Truth, Unmasked

Part 11

The next few days were miserable for Melody. She kept her distance from Tim, speaking only when spoken to, avoiding the worried looks her father and Alfred cast her way. They don't understand, she thought bitterly. It was one thing to not be believed, but Melody had always trusted in her heart, in intuition and feelings. Perhaps that made her naïve, but if her brother was right and her heart could not be trusted, what else was she to believe in?

It might have been easier for Melody if she could just agree with Tim, if only for the sake of restoring harmony. To agree that she should not put blind faith in her intuition without evidence, or that the identity of the Batman was none of her business and to seek such knowledge was to seek trouble. But she could not deny what she knew in her heart to be true. Tim was supposed to understand that. How could he just dismiss what her heart told her so callously like that?

Bruce noticed the change in her, and he worried. He would be damned if he let Melody slip back into the sadness that had pushed her off the Clock Tower that night. In true Batman fashion, he let his little observations of Melody's behaviour and speech draw him to the conclusion that it was himself, and Tim, who were causing Melody's distress. This revelation pained him, but it reassured him to know that he could now take concrete steps to address the problem now he had identified it.

"She thinks you are the Batman," Tim admitted when Bruce pressed him for a reason as to why his younger sister seemed to grow even more morose in his company.

"What! And what did you tell her?"

"That her theory was far-fetched, especially considering that it's based more on instinct than solid evidence."

"I see. And she's angry because you patronised her."

"I didn't patronise," Tim protested.

"All the same, we have to do something. Melody is smart, and even if she spends the rest of her life never knowing for sure who we are, it wouldn't do her any good to keep this suspicion in her heart. We need to vanquish her doubts once and for all. If she sees me and Batman in the same place, maybe..."

Tim sighed inwardly. The classic 'seeing a civilian and vigilante in the same place' trick was the oldest trick in the book superheroes played to keep their identities secret, and though it would work on many, Tim doubted it would be enough to assuage the suspicions in Melody's mind. "I think," he said, as gently as he could, "that the best course of action is to tell her the truth."'

Bruce's answer was immediate and as sharp as his glare. "No."

"But—"

"There is no reason for her to know."

"She is family. That is reason enough."

"I didn't adopt her so she could become involved in our nighttime activities."

"No, you adopted her because you wanted to keep her safe from the Tian Hui. But they managed to get to her once and they will come for her again."

"And I won't let them take her again—"

"Sure you won't. But it'll be much harder to stop her leaving on her own terms."

Bruce squinted at Tim like he was a case he was trying to solve. "What do you mean?"

"I know you don't want her knowing anything about them. But she's bound to find out one day even if you don't tell her. It is her legacy, her...her fate, if you will. And if she finds out before you have a chance to tell her about all this? This is the very kind of weapon the Tian Hui would use against us. They'll use the fact that you've been keeping secrets from her to sway her loyalties. If she's hurt enough and angry enough she might join them, which is exactly what you've been trying to avoid all these years."