Chapter 1: First Encounter
~Gotham Museum~
Reporters crowded outside the building shouting questions as Police Commissioner Gordon plowed his way through. Policemen stopped the reporters from crossing the yellow tape as the Commissioner made his way into the museum, he was not really sure what to expect.
Most of the damage was in the left wing of the museum which was covered in shattered glass with artifacts sprawled across the exhibit. As he scanned the scene he felt a familiar presence watching from the shadows.
He promptly made his way to an empty staff room, not bothering to turn around he questioned the figure he knew was there. "What the hell happened here?"
"Paradox." A gruff voice responded. "He was apparently looking for some sort of fossil that was recently transferred to the museum."
"Did he find it?" Gordon could tell something was off with the Batman after all these years he had never shown so much as a hint of wear battling all the criminals Gotham turns out, but tonight was different.
Batman was exhausted both physically and mentally Gordon could tell because he knew the feeling all too well. "We received several calls reporting a bright flash of light and an explosion from within the museum the first cars on the scene found the security guards pretty roughed up. They claimed a man calling himself Paradox broke in and questioned them regarding the whereabouts of the new fossils that were supposed to be in the exhibit and I think you know the rest."
He nodded.
"So you care to fill me in?" Gordon eyed the man quizzically.
"You know as much as I do. I have no idea where he disappeared to but I intend to find out."
Before the Commissioner could respond he was gone the curtains fluttering from the breeze through the open window.
'There is something he is not telling me.'
"Excuse me, Commissioner we need you on the scene." An officer called from the door.
He paused for a moment then closed the window, "I'll be right there."
~Party in LA~
Pushing her way through the throng of costumed teens Jazmine made her way to the gate surrounding the massive home, atop a stone pillar a small girl sat dressed like a cat.
The young girl hopped off the pillar and went to Jazmine mouth turned down into a frown. "Where is Kris?"
"I don't know but we need to find her."Jazmine responded anxiously. "Mom just texted me and said she got off early and is on her way home right now!"
The young girls eyes widened then she burst into laughter. "Oh Kris is so gonna get it."
"It's not funny we are all dead if mom finds out about this Emily." Jazmine stated uneasily plucking at the frills on her dress.
"I am going to be fine I didn't dress up in a skimpy French maid costume or an Arabian hooker after mom told us specifically not to dress like skanks." Emily grinned from ear to ear but then sighed deeply after noticing her elder sisters forlorn face. "Look we'll find her, plus if we hurry we can make it back before mom and if all else fails we'll just blame it all on Kris. After all she was the one driving."
The two girls set out to find Kris, after several minutes of searching through the mansion and shoving their way through the masses of drunken teens they found their sister in a spare bedroom but she was not alone.
"Kristen! You scuz bucket, get your ass in gear we gotta go!" Emily shouted scowling at her sister and her male companion.
Jazmine's cheeks were crimson while she turned away quickly, Kristen jumped from the bed mumbling a string of curses as she adjusted her costume. Before she could respond Jazmine interrupted to tell her about their mother.
A look of horror spread across her face as realization dawned on her. She knew that if they didn't make it back in time and their mother learned where they were tonight she would be finished.
Kristin bolted across the drive way flanked by her sisters, fumbling with her keys when they got to the car. "Crap, Crap, Crap."
"Are you okay to drive?" Eyeing her sister worriedly Jazmine reached for the keys.
"I'm good, just a lil buzzed."
"Buzzed driving is drunk driving." Emily scoffed.
"Shut up!" Kristen yelled climbing behind the wheel.
They all buckled up as Kristen barreled down the empty road.
"Do you think you could slow down?" Emily asked, clutching the door handle.
"You said we needed to make it back before mom!"
"Yeah, but I also meant we needed to get back ALIVE!" Emily gulped nervously she had a terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach.
She glanced at the rearview mirror and saw Jazmine's panicked face as she sat stiffly in the passenger seat. "You need to slow down before you kill us."
"It's fine, this is private property there is no one out here -", She was cut of abruptly by a flash of light the girls in front cried out in pain as the lighted blinded them, Emily closed her eyes tightly.
Kristen tried desperately to keep the car on road as her vision blurred.
"KRISTEN STOP!" Emily screeched.
She slammed on the brakes in panic then heard the impact of the windshield cracking as something slammed against it and rolled off the hood as the car came to a screeching halt.
The girls sat in shock breathing shaky as they tried to register what had just happened.
"What the hell was that?!" Kristen screamed.
Emily's face white with shock, eyes wide brimming with tears, "It…It was a kid."
"Oh my god!" Jazmine wailed as she launched from the car rushing to the child, she stumbled and fell shaking her head to clear her vision, feeling her way to the boy.
He was young around Emily's age dressed in a superhero costume; his head was bloody and had several cuts and scrapes from the glass and pavement.
She tenderly placed two fingers against his throat and found a pulse. "He is still alive we need to get him to a hospital."
The two girls stood gawking at Jazmine, "NOW!"
Kristen pulled at her hair, "Mom is gonna murder me."
~At the hospital~
The waiting room of the hospital was crowded while the three sisters waited anxiously after being interviewed by an officer. After which he had called their mother who was on her way, it had been less than 2 hours since the incident, but to them it felt like days.
The entrance doors slid open and two women stormed into the hospital headed towards the girls. The shorter woman reached them first, hazel eyes blazing as the girls rose to meet her.
"Hey mom," Kristen greeted meekly.
"Hey mom? Are you out of your mind Kristen Sullivan?" As her voice rose, the second woman stepped between them her heavier build providing a much appreciated shield for Kristen as she tried desperately to blend into the wall behind her.
