'Anna Bradford.'

The name echoed in my head. I had a name. I had my mothers name. Not only that; I had my own name or at least half of it. Bradford, not Wayne. That brought up a whole nother slew of questions. What was my real name? I knew that Ridley was merely a name that Bruce gave me because it was the only clue that he really had.

I subconsciously pulled out the necklace that Bruce had given me before my kidnapping and rubbed it between my fingers.

"You have a delicate psyche," Jon said, "that's why Bruce probably kept the information from you."

I started and glanced over at him, How'd you know...?

"As I've said before," Jon said plainly, "you're like an open book. You really should work on that."

Of course, I signed, I'll do that along with the rest of the stuff that I have to do, like making sure that I don't go crazy with you not telling me stuff.

"I am telling you," Jon said with a huff. "Edward had a strong attachment to your mother, and I personally think that your mother made a mistake by letting him hang around after you were born. Kind of like a childhood friend of sorts, though he's quite a bit older than you."

Childhood friend? How old is he exactly?

"Edward's two years younger than I," Jon said, "so he's roughly around 33."

I tried to not think about the weirdness of the fact. I most certainly didn't want to think that I might have feelings for someone who 1) liked my mother and 2) was 15 years older than me. Both of those were creepy by themselves.

"You should be honored that he wants to pay that much attention to you," Jon added as he started to pace again. He wiped some invisible dust off of the table.

How do you even know all this? I asked.

"Some stuff Edward told me directly," Jon said, "others I just figured out based on how he would act. I also used a marvelous thing known as the internet."

Under any other circumstance, the use of sarcasm would've been funny, but right now it was just plain mean and uncalled for.

"The question is," Jon said, turning to face me, "why didn't you look it up yourself? If you really wanted to know about your past, it would've been as easy as searching it up on the internet."

He had a very good point. Why hadn't I looked into it more? I had nearly every opportunity throughout the years, but I hadn't taken it. Maybe it was a trust issue, or maybe not. I hadn't really thought much about my past until recently, certain that Bruce would've told me when I needed to know. But would he have really? Knowing him... probably not; that was the sad thing.

Bruce was a good guy, I mean, anyone who was willing enough to take down bad guys like he did was; he just needed to get his priorities straight. Of course I was one to talk about priorities.

I guess I really didn't think about it until recently, I signed carefully. I always assumed that Bruce would tell me when the time was right. Or maybe I was— I wasn't ready to hear it?

I had almost signed afraid but stopped myself. Giving any advantage to the Master of Fear was risky.

"People will never tell you anything unless you make them," Jon said, face darkening. I wondered if he had any personal experience with that, he most certainly seemed to based on his mood.

Tell me more about my mother, I signed. Please? Anything you know about her.

"Alright," Jon said, pulling up a stool and sitting across from me. "Let's see here..." He tapped his chin before continuing. "She graduated from CCU at the top of her class with a degree in Biotechnology."

Wait, I signed, she didn't go to G-C-U? I spelled out the acronym.

"No," Jon said, "CCU had a more advanced program. Then again, their technology is always seemingly one step ahead of ours."

'I wonder why,' I thought. 'They don't have villains running around stealing things and causing general disturbances, and even if they do, it's not as bad as here.'

"From Biotech, she moved on to a join a group of people that like to call themselves Technogaians, Which basically means that they don't have the same views as traditional environmentalists and believe that technology can help save the enviroment, not degrade it."

Of course technology can help save the enviroment, I sighed, it's not the tech that's the issue, it's the people using it. Just like everything. A knife isn't good or evil, it's the person who wields it.

"Precisely," Jon said.

Did Penguin have anything to do with what... You know, happened? I asked abruptly.

Jon stared at me and a flicker of alarm showed in his eyes before passing.

"No," he said, "not that I know of. Why do you ask?" He gave me a puzzled look, as if it was the craziest idea ever

Well, I signed, Barbara said that—

"Don't believe everything you hear," Jon said, cutting me off, "especially when it comes to the police."

But don't they— I tried again.

"If you want to know the facts about something you have to get it directly from the souce," Jon said firmly. "That way you know that it accurate."

