Chapter 37: Too Bright for Our Infirm Delight

A/N: Warnings; blood and gore.

Bruce's POV

I stop the car with a loud screech after passing the entrance. I park it sidewards by the ticket booth near the exit. I jump out of the vehicle and start walking down the quiet, empty road leading to many rides and booths. I bring out my tracking device, the green dot leading me to where the distress call is coming from. I have to be careful. Whatever is going on with Autumn, I have to fix it. I don't underestimate her, but she is still just a child.

As I continue walking towards the green dot, I notice that a few rides are a wreck. The roller coaster looks like a few of the tracks have been newly burnt. There are holes crashed through a few of the game booths. I notice that the carousel has ninja stars on the plastic animals. Then there are flecks of blood splattered on tracks going inside the Tunnel of Love.

Considering the facts that there has been a fight right here, I do not stray from where the device tells me to go. As I approach the House of Mirrors, I hear a soft creaking of the rusting metal of a few of the rides beside the house and the night gets colder in the winter days. But I continue walking, noticing the familiarity of a scent, but trying to ignore it.

The dim light coming from the entrance of the House of Mirrors warns me to be extremely cautious. It could be a trap, a trap made by the enemy. But I'm not so sure who exactly is the enemy; it could be an unknown man challenging the ex-child crime boss to a battle, or it could be the ex-villain herself who could be the enemy. She's either in trouble, or she is the trouble.

Darkness begins to eat me up from head to toe, studying my every move. The only source of light is very feeble and weak. Holding up the device just below my chest and nearing the green dot, I pass by a many mirrors that surround me. In the maze of mirrors, I take notice that not all of them are in the best condition, aside from the fact that these mirrors are already old, I find that most of these were just recently broken, most likely in a fight. Some have bullets right through them, some were hit with a heavy handed punch. There are many pieces on the floor, and only a few big pieces left for the actual mirror to be whole again. But the reason why I'm not letting my guard down is the fact that there are a few flecks of stickly dry blood on the shards.

I continue to walk through the maze, and as I approach the green dot, the dim light starts to get slightly brighter.

I look back at the device, noticing the fast beeping and the rapid blinking of the green dot, indicating that I'm standing right in front of the target. All that's standing in between is a black curtain leading to another room where the dim light is coming from.

With slight hesitation, I swipe the curtains away and enter the brighter room. My eyes slightly widen at the picture in front of me.

It's hard to tell, but blood has an odor...not a strong one, but it's there.

I know the odor, and it is now getting stronger, and that can only mean that a great amount has been spilled.

Too much for anyone to survive.

Tim's POV

"I still believe that we should have gone with Father." We all enter the cave in our cycles, and once the roaring stops, we jump out and Chris walks towards us.

"I don't know Little D. Batman sounded super serious, even for Batman. So I thought that maybe we should follow direct orders, just for tonight."

Damian grumbles in response.

"Where's Jason?" I ask Chris.

"He left."

"What?! But I thought you said he was asleep." Dick says.

Chris rolls her eyes. "I only said that so Dad wouldn't worry. He's actually out with his friends. He left a note. Plus I checked the tracker, he's in-"

"A club?" Damian asks.

We all stare at him, then Chris shakes her head. "Nooo. He's at a Starbucks."

"Ooooh…"

"The note said he couldn't sleep, so he was going out."

I raise an eyebrow. "He couldn't sleep so he's out to get coffee?"

Chris nods. "Yup."

"Yeah, I do that." Dick admits. "Sometimes."

"So what do you think happened to Cross?" Damian starts.

I shrug. "I don't know."

"Maybe we should head towards the carnival and find out. Dad could be in trouble." Chris suggests.

"I'm sure they'll be fine." Dick says faithfully.

We all look towards him. "You seem to trust Autumn." I say.

He shrugs. "Well, I put more of my trust in Dad to bring Autumn home. But yeah, I guess you could say that I kinda trust Autumn now. It's Phoenix I don't trust." Then he smirks. "But I'm glad she did beat up The Joker."

"What? Explain." Chris demands.

"Oh yeah, that's right. You weren't there. Cause you didn't study." Dick sticks his tongue out at his sister.

Chris crosses her arms and gives an exasperated sigh. "Just fill me in."

"Joker was beaten up by Phoenix. No biggie."

"What do you mean no biggie? It's a huge biggie idiot!"

"She didn't kill him though."

I take a step back. "Why?"

