Gotham's Best 3
Displacement (1 of 2)
"Kyle?" Silver Siren called out through the house. "
"Fuck." Silver Siren muttered to herself. She ran back into the room to get her bag, then ran down the hallway as fast as she could making sure that no one was watching. "I have to get out." Siren spoke to herself, pushing herself onwards without her fallen comrade. "I need to go before She finds me." Running to the back room Siren made a haste opening the nice vault and pulling out a very impressively sized gun before turning around and finding her worst Nightmare standing before her.
"R-R-Red Queen." Siren stuttered at the sight of the woman before her. With soft smile, Red Queen walked into the room flagging her two masked females, one dark skinned with wild curly hair, and the other of pale skin and dark long locks. The Red Queen's long clock wrapped around her and fell to the ground with its length.
"Hello, Siren." The Queen spoke to the other woman. "I believe you have something I want." With wide eyes Silver Siren backed away from the royal.
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Siren claimed. The Red Queen frowned.
"Don't lie..." She paused. "Actually, don't lie so pitifully. It's almost disgraceful, you could at least die with some pride." She turned to the pale skinned girl on her left, "Miss Bertinelli, if you please." As almost as fast as she said the words the girl's hand was around Silver Siren's neck threat to stop her breathing. With a feral grin, the girl laughed as Siren winced in pain.
"Now Now, Isabella." The Red Queen scolded lightly. "Don't kill her yet. She still has a chance to redeem herself."
"I won't tell you anything you crazy, Bitch!" Silver Siren Spat at The Red Queen only missing by a few inches. Again, the queen frowned and nodded her head towards Isabella.
Silver Siren screamed out in pain as Isabella Bertinelli broke her arm in three places. "Now, Siren. We used to be such good friends. I would hate for this friendship to end on bad terms. I just want to know where the device is, and I promise to let you go."
Silver Siren laughed a hollow laugh, "Please you and I both know that's a lie, Queenie. Don't use those stupid tricks on me. I won't tell you." Showing an emotion other than disappointment and mild amusement, Red Queen glared at the woman.
"Fine, be like that, Sonya." She turned away from the woman, thinking for a minute before turning back, a pleasant smile returning to her face. " She turned to the to her girl, that seemed to be guarding her, "Tatiana, you know Ms. Siren's son, yes? He's in our care." The girl looked confused.
"I'm sorry, Milady, but I'm afraid that the Missus here does not resemble anyone I know." Tatiana replied.
"Ahh, but you do." The Red Queen's small smile grew into a grin, "Rico, he's younger than you. I believe you help train him in some of our classes." Comprehension lite up on the girl's faces.
"Yes, I do know, Rico, but I'm afraid he does not look at all like the missus standing before me."
"True, but it is hard to resemble someone you've never meet, Tatiana." The queen answered.
Silver Siren growled from her position in Isabella, "Don't you dare touch my son!" She hissed.
Red Queen looked offended at that thought, "Why I would never." she sneered. "Unlike you, Rico is one of my most talented, and most loyal of all of my Dolls. I wouldn't harm a hair on his head." As She paused Siren breathed out a sigh of release, "But, I might just send him out on his first kill mission." The Silver Siren paled at the idea.
"It is about time, Milady." Replied Tatiana
"Yes," Agreed, Isabella, "He's 13 now. I killed my first when I was younger than him."
"Don't you dare!" Silver Siren thrashed about in Isabella's hold, but couldn't release herself from it.
"You can fix all of this, Sonya." The Queen spoke. "Tell me where it is, and you're son goes back into to training for another year."
The Silver Siren began to cry tears, but her son's innocence was a stake and the life of a person. "Fine. It's in the back room." She answered. Now nothing would stop The Red Queen from ruling forever. With a sweet smile, the queen nodded her head towards Tiffany who made her way down the hallway into the back room.
"Milady, you may want to come and look at this." She called. Red Queen's once young looking features turned up into a displeased look.
"Isabella, bring her." And she turned down the hall to meet Tatiana. "Miss Fox, what can possible be an issue that you need me to-" She stopped as she saw what was in the room. The device, yes, but something else with it.
"It's a man, Milady." Isabella said shocked.
"A handsome man, Milady." Tatiana corrected. "May we bring him back to the Dollhouse?"
"No, no. He's much to old to join the likes of us now. Maybe if he were younger." She reprimanded lightly. The queen turned to Siren." What is this young man's importance?" she asked. "and don't bother lying or playing stupid. I really don't have the time."
"We found him with the device. He was injured, but still tried to fight us so that we wouldn't get to it." She answered, "We were going to kill him, but according to boy, the device won't work in this world if he's dead. We thought it a lie, but..."
"Didn't want to take the chance." She finished. "Understandable. I won't either." The Queen turned to walk away. "Tatiana, since you find yourself so attached to that young man, you bring him." The young girl almost squealed in delight. "Isabella, kill the spare."
"What no! I helped you!" Silver Siren screamed out. Isabella smiled a sadistic, mad smirk.
"May I help her, Milady?" Tatiana asked, staring the siren down like a rabid wolf.
The queen waved her off, "Do what ever you two like. Just meet me back at HQ with the boy and device in two hours."
As the queen walked out she find herself humming along to the screams and cries of the soon deceased, Silver Siren.
"Seven days!" Mary cried. "I was under her control for a full week, and no one even noticed till it was too late!"
Dick Grayson, her father, tried to console her, "It's not you're fault, Mar'i. And that was years ago, who knew it was going to come back and bite us all in the butt."
"She told us she'd come back!" Mary screamed. "I should have been better prepared, noticed the signs, something! But I didn't now, she has over 200 kids in her custody, and we don't know where they are."
"Again, I repeat, It's not your fault, Mary." Dick repeated.
"Yeah, Small Grayson. You barely remember the time under her control right?" Damian said. Mary blushed in embarrassment.
"How convenient for the Red Queen." Cassandra remarked.
"It's weird. I try to remember it, but I can't even remember half of the things I've said or did during that time. I only remember the things you all told me I did when I was under her control."
"So, the question is, What are we going to do now?" Asked Tim.
This is why they had gathered. The whole family together discussing, a monster they had let loose unto the world.
"We can start with what she knows." Bruce said turning to the computer opening The Red Queen's case file.
"Good place, " Commented Tim. "We know, Mary was under her control for, at least a week. It's safe to assume that any information that Mary has is now with Alicia Royal."
"So what? Secret identities, plans, bases, weapons? All of that knowledge is basically with the the enemy?" Stephanie said sounding slightly panicked.
"Wait, it might not be that bad." Mary said. "I only knew about a few bat-bunkers, modes of transports, and some of what's in our weapon stocks. There's also the stuff that Bruce doesn't tell us about."
"True." Agreed Jason. "Also, if she already knew half of these stuff then she couldn't have already attacked us in our homes. She hasn't even exposed our identities to the public meaning..."
"She probably won't." Next to Jason, Barbara nodded. "It's safe to say that at least for now, Alicia Royal won't be attacking our homes."
Mary breathed out a sigh of relief. If she had her way, Alicia Royal would be trapped somewhere on some remote island with no way to get off.
Mary Grayson paced around the batcave listening to her family discuss what they were going to do with they're current dilemma. Alicia Royal, The Red Queen.
"Mary, so nothing about any of Alicia's plans?" Stephanie asked her finally. It looked as if the discussion was now dying down. They Had nothing to do, but to only react to whatever Alicia Royal does next.
Mary shook her head, "I get bits and pieces, Flashes, but nothing that can tell me exactly what she's doing. It's a miracle I even remember planning these kidnappings, at all"
"She most likely did this on purpose." Bruce said, "A failsafe in case you did end up back with us."