Then what's stopping me from not believing you? I challenged.

"The reason why you came to me in the first place," Jon said, "because you trust me, at least to some extent." He titled his head, "If you don't really believe me, then what would it take for you to?"

Why are you so interested in gaining my trust? I asked. And if it wasn't Penguin, then who was it that ordered Zsasz to do the things he did?

"Trust is a fundamental aspect of human society," Jon said, "plus, Edward's a— a friend." He struggled to get the word out and suppressed something between a grin and a feeling of pity. He must've gotten friend zoned so badly.

"It's very odd," Jon added, "but as Rouges, it's always looking out for number one. Sometimes that just doesn't work out so well though. We become attached to each other persay. Team up to cause general mishaps together." He chuckled, "We get to know each other better; we bond. I guess you could say that I view Edward and Selina almost like family."

I slowly blink and stare at him. 'Well that's not creepy.'

"Oh god, that sounds awful, doesn't it?" Jon gave me an alarmed look before giving a slight smile.

You said it, not me, I signed.

"Whatever, smartass."

I'm definitely smart, but not an ass, I argued.

"Now you're acting like Edward," Jon scolded, "that's not good."

Says who?

"I say so," Jon said, leaning forward. "I view you as family to you know, cause you joined us."

Alright... I signed, a little weary of his words. I never considered the fact that anyone of them would view me like that. I had always just been the person that was just there.

"Zsasz may work for Penguin, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't pick up other jobs," Jon said, switching the subject back to was it was before.

It took me a moment to realize that he'd done that.

"Anyone could've told him to do it, if they had the right payment."

Anyone? I signed, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't give me that look," Jon said, chidingly, "if you want my help, you're going to have to trust me."

Who said I needed you help? I asked. Besides, what would I need help with in the first place?

"Your whole issue is psychological," Jon said, "that's all there is to it. I could help you unlock the parts of your memory that you can't access."

Would that necessarily be a good thing though?

"Would you rather find things out now in a controlled enviroment, or have them build up to the point of exploding out of you?" Jon countered.

Good point, I said. So how are we going to do this? Hypothetically speaking if I want to go through with it?

"You already do," Jon said with a satisfied smirk. "You just said so. What came after was quite contradictory to the fact."

Maybe it was, but what are we going to do? Are you going to do any of that psychiatrist stuff?

"If you want me to," Jon said, "but I don't think it'd be very effective. You've had such a long stretch of time between when things happened up until now. I think it'd be best if we went to the main source of the traumatic event and see if it triggers anything."

Are you sure that'd be safe? I really wanted to learn more about my past and if Jon was willing to help me... Still though. Would it be a good idea?

And, I added, it's not like the house still exists, does it? I gave him a curiously interested look.

"It's Gotham," Jon said with a shrug. "A murder isn't going to stop most people from buying a house, especially when they don't have a choice."

I winced slightly as his words. Murder. That's what Zsasz did to my parents, and almost did to me as well.

"Would you want to go?" Jon asked, tilting his head slightly. "I don't force you to."

Who can say no to having such a opertunitly? I signed.

"That's what I like to hear," Jon said with a full on smile.

How do you even know where it is?

"Edward keeps tabs on stuff like that," Jon said. "Talk about obsessive compulsiveness, right?" He let out a short laugh and I frowned.

Jon kept on constantly talking down on Edward, and I didn't personally like it. You don't do that to your firends, no matter what the two of you go theough. That goes back to what he said about trust. You have to trust someone when you first become friends with them. And respect is another big thing as well. Those two things made up good and solid relationship of any kind.

Well... I said uncertainly, I suppose if you know where it is... What about Edward though? Shouldn't we let him know we're were going anyways? So he doesn't worry.

"Do you want to go tell him?" Jon raised an eyebrow.

He'd probably tell me not to go, I admitted.

"He most certainly would do everything within his power to not let you go," Jon said with a nod of agreement. But it's your call."

I—I think I want to go, I sign.

"Let's go," Jon said, "unless you don't want seem unsure about it."

Do I have a choice?

"Do you?" He gave me a patronizing look.

I hesitated before replying, Alright.