The weekend ended up uneventful (in terms of akuma attacks), allowing Amira to catch up with Dick and Wally.
The three went to the arcade the following day, Dick smiling the entire time as he watched Amira enjoy herself.
He watched as she went from arcade machine to arcade machine, pulling Wally along. He watched as she cursed out claw machines but shouted in victory at the pinball machines.
He watched as Wally showed her how the ring toss worked, Amira easily nailing it after watching Wally miss his second and fourth shot.
Dick watched as the two ventured around the arcade, Amira racking up the tickets as time went on. In the end, she was able to get herself the most expensive prize there.
"Did you seriously just spend all day trying to get that?" Wally asked her, earning a huff. "And wait, where's the other one?"
Wally looked as Amira swung around the lit up dagger, watching as she twirled it around with ease. The soft lavender glow came to a halt when Amira placed it on her holster that would usually carry an actual dagger.
"I can protect myself with just one." Amira tried to brush off, only to confess when she saw Dick raise a brow. "I gave my other one to the girl that was beside me at the prize area. Every girl deserves to have a weapon." That caused the two boys to laugh, causing Amira to pout.
"Whatever you say, Mimi."
"Shouldn't we start heading back home? Looks like it's about to rain." Wally pointed out.
Looking at the darkening skies, the trio agreed to call it a day.
-----
Amira had a bounce to her step as she entered the apartment, bouncing onto the sofa and grabbing the remote to see what was on the news.
Much to her disappointment, it was some news coverage about Batgirl's latest appearance.
"-amateur footage of the vigilante taking down-"
Amira quickly flipped to another channel, a frown now on her face.
"If you keep doing that, you're going to end up with scowl lines for life." Dick commented, taking out some ingredients to cook.
"Did you know about Drake replacing Jason?" Amira asked out of the blue, causing Dick to almost drop the cabbage in his hands. "Or what about Barbara being Batgirl?
"I-I didn't know about Tim being the new Robin." Dick stuttered, placing down carrots and potatoes on the table. He didn't want this day to come. But he knew he was going to have to eventually tell Amira the truth. "I recently found out about it when I went to the Cave to retrieve some data. As for Barbara being Batgirl..."
He could feel Amira's eyes on him, analyzing his every move. Taking a deep breath, Dick continued. "I was the one who gave her the mantle."
Amira dropped the remote in her hands, staring at Dick with wide eyes.
"You?" Amira whispered. "You asked her to become Batgirl?" Amira felt her chest begin to twist.
"Amira, Bruce needed-"
"Why did you drag Babs-"
"I didn't- she, ugh." Dick ran a hand through his hair. "I didn't drag her into this. She already knew about us." Dick defended. "I simply-"
"Then why did you let her! Why did you encourage her?" Amira screamed. "She didn't need to be roped into our messed up family-"
"Gotham needed him back." Dick cut off. "Gotham needed Batman back and we both knew that. We understood that. With his head still in the gutter-"
"Then why didn't you stay there with him?" Amira cried, hating that she was having trouble breathing. "Why didn't you-"
"Because I couldn't forgive him with what he did to you!" Dick shouted, Amira watching him look down at his feet despite his head being held up high. "He shouldn't have sent you to Paris when we were all mourning Jason! He should've let you go to the funeral, to visit him one last time before forcing you out of the country! He didn't have to push you away just because he was mourning!" Dick didn't care if his shoulder shook or if his voice warbled a bit.
This was Amira. He could trust her. She was his sister.
Amira watched as Dick walked up to the couch and plopped next to her. "We both know he's still in mourning- hell! All of us are. But that doesn't excuse him for doing the shit he did!" Dick growled out before letting out a deep sigh. "Did you know he almost sent me to Germany?"
"Germany?"
"Alfred told me after I fled here." Dick threw himself back, looking up at the ceiling fan. "To think he would try to pull that on me as well."
"I...I didn't know." Amira said, pulling her legs to her chest and resting her forehead on her knees. All this time, she was venting towards Dick and she never asked how he was dealing with all this. He had to deal with all of his emotions on his own, storing them inside while he played peacekeeper.
How selfish she was. How stupid and blind did she have to be to not notice her brother's suffering?
