A Family

by BaconYourFace

What happens when two girls enter the Bat Family? Follow Christine Carter and Autumn Cross on their experiences as part of the family. Yes, Tim, Damian and Alfred are in this too (major characters, yes) Warnings: contains some gory scenes, swearing, and NO SLASHES. There are a few funny and fluffy chapters later on. Sucky summary but you get the point. Please read and review!

35. Winter Ball

Chapter 35: Winter Ball

Bruce's POV

"As some of you already know, I will be hosting a Winter Ball to help fund research that STAR Labs and the science division of Wayne Enterprises are carrying out. It will be held in the manor a week from now. You may invite whoever you like, just let me know who you are inviting so I am aware of the guests and how much food to have made." I say to my family as they eat breakfast.

"Can I invite a friend of mine?" Jason asks. I find it odd that he doesn't mention his (or her) name. "Sure."

"I do not wish to attend." Damian says blatantly. "Master Damian. You will attend or your father will revoke your allowance for three months." Alfred threatens as he stands next to me. "Fine." Damian grunts."I'm actually excited." Chris comments.

"No boys." I say to her. "What? Are you gonna be like my personal bodyguard or something?" She frowns. "You can't invite boys. Only girls. And you won't be allowed to dance with any boys your age who show up." "Overprotective much?" She says sarcastically.

"I think what Master Bruce is trying to convey is that he is uncomfortable seeing his little girl grow up." I look up at my friend and smile at him. What would I do - what would all of us do - without Alfred?

"Yeah. We all know Bruce doesn't know how to convey his thoughts and emotions." Tim says. Everyone at the table nods. Everyone except Autumn, who I almost forgot about.

"So I can only invite two people?" She asks. "Yes."

She sighs. "Fine." I turn to Tim. "Keep her away from boys" It's not that I don't trust Chris. I just want to be careful.

"Drake would certainly keep her away from other guys." Everyone chuckles to themselves, except Tim, who is glaring down at Damian. I've known from the beginning that Tim likes Chris. I also know that Chris liked him when she first came. I think she still does, but she doesn't know it.

Changing the topic, I look at Jason. "I will make sure someone watches how much you drink."

"Woah... I'm sure I am capable enough to watch myself."

"And I'm sure last night was proof of that." I frown at him. I'll have to take care of him later. And Autumn.

"Speaking of which, who was that girl you were with, Little Wing?" Dick asks."Girl?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. "Nobody." Jason gives Dick his best impression of the bat glare.

"Jason has a girlfriend?" Tim asks.

"Shut up Replacement." Jason threatens, not taking his eyes off Dick."Todd is certainly incapable of winning over a girl, even if he tied her up and tortured her until she agreed to be with him."

Chris rolls her eyes and smiles at him.

"Everyone shut up! I was just having a drink. End of story."

"Sure..." Dick teases.

"Do you need me to shut you up Golden Boy?"

"Boys." I threaten. The tension dissolves in the room. "As I was saying, you can invite whoever, just run it through me. The event is semi-formal, so no need for tuxes and long, fancy dresses." At this, Damian and Chris say a quiet 'yes' to themselves. "But it does mean collared shirts and a skirt, at least. And masks. " The two nod at me, knowing that my statement was directed to them.

"It's a masquerade ball?"

"Something like that."

"Is Autumn invited?" Jason asks.

All of us look at her. She's just looking down at her lap with an unreadable expression.

"Of course she is, isn't she?" Alfred asks me, but I don't look up at him. "Yes. Autumn." I say, so that she knows I'm directing this to her. "You are invited."

She slowly raises her head. But she doesn't seem to know how to react to that, so she keeps on a blank face.

"You are all excused. Chris, Autumn. Stay." I say to release the tension.

Everyone exits the room. Before he leaves, Dick gives me a curious look. I nod, telling him everything's fine. Then he looks at Chris, and she returns his look with a small smile. He exits the room.

Now it's just Alfred, Autumn, Chris, and I left in the dining hall.

"Do you have anything you can wear to the ball, Autumn?" I ask. Chris' mouth opens a little in realization. To my surprise, she doesn't seem angry. "No, sir." She looks straight into my eyes.

"Are you okay with going dress shopping with Chris? She has to find something, too." I say, softening my voice a bit. "Alright. Sir, I would like to help around with preparing the mansion for the ball. Also, there is no need to treat me like a child, sir." She says.

My eyes widen slightly. "That's not what I-"

"Dad we're gonna go now. I assume Alfred's driving us, since he's here for this conversation. Meet you in the car, Alfred. See you later Bruce." Chris says quickly as she turns Autumn towards the door by her shoulders and urges her out.

"That was unusual." I say to Alfred. "It seems that Miss Christine is finally taking your advice and becoming acquainted with Miss Autumn."

"Maybe so. But why all of a sudden?"

"Maybe it's just a change of heart. She could have realized that she can't hate Miss Autumn forever."

"Probably. Well it's good they're getting along. Just keep an eye out for them, okay?"

"I always do, Master Bruce."

I smile as he leaves the room.

****Break****

Alfred's POV

We walk through the automatic doors of Kohls. The places Christine and I usually go to for dresses only have dresses for formal occasions.

This store has another door somewhere that leads to the rest of the mall, so we might go to some of the other stores later. Right when we enter a huge area just for dresses greets us.

"C'mon." Chris grabs Autumn's arm and they go over to the dresses. "May I help you with anything, sir?" A person who works here approaches me. I look at his name tag.

"Oh no thank you Carson. I'm here for the two girls over..." I turn my head to where they were and don't see them.

"Oh dear...excuse me for a second, kind sir." I walk over to the dress rack I last saw them by and see a note with a familiar handwriting.

Hey Alfred. Don't worry we weren't kidnapped or anything. And don't think we were forced to write this. There's no way I could've written this in such that short time (I wrote it in the car). Anyway just letting you know not to worry or anything. -Chris and Autumn

They "ditched" me.

Chris' POV

"I feel kind of bad for ditching Alfred."

"Don't worry. He'll call if he needs us." I say, gesturing to my pocket that has my phone. "Okay. Where are we gonna go? I don't really know where to get dresses."

"We're actually gonna stay here. Kohls has good dresses that aren't slutty short and revealing."

Autumn and I are sitting inside a rack of dresses. We actually didn't go too far. I can still see Alfred's legs. I just needed him to think we went far. Which is why I talked about Hot Topic for the longest time during the ride here.

I see him take something out of his pocket. His phone. I quickly pull out mine and put it on silent before it can start ringing and reveal our location.

I can see him quickly walking in our direction, and as he passes by us I hear him say, "Oh those girls...and I thought it would be better when they got along."

After a few seconds, Autumn peeps her head out of our hiding spot. "Clear." She says. The two of us crawl out of our spots. I turn my phone back on and look around. This entire section is dedicated to dresses.

This is gonna be easier than I thought.

Autumn's POV

"Do you see anything you like?" Christine asks me. "Nothing really." Dresses aren't my thing. Clothes in general aren't my thing. Not that I would run around naked...my clothes just have to cover me up or I'll feel uncomfortable.

"I know shopping is something you're probably not into, but just grab anything that looks okay, that fits, and looks comfy. Then we'll go try it on. If you want, you can grab more than one." She says as she picks out three dresses to try on. Three out of the seven racks of dresses we looked at, each rack having around four different dress styles.

"Is this what it's like to be a 'girly girl'?" I ask her.

She chuckles. "Do you think I would know?"

"Well aren't you?"

"No. Not really. I think of myself as half and half, but my girly side shows when I have to be Christine Wayne. But everywhere else I'm just my tomboy self." I look at what she's wearing. It's a pair of slightly tattered jeans, black converse, and a Captain America shirt. Her hair is a little messy, as if she didn't care about what it looks like. She's not showing any girly girl.

"Okay." I kind of understand what she means, with one side of you showing at certain times and the other side showing up at different times. It's like how it is with Phoenix and Autumn. "Found anything yet?" She asks.

I look through the rack again, even though I know I just looked through it. "No." I scowl slightly.

She looks at one of the dresses she's holding. Then she goes back somewhere among the racks and comes back with an identical. "I got you a small. Same size as me." She holds it out to me.

I take it from her. It's a sleeveless, white dress that goes to the knees. The cream colored lace on top has flowers on it. With it is a thin, red belt. "Oh yeah...we still have to buy shoes. Dammit now we have to shop longer..." She says in disappointment.

I chuckle to myself.

"You still wanna look for another dress?"

"Nah. Let's go try them on." I say. But this looks like it's better on her, not that any dress will look good on me.

I follow her to the fitting rooms. On the way there, I pass by a teal blue plain dress that's just slightly above the knee. The top is somewhat decorated, and it's sleeveless but with slightly thick straps. It's simple, with a round neck. It looks cool. (Girl's definition of cool) So maybe...I should try it on...

I quickly check the size. Small. I decide whether I should try it on or not...should I? Should I not? What if people are judging me? Thinking that I'm girly? What if they're all laughing at me, thinking that I'm an arrogant b****? What if Christine laughs at me? I sigh. Whatever, screw them. After deciding, I take it off the rack and continue to follow Christine.

We walk in. No one's in here except for us. She gets into one stall, and I get into the one next to her. "You and Damian seem to be getting along." She says, trying to make small talk.

"I don't like small talk." I say, trying not to sound too harsh.

"Okay good. I hate it, too. Makes everything awkward." The short silence kills me so much that I continue our small talk. "Yeah. We're friends."

"Has he done anything stupid?"

"Like what?"

"Anything, really. I just need things I can use against him. He has too many against me. Besides, blackmailing people is fun."

I don't blackmail the people who are blackmailing me, I just kill them...usually. "Once I have something I'll let you know."

"Okay."

"What's up with you and Tim?"

"What about us?"

"Well you know he likes you, right?" I state my observations. "A piece of toast can tell he likes me."

"Well do you like him?"

"No."

"You sure?"

"Yup."

"Yeah sure." I put some disbelief in my tone.

"Why? Do you like him?"

"Hell no." I say quickly.

I look through the scars, the burns and the bruises on my body and touch them. Then I glance at the tattoo on my body I got from the Cleansing when I was with the All Caste.

I let out a small scoff, and cover them with the dress. But I'm glad the scars and bruises are covered with make up on my arms and legs. That's right world, I come prepared. In your face!

"Good. I don't know what would come out of that relationship."

"Well it would be incest if you two got together."nShe doesn't respond immediately. "This is really weird..."

"Yeah." Two girls who were enemies just a few days ago now talking about guys and what would happen if they started dating...definitely weird. But hey, life's weird like that.

"Well I got into the first dress."

"Same."

"Can you tell me how I look? I can't rely on mirrors."

"Sure."

I walk out of the stall and wait for her to walk out. She does a few seconds later. She's wearing a sleeveless dress with thick straps. The top of her dress is black with a cream-colored lace that has a pattern so you can see more cream than black. The bottom is just a plain black and it goes down to the top of her knees.

I look down at the white lace dress I'm wearing. I don't look good in dresses, like I said earlier.

"You look really nice in that dress." She smiles at me, and it doesn't look fake. But something in my brain tells me that she's lying. So I can't believe her.

"You look better in yours." I say, giving a small smile back.

"I have two more to try on."

"I've got one. I'll need you to be my mirror again."

She nods.

I get back into the changing stall.

Chris' POV

I put on the other dress, then stare at the mirror. "What about Tim?" I hear Autumn's voice on the stall next door.

"We already had this convo." I remind her.

"No the other Tim."

"What, Tim Hayden?" I ask her, my heart racing a bit. How does she know him?

"Yeah, that Tim. You spend a lot of time with that guy."

"No! What are you talking about?"

She laughs. "You're in denial."

"I am not. Tim is just a friend!"

"Heh, you didn't even bother asking how I knew about him. You have a crush on-"

"No I don't!"

"Aww. It's okay. I'll keep quiet." Is she gonna blackmail me?

"How do you know about him anyways?"

"Hey, grades 8 and 9 have the same recess and lunch. I can read people."

"Well, yeah I can do that, too."

"You gotta observe you know."

"I do. Which is how I know that you hang out with Jake Rein, Luke Snyder, and some other kid who doesn't go to our school."

