First of all, I'm sorry for not updating this story for more than a month, but the reason is that I want this story to be more serious than all my other stories, and some of you might know I have the tendency to turn everything into something funny. I have experienced during the cat to do list series that I am capable to write action etc as well, but it takes a little more time, so I wish you understand. Of course there will be some funny moments during this story, but not as much as my other stories (I think).
Also I want to keep Sean in character as best as I can, because I know how much you all love him, so I don't want to make any characterization mistakes like I've done in the past. It's really great that TEDOG is over-looking a pre-reading the bits and pieces that worry me, and I'm extremely happy that he's helping me out and that he's impressed with the story so far. xD
Guest: Thank you for giving this story a chance and I'm happy you want to read more. And yes, I remembered Sean witnessed the murder as well, and I knew it had to be in this story as well, otherwise Sean's entire backstory would be wrecked and a mob of angry Sean-fans would come after me LOL
Guest: It's been a long time for me as well. I even had to look up certain details to fresh-up my mind, cz in my country they don't air this show so no re-runs either. All I can do is search for subtitles and then try my best to remember the facial expressions etc xD (I really need to get Netflix, but still, it's hard to say if Gotham is still on Netflix)
the other three guests and mitchcharwig15: Also thank you for your feedback, and yes, Sean is still bad-ass in this story. I'm happy you noticed that.
2. Sean Ornelas vs Child Snatchers
Sean ran as fast as he could. He was only back in Gotham less than two weeks and he already witnessed a cold blooded murder in an alleyway, witnessed how two corrupted cops gunned down a man off the docks, and now he was not only chased by the mob and Fish's men and by the two cops but also by a psychopathic man who pretended to work for the Mayor's Homeless Outreach Project.
Only minutes earlier, Sean, Trey, Luke, Haleigh, and Jared walked down the sidewalk when a van honked at them. While the others turned around to see who it was, Sean ducked away into the shadows of a nearby building. After all, everyone was searching for him because he saw too much.
The van halted beside the sidewalk and a middle aged woman wearing glasses stepped out while her partner stepped out from the other side of the van. He was carrying a big basket full of food. The woman told them their names and Trey, Haleigh, Luke, and Jared immediately stepped forward to take some food.
Sean sensed something was not right about the two adults and stayed securely hidden in the shadows. They wouldn't have spotted him if it wasn't for Haleigh to call out his name. When she did that she also had to turn her back toward the two adults, meaning, Patti had a chance to pin something into the back of her neck right after she called for Sean.
The street boy saw her drop to the street, limply. The other three boys did as well, but before they had the chance to even fight, Patti did the same thing with them. Sean saw Doug coming for him and realized he had to bolt.
And that is why he was running now. Doug seemed to be a very fast man, but Sean was still fast enough to outrun him for a big amount of time. Then it became harder because Patti seemed to be very fast with loading the kids into the back of the van and driving after them to catch up her partner. Then they chased Sean all over the city.
Sean tried to duck into nearby alleyways, but he happened to be in the very bad side of the city. Okay, every district in Gotham is bad, but the district he's now at has nothing but buildings that are abandoned for years. They weren't reliable enough for him to climb onto, and those that were reliable enough didn't have reliable fire escapes.
"Shoot," Sean said when he realized he just walked into a dead-end street. He started to feel really stupid for allowing the others taking him to this part of the city. Especially because he had never been there before.
Sean turns around and sees the enemy's van turn into the same street. The young boy starts to scope his surroundings fast and realizes the buildings have no fire escape. The only way for him to escape is by running into one of the buildings and find his way out, or shake them off.
The street boy climbs through a broken window inside then starts looking at the rotten floor boards. If he's carefully enough he will make it to the next room. Outside he can hear the partners in crime argue. Doug wants to give up, but Patti is determined and tells him it's not just a kid that escaped but Sean Ornelas. It seems their boss has his eyes set on him for quite some time and she would definitely get more money if she finally delivers him.
Sean sprints lightly on his feet at the next room and ducks inside waiting behind the wall. Maybe the criminals would be scared at the sight of the floor and give up anyway.
"The name doesn't ring a bell," Doug snarled then peered through the broken window inside. "Besides, I don't see him anymore. He's probably already long gone."
Patti rolls her eyes then shoves her partner aside and starts climbing inside, but Doug stops her.
"Are you crazy? Look at those boards! They won't be able to carry us," Doug said. "Maybe it's best for us to bring those kids to our hideout before they wake up and we have to chase them as well. We know how the kid looks like so next time we'll see him, we'll snatch him!"
Patti scans the floor one more time then says; "Maybe you are right, but you keep your mouth shut. I don't want the boss know Sean Ornelas escaped us, because then we will be sacked."
Sean finally releases the breath he was holding for all that time then peers around the corner of the wall, carefully. The two criminals weren't there anymore. He can hear their van start then the sound fades away as they drive off.
Suddenly his senses of feeling someone's presence kick in, but that was not possible, right? The two criminals wouldn't have split ways without his notice thinking it would be a way to lure him out the building?
Sean scans his eyes through the room. That's when he realizes he's actually in a bedroom, but so far it looks like it's just him. But the hairs in the back of his neck tell him something else. They tell him there is someone else with him.
The street boy listens carefully then hears soft rustlings coming from the bathroom that is attached to the bedroom. There wouldn't be anyone stupid enough to squad the building, right?
