*Previous readers please read author's note at the bottom*

CHAPTER 1

I stared blankly at my hands, numb to the harsh winter wind that nipped at my bare arms and feet. It was snowing, though the pure white flakes mingled in the falling ash, forever tainting my view of the once wondrous spectacle. I was vaguely aware of someone speaking, and looked up to see Batman towering over me.

"What happened?" he repeated. I stared at him, taking in his features. From the black cowl covering his face, to the cape that covered his broad shoulders and the black bat that was sitting in the middle of his chest. He didn't even have a scratch on him, which was strange considering the events that had taken place over the past couple of days. I figured he'd at least have a tear in his costume, but no, it was in pristine condition- only tainted by the white of the snowflakes sticking out against the black that covered the rest of his body. I don't think I've ever been so relieved to see someone before in my life, and I've only ever seen Batman a few times- if the few seconds he stayed in sight were any count. He didn't seem as relieved to see me, though. His mouth was in a solid line, and I could see no emotion in his face at all. Then again, that may have something to do with the mask he wore. Or maybe he's really just as cold as people say. I took note of how incredibly tall he seemed to be from my curled up position on the ground. I don't remember him being quite that large… He was kind of intimidating. Intimidating, but still relieving all the same. My eyes left him and landed on the smoldering pile of rubble that had once been my home. I wanted to burst into tears, but none would come. My throat was dry and sore, voice cracking as I spoke for the first time in hours.

"It's a long story." I barely managed a whisper. I just sat there, staring at the rubble. For a long time, neither I nor Batman moved or made any further attempt at conversation. Then again he wasn't exactly a chatter-box, so maybe it was just me. Suddenly, I was aware of something warm being wrapped around my shoulders- some sort of cloth. It wasn't necessarily soft or comfortable, but it was warm, offering protection from the harsh winter weather, so I curled into it all the same. Strong arms lifted me off of the ground, and I was carried in the opposite direction of my home. I didn't struggle, still too numb to care where he was taking me. Not that I minded, or could do anything about it anyway. I mean, he was Batman. I didn't even blink as I was seated into a car, the cloth still wrapped around my shoulders. Looking down, I realized that it was Batman's cape. I didn't look up as he got into the driver's seat beside me. He rummaged around for a minute, before holding out a water bottle to me.

"We have time." he said softly. I looked up at him. He was looking at me, and even through mask and the fact his mouth was set in the same firm line, I could still tell he was being sincere. If I could, I would have burst into tears, but I was still feeling dehydrated. I turned away, chugging half of the water bottle to soothe my cracking throat before capping it. I wrapped the cape around me more securely and took a few deep breaths to settle my nerves. Hugging my knees to my chest I proceeded to tell Batman everything that had happened over the past couple of days.

~*A few days ago *~

I arched my back in a stretch, letting out a loud yawn in the process. Staring out the window of my mother's car, I took mild interest in the people walking along the snow-dusted sidewalk as we waited for the early Gotham traffic to move.

"Alison Nichole Valentine, are you listening to me?" my mother demanded. I looked over at her and offered a smile.

"Uh... Sorry." I apologized, which only caused her to sigh.

"I was saying, that because this traffic is so bad," she slammed her fist on her car horn angrily as a yellow taxi attempted to cut her off, "you're going to have to come to work with me, go to your appointment, and then go to school." she finished. I only frowned in response. Going to work with my mom wasn't exactly my ideal way to spend the morning, but it beat going to school, so I didn't protest.

"What time is my appointment, anyway?" I asked, leaning my head back against the seat.

"It's at ten, but I'm supposed to be at the office at seven and it's already," she looked at her watch and sighed again, "six forty-five." she said tiredly. I sighed as well and crossed my arms. It's too early, and too cold, to be awake right now. And with that thought in mind, I drifted off to sleep.

"Wake up, sweetie, we're here." My mother shook me awake. I stretched and peered out the window, eyes widening at the vastness of the building before me. Even when I got out of the car I had to crane my neck in order to even try and see the top, which seemed to vanish into the clouds.

"Where do you work again?" I asked, awestruck. When I got no response, I turned to my mother only to find her staring at me.

"Really? I've told you almost a hundred times." She chastised, pointing above the spinning glass doors that led into the building. "Wayne Enterprises" was written in large, polished stone letters. How did I miss that? My mother laughed as my mouth dropped into a small "o" and she gave me a one armed hug as we walked inside.

"Morning, Jan!" the security guard at the front desk called thoughtfully.

