Gotham Untold #1 Dawn of an Age

Chapter 11: Kids being Kids

Selina walked into the Siren's Club which was owned by Barbara Kean but the establishment was often run by a young woman named Mona. She walked in with her 10 year old daughter Vanessa close behind. They walked up to the bar and Selina greeted Mona. "Hey Mona, have you seen Barbara anywhere?" Asked Selina as Mona nodded.
"Miss Kean? Yeah she's up in her office." Said Mona as Selina turned to Vanessa.
"Alright, Vanessa, I need you to stay right here." Said Selina as Vanessa nodded.
"Ok Mom." Said Vanessa as Selina tapped her nose.
"I'll be right back." Said Selina as she left Vanessa. Suddenly a young girl the same age as Vanessa walked into the room.
"Hey you find the bathroom ok?" Asked Mona as the girl nodded. She had long blonde hair and glasses.
"Hi." Said the girl as she held out her hand. "My name is Ophelia Talbot, it's a pleasure to meet you." Said the girl as she smiled and Vanessa smiled and smacked her hand.
"Vanessa Kyle but my friends call me V." Said Vanessa with a smile.
"Well V, can I show you something?" Asked Ophelia as Vanessa nodded then the girl took Vanessa's hand and ran.
Vanessa followed her close behind as Ophelia dragged her into the kitchen then through a door and finally to the roof. Ophelia ran off while Vanessa was distracted by the view of Gotham. "Psst!" Vanessa turned and saw Ophelia standing by a vent. Vanessa went over to her and they walked around the side to show a little fort made out of the vents, some plywood, some blankets, and some string lights turned this place into something magical. Vanessa looked around and saw everything and smiled. Vanessa had never really had any interest in just being a kid no matter how much her mother said that she needed to, she didn't really see the point since she knew she would have to grow up eventually she thought why waste her time being a kid when she was gonna spend the rest of her life being an adult but seeing this little fort that Ophelia had built just made her heart fill a sense of wonder she never had before. "Do you like it?" Asked Ophelia as Vanessa turned and smiled.
"Why are you showing me this?" Asked Vanessa with a smile as Ophelia shrugged.
"My sister said that she feels bad that you don't wanna be a kid, I heard your mom say that she's worried you're gonna grow up too fast, so I thought I'd show you how to be a kid." Said Ophelia with a smile.
"Thanks but I don't need it, this is Gotham being a kid is just such a waste of time." Said Vanessa as she started to walk off but then suddenly Vanessa was hit in the back of the head with a water balloon. Vanessa turned and saw a large plastic bucket filled with water balloons. Vanessa glared at Ophelia as she picked up a balloon and threw it at her. Within seconds they were in a full on water balloon fight.
After they were out of balloons, soaking wet, and cold, they went back downstairs. Selina and Barbara were sitting at the bar having a drink when the girls walked in. Mona smiled and looked at Selina. "I told you it would work, you owe me 20 bucks." Said Mona as Selina pulled a 20 dollar bill from her pocket and went to hand it to Mona but as Mona gripped the bill Selina pulled back.
"Only if she enjoyed herself that was the deal, Mona." Said Selina as Mona looked at the girls. "You girls have fun out there?" Asked Selina as Vanessa smiled brightly.
"Yeah Mom, I had a lot of fun. I think I wanna hang out with Ophelia more." Said Vanessa as she put her arm around Ophelia's shoulders. Selina let go of the bill and stood to give her daughter a hug.
"You can hang out with her as much as you want." Said Selina with a smile.

While Vanessa was making a new friend, Daniel was having to learn to socialize others of his own age. A few weeks prior Edward had been caught stealing parts from an auto shop and even though the entire staff was found dead, Edward wasn't the one who killed them. Edward merely watched two men with large guns go in and come out covered in blood and carrying duffle bags full of cash. Afterwards he went in and stole the parts he needed but he was caught standing over a dead body when the police walked in so he was arrested and since no one believes a word he says he was convicted for both theft and multiple accounts of homicide so he was sent to Arkham.
This event was not exactly unexpected but they hadn't really planned for it especially since neither Edward nor Oswald had been in any legal troubles since they adopted Daniel so they hadn't really given any thought of what to do when this situation arrived. One thing that worried Oswald the most was that Daniel may have been nearly 10 years old but he had never once set foot in a school. Edward had insisted that the public education system was a waste of time for Daniel especially when Edward could teach him everything that the school boards required and more. Oswald agreed to this arrangement because he knew that Edward was capable but he also worried that Daniel would have trouble socializing with other children. However after Edward was incarcerated Oswald knew that there was no other choice than to put Daniel in school because Oswald did not have the time nor half the intellect that Ed did to teach Daniel but he knew that Daniel had to go to a good school so he found Gotham Academy.
It was a high end school most of Gotham's socialites had attended this school in their youth and gone on to do great things. He hoped this would be a good thing for Daniel but when he told him the news those hopes were swiftly dashed. "Why!? Why do I have to go!?" Shouted Daniel as Oswald sighed.
"Because Ed isn't here and I don't have the ability to home school you like he was doing but you still need an education." Said Oswald as Daniel scoffed.
"Then hire a tutor!" Barked Daniel as Oswald scoffed.
"Absolutely not! I will not have a complete stranger in this house and risk me going away and leaving you alone." Said Oswald as Daniel sighed.
"Fine! I'll go!" Said Daniel as he sunk into his shoulders. "But I'm not gonna enjoy it." Said Daniel as he crossed his arms. Oswald patted his shoulder.
"I'm not asking you too." Said Oswald as he looked at Daniel. "I'm just asking you to try." Said Oswald as Daniel sighed.