Sean holds his breath for a second time then scurries slowly to the bathroom door. Luckily for him the bedroom floor was far more reliable than the living room floor. The boy grabs the door handle then opens it further. Suddenly an orange with white cat fled past his legs.
A yelp of surprise escapes from the boy's throat then glares angrily at the cat who now perched onto the windowsill, looking equally angrily at Sean before jumping through the broken window back to the streets.
"Man, I hate cats," Sean muttered under his breath then decided to head out of the building through the same window. It would be very unwise if he went through the living room again.
The street boy heads for the window and climbs outside, unaware that the cat's owner is still in the bathroom, waiting for him to leave. When she heard the boy heading for the door she was scared he would find and that's why she let her cat slip out. She knew the boy would simply think it was the cat and wouldn't look further.
The girl, Selina Kyle peeks around the corner of the door and found the bedroom empty. When she peered through the crack of the door earlier she saw it was the same boy she saw in the alleyway as well. Still, she didn't know his name. Maybe she should start asking around.
Selina left the same way as Sean and the cat did.
The next day, Sean was asking around if anyone had seen a van with no license plate. Even though he didn't count the other four taken street kids as friends, he didn't want something bad happen to them.
Sean sighs devastated after the tenth person told him he hadn't seen a van like that, and the young street boy started to feel worried. He couldn't stay out in the open for too long because the mob, the cops, and those kidnappers were still looking for him.
The street boy looks around suddenly sensing someone's presence while he was the only one in the alley. When he looks at the rooftops he sees someone ducking down, instantly. Sean frowns.
Instead of leaving, Sean keeps his eyes focused on the rooftop and waits. It takes a few seconds but then a head pop-ups again to check if Sean was still there. When the person saw he was, she instantly ducked back down.
"Great," Sean muttered with an eye roll. "Now I'm being followed by a crazy street girl as well. I knew I should have listened to my gut and not ask that random looking street girl for information."
Sean turns on heels and leaves the alley quickly. The last thing he wanted was adding a stalker to his list of people that couldn't leave him alone. An hour later he returned into the warehouse and noticed most of the street kids already turned in for the night.
"Hey Sean," one of the street boys said who saw Sean coming in. "You just missed her."
Sean frowns confused; "Missed who?"
"A girl, she was asking for you. Although, she asked for a kid that matched your description."
Sean grunts tiredly; "Great. Let me guess, she had long red hair, freckles and wearing a dirty green sweater?"
The boy shakes his head; "Nah, you just described Ivy. Trust me, this girl was way prettier than Ivy. She's also wearing loads of leather. People around here call her Cat. Although, she prefers people to call her Cat."
Sean drags in a long, tight sigh then mumbles; "Great! Of all the animal names she could pick, she picked the animal I hate."
The boy frowns; "What?"
"Nothing," Sean said with a sigh. "It's just that I was looking for her as well, because she witnessed the same thing I did, but now I'm not sure if I still wanna find her. I can't stand cats and prefer to stay away from them as far as I can, including girls named Cat."
The boy nods in understanding; "Yeah, maybe you should. People say she tends to…how you say it…switches sides all the time. She's very untrustworthy."
Sean walks to the corner where his belongings are then sits down on the damp mattrass. Suddenly the warehouse door swings open with force.
"Don't worry, we are only here for Sean Ornelas! Everyone else can leave this warehouse in safety, unless they decide to stay of course! You will most likely get shot down if you do!"
Sean looks up in shock and finds Butch Gilzean and Victor Zsasz standing with riffles. All the street kids start to sprint out like ordered, and the two men start to approach the street boy they were looking for.
"I'm sorry, kid, but you saw too much!" Butch said as Sean starts to rise up from his mattress. "Fish Mooney put a hit on your head, so make it easy for yourself and don't fight back. It will only cause you more pain."
Instead of listening to Butch advice, Sean bolts away to the back of the warehouse. He knows there's a door and his only way out. Sadly, he also knows the door has a habit to jam every now and then. But what other choice does he have?
Sean hears the two men approach while firing around like idiots. The street boy recoils behind everything he can find and can use a shield to protect him for the bullets. Suddenly he sees something move at his left side. When he looks over he spots the two female assassins who most likely came through the back door.
"Crap," Sean said angrily then quickly moved out of the way before they fired at him. Then he instantly sprints to the other side of the warehouse where he takes the stairs to the second floor and decides to climb out through a window.
But before the boy even has a chance to open the window, Butch screams at Zsasz to shoot who obeys instantly. Sean recoils to the ground.
"There's no way left for you to run, kid," Zsasz grinned as he approached Sean slowly. At this point the assassin didn't mind taking it slowly. He knew Sean was trapped like a little bunny, and he enjoyed seeing the fear in the boy's eyes grow when he realized the same thing.
Suddenly Bullock appeared behind Butch and the assassin and fired a bullet into the wall as a warning. The two men turned around in surprise.
"Bullock, what are you doing here?!" Butch yelled angrily.
Bullock smirks then Jim pops-up as well and replies instead of Bullock; "Fish Mooney gave us clearance to take it from here!"
"Yeah right," Butch said then grabbed his phone and saw he had a missed call from Mooney, but she had left a message saying that if he dared to shoot Sean Ornelas she would skin him alive. She wanted the boy to be hand over to her, alive. She trusted Bullock and Jim to do that for her.
