The Many Loves of Batman

Shadow of a Bird (Sandra Wu-San, aka Lady Shiva)

She was standing right in front of her, of the woman who had birthed her. He clenched her teeth together, frustration seeping through her pores. She didn't want to face her own mother, yet here she was on a lone rooftop doing exactly that. She wanted to reason with her, things that she had learned from the man that had been more of a father to her than the man who impregnated her mother. She was going to show her all the things she had learned from her father, from the man who had taken her in and given her the love that she had desired for all of her life.

"Come and fight" She clicked her teeth together, her eyes narrowing behind the mask that she was wearing at this very moment. She had a name to honor, the name of Orphan. A name that had been bestowed to her by her real father. She didn't love him nor did she feel any connection to him in the slightest, yet the least she could do was honor the meaning of the name. To protect others who were not able to protect themselves. So she advanced, starting the fight between the two with a hook.

She stumbled, the palm of her mother pushing her fist away from her. She knew that she was outclassed, her mother had way more experience than she ever did. But not only was the honor of her name at risk, but the teachings of her father. So, she knew that she had to step it up. She regained her posture, doing an immediate back kick. She managed to hit her mother, her eyes noticing the surprise on her mother's face. Yet it was all for naught, her mother grabbed her foot and moved it in such fashion that it left her falling neck first to the ground.

She groaned slightly, her eyes widening behind her mask as she noticed the leg of her mother almost meeting with her own face. Luckily for herself, she twisted her body fast enough to not only stop her mother from advancing, but land a spinning kick to her chin. She positioned herself in her stance once again, looking just how her mother caressed the injury that she had just inflicted on her face. She saw the smirk on her mother's face, which honestly raised her nerves a bit.

"Good... But not good enough, girl" She blinked, instantly finding her mother in front of her. She widened her eyes, her arms responding quickly to her instincts. Yet even that was not enough to help her defend herself against the hook that her mother was able to land on her chin. Pain coursed through her face, especially thanks to the whiplash that her neck almost created thanks to the force. She grunted, her teeth on the verge of breaking because of the tightness of her jaw. "Stop playing games"

She landed on her side, her hip impacting hard the roof of the building they were on. She immediately took off her mask, glaring directly at her mother. She did notice a slight flinch coming from her, which made her question her mother's action slightly. But she ignored her running thought, wanting to focus on the fight between the two. But she went to direct, something that she knew that she should have not done. Her father had taught her better than that, had taught her to be better than him. Yet she still stumbled down her path, stumbled on her way to become who she knew she could be.

"You are holding back" She gasped in pain, her fist being manipulated in such a way that it started to control her entire movement. She knelt down, even if she didn't want to kneel in front of her mother. She still was glaring at her in anger. She was giving the woman who had left her alone with the man that only made her suffer through her childhood the harshest stare she could muster right at this moment. "You are able to predict me, yet you don't go for it" She whined softly, not wanting to show her mother weakness. She wanted to separate herself from the woman who had birthed her. She wanted to do many things at that very moment, yet she was unable to voice them. Traumas from her childhood not letting her be as vocal as she would normally want to be. "Why?"

"Won't... kill..." She muttered, her eyes growing slightly weary. The pressure that her mother was exerting on her arm was making her chest feel constricted. Her breath fastened a bit, her chest speeding up to maintain herself awake. Her eyes fluttered, but even with her weary eyes she was able to see the look of slight disgust that her mother had. But more than that, she also noticed something that she didn't expect to see on her mother's face. She saw her mother looking at her with pride in her eyes. Her eyes widened in shock at the next hit, her mother chopping her under her arm.

"You have proven yourself... Yet I can guess that all of this is not because of David Cain, is it?" She could not move, her arm had been completely immobilized by the latest attack from her mother. She had been intaking large breaths of air, her chest finally decompressing from the hold that her mother had just released her from. She couldn't understand her, not after she had apparently brutalized her in a fight. "Could it have been because of-"

"Shiva. Get away from her" She looked to the side, watching just how her father arrived on the rooftop. He may have not been her biological father, but in her mind he was the one that had taken care of her like one. He had given her a home, given her a family, and had given her one of the things that she had wanted for so long. He had given her love, the love that a father feels for her daughter. She still remembers the nights that she had cried on his chest in anguish, yet he never protested about her cries.

"So it has been you, Batman" She wanted to scream for him to leave. She needed to be the one to finish whatever her mother wanted to see from her. Yet looking just how worried his eyes looked was enough for her to stay quiet, to maintain the silence that she has been living for quite some time now. She loves her father greatly, even if she is still unable to even call him by that word. It has been a dream of hers, to get the courage to call Bruce Wayne her father.

"Stand down, Shiva. This won't end well for you" She could see the anger in his eyes, the fury that had been placed in his soul being directed into her mother. She even saw her mother smirking, one that looked very estranged in her eyes. Whether her mother's smirk was because of his words or not, she did not know. But she did know that her father was going to win, he always did. "We have fought before. You know how it is going to end"

"Your hubris is outstanding, Batman" She saw her mother cross her arms beneath her chest, looking at her father in a very peculiar way. She did notice that her father tensed his body slightly, seemingly recognizing the look on her face. She still was in the dark about the situation itself, only understanding that her mother had been testing her. She didn't care why her mother would go to such lengths to teach her something, but it was better than never teaching her something at all. "You have trained my daughter well, you have my thanks"

"What do you have planned, Shiva? What are you really after?" It was then that she, Cassandra Cain, had to blink in confusion to the scene that had been displayed right in front of her. She just saw her mother kiss her father straight on the lips, no hesitation in her movements. She didn't really understand just how she went from fighting her and apparently teaching her a lesson, to kissing the man who she would have preferred to have as her biological parent. It confused her, not knowing if it meant something deeper or was just a reaction from her mother.

"Maybe I should stick around... See just how our daughter keeps on growing" She smiled at that. Do not get her wrong, she still does not understand the motives that her mother may have in her mind to act this way. What made her happy was the fact that she has approved of Batman being more of a father than her biological father ever was. Maybe this was the confirmation that she needed to tell him that exact word to him. To finally be able to call him her father, instead of calling him by his name. It was looking up for her and quite honestly, she wanted a complete family to be with her. She stood up slowly, walking slowly towards the duo that had stopped kissing for quite some time now. If this was a dream, she wishes it to be one that she could forever keep on having. Because it has been all she ever wanted.