"My birth was filmed and aired on TV because everyone was so excited about it. My father's parents were shot dead in an alley, and he became so damaged after it that it felt like he could never be happy. It got so bad he turned to stealing money from banks and cars. Even when he got his own reality TV show, met my mother and married her, then had me, he was still never happy.

"I think he could never get over the fact that his parents weren't with him."

It felt like that in this world, too.

"Did he become Batman?" I asked. In the Justice Lords' universe and this universe, her became Batman so what was to say that he didn't become Batman in that universe?

Persephone looked away sadly. "No. But sometimes I wonder what would have happened if he did."

That was a shocker.

"Continuing on.

"My father met Wonder Woman when he was thirty-two. He was a bachelor, and he already had a reality show. The producers were nagging him to turn it into a Bachelor like show where women competed to his bride. That could've been what happened if he never met my mother.

"My mother came from Themyscira. Her mother was Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons. I think her father was Lord Hades. Not the one from this universe, but the one from the universe I come from. She left during the early 1990s because she wanted to help people in the outside world. Two years later, she met my father. He asked her to marry him after about four months, which isn't enough time to date someone and marry them in my opinion."

Persephone pushed her chair back from the table, her arms crossed.

"For years, they tried to conceive a child in private but they couldn't with the media hording them constantly. It wasn't until about twenty or so years after they married that they were finally able to have a child through in vitro fertilisation.

"That child was me."

"The media horded them that much?" I asked. As far as I knew, the old man wouldn't even do an interview with anyone unless it was about Wayne Enterprises.

"You'd be shocked. Anyway, my birth was filmed on camera and aired on TV. I was always watched, and I never had any privacy even from the moment I was born. A lot of kids back then would've thought the idea was entertaining, and I think a lot of kids today still think that way."

I nodded. "I remember from being thirteen or fourteen that there were kids who wanted to be the center of attention."

"I thought so." She tilted her head and smiled strangely.

"I can tell you from first hand experience that in reality, it's not as pleasant as you think it is. Behind the scenes, the producers scripted our episodes. They weren't what actually happened. The truth is, my dad was an alcoholic, and my mother wanted to show me off to the public. The only time she didn't was when she took me to her home island of Themyscira to meet her mother.

"The culture there fascinated me. From the moment I set foot there, I knew that this was the place I'd rather be. There was no media, I could spend time alone when I needed it, and I didn't have to worry about raging alcoholic parents.

"But even if Hippolyta did like me, I still wouldn't have been able to flee, for obvious reasons.

"For years, I was trapped. It felt like there was no escape. Then, when I was seventeen, I went on my dad's computer. Apparently, the computer had passages to alternate universes. When I realized that, I came up with a plan. Whenever I had private time, I went on my dad's computer and looked for other places where I could live. I found this universe. This was the place I wanted to be because it would give me the closest life to the one I wanted. A life of freedom.

"Another reason why I wanted to go there was because of Lord Hades. For some reason, he always fascinated me, and he was alive in this universe, so I thought there was a chance I could meet him. It was a chance for me to learn more about my Greek ancestry since my mother never taught me. It was six months, but I finally managed to pack up and take the passage to this world. I landed on Themyscira. Hippolyta was alive in this world, and if she hated me in the other one, then she would hate me in this one.

"So I stayed in this tower, and when it was night, I snuck out to the gates of Tartarus. I broke in, and closed the doors. As I flew through the realm, I saw lava and raging fires. When I got to Lord Hades throne, he told me I looked like his daughter, with the black hair. But he said I also looked different. I told him my story, and he offered to let me stay with him. But there was a catch: if I chose to stay with him, then I would be his eternal servant. I agreed to stay with him, and he agreed to keep me safe. I've stayed with him ever since."

I leaned on the table. "Why did you leave?"

"Zeus is angry. Someone stole his lightning bolt, and he thought Hades did it, so his soldiers broke in, and Hades sent me away. He told me he'd contact me once it was all clear. Hades knew the old man would be away, so he suggested that I stay at Wayne Manor until he returned. If he returns before Hades is proved innocent, then I'm going to go to a homeless shelter. That's the back-up plan.

"So," Persephone said, lifting her feet onto the table and crossing her ankles. "Any questions?"

Yes. There was one.

"Did you even think about how your parents would feel if they found out you ran away?" I know Mom would've freaked if either me or Matt did that. Then, when whoever it was that ran away was caught, she'd ground us.

"Do you think they would've cared?" she asked. For a moment, I looked into her eyes, and they looked bitter and angry. As though something that meant a lot to her was taken away.

I pursed my lips and didn't say anything.

Persephone got out of her chair and yawned. "If there's a shift needed, then I'll call. I have a little alarm in my room that lets me know if there's a crime in the city. I'm a little tired, so I'll get some sleep. See ya."

I watched her walk away. "See ya."

Wow. What a different life than the one I had. I never thought the old man in another universe would lead a life like that. I didn't expect that from Wonder Woman either.

And from what they both told me about Hades, he didn't seem like the kind of person that would be nice enough to take someone who's gone through 1% of what she has.

Or was he?