Butch rolled his eyes annoyed then said; "Zsasz, you can leave. Mooney wants the kid alive!"
Zsasz sighed displeased then left. Sean instantly jumped to his feet and climbed out the window. No way he wanted to be delivered to Fish Mooney. She most likely will force him to be her entertainment. He heard her saying once how hot and good looking he was and that he would make her rich by using him as pole dancer or something.
Butch fired his gun at the boy then Bullock stopped him.
"What part of delivering him alive is not what you get?!"
Butch scowls angrily; "There's no harm in wounding him, unless you want to chase him all over town again!"
Jim sprinted to the window and looked outside then watching how agile Sean climbed down a drain pipe to the street and vanished into the distance.
"We have to chase him again, because neither of those bullets hit him," Jim said with a relieved sigh.
Butch scowls even more; "If I don't know any better I would think you are happy that kid isn't wounded!"
"Are you accusing my partner for not being loyal?!" Bullock roared.
Instead of replying the detective's question, Butch turned one-eighty then walked back down the stairs and left the warehouse.
Sean looks at his hands and feet suddenly noticing they are way smaller than usually. Also he appears to be looking very short of his age. Wait a minute, if he didn't know better he would think he's just a little older than seven years old. What happened to him?
The street boy starts to frown even more when he notices his surroundings. He's not in the cold, damp, empty house he squatted for the night, but he's actually in a fancy, clean looking mansion. But how?
"Sean, be a good boy and let your daddy finish these files for work, okay?"
The street oy frowns then turns around and finds a man sitting on the couch. Well, he sees the man's silhouette, because everything else about the man is blurry. Why is that?
Suddenly the doorbell rings and for some strange reason he feels exited. As if it's a very special day but he can't remember why. The doorbell rings for the second time and Sean feels himself skip toward the front door.
"Sean, wait. You know you can't open the door without my permission," Sean heard the man say, but before the man could stop him, Sean already opened the door and found a teenage girl and a boy around the same age as him. Just like with the man, Sean could only see their silhouettes.
Sean feels himself being lifted up then realizes it's the man holding him protectively while he opens the door further to see who visited them.
"Hiya Mr. Ornelas!" the girl cried with glee. "Today it's Bruce Wayne's seventh birthday and I wanted to take him to the park, but I was wondering if Sean wants to come as well?"
The man thinks for a moment then shakes his head; "Sorry, Cat, but Sean is really energetic today and that means he can become an exploding bomb and you'll end up chasing him all over…"
Wait a minute, she's energetic as well. Neither of the babysitters can catch up with Sean, but she might actually can. Also, this means I can finish those files and-
"You know what, Cat? You actually are a lifesaver," the man said then Sean feels himself being pushed, literally, into the girl's arm. He starts to bounce into her arms, ecstatically.
Like a cat that finally got her food, the girl darts off with him and the other boy.
"You both will look totally awesome when I'm done with you," the girl purrs while she holds his hand and the other boy's hand and walk down the sidewalk. But then, out of nowhere, some boys and girls around their age start to shout very mean words at them.
"Look, the two ugly billionaire trolls are friends!" the oldest of the group guffawed and his friends followed his cue.
Sean feels an anger burning inside of him, but for some strange reason he also feels scared and finds himself wrapped around the girl for protection, all the sudden.
The girl puffs her chest that reminds Sean of a very angry cat then starts chasing the oldest boy and knocks him to the ground.
"Listen, you little spoiled brat!" the girl shouted into the boy's face. "You are so lucky I don't hit little boys, because if I did you would be pulp by now! But trust me when I tell you this; I know where you live and I absolutely have no problems with beating you to pulp in the future!"
Sean is confused. What does she mean with that?
The girl skips back to him and the other boy then clutches them both around her waist again. Sean looks up at her face seeing nothing but a blurry smile. He didn't mind. For some weird reason he felt still safe being with her.
"They always call us ugly," Sean heard himself say. "Are we ugly…" Sean really wants to add a name, but for some strange reason he can't seem to remember it. How did the man in the mansion call her again?
"No, you both are very handsome, and you're going to be even more handsome in the future, trust me!" the girl said with a nice voice. She even sounds sincere, and if Sean didn't know any better he would think she actually means it. But he does know better. Those kids he doesn't remember their names are right, he is an ugly troll. "Girls will be fighting over you!"
The other boy's mouth drops agape; "Really?"
Sean watches how the girl shakes her head rapidly then says; "No, not really. But that's because I do all the fighting. The girls just run because they are scared of me."
Sean smiles then notices he's puffing his chest and says; "When I'm older, I'm going to marry you,…" What was her name again?
"Yes, me too!" the other boy yipped excitedly.
The girl starts to blush then puts her hand over her heart and says; "Oh, my darling Kitty Toys! This kitty wants nothing else than be your girl."
Okay, this is becoming extra weird now. Why is she calling us like that?
Sean looks at the girl then noticing that parts of her face starts to become more clear. He can see her eyes, they are green. He can see her lips forming into a smile, and her cheeks...
"SEAN, WAKE UP!"
The street boy jolts up in surprise looking straight into Haleigh's face. At first he's staring at her very angry for waking him up from a dream that seemed to be a new puzzle piece of his past. He had many dreams like this one before, only slightly different but always with this girl in it. And this was the first time he actually came to the point to uncover her face. He was so close of identifying her.
