For The Reason Of Temporary Insanity: A DC Fanfiction

Jamieson Reynolds

Rhyss

Rhyss looked up from her data pad to see Hailey and Nightwing staring at each other awkwardly. Rolling her eyes and sighing, she turned back to the puddle of blood she had been looking at.

“Do you even know what you’re doing?” She heard a new voice say from behind her. Not bothering to look, she said, “Do you ever know what you’re doing, Red Hood?”

Reaching into her backpack and pulling out a DNA swab, Rhyss carefully took a DNA sample, placing it delicately into an evidence bag that she had also pulled out. Lucilla raised an eyebrow, causing Rhyss to cock her head to the side in confusion.

“What?”

Lucilla opened her mouth, then shook her head, grinning. “What the hell do you even have in that backpack?”

Grinning, Rhyss winked, a knowing smile on her face. “Everything I know that I’ll need.”

Hearing footsteps coming up behind her, Rhyss turned her head and looked up into the dark impassive eyes of one of Gotham’s heroes.

“Yes? Can I help you?” She said hesitantly. Batman tilted his head as he looked at her, before turning and walking over to some of the scratches on the ground. Turning back to the blood pool, she looked at Robin, who was standing over her watching Batman walk off. “Is he always like that? All imposing and shit?”

Snorting, Robin grinned down at her. “You get used to it. And I feel like you will,” he said, winking at her.

Rhyss blushed, standing quickly, turning to go look at the body. Reaching into the front pocket of her bag, Rhyss glanced over at Hailey and Nightwing, who were talking quietly while looking at the blood spatter on the alley walls.

Pulling out a syringe, Rhyss winced as she slid it into Jamieson’s arm. After drawing a blood sample, she capped and placed the syringe in a plastic carrying case, writing down the date and Jamieson’s name before sealing and placing it in her backpack. Hesitating, she reached out and placed a hand on his forehead, closing her eyes and mouthing a prayer before standing. Reaching into her bag, Rhyss pulled out the camera Lucilla had gotten her for her birthday. Looking around, she spotted Batman and Robin talking quietly, gesturing towards her.

Furrowing her eyebrows, she walked over to them, calling out, “Hey boys. What’s up?”

Turning around, Robin grinned, chuckling. “Just talking about how professional you look,” he said, looking her over quickly. Raising an eyebrow, Rhyss shook her head and smiled, looking down to cover the blush on her cheeks.

As she was looking down, Rhyss saw something rather surprising. The smile fell off her face slowly, and she kneeled down, stretching out a hand to touch the deep scratches on the ground. “What the hell?” Looking around, she saw more of them, some deeper, some more shallow. Raising her camera, Rhyss started taking pictures, pulling out her ruler to measure them as well. As Robin kneeled down next to her, pulling out a package of plaster mix, Rhyss looked at him in surprise.

“You’re not the only detective here darlin’.” Robin said, winking at her.

Holding out her hand to him, she smiled as he shook it. “Neryssa Hawthorne, but everybody calls me Rhyss. Pleasure to meet you Robin.”

Robin grinned at her and started mixing up the plaster.

“Hawthorne? As in Alicia and Eric Hawthorne?” She heard from behind her. Turning, she saw Batman looking at her in interest.

“Yeah. They were our parents.” Rhyss said, feeling her throat tightening as she thought of her parents. “They passed away about three years ago. Hailey’s been taking care of us since.”

Feeling a hand on her shoulder, Rhyss turned her head and saw Robin looking at her in concern. “I’m sorry,” he said, tightening his grip on her shoulder. Swallowing, Rhyss shook her head, smiling.

“It’s all right. Can you make a plaster cast of that scratch for me as well? I’m gonna go take some more pictures.” Standing, Rhyss turned and walked over to Jamieson’s body, wiping away tears that had managed to escape. As she was taking pictures, Lucilla joined her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Taking a deep breath, Rhyss refocused and started to quickly and efficiently photograph the body, the blood pool, and the blood spatter. As she was kneeling down, she saw an object underneath a nearby dumpster. Standing, she walked over to the dumpster, leaned down, and reached under, pulling it out. Pulling out a flashlight, she turned it on and shone it on the object, which turned out to be a wallet. Opening it, she felt a pang of sadness, as she saw a picture of Jamieson and a woman, both smiling at the camera. I wonder if he was married, Rhyss thought to herself, glancing over at the dead man.

Placing the wallet in an evidence bag, she walked over to Batman. “Here, you might want to take a look at this.” She handed him the bag, and yawned. Looking around, she walked over to the wall, and sat down and closed her eyes. Thinking over everything she had learned throughout the night.

Jamieson had said that it had been completely silent, and while that in itself was strange, he had said that it was also very dark. Shaking her head, she opened her eyes and looked around the crime scene. With the street lamp at either end, and the lights dotting the walls, even without the floodlights, the alley was very well lit. And it was Gotham, so it didn’t make sense that it would be silent and dark. Thinking about it, she started wondering who could have killed Jamieson. Rhyss looked up as someone joined her, sitting down beside her. She was surprised to see that it was Robin, who didn’t say anything.

“Something’s wrong.” She said. Robin looked over at her, waiting for her to continue. “Jamieson said that everything became dark and silent. But Gotham’s the exact opposite. I can’t think of a single place where you don’t hear anything in Gotham, much less in the middle of it.”

Robin nodded, looking around. “And I find it surprising that nobody heard anything. He had to have screamed, given his defensive wounds.”

Rhyss nodded, then sighed, shaking her head. “I’m too tired to think anymore. I need coffee.” Looking over at Robin, she smiled. “Wanna join me? We can try to brainstorm some more.”

Robin grinned and stood up, holding his hand out to help her up. Taking it, Rhyss stood up. Telling Hailey and Lucilla where they were going, she walked out of the alley. Chancing a glance up, Rhyss thought she saw someone on the rooftops across the street, but as she blinked, they were gone, leaving her to look at the moon, shining bright, the only witness to the terrible crime.