Dianna's New Secret Life

Anna sat on the Gordon’s couch as the two kids watched some cartoon on the TV. It had been a long day, but this was a nice finish in Anna’s opinion, she loved watching over Jim and Barbara Gordon’s children. It had been the last day of school and most of the kids at school hadn’t had anything better to do than run around getting autographs in their year books, but Anna had been pulled out off all of her classes to take multiple tests to see if she could advance into some very high leaves of math and science. Just as Alfred had hoped, she passed the entire test, but to Anna’s dismay, it also meant that next year she’d be taking a Calculus and a Physics class, and also a class of college level Chemistry, one of her most hated science classes. Anna had been hoping to take Trigonometry instead of Calculus.

For the past month Anna had been stocking her dad around the city at night, when he was on the prowl for villains. Bruce had tried to keep her from following him, but she was determined to help him. Unfortunately for Anna, Bruce was getting better at sneaking out without her noticing, but she had a plan in mind that would fix that.

After putting Jane to bed and getting a bath ready for Jimmy, Anna sat down on the couch and pulled out her cell phone. Scrolling through her contacts list she found Lucius’ number. Clicking send she placed the phone to her ear.

“Hello,” Lucius said as he answered his phone.

“Hey Lucius, its Diana Wayne,” Anna said, “I was wondering, would you have time tomorrow for a short visit from me. I know you’re busy with Wayne Enterprise, but….”
Lucius laughed, “I can always spare some time for you Diana. What time were you planning on stopping by?”

“Around noon,” Anna said with a smile, “thanks Lucius, this means a lot to me.”

“Anytime miss Wayne,” Lucius said before they ended their phone call. Placing her phone back in her pocket Anna smiled to herself. After another hour of watching the children, Barbara Gordon arrived home from work and paid Anna her for the week and wished her a nice weekend.
Walking outside, Anna was about to jump onto her bike when bright headlights came up from behind her. Before she could even turn to look, Jim Gordon pulled up next to her with the passenger window open.

“Hey kiddo, need a ride?” Jim asked with a smile. Jim was the only person, other than Bruce, Alfred, and a few of her school friends, that Anna trusted full heartedly. He was also the only police officer in Gotham that her father trusted as well.

“No thank-you,” Anna said with a smile.

“No,” Jim said jumping out of the car, “I insist.” Not wanting to be impolite Anna climbed off her bike, and with help from Jim loaded her bike into the back seat of the car.

“Thank-you Mr. Gordon,” Anna said as they pulled away from the back alley Jim’s house was located in.

“You’re welcome,” Jim said, “I just thought that you being such a good sitter, it’s not safe riding a bike home through Gotham at this time of night.”

“Normally it wouldn’t be,” Anna said more to herself.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“Well, with Batman out there I feel safe,” Anna explained.

“So you think this Batman character is good for Gotham,” he asked.

“I think he’s exactly what Gotham’s been needing for many years,” Anna said, “and I think you agree, seeing as you have that signal on the roof of the Gotham police station.” Anna bit her lip as this last part had slipped. No one but select personnel knew about that and the only reason Anna knew about it was because her dad had told her about it.

“Oh, where’d you hear about that?” Jim said after clearing his throat.

“Umm, I heard some rumors at school,” Anna said trying to make herself sound as convincing as possible.

“Oh, I guess things like this tend to get around don’t they,” Jim said with a nervous laugh. After this they drove in silence until they arrived at the apartment place that was her home until Wayne Manor was rebuilt, something she was looking forward to as she hated elevators, but also wasn’t looking forward to it as she loved the view of the ocean from her window.

“Well, thanks again Mr. Gordon,” Anna said as she grabbed her bike from the back seat. As Jim drove off, one of the apartment workers ran up and grabbed the bike from Anna, as they always sucked up to her and Wayne. Walking inside the busy building, Anna debated between taking the elevator, or walking up the stairs all the way to the 50th level, where the penthouse was located.

Anna hated elevators with a passion, but was also scarred of heights, so she would loss no matter which she chose, and not to mention, if she took the stairs like she had once before it would take her at least thirty minutes to make it to the top.

Grabbing out her Cell phone, Anna saw that it was almost eight o’clock, and decided to take the elevator. Stepping onto it, Anna could feel her lungs already beginning to constrict as the doors slide shut. The elevator man hit the button for the 50th and it started to go up. Pushing herself into the right corner of the elevator, Anna closed her eyes and tried her best to think of happy thoughts, and this brought the face of the mask guy from her masquerade dream. For some reason she hadn’t been able to get over this particular person since she had had that dream.

Minutes later, when the Elevator finally made it to the top floor, Anna got off feeling worse for wear, the way she always s did after the elevator ride. Alfred was waiting in the living room/dining area with a tray that had a little cupcake and a candle in the middle.

“What’s that for Alfred?” Anna asked walking up to him.

“A little present for passing your tests,” Alfred said with a proud smile.

Anna smiled and laughed, “Thank you Alfred. Hopefully next year I’ll be taking a Trig class. Did you see my report card yet?”

“Yes, and you did wonderful,” Alfred beamed, “Straight A’s just as I knew you’d get.”

“Is dad out protecting the city already?” Anna asked after blowing out the candle and taking a bite of the cupcake, raspberry filling running down her finger.

“Yes,” Alfred said, “he asked me to inform you that if you stayed home tonight instead of tracking him that he would give you some fighting lessons tomorrow, much to my disapproval.”

Anna laughed, “Alfred, you’re the one who first insisted that I take some defense classes when I was younger. And also think of it this way, if I get into trouble while stocking dad around the city I can protect myself and not get in dad’s way.” Alfred gave her a disapproving look before shaking and walking off towards the kitchen.

Laughing to herself Anna walked back to her room, where she found a note lying on her desk. The letter had been written by Bruce as Anna recognized the way he always looped his capital letters.
Dear Anna,

If I don’t catch you following me around, and Alfred assures me that you stayed home all night I will give you special training throughout your summer break. Meet me at the manor grounds, in the new reconstructed “Bat Cave”, as you call it. But that’s only if you agree to stop following me around this summer.

Sincerely, Your Dad,
Bruce

Putting down the letter Anna had to keep herself from squealing with delight. She had been trying to convince Bruce into training her ever since her leg had healed back in December. Unfortunately Alfred had been against it, due to the fact that she was still in school and needed to focus on her studies; so Bruce had been, in a sense, forced to decline Anna’s request, much to Anna’s dismay. That’s why Anna had started following “Batman” around Gotham. Only on the nights that she didn’t have to worry about tests or homework, or her friends being over, she would sneak out and follow Bruce. And usually, nine times out of ten, Bruce would spot her and take her back to the penthouse.

But Anna didn’t mind because she saw this as her way of finally getting to know her dad. For the first time in her life, Anna actually had a parent who was there for her, and one that she loved to death. Although, due to her previous attitude towards Bruce, Anna had to pretend she still despised him to keep up appearances, especially after her “drunk” father burnt her home to the ground. So once again Anna found herself leading a secret life.