the black raven | THE MEETING - PART ONE

□ alfred □

When I answered the doorbell, I did not expect to hear what I heard. And I definitely did not expect to have a small girl follow the odd conversation.

What I did expect, of myself, was that I would hunt down every last person Bruce has ever had relations with, talk to them, and see if they have had any children, preferably with Bruce being the father.

Because at this point, we have four boys running around, which is a lot more than I thought he could handle. Especially with them being teenagers.

They all have too much testosterone for my liking, especially Damian. But, it was the way he was taught to act for years, until a couple years ago.

But I do believe after this young lady comes, she might just lessen the rope. Or tighten it, apparently, since she's a Wayne.

Now, the conversation that was odd was short and presice. When I opened the door I knew something was up. No one truly comes here asking for Bruce Wayne. They are all too afraid he will turn them down, and now that would be a shame.

"Are you permanently living in the Wayne residence, sir?" The first man, who looked like a Gotham lawyer, asked.

"Yes I am, and before you ask, no, Mr. Wayne is not here right now, as he is on a business trip elsewhere. So please, if you want meet with him, you will have to go to Wayne Enterprises, and not here," I finish with the usual, because it usually works, as when they hear that, they go off and make an appointment at Wayne Enterprises.

Now, it usually works. Today was not a usual day.

"Sir, I do not need to make a meeting, as this directly affects the Wayne family. Now, do you know when Mr. Wayne will be back? Or are you a legal guardian that can take care of a child until Bruce gets back?" His question catches me off guard, as I didn't expect him to say that this would directly affect the Wayne family, and not Wayne Enterprises.

And if I could be counted as a legal guardian, to a child. I hesitate, confused as to why he would ask. He sighs when he sees my expression, and then signals for his counterpart to come forward.

The taller and broader man had been standing by the passenger side back door of the car. I didn't recognize that someone else could be in the car until now.

And then it dawns on me. It could be a child that directly relates to Bruce. I was correct. The taller man opens the door, and I see a small figure get out of the car, slowly, and I assume it's a girl.

As she sees me and the man over here, she goes back into the car. She comes out a moment later with a backpack on, while the other man beside her has gone to the back and grabbed a suitcase and pillow out of the trunk.

When the man slams the door closed, she jumps and quickly walks behind him, trying to keep up with him. He truly is large. I see why some might be threatened by him.

I, however, am not. I've seen threats and seen them up close, and I know he is not one.

The girl doesn't see that, I believe.

"Yes, I am a legal guardian and have been taking care of children for over thirty years now. Since that has been cleared up, please explain what is going on here," I state, my voice strong and commanding, yet still gentle as not to spook the girl any further.

The taller man raises a slight eyebrow in surprise to what I said. The shorter man continues.

"Ah, the reason. Well, you see, Bruce Wayne is the other biological parent of this kiddo here, and she needs somewhere to stay, so she will stay with him. For good," He says it like her other biological parent had either passed or simply wasn't here.

My face softens as I try to take a peek at the young child. She's come out from behind the taller man just slightly.

I see just how small and afraid she is. I smile slightly, to try and ease her feelings. She relaxes ever so slightly.

"Alright, well, come in. Mind you there are others here, so please keep your voices down, as one is trying to sleep," I explain as I let all of them in cautiously.

No one was sleeping. Dick was out and about, as he had finished his excess schoolwork from his 'sick' day. Damian was still in school, and Jason was in the Batcave. I lied to just keep this simple and quick.

"Yes of course, we will be out of your hair in just a moment, Sir. But we do have the legal papers that show she will live here, and her mother's signatures as well, if that is needed. Everything else she needs is in her bags," he pauses, and I seige my chance.

"And obviously you can see that this home is just as fit as the other. Now, just leave those papers on the table here," I point to the table and continue, "and I will take it from here. Is that alright?"

I ask that not just to the men but to the girl, who hasn't taken a step inside yet.

The two men nod and leave the papers and other belongings in the entryway. They are off the premisis within minutes, and I certaintly am surprised.

I take a deep breath and turn my attention to the girl again. And now we're here. The girl and I in a silent world of emotion. I smile, and start simple. She's probably frightened out of her wits.

"Hello there, my name is Alfred. Alfred Pennyworth," I hold my hand out and just wait.

She sees this as a formal, polite greeting. I see her relax her shoulders. Her hand slowly meets mine, and she tenses. My brow furrows in confusion: I don't believe I did anything.

"Sorry," she squeaks out, and her head dips a little. And then I see it. The sheer terror that someone may hurt her again. Maybe not physically, but just the fact that she may get hurt again.

