Identity

I stood in the break room in shock, until the assistant manager touched my shoulder. "Lys, are you ok? You're white as a sheet."

"Bad news from my family," I managed. He frowned.

"You go deal with that, clock out. We're slow enough that I was going to ask if anybody wanted to go home anyway, we could stand to lose a few people with the snow coming and all." I thanked him and clocked out, calling Bob so that he'd be at the curb.

"Where to, Lys?" AI Tony said. "What's the matter? Your heart rate is elevated, respiration shallow, and you're pale and clammy."

"The Valkyrie," I said. "I need to talk to Grandma Alex." She'd said she was going to be working this weekend.

"Ok," he said, and the pod took a hard right down an alley. We were taking shortcuts then. Excellent. He let me off right in front of the doors and I zoomed into the elevator, which had just disgorged some shoppers. A couple more shoppers got on, and I waited until they'd gotten off on their floors before placing my finger on the discreet reader for access to the Valkyrie team's secure floors, wiping the reader to remove the print when I was done in an excess of caution. I stopped at the reception desk and smiled tensely at Agatha, the longtime Valkyrie receptionist.

"Lys, how are you, dear?" she asked, smiling at me. "How's school?"

"Doing really well for a change." She smiled. "How's your daughter doing?"

"She's also having a good semester," she said, and showed me the latest school picture. "If you're here to talk to Alex, she's not in the meeting, that's Serena's show, so go on back." I thanked her and trotted down the hall to tap on the door casing. Grandma looked up, surprised, but happy to see me. Well, that was going to change fast.

"Lys, honey, come in!" She got up and hugged me, letting me go but holding my shoulders. "What's wrong? You're shaking. Come sit down." She sat me down in the comfortable chair across her desk, sitting down on a desk corner, and Eira got up and placed her head on my lap.

"It's kind of complicated, but bear with me. You know my friend Jinx Johnson, right?" She nodded; he'd been at my birthday party. I drew a deep breath. "So he's adopted, but his birth mother meets with him for lunch three or four times a year, she wants to know how he's doing. His folks know that this happens, and it was part of the agreement that they made when he was adopted. So she's missed the last two meetings, and he was peeved about it. But today we were having lunch, he works in the same area I do and there's this deli--" I shut my mouth for a second to focus. "We were at lunch and this woman approached, knew who he was, asked to speak to him privately. So I left."

"Did the woman do something to him?" Grandma asked, frowning. I shook my head.

"Not that I know of, not physically. She had news for him, though. And you're really not going to like it." I bit my lip. "Jinx's name was originally just Jinx Quinn." Grandma's eyes widened immediately.

"Any relation to Harley Quinn?" she asked warily.

"That's his birth mom. She got pregnant just before Egypt." That was all I needed to say. She looked grossed out.

"The Joker?" I nodded.

"No wonder she didn't show up at the battle," she said slowly. "I wondered at the time. But she gave him up?" I nodded again.

"Apparently she didn't want her kid in her lifestyle, and she wasn't able or willing to quit, plus she knows she's not quite stable." Grandma snorted. "The arrangement was that the Johnsons could adopt Jinx if they agreed to keep his name and let her see him a few times a year. They agreed. But this woman...here. Just read this text." I passed over my communicator and stroked Eira's head.

"Oh, shit," she said. Her face was like ice. Eira padded over to her and I got up to pace. "Goddamn it, I should have made sure he was dead. And Poison Ivy's involved too. That can't be good." Venom rolled from her voice. I turned toward her and an unexpected hand gripped my shoulder. I eeped, whipped around and did a few things Uncle Bucky had taught me, ending with dislocating the shoulder attached to the hand that had been on my shoulder. Which belonged to my Uncle Tony.

"Oh, shit," I said, distressed, dropping to my knees to help him sit up, gently popping his shoulder back into place. Yay first aid class! "I'm so sorry, Uncle Tony. I wasn't expecting anybody."

"It's ok, kid," he said, grimacing and holding the shoulder. "I came when I got the pod report."

"I've called for reinforcements," Grandma said. "Where did you learn to do that, Lys?"

"After I got the cast off my ankle, I asked Uncle Bucky for some self-defense training. He modified what I wanted to achieve," I explained as I helped Uncle Tony up and over to the chairs.

"Just curious, what was your original goal?" he asked. "Because that's damned effective."

"I wanted to rip an attacker's arm off and beat them with it, but he said it wasn't feasible." Delara came in with coffee for two, set down the tray, and came back with a third cup, pouring and distributing the coffee.

