When Louise regained consciousness, the first thing she felt was the cold against her left cheek. Her body was lying on the ground, but why? And why couldn't she feel the grass blades of the academy's courtyard?
With a groan, she turned her head to face the sky above her, slowly opening her eyes to stare at the night sky-
Wait a moment?!
Her consciousness came fully back to her, and she immediately jumped on her feet, to stare at the night sky, few stars were visible to her she noticed, but that didn't matter now!
It was supposed to be daylight, she recalls with a small dose of adrenaline in her body, memories flooding back in an instant.
Today was the day of the Summoning, she remembered as she felt her wand in hand, the chance to prove she was more than just a Zero to that Germanian harlot Zerbst and every other student of Tristain.
But as her head lowered down to scan the area around her, her promised Familiar was nowhere in sight, not a dragon, nor a bird, not even a mouse like the Headmaster's.
Scanning her surroundings, another wave of confusion hit her. "...Where am I?" she whispered with disbelief in her voice. "And how did I get here?"
The architecture of the area around her...if she hadn't put much thought in it, she would've simply assumed she found herself in the slums of Tristain, but the architecture and layout of the buildings were too different, with strange paintings and depictions. the lack of floral vines around the buildings was also of notice, and the trash around her, or what she deduced was trash, was wrapped in weird shiny black bags, that didn't look like cloth.
There was a store close to her, she thought. A large sign in orange with beige bold letters, but she couldn't make heads or tails of what it said, the letters familiar, but the language was foreign to her. A large piece of metal was blocking the entrance.
"I-I'm not at the academy anymore..." She took a few steps backward. "Have I botched the spell that badly?"
And then she felt stepping into something as her head snapped down, moving her foot away and grabbing the item from the ground. "A rose?" She examined the plant between her fingers as if it held a massive clue to a puzzle to be solved.
Certain assumptions manifested in her mind at her predicament as her nostrils flared, if it wasn't for the thorns on the stem of the plant, she would've crushed it in her hand. "If this is Guiche's and Kirche's new idea of a prank..."
She was still very sore from last week's Dining Hall incident, but what happened there exactly?
She'd rather not recall.
Dropping the rose down, she decided to not remain in this place any longer, she looked left and right, before choosing to walk to the left side of the enclosed space where the strange black and white painting of a person's face, then another left, then a right, where she was met with a gate, and past it a sign in glowing green lettering, odd, she studied some books about glowing incantations, but it didn't seem to cast any spells.
She shook her head, focus, she needed to focus.
She tried to push the gate open but it wouldn't budge, so the next course of action was to get over the gate.
Ugh, a Noble shouldn't have to deal with such dilemmas.
Climbing proved a bit more difficult than she anticipated, but once she jumped down, her eyes looked up to the left to see the sign of a bottle glowing in the same green as the sign below, it must have been some sort of bar owned by a mage, it's not unheard of.
Turning her head left, she got to see more of the area around her, buildings one or two stories taller than normal everywhere, one of the buildings had a large statue of a woman holding two scales in her hand.
"A courthouse?" Trying to put the strange symbolism and the building's architecture together, was her way to clear some of the confusion of her whereabouts. "Symbol of Justice..."
And yet many more persisted, and she needed guidance to return to the Academy-
But it didn't take too long for Louise to find herself in trouble, or judging simply by the aura this area gave, for TROUBLE, to find HER.
"Well, what we got here?" Louise flinched so slightly as she slowly turned her attention to the source of the greasy voice, which as she suspected, was accompanied by a greasy face...about six of them.
A group of large men with strange clothing Louise had never seen before, but judging by how dirty they were they must have been commoners, even worse, it didn't take long for Louise to figure out they were crooks, by how they strolled towards her without the slightest hesitation or worry of punishment for going after a noble, and where even were the night guards in this place?
"Now what's a little pink-haired youth like you doing out in the night in these streets of Gotham? Ain't it supposed to be a school night or something?" The head crook of this merry band asked as he came too close to her for comfort, her nostrils flared at the baby talking he was doing to her, but she did take notice of the word "Gotham".
It sounded too important to be a simple Village, and it sure wasn't any Kingdom on the maps of Halkeginia, so this must've been the name of a City.
But WHERE on the Founder's name was this Gotham and how far was she from the Tristain academy?