"Where are you going?" Dick asked her as she got up and started to storm towards the window. She whispered 'Spots On', watching as a soft red glow engulfed her. "Amira!" She heard Dick yell, but she didn't turn back.
The sun was beginning to set, but she didn't care. She is Ladybird. She can handle a few Gothamite thugs. With that in mind, Amira got on the railing before dropping from it and swinging herself towards Gotham.
-----
If there was one thing any villain in Gotham hated, it was newbies waltzing into their turf.
As for Selina, the moment she noticed this newbie, she knew something was up. After all, no one survived longer than ten minutes while on enemy turf.
"I've never seen you around here before." Selina looked at the girl from top to bottom, critiquing the girl's choice of red and black. "New to the game, aren't you?" She asked, noticing a dagger hidden within the shadows cast by her skirt. "Tell me, what brings you to these parts of Gotham?"
Selina watched as the cloaked girl continued to analyze her, trying to circle around her.
"Okay then, would you like to tell me your name, kitten?"
"Marienkäfer [Ladybird]." The girl spoke, glaring at her with an ever so familiar glare through her red domino mask.
So she spoke German. Great. To be honest, she wished the kid spoke Mandarin just like- "Wie heißt du? [What's your name?]" The girl asked her, or at least Selina judged from the way her brows furrowed a bit. She huffed, knowing this is going to go nowhere without help.
Pressing her comm, Selina awaited for the other end to pick up.
"Hey. Got a kid here who only speaks German. No, she doesn't seem- yea. Yes she's wearing- wait hold on. What do you mean-" a frustrated sigh left Selina.
What did he mean by he knew her?
Selina kept watching over the girl, deciding to watch her as the girl started to make her way towards her.
Her hooded cape flew back from the autumn breeze, exposing the girl's midnight hair.
Selina watched as the girl stood mere feet away from her, her green eyes holding a curious twinkle in them. She saw how the girl approached her before quickly falling back, her hand hovering over something at her side. Was that a yo-yo?
"Is this the girl you were talking about?" Bruce's voice trickled down Selina's back.
"Why do you always have the need to do that?" Selina hissed, but Bruce remained silent. "Anyways, how do you know her?" She frowned when he ignored her.
"Amira." Bruce called out, Selina watching as the girl didn't budge. "Amira, what-"
"She smells like you." The girl -no- Amira said, Selina watching her scowl. So she knew English, so why did she act as if she didn't know it?
Or did she do it on purpose? Was it just a ploy?
"What-"
"Your cologne...it's all over her...the cologne I gave you for your birthday two years ago." Amira growled. "That could only mean one thing. When were you going to introduce us to each other, Father?"
Selina looked at Amira and then at Bruce for some type of explanation. She was his daughter? Why is she learning about this now? As far as she knew, he only had Dick and Jason...and currently Tim.
"Bats, explain." Selina demanded, Bruce feeling a headache starting to form.
"Fine. But not here."
-----
Selina felt as Amira continued to glare at her, Selina starting to hate the attention from the younger Wayne.
They finally arrived at the manor, currently walking towards Bruce's study. Of course, Amira didn't change out of her costume yet, walking in the red and black suit.
"So Amira, how come I haven't heard about you?" Selina decided to ask.
"I wonder." Amira spat with venom, causing a brow to raise. "It couldn't possibly have anything to do with my father-"
"Amira." Bruce cut off, prompting Amira to frown. "I meant to say this earlier, but welcome back home."
"Home?" Amira let out a dry laugh. "Last I recall, the apartment back in Paris is my home. Not this place despite having been raised here for 13 years."
"Amira."
"I didn't come back here to see you. I didn't even plan on seeing you, yet you always seem to find a way to find me."
"Amira, you said you used to live here for 13 years. So tell me, how old are you?" Selina asked, hoping to ease the suffocating tension.
"I turned 13 in July. And you don't have to worry about having to see me for the rest of the year. I'm going back to Paris in a few hours. After that, I won't be back in Gotham for another half year or year." Amira looked at Selina, her eyes dull and void of the anger from earlier. "Father's never let me attend any gala or any event that requires showing my face, so coming back to Gotham would be pointless for me."
