Batman: Arkham Echo (Joker's Daughter AU! OC Arkhamverse Fanfic)

Ch. 2: The Hummingbird

"I want to go back to a time before it was too late." -Unknown

WARNING: mentions of/attempted sexual assault
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Walking back home with three bags of groceries in each hand is definitely a workout. But, while it got me some additional exercise, it was very tedious and annoying to do it on my own. I should've waited for Kiera to get home from work, instead of jumping head first in a task that was harder than it actually looked. It was times like this that I wish I wasn't so anxious and trigger-happy about being behind the wheel of a car. Sure, I had a motorcycle, but that was a little different from a car.

That and being in a car reminds me of the crash my real family was in...

I sighed softly, dismissing the thought as I breathed in cold late-autumn air...

While walking, I was able to muster enough strength to grab my infinity scarf and pull it over my head. It remained clenched tightly in my hand as I quickly turned several corners and moved into different alleyways. First, I went around street corners on sidewalks and alleys before finally going down a familiar alley that I used to avoid traffic on my motorcycle. Hey, I don't have the patience for obstacles, so I might as well come up with alternative paths.

I was never patient enough with traffic, especially when I was younger. Hence why I never drove anywhere with the Joker or any of his self-entitled, idiotic goons and gunmen. They always drove recklessly and with little regard for road or car safety. An additional reason was that I wanted to be away from him for as long as possible. Unless... he forced the issue by scaring me into submission and silence. But, even then and as I got older, I was allowed to walk in order to get from place to place.

However, you do have to be careful in these dark, filthy, and tight passages. Most criminals liked to hang out to jump people or camp out in the nearby buildings. Better yet, they use them to murder innocents and good, hardworking people. It was a perfect place for such dangerous hijinxs and rejections of humanity...

Secluded...

Dark...

Dirty...

Just far enough out of reach...

From everyone and everything...

Just like...

No...

I couldn't slip into a panic attack in the middle of a place like this. Any nearby muggers and offenders would take advantage of my vulnerability. They could strike me down in a senseless act of violence and bloodshed. They could kill, torture, or assault me in every horrible way possible and imaginable. Destroy me from the inside out until there was nothing left of me.

Just the sheer thought of it sent bile and my partly-digested coffee back up into my esophagus...

I was about halfway through the alley that led onto the main road... when I heard a faint whistle...

Turning my head just enough, I could see two men, one partially bald and the other blonde. One was leaning against a backdoor to an apartment building while his buddy was walking towards me. Both of them weren't very well-built, not muscular enough to do any lasting harm or damage. Just from their overconfident swagger as the blonde one walked towards me, I could tell that they were predators. They specifically target defenseless people who traveled alone and took what they wanted from them. From many stories I've heard and some of my close-call experiences, there are two things they want. They want control and to rob young people of their innocence to make them feel helpless...

However, unfortunately for them, I'm not that defenseless little kid from years ago, who was scared of her abusive excuse of a foster father...

Putting my bags down, the offender came towards me, his slender fingers tapping and crawling against my clothed shoulders. He then walked in front of me, his buddy standing behind me, about several feet away from where we were standing. He was obviously waiting for me to turn and try and run in the other direction of his friend. Of course, I knew better than to walk into an obvious trap, especially considering the last one I walked into.