Prologue 1/2: Past and Future

September 23rd, 2032
Gotham city
4:00 am

The drive to Wayne Manor was quiet. Bruce gazed at the 10 year old girl, who was busy looking out the window, and had not said a word to him since they met. His gaze held remorse and sympathy, for he understood what she was feeling at the moment. She had lost her entire family, right in front of her eyes, just like him.

"She looks just like Dick." Bruce thought as he studied the girl sitting across from him. From her black wavy hair to her crystal blue eyes. He hadn't talked to his ward in decades. Nonetheless, he still kept enough tabs on him to know that he had settled down and started a family of his own.

Guilt was also an emotion Bruce was feeling, guilty that he hadn't tried hard enough to make amends with his ward, and now......he never would.

The girl was aware of the man's intense gaze on her but didn't care. Even though she was gazing out the window, she wasn't focusing on what they were driving by. Numb. Numb was a good word to describe how she was feeling. Her body was on autopilot, but her mind wasn't.

The only thing her mind was good for at the moment was replaying the past tragic event over......and.........over. She couldn't believe how much a couple of hours could change one's life.

Hours ago

~"Last chance Killer Croc, give up or get your butt kicked!" The 10 year old shouted. "Never Nightwing!" Her father shouted back dramatically. Then he grabbed some pillows off the couch and threw them at her. She dodge all of them expertly, using her acrobatic skills. She gazed back to where he was but found that her villain was no longer in front of her. Suddenly, a pair of arms grabbed Eliana and scooped her up. "I have you now, Nightwing!" Her father exclaimed and sent them tumbling onto the couch. There was a pregnant pause until both father and daughter began laughing.

A new voice called out that made them quiet down, "What's going on in here?" The two turn to look at Eliana's mother, giving sheepish smiles. "Mom, you should've seen me! I was Nightwing, and dad was Killer Croc! And then dad threw pillows at me, and I dodged them until dad captured me," her daughter replied enthusiastically.

"Well, it's Nightwing's bedtime," Angelica Grayson told her daughter, who began jumping all over the place.

"But mom, I'm a superhero, and hero's don't sleep, they patrol," she responded while mimicking fighting actions. "A hero is no good when they haven't rested well," announced Dick Grayson as he got up and wrapped an arm around his wife's waist, "Your father's right Eliana, even heroes need sleep." An irritated groan came from their daughter, "But how am I supposed to be a hero if I don't train to stay up late?" Just before her parents could answer, Eliana gave a small yawn. "See, you just proved our point. Alright, missy, let's get you to bed," her father said and picked up the sleepy child.

"Hey dad, when I'm older, I wanna be Nightwing just like you were back in the day," Eliana told her father softly as he pulled her covers up. "Well, with some proper training, you'll one day be ready, and I know you'll make me proud. Sweet dreams, babybird," he replied, kissing her forehead.

"But that day won't come until a while. Goodnight, sweetheart. I love you so much." Her mother said, also giving Eliana a kiss. "Love you mom, love you dad," Eliana mumbled before they turned off her light and left her bedroom.

It was in the middle of the night when Eliana woke up from hearing shuffling and muffled voices coming from downstairs. Wordlessly, she climbed out of bed and made her way out to the hallway. She glanced at her parents' bedroom, only to see the door opened with nobody in bed. The noise of glass shattering made Eliana jump.

Quietly, she tiptoed across the hall and made her way to the stairs. Cautiously, she peeked her head out while still hiding her body. Her eyes widened, and a sharp gasp came out of her mouth.

Down the stairs, she could see 3 men dressed in black with bags stuffed with some of her parents' valuable possessions. It wasn't hard for her to figure out that they were house robbers, but what really made her terrified was the fact that they surrounded her mother and father.

One robber was holding her mother while pressing a gun to her head, and another robber was aiming a gun at the back of her fathers. "Look, take whatever you want, just let my wife go," her father tried reasoning.

Seeing her mother cry with a gun pressed against her skull made Eliana want to run down the stairs, but she knew it wouldn't be the right choice. A sinister chuckle pulled Eliana out of her thoughts. She turned to look at a white man with black hair and fiery red highlights.

"Sorry, no can do. You see, if we let you go, you'll call the police. And then the cops will be trying to hunt us down. Besides, it's way more fun this way," the man exclaimed, pulling his gun out. Before Eliana could blink

BANG! BANG!

The man shot her mother first, then her father. The 2 gunshots rang throughout the house, as her parents fell to the ground with a pool of blood forming underneath them. The trio immediately ran out of the house, and as soon as it was safe, Eliana ran down to her parents. "Mom, Momma, please say something.......anything," Eliana cried out while shaking her mothers body. She ran over to her dad and shook him as well. "Dad, Daddy, please get up! Mom needs you.........I need you. Please don't leave me!" Eliana cried, laying over top of her fathers body.

