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THE MARK OF THE BLOOD ROSE

Written by Mike Rehor

PART 1: THE BETRAYAL

Deanna Harris began her day the same way she had every day for the past eighteen years, but this time her life seemed radically different. The time was about 7:00am. Her adoptive parents were in bed sleeping, since it was Saturday, and neither of them had to report to work. Deanna crept carefully down the hall wearing a pair of blue jeans and a white GSU t-shirt as she walked by her parents' room, and continued down the hall until she reached the stairs. Once downstairs Deanna began to make herself some breakfast so she could get to her friend Sara's house and help her prepare to go to the beach. As soon as she finished making her breakfast, her father walked down the stairs wearing a red bath robe and a pair of brown colored sandals and greeted her, "Good morning angel!" smiling. "Good morning Daddy!" Deanna responded, giving her adoptive father a warm hug. After being hugged, Deanna's father walked over to the coffee maker and poured himself a cup, drinking some as he walked over to the table. "Well, I had better be going before Sara wonders where I am!" Deanna explained as she put on her denim jacket and picked up the car keys. "Have a good time. I'll see you later honey!" her father called out to her as he read the newspaper. "See ya!" Deanna called back as she walked out the door, carefully closing it behind her.

Once outside Deanna glanced over and noticed that her neighbor, Mr. Arnold, was busily cutting the grass. Mr. Arnold looked over to Deanna and waved at her. Getting into her car, Deanna noticed that her neighbor, Jake, was heading over to her-- probably to tell her how pretty she was, as usual. "Hey Deanna, you look pretty today!" Jake said with a playful smirk on his face. "Hey Jake, thanks you are a sweetie!" Deanna replied, with a similar smirk. "Where are you going?", Jake asked with a worried expression on his face. "I'm going to Sara's house, and then to the beach!" Deanna informed him. "Can I come along?", Jake asked curiously. "Sorry Jake, but the car's gonna be pretty full, and there won't be enough room for you!" Deanna answered, smiling at him. "Oh, that's okay I guess if there's no room there's no room!" Jake responded in a disappointed voice. "Well, I really must be going now and I'll see ya later!" Deanna stated as she got into the car and started it. As Deanna drove off, Jake waved to her, "See you later then!" and began walking back to his house.

As Deanna drove, she pulled a brush out of her purse and began brushing her long red hair of which she was very proud, and took good care of. As she brushed, she thought about when her mother used to brush her hair and how much her mother loved her. While in thought, Deanna arrived at Sara's. Abruptly, Sara opened the door and pranced over to Deanna excitedly. "Hey Deanna, ready to go to the beach?" Sara grimaced. "Yeah, as long as you're sure Dick is gonna be there!" Deanna blushed. "He'll be there. I heard that he likes you and has something to tell you!" Sara explained while Deanna put on her denim jacket. "I hope he likes me. He's such a cute guy and I really like him!" Deanna confessed nervously. "We better get to Wayne Manor. I hope we can see Bruce Wayne; he's a hunk!" Sara exclaimed gleefully. "You would like Bruce Wayne!",Deanna laughed. "Well, he's rich; what's not to like!?" Sara commented brushing her long brown hair and smiling at Deanna.

As the two girls arrived at Wayne Manor, they noticed that the place had heavy security and were greeted by a voice on the intercom saying, "Welcome to Wayne Manor. May I ask your business?" "We're here to pick up Dick Grayson and go to the beach!" Deanna explained, pushing the talk button. "Very well, you may enter." the voice announced, as the gates opened with a metallic sound. As the car drove through the gate it closed slowly behind them so that no one else could get into the house.

As they drove down the driveway, they noticed that there were a tennis court, a swimming pool, and various other things which only a wealthy man like Bruce Wayne could afford. "Here we are, just another couple minutes until we'll get to see Dick!" Sara beamed. Deanna just continued to drive until she got up to the front of the house where a man dressed in a butler suit was waiting. As the car stopped, the butler opened the door, allowing Deanna to step out of the car, followed by Sara, who looked up at the house and wondered, "Who designed this place? Dracula?". "Good afternoon ladies, I am the butler of Master Wayne and Master Grayson, Alfred Pennyworth!" he greeted them, with a stoic look on his face. "Where's Dick at?" Deanna asked as she looked at Alfred. "Master Grayson is in his room awaiting your arrival. You may wait for him in the parlor!" Alfred answered while opening the door for Sara and Deanna.

When the girls entered, they looked around the massive room which was well lit due to the abundance of windows. "Geez, look at the size of this place!" Sara exclaimed as she took in the view. As they walked further into the house, they also noticed that it was dead quiet which meant that, unbeknownst to them, Bruce Wayne was sleeping after a long night of protecting the city as Batman. "Where do you think the kitchen is?" Sara asked Deanna as they say down at the sofa in the parlor.

