Daddy's Not So Little Batwoman [Tag Elena]

[bruce]

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A week had passed since Bruce and Tim went out to investigate any leads that could lead them to Luthor. A week since his investigation had gone cold and left him with nothing to work with. A week since he had learned that his unborn daughter Elena, at least in his time, had grown up to become the new field leader of the Birds of Prey as Batwoman. A week since he learned about how upside down the world had become since he and his friends disappeared twenty three years ago. Needless to say, it had been one hell of a week.

But even with all of that going on, the Dark Knight worked around the clock in an effort to find some information regarding Lex. As it stood, his search had come up with zilch. While Tim and Barbara had done exceptional work in his absence, the crippling blow that all the heroes had been dealt all those years ago was still being felt today.

Dressed in a pair of jeans and black t-shirt, Bruce stood silently on the Cave’s holopad sifting through the pictures that Elena had given him last week. For five straight hours he had been standing there looking through them, hoping to find some tiny detail that he might have missed, but the longer he analyzed them the more futile he was beginning to think it was.

And though his attention was deeply entrenched in the pictures before him, he still heard the soft footsteps against the stone floor of the cave behind him. Believing that it was either Tim or Jack again, Bruce decided to ignore them and continue his work looking at the enhanced, holographic pictures.

[Elena Wayne]

Before last week if someone told Elena she would run into her long lost father she would have laughed at them, if they said she would have ran into him as Batwoman she probably would have interrogated them on how they knew her secret identity. Yet here Elena was checking her reflection in the mirror of her apartment for what seemed like a the twelve time this hour. She kept changing in and out of new outfits trying to gain some confidence in her appearance. Elena wasn’t going on a date with friends or a special someone but Babs and Tim finally pushed her into making a decision. A decision that required her to finally meet her father face to face instead of cowl to cowl.

Deciding to just leave her red hair down Elena wore a more tomboyish outfit than she would usually wear though it had a sense of formality to it. She wore a long sleeve button up shirt that was black; a red neck tie was over that. On her legs was a black skirt that was a little short though she wore black leggings to make up for the length then red flats that unlike high heels didn’t generate much noise. Elena didn’t own a car besides her squad car and her Batcycle and the last thing she really wanted people to see was her on the batcycle driving to Wayne Manor. Instead once she was outside Elena hailed a cab and went to Wayne Manor.

Once she was outside the manor Elena and went straight to the door before she lost her nerve, she had never been to Wayne manor before and actually felt awkward being here. She was a Wayne but had never actually stepped foot on the property before. Thankfully Tim answered her first few knocks.
“Hey Elena what are you doing here?” Tim asked a smile on his face and friendliness in his tone like when she first met him.
“Where is he? Where’s Bruce?” Elena asked skipping the casualties and going to the point. Tim and her argued a few minutes he trying to convince Elena that now wouldn’t be a good time to see him but Elena pushed passed him and Tim feigned reluctance and showed her how to get into the batcave. She noticed that Tim didn’t follow her down which gave her a foreboding feeling about her decision.

If Bruce noticed Elena enter the batcave he didn’t show it and personally Elena understood that she tended to do the same thing when she was engrossed in work. For a moment Elena considered leaving and coming back at a time when he wasn’t busy, she didn’t need to catch him in a bad mood. Or maybe she was just afraid of how this ordeal would turn out. Shaking the fear away Elena decided to make her presence known to her father.
“So how’s the hunt for Luthor going? ”

[bruce]

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He had been in the middle of shuffling to another image when he heard the voice behind him. Her voice. Of everyone in Gotham, she was the last person he had wanted to see. The last person he was prepared to see, especially in the cave. He made a mental note that he would have to sit down and speak with Tim later.

It goes, he answered. Computer, deactivate holopad.

Holopad deactivated, the monotonic mechanical voice called out.

Turning to face Elena, he looked over his daughter’s appearance with his piercing blue eyes. He couldn’t help but shake his head at her. He thought it was rather foolish to wear civilian clothes that matched the color scheme of her costume. It seemed that in all the training she had received from Barbara that subtlety and discretion wasn’t one of them.

What are you doing here Elena? He asked in a very abrupt manner.

[Elena Wayne]

Elena raised an eyebrow at the abruptness in his tone she immediately knew that he didn’t want to see her. Which Elena could relate too she was planning on seeing him either or actually didn’t really want to see him though Barbara insisted that Elena and Bruce got to know each other.
“Just wanted to see how time travel was treating you or more Barbara and Tim wanted me to talk to you for some strange reason” Elena started looking away from her father and to the relics of the Batcave. She was pretty amazed by them all the adventures Batman must have went on to acquire them, the villains he must have defeated and almost died from. She wondered how many of them did he acquire on his own or ones that were most significant to not only Bruce Wayne but to the Robin and Batgirls as well.

