Chapter 4: The Computer from Nerd-Heaven
Allison blearily opened her eyes with a yawn. She looked at her clock residing right beside her bed.
It was 9:30!
Allison sprung up from her bed and clumsily fell to the floor while trying to free herself from her blankets. She jumped to her feet and ran to the bathroom. Swinging open the door, she took a step forward when she paused and immediately felt like hitting herself.
They were off school today. It was the principal's birthday and she couldn't be bothered to have school on such an important day of the year.
Allison threw her head back and sighed very, very loudly.
"I am an idiot. I am a forgetful idiot who just wants to go back to bed. But," she started to laugh maniacally, "I can't! Because now I'm fully awake because I am a forgetful idiot."
During her little tirade, Allison started to make her way back to her king's size bed. She flung herself onto her bed facedown. She gave a rather long, muffled groan. Eventually, Allison rolled herself off of her bed in a weak attempt of getting up. It worked since Allison released a loud yelp as she fell harshly onto the carpeted floor.
Her face was screwed up in pain. She stumbled to her feet and rubbed her lower back to try to ease the pain. "Ugh, I regret that. I regret that so much."
Allison was able to make herself look relatively presentable (keyword: relatively) and she set off towards the kitchen to annoy some of the cooks. Namely, a grumpy middle-aged worker named Carl.
She strolled into the kitchen and called out for Carl. "Carl! How are you on this wonderful morning?"
Carl was right where Allison knew he would be. He was cooking something on one of the stoves. Allison leaned forward slightly and saw it was some scrambled eggs. Her favorite.
"Aw, Carl! You're making my favorite! Jeez, you know how to make a girl happy."
Carl cautiously raised his head to look at Allison as if he was going to regret doing so, "I am so thankful that principal of yours decided her birthday was a good enough reason to cancel school." Allison decided to ignore the clear sarcasm in Carl's voice.
"Me too!" She plopped down onto one of the chairs at the island in the kitchen. She heard a soft noise and found out the kitchen television was turned on. She snorted. It was Gotham Morning News. Same news channel, same information, different name. It seemed her mother wasn't the only person in the James' household who was obsessed with the news network.
"I do hope you didn't fall too hard waking up this morning, Ms. James."
Allison recognized the burn and would have rejoiced that Carl was willing to finally have some fun (and not one-sided) conversations with her, but her attention was fixed on the new segment that appeared on Gotham Morning News.
"Ha ha, very funny. Can you turn that up, Carl?"
"The remote is right next to you, Ms. James. And I am making your eggs—"
"Thanks, Carl." She turned the volume on the television up.
"—Cat Grant and I am here on the scene with Captain Gordon. Captain Gordon, can you please tell us what happened here last night?"
"Of course, Miss Grant. The Joker escaped from Arkham Asylum last night and was able to cause an explosion in the building you see behind us. However, Batman and Robin were able to detain the Joker, who is now in custody."
"Were there any casualties or injuries from the explosion?"
Captain Gordon smiled to reassure Cat Grant, "Batman and Robin were inside the building at the time, but I have good reasons to believe they have walked away without any injuries. No civilians were inside at the time."
"Thank you so much, Captain Gordon. Next up is a segment of the faulty security features of Arkham Asylum. Back to you—"
Allison turned the television off without waiting for Cat Grant to finish her sentence. Her eyes didn't stray from the now blackened screen. Nor did they move when Carl set a plate of scrambled eggs in front of her.
"I've taken good care of you, right? Right. So, um, do you think you can do a guy a favor and ask your parents if they can give me a pay raise or something—"
"Where are my parents?" Carl glared at her for interrupting her, something she would have felt bad for any regular day.
"They closed the deal at Japan last night and flew to an island in the Caribbean. They called this morning."
That tore Allison's eyes from the empty screen. She tried to hide the hurt showing in her eyes as she asked, "What?"
Carl bit his lip and he didn't have a grumpy expression for the first time in forever. His expression only showed pity. Allison hated it with a burning passion.
Carl shrugged in response.
Allison took a few wavering breaths and rapidly nodded. After a few silent seconds, she jumped off her chair and made her way to exit the kitchen.
"I'm heading out. Feel free to eat the eggs."