"Woah hold up! Jake is just a friend, Luke is somewhat of a forced friend, and that other kid is just a friend, too."

"Then why won't you tell me his name?" Gotcha. "Because...because you don't need to know his name!" I can hear a littler strain in her voice. "Okay, okay. I'll stop pestering." I'll find out someday.

I take off this dress and change into the other. It was too tight. "Would you like me to ask about your other guy friends? Reel and the Moores?" She asks, and I can hear the mischief in her voice.

"Touche." I say. "You done changing?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Yup."

I step out of my stall and Autumn does the same. I'm wearing a simple sleeveless knee-length dress with a floral pattern and black base.

She is wearing a teal blue, knee-length sleeveless dress (there's a difference between sleeveless and strapless). The bottom is similar to the first dress I tried on (except it's blue). The top has a shiny blue floral pattern.

"Shiny." I comment.

"Yup. You look nice."

"It's cute but a little too big. But that dress really looks good on you." I say. I'm genuinely complementing her. That dress is really pretty and it looks good on her.

"Thanks." Her eyes drop and her lips purse as if she doesn't believe me.

"So you getting that one?"

"I guess. And you're getting the first one?"

"Yup."

"Okay."

"I'll call Alfred when we get out."

She nods in reply. We both walk back into our stalls. "Dude. We still need the shoes to match with these dresses…" She groans.

"Oh yeah. Ugh...more shopping." I hear the door of the other stall swing open, and just soon after, I walk out, too, holding the dress in my hands.

Autumn nods, now wearing her tattered jeans, a navy blue shirt and a dark green jacket. "Uh, you know where the shoe section is?"

"Yeah, c'mon." I lead her towards the shoe section. "Huh." She chuckles slightly. "Did you see the look on Mister Wayne's face?"

"Yeah, when he realized I wasn't getting mad or whatever?"

"Haha. Yeah. I bet he expected for you to stand up and get really mad."

"But I didn't!" We both smirk as we walk towards the shoes section. "The look on his face when he found out that it's possible for us to get along." She says. I chuckle. "Things change."

"Faster than you think." She tells me. We stop in front of wide racks of shoes. "He should know that, of all people." She says, and I just nod.

But I don't know what she's talking about. Is it about me, coming to the manor a few years ago? Dick growing up and becoming Nightwing? Bruce and Talia having Damian? Tim becoming Red Robin? Autumn coming to live with us? Or Jason, dying, coming back, turning 'evil,' then coming home?

We scan through the racks, looking for something to go with our clothes. "Umm...maybe we shouldn't go looking for shoes here." I say. "Well yeah, okay."

"I don't usually shop here. And I don't see anything nice."

"Neither do I. And don't go shopping, so I wouldn't really know."

"Okay. Let's go pay for these dresses first and then find another place to get shoes."

"Okay."

As we walk to wherever the cash registers are in this huge store, I pull out my phone and dial Alfred's number on speed dial. "Miss Christine where in God's name have you been?! I have been looking for you two for the past twenty minutes!"

I chuckle nervously. "Yeah...we actually never left."

A pause.

Then I hear a chuckle. "You smart, mischievous girl. I am on my way back there." I smile to myself. "Wait are we paying for the dresses?"

"Of course not! Master Bruce gave me money for your clothes."

"Okay then we'll wait for you. See ya."

I hang up the phone. Autumn and I just hang out near the cash registers and wait for Alfred.

"You excited for this thing?" She asks me. "For the most part. But personally, I'd rather be out in my spandex suit beating up perps."

She chuckles. "Yeah. Social events aren't really things I look forward to."

"Same. I hate talking to strangers, especially Bruce's acquaintances and reporters. It just makes me uncomfortable."

"Heh. Same. But I've never talked to a reporter."

"Consider yourself lucky. They bombard you with questions and get all up in your business. Vicki Vale, for example. One time the Wayne Foundation donated more money to the orphanages around Gotham and she came up to Damian and I while we were in the park and asked us if we were okay with the money going to them instead of our allowance and I was like 'What the hell?'"

"Heh. Reporters." I nod in response. "So who you gonna invite to the ball?" I ask.

"I don't know if I'm even allowed to invite anyone...but hypothetically speaking, I would invite Tsina and Suki." Well, it does look like they're her only friends that are girls. Maybe I could convince Dad to let her invite a few people.

"What about Jake?"

"His family's rich so he'll probably be invited either way. While Tsina and Suki are scholars."

"What about that other kid?"

"Eh...he doesn't seem like the kinda guy who would like to go to balls. You gonna invite Tim H.?" I shrug. "Maybe. Maybe not."

"Pfft." We see Alfred walking towards us. I wave at him and he glares at both of us. I just give him an innocent smile. "There you two are."

"Hi Alfred." I say as he takes my dress.

"Good choice. You will look fine in this." He gives me a smile when his glare disappears. He places the dress on the counter, then he takes Autumn's and scans it. He gives her a warm smile and pays for both of the dresses. Autumn stands behind me, looking uncomfortable that someone else is gonna pay for something she wants.

"Okay. Where else do we have to go?"

"Shoes." I say.

"Payless, I presume." I nod in response. The three of us head out of the store and into the actual mall.

****Break****

Autumn's POV

We walk out of the shoe store. Christine just wanted simple flats but then Alfred was like "You are a young lady now." Christine sighed and I just chuckled. So she bought something else instead: a pair of cream wedges that are only an inch high.

Now we're walking out of the store, holding onto two bags of our clothes. Christine didn't buy any jewelry. She said she already has some back at the manor.

I didn't buy a necklace, either. I already have my own anyways, and it's from my mom, too. It's just a simple silver necklace with a circle in the center of the necklace with the designs of fire and ice surrounding a small red ruby. Imagine how much this necklace could have cost my mom's mom…well it's nothing compared to the priceless heirlooms in the Wayne Manor, but even so. This necklace is pretty important to me. It's got my memories, good and bad ones.

Anyways. I just bought a pair of small and comfy murky black pearl earrings and a pair of black flats with a slight heel.

I hope it matches with my dress. Well, Alfred didn't say anything when I bought the stuff so it should be okay. I guess. But I know I won't look pretty in these clothes. Not that I would care whether or not I would look pretty, I'll be wearing a black mask anyways. But even so...I feel...insecure...and s***.

So, this is what it's like to be a 'girl.'

****Break****

Dick's POV

I take out my cell phone from my pocket and dial Barbara's number.

"Hey Dick. What's up?"

"Have you heard about the event Bruce is funding?" I ask her.

"Yeah my dad told me about it. Three days ago. I've been waiting for you to invite me. What's taken you so long, Boy Wonder?" I can feel her smirking on the other end.

"Well, umm..." I had a logical argument for this...what was it again?

"Cat got your tongue?"

"I actually just found out yesterday. Bruce told us yesterday morning during breakfast. Then the rest of the day I was busy helping out with the planning." I smile to myself, glad I made a recovery.

"You got away this time. But why are you inviting me over the phone?"

"I technically haven't invited you yet." There's a pause.

Then I realize Barbara's waiting for me to say the words.

"Barbara Gordon. Would you like to be my date to Wayne Enterprises' Winter Ball Fundraising Event that will be replacing the Wayne family's annual Christmas party?"

I can sense her smile. "Why of course, since we are being so formal and using long sentences that are just over explaining what's really being said, which you learned from your little sister Christine Wayne, whose original last name was Carter until she took up her birth name and legally became Christine Grayson-Wayne. By the way, she has a charming and adorable big brother who is nice to everybody and is named Richard Grayson-Wayne. And the both of them technically have four other siblings who-"

"No need to over explain that much, Babs!" She laughs. I smile. I love her laugh. It's cute. "I thought you would be a little more romantic than just a phone call to ask me to be your date."

"Oh...is that really what you wanted?" I ask, unsure for just a second until I realize that she's toying with me.

"Of course not, Boy Wonder! I'm not that demanding!" We both share a laugh over the phone.

"Okay, Babs. See you this weekend."

"See ya."

I smile as I hang up the phone.

I remember when I was still Robin, we once missed our junior prom for patrol. But it was a slow night, so we decided to dance on top of a building, listening to a song on my i pod with earphones. We danced, but neither of us knew how, but we just kept on dancing anyways, until Batman interrupted us and told us that there was a bank robbery downtown.

****Break****

Damian's POV

This "teacher" is so boring my brain couldn't help but wander to the subject of this weekend's event.

Who the hell am I supposed to invite to this absurd thing called a "ball"? Who would even want to go to that thing? Answer: Gotham City's rich and elite who do this as their hobby.

I could invite Daly. Yes, I'll invite Daly just so I have someone to rant to during the entire event.

I bet Grayson, Todd, Drake, and Father are all bringing girls.

Tt. Girls. Why would I even ask one of them to accompany me? The whole concept of these variations of parties is an enigma to me.

Carter is probably bringing a boy... Disgusting. Even the thought revolts me. Better keep her away from boys. I can't really stop Grayson, Todd, and Father from getting girls, and I don't care what Drake does. He'll most likely end up embarrassed or ruined somehow. Good. Benefits me.

Maybe I can just sabotage the party...but then Father will be upset with me...Then maybe I won't sabotage the party...maybe I'll sabotage something else.

Time to let the planning begin.

****Break****

Tim's POV

I eat my snack as I study for next week's Algebra 2 test.

"Tim. It's only Monday. The test is next Friday. Enjoy your liberation from sitting through long, boring lectures and talk with your friends." One of my non-nerd friends, Jeremy, says to me, but I simply ignore him.

"You should be focusing on the party at your house this weekend! Not some stupid test!" I'll admit it. Jeremy can be annoying at times, but he's got a good side that I like about him. He's kind of a party animal and also doesn't care about his grades that much. Almost like the opposite of me.

"A party is a casual thing, this is a semi-formal fundraiser. And you're not invited." He just wants to come. It's obvious.

"Whaaaat? Whyyy?"

"I'm only limited a certain number of guests." I lie.

He gives me a sad look. "Ok fine. I'll be right back." He picks up his snack and his backpack and goes to another table. He does that whenever his feelings are offended, even if it's just a little bit. I used to always feel bad, but now I don't mind as much. He's got other friends.

"So how many of us are you inviting?" One of my other friends asks.

"Well I want to be careful because my dad didn't specify how many guests I could bring. So I'm just inviting April because she was there when I first knew about it. I don't want to be rude." I lie again.

Really, I just want to be able to identify myself that she likes me. I trust Chris (she's always been right whenever she's said that a girl likes me), but I feel like I should be better at this. Plus, it would kill Damian to see that there's a girl that actually likes me for me, even though he'd probably say she likes me because she doesn't know what I do "after hours".

Oh yeah. Will the Winter Ball contradict with going out on patrol? I'll ask Bruce about that when I get home.

"Wait, you're inviting me?" April says. I think she's blushing...I can't really tell because the sun's behind her.

"Yeah." I say, keeping a poker face.

"Okay cool." I think I heard a little bit of a falter in her voice.

A night of deducing whether or not a girl likes me...maybe this Winter Ball will be more fun than I thought.

****Break****

Chris' POV

I take a seat at my desk and look up at the clock. We still have 5 minutes before class actually starts. "I heard your dad is hosting a fundraiser." My friend Luke says as he takes his seat next to me.

"Yeah. How do you know?"

"It's in the Gotham Gazette. Third page." Matt says as he stands in front of Luke's desk and puts the paper on my desk.

I flip to the third page and sure enough, I see an article on the top left of the page titled Not-So-Fancy Fundraiser for WayneStar Project. Right underneath, in tiny manuscript, I see 'Written by Vicki Vale.' Figures. Sometimes I feel like she has a special interest in us. It's weird.

"So why a Winter Ball? Is it replacing your Christmas Party or something?" Tim asks as he approaches my desk.

"Kinda. I guess they needed funds, and it happened to be during the season. So we're doing the Winter Ball instead."

"Ah okay." He says.

"So you gonna invite us?" Tyler asks as he and Laurel join the group.

"I can invite Laurel and Sarah."

"What about us?" Matt asks as he frowns at me.

"Can't invite boys, apparently."

They all start making disappointed sounds and ranting to themselves. I didn't think they would actually want to go. They're teenage boys. I wouldn't think semi-formal, rich fundraising parties were something they'd be into.

