Evelyn was surprisingly compliant the next day, mostly silent. But Batman noticed the way she studied them, Robin in particular, when they were in the cave with her and Mary. While Evelyn was good at hiding her feelings through her facial expressions, her body language told him all he needed to know. Why the hell she would be sad when looking at his partner he had no clue, but he intended to find out more about her regardless. He acted on this intent after Robin left to spend time with the team before training.
"Evelyn?"
She looked up from where she was sitting with Mary stacking wooden blocks Alfred had taken down from the attic.
"I want you to tell me about what you're running from."
She sighed and adjusted a block that had turned, threatening to topple what was stacked on it onto its tiney builder.
"Last night after you left I went up the stairs and found that office."
"What?!"
"Which is the only reason I'm going to tell you this so put your rage on hold for like, ten minutes because this is going to take a history lesson or two's worth of context."
He angrily sat on the ground next to them as she continued to stack towers with Mary.
"Back during World War 2 when people were fleeing Europe human experimentation was also making its way through the cracks. One of the more popular black market science facilities for human trafficking decided to fund an experiment investigating what the lead scientist called the 'meta gene'. His theory was that some humans have a section of junk DNA, that under certain environmental stressors, situations, or stimuli, will become active and form into a specific ability tailored to that individual. He wanted the cause the mutation if that junk gene in a family line, and see if over generations offspring of the original individuals would develop powers. The ones chosen for the experiment were two Romani couples who had been trying to flee to America. Their kids had enhanced agility and strength but nothing else promising. Unfortunately for the facility they managed to escape, and flee to America like their parents had intended to do. There they found a traveling circus and joined another Romani family as the man's brother and sister in law. The two became Mary and John Grayson under fake documents."
Bruce was dumbstruck.
"And who does that make you?" he asked. He already knew the answer.
"The legally dead twin found in a ditch killed by Zucco's men a week after running out of the the tent."she said bluntly, and Bruce remembered how hopeful Dick had been that his sister would come back before they found the body. Dick had been right all along, he supposed, seven years later.
The two sat in silence for a long time before Karla Grayson spoke again.
"The American branch of the facility payed Zucco's men to target the Grayson family and kidnap at least one of us. I'm the one they got. They cloned my body and used it as a dummy to cover their tracks."
"What happened to you?"
"I just so happened to be more than anything they could have hoped for," she said bitterly. "Instead of developing one meta gene from the junk DNA I continued to develop more and more regardless of whether or not I could actually use or control what I have the potential for. Then they started to put my mutated genes into other people just for fun to see what happened. They developed shit too. About two years ago In January I staged a huge breakout. All of the people who were trafficked were able to get back to where they came from and get legal help but everyone in my division were kids of people who worked there or didn't have any documentation to begin with. It wasn't until recently that I realized they could target Dick for the same shit they did to me and came to Gotham to check up on him."
"Why didn't you come here to see him immediately?" Bruce asked, shocked.
"You're not telling him I'm here Wayne. He doesn't need to be pulled into this. It's best if he doesn't know."
"It's best if he doesn't know that his sister is alive and well?!"
"Yes," she said sadly. "When our family died he went after Zucco. If he finds out what happened to me history is bound to repeat itself, and that water is deep and filled with terrors I don't want him to endanger himself with. I expect you would want the same. You are Not Going to tell him,"
"You can't expect him to not find out on his own. You're identical. Now that I know it's even more obvious but it won't take him long to realize that what he sees in the mirror is the same as what he sees looking at you. Bleaching your hair will only go so far."
Karla scowled, and then looked at Mary.
"She is mine, actually," she said quietly. Bruce felt slightly ill.
"Who's the father?" he asked after a moments pause.
"No one," she said, setting her jaw. "Oh the miracles that science can bring about." Her voice dripped with bitter sarcasm. Alfred came the rest of the way down the stairs when he heard their conversation end, though he knew both of them knew he had been there the whole time. He only wanted to give them space before bringing down lunch.
"Shall I prepare a guest room upstairs then?" he asked as Bruce sat down at the computer.
"Yes. He's going to find out anyway. I just hope she decides to tell him before I do it for her," he said, making the last sentence louder to be clear that Karla would hear it. She shot a glare in his direction. He smirked.