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She appears even before he can call out to her.
Batman stands at the edge of a building, in a secluded zone that was free from Oracle's constant gaze and one where he was certain none of the other vigilantes he had taken under his wing would appear.
His glare is heavy on the buildings of Gotham.
In the shadows.
There is no sound when she finally reveals herself, no dramatic clap or laugh.
There was merely a small presence beside him and nothing else.
For what felt like hours, neither of the two says a word to the other, nor do they face the other; the rain falls on them, and Batman instinctively, if not paternally, lifted his arm to cover her with his cape.
"...The rain doesn't bother me."
She finally speaks, her voice smooth and controlled; she sounds almost...bored to be here.
"Hn"
Batman doesn't say much beyond his grunt, and he doesn't know what to say; all he knows is that she could get sick.
And despite their strained relationship (if one could even call it that), he didn't want that to happen to her.
He takes this opportunity to take a glance at her.
...So small.
Damian had been small when he arrived at the manor, and later on, he had reached a growth spurt...but his son was never as small as his daughter.
She was petite, and though he knew she packed the muscle necessary to survive any scenario, he couldn't believe the state she was in.
Pale skin, almost ghostly, green venom eyes that practically glowed in the dark, her hair (Her dark, almost a dark shade of blue hair that was just like his) was in a pixie cut yet was dirty and unkept, and dark circles under her eyes.
She looked like death.
And those dark clothes weren't helping, simple black armor with a green scarf-like cape that functioned as a hood for her.
Green eyes lifted to meet his, and she tilted her head, raising a sharp, gloved hand to push the cape aside from atop her.
"...How did you figure it out?"
He hummed "The League of Shadows was exterminated."
"Oh?"
His lips twitched
"Lady Shiva came to us for protection."
She snorts
"It doesn't matter where you put her. It can be in the highest security prison in the world, another dimension, but I will catch her."
"So why haven't you?" He challenges her, "She's here, in Gotham, with constant surveillance. Why not kill her?"
She scoffed, "You act like you wouldn't try to stop me."
"And the matters?"
"I'd rather not get involved with your family and its issues. I already have enough of those"
She paused, "Does Damian know?" She asked softly
"...No. He doesn't."
"Good."
"Good?"
Amira stared at him and tilted her head at him. "Is that not one of your 'Things'? Hating the League of Assassins?"
He glowered at her, "You don't have to stay there."
She snorts, "Of course I do. You read the letter, he told you about me...there's nothing in my heart. Especially not empathy."
"But there is love-"
Amira huffed, "For my brother and mother...but not toward criminals."
He stared at her
"Don't misunderstand, Bruce, we may share blood, but should I need to kill you and everyone in that family of yours...I would. With no hesitation."
"But you wouldn't."
She tilts her head
"Because of Damian"
Amira's eyes widen for a split second before she looks away. "...yes"
"And that's why you don't come for Shiva, because if you do, he'll know you did it. And he'll learn you're alive."
"How smart of you," she deadpanned, "Truly, the greatest detective."
Amira crossed her arms. "But yes, you're correct on all of that."
He stared down at her. "Why?"
"Hm?"
"Why not just abandon the League? Why not come home-"
"Gotham is not my home." She hissed, "And neither is that manor of yours."
"...I meant back to Damian."
She flinched
"I know I can never be what you might have wanted us to be. Neither can my other children. But...Damian is different, isn't he?"
Amira locked eyes with him.
"He is. He's my brother. And for so much of my time here...he was all I needed."
"And he felt the same."
She nodded
"And that's why you made him kill you."
"Don't pity me," she murmured, "Or try to understand my choices."
"I wasn't-"
"You were. Just like how you judge every little choice your children make," she glared.
He clenched his fists
"You don't have to continue this."
"You have your justice...and I have mine," she murmured
"Vengeance is not justice," he hissed
"Hypocrite," she growled at him, and he flinched at that
I am Vengeance...his very words thrown back at him.
"...I'd still accept you into our home."