Once Alfred made his way up the stairs, he headed for Dick's room where he could hear loud music as he got closer to the door. Alfred opened the door and he could see Dick was getting ready. "Master Grayson, those young ladies you were expecting have arrived!" Alfred explained as he turned the radio down. "Thanks Alfred, I'll be down in just a minute!" Dick replied as he put a T-shirt on. "Certainly Master Grayson, I'll let them know that you will be downstairs shortly!" Alfred responded as he walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Back downstairs, the girls continued to wait until Alfred reappeared. "Young Ladies, Master Grayson said he would be down in just a minute or so!" he informed them. "Thanks Alfred!" Deanna smiled. "Would you like anything while you are waiting?" Alfred asked. "No thanks!" both girls answered. As they sat there, Dick walked down the stairs and said "Hey ladies!" with a huge grin. "Hey Dick!" Deanna smiled brightly. "So, what's the deal with the butler guy?" Sara asked in a smartalecky voice. "Alfred, oh he's harmless. I wouldn't worry too much about him!", Dick smiled charmingly as he looked at Deanna. "Master Grayson, shall I tell Master Bruce where you will be going this afternoon?" Alfred inquired as he looked at Dick. "Yeah!" Dick replied, flopping onto the couch. "Dick, is there something you need to tell me?" Deanna asked Dick curiously. "Hmm, yeah there's something kinda private. I need to tell you!" Dick said, casting a meaningful glance at Sara. Sara took the hint. "Oh, I'll go look at the pool I saw as we drove up!" she said as she walked over to the door and headed outside. As she left, Dick and Deanna walked over to the couch where they would go and sit and talk.

Once Sara was out the door Dick reached tenderly for Deanna's hand, gently enclosing it in his. "Well, with Sara gone there's something very important I need to tell you!" Dick explained nervously. "Okay I'm listening!" Deanna replied, trying to contain her excitement. "You know how we've been friends for the past couple months?" Dick continued nervously. "Yeah!" Deanna confirmed nervously. "Well, I've come to think of you as much more then just a friend!" said Dick in a quaky voice. "Well, I feel the same way!" Deanna said blushed. "Okay, then do you want to go out with me?" Dick asked, looking into her eyes. As Deanna sat there, her face reddened and she smiled bashfully at Dick, whom was waiting for her answer. Deanna froze for a minute then answered "Yes. I'd like to go out with you very much!". As the two of them sat there, they looked into each others eyes and began to kiss. Suddenly, Bruce Wayne entered and interrupted, "Hey Dick, I thought you and your friends were going to the beach!" Deanna and Dick pulled away from each other and Dick explained, "Oh, we are I just had to tell Deanna here something important!" "Oh, okay!" Bruce said, smiling. "Well, were gonna go now then!" Dick said, as he picked up the towel on the floor. "Don't forget, I'm gonna need your help tonight!" Bruce said as he winked at Dick. "Okay Bruce, I won't forget!" Dick agreed as he and Deanna, holding hands, walked out the door to where Sara was waiting.

That night Batman stood atop a roof where he waited for a drug deal to go down. He'd heard about from one of his snitches. As he stood there, his sidekick, Robin, looked around before turning to Batman and complaining, "Batman, when was this deal supposed to go down?". Then Batman looked over at Robin and answered "Around Midnight!". Just as they were talking Batman noticed that a couple guys were inside the building across the way and it appeared as if they were talking to someone on a speaker phone.

Within the building stood three men who all wore black and the one whom appeared to be the leader of the men wore a costume with an Owl logo on it. "Men, we must get the stuff to the warehouse!" the leader said. "Sure thing boss, but when do we get paid?" one of the Men asked looking directly at Horned Owl. Suddenly, Horned Owl walked over to the thug and grabbed his throat, saying, "Oh, you'll not be getting paid unless you want to be buried with your money!!" As he continued to squeeze the guy's throat, his face turned blue and Horned Owl threw the guy down. The other men dragged the body into the bathroom. "If anyone else goes against me here, the same thing will happen to you, so any questions?" Horned Owl said with an evil grin. Afterwards there was just silence as Horned Owl and his men made their way downstairs where the car was waiting, but Batman was waiting there too.