"If I had to take a guess. It looks to me like she is building an army." Cass pondered the file on the computer in front of her. "Young children, that many of them. She could train them to be whoever she wanted them to be."
Jason slapped himself in the forehead, "How did we not see that?! The 12 that were taken, those talented, smart, athletic kids, once trained by those former Talons for a few years, will be killers."
"Killers completely loyal to Alicia Royal." Damian finished. "And With that Hypnos implant those kids will be ready to die for her in a year alone. Think about with only two weeks exposure to it Mary was already so loyal to her. Think about someone, a young, impressionable child being in her care for months, years. With the type of training, moving in a unit with someone like Alicia Royal ordering them. She could have small countries under her control."
"That sounds like Alicia." Mary commented, "She would do something demented like that. The less freewill I had the more she loved it. Controlling me, like I was some kind of puppet." She shivered at the memories. "Bruce, we can't let those kids go through that!"
Sadly, Bruce only shook his head, "There have been over 200 cases with similar M.O's the twelve you and Damian solved, probably dozen mores, and all spanning back to about a year and a half ago. For some of those kids we might already be too late."
"Not to mention, we have no idea where she even is." Jason said, "We heard about this through a third party. We weren't supposed to know about it until she was knocking at our door. "
"So, we do nothing!" Mary said outraged.
"No," Her father said, "We look for clues. That white rabbit thief said she had others kidnapping kids for her, if we can track one of them down, they might get us closer to Royal."
"That might as well be nothing. While we're looking, those kids are being stripped of their individuality, and made into Alicia's own personal toys. You don't know what that's like!" Mary yelled. "Having someone do that to you. It's sick, demented. It's-" Mary was cut off by the sounds of screeching tires coming towards the batcave. Mary ran to the bars close enough to see a Luke fox, in his batwing costume stepping out of his car.
"Luke, is something wrong?" Bruce ran to meet the young man only about Tim's age.
Luke took of his mask, eyes red from tears and spoke, "Tiffany's missing." He looked around the room at everyone, "We have no idea what's happened to her."
"Tiffany's missing?" Bruce wasted no time putting on his cowl, and heading over to the Batmobile. "Take me to where she was taken, from there we can determine what happened to her."
"I'm going, too." Tim said and in a hurry put on his domino mask.
"You all were at her cheer competition, right?" Barbara asked. "I'll pull up the security footage."
"I've checked everywhere. It's almost as if she vanished out of-"
"Thin air?" Mary finished. Everyone stopped and stared at the youngest in the room.
"You don't think that-" Mary cut her father off.
"Yeah, I actually do."
"Mary and Damian, you two know Royal the best, come with me and see if we can pick up anything a trial at the most." Bruce ordered as he started walking towards the Bat-mobile.
Mary didn't look all to sure, "This is weird. She hasn't hit Gotham, actually, from the file it looked as if she were avoiding it."
"I would avoid it, too if I were kidnapping kids and the world's greatest detective lived in Gotham." Stephanie snorted.
Luke looked justifiably confused. "Who? Who do you think took my sister? What are you talking about?" No one seemed to notice the poor young man and continued on with the conversation.
"Mary has a point." Dick pointed out. "We can rightfully assume she knows everything Mary knows. She had to have known that we know the Fox's personally. Why would she go from avoiding us all together to knocking right at our doorstep?"
"We don't have time to figure that out right now. The more time we waste here debating the more evidence is lost." Bruce growled. "Robin, Starling, let's go." The two kids looked at one another before running after the Batman.
They were almost to the Batmobile when what felt like an Earthquake struck the Batcave.
"What the hell!?" Stephanie shouted as the grabbed the rails of the stairs to hold on.
"An Earthquake!?" Tim said. "There hasn't been any activity in the seismic reports lately!"
"You check those?!" Stephanie asked. "You're such a nerd!"
"Excuse me, if I don't what another surprise like the last earthquake in Gotham!" Tim yelled back.
"Guys, Something's happening to Mary!" Cassandra called out, pointing to the young girl who began to look like static that covered televisions back when they used those old antennas.
"What's happening to me!" Starling cried. Her whole body felt weird as the shaking in the cave didn't stop. Then suddenly she vanished.
"Starling!" Robin cried as he jumped towards the open spot she had just been occupying, but he was too late. "She's gone." He said, and not a second later the same static like coloring covered his body, and he too was gone.
"Damian!" Dick shouted.
"Everybody grab onto someone else!" Bruce yelled to everyone. "It's transporting us somewhere. If we're touching we might end up in the same place!" Everyone nodded. Quickly, Batman grabbed onto Luke, Dick grabbed onto Stephanie, Tim grabbed onto Alfred, and Cassandra grabbed onto Jason, and In pairs they all began to disappear.
Mary Grayson found herself suddenly standing in the middle of Downtown Gotham City, in her Starling uniform. Shocked and unsure of what just took place she rushed into the closet alley, and put on her domino mask, hoping no one saw her that could identify her. It was the middle of the day, and Starling had no clue what was happening.
She remembered the tremors, and she remembered Damian running towards her, then she was Downtown. Mary swore realizing that she needed to get back home. Her father and Jason were probably pitching a fit trying to find her. Pulling out her grappling hook from her belt Starling fired it off into the distance, taking herself into the air traveling above the street.
Pushing her comm link, Starling called the Batcave, "Starling to Batcave, Come in." Static. "Starling to anyone? Hello? Can anyone read me? Batman? Nightwing? Hood? Oracle?...Robin?" Static still. Starling would have panicked had not Jason taught her to stay calm in such situations. Whatever happened to her must have happened to the rest, and also must have turned off their comms. Thanking X'hal, Starling breathed a little easier knowing that she was in Gotham meaning the others probably weren't too far off. She rushed to the Batcave, if she got there before anyone else she might be able to start doing scans and find out what exactly caused them to change locations like that.
Then Starling heard a gasp.
In honesty, if she had normal human hearing she wouldn't have heard it all, but this gasp of surprise made her look back. It was a woman staring up at Starling with a slight fear. A phone in her hand as she began dialing a number. That's when Starling realized that more and more people were staring at her in awe.
This was...new?
Most Gothamites didn't even blink an eye at a masked person, especially one with a familiar signal on their chest, flying around the city, but they were taking such an interest in Starling that it set her on edge. Starling realized at the moment that Gotham looked slightly different.
It was still the Gotham she knew, it had the same feeling, and smelled the same and everything, but it was cleaner... Too clean to be Gotham. Not a speck of litter on the ground. The City sounded different, too. No sounds of distant yelling at spouses, or even children laughing in the park. Gotham for once in it's entire existence was quiet, and Starling didn't like that at all. This had to be Gotham she knew it was, but...
Flying over the park finally disputed her idea that she was home. Sitting in the middle of the city a statue, a statue that wasn't there before. A statue to commemorate a hero, the city's hero. However, this was not a statue of Batman, or Nightwing, or anyone else stationed in Gotham instead it was Superman. A superman with an expression on his face that just seemed off to Starling. She was in Gotham alright, just not her Gotham.
"I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto..." She said to no one in particular.
Damian Wayne, like Mary, found himself in the middle of a city, one he didn't know. He looked around and took notice of the city. Flying cars, Moving sidewalks, people with terrible, but new, fashion statements... He could confirm it, He was in the future. God damn it, how he hated time travel. Putting on his mask so not to not disturb whatever piece of the space time continuum was left and began running. He needed to find a way back to his time before something happened. something that could erase the existence of people he cared about. Cursing up a storm he needed to find some cloths that fit in better, It wouldn't be an issue stealing from some random store.
