The Ghost of You

Disclaimer: I don't own Batman Begins

A/N: Amanda does meet Batman this chapter. And thanks for the review, although there are only a few of them! The break means it's later on.

Chapter 4: I'm Not A Hero

Rachel had come to pick up Amanda for the trial and saw how pale she had gotten but she had caught a cold or something. She looked nervous and seemed to be shaking a bit. Bruce stood with her for a moment then let Rachel take her. A silent agreement was met and Amanda stayed close behind her. Rachel saw everything was for the girl, losing her parents one week, having to testify the next. When would it end for her? She sighed and pulled up to the courthouse, not a moment later. They reached the hearing early, before the press had arrived. Amanda sat down and looked around, seeing that they had brought the Joker in. She couldn't look at the man. Rachel stayed by her and when the judge took his seat, the trial began. She was called up first to the stand and she looked dead scared. The man who questioned her seemed to be hard, not realizing that any of his questions could trigger a massive amount of memories. He looked at her with sad eyes.

"Now, Amanda, do remember when he killed your parents?" He asked.

"No, he knocked me out before I could see anything." Amanda replied.

Rachel looked at her with a little more worry but the Joker looked pleased at the state of his victim.

"What about the video he showed you?" He asked.

"He did show me a video and it was of my parents' deaths." Amanda said briefly.

"And it was graphic?" He asked.

"Yes." Amanda said.

"Now your psychologist said you wouldn't talk to her. Is my cilent the reason why?" He asked in a now distant voice.

"Yes." Amanda said.

The man looked up at the judge.

"That's all your Honor." He said.

"All right, there's no need to hear any other testimonies. The Jury will now decide Mr. Joker's fate, we will resume in an hour." The Judge said leaving the stand.

Rachel saw Amanda sit down and put a hand on her shoulder. She was quiet again and knew she wouldn't talk unless she wanted to. Rachel went out, leaving her alone with Bruce and Alfred in back of her. The reporters hounded her with question after question. She cleared her throat.

"As of right now, the jury has not come back with the verdict and my cilent has made her testimony. She is not willing to talk about it nor will she answer any questions. If there are any inquiries, I answer them." Rachel said leaving the mob behind.

She sighed and went back inside where she hadn't moved. But the jury had, they had walked in mumbling. The Judge had sat down once again and proceeded, he took the paper from the baliff's hands and read the verdict.

"The Joker has been found not guilty by reason of insanity. He will be placed in Arkum Asylum and remain there until his next trial in August." The Judge said. "Court is now adjourned."

People got up in mobs but Bruce and Alfred stayed behind and saw that Rachel was dissappointed in the verdict. But Amanda seemed all but indifferent about it, but seeing that she wouldn't have to say another word for a while. She followed behind Alfred who had seen all this before.

"Rachel..." Bruce said.

"There's no need to thank me, Bruce. I took this case because I wanted to help her." She said.

After the trial, the halls of the courthouse had emptied and new talk had emerged of another prime witness to Joker's previous crimes, Lau. Bruce had heard the talk and was instantly engaged. But Alfred and Rachel didn't seem to notice. They got in the car and drove away from the courthouse. She had been in the courthouse most of the day and it was late in the evening now. About twenty minutes later, they had made their way home and nothing happened. The local news had covered the trial and all the reports caught their attention. Joker had made deals with mobs to kill the Batman, he had been found not guilty, and robbed the bank. The next story covered Lau, who had admitted to hiding half of the money stolen from a bank. Amanda seemed uninterested but seemed to remember something. She looked at the clock, noticing it was already eleven and got up, saying she was going to bed.

Later on that night, Amanda woke up shaking and sweating like crazy. Her eyes darted around the room, seeing a dark shadow in the corner. She must've been seeing things again.

"Seems like you have those often." The shadow said.

"What? How did you...?" Amanda said shakily. "How did you know?"

"I've been watching you for a few minutes. You're Amanda Morrison, right?" The shadow asked.

"Yeah." Amanda asked pulling herself together. "I thought you'd be trying to catch the Joker."

"You can say that." The figure replied in a rough, deep tone. "Have you heard of someone named Lau."

"It sounds familiar. He's holding half of the money stolen from the bank." Amanda said. "He's hiding in Shanghai but that's all I know."

The dark figure moved out of the shadows a little bit, revealing himself to be the Batman.

"Seems a little far from Gotham." The Batman said. "And you're a little far from home."

"No, I realize this is home. There's nothing I can do or say about it." Amanda replied. "Besides, I feel safe here, knowing that you're around. Everyone says you're a hero."

"I'm not a hero." The Batman replied.

"You are, crime rates are down. You're not considered a public enemy anymore." Amanda said.

"In some people's views." Batman replied looking around her. "You're safe here."

The Batman had vanished from her room and Amanda looked around. She knew it was him but didn't know how to explain it, he had gotten her to talk. Although she want to, she did and it felt okay to now.