Hi Missing in action here, how are ya? So I got random muse to write this and I may or may not write more? Don't really have much to say sooooo enjoy!
THIS CHAPTER WAS UPDATED AND PROOFREAD FOR TYPOS, GRAMMAR, AND PLOT/TIMELINE ISSUES AS OF 7/17/2020
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Anslee was in her room when Rachel had arrived the next day to pick her up around five o'clock. Alfred had let the woman in, where she found Bruce working out some last minute things for his fundraiser the next night.
"How did things go this weekend?" Rachel spoke, making Bruce look up from a few papers he was scanning over in his hands.
"Hey sorry, I didn't know you were here yet," he set the papers down and stood up, "I think we made some honest progress," Bruce smiled.
Rachel cocked a brow at the statement, "Oh? What did you do? Hopefully not stay here at the penthouse all weekend worried about Batman business," the woman glanced towards where Anslee's room was to make sure she wasn't listening in on them.
"No, actually," Bruce walked towards Rachel with his arms crossed over his chest, "I took her prom dress shopping yesterday and then we got lunch. She said she had some homework to finish up so we stayed here today."
Rachel looked almost astonished at the statement, "You took her prom dress shopping?"
Bruce smirked, "Yes, and she happened to find the one."
Rachel's confused frown slowly turned into a smile, "What does it look like? How does she look in it?"
"I don't know," the man shrugged, "She wouldn't show me and said it was a surprise. Although, Mrs. Rosmerta did say it suited her very well."
"Rosmerta's hm? Wonder where you got that idea from," Rachel smirked back at him.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Bruce smiled back to the woman.
Before Rachel could respond, another voice rang out.
"Hey is mom here? I thought I heard-" Anslee spoke as she strolled out of her room, but seeing as Rachel was there, she cut herself off, "Hi mom," she smiled.
"Hi, Ans," the mother smiled at her daughter, "Why don't you get your stuff and we'll head out."
"You can leave your dress here if you want for now, I promise I won't peak," the father gave the girl a cheeky grin.
Anslee nodded before heading back into her room to gather her stuff.
Bruce turned back to Rachel, "You will be at the fundraiser tomorrow night right? And my invitation still extends to Ans as well."
"Yes, as far as I know, and I'm leaving that up to her," Rachel nodded, "though she doesn't seem to loathe you at this time so I think she's got a shot."
"Excellent," Bruce spoke just as Anslee made her way out of her room again with her backpack on her back, no dress in hand.
"Alfred don't let him anywhere near that dress while I'm gone," the teen smiled as she looked to the older man that had been organizing some fundraiser papers on the coffee table.
"You have my word, Miss Wayne," he spoke with a smirk as he looked back to the girl.
Anslee looked to Bruce and hesitated before she did something she never thought she would willingly do. She hugged him.
The embrace caught Bruce off guard, but he was quick to return it and hold onto this as long as he could. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this warm inside, like he was actually accepted for once, especially by someone like Anslee.
"Bye, dad," Ans spoke as she pulled away from him with a small smile.
"Bye, Ans, I hope to see you tomorrow night," the father smiled down at the girl.
"Perhaps," Anslee nodded in return before she turned to head towards the door to leave.
Rachel looked thoroughly surprised at what had just taken place, "Uh..bye Bruce," she smiled as she turned to leave with Anslee.
"I love you, Ans," Bruce called after the two, and he could see the girl stop and hesitate. He just wanted to hear her say it back. Or was he pushing his boundaries? He was about to find out.
The brunette looked over her shoulder to give Bruce a small smile. She couldn't bring herself to say it back to him. Not yet. She knew she didn't fully mean it, so why would she lie to him like that?
XXX
Anslee stood in the elevator to get up to the penthouse where Bruce held his fundraiser for Harvey. It took a little convincing from Rachel for her to go, but ultimately, Anslee decided to go for Harvey's sake.
She wore the same burgundy dress from the night they'd ran into Bruce and Natasha at that fancy restaurant, but her hair was curled in a half up half down style.