Laurel and I laugh at their "pain" and the stupid sounds they're making.

"So I can come?" Laurel asks me when Tim, Tyler, and Matt go to their seats.

"Yeah. And I'll invite Sarah later."

"Cool."

At that moment, the bell rings, and the teacher walks into the classroom.

****Break****

Autumn's POV

I stare at the teacher, my eyes starting to drop. But one thing's for sure, I can't concentrate on his voice. My eyes move around the classroom, to the ticking clock, to my two friends, to the power point, and to the people silently groaning. Anywhere except to Mister, or Mackenzie.

I feel someone tap my shoulder, I turn around to see my seatmate, Lara. She's also silently being tortured. "Oh God. If this doesn't end right now, I'm gonna kill. I don't know if it's gonna be myself or him!" I just silently chuckle and turn back around to face forward.

The entire class hates this teacher. I think it's because of his stupidity. I honestly don't care. I just find him very, very boring, considering that all we do is read the book and kind of discuss it.

Man, this is boring! The class is slightly noisy, talking about how they hate him when he's right in front of them, but I don't think he knows that they hate him or that they're talking trash about this guy. So he says. "Decorum! Decorum is in order!" People start to groan when he says that, as a reminder of Model UN.

My face brightens when the bell rings. Finally! Lunch! Yessssss. I practically jump out of my seat. "Class don't forget to do the essay." I hear people groan as I make my way towards my friends Jake and Tsina.

But before I can get to Jake, Mackenzie is already talking to him about something. Damn it. I wanted to ask him something.

I slowly make my way towards him. Tsina is talking to her other friend that she somehow made, so she's busy too. I think that girl's name is Cielo (it's pronounced like cello).

Even if Mackenzie's blocking my way, I walk up to Jake anyways. She shouldn't stop me, right? "Hey Jake." We stand as a triangle now, the two of them facing me. "What...are you two talking about?" I ask them.

Mackenzie smirks. "Oh nothing. I was just inviting him to my house this Friday." My eyes drop to the ground as my stomach melts out of disappointment. "Oh, this Friday?"

Mackenzie nods snobbishly. "Oh, okay." I turn around. "Forget it then."

Then I feel a cold, gentle hand stop me by holding my arm. "Wait, what is it Autumn?" I turn around, my eyes still downcast. "Well, I was thinking of asking you to come with me somewhere...but never mind. In hindsight, you might be busy."

"That's right! Jake is busy!" Mackenzie answers for him.

I gesture to her. "So forget it." I try to walk away but he holds onto my arm. I suddenly see Mackenzie become furious. Jake turns to Mackenzie and brushes his hand through his hair. "Maybe next time…" He's saying that to me... "Okay Mack?" He tells her. I suddenly look up.

I see Mackenzie's shocked face, then she glares at me as a small smile starts to creep up my mouth. "F-fine." Mackenzie walks away. Jake turns to me. "Maybe it will be more fun to hang out with your crush." I tell him.

"I do not have a crush on her."

"Right."

"Mack is cute. But I'd rather spend the day with my best friend." I smile at him. "Now c'mon. I'm starving."

We walk towards the cafeteria when Tsina catches up with us. "Hey guys." She says.

"Hey Tsina." I squint when I see a girl around my height with long brown hair walking towards us. "Hey, isn't that Suki?" Tsina sighs. "Yes it is."

"Suka!" Tsina shouts to her sister/fraternal twin.

"Wait what?" I ask.

"Suka!" Tsina shouts again, ignoring my expression. "Suka?" I look at Jake. He just shrugs. Suka means barf in a different language. "Tocino!" Suki says.

"The hell?" Tocino, in a different language either means pork or sausage.

Barf and sausage!? We walk towards Suki. "Tsina." She suddenly says, looking at Tsina, but the way she pronounces it is CHINA, not Tsina.

"What!" Tsina groans.

"You still owe me."

"I know! I'll pay you when I'm not broke."

"Fine." Suki says.

"Why do you guys call each other Tocino and Suka?"

"Oh, haha. That's our nicknames for each other." Suki says. "I call her Tocino and China."

"And I call her Suka and Sushi."

"You know what, Suka means barf. Tocino either means pork or sausage. In Filipino."

They both nod and smile. "We know." Jake and I both raise an eyebrow.

"Oookay…" I say I'm glad I don't have a sister, then I remember. "Oh yeah, guys. You three are invited to the Wayne Manor this Friday for the winter ball. Semi-formal." I say.

"Aw...so no camo shirt?" Tsina complains.

I shake my head. "No, Sausage. No camo shirt for you."

"My family's already invited." Jake says.

"Wait, since when do you have connections with the Waynes?" Suki gets suspicious.

I smirk. "You'll know soon enough."

****Break****

Bruce's POV

I get out of my car and enter the apartment building. The jingle of the door echoes in my ears when I open it. I make my way to the elevator and press the 'up' button. When it opens, I step inside and press the button that says '16'.

As the elevator ascends into the building, I think about the issue with patrol the night of Winter Ball. I'm pretty sure Dick is inviting Babs, so I can ask the two of them to take care of patrol, since I have to keep my face seen at the party. It'll be just the two of them. It could be nice, like old times.

The familiar ping of an elevator reaching its floor signals the opening of the elevator doors. I exit the elevator and walk down the hallway until I stop in front of her door. I'm about to knock on the door but stop myself right before it hits it.

Maybe I shouldn't invite her...

The door swings open and in front of me, Selina Kyle stands, wearing black skinny jeans, a collared green top, and high heels.

Too late. Great. I mentally groan.

"Bruce? What are you doing here? I was just about to head out for lunch."

"I came to ask you something." I say with a poker face.

She raises an eyebrow. "And what might that something be?" As she says this, she grabs her coat from the coatrack and walks into the hallway. I step back to make room for her to step out. "You probably already know that I have a fundraiser this Friday, and I was wondering if you would like to come?"

"Am I Bruce Wayne's date?" She smirks in that devilish way she does.

"Only if you want to be." I say in a kind of flirtatious tone.

She thinks about it for a second. After a while, she closes the door behind her and says, "Okay. Is it semi-formal, since there will be children there, too? Your children." I can't tell what she's thinking by her tone. Selina Kyle is both an ally and an enemy. I don't know if she somewhat cares about my children (because of me) or if she despises them for her personal reasons.

"Yes. Alright I'll see you then." I make a motion to leave, but she blocks my path and places her arms on my shoulders and raises her leg so it's against my hip.

"Oh don't leave so soon." She says in a fake, whining voice. "What if someone attacks me and I need my shining knight in armor to come and rescue me?"

"You and I both know that you are capable of taking care of yourself in that kind of situation." I say, keeping a poker face, even though I feel kind of tingly.

She lowers her leg and places her arms back by her sides. She makes a pouting face. "Fine. But wouldn't you like to join me for a quick lunch?" I think about her offer for a moment. Should I go with her? Or should I just eat alone somewhere? I was planning on going out for lunch, anyway. Besides, no matter how hard she tries to make me uncomfortable, I won't show it.

"I would like to join you for lunch, Selina." I say.

She smiles devilishly. "Good." She hugs my right arm and leans her head on my shoulder as we walk to the elevator. She presses the down button, and when the elevator arrives, we both step inside, and the doors close in front of us.

****Break****

Jason's POV

"Well, uh, see you soon." I open the door and she walks out of my car. She stands up, her head just below my chin. She's wearing her flight attendant uniform. She just stands there with her cute, smug smile, and her light blue eyes staring into mine.

"So, you want me to bring you inside?" I ask. She steps closer and I take a slight step back, nearly bumping into one of the airport luggage carts behind me. "No thank you." Her soft, gentle fingers run through my chest, sending tingly feelings up my spine.

I lean in closer to her with a raised eyebrow. "But you don't wanna miss your flight, right?" She leans closer to me, and her lips almost brush on mine. "I don't?" She says, stubbornly.

"Listen, I still have to pick my brothers up from-" She wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me into a kiss. "URMPUH!" I open my eyes and place my hands around her arms and squeeze them as we kiss.

"Mmm...nice…" She moans as I hold her closer. We stay like that as I reminisce in the moment. I look to my left, my lips still on hers, and I see someone watching us from afar in the crowd of people, I smirk.

She grabs my collar, and finally we both pull away from the kiss.

I smirk, and she smiles. "See you soon." She begins to walk away.

"Isabel."

She stops and smiles at me. "Yes?"

"Come to the dance this Friday."

She chuckles. "I was wondering when you'd ask me." She starts to walk away, the lines of her curves showing off as she walks in her outfit, holding her luggage.

I turn around to see Barbara walking towards me, smirking.

Autumn's POV

I start to walk out of school. "Autumn!" Luke stands beside me. Oh great. I walk faster, hoping that he gets the point that I'm trying to avoid him. "Hold up!"

He takes my arm, and suddenly a tingly defense feeling is triggered. I grab him by his collar and pin him to the wall, my arm on his neck.

"Holy crap!"

"What!?" I growl.

"You okay, babe?"

I let go of him and rub the arm that he touched. "I'm fine." I tell him. "Sorry about that by the way." I continue to rub my arm under the sleeve.

"What's wrong?" He starts to lift his arms to move towards my wrist, but I back away a bit. "Autumn. What happened there?"

"Nothing."

"Autumn, I don't believe you." He's so nosy. He gently takes my arm and rolls up my sleeve.

Surprisingly, he doesn't react. "What happened here?" He asks.

"Nothing…" I jerk my wrist away from him and hide it with my sleeve.

"What happened?" He repeats.

"It doesn't matter."

"Of course it does." He argues. "Why does it matter?" I ask him seriously.

"I'm your friend." He says as if that explains everything. I groan. "You're starting to sound like Jake."

"Tell me the truth Autumn. Did you...do that to yourself?"

I bow my head and look at my shoes. Alfred bought me new ones because my old cheap ones got worn out. I sigh and shoulder my backpack. I turn around. "I have to go. See you around." I run away from him as fast as I can.

I see a nice blue car that Christine, Tim, and Damian are walking to. Barbara Gordon gets out of the car and smiles at them. Why is Barbara Gordon in that car when that's Jason's car?

Uh oh. I run towards another exit of Gotham Academy, but as I turn around, I bump into a broad, hard chest. Darn it.

****Break****

Tim's POV

Autumn sits with us in the back, her arms crossed over her chest as she makes a pouty face, grumbling something about ruining her plans for whatever.

"Barbara, you gonna go visit the manor?"

"Well. No." My chest deflates at that. She hasn't come to the manor in what feels like ages. "I'm just catching a ride from Jason here."

"More like stalking me is the right word." Jason says, not taking his eyes off the road.

"Wait what?" Chris asks. "Stalking him? What did you get Barbara? Tell!" She demands.

"Well…" Barbara smirks. "Shut up Babs. None of your business."

"It kinda is, since you're like my little brother." Jason groans at Barbara's words. "Jason has a girlfriend. And I saw them kiss!" Barbara says.

"Disgusting." Damian hollers immediately. "I don't even know my reaction to that…" I say. I honestly cannot imagine Jason with a girl…

Chris is just frowning. "Wait, Dick was serious?" She asks. "Jason actually got someone to like him?"

"I highly doubt it." Damian spits out. "It's quite impossible."

"Aw, but it is! Jason's not a kid anymore!" Barbara starts to hug him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders to tease him.

"I'm driving Babs!" He says as the car lurches when we pass a hump too fast. "You're gonna get us killed!" He says, trying to see the road with her arms nearly blocking his view.

"Gordon!" Damian says, clutching onto the side of the door. Jason uses one arm to try and push Barbara away while using one hand to maneuver the steering wheel. "You're gonna get us killed!"

"Okay okay!" She finally simmers back into her seat and the car stops rocking. Barbara laughs and messes his hair. "No longer the kid you used to be huh? So grossed out by public display of affection! I told you. You'd grow up too one day." Barbara says.

Chris and I chuckle. "I'm so telling Dick." I blurt out.

"No way Replacement. Don't you tell him! He will not stop annoying me."

Barbara chuckles.

****Break****

"See you on Friday!" Chris says as Barbara exits the car. "Bye guys. Thanks for the ride Jay!" She says, shutting the door.