Allison put on the first pair of shoes she found in the closet by the front door and hurried outside.
She couldn't keep her thoughts away from her parents. Why would they go to the Caribbean? There wasn't any work conference or company looking to make a contract with James Industries in the Caribbean. It didn't make sense. But what if they…
She roughly shook her head. There are more important things to worry about; for example, what she saw on the television.
Allison has always been observant for her age. She doesn't know how, but she's somehow able to read people a lot better than others would assume. Because of that, she has no doubt in her mind that Captain Gordon was lying about the well-being of Batman and Robin.
She would worry about her parents another day. Right now, she's making sure her friend is alright.
OoO
Allison ran to the metal gate and impatiently pressed the buzzer for the intercom. After what seemed like forever, she heard Alfred's voice.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Alfred. Can you let me in?"
He didn't respond for a moment, "Ms. James, I wasn't aware that I should have been expecting your visit."
So she's still not supposed to be at the Manor. Well, that's too bad for them. She basically told them she was coming today.
"Sorry. But, um, could you let me in? Please?"
"I am not sure that would be wise—"
"Alfred, I saw the news. Open the gate or I will find a way to sneak in."
She didn't hear anything from the intercom and was preparing herself to find a different way to go past the metal fence when she heard a buzz coming from the gate. A buzz that she heard many times before. A grin started to slowly appear on her face as the metal gate opened.
"Thanks, Alfred."
Alfred probably said something in response to her, but she didn't wait to hear it. She ran the entire way down the concrete road to the front door, which is a mile or so long. When she got to the front of the mansion, she hurriedly knocked on the prestigious front doors. She only had to knock for a few seconds before the door swung open to reveal a kind-faced, elderly man.
Allison decided to ignore everything her etiquette classes taught her and rushed past Alfred while demanding to know where Dick was. Alfred calmly closed the door and began to slowly lead Allison further into the mansion.
The pair eventually stopped at a grandfather clock she ran past many times before. Alfred glanced at her before raising his hands to fix the hands of the clock. He set the time to 10:48.
Allison furrowed her eyebrows in confusion before amazement quickly took over. The massive clock swung opened to reveal a small passageway. She managed to take small steps forward. She figured Alfred was following her, but she didn't really care to double-check.
With eyes open wide, she found herself in a shiny elevator with only one button in it. Her head spun to look at Alfred. He had a small smile on his face and he nodded for her to push the button. Allison hesitantly lifted her hand and softly brushed it.
As soon as she touched the button, the clock swung closed and doors appeared from both sides of the passageway, enclosing Alfred and herself in a small metal box. She gasped and she felt the elevator descending straight down. Allison was able to discover the doors to the elevator were made of glass due to the fact she was gradually able to see more and more of this underground level. And with more and more that she saw, her awe only grew.
It was amazing.
She's in the flipping Batcave.
It was a literal cave, but not one of those you find in nature. It was reinforced with technology and there was metal almost everywhere you looked. One side of the cave had a massive computer that Allison excitedly recognized as the Bat Computer (she had to go on it). There were a few glass cases; some were empty and some held Batman and Robin's old suits.
There were multiple islands, each connected by paths made of steel. Her eyes browsed around the entirety of the cave. She even found a giant penny and a t-rex… she's not going to ask.
She didn't notice when the elevator stopped moving. The doors slid open and she walked out while still observing the cave. There were multiple levels to the cave and she found she was on the bottom one. She continued to look around when—
"Oh, my—Is that the Bat-Mobile!" She whispered in awe. She heard Alfred chuckle behind her.
"I do believe it is. However," Allison spun towards Alfred, "You should see the Bat-Plane." He said with a subtle wink.
Allison's jaw dropped to the ground. She breathed out, "Woah."
Allison could have stayed in the cave for hours just marveling the extraordinary… everything of it, but she froze in her place when she spotted Dick and Mr. Wayne. Rather, Robin and Batman with their cowls and mask removed. Allison was relieved when she saw neither of them had any serious injuries aside from a brace on Dic-Robin's wrist. She couldn't help herself from snooping into the obviously serious conversation the pair was having.
"-Could the Joker have been lying? Maybe trying to put us on a wild goose chase?"
