Chapter 4
They went the back way into the Manor, just to be sure. Tim had called ahead and said there were about two dozen reporters camping outside the gates to the Wayne Estates, and Bruce was grateful he did, even if the ringing of his phone had woken Elizabeth, who hastily straightened and tugged her singlet right. They didn't want a run over reporter as well as the stir that was going to be going on with this new scandal.
When Elizabeth saw the Manor though, Bruce held his breath. She'd either love it, or hate it, he knew.
Her eyes widened as she stared out the window.
"Whoa."
CHAPTER 4
"Whoa." I said, staring out the window. It was massive. Huge. And quite possibly a hundred times bigger then my crappy apartment.
And probably not as roach infested.
Hopefully.
"This is where you live?" I asked, shocked, to Bruce. He nodded, smiling a little.
"Holy shit." I didn't mean for the words to come out of my mouth. But they did. Couldn't help it now. I looked guiltily at Bruce though, and he just raised an eyebrow. "Bloody hell?" I amended weakly, and he just sighed as we pulled into what looked like a garage.
And indeed it was. I almost swore again when I saw the sheer amount of 'fancy' cars and bikes in there. Some old, some new. But I knew they all cost a fortune.
"You live here?" I asked again, and Bruce chuckled.
"Wait until you see inside." He murmured as he opened his door, leaving me staring out the window of mine until Alfred opened up my door with an amused look.
"Do you need some assistance, Miss Elizabeth?" he asked, a slight smirk on his face, and I scrambled out of the car, shaking my head as I blushed.
"I'm right, thanks mate." I said, before turning my head to look around, astonished.
It was pretty…scary. Would I be able to touch anything in his house without thinking I was going to break it? Oh god. If I broke it, was I expected to pay for it? I didn't have that kind of cash. Third world country's didn't have that kind of cash.
"Elizabeth?" Bruce was at my elbow, placing a hand on my shoulder. "If you feel uncomfortable, I can get you a room at a hotel."
It took me a moment to register what he said, and my eyes widened further as I shook my head. "No thanks." I said quickly. What would be worse then being in a strange (ish) country than being in a strange (ish) country alone?
"Then come on." He said gently. "I'm sure your younger brother's dying to meet you."
Younger brother. The words echoed in my head as I was led unresisting out a door and into the main building. The main building. My father had a 'main building' to his house. I mean, sure, a lot of people did with their garages and such, but not like this.
BMBMBM
I was staring around me so much that I didn't notice the dark haired teen sitting in the living room Bruce was leading me to until I had walked about two metres in the door. Then I stopped dead. It was that boy from the news. I remembered what they had said about him. Orphan. His father had been killed by that villain guy, Captain Boomerang, and Bruce had adopted him about a year after that.
"Elizabeth, this is Timothy Drake. Tim, this is Elizabeth." Bruce said, making the introductions. I tried to smile and stuck my hand out.
"Pleased to meet you." Tim said, his blue eyes studying me carefully.
"You too." I said, shaking his hand.
"So," I said awkwardly. "Do you live here as well?"
Then I almost wanted to slap myself. 'Do you live here as well?' was that the best I could come up with? He was like, seventeen. Of course he lived there as well.
He must have seen the look on my face, because he cracked a smile, nodding, and didn't torment me further.
"Come on." Bruce said. "Let's show you your room."
I gulped. It wouldn't be filled with antique's that I would most likely break, would it?
We walked down the hallways and I tried to stop saying holy shit. I managed for the most part, but I think I managed to get out a couple more before my mind got the order not to let my lips move.
By then Tim was looking at me with an amused look, shooting a few looks to Bruce as well. Somewhere in some far off room I heard a phone ring, and Alfred excused himself to answer it, sighing.
I felt bad for him. If what had happened outside my apartment was any indication, he must have had a shocker of the last couple of days with phone calls and the media.
We turned down another corridor and I sighed. I was so going to need a map. Orienteerer I was not.
Finally we stopped at a door. It had seemed like forever, but I knew it was just dread making it seem that long. What if it was all…pretty? Like, flowers. Or pink! What if it was pink! And not the cool, fluoro pink either. Like the pale baby pink that was just a bad colour on anyone, and everything.
I braced myself for what was to come when Bruce opened the door, and was pleasantly surprised. A nice, neutral green quilt cover adorned the queen sized bed, along with simple, but stylish decorating. And not a pink thing in sight.
It was good.
I entered with Bruce and Tim trailing behind me, watching my reaction carefully. I went and sat down on the bed, feeling a little numb.
"Elizabeth?" I looked up when Bruce said my name. he looked worried.
"This is…real, isn't it?" I said finally, fingering the quilt cover shakily.
"It is." Bruce said solemnly, and I covered my face with my hands, brushing my hair back, then again, just to calm myself.
"Okay." I said, then repeated myself. "Okay."
"We'll leave you here to unpack." Bruce said quietly. "If you still want to stay."