"Why are you looking angry at me?" Haleigh gasped. "Aren't you glad to see me again? I mean, we were kidnapped! They wanted to ship us away from Gotham!"
Haleigh didn't wait for Sean to reply and buried her head into Sean's lap for comfort. The street boy however, started to feel very uncomfortable and pushed her away.
"Haleigh, you know I don't like to get this close," Sean said then suddenly frowns; "Wait, how did you even know I was here? I just squatted this place a few hours ago."
Luke shrugged; "We asked around and someone saw you heading in here."
Sean scowls; "Then I'll better leave again."
"Why?" Haleigh asked.
Sean stands up then as he grabs his stuff together he replies; "Because Fish's men are looking for me, including the cops. She asked them to bring me to her, alive."
"What?!" Trey gasped. "What did you do, man?"
Sean puts his stuff into his bag then replies; "I witnessed too much! I'm sorry, I'm glad you guys are alright and found a way to escape yourself-
"Yeah, Trey kicked their asses with some moves he taught from you, which reminds me; you really have to teach me those material arts moves as well."
Sean shakes his head; "Sorry Haleigh, but you have to find another tutor. I'm leaving Gotham, permantly."
"WHAAT?!" the group of street kids shouted all at once then Haleigh adds; "Sean, you can't leave us! We promised each other to stick together!"
Sean grabs the door; "Sorry guys, but this is the best option. As long the cops, Fish's assassins and Butch are after me, no one is safe around me. I'll have to leave."
Without saying another word, Sean Ornelas heads out and disappears into the darkness, wondering if he would ever be able to return to Gotham and find out what happened to his parents.
The next morning Sean sits on the bench waiting for the bus when two women beside him start to talk about some kid that ran straight through a restaurant's window, and it appeared it all happened the previous night.
Sean decided to take no notice of it until one of them said to the other; "My boyfriend works at the GCPD and he told me that the kid claimed to be attacked by a woman with a big pin. They just think he's making it up, but still, you never know these days."
"Yeah, you could be sitting next to a notorious street tug without even knowing it," the other woman commented.
Sean starts to swift awkwardly. Okay, he's not notorious, as far as he knows anyway, but he is kinda a street tug. But not that type that robs old ladies, but it still felt really awkward.
The street boy looks at his watch. It looks like the bus won't be there for another fifteen minutes. Going into a nearby shop to buy some food is out of the question. Detective Bullock might have left posters of him.
Sean sighs then wraps himself up a little further into his sweater and jacket. Not that he's cold, but mainly because he doesn't want anyone to see his face, so he pretends he's cold.
Suddenly he feels the hair in the back of his neck rise. Usually it means someone is watching him. The street boy turns his head then sees a small figure hide away behind a tree.
"Great, she's back," Sean mumbled to himself when he recognized the green blur, meaning it was his stalker, Ivy. Yup, he definitely shouldn't have asked her about the van.
Sean decided to ignore her. Soon the bus arrived she wouldn't have to money to step on the same bus anyway.
"Hi," a tiny voice suddenly said and when the street boy looked up he saw the red haired girl standing next to him. Her face was turning as red as her hair. "You asked me about that van the other day, and last night my friend was almost kidnapped by the people who drove the van you described."
Sean shrugs; "Almost kidnapped means she got away, so why you tell me?"
"Because those who were with her weren't that lucky," Ivy replied. "My friend can see in the dark and she saw their faces. I told her about you and that you might be able to help find those other street kids."
Sean frowns; "Then why are you here alone?"
"Well, she can be very territorial and dominant, especially around boys," Ivy said with smile then adds; "Especially boys that are as cute looking as you are." Then realizing she said that out loud she quickly says; "But you don't need to worry, I will stay the in-between person so you don't have to meet her face to face. It's better that way because she will most likely nuzzle you to pulp."
Sean looks at the girl, bemused and suddenly has a flash of himself being nuzzled by a chestnut haired girl. He happens to have to those flashes a lot since he returned in the city. Who could she be?
"Yeah, you know what, I'll pass," Sean said when he saw the bus coming their way. "I was planned to leave the city, so your friend should warn the police or something."
Sean stands up from the bench then walks to the side of the sidewalk to be the first allowed to step in. Ivy steps instantly beside him again.
"But they have Zeb, and the cops arrested Macky thinking he used drugs before he fell into that restaurant."
Sean sighs annoyed; "Look, I have other things on my mind, okay? If you and your friend don't trust the cops then try look for Trey. He might wanna help you out, because he and some of his friends escaped from those kidnappers meaning; they know where their hideout is."
Ivy shakes her head; "No, Trey always hangs out with Luke and Haleigh and Cat can't stand them!"
"Wait, Cat? Cat is your friend?" Sean asked with a much more bemused look than earlier. "Okay, I'm definitely out of here!"
Sean wants to step into the bus but Ivy stops him.
"You know Cat? How?"
Sean grabs her with both hands then pushes her away and says; "Look, tell your crazy cat-loving friend that she can stop searching for the kid with my description because I left the city!"
"What? She already searched for you?!" Ivy gasped, but Sean ignored her and steps inside the bus. As more people step in behind him he can hear the little girl scream a word that starts with a B and ends with itch.