Everyone else shrugs. I sigh. "Once again. Here we all are, trying to figure out what Phoenix's plan is."

Then we hear a buzzing coming from Dick. He takes out his phone. "You keep your phone in your Nightwing suit?"

He answers the call and presses his phone to his ear. "Hey Uncle Barry!"

****Break****

Dick's POV

My cycle speeds through the inches of snow as it slows down and stops in front of the hospital here in Metropolis. I pull off my helmet and jump off my motorcycle. I throw the helmet behind me, hoping that it lands somewhere on my cycle, and run into the building.

I run up to the front desk and ask the lady behind it, "Where's Wally West's room?"

"Third floor. Room 306. A couple came just before you asking for Mr. West as well." Probably Barry and Iris.

"Thank you." I give her a nice smile and run to the elevator. I wait for it to come, and when it does, I step inside and watch the doors close.

Why Wally is in Metropolis and not Keystone, Central, or Palo Alto - where he lived with Artemis - I really don't know. It might be because of distance. It would be tough to go all the way to California just to visit Wally.

Ping. The elevator doors open, and I make my way to Wally's room. I stop in front of the door that has the numbers "306" on it. I take in a deep breath and slowly turn the knob of the door. I enter the room to find Iris and Barry standing over Wally's bed. Uncle Barry's arm is around Aunt Iris and both of them are smiling. The two of them look up at me, and not-so-amazing looking Wally turns his head toward me. He's been propped up against the wall instead of lying flat on his back.

I sigh in relief. "Wally."

"Hey Dick. Welcome to my 'Good Mornin' party!" Wally, enthusiastic as always.

"How you feeling?" I ask as I approach his bed.

"Pretty good, actually. How's Artemis? Have you been taking care of her?" And still as caring as ever.

"Artemis is doing well." I look up at Uncle Barry. "I assume you called her, too."

"I called her before I called you." He smiles. "I'll let you two catch up. Iris and I have had our time with him." He ruffles Wally's hair. "Welcome back kiddo."

Wally smiles up at him, and Iris bends down and hugs him. The two of them exit the room.

"So dude. How's the past year been? Anything I gotta know about?"

"I have a new sister."

He frowns at me. "Oh don't tell me you have another biological sister you didn't know about. Is this one older than you?"

I chuckle. "No. Actually, this one's Jason's."

His eyes widen and he leans back a bit in surprise. "Jason has a sister?"

"Half sister. Same mom, different dads; same thing. She used to be a villain, but then she became good. Now she's living with us, but at the moment she's...MIA."

He takes in the information while nodding his head back and forth. "First she's bad, then she's good, and since she's MIA there's a chance she's gone bad again...sound familiar? Like a certain feline you know?"

I put my hands up. "Hey, she's not my Catwoman. She's either Tim's or Damian's."

We both laugh. Wally looks pretty good, considering he's been running nonstop for a year and he's been in a coma for the past few months. He's still his old self.

"Anything else? I'm dying to hear a story."

"Well excluding all the details...Damian had a clone, but Jason's sis killed him. We had a Winter Ball which Damian decided to attempt to ruin by inviting Kori and Cassandra Sandsmark to mess with Tim and me. There's been some mishaps and falling outs in the family this year. Near death experiences, as always. Damian's still a loner. Chris is slowly getting darker, but she's still the Chris you knew." Wally smiles at that.

Wally likes to treat Chris as his little sister, too. We are best friends. He was the first one to worry that our family trend of 'tragedy to internal darkness and agony' would finally get to Chris, but so far she's good. Tim, however, seems to be going there.

"Tim's still a workaholic nerd who wouldn't know if a girl liked him if she kissed him and proposed to do it with him." We both laugh. Wally also has been wanting to teach Tim some "tricks of the trade" for...well, ever since he noticed how awkward Tim is with girls, so since the beginning. Tim's always declined, though. That's too bad, really, since it would be fun to watch Wally's "lessons."

"Jason's back. He decided to stop killing for now and come home. Nothing's really new in my life. And Bruce is struggling with holding all of us together, after all the tragedy we've experienced throughout the year. It's a really, really long story."

"Well, considering I'm not going anywhere," he says, gesturing to the bed and all the equipment connected to him, "I've got some time."

"Okay." I begin to tell Wally everything he's missed.

Jason's POV

"I just want you to know that we're here for you Jason." Kori smiles at me.

I nod. "Thanks Princess." I smile back.