Harvey and Rachel made small talk with each other before the elevator doors had opened and elegant music along with the chatter of about a hundred people sounded. Attached to Harvey's arm, Rachel stepped out followed by the teen. Anslee could sense Harvey was a bit uneasy and new to the elegance of such an event. Rachel stopped, and so did Ans.
"Harvey Dent, scourge of the Underworld, scared to death by the trust fund brigade," the woman snickered at him playfully before walking away from him, a smile played on her lips as she looked at him from over her shoulder.
"Rachel!" he called after her.
"Some liquid courage, Mr. Dent?" The voice of Alfred approached a stranded Harvey and an idling Anslee. He held a tray with four tall glasses of champagne.
Harvey took one of the glasses, "Alfred, right?" he smiled at the man.
"That's right sure," Alfred returned the smile.
"Rachel talks about you all the time," he took a sip from his glass, "You've known her her whole life!"
"Not yet, sir," Alfred joked back.
Harvey chuckled at the man's humor before glancing around the room, "Any psychotic ex-boyfriends I should be aware of?"
"Oh you have no idea," Alfred chuckled back before Harvey stowed away.
"Good evening, Miss Wayne," Alfred greeted the seventeen year old, "You look very elegant tonight."
"Thank you Alfred," Anslee blushed slightly, "dad hasn't peaked at my dress has he?" she asked with a smile.
"I kept my word, he has not one idea what it looks like," the man whispered to her.
"Good, thank you," Anslee smiled sweetly back at him, "speaking of which, is he around at all?"
"I'm afraid he hasn't arrived yet, but I promise you'll know when he has," the old man winked at her before going around to hand out champagne to those who haven't had a glass yet.
Almost as if on cue, Anslee heard the noise of a helicopter propelling near the building. Everyone turned to look out of the glass wall to see one landing on the launchpad just outside. Anslee nearly laughed out loud as she saw her father get out of the carrier and enter the room with three beautiful women at his sides.
"Oh my god," the girl muttered with a smirk.
"I'm sorry that I'm late, I'm glad that you all got started without me. Now," the man paused as he walked through the path the guests had cleared for him as he clapped his hands together, "Where is Harvey? Where is Harvey Dent?" he looked around before spotting him and giving him a smile, "The man of the hour. Where's Rachel Dawes?" he looked to see Rachel a few feet away, "she is my oldest friend."
Harvey looked over and held out his hand towards Rachel so she would join him. The woman walked towards him with a calm smile.
"You know when Rachel first told me she was dating Harvey, I had one thing to say. The guy from those God awful campaign commercials? 'I Believe in Harvey Dent', yeah nice slogan Harvey," Bruce gave the blonde man a thumbs up.
Anslee couldn't help but laugh with the rest of the crowd, Bruce was really trying to make a fool out of Harvey.
"But, you caught Rachel's attention," Bruce gestured to a less than amused Rachel, "And then I started to pay attention to Harvey and all he's been doing as our new DA, and you know what? I believe in Harvey Dent. I believe that on his watch, Gotham can feel a little safer and a little more optimistic."
The tone Bruce spoke in almost sounded genuine to Anslee, but she knew him too well by now to know he wasn't' really speaking from the heart. But that didn't stop Harvey from pridefully smiling.
"Look at his face. It's just the face of Gotham's bright future. Harvey Dent, let's hear it for him," Bruce spoke before an applause erupted in the room.
Anslee clapped for the man along with the rest of the crowd before it died down and everyone went back to their business. She quickly tried to make her way to her father so she seemed a little less alone in the room. But once she even got remotely close to where he had been just minutes before, she saw both her mother and father outside in deep conversation.
Anslee sighed in dismay and went to turn around, but she was stopped by a woman who looked to be in her fifties and a man in his sixties, it was obvious they were a couple, for the man's bow tie and pocket hankie had matched the woman's dress perfectly.
"My my, you must be Bruce's daughter," the woman spoke.
Anslee frowned slightly at the statement.
"She looks even more like him in person," the man stated as well.
"Uh..yeah, I am Bruce's daughter, Anslee...Anslee Dawes-Wayne," the girl introduced herself politely.