I stared at him for a long moment. Did I? Wouldn't it just be easier to go back to Australia, finish my exams and try to get on with living my life? Here there was the whole press thing. Not to mention making up for years lost with my father. And my brother. Brothers, I corrected myself absentmindedly. Plural. There was that cop guy Bruce adopted years ago.
"We'll see." I said quietly, clenching my fists as I thought about all the things I would be giving up, just to stay here for just a week even, and get to know my 'dad'. And work! I still hadn't called them to tell them what was happening. I must have been the worst employee in the history of the company.
I looked at the time on the bedside table clock and tried to work out the time difference, wondering if anyone would answer at ten at night. The small fish and chip shop I worked in paid me well, but it was family owned by this nice little Hungarian family, and a lot of the time the owner would stay behind and count the money and all that jazz. But no. I don't think even ten would be a good time to call.
They left the guest room, passing my bag on the way out. So okay, maybe I did like it here. And Bruce had pretty much given me an open invite to stay as long as I liked.
So long as I didn't find out he was hiding these big secrets like he was an axe murderer or something big like that, I'd be fine.
Right?
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"Master Dick will be joining us for dinner." Alfred informed Bruce as soon as he stepped through the door to the office where Bruce kept his 'domestic' computer and phone.
Bruce nodded briskly. "Good." He said. Another set of eyes would be good. He needed to know if this was an elaborate trap like Damian had been, the child of Talia that had been sent to Bruce.
And with Dick, Tim, and Bruce on the case, there was no doubt they would spot anything suspicious.
He just hoped she was for real.
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"Miss Elizabeth, dinner will be ready in ten minutes." Alfred's voice at the door made me jump, nearly dropping the photo album I held in my hands. I'd been staring at the photo's of my mother, wondering how she could have kept this secret from me. Of all, this secret. I could have been a secret government experiment and it wouldn't have bothered me as much as this was.
"Thanks Alfred." I said quietly, still staring at the pictures.
"Something the matter, Miss Elizabeth?" he asked kindly, and I looked up finally, closing the album.
"No!" I said hastily. "Nothing wrong. The rooms…just fine. I'm fine." I nodded, but I wasn't sure who I was trying to convince, him, or me.
He looked like he didn't believe me, quirking a brow, but didn't say anything.
"If you say so, Miss Elizabeth." He said, then left my doorway. I sighed. Time to face the uh, family.
I stood, digging through my bag until I found my good jeans. Which translated to the ones without holes in them. Finding another top – I'd been in the one I was wearing for over a day now – I changed.
Then I realised I had no idea where to go once I stepped out of my room.
Pulling a face at the prospect of trying to navigate the Wayne Manor by myself I stepped out. To find Alfred waiting for me. I breathed a sigh of relief. I had a guide!
"Lead the way." I said, thankful he was there.
He just gave me a knowing look and started to lead me to dinner.
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He left me at the door to the dining room with an omnipotent smile. Yeah, yeah. He knew I was shit scared. Bruce seemed…alright. It was Tim that scared me.
And the mysterious guy sitting next to Bruce. The one I didn't know. Yeah, he scared me too.
I stopped dead in the doorway, staring. Ok. This wasn't in the brochure.
"Hi." I said dumbly, not sure what I should do, or hell, even where I should sit. There was a seat free next to Bruce, but Tim wasn't there yet, so I didn't know whether he would be sitting there or not.
"Elizabeth," Bruce smiled, gesturing to the free seat. "This is Richard Grayson. Dick, this is Elizabeth."
"Hi." I said warily, sitting next to Bruce. "Good to meet you, Richard. Bruce didn't tell me you were going to be here."
He grinned easily. "That's because I only told him a couple of hours ago. But please, call me Dick."
"Ok." I said quietly, glaring slightly at Bruce. Even though he'd only known for a couple of hours, he could have given me a heads up.
"So, you're the one the media's been going nuts over." Dick said friendly. "I'm just glad I'm in Blüdhaven now. The press don't pay me as many visits."
I sighed. "I live in Australia." I said flatly. "It didn't help me any."
He laughed as Tim walked in the door, flinging himself into a chair.
"I'm hungry." He moaned, and Dick slapped him upside the head.
"Use you manners." He said. "We have company."
Tim shrugged, and looked at me. "Elizabeth's cool. She doesn't care."
I grinned. I didn't. If I'd known Bruce for longer then I had, and knew how he'd react, I'd probably be doing the same. Sure, we'd eaten on the plane, but it was plane food. No matter how rich Bruce was, it didn't do anything for the food.
"So, you two were both adopted by Bruce?" I asked, tilting my head to the side. If I hadn't known that already I would assume they were father and sons. The family resemblance was uncanny.
"I was adopted as his ward." Dick said. "And Tim as his son. Tim's the legal heir to the Wayne name."
I raised my eyebrows at that. Well, if that wasn't a hint, I didn't know what was.