"Hey You!" Someone cried out, "Impersonating, law officials like Robin is illegal! If you know what's good for ya' you'll take off that mask and let me give you a ticket." It was a girl in this techno futuristic punk outfit. Hair in pigtails, and colored orange. Robin took notice of the body armor, lightweight almost looked like kevlar, but from where he stood it didn't look like had to be about 17, maybe 18. The girl looked like a bad guy with the gun holsters attached to her hips, except one thing. The bat insignia on the left side of her chest, and the dark colored googles blocking her face.
"Impersonating?" Robin asked.
"Yeah. And don't try the whole 'I'm actually Robin' thing on me. I actually know the current Robin, and you're not him boy, so take your ticket, and pay the fine."
Robin snorted, "I don't have time for this." Throwing down some smoke pellets, he disappeared in the smoke screen on his grapple line only to soon find himself falling back down to the ground. With a quick twist, Robin landed safely without breaking anything but he definitely would be bruised in the morning.
"What are you some kinda golden days fan? No one has used lines like that in 80 years. If I didn't know any better I would say that you were actually…." She paused as she stared at him. As if she were really looking at him for the first time. "That Robin insignia…." Her words failed her again. "You can't be."
"I can't be what?" Robin challenged.
"Damian Wayne, the fifth Robin. It's impossible. Time and dimension travel are illegal. You have to be a dopplegänger of some kind, or-"
"How the hell you know my real name!?"
The girl looked taken aback, "This isn't good. I better call the commander before" Before she could call anyone Robin reached out and before she could stop him grabbed her communicator out of her ear.
"You're not calling anyone till I know what the hell is going on." She only stared at him again, but gravely this time.
"Do you know where you are?"
Robin snorted, "No. I wouldn't be dealing with you if I did."
"Okay, How 'bout what year it is?"
"Well, last I checked not this one. Obviously." He rolled his eyes.
"Final question." she said."If you really are Damian Wayne, then you'll know this. And I'll take you to the Batcave to find out what happened to bring you here, but if you get it wrong I take you to the GCPD. Got it?" Damian nodded.
"Okay, there's a clock in the main office of the manor, what time would it say right now?" She asked. If Robin weren't who he said he was, he might have gotten it wrong, but how could he forget one of the first things he father told him when he was first became Robin. So he answered without hesitation.
"10:48." The girl only smiled at his answer.
"It really is you!" She practically squealed, "This is so whipped. I can't wait to rub it into Solomon's face!" She ranted. She stuck out her hand. "I'm Nighttrix, by the way. Welcome to New Gotham."
Starling was right about the bad feeling she got about the citizens staring at her because now she was being chased. Actually pursued would be the better word. They had almost caught her, cutting her line, and if not for her acrobatic skills she would have fallen to her death, but instead she and enough time to trap a flag pole and flip to the next roof, and to safety. She were still on her tail though. She hadn't even gotten one look at them. They hid expertly in the shadows, and it was the day! She cursed that she was so horrible in stealth that she couldn't hide from them, but one thing Starling could do was out run them.
It was Jason's first lesson, "Live to fight another day, and Run." He made her run for countless hours on hours. Made sure that she could not only outrun him, but anyone else for that matter. He figured that since she sucked so much at stealth, speed and stamina, would make up for it. And it did. It saved her life multiple times, and was saving her's again right now. Starling's stamina was already better then normal humans, but under Jason's training, she could outlast even her father in a marathon, no stopping.
Running was her only plan seeing as she couldn't lead her two assailants back toward the Batcave. She needed to make a plan quick before her pursuers came up with one to keep her from running. Looking back she realized they had, as one of two of them had vanished.
They planned to cut her off.
It was a simple, but effective plan... If the person you were chasing wasn't already knowledgeable on every play in the book. So when Starling came to the end of instead of just normally jumping across, she kicked, and sent the person trying to catch her, flying across the gap landing on the other roof harshly. With a roll, Starling cleared the gap, and got up to finally see her assailant. To her shock, it was someone she knew, someone she trusted.
"Selina?!" She said with a gasp. Starling almost didn't have time to dodge the shrunken that flew at her coming from the other person chasing her. She didn't even think she just ran. Behind her, her the other person stopped to check on the mildly hurt Catwoman.
"You okay?" He said offering a hand to her.
"I'm fine, she just knocked the wind out of me." Catwoman her ribs where Starling had landed her kick.
"She's good." He observed. "Young, but good."
Catwoman groaned as she stretched out a bit, "Yeah, and I think I know why…"
With a raised eyebrow that Selina used admire on another man he questioned her words.
"That girl, those flips. It was like seeing Dick in action again, and she looked so much like-"
"Supergirl could fly. That girl could have left us in the dust if she were really Supergirl" He cut her off Harshly. "Besides, She would be 20 this year, not what? 11? That is if she weren't dead."
"Damian…" Selina started, but he raised a hand ending the conversation. With a sigh Selina changed the subject. "Okay, Nightwing, what do we do from here?"
"They way she was running, she's probably long gone by now." He said.
"It was probably nothing, but I think we should still check his old places. If it were her. She's be heading to him."
"And if it isn't her?" Nightwing growled.
"Then sue me for at least trying." Catwoman folded her arms across her chest and rolled her eyes, "God, you're so serious. You're so much like Bruce it's ridiculous." He glared at her harder.
"So you keep saying."
"Listen, this is the only lead we've got. If it doesn't pan out, I'll call Victor to do a search." Catwoman said, talking to this kid was not easy. He was far too old for her to be pacifying his ass.
"Fine, we'll start with he sewers, it's the closest entrance to the batcave that I know of. If she's going there, that's the route she'll take." Nightwing said walking away.
"There we go progress. Let's get this finished, I wanna be back on the watch tower with the kid by dinner time."
Most things fail to impress Damian Wayne, this was not one of them.
The Batcave was bigger, better then it ever was before. It was almost like a hub of masked heroes with bat-themes, all in one place all working, discussing with one another, training, sparring. It was like the league's Watchtower, but for Bats and Bats only.
"Rookie!" A Voice called out, Nightrix turned and a young boy, in a Robin uniform about 8 years in age came running towards her. "Rookie, you're back!"
"Robin!" She paused remembering she now had two people going by the same name. Then groaned, " No real names in the cave! How many times do I have to remind you."
The boy grinned, "Only a few more!" He turned to Damian, "Is this him, The 5th Robin, the 3rd Batman, Creator of the second incarnation of the-"
"Hold it, Grant. We don't know where he's from if he's from the past it could mess up our timeline. You know that."
The boy, Grant, frowned. "You broke the no real names rule."
"Whatever, go tell The Commander we're here. Get Batgirl, and Nightwing while you're at it. " The boy nodded and ran off. "Sorry about him. He just became Robin. He's a little excited."
Robin shrugged, "So…Rookie?" He asked. The girl blushed, embarrassed.
"It's a nickname." She sighed, "I know you're name so it's only fair you know mine." taking off her dark colored goggles she showed her face to him. It wasn't anything else that stuck out to him but her eyes, she had his father's eyes…His eyes. "I'm Victoria Wayne, but everyone just calls me Rookie." She stuck her hand out. "And this is The Batcave, HQ to Batman Incorporated."
"Batman Incorporated… It's defunct, in my time." Damian said.
"Defunct?" She asked. "That can't be right…" She said after thinking for a moment. "Come on, the Commander is probably ready for us. He'll know what's going on."
