Special thanks to Ninja Kitty 101, Jayce-Grayford, Lokisarmyforever, and soli1894 for following Family Matters;
And another special thanks to Ninja Kitty 101, and Jayce-Grayford for favoring Family Matters.
Finally, a very special thanks to Johanna Crane for reviewing Family Matters.
Johanna Crane: Honestly I didn't expect to publish the sequel this early, I kind of surprised myself. And I agree that Scarlet is precious; I can't really stand any kid, at all, of any age under fifteen. They are cute, but only from a very, very, far distance.
XXX
"Bee," Scarlet pointed to said bug, watching as it slowly buzzed along the window; she looked out and pointed to a pigeon, "Birdy."
"Yes," Annabeth hummed, "Birdy." Despite Scarlet finally talking, she still spoke words rarely; unless, of course, Scarecrow was in control.
It was odd; Scarlet had no qualms with their being two different mind sets in her father's body, didn't question it, and had the incredible common sense not to talk or hint of Scarecrow's existence to anyone outside this house.
Another odd thing; Scarlet absolutely loved her Uncle Scarecrow. Whenever his personality rose to the surface, she never sat still, and never stopped talking. And Scarecrow, well he positively adored Scarlet; he was smug, silently so, in the fact that she loved him so much, and the fact that Jonathan and Annabeth chose the name he offered when the named Scarlet.
Scarlet looked up to her mother when she finished brushing her hair, "Papa?" Annabeth smiled and stood, picking Scarlet up, "Yes, we are visiting Papa today." Apparently, the word 'grandpa' didn't fit Scarlet's liking, so instead she used 'papa'.
Scarlet was an odd child; nearing two years old, she showed signs of being a genius. She recognized colors, she was talking a bit more, and loved to be read to.
"Bye-bye Ed," Scarlet called over Annabeth's shoulder, waving at the dog who sat in the hallway; Annabeth's smile widened, her daughter was really too precious.
XXX
"Scarlet!" Chris swooped down and picked up the girl; he turned and tossed her in the air, much to Annabeth's panic, "What's up kiddo?"
"Me!" She squealed as her uncle tossed her again.
"Chris!" Annabeth carefully took her daughter before her brother could do that again, "Can you please be careful?"
"Aw but Scarlet loves it!"
"Well I don't," Annabeth hissed, moving her daughter a little away from Chris, "She could get hurt!"
"Give me my grandchild," Scarlet was plucked out of her mother's arms immediately; and engulfed in a hug, "You two go fight somewhere else."
"Papa!" Scarlet giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck, "Papa!"
"My dear grandbaby," Christopher cooed, kissing her forehead, "Oh you are just so adorable- look at what grandpa got you!" He turned and Scarlet squealed, Annabeth gasped, and Chis sighed.
Christopher sat Annabeth down and she automatically ran to the puppy that sat at the base of the steps; a small German shepherd. It had a blue bow wrapped around its neck, and was wagging its tail happily while Scarlet ran her hand down his head, "Papa, name?"
"Whatever you want." Christopher smiled; Annabeth slowly walked up behind Scarlet, looking down at the dog with a slightly glowering expression, "Gee dad, thanks. We really needed a second dog; this is perfect."
Scarlet tuned them all out; the puppy was a Blue German Shepard, Scarlet heard her grandfather say, he was a pure blood. With bright baby blue eyes and a wagging tale, Scarlet said the first name that came to mind, a name she had heard her mother say when reading her one of her bedtime stories, "Korra."
XXX
"Beautiful little Darling," Scarecrow cooed, cupping Scarlet's face and kissing her forehead, "You are just precious." Scarlet giggled and he pulled back, pulling out a newspaper and reading through the articles; Annabeth sat down Scarlet's cheerios and wrapped her arms around Jonathan's shoulders, "Look who made the front cover."
"Bruce Wayne?" Jonathan came to the surface, flipping to read more, "He's alive?"
"Yeah," Annabeth hummed, sitting down and sipping her coffee, "Back in Gotham; been gone a while, ever since the case concerning his parent's murderer."