At home Deanna was watch TV when all of a sudden she heard the phone ringing way in the other room. She quickly ran into the other room and answered, "Hello, Harris residence Deanna speaking!" "Hey Deanna, it's Sara here!" The voice said at the other side of the line. "Hey Sara, what's up?" Deanna inquired. "Well, I just got some tickets to go see the movie "Dantes Peak" do you want to go?", Sara asked. "Hmm, sure. I'm sure my Dad won't mind since he's out working the late shift at the factory!" Deanna answered. "Okay then, I'll pick ya up in about ten minutes!" Sara replied. "Well, I'll see ya then!" Deanna said as she hung up the phone and walked back into her room to get ready to go out.

As Deanna and Sara drove past the warehouses where Horned Owl and his men were making their drug deal, they noticed a fight between Batman and some men in black. "What's going on over there?" Sara asked as she drove the car over near the warehouse. "I don't know, but it looks dangerous to be here!" Deanna said in a frightened sounding voice. "C'mon, what could happen!?" Sara retorted as she opened the door and stepped out. Reluctantly, Deanna joined her. As the two girls stood there, they saw Batman and his teenaged sidekick, Robin, fighting it out with the goons. During the battle Deanna and Sara were spotted by Horned Owl's thugs and since they were easy targets snuck up behind them making sure not to surprise them and quickly grabbed them holding a blade to their throats. "Make one move Bats and we kill the girls!" one of the goons threatened. "No problem, I won't move an inch!" Batman assured them as he and Robin kicked the goons in the faces, knocking Deanna and Sara free to run. However, Sarah did not run. Instead she walked up to Batman and kissed him right on the lips before he pushed her away.

Suddenly, she was grabbed by Horned Owl, who brandished a gun and hissed, "Batman, if you do anything to plague my escape I swear I'll kill this pretty lady and have her death on your hands!" As Batman backed off, Horned Owl made his way to the warehouse where he opened the iron door and scurried inside with Sarah still his hostage.

Within the warehouse Horned Owl began to set up a series of bombs which planned to use to get rid of Batman. As he set the bombs up, Deanna crept into the warehouse and snuck behind Horned Owl leaping out and pulling his mask off. When he turned around, all Deanna saw was the face of her father, whom she had thought had been dead all these years. "What have you done?" Horned Owl snapped angrily. "It's me Deanna, your daughter!" Deanna explained to Horned Owl in a frightened voice. As they talked Batman and Robin jumped through the skylight and landed on a pile of boxes. "Horned Owl, stop this game and just come with us to jail!!" Batman said as he glared down at the now unmasked criminal. "Never, and you'll never escape with your lives!" Horned Owl snarled defiantly, as he continued to set up the bombs. "Robin, get the girls out if here!" Batman ordered. Robin obediently grabbed Sara and Deanna, and brought them outside to safety.

As Robin walked out with the two girls following, Deanna managed to get away from him and make her way back into the warehouse to hide behind some boxes. As she hid there, Batman and Horned Owl continued to fight and made their way up the stairs, winding up on the catwalk. On the catwalk Batman kicked Horned Owl in the face causing him to fall, but Batman was able to grab his sleeve. As Batman looked down at Horned Owl he could see the terror in his face and tried to help Horned Owl up. As he pulled, the material began to rip, and Horned Owl plummeted eight stories down. He was killed instantly. From Deanna's perspective, it appeared that Batman had intentionally murdered her father. Anger burned in her eyes.

As Batman stood there, he could see that Deanna witnessed the unintentional death of her father. He knew how painful that feeling was. Even now, he felt the anguish of his own loss. He down the stairs to try to explain what happened, but by the time he got there, she was already gone.

Outside Robin looked around and noticed that Deanna was gone. After what seemed like forever, Batman walked out and, seeming very upset. As Robin looked at Batman, he could tell that something bad had happened because of his mentor's grim expression and silence. By this time, Sarah and Deanna had reached the car. They watched the Batmobile speed off with into the night.

Within the car Deanna began to cry and Sarah embraced her in a friendly hug asking, "What's wrong?" With that question Deanna looked up at her friend and said with a tear in her eye "Batman killed my father!" Sarah just looked at her and seemed to just say to Deanna that she was crazy, but still continued to hug her comfortingly. As they sat in the car, the rain began to pour and the lightning and thunder began making the night seem eerier then ever before.

The next day at her father's funeral, her family was very emotional about her father's death. The rain came down and there was a smell of dampness in the air. As the funeral went on Deanna stood there in tears and began to think about Batman killing her father over and over. The time seemed to pass quickly through the funeral because they began to lower the coffin after what seemed like only minutes. As Deanna passed the hole she noticed some roses lying within the hole and then decided she would use this symbol to avenge the death of her father and swore with great bitterness that she would someday kill Batman and put his loved ones through the same pain she was now going through. On this day, Blood Rose would be born.

To be continued in Part 2: The Assassin

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