Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

The Wayne Legacy: Origins

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 06:

A shriek in the living room caught Alfred’s attention. He panicked at first, thinking it might be Kara, but then realized it was a much higher shriek than hers, meaning it belonged to one of the daytime cleaning staff.

Walking as fast as he could, he found the woman on the floor. A wide-eyed Kara stood against one wall, wearing some sort of glove on her hand holding a ball approximately the size of a baseball. On the other side of the room, there was a baseball-sized hole in the wall and in front of that hole was a smashed Ming vase from the reign of Emperor Chenghua.

“That child is the devil!” the maid on the floor shrieked as she stood up and glared at the sheepish nine-year-old girl.

“I am terribly sorry. What happened?” Alfred asked, hoping to calm the staff member before she quit. Finding cleaners for Wayne Manor was not as easy as one would expect because you couldn’t simply hire a maid service. There were too many priceless antiques, too much history and too many secrets to be found if one snooped. Therefore, all employees of the manor went through a rigorous hiring process and were paid well.

“I was cleaning, and the little devil held her hand out like a witch! The ball came through the wall and barely missed me!” The distressed woman replied, breathing heavily.

Alfred let out a breath, relieved she hadn’t been hit in the head. Given it had come through the wall, whatever kind of ball Kara had crafted would have most likely cracked the woman’s head open.

Occasionally, small, and not so small, disasters happened that caused staff to fear for their lives. Last month, a bored Kara had boosted the power on a riding lawnmower and failed to mention this to anyone. When the gardener accelerated, the mower hit fifty-five miles an hour in less than eight seconds. Rather than trying the brakes, the man jumped off leading to a fractured wrist and the mower tearing a path through the carefully sculpted garden.

Trying to placate the woman, Alfred offered, “Why don’t you take the rest of the day off and tomorrow as well, at full pay of course. I do apologize and promise this will not happen again.”

“This always happens! The little brat will destroy this mansion one day, mark my words!” The woman shouted and stomped off.

Alfred sighed, shaking his head, then gave his attention to his youngest charge.

“I can explain.” Kara told him immediately.

Alfred waited, knowing it couldn’t be good. Despite having the best of clothes in her closet, she was wearing old, faded blue jeans, an N’Sync t-shirt and glasses that seemed a bit too large for her small frame. Her hair was tied in a crude ponytail that had wild strands sticking out in all directions.

“I’m waiting.” He responded.

Kara reached into the glove, pulled out the ball and threw it at Alfred. To his surprise and relief, it stopped in midair and moved quickly back to Kara’s hand.

“See, it works.” The little blonde genius stated. “I needed a metal ball, so I took one of the old bed knobs in the haunted room. I used my cutting torch to open it up…”

“You are not supposed to be welding without supervision!” Alfred snapped.

“No, I’m not supposed to use an arc welder without supervision,” Kara reminded him. “This was just a cutting torch… you know what, it doesn’t matter.

“The important thing is I made this glove that can link up with a particular magnetic signature like the one in the ball. I placed a gyrosphere with a small radar detector and when I activated it, guess what? Success. Only the gyrosphere didn’t work or the radar failed to pick up the wall, so it came through the wall instead of dodging it and circling through the doorway. Yeah, I almost hit her, but I took her position into account and it should have cleared her by five feet in a worst case scenario. She totally made a bigger deal out of this than it should have been. I think the noise from the wall and the vase shattering shocked her.”

Alfred crossed his arms and frowned down at the uncomfortable, yet unrepenting, little girl.

“You play with experiments in the garage or in the basement and only with someone present.” He reminded her, though it never seemed to stick.

Kara shrugged her shoulders. “There were no doors or turns in the basement or garage for me to test the ball and since I did it while someone was working in here, there was technically someone present. I admit, she almost got brained, but she was here so doesn’t that count as someone?”

Alfred sighed, wanting to chastise her but he understood why these things continued to happen with her. She was in this home nearly twenty-four hours a day and couldn’t go out. She ran the grounds during good weather, but it was winter time, and the chances of her catching pneumonia were too great. She had been doing well health wise and they all wished for it to stay that way.

Trying a different tact, he asked, “Do you have any idea how much that vase was worth?”

Kara shook her head. “Can’t you just glue it back together?”

Alfred shook his head slightly. “No, Kara, you can’t. It was priceless.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s an oxymoron… how can it be priceless if you just asked me how much it was worth?” The little blonde’s face was a mask of confusion, pointing out the absurdity of his statement. “And another thing… why was it sitting out in the open anyway where any metal ball breaking through a wall could knock it over? Shouldn’t it be in a museum or something? What’s the point of a vase if we never put flowers in it?”