"I've got some more people arriving in a hurry, Delara," Grandma said.

"I'll make more coffee," Delara said crisply.

"And put the kettle on, please," Grandma added. "Damian's on his way too."

It took less time than I'd thought for the others to show up. There was Grandpa Damian, but also my dad, who'd been in his office to sign some contracts, Uncle Richard, and Grandpa Bruce. There was a brief, charged silence after I'd recapped.

Then the questions. So many questions. "Does this boy know who you really are?" Grandpa Bruce demanded to know. "Why the hell did you get to be friends with the son of the Joker?"

"Biology isn't destiny," I shot back. "Or is Tabby taking up a life of crime too? Jinx is just a normal kid. Wants to be a teacher. He's not like his mom, and everybody thought his dad was dead." He jerked back like I'd slapped him.

"Does Harley know who you are, Lys?" Dad asked, stroking my hair.

"Jinx always calls me Anna, all of them do." Whoops.

"Just how many scions of criminal masterminds are you friends with?" Grandpa Bruce wanted to know, testily. I sighed.

"Several. You guys already knew about Imogen. The others have criminal parents, but only Jinx and Nix have any contact with them. Nix's dad goes out of his way to keep him away from his criminal enterprises."

The Batmen, current and former, digested this. "Somehow I never thought that criminals would reproduce," Grandpa Bruce said. Uncle Richard threw him a look.

"They know who I am," I said quietly. "And who you guys are, incognito. It's not a secret in the criminal underworld, apparently. But I told them that I wasn't going to out them anyway, they're just normal kids, don't want to be career criminals. And if anybody thinks to use them, I'll tell Grandma Martha and Grandpa Thomas," I finished, looking right at Grandpa Bruce, who flushed.

"We need to make plans, Petal," Grandpa Damian said to his wife, smoothing his thumb along her cheek. My communicator buzzed as the adults started talking.

*Voice to text*

JJ: Anna, you've got to get help. Dr I said that the Joker's completely lost it, absolutely nuts, and Harley's like, under his spell or something. Dr I said that she's told him about me. I don't know what to do, I'm going to Nix's dad. I never told Harley who you were, but your grandma will be in his cross hairs.

I interrupted to read off this new information.

"Ok, who's this Nix and his dad?" Uncle Richard wanted to know.

"Phoenix Chesterfield. His dad is--"

"Oswald Cobblepot?" Grandpa Bruce asked incredulously. I nodded.

"Nix said once that his dad mostly traded in information these days," I said. Uncle Richard pushed off the wall.

"I'll go by the Icebox Lounge," he said immediately. "He has gone a lot straighter. But if the Joker's back, that changes the balance of power in the underworld and Penguin might think to use your friend as some kind of bargaining chip with the Joker, friend of his son or not." He left, walking quickly. I bit my lip, I was scared for Jinx.

"Harley never could keep a secret from the Joker," Grandma Alex said. "It's a really twisted dynamic. He's very abusive to her, but she just can't stay away from him. And the Joker wanted offspring to build an empire with." Her voice and face were as hard as the granite that the building was made out of.

"So everybody knows that the Joker was obsessed with you," I said to Grandma. "But he's got to have a lot on his mind right now. Why would you be a specific and early target?"

"Because I left him to die on the sands of Abu Simbel and he knew it was me," she said flatly. "I severed his spine and dropped him off my blades. Dammit, I should have just killed him."

"We don't kill," Grandpa Bruce said automatically.

"I've killed before, what's one more? And now, because I didn't finish the job, an innocent kid's in danger." Grandma looked sad. "And all this... mess is back."

"I'll see if I can think up some self defense gadgets, Lys," Uncle Tony said, rubbing his shoulder. "But you've got some skills, there." He winked at me and got up. "Your pod is as close to impregnable as I can make it. Stock it with snacks, fill the water bladder, and you'll be able to sit tight inside for a long time. The air filters are strong and complex, and the air supply routes through the engine, which runs hot enough to kill bacteria and viruses before they even hit the filters. If you're in a hazardous situation, you can cut the outside air and there's a mask behind the head rest that will scrub the CO2 and keep you breathing for over an hour if you stay calm. That's enough time for help to reach you." He kissed my hair, then spoke to Grandma. "Bring your pod by, Tiger, and I'll retrofit what I can. But widen your scope as well. He went after your brother once, remember, and you've got a lot of descendants now."

