Identity?

Chapter Five

    "What?" I cried.
    "Calm down," Bruce said as the elevator doors opened. I followed him down a long hall. He opened a door to a high-ceilinged room with tall west-facing windows, over looking the city. The walls were paneled in a dark wood—when they were visible. Most of the wall space was taken up by towering bookshelves that reached high above my head and held more books than I'd ever seen outside a library.
    Bruce sat down behind a huge mahogany desk in a tall-backed leather chair. Behind him was a huge computer monitor thst took up most of the wall. Below the screen was a large array of keyboards, panels filed with buttons, and flashing lights.
    "You're perfectly safe here with us. The changes we made to your appearance were to hide your identity."
   "Don't you think that my friends or other family will come looking for me when I don't go back to school?" I asked.
    Bruce's eyes became hard, his mouth a grim line. "They won't come looking for you because they think you're dead along with your parents."
    I shot up right out of my seat. "What?" I shouted.
    "Marceline, please, sit down. This is all necessary."
    "Necessary?! My family and friends think I'm dead! Do you know what that'll do to my best friend? He's suicidal! He'll kill himself if he thinks I'm gone!" Tears welled in my eyes at the thought and I felt them run down my cheeks this time. That's why Jarrett hadn't come to visit me in the hospital—he thought I was dead. "If he's gone..." I whispered, trailing off. Then I'm gone.
    Bruce rose out of his seat and reached across the desk, wiping my cheeks—something my dad had always done. More tears followed.
    "That won't happen," he said. "He won't remember anything about his time with you. Miss Martian will remove any of those memories from his mind. It'll ease his pain to forget, Marceline. He'll be fine."
    "Ease his pain?" I shouted. I started to ramble, a habit that I had when I  was angry. "That'll only make it worse! I was his only friend! I was all he had and the only one to be there for him. I was the first person he told about coming out as gay. I was there when his jackass parents degraded him and abused him. You can't take that from him. You can't. It'll only ruin things."
    "It's the only choice we have," Bruce insisted. "By being rid of any memory of you, that'll keep the enemy from coming after him and hurting him for information about you. I'll also have Miss Martian rid of any memory of Jarrett from your familys' minds so they won't him and he won't remember them. This way, he can't be reminded of you."
    "You can't do this." I said, fighting back tears. "You're making it look like I've dropped off the face of the earth. You're making it like I never existed."
    "It's all for your protection." He repeated, and I wanted to scream. "And Jarrett's and your family's. It's better this way."
    "Don't you realized how horrible that is?" I sobbed. Bruce walked around the desk and pulled me into a hug. He held me until I finally stopped crying.
    "I promise, Marceline, Jarrett and your family will be fine. We've been watching over them. We've given them time to grieve before erasing any memories." Bruce reached behind him and produced a long yellow envelope from under a stack of papers, handing it to me.
    "This envelope contains your new identity, everything you'll need; birth certificate, social security card, driver's license, everything. Your new name is Blair Grant, and I am now your legal guardian." Bruce put his hand on my shoulder. "Marceline, I know I can't begin to fill your father's shoes, and never will. I can't replace him, but I want you to know that I'll be here if you need anything."
      I nodded, not meeting his eyes, starting at the yellow envelope in my hands as the tears fell, a few splattering silently onto the thick paper. "Thanks," I whispered, and walked out of the office without looking at him. I went the way we came, through the strange transporter. I then limped back to my new bedroom, and as soon as the door closed behind me,  I threw the stupid envelope of lies across the room and crumpled to the floor, crying as hard as I could, not caring who heard me.
    Suddenly, something zipped part my ear, making me jump with a gasp add it collided with the wall with a metallic clang. Looking up,  I saw a batarang half buried in the wall. I stood and walked toward it, seeing something dangle from it.
    As I drew closer, I saw two necklaces: one was the stone Jarrett had hand-carved himself to look like a guitar pick on a leather necklace with his neat engraving, when words fail, music speaks, embellished in it. The other was a shining, new silver chain with a diamond ring and a white gold wedding band on it 
    My parents' wedding rings.
   With a shaking hand, I slid the necklaces off, looking around the room. I saw no trace of Bruce, but Robin's light chuckle filled the air. Looking around, I didn't see him.
    I gave a small smile and whispered, "Thanks, Robin," as I slid the necklaces on and dried my cheeks.