Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

The Wayne Legacy: Rise

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 13:

Wayne Manor

Alex Danvers stepped out of her borrowed Mercedes and took in Wayne Manor for the first time in a year.

Graduate school had kept her busier than she ever imagined, given her accelerated class schedule and work in the Stanford Bio-X Institute. Even on her holidays, she ended up studying. It was never ending, and though Alex was far from home, she loved what she was doing and the people she was working with.

While she was missing quite a bit in the two days she had taken off and would likely spend the next couple of weeks catching up, Alex had promised Kara she would be here. Despite the work awaiting her when she returned to Stanford, she was glad for the little break and happy to see her loved ones.

It was supposed to be a celebration of a huge contract Wayne Enterprises had negotiated. Yesterday, Barbara had called with the exciting news that Wayne Enterprises had just become the sole supplier of weapons along with all key technologies to the United States Government, officially making it the most powerful company in the world.

Alex suspected this would also be an engagement party for Diana Wayne and Steve Trevor.

One of the Wayne private jets had been waiting for her at eight that morning. Alex had watched the press conference on the plane and was shocked to hear Kara speaking to reporters in such a large public setting and with such confidence. She couldn’t wait to congratulate one of her best friends.

Once she landed, a driver was waiting with the Mercedes to take her to the downtown plaza owned by Wayne Enterprises where she was directed to the Executive Suites’ penthouse, reserved for any high profile guests being hosted by the company or friends of the Wayne family who were not staying at manor. She was glad Diana knew her well enough to know Alex would prefer her own space, not staying with others in the manor, even though she would spend most of her time there.

Kara, Diana and Barbara were at work and, having no desire to disturb them, Alex planned on a nap after a long shower.

As she made her way to the bathroom, she walked by the large window looking out over Gotham City. Taking up a large part of her view stood Wayne Tower, the tallest and most impressive building in Gotham. It was also known as one of the grandest buildings among many notables around the world.

Surrounding the Tower were smaller buildings, marked by age, most over one hundred years old, complete with gargoyles. It was lightly raining outside, as it always seemed to be in Gotham. Despite the age and dreariness of the city, Alex missed it. Stanford was the polar opposite of Gotham, one of the reasons she had chosen to go there.

But Gotham was the city Alex had grown up in. Her mother ran one of the largest pharmaceutical and medical research divisions in the world and was the personal physician of Kara Wayne. Those two positions made Eliza Danvers a very wealthy woman. They lived in a very upscale, gated estate just outside of Gotham, only fifteen miles from Wayne Manor. As such, Alex did not have a difficult life.

She had lost her father in a car accident when she was a year old and had no memory of the man. All her life, it had been her and her mom.

The only real argument she and her mother ever had was about Alex’s career. Eliza wanted her to study at Gotham University and, eventually, work with her at Wayne Enterprises.

But Alex wished to take her own path, to live on her own without any constraints. Moving to the west coast was extreme but she wanted something different. She wanted constant sun and new surroundings, new people and new experiences. At Stanford, she wasn’t known as Eliza Danvers’ daughter. She was her own person.

She had decided, a couple of years into her bachelor’s program, to specialize in biomedical research related to gene mutations. She loved the challenges she found in the work.

She did miss her friends though. Unlike Kara, Alex had gone to school at Gotham Prep with Barbara and the two girls had many friends. But because of Kara’s need for isolation, Babs and Alex were Kara’s only real friends and both considered the blonde to be their best friend.

As Alex stared at the manor, her mind took her back to the first time she had walked through its doors but, unlike now, it was not a happy occasion.

Alex felt uncomfortable and out of place. She had never been to this huge, imposing place that resembled a castle more than someone’s house. The outer walls were made of stone while the interior walls were warmer, made of wood along with the tall doors. The rooms were huge with open spaces, seemingly made just for people to sit or stand and talk. There were no TVs in the two gathering rooms she had seen so far, but she suspected the bedrooms had televisions or they were hidden in one of the many rooms on the first floor she hadn’t been in yet.

Alex stood by a wall, trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible. Her mom was mingling so she took a moment to observe the Wayne children, at least the two oldest who she understood were twins. She knew her mother was friends with the couple that had been killed and treated their youngest daughter every weekend because she was sick.

The boy, Bruce, sat on the couch, a blank look on his face, almost as if he were as uninterested in the proceedings as Alex was. She felt bad for him but couldn’t empathize. Alex didn’t remember her dad. She only knew him through photos and stories her mom told her.

The girl, Diana, was standing, accepting condolences and exchanging words with everyone who stepped near her. If Alex didn’t know better, she would think Diana was an adult, welcoming people into her home. The dark-haired girl seemed composed but solemn. Though Alex couldn’t hear anything unusual, Diana kept glancing towards the stairs. Alex didn’t see anyone so maybe she was waiting for her younger sister, Kara.

Alex had seen the little blonde girl in Diana’s arms during the funeral. She had been devastated and Alex felt horrible for her. Kara had stayed in Diana’s arms, her face buried in the brunette’s hair, crying softly while Diana rubbed her back.