"You'd better warn your friends, Lys," Dad said. "Jinx might not have time, and if he's on the run, he might be afraid to." I nodded and sent a text, starting with the three digit numerical code they'd devised for an alert to be taken seriously.

"Who else has kids?" Grandpa Bruce wanted to know.

"Justine is Professor Pyg's daughter. Justine said her mom left her dad before she knew she was pregnant. Mark's Scarecrow's son. Ari, Ari Elliot, Hush. Mark and Ari's moms are terrified of their kids' dads."

"With reason," Grandpa Bruce rumbled. "But Tommy was just psychopathic, not powered, and Nightwing stranded him in a pocket dimension. I'm not going to say it's impossible, but there really shouldn't be any way out. Your friend Mark, though, yes, he's got a lot to be worried about. Even I find Scarecrow... daunting. As far as Pyg is concerned, I can't imagine that he'd take any more interest in her than he does anybody else. If he did find out about her, the use of his last name might save her from becoming one of his 'Circus of Strange.' On the other hand, he had a son once, Janosz, and Pyg killed his mother when he deemed her imperfect. He's schizophrenic and refuses to be treated. Janosz was killed in gang violence shortly after the Return."

Grandpa Damian crossed over to talk with his father, who got on the phone to Grandpa Xander. Grandma Alex got on the phone. I heard a quaver in her voice. "Uncle Bucky?"

"Ok, Lys, we're going to do a threat assessment to see how likely it is that you'll be a target of the Joker. A lot will depend on whether we can extract your friend. Imogen will be ok, Dick and Barbara can protect her, and you've warned your friends. You don't think Harley knows who you really are?" Dad asked.

I shook my head. "Jinx has a fondness for his birth mother, but he's really cautious around her. As far as he's concerned, his parents are his adoptive parents and he said he speaks only generally about his activities and friends. No last names, no specifics, and definitely no genealogy. And she never pushes for more, he said. And anyway, Anna Wayne is not one of of those Waynes. In the rare times I've been shown in the media, I've been identified by my first name."

"You might not have planned for it, honey, but that idea to use a new nickname was really good."

"It was Grandma Alex's idea, actually." Dad smiled.

"So here's what's going to happen now," Grandpa Bruce said, getting off his communicator. "Dick caught up with Penguin at his place of business. Your friend Jinx was there, Lys. Penguin said he wouldn't have used the boy as leverage or bait and Dick thinks he's sincere, but it's best to remove temptation. Dick gave the Penguin some incentive to cooperate, namely, that it's in his best interest to keep the Joker out of business. The Joker's always disruptive, and Penguin likes the smoother flow of information. Dick's going to take Jinx home and explain things to his parents, see if they'll agree to protective custody. We'll be going out tonight with the boys and we will know more by morning. Somebody in Dick's taskforce will hunt up your friends' parents, Lys, and confer with them. Until then--"

"Lys will be home. Tell Dick that we can always host Jinx until Joker's been dealt with," Dad said.

"Bucky will be coming out and he wants to assess your training, Lys," Grandma said, and I nodded. She cracked a smile. "He was pleased to hear that your reflexes are so sharp." I felt so bad about Uncle Tony.

"I don't want the Joker here and conniving, out for my wife and family," Grandpa Damian said. "We should bring in the Justice League for help." Grandpa Bruce nodded.

"This is not good news, and you're right to be worried, Lys," he said. "But thanks to you, we can get a jump on planning, we won't be just reacting to whatever he has planned. He's not going to be pleased that his guns are spiked. You're going to have to be careful, that's true, everyone will have to be, but it's not going to last forever. Keep that in mind."

Dad escorted me down to my pod, and I settled in for the short trip home. I called Aunt Ann immediately, asking if Uncle Tony was really ok. She said that he was fine, pleased that I had some self defense skills, and also that that I wasn't to worry about it. AI Tony waited until I was done and went over the safety features again with me; some of them were new from the last upgrade, like that CO2 scrubber. The recitation helped settle me down.

"I don't suppose there's a dial where I can change your color," I said. Pods came in a whole range of colors these days, but the pretty lavender/purple was distinctive. I wasn't surprised when it said no. The AI kept me chatting, responding, on the way back home, boosting the heater a bit. I was still freaked out. Everybody knew what he'd done to Grandma Alex, and I didn't want to contemplate it happening again. Uncle Bucky would be coming out to help assess her fighting abilities, but I'd be grateful to talk to him too. I had a few questions for him.