Gotham's Unknown 3 Predator and Prey

Chapter 2: Only the Beginning

Sarah and Daniel stood in the living room with Oswald and Edward sitting on the couch as Sarah explained what was going to happen to Lorraine over the next few weeks. "She's dying?!" Asked Oswald in a panicked tone as Sarah sighed.
"Yes but there is no need to panic." Said Sarah as Oswald took a breath trying incredibly hard not to scream at her.
"How could you say that she's your daughter! Daniel are you heading this!?" Demanded Oswald as Daniel sighed.
"Oswald, you need to trust Sarah on this please. I know it sounds absolutely insane but she knows what she's talking about." Said Daniel as he stood next to Sarah.
"Yes, I went through this, Adam went through it, and it's Lorraine's turn. It could never have been avoided, it's just in our blood." Said Sarah as Oswald huffed but Edward put his hand on his husband's.
"What can we do to help?" Asked Edward softly and in a concerned tone as if he understood the assignment put in front of him and was now looking for any direction that led towards assisting his granddaughter.
"Well just treat her like nothing is wrong, there's no need to get her panicked over something so easily fixed." Said Sarah as Edward nodded.

After their talk Lorraine came down from her room. "Mama? Can I come out now?" Asked Lorraine as Sarah walked over to the stairs and saw Lorraine standing on the landing of the stairs dressed in her pink and white striped pajama set and her pink fuzzy bunny slippers.
"Of course, you were never confined to your room." Said Sarah as she went upstairs and met Lorraine on the landing. "Are you feeling any better?" Asked Sarah as Lorraine nodded.
"Mhm, my nap really helped." Said Lorraine with a small smile as Sarah brushed a long brown hair behind Lorraine's ear.
"Come on let's get you back in bed, you need your rest." Said Sarah with a soft smile.
"Ok, Mama." Said Lorraine as she took her mother's hand and went upstairs.

Sarah had Lorraine lay down in bed and then sat next to her. "How are you feeling?" Asked Sarah softly.
"Everything hurts, Mama." Said Lorraine as Sarah nodded and rubbed he chest with the tips of her fingers.
"It's ok, it's only gonna last a few days." Said Sarah as Lorraine huffed.
"Why is this happening?" Asked Lorraine as Sarah sighed but laughed a little.
"I'd say blame your grandfather but if we did that, you, I, and your brother probably wouldn't exist." Said Sarah with a smile.
"Why don't you ever talk about him?" Asked Lorraine as Sarah sighed.
"With the way he died it's hard to talk about him anymore." Said Sarah as Lorraine cocked her head to the side.
"How did he die?" Asked Lorraine as Sarah froze remembering everything that had happened.
"He saved our lives that's all you need to know." Said Sarah as she stood and completely changed her tune. "I'm gonna go get you another blanket from the hall closet." Said Sarah as she walked out and got into a closet. She dug through the closet until Daniel put his hand on her shoulder.
"Hey Sarah, are you ok?" Asked Daniel as Sarah faked a smile and nodded.
"Mhm." She said as turned back to the closet.
"Sarah, you're shaking." Said Daniel as Sarah held her hands out in front of her and they shook violently so but Daniel just put his bare hands over hers. The tingling sensation she felt from his touch brought her down a bit. "Lorraine asked about your Dad again, right?" Asked Daniel as tears escaped Sarah's eyes as she just nodded. "I know his death was hard for you." Said Daniel as he put his hand on the side of her face.
"I miss him so much..." Said Sarah as Daniel laid her head on his chest and stroked her hair causing it to frizz a little from his electric powers.
"I know." Said Daniel as he kissed the top of her head.
"Mom?" Asked Adam as he stood at the top of the stairs staring at the two of them. Sarah sniffed and immediately let go of Daniel.
"Yes?" Asked Sarah as she pulled a blanket out of the closet.
"Is everything ok?" Asked Adam as Sarah realized that they should probably tell Adam about Lorraine's condition.

Once Adam was informed of Lorraine's condition he knocked at her bedroom door. "What?" Asked Lorraine as she sounded busy.
"Can I come in?" Asked Adam as Lorraine responded with a simple hum. Adam entered the room and saw Lorraine's bed was empty though he turned to see her sitting at her desk writing and playing with her microscope. Lorraine looked up and sighed.
"I got tired of lying in bed." Said Lorraine as she spun in her swivel chair. "Why is everyone treating me like I'm helpless all of a sudden?" Asked Lorraine as Adam sat on her bed.
"Don't worry you're getting the easy side of things." Said Adam as he chuckled remembering how he grew up.
"I feel like there's a lot you guys aren't telling me. I don't like being in the dark Adam!" Said Lorraine as Adam straightened his back and folded his hands in his lap.
"Ok, what do you wanna know." Asked Adam as Lorraine stopped spinning and took a breath.
"Why won't Mama talk about our grandfather?" Asked Lorraine as Adam sighed.
"It's because of how he died, she hasn't talked about him much to anyone since he died so you're not the only one she's not talking to." Said Adam as Lorraine looked at him.
"How did he die?" Asked Lorraine as Adam took a shaky breath remembering what had happened that day. He didn't want to tell her but he knew what it was like to feel like you didn't know the whole story. He hated feeling like that so he didn't want to make her feel that way.
"Grandpa J died saving your life and Mom's." Said Adam as Lorraine sighed.
"How?" Asked Lorraine as Adam sighed knowing he would have to explain everything that he knew.
"There was this woman and apparently she had it out for our family. According to Dad she treated Mom like she was her pet and her slave. At one point Mom tried standing up to her and...." as Adam continued talking the visible signs of the trauma that Abigail Dupont inflicted upon their family started to show. "The woman she beat Mom to the ground and then they noticed me standing there. Mom begged me to run but I was frozen. The woman she tried to grab me but Mom knocked her to the ground and we ran but we didn't get far enough away." Said Adam as his entire body shook violently. "Grandpa J tried pleading her to just let Mom go but the woman pulled out a gun and tried to shoot Mom but Grandpa J stepped in the way. The last few hours he was alive we all spent trying to save him but he told me that he was done here anyway..."

