EIGHT YEARS AGO,

"WHAT WAS THE name idea?" They sat in the comfort of Remiel's apartment, exchanging quiet Mandarin. Dick and Remiel had gone off to buy more food at the supermarket downstairs, Daniel had gone home to start packing for his trip to Gotham, and Cecily was in the other apartment they'd bought in the building. Just her and Damian, sat around the dining table, a plate of fruit shared between them.

It was their first night in Hong Kong. Yu Lan would be lying if she said she wasn't bustling with excitement. It was so different from what she was used to. All the LED lights illuminating the night sky. Nothing like the darkness that befell her forest in the evenings.

Earlier, in the car ride home, Damian had said that he'd come up with a good idea for her English name. Yu Lan was simple enough, but she did want an English name. She wanted a name she chose. Something she could hear and not think about the Eyu Sect. About the people who died. About her past. It would feel like a clean break from everything before. A reason to look forward to this new life.

She'd only just started learning English—she was still working on the alphabets, but she had a good memory. It wouldn't take too long, hopefully, especially with so many people helping her.

"I assume you've never heard of Swan Lake?" Damian leaned forward. "It's a ballet."

"What's a ballet?" Remiel frowned, testing the word on her lips. Ba lei. She'd never heard of that word before, even in Mandarin.

"It's a type of dance. Swan Lake. Do you want me to tell you the story?"

"Yeah. Of course. What does this have to do with names, though?"

"Well..."

It was a little while later that he'd finished the story, since Yu Lan kept pausing him as he spoke to ask questions. By the time he was done, she was silent, contemplating. She knew why he'd suggested this, of course. He knew she liked swans. He'd seen her feed the swans in her forest, throwing them pieces of man tou, and the way she'd said goodbye to all of them before leaving.

But he wouldn't know how much this story fitted her. And hopefully, he never would.

"I was thinking," Damian murmured, unsure what to make of her silence, "you could consider the name Odette. Like the main character."

But her mind was elsewhere. "What was the name of that other girl? The daughter of the wizard? The one transformed to look like Odette at the ball?"

Damian's brows raised. "Her? Odile. Her name's Odile."

"Can I be called that? O...dile? How is that written?"

"She's not a good guy in the story, though."

"It's boring being named after the good guys." Yu Lan flashed him a cheeky grin. "What if I take the villain's name and give it new life, you know? Like, oh, we all thought people called that are horrible and bad, but you've really given it a new meaning! How cool would that be?" A break from the past... Odile felt more suitable than Odette. She was not a girl waiting to be saved.

Damian looked faintly amused. "I'll show you how it's spelt. You don't need to decide anything yet. It's just a possibility."

She nodded, of course, but she didn't tell him that her mind was already set on it.

Odile.

Such a pretty name. So fitting as well. One day, she'd be able to pronounce it without sounding so incredibly awkward. Hopefully, as quickly as possible. But at the same time, she also had to learn Cantonese on the side.

Ugh. So much learning.

But for her future.

For her mission, for her purpose, for her goal.

She had no other choice.

It wouldn't be all bad in the end anyways. Hopefully.

—

"TELL ME ABOUT your friends," Odile hummed, pulling her legs closer towards her on the chair she sat on. They were on the balcony of Remiel's apartment. Dick, Cecily and Daniel were leaving tomorrow, though Damian was staying around for a couple more weeks. His aunt was going to visit soon, apparently.

Seraphina al Ghul.

She'd heard of her before. The Yuannan Mountain Sect members discussed the League of Assassins sometimes. She knew that Ra's al Ghul—who must be Damian's grandfather, actually, had been killed a year ago. That it was now Talia al Ghul—Damian's mother—who was in power. The League of Assassins was something she'd heard of before. Though she didn't know all that much about them.

But a faction like that... it could be helpful for her future, right?

If Seraphina al Ghul raised Remiel, surely she'd be a nice person. Maybe she'd like Odile. And then she'd be willing to help Odile when she asked for it.

"My friends?" Damian raised a brow. He sat on the other seat, a table between them, facing a sleepy Mongkok. Not that you could tell with the lightboards still on.

"Yes. Your friends." Odile turned to him, smiling. "You must have friends."

"I suppose... there's Jon. And there's the Titans."

"Who's Jon?"

"Jon Kent. Superboy."

Odile's reply was a blank look. "Who?"

"Right." Damian grimaced. "Forgot. Sorry. Jon Kent. Superboy. His father is Superman, one of the most famous superheroes in the world. After Father. My father is Bruce Wayne, Batman. You'll meet him eventually."

Odile had no idea what he was talking about, but she committed those names to memory.

