Chapter 11: Hidden

Damian's POV

I am searching for my mother, side by side with my sister. We're back at the docks where mother's submarine should be. We search the damn place and I can see Carter's eyes full of fury as we pass by the memories of last night. She is quiet right now, alert and seemingly ready for anything, but I know on the inside she is screaming, searching for Phoenix. As we approach the submarine, I can hear the cold and hard chuckle of The Phoenix mocking me in my head, I can feel how cold she is, I remember last night, the tingly feeling of her horrible and dark chuckle. I remember the feeling of rage radiating around her, as if following Phoenix everywhere along with the fire that lights around her, the feeling of her anger...it's so cold that it burns. I felt it, and the way she mocked us...I can see why Carter is angry at Phoenix.

As Carter and I get inside the hatch of Mother's submarine, Phoenix's dark smile appears in front of my eyes, mocking me, and laughing at me...when I fought her last night...she radiated something different, other than rage, she radiated...Death.

Mother comes out of no where in her usual get up: a black suit and guns.

"My son, what are you doing here? Where is your Father?" She asks me.

"Talia." Carter walks up to my Mother, with a serious face, as serious as Batman's.

"Why are you two here?" She asks.

"Mother, we need to ask you very important questions."

"About what?"

"Do you still remember that girl? That you used to teach before, she is about my age."

Mother stays silent.

"We need you to tell us all you know about her." Carter persuades.

"I do not know what you two are talking about. Now leave before Batman comes looking for the two of you."

I shake my head. "Mother, please."

"Why do you need to know about her?"

"Because, Talia, she could be someone we're looking for, someone...evil." I look at Carter. Is Phoenix really that evil?

My mother sighs. "It is impossible."

"And why?" Carter pushes on.

"Because young ones...she is dead." My mother turns around as if she is to hide a sob…

"She died."

"Maybe...maybe she survived?" Carter walks closer to my mother.

"No." My mother shakes her head. "Like I've said before, it is impossible...she could not have lived, even if she did she might have been dead by now."

"Mother, please explain."

She sighs before speaking again. "This...girl, she was good, she could not have turned evil, no...maybe insane but not evil. She died, do you understand my son?"

"How?"

"I am not entirely sure of what happened, but what was left of her was burned metal that came from the sky. She crashed and burned to death in an escape pod. There was no corpse found...she could have turned to ashes before she reached the ground. She was strong, but not even a metahuman could have survived that."

I can see Carter narrow her eyes. "Tell us more about her, her life."

"No. I am bound by a promise."

"Please mother..."

"I cannot, I am sorry...I made a promise to a friend...he is dead now." Probably the girl's father, Ryan...I wonder what happened to him?

"But mother please, we need to know."

"Yes, at least her name." Carter persists.

My mother sighs. "Her name was Autumn Cross. She lived here in Gotham with her father years ago...that is all I can tell you both, now leave me be."

Carter turns around and heads for the exit. I follow her but I stop in my tracks.

"Mother, who was she to you?"

I can sense my mother's small smile. "She was a student."

"Is that all?"

"She was like...a daughter to me." I nod and start walking right behind Carter.

As Carter and I walk towards our bikes I hear her mumble, "We can't be sure that she is dead."

****Break****

Bruce's POV

I swear to God I know this girl...well, maybe I don't know her, but she's definitely familiar. I just don't know how... We just got back from patrol. Chris and Damian couldn't come because they both had a lot of homework, so I told them they could stay. I haven't gone upstairs to check on them yet, but I know they're there. Besides, if they had gone off somewhere, their motorcycles wouldn't be parked next to Red Robin's and Nightwing's cycles.

I'm looking through every single file I can find and still nothing... it's like this girl doesn't even exist!

My thoughts are interrupted when I'm suddenly pushed aside and I fall off my chair. What the hell? I look up and see Chris sitting where I was seated just a few seconds ago, typing frantically on the BatComputer. Damian is behind her, focusing on what she's doing.

"What happened to asking me to move?" I ask her in my Batman voice.