What indeed, Alfred thought, closing his eyes and taking deep breaths to calm himself. Perhaps it was time to put away the decorative pieces that usually graced Wayne Manor. He had thought, as Kara grew, it would be okay to put them out once again, but she was an even greater menace now than she had been as a toddler.

“Have you taken your afternoon nap?” He asked, opening his eyes again.

“Do you have any way of knowing if I did or not?” She asked innocently.

Alfred crossed his arms, not happy with that answer. “And if I don’t?”

“Then of course I took my nap.” Kara replied. “Want to do something? Maybe we can… play chess? Or Mario Cart? Maybe we could take a ride into Gotham? I know… we could pick Diana and Bruce up from school. I call the front.”

Alfred raised his hand. “Diana and Bruce are already on their way home. I would suggest you take a shower, or at least clean your hands, then prepare for dinner. Afterward, we will have a talk about your swimming desires.”

“You mean you are signing me up for the swim team.” She stated as if it were decided.

Alfred shook his head. “I mean discussing it with your siblings and coming to a decision.”

“Why don’t I get a say?”

Alfred raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, yeah, when I am older. Mom and Dad would let me do it.” Kara grumbled, obviously irritated as she took off running, leaving Alfred alone. He didn’t bother to tell her there was no running in the house. She knew this already but was too upset to care.

He wished things could be different. She should be at school, even if her intelligence were not off the scale. She should be interacting with other children her own age instead of just the occasional playdates with Alex Danvers or Barbara Gordon.

“Thomas, you left me ill-prepared, old friend.” The man muttered.

He heard the car and opened the door for the oldest children, disappointed to find only Diana without her sibling.

“Where is he?” Alfred asked, already knowing.

“You know where he is. Hanging out on the streets or in whatever hole the slut is staying.” Diana replied, obviously annoyed. “How has Kara been today?”

Alfred grunted, but smiled a bit despite his frustration. “Look at the wall and see for yourself. She has made a ball than can come to her glove no matter where she was. It broke through the wall, destroyed the Ming Vase and nearly killed one of the servants.”

Diana nodded, seemingly satisfied. “So, she is doing well and keeping busy. She hasn’t been outside, has she? The moisture in the air is rising and the temperature is dropping. Did you check her for a fever?”

“Diana, please stop. She’s fine.” Alfred said. “We should discuss her desire to swim in meets. Let’s retire to the sitting room to speak of it. Kara should be cleaning up for dinner and she will be anxious for an answer.”

Diana followed her guardian and had a seat across from him.

Looking at the wall and the shards of the priceless vase on the floor, Diana smirked, obviously proud of her little sister’s ingenuity. “We should consider putting our antiques in the vault.”

“The same thought occurred to me. I’ll see to it.” Alfred agreed. “Now, what is Bruce’s opinion on her desire to compete?”

“That I should ‘get over myself and let her swim’.” Diana replied. “His words. Of course, considering where he is now, I’m not sure why I asked for his opinion or if it has any validity.”

Alfred nodded. “I’ve spoken to Eliza. So long as the meets are inside in a temperature controlled environment, she foresees no health concerns. You know Kara is an excellent swimmer, and this may motivate her to exercise with more conviction.”

Diana raised an eyebrow. “And the hundreds of others packed into this closed area for the meets? What does she say to that? These areas will be humid from the packed stands, the water present. We will have to get her to and from the car. She foresees no risk?”

Alfred clenched his jaw, responding to her question vehemently. “If we are to avoid all risk, I would suggest putting her in an isolation chamber to live out her life. Her immune system is doing well. We work so hard to give her a semblance of a normal life. It is bad enough that she only has limited social interaction with two other girls. Taking in Eliza and Bruce’s opinion on the matter, I would agree with both of them. I am asking your opinion but the three of us have always voted…”

Diana bristled at the tone. “Don’t talk about voting. If I tell her not to do it, she won’t. This is a discussion, not a democracy. Not when it comes to her. Her health comes before all, even at the expense of her social interactions. We can arrange for more play time or other activities to entertain her. If I tell her not to swim, she won’t swim.”

Alfred nodded, knowing this was true, knowing he needed to back down a little before he angered Diana, but he also needed to think about Kara and her needs.

As with her little sister earlier, he knew how to get around Diana’s stubbornness and make her think. “Diana, we have always followed your lead regarding her care. However, we won’t cover for you this time. If she asks, I will tell her we all agreed but you. You can be the one to break her heart.”

Diana closed her eyes and forced herself to remain calm. After a few moments, she asked, “Have you looked at possible competition venues? How hard will they be to secure? How many bodyguards will we need?”