"Jon is three years younger than me... so a year younger than you. We've been working together around Metropolis and Gotham. Whenever we're allowed to go off on our own." He scowled.

"Can I meet him someday?" Odile asked, holding the cup of honey water to her lips.

"Probably," Damian said with a shrug. "And then there's the Titans. They used to be Grayson's team, you see, but he left. There's Koriand'r, who's an alien—basically, she's not from our planet."

Her lips curled up. "I know what an alien is." Wai xing ren. Person from another star. "That's cool. Does she look like a human?"

"Basically. She has orange skin, though. And then there's Garfield, Beast Boy, who has green skin and can transform himself into different animals. There's Raven, but... she's a special case. A bit difficult to explain right now. And there's Blue Beetle. Who's also a bit difficult to explain." He shook his head. "You'd be surprised how difficult it is to explain this kind of thing in Mandarin." Which they were speaking right now, because she was only able to understand very basic English.

"Are there lots of... superpowered people out there? People with magic?" She knew lots of people with the ability to manipulate qi—Remiel was one of them. But no one in the sect had powers similar to hers. Back in the Eyu Sect, there had been.

"It's not all magic. Raven uses magic. Blue Beetle's powers are mythical in nature, I suppose, but not Beast Boy and Koriand'r's. But there's also a lot of people like me. Without superpowers, who manage to do incredible things anyways."

"Wow," Odile laughed. "Arrogant."

He rolled his eyes. "Not arrogant. Truthful."

She looked thoughtful at that. "I'd love to meet them all someday."

"No doubt," Damian sighed, "you would. Don't get overexcited, though."

"What, don't you like them? If you don't like them, they're not your friends. That's not what friend means."

"I... like them. I just get a bit annoyed with them sometimes." He pinched his nose. "It's difficult to explain."

Everything seemed difficult to explain. Odile felt like there was some sort of veil between her and the world he lived in. But she wanted to know more about it. She wanted to know so much more about it. It made her a bit upset, not being able to understand everything he said to her.

Why hadn't she asked anyone to teach her English in the sect? Someone must have known how. Then she'd have gotten a head start, rather than panicking about it now.

She didn't want to ask too many questions, though. He might get annoyed, and she didn't want that happening. So she'd keep her mouth shut. She'd search for her own answers. Remiel was teaching her how to use the internet, and she'd already gotten the hang of it. Shan Ling had shown her some bits and bobs before, and she'd put it together rather quickly.

She'd gotten her own phone too. Remiel had taken her out shopping some time back. New clothes, toiletries, phone, and Remiel hadn't been able to resist getting her some basic skincare as well.

And now Remiel's study was transformed into a second bedroom. The bookshelves had been moved into the living room, the desk pressed against one side. They'd gotten a small closet too, to fill in with the little clothes she had.

"Oh." Odile wasn't quite sure what she was meant to say now. "Umm, so, what do you usually do when you're in Gotham?"

She wasn't quite sure how to explain what she felt towards this boy. She'd never quite felt it before. But she really, really wanted to be friends with him. She really wanted to gain his approval, to talk to him, for him to think of her as cool and an equal, someone worth his time.

She wasn't sure if her efforts were working so far. Sometimes, it felt like he only talked to her because he pitied her.

I'll show him I'm worth the time.

But how the hell was she meant to do that when she couldn't even speak his preferred language? Or understand half the things he talked to her about?

She'd never been in this kind of situation before. She didn't know why she was so desperate to befriend him (though she supposed they were already friends?). It wasn't as if she could ask anyone else. Everyone else might turn around and tell him, and then it would just be awkward.

She might be eleven, but she knew that much. Showing how desperate she wanted to be friends with him wasn't going to make him respect her, which was what she wanted. He might end up running in the opposite direction.

Hmm.

"Father has been trying to make me go to school." He didn't look all too happy about that. "I fail to see a point. I've agreed to go once I return, but considering the time of year, I may be able to convince him to wait until after the summer."

"Oh, that's quite cool!" She paused. "Will I have to go to school?"

"In the future, most likely. But not yet. You still have much to learn."

"I could learn at school?"

"People will get suspicious if you stand out too much. There's too much about this world you don't know."

Damn it. "Could I go to school with you, then?"

"You won't be in my year. And I doubt Remiel has any plans to move to America any time soon, so I doubt it. Unless you want to leave her behind."

She didn't think it was worth it leaving behind Remiel and Hong Kong to travel away to America herself. That sounded scary. Maybe she'd just stay here. Remiel told her they'd meet a lot, so she'd just have to take her word for it.