Selina stopped herself from coming to a halt, absorbing Amira's words.
She was 13, living in Paris by herself while her family lived in Gotham...not only that, but she seemed so distant to Bruce despite loving -no- adoring Gotham...
"Bruce, did you really send her to Paris...by herself?"
"What if I did?" Selina let out a scoff.
"Are you being serious right now? Bruce, she's 13!"
"She's still a child."
"And yet you still thought of doing the same thing to Dick and he was 17 at the time, turning 18." Amira interjected.
She didn't know what overcame her, she really didn't.
"I'm going to Paris with Amira." She never saw Bruce turn around so quickly before, noticing Amira had the same reaction as him when she said that.
"Selina. You-"
"I'm only going to be there for a week, make sure Amira is doing well and from there, I'll come back." Selina walked up to Bruce, sinking her nails into his arm. "After that, you and I are going to have a talk." She whispered, letting go of Bruce. "So Amira, where are your things?"
Selina waited for a few minutes before getting a response from the girl.
"A-At Dick's. I didn't think I was going to be here for that long. I just wanted to talk to my father before heading back, although it seems like there will be a change of plans."
"You wanted to speak to me?" Bruce asked, wondering what exactly Amira wanted.
"Yes. But of course, in your office."
-----
Selina had gone to pick up Amira's things from Dick's apartment, leaving father and daughter by themselves.
"So, what was it you wanted to talk about?"
"Is it true you wanted to send Dick to Germany?" Amira threw out the first thing in her mind, watching as her father tensed. "You could've just sent him to France with me. The two of us would've kept each other company, be safe with each other. But no. You thought it was best to separate us, to keep us isolated from each other because-"
"I...I didn't actually want to send him to Germany." Bruce confessed. "I...I also didn't want to send you to Paris either, but I knew that if I didn't, the two of you ran the risk-"
"But isn't that why you fight? Wasn't becoming Batman the solution to your worries?"
"I can only do so much. I can only guide the villains towards redemption, I can't force them to-"
"Then why? Why didn't you simply kill them off?" Amira asked. "Why don't you just get rid of them...or rather, him? Of Joker? Of the bastard clown that took Jason away from us! Why didn't you-"
"You don't understand, Amira. Getting rid of Joker isn't the solution nor is getting rid of anyone for that matter. Killing isn't-"
"Don't you realize it? He's the main problem! He's the one racking up the deaths in Gotham. The reason why we have to keep constructing new cemeteries. The madman behind the cruelest tortures. The one who-"
"Killing Joker won't do anything!" Bruce yelled. "It won't bring Jason back and it definitely-"
"I never said it would bring Jason back! I said it because if you did kill him, it would bring you peace of mind. It would make Gotham safer for me...and countless other children."
"Amira, I don't think you understand. I don't think you nor Jason understood." Jason had told Father this before? "Killing only brings out the worst of people." Amira watched as her father walked up to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "If I were to kill anyone, I won't be able to get back from there. My hands will no longer withhold the justice I claim to uphold...I also don't want my children to have a murderer for a father."
Amira watched as her father shook, but she didn't care.
"You always said you wanted to be someone we could be proud of. A father whom we adored...but in your mission to become that, you've become a stranger to me." Amira said, pushing Bruce off her. "I claim you my father, but...I don't know much about you.
I have a stranger for a father instead of a respected man.
I found out about your girlfriend-no...fiance around a day ago, only to find out you've known her for longer. Did you really think I wouldn't notice the inconsistencies in her files?" Amira brought up.
"You looked at her files? When? Why?"
"Why wouldn't I? Despite not being in Gotham, I like being up to date with the news. As for how, I was downloading information from the computer to take back with me to Paris. Got bored and started to look at the criminal files you had there. That's how I landed on Selina's file.
To think you're engaged, nonetheless to a thief." Amira glared at her father. "Then again, why am I surprised at you for hiding things from me? You've always hid me away from anyone else. Just like how you hid Barbara and Drake from me."
"I never hid that from-" Amira raised her hand and shook her head.
"I don't care about that. I don't care about what the hell you do anymore. But just know this. I will never forgive that bastard from taking Jason away from us. Now, I better get going. I have a plane to catch."