, I just know that your boyfriend isn't around and you were thinking of cheating. I'm not going to lecture you about it but do keep in mind that my mom would ring your neck if she found out." Bryn said.
"I'm not thinking of cheating, her eyes are very pretty. That's all-"
A loud bang filled the the Hall as smoke filled the area. Twelve burly men descended on the Hall in a V-formation and started to loot the auction items. A spray of bullets showered above head and smoke cleared a bit to reveal a stout man in a top hat and monocle. The Penguin stood smugly waiting for the guests of the gala to stop panicking.
"Wah, wah, you all look terrified. Good!" The Penguin laughed.
"Uh, does anyone have Batman's number on speed dial?" Bryn whispered.
"Call nine-one-one not Batman, he can't do shit for us right now." I whispered back.
I looked over at Bruce checking over Vicki Vale and Dawn Golden to make sure they were alright. Oh yeah, we were all screwed royally. It wasn't that I cared for the auction items, it was more the fact that The Penguin decided to show up and rob the place while I was here. I thought Ethan would have put the fear of God in all criminals of Gotham City for even thinking of coming within several feet of me.
"We'll just take one of your lovely party guests to ensure that we don't have any trouble along the way. Boys, grab her!" The Penguin yelled.
One of The Penguin's goons grabbed both of my arms and hoisted me up and and threw me over his shoulder. I started to kick and scream because I couldn't use my new found ability with so many witnesses around. Before they could leave the Hall I yelled out "Somebody better get Batman and tell him he fucking owes me!"
10:00 PM – Iceberg Lounge
"You really blew it buddy! Just wait until Ethan finds out about this, your goose is cooked. He'll be dining on Penguin for dinner! How dare you kidnap me when you know I'm under his protection?"
"I'd oblige you to keep talking, Miss Wayne, but Ethan Mercer has no jurisdiction here in my casino," The Penguin laughed.
"Oh, really? Well what about Batman? You think that he's just going to let you get away with kidnapping someone? Actually, why did you kidnap me?" I asked.
Hopefully while answering he will be busy enough to not notice that I'm burning through the ropes that bind my wrists. And naturally The Penguin goes on about how the Wayne family screwed over the Cobblepots and went even further into the two family's dealings. Within two minutes of his talk I discreetly burned through the ropes and was about to lunge at him went a loud crash sounded and shattered glass from the skylight filled the room. I did my best to duck out of the way to avoid getting cut.
I looked up to see a tall man dressed in black combat boots, cargo pants, a Kevlar vest, a brown leather jacket and a shiny red helmet. It looks like I'm finally going to meet the mysterious Red Hood. I really need to start saving myself from these kinds of situations. First Batman, The Flash, then Black Canary and now Red Hood. Damn costumed superheroes!
"Penguin, Penguin, Penguin, did you really think you could make off with all that loot and the billion dollar Princess? And without giving me a cut?" He tsked.
"Red Hood! How nice of you to drop by, I was just counting the profit for you and I wasn't going hurt Miss Wayne. We were just talking actually," The Penguin said frantically.
"Right," Red Hood said, nodding. "Good night, Penguin."
I watched as he fired two shots at The Penguin as I lay paralyzed unable to stop him.
"You shot him!" I yelled.
"Relax, Princess, it's only tranquilizer darts. Besides, I thought you would be overjoyed to be rescued finally." He said, tauntingly.
"Not really, I already got out of the ropes The Penguin bound me in. But since you went through all that trouble, I guess you deserve a pat on the back." I scoffed.
"Wow, you are a Princess. Look at you standing there all high and mighty as if I didn't just put The Penguin to sleep."
"Well maybe it would have impressed me if I wasn't already used to his type, sorry but you don't. You're just some wannabe gangster roaming streets of Gotham unsupervised. You aren't even the original Red Hood, sweetie. Did you know that ripped someone else's moniker off?"
He laughed. "I like you, you're salty. My kind of girl."
"You wish!" I huffed, "How am I going to get back to the gala now? Ugh! I'm going to have the GCPD crawling up my ass with questions when I get there. Eff my life."
"I could get you there…but it will cost you."
I sighed. "I really don't like where this is going."
12:00 AM – Outside Kensington Hall
"What do do you mean 'you have detectives on it', we know who took her, okay? It was The Penguin, we all know where he is! Get your heads out of your asses and bring Nicky back here. Now!" Bryn screamed at Harvey Bullock.
"Bryn this isn't helping. We should let them do their jobs, I'm sure that the GCPD will get her back. Calm down, please." Viola reasoned.