Sean sits down in a seat by the window and can't help himself and looks outside to see what the red haired girl is doing. That's when he sees another girl, slightly older then him coming outside a nearby shop. She's wearing indeed a lot of leather plus an old grey hoodie that covers her hair. She has goggles on top of her head.
"Goggles to simulate cat ears," Sean mumbled sarcastically to himself. "Not weird or creepy at all."
The girl spots the red haired girl and calls out her name. The red haired girls spins around in anger before sprinting toward her friend like an angry bull.
"Sean Ornelas just stepped onto that bus and that is your fault!" People were still stepping in so that's why Sean could hear every word, plus, Ivy screamed very loudly.
The girl with the goggles placed her hands onto her hips than exclaimed back; "What the fuck are you talking about, Ivy?! I don't know anyone with the name Sean Ornelas, so why would it be my fault if this Sean character leaves?!"
"Ugh, I told you about him last night and specifically called dibs on him, because I saw him first! But no, you had to look for him yourself and snatch his cute little butt right from under my nose!"
"As I was saying; I don't know anyone named Sean Ornelas!"
"Then why were you looking for him?!"
"I was not! All I did was asking some kid about another kid I saw. A kid wearing dark leather, Nike shoes and dark hair!"
Ivy's face turned as red as her hair then bellows; "You practically described Sean Ornelas, you idiot, so how dare you to say you don't know him?!"
"Because I don't-" Cat said then looks at the bus that drove off and saw Sean sitting in the seat by the window. Then she suddenly gets it. "Oh."
Ivy rolls her eyes; "Oh? Oh?"
Cat ignores her friend then whispers; "So your name is Sean Ornelas, huh?"
Ivy noticed the dreamy look on Cat's face; "Don't you dare dreaming of him and you driving off into the sunset, you bitch!"
"I don't know how to ride a horse, but I would definitely like to take lessons if he happens to be the tutor!"
Ivy bursts into anger then roars; "I called DIBS! DIBS, YOU HEAR ME, DIBS!"
"Awe, you two look so freaking adorable!" a girl's voice cried ecstatically then Sean looks up and sees an image of himself in the mirror. He's wearing a black leather jacket, black shirt, black pants and black Nikes.
Sean turns his head aside and sees the other boy wearing a denim pants with a brownish sweater and a black leather jacket along with black combat boots.
Then the girl squeezes him and the other boy into a hug and for some weird reason he feels himself gloat. I few minutes later they enter Gotham Park and head over to the swings.
"I don't want to swing too high, because I'm scared of heights," the other boy said as he sits down into the swing.
Sean puffs his chest bravely and says; "I'm not scared of heights at all. You can swing me up as high as possible!" The little boy sits down as well, and the girl promises them both to do what they wishes. So, she starts swinging Sean's swing rapidly, while swinging the other boy's swing gently. They both giggle in joy, telling her to go faster.
And faster they go.
30 minutes later they grow tired of the swing and decided to take the slide. The girl helps them to climb up the little ladder then settles herself parallel with the slide and takes both boys onto her lap. They clinch onto her to make sure they won't fall during the slide.
They giggle with pleasure as they slide down then the girl drops them onto the ground at the bottom of the slide and starts tickling their bellies. They squirm, squeal and laugh loudly, and the girl has no mercy for them, and they don't seem to mind as they tell her to tickle faster.
"Kid!"
Sean opens his eyes with a jolt and stares straight into the bus driver's face.
"This is the end of the line. You have to leave this bus."
The street boy frowns then looks around and wants to ask the driver where they are, but the man already walked back to the front, impatiently. Sean decided to find out himself. It's not like he has never been in a unknown town before.
The young boy walked down the streets to look for a street sign when he suddenly saw a large man and a bald man. They both grinned at him and if Sean didn't know better he would say they look exactly the same as Butch and Zsasz. Then it hits him. Those two men are Butch and Zsasz, but how did they know he would be here?
"Don't you dare to run, kid!" Butch said with a threatening tone in his voice.
Sean ignores the warning and starts to run away as fast as he can. The two criminals follow in tow. Then they separate and while Butch proceeds running after Sean, Zsasz tries to take a short cut and arrives straight in front of the street boy.
The street boy grabs a nearby fire escape ladder and starts climbing up to the roof. Butch then tells Zsasz he scared of heights and the sociopath has to pursued Sean on his own. Not that me minds. He loves the little cat and mouse game.
Sean kept running across the building rooftop then saw the alleyway between the two buildings ahead of him. Sean can already see the gap is too big for him to leap over, but he's not the type to give up instantly.
The boy momentums his speed as he approaches the gap between his building and the next then without any hesitant, Sean takes the leap only finding out what he already was afraid of.
"AAGH!" Sean screamed as he felt his toes touch the next building's rooftop edge before he fell backwards then landed with a painful thud into an open dumpster.
Zsasz grins pleased then starts sprinting down the fire escape ladder and grabs the young street boy outside the dumpster and shoves him up against the alley wall.
"You had a nice run, Sean. I want you to know that," Zsasz smirked.
Butch arrived in the alley as well then yells; "Don't kill him, Zsasz. Fish wants him alive, remember?"
"What does she want from me?" Sean yelled as he tried to wriggle himself free, but Zsasz put his foot in front of Sean's and made him knock to the ground. Then he pinned the boy down while Butch tied both hands behind his back. "LET ME GO!"
