A so far untitled story...

[Batgirl_2005]

ok... Please remember tat I only started this because I'm have writer's block on my other story and I needed something to write. also it was begun just after I watched Tomb Raider for the first time... I've already started a second part, and I'm hoping it'll all tie together and bring in some great characters... enjoy (or if you don't well then... you don't...) Oh yeah and Happy Early Christmas! (four more days!!!! eee!)

Four motorcycle riders sat anxiously waiting for the starting gun to go off. The sound of the gun was all it took and the illegal street race began.

One rider calling himself, The Dark One, sped ahead of the rest easily. Two of them, Black Angel and HellHound, stayed neck and neck. The last, a rider simply named Death, was tailing by quite a ways.

Death muttered a curse under his breath, then saw an opening to the right. He turned right hard into the skinny alleyway. He popped a wheelie and jumped over the fence landing just in front of The Dark One. The Dark One slammed on his breaks and slid into a wall. There was an explosion, triggering a smile on Death's lips.

The other two riders were lagging behind now while Death stayed so far ahead of them it wasn't even funny.

After several minutes Death passed the check point, but wasn't able to stop his bike in time. The motorcycle flew toward a bunch of trash cans.

The explosion was tremendous. Death was thrown back, and probably would have been killed had he not done a simple back handspring.

Death stood up to his full height. The leather jacket he had been wearing had been torn off and was no where in sight. With out it the body suit he was clad in revealed… a womanly figure. A very muscular figure.

Death looked around and removed 'his' helmet. The other riders stood in shock as Death's long flaming red hair tumbled from under the helmet. Bright green eyes now shone after she removed the helmet.

"Now then gents. How about you give me my money I've won." Death said, her voice had a thick english accent.

"YOU'RE A CHICK!" HellHound shouted.

"Why Holmes! You're bloody brilliant! However did you figure it out?" Death asked.

"Dude… You just got dissed by a Brit chick." Black Angel said, pointing and laughing at HellHound.

"Shut up Bl…"

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" A voice shouted. Everyone who had been watching and riding turned around to see Police Commissioner Jim Gordon standing there with several of his men standing behind him.

Death saw her only chance to escape and took it. She disappeared into the shadows and Gordon and his men never knew she was there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Death walked into a hotel room and stretched as she yawned.

"Dawnny? Is that you?" An old man's voice said. The voice had an english accent just like Dawn's.

"Yes Grandpa, it's me." Death, or Dawn, said rolling her eyes.

"Come here and give an old man a hug." He said. Dawn stepped forward into the main room of the suite where her grandfather sat watching a baseball game.

The old man gasped as he saw the girl was scraped up from head to toe.

"Where's the jacket I bought you? And what happened to you? You weren't fighting again were you?" He asked.

"Of course not Grandpa. I'll tell you all about it in the morning. But could you do me a favor?" She asked, giving him her best puppy dog eyes.

"Of course dear. Anything." He said.

"I need a new bike." She said.

"What happened to the last one?" The old man asked.

"Well… I had a little accident. It was totaled." She said, grinning at him sheepishly.

"I'll have Jeeves order you the best there is. What color this time?" He asked.

"Midnight blue. And make sure it's the fastest out there. With the best brakes." Dawn said.

"Of course dear. Now go get cleaned up. I'll take care of everything." He shooed her toward the bathroom and she went, grinning.

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"And today we welcome Robert Hawkins to Gotham. Hawkins is England's most wealthy man. With over seven billion dollars he's right up there with Gotham's own Bruce Wayne! Hawkins brings to town his beautiful granddaughter Dawn-Star Hawkins. It has been said that Dawn-Star will inherit her grandfather's money, and take over Bruce Wayne's company. Wayne had better be on his toes.." The reporter on the evening news said before Bruce Wayne turned it off.

Bruce sat in the living room, his hand gripping the remote control. Tim Drake sat on the floor surrounded by books, studying for a math final. And the old butler stood behind the couch Bruce sat in.

"The girl won't get my company." He growled.

"My, my, my. We're a tad territorial aren't we, Master Bruce." Alfred said. A quiet snort came from Tim. "The girl can't be that bad. She seems quite congenial to me."

"She's not just congenial, she's beautiful." Tim muttered. Bruce threw the remote at him.

"There's more to her than meets the eye." Bruce muttered.

"Yeah. Maybe she's even more beautiful in person." Tim muttered.

The three men sat in silence for a moment before someone rang the doorbell.

Alfred scurried over and answered the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dawn-Star helped her grandfather out of the limousine and then shooed Jeeves away.

"We'll call you when we're done." She said. The old butler drove the limousine drove away.

"Come on Grandpa. If I have to go inside, so do you." She looked up at Wayne Manor and shuddered. The place was huge. It didn't look exactly friendly, either.

Dawn was, as usual, clad in pure black. A skin tight black body suit covered by a calf length black leather jacket. The jacket was just large enough to hide anything she wanted to.

She helped her Grandfather up to the door and rang the doorbell.

An old butler opened the door.

"Hello." He said, then his eyes got a look of shock to them, "Miss Hawkins! And Mr. Hawkins! This is a surprise!"

A loud sound was heard nearby and suddenly Bruce was standing beside Alfred.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bruce clenched his teeth and grinned at the beautiful red haired girl standing before him.

"Hello Miss Hawkins." He said, through his teeth. "What a lovely surprise."

"Hi Mr. Wayne. This is my grandfather, Robert Hawkins."

"Hello Wayne." The old man said sourly.

"Hello Robert. I must say, it's truly a pleasure to have you here." Bruce said, his teeth still clenched tight.

"Aren't you going to let us in?" The old man smirked. Bruce opened the door and Dawn-Star helped her grandfather inside and into a chair.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Time looked up and saw Dawn helping Robert into a chair and he stood up quickly and walked over.

"Hi. I'm Timothy Drake." He said, holding out his hand. Dawn-Star grinned at him.

"Dawn-Star Hawkins. But you can call me Dawnny." She shook his hand.

"Alright, Dawnny." Tim said.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" Bruce asked, sitting down on the couch, across from Robert.