"If the Joker plans something with another villain and gets caught, he will ensure all other responsible parties are taken down as well."
"If he goes down, they all go down. Got it," Robin muttered, "But all he said was that revenge isn't his game. No clues or hints at who this mysterious 'partner' is besides some wood. Are we sure there is one?"
"While the Joker has an aptitude for explosions, there is no reason for him to demolish a Wayne Industries manufacturing building. There is something we're not seeing." Batman was examining the piece of dark wood Joker threw at Batman once he was caught. Allison took a small step closer so she could take a peek at the piece of wood.
Allison tilted her head as she was struck with a thought, "Are you guys off your game or am I just too awesome? It's obviously Black Mask."
Both Batman and Robin suddenly turned to face her. Robin looked shocked she was even standing there while Batman remained emotionless.
"Explain."
Allison took in a deep breath, "Well, the building that exploded was one of your buildings, right? I mean, Wayne Industries. The Joker doesn't seem to have any reason to hate Bruce Wayne, or at least from the past, and literally nobody got hurt or killed. That narrows the list to a few Gotham villains who hate Bruce Wayne. The wood is what gives it away and narrows it down to one person: Black Mask. Dick, remember when I had to go to a 'family friend's' funeral last summer? He was buried with this same wood. African Blackwood. It's extremely expensive and only the richest families use them for caskets. My father went on a full tangent about it, so don't ask. Anyway, what's the one Gotham villain who came from a rich family, has a history with black caskets, and has proven in the past how much he despises Bruce Wayne?"
"Black Mask," Robin said in realization. Allison pointed at him in confirmation.
"Correct. It's simple, really," Allison laughed, but immediately stopped when she noticed the glare Robin was sending her way, "Or not. Again, sorry. I'm just that awesome."
She expected Robin to continue his banter with her, but was somewhat surprised when he and Batman looked at each other. They remained in silence for a few more moments and it took Allison a while to realize they are… communicating with each other. Her eyes widened in awe.
"You guys have to teach me that. That's just… How are you even doing that?" She didn't get an answer. Instead, Batman rushed off to the Bat-Computer (which she still needs to get on) and Robin walked over to her.
"Why are you here?"
"Alfred let me in. Can you tell me why there is a giant t-rex over there?" She pointed to the thing in question.
"No."
She let out a frustrated sigh, "Fine. How about the world record size penny? That has to be a fun story—"
"Allison. Answer the question." Allison hesitated before she indignantly crossed her arms.
"I wanted to make sure you guys weren't injured or, you know, dead. But since you clearly are both fine, there's no reason for me to be here anymore." Allison swirled around, flicking her hair behind her, and began to stomp towards the elevator. She noticed that Alfred wasn't anywhere to be seen. He probably left after Allison caught sight of Batman and Robin. Speaking of Robin—
"Allison, wait! I didn't mean—"
Allison swiftly turned back around, suddenly halting in her tracks. Robin, who was jogging after the young girl, froze where he stood at the sight of Allison's icy gaze.
"Mean what, Robin?" Her tone was innocent, but the hidden message in the words was far from it.
Robin took a hesitant breath through his nose and realized he needed to play this differently. Not as the hero, Robin, but as Dick Grayson.
"Allison, I'm sorry, okay? I just… This is as new for you as it is for me. And I don't want you to be in this life. You don't know how it can be. I'm not trying to be patronizing or anything because I know that's what you think I'm trying to do."
"Then what are you trying to do?"
It was a simple question. A question Dick knew the answer to without a second's thought. The answer, however, was what made him pause.
"If you get hurt," he started carefully, "I'll blame myself for getting you into all of this. If something… worse happens to you, I will never be able to forgive myself." Dick stared into Allison's eyes as she stared into his own. Her thoughts were hidden from him as she remained impassive. Finally, a small smile broke through her seemingly cold façade.
"That's the most cliché crap I've ever heard of." There was another moment, a millisecond, of silence before giggles from both Dick and Allison struck through the air.
Once the pair recollected themselves, Allison said, "I want to help. I don't necessarily want to be on the front lines, but I want to help. So, let me help." She said with a small shrug.
