Sunset comes abruptly, at least for the lone teen sitting under a nearly ancient willow tree. The sagging leaves hide her petite form from any straggler that might've been loitering around; it was already past the legal curfew for underage youths. Not that she'd ever cared for such a fickle thing as the law.
"Ah..," she releases a soft, surprised breath as she realizes the creeping darkness descending upon her already shady spot. She closes her book and places it back in her plain, black backpack, dusting herself off as she moves off of the patch of grass she'd been sitting on since noon. With a nearly inaudible sigh, she pushes aside the hanging leaves and pulls her thick sweater tighter around herself.
"Ah.. shit," she looks around for a moment before pushing the frames of her cherry red glasses farther up on the bridge of her nose. With a dainty sniffle she makes her way to a better lit section of the park, shoving her earphones into her ears. A stream of wailing guitars and gritty vocals filtered into her ears, soothing her nerves.
Gotham wasn't the best place to be in after dark, especially for a young woman like her. Sure, she'd been made to take self-defense classes as a child by her protective adoptive parents, but she knew that most criminals didn't fight with calculated movements, which she could counter with some defense "formula." In short, she was screwed. She stifled a laugh at the thought, clutching her sweater tighter as she sped up her pace.
Just as she began relaxing, the piercing scream of a woman tore through the air and she groaned audibly, freezing in her tracks. Why? Why universe? It just had to be tonight. The woman being assaulted by a burly thug twice her size screamed again for help, finally spotting the teen standing with her backpack clutched in her arms across the street. She shot the youth a pleading look, and the teen swore inwardly.
She could get away; the thug didn't know she was there. Just slip away, it's not your problem, she muttered to herself, muscles tensing as she prepared to run. Her body and her mind didn't seem to be cooperating. Instead of bolting off in the opposite direction like a rational human being, she ran towards the two figures, tackling the bear-like man. She scrambled to her feet while the thug was dazed on the ground, irked to find the woman blinking dumbly at the two.
"Run, you dumb fuck!"
She growled, pushing the blonde out of the ill lit alley and into the sidewalk. Just as she was about to dash away, a large hand shot out and made her trip. She yelped as her face plummeted towards the sidewalk, but she managed to catch herself. Kicking desperately at the thick hand, she cried out as he dragged her back towards himself. Facing the ground, there was little she could do except kick and claw at the ground.
"Heheh, you're gonna regret doin' that, bitch!"
She could already smell the sickening odor of the sewers permeating through the air, his disgustingly hot breath on her lower thigh. Fearing for the worst, she twisted her back painfully to swing her fist at his head. The thug swore and released her ankles for a moment, giving her a chance to scramble away from him and the floor. Adrenaline coursing through her system, she picked up a nearby broken beer bottle and held it in front of her with shaking hands. Nothing she'd learned before could've prepared her for this. The thug got to his feet and gave her a sickly sweet grin.
"Aw.. is the little kitten /scared/? Ya should be!" He roared, lunging at her once more. She closed her eyes instinctively, thrusting the jagged edges of the bottle towards him, but it was all in vain. Her wrist was caught in a strong, gloved grip, and she found herself gazing doe eyed into icy blue orbs. Atop the now unconscious criminal, stood The Batman himself, in all his cape-and-cowl glory. She dropped the bottle, unable to tear her eyes from the steely blue that had potentially saved her very life.
"…is hurt."
She blinked. Was he speaking to her?
"Miss. Your hand is hurt."
Ah, there it was. As if broken from her trance by his gravelly (and oddly comforting) voice, she glanced at her hand to see various shards of glass and other debris embedded in her hands. She'd been so preoccupied with trying to escape that she hadn't even noticed. Shocks of pain ran up her arm as she moved her fingers. He hadn't let go of her wrist yet, but the grip wasn't painful in the least. Batman was unexpectedly warm.
"Th-that.. yes.. thank you," she muttered dumbly, pushing her surprisingly un-cracked glasses up with her free forearm. The dark knight himself hadn't seemed to have noticed that he'd been holding onto her wrist for longer than normal, and dropped it immediately, causing her to wince.
"Where do you live?"
He was surprising himself tonight. What made him feel compelled to help some dumb teenager who'd literally jumped into a fight with a man easily twice her size get home? He felt the need to protect this girl from further harm tonight.
She seemed taken aback herself, swallowing thickly as she wracked her brain for her address. Her mind was still slightly muddled from the scuffle. She made a soft contemplative sound before reciting the address of a cozy home residing in Park Row to the brooding man.
"H-hold on, though!"
She shot him an apologetic look and retrieved her backpack as swiftly as she could with two injured hands. Although he would never show it, Batman was actually amused by the teen's antics. Once she was back at his side, he wrapped a strong arm around her waist and shot the Batclaw off into the air, whisking them both off into the night.
They arrived in record time, and she was slipped into her bedroom easily. What came next was horribly shocking for her. Batman began pulling the shards of glass from her hands.
"O-ow, what are you-"
He silenced her with a stern look and continued cleaning her wounds until her hands rested limply at her sides, bandaged and numb. He really shouldn't have been there at all. He should've left the moment he'd saved her from that common thug. However, Batman – or rather Bruce Wayne, couldn't bring himself to treat her as he would any other civilian. And it was infuriating. He was brought out of his musings by a soft, "thanks.."
"What's your name?"
Any more surprises and she feared she'd have a heart attack. Rewetting her oddly dry tongue, she replied to his unusual question.
"Juno.. It's Juno Evans."
And just like that, the dark knight was gone in no more than a cape swish, undoubtedly off to fight crime once more. In actuality, he wasn't too far from her building, perched atop a vantage point protruding from a church.
"Oracle, look up anything you can find on Juno Evans."
Her allure could've been because of some sort of pheromone. She could be dangerous like Poison Ivy. Or at least, that's what Bruce told himself to justify looking into the enigmatic woman's personal life.
Meanwhile, Juno stood at her open window, startlingly aware of how warm and large Batman's hands had been, and the wetness between her thighs.
( A/N: Alright.. I sort of wrote this on the fly, and it's one in the morning so bear with any mistakes, please. This was just something I've had on my mind so please review if you think it's worth continuing. )