"Yeah, see ya." Jason grumbles. We continue to drive home in silence. The sun is starting to go down and it's getting dark. "You guys got homework?" Jason asks, interrupting the silence.

"Who doesn't?" Damian says. "Then I don't think you guys can go on patrol tonight."

"I already did my homework during lunch." I say.

Jason smirks. "Who does their homework during lunch?"

"I like to get an early start." Jason scoffs. "You are such a nerd." He says.

"Tt. Looks like you're not as stupid as you seem Todd." Damian says.

Jason chuckles. "I'll take that as something coming from you, Demon."

"Hmph."

"You're just jealous Jason because I'm smarter than you."

"I might not have gotten high grades when I was your age, but I can still outsmart every single one of you." He smirks. "Yeah right." Chris says, countering his lie.

"You could easily outsmart these imbeciles but not me." Damian says.

"Hey!" I yell. Damian simply smirks at both of us.

"Someone's quiet." Jason suddenly says.

I look to the left where Autumn sits beside me, her head leaning on the window and black earphones plugged in her ears. The view of trees and buildings, cars and houses are passing by the window. The sun is already down and the only light we have is coming from the city lights.

Her eyes are closed. "She's asleep." I whisper.

"Kid's tired." Jason shrugs, not bothering to turn around. I look forward, towards the road. "You find a dress, Chris?" I ask her.

She smiles. "Yeah. Autumn did too. A really pretty one." I find it kinda weird how the two of them went to find a dress together.

We pass over a hump, and the car rocks slightly.

Then I feel a slight pressure on my shoulder. I turn to my left to see Autumn's head pressed on my shoulder. She looks peaceful, her breathing soft and short. Her face is completely emotionless and calm.

I just stare down at her head on my sharp shoulder. I wonder how she's not disturbed by how uncomfortable my shoulder is.

I can feel a pair of blue eyes glaring daggers at me. I just smile at the girl leaning on me and fix her head on my shoulder so that she's a little more comfortable. I look at Damian and smirk. He just glares straight into my eyes.

That's not gonna work, Demon.

"What?" I ask him, smirking.

****Break****

Jason's POV

Tuesday.

"Master Jason!" Alfred calls again. I groan and drag myself out of bed. I take a scalding hot shower and get dressed, trying to get the sleep out of my eyes while putting on a black hoodie and cargo pants.

I f***ing hate mornings. I open the door of my room, yawning, and I drag my two feet down the hallway.

I pass by the many rooms down the hallway. I stop and look to my left when I pass by Autumn's wide open door. No one's in there. Just a dark, empty room with the windows wide open. The wind blows through the open window and a piece of paper that was lying on the bed flies towards my face.

The piece of paper slaps me right in the face before I can register that it was even flying towards me. I take the piece of paper off of my face. Ugh, why did I even stop by?

I hold onto the paper (which turns out to be a picture) and take a good look at who's in it (it better not be a boy!)

It's an old picture. Looks like it's been through a lot. I'm surprised I can still clearly see who's on the picture.

I squint at the picture, staring at the image. Then my eyes widen and I freeze.

Autumn's POV

I walk down the hallway, wearing a t-shirt and shorts that's just sorta above the knee. I was helping Alfred decorating the ballroom earlier this morning. Now, we've gotta get ready for school, so I'm gonna go to my room to get changed into my school uniform.

I notice someone standing in front of my room, holding something right to his face.

"Jase?" I ask, but he's just there, frozen and unblinking. I walk up to him and take the piece of paper out of his hand, and I realize it's the picture of my mom and my brother. I look up at Jason. He looks down at me. He looks like he's recovering from some kind of shock.

"You okay dude?" I ask.

He slowly nods. "Y-yeah. Hey kid. Who's that boy?" He points to Nico. "Is he your friend? Your cousin? What?"

"He was my brother. The little brother I told you about. That's him."

I explain. "O-Oh…"

"Why what's up?"

He blinks and shakes his head. "Nothing! You know what, I'm gonna go head downstairs to take some breakfast!" He runs down the hallway, then down the stairs.

"Jason you weirdo!" I yell at him, raising an eyebrow.

****Break****

I escape Alfred's sight after school, so I can head down to crime alley. Yeah I know Crime Alley is dangerous but hey, it's my home. I changed into a more comfortable outfit.

I take my phone from my pocket and dial his number. "Where are you man?"

"You know where." I roll my eyes. "Sure, keep bein' cryptic." Although, I know exactly where to go.

I walk down the abandoned subway, holding my board and carrying my backpack. The first thing I see in the underground skatepark are my friends, and then R.

"Yo A. What's up?" Gabe says. "Nothin' much man. Just wanted to talk to R." I walk up to him while he fixes a wheel in his board.

"What's up A?" He asks. "Just wanted to ask you somethin'"

****Break****

Jason's POV

From roof to roof, we jump. The night continues to pass, and the moon is our only light. Red Robin and I patrol the area, searching for scum bags to take down.

We swing onto the next building, over an alley way. "Help!" Then finally we stop above one alley.

A woman, backing away into the dark, surrounded by four thugs. She hasn't got a chance. "I'll take care of this, Red." The Replacement jumps down without me saying anything. I look down on them with narrowed eyes, watching as Red Robin saves the woman.

From up above, I can see the woman's features. She looks around 30 or maybe about to end her twenties. She has messy auburn hair and light blue eyes. Her skin is a light olive shade. And for some reason, she reminds me of Catherine Todd.

Catherine Todd was a good mom. Well, better than Sheila Haywood. Catherine was my REAL mom, disregarding the genes. But my mom got sick and died. I couldn't do anything back then…

"Hood." Red Robin's voice snaps me back into reality. "You okay?" He asks, standing in front of me. "You zoned out for a second." Even under the mask, I can see a little concern flicker in his eyes.

I roll my eyes under my helmet. "Yeah, yeah Replacement. Don't get all chummy and concerned with me."

His eyes drop for a second, then he looks back at me with a 'work' look on his face. "She's calling the cops. We've gotta go." I nod, and we continue to jump from rooftop to rooftop like birds flying through the sky.

I've always liked this feeling; the feeling of the gush wind blowing against me, the light thump of my feet on the roof when it hits, and the adrenaline rushing through my body as I run to the edge of the next rooftop.

It makes me feel invincible.

As if nothing can touch me, nothing can take me down.

I would never admit it, but having someone by my side, someone having my back while nearly soaring through the night sky, it makes me feel...safe. And it always brings me back to the days when I was Robin.

The feeling that nothing can crush me. It's what made me own the Robin mantle. Those days, having The Batman by my side, it made me feel completely safe knowing that if something were to happen to me, Batman would come to save me.

I jumped through the skylight of the museum, laughing. I was wearing an old version of Dick's uniform. Sometimes I wonder how I pulled off the short shorts and the pixie boots. But at that time, I didn't care.

"Woo hoooo!" I jumped down and landed on the Riddler.

"You guys havin' a party?" I laughed. I jumped up and did a split in the air, kicking the two guys about to get me. I spread marbles over the floor, and I flipped and ended up standing beside my mentor.

"Let's go." Red Robin and I land on the skylight of a small warehouse. Around 5 men in suits are having a meeting. "What are they saying?" I ask myself.

I zoom in using my mask lenses and look around the place. So far all I see are the five men surrounding the table talking about something. Then two doors, one leading outside and the other leading somewhere unknown.

I can't seem to focus. My flashback comes back and continues.

The Riddler slashed at me with his golden cane. "Riddle me this. What's green and purple, but covered in red and yellow?" I asked and he ran away but I jumped and landed in front of him then I kicked him in the balls and fell, I then jumped and landed on him. "You! When I land on your sorry butt!"

"Robin!" Batman yelled and I turned, jumped and kicked the man about to stab me. And for a moment, I thought I saw Batman smile.

Those were simpler times, although Dick was still angry. He would always disappear with The Team just to avoid us.

"Maybe we should go in now." I tell Red Robin, when I see more men bringing in crates of who knows what. But it does say there danger, so I'm guessing it's nothing good.

"No. Not yet. Wait." Red Robin says. I grunt in response. I never did like waiting.

Life goes on. And times change.

Batman and I crashed in through the rotting door. A man was about to pull the safety off of his gun. "Don't move or I'll-" I kicked him in the face,

And people change with them.

"You'll what? Shoot me?" He went down. I turned and punched another guy.

The world got a bit darker.

"These things fire off twenty rounds per second!" I kneed him in the chest.

Darker on the outside.

"And you were still too slow to pull the trigger!" I yelled. Then I heard a click from behind me.

"I'm not slow punk!" He said and shot two bullets right at me.

Darker from within.

I twirled and dodged. "Me neither!" I flipped and the other bullet missed.

To survive, some must get tougher.

Batman threw a batarang at his arm, making him let go of the gun. "I've got him!"

And others…

"Not yet." I kicked him.

Merely remember what they once were.

He yelled in pain, holding onto his shoulder. "Robin!" Batman growled.

I come back to the present when I hear a sound.

The other door from the inside opens, and another man steps into the meeting area, where a few more guys have just finished off delivering the crates. So now I'm counting 10 thugs. The man that just came out of the unknown door drags someone in.

A kid, about 13 years old. Specifically kids. 4 kids. All with ragged clothes, wounds, and bruises on their faces. And scared eyes.

I grind my teeth and narrow my eyes. I clench my fists. "We have to get in there. Now."

"Not yet." I take a deep breath. "We need to stick to the plan."

"Those kids are harmed."

"I'm well aware but-" before he continues his sentence, I've already jumped in through the skylight. "Hood!" Red Robin growls.

"I had to take him down!" Bruce had his cowl down as he lectured me. I leaned on the Batmobile without my mask on.

"You shattered his collar bone!"

"He's a drug dealing pimp! Didn't think I had to prop up some pillows before I took him out!" I barked.

"We needed him. He would've talked. But you put him into shock." My eyebrows arched. "I'm sorry, that was dumb." Then I glared back at him. "But he deserved it." I walked passed him and up to the manor.

I reminded Bruce that I was nothing like Dick Grayson. I never was. And never will be.

I grab the collar of a thug and punch his face over and over and over again, letting off steam. "Hood! That's enough!" I feel puny arms pull me away. I let go of the man who was holding the children a while ago and let him fall on the ground.

"What has gotten into you!?" Red Robin yells at me.

I narrow my eyes at him. "I'm fine." I jerk my arm away from him.

"Are you sure?" He asks again.

"Yeah…" I lie, I guess...it's cause of the guilt that's getting to my head. Ever since...I've found it difficult to think lately and breathe. I've been hiding my guilt with false rage.

"Cops are on their way." He says. I walk up to the crates and examine them. In the corner of my eye I can see Red Robin talking to the kids.

I open a crate up. "Careful with the evidence Red. We don't know what's in there."

"That's why I'm gonna find out Red." When I open the crates, mindful of what might be inside, I don't see any explosives, guns or drugs.

I see vials, vials, and vials of inky black liquid inside them. "What the f***? Red take a look at this." I tell him as I press my fingers on the com, already signaling Nightwing (who is on monitor duty today haha).

****Break****

Dick's POV

Wednesday.

I've been trying to find out what is in the vials. We all have been. Tim's been helping me out, and we're stuck here in the cave trying to figure out what this stuff is. I look away from the microscope. "What do you see?" Tim asks.

"Well, lots of water molecules and a mix of something else. It looks like a living organism." Tim hums as he types on the computer. "Did you find anything?" I ask him as I walk towards the computer.

He takes a frustrated breath. "All the witnesses were murdered within the day." He sighs. "Batman and Robin were interrogating one in Blackgate, but when they were just about to find something, when he was about to talk, he didn't. He killed himself with a drug that was stuck in between his teeth. The rest of the suspects and witnesses were found dead in their cells."

I sigh.

"We have to figure this out." Tim says. "You go get some rest. It's 3 in the morning. You've still got school later."

"I can pull an all nighter Dick."

I shake my head "Oh no. You'll kill yourself with working too hard. Now go get some rest or I'll drag you up there myself."

He sighs in defeat, because he knows that I will literally drag him up there myself. He stands up. "Fine." And he walks up the stairs. "Wake me up if you find anything."

