Atlas

Vandel Savage

My mother's diary stared back at me, sunlight dancing over the dull flowers that colored its front.

My hands shook as I picked it up, running my fingers over the cover as if I was caressing her face, gripping the spine as if I was still holding her hand.

I flipped through the pages, my mother's handwriting denting the paper.

She had filled only half of it, the entries stopping on the day she had died. Tears welled in my eyes as I began to read the first page.  

    (Y/N), I started this diary because I knew that one day I would not be here to answer your questions.

This contains the story of how you came to be. When I was young, I met a man. He swept me off my feet instantly, all charm and handsome smiles. We fell in love, at least I thought we did.

His name was Vandal and he had treated me so well. Soon, I found out I was pregnant with you. I rushed to tell Vandal, I thought that he would instantly propose.

Foolish, but then again, at the time I didn’t really know him. When he found out he was delighted, showering me with affection and love. But he never proposed.

As the months went by, and you began to grow within my belly, he became more obsessed with you and less loving to me. I couldn’t do anything without his permission, as he thought that everything could harm you.

At first, it seemed harmless, until he got angry one night. As he grew colder with me, I grew more attached to a friend from work, and Vandal suspected I was cheating on him.

I wasn’t.

He ignored my pleas and locked me in the basement of our home. He said that he would let me out, once you were born. I was locked down there for three weeks before I escaped.

And I ran for not just my life, but yours. A month later, you were born. He found us. I couldn’t do anything against him, I had just given birth and was unable to move.

He tore you away, stole you from me. But I got you back. As soon as I was able to stand, I began my search for you. You were with him for a month before I finally found you.

He was holed up in a large estate, having a servant take care of you. The woman, she gave you to me. And so many other children.

Vandal isn’t human (Y/N), I don’t know what he is, but somehow he has lived for thousands of years, fathering children. I ran once you were in my arms, far away from that nightmare of a building. Those poor babies.

I changed my name, moved far away, and we lived remote. I wasn’t going to let Vandal Savage hurt us again. You have to understand that he may have helped create you, but he is not your father.

He does not care for you. I still don’t know what he was planning all those years ago, but I know that he will stop at nothing to take you back to that place.

The rest of this diary, I am using to answer any questions I think you’ll have. I love you (Y/N), make no mistake about that. 

I read the diary for hours, front to back. My mother claimed she would answer my questions, but she didn’t get the time.

All my life, we had been running from this Vandal Savage, and neither of us even knew why.

My mother never found out what he was doing, fathering all these children around the world and collecting them. She never found out how he was ‘immortal’ as she put it.

All the research she put in led her to only one conclusion. He couldn’t be killed, he couldn’t be stopped.

But I have one connection she doesn’t, Batman.