“Can you believe this place?” a voice asked, surprising her. She saw a red-headed girl around her age, standing near her. “Hi, I’m Barbara but my friends call me Babs. I have a lot of friends. Who are you? Are you rich like everyone else here?”

Alex tilted her head, taking in the bundle of energy asking questions before she had even introduced herself.

“I’m Alex. I don’t think I’m rich. My mom is Kara’s doctor. Do you know Kara? Are you rich?”

Babs snorted. “I am so not rich. My daddy is a police detective and I think he caught the killer or something like that. He told me we were going to the funeral. I didn’t know we would be coming to a haunted house afterward. This place is spooky.”

Alex shrugged her shoulders, looking around. “I kind of like it. My mom treats the little girl somewhere in this place. I think there is a medical room underneath it.”

Babs’s eyes widened. “They have an underground laboratory, like in horror movies? Is your mom like a mad scientist?”

Alex narrowed her eyes at the brashness of this girl. “No! She is a doctor. The kid here is like really sick or something.”

Babs didn’t look convinced but let it go. “I’m bored. Since you are the only other kid here, you should come with me. I want to explore.”

Alex shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

Despite not believing the place was haunted, the idea of exploring a place she could easily become lost in was not appealing.

“You have to.” Babs pleaded. “We are friends. When a friend is about to do something stupid, you have to come along. It’s like the law or something. My dad’s a cop so I should know.”

“I’m your friend?” Alex asked confused.

“Yeah.” Babs countered.

“I just met you.”

“Exactly! Let’s go before anyone looks this way.”

Babs grabbed Alex’s hand and pulled her roughly to the stairs. Alex shot a quick look at her mom who was sitting next to Bruce and relented.

On one side of the second floor were rooms with chairs in them, including one with books. Alex had seen a library on the first floor on their way to the parlor, but this appeared to have more children’s books and she wondered if this was Kara’s personal library.

Another room was covered in childish paintings on the wall and various easels with half-painted canvases on them. She suspected this was Kara’s art room. In fact, the same theme appeared to carry through the entire floor. There were rooms with telescopes and model planets hanging from the ceiling along with a star light machine like Alex had been wanting, one room with what appeared to be an expensive doll collection and so forth.

“Porcelain dolls freak me out.” Babs whispered. “Let’s check out the rooms on the other side.”

Alex was becoming more nervous the longer they stayed here. She certainly didn’t want to go to the third floor, so she followed Babs to the other side and the two began opening doors quietly, peeking in.

It was the third door they opened that led to a huge bedroom. The room was so large it had a king size bed, a huge television, a table, a couch and a recliner. It was immaculately clean and judging by the clothes hanging in the half open closet, which was also huge, this would have to be Diana’s room.

“We need to leave now. This is that Diana girl’s room.” Alex said, whispering loudly enough to not really be whispering.

“So?” Babs asked. “It’s awesome! I want to see the bathroom.”

Babs ran for the bathroom before Alex could stop her. Alex peeked inside and gasped at how big it was.

Babs ran out and made her way across the room to another door. “This room is bigger than my apartment! I mean her closet is bigger than our living room! Let’s see where door number three goes.”

At this point, Alex figured she had nothing to lose, because if they were caught, they couldn’t be in more trouble.

The two cracked the door open and peeked inside.

Instead of another closet, they saw another bedroom connected to the one they were in. The room was as large as Diana’s, but the floor was scattered with toys, pieces of metal and what looked like machine parts.

In the middle of the room was a little blonde girl in a black dress sitting on the floor with some sort of machine in front of her and a screwdriver in her hand.

Kara’s head swiveled up when Babs cleared her throat.

The blonde’s eyes widened, and she stood up slowly, dropping her screwdriver. Alex didn’t miss her red eyes or tear streaked face.

“Can we come in?” Babs asked.

Kara nodded quickly and ran to the girls, grabbing their hands and pulling them in, shutting the door behind her.

“I’m Kara. Who are you?”

“I’m Barbara and this is Alex. We’ve been friends a long time. We were just checking out your house. It’s… big.”

“How old are you?” Kara asked.

Alex saw wonder quickly replacing the sadness on the girl’s face. She acted like she had never seen other kids before.

“I’m six.” Alex told her.

“I’m five and seven months.” Babs said proudly.

Kara smiled widely. “Would you play with me? You can have any doll you want, except Cindy. We can play a game or listen to music or watch television. Does anyone know you are here? Diana didn’t see you, did she? She doesn’t like me being around other people a whole lot and I’m supposed to be trying to take a nap, but my brain won’t turn off and… I miss my parents.”

Alex stared in amazement. “You talk faster than Babs. I didn’t think that was possible. Yeah, we will play with you, but you can keep your dolls.”

“I want her dolls.” Babs corrected. Alex sent her a sharp look and Babs shrugged. “Ok, maybe I don’t. Whatever. Your room is cool. What’s all this junk? Hey, is that a laptop? I’m really good with computers. I know how to write my own programs.”

“You do?” Kara asked excitedly. “I can to. You can play with it. It has internet security but there’s no password to unlock it. Nothing is on it besides some games I wrote.”

“Sweet!” Babs nearly shouted and raced to the computer, sitting on the floor.