"Sure thing." I say as he walks out of the cave. Once I'm sure that he's gone, I take a seat on the chair and call up Kaldur. His face flashes on the screen. "Nightwing." He greets in his usually calm and collected voice.

I nod. "I sent you a sample of the liquid. You know anything about it?" He furrows his eyebrows. "Not much. But I did notice that the living organism mixed with the H2O is not from the land."

"What do you mean?"

"I have found high levels of salt water in the vial." I didn't think the salt water was relevant, but now that he's brought it up, it does bring up my suspicions. "And this organism...it seems to be some kind of microbots that has been tampered with and experimented on. The solution is clearly not finished yet."

I furrow my eyebrows. "So those kids. They were test subjects..."

"Yes, I believe so." He answers. "But why just thirteen year olds?" Those kids were random kids who were kidnapped, but they were all either 12 or 13 only.

"I do not believe their ages are of relevance." Kaldur says. I nod. "Yeah, maybe. We need to run further tests." I tell him. "Nightwing out."

I sit on the chair, thinking about the vials.

Then for some reason, my mind drifts onto Jason. But can you blame me for thinking about Little Wing? He's my brother.

Something's been up with Jason. He's been seriously distant lately. He's either in college, patrol, or somewhere no one really knows. What's been up with him lately?

Maybe it's cause he's got a new girlfriend. Hehe.

****Break****

Damian's POV

Thursday.

This is stupid.

I hate animals. I hate horses.

They stink, they're stupid. I hate animals. Except for dogs. And cats, maybe. But other than that, animals are idiotic creatures.

But I'm forced to ride a horse anyways. Grayson forced us. Drake is on his horse, riding down the track, slowly. The track for horses goes around in a circle, surrounding a muddy field where more horses are walking around and where beginners stay. Grayson is just watching us from the benches. I'd like to see him try this.

Carter is a complete natural. She's already been running down two laps around the track, passing us both twice already. Everytime she's pass us, she'd smirk and let out a quick "hi!" I would simply glare at her. I could go faster than she is if I wanted to, but I don't feel like holding onto the horse.

Autumn is supposed to be here. She's supposed to be on a horse too. Where is that girl?

"Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!" From behind us, I hear the clicking of a horse's shoes and a girl freaking out. Drake and I both turn around to see Autumn on a brown horse heading quickly towards us. Her eyes are wide and her hands are gripping onto the horse.

She wooshes past both of us and down the oblong track, her wavy dark brown hair under the sun light tailing behind her. "What is she doing?" I notice that she's passed Carter, and the horse keeps on going.

"Don't think she's enjoying this." Drake says sarcastically as we watch her head towards us again.

"How the hell do I stop this thing!?" She yells over the wind. Then she places her hands over the horse's eyes, blocking the horse's vision.

The horse stops and she flies forward.

Autumn's POV

I lay on the hard ground listening to the annoying ringing in my ear. "Autumn?" I hear someone chuckle. "You okay?" Then a hand in front of me. I take the hand and pull myself into a sitting position.

I rub my head. "Ow." I blink and look up to see Richard standing above me, grinning as usual. "You don't know how to ride a horse?"

"I hate animals." I grumble, standing up and brushing my pants.

"Aw, c'mon. How is that possible?" Richard says. I roll my eyes. "Let it go Richard." He's so immature.

Then the owner of the track runs towards us. "We're absolutely sorry for your friend Mister Wayne. Sparky is usually nicer." I make a half pout. "His name is Sparky...I see…" I glare at the horse as the man pets IT.

"Would you still like to ride a horse young girl?" He leans down closer to me. I swear I'll punch that moustache right out of his face. "I can have one of my workers here teach you."

"Yeah sure!" Richard says. I look at him. "What! But-"

"No butts. You're going to learn how to ride a horse."

I groan. "Fine."

The owner smiles. "Great. I will call one of my workers. Noah!" He yells and gestures for one worker in a black hoodie and slippers (which have poop on them, by the way) to come to us.

"He'll teach you how to ride Sparky over here. He'll give you tips at first." The man says. "Noah! Come here!" The boy, around two feet taller than me, comes towards us. My eyes widen and I turn to hide my face when I easily recognize who it is. "Yeah Boss?"

"Teach her how to ride Sparky." He nods. "Yeah okay." He walks closer to me. "Come on Miss." I just hide my face.

"What's wrong Autumn?" Richard asks. "Autumn?" The boy asks.

My eyes practically turn red and I face Richard. "Richard you stupid ass!" I yell. "You blew it!" The first Boy Wonder backs up a bit with wide eyes. "HOW STUPID COULD YOU BE? UGHHHH! YOU'RE SO ANNOYING! YOU JUST RUINED IT!" I yell at him, feeling my face turn red.

"Calm down Autumn. Sheesh!" He says, raising his hands as he backs away.

"SHEESH! YOU SHEESH YOURSELF!"

"Sheesh…" He mumbles "Calm down."

"I'm perfectly calm!"

"What's up with you?" He asks and from behind me, I hear the boy 'Noah' laughing. I cross my arms over my chest and grumble a few things in Filipino. Richard walks up to me and turns me around by my shoulders to face the boy and the horse.

"You're going to get on the horse. Whether you like it or not." He pushes me towards the boy with red highlights that stinks like horse manure.

"Yeah Autumn." The boy smirks. Richard looks at both of us. "Wait. You two know each other?" He asks.

"NO." I deny completely. "None of your business!"

"Okay! Okay!" He says, moving back again. "Wouldn't want another scene." He mumbles. "I heard that!" I tell him.

"Just ride the horse. But don't think I'm going to let this slide." I groan.

The owner moves away along with Richard, just leaving me and 'Noah.' I glare at him and he chuckles, looking to the left and placing his hands on his waist, then looking back at me. "Looks like we've learned each others little secrets ey, A?" He says, raising a hand for me to hold while getting on the high horse.

I glare at him and grumble. I slap his hand away and climb on the horse myself. "Here we go again." He says, smirking, "I'm trying to offer you help and you're being too stubborn to take it."

"Yeah." I say as I hold onto the horse. He walks to the horse's face and takes the leash. "We're going around the smaller field."

"I know, R. I'm not stupid." I grumble.

He chuckles. "You know what, I was right. You are such a clutz. You can't skateboard properly without running into someone, and you can't ride a horse either!" He laughs. "Why don't you take your ass out of your mouth." I bite back. He hums, taking the insult as a complement.

I cross my arms and glare at the poop on the floor. "What are you doing here, anyways?"

"I could ask you the same question." R turns his head and smiles at me. "What are you doing here with the Waynes?" He asks, catching me in a tight spot.

My eyes dart to the left as I scratch my hair. "Errr...nothing. I've got connections."

"Hmph. Right." He obviously doesn't believe me.

"What do you mean 'right'? Are you proposing that I'm lying?!" I yell at him.

"I don't know. I mean, you're eyes did look to the left…" He says in an obnoxious tone. The cold wind blows at my hair as I can feel my lie slipping away. "Fine. Okay. You got me!" The horse stops to take a piss. I shudder and he laughs, then he turns to look at me in the eyes.

"What have you been lying about? That-"

"Let me explain." I raise my hand and shake my head. "You listen and I talk. Then you can react so that there's no misunderstanding and sudden burst of anger." He nods seriously this time, crossing his arms over his chest and looking at me.

Okay, excuses generator, help me out here. "I was adopted by the Waynes, but long before, I was a street kid. Lost my parents, they were eaten by Gotham. In The Wayne Family...when I said they didn't treat me right...they...it's just...I don't belong with them, ya know? But they're good people...but I was adopted by them and one of Bruce Wayne's sons is my guardian, and that guardian...I'd like to call him my brother."

"Which of his sons? Richard Grayson over there?" I shrug. "Maybe…" A small smile tugs at my lips. "You see I wasn't lying-"

"It was more of a white lie."

I sigh. "Yeah...kinda…" I look down. Feeling guilty.

"None of them wants anyone to find out about me because of the media and s***, so I couldn't tell you either. I'm sorry R. I lied."

Okay so maybe I didn't 'spill some of the beans'. I twisted the truth a bit. Well, cause I can't tell him EVERYTHING. Not about the bats, the birds, and me. I'm not even sure yet if I can tell anyone about Jason yet. I mean c'mon. Jason's supposedly dead!

One at a time.

"So, who's this guardian of yours? Who's apparently Bruce Wayne's son?"

"Well, he's not legally my guardian. But I'm not sure if I can tell anyone about him either." I look into his eyes. He's really serious...I don't think I've ever seen him this serious before. "I don't like being lied to, Autumn…"

"I know. I'm sorry. But I had to follow orders." I get off the high horse and stand right in front of him, my shoes plopping on poop. I would be disgusted right now if it wasn't for this serious moment. "I want us to still be friends. But I also had to think about the Wayne family and respect what they wanted. So…"

"You lied to me." He states, his voice louder. I bow my head, "I'm sorry." I tell him. "I'm sorry R."

"I didn't lie to you about my story." He says.

"I didn't lie either... I just…"

"Twisted the truth." I stare at my shoes and play with my fingers.

"I'm sorry…" I wince.

He sighs. "Is there anything else you lied about?" He asks and I look up at him.

"Yeah." I place my hands on my hips. "I'm the famous Batgirl." I chuckle.

He laughs. "Ha ha. Very funny Autumn. It would take more than a millennia for me to believe that you can do what she can. You're too clumsy and you're like a stick!" He shakes his head.

"Me? A stick? No way!"

"Get back on the horse. Your stinking up the place." I climb back on. "What?! I'm stinking this place up?!" He nods and laughs. "Yeah. With your clumsiness and annoyance!" I roll my eyes. "It's not me! It's these horses!" I say.

"Pfft. These horses smell good. I'm the one who gave them a bath." I laugh as he makes the horse walk again. "You're the one who gave them a bath, huh?" I raise an eyebrow. "I think you're the one who's stinking the place."

"You can think whatever you want A. But these horses are fresh."

"Unlike you! Right, Sparky?" I pat the horse and it makes a horse sound. I grin at him. "Ha! See?" He turns around and leads the horse and waves his hand back and forth, waving the comment away. "Meh."

"So...Noah. What are you doing here? Is this what you do to help your family out?"

"Don't call me Noah. Only my real friends and family call me that." I make a fake pained expression. "Ow, now that hurt."

He chuckles. "And yeah, I'm a part timer here." I nod. "Cool...cool...maybe I should ask for a job here, too." I joke.

He turns his head. "No! You'll just stink up the horses right after we wash them!"

"You're just jealous cause you know I'll do a better job than you!"

"Pfft. Over my dead body!"

"Yeah. What makes you so confident."

"Wait...hold up. We're fighting about who's the best at washing horses?"

"Yeah, why not?" He shrugs. "It's kinda weird."

I shrug this time. "Eh. Life is weird."

"True." A short pause and all we hear is the soft clicking of the horse's shoes and the wind blowing. "Yesterday in the skate park, what was it that you were gonna ask me? You wanted to ask me something but Gabe got injured."

I nod. "Yeah…"

"What was it?"

I take a deep breath and hold it in my mouth, then I let it out. "Wanna go to the winter ball dance in the Wayne manor? Mister Wayne said I could invite anyone, just not too many. I asked him yesterday if you could come." Well, more like texted, but he did say okay. "It's semi-formal. You can come if you want."

A long silence. "I'll think about it…"

"Well, you better think about it sooner, cause it's tomorrow."

"I know. It's all over the papers."

Dick's POV

"How is he?" I ask Artemis over the phone.

"He's okay...asleep, as usual…" A large pause on the other side of the line. "Dick...I'm starting to get worried. What if Wally never wakes up...what if he-"

"Stay strong Artemis. He'll wake up. Maybe not today, but someday…I'll come visit later tonight, okay?"

"Okay...oh Dick, how's everyone in your family doing?" She asks. "...okay...Jason's been acting weird lately. But it's okay other than that." I tell her.

"What about the thing with Autumn Cross?" She asks. "Oh um...fine actually...but the thing is...Jason has been avoiding Autumn more than he's been avoiding any of us. It's weird."

"Hm...I'm sure it'll pass sooner or later. Probably just one of those brother sister kinda fights."

"But that's the thing. They haven't been fighting. They haven't been talking to each other either."

