Batman Beyond: Lost Innocence

Written by BatmanBeyond316 & Shino Yume

Chapter 1: A cry in the night

Twilight was long passed and the sky was black velvet with diamond stars attached to it. The night air was cool and crisp, but not too cold. The sounds of Gotham City at night could be heard in the distance. Hovercars going to and from various places. Though to one person, all that could be heard was the sound of a watch beeping indicted what time it was. Nine o'clock. She stood there, in the center of the light that came from the skyway lamp above her. Her eyes were tanned to the ground below her. To her, Gotham City was like an E-card image from Hell.

The girl stood with her back to the brick wall of her art school, her head titled back as she looked up at the night sky. Her brother was really late in picking her up from class, and she was betting her money between either the fact that he was out with his friends getting high off of slappers or he'd just forgotten and gone home to sleep.

He doesn't do much else with his pathetic life. She sighed. She didn't want to walk home; and it would be a very long walk. Not to mention that it was dark, and she knew that nights in Gotham were not times you'd want to be outside alone. Not that it was something she particularly cared for anyway. She tossed back her raven colored hair, and clutched the painting she held closer. The girl was an art student, and her classes for tonight were finished. Though she'd stayed after to do some extra work on the painting she held. . Though it was starting to get late, and the streets were not safe at this time of night. Especially since the art school was not to far from Joker territory. The girl shuttered slightly at the thought of having t encounter a Joker.

The girl shook her head slightly, trying to shake the thought out of her mind. As she picked her head back up. The sound of a car drawing near filled her ears. Though all that she saw was a black truck that pulled up alongside the curb. She stared at the truck, as the window rolled down. The girl could see that someone was inside, but she couldn't make out any of his features. For it was too dark inside of the truck for her to see much of anything.

"Excuse me miss," The person driving the truck spoke, it was a male voice. "I'm sort of confused, which way should I head to get to Seventeenth Street?" She could feel his eyes upon her in a way that made her afraid. The guy who was inside the truck just smiled slightly at her, "I'm sure a nice person like you could tell me they way." The tone of his voice made her more nerves.

She stepped closer to his truck, a shiver running up her spine. A lump began to from inside of her throat. Making it very hard for her to speak. "It's down this road a little more, then take a left, then an immediate right." The man gave her a nod, but his eyes were locked on to her. Looking as if they were undressing her. The girl became more afraid, but looked away from him. Trying not to show that she was.

"Thanks Miss." He said. "You look like you could use a lift, you going that way?" He kept his voice casual, and friendly like. Though the way he looked at her made the girl frightened, and a bit uneasy.

She took a step back, frightened by this man. "Um... No thanks; I'm waiting for my brother to come for me. He should be here any second. I don't want to be any trouble." The girl stuttered, unable to gain control of her. Fear having taken over her senses.

"Nonsense." His voice was becoming gruff, and edgy. "Get in." He demanded.

She didn't like his tone of voice. Every muscle in her body tensed. Then she heard a click. He had a gun, and he was aiming it right at her head.

"I... I..." She stuttered, unable to say anything more.

"Get, in damn it," His voice now having taken on a very dangerous tone. It frightened the girl to no end. A dark shadow began to settle in around them, giving off a dark errie feeling. I guess I'd better do what he says, she thought.

The girl shakily walked over to the passenger's side, and hastily got in. Only to find that It was no lighter inside the truck than it had been outside, and the darkness didn't allow her to see much of his tall form. She closed the door behind her, but kept her hand upon the door handle just in case.

"Which way to your house, girlie?" He asked, his voice keeping the edgy tone of voice that had frightened her so greatly.

"Jus... Just before Seventeenth Street a little ways, you can drop me off on the way."

The boy reached over and patted her leg somewhat harshly. Making the girl feel more insecure, and scared. "Off we go then, eh?" She guessed by the tone of his voice that he was around eighteen, which was only a few years older than she was.

He drove his car a little faster than necessary. She shrieked a bit panic streaked through her body when he passed Seventeenth Street, and turned into an alleyway.

"Where are we going?" She asked, some what alarmed. The fear and panic sweeping through her mind, She wanted out of there fast. Though she didn't dare move for the man would have used the gun he had on her

"Doesn't matter, does it?"

"Well...I'd like to go home..."