She let her arms fall to her side. "The League is no longer Ral's al ghouls' control. It's under my mother's."
He stilled at that
"We cut him into pieces, scattered him across the land so that no one would ever resurrect him ever again," she said proudly.
"The League is mothers now, she rules with an iron fist and is ready to change it. We even massacred those that were against her ruling....we don't feel any regret."
A hush fell over them before she
"...tell me, could you still accept someone who will never follow your most sacred rule?"
His silence is his answer
"Exactly," she nodded
Amira went quiet, staring out at his city before she murmured
"I miss him. Of course I do," she shook her head, "But my missing him doesn't change anything."
Barman hummed
"He learned to be good, to save lives rather than take them...and all I know is to kill."
"It doesn't have to be this way."
"And yet...it is," she looked back at him.
"You don't understand. Everything I did was to finally set him free. From the League...and from me."
"He could be better. Could have been better...without me being there," she gave a broken smile, "And I was right."
Amura faced him and nodded
"For as much as I despise you, I recognize that you and your family have done everything I could never have done for him," she huffed. "You gave him a home, love, friends...you gave him a life worth living."
"I've failed him," he whispered.
She nods
"I know. But you've still done enough for him."
And wasn't that something? For her not to even resent him for that.
"...Do you know why I hate you?"
He paused and stared at her
"I hate you...because you're the reason Damian had to suffer in the League," she stared at him
"I was, what you ordinary people call: A Mistake. An Accident. Conceived from you and my mother sharing a lovely night...but Damian didn't have that luxury," she revealed to him. "But Damian was created from both of your DNA to be our grandfather's heir."
She looked at the ground
"...A tool," she glared at nothing
"Everything he endured...it's all because of you, because of your mission...your sin that you passed onto him."
Amira snorts, "He admired you while I knew the truth from the very beginning. Tell me...just how many children have died because of you?"
He closed his eyes
"...Enough"
"Exactly," she nodded, "I didn't want you to add Damian to that list."
...
"And you didn't." She sounded proud of that. "You protected him, and even with your mistakes, you've given him a true family."
His daughter shrugged at that, looking pained but grateful
"More than I ever could have given him."
For as long as Bruce had been alive, the one thing he never wanted for his children (All of them) was for them to never be consumed by the darkness he had been consumed by.
Dick.
Jason.
Tim.
Stephanie.
Cassandra.
Damian.
Duke.
They were all scarred so young, they had lost loved ones, friends, and some of them had been forced to kill simply because that's what they were told to do.
And Bruce? Bruce tried to make sure they didn't fall.
And god.
He knows he's fucked up.
He knows that deep down, the hesitation and judgment from his daughter were justified.
Bruce wonders why his kids continue to stand by his side, why they even consider giving him chance after chance.
And Bruce tries to make it right
...but he knows it's not enough.
All of their pain, their scars, and blood and tears are never going to be fully healed.
He can try his best, but he knows that he is responsible for most of what they've gone through.
And now?
Now he has another child. One he had no idea existed, one who had died and was now back in the land of the living.
...one that wanted nothing to do with him or Gotham.
But one who would gladly burn the world for his youngest son.
Bruce had a mission.
To fight crime. To protect Gotham and its children.
And he'd been consumed by it.
He was willing to do whatever was necessary to protect his city...even if it cost him everything.
And here was Amira, his daughter, who had done that same thing.
Amira had given his life for his son, her brother. Had become a monster so that no one else would have to die.
The League was no longer dangerous; it was being shaped into something new.
Clark had called him, told him of assassins who had protected a family from being killed. He had interviewed them, asked them: Why?
And their response?
"The League now protects."
This was Talia's influence. Amira's Influence.
Bruce would be lying if he said he accepted their way of life, their desire, and their uncareness to human life.
But he knew there was good in them, he knew that they could change and be better if they were just given a chance--if someone extended a hand toward them.
...They were deep in the darkness, but there was still a little bit of light toward them.