And that's how the police found her. Everything else had been a blur. She remembered hearing the sirens; she would later find out that a neighbor had called the police. She recalled how they had to pull her away from her father because she was clinging onto him tightly. They wrapped a blanket around her and cleaned the blood off her hands.

Although she was still in shock, she managed to answer all the questions the detectives asked her, including if she had any family members to go live with. The truth was.........she had no one, not one aunt or uncle. She overheard the name Bruce Wayne; she'd heard her father mention it before.

Within 30 minutes of contacting him, a limo pulled up, and an old man with a cane got out. A couple of minutes later, she was in said limo with the man, and they were headed to a place called Wayne Manor.~

~8~

Wayne Manor was a very big mansion, Eliana couldn't believe her eyes when she first spotted it. After getting out of the car, she was immediately tackled by a huge black Great Dane. "Ace, down boy down. She's a guest," the old man said sternly. That seemed to be enough because as soon as she got up, Ace tried licking her hands. "Good boy," Eliana said, petting him. She turned to look at the man but before she could utter a word he had answered the question she was about to ask, "Your stuff will be collected and moved here, I'll also provide you with some stuff as well."

The minute she walked through the doors, Eilana felt a chill run down her spine. The inside was beautiful but dark. In fact, the whole manor seemed to have a dark edge to it. The man then took her upstairs to her new bedroom.

"Woah, this bedroom is 3 times the size of mine!" Eliana exclaimed, walking around the room. She felt the man's gaze on her, so she turned around and asked him the number 1 question on her mind. "Why are you doing this, taking custody over me?" Eliana asked him. She noticed his eyes held sadness.

"I knew your father. He became my ward around your age. Even though we parted on bad terms, I still consider him family, which means I consider you family," Bruce answered wholeheartedly.

"I know what it's like to lose both parents and in front of your eyes. I'm doing what I did for your father....giving you a second chance to live," he said, kneeling in front of her. And he didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around the now crying girl. The truth was that he needed a hug at that moment as she did.

1 month later

The first month living in Wayne Manor was hard, to say the least. She had to witness her parents' burial and all the pitying looks from adults. Her parents were buried at Wayne Manor, which Eliana was grateful for. That meant Eliana could visit her parents anytime she wanted. The only person she took notice of at the funeral was Gotham's Commissioner, who Bruce seemed to know very well.

It took Eliana at least a week to not get lost in the huge mansion. Although the first thing Bruce had introduced to her was the gym and boy, it was spectacular. There was a whole section dedicated to gymnastics, which got her really excited.

Even though the mansion as a whole was amazing, it could never beat her little house in Bludhaven. She learned pretty quickly that Bruce mainly kept to himself, only ever checking on her to ask if she needed anything.

But, there had been something Eliana wanted to ask Bruce. It had taken her a month to gain the courage to do so.

"I want to become the next Nightwing," Eliana stated as they were eating dinner one night.

Bruce choking on his drink wasn't exactly the reaction she was expecting.

"I know what you did for my father. You trained him to be Robin while you were Batman. My father was going to train me but now....." She looked at Bruce's hard stare, "No, I will not let another person get hurt by leading this life. This isn't some game we're talking about. It's dangerous."

Angrily, Eilana slammed her fist on the table and stood up, "I know it isn't a game. What I'm asking could very well get me killed, but it's worth the risk. My father believed in justice and freedom, and I wanted to continue his legacy. Gotham needs a hero. The citizens need to know that they're not alone!"

Softly but with an authoritative voice, she continued, "I'm not saying that I'm going to go out as Nightwing in the next week, I'm saying that I want you to train me." Bruce was shocked at the words coming out from the 10 year olds mouth. He didn't know how to explain it, but Bruce saw something in Eliana that reminded him of himself.

After a long moment of silence, Eliana was starting to lose faith. 'I knew I shouldn't have asked so soon.' She thought, casting her gaze downwards. But then her eyes bolted up after hearing his words, "Alright, I'll train you, but it's hard work, and this life comes at a price. Are you sure you want to do this?"

Without hesitation, she answered yes.

"Here's the catch, only when you're sixteen you can don the mask. Do you understand?" Bruce questioned. "Yeah, I understand. No Nightwing until 16," she said, nodding her head.

"Good, now follow me. There's something I need to show you," Bruce said, getting up and walking out of the room with a curious girl trailing behind him. They walked into a room and went straight to a grandfather clock. Eliana's jaw drops as it opens up to display a staircase to which they walk down. Eliana loudly gasps when lights turn on to reveal the cave she had only ever heard in her fathers stories. "Oh my Gods," she breathed out.

"Eliana, welcome to the Batcave."

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