Alex walked around the room with Kara, taking in everything. “I’m sorry about your mommy and daddy. My daddy died when I was one. I don’t really remember him.”

“Your mommy is still okay?”

“My mom is your doctor.” Alex told her.

“Doctor Eliza?” Kara asked quietly.

Alex nodded and Kara’s face fell. “She never brings you over. It’s because they don’t like other kids around me. They are always worried I’ll get sick. I don’t always get sick, you know. I just… I don’t have any friends. You could be my friend if you don’t tell your mom. You can hide in the backseat when she comes over and I could sneak you in the back entrance. I think if your mom says it’s okay, maybe Diana would let you come over. If you wanted to, I mean. How does being friends work? Do you have to think about it?”

Alex felt a pain inside, listening to the girl. Alex had many friends. She was in second grade and had a bunch of girls she played with constantly. Her friend, Jen, stayed over all the time.

But Kara had no friends. Alex and Babs were probably the first kids her own age she had ever spoken to.

“I already know you better than Babs.” Alex told her. “I think you qualify as a friend. I’ll come hang out when mom comes over.”

Kara shook her head. “Diana might not like it.”

Alex snorted. “I can be pretty hardheaded when it comes to seeing my friends. Don’t worry about it. I bet we can get Babs here too.

“So, what were you working on?”

Kara ran over and picked up a filthy hunk of metal. “A carburetor.”

“How does it work?”

“I’m trying to figure that out. It seems pretty simple, but I’ve only been able to play with fuel once and that didn’t go as planned. I’m going to need gasoline to test it out. I’ve got the basics down but I’m trying to build my own. This is from the Mercedes in the garage.” Kara explained.

Alex was surprised by that. “You mean that’s a car part?”

Kara nodded. “I like building things, fixing things, making new things. Sometimes it’s all I can think about.”

“Hey, new best friend!” Babs called out. “This computer is awesome. What brand is it?”

Kara and Alex walked over to where Babs was on the floor, surfing the internet.

“It isn’t a brand. I built it.” Kara said.

“You built it?” A disbelieving Babs said.

Kara nodded. “I have seven more in the closet I’ve built but this one and the two over there are my latest. Market computers aren’t fast enough for me. I’ve built a CPU with ten cores. The graphics card is better than most of the stuff sold. Do you want one?”

“Yes! I could write so many programs. Your games are okay, but the graphics aren’t up to speed with your card.”

“Yeah, I was working on that but then… you know what? Take it. Alex, you take one too.” Kara said decisively, pointing Alex toward one of her newer models. “I have a video chat program that is awesome. Do you have wireless? We could talk to each other all the time since we are best friends now.”

Taking a computer as a gift seemed like a lot to Alex, especially a sleek machine like the one Kara had built.

“I don’t know…” Alex started.

“You are my best, best friend ever!” Babs stated emphatically. Kara smiled at her and looked back at Alex.

Before Alex could turn down her gift offer, another voice entered the conversation.

“I think that would be a wonderful idea.” The three girls stood up and turned towards Diana, stiffening, Alex and Babs in fear and Kara hoping that her sister wouldn’t send her new friends away.

To make matter worse, Babs’s dad and Alex’s mom were behind her.

“In fact, I insist.” Diana said, smiling at the girls, hands on her hips. “Your parents were looking for you and I told them I had an idea where you all might be. Kara builds those things so quickly and I shouldn’t complain. Building computers is better than taking apart carburetors outside the garage which she knows she isn’t supposed to do.”

“I was going to put it back on the car later.” Kara mumbled uneasily.

Diana chuckled fondly, immediately causing an impish smile to appear on the little blonde’s face. “Detective Gordon, Eliza, I hope you will let your daughters accept. Kara would have a wonderful time talking to friends her own age.”

“I don’t see a problem with that.” Gordon said, winking at his daughter.

Eliza nodded at Alex, smiling, but she could tell her mother was sad. Her two close friends had been killed and it was obviously weighing her down.

“How about the three of you stay in here until we go?” Eliza suggested. “It will be a few more hours. Do you have enough to keep yourselves entertained?”

The three girls nodded so quickly, the adults chuckled.

“Ok. Come find me if you need anything. I’ll be in the Great Room greeting guests.” Diana told them, walking out with the older adults.

Alex turned to a happy Kara. “So teach me how to use this computer chat thing. I’m not good at computers.”

“It’s okay.” Babs said. “There always has to be one loser in the group. That’s you, Alex.”

Alex snorted. “I’ve dissected frogs, salamanders, a dead bird and three snakes I caught myself. Who’s the loser, computer nerd?”

Kara raised her hand. “I built a robot that can transform into a car on its own and drive to my art room without needing a remote control. It works off a GPS tracker I made with a RC transmitter. Want to see?”

Alex looked at Babs. “Looks like we are both losers. Show me how this chat program works, Einstein.”

From that moment on, Alex, Barbara and Kara were a team. They visited each other at least once a week unless one of them was sick. Alex and Babs had learned early on about Kara’s health and the reason she stayed in so often. They never saw it as serious until the first time Kara had become really ill. Seeing Kara so thin and pale frightened them, and it brought home to the girls how dangerous her condition could be.