"It's quite alright dear. You do not need to aplogize for that. Shall we try again?" Her head nods and so I hold my hand out again, and she takes it, a little quicker now.

We shake hands firmly. She speaks again, as a do-over.

"Hello, um, I'm Mara,"

"That's a very pretty name, isn't it?"

"Yeah," she laughs a little. It's not a child's laugh, but one that, I'm guessing, hasn't been heard in a while. By both her and myself I know, just by the way she smiles because of it.

"Well, Miss Mara, before we get started, is that what you like to be called? Or something else?" I always ask children that question, just in case. She nods her head. I smile, and continue. "Alright then, Mara, I welcome you to this place. Do you know who this belongs to?"

"Yes. Mr. Wayne, right?"

"Correct."

"Is he really my father?"

And here come the questions. The same thing happened with Dick. He wasn't too sure of his new living status and caretakers, while Damian took pride in being a Wayne.

I nod, and wait for her. She can take as much time as she likes. She needs to know that she is safe before entering.

"You said there were others. Who are they? And where are they?" She takes a tiny step closer.

Baby steps are always good.

"Ah, yes. Well, there are six of us residing here, but only four are here now," I don't want to overwhelm her too quickly, so I pause, letting that soak in. "There is Bruce, myself, and four boys, who might be around your age," I stop, as she interrupts me.

"I'm thirteen," she says quietly. I nod my head in response. She takes a step inside.

"Right now, I'm here, as well as two others. One is upstairs and the other is downstairs. One is out in the city, while Bruce and Tim are on a trip," I freeze, realizing that she might not like names right now. But she nods, and then takes another step closer.

"Well, okay. Um, who's who?"

"The boy that is upstairs is Damian. He's in school at the moment. Jason would be the one in the basement, working out. Dick is out in the city. And Bruce and Tim are on the trip. And lastly, there is us two, down here. That's all," I finish gently.

She nods, and then turns to close the door, but stops.

"May I?"

I'm appalled by the fact that she had to ask if she could close the door.

"Of course dear. Oh, and I forgot to mention, but I am the butler," I reply as she shuts the door, and turns to me with a slight smile.

Suddenly, I hear a door open and close upstairs. I hold out my hand to tell Mara to stay here, and she already half knows what I'm going to do. The other boys have no idea what's just happened. I sense she's got the same idea as I.

A quick learner, this one.

"Damian, please wait upstairs for a moment," I raise my voice, hoping that for once he will listen to me.

His footsteps stop, thankfully, but I believe it is because of my tone. I turn back to Mara.

"Now, none of the boys know your here yet, so I'm sorry if they are, well, passive aggressive. They are not used to having a female around here, but that will change now. They will just have to get used to it," I finish, and head up the stairs to talk to Damian.

Mara nods and stays rooted to the spot. Damian, as always, starts asking questions.

"What's going on? Is there a threat? Who is it? Alfred, is it father? Or Timothy? What's going on?" He rambles on and I immediately sigh and hold my hand out.

"No, no, and no. There is just something new. Someone new, who is also related to Bruce. I didn't know she existed until now, and I don't believe Bruce did either. He might've taken her in earlier," Damian's eyes widen a little. I know what he's going to say.

"She?!"

"Yes she you little idjit; Bruce has a daughter. And she is in a new place, with new people, and a whole new situation. Just like you and your brothers. So please, do not sound some secret alarm that there is a threat. She is scared, I can see it, and preferably shy, so- "

"Okay, I understand. Be... nice," he shudders at the word. I roll my eyes, knowing he's exaggerating. He starts to head downstairs when I stop him.

"You are the first one she's meeting, so please be a good role model. I don't want to spook her more than she already is," I reply seriously, and then head in front of him when we head back downstairs. She's still planted in the spot.

She looks up at us, and backs toward the door slightly, when she sees someone behind me.

I give her a smile before we come to a stop. I step aside and hold a hand out as to show Damian.

"Mara, this is Damian. He is one of the residents here. Can I leave you two, to go get Jason, the other boy in the building?" I ask both of them. She nods, slowly, and I see Damian has turned completely serious.

Thats not all; I see a flash of softness in his eyes, and I smile to myself as I turn to leave.

He's going to be a great brother.

■ mara ■

I feel safe for the first time in a long time. I don't know how to feel about this.

□ damian □

As soon as I see her, I'm analyzing. Watching her every move.

Is she a threat? So far, no. But I can see that she could be, if she knows the right moves and give her enough emotion and, I believe, if you give her the right weapon.

She's short, anyone can see that. Shorter than most. But she could use that to her advantage. She could strangle you eaiser. Use her legs.

