Does anyone want to become the beta for this story? I simply don't have the time between classes and work to go back and check for grammar mistakes, especially with how long this story has become. It would be a great help if someone could go back over the chapters for ISaJ for me. Send me a PM if you're interested.

xxxxxx

"Is she dead, Dad?"

"No. She's being a lazy brat. Open your eyes already, Clown Junior."

Easier said then done. I felt so sore and exhausted, opening my eyes was a chore in itself.

"See. She's alive." Deadshot's angry face in an alley was the first thing to greet me. Zoe's worried one hovered next to his.

Numerous cries of "Lucys" preceded bodies landing on me. I groaned, feeling jolts of pain from June digging her fingers into my shoulder, Zoe slapping my head, and Ricky ramming his face into my stomach. They all exclaimed how worried and scared they were. In June and Zoe's cases they were fed up with my aptitude for finding myself in life-threatening situations. Rick chose that moment to reiterate how stupid I was for charging in like I did.

"Alright, alright. I'm loving all this tough and sweet love, but what happened? Where am I?" My voice sounded so hoarse and awful that I internally cried. Talking consisted of seventy percent of my day. What was I supposed to do when I sounded like shit?

"Lucy, you were…you almost…" June choked on her words, shaking me like a madman after I sat up. "My god, you're so reckless! How does Harley put up with it?! I'm not even your mother and I felt like my heart almost popped out of my chest when I saw you half-dead!"

Guilt stabbed at me.

As annoying as June's worrying could get, it came from a place of care. It was her that mother-henned me when I was living with her and Rick. It reminded me of Mama and in a way, showed me how the clown might act if she were a regular mother and not a bad swinging thug.

"I'm sorry for worrying you, Juney-Bug." She calmed down at my sincere apology.

Zoe was next to vocalize her grief. "I knew you and Dad would come for me, but you didn't have to almost kill yourself. Who else is supposed to get me into all the good clubs?" She pinched my cheek.

"Glad to see my manipulative nature is rubbing off on you." I slapped her hand away.

"You're a bad influence on her, not to mention a liability." Deadshot rubbed his chin. "I might have to reconsider this friendship of yours."

"Richard, c'mere. Don't want her crazy rubbing off on you now that she's awake." Rick picked his son up.

"She's a girl, they're all crazy." He laid his head on his father's shoulder. June's sudden glare was enough to make the colonel flinch.

"Stop telling our son ridiculous things! I don't want him growing up to be some hard-headed jerk."

"I was joking when I said that." Rick weakly refuted and then whispered lowly to his son. "Don't repeat everything I tell you."

I tuned the rest of their conversations out.

My thoughts drifted back to the fight. That man had become a beefy monster from all the drug enhancements he'd been given. Fighting him had been entirely unfair! No matter how skilled I might have become, those fighting capabilities couldn't stand up to essentially, a metahuman.

Goddam it, my pride was stung! How did I even make it out of that fight? That beast had me good as dead.

"I saved you."

I recoiled and looked at the others. They were talking about moving to the hideout. The voice sounded extremely close, but none of them had spoken to me. I caught Ricky's eye and was disturbed by how aged he appeared. That look was one I often saw on myself whenever I hit a low point with Abigail's voice ringing loudly in my head, it was a look of someone that had seen and lived too much.

"I saved you."

This time I registered the voice as the little boy's and hesitantly responded in my mind. "Are you speaking to me telepathically?"

"Yes."

I exhaled slowly. Things continued to get weirder as I got older. "How did you save me?"

"With the powers I got from Mom." Ricky raised his hand and it glowered with energy.

"No freaking way!"

"I was scared for you and my powers acted on that." His face fell and he spoke out loud. "It's why they took me."

Rick faced me as his son lifted his head. The colonel realized what direction our silent conversation took. With a grim frown he expounded on what Ricky started. The others stopped talking to listen in.

"Waller collected other metahumans, took stock of their abilities and found ways to implant their DNA into regular people to turn them into pseudo metahumans that she could control in an elite force."

"Is that what she did to me, all those years ago?" I asked, already knowing I wouldn't like the answer.

"Yeah, you were the first, but there weren't any signs of enhancement until later. They couldn't figure out what triggered the change in you." He sighed. "After repeated trials they finally concluded that extreme trauma activates the change."

It hurt to laugh so I settled for silent chuckles. Everything came full circle.

I survived because of Waller. Papa had believed it was divine intervention that breathed life back into me after I literally died in his arms, but no, it was a forced mutation that revived me.