"You could start by helping us determine Black Mask's current headquarters." Batman was striding towards them. Allison couldn't believe that Batman was allowing her to help them. She quickly shook off any feelings of disbelief and forced herself to focus.
"What clues do we have?"
"We tested the piece of wood Joker gave to us, but we didn't find anything." Batman handed the wood to her. She turned the piece of African Blackwood around in her hands.
Dick continued for Batman, "Joker did say something as he gave us the wood, didn't he? Something along the lines of, 'His name and this piece of wood is everything you need.' He couldn't have just given us Black Mask's hiding spot and make it nice and simple for us."
Dick's words lit a light in Allison's head. She rushed over to the Bat-Computer while saying, "Can I use this? I'm using it. Any other circumstance I would literally be freaking out that I'm touching this piece of nerd heaven, but Black Mask just had to ruin it."
She carefully slid into the cushioned chair placed in front of the massive computer and her fingers began to fly across the keyboard. She vaguely noticed the Dynamic Duo had made their way over to her, standing directly behind her.
"Hey, Black Mask's real name is Roman something, right?" She aimed her question to the pair standing behind her while keeping her attention on the computer.
"Roman Sionis."
"Perfect. He's at St. Paul's Church. It's this abandoned church on the outskirts of Gotham."
Dick openly gawked at her and even Batman looked a little baffled. Allison heard the unspoken question. She swiveled the chair around so she faced them.
"Joker said all we needed was his name and the wood. We already know what the wood meant, so all that is left is his name. Not Black Mask, but his real name. Roman Sionis. Basically, I figured out since he has this obsession with caskets, it should be near this cemetery. And when you have a cemetery, you usually have a church."
Allison pulled up a list of the books in the Bible on the computer and clicked on the Book of Romans.
"The Book of Romans is the sixth book of the New Testament of the Bible. It's also the letter of St. Paul to the Romans. Then, I looked up if there are any churches in Gotham connected to St. Paul and, lo and behold, there is one. An abandoned one, too. And, according to CCTV, has been unusually busy lately."
She pulled up a clip of CCTV showing a road leading up the St. Paul's Church. The clip showed, as Allison said, an unusual amount of cars driving up to visit the abandoned church.
Dick gave her a questioning look. She shrugged, "What? I paid attention to Sunday Mass when we used to go."
OoO
Allison sat at the very comfy chair of the Bat-Computer, snuggled in a blanket and nursing a delicious cup of hot chocolate. She was watching old reruns of Disney Channel with Alfred occasionally popping in and making comments about whatever she is watching when she heard the sounds of a car approaching. Allison regretfully set her drink down, exited out of her show, and detangled herself from her blanket.
The Bat-Mobile came to a park and both Batman and Robin came out of the vehicle. They seemed surprised that Allison still was in the Bat-Cave. The girl skipped up to the pair, full of energy despite the late (or rather early) hour.
"How was it?" She followed Dick as he made his way to the glass encasing that holds his suit.
He removed his mask and cape with a small smirk, "Good. You were right. Black Mask was there and totally unsuspecting. It was an easy bust."
Allison beamed with pride. She couldn't neglect the fact that it felt good helping in capturing and delivering justice to Black Mask.
Batman, who already took off his cowl, asked, "Why are you still here?"
Allison was taken aback before she realized the question wasn't meant to be rude. It was a question that actually made sense. The only reason she wasn't tired was due to the unhealthy amount of hot chocolate she drank. She should be home already. She already did all she could to help Batman and Robin, and she could have found out if they caught Black Mask in the morning. There wasn't any logic as to why she was still there.
So, she shrugged.
Batman—Mr. Wayne frowned, "What about your parents?"
Allison bit her lip, "Vacation."
"Where?" Dick sounded oddly serious.
"Somewhere in the Caribbean. I think they needed a break from home."
"Not work?" She looked up to Mr. Wayne. She wasn't able to read his thoughts, but he sounded somber.
She stiffly nodded, "Not work. Home." Allison tried to convey everything that has been going on and everything she feels into those three words. Somehow, both Dick and Mr. Wayne were able to read the message.
Mr. Wayne ultimately nodded, "There's a spare room for you somewhere, I'll bet. Stay the night. We'll take you to your home for you to get your things for school tomorrow."