Nightrix lead Robin up the stairs to what looked to be an office in the Batcave. It was a closed of room from the rest which was pretty much an open area. Inside behind a desk was an elderly gentlemen, about 70 years in age. He wore a black suit, and Robin didn't know any better he would have thought he was looking at an elderly Bruce.
"I'm going out on a limb here, and guess that you aren't my father." Robin said sarcastically.
The old man chuckled, "I can see the wit wasn't something that came with age, Damian."
"You know me"
"I know my version of you. The Damian Wayne currently standing in front of me is a another dimension's Damian." Nightrix gasped.
"We're related." It was a statement not a question. Robin was only stating the obvious.
The Commander nodded, "I'm Terry McGinnis, you're half brother."
Damian scoffed, "He actually had other kids after me. I find that hard to believe."
"Believe me, that's a story for another time, Damian. Just know you shouldn't have to worry about it for a long time. If things turn out the same way." The old man smiled fondly at the 13 year old. "We need to find out what brought you here, and then send you home."
"That shouldn't be an issue." Nightrix spoke, "I have Batgirl looking into it. Nightwing, as well. Those too geniuses will find something. I'm sure of it."
As she poke the words two blonde masked young adults came running into the room. "Commander! Commander!"
"Amanda, Nick. Did you find out what's caused our friend here to end up in our care." The elderly Terry asked.
"Not only that!" They said in unison.
"It's bad, Commander." Batgirl started.
"Terrible. We were able to find out what caused Robin here to be displaced." Nightwing finished.
"We can send him home, but-"
"That's not the issue-"
"It's Batman!" They said at the same time again. "Batman's gone!"
Gotham sewers were still Gotham Sewers. Starling thanked god for that. Whatever this weird place was it still had some parts that were like Gotham. Sadly, Starling figured she must be in some kind of alternate world version of Gotham. It was the only way to explain that giant superman statue she saw. Well, it could have been worse. She could have been stuck in a world with zombies...or vampires...or vampire zombies.
Slapping her palm to her foreword, Starling sent such thoughts away. Now was not the time. She needed to find someone she trusted, someone who could help her, but in an alternate world who could she trust?
Her best bet was finding some sort of familiar ground, and right now that was the Batcave. From there she could learn anything and anything she needed to know about this universe. She just prayed that this universe's Batman wasn't evil... or at least wasn't home. Then track down someone who could help her out, and find a way home. Since this place obviously wasn't it.
A noise made Starling stop in her tracks.
So, it was Selina she had seen back there chasing her. Starling thought she had hit her head or something. Selina in a costume she had never seen before, those claws, that corset...It wasn't at all like the Selina she knew. The Selina that had given her a kitten for her 9th birthday. Selina would never attack her. Or at least her Selina would never attack her. Starling thought grimly. There might not even be a Mary Grayson for her to know in the universe. This Selina would attack her if that were the case.
And since it were Selina that would mean that her path to the Batcave was no longer as secret as Starling had first hoped. Finding the closet exit, Starling climbed out of the sewers, there were more than enough entrances for her chose from. Ones that Starling knew Catwoman had no knowledge about. Sadly, it seemed that she wouldn't ever make it to the Batcave. Before she could even fully pull herself out from the manhole, a foot meet with Starling's face harshly knocking her out cold.
Standing before her was a Nightwing, though not the one she was familiar with. A different Nightwing, a darker one.
Waking up after being knocked out was never a good thing. It was either she had been captured(again) by the enemy, or she had been knocked out while sparring(That usually meant two days of ridicule by who ever took her down). This was the first option. The first thing she noticed was she was no longer wearing her mask. Great... Well, let's just hope she wasn't ruining this version of Mary Grayson's Life if there was one. Also, her utility belt was gone.
"Good, You're awake. Tell us who you are!" Or not. Mary rolled her eyes. A man and Catwoman stood before her. The thing about this man was that he was also masked, and wearing her father's uniform. How rude, she had been captured far too many times just to do as he says just because he sounded a whole lot like Bruce. Except like Bruce if he still in his 20's, not to mention this fake Nightwing guy kinda had Bruce's chin, and cheek bones, and shaped face. Still, unless this was a universe where Selina was still in her 40's and Bruce was in his 20's, Mary didn't think that was Bruce.
Mary laughed, "You must not have gotten anything from facial recognition software." She figured out. "Or else you would have started this out in a different way." She paused to give him a smug look. "So, why would I tell you my real name, Nightwing. I wore the mask for a reason, after all. It's kinda hypocritical for you to even ask me. You don't hear me asking who you are underneath that mask." Catwoman snorted in amusement causing Nightwing to glare even harder. Mary almost sighed in relief, at least this version of Selina had her sense of humor.
"Cute, but that won't-"
"You really think I'm cute! My daddy says i'm the cutest girl this side of the Milky Way. I've also had a Green Lantern agree with that statement. If I'm so cute how about letting me go?" Starling batted her eyelashes at him. Now Catwoman was holding back a laugh, and Nightwing was almost growling at her.
"I don't think so."
Starling shrugged, "It was definitely worth a shot." Oh, she had this Nightwing practically heated. Finally, a snickering Catwoman took over the interrogation.
"You must know that wearing a mask like that is worth about 10 years in juvenile reeducation. So why put on this get up?"
Mary snorted, "Actually, I wouldn't know that. I know nothing more than you know, Selina." Catwoman lend back in surprise at the use of her real name. The thing was in this world Mary had no allies, so she had to make some. That meant taking chances. "You see I'm not from this world. I'm from a different universe all together, one alternate to this one, and I need some help getting home. And You two are my best bet right now."
"What do you mean Batman is gone." Terry McGinnis growled, so eerily like Robin's father that Robin did a double take.
"We were tracking down the disturbance that we think caused the dimensional quake and we tracked it's origins to Star Labs." Batgirl started.
"That's when we remembered that about 2 hours ago when the shift happened, Batman was called out there for a break in." Nightwing finished. Robin guessed they were twins by the way they finished each other sentences.
"Batman never checked back in."
"We tried his homing beckon, and-"
"It came back inconclusive."
Terry raised an eyebrow obviously not as annoyed as Damian was with the whole finishing each other's sentence deals. "That mean's he's not in our universe."
"You got it, Boss." They said at the same time. Damian wanted to slam his head against the wall.
"You think something happened there to cause the quake?" Nightrix asked.
The twins looked at one another, "TDT was destroyed." They said at the same time.
"It's the reason we didn't destroy the TDTs in the first place." Batgirl said, "The shock wave from destroying them could have easily caused a quake that could displace multiple people through out... Oh."
Nightwing rolled his eyes at the same time Robin did, "Well, that explains what happened to me."
"So now we have two jobs to do." Terry McGinnis started, "First thing first, Nightwing and Batgirl, I want you two working on a way to get Robin and his family back to their original worlds. It means building another TDT, but this one will remain a classified secret down here in the Cave. Second, I'm calling the league. The only other TDT is on the Watch Tower. I'm also calling in the Red Hood and Black Bat to stage a rescue mission for Batman-"
"Commander," Nightrix cut him off. "With all due respect, sir. I would like to rescue Batman."
Terry raised an eyebrow at the young teenager, "Victoria, this is going to be extremely dangerous, and I would rather you stay here-"
"Sir, Batman, is my partner. It's only fair that I go save him." she said. It seemed that Terry didn't like being cut off twice because his mouth was now pressed in a firm tight line.
"You are not his partner anymore. You gave that up when you gave up being Robin. Now, our Robin can not go as he is still to untrained for a mission such as this one. And I need you here in the City."
"And I need to go rescue Christian." NIghtrix fought back. "Batman, isn't just my partner. This is my brother we're talking about, and if anybody is bringing him home it's me. I'm not asking for permission, Commander."