"My name is Thomas Elliot," the man held out his hand for Anslee to shake, "And this is my wife Marla."
"Hello," Anslee smiled at the two, shaking the man's hand firmly, "Not to be rude, but how do you know my father and how do you know I'm his...daughter?"
"Forgive our rudeness, dear. My husband owns Elliot Pharmaceuticals, we are partnered with your father's company dating back to when Thomas and Martha Wayne were still alive," Marla replied with a sweet smile, "And you do look just like your father, I just couldn't help but notice. I wouldn't put it past him to create such a gorgeous and lovely girl like yourself."
"Thank you," Anslee blushed a bit, "Well it was very nice meeting the both of you."
"Likewise," Thomas smiled down at the girl, "We hope to see you again."
After the Elliot's had left, Anslee looked back outside to see if her parents had been done talking. They in fact were, but they were also not outside anymore. The girl groaned as she looked around the room once more in an attempt to at least find someone she knew. She eventually found herself wandering the large room where no one she knew was even in sight. She stopped a few feet from the elevators and scanned the room once more, but she was nearly knocked off her feet when the sound of what seemed to be a gunshot echoed in the room. The guests of the party cried out at the sudden disturbance.
Ansee jumped backwards and quickly turned to see the white faced Joker enter the room with a shotgun in his hand, his comrades in clown masks filed in behind him. She felt paralyzed as she scanned the room again for her mother, Harvey, Bruce, or Alfred, but still she saw no one familiar to her.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen!" the man greeted the crowd as he made his way in, shotgun still pointed for the sky. His men began to point guns at and frisk anyone they could reach.
"We are tonight's entertainment," he announced, taking a shrimp on a skewer and quickly shoving it in his mouth.
"I only have one question," he spoke as he chewed, "Where is Harvey Dent?" he asked in an assertive tone.
Anslee backed up a few inches and looked around the room for Harvey, but still she saw no one.
The room was filled with silence as the man walked around the room. He even took a glass of champagne and chugged it before setting it back on a table so he could keep antagonizing the crowd, going from person to person trying to figure out where Harvey was.
"You know, I'll settle for his loved ones," the green haired man spoke in the face of a man, that man she'd met earlier, Thomas Elliot.
Anslee's heart palpitated at the Joker's comment, but she couldn't run.
"We're not intimidated by your thugs!" Thomas spat in the man's face.
The joker was in the middle of another bite of shrimp when a large frown graced his face, "You know...you remind me of my father," in one swift move he had Thomas's head in his hold along with a knife to his face, "I hated my father!" The Joker growled angrily.
"Okay stop!" A voice all too familiar to Anslee interrupted the scene. She almost hadn't registered who it was before The Joker and the rest of the room turned to a tall woman in a blue gown.
"Mom…" Anslee muttered anxiously.
The Joker eyed Rachel, who had stepped forward, "Well hello, beautiful!" he shouted as he fixed his hair, walking menacingly towards Rachel, who had her arms crossed over her chest confidently, "You must be Harvey's squeeze. And you are beautiful," he spoke in a dark tone.
Anslee watched as Rachel's arms dropped from her chest and hung at her sides. Joker prowled around her, but Rachel refused to let him out of her gaze. Her shoulders tensed as Joker locked eyes with her.
"Well you look nervous," the man spoke, "is it the scars? Wanna know how I got em'? C'mere!" and just like he had Thomas Elliot, he had Rachel in a facehold with a knife to her face. Rachel squirmed in his hold, trying to get free.
Anslee didn't even hesitate before she cried out, "No! Stop!" in sheer terror.
The Joker paused and turned his head around his shoulder to see the seventeen year old everyone had moved away from. He noted how she trembled and saw this as an opportunity.
"Well well what do we have here?" the man let go of Rachel and prowled towards the girl.
"Anslee run!" Rachel called to her daughter, but saw she was frozen in place staring death in the face. Tears gathered in the mother's eyes.