Turning her attention back to Bruce Wayne she couldn’t help but feel she might just be wasting her time with him. She doubted that he would want to open up anything with her about himself, and not that she could blame him she was nothing but a stranger to him really but there was something she always wanted to ask him and now would probably be her only chance.
“Listen I’m not going to push you to get to know me or follow you around trying to get you to like me or anything. My mom only said good things about you to me so I’m just going to assume they were correct but there was one thing I wanted to know. She said that you wouldn’t have time for a child and didn’t need one or want one in your life is that true?” Elena asked it was a simple yes or no answer. To be honest she was expecting him to tell her that this was true that Vicki had been right all along that Batman chose to not be a part of her life because he just simply didn’t want a child.

[bruce]

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Time travel is annoying, how else would you expect it to be? He countered with a slightly annoyed tone.

Bruce couldn’t help but let out a deep sigh when she had asked her question. He figured that at some point in time that he would have to answer the question, but he didn’t expect to have to answer it so soon. He had actually kind of hoped that Barbara would have answered the question for him already, but of course he wouldn’t be that lucky.

It’s not, he answered simply. I don’t want to contradict everything that your mother ever told you about me, but when your mother told me that she was pregnant she made it abundantly clear to me that she wanted me to have no part of your life. And I understand, understood, her stance, he continued. Pausing briefly, Bruce walked down the small flight of stairs, and past Elena to the ledge of the floor. Your mother knows, more than most, just how dangerous my life as Batman is. She has seen and experienced first hand the dangers of being a part of my life. I believe that she wants, wanted, more for you than a life full of loneliness and pain. I have lived a life as an urban myth, a frightening creature, the bogeyman. It’s not a life I would wish on anyone, especially my own daughter.

Letting out another deep sigh, Bruce turned away from the ledge that looked out of the vast cave to face his daughter, his dark eyes looking deep into hers. Normally Bruce wasn’t one for being so open about his feelings or his thoughts, but he wasn’t in a normal situation. And he knew how much it meant to Tim, Barbara, and Dick for him to speak with Elena.

[Elena Wayne]

Elena raised her eyes at her father’s snappish response but shrugged it hadn’t really affected her feelings in anyway. Actually she would have done the same thing if she were stuck in his position time travel wasn’t something she wanted to try anytime soon.

Though when Elena heard what he had to say on her question she was grateful that he was at least bothering to answer her question. She was a little surprised to hear that Vicki had told Bruce to stay away from her that wasn’t something that her mother had shared with her daughter. To be honest Elena wasn’t sure what to say about that besides the fact that she would have to talk to her mother about that.

“I see….” Elena said thinking over what Bruce had told her, she remembered what Barbara had told her though it wasn’t really what Bruce meant about Elena being exposed to the dark side. It just sounded like he didn’t think Elena was experienced enough to be Batwoman or even wanted her as a superhero period now she somewhat understood the reason.

“I can handle myself I know what I got myself into the second I put on the cowl, Tim, Barbara, Huntress, Black Canary hell even I had to ask myself one more time if I knew what I was getting into. But now that I know what I can do I can’t imagine myself not wearing the cowl or going out there as Batwoman!” Elena explained hoping she could get Bruce to see why she took the job, she was sure more than anything else in the world that she could be Batwoman.

[bruce]

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Taking a deep breath, Bruce shook his head slightly when Elena had tried to make him come over to her side and believe in her abilities to wear the cape and cowl of Batwoman. He had no doubt that Elena believed that she was capable and while she did have some skill, it just wasn’t enough as far as he was concerned. While she was good enough by Barbara’s standards, she wasn’t by his.

You’re being delusional is what you are doing, he retorted rather coldly. His fatherly and kind demeanour had left for his usual demeanour. You have to fight against yourself just to climb to a rooftop. You think that just because you know how to beat up a couple thugs that you deserve to wear that cape and cowl? You’re wrong. This isn’t a game. This isn’t some hobby you do when you’re not working the beats in your uniform. You may be good enough for Barbara, but not for me. You don’t have what it takes and it’s going to get you killed Elena. Then what good are you going to do? He exclaimed as he moved only inches from her. I dedicated my life to ridding this city, this world, of the scum that killed my family. For years I travelled this globe learning from the best. What did you do? Take a couple Karate lessons from Barbara and think you were ready? WAKE UP ELENA! Playtime if over.