The woman paled, a feat for someone of her coloring, as she tried to calm her friend. "Rachel let's not do this here, just calm down and we will all talk calmly outside."
Rachel inhaled deeply and briskly walked towards the door.
"Thanks Nikki." Kristen murmured.
"She is just worried about you she was scared half to death when they called and said you were in an accident." She explained as she ushered them outside before returning to the hospital to get information on the boy.
They found their mother pacing near some tables outside and turned to face them – she was livid. "I should have known better when you said you'd take your baby sister trick-or-treating, but out of all the stupid shit you've pulled—taking them to a party with alcohol and drugs—"
"But mom—"
"Save it. I talked to Hector, the police went and broke up the party after he interviewed you. I just can't believe—and to top it off you were driving drunk and speeding. What the hell were you thinking?"
"Mom — I'm sorry — I didn't mean to." Kristen stammered tears welling in her eyes.
"You didn't mean to?" Rachel laughed in disbelief. "After everything we talked about when you first started driving, you know better Kristen not only did you put your sisters in danger but you could very well be responsible for that boys death because you didn't stop to THINK!"
The girl stared at the ground tears falling on the concrete when her mother pulled her into her arms.
"Don't you ever do anything like this again or so help me I'll….." She trailed off, holding her daughter tightly before pulling all her daughters into her embrace.
They remained that way for a few minutes before Nikki arrived to tell her mother that the doctor was available.
Back in the hospital Rachel met with the Dr. Solomon with whom she was familiar; he explained that the boy had some cuts and bruises, a mild concussion, a broken leg and a few bruised ribs but at the moment his condition was stable.
He also informed her that some of his injuries had been sustained prior to the crash; he had no form of identification on him and the items they found on him were "unusual".
Rachel thanked him for the information and asked that he keep her updated on his condition. She returned to her daughters and delivered the good news for which they were all relieved, Jazmine burst into tears and they laughed playfully at her as they left for home.
Rachel smiled down at them relieved her girls were safe and the young boy was still alive.
However, after discussing with Nikki later on that evening they both had many lingering questions.
Where were his parents? Did they have something to do with his injuries? If not then who did?
~The Next Morning~
The shrill ring of the phone jolted Rachel into consciousness after years on the force noises like that sent her adrenaline skyrocketing.
She picked up the receiver it was Dr. Solomon calling to inform her that the boy was awake.
She glanced at the clock, 6:07am; she ran her fingers through her unkempt hair and chuckled dryly.
"Looks like we got an early bird."
~Later~
She arrived at the hospital nearly an hour later after calling Nikki over to watch the girls. Rachel felt guilty about bothering her friend again, especially this early but after last night she wasn't sure they could be trusted to be left alone.
As for the boy she had seen too many things happen to children on these streets, she felt compelled to make sure that he would be taken care of.
When she entered the hospital Dr. Solomon was waiting for her in the lobby looking disheveled, she raised an eyebrow quizzically, "Is everything alright doctor?"
"It's the boy, he's quite a handful." He replied meekly. "If you'd like you can try and speak with him, you might have better luck than I did."
She nodded following after him, she was curious and slightly amused by how flustered the doctor seemed especially because it took quite a bit to shake up Solomon.
She asked herself silently how bad could he really be and almost as if in response she heard a loud slam down the hall ahead.
They turned the corner and saw 4 orderlies crowding around a door attempting to pry it open, while 2 lay unconscious on the floor.
A squat, middle-aged Hispanic woman stood behind the orderlies back pressed against the wall while barking orders at them.
Rachel walked over to her and introduced herself extending her hand to the woman who eyed her sternly. "Maria Guevara, I am with Child Protective Services. Are you his mother? "
"No, I am the mother of the girls that hit him. I just wanted to make sure he was alright."
"She is also a police officer and I asked her to try and talk with the boy, Rachel is exceptionally good at handling children." Dr. Solomon interjected.
Maria sighed in relief. "That would be greatly appreciated. If you could just get his name that would be a big help."
"No problem, just give me a minute." Maria nodded desperate to be done with the boy she plopped into a lobby chair to wait.
Dr. Solomon relieved the orderlies to allow Rachel time alone with the boy, but stopped her before she entered. "Be careful Rachel he is not a normal child."
She nodded and stepped to the door knocking loudly.
No response.
"This is Detective Rachel Sullivan LAPD Special Victims Unit, I am unarmed and I just want to talk."
She paused and counted to ten. "I'm coming in."
She turned the handle slowly and gently pushed the door open wide enough to toss her badge into the room.
After waiting a moment she cautiously walked inside closing and locking the door behind her.
It was dark in the room the only light coming from the cracked screen of the TV, she didn't see the boy or the badge.
From what she could tell the room was wrecked the bed was overturned, sheets and curtains sprawled in pieces across the floor, furniture was smashed to bits.
She stepped further into the room hands raised. "I didn't come here to hurt you. I just want to talk, the sooner we do the sooner I can get you home."
The hum of machinery was the only thing filling the silence as she waited patiently for a response.
Then the light thump of her badge hitting the ground near her feet caught her attention.
She picked it up attaching it to her belt. "Now you know who I am, may I ask your name?"
Silently a small shadow moved towards her into the dim light he was a young slender boy no older than 13 his expression dour as he looked up at her.
"My name is Damian Wayne."
Disclaimer: I do not own Damian Wayne he is the property of DC, I do however own the OC's used in this story.
A/N: Well that was the first chapter I hope you all enjoyed it please review and let me know what you think.