"I have a proposition for you." He said.

"I won't sell you my company." Bruce stated.

"Good. I don't want it." Robert said, "I merely want to ask a favor of you."

"A favor?" Bruce repeated.

"I'm an old man. To be exact, I'm ninety-nine." The old man said. "I have lung cancer after smoking for so many years. So, I can't take care of my granddaughter for much longer. She needs someone to take care of her. She's merely fifteen, still a child."

"So? What does that have to do with me?" Bruce asked.

"I want you to be her guardian."

"Why me?" Bruce asked.

"Because your pasts are so much alike. You'll have much in common. I won't take no for an answer. All you have to do is sign right here." He pulled stack of papers from a brief case an sat them on a coffee table. He held a pen out toward Bruce.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bruce looked at Dawn-Star. She looked at him with almost puppy dog eyes. It was hard to tell whether she was imploring him to sign or not to.

"I need to think about it more. If you'll please give us the address…"

"No! I have to know now. Will you or will you not be my granddaughter's guardian!?"

"Mr. Hawkins. I need more time to think about it!" Bruce nearly shouted.

Dawn-Star stood up. "Grandpa. You heard him. He has to think about it. Give him a break."

"I'm sorry Dawnny. I just want to make sure you're taken care of." Robert Hawkins said.

"I know but I can take care of myself. Look. I'll call Jeeves and have him come pick you up. It's time for your medication, but I would like to stay here and talk to Mr. Wayne and Mr. Drake."

"Alright. But I want you home earlier than you were last night." Robert said.

"Yes Grandpa." Dawnny pressed a button on her cell phone and within five minutes Jeeves puled up in the limo.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Goodbye Grandpa I'll see you tonight!" Dawn-Star shouted as her grandfather drove away in the limousine.

"Why does your grandfather want me to take care of you?" Bruce asked as Dawn turned around to face him.

"He always said he knew your parents before they died. And he knew you when you were a small boy, so he said he wanted me to be taken care of by you. He's said that ever since my parents died." She said.

"When did your parents die?" Tim asked. Dawn-Star looked at the floor and drew designs on the floor with her toe.

"When I was four." She said, her voice was thick with emotion. She shook her head, a tear streaming down her cheek. "I never even got to know them." She shook her head again. "Mr. Wayne. No matter what my grandfather says, I can take care of myself."

"How old are you again?" Bruce asked.

"Fifteen." Dawn answered. She looked at her watch. "I've got stuff to do in like ten minutes. Here's our room number and the phone number of the hotel. Call us and let us know what you decide." She handed Bruce a paper.

Alfred and Tim showed her to the door. She shook hands with Alfred. When she shook hands with Tim she left a small piece of paper in his hand which had her cell phone number on it.

When he looked up at her just as she was closing the door, she winked one large green eye at him and left.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dawn went out and walked down to the gates. She pressed a button on her cell phone and her new motorcycle was there in a moment.

"Gotta love overnight delivery…" She muttered straddling the seat. She pressed her foot on the gas and roared away from Wayne Manor.

Within five minutes she was back her regular alley since she came to town. For once, though it was empty.

"Hello?" She asked the night, getting off the midnight blue bike. "Anybody home?" Dawn-Star poised her hand protectively over her thighs.

"There ain't nobody here but us chickens…" A raspy voice said.

"Black Angel? Hellhound? Is that you?" The girl asked, her english accent and fright making it difficult to understand her.

"Sorry.. wrong answer." The voice said.

A hand reached around and pressed a cloth against Dawn-Star's mouth. She screamed for merely a moment before the chloroform took effect. Dawn-Star collapsed into her captor's arms.

Maniacal laughter filled the air as the fading light lit up a devilish grin upon the captor's face.

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[Panther]

Hey batchick, when are you gonna post more? This is untitled story story is very sh'way. I just saw Tomb Raider on DVD a few days ago. Lara is so cool! And this Dawn-Star has a lot of potential. Obvioulsy she has just been kidnapped by Joker. Will the dark knights come to her rescue? Or will this Brit d.i.d. save herself like I know she can?

later,

[Batgirl_2005]

Originally posted by Panther
Will the dark knights come to her rescue? Or will this Brit d.i.d. save herself like I know she can?

I can't answer any questions ^^

I wil post here right after I finish writing and post in Coming Storm... ~crosses heart~ me promise!

ta-ta!

[Batgirl_2005]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Early the next morning later Dawn-Star woke up and looked around. She was in a large empty room in a warehouse. Automatically her hand went to her thigh.

"Don't worry about your guns, girlie." A voice said. A man walked into the room. He had a white face and green hair. His grin was inhumanly wide.

"Who are you?" Dawn growled, looking for her other weapons.

"I'm The Clown Prince of Crime!" The man shouted.

"Really? The Joker? How convenient!" Dawn said, grinning.

"Convenient?" Joker repeated, raising a comical eyebrow.

"I was hired to kill you." Dawn said.

"And you could, too. All you are is a spoiled rich brat." Joker said, smirking.

"Not quite, love." Dawn said.

She ran over and before Joker could move she did a roundhouse kick and knocked him out.

"I'll have to kill you another time. Have to make it clean." Dawn said. She slapped his cheek, "Ta-ta, love!"

She exited the room and went to search for her guns. They were hers after all, no one else should have them.

She crept along for about ten minutes before finding a girl decked out in clown gear playing with one of Dawn's more lethal guns. She did a quick jump kick and knocked the girl out.

"Thanks for the guns, Harley." She muttered, figuring this had to be Harley as she had just met the Joker. She replaced the guns in her holsters on her thighs.

She searched around this room and found her knives and replaced them in her boots. After a few more minutes of searching she found her last three guns. She replaced two of them on her low slung hip holster and the other in the pocket of her jacket.

"Just a warning. Touch my guns again. And I'll have to kill you, you bloody prat." Dawn said as Harley woke up. Dawn-Star turned on her heel and raced out of the building.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Robert Hawkins stormed up to the door of Wayne Manor early in the morning. Without knocking he stalked inside with help from his cane.