"Oh I think I've hit the jackpot," the clown spoke as he got closer to Anslee, "You're Wayne's daughter, yes. I've read all about you. My God, you look even more like him in person. So gorgeous."
He now stood towered over the girl, his face just inches from hers, "Since you so rudely interrupted me, I think I'll tell you how I got the scars."
The man grabbed a hold of the girl's face and shoved the knife in her face. Tears ran down the girl's face as she tried to break free of his grip.
"Look at me," he demanded, "So I had a wife. Beautiful, like you," he spoke painfully as Anslee continued to struggle to get free, "Who tells me I worry too much. Who says I need to smile more. Who gambles. And gets in deep with the sharks. One day they carve her face, and we've got no money for surgeries. She can't take it!"
Anslee had her eyes glued to the blade in order to avoid the madman's gaze, but as he continued to speak, her dark brown orbs looked into his green ones. He stuck the blade in her mouth and pressed it against her cheek, but not hard enough to cut her.
"I just want to see her smile again! I just want her to know that I don't care about the scars!" he cried out. "So you know what I did? I stuck a razor in my mouth and did this to myself," he mimicked licking the inside of his cheek with his tongue, "and you know what?" he began to laugh, "She can't stand the side of me. She leaves. See now I see the funny side. Now I'm always smiling!" he got into a fit of giggles and Anslee took this as a chance to knee him in the gut, sending him backwards slightly as he groaned.
"Oooh, you've got a little fight in you," he chuckled as he gained on her again, "I like that!" he glared down at her.
"Then you're gonna love me," A dark husky voice spoke, making both Anslee and the Joker look over to see none other than the Caped Crusader himself.
The Batman quickly decked Joker, sending him backwards harder than Anslee had been able to. Anslee had jumped backwards, but still stood paralyzed as she watched the Dark Knight take out Joker's thugs.
Joker continued to throw more thugs at Batman while also giving him a few punches and kicks when he could. He'd even managed to produce a blade out of the toes of his shoes. Joker kicked Batman forcefully in the chest with the blade. Batman, in retaliation, punched him, sending the Joker to the ground. But he wasn't about to give up.
The green haired man quickly picked up a discarded gun off the ground and looked up to see a still petrified Anslee. He scrambled to his feet and came to the girl, wrapping an arm around her neck and holding her against him as he pressed the gun to the girl's head. Anslee pried at the man's arms around her neck as Batman threw off the last thug.
The Knight turned to look at the two, but inside, Bruce could feel anger surging inside of him.
"Drop the gun," Batman demanded as he watched his daughter struggle in the psycho's hold.
"Oh sure! You just take off your little mask and show us all who you are!" The Joker waved the gun in the air as he inched backwards, Anslee stumbling along with him as she looked pleadingly at the Dark Knight. He giggled as he shot the gun behind him, blowing out the window he stood in front of. Anslee cried out at the noise as her eyes filled with more tears.
Joker turned and dragged her with him before flinging her out of the ledge of the window, his grip on her arm was the only thing keeping her from falling.
"Let her go," Batman glared.
"Very poor choice of words," the Joker giggled before Anslee felt the grip on her arm disappear. She felt herself falling in the cool air of Gotham, but she soon hit a hard surface, landing on her already injured shoulder. She heard a crack on impact and let out an excruciating scream of pain.
She then started to slide down the side of the slanted roof and looked back up to see Batman had dove out of the window and was sliding after her. She felt out her hand that wasn't attached to the arm that was currently throbbing in hopes he'd catch her in time. But to no avail, she slid off the side of the building and began free-falling off the side.
All hope was not lost, there was Batman right after her, reaching for her as he fell closer towards her. Within seconds he had managed to latch an arm around her waist and hold her close to him as they fell, making sure when they made impact that Bruce was the one to take the blow. Once they finally had hit a surface, which had been the hood of some poor guy's car, Anslee rolled off of the Dark Knight and next to him on the hood in a hyperventilating and teary eyed mess.
"Are you okay?" Batman looked to her.
"My shoulder!" Anslee cried out through clenched teeth as tears fell down her cheeks, her body visibly trembling.