Another thing that brought them together was their intelligence. Barbara was a wizard at all things computer related. Alex loved and excelled at biology. Kara was a certified genius, able to pick up most topics with ease, yet only seemed to care about building things. She loved the idea of restoration, building from the ground up, making her own inventions and it blew Alex and Barbara’s minds what she could come up with. An example was the electron microscope Kara made Alex for her fourteenth birthday, something Alex took great care of and still used often to this day.

The three of them together were a preteen think tank.

Babs was disappointed when Alex had decided to go to Stanford. The redhead had graduated high school and, rather than going to college, was given control of Wayne Enterprises’ Cyber Security Division along with a high six-figure salary, most likely in the seven figures by now.

Kara, however, took Alex’s decision the hardest and pleaded with her for months to stay in Gotham. She finally, reluctantly, decided to be happy for Alex and admitted if her life were different, she may have gone away to college as well.

Alex doubted it. Kara was a sweet, loving girl who was a lot of fun to hang out with, but she had one major problem beside her health. She happily lived under Diana’s thumb in a big castle and Diana never would have let Kara go anywhere she wasn’t under her direct supervision. Alex also knew Kara wouldn’t be comfortable away from her castle or Diana either.

Despite the strange relationship between the two sisters, Alex and Babs finally decided there was no point in trying to encourage Kara to live on her own and make her own decisions. Kara did what Diana told her to do, and Alex didn’t believe that would ever change, no matter how old Kara got, mostly because she didn’t seem to want it to.

Shaking her head, she pulled her mind out of the past and climbed the stairs to the manor’s front door. As she reached the top, the door swung open and a young woman with bright red hair rushed out, nearly knocking Alex over.

“Babs… can’t breathe.” Alex whispered as Babs’s wiry but strong arms wrapped around her. Alex was glad to see Barbara was wearing jeans. It was supposed to be casual dress but at Wayne Manor, that could mean any number of things.

“Deal with it, Danvers. It’s so good to see you.” Babs said, a huge smile on her face as she let Alex go.

“I missed you too, Red. Where is third of the sisterhood?” Alex asked.

Babs motioned back towards the manor. “Inside, having a drink. She hasn’t been doing well today and is trying to relax.”

“She is sick? Why is she drinking then?” Alex asked, greatly concerned.

Babs shook her head. “She is perfectly healthy. It was the press conference. It shook her so much she pushed a meeting with the Joint Chiefs ’til tomorrow.”

Alex raised an eyebrow, confused. “I saw the press conference on the way here. She was amazing. I never thought she would be able to do something like that and she slammed that reporter.”

Babs nodded. “Yeah but once the adrenalin wore off, she went straight to her office, locked the door and proceeded to throw up her breakfast and probably her dinner from the night before. Terry couldn’t even get in. She wouldn’t unlock the door for Diana until big sis threatened to kick the door in.”

Alex sighed. “Poor girl. I should have known. I’m surprised Diana let her speak.”

“Kara has been making a lot of decisions without Diana’s approval lately.” Babs informed her. “She is growing up, albeit a few years too late but she is slowly coming into her own. Let’s go inside and I can tell you all about it before she leaves her boyfriend’s side when she sees you.”

Alex’s eyes widened. A boyfriend? Diana let Kara out enough that she had a boyfriend? This she had to see.

Alfred was standing by the door, a big smile on his face. He half-bowed to Alex then hugged her when she threw her arms around him laughing.

Pulling back, Alfred nodded to the ballroom at the back of the house. Alex and Barbara passed the sitting room, the main parlor and walked into the ballroom. No matter how many times she visited this place, Alex would never get used to the sheer size of it.

For the Wayne family, this was considered a small gathering. There were only around fifty people in attendance. Tables circled the dance floor and a string quartet played as guests danced in the middle. An open bar was opposite the quartet, something Alex had been hoping for. She had no desire to sneak into the kitchen in the far west wing to grab a beer from the fridge though it did remind her of the times she would sneak into the kitchen to grab sodas for Kara. Those missions were nearly impossible when Diana was home but when Alfred was left in charge, subterfuge was easy.

“Okay, give me the lay of the land. First, who is the guy holding hands with Kara? She is laughing with him. Diana is nearby and hasn’t ripped his hand off yet… or his head. What the hell is going on?”

“I told you she had a boyfriend. That, dear Alex, is one Tommy Merlyn, previously of Star City, now owner of Carmen’s Deli and Grocery store. He lives in the attic above the store. He has recently moved here to woo our beloved Kara.”

Alex’s eyes widened. “Diana is allowing this?”

“From what I understand, Diana did her best to stop it, but this guy was determined, not intimidated by her at all.” Babs explained. “I know Kara talks to him three to four times a day and she always has her goofy smile when she does and laughs so hard, she snorts. You and I actually met him once.”

Alex observed the man, who seemed completely relaxed around Kara, despite Diana being in the same room. “I don’t recognize him. I kind of recognize his name though.”

“Science Symposium in Star City after graduation. We went to that club and there were two drunk trust fund babies there, trying to pick up every girl in the place. Oliver Queen and Tommy Merlyn. Queen is dead but that didn’t stop Merlyn’s escapades. He met Kara at a Star City charity event a few weeks ago, the two left together to go find a cheeseburger. A week later, he showed up at Wayne Tower, in a helicopter and talked his way into staying here a few days.

