Hello everyone. Thank you for trying out my story. I plan for this to be very long like a novel. My main character is OC but I will have some parts in Bruce's point of view. I am straying from comics, but I'm a huge DC fan so expect to see some character crossovers. Please review and tell me what you think!

I don't own Batman nor do I profit from my writing. Enjoy!

Chapter One

"Why did I think medical school was a good idea" Thought Rachel as she pulled the top half of the skull apart from her Cadaver. It's not that she was squeamish, she had seen plenty of horrific things in the 27 years she's been alive. She just wasn't prepared for her exam. Though to be fair, she knew about if for well over a month. And being a fourth year medical student, with the prime focus being anatomy since she wanted to be a Forensic Pathologist, she knew her anatomy. But this exam required her to figure out the cause of death, and she could not determine the cause. She thought that by removing a portion of the skull she would see hemorrhaging, or some sort of pressure build up. The rest of the specimen looked to be in great shape, and there was no evidence of disease or injury. But a soon as the brain came into view, once again there was no sign of any damage. It would be so easy for Rachel to use her abilities and discover the answer, but she wanted to do this the right way.

"Dr. Emmet, I'm not able to determine cause of death from the dissection. I would like to run some tests to see if there is anything going on on a molecular level" Rachel said addressing her professor. Dr. Emmet was a handsome man. He was a walking cliché and made many of the female students nervous. Rachel didn't really care. She gave up on men and decided she was better off alone.

"Very good Rachel, you pass. You're the only student who didn't come up with a phony cause of death" Dr. Emmet said marking his clip board. Rachel breathed a huge sigh of relief. She hadn't studied in well over a week due to her extracurricular activities.

"So what is the cause of death?" she asked.

"You don't need to know" he declared.

"I understand, but I'm just a little curious what kind of illness can leave a body in pristine condition" Rachel said.

"Trust me my dear, its best that you don't know. This body will be cremated later tonight. The Gotham hospital has been very generous in donating bodies to our program and were lucky to receive fresh bodies on a regular basis. We try and do what they ask of us" he explained.

Rachel cringed. One of the reasons she transferred to Gotham was because the medical university had a lot more freedom in research. Gotham would never run out of bodies, in fact the over whelming number of dead people was what made this program possible. And a good number of those people were from the lower class and could not afford a ceremony, so they donated their bodies to science with the promise of the university paying for their cremation.

Rachel zipped up the body and pulled her gloves off. She reeked of corpse.

"So there's no chance of you telling me how he died?" Rachel asked. She thought of reading his mind, but the last time she did she learned a lot of things she didn't want to know about him. One of them was that he touched himself thinking of her…

Dr. Emmet taped his lip with his pen and looked her up and down. Rachel felt a little offended and crossed her arms.

"Unfortunately it's classified Ms Grey. But perhaps if you go out for drinks with me I'll reconsider" he said giving her a perfect smile.

Rachel wanted to punch the smirk off his face. This wasn't the first time he had asked her out.

"Dr. Emmet, you and I both know students cannot date faculty. And I'm not interested in dating right now. I'm sorry" she said as she left the room. She could feel his eyes on her backside as she walked away.

As soon as she got into the locker room, she sat on the bench in front of her locker and let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She had only been in Gotham city for a month and already it was beginning to eat away at her. The crime was just over whelming. She had to defend herself twice from other men. Though it was more like they had to defend themselves after she was finished with them.

Rachel changed out of her scrubs and into her jeans and T-shirt. She was not one for fashion.

She went over to the sink and pulled her hair free of the bun she had tied it in. She brushed out her long blonde hair and sighed as she saw the dark circles under her eyes. Green eyes stared back at her and once again she felt as though she was staring through her soul, or rather the lack there of.

Rachel could be very beautiful if she took the effort to dress nice and take care of herself. She was of average height, and thin but very fit. She took great care in exercise, and she ate right, most of the time. Years of training toned her body and made her a lethal weapon.

From the time she was 8 years old she trained under a master martial artist. She learned nearly every style of martial arts and could take down a full grown man by the time she was 12. But that wasn't the only thing she learned. She learned how to track, solve problems, lead a quad, and kill. Rachel killed for the first time when she was fourteen. It still haunts her dreams, that is when she sleeps. When she finally won her freedom when she turned 18. She ran away from her master, and that whole life style. She went to college and got her degree in Biology and Chemistry and now she was about to complete her third year of medical school. She was so close to achieving her dream.

All Rachel wanted was to help others that were helpless. People that had been murdered, who had left a family behind, people like her who murder has affected. At first she thought that following someone else's orders would allow her to save lives. But she learned that the opposite happened. He wanted her to take lives for him. The first time she killed for him was also the last. But being a medical examiner wasn't enough for her. The fighting lifestyle never truly left. It wasn't until about two years ago that she started prowling the roof tops and hunting down criminals. But that was in Chicago. Gotham was a whole other ball game. There were psychotics that inhabited the city. One of them scared her enough to put her costume away and try to focus on helping others by becoming a doctor. But the itch had already started, and she knew it was just a matter of time now.

Rachel gathered her things from her locker and checked her phone. It was 4:30 pm. Her roommate Kate messaged her.

"Hey, how'd the test go? Wanna go to this art exhibit with me that the Wayne Foundation is sponsoring? There's free booze XD"

Rachel responded "I should study, but I guess a few hours wouldn't hurt." Rachel honestly had no interest in art, but if it distracted her from her true desires, then maybe it was a healthy decision.

As Rachel left the locker room she once again thought about the body she examined and how Dr. Emmet avoided telling her what happened to him. The cadaver had been a young female, perhaps in her early 20's. She was physically fit and didn't have a scratch on her. What could have caused her death? Perhaps she could sneak into the lab tonight before the body was destroyed.