"Maybe...they're growing a part?" Well, considering the huge age gap, it's possible...maybe. Or...it's something else.

"I dunno Arty. I'll ask him."

"That's good. I have to go. Uncle Barry is here."

I nod. "Bye." I end the call.

I continue to watch Autumn and that kid. For some reason, the kid has gotten on the horse with her, and now she sits behind him. They run down the track so fast it would make Bart jealous. I can see Tim and Damian watching the two kids. Tim just staring blankly, Damian glaring, and Chris smiling.

****Break****

Bruce's POV

I walk out of my room, dressed in a grey, pinstriped collared shirt. I'm wearing my business pants and a pair of black, shiny loafers. I combed my hair back but didn't use any gel, so there are some straggling strands of hair.

I head downstairs and into the ballroom, where I first spot Alfred placing a plate of strawberries onto the food counter. "Hello Master Bruce. What do you think? Your children helped out." Alfred says as he walks up to me.

Around me, the walls are decorated with blue and yellow Christmas lights, all arranged in a pretty, continuous pattern. There are some small tables for relaxing covered in dark blue table cloths with small snowflakes on them. The table centerpieces are intricate candle holders that have light coatings of silver glitter on them. Around the room are lights that will decorate the ceiling during the event. I look up at the chandelier in the center of the ceiling. Dangling from it are shiny, silver stars hanging from fishing line. Scattered around the ceiling are white balloons that are holding up stars by fishing line, each star having its own balloon. The circular staircase in the corner of the room that leads to our large balcony is covered in shiny, silver strings and decorated with tiny snowflakes.

"It looks...amazing." I stare in awe at everything around me. "You'd better go over the guest list. Guests will be arriving in an hour." Alfred reminds me.

"Okay, Alfred. Keep doing your job."

"Certainly, sir." Right when I walk out of the door, I nearly bump into Autumn, who is holding a plate of star-shaped cookies that are dipped in white chocolate.

I grab her shoulders to steady her. I feel her tense under my touch. "Sorry sir." She mumbles, avoiding eye contact.

"No, I'm sorry. Should've seen where I was going." I say, trying to sound sympathetic.

She walks past me and enters the ballroom.

On my way up the staircase, I see Chris come out of the hallway in her black and cream lace dress. Her hair looks the same, except obviously combed and brushed, and she's wearing her diamond earrings and a necklace with a tiny, silver heart at the end of it. Her feet are barefoot, though. "Have you seen Autumn?" She asks me.

I frown. "She's in the ballroom helping Alfred. Why?"

She sighs. "She still has to get ready..." Then she runs past me. I stand on the step for a bit, pondering what just happened. Chris and Autumn are friends now? It's still hard to believe.

I reach the top of the staircase and face the hallway. "Boys! Hurry up and get ready!"

"I'm ready!" Dick is the first to answer.

"Leave me to decide what articles of clothing I must wear for the next three hours!" Damian yells. "I'm almost done." Tim's muffled voice says.

Nothing from Jason.

"Jason?" I yell as I make for his door. Before I reach it, he yells, "Yeah yeah I'm getting ready."

I turn around and head back down to my study to go over the guest list.

****Break****

Tim's POV

Guests are piling in. I've greeted every single one of them and directed them to get a mask, since I have to stand by the doors of the ballroom next to The Demon. We aren't allowed to get masks until everyone arrives.

After I greet our most recent guest, Ms. Crawford, Damian feels the need to speak over the loud music. "Did I mention you look ridiculous, Drake?" He yells.

"Yeah. For the 6th time." I yell back. I'm wearing a plain, red collared shirt, black business pants, and black loafers. My hair grew a little longer, so I had to put some more gel to keep it back. "It's better than what you're wearing. You look goth."

He's wearing a black collared shirt with black business pants and black loafers. "I look presentable. And if the need arises, I can easily slip away. You, however, would be easily spotted by widowed Mrs. Rancher over there who has been crying her eyes out for the longest amount of time. I'm certain she's in the process of scratching her pupils and ruining her eyesight."

I grunt and frown at him, but a voice causes me to change my facial expression and look up. "Hi Tim." April's smiling face looks at me.

"Hi April. You look great." I say, complimenting her dark blue high-low dress and white heels. She curled her hair, too. "Thanks." She says, tucking her hair behind her left ear. "This looks extraordinary." She complements as she looks around the large room.

"Thanks. We all helped out. So what would you like to do? Eat, chat at one of the tables, dance-"

"Actually, I want to go to the dance floor."

Shoot. I can't dance. At all.

"Okay..."

"Do you not want to? Because we don't if you don't want to. I'm sorry I suggested it. If you'd prefer, we can just sit and chat." She says quickly, avoiding my gaze.

She's embarrassed, a sign that she likes me. 1 point for that. "No no it's fine, really. Let's dance." I grab her hand, and it feels hot to the touch. I see her tense and do a silent gasp.

"O-Okay." Stuttering and tensing. 2 that she likes me.

But behind me, Damian says something that makes me wish I had gone to the dance floor right when she suggested it.

"Welcome, Sandsmark."

I turn around and see Cassandra Sandsmark glaring down at Damian as he smiles a devilish grin up at her. He shifts his gaze to me, keeping that devilish grin on that smug face of his.

I hate Damian. "Tim! I'm so happy you invited me! Where's your sister? I have a story to tell her. Unless you wanna hang out-" She looks at April. "Who's she?"

"A friend." I say.

"Hi. I'm April." She introduces, and I see a frown forming at both of their lips.

S***!

Dick's POV

I walk away from the dance floor as I watch Chris run and greet her two friends by the tables. I was making her dance since she she doesn't like dancing, but then her friends arrived, so I left and let them have their fun doing...whatever they do at social events (since apparently they don't dance).

I approach Damian by the doors. He's watching Tim talk to two blonde girls and smirking. "What's going on over there, Little D?"

He glares at me. I just smile back. He returns his gaze back to Tim and the girls.

"Nothing that concerns you, Grayson."

"Did you mess with Timmy again?" I ask, putting a hint of seriousness in my voice.

"No. It is at his own fault that he is in the situation he's in now."

"I don't believe you." I ruffle his spiky hair, and he just swats my hand away. "Then don't. But you've got bigger things to worry about than me ruining Drake's life."

"Oh yeah? What's that?" He looks up at me and smirks. "Your love life."

"What?" He walks away, laughing, and I go to follow him when I spot someone in the corner of my eye with really tan skin and long, wavy red hair that looks almost like it's on fire.

I swiftly turn around and come face to face with an old flame (literally).

"Hey...Kori..." I say as I scratch the back of my neck.

Oh crap. Crap. Crap. Crap. DAMIAN!

"Hello Richard." She smiles at me.

That smug, stubborn brat.

Bruce's POV

Everywhere I go, people are always complimenting the decorations and congratulating on such a successful-looking fundraiser (Alfred's collecting the money at the door of the mansion) and asking me questions, which sometimes I have a hard time hearing.

I make my way through the crowd to the table filled with an array of food. I grab one of the cookies I saw Autumn bringing in earlier and walk over to a table. I take a seat. Everyone should be here by now. But Selina still isn't here. Where is she? Maybe she's running late, or just decided not to come anymore.

Alfred's voice suddenly fills my ear. "Miss Kyle is here." Speak of the devil. I decided to keep my communicator just in case something happens in Gotham that I need to be aware of. Alfred will be working in the cave on monitor duty while occasionally being called up to take care of certain things while I keep my face shown for as long as I can.

I look through the crowd and at the doors on the other side. Through the moving silhouettes I see a slender figure enter through the doors. Damian has disappeared from his post by the door, probably to hang out with his friends.

A group of people dancing shift, blocking my view of the door. When they move again, Selina is no longer in sight.

Chris' POV

I look past my two friends and into the crowd behind them. By the mask table, I see Dick talking to some chick, a worried look on his face and his movements frantic. He shoves the girl a purple mask that matches her purple dress. When the girl turns around, realization hits me.

Kori. There's no way Dick invited her. I came around after they had already broken up, so I've only heard stories about them being together and occasionally seen Kori because of missions, but never just the two of them together.

I scan the crowd and notice Barbara on the other side of the crowd looking around, searching for her boyfriend. I look back and find that Dick has spotted Barbara. He runs over to the furthest edge of the crowd, Kori following after him. The crowd pulls him out of sight.

That's disaster.

I focus back on my friends, even though I didn't hear a word they were saying. This would be so much more fun if my guy friends were here...

"Hey guys I'm gonna get a cookie." I stand up and walk over to the food table. I adjust my black mask as I quickly walk. I stop when I see at a nearby table Tim talking to two girls: one I recognize as Cassie, the other is that girl Dick and I caught Tim eating food with in the dining room...April, I think. Why the hell does he have two girls? Why is Kori here? By instinct, I scan the crowd until I find the brat's spiky hair sitting at a table with a friend.

Damian...we pull pranks together, but I only occasionally like these kinds of pranks where we meddle with people's love lives. But not tonight.

I walk over there, but before I can reach the table, a force pushes me off course. Before I stumble too much in these damn heels, someone grabs my shoulders.

"Oh hey sorry." A male voice says.

"Oh no it's fine." I look up at the man...no, boy...holding me by my shoulders. He has black hair, a white collared shirt, a tie, black business pants, and sneakers. He's a few inches taller than me. The black mask blocks my view of his face.

"No seriously. You alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine. Thanks." I smile at him. It's nice that a stranger cares. Suddenly, I feel weird. Like an odd tingly feeling.

I don't know him, and yet, I feel like I do. I don't know why, but...I do...

Damian's POV

The plan was simple. Mess with their love lives. Heh. "So your elaborate plan worked." Daly says as I watch the commotion. "It was easy." I grin. Although, I cannot find Todd. But I know not much about his love life. Only about a woman named Isabel. But that information is useless if I cannot find him.

My mask is placed on the table.

I watch as people dance, talk, socialize. It's sickening, and boring. "Hey." I turn to see Autumn, and for the first time in my entire life, I have seen her in a dress.

She is wearing a simple round-necked light blue dress, a pair of comfortable laced, fingerless black gloves, and black shiny flats with a slight heel at the sole of the shoe. She's wearing murky black small pearls on her ears and a silver necklace with a silver circle in the center of the necklace. She's wearing a black mask designed with windy lines as design. Unlike our usual masks, these masks don't have white lenses, so I can clearly see her teal green eyes.

Her hair is down, wavy as usual. Although it is neatly combed this time and her hair is simply placed on her shoulder.

She sits next to me, in between my friend and myself. She scans me from head to toe, "You're so weird." She smiles at me. "All black doesn't look good on you." She shakes her head. "Yeah well…" I scan her again. "You look...horrible in your outfit as well. Cross."

Her smile becomes smaller, but it doesn't fade. "I know. But I can't exactly show up in a t-shirt and jeans tonight." My eyes drift to her neck where the nice necklace is placed in the center of her two shoulder blades , emphasizing the insolence of her neck. I take a look at the necklace.

"Where did you get this?" I carefully hold it up for me to see.

She smiles warmly at me. "It's from my mom." She says. "Well, not from my biological one, but from my surrogate mom." I look up at her. "You really haven't noticed it until now?" She smirks. "I wear it all the time." She smiles.

"Do you never take it off?" I ask and she shakes her head. "Nope. Never. I'll wear it until the day I die." I gently let go of the necklace and it sets on her skin. "You'll have to bury me along with this necklace." She looks into my eyes.

"Ahem." Daly coughs. We both look at him. "Damian. Wanna introduce me to your friend?" Autumn smirks. "Daly it's me."

"Who are you and how do you know my name?" Daly leans forward and widens his eyes. "Autumn?" She rolls her eyes at his stupidity. Daly sinks back in his chair. "Oh. I didn't recognize you."

"Me neither. I never thought she was capable of wearing a dress." Autumn chuckles. "You know, I've had enough of insults today. I got enough of it from the kid yesterday."

I narrow my eyes at her and lean forward. "Speaking of which. I never got a chance to ask you. Who is he?" She smiles and looks away. "Nobody." She says simply.

"You two seemed awfully close for him to be nobody."

"Um...I'm at a loss here. Can somebody tell me what happened yesterday exactly?" We both ignore Daly as if he just disappeared.