It just takes them to be willing to walk toward it for there to be a chance for Damian to have his family whole.
He knows he isn't fair to Talia.
None of them are.
She raised his son, protected him from her father as best she could. She had made the ultimate sacrifice a mother could make--She gave her son away.
She let him go.
Gave him to Bruce.
And Bruce respected her for it.
...if only she had told him about Amira.
"He'll be heartbroken if he learns you're alive," he finally spoke again.
"...He'll be even more hurt when I refuse him," she shot back emptily
"Damian will never stop hunting you."
"He'll be consumed by an obsession," she murmured, "You and I know we can't let that happen...he has to live his life without the shadows dragging him down."
She looked at him
"Not like how we are."
"...you're asking me to lie."
"No"
She shook her head, "I'm telling you to lie to him, to protect him and make sure he never learns about me."
"...You're asking me to hurt him if he ever finds out the truth. To betray his trust and love."
Amira gave him a broken smile
"Life keeps forcing cruel choices..."
He looked at the ground at that
"...If he learns the truth, I won't stop him from chasing you."
She stared at him
"You'll face him. You'll talk to him...for his sake, not yours."
"Naturally," she scoffed as if he had said the dumbest thing possible, she crossed her arms
"I'll cross that bridge when I get there."
Bruce lifted his hand and, after a bit of hesitation, placed it on her shoulder.
She tensed and looked at him.
He doesn't smile and instead nods
"...If one day, you want to be with Damian-...With us. You can always come to me," he reached into his belt and grabbed a small button.
It was an emergency beacon.
"When you need help...or just wish to be with us one day," he spoke softly, "I'll be here."
Amira stared at his hand, at the button--the olive branch he was extending toward her.
Her hands raised and grabbed it, she twiddled with it before letting out a soft sigh
"You're so stubborn," she murmured.
There was amusement behind her eyes, and he could see a small twitch on her lips.
He felt an ounce of pride at the fact that he made her smile, at least a little bit.
She sighed
"I have to leave now."
Bruce frowned. "...Will you be safe?"
Amira snorted, "I'm one of the strongest fighters on earth, I'm always safe." She shrugged at him and walked toward the edge, getting ready to jump off.
She paused and looked over her shoulder
"...There is a part of me that wants to stay."
He tilted his head at that
"Then why don't you?"
Amira looked at Gotham; he couldn't see her face and wondered just what she was thinking about.
"...If losing him means saving him. Then so be it."
It's all she said before she jumped and disappeared into the darkness.
Bruce stands there and lets out a soft scoff.
One that's amid amused and tired laughter
Bruce finds that out of his two biological children, the one who refuses to accept him...just might be the one whose most similar to him after all.
He stands there...and then disappears into the night as well
"You're late."
Amira hummed as she stood beside her mother, who sat on Ras's throne, going through paper after paper
"I ran into some company," is all she gives her.
She stands there, as a loyal guard with her back straight and her hands behind her back as she stares ahead
"...how was he?"
Her lips twitched
"He was indulging in 'girls night' with Stephanie and Cassandra."
Her mother chuckled, "I taught that boy well."
"To respect women?"
"Yes," Talia hummed, "And to kill those who harm them."
"Good"
Amira smiled softly before she looked away
"...he knows I'm alive."
Her mother stilled
"Batman?"
"Hm"
"And?"
"He agreed to keep silent about it. Including Ra's' death," she continued, "Damian won't know a thing about it"
"...Not yet"
Amira sighed, "Not yet," she finally relented
Talia gave her a knowing look, "You can't run forever."
She sighed
"I know"
"And yet"
"...And yet," she nods
They were quiet before Talia smiled softly
"It's good to know he's doing well, at least."
Amira nodded at her, "Yeah...it is."
Mother and Daughter stand together, side by side in the dark. Content for the moment.
A Father flies through the skies, pondering his choices.
And a Son, unknowing of the truth, lives his life in peace.
Each of them...forever bound to the choices that led them to where they were now.