Lance
The next day I was out the door before Deri had come down, and I left while Mom was shouting at Deri to hurry. The main stairs have excellent acoustics, and Mom has a voice that carries up to the third story easily. I texted Deri happy birthday on the way in to school, although technically she wouldn't be a teenager until just past noon. I reviewed a worksheet for history class so I wouldn't have to talk to my quisling AI. At school, I went in to talk to the guidance counselor for some help getting some direction before I started having to think about college next year and he set me up with an appointment to take some interest and aptitude testing next week after school. That taken care of, I caught Archer in the math lab to ask a couple of questions I'd had doing homework last night.
I ate a quick lunch in the cafeteria before going to the library and finding a book on upholstery and slipcovers which I checked out. I plopped down in a chair gratefully and started to look through the chapters about planning and making a pattern for the slipcover. This would be my most ambitious project to date.
"Are you going to avoid us forever?" Jinx said, pulling out the chair across the table.
"I'm not avoiding anybody," I said evenly. "I'm not hiding or creeping around."
"You aren't seriously mad that we investigated you?" he asked, cocking his eyebrow at me. Now that I was looking for it, I could see traces of the Joker in his face and briefly understood why Grandma Alex had hit him so much.
"Yes, I am mad," I said acidly. "I thought we were getting to be friends. Friends ask, they don't sneak." He gaped at me.
"You're kidding. It wasn't a big deal. Kids do it all the time."
"To quote my Grandpa Henry's dad, if everybody wore horse turds around their neck, would you?" I snapped. "It's a big deal to me. Only two-faced people pull that kind of shit." He tried to work out if I was referencing Harvey Dent or not, and whether it was a double-edged insult or just a single-edged one. "All you had to do was wait until I told you. I'd have thought you guys would be a little more sensitive to that kind of thing than the average kid. But you're trying to gaslight me into thinking that I'm ridiculous and overreacting. I don't need it from you too, so unless you actually understand why I'm angry and upset, leave me alone. I'd rather have no friends than 'friends' like you." I got up, stuffed my book in my bag, and left. Jinx didn't follow.
I got through the rest of the day then stopped by the store to pick up the slipcover material. Candace had assembled a few other things that I'd need too, which was really nice of her. I read my book on the way home, checking my receipt against a parts list and finding that I did indeed now have everything I needed. At home, Mom and Dad were home early, Dad in his brand-new walking cast, and Deri was flitting around as they helped Alan get ready for the party. I went upstairs to dump my bag and freshen up before the guests started to arrive. I tucked Deri's present into my messenger bag and went downstairs, taking out the present to add to the pile and putting the bag in the coat closet, where it would be out of the way.
Relatives started to arrive, and I had to greet them too although this was Deri's party. And her friends showed up as a surprise from the parents, some of whom were new to me, and I was glad to see Van among them. Miles showed up with his dad, Grandma Alex being gone for business and Iris taking a test, along with Grandpas Mark, Henry, and Bruce, Grandmas Rose and Selina, Aunts Amy, Emma, Nessa, Ann, and Uncles Bucky, Steve, and Tony. A herd of cousins too, and Deri had presents and cards from those who couldn't come. I stayed on the side as Deri, her friends, and some of the cousins played games. I asked Miles about how things were going at ABC, and after some awkwardness, he got more relaxed and told me stories about life in the company. The adults stopped by to say hi, but they hung out together too. There was a buffet set up, and finally Deri got around to opening her presents. Her friends gave her cute little things, the relatives gave her clothes or things related to her interests as did Mom and Dad, who gave her training equipment for swimming among other things. She loved the earrings, which made me feel good. But since it was a Thursday night, the party ended after two hours, and friends and relatives were prompt in departing. I brought my messenger bag out to help Deri carry her loot upstairs.
"Where did you find this, honey?" Uncle Bucky asked as I tucked the things away that Deri handed me. He touched the strap of the messenger bag.