She gave Mr. Wayne a soft smile, "Thank you, Mr. Wayne." Allison turned to follow Alfred upstairs to the Manor, but stopped when Mr. Wayne called out her name.
"Ms. James, you don't have to call me Mr. Wayne. Bruce will do just fine." Allison felt her heart flutter and she couldn't help but smile.
Slowly nodding in acceptance, she said, "You got it, Bruce," She sounded the name out on her lips and it strangely didn't feel weird, "And please, just call me Allison."
As she turned to leave the Bat-Cave, she swore she saw warmth in Mr. Way—Bruce's eyes and a smile gracing his lips.
After that day, Allison started to visit the Wayne Manor, and consequently, the Bat-Cave, more and more. She goes to the Manor every single day after school (under the guise that she is hanging out with some socialite kids so her parents wouldn't stop her) and on the weekends. It's safe to say that her parents have zero idea what Allison is now doing in her free time. And whenever a case lasts longer than it's supposed to, she returns home before her curfew (it's weird that she even has a curfew), tells her parents she's going to bed and sneaks out of her room to return to the Manor. If her parents were, well, more observant, she may have had a harder time sneaking out. Seeing as that is not the case, Allison has faced no problems so far.
Speaking of cases, Allison is beginning to have a hand with every single case Batman and Robin have that require any detective prowess. She also sits with Alfred every single night behind the Bat-Computer and coms, slowly learning what every single button of the supercomputer does and how to operate things like the coms, navigation, etc.
Allison hasn't felt like she had a great purpose until now. Doing this, helping Batman and Robin in their mission of protecting Gotham, is something she can't explain. She's making a difference not only to this city but to people's lives. And Allison knows she can't and won't ever be able to replace this feeling.
But, since she remained determined to assist Batman and Robin, she's been given orders to learn some self-defense. Not the beginner's self-defense she learned from some guy her parents made her see, but serious self-defense training. For now, Dick is the one that is training her everything she needs to know on how to defend herself. She tried to convince him to teach her some offensive training but was vehemently denied.
She'll convince him one day.
Dick is very resolute in wanting to teach her some acrobatic stuff, as well, claiming that 'it will save her life.' She's unable to do anything he wants her to do.
Allison is lying on the ground with her arms and legs extended outward. She is heavily panting and perspire is on every inch of her body. Dick is standing over her, crossing his arms disapprovingly.
"Didn't you say you use to do gymnastics?" Only a thin line of sweat lied on his forehead. Allison is trying not to be jealous.
"Shut. Up." She breathed out. She held her hand up towards Dick and he took a hold of it. Allison stumbled up to a standing position and almost fell back down.
Dick shoved a water bottle in her face which she gratefully grabbed, "It's so easy, though. It's only a double back hand-spring. Look, anyone can do it." He did a double back hand-spring like it was walking. Which, for Richard John Grayson, probably was.
Dick ended with his hands in the air with a large and exaggerated flourish. Allison glared at him before muttering under her breath, "Stupid circus kids."
"I heard that."
She made a motion to hit Dick with her water bottle when Bruce entered the Bat-Cave.
"Robin, there is a robbery on 14th street." He was already in his Batman uniform and making his way to the Bat-Computer. Both Dick and Allison immediately sobered. Dick left to quickly change into Robin while Allison went over to Bruce.
"Wait, Alfred isn't in the Manor. Who's going to watch over the computer?" She asked Bruce.
"You. You think you're ready?"
Allison paused for a second before a massive grin emerged on her face.
"It would be my absolute pleasure."
Yay, Allison is getting in with the gang and has successfully integrated herself as The Girl Behind the Scenes. Haha, I'm so clever.
That was sarcasm, BTW.
So we see Allison is getting pretty used to being on the computer, but next chapter we may see something a little bit different ;D
Next chapter is going to try to come out this month. It will either be later this April or in the beginning of May. Also, school is almost over (at least for me). Like that is insane. I'm mean, COVID-19 is kind of ruining it all, but there's always next year! I just feel so bad for the seniors in high school and those in their last year in college because that honestly must suck.
If y'all have any questions at all, anything you liked, or anything you wanted to point out, there is a lovely box right below that would love for you to leave a review! ;D