“He supposedly cut himself off from his father now, bought a grocery store, and is living in an attic all to be close to Kara and show Diana he can change his playboy ways.”

Alex’s remembered the two men Babs was talking about from that symposium. Queen and Merlyn had been womanizing jerks that night.

“I can’t believe Kara would be with someone like him. Is she finally going through a rebellious phase?” Alex asked, still wondering why Diana was allowing it.

Barbara shrugged her shoulders. “Well… he is hot, I give her that. Great hair and I love his eyes. Since you turned her down, pickings have been slim.”

Alex barked out a laugh, reminded of her coming out to her friends. She had said she was attracted to women and Kara blurted out she could help Alex with that. Of course, it was a very innocent Kara thing to say but it led to Alex panicking which led to an argument over Kara not feeling she was pretty enough to be considered attractive by Alex.

“Who’s the guy behind her that keeps scanning the room?” Alex asked, noticing the intense looking man.

“That tall, hot, muscular drink of water is Kara’s new personal bodyguard and head of her security… and my future first husband.” Babs explained. “You wouldn’t believe it but, unlike the other bodyguards who Kara treated as an annoyance, she has really bonded with him. They go everywhere together and it’s like he’s her best friend or something. He’s a nice guy, genuinely cares about her. His name is John Diggle but everyone at the Tower calls him Dig.

“Of course, you remember General Lane. The girl with him is his daughter Lucy, just accepted into West Point.

“Steve Trevor, his father and his father’s third wife along with his mother, the first wife. They seem to be bonding over how much of a shit Steve’s dad is and how much they both hate the second wife.

“Lucius and his son Luke. Luke was just discharged from the Army. He’s pretty hot too. I may consider him for my second marriage after my first one crashes and burns.

“Silver St. Cloud… present at Diana’s side as always.”

Alex snorted. “That woman is like Darth Vader to Diana’s Emperor. ‘What is they bidding, my Master’ ?”

Babs snickered, suspecting Alex wasn’t far off, and moved on.

“Then we have a few politicians, some generals and admirals, judges, the DA, the mayor, my dad and your mom.” Babs finished.

“Okay, let’s go say hi to Kara and meet the man brave enough to defy Diana Wayne and make a move on her.” Alex said.

As she and Babs walked across the room, Kara noticed them when they were halfway and ran towards them.

“Alex!” Kara shouted, wrapping her in a big hug that rivaled Babs’s. “How long have you been here?”

“I just walked in.” Alex told her, smiling at her warm reception. “Babs was giving me the rundown of the attendees.”

Kara grabbed her hand and pulled her towards Tommy, leaving an amused Babs to follow. “Alex, this is Tommy Merlyn. Tommy, Alex Danvers.”

Alex nearly said they had met before but instead, offered her hand, not wanting to bring up Tommy’s disreputable past in front of Kara.

“I’ve heard a lot about you, Alex.” Tommy said charmingly. “Studying at Stanford, right? Very impressive.”

“Thank you. What do you do, Tommy?” She asked though she already knew.

Tommy wrapped an arm around Kara’s waist. “I make the best meatball subs you will ever taste in your life. You are staying downtown, right? I own Carmen’s Grocery and Deli. Do you like cheesesteak sandwiches? We make the best. You gotta check us out before you go back to California.”

“He is also stocking organic foods so I can have a place to go to lunch outside my office.” Kara added before switching subjects. “How have you been? How much longer do you have in school before you move back to Gotham?”

Alex chuckled, not surprised she would ask that. “Not long, but I’m still not sure where I will move, and you have a jet so you can visit me anywhere.”

Kara snorted, obviously not happy with her answer, but not pushing it. “I wish I had the time. I suppose you saw the press conference today. I’m going to be pretty busy for the rest of my life.”

Alex nodded, though she knew Diana would not let Kara be busy. She had no doubt Kara was still on a strict, Diana approved work schedule that had her spending no more than seven hours at the office.

“I watched the press conference on the flight over.” Alex told her. “You stood up for yourself, you weren’t intimidated, and you spoke your mind. I am really proud of you.”

Kara blushed, smiling almost shyly. “Thanks, Alex. You think I did okay? I didn’t come across as too arrogant, did I? Or too corny? Did I talk too long?”

Alex put a hand on Kara’s shoulder. “You were perfect, Kara. I mean it. I heard you were nervous afterward. Why?”

Kara shrugged. “First time speaking at a press conference, I guess. I realized I had just spoken to millions of people and it freaked me out. I’m feeling good now though. Everyone has told me I did good. I just wasn’t sure. If I did bad, would anyone tell me?”

“Absolutely. Barbara and I would be making fun of you without question, and you know it.” Alex replied, while Barbara grinned, nodding in agreement. “You did good, Kara. Hell, you were great! You had me ready to sign up for the Army.”

“Thanks, Alex,” Kara replied, smiling gratefully as she grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing waiter. “I’m going to be speaking again soon, but thankfully, this is a smaller audience.”