"Or maybe school girls are the newest kink the street whores do around these parts!" Another crook voiced himself aloud as the others, minus Louise of course, laughed at the crude humor that made her blench, but then a shiver ran down her spine as she saw him trying to reach for her hair. "Not that I mind or anything..."
Part of Louise's logical mind told her to just run away and lose them, but apparently, she failed to consider that option as she raised her wand up tightly at the group of thugs.
"HOW DARE YOU!" Her grip on her wand shaking lightly, these plebians dared to make such insulting assumptions about her and mock her, and she had enough of that already back at the academy. "Do you even realize who you are talking to?!"
"A little runt who nearly blew my eardrums!" Another thug approached with a wooden stick with nails in it, making Louise pale a bit.
His intentions were evident, and Louise narrowed her eyes and focused her attention on the tip of her wand. She could not let them touch her without a fight.
"I am no runt, nor am I here for any of your...kinks. I am Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière, and if you do not leave me in peace, I will be forced to rightfully defend myself against lower scum like you!"
The group looked at each other perplexed...before laughing arose in them all. "Yeah right, what are you gonna do, little Houdini? Make us disappear? He ha ha ha!"
'Even in an unknown territory, my magic's being mocked.' She thought bitterly as her grip tightened on the wand.
Whatever.
WHATEVER!
Failed spell or not, as long as it worked, it would still be better than any other alternative, as she proceeded to chant her spell. "WIND STORM!"
The wand glowed with light, but as she half expected, the spell did not create a gust of wind to disperse the crooks away, instead shot an explosion sending many of them flying to the floor, some even attained burn marks. Louise had a feeling they would be out for blood soon enough and she needed to use the chance to run away from the scene.
'But where?' She asked herself, that was when the bells tolled from behind her, spinning around to gaze finally at a building she clearly recognized as possible sanctuary "The Church!"
The explosion had certainly caught the attention of the thugs, and probably a few more unwanted spectators, Louise thought as she ran, the loud bangs of footsteps echoing in the distance. The sensation of being hunted had her adrenaline pumping.
"Hello?! Help! Someone! Please open the door, I AM BEING FOLLOWED!" It was not until she found herself at the doors of the church which refused to open for her that she realized the danger she had just put herself in. "This isn't happening, this isn't happening..."
"THERE YOU ARE!"
She wasn't fast enough to react to her school uniform cloak being pulled back and yanked off off her and away from the doors of the Church and out in the streets again as she looked up at the thugs surrounding her, the leader of the pack kicked the wand out of her hand and wrapped his fist around her neck. "When I'm done with you, your own MOTHER won't recognize that mess you will call a face from now on!"
"M-mom..." Louise breathed out silently as he stared at the Crook's hate-filled eyes.
Mother...
Karin de la Vallière.
The Karin of the Heavy Wind.
Powerful mage and Duchess...
Louise can only imagine the disappointment in her mother's eyes if she were here to see her in this state.
Her eyes searched the streets, hoping someone would see her predicament.
Hoping someone, anyone, would help.
And then...
At what came to be a pivotal moment in her life, her eyes laid upon HIM for the very first time.
Perched above one of the gargoyles of the church, a black silhouette watched from above, eyes glowing white, donning a mantle that went all the way down to his feet and moved in the wind, large pointy horns made his figure all the more terrifying.
And soon the thugs followed Louise's eyes up above, their postures from boysterous and dangerous to frozen and trembling. "No no no...IT'S THE FREAKING BAT!"
Before any further action could be done, the figure above threw a small ball that fell right in the middle of the crowd, and a cloud of smoke surrounded them fully.
She coughed out the smoke as the leader crook rose her to her feet and held her in an arm lock, as both their eyes tried to make sense of their surroundings, but the smoke put a dent in that.
However, the sounds of screams, of punches landing, and of bones breaking, were crystal clear to Louise's ears.
The crook that held Louise hostage pulled a dagger from his pants and held it close to her, his hand trembling. "I-I-I'm not afraid...DO YOU HEAR ME, BATMAN?! I'M NOT AFRAID OF YOU, YOU FREAK!"
...Batman?
Who or what was this Batman? Was it a demon?
Or even an Elf?
It had to be, otherwise, she could not fathom how someone could be so afraid of one person.
When the smoke began to clear, bodies lay around them, but unconscious, not dead.
And in the middle of them-
She gasped loudly, she had nearly believed it a demon, if not for his eyes, now clearer at this distance.
Blue eyes, human eyes.
