Between Asgard and Helheim lies Gotham

The Hunchback of Wane Manor

"People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for."
~Harper Lee (To Kill a Mocking bird)

Valerie Wayne knew why she had to hide her wings from the world. She wasn't so naïve as to think that maybe one day the world would just accept that most myths weren't really made up by primitive people to explain why thunder and lightening happened.

She also felt no insecurities about her differences and had accepted the harsh rumors that were spread about Bruce Wayne's hunchback daughter as a constant annoyance in her life.

Her father had offered to home school her, of course, but Valerie found that she quite enjoyed the odd, twisted sense of superiority she got when people shied away from her in the hallways and whispered behind open lockers about her deformity.

Their ignorance to what she really was was strangely empowering. Being underestimated was a rather enjoyable experience. Valerie often fantasized about being pushed into a situation that forced her to reveal her true identity to her classmates. She liked the idea of them gaping open mouthed at her, as she saved their lives from some sort of super villain or something.

It was a silly fantasy, she knew. No one at school would ever know just how powerful she was, but even so, it didn't really matter. She knew the truth, and so did the people she loved the most, and that was all that mattered. Acceptance among people as petty as her schoolmates was not a priority in her life.

Regardless of her false sense of superiority and her silly fantasies, Valerie found her school life tedious.

It wasn't that she didn't understand her schoolwork, or that she was too intelligent for it either. She just wasn't really the studious type. She hated having to sit still, on a chair with a straight back that she had to force her wings against, while trying to concentrate on a monotonous teacher drone on about a subject that could have been interesting, if they didn't feel the need to make their lesson as boring as was humanely possible.

Valerie had been diagnosed from a young age with ADHD. She refused medication for it, protesting that suppressing her instincts was unnatural, and as a result, drove her teachers insane with her incessant fidgeting and refusal to speak unless necessary. Many teachers had chalked it up to her being a hunchback, and even more of her teachers assumed that she had some sort of mental disability that they didn't care enough to figure out.

The reality of the situation was actually far simpler than that. Valerie enjoyed the frustration and annoyance of her classmates and teachers far too much to even try to help them help her cope with her disabilities. Most of the students at Gotham Academy feared her, and many of the teachers muttered profanities under their breath when she walked into their classrooms. With her heightened senses, she heard almost everything that was said about her, and was very aware of her status as the school freak.

She reveled in it.

All she had to do was send a glare at a group of obnoxious students and they'd shut up, or run away, depending on their situation. However, her behavior at school had more than a few people concerned, and it wasn't long before her father received a phone call from a very terrified guidance councilor, who sounded very intimidated to be speaking with the Bruce Wayne.

"So Valerie, I received a phone call from your councilor today." Bruce started that evening at dinner.

"He's an idiot, dad. Has no clue what he's doing. He keeps talking about my "deformity" like it's gonna jump up and attack him at any moment.

"Actually, Val, I think he's scared you're going to attack him." Dick commented, but Valerie sent him a scathing glare.