"Dad found it up in the attic," I said, closing the flap over the bulging contents. "He gave it to me so that I could carry things around the house while I'm on crutches. Do you recognize it?"
He smiled. "I gave it to Alex when she turned eighteen. I knew it was made well, but I didn't expect it to last so long."
"Wow," I said awkwardly. Then I was saved by Aunt Nessa, who herded cousin William over. William looked a lot like his dad, but was a lot more outgoing. Logically enough. He gave me a hug, then his parents urged him out to the family pod. I took Deri's stuff into her bedroom, where I placed everything on her bed so she could go through it all at her leisure. I did my homework quickly, then went to my sewing room for scissors and pins. Back in my room, I pinned the top edge of the fabric to the to seam of the chair, leaving a sizeable seam allowance, and marked cut lines with a new chalk pencil, checking twice before cutting each part of the pattern by pinning, tracing around the curves and angles of the chair before carefully slicing the fabric. I'd even have enough left over for a pillow. Once I had everything cut out, I bundled it into the bag to be taken up later, pried myself off the footstool, and went to bed.
The next day after school, I stopped by Grandma Alex's to leave the messenger bag with Alfred. I knew she'd want it back. And in my sewing room, I quickly made a pouch on a strap out of remnants that was big enough for my thermos and a couple other things but smaller than the messenger bag. It was a better size even though it wasn't as nice. Van came over for dinner, and I was glad to see her and Deri giggling again. I smiled to see Deri wearing the earrings I'd given her.
That night I sewed the major seams and took the slipcover downstairs to test fit. There were two places where I needed to adjust the seams, but I was really encouraged. I made the changes quickly and sewed in elastic to keep the fit snug under the seat but still allow the slipcover to come off for cleaning if necessary. I had just gotten it on and adjusted when there was a knock on the door. It was my mom and Black Canary. Huh. I didn't know we were hosting League this weekend. Must have slipped my mind.
"Lys, your father and I have been a little worried about you, especially since the kidnapping attempt," Mom said, and my lips thinned. "We've invited Dinah, in her professional capacity, here for a visit. We'd like you to talk to her." It was phrased as a request, but the command was clear. I debated making a fuss for just a moment, then thought that I might as well get it over with.
"Come in," I said after the silence had stretched out. Dr Lance nodded without any sign that my attitude bothered her, and she walked into my room. I shut the door behind her and gestured over to the chairs. She sat in the newly slipcovered one and I sank down into my favorite, putting my cast on the footstool.
***
A couple hours later, I closed the door behind her, hearing her go across the hall and tap on Deri's door. I went to the bathroom; my bladder was unhappy, then it was time to get ready for pre-dinner. What a pain in the ass. Now, with added shrink. Deri was still thrilled that Van had come for the sleepover and it took very little encouragement to tell me about what she'd liked about her birthday party and the sleepover. Our parents talked generally with Dr Lance, which lasted through dinner and coffee. Finally, I'd had enough and said good night. Deri came with me, and we parted at our doors. I gave it ten further minutes before taking the back stairs down and into the utility room. A prowl around after breakfast had enabled me to find the door on the library side. You had to know exactly where to look in order to find it, and even then it wasn't easy.
I eased the door open just enough to hear Dr Lance talking. "Deri seems to be doing very well," she said warmly. "I'm glad to have this face-to-face time with her, although her long-distance work with me is continuing nicely. She seems to be taking responsibility for her actions and sincerely trying to make restitution to those she's hurt. She says her abilities still remain locked away. The last time she tried to access them was not long after the kidnapping attempt, to cheer up her sister. She wanted to try something new, trying to project instead of compel, to see if she could show Lys how much she loves her."
"That's good news," Dad said, sounding relieved.
"But then there's Lys." Her voice was flat.
"That doesn't sound like good news," Dad said nervously.