"You know what Isabel?" Roy looks at my girlfriend. "Todd's sister calls him Jay-bird!"

"Shut up, Harper!" I growl.

He shakes his head. "Nuh-uh. I'm gonna call you Jay-bird from now on!"

Kori and Isabel giggle. "Not bad." Isabel smirks.

"You know what. I've never met your sister." Kori says. "It would be nice to meet her."

I take a sip of the coffee. "Yeah well, it's complicated right now."

"Why man, what happened to the kid?"

I sigh. "Let's just say we're not on speaking terms for now. Okay?"

They don't press on. "How old is she anyways?" Isabel asks.

"She's twel- I mean thirteen. She just turned 13 on the 15th."

"Oh cool. Whatcha get your baby sister huh Jay-bird?"

"None of your business Harper. And don't call me that."

"Did you even greet her? You did say you two aren't on speaking terms."

"I didn't exactly greet her on her birthday. But I did get her something."

"I cannot exactly imagine a girl version of Jason." Kori says, smiling.

"Just cause we're siblings doesn't mean we're exactly alike."

Roy shrugs. "True. Unless you two are clones." He grins.

I roll my eyes. "Yeah. Sure."

"So you snuck out, huh Jay." Isabel says.

"Yeah, well it wasn't really sneaking out when no one was home. They all had to do their stuff."

"This late?"

I nod. "Yup."

And for a moment, I zone out and stare at my coffee while my friends continue to chat.

'YOU'RE A MONSTER!' She yelled. She told Tim to tell me that she was sorry for saying that. But she didn't wanna say it to my face. I wonder what the kid's been up to.

"Hey Jay-Bird!"

****Break****

Damian's POV

Well now I'm stuck here with these idiots, Drake and Carter (well more of Drake than Carter). Grayson left because of some emergency.

Father is not yet back. Pennyworth has woken up and given us a tray of cookies, and I'm forced to spend the next few minutes listening to Drake and Carter's pointless conversation about who is smarter.

Which is stupid because neither of them are smart at all.

We've spent moments of waiting and staring at the dots on the map. Two dots are still in the carnival, one dot in Metropolis, and another dot slowly moving towards the manor. One of the dots in the carnival suddenly goes out and as my eyes widen, silence seeps in.

"Oh, God. What happened?" Drake says, moving towards me and typing on the computer.

"Batman? Batman? Come in!" But all we hear is silence and buzzing.

"Dad?!" Carter yells at the computer in alarm.

"Father?"

Moments of silence pass by. "I'm fine." The voice of Batman calms us all down.

"What happened Father?" I ask, staring at the only dot in the carnival.

Another lengthy silence. "I will explain later. Is Jason back home?" Alright so he had known that Jason was not at home this whole time.

"No. Dick left too. There was an emergency." Tim answers. Another silence, and then he hums in response.

"So did you find her?" Carter asks.

"What happened to Cross?"

But all we get as answer is. "Batman out."

A longer silence stretches along the walls of the cave as we listen to the screeching of the bats.

"Something's off." Carter scowls.

Bruce's POV

The room is small, but the stench is so strong, it fills the room. It's sickening and nauseating, and even now, it's hard to get used to.

An enormous mirror is placed on the wall, covering the entire back and facing me.

There are cracks and breaks in the mirror. Shards are scattered all over the floor. Drops of dry blood are speckled on the wall and tainting the mirror. There are a few bullet holes in the mirror and on the walls. A few knives are laying on the ground just below the mirror.

I cannot see my face in the mirror because there is a body covering my reflection right in front of me, pinned right on the enormous mirror.

The body has it's arms and legs pressed on the reflecting glass with daggers, thick blood dripping down the limbs, on the mirror, and spilling on the cold cement. The corpse's back is stuck to the mirror, tainted with the dry blood on the wall.

A sword is impaled right through the chest of the corpse right through a bright red-orange insignia. The head is bowed down, with it's dark black hair covering the face. But as I listen to the quiet dripping of the red water, chills are sent up my spine and at first, I am dumbfounded.

Struck by the memory of what had happened more than five years ago.

With one thought in mind.

Not again.

A nightmare come true, but with someone else I couldn't get to.

Someone that I'd never expected to lose.

Someone that I thought I had never really cared for.

But ended up doing so.

I would not believe who is impaled on the mirror if it wasn't for what she is wearing.