"Morning, Rick!" My mother, Jan, responded with a small wave. I raised a brow and slowed as we passed. One security guard? That's all that was protecting the lobby of Wayne Enterprises? 'Maybe some of the other security guards were in secret rooms watching cameras, or went to get coffee.' I looked around eyeing each camera thoughtfully. The way my mother disregarded the fact that Rick was alone shot down my coffee theory, and it made me even more wary of the cameras set up in the room. Knowing that there was more security in the building put me at ease, but, in a city full of some of the most dangerous and insane criminals in the country, you would think there would be more than one security guard at the entrance to one of the most high tech buildings in the city. It never hurt to be overly cautious in Gotham. My parents put three locks on the door, installed a security system, and we even adopted two German Shepherds named Beau and Duke. All because my dad used to work in the same office as Edward Nygma. He said that they'd never talked to each other before, but he didn't want to take any chances that the madman may come after him as he had many others who worked in the same office.

"Who's this you got with ya?" Rick asked, his downtown, New Jersey accent seeping through.

"This is my daughter, Allie." My mother replied, placing a hand on my shoulder. Rick tipped back the hat that sat upon his graying brown hair,

"You're kiddin'! She doesn't look old enough ta be your daughter." He joked.

"Oh, I know. She's going to be seventeen next Saturday, can you believe it?" my mother gushed. I rolled my eyes and held back a frustrated sigh, opting to give Rick a polite smile before averting my gaze to the nearest wall.

"No ma'am. Wow, she looks just like ya!" Rick replied with a laugh. I looked over at my mother. Sure, we shared some similarities, but I didn't think I was a carbon copy like most people made me out to be. I had her curly, beach blonde hair and pale complexion, but I inherited my blue-green eyes and height from my father. Or, lack thereof, I suppose. I'm not really "short", but, I'm not exactly going to be taking things off of the top shelf in the grocery store by myself anytime soon, either. We said goodbye to Rick and hopped on the elevator to go to my mother's office, which was on the thirtieth floor of the building. Yeah, the thirtieth floor, and that's not even half the building. After a few agonizing minutes of alternating between silence and being introduced to my mother's coworkers as they boarded the elevator, we reached her office. I took the chair in the corner of the room, nearest the windows and took out my iPod.

I waited for Pandora to load and smiled as Dean Martin began serenading me with Christmas carols. I took out my cell phone and started texting my best friend, Lindsey, telling her why I wasn't at school and all that jazz. Now, my phone was no smart-phone, quite frankly it was a plastic piece of crap, but I'd had it for almost three years and it still let me text, so that was good enough for me. Sentimental value, I guess. Well, that, and if I wanted a new phone I was going to have to pay for it myself. Yeah, I burned through phones pretty easy. So of course, I tried to make this one last as long as possible. I sat there contentedly texting and listening to music for about an hour before my mother tapped on my knee, and I paused my music to better hear her.

"It's not time to leave yet, but I was wondering if you were getting hungry? We could head upstairs to the cafeteria and grab a snack." she offered. I could use a stretch. I thought as I nodded and pocketed my phone, shoving my iPod back in my backpack.

The cafeteria my mother was taking me to was located on the ninth floor, so we took the elevator again instead of taking the stairs. We had just reached the fifteenth floor, when the elevator stopped. The doors opened and my eyes widened when I saw Bruce Wayne standing on the other side. He wasn't paying any attention to the fact that the elevator had opened, as he was too busy talking to the slender, blonde haired man beside him.

Taking note of how sharply dressed Mr. Wayne was, and how nice my mother looked in her pencil-skirt and silk blouse, I started to feel self-conscious. Since I assumed I would be at the dentists this morning I had merely thought of comfort and not quality, opting for a pair of old skinny jeans, a faded T-shirt from my freshman year in art club, an old pair of Toms, and a pair of pink cupcake earrings. The only thing I'd really put any effort into was my hair, which was pinned out of my face and cascaded in white-gold ringlets past my shoulders.

"Sounds great, Marcus. Keep up the good work." Mr. Wayne's voice brought me out of my daze. He turned to get into the elevator and smiled.

"Good morning, Janice." he greeted politely, calling my mother by her full name. His pale blue eyes turned to me and locked with my sea-green ones. I'm sure it was meant to be polite- you're supposed to keep eye contact when you're talking to people, right?- but it only served to make me nervous and more self-conscious than I was before. It felt like he was looking right through me…

"Who's this?" he asked, keeping a curious gaze on me.

"This is my daughter, Allie. Allie, this is-"

"Bruce Wayne." he introduced himself, holding out his hand for me to shake. His large hand practically swallowed mine, and I marveled at the size difference. A flash of white, contrasting with the crisp black suit he wore, caught my eye and my gaze trailed past his hand. There was a bandage on his wrist, peeking out just below the cuff of his shirt, and I couldn't help but stare at it. There was a faint tinge of red seeping through the white cloth and my brow furrowed. Was that… Blood? He pulled his hand away quickly when he realized I was staring, and my cheeks turned pink, embarrassed at how rude I'd been… And the fact that I'd gotten caught.

