Annie’s POV:

        The last thing I remembered was being overcome with bright light and then darkness. When I woke up, i was in what appeared to be a hospital bed. The sun was shining brightly through the window and I could see a beautiful view of Gotham from it. My throat was dry, my head was throbbing and my entire body felt like it had been attacked by a thousand jack-hammers--but other than that I was okay.

        I looked around the room for an explanation. There was three or four bouquets of flowers and a balloon that read “Get Well”. None of them had cards on them to say who they were from. I sat up slowly, my head felt like it weighed a thousand lbs but I needed to move. For some reason, I felt like I had been asleep for a thousand years. I tried to think about how I got to the hospital--what had happened?  Where was anyone? I needed to find my brother and tell him I was okay.

        As I had sat up, I heard squabbles from outside the door. People were arguing, I wondered if it was Nick. I tried to get up and get out of the bed but before I could, it swung open. It was Dick Grayson, and Bruce Wayne was right behind him. He stared at me uncomfortably for a second, as if he wasn’t sure how I would react.

        “Hey” I said, breaking into a smile.

        “Hi”

        Bruce Wayne frowned behind him, for some reason, he didn’t want Dick to be talking to be. Maybe it was because I had just woken up, although it didn’t seem like it.

                “How are you feeling?”

        “Okay, my head hurts but other than that everything’s okay”

        “I’m glad to hear it”

        I kept looking out the large windows. It was so bright and sunny, I wanted to be outside.

        “It’s so nice out considering it’s October.” I said blankly, staring out the window in wonder. Dick seemed to get uncomfortable at this statement and he looked uneasily at Bruce.

        “Actually Annie, it’s spring”

        I didn’t know how to process this. Firstly, hearing my own name sounded weird, almost like I had forgotten that it was my own name. Secondly, how could it be spring? School had just started--and there was some dance I had just gone to or something--everything in my head was blurry.

        A doctor came in the room next. I flinched when I saw him. There was something about doctors that stirred in my memory--something strange. I had flashbacks of a large man with glasses in a white coat. He was a bad man--I remembered that.

        “Hello Annie, how are you feeling?” the doctor asked.

        “what happened to me?” I asked, growing more frantic. The foggy euphoria had gone away--something bad had happened, something very bad.

        “There was an accident...you need to rest” the doctor said uncomfortably, he was preparing me for bad news, like a patient about to receive a terminal diagnosis.

        “where is my brother?” My voice trembled with fear and anger.

        “He didn’t make it...I’m sorry”

        Angry tears poured out of my eyes. My voice closed on itself and i choked out the word “No”. No...this couldn’t be. I needed my brother, he was the only person I had left. How could I be all alone? Nick couldn’t be dead.

        With that, it all came back. My brother’s dead body mangled on the floor. The Joker had killed him and he tortured me. He turned me into a monster...but I had killed the monster inside me.

        “Is she gone?”

        The doctor again looked uneasy. He seemed like a good man, I felt bad that he had to deal with me but I was a wreck and I needed answers.

        “You were injected with a mixture of very dangerous chemicals. Somehow, the natural chemical balance in your brain has appeared to have been restored. You’re a very lucky girl. Unfortunately, there’s no antidote or vaccine that I can give you to get rid of the toxins in your body.”

        “So she could come back?”

        “The schizophrenic episode you had seems to be caused by these chemicals but you do appear to be okay now and for the immediate future. The only thing we can do now is monitor it.  My advice...avoid head trauma”

                “No more cheerleading, I guess” I said as I turned to look out the window again. No matter how bright the world was, I felt dull. I had lost everything now and it was all his fault--Joker.

        “what about...him?” I couldn’t even say his name out loud. The doctor didn’t appear to have an answer for this question so a new voice in the room spoke: it was Bruce Wayne.  

        “He was apprehended and he’s in police custody now. Arkham Asylum is being investigated and he is being placed in Blackwater Prison until further notice.”

        I smiled sadistically. Good, he deserved to rot in there for eternity. Dick seemed to notice and tried to break through to me.

        “Why don’t you get some rest? We can talk later”

        “No...can you stay with me for a while? I just...need someone to talk to so I can work through it all.”

        The doctor and Bruce seemed to be okay with this and they both promptly exited the room, but not before Bruce gave Dick a warning glance. They were keeping secrets.  

        Dick reached under the bed and pulled out my backpack, which I hadn’t noticed earlier.

        “I brought you some stuff from your house. You probably shouldn’t go back there for a while--you can crash at my place. We definitely have enough space” He said comically. I rifled through the bag. Some clothes and movies and my laptop was inside.

        “Can you do me a favor?”

        “Anything, what is it?”

        “Can we please go to the diner so I can get a cheeseburger?”

        “You know you’re not supposed to leave--” He tried to argue but I cut him off.

        “I’m going to sneak out of here anyway, so you can either come with me or not”

        With that Dick left to make a distraction while I changed into my regular clothes and snuck out. It was so easy to sneak out, it was scary. Before long, I was satisfactorily chomping down a cheeseburger. I was starting to feel like myself again, wearing my own clothes and eating my favorite food. This was what I needed--to stay grounded and remember who I was-but something was still off.

        “Bruce is going to kill me for helping you sneak out” He laughed nervously. His eyes were sparkling but something about them struck me the wrong way--maybe it was the toxins in my brain still telling me to kill him. I just stared at him until he noticed.

        “So tell me, what do you remember about it all?” He seemed like he was forced to ask this. Someone had put him up to it. Someone told him to find out what I knew. I bet it was Bruce. Bruce Wayne...what was it about him that was bothering me so much?

        “I remember it all, I think. All the criminals, all the things I did to all those people. I remember being rescued I think, that’s the part that’s still fuzzy.” Dick was silent as while I spoke. He was nervous for some reason and I could tell.

        “It was Batman and Robin, I remember that” I said--still working through details in my head.

        “You think so?” He raised his eyebrows in question. He was acting so weirdly and I wasn’t going to put up with it anymore. No more keeping secrets. No more keeping the truth from me.

        “Dick?”

        “Yeah?”

        “I know you’re Robin”

Author’s Note:

Epilogue soon to follow, lovelies!