"When you beat up villains and send them to Arkham do you ask them permission first?"

"They give me permission when they harm the innocent."

"Yea okay, sorry." She's not sorry... She's rarely able to push me over and pin me down during training. I can tell she's pleased with herself.

"What's so urgent?" I say as I pull myself off of the ground. I'm slightly angry with her, but I try to hide it (and that's really hard).

"Autumn Cross." She states bluntly as she turns to me.

"What?"

A picture pops up onto the screen and words start appearing next to the photo of a girl with dark black hair, teal-green eyes, and pale skin. She looks angry in the photo.

"Autumn Cross could possibly be The Phoenix: Red Hood's new partner." I stare at her in astonishment as she continues. "Daughter of Ryan Cross and maybe...Sheila Haywood. Ryan was a mercenary paid to kill people like Deathstroke does, except apparently he only killed criminals." She says this just as the computer finishes analyzing the profiles of his victims. "He died at the hands of the Joker. Apparently, he was trying to save a girl, whom we now know is his daughter. He sacrificed himself and died in an explosion meant for Autumn."

The memory comes back to me: the man running to the daughter and untying her as I ran after the Joker and beat him up. I had turned and seen the man lying in the grass in a pool of blood and the girl, released from her bonds, crying over her father's dead body. I hadn't stopped that death...but I could've. I was blinded with my anger to, I didn't stop her father...I could have saved them both. The girl... I had seen her then, but that doesn't seem to be why she's so familiar...

"I know...I was there..."

Silence…we wait for the information to load.

"How did you find this out?"

"I did what you were too stubborn to do. I talked to Damian." She says, narrowing her eyes at me. Now I feel a little stupid. She gestures to her brother as she says this. "He says that when he was still training with The League of Assassins, he met this girl about his age. He said that she didn't say her name but she said that her mom was Sheila Haywood and that her father was Ryan Cross...she could be dead though."

"Damian, you told her all of this?"

Chris answers for him. "Um...yeah that's right, HE told me all of it." She says, not taking her eyes off of the computer. Then all the info pops up in one blink. Chris reads through all of it, then sits back and sighs. "It can't be her."

I look at the files. "There was only one Autumn Cross in Gotham and her dad's name was Ryan Cross, but her mom wasn't Sheila Haywood."

Autumn Cross

Father: Ryan Cross Mother: Teressa Williams

"It can't be her! Damian!" She turns to him. "Ta-You said that she lived in Gotham…and that her mother was Sheila Haywood! No, this info is all wrong!"

Status: Deceased

That girl...I tried to save her father, but now, she's dead.

Damian responds to Chris. "Her father is Ryan Cross but her mother should be Sheila Haywood! And she's supposed to be alive! Ta-I guess I was right...she did die..."

I sigh, and stare at the screen.

"Which brings us back to square one...who is Phoenix?!" Chris says sounding angry and frustrated at the same time.

****Break****

Autumn's POV

"Computers are cool," I chuckle as I click on one more thing.

I figured out something else about my power: I can control the burn itself...just by looking at it. It depends if I'm going to burn an entire person or just a piece of paper; if I burn one entire person with my mind, then I've got a big problem. I would use way too much power... My mind would probably shut down...and I could die, although it's still a hypothesis. I haven't actually tested it myself yet, but I saw readings and all.

"Hey kid, what are you doing?" Jason says right beside me, and I quickly exit the video.

"Oh just searching and fixing stuff..."

"What stuff?"

"Stuff about me."

He stands right beside my seat. "Huh?" He gives me a puzzled look.

"Not about Phoenix, files about Autumn."

"Why?"

"Let me explain... When I joined the war and became a captain of a team, I had to erase all my files, as in everything...I'm not sure for what reason though, but I had to make a new identity. I used the same name, the same father, but a different mother, and I added my little brother to my files, and some other stuff...but now… My...allies... think that I'm dead now, so they added to my files DECEASED...so I'm dead, apparently."

I can feel Jason tense. "Why do they think that you're dead?"

