DAMNED GODS,
chapter one: the new member!

          ONE WEEK AFTER THAT INCIDENT, Bruce kept the young girl in absolute medical surveillance - he wanted to see what other things her parents had done to her before this happened. Olivia, in part, didn't understand why she should be prostrated on another stretcher but Bruce assured her that the doctors wouldn't do anything wrong to her and that he would be with her all the time. Then Alfred would do his tests at the mansion after that was over. Olivia didn't resist this time and let the doctors do their job: urine and blood samples, detoxification of harmful fluids in her body and some CT scans. Over the days, Bruce Wayne knew that previous experiments were changing the physiology of the young girl and that the wounds on her wrists had already healed in a matter of hours. It was something magnificent and chilling at the same time.

          The doctors explained it to him in the best possible way, but he would then worry about analyzing the data in his report on the bat computer. The important thing was to know that Olivia was really safe and that all those experiments had no such long-term side effects. Dick also visited her and questioned his mentor about where she would go after medical checks came to an end. That same night, Olivia was on her stretcher, hugging a teddy bear that Dick and Bruce had given her - Dick was there with her, waiting for Bruce to return from the Wayne Tech tower for some papers. Grayson really wondered what Bruce was planning for Olivia, but knowing him from the bottom of his heart (and the five years they spent together) the boy knew that Bruce Wayne's intentions were good.

          Olivia, seeing Dick immersed in his own thoughts, decided to speak. "What does it feel like to be Robin?"

          Oh, little detail: Olivia knew that Bruce Wayne was the Dark Knight and Dick Grayson was the Boy Wonder.

          Actually, she knew it when she saw when Bruce took off his mask inside the Batmobile and trusted Olivia enough for her to keep the secret. It was a fun thing. The blond-haired girl waited for a response from Dick, however, she didn't want to invade his personal space with a subject that involved him too much but he looked at her calmly. "Sometimes it sucks, but punishing the guilty sometimes feels good. Bruce has taught me that."

          "Do you think I can become Robin?"

          Dick rethought it over and over again, his answer was too clear to shout at the four winds: Olivia would never be Robin. It was something unthinkable, something that had no discussion. Olivia was a pure, innocent and beautiful soul - a light to stick to in that overwhelming darkness of Gotham's streets. No, Olivia would never be Robin. Dick wouldn't allow it and that would make it clear to his mentor. She was never made to be a soldier for Bruce, Dick was - she couldn't be corrupted in the art of war and see blood spilled on the ground as Dick saw it. That was such a negative response that Dick didn't want to start an argument with the girl, it was too much. The boy leaned back in his chair, keeping his eyes on the girl again. "No, not for now, at least."

          And as if his prayers were heard, Bruce Wayne appeared in the room and they both stared at him at the same time. He closed the door behind him, Olivia straightened and looked curiously at the old man - both hands resting on her lap. Bruce put a couple of folders on the couch and sat down in a chair near Olivia. Saying what he wanted to say wasn't something so simple, asking for her full custody was something very new to her and it was something she barely understood - but Bruce knew that Olivia needed a new family, someone to rectify her and train her to be a successful woman in the future, a future where Bruce wanted to be so that deserved a chance, right? Dick told him that, since that girl was alone against the world - alone against humanity.

          Bruce sighed and looked at Olivia. "I know this will sound complicated, Olivia. But I need you to be sure with your decision here. Do you trust me?"

          Olivia nodded in full confidence. That man had saved her from that macabre game, he had woken her from that endless nightmare, he healed her. Why wouldn't she trust him? Bruce Wayne had gained that trust by protecting the girl and she would be eternally grateful - for that very reason she soon nodded. Bruce looked at her expectantly, those blue eyes looking at the girl's greens and relaxed when he received an affirmative answer from the girl. "From now on you'll live with us, little one, with Alfred, Dick and with me. Sounds good, doesn't it?" Olivia smiled and nodded again, Bruce continued. "From now on you will be a Wayne, you don't have to take my last name..."

          "I want to do it," the girl declared and gave a smile so genuine that Dick swore to see Bruce Wayne's dark, cold heart beat at least once. "I want to be a Wayne."

          Bruce knew that there was no turning back, that Olivia really placed her trust in him with a few simple words - because she knew, deep inside, that Bruce Wayne would protect her as one of his own, as he did with Dick. He nodded, looking for the folders to start filling out papers with his handwriting. Olivia could see how his name was written in that black ink and ended perfectly in the paper: "Olivia Wayne." That felt good, Olivia felt good. Just signing once, Olivia was already part of the Wayne family and the blond-haired girl hugged Bruce tightly. Dick was next, despite Bruce's insistent stare and that was the last thing they did before doctors entered the room.

          "Okay, Olivia," one of them snapped looking at a folder. "All your studies have gone very well and I think you have demonstrated excellent behavior in the week, so we will let you go home."

          "She will come with us," Bruce announced and Olivia nodded.

          With a courteous assent from the medical team, they left the room, finally leaving the girl alone. Dick helped the young woman get up and left a moment to let her change her clothes - Bruce came back for them to lead them to the exit where Alfred Pennyworth was waiting for them. As he climbed into the car, Alfred looked in the rearview mirror of the car at the girl who looked back at him with pure curiosity. The butler quickly contacted his key and left the hospital quickly.

          "Are we heading to the mansion, Master Bruce?" Alfred asked and Wayne nodded, then looked at the girl. "And this beautiful girl?"

          Bruce smiled. "Alfred, I introduce you to the new family member: Olivia Wayne."

          "You are a very lucky young lady, Miss Wayne," Alfred declared with pure joy.

          The view of the streets kept the young woman thinking, thinking about all the things that had happened - in all the things that led her to this very moment. Bruce was willing to take care of her and Olivia was relieved to leave a part behind - she felt guilty about leaving her younger brother behind, but hell had swallowed him alive and she was more than sure she wouldn't see him again. Bruce admired how the girl remained in her thoughts and knew that she could be a good successor in case Dick leaves Robin's mantle. But he wasn't dumb, he knew that Dick would do anything to prevent Olivia from taking the role of Robin and he saw that when Dick looked at him as a warning. Bruce looked away and let things take their course.

          Olivia was already part of the Wayne family and that was enough.

━━━━━━━━

not edited