"Well, well, what are you going to about it, girlie? You're doing what I tell you now." He parked the car at a dead end. "Get out."

"No!"

"I said do it, bitch!" She saw his hand going for the gun.

Shaking, she obeyed, and he followed her outside, warping his arm around her wrist. It was pitch black now, too dark for the nearby police cams to pick up much of anything.

"Go around to the back of the truck." He demanded. She decided it would be best not to argue, and followed his orders. The girl walked around towards the back of the truck, wondering what the man was going to do with her.

What is he going to do with me? She thought, fear almost taking her over completely. Am I going to die here?

Suddenly, he shoved her up against the brick wall. Holding her head back, and he began to force his lips over hers. Harshly plowing through her barrier of teeth with his tongue. The Girl squirmed in an attempt to get away, but her attempts where futile. As he was stronger, and was able to hold her against the wall with his body.

.

She gasped and almost screamed when she felt his gruff hands rapidly sliding up under her shirt, tearing it over her head. "Please, don't do that!" She choked, trying to pull away.

"LET GO OF ME," the girl screamed, as she continued to try and pull away from him. Though his arm was around her waist, and he was stumbling with the button on her jeans. "You can't stop me, I'm going to get what I want, and then you can rot on the ground all you want."

But this is not what _I_ want... Oh gods, why is this happening to me?

Suddenly she found herself lying on the ground. The man was groping her all over, his hands were like ice. Though she still tried desperately to squirm away. With a sudden burst of force, he pinned her arms down, and thrust his member inside of her.

The girl screamed out in terror, and pain. Not knowing how it had happened or why it was happening to began with.

No, please, no! Why is this happening? Her life ambitions began to crumble before her. I'm never going to talk to anyone again. Will I ever see the sun again? I wonder if my mother knows I love her? Oh brother of mine, if only you knew the horror you caused me tonight!

It was over, just as soon as it had begun. The throbbing pain between her thighs was now just a horrible memory. The girl felt him dragging her limp body off to the side of the alley, and felt the piece cloth fall over her body. Her head spun as she heard his car pulling away.

He's leaving me here to die. There's no hope for me. What if he comes back to kill me? What if some other guy finds me and does the same thing? I'm such an easy target now, but I don't have the energy to move. She wanted to throw up, and her head felt hot, and she was dizzy. Finally she closed her eyes and passed out in fear.

Something flew through the Gotham City skyline. A rather odd looking figure, which soared upon cape like wings, flying like a bat heading right out of the pits of hell. The strange figure wore a black suit, which had a dark red bat emblem upon his chest. It's cape like "wings" gave him levitation as he flew through the city. A few people stopped to look outside of their windows at the passing sensation. Though the criminals of the city hid. For the Bat was out on his nightly patrol of Gotham.

Batman landed upon the roof of a high building, slipping slightly on a puddle from last night's rainstorm. Though he grabbed hold of the ledge of the roof, and managed to pull himself back up to safety.

"Woah," He spoke softly, "still haven't gotten used that yet." Batman stood up on the roof looking over the city. Things had been quietly lately, and it didn't sit well with Bruce Wayne. In fact, things were so quiet lately, he'd been sending Terry out on patrol twice a night for the past week.

Batman let out a sigh, he knew that this was a tough job, but deep down he also knew that the city needed him. Mr. Wayne was too old to go on wearing the mantle of the Bat, and Terry McGiness had figured this out after he'd first discovered the old man's identity. Now he stood there almost a year later. Wearing the legendary mantle of the Batman.

"There's got to be something going on." Batman said to himself, keeping his voice at a low ominous level. He knelt down close to the ledge, being careful not slip and fall again. The inferred vision inside of his mask came on. His eyes began searching the city below for any sign of wrongdoing.

"Anything going on tonight?" A voice came from over the two-way radio transceiver inside of Batman's cowl. The voice of Bruce Wayne's old and still cranky voice filled his ears. Batman touched the side of his mask, hiting a small button that was hidden inside of it. Allowing him to talk back and forth with his mentor.

"Still nothing." The Tomorrow Knight replied, his eyes still scanning the ground below. "I sersiouly doubt that there's anything going on tonight." Batman stood up, and readied to leap off of the roof. Though he stopped, and looked back down at the alley below him. He could see something lying there that didn't look like it belonged there at all.