Bruce gave Dick a little glare, and I tried to suppress my smile. At least he didn't sic him on me. Well, I don't think he did, anyway.
"Dick-," he started, but we were interrupted by Alfred bringing in the food.
Which was good. I so didn't want to get into a throwdown about me being a possible money grabber looking for the Wayne fortune. Because that was so not the case. Nothing could be further from the truth. The whole private jet thing and the big mansion were not my thing.
Give me a small apartment and public transport any day.
What Alfred put in front of me was unrecognisable. Plain and simple. I didn't know what it was. It was cut up and arranged artfully. But all I knew was that it was white meat. So that could mean anything. Chicken, fish…human.
Hey, that human bit wasn't learned first hand. I saw it on Discovery or something.
I realised belatedly they were all staring at me. I blushed, before cutting into my meat quickly. Stupid fancy food. I wonder what it was. Didn't matter. It was probably chicken. Tasted like chicken. I hoped it was chicken.
"So, what do you do for a living?" Dick asked diplomatically, ignoring the look Bruce gave him.
"I'm a student." I answered in between mouthfuls. It really was quite good. "And I work part time at a fish and chip shop a few streets away from my apartment. What about you?"
"Police officer." He said, and I grinned slightly. I'd always wanted to be a cop when I was younger. More naïve. Now I knew what hard work it could be, inglorious, and the people you helped were rarely grateful.
"Cool." I said, instead of voicing my opinions. "Do you enjoy it?"
I'd never really been good at the whole small talk thing, so I hoped they excused me if my questions sounded awkward.
"It's good work." Dick said, smiling wryly. "It needs to be done."
I nodded. I wish I had the guts to do something that selfless.
"What do you study?" Bruce asked, frowning. Okay, so he didn't know I was in university. But we hadn't really talked much.
"English Literature. But I'm thinking of getting into languages as well." I added as an after thought.
"Sounds interesting. So you're interested in other cultures?" Bruce had a look of mild interest on his face.
I shrugged. "It's kinda hard not to be. We've all gotta live together."
Bruce smiled sadly. "That we do. You should like Gotham then. There aren't many cultures you can't find here."
"The University of Gotham also has quite a few good language degrees to choose from." Alfred said from where he stood against the wall.
Well, if that wasn't a hint, I don't know what was. I looked up in time to see Bruce shoot Alfred a warning look and Tim and Richard share a knowing look. If I had to guess, I'd say Alfred liked to meddle in Bruce's affairs, and often.
"I'll keep that in mind." I said awkwardly.
The talk soon moved on to things I didn't know about, and people I didn't know, so I tuned out, focussing on my meal instead. The chicken stuff was pretty good.
Even if it wasn't really chicken.
Soon I yawned, the events of the past 48 hours catching up with me.
"Sorry." I said sheepishly, covering my mouth.
Bruce looked at me smiling softly. "That's alright. It's been a long couple of days for us all."
I nodded at the understatement. "If it's alright, I think I'll go to bed." I stood, but then looked unsure at the door. I had no idea how to get back to my room.
The next thing I knew Dick was standing up next to Bruce. "I'll show you to your room."
The offer surprised me. Of all the people to offer I hadn't expected it to be him. But maybe he wanted to threaten me. He didn't seem to like me at all.
Well fine. If he wanted to get me alone so he could threaten me well and proper without Bruce there, he could try. He would fail.
I followed him dutifully out the door, and through the myriad of corridors.
"This place needs a map." I grumbled, passing yet another work of art on the walls. Maybe that was how I could find my way around, by whatever art was in the corridor?
Dick laughed at my comment, and I smiled a little. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all.
Then he stopped all of a sudden, gesturing me to as well. I turned, about to ask him what it was. He put a finger to his lips and I got the hint. There it was again. A miniscule shuffle of feet, right before five men burst out of a room about three metres ahead of us.
Five men with guns.
I bit my lip to stop myself from screaming, even as Dick placed himself in front of me, shielding me.
"Oh my god." I moaned softly as I looked over my unexpected protectors shoulder. These guys looked mean. And what were they doing in Bruce's home?
"She's coming with us." One of the men growled, and my eyes widened even further. Um…no. I really wasn't.
"Elizabeth, run." Dick said quietly, and I nodded. I didn't have to be told twice. I turned and bolted the other way, back towards the dining hall, screaming bloody murder the whole way, trying to alert Tim and Bruce and Alfred as well.
Too bad I didn't make it ten metres before a body collided with mine and I was forced to the ground.
I gasped out, losing my breath.
"I have her." Whoever it was on top of me called to his buddies. That was before I felt a cloth press against my mouth, and all the sounds of Dick fighting off our attackers faded.
Darkness.
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Dick fought even harder when he saw Elizabeth drugged. He did his best, but it wasn't good enough. These guys were pros, and they had been trained. And they outnumbered him.
So much so that they managed to knock him down, and then, surrounding him, the fight was over. Dick barely saw the kick that came racing towards his head.