"Fine." Odile pouted. "So what else do you do except school?"

"I fight crime alongside Father. And Grayson, I suppose. And others."

"Others?"

"You'll meet them all soon."

She wanted to know more. She didn't like the way he was saying bits and hiding others, even if he wasn't doing it on purpose. But at the same time, she didn't feel like pressing.

So, suppressing the disappointment she felt, she changed the topic again.

—

THEY MET SERAPHINA al Ghul on the fourth week of her arrival in Hong Kong, when everyone else was gone except Damian. Remiel had given them both a head's up, but Seraphina's exact time of arrival had been a mystery.

But one night, Remiel came home with someone in tow.

Damian was up on his feet in an instant, but Odile was still a little bit dumbstruck. Remiel grinned. "Odile, meet Seraphina al Ghul. Sera, meet Odile Yu Lan."

Seraphina stared at her for a moment, studying her, but then a smile broke on her face. "Hello, Odile."

Odile scrambled to her feet as well. "Hello!"

She wasn't what Odile had been expecting. Short black hair, in her thirties (or at least she looked that age), a fair complexion, an approachable face. She didn't look scary, the way Odile had thought she'd be. She'd been imagining some grown up, female version of Damian.

"Damian," Remiel sounded, "I was thinking Seraphina would stay in the apartment you're living in. We don't have enough beds up here, and you're by yourself down there. That works?"

"Of course." Damian gave a nod. "It's nice to see you, Aunt Sera."

"You've grown taller," Seraphina mused. "But of course you have. I'd be concerned if you hadn't. Your mother sends her regards."

Damian gave a firm nod in response. "She is well?"

"As well as she can be. Don't worry about her, worry about yourself. I'm less here for you and more here for Odile, really," the woman laughed. "I'm basically Remiel's mother, you see, so I suppose that sort of makes me your grandmother? Or are you more like sisters?"

"Sisters, I think," Remiel mused. "I'm not old enough for a child like her."

"Neither was Father with Grayson," Damian scowled.

"Bruce was old enough," Remiel said with a shrug. "Just barely. Me, I'd have to have been... like, what, eleven? Twelve? Sisters, I think. And technically, Odile is a distant cousin of mine."

"Oh, bother." Seraphina rolled her eyes. "I suppose you can just consider me your aunt like Damian here does."

"You are my aunt." Damian looked unimpressed.

"You get what I mean." Seraphina waved her fingers in the air, taking off her coat. "I can't stay for too long. Two to three days maximum. But I'll see if I can come again sometime later in the year. Perhaps in the mountains?"

"We'll arrange it," Remiel promised. "Just enjoy the time you're here. We'll figure it all out later on."

"I agree," Seraphina mused.

"I'll fetch you some drinks. Just water? Bit too late for tea or coffee, I think."

"Just warm water would do." Seraphina flashed a smile. "Come here, Odile, let us sit down and talk. Damian, won't you make yourself useful?"

Damian looked offended. "What, can I not be here anymore?"

Seraphina shrugged. "I'll talk to you later. Unless you want to be a nuisance and listen in?"

Odile couldn't help it. She giggled. She'd never seen anyone treating Damian like that before.

Damian narrowed his eyes on her. "Traitor."

"Sorry," Odile said sheepishly. "Why don't you go talk to Remiel or something?"

"I'll literally just be in the kitchen," Damian deadpanned. "I'll still be able to hear every word you say."

"Oh, just go," Seraphina commanded, rolling her eyes. "Now. Odile. If there's anything you ever need help with, I'm happy to offer it. I don't want you to have anything to do with the League unless absolutely necessary, but we're willing to help you when it's necessary."

"I... Thank you." Odile stared, a little starstruck. "I've heard quite a bit about you, actually. You're like... famous."

Seraphina laughed. "Not as much as my sister. Or my father. But I suppose my name is out there. You're in good hands with Remiel here, but she's still young. You have a phone, yeah?"

"Yes."

"I'll give you my phone number. I might not always reply, but you can leave a voicemail and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Might take a couple days sometimes, but I will get back to you eventually. Just in case, yeah?"

"Really?" Odile lit up, shifting a bit closer on the sofa.

"If you're Remiel's family, you're mine too," Seraphina said softly. "And you're Damian's friend as well."

"You're just being... so nice to me." Odile stared. "I'm just a little... taken aback, that's all."

Seraphina just grinned. "You'll get used to it."

the amount of FORESHADOWING in this chapter it'll pay off soon hehehehehe
i do think this is a wrap on the 11 year old flashbacks tho? next flashbacks will be around the time odile is 14!!!!!!