Nightingale(damien wayne)

chapter one

the rain padded down on the concrete of gotham as i dragged my torn black converse through the streets. street lamps shone dimly giving the alleyways a dark ambience as i passed them by, leaving an eerie feeling inch its way down my back and electrocuting my spine. cars passed by not caring about the water that they aggressively splashed up hitting anyone no matter who they were. the cold wind made me gasp, grabbing needily at the thin burgundy sweater that covered my small frame and face.

whistles and shouts were heard as i passed a dingy bar, the hood of my sweater covering my face as i glowered at the drunk men who continued to holler and yell. the sound of the rain was more comforting than any sound in gotham, maybe because rain always meant the sun afterwords but, in this sense it meant something much different.

sirens wailed in the distance as i rounded a corner, and the sounds of ringing grew closer than i would have liked. the gotham city bank. i stop walking at stare at the white building in front of me, my head tilts and i watch two caped figures land on top of the structure. batman and robin. of course, whole else would be there to kick the villain's ass and save the day if not them.

curiosity gets the best of me as i make my way to the entrance of the bank, the gcpd hasn't made it yet so it was easy sneaking in. if honesty is the best policy then, i'll admit i loved watching the fights between batman and his villains, it was my favourite past time. i'd been doing it for so long, it was almost comforting sitting on a roof and watching him and robin beat up thugs. i make my way behind the tills, not hearing any sign of a fight yet between batman and whoever decided to rob the bank today. i huff as my dark hair continues to drip dry under my hood, my jeans becoming stiff as they air dry awkwardly while i crawl to the back. a loud cry of laughter lets out as i get closer to the vault, making my whole body stiffen in fear.

loud explosions go off inside of the vault and i'm left right outside the heavy door regretting my decision of coming here tonight. i make it to the end and arrive at the door of the vault, where a faint beeping noise can be heard. immediately i jump back as the beeping gets louder and faster, a wave of heat crashing over me as i'm pushed backwards into a till. glass shatter in the room as fire and smoke eat away at everything they touch, i cover my head and slither behind a desk, panting and coughing. my left arm is sore with cuts, i hold onto it, desperately trying to keep quiet.

definitely, a bad idea coming here. good one abigail.

i could hear grunts and shouts deep from within the vault, while footsteps clamoured up the metal stairs. my head curls around the corner slightly, watching as men in clown masks haul bags of money out as fast as possible. i immediately retract and cover my mouth in fear i'd let out a scream, i'd never been this close to a fight before let alone one with the joker.

"come on batman! you know i just love our encounters but i really need this money this time." his scratchy voice reaches my ears and i cower even further into the desk than before. i needed to get out. i let out a shaky breath and choke back the sob waiting to escape, getting on my hands and knees i began to crawl around the desk to look for an exit.

"oh my, what do we have here." i freeze, my heartbeat in my ears and eyes bulging out of my head. my knuckles turn white as i stare at the ground in pure terror. "come on doll, don't be scared, i don't bite." the voice purrs maliciously as my hood is grabbed and i'm brought up to face the one and only harley quinn. she smiles at me, her teeth whiter than i'd expected almost matching her pale skin. she was gorgeous, captivating, yet absolutely wicked. tears fell from my eyes as i stared into her bright blue ones, her face contorts into a pout as she puts me down and wipes me off.

"please don't hurt me." i rush out as i back away from her and hit a wall. scoffing, the blonde walks over to me cooly, swaying her hips and raising her chin to make herself more intimidating. one she reaches me she grabs my chin and starts inspecting my face.

"oh, i'm not gonna hurt you sugar. definitely not. you're gon' be something very, very special though." her thick accent was like a drug, her voice was so sweet yet held so much venom behind it. she lets go of me and grabs me by my arm, dragging me to the door of the vault. "oh puddin'! fuck the money, i found something even better!" at those final words i'm thrown in front of her and shown off to the joker who seems to be not doing so well with his fight against the dark night.

both of the men look to their left and stare at me, i cringe at the joker's bloody face and obviously beaten body. the joker laughs maniacally and i wince as he kicks batman off of him and jumps up, eyes never leaving mine. he begins to walk up to me, almost the same as harley did - minus the swinging of the hips of course - and i tremble in fear. he continues laughing, head twisting and arms contorting strangely as he did so, i couldn't move, my body hadn't chosen a fight or flight response, i just froze.

all of a sudden i'm out of breath and the room is spinning, i hold desperately onto whatever grabbed hold of me and let out a gasp of air. "what the fuck!" i look up and see none other than the boy wonder himself, robin. he says nothing, and i can't even tell if he looks at me because of his mask. i huff in annoyance at his lack of response and hold tighter as he somehow swings faster over to a ledge far away from the duo of clowns.

"what are you doing here? are you an idiot?" he rants as soon as he places me down, scolding me and waving a finger in my face. i immediately scoff and hit his hand out of my face.

"i'm not an idiot, i watch you guys all the time. i was leaving when harley grabbed me so it's not technically my fault i'm here!" my hands are on my hips and i glare at the boy. there's no way he was any older than fifteen, about the same age as me no doubt.

"maybe i should have let her take you then. so you don't watch us anymore. i knew someone was watching us, i just could figure out who and now here you are." his frown is deep and mine matches it no doubt. i'd ratted myself out and now couldn't watch them anymore. he sighs deeply and pinches the bridge of his nose, he begins to speak when a small circular object is thrown between us, a smiley face poorly painted on it. robins eyes go wide and his arms stretch out pushing me as he kicks it as quickly as he can. his face turns to mine again as i stumble back and jumps at me this time, tackling me to the floor and covering me with his body as the small object explodes and heat flashes over me for the second time that night.

my head hits the floor with a thud as we are blasted further into a wall, fortunately for me, the boy wonder hitting it instead of me. i groan and stand, stumbling to stand up and gather my surroundings. laughter is heard again as the ringing in my ears stops, my vision no longer blurry as a hand claps down onto my shoulder, my head whips around and i see robin clutching his side. his eyes stay focused forwards and i gulp, turning to look and see a smile in the smoke caused by the bomb.

"now, now, birdy. give me the girl and i won't kill you." the joker cackles and drags a wooden plank behind him, ready to use it as a weapon no doubt.

"why do you want the girl so bad." it was more of a command to know than a question really. my head throbbed as robins weight on my shoulder grew heavier and heavier, either due to my headache or the fact he was injured and needed support.

"if i told you that it'd ruin the surprise." with that, the joker threw down three small metal balls, no paint on them this time just blank dark metal.

"shit, cover your mouth an-!" before he can finish the first small ball goes off blinding us and causing another ringing to go off in my ears. once again I've been forcefully shoved to the ground with him on top again and an awful smell filled my nose and mouth. i gag and cough as i hear faint shouts and bangs not too far from me. my vision goes blurry again and i'm left weak and unable to move on the floor.

"it's all right sugar, we ain't gon' hurt ya. for now." quinn giggles into my ear as i'm dragged and picked up and put into the back of a van.