Waking up early in the morning to train is nothing new to Mara. Matter of fact, she's used to beating the sunlight back on Areopagus. At first it was because her father expected nothing less, but it became more than a simple routine. It became a part of her life. She'd rather die than give up her ability to fight. Half Amazon, half god―it's in her gene pool.

However, she's not used to training with her mother. Mara's had to swap out her lethally trained fighting style for simply rendering the opponent unconscious. It's much harder to win a fight when she can't go for the heart or throat.

Meanwhile, her mother has perfected the concept. Out of the twenty-nine rounds that the mother-daughter duo have done, Mara's only one once, and it somehow wound up with her getting more injured.

"You're holding back!" Diana shouts, tossing her lasso forward and ripping Mara's sword from her grasp. She gasps and watches as it clutters to the ground. "What happened to the move we were working on?"

Meaning when Wonder Woman slams her bracelets together so heavily that it creates a shockwave. The closest Mara's come to it is clapping her hands together and creating a great gust of wind. Still not worthy of the 'wonder' in her alias.

With a head shake, Mara frowns. "I can't do it. My bracelets aren't like yours."

"Or maybe you're just not like me," Diana reiterates, her hands posed on her hips in a way that makes Mara's eye twitch. "If you fall in the good graces of the gods, then perhaps they'll leave you with a gift as they did with me."

"Psh. Yeah, right," Mara scoffs. "They gave me a supposed 'gift' and because of it I can stop your heartbeat within a second."

Diana swallows thickly. "Yes, but you must channel that into something powerful. You must be ready to take down Ares. So until that day comes, you must continue to work harder and harder."

Take down Ares.

Mara's words die on the tip of her tongue. Her mother preaches to never kill but there's an apparent exception whenever she feels like bending the rules. Maybe Mara's completely adjusted to the new hero lifestyle or maybe there's still an inkling of love for her father.

No matter how futile options seemed, killing him never seemed to be one of them.

"We can't go after him without Deimos and Phobos joining the fight."

"Then we will take them out as well."

"There has to be a middle ground," Mara says, her throat feeling itchy.

Like someone grabbed her by the neck and shook, Diana's eyes go as wide as bowling balls. "By all the gods, he has you brainwashed."

"He's my father."

"He is the God of War! He will stop at nothing to get what he wants!" Diana snaps, fire flashing in her eyes. "Even if that means getting you out of the way. You are not special to him. He does not see you as his daughter. He sees you as a mindless creature who he can use to his advantage whenever and wherever he wants. And it seems to be true. You are a slave doing his bidding!"

As Diana's taunting words circle around the room and float around Mara's head, she feels her chest tightening and her fists clenching. "If you hate him so much then why me? What was my purpose when you pleaded so desperately for the gods to bring you a child?"

Diana's face pales. "It was . . . a mistake."

A pained zap hits Mara's chest. She sarcastically scoffs. "Good to know."

"No, no," Diana quickly says, her eyes wide. "I did not mean . . . I just . . . It should not have been with him. Maybe then you would be . . . different."

"You mean just like you?" Mara spits. She feels something foul and putrid bubbling up in her chest that she forces herself to swallow down. "Maybe you should've tried again and gotten your perfect little Astara. The ideal warrior to fight alongside you in every battle."

Diana takes a step forward. Mara takes one back. Diana frowns at the action. "No. I only wanted a daughter. After what happened . . . I never tried again. You were all I could think about and I wondered if I did the right thing."

Nothing particularly outrageous happens, but Mara suddenly feels her chest tighten and her throat feels like it's closing up. Something feels off, like a ghost rushed through the room and left a wreckage in its path.

Mara winces. "The . . . right thing?"

Diana's face scrunches like she ate a lemon whole. "I . . ." She squeezes her eyes shut. She looks like she's going to either pass out or puke.

"What?" Mara asks, trying (and failing) to keep the desperation out of her tone as she paces forward. "What are you talking about? What do you mean 'the right thing'?"

"I . . ."

"Mother, what?!" Mara shouts as her hands begin to shake. She has a feeling that she should stop asking questions and walk away while she still can. But her feet stay planted. Perhaps it's her roaring stubbornness or a greater force is keeping her in the room like she's awaiting her judgement.

"I knew."

"Knew what?"

"Where you were."

Mara starts to feel a lot of things at once but the main one is crippling confusion. "But . . . how? He . . . He took me."

Diana sucks in a breath and then raises her chin as if better than the situation. "We made a deal. He would leave Themyscira alone if I . . . I gave you up."

The words feel like a punch to Mara's gut. Worse, it feels like her entire body has been severely beaten. It feels worse than any physical hits she took from her father. Even as she breathes, it's as if she's inhaling glass shards. A stab to the heart. It might be human instinct for Mara's tears to fall, but she refuses to let that happen.

Instead, she storms at her mother and shoves her against the chest. The woman doesn't stop her. "No, you're lying!" Mara seethes. "Use the lasso! That's what he told you to say, isn't it? So that I'll go back to him? He's controlling you!"

A single tear drips down Diana's cheek. "No," she says, her voice so shaky that it sounds like it's going to collapse. "Please understand that it was my duty to do right by my people."

