AN: no beta, sorry
@Functionality way to annoying to do everything from my phone, I swear I'm going to get my internet sorted out! Promise! But ughhh yeah I decided to make everyone cry. So fair warning.
Police commissioner Gordon pulled up outside of Arkham Asylum to a scene of complete chaos, lines of body bags and a dark haired little girl no older than six hiding behind a group of officers loudly demanding to be "rested" and flinching away every time one of the bats stepped closer only to start demanding to be "rested" even louder. She wasn't even looking at the Bats. She just seemed to know when one stepped closer and immediately moved to make sure an officer was between her and whatever vigilante seemed to be trying to get to her.
"What on earth is going on here?!" Gordon demanded. Stomping over to the knot of officers and the screaming child. "Bat's give us some space! You're terrifying the kid!"
Cautiously the bats stepped back as Gordon kneeled down.
"Now miss, why are you demanding my officers arrest you?" Gordon tried his best to make his voice soothing in the hope of calming the kid down.
The little girl looked at him from behind another officer's legs before stepping out and holding out her wrists.
"You gotta 'rest me, mister officer. Once you 'rest me they can't beat me up, that's the
rules. I broke the other rules and that means they get to beat me up until I'm 'rested. So please 'rest me first! I know I broke the rules, but I don't want them to beat me up!" The girl near shrieked at the end, and gestured wildly with her wrists, demanding to be put in cuffs.
"What rules did you break, kid? Because I promise the bats don't beat up kids." Gordon asked.
The girl did not calm down and pushed her wrists forward even more insistently.
"Yes they will! Because I broke the two biggest rules and that means they'll beat me up, and break my bones, and then they'll throw me in Arkham! I don't want them to break my knees! I gotta be able to run away from the bad people when they put me in Arkham so I need my knees! Even if I got most of the bad people already there's always more, and they're gonna make sure I can't use my bugs again so I really, really,
really need to be able to run away so I need my knees! Now you gotta 'rest me 'fore they break em!" The girl cast a terrified look over her shoulder at the very uncomfortable looking bat clan.
"Easy, easy, I'm not going to let them break your knees, and I'm not going to throw you in Arkham. Just tell me what rules you broke." Gordon said.
"'M a Meta." The girl muttered, lower lip stuck out in a pout. "Batman hates metas. But it's not my fault. I was born that way, and I was born
here. Not fair that he can kick me out."
For the first time in just about anyone's recollection Batman seemed to wilt.
"And what's the other rule you broke?" Gordon asked, giving Batman a very unimpressed look over the girl's head.
The girl fidgeted and spoke slowly, hesitantly.
"Mommy and Daddy said not to hurt people with my powers because that's mean. And I could hurt them really,
really badly. And that's wrong." She fidgeted. "But they also said, if I had to protect myself, I should do
whatever it takes. Even if that means the bad people trying to hurt me
die."
Gordon blinked, looked at the long row of body bags and tried very
very hard not to throw up or show just how rattled he was really feeling.
"What's your name miss?" Gordon asked.
"Taylor." She answered.
"Taylor, did you kill all these people?"
"… I needed to be safe. I had to 'tect myself from bad people. And they died. And that meant Batman would find out, and beat me up, and throw me in Arkham, and then I'd have been in there with
all the bad people and I'd have
died. Like, like Mommy and Daddy. And
no one gets away from Batman so… so if I got the bad people 'fore you 'rested me then, then even in Arkham I'd have a
chance." The little girl had tears running down her face and she was very firmly presenting Gordon with her wrists again.
"Please 'rest me." The girl asked quietly. Seeming to lose all her fight to exhaustion.
Gordon very slowly pulled out his handcuffs and closed them just enough that they wouldn't fall off then pulled the girl into a hug. The little body shook against his and he tried to convey just how angry he was about all of this to the lineup of quietly horrified vigilantes.
{}{}{}{}
The entire bat clan was gathered around the bat computer, even Oracle had chosen to join them in person for this. The screen was split into quarters each showing the view from one corner of a police interrogation room. Taylor sat on one side of the table fidgeting with the handcuffs she wore the way most children would pick at a security blanket.
The investigator across from the girl did his best to smile for the child but it didn't take someone of the bat clan's skill to see how forced the smile really was.
"I guess… I guess it all started when Mr. Nightwing lied to me." Taylor said, not looking up from her cuffs. "He saved me, but he couldn't save Mommy and Daddy. He told me it was going to be ok because the Joker was caught and wouldn't be able to hurt me, and he said the police would find someone to look after me."