Both men ignored Sean's screams then tossed him in the back of their van and sped back to Gotham city. A few hours later they dragged him into Fish Mooney's club.
"Ah, there's my new entertainment," Fish said with glee and sweeps toward the men and the street boy, holding his chin with her long fingers. "You are a clever young boy, escaping my men like you did earlier. But sadly we saw you stepping on that bus and Butch and Zsasz had to follow it all the time waiting for you to step out."
Sean jerks his head away then barks; "Just let me go, you crazy bitch!"
"Now, now, Sean. That's not very friendly of you. Maybe I should keep you locked up for a while until you know who's the boss."
Fish made a flick with her fingers which meant for Butch to lock Sean up in her office. Butch obeyed instantly. Sean fell with a painful thud onto the office floor then he left, leaving the door open so they could keep an eye on him.
Sean knows it's no use to shout at them and instead starts to untie his ropes. Sadly the knots are too tight for him to loosen on his own. The street boy sighs in defeat.
Slowly his mind wanders back to the dreams he had earlier. For some reason it didn't feel like dreams but memories. Memories that his subconscious tried to unravel. But why? And why it suddenly started soon he stepped foot in Gotham? Or better yet, soon after he witnessed that awful crime in the alleyway. Was it connected with each other somehow?
"Pst!"
Also, who was the boy, the man, and the strange girl? The man spoke about himself as his dad, and the girl revered to him as Mr. Ornelas, so could it be his dad?
"Psst!"
Also, why are their faces always a blur? It's like he remembers each and every other detail except their faces. Why is that?
Suddenly a tiny pebble hits the back of the street boy's head and pulls him out of his thoughts. Just when he tries to turn his head, a girl starts to speak at him.
"Don't turn around! They can see you sit, and if you move you will alert them," the girl whispered. Then Sean heard the window behind him open up more and felt a breeze of fresh air down his neck.
Even though the girl moved very lightly on her feet, Sean was still able to hear her approach him from behind. Then he saw Butch peeking inside and he kept his face straight, pretending he was doing nothing to be suspicious about. Butch left again.
"Who are you, and what are you doing?"
Sean feels the girl's fingers tough his wrists as she tries to untie the knots. For some weird reason it makes him jolt up momentarily. It was as if a tiny spark of electricity flew through his body that started like spark then tossed and turned inside his heart. It was the weirdest feeling he ever experienced. Why?
"Ugh, the knots are too tight," the girl whispered then Sean heard the klick of a knife. The young street boy fears the worst and wants to object, but then she covers his mouth before he can and whispers into his left ear; "Relax, I'm only gonna cut them loose."
Sean starts to shake his head rapidly fearing she might actually cut him by accident.
"Just trust me, okay?" the girl whispered and Sean realized he had no other option then obey.
Suddenly he heard a sniffing sound and felt something itch in the back of his neck.
"Wait, what are you doing?" Sean asked when the tingly feeling made his heart race faster and faster.
The girl chuckles; "Sorry, you're hair smells so nice. I couldn't help myself."
Sean's eyes widens in shock; "Wait, please tell me you are not that creepy red haired girl that has been following me all day."
"Ivy? No way?"
The girl starts to cut the ropes.
"Then who are you?"
Instead of replying Sean's question, the girl proceeds cutting the ropes then when they are finally off, she whispers in his ear; "Wait a few seconds for me to leave then when they are not looking, sneak out the same way I did. I'll leave the window open for you."
Sean hears the girl's tiny footsteps head back to the window and he really wanted to turn around to see who she actually was, but before he could Butch stepped back into the doorway to check up on him. Obviously the girl was already out otherwise Butch would have seen her.
The street boy throws a very icy glance at Butch while pretending his hands are still tied. Butch seems satisfied and leaves again. Sean doesn't hesitant any longer and jumps to his feet then rushes to the window and climbs out.
The alley behind the nightclub is completely empty and Sean quickly sprints away as fast as he could.
Sean climbs off the rooftop down a fire escape then lands straight in front of Luke who happened to walk down the same alley. The boy's face turns into a scowl the moment he sees Sean.
"Why are you still here?!"
Sean folds his arms then says sarcastically; "Hi to you too, Luke! Don't let me stop you from searching leftover food in the garbage bins."
"I was not…" Luke tried to say but realized Sean knew him too well and quickly said; "As if you never search for leftover food!"
Sean wrinkles his nose in disgust; "No, I just walk into a restaurant's kitchen and pretend I'm working there then take a nice plate and steal it."
"That actually works?" Luke asked with a baffled look.
Sean nods his head then says; "Why don't you try it yourself? Fish Mooney replaces her employees like a normal person replaces his toothbrush, so she kinda lost track so it's easy for everyone to pretend he's working there. You really should try it tonight."
"Nah, I'm too busy tonight, but I'll try another time," Luke said, believing each and every word Sean said. "But ehm, weren't you planned to leave Gotham?"
Sean frowns; "Sounds like you want to get rid of me."
"Nah, it's not that. I mean, the cops are rounding up all the street kids and send them upstate, but we all know where they will send you if they catch you. Just a warning, that's all."