"And what about me?" Mara cries out. Frustrated tears gather in her eyes. As one falls, she furiously wipes it away, refusing to give her mother the satisfaction. "Did you even try another way?"

"There was no other way."

"You knew . . ." Mara's breath catches in her throat. She feels like she's going to puke. The emotions overtaking her are entirely new terrains. Her heart feels like it's being crushed in between a giant's palm. "You knew where he'd take me and you knew how horrible he'd treat me and you still . . ."

"Exactly!" Diana exclaims. "That is exactly why we must end his reign of terror!" Mistakenly, she places her hands on her daughter's shoulders.

Mara grabs Diana's wrist and squeezes. Within an instant, the bone snaps. In pain, Diana falls to her knees and cradles her injury.

Mara kicks the Amazon princess in the gut. She soars backwards and hits the thick wall with a thud. Stalking forward, Mara suddenly stops when a dark figure emerges. Batman glares at her. "Enough." He turns to Diana. "We agreed to wait."

Somehow, Batman's words hurt worse.

Feeling completely unstable, Mara takes shaky steps backwards. Her teeth clatter as she tries to control her temper. "You knew, too," she scoffs. Batman faces her but says nothing. "Of course you did. Why am I surprised?"

"Mara," Batman says, his tone dark and chilling. Warning. "You weren't ready. You still aren't."

"Not ready for what? The fact that my own mother wants nothing to do with me?" Mara asks, an exasperated laugh breezing past her lips. "What an absolute shocker that I'm mad at that news. But it's my fault, right?"

"I never said―"

Mara reels her fist back and slams it against the wall. In an instant, the lights and electronics flicker before completely shutting down. The Cave goes pitch black.

.

.

.

Since the power is out in the Cave, Mara hasn't been able to leave the dreadful place behind. She angrily sits criss-cross in the corner. Batman tinkers with the electrical box as Ella holds a flashlight for him. The two mutter amongst themselves before Ella wanders over to Mara. She plops beside the disoriented teen and flashes a light in her face, making the younger girl wince.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine," Mara says, pushing the flashlight away.

"You sure?" Ella asks while repeatedly flickering the light on and off. No response, so Ella sits the light down. Their still shadows bounce off the wall. The only noise is Batman loudly messing with the wires.

"Y'know," Ella starts, gently nudging Mara's knee with hers. "Batman's been looking for you ever since he learned of your existence. So cut him some slack, yeah?"

Sadly, Mara watches as the older teen wanders away. She curls her knees to her chest, suddenly feeling much worse than she did ten seconds ago.

Batman looked for her? Why would he do that for her of all people? If anything, she thought he'd be one to oppose the idea. She didn't even think he liked her at all. After all, half of her blood stands against everything that the Dark Knight believes in.

But he looked for her?

The tinkering noise stops. Mara notices Batman staring. Her eyes downcast but she slowly forces herself to her feet and walks over. Silence overtakes the room as Batman's eyes latch onto her like she's a ticking time bomb ready to explode at any moment and destroy everything in its path. Truth be told, it's not too far off. But instead, she sheepishly scratches at the back of her neck.

"I'd help, but I don't do very good with electricity."

"Good to know."

Mara nibbles on her bottom lip. This was a bad idea. She's about to walk away when the Dark Knight turns to her. "Could you even help if you wanted to?"

"Uhm . . ." Mara's brows clench as her eyes move upwards in thought. "Yeah, you always cut the red wire."

"Mhmm . . ."

"Or, maybe that's only TV. I don't know. Uhm, I don't really know much . . ." Mara's words trail off and the room is once again surrounded in a suffocating blanket of silence. She turns to walk away when some greater force hidden within makes her turn right back around.

"I didn't . . ." She sighs heavily, her shoulders slumping in defeat. "I didn't mean to break it."

"I know."

For some reason, Batman's words only make Mara feel worse. It would be better if he expected her to kick and cry and hurt. But he thought highly of her. He's put his faith in her and that hurts worse than him thinking she's a monster. She let him down.

"I can, uhm, help pay to fix it."

"With what salary?"

"I can rob a bank or something." The low growl in the back of Batman's throat makes Mara nervously chuckle. "That was a joke. I'll . . . get a job?"

"You're thirteen."

"Yeah, but I saw this TV show about child labor―"

The lights suddenly flicker back on and chase the darkness away. Mara blinks repeatedly to adjust her eyes to the new brightness. Batman closes the electrical box and focuses on the Zeta-Beam. Once it powers up again, he turns back to Mara. She hesitantly meets his gaze. "Ella said you looked for me. Is that . . . true?"

A single nod. "Yes."

"Why?"

A hand falls upon Mara's shoulder. "This isn't your fault―your childhood, your mother's behavior, all of it," he says. "It didn't happen because of something you did or didn't do, it's just something that unfortunately happened to you. There's more to you than your bad blood and you deserve a chance to figure out what path you'll go down, even if it isn't heroism."

Swallowing thickly, Mara fiddles with her gloves. "No, I want to be a hero. I know I do," she says, her words slow but bold. "I want others to know that they're not alone and I don't want anyone to have to go through what I did. And I want to be there to give second chances to those who are willing to try."