The old Terry stared at Nightrix intently, then sighed. It seemed he was a lot more open to other suggestions then Bruce. "Fine, go. But you can't go alone. Find someone, or you don't go at all."
"What!" She exclaimed, "Come on, Uncle Terry. You know the only people available are Red Hood or Black Bat."
"I also know that you're too prideful to ask them for help. So it's either one of them, or stay in Gotham. Choose." He ordered. Nightrix bit her lip unsure of what to do. She couldn't go back to Black Bat or Red Hood after they said she wouldn't make it solo. It seemed Terry was more like Bruce then Damian originally gave him credit for, Bruce always got his way in the end too, but not this time.
"I'll go with her." Robin spoke up. The group turned to him.
"I don't think so." Nightwing and Batgirl said, even Nightrix looked unsure of the idea.
"I can go with her."
"In all honesty, I don't see a reason why you can't go with her, Damian." Terry said. "The new TDT won't be built for hours, and we'll need that time to look for your family. Are you sure you don't want to stay here and help with that?" Terry asked.
Robin snorted, "They can take care of themselves. I'm curious to see who had the gall to kidnap a Batman. I'm guessing that's still not an easy feat."
Terry turned to Nightrix, "If you want, take him with you. He's well trained, smart, a perfect fighter. I see no reason why this partnership shouldn't work out."
Nightrix still looked unsure, but the legendary Damian Wayne sure as hell beat her annoyingly perfect cousins any day. "Fine. Make the call, Commander, we're going to go rescue Batman."
"You're from another world. Why the hell should we believe that?" Nightwing snorted.
"Because you know it's possible, and that because it's really the only explanation for me knowing so much about you guys. I mean come on. "
"Okay, say we believe you. How do we know you aren't just some elaborate plan to over the government." Catwoman asked. Mary paused. That was a little extreme and paranoid...even for them. This had something to do with the giant Superman Statue she saw in the park. Something was going on in this world.
"I just wanna get home, but if you guys feel comfortable turning in a hard working, innocent, 11 year old go right ahead. I can either find a way home with or without your help. Make it easier on yourselves, and just help me."
Nightwing and Catwoman exchanged a glance, "And you really are from another reality? You know us."
Mary nodded, "Yes, and in that world you two would help me." The new NIghtwing she had a few guesses as to who he was now, just a few. "Tell me that it's the same in this one." Catwoman's face told Mary she had convinced. Nightwing next to her was going to be a little harder. He's eyes still regarded her with a cold look. "Please, you're my Nightwing's successor, I think. What would he do in this situation?" Mary asked him. It was slight she could barely see it in his body language, but there it was, his resolve failing, and with a sigh he nodded his head in agreement.
"Fine. We'll help you, but you've got to promise us one thing." Mary nodded. One promise, she could easily keep that. "No matter how different this world is from your own, you can't interfere with our status quo, got that?" He asked. Mary nodded again. "Good. Tt, let's get out of here then. Catwoman untie her."
Mary said nothing, only gapping at the man in front of her... All of her guess about who this Nightwing were had just been proven wrong.
Nightwing gave her a confused look, "What are you staring at me like that for?"
She stood up(Now that she was able to), and pointed at him like she didn't know what kind of a creature he was.
"What?"
"You!" She shouted, "I know who you are now!" She growled at him, "You're Damian! Damian Wayne! How did I miss that! You have Bruce's jaw line. I'm a disgrace!"
"Umm, how-?" He was about to ask how she knew him, but she cut him off.
"You still do that "Tt" thing. I put up with that every day from Robin, and you're him! You're Damian. I'm going to have to apologize to him about saying how ugly he would look with longer hair! I can't believe this! I-" Catwoman placed a hand over her mouth cutting off the rest of the girl's rant.
"We can talk about this later." She said wisely. "Nightwing, it be best for you to take her. I've got monitor duty. It be suspicious if I didn't go."
Nightwing snorted, "It'd be suspicious if you actually showed up... But I see your point I'll watch the kid."
"I still can't believe you're Damian! I wish you would have told me that earlier!" She stuck out her hand to Nightwing, "I'm Mary Grayson. In my world you're my partner in the field. So, I know I can trust you to get me home. I can always trust you."
Nightwing took her hand and shook, "This world maybe different then the one you know."
The spare TDT that was thankfully in the safe hands of Batman incorporated was operational. The twins, Nightwing and batgirl, handed the Time-Dimension Transport to Nightrix and gave the 17 year old a glare and a threat about what could happen if anything happened it about how they would kick her ass, and other obscenities were traded from there. When they were done the blonde and freckled Batgirl, that reminded him so much of Stephanie in appearance, gave him a hug, and promised that her and her brother would have his family safe and sound very soon. He didn't understand the gesture, he didn't know this Batgirl, and he had confidence that she could get them back so as to why she felt the need to reassure him was something that Damian just didn't understand.
"You ready?" Nightrix asked him.
Damian snorted, "Of course."
"Then Let's jam," She pointed the TDT and pushed the trigger activating it, creating a portal in front of them.
"Damian," A call from Terry stopped the two from continuing on into the portal. "Show'em how it's done in the old school." He grinned at the Robin. Damian gave his own cocky grin back to him. What ever new things they may have discovered in this universe, Damian was sure they had never seen anything like him. With that the two were gone, into the unknown to find Batman.
Damian wasn't going to lie, traveling dimensions felt weird, like a tingling sensation he couldn't describe nor compare to anything else he had experienced. One minute he was walking into the portal and next he was standing a dilapidated underground cave.
"We're here." Nightrix stated the obvious.
"Where ever here is."Robin Taking in his surroundings. "I thought we were going to end up in the cave? This isn't the cave." He asked confused. This was a cave, but not the batcave he knew.
Nightrix looked confused as well, "It should have!" She began banging the TDT with the palm of her hand. "Damn thing must be wrecked!"
"Wait," Damian grabbed her arm stopping Nightrix 's abuse of the machine. "Batgirl promised that the machine worked. She wouldn't let us leave with it malfunctioning. You've got something for us to check location?" He asked.
"Yeah," She pulled out some sort of small hand-held tablet from her utility belt. "But this place isn't the Batcave. No matter what universe no one would leave it looking like this!" She was right. The place was destroyed. Nothing in it all resembled the cave in any aspect. Nothing in it's destroyed debris left any indication that it were the place once created by Bruce Wayne as the base from where he would change Gotham.
"So what does it say?" Robin asked. In the Rubble something shined and caught his eye. Robin moved towards it and started removing the rubble.
"I can't get a good signal!" She said exasperated. "For all we know we're probably not even in Gotham! I swear I'll kill both Amanda and Nicholas! They couldn't even tell the damn thing was broken. I swear to god if we're not even in the right dimension, and I can't find my brother, I'll-"
"Nightrix!" Robin called. She stopped her rant and walked over to where Robin beckoned her. "Look." He ordered. In his hands was something familiar that they both knew. it was only a piece of it, but it was unmistakable it was a piece of the giant penny from the Batcave.
"This can't be..."
"We both know that it is...As much as we don't want to admit it." Robin said showing a maturity beyond his 13 years. "Something is wrong in this universe Let's find your Batman and get out."
Nightrix nodded, "Our TDT can track the other even if it's broken. Where ever it is my brother is there." She sneered at the scene before her. "I've got a bad feeling about this place, too. Let's get this done quickly."
