7-year-old Kye Drees stood in the closet with her two older brothers, listening to the screams of their mother, father, 12-year-old sister, and baby brother be beaten and then shot to death by non other than, Slade Wilson. Kye looked through a small keyhole as her other two brothers were huddled tightly together. She watched one by one as her sibilings and parents fell. Kye then sat down next to her oldest brother, Tyler. Tyler was 11 years old. On the other side of him was their other brother, James. He was only 9. Kye snuggled into her brother, then layed her head on his shoulder, as his arm was wrapped around her, trying to find comfort in everything that was going on. She listened to his pounding heart, waiting for him to say, "it will be ok." However, they had to keep quiet, as there were still footsteps outside the closet. "What do we do now?" James whispered. Kye looked over and saw an air vent. She walked over to it and whispered, "Here!" They crawled in. They crawled around for what seemed like an hour, but was actually 20 minutes. After they found their way, they exited out a vent hole leading into an Alleyway. It was unusually quiet out. They lived in an apartment in east Gothem. East Gothem is the most troubled part of Gothem. Gangs, mafia, drug wars, just name it. Not really the best place to grow up. Once in the Alleyway, the three kids all exchanged the look of, "now what?" They started walking down the street. They knew that their father had been working with a man named Slade Wilson, but they didn't know who he was or what they did together. They knew he was the killer because of their father saying, "Slade is coming for a visit," right before rushing the children into the closet. As the kids started walking, they heard footsteps right behind them. They slowly turned their heads to see Slade. Slade grabbed Tyler and held him in a one-arm lock, holding a gun to his head. "Let him go, you dirt bag!" Kye screamed as she started stepping towards him. Slade then shot at her foot, not actually hitting it. "Take one more step, I dare you." Slade said as he put his finger on the trigger of the gun to Tyler's head. "Run! I'll be ok," said Tyler with tears running down his face. Just then, a shadow started flying in. Out of nowhere, a shadow swooped in on a line and kicked Slade, sending him flying into some garbage cans. Tyler took a hard fall to the ground, but was all right. Kye and James helped Tyler up. They went behind a nearby dumpster to hide as the tall black shadow and Slade battled it out. Kye stuck her head out to watch. Suddenly, Slade stopped fighting and said, "Another day," then ran and disappeared into a dark space between two buildings. The three kids stayed behind the dumpster the whole night. That morning, James and Tyler woke up, but Kye was still awake. It was about 3 in the morning. They watched as some cop cars, an ambulance, and a fire truck went by and pulled up next to their old ratty apartment building. The kids watched as they carried the bodies of their parents, sister, and baby brother out of the building. A tear ran down Tyler and James' faces, but not Kye's. They spent the whole day scavenging for food to eat. They looked through garbage cans and ate scraps of left overs they could find. That night, they slept behind the same dumpster. Kye again, couldn't sleep. She watched her brothers sleep for a few hours. Then, Kye decided to go on a walk. She found a ladder that lead to the top of a twelve story abandoned building. She climbed up it. She walked to the edge and sat down, with her feet hanging off the edge. She could see some of Gotham from her view. Drug deals going on, police sirens, and the highway traffic from the various sports events letting out. She stood there watching the city for half an hour until, a black figure started creeping across the rooftop. Kye gasped and was ready to let out a scream until she noticed; it was the man who saved Tyler from earlier. She then watched him as he came across the roof towards her. Saying nothing, Batman sat next to her and looks out at the city. "Nice night, isn't it," Batman said. "It's alright," Kye said looking down at how high up she was. "Last night. Do you know who that man was?" asked Batman. "Yeah. He worked with my dad on something. I'm not exactly sure on what though. He always told us to call him uncle Slade. I never did, though. I didn't trust him," explained Kye. Batman looked at her. "Did you know it was him when he killed your parents?" he asked. "I had a feeling," admitted Kye. "I wasn't really surprised, though." Batman looked at her. "Why weren't you surprised?" "I knew my dad was involved in the drug wars from letters in the trash I've read. From the letters, I knew Slade was involved," said Kye, "Growing up on the streets of east Gotham, news about people gets around," she continued explaining, "I just don't see what caused him to do this, how could he do this to me? What did I ever do to him?" "That's the thing about Slade. You don't know why or how he does things," said Batman, "He's crazy. Just like any other lunatic in this city. But he's not just crazy, he's smart," he continued, "I suspect he became 'friends' with your father just to get control of the drug wars and mafia, both of which your father was in charge of. From there, he'll get whatever he wants, and one day, maybe even control of Gotham's criminals. He's a dangerous man right now." Kye breathed deeply to hold in her tears, which she has been doing since the tragic night. "It's alright, you can cry," said Batman. "I don't want to start crying," said Kye looking down at her feet, "If I start, I may never stop." Batman looked at her for a few moments. "Sometimes you just need to let it out, you just can't let those emotions get the best of you," said Batman, "Emotion doesn't make you weak, it's what you do with it that makes you weak." A few tears started going down Kye's face. Batman then got up from sitting on the edge, took off his cape, and put it of Kye's shoulders. Kye then stood up. "I don't know what we're gonna do now, or where we're gonna go," said Kye. "I know where to take you guys," Batman responded as he picked Kye up. Kye rested her head on Batman's shoulder as he carried her down from the building. Kye then fell asleep for the first time in over two days. She woke up in commissioner Gordon's office with her brothers.