"WAYNE!" He shouted.

Tim walked into the main room, rubbing his eyes. He squinted at the old man.

"Mr. Hawkins?" He said groggily. "What time is it?"

"Six o'clock. WHERE'S DAWNNY!!!" He screamed. Tim raised an eyebrow at him.

"Dawnny's missing?" He asked.

"YES DAWNNY'S MISSING! WHERE IS SHE?!" Robert roared.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Master Bruce? It seems that Mr. Hawkins has come back. His granddaughter is missing." Alfred said, walking down into the cave to speak with Bruce.

"Dawn?" Bruce asked.

"Yes sir. Perhaps you should go talk to him. I think he's beginning to scare Master Tim."

"Thank you Alfred." Bruce said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Robert! What a surprise! Now what's this you say and Dawn-Star being gone?" Bruce asked, as he walked into the main room.

"She never came home last night, Wayne. Where is she?!" Robert said, his voice beginning to become emotional.

"I don't know where she is, Robert." Bruce said.

"Bloody Hell you don't! She was here last! Where'd she go?" Robert asked.

"Mister Hawkins? May I suggest something?" Tim asked.

"I suppose." Robert growled.

"Maybe you should go home and get some rest. We'll call the police and have them look for her." Tim said.

Hawkins sighed, "I suppose that will be alright. I'm sorry I barged in here like that. I'm just so worried. She's only fifteen, and she's already mixed up in the wrong crowd."

"Yes, yes. Good day, Mister Hawkins." Alfred said, as he showed Robert to the door.

"Let's go." Bruce said, becoming very serious very suddenly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dawn raced out of the building, but slowed as she neared the end of the street it was on. Chuckling she walked along the street. Suddenly two figures flew down and landed in front of her.

"My! This is a pleasure! I've always wanted to meet the dynamic duo! The Gotham Knights! The Dark knight and his… er… accomplice?" She said, excitedly.

"Where have you been?" Batman asked. "Your grandfather has been very worried."

"Whoop. It's not my fault. Now then gents, if you'll excuse I have much to do." She did a back handspring and landed right by a fire escape.

"Don't you think you should go home?" Robin asked.

"Home, dear bird persun?" Dawn said, sitting down on the end of the fire escape. "Home is back in England. I haven't been in England since I was ten."

"Where have you been, then?" Robin asked. Dawn sighed.

"Just about everywhere." She said.

"Would you like an escort back to your hotel?" Robin asked. Dawn rolled her eyes.

"You are as bad as my grandfather." She stated. "I think I can make it back on my own, thanks much." She climbed halfway up the fire escape when suddenly Robin was in front of her.

"We were asked to make sure you got back to the hotel safely, and that's what I intend on doing." Robin said.

Neither Robin, nor Batman (who was still down on the ground), saw Dawn pull the gun from it's holster. But suddenly the cool steel was pressed against Robin's forehead.

"I can make it back myself, you ruddy little booger. Besides. I have things I need to do before going back."

Batman carefully pulled out a batarang. And launched at Dawn. A gunshot rang out and Dawn was holding another gun pointed toward Batman. The batarang was gone.

"You really don't want to do that, gent." Dawn said.

She stood up, still holding both guns pointed toward the men. She flipped off the fire escape and backed away from the men.

"The suits bullet proof." Batman said.

"But your face isn't," Dawn said.

"There's so little of it showing, I doubt you could hit it." Batman said.

"I have been trained with guns since I was five. Do you want to test me, AGAIN?" Dawn growled, cocking an eyebrow at the man. "I didn't think so." She said. Just before she turned and ran Robin came down from the fire escape.

"Dawnny wait!" He shouted. The girl stopped and flipped her long red hair over her shoulder. Sighing she turned around, smiling sweetly at Robin.

"Yes?" She asked.

"Why?" asked Robin.

"Why what? I implore you to be more specific."

"Why even try to kill us? Why are you doing this?"

"Because I was hired to. I'm an assassin. It's my job." Dawn said.

"To kill us?" Robin asked.

"Don't flatter yourself little birdie. I'm here to kill the Joker." Dawn stated.

"Do you think you can?" Batman asked.

"[I]Do you think you can?[I]" Corrine asked, mocking an American accent. Then, back in her normal voice, "Of course I can you bloody prat!"

"What makes you so sure?" Robin asked

"Bloody hell. I'm a trained assassin, thief, and gunman. What do you THINK makes me so sure?"

"Does Robert know that his fifteen-year-old granddaughter is an assassin?"

"How could he not? He was the one who made me train." Dawn sighed.

She spun the guns around by the trigger guard then slammed them back into their holsters on her muscular thighs.

"She went that way Mistah Jay!" Harley Quinn's voice rang out down the street. Dawn's eye went wide. She pulled one of her guns out. With her other hand, she reached into her pocket and kept her hand there.

"Ummm…. Well chaps…. I'd love to stay and chat but I've got an engagement at one of the local museums. Ta!" She pulled her hand out of her pocket and slammed a knock-out gas bomb down on to the ground, covering her mouth she ran in the other direction, into the night, away from Batman and Robin.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ducks as people start throwing stuff at her~ ACK! I know! I KNOW! It sucked... so sue me! ~shuffles away~

[Panther]

It did not suck! Rule # 1 as an author - never beat up your own work!! (that's the critics' job, and unemployment is bad enough as is)

I'm intrigued by that last line about the engagement at a local museum. Museum's make for the best fight sequences!

LOVED the British slang!

And i really want to know why Dawn's grandfather trained her as an assasin.

So by all means, do keep writing!

[Batgirl_2005]

Dawn yawned and looked up at the ceiling above her bed in the hotel room. After her run in two days ago with Batman and Robin, Dawn had not done anything pertaining to her mission. Obviously tonight was her chance.

She turned over on her side and glance at her clock. It was only eight o'clock. She rolled onto her stomach and started to fall asleep again.

Suddenly the ringing of her cell phone woke her up.

"Who calls at…" She looked at her clock, "8:03?"