"Soooo," Mary dragged out her words, "This where you live now?" She asked awkwardly. This Damian was a lot like her own, but different in many ways. If possible it seemed his temper has gotten shorter and he often shot her glares for simple questions she asked and phrases she said. If she were honest with herself she could swear that this Damian didn't like her. Actually everything in his words, his body language, and what he didn't say said so much to Mary. He was very stiff, always stiff, even now in his home. Most people usually relaxed a little when entering their home, but this Damian didn't. Her's did. It was usually simple the way his shoulders loosened a little when they got back to the batcave after a long night of patrol, or how his expression wasn't as guarded when they got home from school. So it was odd for her to witness this Damian be so different then her's Her Damian only acted this way when he was hiding something from her.
"Yeah..." He knew what her next question was going to be, and that was the reason Mary choose to stay silent. If this Damian were anything like her own she could find out more by snooping then asking him anything. He made her promise not try and change this world no matter different it was from her's, and Mary planned to keep that promise, but this place interested her. It was different yet very much the same, and she wanted to know more about it.
"Okay, Mary. I have to patrol tonight. You need to stay here."
Mary raised an eyebrow at him, "I thought you patrolled already today?"
"Yeah, but Catwoman has monitor duty tonight so I'm going to be the only one in Gotham. Here's the phone order some pizza or something. Money's on the table. Towels are in the closet by the bathroom which is next to my room, now I'm going to sleep for the next few hours before I have to patrol." Damian almost expected the young girl to want to come patrol with him, but she stayed silent.
"Okay, but if you're going to be free all night. What am I going to do? I hate being bored. I can't just sit here idle." She told him. He sighed she was right. He couldn't ask an 11 year old girl to sit in a house with nothing to do with hours on end. He didn't have books, nor television. He almost panicked till Mary asked, "You got a laptop?"
"Yeah, I do." He walked into his room and came out with it in his hands. "Here." He handed it to her. He noticed she didn't even bother asking for the password.
"Thanks. This will do!" She sounded excited at the prospect of being online all night. Her smile faded. Damian smirked you could almost see all her thoughts on her face, "...There's still youtube in this universe, right?" Damian smirked again. This was the closet he's come to laughing since Supergirl died.
"Yes, there is. I'm going to sleep call me if you needed anything." It was almost like things were how they were before the war. Almost. And it felt good.
The moment Damian shut the door to his room, Mary made quick work on his computer. It didn't take but two seconds to break into his password(Like really? It was Bruce's mother's full name). Next she was surfing the web, she searched for herself first, but there was no record of her anywhere that she could find. She began to wonder if she existed at all in this universe till she found a name in her father's public records.
Mari Anders-Grayson.
That was as close as she was going to get to finding herself. From there is she could find a birth certificate, indicating that this person, Mari Anders-Grayson was the daughter of one, Richard John Grayson and a Kori Anders. Yup, Mary could now confirm that this was this universe version of herself...However that was pretty much all she could find. After the age of 8 all public record of Mari Anders-Grayson disappears right after a divorce between Dick Grayson and and Kori. Mary couldn't even find who got custody of the child.
Deciding she might find more in her father's records she went back to them, checking them over to make sure that they were the same facts that she knew.
Born: March 20, 19**
check
Birth Parents: John and Mary Grayson
check
Adoptive father: Bruce Wayne
Okay, another check
Date of death: August 25, 20**
Holy plot twist, Batman! Not a check! Not a check! Mary stared at the screen wondering if she saw correctly. When she finally convinced herself she wasn't hallucinating she almost couldn't breath.
Her father...dead?
It didn't seem like something that could ever happen to him. He was too smart, too careful, too amazing to die. Mary prayed that it was a sickness that took him out painlessly as she searched for the cause of death.
Cause of death: Cervical Fracture
What! Mary couldn't believe it. Her father died from a broken neck. Someone had the gotten the drop on Dick Grayson long enough to snap his neck. No, she refused to believe it. She couldn't. It couldn't be true.
In a frantic panic Mary searched for her other family members.
Jason Todd: Deceased
Timothy Drake-Wayne:Deceased
Stephanie Brown: Deceased
Helena Bertinelli: Deceased
Alfred Pennyworth: Deceased
She held her breathe as she typed in a name.
Cassandra Cain-Wayne: Unknown
Mary let out a sigh of relief as she typed another name.
Barbara Gordon: Unknown
She typed in the last name hoping and praying that her hunch was right.
Bruce Wayne: Alive
Mary almost wished she hadn't looked. Curiosity would be her undoing one day. What had happened in this world that it ended up so different than the one she knew? How come most of the people she knew were dead. She couldn't handle this knowledge. Was this going to be in her universe's future? Would things play out like this? Where the side of good has been put into a shallow grave? Mary needed to know what changed. What happened to create this monstrosity so could stop it from ever happening. She searched the history for the last ten years, and everything came into light. Joker killing Lois Lane and her unborn child with the whole metropolis. Among the casualties were Timothy Drake-Wayne and his fiancée , Stephanie Brown. They were visiting some family friends while the young Wayne Tech heir did business in metropolis that fateful day. Superman and Batman go to war over how to stop evil in the world. Superman needed to control everything now that his life was a cracked shadow of what it could have been. In the war they lose Helena, Alfred, and Jason. Barbara and Cassandra now fugitives, running from Superman's unstoppable regime.
It almost seemed like something only a nightmare could dream up. Superman going crazy. Batman's identity revealed to the world. The deaths of so many including, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Batwoman, John constantine, Supergirl. It was unbelievable, and she was staying in the house with one of Superman's murdering regime members. She couldn't...
He Knew! Mary thought angrily. It was the reason he made her promise to not change anything, but what could she do to fix this world anyway? And what ever happened to Mari Anders-Grayson? It seemed plausible that since Mary couldn't find anymore info about Kori Anders either that after the divorce Starfire took her daughter back to Tamaran. Mary breathed out in relief. That meant that this version of herself was probably alive and on Tamaran, but at what cost? The only family that she's ever known has been killed in this universe. She felt disgusted that she was actually relieved that she lived.
Questions, however, still needed answering. Bruce was alive somewhere, and was alone fighting to save this universe from the tyranny from Superman. She had to help him somehow. Her promise made to Damian no longer standing with the weight of this world's free will now in her hands. She had to do something. She couldn't stay and fight in this world, no but should could still do something to help Batman even if she didn't quite know what that was yet. She had to do something and that something was find Batman.
Mary looked around, going back out in costume would be like putting a red flag saying here "HERE I AM SUPERMAN" on her back. Instead she removed the cape and skirt leaving only the tight kevlar top, her black and purple leggings, and her soundless combat boots. Still the Winged symbol on the chest was much causing Mary to poke around Damian's coat closet finding a hoodie far too large for her to wear over it.
Mary deleted her internet history quickly before grabbing the pizza money from the table and leaving the place looking as if she had never been there.
The Regime's Damian Wayne awoke an hour later with the sundown, and the girl long gone.
To say that Gotham wasn't what either of them had expected was an understatement. The once beautiful City was in Ruins. Broken glass from windows littered the streets. The people sat around oil drum fires in worn down clothing, and starving animals were fighting over the meat of other dead animals in streets. It was as if someone had replaced Gotham city with a young adults novel of a post apocalyptic town. The road was giving away with cracks and pot holes underneath there feet, and almost all of the buildings were abandoned. It would be one thing if this were the ghetto, but this was downtown Gotham right in front of Wayne Tower that looked as to be the only thing that hadn't changed in the city.
"What the hell?" Nightrix was in as much distress about the city's appearance as Robin was.
"Took the words right out of my mouth." Robin responded. "But we don't have time to rave and wonder what the hell happened to the City."