The next paragraph will be narrated by Adam

While Mom was off trying to find a way to cure him I sat with him for a little bit and he was awake. "Hey kid don't cry over me ok?" Asked Grandpa J as I sniffed.
"But-" I tried to fight him on this but he squeezed my hand.
"Hey promise me that you'll handle living without me in a mature way, your mom's not gonna take this very well so I need you to promise me that you'll act like nothing's wrong so that gives your mom more motivation to be normal." Asked Grandpa J as I sniffed and nodded. "I'm glad that I stuck around long enough to see you back with your Mom." Said Grandpa J as I nodded.

Adam Narration Over

"That was the last thing he ever said to me." Said Adam as he wiped away his tears.
"Mama was pregnant with me, right?" Asked Lorraine as Adam nodded.
"Yeah." Said Adam as they went quiet for a moment.
"Can I ask you something else?" Asked Lorraine softly as Adam looked up.
"What?" Asked Adam as he breathed deeply trying to regain his composure.
"Does it hurt...?" Asked Lorraine as Adam realized she meant dying.
"Leading up to it is what hurts but when you actually die it's honestly kind of peaceful." Said Adam as he sighed.
"Can't I just skip past the pain?" Asked Lorraine as Adam chuckled.
"No that's not how it works, at least I don't think so." Said Adam as he stood and thumped his palms against his thighs. "But then again I'm not then expert." Said Adam as Lorraine stood from her chair and hugged Adam around his midsection since he was so much taller than her.
"Thanks for talking to me." Said Lorraine as she squeezed him tight. Adam just placed his hand on her back and rubbed her back.
"Hey that's what I'm here for, you can always come to me if you have a problem ok?" Asked Adam as Lorraine looked up and nodded.

Over the next few days instead of Lorraine going to Oswald's home, she had to stay at home so she could receive her treatment. Sarah insisted that someone had to be at home with Lorraine so Daniel and Adam worked out a system where Daniel could be with her during the day then when Adam got home from school he could spend time with her.

One day after Adam got home from school he noticed Daniel and Lorraine sitting on the couch watching TV. Daniel was asleep but Lorraine was awake. "Hey Adam, Daddy!" Said Lorraine as she tapped Daniel in the chest.
"What!? What!?" Asked Daniel he shot up off the couch.
"Adam's here, you can go now." Said Lorraine as Daniel nodded and grabbed his vest off the arm of the couch but as he stepped across the room to gather his things from the dining table he noticed that Adam's friends were standing behind him.
"Hi Mister V." Said the two in almost perfect unison though their tones were off. Addison said it in a cool kinda way while Maxie said it in a shy sort of way.
"Yeah, is it cool if they hang here?" Asked Adam as Daniel nodded.
"Oh yeah sure, though stay out of my room and we're good." Said Daniel as he strapped on his double holster for his guns. Daniel then checked all his pockets and nodded. "Ok, so um your Mom is gonna be home late tonight there was a riot and the whole island got locked down this morning so now she's gonna be stuck filling out paperwork all night. Feel free to order takeout, make sure she is in bed before midnight, and lastly if anything goes wrong call Bruce because I'm gonna be busy all night and your mom is out of reach." Said Daniel as Adam nodded then he left.

Adam went into the kitchen as his friends sat down on the couch. "Hey Lorraine, whatcha watching?" Asked Addison as Lorraine stared at the TV.
"A documentary about ACE Chemicals." Said Lorraine as he threw a piece of popcorn in her mouth.
"You're a really weird little girl." Said Maxie as he sat in the chair in the corner.
"Chemistry is her thing, just like photography is yours so lay off her." Said Adam from the kitchen.
"Hey do your parents keep any booze in this place?" Asked Maxie as he looked at Adam.
"Why do you need booze?" Asked Addison as she kicked her feet up on the coffee table.
"Well how else am I supposed to sit through a documentary about ACE Chemicals?" Asked Maxie as Addison took a handful of popcorn and threw it at him.
"You are such a dick!" Said Addison as she and Maxie promptly started throwing things across the room at each other. Lorraine stood taking her I.V. stand with her and told Adam she was going to the bathroom.

After their fight subsided Adam started looking at take out menus but he decided that he wanted Lorraine to pick since this morning he had to console her because of the pain she was in. He went upstairs and knocked at the bathroom door. "Hey Lorraine? What do you want to eat?" Asked Adam as he waited. "Hello? Lorraine?" Asked Adam as he knocked again then he noticed his sock was wet so he looked down and saw blood pooling under the door. "LORRAINE!"