Alex nodded, having expected as much. “I’m going to speak to mom and grab a drink from the bar. I’ll be back in a minute.”

“And I’ve got something I have to take care of.” Barbara added, checking something on her phone. Looking back up at Kara, she said, “Don’t start until I’m back in the room. If you screw up or stutter, I can step in for you.”

The two took off leaving Tommy and Kara alone. “I like them. Do you think Alex will take me up on the sandwich offer?”

Kara nodded. “Maybe. So, what are we doing tonight?”

Tommy looked at her curiously. “We are at a party. At ten, you are going to bed and I am going to my lair to prepare for an early morning. Seriously who throws a party on Monday? Some people have to get up in the morning for work… I can’t believe I just said that.”

Kara turned towards him and placed her arms on his shoulders. “Have I mentioned that I love the way you smell?”

Tommy grinned, pleased that she noticed. “I did buy some new aftershave.”

Kara shook her head. “No, that’s not it. You smell like meatballs. I haven’t had a meatball sandwich in so long. The smell is driving me crazy. You smell delicious.”

Tommy looked at her with a blank face. “So you aren’t attracted to me, just my meat… balls… wow, I can’t believe I said that.”

Kara burst out laughing. “I can’t either. No, actually I can. That is a very Tommy Merlyn thing to say.”

In the sitting room, Barbara Gordon made a call.

“Hello?” Bruce Wayne answered.

“I built Athena. Did you really think you could hack into the security cameras without my knowing? Your attempt was clumsy, like a toddler playing with blocks. Did you learn how to hack in some third world country using a Macintosh from the eighties? Seriously, you should just try and guess the password. I’ll give you a hint… it’s not ‘Bruce’.”

Bruce sighed on the other end. “I thought perhaps there was a chance you wouldn’t notice with the party and I could luck my way in. My invitation must have gotten lost in the mail. I just wanted to… watch. I admit my skills aren’t in the same universe as yours so please don’t send a malicious virus to my computer… you weren’t far off on its model.”

Barbara heard the defeated tone in his voice. She understood Kara’s point of view. Kara was hurt, had been hurt for years and when she had the opportunity, she lashed out at her brother, and Barbara couldn’t really blame her.

Still, he was Diana and Kara’s brother.

“I’ll give you access this once. Kara is about to speak. Once she is done, I’m kicking you out of my system.”

“Thank you, Barbara. I don’t suppose you could build me a similar system?” He asked plaintively.

Barbara laughed. “Absolutely not. I’m not getting involved in Wayne family drama. If you want a security system, there are hundreds of companies who will install one. Good night, Bruce.”

In the ballroom, Kara stepped away from Tommy to prepare her speech. Compared to what she had done today, this should be a breeze.

Kara approached the quartet and was handed a microphone. She spoke into it, and it squelched, catching most of the party off guard, gritting their teeth.

“Sorry! Is this better? Okay, I’m not used to using a microphone so excuse me. I know this was supposed to be a small celebration tonight in honor of Wayne Enterprises’ new partnership with the government, one which I think we are all very excited about, but since everyone here is close to our family, I would like to make another announcement. Some of you already know or have noticed the big ring on my sister’s finger.

“Captain Steve Trevor has asked Diana to marry him, and she said yes!”

A round of loud applause broke out in the room along with a few cheers, Diana holding up her ring finger for all to see the sparkling diamond.

Kara waited with a big smile for the applause to die down. “I’m sure it comes as no surprise to anyone here that Diana is, and has always been, my hero. No matter how dark life seems to get for me at times, she is always there to pull me back into the light. Diana loves with everything she has in her… something I know better than anyone. She never does anything halfway. She would do anything to protect the ones she loves.”

“I am so excited for you, sis, you deserve every happiness.” She raised her glass to Diana, who returned her gesture with a gentle smile that reached her tear-filled eyes.

“Captain Steve Trevor.” Kara smirked at the man, drawing a laugh from the guests when Steve rolled his eyes at her joking tone. “I first met Steve when he test flew the first fighter I ever made, a typical, cocky pilot like you might suspect. He wouldn’t fly my jet the way I thought it should be flown so I took control of a drone and tried to knock him, and my plane, out of the sky. I was almost successful before he stepped up his game.”

The room laughed again, especially the two generals who had been there that day.

“After that flight, he asked us to have drinks with him. Diana quickly informed him that I was too young to drink… building an advanced jet did not make me twenty-one, I suppose.

“Still, I take credit for their relationship because I convinced Diana to go out with him. She said yes and now three years later, she has said yes again.

“Since I have known Steve, he has been a brother to me. When he visited, he always took time to spend with me. He was there during some of my worst times and made my best times better. He helps me work when I’m restoring planes, and we enjoy challenging each other flying head to head in simulators.

“He always makes me laugh, even if it’s at the dinner table telling bad jokes or making some stupid face from across the room. But it’s the love he has for my sister that inspires me, gives me hope that one day I might find my own and the love he has shown me, means the world to me.”

Kara raised her glass as did others in the room. “To Steve and Diana. Thank you for showing us that finding the perfect match is possible, and congratulations on your engagement. I’m sure you both want a small, private wedding, but Silver and I will ensure the ceremony is the largest in the history of Gotham City… one that will be talked about for centuries.”