“I’ve looked at five of them but they all seem standard. I know you will be near her in between races, if not directly with her. Security can cover the outside and we can assign someone to watch for any overt coughing or sneezing. In this case, Eliza recommends we keep her at least twenty feet away from the offender and she will check her after every competition.

“She will be required to practice with the team, but a few day guards should suffice. Her face isn’t exactly well known to the public, so she won’t be a target. I’m sure with a generous donation to the team, concessions can be made for extra security.”

Diana took a deep breath and gave in. It was true, if she didn’t want this, she could talk Kara out of it, no matter what the others thought. In her opinion, Alfred, Eliza and Bruce were too reckless with her sister’s health in this pursuit of her having a normal life, but this was a fight she could not win.

It was also true that Kara needed more socialization skills. One day, she would be well enough to face the public, and Diana didn’t want her…

Damn it.

“You do not need to assign anyone to be with her beyond our normal security guards. I will watch her at all times, both during practices and meets.” Diana told the man. “We can tell her after dinner. I will give you the honor.”

Alfred shook his head. “You will tell her. She needs to know you are on board with this, Diana. If she sees confidence in your eyes, she will be confident. If she sees grudging acceptance, she will be hesitant, not happy and we want her to be happy.”

Diana huffed. “There is no need to wait until after dinner then. Kara learned to make bugs last week and I don’t mean those of the insect variety.”

“Kara, baby, come to the sitting room.” Diana said in a normal tone, knowing her little sister would be listening and had been listening the entire time.

The little blond was down the stairs a minute later looking guilty, yet hopeful.

“Come here, sweetie.” Diana beckoned her sister over and the blonde dutifully plopped down in Diana’s lap and laid her head on her older sister’s shoulder.

“I suppose we have to make rules about listening devices in the house now?” Diana asked.

Kara shook her head. “I’ll remove all of them. I only had them in the sitting room, the parlor, the kitchen and the basement clinic.”

“And why would you want those listening devices in those places?” Diana asked.

“Because that’s where you all talk if something is wrong with me.” Kara replied hesitantly. “I know you wouldn’t tell me because you don’t want me to be scared.”

Diana took a deep breath and met Alfred’s sad eyes. Kara’s tone was like a vice gripping her heart. Looking into blue eyes, she said gently, “I have always been honest with you, haven’t I? If we are talking without you, it is because we are trying to find better ways to help you. If you have questions, you can ask me. Listening devices are not allowed. They are sneaky and Waynes aren’t sneaky, are we?”

Kara shook her head.

“You wish to swim for the Riverside Dolphins?” Diana asked.

Kara nodded. “I checked the results of their last meet in Metropolis. My personal best would have gotten me fifth place. The coach at Riverside is really good. I heard she can shave ten seconds off your best time in the first week of practice.”

Diana was not surprised. She had taught Kara all the competitive strokes herself but was the first to admit she was no professional coach. They never hired one for Kara since they didn’t want anyone in the basement where the pool was located.

“Okay. They have a meet this Saturday on the West Side. The four of us will go to watch the meet and greet the coach afterward to get a practice schedule.” Diana told her, smiling slightly as Kara’s entire face lit up. “You realize this means no more cheat days. Vitamins, supplements and diet will be more important than ever before. You will have to be more disciplined.”

Kara nodded quickly. “I’ll be disciplined, I promise.”

“Then why do I get home from school so often and hear tales of you terrorizing the staff?” Diana asked fondly.

Kara scrunched her forehead. “That has nothing to do with discipline, that has to do with discovery. I forgot to tell the gardener about the lawn mower’s increased acceleration.

“As far as the ball today, I admit, I could have handled it better. That was all on me. We also lost a priceless vase which is ridiculous. If we bought it from someone it obviously had a price and having a vase with no flowers is kind of dumb.”

Diana gently reached a finger under Kara’s chin. The blonde looked at her older sister with a big smile.

The older girl couldn’t help but chuckle. “No more experiments without Alfred’s permission, okay? Perhaps if the weather is better tomorrow, we can go shopping and pick up a couple new swimsuits for you and some new tools.”

“Really?” Kara asked excitedly.

“Yes, really.” Diana promised. “Now go get cleaned up for dinner. Afterward, we can read ‘Le Petit Prince ‘ until bedtime. It’s one of my favorites and you need to work on your French.”

“Will you sleep with me tonight?” The little blonde asked hopefully.

Diana nodded and kissed her forehead. “Of course, Bunny. Now go.”