"Where are you ladies headed?" he inquired, shoving his hands deep within his pant pockets and turning his gaze away from me.

"We're on our way to the cafeteria. Thought we'd take a break and get a quick snack." Janice answered thoughtfully.

"When you're finished there, do you think you could stop by the lab and help Marcus file his latest data report? The man is a brilliant scientist, but either he doesn't know how to use our new filing system, or he just doesn't want to do the reports." Bruce said tiredly. My mother nodded eagerly in agreement, reassuring him that she'd take care of everything. The elevator let out a soft Bing as it stopped on the ninth floor.

"I hope you enjoy the remainder of your stay, Allie." Bruce said as I exited the elevator. I smiled at him and gave a small wave goodbye, breathing a sigh of relief as the doors closed.

The "break" that I took with my mother lasted a total of two minutes. The second the elevator doors closed on Bruce Wayne's face, my mother whisked me over to the vending machine, bought an energy bar and a coke, and then rushed me back to the elevator. When I asked why they were in such a hurry, she just looked at me with this apologetic smile on her face.

"Sorry, sweetie. I didn't mean to rush, but I'm really trying to work hard to get this promotion." she replied. Oh... Of course. Yeah, I know, it seems a little cliché, but whatever. That was her excuse, so I didn't question it. My mom pushed the number fifteen and the number thirty on the button panel, before turning back to me.

"I'm going to go ahead and stop by the lab to help Marcus. Go on back to my office and wait for me there." she instructed. I sighed but nodded to show I at least acknowledged her. I watched as my mother exited the elevator and waved goodbye, leaving me alone in the elevator. I frowned, disliking the thought of being alone in such a vast office building, and as a reflex reached for my phone to continue texting Lindsey. I reached in my back pocket, and my heart froze. It wasn't there. I searched through each pocket three times, before I started to panic. What the heck? I screamed mentally, Did it just hop out of my pocket? I froze again. Oh, crap. In my mother's rush to get out of the cafeteria, there's a good chance it could have fallen out of my pocket. I planted my forehead against the wall of the elevator, and let out a groan as the doors slid open to the thirtieth floor.

I thought about just waiting for my mom to get back, and then go with her to look for it- which was probably the smarter thing to do- but I wasn't sure when she would come back, and my phone was too important to wait for. Well, it was to me, anyway. I pressed the number nine on the button panel, and leaned against the back wall of the elevator. When the doors opened on the ninth floor, I immediately saw my phone. It was sitting, scared and alone, next to the vending machines where my mother had purchased my "snack". Here's a quick lesson for you: Energy bars are not snacks. Energy bars are disgusting. Okay? Okay. Anyway, I darted out of the elevator, scooped up my phone, and ran back to the elevator as quickly as I could. I clutched my phone tightly, hugging it to my chest as I waited for the elevator to come back up. When the doors finally slid open I pocketed my phone, more securely this time, and reached for the button panel. No sooner had I pushed the button for the thirtieth floor, than I jumped to the farthest corner of the elevator in surprise due to the incredibly loud thud that came from above me.

I looked up cautiously. What was that? My eyes widened as the sound of voices drifted down from above. My head was immediately filled with questions and conspiracies. I was on the verge of giving myself a mental breakdown before I scolded myself. This was no reason to panic. The maintenance guys were probably just working on the elevator. While it was moving... And I was inside… Oh, God, what if the elevator was faulty and I was stuck here? Or worse, what if something was wrong with the wiring and the cable snapped while they were working on it, sending me on a swift plunge to the basement? I took deep breaths, slowly calming myself. My heart skipped a beat when the door to the emergency exit on the top of the elevator was pried open. I immediately flattened myself against the wall, slowly sliding down into the corner of the elevator, and compacting myself into the smallest human ball I could manage. Two men hopped down from the exit, their backs to me.

They were both wearing the same type of jumpsuit; only one man was wearing white while the other was wearing black.
Both men were wearing hockey masks, one half of which was black while the other half was white. Now seemed like a good time to panic. If I don't move, they won't see me. If I don't move, they won't see me…Those words were a mantra in my mind, and I willed them to be true. Either my logic was right, or I was small enough that they didn't see me, seeing as neither man turned in my direction.I struggled to keep from hyperventilating as a third man jumped down from the exit. This man was slightly taller than the other two, and he wasn't wearing a mask or jumpsuit. Instead, he was wearing a very expensive looking suit, half of which was a crisp black, while the other half was a pristine white. Half of his hair was black and slicked down on his head, while the other half was white and wild, as though he'd stuck that half of his head out the window of a moving car. He took a coin out of his pocket and started flipping it in the air repeatedly.