He donned a cape that went over his shoulders, the symbol of a black bat was present onto his grey chest, like the crest of a noble family on armors. Black boots and gauntlets on his feet and forearms, reinforced in metal, a golden belt with many pouches around his waist.
His face bore a permanent scowl, one that made Louise feel somewhat intimidated...
But his act of seemingly rescuing her gave her pause...and a sense of relief?
From such...individual?
"I'M WARNING YOU, ONE MORE STEP AND I'LL SLIT HER THROAT!" The thug's threats and the blade poking at her jugular snapped her back to the present, while this 'Batman', did not flinch in the slightest at that threat, and Louise didn't know how to feel about it.
Batman's gaze soon laid above the two, and Louise and the thug couldn't help but look up as well, but nothing of interest could be seen-
It was a distraction, as Louise soon found out when Batman pulled some sort of metallic gun with a hook handle on it, which he shot and wrapped itself around the thug's arm with it's claws. Batman proceeded to yank him forward, the thug lost his grip both on the knife and Louise as Batman swiped him off his feet, the crook fell hard on the pavement, and the next thing he saw, was Batman's boot making contact with his face before he passed out.
Louise laid down as she was a spectator to all of this in pure perplexion and amazement, the masked man then turned his head towards her and spoke to her in a grave, yet still smooth and deep voice. "Are you alright?"
At Batman's question, Louise's eyes met his, her heart still pounding. "Uh, yes, thank you," she managed to say, her voice trembling as she straightened her clothes, trying to regain her composure and Noble image.
A million questions formed in her mind, but she couldn't find it in herself to ask them. The fact that she was in a foreign land and saved by someone she had never heard of in her life was the icing on the cake.
"YO, The Bat's here!"
Batman and Louise turned their attention behind him, and more criminals approached, armed and dangerous. She looked at Batman, whose gaze remained fixed on the new crowd forming. "Get her to higher ground."
"On it."
She didn't have the time to ponder his words as a new set of boots echoed behind her, a new figure, dressed in red and green similarly to the Batman, the letter R on his left pectoral, black eye masks like the kind she'd see in Aristocratic parties on his face, dark hair, and blue eyes with young features and a cocky smirk to complete the look.
"Hi, the name's Robin. Get ready for something cool." He pulled the same kind of gun as Batman and raised her to her feet, wrapping an arm around her waist, and before she could protest at the act, he fired, and she suddenly flew. Or better put was pulled upwards high.
atop the liquor store just on the other side of the street from the Church, Robin set her near with her back against a smokestack. "And now as consolation, ole' Bat's gonna give them a much-needed makeover for messing with y-"
He was cut short as Louise rushed to the edge of the building, her breakfast from that morning now spilling down the streets.
Robin cringed, already getting a napkin ready from his utility belt. "Right...He warned me about some citizens suffering from motion sickness."
"Thanks." With teary eyes, Louise gratefully accepted the napkin to wipe away any bile left, so much bad stuff in so little time.
Was this city cursed or something?
"Here, let me help you." He got her back on her feet once again and offered a comforting grin. "You don't want to miss the show."
Confused, she looked below them, Batman was in the process of taking down the remaining 3 goons.
His movements were fluid, calculated, and efficient, fighting with nothing but his fists and legs, no use of magic nor even a sword.
As a young girl, she watched her mother train her troops to be the best Tristain had to offer, they sparred and fought one another, but this...
This Batman, watching him fight, it was unreal.
Yet it WAS real.
The last thug tried to kick Batman from behind, but he grabbed onto his leg, throwing him off balance and onto the ground, and Louise flinched when Batman turned it at an angle it shouldn't have been possible to turn.
After that, Batman swiftly made his way to the rooftop as well. "Good work, Robin. Luckily we got to her in time."
Robin walked up to him. "And even more luckily, she didn't puke on me."
The two masked figures then turned their attention towards Louise, who pressed her back against the smokestack, using what strength she had to bow her head at the two. "Thank you...for rescuing me from these animals."
Batman simply nodded. "It's what we do." before taking a few steps forward. "But we do have some questions."
"Like what are you doing in the middle of the night in the streets of Old Gotham, near Crime Alley nonetheless?" Robin asked with a small frown as he crossed his arms. "We know these streets well enough, and I have never seen you around."
"That's because..." She bit her lower lip. "I'm not."
Robin then proceeded to ask. "Then where?"