I tense. "Um...why are you here again?" I say, desperate to change the subject, and he lets me.

"Oh, I was bored."

"Go watch TV!"

"Nothing's on."

"Train or something!"

"I don't feel like it." God he sounds like a kid.

"Go jump off a cliff!"

He rolls his eyes at me, then he turns towards the door. "Maybe I will!"

"Good!"

He shuts the door. Brothers are annoying!

I turn back to my laptop and click the window for the video and press play.

"Come on old man! That all ya got?" Before Batman figured out I hacked into his system, I downloaded some videos of Robin's training simulations...specifically Jason's training simulations when he was still Robin.

"Stay alert Jason, you can get killed on the field with all that arrogance." Batman's voice was heard echoing the entire simulation. Robin's grin only grew bigger as he fought more men in the simulation. I'm watching Jason's training simulations secretly, because...I wanna study his moves. Okay, no I'm lying to myself...it's because he had skills even as Robin. I look up to him, I wanna be Jason. I wanna be strong, as strong as he is...strength isn't just physical, or being able to take down bad guys easily...it's the will to carry on. My brother has that will, I wanna be as strong as he is. He was unloved, he was a street kid, and he felt the need to make Batman proud but couldn't. My brother died trying to save his own mother who betrayed him. He came back and crawled out of his own grave and yet...my big brother's still standing and smiling. I know that Batman says that he's broken and evil...but he's not. If he was then he wouldn't be my big brother, and I wouldn't want to look up to him and want to be as strong as he is one day.

Jason has that annoying tough guy attitude...he would never admit that he cries at night because of his nightmares. He would never mutter the words "I miss you" to his family, he would never cry out for his father even if he really wants too...but even he forgets that he's human too...under all of that...anger, he still has a soft spot. After all he's been through, he's still standing, even when he was Robin. I can tell just by watching old videos of his training or videos with him in the security tapes of the Cave.

The video ends and it moves on to the next one...it was Jason's first time to put on the cape. He seemed so happy and enthusiastic, jumping around and trying to scare Bruce. "Nah, I got yah!"

"How does it feel?" He kicked and jumped and flipped, he even let out a laugh.

"It feels awesome! Check me out! I'm Robin, the Boy Wonder! Are you kidding me? This rocks! Come on old man, we've got bad guys who need chasin'!" He flipped and landed on top of the BatMobile. "This is the best day of my life!" I quickly exit the video…

Must've been hard as well for Mr. Wayne, to bury his own son and mourn, and five years later his son comes back but he's different…that's too bad for Mr. Wayne...I guess I can say that I have a little pity even for the man that let my father die.

Actually, my father died because of me. I could have saved my dad, somehow...I'm not angry anymore at Batman for not saving my dad. I know Batman tried, but….my father wouldn't have died if he hadn't just killed that mad man…this wouldn't have happened to me if Batman didn't just end The Joker...Jason wouldn't be suffering from nightmares if Batman did something! I sigh, I can't let out my anger...that wouldn't be good if I did.

One day...I'll get my revenge on The Joker. I'll kill him, and he will suffer...his smile will be wiped off and as he dies...I will be the one laughing.

I know the words I love you, I know that somewhere out there, those words exist, just not in my world. Bruce, Richard, Jason, Timothy, Christine, even Damian, got those words...I know they did. They all have a family that can tell them those three simple words...I know that they got those words at some point in their lives, but I didn't...my father didn't get the chance to tell me those words, I never met my birth mother, my brother...he was a forgetful one...and my mom, she might have actually cared, but she told me the opposite, she didn't tell me that she loved me, instead...she told me the truth. You are not my daughter.

Then my laptop beeps.

****Break****

"Crap." I say "Faster!"

"What do you think I'm doing?"

I sit in the passenger seat as we head out of the parking lot. He quickly takes a turn.

"We need an exit." I say

"Freeway." he says and we suddenly move forward as a car bumps us from behind. "S***!" he yells as he drives. I see the man bring out a large gun in the other car behind us and shoots.

