Alright. So you guys are going to have to bear with me for a bit here. I have things to say.
First off, this fic is a request from xburner21. And I liked the request. A lot. So things will be happening.
Second off, this fic contains an OC whose origins are explained in my Young Justice story Insanity's Rhyme and Reason, whose reading is not entirely necessary for comprehension, but it will make things easier in the long run (I will probably revisit her past at some point, but I don't think I will go into super elaborit details. If you want those, go read chapter 7 of above mention fic). Rachel's (said OC) history will remain the same for the most part as established in that universe. However, this story will take place in the comic-verse.
Third off, the above mentioned things. This request got me thinking things. Many, many things. So. Instead of being a one shot (as I planned all of my requests to be), this fic has the potential to turn into the longest fic I have ever written. It has become *dramatic drum roll* a MULTI CHAPTER FIC! Now before everyone gets their nickers (haha, that a funny word ^^) in a twist, the chapters are not necessarily related. Some will be connected, and this thing will probably have some overall plot, but this will most likely become a collection of bonding moments between Batfamily members and Rachel.
That being said, I will likely require help once my own idea's run out (like I said, I get this feeling that this fic may be lasting for a LONG time). So xburner21, if you're reading this, and I know you are (not to sound creepy or anything), I will probably start asking you for things you want to see in this fic. As it is your request and all.
And before everyone else who is reading this starts to feel left out, I will, at some point open this fic to requests for chapters. BUT DO NOT SEND ME ANY UNTIL I SAY SO.
Uhmmmmm...let's see, anything else...no, no, I think that's pretty much it...oh wait...
I HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS XBURNER21! I LOVED YOUR REQUEST! XD (In case you couldn't tell already. X3)
Okay. Now I think I'm done.
ONWARD!
Disclaimer: ...yeah...I just own Rachel...
Jason Todd was pissed.
A constant state for him, but tonight, his was more pissed than normal.
The night wasn't even half over and he had already stopped thirty-five muggings, sixteen would-be-rapists, nine attempted murders, and broken up six drug rings that had taken to dealing to kids. He had already been beaten, battered, bruised, shot and cut.
So now, Gotham had a sore, bleeding, pissed off Jason Todd on her hands. Never a good thing if you think about it.
Jason wanted nothing more than to head back to his crappy apartment in Crime Alley and crash. But he had to finish his patrol. If he had learned anything while under the Bat, it was to never half-ass anything. That and Bats were creatures of the night and therefore only needed three hours of sleep to function for an entire week.
Still.
To put it mildly, when Jason jumped down into the alley below him to stop rape attempt number seventeen, he decided that it would just be easier to kill everyone in the damn city. He made quick work of the thugs before turning to actually look at the damsel in distress. The girl hadn't even screamed.
To say he was surprised by what he saw would be an understatement.
*x*x*
Rachel walked through the streets of Gotham bare foot.
She never did like shoes very much, in fact she went without them whenever she could. Which was pretty much whenever no one was there to make her put them on.
She had been walking for hours, and it showed. Her feet were cracked and bleeding, but she didn't notice, her mind elsewhere. Her clouded hazel eyes kept to the roof tops, something criminals would do if they had any remote intelligence.
Really, she wasn't even supposed to be in Gotham. The Bat and the Bird feared what this place would do to her mind if she ever came back. But the Bat was gone, not dead, but on a different plane of existence. The loss still hurt though. It was the first time that she had existed without him and it left a hole in her. But she knew the Red Bird would find him, his faith in the Bat was unwavering and true. The Bird (the first one) had taken the mantel of the Bat. She knew he would not be pleased if he found her here.
But this was her home, and despite how unstable it made her, she wanted to stay. Her home was here, her family was here. This was where the Bat and the Bird lived, this is the place they protected, so this is where she wanted to stay.
She snuck away to Gotham often and she had yet to be caught (It's pretty easy to get away when you know what everyone is thinking.) but she knew it was only a matter of time. After all, you can only hide something from a Bat for so long.
But she came here for a reason.
She turned into an alley, knowing that what she sought was hiding within it. But it was not alone. Two men stepped out and sneered at her, their eyes dark with lust. She knew what they wanted from her, what they planned to do. But she met the gaze unflinchingly, her expression blank.
"Well well well, what have we here?" the first one said as he started circling her. "Little late to be out on your own, ain't it?"
"Nemo is never alone, no matter how much she may wish it," she said, her unfocused eyes remaining locked in front of her.
The second man raised an eyebrow. "Nemo, huh? You got a fancy we of talkin' there, sweetheart." He reached out and took a hold of her chin, dragging her eyes up to meet his. "You're a pretty little thing; hate to see something happen to you. Why don't you let us take care of you?"