She smirks at me. "Why do you care?" She asks devilishly. She then turns her head to look at what I was looking at awhile ago.

I follow her gaze. "April vs Cassie for Tim, huh?" She chuckles. "Hah! Kori vs Barbara for Richard!" She facepalms. "Hilarious! Damn Damian." She looks at me. I look at her innocently. "What...me?" She cocks her head and gives me a toothless smile.

"Good work Dami." She laughs. And at the compliment, I smirk. "Easy as pie. They have brought this on themselves."

"Hey Autumn!" We both look up to see two young girls dressed in semi formal dresses standing next to each other. Autumn stands up. "Tsina! Suki!"

"Dami. You remember these two right?" I stand up and shake both their hands. "Yes." I look at the girl named 'Suki'. "But I haven't quite met her yet."

She smiles at me. "I'm Suki Kai. Tsina's sister."

I nod. "Oh I see. Nice to meet you." Autumn turns to me and places her hand on my forehead. "You're being polite." She looks at the two young girls. "He's not usually like this."

"Hey, it's us again." Daly stands up. "Me, Damian, Autumn, Tsina, instead of Luke is Suki, and then we're only waiting for Jake next." Autumn glares at my friend. "How do you know he's coming." Daly pulls out his phone, "he just texted me. Said he's on his way."

Bruce's POV

I continue to look through the crowds, looking for Selina, greeting anyone and making small talk to carry on the mantle of a billionaire. Even if I don't want to.

Finally I find Selina, leaning on the wall, looking at me with an eager spark in her eyes.

She's wearing a tight black sleeveless dress, black high heels, a black mask. Her red lips becoming more radiant with the colors clashing together. She smirks at me. "Took you long enough to come and find me. I can't wait forever you know." I come closer to her. examining the curves on her body.

She pulls me closer by my collar and we stand close enough that our lips are nearly brushing. She points her index finger up, and my eyes follow what she's pointing at. I see a mistletoe right above us. Who put that there?

I look back at her, and she pulls me into a aggravated kiss. I place my thumb on her cheek and brush at her soft skin. My wide eyes soften and I close them as I hold her tighter with my free arm.

I quickly pull away and stare into her eyes under the black mask. She has that flirtatious spark in her eyes again. I smirk as we stand close to each other. She's about to jump back in and pull me into another kiss but I swiftly grab the pearl necklace placed on her neck. I smile at her. "This belongs to my mother." She makes a pouting face.

Jason's POV

I'm more of a one girl kind of man. Unlike Bruce, Dick, and even the Replacement. (Hopefully The Demon won't turn out like any of them).

I don't have another girl while I'm in a relationship, and I've never had an ex, since I've never really had time for relationships before. Besides, if I did have an ex, she'd be dead. Which is what I fear for Isabel, but I'll protect her. No matter what.

I picked her up from her house awhile ago. We're on our way back to the manor. She's just sitting in the front seat beside me, smiling silently at the road. She didn't do much with her curly short blonde hair. I like it the way it is. Her lips are slightly redder now, and so are her cheeks. Her shiny blue eyes are fixed on the road. She's wearing a dark blue dress and black high heels, along with a nice silver necklace with a sapphire in the center. Her earrings are also sapphire studs. Her delicate hands are placed on her smooth, naked lap, and her nails are shiny with white tips.

God, she's beautiful.

"You're dressed." I tell her.

She looks up at me and smiles. "And so are you." I'm wearing a dark blue and black pollo inside a warm blackish-blue jacket and business pants, and nice shiny shoes. I place my finger on my collar to loosen it up a bit. "Yeah, well, it's itchy."

She laughs, covering her mouth. "Thanks."

"For what?"

"Inviting me." Her warm voice is soothing when she talks. "Yeah." I nod, kinda awkwardly, not knowing how to react to that. "Who else did you invite?" She asks. "Just you and a friend." I smirk. I have a good reason for why I invited him.

We arrive at the place and walk in the crowded ballroom. I hold her close to me. "Want some punch?"

She nods. "Sure." I smirk. "Which bowl?" I ask her, knowing that one punch bowl has liquor and another is just juice.

She smiles. "The one without liquor please." She smirks, outsmarting me.

I groan. "Fine." I maneuver over to the punch bowl to fetch her a drink, and when I turn around I see two small separate commotions. Dick, Kori, Barbara. Well that's no good. Tim, some girl, and Cassandra Sandsmark. I scoff.

At a table I see the little brat, Autumn, two girls, and one awkward looking boy. "Dude. Sweet girl you got there." I groan and turn to my left to come face to face with Roy Harper. No, not the clone, the original.

I point over to Kori. "You told me you like the chick. Go get her."

"What! No way! She's with Dick!"

"No. You see, I knew the little brat would pull a stunt like this and invite her, so I invited you. Not to help Dick out but to help you out mi compadre." I pat his back with one hand. I glare at the little brat who didn't notice me. That's check.

I'm not helping Dick. I'm destroying the little demon's fun. "Now go on and get her." I push Roy towards his crush. He stumbles towards her.

I chuckle. At first, he was really annoying, especially since he's moved into my college, but it's cool now.

I look back at the table where Damian is supposed to be sitting. The demon's just glaring at Roy Harper. Autumn then spots me and smiles. My eyes widen. She waves and I quickly walk away from the punch table and towards Isabel. I place my hand on Isabel's back and quickly kiss her on the lips as I hand her the glass of punch. I take her hand. "Why don't we go and get a table?"

Isabel laughs. "Okay." I glance back at Autumn, who has a face with a mixture of slight disappointment and sheer disgust.

Autumn's POV

I shuddered slightly when I saw them kiss. Yuck.

But I'm kinda disappointed cause I wanted to talk to Jason. But when he was at the punch table, he seemed like he didn't want to talk to me. Like he'd rather spend time with his girlfriend rather than with his little sister.

I let out a small sigh. Maybe he's just ignoring me.

Great.

I turn around to see Damian and Daly talking to the two girls now. They seem to be enjoying. Good for them. I walk through the crowd, and I see Bruce and Selina Kyle. Aww, that's disgusting...mostly cause I like Talia and Bruce to be together more but ew…

I suppress a little shudder. I stand by a wall and lean on it, my mask still covering my face. A small frown litters my face. I'm alone. And bored.

I look at April, Cassie, and Tim. Man, he's obviously having a hard time. Well, that's his fault. I laugh. He's such a loser. He should have invited one of his guy friends to keep April busy in case something like this happens.

I wish R was here. I hope he's coming.

"Autumn." I look to the right to see a boy wearing a neat blue shirt and a gray jacket and professional pants and shiny shoes, a black mask over his eyes. He looks at me with his icy blue eyes. "Jake?"

He smiles with his icy smile. "Yeah." He scans me. "You look...wow…" I smile. "Same for you."

"I don't think I've ever seen you in a dress before."

"That's cause you haven't, you loser." I smile. He chuckles. I shake my head. "Why is it that everytime I insult someone they usually just laugh?"

"Cause it's cute!"

"Gross. I'm not cute!"

He laughs again as I pout. "Yeah you are. Your insults are so stupid!"

"Yeah, well...so are yours!" This day is just packed with insults.

Dick's POV

"Listen, uh Kori…" She sighs, then glances at Barbara. "I thought you invited me." Kori says.

"It's fine Dick." Barbara pats my shoulder with a slight hurt look on her face. She starts to walk away but I pull at her hand. "No wait Babs-"

"Hey um...Kori." We all turn to see who's behind Kori when I hear a familiar voice. Roy, the original Roy Harper. Kori looks at Roy with a questioned face. "Yes. What is it?" Kori says. "Erm...who are you?" She asks him as Roy scratches the back of his head.

I stop myself from chuckling. Tamaraneans have a horrible memory when it comes to Earth cultures. And Kori is the princess of Tamaraneans. "I'm Roy. Roy Harper. We've met before. You probably just don't remember."

Kori places her hand on her chin as she examines the other ginger. "Well, you do seem familiar." I step closer to Kori. "Hey uh, Kori. I might be boring you right now. Why don't you hang out with Roy here?" I say.

Kori looks at me, then back at Roy. "Alright, maybe you can suppress my boredom." She glares at me and then takes Roy's hand. She drags Roy away. "And the two gingers lived happily ever after. The end." Barbara says when I turn around. I give her a tired smile when I see her smirking with her arms crossed over her chest.

She's wearing a navy blue dress that has some sparkle to it. Her hair is the same as always, and yet it looks perfect. She's wearing black heels, silver dangle earrings, and a simple silver necklace with a heart at the end. Just like Chris'. Heh. Those two are practically sisters.

I move closer to her. "I'm so sorry about that Barbara. Super sorry." I glare at the little brat who's still at his table talking to his friends. Wait, aren't they Autumn's friends? Since when was Damian a bit more social?

Barbara smirks at me. "It's okay, Dick." She smiles understandingly.

"Really?" My face brightens. She laughs. "Yeah, really." She slides her arms on my shoulders as she comes closer to me. "I have faith in you Dick." She smiles with her red, soft lips. "You're too much of a goody too shoes."

I place my hands on her waist. "Really? You're not mad?"

She looks into my eyes. "Of course not. You've gotta have some faith in me, too." She whispers as she comes closer.

I spot Autumn walking away from her friend and walking up to Chris who's talking to some boy (HEY WAIT WHAT!). They start talking and Chris' face brightens. Chris nods at Autumn and they both run to the sound system in their dresses. I glare in their direction. "What are those two up to?" They tamper with the sound system and a song starts to play.

Barbara makes me face her and sets my hands tighter on her waist. "I like this song." She whispers. I smile at her.

I wish you could see your face right now

Cause you're grinning like a fool.

I close my eyes as we sway together, dancing, not caring about anything else but the pressure of our hands on each other.

And we're sitting on your kitchen floor.

"I remember...when..." Barbara whispers, "you and I danced on that rooftop together." I chuckle.

On a Tuesday afternoon

It doesn't matter when we get back.

"Neither of us knew how to dance." I continue. "So, we just put on our earphones and danced randomly."

To doing what we do

Cause right now could last forever

"We danced and danced..." She says. Then, I feel soft lips pressed on mine. Once she pulls away, I open my eyes.

Just as long as I'm with you...

"I didn't have a crush on you before." She grins. "That came much later."

I chuckle.

"Grayson..." She says, looking into my eyes. "I never want to stop dancing with you." She whispers and buries her head in my shoulder.

"...neither do I."

Chris' POV

"Where'd you go?" My new friend asks when I come back from putting on one of my favorite songs. "Oh sorry my friend wanted me to put on this song."

He chuckles. "No need to be sorry. My friend likes this song." I raise an eyebrow. "Is that friend a boy or a girl?" I'm not sure if a boy would "like" this song, but who knows maybe they would.

"Girl."

My heart sinks a little, and I don't really know why. There is no way I'm falling for a stranger. Crazy things can happen when that occurs.

You're just a daydream away

He frowns at me. "Why do you look disappointed?"

"What? I'm not disappointed!" I lie. I'm about to cross my arms when he gently grabs them. "C'mon." He drags me to the center of the dance floor where we are surrounded by silhouettes. "Wait, what are we doing?" I ask, a bit of fear in my voice.

"Dancing. Duh."

I wouldn't know what to say if I had you

And I'll keep you a daydream away

He puts my arms on his shoulders and places his on mine. My mouth gapes as we sway back and forth. I want to say something, but the words are jammed in my throat and don't want to come out. "You trying to eat a fly?" He chuckles. I quickly close my mouth and chuckle with him.

"Hey what's your-"

Suddenly, he leans in and his lips land on mine, shutting me up. My eyes widen as they frantically scan the room. I don't see anyone I recognize, my father, or my brothers. I relax, and my eyes slowly begin to close.

Just watch from a safe place

So I never have to lose

He slowly pulls away, but not all the way back up to his full height. As we sway, he keeps his forehead on mine. Then he whispers something between us. "Chris."

My eyes widen slightly. Then I smile. "I never told you my name."

He just smirks.

Bruce's POV

She took the necklace from my hand and started running. So now I'm running through the crowds chasing after her. She's fast, but I'm faster. My eyes are set on her back as she gracefully moves through the crowd.