She rolled her eyes and grabbed her cell. "Hullo?" Se asked groggily.

"Ms. Hawkins?" The male voice on the other end of the line said. Dawn nearly dropped the phone.

"Sir! I-I w-wasn't excepting you to call, sir." She stammered jumping out of bed and pacing around the room.

"Is he dead yet?" Asked the man.

"Well… Sir… I had some difficulty… He ummm… He… He got away…" Dawn said, hoping her newest employer would buy it.

"If he isn't dead in two days time, you will be." He said, then the line went dead.

Dawn shut her cell phone and threw it onto the bed.

"Ruddy prat." She growled. This man was not one of her favourite employers.

She went over to the closet and looked through it for something to wear. Dawn slipped out of her pajamas and into a pair of black leather pants and a black velvet shirt. As she pulled on her knee high boots she was startled by her phone ringing again.

She picked it up and snarled into the receiver, "What do you want?"

A younger male voice on the other end gasped, "S-sorry… Is this Dawn?"

Dawn sighed and laid back on her bed, a small smile coming to lips. "Yes it is. Is this Tim?"

"Yeah! How'd you know?" He asked.

"Let's just say I'm good at that sort of thing." Dawn replied. She looked around her room and spotted her guns hanging over a chair. "What can I do for you, gent?"

"Well, Bruce and I were wondering if you wouldn't mind coming over today there's something we'd like to talk to you and Mr. Hawkins about." Tim said.

Dawn liked Tim. She liked him a lot. But she couldn't admit that to herself. Grandfather and her trainers had always told her that in this line of business, love only got in the way.

Nonetheless she grinned for a moment, happy that Tim was inviting her. Then her smile faltered. She realized why Tim and Bruce wanted to talk to her.

"What would you like to talk to me about?" She asked innocently.

Tim didn't miss a beat, "Your adoption." He responded, coolly.

"Are you sure it's not about our little meeting… Robin?" Dawn retorted. Without letting Tim get a word in she explained, "There's only one person, beside my grandfather, that knows what my nickname is. That's you. I told you that you could call me Dawnny. And Robin did the other night. Which leads me to believe… know that you are Robin."

"Why are you doing this Dawn?" Tim asked, not confirming or denying her accusation.

Dawn got off her bed and walked over to where her guns were. She began putting them in place.

"That I can't tell you. At least not on the phone. I'll see you later Tim. We'll be over around ten." She closed her phone and set it down on the desk.

As she finished strapping on her guns she called for her grandfather. He came right in.

"Yes, Dawnny?" He asked.

"We're going over to Wayne's again, grandpa." Dawn said, rooting through her closet for something.

"Why?" Robert asked, frowning.

"They invited us. You always taught me to accept invitations, grandpa. So get dressed." Finally she pulled out a long leather coat that reached her calves. "I'm going out for a while. I'll meet you at the manor. Be there by ten."

"Alright. Cheerio Dawnny."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A couple hours later Dawn arrived at the manor. She barely knocked once when Tim opened the door dragged her inside, up the stairs and into an empty room.

Robert snickered when he saw the look of shock on his granddaughter's face as she was whisked upstairs. He looked at Bruce who sat across from him.

"Young love, eh?" He said, chuckling. Bruce remained silent.

"Why do you want me to be Dawn's guardian?" Bruce asked.

"Hullo! I'm dying here! Why else would I give my granddaughter-"

"I understand that you are dying, I've seen your medical records." Bruce said, "But why is it you want me to be her guardian."

"It's obvious, Bruce, that you don't remember me at all." Robert said. Bruce frowned at him.

"How could I remember someone I've never met?" Bruce asked.

A nearly silent gap from the other side of the room caught Bruce's attention. He looked over and saw Alfred sneaking out of the room, a look of shame on his face.

"You were to young to remember me. But Bruce… I'm your uncle."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Alright. Explain." Tim said as he locked the door behind them. Dawn smiled at him.

"You get right to the point, don't you gent." Dawn said. She found a chair and sat down.

"Look, Dawn… I just want to know, and I think I should."

"I never said I wasn't going to tell you." Dawn said, "You might want to find a comfortable place to sit. This might be a long story."

Tim rolled his eyes and sat down on the ground. Dawn grinned at him.

"Alright… Here goes…" She took a deep breath.

"I was five-years-old when Grandpa gave me a present. It wasn't exactly what a normal five-year-old girl would want. He gave me a gun. Top of the line and brand new. He told me, that it was my destiny to be an assassin. I was too young to understand what that. And when I asked I thought it was a good thing. I remember saying, 'We send people to Heaven… and get moneys for it!?' Grandpa laughed at me and agreed. He said that we started training the next morning." Dawn's eyes were glazed over and her voice was wavering a little bit.

"He trained me for only about six months, before he got really sick. So he called some younger guys he knew and they trained me.

"Four years ago I got my first job and they just kept coming in, one after another. And then someone about a year later didn't want me to kill someone… She wanted me to steal something. And I did. Clean job. In and out. And people kept wanting me to steal things. So I did. And now I'm here on my last mission. I'm to kill the Joker and steal something called the healing rubies. And then I'm giving this up…" She paused and looked at Times wide with realization and fright.

"You're going to call the police now aren't you. Either that or you and Bruce are going to get all fixed up in your fun costumes and you'll… like… kill me or something. New reason not to trust anyone… ever… again." She let her head fall back and looked up at the ceiling brooding in self-pity. "Oh booger… good bye life… Hello prison bars."

Tim frowned and sighed. He couldn't help but feel bad. After all this life had been forced upon Dawn. She hadn't wanted it, it seemed.

"I won't tell anyone. Just Bruce." Tim said.

Dawn looked at him for a moment before she got down and hugged him. In the process knocking him over. Then her muscles tensed and she moved away.

"If you tell Bruce then will he turn me in?" She asked. Tim shook his head.

"Who can we tell with out explaining how we found out you do what you do?"

Dawn grinned and helped Tim to a standing position. She looked at him for a moment before kissing him full on the lips. He stood frozen not doing anything for a moment, then slowly melted in to the kiss.