Now, for those of you who have never had them, Toms are slick on the bottom. They have little traction, and that little traction is made practically non-existent the more you wear them. Great for sliding down halls, but not so much if you're trying to go unnoticed. This realization came crashing down on me as my foot slid from under me and tapped the man flipping the coin on the leg. He whirled around, pulling a gun out of his jacket pocket as he did so, and fixed me with a murderous glare. The only sound in the elevator was the soft clink the man's coin made as it clattered to the floor. My mouth gaped slightly when I saw his face, the left half of which was deformed and discolored as if it had been badly burned. It wasn't just his face that was burned, I noticed. His left hand, which he was using to hold his jacket back with, was badly burned as well. Now, I didn't gape at him to be rude, or because I was scared. Not at all. No, I was gaping at him because I realized that I was in the presence of one of the most dangerous, unstable men in Gotham City- Harvey "Two-Face" Dent. And was more than likely going to die.

"I thought you said this elevator was empty." Harvey snapped, causing the two men to flinch.

"I-It was, Mr. Two-Face, sir! Honest!" the man in the black jumpsuit whimpered, pulling out a small screen, about the size of an iPad. "Th-The device your contact gave us worked perfectly- I-I don't know how she got on without us knowin'! There must be a fault in the wiring or somethin'!" he exclaimed. Two-Face sighed, though it sounded more like a growl. "Idiots…" he grumbled. Harvey nodded his head at the man in the white jumpsuit, who in turn pushed the emergency stop button, causing the elevator to come to a sudden halt.

"What're you doing here, kid?" his voice was rough, as if he had been gargling rocks. I swallowed hard. My throat had gone very dry in the past couple of seconds.

"I-I... I was just going to see my mom." I replied meekly. I'm not going to lie and put on some big act for you about how I stood up to Two-Face, gave a witty remark and that I wasn't intimidated by him. Oh, no. I was scared. Terrified, really. This man was unstable, I was trapped in an elevator with him, and he was asking me questions while pointing a gun in my face. If I answered with something he didn't like, who knew how much longer I'd be alive? Two-Face didn't let up his glare, studying me intently for a few minutes.

"Boss, the cops are here." The man in the black jumpsuit informed him, looking at the small, iPad-like device. Two-Face turned his ear to the man, his gaze never leaving me.

"How many?" he demanded. The man gulped, "Too many. We're not going to have time to grab what we need and bolt before they get up here. Heck, we may not even have time to bolt now." Two-Face was silent for a few more minutes, just staring at me. I could feel my heart slamming against my ribcage, and for a moment, I thought he could too and that's why he was being so quiet.

"What's your name?" he finally asked. My head was swimming at the abruptness of his question. A name? Wait, I have one of those, right? What was it again? I sat there, opening and closing my mouth like a fish for about two minutes before Two-Face snatched my forearm and yanked me off the ground.

"I said, what's your name?" his voice boomed in the small confines of the elevator, and I blanched.

"A-Allie! My name is Allie!" I squeaked, before mentally slapping myself. Why hadn't I given him a fake name? Granted I wasn't the best liar, but I was scared, so it wouldn't have been totally obvious I was lying, right? I flinched as he leaned down and picked up his coin, flipping it into the air. He caught it, slapped it onto the back of his hand, and grinned.

"Well, Allie, today's your lucky day." I didn't exactly feel very lucky… "You're going to be something like an intern for a little while." He was eerily calm now compared to his outburst earlier, which scared me even more. Intern..? He shoved the coin in his pocket, jabbing a finger in the lobby button as he did so, and the elevator started moving again. I gasped as I was placed in a choke hold, my blood running cold in my veins as the cool metal of the gun barrel was placed against my temple.

"Your first task is not to cause me any trouble." he hissed icily in my ear.

A/N

So, for those of you who have read this story previously, I apologize. But, in all honesty, I hated this story for a long time. Yeah, I got about 13 chapters in, but I absolutely hated the outcome of them. I think that's why it took me so long to get new chapters out and almost drop the story. I just didn't feel like writing anymore because I just didn't like it anymore. However, I revamped the story, and fell in love with it again :)

So, the storyline is basically the same, with a few changes for the better. If you want to read from the beginning, you're more than welcome to! However, if you just want to pick up at chapter 14, that's fine too. The storyline hasn't changed, I just think I've improved the writing to something I can stand now. I'm just that picky.

I'm going to start uploading the revamped chapters weekly/every other day in order to give me time to continue to revamp the other chapters and to write more. I just got antsy because I figured everyone thought this story was dead. It's not! I promise :)

So, to readers previous and new, thanks for reading :)

-CA