Nightrix nodded, "You're right. Finding my Batman is our main priority." She pulled out the TDT and took a look at it's screen. "The signal looks to be coming from Wayne Tower. That's where the TDT is and that's where we'll find my brother. Let's hurry and get the hell-"
"Shush." Robin quieted her as he listened in. He was hearing something.
"What are you-" Nightrix paused as she too began hearing what Robin was hearing. Footsteps. Lots of footsteps heading in their direction. It grew louder and louder the closer it they got. Eventually, the people around them began to hear the footsteps. Soon the streets were deserted of people and animals. They ran in fear at what ever was coming.
"Move!" Nightrix ordered quickly as she grabbed Robin and hightailed it away to the closest hiding place with a view of the street, which happened to be behind a very large pile of garbage.
"Worst hiding place ever." Robin complained. "You're just like Starling. She picks places in hurry without thinking too."
Nightrix glared at the young 13 year old boy, "If you got a better place that we can get to in time with this good of a view then let's go because I think they're already here!" She said in an angry whisper. "Who would have thought the great Damian Wayne was such a Nit." She whispered under her breathe.
"What did you say about me!"
"Shush!" Nightrix pushed him down so that they could only pick through the crevices in between the black bags of garbage. In front of them and army began marching down the road into the middle of downtown Gotham. An army of children. Robin couldn't believe his eyes, children ranging from the ages of 5 to 18 marching down the streets decked out in a red in black uniform carrying automatic weapons down the vacated streets. The surprising part was they were marching in perfect unison. These children were disciplined and trained. Which Robin knew made them dangerous even if they were young.
In the center riding on some sort of platform vehicle reminiscent of a parade float was what looked to be the head honcho in charge. Her uniform was all red and militaristic in style. Her posture was picture perfect of that of a soldier, obviously one of high ranking by the number of stars and accents adorned on the uniform. With the enhancements of his mask, Robin could make out the name Scarlett on the Tag. The female general was named scarlet how fitting of her child army decked in red.
"Looks like they're heading to Wayne Tower." Robin noticed.
"That's going to be a problem. That much security's going to make it more challenging to get in." She turned to Robin, "History said you always like a challenge."
"History was right. Let's go. Access tunnels underneath Wayne Tower should still be a secret. We can get in from there." They both turned to run to find the closely entrance to the tunnel only to find a person standing at the other end of alley leaning against the wall of the building casually flipping a knife in his hands.
"You must be new here." He said, not looking up at the two. "Everyone knows the Tunnels are a no go."
Robin shot the guy a glare, narrowing his eyes at him, "What are you talking about?"
"The Red Queen has had the tunnels gassed with and odorless poisonous gas since she came into power. People who have tried them have died before they could even lay eyes on her royal majesty. " He said the words royal majesty sarcastically with a roll of his eyes. "You can go ahead if you want..." He drifted off, "But I wouldn't. Other then the gas there are a bunch of other traps she placed to kill her would be assassins."
"We're not assassins." Said Nightrix. The man snorted.
"Obviously, anyone here to kill the Red Queen would know that." He studied the two for a moment. "And guessing by the getups you ain't just thrill seekers either."
"Who are you?" Robin questioned.
"Name's Bertinelli. Antonio Bertinelli. Gothamite born and raised. And the leader of the White Knights."
"White Knights? Some kind of group?"
"Resistance." He answered, "and I think we're the answers to each others problems."
Robin snorted, "What problem?"
"The kind that you dimension traveling people always have." He said to the shock of both Nightrix and Robin. "The Red Queen has something you want... Now I can get you in if you do The White Knights a small, tiny, insignificant favor."
Robin didn't trust this man. He seemed sleazy. The easy-going personality, coupled with the fact that this world already had him on edge. Robin didn't trust the young man at all.
"What kind of favor?" Starling asked. Knowing the leery smile on the guy it would be the exact opposite small.
He grinned at them like the cheshire cat, "You kill the Red Queen, and free the world from her Red Regime."
The first thing Mary did was buy flowers. Damian had left her about 20 dollars, and with that 20 she bought as many bouquets of flowers as she could. She had to. She had to pay her respects before she did anything.
It was windy as Mary walked into the graveyard. The already cold fall air nipping at her, making Mary pull tighter on Damian's hoodie. No, she shook her head. That man she meet wasn't Damian. The Damian she knew would never have worked for Superman, who killed all those people and told the world Batman's secret identity. Except that was it, wasn't it? That wasn't the Damian she knew. She wanted to kick herself for trusting him so readily. She should have known something was off the moment he was chasing her through the streets like he had know idea who she was, but he must have known her. She lived on Earth at a time, but he never mention the Mari Anders-Grayson who was once an Earthling. In fact, he outright hid not only that from her, but the deaths of everyone she knew and loved. He hadn't even felt the need to mention the death of this version of her father. Even though this one wasn't her father, and her father was probably somewhere safe, she had an empathy for the entire situation. She felt betrayed that any incarnation of Damian would do that to her. Would do any of this. This world was an absolute terror created from her worst nightmares.
Finally, she came across the headstone that proved that this sadly was not a nightmare, but how Mary wished it were.
Richard John Grayson
The name was carved with such craftsmanship that Mary knew that Bruce had picked it out. The Grave markings was simple, but the headstone was expensive. And the winged symbol that he used to bore was rightfully under his name.
The feeling was surreal. And the notion that really her father could die any of the nights he went out hit Mary like a ton of bricks. One day, Her father could end up like Ryand'r, any of them could end up dead. How childish of her to forget that. She had a brush with death before, yet she had let that weight slip from her shoulders as if it weren't important. That was the third mistake she realized she made today. There weren't rooms for any others. She bent down and placed one of the bouquets down at her feet. They were Forget-Me-Nots. Not many people knew that crime fighter had a favorite flower, but his daughter did. She carefully laid the others down beside their respective graves. Marigolds for Stephanie. Amaryllis for Jason. Red Tea Roses for Tim. One Casablanca Lily for Alfred. He was always such a simple man, and Helena a single Calla Lilly. She grew them in her apartment window. She blew all the money she had on these flowers, but Mary just knew that it had been years since these graves last had a visit, and it was time someone should that they were still loved and remembered. Respecting the dead was something Mary's mother had taught her. Remembering the dead as they were when they lived, was something her father taught her. She took a deep breath, and looked towards the night sky. In X'hal's embrace the night no longer had to protect them. They were safe, and free.
"I knew you'd be here. She came here too when she found out." Mary didn't bother turning around, not even with the revelation that Damian had just told her. It was about time Damian found her. Retrieving internet history after deleting it was child's play for him after all. "So you know..." He trailed off unsure of what to say, or leaving it understood. Mary wasn't quite sure which it was.
"No thanks to you." She shot back but refused to turn around and meet his gaze. He was a traitor, and on Tamaran she would be within her rights to kill him for this slight against their family. However, this wasn't Tamaran, and as much as she would want to she could never kill Damian. No matter what atrocity he committed under Superman's orders. She still needed answers. The internet couldn't answer everything. "What happened to him?" Mary asked tears in her eyes. She needn't say who.
"You know this." He replied with no sympathy. "A cervical Fracture."
She turned to him, anger getting the better of her. It disgusted her how she knew exactly how he was going to answer. He was still so much like Damian, but the demon standing before her wasn't him. "If I wanted the Coroner's Report I would have read it again!" She yelled at him, "You were there that day in Arkham! What happened? I want to know who is responsible for breaking my father's neck!"
He stared at her coldly, "Why? Will it help you any to know how a man whom you don't know died?"
"He's my father!"
"No." He argued. "He isn't. Your father is probably back in your universe trying to get you back home. You don't even know the man lying in that grave, you've never meet him. So explain how will it help to know who killed him."