All of the sudden a few minutes later Dawn pulled back suddenly, tears flowing down her cheeks.

"What am I doing? I can't do this… I'm a killer… Not a lover… Oh my…" Dawn said to no one but herself.

She got up ignoring the fact that Tim was pulling on her arm she tore her arm from his grasp and ran off. She stopped for a moment to tell her grandfather she was leaving then ran.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Late that night a figure clad in black bypassed the security system in the Gotham Museum. They slipped toward the Gems Display completely unnoticed. Except by two pairs of masked eyes watching her every move, waiting to drop in and stop her.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



kinda crapy ending for the chapter, eh? maybe it'll change.. I just got kinda lazy....

ta-ta...

*Batgirl*

[hellraiser765]

Wow! I like your story, batgirl! And I can see where 'Dawn-Star' and Lara Croft's character split their personalities. (Even though, sue me, I didn't really enjoy Tomb Raider the Movie as much.) But nevertheless, I like yours story. Brilliant, I dare say

Please continue writing!

[Coran]

Interesting story Batgirl. I'm curious to see where you will end up with this.

[Batgirl_2005]

Wow.. People like my story I'm so happy!!! I hope you continue reading it... I started to think that no one was reading my story... But now I know ya'll like it!!!

[Batgirl_2005]

Batman and Robin watched as the figure they thought to be Dawn scampered across the room, easily avoiding tripping any alarms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dawn, meanwhile, already stood in front of a glass case which held eight glowing rubies.

Out of the corner of her eye she spied something odd on a vase nearby. The shadow of two pointed ears sat upon a decorative vase.

Without turning around to see who was there she took a guess and called out, "I spy with my little eye the pointed ears of the Dark Knight."

"Bad guess." A voice purred on the opposite end of the room.

Dawn spun around quickly, pulling out her guns. She raised an eyebrow at the leather clad woman standing in front of her holding a bull whip in her hand. She put her guns back in their holsters, but pulled another out from inside her jacket.

"I don't have time to deal with you, sorry. If you'd like make an appointment do so at another time. I have two days to finish my assignment and I don't need to deal with you or the bat boy." She said cocking the gun.

"I don't care if you have time for me or not. I'm here to steal the rubies and you aren't about to get in my way." Catwoman growled.

Dawn raised her gun and pointed at Catwoman. Catwoman rolled her eyes and kicked the gun out of Dawn-Star's hand, it landed across the room. Dawn grinned at her and waved as she dove behind a case.

Catwoman frowned but a moment later she realized why Dawn had suddenly disappeared. The gun Dawn had pulled out gave off a massive explosion that sent Catwoman flying across the room.

Dawn looked up after the explosion was over. There was fire everywhere. She grinned, glad she had brought the gun bomb. She planted her hands on the display case in front of her and sprang over. After she landed she ran over to the case holding the Healing Rubies.

Be discreet… Her grandfather's voice echoed in her mind.

She looked around and rolled her eyes. She was way past discreet.

She slammed her fist through the glass and pulled out the rubies. She put them in the tote bag around her shoulder. She dug through it quickly as she heard footsteps behind her. She pulled out a grappling hook.

"Dawn stop!" Robin's voice shouted behind her. She glanced back.

"I'm sorry…" She said to him, fired her grappling hook and disappeared into the night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Robin gritted his teeth and fired his own grappling hook. He followed after Dawn with Batman on his heels.

He found Dawn on a roof several blocks away. He landed on the roof and walked up behind her almost silently, Batman beside him.

Dawn whirled around her guns drawn. When she saw who it was she gasped, spun the guns around and slam them into their holsters.

"Sorry gents, gotta deliver the goods. Ta." She shot her grappling hook And flew to the ground across the street and walked into a night club.

Robin followed but as hard as he tried, he was unable to find Dawn.

He got back up to Batman.

"What do we do now?" He asked.

"We keep an eye on the Joker." Batman replied.

"What?"

"You said she has yet to kill the Joker, so she has to try again. So if we find the Joker first we can keep an eye on him. When she arrives we can arrest her and turn her in." Batman said.

Robin looked a bit torn for a moment but nodded regretfully.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next night Robin sat in the cave staring at the computer waiting for something to happen.

Suddenly the computer beeped at him telling him that his search was done. He looked over the page quickly it told him where the Joker was.

Robin jumped up out of his chair excitedly. He had been trying to reach Dawn since last night. But she wasn't answering her cell phone, or the number of the hotel room.

He raced upstairs and called for Bruce. Three minutes later the batcave was entirely empty.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dawn stood by the skylight watching the Joker and Harley talk quietly.

After a moment Harley and Joker shared a passionate kiss.

Dawn-Star curled her upper lip in a disgusted sneer. As Harley left the room the sneer transformed into a grin.

Dawn sent a smoke grenade flying through the glass. She placed a mask over her face showed could breath and dove in as the smoke created a dense cover for her.

She stood up after recovering from the jump she walked over to the door and dead bolted it. She didn't need Quinn interrupting.

She then walked over to where Joker lay coughing trying to find his way to the door. She picked him up by the collar and threw him across the room away from the door.

"Who…" He began.

"It's just me dropping in to say hello." Dawn said, her thick British accent hard to understand through the gas mask.

The smoke was beginning to clear now going out through the hole made in the skylight.

Dawn pulled a syringe filled with a yellow colored liquid out of her pocket. She walked over to Joker but stopped just as she pressed the needle into his deathly white skin.

"Why did you kidnap me?" She growled.

"Ransom…" Joker coughed out. He saw the syringe finally and began to laugh hysterically.

"Stupid git…" Dawn growled. She pressed the syringe of sedative into Joker's arm.

She pulled out her gun and prepared to fire. Suddenly a batarang hit her hand sending the gun flying. Dawn-Star spun around, eyes filled with fire.

"He's your enemy. Don't you wish him dead?" Dawn growled.

Batman and Robin stepped out of the shadows.

"All life is worth saving." Robin explained, "Even the Joker's."

Dawn shook her head.

"Americans." She said, standing up. She glanced down at the Joker. "I have to finish my job."