"It isn't. That girl has problems, and the sad thing is that while some of them are just the trauma of being a teenager, many of them are not and relate directly to your family. So first of all, I will tell you my impressions of our conversation, to be followed by my professional opinion and recommendations. It would be helpful if you could keep your comments until the end, absorbing what I tell you, but I'll make clarifications if you need them." She waited a moment, waiting, I guess, for protests or affirmation. "The first thing I noticed about Lys is her anger, bordering on hostility. She masks it pretty effectively with manners. I spoke with her for almost two hours, and she never let her guard down in that time. I believe that she expects me to tell you everything she's told me. She feels marginalized by pretty much everybody. My diagnosis is that she's clinically depressed, possibly suffering from PTSD and anxiety as well although she wasn't candid enough with me to be able to confirm this."
"What?" Mom said, sounding startled. I felt like rolling my eyes.
"Diana," Dr Lance said, and she sounded like I felt. Then I jumped a foot as my sister took my hand. In the light from the hall, I saw her look at the sliver of light from the door, and I put my finger to my lips. She nodded. "--quite perceptive, normally, but in this case, you're unexpectedly blind." Mom drew breath but then subsided. Dad probably did something. "To some extent, her problems are the problems that other rich kids have. Their parents are very focused on their successes, jobs, and interests and tend to take their kids at face value. Oliver does this occasionally and it makes me nuts. The children learn that as long as outward appearances are kept up, what's below the surface isn't of interest to their parents. And Lys is very much a people pleaser. This part is very easy for her. People tend to think that kids who come from wealth don't have the right to complain or really have problems. They look at the undeniable advantages that power, privilege, and money provide and think that it's compensation. It isn't. You can't put a price tag on growing pains, but every time you tell her to suck up her reaction to others' actions toward her, reflect on her advantages, you are telling her that her struggles are not as legitimate as those of a less advantaged child. That she's not entitled to be hurt or frustrated, or really have any normal reaction. Maybe saints have an endless supply of cheeks to turn, but Lys is no saint. And you know that the world that she'll be moving in as an adult can be unkind as well, and you're not preparing her to handle day-to-day issues, disappointments and problems constructively. You can repress negative emotions only for so long before they become damaging. She feel second-rate in comparison to her sister; she feels that Deri is prettier and smarter than she is, that she gets more than her fair share of attention, and that you'd have never put her through that party.
"One aspect of the problem is common in children of superheroes. I've seen this before, and there are parallels out in the non-hero community. But I'll get to that in a moment. You both have been in the life. You know how hazardous it can be, how much trauma it can inflict, and Lys is very cognizant of the dangers. She knows that Daniel was a Batman, and alone for a very important and dangerous period of time during the Long Winter. She's aware of what her hero relatives have done. I suspect, based not on what she said, but an impression she gave me that she might even know that Alex is Valkyrie." I stopped breathing. I hadn't connected Grandma with Valkyrie at all, which was So Stupid of me. I'd seen her wings. Deri didn't even know that much, and I knew there'd be questions later. "She knows the ongoing price that is paid to keep everybody else safe.
"There is a tendency for the next generation after a huge trauma to also be affected by the events. Children of the principles often report profound isolation, a lack of outside community, fear, anger. When these children are named after family members, they can often feel like inadequate replacements. Lys is named after Alex, of course, meant as a tribute, but who has a reputation and legacy that is almost impossible to live up to. Deri is named after Daniel's mother. And their first names are homages to venerable Amazons, I understand." Somebody must have nodded. "So there's a lot to live up to, right out of the gate. Children in these circumstances also often grow up intuiting that their strong parents are remarkably fragile in some ways and there are things that they never discuss or question. They feel as if they have no right to be angry, given what their parents faced, and feel that they are not as strong, that they don't measure up, that they shouldn't complain about their problems, which are smaller in comparison. And the Long Winter was a global societal tragedy itself, with very few who were not severely marked. The death toll, the shortages and privations, all marked the living very strongly. We'll be seeing psychological fallout in the broad population for generations. The Return was also traumatic in many ways, for both the people who came back and those who suddenly had to accommodate them. There were waves of crime in addition to the stresses on society and infrastructure that the population explosion created.