Sean punches Luke's arm friendly as he walks around him and says; "Thanks for the warning, Luke. I'll make sure I'm staying away as far from the cops as I can. But for now I decide to stay in Gotham a little while longer."
"How so?"
Sean shrugs casually; "You know how much I like helping other people out, right? Well it seems more kids got kidnapped. A creepy red haired girl told me."
"Yeah, but detective Bullock and the newbie, Jim Gordon, already found them. That's why the mayor decided to round up all the street kids and send them upstate. Their brains are like; no street kids no street kid snatchers. Weird right?"
Sean looks thoughtfully; "How many kids are already captured?"
"This morning the cops attacked the Flea and took all the street kids that weren't able to escape in time. Luckily we weren't there so our small group is save."
Sean nods understandably then tilts his head sideways and asks; "But you and the others escaped the child snatchers, right?"
Luke nods; "Yeah."
"Can you remember were they taken you? I mean, if you escaped you somehow must have recognized the area to get back here, am I right?"
Luke widens his eyes and backs away; "Sean, if you think I'm gonna bring you to that place so you can safe those other kids, you are out of your mind!"
Sean rolls his eyes; "I don't want you to bring me there, I want you to tell me where it is! I'm gonna go there, save those kids then leave the snatchers tied so the cops can arrest them."
"That's suicide, Sean. They were with a big group, how are you gonna defeat them?!"
Sean folds his arms then looks nonchalantly; "But if you rather want to look over your shoulder every time you hear a car approach fearing it might be the snatchers, be my guest."
Sean turns one-eighty and starts walking outside the alley until Luke stops him.
"Fine! I tell you were it is! But don't blame me if it turns out you can't defeat them and your being sliced into pieces by their boss."
Sean frowns; "You know their boss?"
"Yeah! We overheard them and they mentioned a certain Mr. Dollmaker. And we all know who that is."
Sean rubs the sides of his head; "Neither of us knows who that is, Luke. We only heard stories that could easily be lies to fear children and so they will not stray too far from home. I mean, it's probably just like that Court of Owls story."
"Hey, do not mention that name, man!" Luke exclaimed then darted his eyes around in fear. "They are real, and I've seen one of their talons chasing someone, okay? If they hear you mention their name…
Sean rolls his eyes annoyed then leaves without saying a word.
A few hours later the young street boy finds himself across the road where the child snatcher's warehouse is located. He had to wait till nightfall before a vehicle finally drove into the direction of the warehouse.
At first the young boy frowned when he saw it was a bus, but when he read the side of the bus that said "Gotham Juvie Service" he knew enough.
"It looks like the cops screwed up, again!" Sean thought to himself as he shook his head in disappointment. "Idiots."
Sean waited for the bus to enter the building then climbed from his hiding spot and sprinted across the road and ducked away against the wall nearby the entrance. Then when the roll down door was almost fully rolled down, Sean rolled underneath then quickly scrambled behind some nearby crates.
The street boy waited quietly wondering if someone might have seen him. But when the minutes pass and no one grabs him from his hiding spot, Sean knows it's safe enough to take a peek. When he does he sees the woman, Patti, standing nearby the open bus door and directs a long trail of street kids from the bus to a pair off transport crates.
"There you go, kids," Patti said as the trail of kids went on and on. "Don't worry, everything is going to be alright!"
When the last kid in line had left the bus and trotted over to the crate, Patti walked at her partner in crime, Doug, and started to whisper something Sean couldn't hear. But when the woman turned back to the bus and stepped inside, Sean figured one of the street kids must have stayed behind to hide.
"Clever," Sean thinks to himself, impressed. "But are you sneaky enough to not be found by her?"
Suddenly a young girl wearing lots of leather dashed outside the bus then dropped herself to the ground and rolled under the bus. It went all really fast, and if Sean had blinked at that moment he would have missed it.
Patti leaves the bus a few seconds later then walks at her partner and said; "Nope! Weird!"
"Must have been a miscount someplace," Doug said. Never mind, we have more than enough."
Patti nods then holds her hand up and the crime couple make a victory high five.
"We did good!"
Doug laughs; "Indeed we did, haha!"
Sean rolls his eyes then mumbles to himself; "Yeah, laugh while you still can. I will wipe it off your faces soon."
Suddenly Sean spots the street girl behind the kidnappers and she steals a few glances at them before disappearing to the back of the warehouse.
Sean starts to make a plan in his head and starts to realize Luke was right, there are a lot of them. But he had fought with big groups of criminals before. He just had to be extra smart and extra careful. All he had to do was wait for them to separate then take them out one by one.
Suddenly a painful scream echoed through the warehouse and everyone looked around in alarm. Even Sean peered over the top of the crates and saw a man scrambling over to his partners while covering a big part of his face with both hands. Sean could see it was bleeding horribly.
"Alright, calm down and tell us what happened," Patti said as she and Doug stepped closer.
The man proceeds to scream on for a moment then exclaimed full of pain; "My eyes. She scratched me!"
Sean frowns. That girl must be pretty strong if she manages to make a fully grown man bleed like that just by scratching his face.
"Calm down and let us see the damage," Patti said with a tone of voice that was dripping with sarcasm. Obviously she thought the man was making a fuss out of nothing.
The man sank through his knees then removed his hands and showed his face. All of the gasped slightly, and even Sean had to cover his mouth in disgust because his stomach was about to spill all its content.