"Why?" Robin asked.

Dawn looked at him like he was an idiot. "Why do you think? I've never failed to complete an assignment yet. If I fail I am killed."

"Dawn… You don't have to do this." Robin said.

"Yes, Tim I do! If I can just finish this one last assignment…I can quit forever… I'll never have to deal with this again." Dawn said, tears now spilling down her cheeks.

"Dawn. You're only fifteen. You shouldn't have this life forced upon you." Batman said, walking toward Dawn.

Dawn pulled a gun out of her jacket. "Don't Batman. I don't want to hurt you."

Robin ran forward, to place a hand on Dawn's arm. She pulled her arm away and aimed the gun at Robin.

"I don’t want to hurt you… Please… Tim…" She sobbed out. "Leave… Now…"

Tim stayed where he was and Dawn closed her eyes, squeezing the trigger.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Batman panicked when the gun when Dawn pulled the trigger.

Batman acted on impulse without looking to see how Robin was. He attacked Dawn sending her flying to the ground.

She kipped up and glanced at Robin. There had been one bullet in the gun and the gun hadn't sent the bullet out. Dawn smiled with relief.

Batman's eyes flashed angrily and Dawn got into a fighting stance automatically. Batman did a roundhouse kick that sent Dawn soaring a few feet. She easily got back up and did handsprings back to Batman. On the last one she bent her arms and pushed off, her feet crashing into Batman's chest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Robin watched the fight as the opponents sent kicks and punches flying everywhere. Both were amazing fighters. But Dawn had one slight advantage.

After a while Dawn reached down and pulled her guns from her hip holster out. Suddenly transformed into a cold killer she prepared to fire, her face stoic and completely uncaring.

Before Robin could stop her, Dawn-Star fired innumerable times.

When all the dust settled Batman lay on the ground, unmoving.

[Coran]

And you scream at me for having suspense?! Great story! Keep up the good work! Post again soon!

[TheVertigo]

How cruel of you to leave us on a cliffhanger such as this! The last paragraph really caught me off-guard. Is Batman dead? Is Robin next? Why is Dawn doing this?! I mean sure, they got in the way (they always do, anyway... Nosey Americans ) but aren't they her friends or guardians?

NEwayz, I'd like to compliment you on your character design and your ability to intertwine both that concept and plot into your descriptions and story-flow- it makes your story believable and less of 'yet another match for Batman and his accomplices'

But plz Hurry, hurry! Don't keep us dangling over the edge too long!

[Panther]

I agree with Okami's and Coran's thoughts. (well, not with the part about Coran being confused why we yell at him for cliffhangers. he knows why. . And BTW Okami - cool signature)

I love how much Dawn resembles Tomb Raider. And I was practicllay jumping up with excitment when Catwoman showed up! I can just see her trying to steal the diamonds at the same time! Loved the part about "so much for discretion"

Oh, slightly off topic, I saw the orginal Pink Panther movie last night. If anyone here hasn't seen it, I highly recomand it. Did you know the title actually came from a HUGE diamond with a slight flaw in it that resemblked a pink panther?

later,

[Batgirl_2005]

bwahaha... people still like my story!!! don't worry.. I'll have the next part up soon.. Thanks for the compliments everyone! I'm having so much fun with the story! hmmmm.... hmmmm...

Panther's right... that's an awesome siggie Okami! bwaha... I've never seen the Pink Panther though... well.. off to work on my story! ta!

[Batgirl_2005]

Dawn fell to her knees, guilt washing over her emotions. Sobs racked her body.

"I didn't mean to… it was… instinct… I'm so sorry..." She managed to choke out.

She rocked back on her heels as waves of guilt, sorrow, regret, and anger tore her soul apart in a matter of minutes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Robin darted over to Batman in a panic. He sucked in his breath when he saw the blood on the ground.

Robin nearly started crying as he saw blood covering his 'father's' chest.

After further investigation he found that the bullet that hit had only penetrated his right shoulder.

Robin let out a strange cry. The sound was a mixture of relief, anger, and sadness.

"Dawn-Star!" He cried out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dawnny sobbed loudly when Robin yelled her name in what she interpreted as anger.

Suddenly Robin was beside her. She curled into a ball with her back to him and sobbed out, "I'm sorry… It was instinct… I never meant to hurt him… Wouldn't hurt my cousin…"

Robin placed a hand on her arm.

"I need your help to get him back so we can save him." Robin said. "Help me."

Dawn sniffed quietly, and looked at him with wide eyes. "You aren't angry?" Robin didn't answer. "Tim?"

"We'll talk about this later." He said. Dawn nodded and got up, tears still streaming down her face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Within ten minutes Robin and Dawn arrived at the cave, supporting Batman's weight on their shoulders.

Alfred and Robin set to work right away. Dawn, feeling useless headed upstairs.

She found the couch quite comfortable, and after only a few minutes, she was fast asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning Alfred came into the main room of the manor and shook Dawn-Star awake gently. She looked up at him groggily.

"Miss Hawkins? I have some… bad news for you." He stated, his eyes were sad.

Memories of the night before flooded over Dawn and her eyes went wide in shock. "I killed Mr. Wayne, didn't I. Oh my God… I…"

"No.. No… ____ Hawkins. Master Bruce is doing quite well. What I meant was your grandfather had a heart attack He's in the hospital right now. The doctors… Don't expect him to live."

Dawn's hands started shaking. She dropped her face into her hands and sobbed. Quietly, Alfred stood and left the room, leaving Dawn alone with her thoughts.

Moments later a pair of arms encircled Dawn's body in a hug. She looked up to see Tim sitting there, his eyes looked sympathetic. She turned and sobbed into Tim's chest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dawn stood up several hours later. Tim looked at her surprised.

"I have to go see him. I'll be back later Tim." Dawn said, her eyes read and puffy and her cheeks tear stained.

"Do you want me to come?" Tim asked. Dawn gave him a weak smile and shook her head.

"I'll be fine." She stated.

Dawn ran outside and jogged all the way to the hospital. A few minutes after she arrived she was on one of he higher floors in her grandfather's room.