The room cheered and toasted. Diana and Steve wrapped Kara in their arms thanking her for her beautiful words.

At his new residence, Bruce sat in front of his laptop and watched the event as the screen went black, Barbara keeping her word to cut his access after the announcement.

He was happy for his sisters and, though jealousy ate at him in regard to Kara’s relationship to Steve, he was glad she had someone filling the role in her life that he should have.

Bruce turned his computer off and moved to the refrigerator to pull out a beer. He had planned on going out tonight to patrol the city, maybe find intel on criminal activity. Instead, he decided to stay home and feel sorry for himself. He walked into his bedroom and opened a box of personal belongings he had yet to unpack. He had very few, but this was one he had kept with him, albeit hidden, over the years.

It was a framed photo of him, Diana and Kara on his and Diana’s fourteenth birthday, taken in front of the mansion by Alfred. The day was sunny and warm, and Kara was so happy as evident by the joy on her face and the big toothy smile.

He stared at the images of his sisters, in a better time, a time when he could still control the rage in his heart. Bruce placed the photo on his nightstand and leaned back against the headboard, drinking his beer without really tasting it, his mind miles away in Wayne Manor.

Had Diana told Kara what he was doing? Would Kara even care?

With that thought in mind, Bruce fell asleep to deal with the nightmares he had long become accustomed to.

Back at the manor, the staff that worked the party were cleaning before they left for the night, Steve and Alfred were making sure everyone was finding their rooms to their liking, and Diana was holding court on the balcony attached to the library on the third floor of the manor.

Harvey Dent, Andrew Garcia and Jim Gordon sat with her, looking out over the grounds, each with a drink in hand.

“Think you for joining me for a drink, gentleman. I was hoping we would have a chance for the four of us to talk tonight. I have been preoccupied with the government contract, but I have wanted to discuss some things involving our city.

“I doubt any of us would turn down an evening with you, Diana.” Harvey assured her.

“I concur.” Andrew agreed. “I believe Rosa is already in bed. Since you are so graciously putting us up for the night, I have all evening to chat.”

Diana nodded and stretched her legs out in front of her, relaxing further into her chair. “First, I am interested in where we are in regard to Arkham Asylum, Andrew.”

Garcia sighed. “I’ve got all our city lawyers working on a loop hole, but it isn’t looking good.”

Diana cringed, not pleased. “Arkham is a blight on Gotham. No one in their right mind would live near that place. Its security is leaky, and the grounds look as if they are the set of a horror movie. The worst criminals in the state should not be housed inside a major city. A contract that is one hundred and fifty years old should not be hard to break. Considering the drug dealers and users that now reside near the property, the entire area could be condemned.”

Garcia agreed, knowing she was right. The neighborhoods around Arkham were destitute. Most weren’t even rented, just lived in by squatters who conducted illegal activities. The police could stamp out one crack house for another to pop up a floor above in the same abandoned building.

Still, the land had been granted to the state by Doctor Amadeus Arkham, with the guarantee that it would only be used as a mental health facility in memory of Elizabeth Arkham or left alone, the state unable to destroy the property.

Diana did not just want the asylum closed down, she wanted the buildings leveled. She had held off on getting state officials involved, wanting the city to handle this on their own. So far, they had no legal grounds to close the place or allow her to own the property. It was one of the few plots of Gotham City land Diana did not own.

“I’m not sure what we can do.” Garcia admitted. “The state would have to get voters to agree to open another facility. With Belle Reve filled to the brim as well as the mental health ward at Blackgate Prison, it is unlikely state voters will want to foot the bill for a new facility.”

Diana shook her head. “I had thought the scandal with Jeremiah Arkham becoming a patient in his own facility would have been enough to shut down the place. I have offered to donate funds to upgrade security several times but have been turned away by Dr. Jonathan Crane.

“Harvey, Jim, what have we found out about him?”

Dent finished his glass and poured another drink for him and Jim. “Those found criminally insane have grown by thirty percent since he became head. He is filling the place to the brim yet isn’t complaining about needing more beds. We’ve stopped asking him for criminal psych profiles, but word has gotten out and every defense attorney wanting a moral victory is asking for him.”

“Arkham is worse than Blackgate. I don’t know why any offender would take that place over prison.” Jim said. “I did some digging into Crane’s background. Smart young guy, double majored in abnormal psychology and biochemistry, whatever the hell that is.”

“Biochemistry?” Diana asked, eyes narrowing suspiciously. “It’s the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. Does he have a doctorate in that field as well?”

Jim shook his head. “Looks like it was an undergrad major and he stuck with abnormal psychology to become a fancy doctor. Clean past but he was run out of his first posting at a sanitarium in Illinois. I called but nobody would talk. Cited confidentiality agreements.”

“In other words, he did something that could have looked bad to everyone if it came out, so he got fired and wasn’t arrested as long as everyone kept their mouth shut.” Harvey said, then summed up the situation. “Arkham has more prisoners than ever, Crane has past educational experiences that could give him the knowledge to be a mad scientist, and because of a shroud of patient confidentiality that we need tons of red tape to get through, we can’t just set up shop there and watch everything he does, twenty-four hours a day.”