Letting out a deep breath of annoyance, frustration, and anger, Bruce walked past her toward the work station where he was working on a new uniform for his nights out.

[Elena Wayne]

“Well someone had to do it seeing as you weren’t here to take care of Gotham! In case you haven’t noticed the city has gone to hell cause you weren’t here! If it bothers you so much about me being Batwoman then deal with it cause I’m not giving up the cowl anytime soon and even if I had to you’d just find me in another costume under a new name!” Elena snapped back to her father. She tried to reason with him but if he wasn’t going to listen to her she didn’t see any reason for her to do the same to him, blood tied or not she wasn’t giving up the cowl just because someone felt she wasn’t cut out for it. Time to really see if Elena had her father’s stubbornness or not if he thought he could yell at Elena and expect her to listen to him on this one.


Crossing her arms a scowl on her face Elena was determined to not give in, she didn’t feel that she needed Bruce’s permission to be Batwoman but she would have felt a lot more better if he was okay and supportive of her decision. Obviously he was less than thrilled with Elena’s job as Batwoman, though he did have good reason to be. As for her fear of heights Elena would get over it she didn’t believe that Bruce’s first years as Batman were perfect or that he was fearless of what he was fighting.

“I doubt your first year as Batman were perfect I’m getting over my fear, I’m training I have Tim, Barbara, Helena, Dinah helping me they all had a part in training me I can’t help it if I didn’t have the resources you had when you were getting prepared to do this” Elena said her voice holding anger but it got lower though deep down it was threatening to rise again.

[bruce]

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He had only gotten a couple of steps when Elena had blurted out her piece to him. Instead of it helping her though, it only served to annoy and frustrate Bruce further. Sure he admired her tenacity, but that wasn’t going to keep her alive out there. That wasn’t going to save her when her back was against the wall against Venom fueled thugs.

Turning to face her once more, his face full of cold anger, he stepped up to his daughter. Looking down into her eyes, he clenched his jaw tightly. I have noticed. I’ve been out every night since I got here cleaning these streets up. I’ve been out there going up against men and women who I know would carve you up like a Thanksgiving turkey, he stated harshly. And in case you didn’t notice, I’m more than capable of stopping you from being Batwoman or any other sort of vigilante you think up, he added very coldly. And it’s not about resources Elena. It’s about training, skill, determination, knowing your limitations, sacrifice, and doing what is necessary. You have one of those and that one isn’t enough Elena. You’re going to end up dead. And my first year of Batman was far more successful than what yours has been. I’ve gone over Tim’s files of your outings as Batwoman. I’ve read his evaluations on you too. And I’m not impressed. Now listen closely Elena. As long as I am here, in this timeline, your nights out as Batwoman are over. Go back to your day job.

Turning away from her once more, Bruce walked over to the suit he was working on, and started to go to work on completing it.

[Elena Wayne]

“If you’re so worried about me then how about you train me then? If I’m not good enough by your standards make me up to your standards then!” Elena snapped once more before shaking her head looking away from Bruce. She doubted that he would actually train her; even Oracle said that it was unlikely for him to do it. The only people he seemed to have trained where the robins unless Babs has been holding out on her for some reason.

Moving her vision away from Bruce and back to the many objects that found home in the Batcave Elena wished she had been there to witness how he acquired some of them namely the Giant Dinosaur and how he got that in here without civilians finding out. Though she was going to greedily keep her identity as Batwoman for as long as she could Elena was sure that he would stay true to his word and keep her from the title. Well until he caught her Elena was going to stay as Batwoman it was a part of her, if anything she had realized she was more Batwoman than she was Elena sometimes. Maybe that could be seen as unhealthy but if it was wrong Elena didn’t want to be right.

Sighing Elena figured she should probably leave she doubted Bruce would want to talk to her after this but Elena…didn’t really want to leave. It was like a kid in an amusement park in here, there seemed to be everything then something caught her eye she was surprised she didn’t notice it before.
“Figures he has the nicer car” Elena muttered to herself glaring daggers at the car but couldn’t help but want it at the same time.

[bruce]

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No sooner had he reached out to grab the new suit’s cowl, Elena came back with a comment that he should have known was going to be coming. Both Tim and Dick had mentioned the idea of him training to Elena if he was that concerned about her, but each time Bruce just told them that it wasn’t an option. It came down to the fact that Bruce didn’t really want her to live the lifestyle and he also knew that Vicki didn’t want her to either. Even with a dangerous day job, like being a cop in Gotham, she had a higher survival rate. Sure, none of it really mattered in the long run since he would be able to fix it all once he returned to his time frame, but he also had to be prepared for the possible outcome that he and the others wouldn’t be going back at all and that this timeline would be their new home.