Robert was asleep right now, so Dawn sat down beside him and took his hand. She watched the heart monitor with a keen eye. The eerie beep beginning to creep her out. She shuddered and gripped her grandfather's hand.

"I don't want you to die grandpa… You can't leave me. You're all I have left." She sobbed. "I don’t want to live with Bruce. I don't care if he is my cousin. You're my family."

Dawn lay her head on the bed, still holding Robert's hand. Slowly she fell asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Someone shook Dawn awake only twenty minutes later.

The first thing she noticed as her senses became clear was the steady beep coming from the heart monitor. It took her a moment to realize what that meant.

Soon she felt impact of it all too clearly. A man who she felt as her last living relative had died. Dawn dropped her face into her hands and sobbed.

With the help of a male nurse she made her way into the waiting room to phone Bruce. She punched in the number and composed herself enough to keep her voice in check while it rang.

"Wayne Manor." Alfred's voice came from the other end of the line.

"Alfred?" Dawn asked, her voice wavering only slightly.

"Miss Hawkins. Whatever is the matter?"

"I'm at the hospital. I need a ride." She said.

"Alright. As soon as Master Timothy gets out of his bath we'll come get you." Alfred said, his tone worried.

Dawn sniffled and responded with a quiet thank you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bruce lay in his bed staring up at the ceiling.

He thought about his conversation with Robert a couple days before.

"I'm your uncle."

"I have an uncle?" Bruce asked.

"Yes. That's why I want [b]you to care for her. You're her cousin. I want her to be with family."

Bruce shook his head. "If I had an uncle… Why did Alfred become my guardian?"

"I was in England." Robert had lied.

"Tell him the truth, Robert." Alfred's voice had said.

"I was in serious trouble with the law."

"He and Dawn-Star are assassins." Alfred offered. "HE got caught."

"I wasn't cautious." Robert said, "It wasn't even an assassination job." He looked at Bruce. "Bruce. I'm dying. I need someone who will take care of my granddaughter. Please. Please do this for me."

Bruce looked at Alfred. Alfred nodded almost imperceptibly.

Bruce pulled out a pen and began signing the forms.[/I]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alfred pulled up to the hospital and Tim rushed inside. He ran over to Dawn who was sitting with her face buried in her hands.

"Is he…" Tim asked, placing a strong hand on her shoulder.

Dawn looked up, tears streaming down her cheeks and nodded. A sob escaped her lips. Tim put his arm around her shoulder to support her and they walked outside.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Bruce adopted you." Tim said suddenly on the way back. Dawn nodded sadly.

"I know." She muttered. "Grandpa told me."

"Did he tell you that Bruce is your cousin?" Tim asked.

"I've known my entire life." Dawn responded.

She leaned over and lay her head on Tim's chest. He stroked her hair soothingly as she cried.

"Tim… I’m sorry I shot Bruce. IF I had realized what I was doing I would have stopped myself. It was instinct. I was just doing what my body knew to do."

"It's ok. I'm not angry…" Tim muttered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dawn lay in one of the extra rooms in the manor fast asleep. A cold wind suddenly rushed through the room. A man stood over Dawn, holding something above his head.

Moonlight shone on the object in his hand to reveal it to be a knife. In one fluid motion he brought the knife down toward Dawn.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

there you go! R&R asap! ta-ta!

[Coran]

You know, I hate the say the same thing twice but...

And you hate it when I leave readers in suspense?!

Great story. Keep up the good work.

[Panther]

eep! Someone's gonna kill Dawn! LOOK OUT DAWN! RUN DAWN! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!

Uhhh, sorry, bad habit of yelling advice at characters on screen.

NEway. You HAVE to explian the connection. Dawn is Bruce's cousin?!? woah. How is HER grandfather HIS uncle?

Post more please,

[Batgirl_2005]

better question. WHy COULDN'T HER grandfather be HIS uncle? DOn't worry. I'll explain.

The next part will be up by monday... or Saturday... (Only Saturday if Boy doesn't come kidnap me for annie rehearsals...

I'm glad you like it!!!

[Batgirl_2005]

Suddenly a strong hand grabbed the intruders arm. The intruder's arm was bent back until a loud crack was heard.

Dawn groggily opened one eye. Then both eyes popped open, she saw Bruce fighting with the man. The man seemed to have the upper hand over Bruce and was holding the knife over Bruce's head. Bruce held the man's arm by the wrist trying to keep the knife from mutilating his face.

Suddenly the man went limp and collapsed to the ground. A large knife stuck out of his back. Bruce looked at Dawn who, in reply, shrugged sheepishly.

Dawn got out of her bed and removed her knife from the man's back. She wiped it off on her black pajama pants.

"You aren't very good at making friends, are you." Bruce said.

"Friendship is highly overrated." Dawn said, replacing the knife under her pillow.

She glanced at the clock. 6:00. "I suppose I might as well stay up… Just in case anyone else tries to kill me."

"Do you want Tim in here?" Bruce asked.

"Sure." Bruce started to leave, "Hey… Bruce? How'd you know someone was in here?"

"Actually I was coming in to talk to you." Bruce said.

"About…?" Dawn prompted.

"About your grandfather… and my parents."

"Well I never knew your parents, obviously. But if you're talking about they're relationship, I know grandpa's story. You can stay in here and I'll tell you."

Bruce nodded. He sat down next to Dawn on the bed. She crossed her legs in front of her and took a deep breath.

"Ok… First of all… you have to realize that Grandpa-" Dawn was cut off.

"Miss Hawkins. If it's all the same to you, may I tell the story?" Alfred said, interrupting Dawn as he walked into the room. Dawn nodded, grinning.

"Master Robert was several years older than Master Thomas. Twenty six years to be exact. Robert would come to visit the family every summer.

"One summer…"

"Tom I need to speak with you." A younger Robert said to his younger brother.

"You sound so serious Rob. What's wrong?"

"I've done something terrible. I have to tell someone."

"Oh come on… It can't be that bad." Tom said. Robert looked at him, his face somber. "What did you do Rob?"