She knew, more than felt, that the first man was going to come up behind her and place his hands on her hips, pressing up against her. She knew what they were thinking, she could see it, hear it, smell it, taste it, touch it. She had felt what people like them had done before. She had been both them and their victims. She had felt the sinful pleasure as well as the painful agony. And she did not take pleasure in any of it.
Still, she felt no fear. She knew everything, and she knew there was no reason for her to be afraid. So she let them hold her, let them take her in their minds. But she knew the Bat's ways, and the fate that awaited them was not what he would want.
"The Stray Bird stalks his pray. He strikes it down without mercy or thought. The act of shedding blood is second nature to him," she said, her empty eyes locked on those of the man in front of her, "Those who wish to harm Nemo will fall to his talons if they do not stop."
The men frowned and their touches became rougher.
"What the hell're you talking about?" the man behind her asked, his fingers digging into her hips hard enough to bruise. But Rachel didn't flinch, she never flinched.
"You threatenin' us?" the man in front of her asked.
"Nemo does not threaten. Nemo states only fact," she said calmly. "If the men in front of her wish to live, they should walk away while they can."
The man before her smirked darkly. "No can do sweetheart. We have plans for you."
"Then the men may wish to take Nemo in the next two minutes, because that is all the time they will have," she said it in a monotone, as if it didn't matter. Because really it didn't. She already knew what was going to happen. As soon as the Stray Bird saw her, it would be over. These men would be silenced.
And she was right. The men hadn't even gotten their lips on her before they were dead at her feet.
She saw the red helmet, the leather jacket, the gun in his hand. The Stray Bird.
She looked at the men that had been about to defile her with a sadness in her eyes. She could not hear them anymore. Their minds were silent. She never liked it when a mind was silenced, it left her empty. It was an unwelcome feeling.
Still, when she looked up to her savior, she nodded her thanks.
She had known what was going to happen and she had warned them. They chose not to listen. The Bat would be disappointed, she knew, but she had done the only thing she could. She knew that. She also knew that the man before her now was incredibly pissed, though the anger ebbed some when he laid eyes on her.
She smiled at him, catching him off guard.
It was nice. Meeting your brother in person.
*x*x*
Jason blinked, surprised, when the girl before him smiled.
He had just killed two people in front of her and here she was, smiling. Not only that, but she was bare foot and her feet were bleeding. Hadn't this girl ever heard of shoes? Jason quickly back tracked, taking in the girl's appearance. She was pretty average looking, long brown hair, hazel eyes. Her skin was extremely pale, like it didn't know what the sun was. She was wearing a baggy long-sleeve shirt and a pair of cargo pants. He couldn't be sure about her age, but he was guessing somewhere in the twenties. She looked like a child, but at the same time, she was an adult. She was probably older than him, but had no way of confirming that.
It was strange.
She was strange.
She started to walk past him and further into the alley. He grabbed her arm. She didn't jump at the contact like he expected her to; she merely turned to him patiently, as if she were a parent waiting for a child to speak up.
He frowned, trying to force back the anger that was still simmering underneath his skin before it spilled over. He wasn't going to hurt her. That would make him just as bad as the men he killed. And that was one level he wouldn't stoop to. "Where the hell are you going? Pretty sure where ever you live is that way," he said pointing out of the alley. "Unless you want to get mugged and raped."
The girl (Because that's what she was, regardless of her suspected age, a girl, not a woman.) turned to him. It was then that he noticed how unfocused her eyes were, like she was looking through him.
"Nemo came here for a reason," she said, gently pulling herself from his grip. He was surprised when he actually let her go.
"Yeah? And that would be what? Getting fucking raped?" he asked, his annoyance seeping into his voice. Why did he care so much? She was just another face, another number. But she wasn't. Jason couldn't place it, but something about this girl was different, and it wasn't just the way she spoke.
The girl, Nemo as she called herself, pointed to a box in the shadowed corner of the alley. Wordlessly, she walked toward it and Jason found himself following her, his feet moving before he could tell them to stop. She pulled the box aside, revealing a cat and a litter of kittens that couldn't be more than a few weeks old. But something wasn't right. Jason frowned when the smell wafted through the filters of his mask. They were dead.
"You're kidding," he deadpanned. "You came out here for a bunch of dead cats?"
"No," she said, shaking her head as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She reached over and gently scooped up one of the kittens. To his surprise, it squirmed, startled, in her grasp, letting out a pathetically weak meow. "Nemo came for the Kitten."