"It-It" Mary struggled to find the right words, "I just need to know what happened. Please," She begged.
"Do you plan on getting revenge for someone you never meet?" Damian asked.
"No." Her answer was shaky.
"Then why-"
"Because I just have to know!" She screamed at him, "You don't even deserve to wear the symbol on your chest. Working for Superman? Betraying your family? Why Damian?! Explain to me what went so wrong in this world ! Explain to me why my father is dead!" Her cries echoed throughout the empty dark cemetery.
"Do you really want to know?" He asked. "You'd be better off ignorant of what has happened in the this universe." He warned her.
"Yes, I have to know." She told him. "Tell me, please."
He only studied her for a minute taking in everything about her. Her long straight hair that hung down her back whipped wildly in the wind. He took notice to her green eyes so different than how he knew them, so human, brimming with emotion. He took notice of how young she was. He never had the curtesy to know her at this age, but he would know her at any age. Mar'i.
"I killed him." Damian finally said. "I am the one responsible for your father's death." He confessed. He watched the change in her face. Pleading gave way to confusion, and surprise. Then to hurt and betrayal. Yes, he knew this was coming. She wore every emotion on her face like a badge. She couldn't even hide it from him. She said nothing only staring at him with wide eyes. The wind howled between them.
"I ask again," Damian started, "Now that you know, What do you plan on doing?" He could almost see every thought passing through her head. Finally, she took of running in the opposite direction.
"Don't follow me!" She screamed the order as she ran out of sight. Surprisingly, he did as she asked. Mary couldn't even stand to look him in the face. Tears streamed down her face. Damian practically worshipped her father. He respected him more so than he did his own father, and to kill him... Mary didn't know. Everything was so different yet so similar. She needed... She needed to find Bruce, quickly. She had to make sure what happened here didn't happen again.
When Mary was sure she was far enough, she began to walk. Sticking her hands into the hoodie's front pocket to warm them. She hadn't needed to use them yet. It was as if she just realized how cold it really was. Inside the pocket she felt a paper, she pulled it out to see what it was. She hadn't put anything into the pocket. She pulled out a picture, on the front a woman either in her late teens or early 20's, smiling softly at the camera. Mary stared at the picture flabbergasted, she knew that face. She knew that face because it was her face. Her face with the original Tamaranian eyes she was born with. There was no denying it, this was picture of Mari Anders-Grayson. She was here on earth, at least recently. This pegged the million dollar question. If Mari Anders-Grayson was here on Earth after the divorce...
What happened to Mari Anders-Grayson?
An abandoned school building is where Antonio Bertinelli had taken the two heroes. Inside was mostly filled with adults, that looked to be refugees. Not a child in sight. The youngest person was Antonio, and no one was even around his age.
"Well, Welcome to the HQ!" Antonio introduced. "Not the prettiest, but it's what we got! From here we fight the Red Queen's tyranny."
"Yeah, we gathered." This whole place left a bad taste in Nightrix's mouth.
"Sorry to disappoint, Bertinelli, but we don't kill. We're not you're assassin's." Robin told him firmly crossing his arms over his chest.
"Guess Shiva was right when she said you wouldn't kill."
Robin and Nightrix exchanged a surprised look. "Lady Shiva is here? Helping you?" Nightrix asked confused. That didn't sound at all like what her history lessons had told her. Shiva was notoriously known for being neutral, rarely interfering even when she was needed.
"Not the same Lady Shiva you knew, Damian." A woman said walking up to them. She was of asian descent, and was possible in her early 50's strands of silver adorned in her hair. "The Lady Shiva you knew has long since passed. I took the life of Sandra Woosan myself. Now I hold the title Lady Shiva. I am Cynthia Lance. It's a pleasure to meet you again."
"Cynthia Lance," Robin repeated the name, remembering where he had heard it, "Sin. You're Black Canary's adopted daughter. We haven't meet yet." He told her shortly. It was true he had heard about Black Canary's new protege White Canary, but hadn't met her yet. He was a year older then her, and they hadn't crossed paths in his universe.
"Is that so?" She mused with smile. "I'm sure you'll meet me soon then."
"Umm," Nightrix interrupted the moment bringing everyone back to the topic at hand. "If you have the Lady Shiva, the world's greatest assassin, Why do you need us to kill your dictator for."
"She knows me too well." Shiva answered quickly. "I'm the one who helped her rise to power after all. A mistake I made in my youth more than 30 years ago. I'm trying to rectify that know, but she's too careful, too smart. I don't have a way in." She admitted.
"So you want us to go in and do your dirty work for you?" Damian asked with raised eyebrows, "Hell no."
Shiva frowned, "No matter what universe I don't think you'll ever change, Damian Wayne."
"Whatever," He waved her comment off. "We won't kill her for you, you'll have to kill her yourself."
"Wait," Nightrix intervened, "I thought Antonio said that he had a way in. Why can't you use that to get to The Red Queen?" She asked
Antonio sighed as he pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it, "The sad thing is, The Red Queen knows about us. She knows where we are, who we are, how many of us there are, and what weapons we have. She knows everything about us."
"So why doesn't she just kill you?" Damian asked.
"Because she doesn't believe that we are a threat." Shiva answered him. "The fact remains that in order to get close to the red queen you have to join her army, and she only allows those under 18 to join her army."
"That explains the five year olds with machine guns." Damian said.
Shiva nodded, "Since she started monitoring pregnancies all children born in Gotham have been going to the Red Queen's child army."
"And those born before she that?" Nightrix asked.
Antonio frowned, "Forcibly taken from their parents to join her army. It's how she keeps most of the populace in line."
"Not all though," Lady Shiva corrected. "Some Children under 18 are still hiding from her, that's where you two will come in."
Antonio continued for her, "We'll put in a tip that some children are being illegally held away from the Red Queen, and you'll two have access to Wayne Tower where the Red Queen is."
"Then we can get Batman!" Nightrix finished. "That's a great idea-"
"Except for the part where we execute the leader of your government." Robin said frowning. "If you want us to take her out for you, then we'll find our own way inside." He told them.
Lady Shiva thought for a moment, "So, I can assume that you have no problem with her being killed."
Robin shrugged, but looked towards Nightrix to see if they were on the same page. She looked unsure.
Antonio noticed her uncertainty and began to speak, "If you don't help us..." He drifted off then started from the beginning. "I'm running out of time."
"What do you mean?" Nightrix pressed.
"I have a twin sister, Isabella. Our 21st birthday is in a week." He told them. "There's a reason the Red Queen's army doesn't have anybody older in the army despite being over 3 decades old." Robin had wondered that, Nightrix as well. "The Red Queen, she believes that after a certain age that she can no longer control her soldiers. That no matter what she does to them when they get old enough they'll betray her, unless they are truly loyal. Only three people have past that test. My sister won't pass, she'll be killed. I want to avoid that. So, please help us save the world."
Nightrix doubt faded when Antonio revealed his own personal reason for fighting the Red Queen. "I guess if I don't see it happening I can't stop it. We can't save everyone, right?"
Antonio shot the 17 year old a smile, "Thanks, let's get started on this plan."
Word Count: 13,448
A/N: Hello, hello, hello again! I'm back with not just one chapters, but two! This was originally supposed to be 1 chapter but it was so long I cut in half. Like I said, I don't like going over about 15,000 for a chapter. I'll tell you the original word count in the next Author's note. I'll so in the next one I'll tell you all the nitty gritty details so I won't have to repeat myself. I hope you like Displacement. It was one of the first chapters I came up.
Until Next time,
~Miyu Kuran, June 13, 2015