Turning to face his daughter once more, Bruce walked up to her, and looked her in the eyes with a look that had made men thugs piss their pants. You want to do this? You want me to teach you? Fine, he said coldly. First lesson.

With a sudden burst of movement, Bruce grabbed Elena by the arm, and flipped her down to the ground hard. Kneeling down on her throat with his knee, Bruce held on to her arm, and twisted it. It wasn’t enough to break it or anything, but enough that she would feel her muscles being pulled and manipulated.

Learn to expect the unexpected. Even with those close to you, he said in a very dark and cold tone. Letting Elena go, he walked back over to the new suit, and picked up the cowl. Second thing. Take a leave of absence from the force.

[Elena Wayne]

Elena was surprised when he said he would teach her then more surprised when he grabbed her arm flipping her next thing she knew his knee was to her throat and her other arm being twisted to the point of intense pain. Neither was helping her breathe any easier, she bit her lip instinctively to keep her from crying out. Finally the pain stopped when Bruce got off her and went to his Bat suit once more. He told her the second lesson which was to quit her day job. Elena sat up hugging her arm massaging it some hoping to make the pain go away. She and Matthew would be in a tough financial spot for a while but they would manage just like they always did. Gotham Police wasn’t the highest paying job in the city.

"Fine" Elena said getting up no longer hugging her arm to herself. This could have gone along so much better. But she figured she had to make a choice, her day job or her night job and preferably Elena liked being Batwoman more, even if all her history was with Gotham Pee Dee. Though she had a feeling she would have to make a huge effort for the slim chance that Bruce would let her keep her cowl she was willing to make the effort for the unlikely approval. Was it going to be hard? Most likely but she was going to do better than her best. Running a hand through her head she stood up unsure if Bruce wanted her to leave or stay. She decided just to stay and watch for a while, her eyes wandered to the case that held all the costumes from previous missions and robins in there.

Elena knew a bit of Bruce’s story, she knew her grandparents died in front of him and that from that day on her drove to clean up Gotham’s streets. That his first robin had been her brother Dick Grayson, the second her brother Jason Todd who became the Red Hood, then Tim then Damian then Tim’s son Jack. She figured she would have a high expectation to reach, if she was lucky she could reach it. She figured if Jack could keep running around as Robin she would have some sort of a chance.
"Thanks for giving me a chance" Elena said.

[bruce]

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Don’t thank me. Thank Barbara and Tim, he said as he looked over his shoulder at her. You have one chance and one chance only. If you blow it, I will dedicate myself to making sure that your nightlife consists of bad reality television on the couch with Matthew. Understood?

Bruce hadn’t really wanted to be so…forceful as he was with Elena, but she wasn’t exactly leaving him any choices. And truth be told, he still wasn’t really sure if he was doing the right thing. He had made the mistake years ago of training Jason to take over for Dick’s role of Robin and it had cost him his life at the hands of the Joker. That then of course led to his resurrection and subsequent role as the Red Hood. Even the training of Damian wasn’t, or rather hadn’t, gone the way he had hoped either. The last thing he wanted was to make that same mistake with Elena. Though Bruce barely knew her, she was still his daughter, and it was his duty as her father to protect her. She wasn’t going to make it easy on him though, that much was for sure.

[Elena Wayne]

“Understood….Mr. Wayne” Elena said with a nod, she wasn’t sure what to call him at first. Bruce was too casual, she didn’t consider calling him Father or any similar title she didn’t know him all that well for now Mr. Wayne would have to do unless he wanted something else for her to refer him to. At least he was giving her a chance, which was all Elena was grateful for that much. It wasn’t easy for her to get this chance so she was determined not to lose it now who knows this might not be such a horrible thing. She would have to remember to thank Tim and Barbara when she got back to the Clocktower or just first chance she got once she took her leave of absence.

“So who told you about Matthew? Tim or Barbara?” Elena asked. Matthew was her nephew by her presumed dead half brother Damian. Elena adopted him when she was nineteen barely old enough to be considered a legal adult and she took in a kid before she was twenty one. Now she was twenty three and technically a mother to Matthew. Of course Vicki was there to help her with every expense or any needs. Her brothers and team mates as well, Matthew worked with the Birds of Prey on occasion, acting as Batwoman’s sidekick at times under Elena’s watchful eye.