Kara ran off, leaving Diana with a proud Alfred who decided not to bring up that Kara had used a cutting torch all by herself.

The three ate dinner while listening to Kara talk rapidly about whatever topic struck her mind.

Alfred and Diana did their best to hide their worry about Bruce’s absence.

At midnight, the manor door opened, and Diana was in front of it from Kara’s bed in less than a second. Bruce jumped back, surprised as he often was when Diana used her lightning speed to appear as if from thin air.

“Damn it, Diana! Stop that!”

Diana ignored him and used her hand to lift his chin, taking in the damage. “Who?”

Bruce jerked back from her. “If you had been with me, you would have known. I handled it. Cleaning up streets seems to be my job, since you are going to be busy taking over the world.”

“Did you clean up the street or did they clean you up? Judging by your face, I assume it was more than one man. How many did you attack, Bruce?”

Bruce, sighed, leaned over and kissed Diana on the cheek. “Good night, Dee. I love you.”

The next night, Diana Wayne, dressed in an all-black ensemble that included a long, hooded coat, entered the current residence of Selina Kyle.

Selina wasn’t surprised to see her. “I know Bruce didn’t talk, so how did you find me?”

Diana smiled. “You needn’t worry about the how, you only need to know that I can.”

“Touché.” Selina agreed. “So, what brings Diana Wayne out to the wrong side of the tracks?”

“I want the names and locations of those who hurt Bruce last night.” Diana demanded.

Selina waved it off. “Bruce and I handled it.”

“Are they in jail?”

“No.”

“Are they still walking?”

“Yes.”

“Then you didn’t handle it.” Diana stated. “Tell me what happened and how to find these men. I know you know them. I bet you know every piece of trash for twenty blocks.”

Selina laughed, but stood up from the couch and moved slightly towards the open window. She shouldn’t have been afraid of the spoiled, snobby socialite but something about Diana always struck her as off. She had only been around her during the few times Selina had visited Wayne Manor. Diana never hid her distaste for her, yet there was more to her dislike than just an elitist attitude. Something in her was darker, like Bruce.

“Bruce can handle himself. We took care of it.” Selina reiterated.

Diana walked to the couch, looked as if she considered sitting and then stood up straighter.

“How much, Selina?”

“Excuse me?”

“How much money will it take to make you go away?” Diana asked directly.

Selina laughed, enjoying the behavior of this girl. She acted like the snooty rich mother instead of the twin sister. She decided to play along.

“Let’s make it a nice even number.” She suggested. “How about two million?”

“I could have you killed and dumped in Gotham Harbor for less than ten thousand. Try again.” Diana countered, her expression cold, the certainty in her voice surprising Selina. Diana was either incredibly good at bluffing or completely serious.

Selina shook her head, anger overtaking her fear. “Go to hell, Diana. You may control your little sister’s every thought and breath, but you don’t control Bruce and you sure as hell don’t control me. Take your money and burn it for all I care.

“You want to know where the guys are that Bruce and I fought with last night? Take a walk ten blocks south of here and they will find you. I hope they do. Someone needs to take you down a few levels. You might want to take those heels off so you can run away.”

“I will find them and deal with the problem.” Diana smirked, infuriating the girl even more. “You are right about one thing, I don’t control Bruce. I don’t have to. You and I both know he can do better than you and he will realize that one day.

“Considering you don’t seem to be very sanitary and are living in a dead woman’s apartment, you are no longer allowed to visit the manor. My sister does not need to be exposed to you… for her health and a number of other reasons.

“As for Bruce, I suggest you take better care of him if he insists on visiting you here. If he is hurt, you will see me again and I will not be happy.”

Selina nearly laughed. “You really think you can hurt me, rich girl?”

Diana walked up to the shorter girl and stared down at her, forcing Selina back just enough to make her point. “You would be surprised what I can do. Good night, Selina Kyle. Make sure we don’t meet again.”

At the manor, Bruce had almost fallen into a restless sleep, until his door opened.

“Bubba?” Kara’s voice called out.

Bruce turned on his nightstand lamp and saw it was midnight. “What are you doing up?”

Kara walked over and jumped onto Bruce’s bed, curling into his side. “I can’t sleep. My brain won’t turn off.”

Bruce had seen this before. When given a project Kara could be extremely focused but at times, when she was to rest, her mind ran away, going off on tangents. Because of this, she needed a sleeping pill at night.

“Why didn’t you take your pill? Diana is not going to let you swim if she knows you aren’t getting at least eight hours a night.”

Kara sighed. “I just wanted to think on some stuff tonight, so I slipped my sleeping pill out and hid it. Diana didn’t notice that I only took my others. I was going to take it later, but I couldn’t find it. I think it’s under my bed.”