A ghost of a smile hits Batman's lips but it's gone as soon as it came.

"Ahem." Wonder Woman approaches from behind, her shiny armor bouncing off the walls. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Batman says nothing and looks down at Mara. She takes a deep breath. Forgiveness won't come so easily when it comes to her mother, but she's too exhausted to start another argument so she gives Batman a tiny smile and then distances herself. He nods and Zetas away.

"I wanted to give you something." Diana's tightly clutching a long piece of fabric. Its pink patches are worn and tattered. "The blanket you were born in." She smiles, but it looks painful like someone forcefully sewed it in that position. "Some of your Amazon sisters made this. We were all so excited."

Hesitantly, Mara takes it. She stares at it like it came from another planet. "You . . . kept it? Even after all these years?"

Diana sighs. "I know my words will not mean much, but believe me when I say that I never once stopped thinking about you. Although I have difficulty showing it, I am so glad that you are here."

And she's right. Her words do little to nothing for Mara. All she does is stare at her mother with a blank look, tired of giving her the upper hand. "Why? Why didn't you . . ." She winces. "Fight for me?"

Shuttering, Diana folds her hands together. "The entire island eagerly awaited your arrival. You were such a beautiful child. Hair and face similar to mine, but . . . your eyes."

Her words suddenly make Mara want to wear shades for the rest of her life. Perhaps she can borrow a pair from Robin. OR maybe she should just rip the organs from her head. But she stands strong, purposefully piercing her mother's gaze. "It didn't mean that I was destined to turn out like him."

"I could not take the chance," Diana gulps. "Your fate was sealed the moment I looked at you for the first time."

"Do you even love me?"

The answer comes a little too slow.

"Yes, I do, in the best way that I know how."

"Okay," Mara whispers, her voice frail.

There's nothing left to say.

.

.

.

Dark overheads thunder and rumble. Rain pours heavily, causing Mara's hair to stick to her forehead and neck. She stares out into the gloomy horizon with a dull expression. Her body makes an indent in the sand. She doesn't even know how long she's been loitering in the same spot.

She needed a breath of fresh air when it suddenly started to pour. But she'd rather drown beneath the weight of it than have to go back home.

Still, she clutches the baby blanket tightly to her chest as if it'll heal everything. But it won't because it's just worn and torn fabric. The Amazons who made it have probably forgotten all about her. Ten years is long enough to be erased.

Didn't I tell you? A voice circles her head. I'm all you have.

And maybe her father's right. Maybe when the curtain falls he'll be the only one on the other side. Even if he only wants her as a working weapon, it's still more than her mother has ever wanted from her.

"Hey." The rain smacking against Mara's face stops. Robin stands with an umbrella. "You ready to come in yet?"

Mara huffs and looks away.

Robin tilts his head to the side to get a better view of Mara's face. "If you want, we can go to the Batcave. I'm sure Batman won't mind."

Noticing that he's peering over, Mara further cranes her neck in the other direction. "No. This is fine."

"It's raining."

"Yes."

"And thundering."

"I see that."

"Mara―"

Grumpily, Mara kicks some sand in the air as some sort of weak warning. "Just leave me alone."

Robin's face softens. "You sure?"

Mara doesn't answer right away but after moments of silence pass, Robin sits beside her. "Hey," he says. "It's gonna be alright."

No, it won't, Mara thinks, but she doesn't dare say it. If her own mother can't accept her just because her eyes are red, then what will everyone else think when they learn why Mara wears the gloves? When they find out who she truly is? What will Robin think?

As the thoughts downwardly spiral in her mind, she starts to feel nauseous. They're from two different worlds. What right does she have to put her burden on him?

He takes her hand and she freezes, her breath catching in her throat. His heartbeat is calm and rhythmic juxtaposed to the harsh waves slapping against the surface. "C'mon, you're gonna catch a cold if you stay out here."

"Half god, remember?"

"Mhm," Robin murmurs. "But someone here is still full human and can get sick, which I'm sure Bats wouldn't like. Definitely wouldn't be feeling the aster, but I'm not going inside 'til you do."

Mara side-glares at him. "That's a sucky ultimatum."

"Another one of my many skills." Cheekily grinning, Robin shrugs. "Half boy, half wonder."

Although Mara is slightly annoyed, she finds herself smiling at Robin's stupid remark. She shakes her head but nonetheless comes to a stand. "You're sooo . . ."

Knowing that he's victorious, Robin grins. "Genius? Yeah, I get that all the time."

"I was gonna say arrogant and irritating, but whatever you say, Bird Brain."

Playfully, Robin narrows his eyes at her. "And you're sure you can't get sick?" The girl wonder nods. "Good," Robin says, yanking the umbrella away and running away with his infamous cackle. Mara's mouth falls open in disbelief as she flies after him.

"That doesn't mean I like being rained on!"

"Then take it back!"

"Fine! You're only arrogant and irritating sometimes."

"That's the best I'm gonna get, isn't it?"

Mara grins mischievously and tugs the umbrella back in her direction. "Yep."