"And why was that a lie?"
"Because none of the bad people
stay caught. Daddy said no one will be safe while the bad people are alive. Mommy told him not to say that in front of me, but she
didn't say he was wrong. It was a really dumb lie."
Richard Grayson sort of crumpled in on himself at that declaration.
"And the people I was sent to live with talked to someone on the phone about selling me." Taylor continued. "Mommy said if anyone wanted to take me, or sell me, or make me take drugs or anything like that I should sting them with
all the bees. Only there wasn't a beehive I could reach, and I don't
want to make bees sting people because the bees
die when they sting someone, but there was a big wasp nest so I used them instead. They yelled a lot when I stung them and then they fell down and didn't get back up. And, and I realized I killed them." Taylor shook in her seat.
Stephany Brown buried her head in her hands and forced herself to take deep breaths.
"I did what Mom and Dad said I was supposed to do. But I killed them and that means I'm a villain and
that meant the bats would find me and beat me up and throw me in
Arkham."
Taylor shivered and gave herself the best approximation of a hug she could manage while cuffed.
Barbara Gordon without meaning to let slip a small noise distress.
"But, but I started thinking! Batman doesn't beat people up
after they're arrested! So I just had to bring myself to Arkham
before they caught me! So I started walking." She stopped talking to play with her cuffs.
Tim Drake muttered curses under his breath.
"But then I remembered that
all the bad people are locked up there and if I got locked in there with them they'd
kill me like they killed Mommy and Daddy." She started to shake and tears began to well up in her eyes.
Alfred Pennyworth released a breathless sigh. As he wrestled to maintain control of his emotions.
"They said to do whatever it takes to protect myself, no matter what. And I was already going to be locked up in Arkham
forever and
ever so… so if I was gonna end up there forever anyway I couldn't make it
worse and, and if I killed all the bad people in Arkham they wouldn't be able to hurt me after I'm 'rested and my friends won't have to worry about getting hurt or losing their parents either!" The girl was crying but she kept right on talking.
Cassandra Cain shook in place where she stood. Hard won words abandoning her in her distress.
"So I kept going, and I grabbed every dangerous bug I could find and any time someone started acting weird I scared 'em off with bugs. Then… no building's ever really
bug proof and Arkham's
really not bug proof, but I couldn't tell the bad people from the workers with my bugs so I had to wait for them to all be locked up in their rooms to be sure I'd only hurt the bad people."
"Bug senses are weird, but I learned, I learned to understand… They screamed, they screamed so much and I
hate it hate it hate it!" Taylor sucked in deep ragged breaths through gasps and tears. "But Mommy and Daddy said to do
whatever it takes to be safe, and they said
no one's safe while the bad people in Arkham are alive. And, and, they're
gone, and Nightwing
lied, and people wanted to
sell me, and I just wanna be
safe!"
The investigator stood up, circled the table and pulled the girl into a hug. Taylor sobbed into the embrace.
Jason Todd sucked in a long breath, then stepped forward to shut off the video feed, taking the mouse from Bruce Wayne's hand to do it.
"Barbie," Jason spoke with the deadly calm of forced restraint, "think you had better reach out to the league and find out who would be willing to take her in. Maybe see if Wonder Woman would let her grow up on Themyscira."
Bruce blinked and looked up at Jason.
"Don't even think about it, Bruce. That kid is sitting there, messed up beyond belief with more than a hundred deaths on her hands because she did the best she could with a six year olds understanding." Jason leaned forward,
looming over Bruce.
"She killed all those people to be
safe. To be safe from the crazies, to be safe from the justice system, and to be safe from
us, from
you. We are getting her out of this city, even if I have to raid police headquarters and do it
myself. We are getting her out of this city and you
will not try to force your morals and code on that girl because if you try that with her the way you
always do. All that would do is compound her guilt, and
break her even more." Jason snarled and Bruce flinched back.
"So we are going to get her out, and get her actual
competent therapy instead of the bullshit at Arkham. And she is going to have the chance to grow up
safe like she always deserved somewhere far away from here." Jason said.
Bruce opened his mouth to protest but Jason stared him down, unwavering, until Bruce backed down with a nod. Jason snorted dismissively and turned to walk away.
"Joker's finally dead and I can't even celebrate after watching this shit. God I hate this city." Jason's parting remark hung in the air until the sound of his bike engine filled the cave as he left.