"You have got to be fucking kidding," he said. What the hell was with this girl? She was out walking around alone, at night, with no form of protection or even fucking shoes for a fucking cat?
Nemo looked up at him pointedly. "The Kitten's family has died. Would you leave him to fend for himself? Would you deny him a chance for a better life?"
Jason hesitated, his eyes narrowing. He got the feeling they weren't just talking about the cat any more. But she didn't wait for his answer. Instead, she sat on the ground, Indian style, cradling the kitten in her lap. She reached into one of the many pockets in her cargo pants and pulled out a small, glass bottle filled with milk. The glass was wet with condensation, the milk was still fresh. He watched as she opened the bottle and dipped her pinky finger into the white liquid. She frowned and mumbled something about being too cold before picking up the bottle and taking a small sip. She held it in her mouth for a moment before spiting it out into the cap. Then she dipped her little finger in it, getting it completely soaked in the liquid, and brought it to the weak feline's mouth. The kitten twitched and began licking her finger, lapping up any and all of the milk it could get its tongue on. The process was repeated until the kitten seemed satisfied and fell asleep.
It wasn't until she looked up that he realized he had stayed, leaning back against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, watching her work.
"The Stray Bird is curious," she said, tucking the glass bottle away again.
Jason blinked. Stray bird? Was she talking about him? Did she know…? His eyes narrowed.
Nemo sighed. "If the Stray Bird is suspicious, all he has to do is ask."
An eyebrow rose behind the mask. "Stray bird?"
She nodded. "He has strayed from the Bats ideals, broken ties with the family. He is the black sheep, the stray bird of the flock."
Jason paused, staring at her, momentarily stunned. She knew of his connection to the Bat. Snapping himself free of his shock, he leveled his pistol at her head. "Who are you?" he ground out.
"Nemo is Nameless, Nameless is Nemo. Rachel is Nemo, so Rachel is Nameless," she answered calmly.
"Rachel, huh?" he sneered, he couldn't help it. His anger was bubbling over and he was slipping deeper and deeper into his Red Hood persona. "And just how is it you know so much about me?"
Rachel frowned. "Nemo knows everything, feels everything. She is everything, everyone," She paused, her unfocused eyes clouding over, becoming glassy as if she was remembering something from long ago. "She died with the Stray Bird. She was with him when it happened. She was there when he came back." Her eyes suddenly cleared and she looked directly at him. "It hurt. When Nemo's brother died."
Jason didn't know what he was expecting but it wasn't that. His finger was inching ever closer to the trigger, ready to fire the deadly shot. Until that word fell from her lips. Brother. It made him pause.
Suddenly, she turned away from him and frowned, a worried crease forming on her forehead. "The Bat comes. He knows Nemo is here. How did he find out? Nemo was so careful. Oh. It was the Kryptonian. That is cheating," she said, more to herself that him, a pout forming on her lips.
Jason though she looked kind of cute like that.
He immediately killed that thought. Repeatedly.
Rachel stood, ignoring the fact that his gun was still trained on her, the kitten cradled in the crook of her arm. "The Stray Bird should fly before the Bat arrives."
Jason scoffed. "You think I need to run?"
Rachel raised an eyebrow. "The Stray Bird is cocky and arrogant to think he can take on the Bat, the first Bird as he is now. Because there will be a fight if the two meet."
He thought she sounded almost…sad about that, but the blow to his pride overrode his miniscule empathy. "You don't think I can take him?" he bristled.
"Nemo knows his body better than the Stray Bird does. He is close to failing. He needs rest, he is wounded. He can wait to beat up his older brother until he is better."
"He is NOT my brother," Jason snapped.
Rachel frowned. His response displeased her, he could tell. Hurt flashed in her eyes as well as conflict, like she was fighting with herself. Finally, she settled on glaring at him. "He will ALWAYS be the Stray Bird's brother."
Before he could respond, she had her free arm wrapped around him and her lips pressed to his cheek through his mask. She pulled away before he could react, a stern smile on her lips.
"Bats are stubborn creatures," she mumbled with a sigh, "It must be a family trait." Jason blinked as she began to walk away. "The Bat will be here soon. Nemo shall tell him the Stray Bird said hello."
And then she was gone.
Leaving behind a no longer pissed, but very confused, Jason Todd.
So first chapter, check! Woot!
Now seeing as it is 12:30 in the morning, I think it is time for bed. I feel extremely productive today. *pats self on back*
Now I just need to put away my laundry and then I get to sleep! Yes sleep...I loves my sleep. Mmmmmm sleepys time...
~ Elri