While Daniel was throwing a fit about having to attend school, a young woman named Abigail Dupont, who was the Wayne Enterprises liaison to the Paris Bioengineering Company Serpent, had been instructed to look over the abandoned laboratory under Arkham Asylum that used to be called Indian Hill. After the Indian Hill project had been abandoned the lab had been left in disarray but Abigail had finally convinced Bruce Wayne into allowing Serpent to use the space as a research development facility for mental illness treatments and using the residents of Arkham as test subjects for the drugs. Bruce didn't particularly like the idea but Abigail promised him that Serpent could develop a treatment that could one day possibly cure a man like the Joker and that won him over.
Abigail was here at Arkham to take a look at the space and start moving in her lab equipment. She first had to meet with the man running the facility, Warden Quincy Sharp. She stood in the lobby and waited for someone to greet her. Finally she was greeted by the secretary. "Hello, welcome to Arkham how may I help you?" Asked the woman kindly.
"My name is Abigail Dupont, I'd like to speak with Warden Sharp." Said Abigail with a smile.
"Of course do you have an appointment?" Asked the secretary as she typed on the keys of her keyboard.
"Yes, it was scheduled by my assistant at Wayne Enterprises." Said Abigail as the woman nodded.
"Yep, I'll show you to his office." Said the woman as she started leading her through the asylum to Sharp's office. However as they were walking down a cell block that was supposed to be empty the sounds of a child crying could be heard. Abigail listened closely until she stared at the cell door. She walked up to the door and opened the eye slit in the door. She saw before her a little girl sitting in the corner of the cell crying.
"Hello there." Said Abigail softly as she looked up and sniffed.
"Hi..." Said the girl as she rubbed her nose.
"Why are you crying?" Asked Abigail as she looked into her eyes.
"Because I'm scared." Said the girl as she shivered. Abigail noticed bruises and scratches all over her body. She had dried blood on her face that had become wet with her tears and she had a fresh scratch on her forehead. Abigail was horrified by the state of her so she decided to use her societal power to help her. Abigail ran into the  guard office with a violent look on her face.
"Open that cell now!" She barked as the guard scoffed.
"I don't have to listen to you!" Said the guard as he put his feet up on the desk. Abigail then leaned over him glaring into his eyes.
"I work for Wayne Enterprises and I knew Bruce Wayne personally. If you do not open that cell I will have the entirety of Wayne Enterprises come down on you like a ton of bricks!" She said firmly as the man seemed scared of her but was still firm in his rejection.
"You don't understand! She may look small and helpless but she killed Terry! I can't let her out or Warden Sharp will kill me. I'm sorry but no." Said the guard as he looked away from her. Abigail stood and huffed then pulled a gun from under her coat. She firmly pressed the barrel of the small gun against the middle of his forehead.
"I think you meant that figuratively right? Well if you don't open that cell, I'll kill you, right here, right now." Said Abigail as the man swiped his key card and opened the cell. Abigail went back to the cells and saw the little girl still sitting the cell. "It's alright, you can come out." Said Abigail as the little girl stood and Abigail got a better look at her. She had pure white skin and long green hair, she looked like the Joker but she looked more innocent then he did. The girl ran over to Abigail and hugged her tightly.
"Thank you!" Said the girl as she started sobbing.
"What's your name?" She asked her as the girl shivered so Abigail covered her with a coat.
"Sarah, Sarah Ivory." Said the girl as Abigail held her.
"Hello Sarah, my name is Abigail Dupont, it's very nice to meet you." Said Abigail with a smile as she held her.
After Abigail met Sarah she spoke with Sarah's psychiatrist Dr. Malcolm Chace and she didn't like what Malcolm had to say. "You people can't do this to a child!" Shouted Abigail as Malcolm shook his head.
"There's nothing I can do, Miss Dupont. Warden Sharp is adamant on keeping her here, he's convinced she's a danger to society like her father, it's impossible for him to see her as anything more than the daughter of the Joker and with the way we're treating soon that's all she'll see of herself. I wish there was more I could do but I cannot. I'm sorry." Said Malcolm as he hung his head. Abigail stormed out of his office in a huff but that storm burst straight into Warden Sharp's office. She screamed and yelled at him for hours until finally they reached an understanding. Sarah was sadly not going to be released until she showed significant improvement in her mental state but Abigail was going to receive constant updates of her condition along with being able to visit her any time she was in the building working on her little project in the basement formally known as Indian Hill so that Sarah wouldn't feel so alone.