Diana quietly mulled over the information and conjectures. Could Crane be conducting experiments on inmates? A part of her wanted to go to Illinois with her lasso and find out exactly what had happened. But that wasn’t the way she did business. Beside using her lasso on John Diggle, she never brought it out. Diggle was a special case due to his importance to Kara.

“If we must, I can have the government declare imminent domain over the property, claiming it as a security risk in light of the new defense contracts and its history of escapes possibly jeopardizing national security.” Diana decided. “But I’m worried about what the Feds will find if they go into this place and begin moving inmates out. If Crane is overcrowding for a reason, experimenting, doing anything unethical, I prefer us to shut it down. If the Feds find something big, not even I can keep it from blowing up in the media.”

Garcia agreed. “The last thing we want after the human trafficking ring is for the world to find out that the big scary asylum in the heart of Gotham is corrupt and a danger to society. If something is going on, we need to take it down, quietly.”

“So, we look into Crane deeper and take him out?” Jim asked Dent.

Dent raised an eyebrow. “It would be nice if we could find out what is really going on, had a person on the inside.”

Diana had a sudden idea. “Harvey, what if you were to send an attorney into the Asylum as a liaison? One to examine cases, determine if the person is still classified as insane? There are those who were determined unfit for trial. Perhaps a reexamination can be conducted to determine if the inmate is now fit. Wouldn’t that be basis for an ADA to be there every day and have access to patient records and observe treatments on convicts?”

Harvey leaned back in his chair as he thought on it. Undercover work was something more suited to Gordon’s department. It wasn’t something the attorneys he had working for him had practice doing.

He would need an unknown, not a star. A new kid in their first job. Unfortunately, new lawyers could be intimidated by someone as creepy as Crane.

“I honestly have no idea who would be good for the job in my department, Diana.” Harvey finally said. “Perhaps a police liaison would be better? Jim has highly qualified men and women who could do this better than anyone in my department.”

Diana smirked. “Perhaps you need someone new to your department, Harvey. Someone who doesn’t mind working in hellish conditions so long as it’s for the ‘greater good’.”

Dent raised an eyebrow. “You have someone in mind?”

Diana nodded. “She once worked for you for about five minutes. Rachel Dawes is back in town. Her mother has health issues and Rachel needs a job.”

Dent looked perplexed, obviously wondering if he understood her correctly. “I thought we agreed to keep Rachel from working in law again?”

Diana took a drink and closed her eyes to ward off her distaste of the subject. “I’ve given permission for Rachel to find work here while taking care of her mother. So long as she stays out of the criminal justice system, she is free to work where she can find it.

“However, in this case, I believe you can talk her into it. Explain it’s for the ‘greater good ‘. If we can take care of any misdeeds Crane may commit quietly, it will be better when I have the government seize the land. Since it will be under imminent domain laws, I will take it for defense contracting purposes and burn the buildings to the ground.”

Dent looked at Jim who didn’t appear to have a problem with it. “All right then, I’ll try and contact her. It will take me a few days to have a brief drawn up and signed by a judge to allow us to review files of those deemed unfit for trial. Once we have an in, I’ll see if she is up to it.”

“If she isn’t let me know. I can convince her.” Diana assured him, then changed subjects. “Have there been any more sightings of that idiot from the docks who was dressed like a bat?”

“Yes,” Jim admitted, “we have found some drug dealers, tied and severely beaten in alleys. I haven’t received any more personal calls, but anonymous tips to the police line have told us where to pick them up. We can’t hold them, of course, even with fingerprints on the drugs. They say this bat guy pressed the drugs into their hands after assaulting and binding them. As of right now, we are looking to issue warrants for him on twelve counts of assault and unlawful restraint. I don’t believe he pressed anything into their hands, but the fact is, with no witnesses, we have to take their word, based off their injuries.”

Diana kept her face calm but felt a dread inside. This was exactly why she told Bruce their method would not work in high school. No matter what they did, they were not getting criminals off the street. They were putting them in hospitals only for them to be released and go back to their illicit activities. It was a never-ending cycle that didn’t accomplish anything.

“Keep this as quiet as possible. Whoever this is, he is playing a very dangerous game, one that can get him killed or, even worse, get innocents killed.” Diana pointed out.

Jim cleared his throat. “At the risk of sounding as if I am supporting this guy… and I am not… I believe there is a method to his madness. A pattern anyway. He has been busting the heads of street dealers but asking the same questions. He is trying to find the source of the heroin trade. We know it’s the Triad, they are prominent in Metropolis as well. Problem is every time we get close to one head, he goes back to Japan, and another takes his place. Different places, different dealers, different crew. The Bat is trying to climb the ladder.”

Diana took a breath and stood up. “Let’s make sure we get to the top before this man. Once this ‘Bat’ is arrested, I want it kept quiet. We don’t need a costumed vigilante on the front page making Gotham City look ridiculous. Tell me first.

“I believe that is all for now, so I bid you a good night, gentlemen. It has been a pleasure having you here and I will see you all at breakfast. You are all doing wonderful work. We are close to making this city the jewel it should be.

“Thank you for celebrating with me tonight, my friends.”