I do not own any dc characters. Just Lucy.


"So, this is why you ditched me," Lucy said scaring Jason who was studying at his desk. "Are our conversations too much for you that you started attending school here?" she laughed jokingly. She had quietly climbed through the open window and was looking over his shoulder.

"I didn't ditch you…. Hey!" he yelled as he realized that she was teasing him. Over the past year, Jason and Lucy became close friends as he visited her every day at her little hideaway. Bringing her parts and food as he promised and she gave him a cut of her profits in return. When he wasn't off stealing or cleaning up the neighborhood, he was there watching her take apart laptops or building a computer to sell. Jason enjoyed her company and she enjoyed teasing him.

He sat back in his chair while Lucy climbed the small ladder to his bed and plopped down on top of the covers stretching her arms and legs. "I got caught and I was locked up for about a week." He explained.

"You got caught?" She chuckled. "I figured that was what happened," she said staring at the ceiling. "I had to hack into a G.C.P.D computer to make sure and I found out that you were here. Then break into the school office to see if you were living on campus and what room you were staying in. A lot of hard work for me trying to see if you were ok."

Jason turned in his chair to face her. "Sorry, Lucy. They've been keeping an eye on me these past few weeks so I couldn't really sneak out to tell you."

"Wow, Jay this is nice. A whole room to yourself." She said changing the topic and turning over facing towards him with her head propped up with her arm. "How did you get an opportunity like this?"

"I was able to get into this new program for wayward teens that offers to pay for school as long as I stay out of trouble."

"Ah, so no more stealing computers for me then. Damn what a shame. What am I going to do for parts now?" she said dramatically. Jason stood up and tossed a folded extra blanket at her causing her to turn over and laugh light hardily.

"You damn drama queen." He smirked.

"Who me? Never." She said sarcastically while Jason stood on top of the first step of the ladder to be at the same eye level as Lucy. She turned to prop her head up again to face him only to be startled from how close his face was to hers. Jason stared at her with a plain unamused look on his face and notice the familiar dark half circles under her eyes. It meant that she hasn't been sleeping well the past few weeks, probably due to her worrying about him. He flicked her on the forehead before getting down to sit back at his desk.

"Take a nap while I'm studying. I'll wake you when I'm done." He told her while diving into his homework. Lucy rubbed her forehead blushing before laying down and closing her eyes. It didn't take her long to pass out.


The sound of her computer booting up and the repeat of the question that she was asked, brought Lucy out of a trance. As she was sitting there remembering the last time, she had seen Batman. She was trying to escape the asylum while the Joker was busy spreading chaos throughout the facility. Lucy never thought she could see the day Batman could have such a surprised look on his face when he realized who she was that night. After all, she "allegedly" escaped Arkham a long time ago and was currently missing. He had told her to wait for his return as he took off to take Joker down. She didn't listen then and now here she was with him wanting answers and nothing to distract him from getting them.

"I've been trying to get my life back together. I've been good. I promise." She replies sarcastically as she logs into her computer.

"Do you plan on staying?"

Knowing full well that he meant staying in Gotham, she replies, "I never left Bruce. I just know how to avoid you." Lucy knew how to answer his questions without giving him more information than she needed to and that would satisfy him without him prying for more answers. "I've been battling my demons. Just on my own terms." She started typing away at her keyboard programming updates for her computer since it had been off for about a year. On the other side of her desk stood a figment of the Joker, peering over to see what she was typing on her screen, making comments on her relationship with Batman. Then tried poking at her to give Bruce more details of the things she had done these past two years that had gone unnoticed by him.

Bruce placed his hand on her shoulder and the next phrase that he spoke, sent chills down her spine. She froze at the mention of the videos Joker had recorded of her torture. Batman had seen all of them. Every last moment of Joker trying to make her just like him. Which included a chemical bath that bleached her skin and changed the color of her hair to make her look similar to him.

Was he trying to judge the state of her mind again? Did he expect her to lash out in violence as she had done before? Break down in a moment of madness? How did he even find the videos in the first place? As far as Lucy knew, Joker didn't know she had a connection to Batman. She was just another patient who happened to have had a really bad day. The reason behind the videos that were made, was for his own amusement. A record he kept of their time together as "father" and "daughter".

The Joker laughed in front of her hysterically. "I could have sent Bats copies this whole time! Who would have thought?" She tried her hardest not to break down but the silence between her and Bruce slowly began eating away at her. It is usually easy for her to hide her emotions deep down, but for some reason after everything she had endured, she couldn't keep the tears from falling down her cheeks.

Lucy hangs her head low to hide her face in an attempt to take back control of the emotions scratching at the surface. Now wasn't the time to cry. She needed to focus on the task at hand and find out who was the thief that broke into her hideout, as well as getting rid of Batman's presence. She cleans her face with her sleeve and turns to face him. "Are you trying to see if I blame you for sending me there?" She looked at him trying to read his face but it was hard to tell with that mask on and the dim lighting didn't help either. "I don't blame you. I needed to be there considering that I went and killed my capturers in cold blood. It was for my own good." That last part was for herself more than for him. Over the years she tried to convince herself that the pain she had suffered all her life was to punish her for the crimes that she had committed. It's how she manages to keep a hold on what was left of her sanity.

"I wanted to see if you were alright after everything that has happened to you." He answered. She could hear the concern in his voice as she turned again in her chair to continue typing away at her computer.

"I can manage on my own. I have my own way of dealing with things, just like you do."

"I'll be keeping an eye on you just in case." He said placing a small device on the desk. "You can reach me with this." Bruce then turns to leave her be, knowing full well that she wanted to be left alone. She would eventually tell him everything like she had done in the past; or at least hopes that she would.

Lucy finished the soft updates on her and began looking for the footage of the break-in. Trying to see if she could get a good look at the thief that she ran into wearing her gear a few months back. All she could see was the back of a tall hooded figure taking her last unfinished project and the time stamp on the video said that it was taken over a year ago. It was old gear that she was designing a few years back before she was kidnaped and led down the road to hell that followed soon after. She had also found out that her alarm was disabled, which explained why she wasn't alerted of the break-in at the time it happened. It wouldn't have mattered anyways, she avoids this place.

She brought out the holographic map of the city that showed what general area her gear was. She could of easily have gone after the person but she needed to know who exactly she was going up against. Then all of a sudden, the tracker that was active, went offline. Lucy cursed and threw the device across the room accidentally knocking an old picture frame off the bookshelf. "Shit!" she yelled getting out of her chair to pick up the photograph of her and Jason from the shattered glass on the floor. She stared at the photo for a moment before folding and shoving it in her pocket. She made a mental note to pick up the glass later as she returned to her computer. She has a lot of work to do if she was going to find her tech and knock the teeth out of the asshole who stole it from her.


AN: Here is another chapter. Hope you guys enjoy the update and let me know what you think. I added a few extra things and edited the first chapter.