A shiny black leather jacket sprinkled with dry blood, the jacket and the shirt inside tattered and torn, the cargo pants with a few grey patches and tears showing the fresh scratches on the flesh. The combat boots and the motorcycle gloves are thrown on the floor onto the small but obvious tiny puddles of blood.

My eyes are still wide, my mouth slightly open. The stench of blood mixes in with the air.

Even if there is no window and the room is small, I stand in the center of the four corners of this room. I can feel a strong freezing wind blow and howl, making me suppress a shiver. Even within these walls, I can feel a blizzard coming this way.

"Come in?" A voice snaps me out of my own thoughts, the warm but panicked voice of one of my children.

Then comes another voice to pull me out of the darkness. "Dad?"

Then another to keep me warmer. "Father?"

I blink. "I'm fine."

"What happened Father?"

I look at the remains of the device I was holding a while ago, I don't remember dropping it, but I must have. They were probably tracking me and looking at the dots, but the tracking device I was holding was like a connection to the satellite.

"I will explain later. Is Jason back home?" I had known that Jason was not home and that Chris wasn't telling the truth, but I let it slip knowing that Jason was safe and all Chris wanted was to make sure no one worried.

"No. Dick left too. There was an emergency." Tim answers. An emergency...I hum in response.

"So did you find her?" Chris asks. Then my eyes move back to the remains of her.

"What happened to Cross?"

I can only imagine what their reactions will be. They had finally gotten closer and then...this happens.

But there could still be hope. Maybe...this isn't her? It could be a clone…or some psycho that dressed a corpse up to fool me. Someone who knew about the secret.

"Batman out." Is all I say.

I stare back at the body, until I finally take a step forward, and then another, until I stand in front of the figure on the wall. I take out the daggers pinning the wrists and the ankles to the mirror. She hangs limply now. The sword is the only thing keeping her back pressed to the wall.

Then carefully, and gently, I pull the sword out. The young teenager falls forward and into my arms, her body still facing down and her face still covered by her hair.

I take a deep breath, inhaling the horrible stench. I slowly turn her around in my arms.

The lies I've been telling myself wash away, and the truth lies right in front of me and smacks me in the face.

It's Autumn.

Her knees and arms rest on my wrists and her head hangs limply as the tips of her messy, dark brown hair touch the floor. Her mouth hangs open, blood spilling down her nose and lips. Her eyes are wide in horror and shock under the ripped red domino mask. Bruises and wounds decorate her cheeks.

I know there wouldn't be a pulse, but I check anyways.

Nothing.

Already cold to the touch.

Gone.

"Autumn…" No, not Phoenix.

If it was Phoenix, The Joker would've been dead already. If it was Phoenix, innocent blood would have been spilled tonight all over Gotham. If it was Phoenix, we would have been betrayed tonight. But it's not.

This girl, hanging limply in my arms at this moment is the same girl that saved Damian. The same girl that would be too shy to talk during breakfast, lunch and dinner. The same girl that would bring her older brother home when he was drunk. The same girl that would help Alfred with the chores. Who would sometimes tease Tim about his love life. The girl who got into fights with Chris. The only girl who would make Damian's cheeks turn pink. The girl who would get mad at Dick for messing with her life or forcing her to do things she doesn't want to. Who would be fascinated by what lies beyond the glass window. Who would be brave enough to disobey me for something she knows is right.

Who everyone had already trusted but me. The girl who everyone defended just a while ago.

Who was content with what she had, and deemed herself not worthy of a better life, excluding herself from the family she wanted to have. A girl who tried to smile for everyone else.

The same girl that was trying to be patient enough with her sister and all her brothers. The same girl who just wanted to have a family, who wanted someone to care about her. The same girl that I shooed away.

Now gone. Forever.

And again, it was my fault.

****Break****

In the vehicle, the engine roars, the carlight making the way brighter, and the snow piling up on the sidewalks. I drive in silence with the corpse lying still in the back of the car, wrapped in my cape.

I glance at the rear view mirror, hoping to see the body wrapped in a black cloth move the slightest bit. But nothing.

My eyes dart back to the empty road.

How will I tell everyone?

How will they react?

Alfred? He's been through all of this before...he was the first one that Autumn had trusted...

What will Dick say? I remember his reaction many years ago. He can't take too much tragedy all at once.

What about Tim? And Damian? They got closer to Autumn after a few months.