"Huh," he flipped through more of the paper, "Wonder why he came back."
XXX
It was Saturday, one of the rare times Annabeth allowed Scarlet up past eight; it was now nine, and both females sat in the living room. Annabeth kept looking at the clock, her face emotionless as she waited for Jonathan to return home. Scarlet sat next to Korra, or better she lay against her dog, and sat staring transfixed at the fire place.
An hour later; Scarlet fell asleep, curled against Korra, while Annabeth still sat on the couch. The front door opened and in came Jonathan, looking no worse for wear.
"You didn't tell me you had a run in with the Batman," Annabeth said, not looking at him, "Were you going to tell me about Carmine Falcone joining the patients list at Arkham?"
"Of course I was," He sat next to her and pulled her close, "But it only happened a little while ago; you had to give me a little time to get home to tell you. Why is our daughter laying within five feet of a fireplace asleep?"
"Don't try to change the subject Jonathan," Annabeth hissed, turning, "Don't you realize what you've done? You've basically damned the rest of the mob families! Carmine has his stuff lined up, and as soon as his son realizes that his father isn't acting, and that he is really gone, he will be basically handing the rest of Gotham's mobs over to the court systems! They have everything; all of our contacts, all of our information, and they will come after us!"
"What do you mean, Annabeth?"
"What I mean is that by noon tomorrow every cop and bounty hunter in Gotham will be coming after everyone affiliated with mobs; my family, the other families, even you and Scarlet! My father is evacuating; he is sending all of my family back to Ireland, we own land that can't be touched. Jonathan, we have to leave."
"I can't leave, Annabeth," Jonathan exclaimed, "Everything I have worked for is here!"
"I know," she grabbed his hands and looked at him with tears in her eyes, "But Jonathan, think for a moment. What good will your toxin does if you're behind bars; what about Scarlet?"
Jonathan turned away slightly, glaring at the far wall as he thought; he weighed it all, the pros and cons, his family that he had built in the past three years, all of it. Finally, he looked at Annabeth with a defeated look, "Okay."
"Jonathan," Annabeth began while smiling, but stopped at the sound of his phone; he frowned and opened it, listening to who was on the other line.
"Annabeth," he said once he shut it, "I'm needed at the Asylum."
"What?"
"Miss Dawes, I'm afraid," he grimaced, "We can surely leave after I handle this?" Annabeth hesitated; something was telling her not to let him leave, and if they were leaving the country surely this didn't matter, but she sighed and nodded, "Go."
He stood and walked over to Scarlet, picking her up gently, "Let's tuck her in, quickly."
When he placed her in her bed, she stirred slightly, "Daddy?"
"Shh, darling," He breathed softly, kissing her forehead, "Daddy has to go back to work, okay?"
"Okay," She closed her eyes and hugged her plush fox close to her chest, "I love you Daddy."
"I love you too, darling," he whispered, walking out of the door.
XXX
Annabeth was good at shutting off her emotions, was good at hiding pain. Her family had escaped Gotham; they should land in Ireland in about an hour. They were going to leave in the morning, and they were going to be okay.
They should have been okay, that is.
When Annabeth flipped on the television, flipping through late night programs and waiting for Jonathan to get back, her bad feeling came back when an emergency news bulletin came on.
When she saw what was happening, her world seemed to stop; when she realized why Jonathan was so late, her world went into fast forward. Attacking the Narrows, the news that Batman had indeed stopped the masked menace, she knew she was in trouble. They said everyone was being taken care of, they said that they apprehended the mastermind behind the attacks, "The Scarecrow", which meant any officer that they could spare was headed to her house right now.
They'd do a background check, would see her surname, and would not hesitate to slap a pair of cuffs on her; she had to get Scarlet and get out.
Annabeth ran up the stairs and barged into Scarlet's room, scaring the girl awake, "Momma?!"