"There's also a physical component. Children born to mothers who have gone through traumatizing events--and I know that you have seen traumatizing events in your long life, Diana, and participated in some--which messes around with the stress hormone cortisol in the brains of the offspring, predisposing them to depression.
"Add to this the prominence of her family. It's an enormous burden for any child. It is easy to understand why she feels like she doesn't fit in, why she is the runt of the litter." We could hear her draw in a deep breath. "And frankly, your parenting styles, which worked with Deri until recently, do not provide Lys with the support she needs. And you really need to change that quickly. She's feeling more inclined to express negative emotions, losing that desire to please people because she's not seeing a reward for this behavior. I feel that every time that something negative happens to her, she just thinks to herself, 'well, in two years I'll be an adult and I can leave and never come back. Then I won't have to be a Wayne.'" There was another sharp intake of breath. "I'd be surprised if she hasn't found a way to discreetly check the terms of your family trust to see what she's entitled to and under what conditions it could be revoked." I had. I'd asked Iris about the educational trust, which had led to talk of the family trust as well, and Aunt Amy had brought it up that time. "If she feels desperate enough, she could be willing to forgo the family money to escape a life that she just can't cope with.
"So let's talk about the precipitating events. The first one was her Sweet Sixteen party. I understand from Deri that Lys tried to tell you about what was expected, hint a little about what she'd like, but neither of you listened. Here's a big difference between Deri and Lys; Deri just flat out asks, because she feels assured of your attention. Lys hints and hopes because she is not sure that you'll give her the same hearing that you would for her sister. I don't think it's something you're conscious of, but most people respond more positively and directly to a request than a hint. And what happened at that party is the equivalent of you throwing a hugely important fundraiser, one of the big social events of the year, everybody has the price of admission--a donation for the cause, or a present in this case--gets all dressed up in their best clothes and ready for a good night of socializing and making contacts, you know how these things go, but the payout is Cheez Whiz on Triscuits and Two Buck Chuck rather than the expected caviar on toast points and Champagne. And the kids, having ponied up a birthday gift and being accustomed to having their expectations met, retaliated when those expectations were not met. You two are untouchable to them, but Lys is not. She has never acquired the armor you need for high-stakes social position because she feels as if she's not entitled to defend herself. She was ostracized, quite cruelly. Shunning is extraordinarily damaging even to healthier teens. There are two components to shunning, a physical response and a psychological one.
"Physically, when shunned, the part of a person's brain that registers physical pain is triggered. It actually perceives the shunning as a physical pain because it threatens basic human needs, the need to belong, to feel self-respect. And this damage can linger longer than physical pain. The longer it goes on, the worse it gets. Psychologically, there are three stages to shunning: the act of shunning, the reaction to it, and resignation. The longer it goes on, the greater the chance that resignation sets in. This brings about profound feelings of sadness and helplessness, which can trigger depression and negative behavior. Teens are particularly vulnerable to shunning. Part of it's the fact that their brains aren't fully developed, but it's also the stage of life where people really struggle to learn who they are, and the need to fit in, to belong, is really a tangible need, so to be ignored is quite excruciating. The effects of shunning are extremely difficult to shake off for teens. Their work tends to slide, affecting all aspects of their school life. It's extraordinarily incredibly damaging to self-esteem, increases the likelihood of depression and suicide, and can lead to aggressive behavior towards others. Lys was so ostracized that she voluntarily left her school, a familiar environment, and it caused her to be kicked out of her main activity, dancing, her little sister used against her. And yes, she caught on in another studio, but the experience would have been degrading and humiliating. She's quite smart and she has made the few changes that she can in response to the shunning by her peers, changing schools, looking for new friends. The fact that she uses a new nickname is a little concerning, given the circumstances. Most teens are trying to stand out among their peers; she's trying to blend in, be unnoticed. It's a serious attempt to make people see her for who she is, not for whose daughter she is. She is voluntarily shedding her advantages as much as she can so that she has a chance of finding friends who will value her first, rather than whatever she can offer as a Wayne. That creation of a dual identity is so common in your family that I don't think any of you realize how weird it is in the general population. She's created a partition between "Anna" and "Lys" where Anna is her preferred identity. She thinks of Lys as a loser that I think she'd like to eradicate as thoroughly as possible.