"How did she do that?" Sean thought in horror as the man looked up at Patti with his empty eye sockets. Then he recoiled to a tiny ball and sobbed on.
Patti rolls her eyes then tells Doug to patch the man up as best as he can while she beckons a few others to follow her.
Sean watches them leave then as Doug patches up the wounded man, the street boy scurries from his hiding spot and sneaks stealthy upon Doug from behind. Then Doug's world becomes black right after Sean hit the back of his head with a pipe.
"Wait, what happened?" the wounded man asked as he moves his head from side to side. Sean decided to just ignore the man and sprinted to the back of the warehouse to see if he could take out the others as easily as he had taken out Doug.
While the young boy sneaks between the crates he spots one man searching for the girl. Sean instantly ducks into the shadow then waits for the man to walk past him. When he does the street boy launches himself onto the man's back then takes him out quietly by pressing a pressure point at the back of the man's neck.
Sean looks pleased at his handiwork. It was really a good thing to study human anatomy and learn the locations of useful pressure points. Now he could easily make them unconscious without killing them.
The street boy quickly sprints further down the warehouse then meets a new opponent quickly only this time his opponent spots him as well.
"Freeze kid, before I shoot you!" the man roared then aimed his gun onto Sean but the street boy ignores the threat and kicks the weapon from the man's hand with a painful blow. The man screamed in pain; "How did you do that?!"
Sean grabs the gun then scowls; "Just like this"
And with that, Sean used the back of the gun to smack the man's face and knock him unconscious with a second blow of his fist.
"You are a very naughty little girl!" Sean heard Patti say then turned around in alarm and saw the girl standing on a pile of crates.
Sean instantly sprinted over then saw another figure heading over the same way. He saw it was detective Gordon. Then he heard a soft click of a gun and realized the woman was planned to just shoot the girl. A few seconds later he heard a body falling to the ground.
"Hi, what's your name?" Sean heard detective Gordon ask and realized he had saved the girl in time.
The girl snorts; "Why is that your business?"
"Jimbo, guess what! I found this pervert unconscious and there are two other unconscious bastards in the back!"
Sean froze when he heard the voice because it belonged to none other than Harvey Bullock. That's when the street boy realized he had to run before they would find him and bring him back to Fish Mooney to become her male stripper or pole dancer. And that is not a career that Sean had in mind.
"Who do you think did that?"
Jim shrugs; "I don't know. Maybe one of them turned on the others?"
Cat steals glances at the two detectives below then spots something in the corner of her eyes, and when she looks over she sees a young boy wearing lots of dark leather clothes sprinting outside through the back door.
A soft curl forms on her face then it turns into a smirk as she faces the two clueless detectives who still try to figure out what happened, and she says; "Man, you two really suck! I mean, you claim to be cops and yet you show up when Sean Ornelas practically completed your job for you! Yeah, allow that detail wander around in your tiny brains for a while, because-
Bullock kicked angrily at the lowest crate then the entire pile tumbled down with Cat and all.
…Sean Ornelas rocks and you two suck!" Cat's voice continued from under the pile of crates. "Also, Ouch!"
"Kitty toy, Sean-y!"
Sean opens his eyes then jerks up straight noticing he's inside his resent squatted house. Again, he had the same dream, only this time he could see the girl's entire face and it was the same face as the street girl that stood on those crates. The street girl with the leather clothes. The street girl named Cat.
The street boy doesn't know why she stalks him in his dreams, but he's determined to find out. Yes, he promised himself to stay away from cats and girls named Cat, but at this point he needs to know more things about her.
Sean lies back into his pillow then when he closes his eyes the girl's face and her sparkling green eyes play on his retina. Sean sighs deep then tries to shake the memory away.
"For now it's better if I look for her and watch her from afar, because she still is a cat-lover, and I am not," Sean thinks to himself. "Only because she's a girl from my memory doesn't mean she was my friend. Maybe she pretended to be my friend working for the people who killed my parents. Yes, that's it, because no one would like to be friends with an ugly troll like me unless they get paid."
Suddenly Sean gets the eerie feeling someone is watching him, and when he opens his eyes he sees the red haired girl's face hovering over his.
"Hi Sean!"
"AAAGH!"
Cliff-hangar, yes! sorry about that. Poor Sean, right? As if a crazy assassin, a possessive Fish Mooney, Butch, and two detectives aren't already enough for him to deal with. Nope, Ivy has her eyes set on him, Haleigh has her eyes set on him, and Selina (Cat) as well. I'm thinking to refer to Selina as Cat during this story for a while, unless you think Selina is better. Let me know xD
Also, you might have noticed some parts with Selina alone were missing. I did this on purpose because I don't want this story to be a re-written story from the show and have Sean in every scene like some people do with their OC. Not that there's something wrong with it if you do, but I rather want this to be a Sean back-story.
I imagine some of you might gasp at this point and want to throw away your device, and I wish you haven't done it yet, because there is no reason to do that. I am planned to have Sean and Selina meet face to face eventually. I mean, in the show Selina disappeared for a few episodes, right? What was she doing all that time, huh, huh? If Sean was a character in the show she would most likely try to woo him LMAO. In all seriousness, I'm planned to cover those blanks with my own ideas, and TEDOG's.
Anyway, it's time to post this one. Let me know your thoughts about this addition, because you know how much I like to read them xD