Summary: After Lauren's family was killed by the Joker she tries to hide from the police to avoid abusive foster parents or group homes. But when batman finds her she is adopted by Bruce Wayne who feels duty to the young girl. Lauren is a little too observant and quickly figures out just who Bruce Wayne is. Now Lauren is trying to find her voice again in a world gone mad, learn her part in Bruce's charade, and preferably not get killed by a crazed clown. Post Batman Begins, Pre- and during the Dark Knight. First of a series.

Disclaimer: I do not own Batman

A.N.: this is completely un-Beta'ed, sorry. This is the rest of chapter 12 for you, but I'm just going to call it 13. Crap, I'm tired. This week could slow down anytime now.

Thoughts

∞time or place change∞

Sign language (not direct translation)

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Written stuff

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Gotham's Saddest Daughter

Chapter 13

Decent Into Hell

Lauren read ahead with a silent sigh. Sometimes her peers really surprised her. They were reading a story out loud, or at least that's what they were supposed to be doing. Amber had been working on the same page for five minutes. There was not way anyone could piece together her backtracking and stutters into a story.

"Well, well, well. Aren't we in a…mood?" The Clown Prince leaned against Ms. Killian's desk as Lauren's boredom took over her imagination. "You are rather impatient today," he grabbed a candy from the prize jar and popped it in his mouth. "It's unlike you. Something wrong?" He walked down the aisle of desks stopping at Emma's to lean down and whisper in her ear. "I think your…meddling is getting on her nerves."

"Go away."

The Clown Prince laughed and bounced over to sit on her desk, "But you don't want me to go away." A teacup sailed through the air and smashed on his head.

"If the child says she wants you to go, she wants you to go!" cried an enraged Hatter who was steaming out of his hat like a tea kettle.

"And the midget speaks," The Clown Prince sneered causing the Hatter to start whistling.

"Enough!" Lauren banished the two and looked around to check that no one was looking at her. Going back to reading ahead she felt the numbness tighten oddly. For some reason she became horribly sad whenever she sent her imaginary friends away…glancing around again she guiltily summoned them back. What difference did it make, anyway? It's not like anyone else knew they were there.

"Maybe that's why you're afraid of us." The Clown Prince whispered. "There is no one to stop us but you."

"I'm not afraid of you." And it was true, Lauren wasn't really felling afraid of anything at the moment. Even the thought that others would know she was daydreaming didn't frighten her. Somehow embarrassment didn't feel like anything important.

The Clown laughed, "Oh, goody, goody. You're not afraid. Well, we're just going to have to change that."

"Stop!" Hatter began throwing tea cups at the Clown again. "There will be no scaring in this class room."

"And why," the Clown glared. "Should I make an exception because we are in a classroom? Why not a classroom? It is after all a place of…learning." His high-pitched laugh had Hatter covering his ears.

"Lauren, would you come to the board and list three characters in the story that over came a problem and what their problems were?" Ms. Killian asked from behind her desk.

Lauren stood up and walked slowly to the front of the classroom, the Clown stepped aside with a mocking bow as she walked past him. Picking up a marker she carefully wrote the names of three characters and listed their problems.

"Now would you write how they over came their problems?" Ms. Killian added as Lauren finished the first task. Beside her Hatter pulled on her shirt getting her attention and telling her the answers quietly. Once again she carefully wrote out what was wanted and this time walked back to her seat when she was done.

"Very good, Lauren. Frankie, why don't you come up and list the people who helped them succeed and how."

The Joker stood behind Ms. Killian making rude jesters while Hatter yelled at him about being 'proper in front of a lady.' And no one was any the wiser.

∞Temporary Bat Cave, Bruce's POV∞

Bruce sat staring at the monitors with a wry smile on his face, the marked bills he had given to Gordon where already showing results. Two launderers had already shown themselves. True, considering how many launderers the mob had it wasn't much, but it was a start.

"Already showing progress I see."

"A bit. How did it go?"

"Miss Lauren seemed just fine, though you already know that." Alfred replied nodding towards the GPS monitor.