She had a bad feeling about answering them, not because she didn't trust them, they just saved her life, but she couldn't help but feel she was setting herself up for disappointment. "That depends...in what Kingdom is this 'Gotham City' of yours, and how far is it from Tristain and the Tristain Academy?"
The masked man stood silently still, Louise wouldn't have been surprised if a bird perched on his shoulder, but then he informed her with an even tone. "There is no such academy here in Gotham nor anywhere near it, and Gotham is not in a Kingdom."
A violin string was broken in Louise's mind, as the naive part of her hoped that she was still somewhat close to home, but very VERY far away. "Oh...but how far is it Tristian? Albion? Romalia? Or even Germania by any chance...?"
Batman remained silent as he looked at Robin, who thinned his lips. "She seems to believe in these places she's telling us, and it doesn't seem like one of Tech's victims either, the hair's roots are pink, the eyes don't seem like contact lenses, it seems all-natural, Batman, you don't think..."
"It may be, but I'm not sold on it yet."
What did any of that even MEAN?
But her focus moved past the two, far beyond, a gasp escaping her.
On the horizon and she refused to believe Gotham was just a city, it was like no other she had ever seen lay before her, with illuminated buildings so high they made Tristania feel so small in comparison, and that was only the view she could get from this rooftop, she could barely imagine herself on one of those towering buildings looking at everyone below.
She could barely believe everything that had happened in a span of just a few minutes.
But what truly broke her perception of her surroundings, as her head wandered to the back of the church and beyond it, the moon shined brightly that night.
The Moon. "Only one..."
as in Singular.
"One moon."
As in only ONE MOON WAS IN THE SKY.
"There's only one moon in the sky..."
Louise's breaths became small and hollow and fast, her hands shook, and her lips quivered.
They took notice of her reaction, Robin jerked to help her but Batman held his arm to stop him, he then turned his attention to Louise. "Deep breaths, inhale and count up to 5, then exhale and count down to 5. And repeat."
Thankfully she heard his words and proceeded to do as she was told.
Breathing in, 1,2,3,4,5.
Breathing out, 5,4,3,2,1.
and repeat.
She did this for a good full minute before she managed to calm down, but was still very shaken.
Batman then nodded to Robin, and he moved and unclipped his cape, wrapping it around her shoulders, and Louise held onto it tightly.
"I'm...not in Halkeginia anymore, am I?" She gulped with slow breaths.
"I'm afraid not." Batman knelt next to her, raising his hand, saw she didn't flinch, and then placed it on her shoulder. "We saw the explosion from afar, that's how we were able to find you. And this." And then moved his other hand to one of the pouches on his belt revealing-
"My wand!" She nearly moved her arm to take it back but refrained from the movement.
"No hidden circuits, no hidden mechanisms, no traces of dynamite powder, yet you managed to cause an explosion to repel those thugs." His grip on her shoulder was now firmer. "You are not in trouble. It was self-defense, and no one was killed. We are going to HELP you. But I need you to be completely honest with us. Who are you? Where did you come from? And why are you in Gotham?"
She hesitated for a moment, weighing the risks and benefits of being honest with Batman and Robin.
But they proved to be altruistic figures, both of them.
But she needed his help, after all. She took a deep breath.
"I'm Louise le Blanc de la Vallière. Third daughter to Duchess Karin Désirée de la Vallière née Maillart and Duke Sandorion de la Vallière. I'm from a continent called Halkeginia, which is far from here...in another world." Her head felt foggy just hearing herself. "I'm a student at the Tristain Academy of Magic. I was attempting to summon a familiar, a tradition from my world, to prove myself as a mage when suddenly, I found myself in this world...this place." Louise explained as truthfully as she could.
"...Jesus. I know I haven't been in the game that long, but are all nights like this?" Robin asked Batman who hummed at his question.
"Every night is its own story."
"I'm in a new world...By the Founder." Louise grasped at the locks of her long hair. "I...got nothing here. No status...n-no family...I'm alone, a nobody, a nothing a-a-a..."
"A Zero."
Louise felt a pang of guilt for leaving her family, her school, and her duties unattended, unintentionally or not. The thought of her absenteeism at school made her cringe, but the reality was that she was far from home and that her well-being now depended on these kind strangers...but pride threatened to bitter all her thoughts.
A silence fell upon the rooftop, but Batman broke that silence soo enough before Louise could fall any deeper into a pit of despair. "You are not alone, Louise," Batman reassured her with a soft tone. "I know it must be difficult, to have the life you knew stripped away from you in such a short time...I know what it is like."