And Chris? After all this time fighting and hating Autumn, they were finally closer. And now…

What about Jason? Oh, God Jason...what will happen to him? He was the one who spent more time with Autumn. They were partners in controlling crime and brother and sister for God's sake.

What will happen next?

I turn on the BatMobile's communicator.

"Sir?" Alfred's warm voice echoes in my ears.

"Alfred, where's everyone else?"

"I'm afraid I have sent them off to bed, considering the fact that they have school tomorrow."

"Jason and Dick?"

"Still not back yet."

"Alright. Alfred, prepare a gurney."

At first it is quiet. "Autumn?"

I glance back at the rear view mirror to where the black cloth is still unmoving. "I'm taking her home." With that, I turn the com off.

****Break****

Alfred's POV

The vehicle pulls up in it's usual spot. I wait here with the gurney ready. The door opens and comes out The Dark Knight with his face as emotionless as ever, hiding some sort of pain.

He walks out holding something - or rather, someone - wrapped in a large piece of cloth. My eyebrows arch, hoping that the thought lingering at the back of my mind is completely wrong. "Master Bruce." My voice echoes through the cave walls, waking a few bats.

As he walks towards the gurney, the milky black cloth starts to slightly unwrap, and an arm limply falls out of the cloth. Bruce gently puts the body on the gurney as if it is still filled with life. "I'm going to perform an autopsy." He pulls down his cowl, revealing his tired eyes. "Alfred." He looks at me with a sobering face. "Don't wake them up early. They won't be going to school for now."

I nod, and he proceeds to walk towards the computer, leaving me to stand over the gurney.

I gently push the gurney towards the medical bay and get the equipment ready. I place my wrinkled fingers on the cloth where I guess the head will be. And slowly, I pull the cloth down revealing the face…

I see the face of a shock riddened girl with small lips, a small nose, and pale skin. The mask covering her wide eyes is ripped and tattered, and her cheeks are smeared with dry blood and dirt. I remove the mask. In the back of my mind, I hear the quick wince of the girl when the mask is removed.

Her eyelids are wide open. Her eyes are empty with a little bit of horror left inside them, slowly fading away. Her usual teal green eyes, either shiny or glossy like live charcoals, are now filled with a dull reflection of what was.

My eyes fill with sadness, nearly matching the ghost of horror in the child's eyes.

****Break****

Bruce's POV

The cave has gotten darker. I type quickly on the cave computer, scanning through the files. I keep going back and forth between the computer, the crime lab, and the autopsy table.

I don't even know how long I've been at it, but I do know that the sun has probably risen.

Alfred has gone up, with a quick look of 'are you sure you want to perform an autopsy?'

I stand up and go back to the gurney, where the girl lays still. I've just finished the autopsy, and no matter how dreadful the truth is, this body 100% belongs to the same child who walked into the manor as a stranger.

She's enveloped in a cold white sheet, with her head clearly shown, and the rest of the child's body covered. The veins on her cheeks that were at least slightly unseen are now more visible than ever. Her dark hair is set messily around her head, framing her small face.

The blood that was smeared all over her face was cleansed a while ago, and under the sheet all she's wearing is the navy blue shirt and her cargo pants. Her belt, mask, boots, gloves, and leather jacket are positioned on the white chair beside the table. Her eyes were not closed. I asked Alfred not to close them yet. He simply turned away with a solemn nod, unable to be the one to close her eyes himself.

I place my fingers on her eyelids, taking one last glance into her dead green eyes. Slowly and gently, I close them, hiding the fading terror inside her eyes and behind her eyelids.

I take a deep breath and shut my eyes for a while, and when I open them - hoping that it was all just a dream - the lifeless body is still at rest on the gurney covered by white blankets. My lips form into a thin line.

Then my hand automatically reaches for her head and gently strokes her tangled hair.

My eyebrows furrow, stopping the tears of tragedy in my eyes. "I'm sorry…" I mutter, hoping that she can hear me. "I'm sorry Autumn…"

She did her best to be a good person. She tried to be obedient.

And only now, I realize. She did so much more to help this family than I realized.

past is brought to the present.

It's like a film, those black and white movies a long time ago, and the camera was filled with films.

But something happens to the camera, and it plays the same scene over and over again. And you are forced to relive that same scene all over again. You watched it once, would you really want to watch it again?

"The truth's superb surprise."

A/N: There ya go. Autumn's dead. Thoughts? We've got the next chapters ready, but we need a review to see what you think first. Sorry for being so demanding.