Bruce took a deep breath. “I will get you another. You usually go to Diana’s room when you can’t sleep so I guess you are hiding out with me, so she doesn’t know you pulled a fast one, right?”

Kara didn’t answer his question. In fact, she was staring at him, her head tilted curiously.. “Who hurt you?”

Bruce sat up in bed and looked at her. “What do you mean?”

“You have bruises on your face. I noticed. Your cheeks are a bit swollen too. Who hurt you? Was it criminals like the one who killed Mommy and Daddy?”

Bruce wasn’t sure how to answer that. He and Diana had a policy of trying to be honest with Kara while acknowledging there were some things she didn’t need to know.

“I was out last night and saw some men trying to hurt a woman.” He replied, carefully downplaying the beating he took. “I stopped them, so she could get away. We had a fight, but I was fine. I just got a little bruised.”

“You were with Selina, right?” Kara asked.

Bruce raised an eyebrow. “How do you know that?”

“Before I took out all my bugs, I heard Didi complaining to Alfred about it.” She told him. “Can I ask you a question about Selina? Is she your girlfriend?”

Bruce thought for a moment. “I suppose you could call her that.”

He and Selina had an intense relationship. They could be hot and cold. The hot was really hot, and the cold was really cold.

“Do you kiss her?”

Bruce turned a bit red. “That’s really none of your concern, Kara. You shouldn’t wonder about things like that.”

Kara sat up and grinned. “Diana told Alfred that Selina was a thieving slut who should have been locked away in juvie a long time ago. What is a slut?”

Bruce took a calming breath. “Kara, you said you took out the listening devices?”

“Yup.”

“Good. Don’t listen anymore. If you ever hear anything Diana says that you don’t understand, ask Diana. She can explain what a slut is to you.” He told her. “I’m going to go get a pill, but I may have to slip into Diana’s room to grab it. If she wakes up, you get to explain.”

Kara wasn’t concerned. “She isn’t home. I thought of sneaking into her room first so I wouldn’t have to wake you up, but I didn’t want to go sneaking in like a thieving slut and…”

“Kara!”

“What!? I didn’t want her to think I was stealing any of her stuff when she wasn’t home.”

Bruce gritted his teeth. “Don’t use the word slut anymore, especially in regard to yourself. Diana doesn’t care if you go through her things… you know that.”

“I know but I wanted you to do it.” Kara giggled softly. “Can I stay with you tonight?”

“After you take your pill, sure.”

Bruce left his room and was back a minute later with a glass of water and a pill to find Kara propped up on his pillows. He gave her the pill and a bottle of water, making sure she swallowed it.

“Kara… how many of those listening devices did you make?” he asked, thinking they might come in handy for his mission.

“Sixteen.” Kara said with a yawn.

“And where did you put them when you took them out?… Kara?” Bruce’s only answer was a snore.

He smiled and kissed the top of her head then lay her flat on the bed.

The next morning, while Kara swam laps in the pool, Bruce and Diana sparred in their designated area.

Bruce let loose, knowing no matter how fast he moved or how hard he came at her, Diana could take it. It helped, knowing he didn’t have to be careful with her and was more than ready for actual combat on the streets. He had a score to settle this weekend and needed the work.

As if she were reading his mind, Diana blocked a punch and smiled. “If you are going to look for your friends who have ill intentions towards women, don’t bother.”

“Did you call the police?” Bruce asked as he landed a kick to her head, causing Diana to stick her tongue out at him.

She caught his leg as it came towards her head again and flipped him to his back. “And explain that I just happened to be out for a midnight stroll and was attacked by four brutes but managed to savagely beat them instead?”

Bruce sprang back to his feet, jumping just in time to avoid her leg sweep and swung twice more, hitting her in her ribs, but unable to avoid her stiff arm punch to his padded torso as he fell back, fighting for breath. Diana always pulled her punches, but her attacks gave him a sense of what he might face in a real fight and he needed to be able to fight through.

“Are they alive?” He asked once he could breathe normally again.

“Yes, but they won’t be attacking any more women, or anyone for that matter. I doubt they will ever walk again.” Diana replied, not even winded from their session.

Bruce stopped and glanced towards Kara who was happily swimming laps.

“What did you do?”

“I broke a few vertebrae in their backs… more than enough to ensure they have changed their ways.”

Bruce walked over to a rack and grabbed a towel, wiped his head and tossed it at his sister.

“There will be more out tonight, and I will be there.” He nodded towards the pool. “You can stay home and explain to Kara what a slut is. Have fun with that, Didi.”