"You can never be too carefully, Alfred."

"No, but there have to be limits, Master Wayne."

"As you have reminded me time and time again." Bruce swiveled around in his chair to look at the older man. "You keep me grounded, Alfred."

"I try. How is the thing with Ms. Meadows going." He pointed at yet another screen. "You seem to have quite the collage."

"I haven't figured out anything yet." Bruce pulled his eyebrows together in thought. "She left Gotham and enrolled at an out of state school, but then came back and finished her degree at Gotham University. She changed her name, but didn't drop contact. And here's the oddest thing, she started off as a Psych major, but according to her advisors she was planning on opening a private practice."

"It sounds to me like someone intervened in her plans," Alfred commented."

"The question is who and why." The thought had been plaguing Bruce all day. Who would be stupid enough to black mail a member of the Falcone family? More importantly, how did they get away with it?

"Are you planning on confronting her about it?"

Exiting out of the program, Bruce shook his head. "I don't need the mob thinking Batman is trying to get close to their operation. It would make them more suspicious. I'll look into it after track the money."

"You will be telling Master Gordon about this, won't you?"

"Yes, Alfred." With a roll of his eyes, Bruce stood and walked towards the exit. "But right now, I need to go speak with Lucius."

∞Gordon's POV∞

Gordon speed down the road, siren screaming, with Ramirez riding shotgun. Shit,shit, shit. He took the turn at least twice the safe limit, feeling his stomach jump as car wheels left the road for a moment. A call had come into to the MCU reporting that Ned Brann and Arkham escapee with a knife fixation had kidnapped two sisters on their way to school.

The car skidded to a stop in front of the abandoned building. Two other cars where already there, but as usual no one was inside yet. Detective Allen turned to look at Gordon as he pulled his gun out of its holster and walked towards him. "We've confirmed he's inside," the younger man called. "This case it under the jurisdiction of the MCU, you going in first?"

Gordon nodded. Don't I always. "Ramirez will be covering me."

"Montoya and I will come in behind you then, tactical support." The other detective in question pulled out her gun as well.

Gordon groaned mentally. He didn't have anything against Montoya and Allen, he just didn't know them. "Fine, let's go." He took off, pushing the heavy door open with practiced ease. Inside the air was thick with the musty smell of mildew and dust. The building that had at one time housed a factory of some sort had long been left to its own devices, resulting in heaps of trash, fallen architecture, and dead rats all over the floor.

A scream echoed off the walls, dampening in the dust. Picking up speed, Gordon hurried up a fleet of suspicious stairs towards the wailing. Running down a long hall he could hear his agents behind him, but focused on what was to come; trusting Ramirez, at least, to cover him, he through open the last door on the hall and stormed into the room.

"Freeze! MCU." Gordon pointed his gun at the man's back. Out of the corner of his eye Gordon could see a bloody body, laying ripped open on the floor. One of the sisters was most likely already dead. Before him the second sister was curled up on the floor sobbing as a madman stood over her. "Turn around slowly."

The man did as he said, turning to look at Gordon, but holding up his knife as if to fend him off.

"Drop your weapon!" Gordon gripped the handle of his gun tighter as the other man tipped his head to the side. "I said, drop your weapon." The man pulled back a bit and for a moment Gordon thought he was going to comply. Then the man jumped forward.

Gordon couldn't react fast enough, having gripped his gun to hard causing a cramp to develop. The mad man hit him with full force plunging the short knife into Gordon's arm.

"Ahh!" Gordon cried out as he fell backwards with the man's weight. As he hit the floor his gun fell out of his hand and across the floor beyond his reach while above him Ned's eye's grew wide and he pulled his hand back ready to stab Gordon in the chest.

Two shots rang out and Ned's smile turned to a sick grimace. Gordon heard the knife hit the floor with a metallic thud beside his head his would be killer fell over to the side, landing in the dust. Looking at the door, Gordon saw Montoya standing with her gun raised. She quirked an eyebrow at Gordon's stare. "What, never seen a woman shoot a man before?"