"And this leads us to the kidnapping attempt. Lys was going along quietly until she heard they had her sister. She told me that she was concerned for Deri. She mentioned that the kidnappers had severed a body part of the Osborn kid, and she was afraid that they would do something similar to Deri, or possibly molest her. And who's to say she's wrong about that? Deri is growing up to be a real beauty, her figure is developing. So she took an opportunity to try to get her away. And Deri saw this. She saw her sister stab somebody and try to get away, and she saw that man stomp and kick Lys before Deri was dragged away. You didn't allow her to see Lys in the hospital. I understand that Lys was unconscious and looked pretty bad for awhile, but it ramped up Deri's fears that something was really wrong when nobody would talk about specifics with her. So both girls have a lot of trauma from just the kidnapping attempt itself and the aftermath. Lys has lost the thing that was most important to her, something she wanted to make her career in, and she feels like everybody has made light of this loss. But she can't even articulate to herself what a loss this is, and she won't reach out for help, because she feels like any adult will just go right to you, and you have, demonstrably, not been helpful. It would also be beneficial if an adult in your family would reach out to her, directly, to offer help, or just something simple like sympathy and a shoulder to cry on. People are offering her activities and encouragement, not understanding. It's good that they're interacting, showing that they care, but nobody's offering her what she really needs.
"And on top of this is normal teenage stuff. She fears that she's not smart enough to get into a top-ranked college on her own, and you, Daniel, reinforced that by saying that she can get a good education elsewhere. And I know that you were trying to be helpful and reassuring, but it reinforced to her that she's simply not good enough, that she really isn't worthy of the Wayne legacy. Again, she's far too guarded to say it directly and she doesn't expect me to actually help, I think she simply feels like this is something you do and check off a list and wash your hands of it. She's not dumb, you showed me her grades, and they're really good. So she has to work to get those grades. There's nothing wrong with that, even if schoolwork tends to be effortless in your family. She's very different from her sister. Deri is extremely charming, like Damian, even without her gift. It's just part of her personality, and it's a substantial shield that she can use when things get tough. Lys is delicate and she doesn't have many defenses or coping methods. This young woman just desperately needs to feel like somebody, anybody, believes in her. That she isn't worthless or useless or overlooked. She needs to be validated, her self-esteem is in the gutter. I don't care how you do it, but you two have to figure it out because she's headed toward disaster.
"Diana, I know you feel like the world is too superficial, but those opinions have to change. You live in it, you've chosen to have a family in it, and you have to get over yourself and step up to the plate and be a mother in this culture and in this time. I've seen you so compassionate with victims and even the criminals who preyed on them, and I simply can't fathom why your parenting style is to tell her to toughen up and be grateful. That's a terrible strategy, overall. Your childhood was nothing like that of your daughters, and you haven't even tried to understand the pressures that they're under. And Daniel, just because your kids are girls doesn't mean that you don't have to be involved with them. You also need to realize the difference between your childhood and your daughters'. They're not going to be Batman, they don't have that focus in their lives. You can't shift the responsibility onto your wife, and you need to pull your head out of your business and pay more attention at home. Asking a few questions each day and spending time as a social unit isn't enough. You have to connect with her and build trust with her, because I don't think she's going to bother trying."