"...Pardon me if I have doubts regarding that." Louise huffed silently, not seeing how he could understand the situation she was in at the moment.
And after another beat of silence, he asked her. "...Wouldn't you like to learn?"
the question made Louise snap her attention back to Batman, who continued. "you cannot remain on these streets, as you have already made an impression on the local crooks here, it's just too dangerous for you, and I cannot just hand you CPS, so for the time being, you will remain with us." He then offers her wand back to her. "But only if you desire so."
Louise watched Batman carefully as he held her wand, pondering her bizarre situation. At his offer, she couldn't help but feel relieved.
It was a start, at least.
She nodded, understanding his reasoning. She was a stranger in this strange city with no backup and no means of providing for herself. Accepting Batman's help was the safest option, for now, and she couldn't deny that she was grateful for his offer.
She accepted her wand from him, holding it carefully in her hand. "...Very well. I shall follow your guidance, to ensure my safety." Louise declared, her shoulders straightening, and her back straightened. Regardless of her current state, her pride compelled her to stand firm.
"A word, Batman?" Robin made his presence known again as he and Batman moved to the other side of the rooftop so Louise couldn't hear them. "Are you sure it's wise? What you wanna do."
"My Detective Vision found no data on her, and as you said, her hair and eyes are all-natural, and that wand, we'll need more data, but it all tracks."
Robin breathed out. "I know, but still, bringing her in like that, you taught me the value of keeping our secrets very strict."
And Batman reminded him. "I also taught you that above all, our mission is to help and keep Gotham, and everyone in it safe, and that includes the girl. She has no one here, and nothing."
Robin shook his head. "Know that feeling too well...Contrary to popular belief, I'm not a full-time jack-ass."
"None of us believed you to be that."
"And you'd all been the firsts." Robin then crouched down and pulled out his grappling gun. "I'll take the Bat-Cycle, see you back home, Bruce."
"Meet you at the Batcave, Jason."
When Robin grappled away, Batman returned to Louise. "Hold tight." And brought himself and Louise onto the streets once more, far gentler than with Robin, the thugs had yet to get back up, which eased her worry for a bit.
"So...to where are we going...is it far from here?" Louise asked the masked man as Batman guided her into a secluded area.
"14 miles, or 24 Kilometers away from here. If any of those units of length are familiar with you." He informed her so casually, which made her stop dead in her tracks.
They were.
"T-That can take HOURS to travel on foot!" She was grateful for him saving her, but she would not hide away her displeasure at the news, as she groaned and ran a hand over her face. "Please tell me you have a horse around these parts or something."
Batman looked behind his back at Louise and while his face didn't show it, his tone offered a little hint of smugness. "Or something."
He pressed a button on his gauntlet, and a noise similar to the roar of a dragon broke the silence around her as Louise jumped in place, then bright lights seemed to come into their direction and seemed fast approaching. "What in the Founder's name?!"
She hid behind Batman's back as she expected to be sent flying by whatever beast came their way...but then the roaring came to a halt, as Louise peeked to see not a beast but a...a...
...The most logical conclusion her brain struggled to find was "a horseless carriage". It was black and sleek metallic, with no sign of wood being used in its making, with fins in the back resembling a bat's wings, and even a bat insignia stamped on the front and the wheels of it, the same insignia that Batman wore on his chest.
He approached the contraption from its left side and the hood of it slid forward, allowing access inside. "Get inside, we'll be there very soon."
"Oh my, oh my..." Louise's eyes remained wide as she stared at the horseless carriage with a mix of awe and terror. She then sucked in a breath before getting inside the vehicle.
the seat she sat on was surprisingly comfortable, the inside was filled with buttons and handles she couldn't make heads or tails of what they do- "What's this for?" She asked Batman as she saw him handing her a bag, which she took it in her lap, it wasn't made of leather, but it was thin as paper the texture felt the same.
"Judging by what I gathered so far, you've never been in a "carriage" like this before, correct?" He asked Louise who hesitently nodded. The vehicle's hood slid backward closed. "In that case, I'm gonna go as slow as I can without being detected, but I cannot promise you won't suffer from motion sickness..."
His right hand then gripped a handle. "Hence the paper bag." And then hit a thin rectangle near his foot, and the vehicle roared to life and began its journey through the streets of Gotham.
4 minutes in, Louise put that paper bag to good use.