"Look out!" We both duck to avoid the bullets. The glass shatters all around us, and I put my hands over my head. Hood makes a sharp turn avoiding the cars we're about to bump into. I can see in the side mirror that they're still behind us.

I look to the right. "Right! Now!" I say and he turns. We crash through a screen door and pass under a highway.

"We'll lose them at the freeway..." I say.

"Are you crazy?"

"Hell yeah I'm crazy!" I take a quick glance at my holographic wrist computer. "10 units behind us."

He crashes through another screen door and we head towards the freeway. I load my gun and stick my head and arm out the window. I shoot the units after us and the black van with the terrorist guy right after us.

"This is all your fault! What did you even do to piss these guys off?!"

"I killed three of their captains." Hood glances at me. "Hey, they're terrorists! Plus, they were pissing me off!"

I'm able to take down one unit with my gun, but they're still on our tail. Red Hood avoids the trucks, and I glance at the black van with the man still shooting at us and I duck. We stay beside a big truck to try and hide from them. I look at our...hostage, a congressman who stole money from a lot of people. The car beside us flips over and we move forward.

The man holding the large gun in the van behind us suddenly turns intangible, like a ghost, and passes through our car. He sits in the back seat.

"A meta?! Metas are everywhere now aren't they?!" Hood exclaims.

The meta turns tangible again. He pulls out a knife and tries to cut my neck but I swipe my hand and block. I try to shoot him but he hits my hand and I drop the gun. He tries to cut my eye out but I move and dodge. I grab his hand and stop him from cutting me. He tries to punch me with his other hand but I block, and I grab his collar and head butt him. I hit the arm holding the knife with my free hand and I elbow his neck, still holding onto the knife. I hold his hand down with one hand and I punch him with my other fist. He gets the hand holding the knife free and he swipes at me but I duck and he nearly cuts my hair. He holds me in a choke hold with the knife touching my neck, but I grab my gun and quickly shoot his head before he gets a chance to move. I grab his neck and throw him forward and out the windshield. Red Hood purposely runs over the body. I wipe the blood out of my face and I turn to look at the police car right beside us.

A cop shoots at us.

"Get down!" Hood and I both duck. I sit up and shoot the tires of the car. The police car flips over as it tries to stop and flames engulf it. I face forward.

"Whoops..." I killed two men from the GCPD. I glance at Red Hood who's only looking at the road.

Suddenly, I hear footsteps on the roof of our car, a knife goes through the roof and right beside me before I dodge. I take my gun and shoot up at the roof. Suddenly the man is standing right on the head of the car.

"Get off the damn car!" Red Hood tries to move the car but the guy doesn't fall off! He rips off our roof with his hand and I shoot at him with my gun, but he dodges. Dammit! I take my knife and stab the man on the chest, his blood dripping down my face. Jason suddenly steps on the breaks and the dead man falls off the car and Jason steps on the gas again.

A police car to our right shoots at us and hits the tires. The tires burn and Red Hood tries to control the car. The police car bumps into us and Red Hood moves our car towards the their car. The unit hits the wall but it pushes towards us. We lose the unit in a turn and it crashes into a wall.

There are more units behind us, but now the black van is right in front of us, blocking our way.

"Damn. We have to stop." I point out the obvious, but no, instead Hood goes faster.

"No, we're going to have to jump."

I nod, and get myself ready to jump out of the car. Who doesn't love the Law of Inertia?

"Now!" We both jump out at the same time. I roll on the road as the car crashes into the van and it explodes. I cover my head as the explosion takes place. I get up and walk to the other side of the road where Hood is standing.

"I'll need your report later." I nod as I look around. There are a lot of cars surrounding us and people running away and getting out of their cars. I can hear some of them screaming and yelling "Not them!" or "The Red Hood!" and just frightened screams.

"You coming or what?"

I look in Jason's direction. He's already sitting in the driver's seat of a random car. I run towards the passenger seat, and that's when the police show up, surrounding the "crime scene."

I smirk. "Cops are waaaay too slow," and Hood drives, the undetected way.