"It would be fun" she thought.

Instead of putting her ID card for the lab into her locker, she put it in her purse. Just in case she changed her mind.

Bruce POV

"Tim, I told you to do your homework" Bruce shouted over the balcony. His ward was currently seated on the floor an inch from the tv screen playing some kind of shooter game.

"I said I would if you let me go with you tonight" he shouted over the blaring TV. Bruce shook his head. Tim was just like Bruce, Stubborn and always wanted his way.

Bruce walked over to the TV and turned it off.

"Hey! I worked hard on that!" Tim shouted. Bruce glared down at his adopted son, and pointed towards his room.

"Go. Now" he commanded. Tim opened his mouth to argue but realized it was futile. All Bruce heard was the door slam as he did what he was told.

He would make it up to him at a later date. This event was not for kids, not that Tim was an ordinary kid. Vigilante in training or not, he was still 10 years old and this event would have cameras and social media would have his face plastered all over the internet within the hour.

"Alfred, make sure he doesn't sneak out. I'll be back late" Bruce asked.

"Of course sir. Try and have some fun tonight. Perhaps meet a nice lady" he said sounding hopeful.

"I'm sworn off women Alfred. They can't be trusted" Bruce said.

Alfred closed his eyes and sighed. Bruce was like a son to him. And his lonely existence ate away at him.

"Well try and enjoy yourself for once. At least you won't be beaten by Gotham's underbelly for one night. I've laid out a suit for you, which car will you be taking?" Alfred asked.

Bruce smirked, "I'll be taking the Rolls Royce" he said heading off towards his bedroom to change.

"Very good sir, I will swing the car around" Alfred said leaving to retrieve one of his many cars.

Bruce sighed. He was never into the whole servant thing, but Alfred was more than a servant.

As he passed his parents picture on his way to his quarters, he couldn't help but feel their gaze on his back. Would his parents be proud of the man he was today? Or would they look at him with the same sadness that Alfred does? Guess he'll never know.

Rachel POV

"Kate hurry up in there. It's an art auction not a pageant, and were going to miss it" Rachel yelled from the living room. Unlike most people whose thoughts projected themselves to Rachel, Kate's persona was all Rachel could read. Instead of hearing words, she got feelings. That was one of the reasons why Rachel wanted to move in with Kate. She could focus around her, and her presence was always happy. Rachel didn't like being in everyone's business all the time, and this was why she could have a relationship with Kate.

Their apartment was small, but Kate did a good job decorating it. She and Kate shared the single bedroom and the bathroom. Their kitchen was the size of a van, and their living room was big enough for one couch, a coffee table, and a TV. But this was home for Rachel. She had grown up in foster homes so it was nice to have something of her very own. In fact Rachel didn't have many material possessions and she hated shopping. She had two dresses to her name and enough outfits to get through a week and a half before she did laundry. Her costume for her nighttime activities was made from a woman Rachel found online who made cosplay outfits.

When Kate finally opened the bathroom door a wave of perfume flooded the entire apartment. Rachel's eyes widened at the scene in front of her. Kate wore a sparkly blue strapless dress, and her platinum blonde hair was curled into perfect ringlets. Her makeup was flawless along with the rest of her. Kate took one look at Rachel and winced.

"You're wearing that?" she asked looking her up and down.

Rachel had on a pair of black dress pants, and a plain blue button up blouse. Her hair was loose, but brushed, and she never wore makeup.

"What's wrong with this? Were just looking at art right?" Rachel asked.

Kate shook her head at her clueless roommate.

"Everyone who is someone is going to be at this art auction. Some of these pieces are being sold for well over $300,000!" she exclaimed.

"So, who do I need to impress? And besides I don't have anything nice to wear" Rachel explained.

Kate thought for a second and ran into the room. When she returned she held something Purple.

"Purple is definitely your color" she said throwing the dress at her.

Before Rachel could protest, Kate ushered her into the bathroom to change.

Kate waited passionately on the couch. The door clicked open and she couldn't hold back her smile.

Rachel emerged wearing a one shoulder strap purple gown. Her leg was slightly showing from the slit in the gown, and the thousands of tiny sparkles shown like twinkling stars.

"You look amazing! Now all we need to do is fix your hair and do your eyes" Kaye said obviously excited.

"You can do my hair but no makeup. It makes my eyes water" Rachel warned. Kate ignored her warning and went to fixing her hair. She ended up putting her hair up with braids that rapped around her head.

"Your hair is so pretty. You should style it more. At least let me put some lip stick on you" Kate said lightly applying some red lip stick.

"There, now you look like one of Gotham's finest young bachelorettes. Who knows, maybe Bruce Wayne will ask you to dance" she said winking. Rachel didn't know who Bruce Wayne was and she didn't care. The only thing she cared about that moment was her outfit that was stashed in a box under her bed. It was calling her name.

"One last thing. You can't wear those hobo boots. I think were the same size. You can wear my black heels in the closet" she said scowling at my shoes.

"No way am I wearing those hooker shoes. I can't run in them" Rachel complained.

"Why on earth would you need to run at a party" Kate asked confused.

Plenty of reasons Rachel thought. She could get attacked, or maybe she needed to chase someone down. Six inch heels complicate things.

"No Kate, besides this dress is long I doubt anyone would notice" she said.

"Ugh fine, but if I attract Bruce Wayne you better make yourself scarce" she said winking.

"Whatever, let's get this over with. I need to study later" Rachel said.

Kate rolled her eyes at her socially awkward friend and grabbed her wrist and pulled her out the door.

What did you guys think of Rachel? Her background is still a mystery and I will reveal it little by little. So far I'm trying to get Bruce to be in character, but I've been out of practice writing so bear with me. College papers have killed some of my writing so I'm trying to practice and get it back.