We would go out on the weekend

To escape our busy lives.

We've run around the dance floor already, but she wouldn't stop running and I wouldn't stop chasing.

And we'd laugh at the douche-bag guys

Chasing down their desperate wives

The song plays as I get closer to her.

Finally, I catch her and take her by the arms. I hold her close, staring her down. "You sure can run for a billionaire." She says, chuckling. She places the necklace in my pocket, but I don't let go of her hands.

I hold her closer.

I would drink a little too much

You'd offer me a ride.

And I would offer you a t-shirt.

And you would stay another night.

And we dance.

Tim's POV

I take a seat on a table and watch as April and Cassie walk out of the ballroom together, laughing.

You're just a daydream away.

Let this be a lesson. Never play with a girl's emotions. Cause you will end up completely alone. "Tim?" I look up to see Chris frowning at me. "What happened to April and Cassie?" I cross my arms. "They left." She chuckles. "Well that's what you get."

"For what?"

"For falling for too many girls." She takes a seat next to me. "Then I'm sorry."

"Sorry for falling for too many girls? Okay...but I don't know what you could really do to stop it." I look at her in disbelief. "Really? You have no ideas on how to help me?"

She looks at me as she thinks. "Well, you could just stick with one girl. Like one girl, forget the others, and focus on her. That's really all I've got. Liking more than one girl leads to problems, as we have just witnessed."

I don't bother denying that I like April (she likes me, not the other way around, unless she no longer does after tonight). She's nice and all, but not really my type.

Then what is my type? "Hey Chris. What type of girls do you think I like?"

She facepalms. "How the hell would I know? It's your brain, not mine!" She pauses. "But if you seriously want an answer...someone smart, kind, understanding, and who can deal with you every day."

I chuckle.

"Hey Chris." We both look up to see the boy she was with earlier standing by her. "Come on!" He takes her by the arm and drags her away. "Bye Tim!" She waves and I sigh. Too lazy to try and keep her away from boys. Besides, it's fully her decision to do whatever she wants in the end. I look to the left to see The Demon Spawn just staring at the dance floor, looking bored. I glare at him. "This is your fault. Now we're both bored."

Jason's POV

I hold her close to me as we dance through the night on the dim dance floor.

I wouldn't know what to say if I had you

And I'll keep you a daydream away

Just watch from a safe place

So I never have to lose.

She stares into my eyes, her bright blues sparkling. She holds on tighter to me. "I'm glad I walked in that day." She says. "I just wanted to have fun. But what I got was you." She whispers.

I look down. "Isabel...I..." I'm dragging her into my life...

"What is it?" She asks sweetly. I shake my head and smile. "Nothing. Let's just dance."

"I thought you didn't know how to dance." She smirks. "Yeah well I learned." I smile.

"Really? That's cute. I should've gotten to watch you learn dancing." I chuckle. "No way."

At the corner of my eye I see the two gingers I set up earlier, dancing and talking as well.

We never stood a chance out there

Shooting love in real time

So we'll take it over the ice tonight

With a little salt

And a little lime

She smiles, and I smile back genuinely.

Autumn's POV

He pulls me towards the dance floor. "Come on!" He says, still forcing me. "No! It's embarrassing!"

"No it's not."

"It is when you don't know how!"

"Well too late! You're already on the dance floor." I give up and just stand awkwardly on the floor. He steps closer to me and he places his hands on my shoulders and I place mine on his. I feel so awkward. I can feel all my hair standing up.

You're just a daydream away.

I clench my teeth as we sway.

I wouldn't know what to say if I had you.

"Jake." I whisper. "Yeah?"

"You're parents are here, right?"

"Yeah but they won't recognize you."

"Cool." But I don't let any of the tension in my shoulders go. "Autumn." He says uneasily. I look up at him with glinting eyes under the mask. "Yeah?" I whisper.

He looks down at me. "You're..." He starts, and my eyes brighten. "You're stepping on my foot."

My eyes suddenly widen and I look down in embarrassment and release his foot from my foot. "Whoops..." I wince. "I told you I didn't know how." I silently growl and he chuckles. "It's okay." He looks down and leads as we sway. "This isn't really dancing." I point out, "yeah I know." We're literally just swaying awkwardly.

We continue to sway. "Jake..."

"Hmmm?" He hums. We listen to the song.

"I have to tell you something..."

"What's that?"

"I have a room upstairs in this mansion." I tell him. "I live here."

"Along with the Waynes?" He asks. I nod in response. "Oh...uh...okay..."

"You wanted to know who takes care of me...I have a guardian." I bend over to see Jason and his girlfriend. "The guy in the mask."

"Who's he? I thought Bruce Wayne would be your guardian."

"No." I shake my head. "I don't know if I'm allowed to tell you who he is...it's complicated..." He sighs. "It's fine. Since when is family not complicated? I respect your privacy. I'll find out sooner or later anyways."

I nod. "Yeah..." I can't believe he's so calm about this. It's hardly even bothering him, maybe it was just curiosity and concern. "I'm just glad that you're safe."

"Hey." We both look to the left to see Damian standing beside the two of us. At the table, I can see Tim just staring, my two friends giggling, and Daly looking thrown back. I look at Damian who has this protective look on his face. His eyes are narrowed, and he has that angry grin on his face, as if he's half smiling and half clenching his teeth.

"Rein." He looks at Jake stiffly. We both let go of each other. "Your parents are looking for you."

"Damn." He clenches his teeth. "Gotta go Autumn. Bye!" He hurries off, but then he comes back and gives me a hug. His mouth nearly touches my ear. "Don't forget. Okay?" He whispers. I nod. He let's go and I smile. "I'll see you on Monday." He runs away to his adoptive parents. I turn to Damian. His face is still dark and some of his hair is in his face. I can pretty much see little lightning in his eyes. "Hey Dami. What's up?"

"Nothing." He says through his clenched teeth. We walk towards the table. I look at Tim "Well you look bored and sad." I point out. He just glares at me. I sit down beside him. He looks at me. "What happened to your friend?"

"Dami sent him away." I shrug. He chuckles.

And I'll keep you a daydream away.

"That sucks." He says. I shrug. "Eh."

"You like that kid?" He asks me. I shake my head. "Nah." I say simply.

"But you were really nervous." I look at him. "Because there's a lot of people. Besides, I'm waiting for my other friend." I stand up. "Where are you going?" He asks.

"I'm gonna help Alfred out."

****Break****

Bruce's POV

I grab a microphone from the front of the room and signal to the DJ to stop the music. When he does so, everyone stops dancing and turns to me.

"Hello everyone thank you for coming today." I am interrupted by loud claps and a few hollers. When they quiet down, I continue. "I hope you all had fun, and I just wanted to let you all know that this fundraiser was very successful. Thank you all for your generous donations to the WayneStar project. Please continue supporting the project. As an acquaintance of mine at STAR Labs likes to say, 'We can change the world, we just need what we need to do so.' He likes to state the obvious." I get a few laughs from that.

"All of the support and funds you are giving us is part of what we need to change the world. So please. Help us change the world. Thank you all again for coming." I smile as I go to find Selina, claps proceeding my exit. I look around the world but can't seem to find her. I nearly bump into someone walking with my head above the crowd as I scan it.

"Hey Mr. Wayne? What exactly is the WayneStar project?" A stranger asks as I pass by them, but I ignore them.

I call Alfred over the com. "Do you have a visual of Ms. Kyle?" He's stationed at the door to the ballroom. "No sir. She must've slipped out in the middle of your speech."

"It wasn't much of a speech Alfred." He doesn't comment on that. "I am sorry that your date has 'ditched' you, Master Bruce."

"It's fine. I'll help you clean up afterwards."

"It's nice that you think you had a choice." I smile as the com turns off.

****Break****

Chris' POV

My friend left without saying goodbye. He just disappeared. Not a big deal, though. It's like he's mysterious. I like that.

I regrouped with my two other friends earlier, and they were kinda mad at me for not hanging out with them for half of the dance. Then I just told them I was hanging out with someone, and they understood and shut up. Well, Laurel didn't get it at first. It was funny watching her try to figure it out as I escorted them out of the mansion.

"Did you dance?" Dick asks me as I take off my heels.

"Well you made me." I reply. We both walk over to the food table to help bring some of it to the kitchen.

"I mean after my little tutorial. Did you dance with anyone in particular?" He doesn't need to smirk for me to know he's toying with me. "I think you already know the answer to that." I say, slightly irritated, as I pick up a plate of food. Dick picks up another plate and walks alongside me. "I saw him. But don't worry. I won't tell." He bows his head and whispers as he says this. "I know you won't. Or else I would kill you." I enter the kitchen and place my plate down. Dick follows.

"I thought you'd have more of a defensive attitude towards this." I comment. "I was thinking that I would try out the 'My little sister is growing up!' attitude mixed with some deviousness." I give him a funny and worried look.

As we walk to the ballroom, Bruce walks out of it and stops us. "Alfred and I have got this covered. Go get ready for bed." We both nod. Dick immediately ascends the staircase, but I follow Bruce. "Hey Dad?" I run up beside him.

"Yes, Chris?"

"Can you name some of the families you invited? Some people greeted me and I forgot their names."

"Let's see..." He ponders for a bit, remembering the guest list. "There were the Donnellys, Porters, Weylins, Haydens..." I drown out the rest. He knew my name.

My heart thumps faster and louder in my chest. I hold my breath to prevent any other part of my body from expressing my emotions and risk Bruce seeing. "And there were also the Surleys. I hope that will help you associate names with faces." He gives me a small smile. I smile back, but I can tell it's not as genuine as it could be. "Thanks Dad."

I run for the stairs, my head jumbled with thoughts and my body jammed with emotions just waiting to come out. But all I can hear are the same three words over and over again.

He was there.

****Break*****

Autumn's POV

Alfred forced me to stop helping clean up ("I will drag you up there myself if I have to!") so I just changed out of my dress and other clothes and got into my comfy pajamas.

I take my phone and check the messages and the calls, but I don't find anything. I've been trying to text and call R, but he hasn't been replying. He hasn't called back either. I wonder what's been up with him.

A knock on the door stops me, and I put my phone down. I walk over to the door and open it to find Jason staring down at me. I'm a little startled at his visit. At first I feel like he's avoiding me and now he just comes knocking at my door. And I thought he was hanging out with his friends and his girlfriend.

"Hey Jase what's up?" I ask with concern in my voice. He doesn't look the best. He looks like something has been eating at him for a long time now.

"There's...there's something you gotta know." He says in a soft but serious voice.

I invite him in, but he stays glued to the floor in front of my door.

"Okay, what is it?" I ask carefully.

"That boy...in that picture...the one with your surrogate mother and you..." He rubs his face with his hand and takes a deep breath.

"Yeah...what about it?"

"You said he died in a crossfire...right?"

"Yeah. Between two crazy men."

My eyes drop at the memory of my little brother. The case of my little brother was shut down when the police just assumed that the Joker was the one who killed him, but commissioner Gordon said that he was caught in a crossfire between The Joker and another lunatic. But the second murderer got away leaving no trace, and all The Joker did was laugh. There was only one witness and that was Teressa Williams. But Teressa Williams couldn't testify because of some circumstances, and she stopped going to the court altogether. When she committed suicide, the case was completely shut down.

He shifts his posture. "Well...you see kid..." He continues to avoid my eyes, his brow is furrowed and a frown is evident on his mouth. "I was...the psycho who..." He pauses uneasily, "who put the bullet in your brother..."

I stare at him wide-eyed for a significant amount of time.

Processing the new information, we stand here in a murdering silence as something inside of me crumbles and another thing starts to rise up my spine. "What?!" I take a step back.

No, no, no...that's not true...I'm just living a nightmare. It's not real...my mind's just messing with me...

He doesn't look at me when I cross my arms. "You're joking." He sighs. His posture tells me that he's not joking. My eyes harden as they fill with tears. "This-this isn't funny..."

A/N: To those readers telling us to have the Bat family at least see Autumn's past, hold on. Be patient. We expected that you would start getting impatient, and we've already planned everything out. You guys gotta be patient. But we may not give you guys EXACTLY what you want. Tell us about how much it did or did not suck by reviewing. R and R!