Disclaimer: I don't own or pretend to own anything relating to Batman Begins, the characters, or the actors. (Sigh) But I do own my plot and my own characters . . . so please respect my territory. :)

Note to the Reader: I decided it was time to drag this fic out from it's current obscurity so here it is. I'm working on an original work of fiction so currently this fic's updates will be few and far between... but they are coming:) So... coming out of it's Hiatus... here is One Dark Knight.

Extended Summary: Riley Conrad's past has become a festering wound ever since a fatal accident nearly two years ago. Living alone with her elder brother, Riley's past has done more then steal her family away from her... it nearly destroyed her. Now, living in the slums of Gotham, Riley has no idea how far her brother has fallen... or how much more has been taken from her. Now the Joker is in town and Batman will have something to say about it. But when he goes after Riley... for no apparent reason... will Batman be able to save her? Or will both Bruce, and Riley, be destroyed by a secret that once nearly killed her... a secret that no one was suppose to find out.

Rating:One Dark Knight is rated:'T' for violence and mild language.


Prologue

I stared sullenly out my window...or what was my poor excuse for a window anyway. The glass had long since lost its clearness and I had to rub a clean spot through the smoke stains in order to look up at the sky. I breathed deeply in relief as I caught a glimpse of the moon. I would never see the stars, not in this hell hole.

I pulled my knees to my chest as I sat still on my bed. I was cursed to be here. It was my lot in life. I could hardly remember the stories my parents used to tell me about how Gotham used to be. Before the Depression, before this filth destroyed us.

But now my parents are gone, and so are the forgotten memories of Gotham before this. Of a Gotham where good people actually lived. I rest my chin on my knees, determined not to cry, not now. A stray lock of my curly brown hair escaped my lose ponytail and fell into my eyes, obscuring the moon from me once more.

It was all too easy to choke out the light. It was all too easy to destroy any hope I had for my life. In Gotham, darkness ruled. And I was a fading flame.

The Darkness is choking me now.


TO BE CONTINUED...