"Lucy, it's going to be okay." June assumed that my shaking was from crying when it really was from hysteria.

"Whose power did they mix into me?" I addressed Rick, numb to the reassurances.

"Take a guess. They only had one person to draw from in the initial stages." His eyes lingered over his significant other. June removed herself from me, ashamed of what she'd unintentionally caused.

"Enchantress, huh? That explains so much." My hand ghosted over the spot that had been penetrated by a pole in my youth. "It also explains why she assigned you as my babysitter. Who better to watch me than the man in charge of my sire?"

Conflicting emotions muddled my thoughts. I had been used and violated, but the augmentation ultimately saved my life. Nothing could ever be easy for me, could it?

"What about my daughter?" Deadshot interjected.

I gave Zoe a quick scan and found nothing out of the ordinary. She was obviously beaten-up from resisting, but I couldn't identify any physical changes. Maybe the drugs hadn't been activated…but Zoe did witness her mother's death and that could be considered an extreme trauma. Would she develop powers?

"I don't know who they chose, I didn't get that far into the files." Rick tiredly replied.

Deadshot grabbed his shirt and yanked the colonel towards him. "That's bullshit, you seem to know everything else! Don't sit here and tell me you don't know."

"If you weren't so trigger happy I might've had an answer for you!" Rick shoved him off. "You were the one that damaged the computer."

They violently pushed each other, on the edge of breaking out into a real fist fight. From how much ground the colonel was losing to the hitman, he wouldn't win a fist fight. Deadshot wasn't bogged down from heavy injuries from Batman. Rick better prepare to get his ass kicked.

"That's enough!" June used her powers to teleport the men a safe distance apart. "If you two have the energy to fight then it's time for us to leave before the police or Waller's men find us!"

The males cursed up a storm but relented to her order. Zoe helped me off the ground and I leaned against her, too dizzy to walk straight on my own. Deadshot borrowed a truck for the group to use since it was too risky for Rick to retrieve the original car we arrived in. The colonel grumbled about adding more felonies to resume as he hopped in the front to drive. June and Ricky joined him the front with the rest of us squished in the back.

I slumped against Zoe, letting her regale me with the tale of how the adults rescued her in a flurry of bullets and magic while fighting off enhanced soldiers. Deadshot grunted reproachfully when the story became too gory and Zoe switched to talking about the other hostages she'd interacted with, the ones that hadn't lost their minds to their drug. Some of them had been kids and she was happy that they'd been freed now with the destruction of the base. The police would relocate them to their families or shelters.

Up front, June interrogated her son on the inner functions of the lab and smothered him with affection when the boy mentioned something morbid that collaborated with Zoe's descriptions. She apologized for passing on a dangerous burden to Ricky. The little boy dismissed her self-loathing with easy acceptance of his status as a metahuman.

HaHaHaHa

Seems like no one can remain normal in this messed-up world. At some point the white picket-fence and normal setting gets blown to hell.

HaHaHaHaHa

Why doesn't everyone realize that normality is impossible?

"Someone carry me, I ache all over." I whined, holding out my arms to the two grown men, hoping one of them would submit to my will. They glared at me instead.

June rolled her eyes at my antics, but decided to be lenient. "Guy's, c'mon. She is injured…really, we should have gotten her checked at the hospital for brain damage after she nearly died from asphyxiation."

Deadshot scoffed. "Forget it. This needs to be lesson to her highness, don't go charing in." He leaned in closer to me to drive his next point home. "This isn't a movie. Your crazy parents, me, or anybody else that gives a damn isn't always going to be around to save your ass. Time to grow up, baby clown."

Tough love. Deadshot was bloody harsh.

Het left me gaping like a fish. Rick hesitated to do the same as the hitman with June watching him expectantly. A plead from her and the colonel's mind was made up.

"Here, kid." He grudgingly slid his hands under my legs and arm, carrying me like a princess.

"Lucky bitch." Zoe muttered jealously as we passed her. I winked at her just to rub salt in the wound.

HaHaHaHaHa

Rick is still handsome for an older male, especially since he grew out that military buzz-cut. His muscled arms and firm chest are a nice addition too…damn. I know I've got a hunk, but June is lucky.

HaHaHaHaHa

Bad Lucy! I can't drool over Rick Flag, that's a betrayal to my Jester Prince, Damian Wayne.

"What's the game plan now?" Deadshot relaxed on the couch, idly checking his wrist-guns for damage. Zoe settled in next to him, easing out of the facade of toughness as the weight of her experiences hit her.