But choking you might be harder, as you need a slight height for that. But not to steriotype her in anyway, as I could be wrong, which I rarely ever am. I'm always prepared, too. For anything, at all -

"Hi."

No.

No no no.

Get away. Fight or flight.

I can't do this. She's a girl, who happens to be related to me, and looks younger. She's too gentle. Too innocent. Too merciful to shake my hand, let alone get my response. She shouldn't have to deal with a burden like me.

Oh God. She held out her hand!
What the hell am I supposed to do? Dear God-- help.

"I, uh, I'm Mara. Your Damian, right? Am I... pronouncing that correct?"

Oh my - she sounds adorable.

HEY.

Snap out of it. You are Damian Al Ghul; Damian Wayne Al Ghul. No emotion. No weaknesses. Always win. Show her dominance.

"Yes, you are pronouncing that correctly," I use a stronger, commanding tone. She blinks and smiles, more than what she showed Alfred.

Oh God. That smile is quite adorable. She could kill me with that.

"Good, uh, because I didn't want to, er... um, mess it up," she stutters, and then I just nod my head in response. I don't trust my own tongue.

So, I grab her suitcase and pillow and turn to head upstairs.

"What are you doing?" She asks sharply, and I realize that I just grabbed her stuff. Not mine. Or Jasons. Or Dicks. Or Tims.

Hers.

I hate when any of by brothers touch my things without my permission. I see she's taken a couple steps forward.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to--," I scratch the back of my head and set her stuff down on the step. I don't look at her. Five minutes with her and I messed up. Well, it's what I do. What I am.

Technically, I'm not even 'human'. I spent gestation in a lab, created to be a warrior. One of the best, besides Ra Al Ghul. He has to be the alpha. Talia, Nyssa, and I are the betas.

"No, it's okay, I just don't.. uh, I don't know.. feel- er-" she barely gets the words out before I answer coldly, both on purpose and on accident.

"Don't stutter. And I know. You're rooms upstairs,"

I couldn't stop myself from saying it, but thank Alfred -- he has the perfect timing. He and Jason come up, just when I need them. I look back at her, grab her stuff, and take it upstairs, without asking her. I don't look back.

□ alfred □

I do hope that Damian didn't scare or leave a bad impression on her. I know he can be a selfish little bastard at times, but I've also seem him be a wonderful, caring brother.

I can't tell as he's left the scene already, apparently with Mara's things. Accept her backpack. I take a breath and start speaking.

"I hope that Damian was... polite enough to say hello,"

"Oh, yes, he was. He took my stuff upstairs, uh, too. Um... who's this?"

She nods her head to Jason.

Two things surprise me from what she just said-- one, Damian took her luggage without asking, I already know without asking, and two, she just lied. Mara lied to protect him, already.

Maybe protect isn't the right word at the moment, but.. steer. Yes, she steered the attention, per say, away from him and onto her. I swallow.

"This is Jason, your other.. the other resident in this household. Now, I will let you two meet, while I am going to try and contact the rest of the residents."

And with that, I walk away.

□ jason □

I watch Alfred walk away, and then turn my attention to the girl. Well, maybe not girl. She looks like a teenager.

Maybe even my age, with the glasses. Either way, I do get a tolerable vibe off of her, which I cam work with.

"Uh, you probably heard from, uh, Alfred, but I'm-"

"Mara? Yup," as I say this, she blinks, and I can tell she can't help the smile that grows on her face.

I give a half smile, but it doesn't help the awkward silence that still hangs around here.

"Well, that's good. Yeah, uh, good. Um, uh, Jason, right?"

"Present and accounted for."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Just one?" I realize that might be too sarcastic for the moment, but wait for her reaction. She chuckles a little. I didn't think she'd understand that reference.

"I- that's a good one," I let out a half chuckle, half sigh in relief that that wasn't a disaster. She continues, "so, um, do you know when everyone's gonna be back... um, back here?"

The question catches me off guard. My eyebrows furrow ever so slightly, and she doesn't catch it.

I knew this would come up. She wants to meet Bruce.

I mean, she's only got him left, since her mother, I'm assuming, either died or something else happened. I clear my throat and silently prepare my self for further questions as I tell her the usual.

"Well, you're probably going to meet Dick next, since he's coming home soon. As for Bruce and Tim, this trip might take a little longer than usual because they're 'outta state. And foreign countries are included, so that makes everything a little slower, you know? But, uh, all in all, not long, those guys work pretty quick out there," I finish less confident than before, but I know I can't tell her the truth.

Not now, no, and probably not ever. For her own safety and good.