"Hold on there's something down in the alley. I'm going to check it out." He spoke thorough his end of the receiver.

"Be careful," was the only reply that Batman got from the old man. Looking down at the alley below him. Batman leaped from the ledge, and opened his wings to their full extent. His wings catching some air, and allowed Batman to glide downward towards the alley below.

"Oh my god." Batman's eyes widened as he neared the ground. For now he could clearly see the from of a girl lying there in the cold of the night, with only a small piece of cloth covering her.

"What happened here?" He thought out loud, as his feet touched the hard ground softly. He touched the side of his cowl again, activating the receiver that linked him to the computer that was in the Batcave.

"I found something." He spoke into the receiver, making it look like he was talking to himself. "Looks like a murder case."

"Switch on your vid-link, and lets have a look see." The replay came out sounding more like than order, and not as the mentor to student tone than Bruce had intended. Batman didn't like it when Bruce spoke in this tone. Yet he still listened to what the old man had to say, because after all. Bruce had many more years of experience over him. Though he reached up and touched the side of his cowl like he did when he talked with Bruce over the transceiver. Only this time it was to switch on the video link that they used.

"Can you see anything?" Batman asked, kneeling down beside the girl to get a closer look. Something didn't look right about this at all.

"Coming through loud and clear." The old man's eyes squinted a bit while looking at the screen of the Batcomputer. Already the gears in his mind were turning, and his fists began to clench. The sound of cracking old bones could be heard over the transceiver.

Batman looked over the fallen girl's naked form. Like Bruce, he too could see that something wasn't quite right about this, but he couldn't say what. His eyes looked her over briefly, finding that a single piece of cloth only covered her body, and her face was covered over by a ripped T-shirt. He picked up the piece of cloth, and began looking over. Though all Batman could determine from it was that it must have been used during the crime.

"No slash marks, no bullet wounds." He said to himself, trying to figure out what had happened to the naked girl who was lying before him. "What could have happened here?"

Bruce continued to simply stare at the batcomputer's screen, looking through Batman's eyes at the victim who had obvsouly been raped. If only I wasn't this shell of a man, who is only helping the Batman. The old man shut his eyes, remembering all of the rape victims he'd encountered during his years as the Batman.

"What do you think happened?" Batman spoke into the transceiver, tucking the piece of cloth into his belt. He waited a few moments for a reply. Though the old man remained strangely quiet.

"Bruce you there?" He spoke into his transceiver. Wondering why his mentor and boss wasn't answering him. "Don't tell me that you had a heart attack and died on me already?" Smirking underneath his cowl, Batman nearly laughed at his won joke.

Bruce's eyes snapped open when he heard Batman's remark. He opened his mouth to yell at the boy, but nothing came out.

He's not a sidekick; he's the Batman now. Bruce reminded himself quickly. "Look at the way she is Terry." Bruce spoke, trying to keep his voice level. "She's lying naked upon the concrete with her shirt over her head. "

Batman nodded slightly, keeping his eyes transfixed upon the girl. "Yeah, looks like he tried to strangle her." He ran his fingers along the top of her neck, looking to see if there were any marks left. "Do think that she could have been raped?" Placing his fingers upon her wrist, he checked to see if she had a pulse.

"Terry," Bruce spoke through the radio transceiver. "I don't think, I know she's been."

Taking his fingers away from her neck. Batman's fists began to clench tightly, the rage beginning to build up inside of him. He knew when he took up the mantle of the Bat he'd see things that would haunt him for the rest of his life. Though what he was seeing right, with this innocent girl, lying here before him. Having been striped of her clothes and violated. It was something he would not tolerate as Batman. Sirens could now be heard in the background, a sound, which meant to him that it, was time to up and leave. He stood up, and opened his arms. Extending his cape like wings out from underneath his suit.

"I want you to come straight back here." Bruce spoke through the two-way connection. "We can analyze the evidence you collected here."

Batman simply nodded in response as he slowly walked into the shadows of the night. The piece of cloth still attached to his belt. Spreading his wings wide. He activated his jet boots, which gave him enough lift to carry him up on to the roofs of Gotham. A single thought upon his mind. Find who ever did this, and bring him to justice

To Be Contuined