"We lay low, stay out of trouble for a couple of months." Rick set me down on a chair.

The safehouse was shitty. Nothing like the places my parents had set up all over the city of Gotham. The living room was cluttered with old, musty furniture and I was glad Rick didn't set me down on the couch. An old tv came to life as Ricky flicked it on. June disappeared into the kitchen.

"That's really not possible for some of us." I pointed out. My life consisted of having a high-profile crime life and I lived in the spotlight.

The colonel wasn't amused.

"I'm being serious. Waller could pin us all as terrorist and have half the government breathing down our necks. She's probably already working on that."

June reappeared with a first-aid kit and immediately examined my head. Rick took some supplies to tend to his own injuries with his son occasionally handing him things he needed.

"Ain't this a trip? All that shit you gave us and now you're the very thing you hate, a criminal." Deadshot laughed at Rick. "Karma really is a bitch."

"Shut up." He didn't have much else to say since the truth was hitting him in the face.

First June caused Rick to question his morals and pushed him to his limits when the Enchantress took over and now his son Richard had pushed him over the edge into felony. Rick Flag could no longer claim to have the moral high ground. He could no longer staunchly judge people like us for sometimes doing the wrong things for people we loved.

"I told you things weren't so black and white. Today you're a villain, Colonel." I added to Rick's dismay.

"If you're going to attack him then you might as well attack me, too!" June slammed the disinfectant on the table. "In fact, I deserve more! I'm the one responsible for a witch almost taking over the world. I broke into a prison to cover Waller's tracks and in exchange for protection of my son. Then I attacked a lab to rescue my son. I've killed people and done horrible things…I-I'm no better."

Objects in the room started to shake from June's emotional outburst. We all glanced around the room apprehensively. She was unaware of the havoc her powers were causing.

"H-Hey now, I was messing with home boy, no need to get apocalyptic." Deadshot raised his hands peacefully. "I get it, parents will do anything for their kids. You'll get no judgement from me on that one."

June's posture relaxed after catching sight of Ricky clinging to his father. The shaking stopped.

"I can't believe you were involved in all this since you were a kid." Zoe whispered to me, letting go of the armrest she had a death grip on.

"Scary, ain't it?" I joked in light of the situation.

HaHaHaHaHa

It would have been better if Zoe Lawton never entered this side of the world. She'll be a target for the rest of her life. So much for having a piece of mundane in my life.

HaHaHaHaHa

Maybe this was a reality check…a really unwelcome one.

"I'd like to take a shower." I loudly announced.

The others gaped from the randomness of my statement. The serious air vanished as the adults scoffed at my childish display of diffusing a situation.

June offered to locate me another pair of clothing to replace my bloody ones and suggested I scrub hard to remove the blood from my hair and face. Zoe claimed the shower on the main floor while I took the upstairs one.

Some exploration revealed two bedrooms, the master had the attached bathroom. Once inside, I tore off my dirty clothes and left them on the floor. Were I at home, Mama would have demanded I pick them up and not be a lazy pig like Papa. Clothes left on the floor could cause Harley Quinn to insult the Joker, but not murder.

Another combat outfit ruined in less than a day. Could I go a single day without destroying an outfit? Could I go a single day without being in a life-threatening situation?

The basic bathroom was a letdown compared to the grandeur of the one in my room or my parent's. Still, the feeling of hot water cleansing me of filth was refreshing.

Finally I had some answers. Bits of Enchantress were a part of me. It was those parts that granted me abilities; the regenerative healing that brought me back to life in Papa's arms and the higher than average speed and strength that gave me an edge to keep up with older, more experienced opponents. These gifts were thanks to the fallen goddess.

Why couldn't I get the destructive powers too then I'd be set? I shouldn't bitch too much, being classified as a metahuman had become a goal of mine since that miracle awakening.

I stepped out of the shower to air dry and poked my head into the bedroom. No one was there, but jeans and a shirt had been left for me. June must have left them for me. If it weren't for the bleached skin and tattoos I'd look like a typical teenager.

I called out for the person knocking at the door to enter. Ricky stepped in dressed in some oversized shorts and t-shirt. He looked cute in a ridiculous way.

"What's up kiddo? You want me to tell you a bedtime story?" I flopped onto the bed and beckoned for him to come closer.

"I'm not a baby." He gave me the child-version of the stink-eye, contradicting his statement of not being childish.

"I thought you might be a bookworm like your mom. I guess not."

Ricky gazed deeply into my eyes as he settled on the bed. The stare was too unnerving. Something about the kid rubbed me the wrong way, which was strange since he wasn't a little shit. What about him was signaling my gut for danger?