Bryn pouted and crossed her arms. Bruce was talking to Detective Renee Montoya about what was stolen and how the attack occurred. Vicki Vale looked like she couldn't wait to get back to the Gotham Gazette to plaster this whole story on the front page. And Dawn Golden, newly acquainted with the kidnapped victim, looked worried. Commissioner Gordon was going around asking each of the guests if they saw anything out of the ordinary.
The background noise from outside the Hall was silenced when the piercing roar of a sleek red motorcycle raced past the Hall and circled back to park in front of everyone there.
"Damn! That was awesome, let's go again!" I laughed.
"What can I say? It's a sweet ride but I'd bet you'd be better," Red Hood laughed.
I slowly shook my head.
"Now about that payment…"
"Uh, I thought you were joking about that, but whatever. Who do I make the check out to-"
"Oh, no. Not that kind of payment. I'll catch you later, Princess." He said, then revved his engine and sped off into onto the road.
I could feel my face turning red, while I ran a hand through my hair and bit my lip.
"Miss Wayne, we'd like to ask you a few questions." Commissioner Gordon said behind me.
I spun around to see that my friends and the guests of the charity gala had all witnessed my little exchange that I had with Red Hood.
"Sure, but just for the record, he gave me a ride over here. I don't know him like that, in fact, we just met a couple of hours ago." Nicole said.
March 21 - 3:00 AM – Wayne Manor
I don't know why Bruce is grilling me. I'm the one who got kidnapped, he should be dressed as Batman and yelling at The Penguin. It's not like I asked to be taken by his goons, I was acting like a normal civilian. Like I didn't know that my uncle was Gotham City's Dark Knight.
"You could have been killed! I will not allow another family member to die under my watch, not while I can prevent it." Bruce shouted.
"That's it! I was kidnapped not maimed or murdered, just kidnapped. You should stop trying to hide behind your childhood, okay? You lost your parents, boo hoo, you are not the only person on Earth who that's happened to. You can't stand there and lecture me about something that was not in my control."
I took a deep breath and continued, "If you would have been honest with me from the get go and trained me like you have Dick, we wouldn't be having this argument. You can stand there and yell all you want but in the end this whole mess is on you. Instead of finding a way to slip out and become Batman, you decided to watch over your gold digging girlfriend instead of civilians."
"I couldn't get away!" He growled.
"A likely story! You're the goddamn Batman, there isn't anything you can't do but when Vale is involved your head goes to mush. And over that media whore…pathetic!"
"How many times do I have to tell you to not call her that?"
"Why shouldn't I? Do you know what will be plastered all over the front page of the newspaper this morning? It won't be that I was abducted or that the gala was robbed. It will be about me hitching a ride with Red Hood while everyone else was "worried" about me. That's what your girlfriend is going to write about!"
"We were worried about you and then you showed up on the back of Red Hood's motorcycle. How did you expect me to react?"
"You don't act this way when other costumed heroes save me, so what's the big deal?" I asked.
"He's not a hero, he is a criminal and it doesn't look good to the Police or to a judge when you're currently a murder suspect!"
"Oh my god! Please stop acting like you care, okay? You're afraid that if you don't have me under surveillance twenty-four hours a day, you're somehow going to lose control over me. Well I've got news for you: You never had any to begin with! I let you put me under a curfew, I don't have to follow it and for the most part I don't. Because you're a control freak," I said, turning to walk out of Bruce's study.
I slammed the door and angrily went to my room. I really hate my life.
9:00 AM – Wayne Enterprises
I was seated at my desk outside Mr. Fox's office scoffing at my true prediction about Vale's newspaper article when my phone rang.
"Wayne Enterprises, Mr. Fox's office, how may I help you?"
"Be ready to suit up at eight o'clock tonight. Don't be late," Bruce growled and hung up.
Well I guess someone is still mad at me…wait, what?
I quickly dialed Alfred, maybe he could make sense of what Bruce meant by meeting him tonight. The phone rang a few times before he picked up.
"Wayne Manor-"
"Alfred you don't have to be proper for me, we're family. What does Bruce mean by 'suit up'? I have no idea."
"Miss Nicole, that's what I was trying to tell you this morning before you rushed out the door. I have your uniform ready for you, Miss Nicole, Master Bruce already had a costume made for you," Alfred replied calmly.
"Well I'll be damned," I smirked, setting the phone back on its cradle and lounging back in my chair.
It looks like Gotham's criminals have a new crusader to worry about.