"Baby, we need to leave," Annabeth said hurriedly, grabbing the back she packed earlier and picking up Scarlet. Scarlet held tight to her fox and to her mother, closing her eyes when they rushed down the stairs, "Daddy?"
"Daddy is at work," Annabeth lied, "He is meeting us later, okay?" She sat Scarlet down on the couch and turned to the basement, "Stay right there sweetie, Momma will be back in a little bit." She disappeared down the steps, and Scarlet sat scared.
Scarlet turned when she saw the lights from cars flash through the windows, jumped when the sounds of sirens sounded from outside and nearly screamed when a slamming force hit the front door. Men in black SWAT suit poured in, guns in every direction; Scarlet pulled her knees up to her chest and closed her eyes, whimpering.
She felt a hand gently touch her shoulder and looked up, seeing kinder man standing there in the gear; he gestured for her to come with him and she fearfully complied. She could hear the men shouting clear as they moved through the house, and Scarlet looked back to the basement, looking for her mother to come out any moment.
The man who was with her followed her line of sight and gestured to a couple of men, who automatically moved forward with guns raised. The man took her out of her house, picking her up and walking out of the front door quickly. Korra trailed behind the man quietly, staring up at Scarlet and obediently following.
There were even more outside, and men shot the little girl questioning glances but made sure to stay clear.
"Gordon!" The man holding Scarlet said, walking up to another man wearing a mustache, "I found their kid." Gordon turned, looking at the terrified little girl who was shivering; he gestured for her to come to ambulance, which she did.
"She looks okay," the paramedic said after a few minutes, "Sweetie, can you tell me if anything hurts?" Scarlet shook her head, holding her fox closer to her chest; she looked up at Gordon, who to her appeared to be in charge, and asked, "Where is Daddy?"
Gordon exchanged nervous glances with the others, but didn't have the chance to answer; gun shots sounded from inside the house followed by screaming.
"GET HER GET HER RIGHT NOW!"
"NOT ANOTHER STEP CRANE!"
"SHE BIT ME!"
They pulled a very, very angry Annabeth out of the house; she kicked and screamed, trying to break their hold. Scarlet jolted and tried to get down, but a cop grabbed her waist and kept her back, "Mommy!"
Annabeth froze and turned, looking at her restrained daughter, and then she fought with a vengeance. She looked at Scarlet, who sat there scared and crying, and doubled her attempts, "Let go of my daughter!" Gordon walked forward towards the woman after ordering to get Scarlet to the station; he walked to the woman who was on the verge of hysteria.
"Mrs. Crane," he spoke urgently, "If you ever want to see your daughter again, I highly suggest you pull yourself together, right now. Nothing is going to happen to her, she is perfectly okay; she is okay, right?"
"Are you suggesting I would hurt my own daughter?" she cried, outraged, "Where is my husband?"
"In custody; don't worry, you'll be joining him shortly." Gordon sighed, signaling for them to take her away. Annabeth craned her neck and caught one last glimpse of her daughter; highlighted in red and blue from the lights of the vehicles, her eyes wide and hair messed up slightly.
"I love you," Annabeth whispered gently, closing her eyes, knowing her daughter couldn't hear her, "And I am so, so, sorry baby."
XXX
…. I'm sorry. I really am sorry. Oh god I feel awful; I feel like crying; THE HAPPY TIMES WERE SUPPOSED TO BE LONGER.
It occurred to me though, that we needed to move into the actual movie franchise so my idea could work, and I wanted to keep Scarlet young, like really young, when the plot for Batman Begins went down.
So. We already got the first movie knocked down, and in one chapter; bet you didn't see that coming. Okay, well I bet you are wondering: what will become of Scarlet? What will happen to Annabeth and Jonathan?
I know that at the end of the movie, they still hadn't caught Jonathan but here they did. So I changed that a little.
Oh, and the picture for this story has changed to a picture of Korra.
Poor little Scarlet; she lost her entire family. What will happen to her? You'll see next week (or maybe a little sooner, depends on how fast the chapters get typed). Love you guys, and see you later!
-Sketch1997