"Say, what really happened after I passed out?"

The idea that a pipsqueak child defeated a muscle monster was lunacy, it was on par with my impossible feat of killing my captors back when I was a child. Richard Flag shouldn't be capable of feats like mine. I had the benefit of having a reincarnated adult-mind to explain my antics, he should be nothing more than a snot-nosed brat.

"I'll show you." He tentatively lifted his hand towards my face.

Skeptically, I leaned forward and let his fingers brush my forehead. It started as a tickle at first, but then evolved into a stinging as images invaded my mind. I became a part of the memory the boy showed me, watching the events unfold as a spectator.

Ricky sat petrified on the ground, fingers digging into his skull and teeth biting into his lips as the giant man choked the life out of me with mad glee. The boy bawled at his helplessness.

'She's going to die!'

I recognized the voice as Ricky's, but his lips hadn't moved. I'd heard his thoughts.

'She's going to die! I have to do something!' Replayed over and over in his mind. He was so consumed in terror on my behalf that the boy took no notice of of the misty energy building around him. 'Dad, Mom…anybody. Save her!'

The vacant glaze of my blue eyes pushed the boy over the edge. A scream was accompanied by a quake strong enough to shake the room. Bane-Reject paused to turn his crazed eyes on Ricky.

"Don't interfere!" He rumbled, removing his hands from my neck to stand to his full height.

"I'm not afraid of you anymore." Ricky defiantly stood up to his oppressor despite his obvious tremble.

"That's what they all say." Bane-Reject's laugh rocked his body. He took slow, torturous steps towards his next victim.

'I won't run or hide.' The power building inside Ricky exploded at his inner pledge. Dozens of steel beams, pipes, and glass shards flew at the giant, impaling him. Blood leaked out of Bane-Reject like a river.

Ricky froze, disturbed by what he'd done, he'd killed the man.

"No, no, I didn't enjoy that!" The boy tugged relentlessly at his hair, stumbling over to my motionless body. "I have to resist. I can't be sucked in by her influence."

I looked at the limp body pale as death and shuddered. Purple and blue splotches decorated the corpse's neck. For a moment I didn't see Lucy's body, but Abigail's. Graham had left her in a similar state.

Ricky tenderly swept the blood-stained hair out of the body's face and pleaded for me to awaken. The body didn't move.

"You have to wake up. You have to! I didn't kill him for no reason!" He cried, bitterly pawing at his face again. "Why does this keep happening?!"

The memory shifted.

A scene of Ricky and his grandparents being attacked by unknown men played like an old film. The elderly individuals that looked similar to June were gunned down without a second thought. Ricky was dragged kicking and screaming out of the house.

Another scene played. Terrified children huddled together in a cramped cell, waiting for one of the men in lab coats to take them away. Ricky was the only one to ever return to that cell. The others disappeared after being taken. Escape wasn't an option, the enhanced guard wouldn't hesitate to kill a deserter. He enjoyed it.

One last scene played. A car veered off a bridge and into a lake. The man inside the car desperately tried to get out, but it was too late. He died in agony.

The memories stopped shifting and returned to the scene of my death.

"I'm a monster, just like the Enchantress." Ricky's head fell onto my chest, right over where my heart would beat. "Please, please prove me wrong."

His power subtly reawakened, glowing faintly.

Seconds passed tortuously. Just as the boy was about to give up, he gave a triumphant cry of relief. "I felt a heartbeat!"

His power moved eagerly, tugging and stretching not in aggression, but something else.

"You sense it inside her now, don't you?" Ricky grinned boyishly at the mist enveloping his hand. The tendrils of black smoke swirled around the corpse, pinpointing the injured areas.

What would have taken weeks to heal was alleviated in minutes from the combined power of the boy and the corpse. Healthy color returned to the body. The boy collapsed tiredly next to the reinvigorated body.

"I'm not a monster."

The vision ended.

I gasped, shutting my eyes and taking deep breaths to stop the disorientation.

The facility was far away. I was in a safe house with people I could trust.

HaHaHaHaHa

That's something else! It's trippy thing after trippy thing in this world. Richard's visions were even more realistic than than the one Enchantress showed me.

"When you said we were the same, you were talking about the DNA thing, right?" I squinted at Ricky, trying to see if there was anything suspicious about the boy. My gut knew something was up.

"Yeah, but I meant something else too." His face scrunched up similar to how his mother's did after coming to one of her bizarre conclusions. "I didn't mean to, but while you were watching my memories, I saw some of yours."