"I have murdered someone." Robert said, a tear slowly streaming down his face.

Tom stepped away from his older brother. "What?"

"I've become an assassin." Robert said, his voice thick. Thomas's face became dark and angry.

"Get away from here." Thomas growled. Robert stepped forward, regretting having told his younger brother. "Leave now and I might not call the police."

Robert started to say something, but instead snapped his fingers and in a flash the butler Jeeves was by his side.

"Get the car ready. We're leaving." Robert said. "Good bye little brother."

"Now it seems he changed his name to Hawkins and moved to England." Alfred finished.

Dawn nodded, agreeing with Alfred's story. Bruce's face had no emotion to it. He nodded.

"I understand now." He said. Dawn gave Bruce a hug.

"Have you changed your mind about being my guardian?" She asked.

"No. I still want to be your guardian. Don’t worry." Bruce said. "I'll send Tim up to stay with you tonight." Dawn nodded her thanks.

Bruce and Alfred left and moments later Tim walked in and sat down on the bed next to Dawn. She laid her head on his chest and fell quickly asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day Tim and Dawn were wandering around town.

"So are you going to live with Bruce now? Since he's your guardian and all?" Tim asked. Dawn shrugged.

"I don't know… I miss England… and my friends… But if I left I would miss you and Bruce and Alfred so much."

"I'd miss you too." Tim said.

They walked in silence for several minutes. Suddenly a glint of something caught Tim's eye. He looked over, past Dawn to see a man holding a rifle aimed directly at Dawn.

"NO!" He shouted. He pushed Dawn over and let the bullet lodge itself in his right shoulder.

Dawn let out a strangled cry as Tim collapsed next to her. Tim sobbed clutching his shoulder. Dawn pulled her gun out, aimed it at the man who was aiming again to shoot her. She pulled the trigger once and sent a bullet flying right in between the man's eyes. She replaced the gun in the thigh holster and pulled her cell phone out of her pocket.

"Alfred? Help." She said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dawn sat by Tim's bed all night long. She had slept most of the night, but had recently woken up. She took Tim's hand and sobbed.

"I already lost grandpa… Don't you leave me too…"

"I won't…" Tim croaked. Dawn jumped up.

"Tim!" She shouted. "How are you feeling?"

"How do you think I'm feeling?" Tim asked weakly. Dawn winced and look at the ground.

"I'm sorry, Tim. I'm so sorry… about… everything… It's my fault you're hurt… It's my fault Bruce is hurt… It's my fault… I'm so sorry…" She sobbed into Tim's pillow.

"It's not your fault…" Tim said, "Well… It is your fault with Bruce…" Dawn sobbed loudly in response. "But it's not your fault I'm hurt, Dawn."

"Oh Tim…" She jumped up and hugged him. A loud cry of pain erupted from Tim. "Ack! Sorry…" She back away. "I'm going to go get Alfred."

She darted from the room and returned a moment later, dragging a groggy Alfred. Alfred looked him over and said he needed rest. Dawn nodded thankfully.

"Well since Alfred said you just need rest I'm going to go to bed. I wouldn't want to keep you up… Or anything…" She started toward the door.

"Dawnny?" Tim said quietly. Dawn spun around to give him a quizzical look.

"Hmmmm?"

"Are you going to stay here with us?" Tim asked.

Dawn-Star hesitated. She hadn't expected that question. After a moment of thought she realized she wasn't sure if she would stay or not.

"Of course I am Tim. I wouldn't leave you and Bruce for anything. Cheerio Tim." Dawn said before she left the room.

"Dawn. Why are people trying to kill you?" A voice asked behind Dawn.

Dawn spun on her heel to see Bruce standing there, leaning on the door frame. "I'm an assassin. It comes with the territory."

"Somehow I don't believe that." Bruce stated, a slight smirk on his face. "If you're going to live here, you have to follow my rules. One of which is tell the truth."

"I umm…" Dawn sighed. "My last employer said that if I didn't kill Joker by today, he would have people kill me. Obviously he's a man of his word."

"Who was your employer?" asked Bruce.

"I don't know. I don't ask questions."

"Well maybe you should." Bruce said, then stalked away.

Dawn watched him for a moment, then rolled her eyes and walked away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Early the next morning Dawn slipped into her guns and tried her hardest to sneak away.

"Going somewhere, Miss Hawkins?" Alfred asked politely as Dawn snuck to the front door.

"Just for a morning stroll." Dawn responded quickly, without missing a beat.

"Remember what I said last night, Dawn-Star?" Bruce said, from his spot on the couch.

"That I shouldn't lie? But I'm not…"

"You aren't even a good liar!" Bruce exclaimed. "Where are you going."

"The airport." Dawn responded coolly. "You will tell Tim goodbye won't you?"

"No. Because you aren't going anywhere." Bruce said.

"Bruce. I can't stay here. I'm sorry. I want to… But I can't… I realized last night that I can't just give up my job. I'm sorry… I have to continue."

Bruce stood up and walked toward her, "No. You don't."

Dawn pulled out her gun and aimed it at him. She trembled with regret. "Don't Bruce. I have to leave."

"No Dawn you don't." Bruce held out his hand, "Give me the gun."

Suddenly Dawn's grip on the gun loosened. "Thank you." He reached forward to take Dawn up to see Tim, when she collapsed to the ground, a knife protruding from the small of her back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

there ya go... R&R sil vous plait...

oh... I corrected a couple things through out the story... fixes continuity a bit.. and fixed the fact I had oine chapter there 2x... heh.. all better now!

ta-ta

[Coran]

Well Batgirl 2005, I am really enjoying this story, though I hope you don't mind my asking two quick things. *grins* I'm doing my best to make sure any criticism is constructive.

1) What did Bruce do with the dead body that was in Dawn's room? Did they report it to the police?

2) Wouldn't the police have found out about Dawn's shooting a man out in public... even though it was self defense? Did she go to the police station and it just wasn't in the story?


*smiles* Hopefully nobody finds those question too stupid or anoying. Anyhow, good story!