"What did you see?" I tensed up. Hopefully he didn't see anything gruesome or embarrassing like me bathing.

"I saw all the times you died. Once as Abigail, once as Lucy, and once more as Lucy. You've died three times and lived to tell the tale."

I froze at the mention of Abigail. I'd never spoken of that portion of my life to anyone. Had he really seen memories of her? How was that possible? I shut out all things relating to the nuisance, her voice was the only thing that ever slipped through.

"You were someone else before becoming Lucy and you remember it." Ricky's face aged, his eyes became too old, too knowledgeable. "Like me, you weren't supposed to exist. The Joker and Harley Quinn never had a daughter in this world."

I leaped off the bed and into the wall, overwhelmed by the information. First, I discovered bits of a mad sorceress had been inserted into me without my consent. Now, I'd been given the bombshell that I wasn't the only abomination in the world.

Too much. It was too much!

"You're freaking out over this, but you didn't when that giant test subject almost killed you?" The boy scoffed.

"That's different! I'm used to people trying to kill me!" I defended myself. No tiny tot was to going to insult me.

"That's not something to brag about."

"I take it back, you're just as obnoxious as Rick."

He shrugged flippantly. Somehow I'd become the childish one in the conversation. What happened to the sniveling runt I rescued? Was that an elaborate act?!

"I was scared. I may be mentally old, but sometimes this body will act its age. It's irrational." Ricky answered my internal rambling.

"Are you reading my mind?!" I covered my head like it would help.

He flinched sheepishly. "I didn't mean to, it's easier with you because you've got Enchantress inside you."

"Ugh, that sounds so gross! I feel violated on so many levels." I whined, slamming my head repeatedly against the wall. The churning in my stomach was getting worse. "Plus, I feel cheated. I don't have powers like you or June!"

Ricky frowned at me like I was stupid. "Yes you do. It doesn't manifest like ours because you got her healing abilities. It's the only explanation for how you overcame death, twice."

I paused.

"Holy cow! Does that mean I'm immortal unless someone destroys my heart?!" I sprung up, smiling dementedly. Think of all the daring escapades I could get into if death was no longer a threat. "Can I take it out, too?"

"I don't think testing all that is a good idea. You're lucky to still be alive, don't push it." He looked sickened by my sudden enthusiasm.

HaHaHaHaHa

Ricky has no idea what this means for me! I'm invincible, I can anything I want with no consequences! Gotham won't know what to do with itself when the Immortal Princess of Crime returns.

HaHaHaHaHa

The Immortal Princess of Crime. I love it!

"What's so funny?" June entered the room, eyeing us with trepidation. I was too deep in laughter to answer. "Okay, well, I made lunch."

Ricky didn't wait to be ordered downstairs, he scampered away to avoid further questioning. June turned her head worriedly, but she didn't call after him.

"I was scared he'd come back traumatized…but he seems okay…"

My small moment of insanity ended for the concerned mother's sake. "Nope. He's a little loose in the head, but not my kinda loose. Nothing you need to lose sleep over."

"If…you say so." She skeptically agreed and then urged me to come downstairs.

The kitchen table wasn't big enough for everyone to sit at so the older males ended up crowding around the counters with their plates. Zoe and Ricky were seated at the table. The food was already set out. The last two seats were for June and I and everyone began to eat once we were settled. I ignored the chatting going on to focus on other matters.

I had powers and could be considered a metahuman! I'd wanted something like this since I'd realized the world I lived in was DC. I needed to test out these abilities, see if my body could really come back to life or if it was circumstantial.

"Lucy are you listening to us?" A smack on the head accompanied Deadshot's demanding voice.

"I am now, jerk-face." I scowled, rubbing the spot he struck. The hitman was getting a little too comfortable with reprimanding me.

"I asked what you're going to do? I don't have time to backtrack to Gotham for you. My bullet needs to find Waller before she goes into hiding." He held up a particular bullet that shined.

Rick interjected before I could answer. "Immediately going after her isn't smart! She's gonna be holed up somewhere secure. One trigger-happy gunner isn't going to be a threat."

Cleary they had been going back and forth for some time, judging by the others exasperated expressions.

"Man, you're so far up her-" Deadshot stopped, remembering that Zoe was present. "Just because you crashed one of her operations doesn't mean I'm suddenly going to blindly believe you're on my side."

"Do what you want. I warned you, Deadshot." Rick conceded.

"You've gone soft, not sure if I like that. You were a pain back then, but at least you weren't a coward." He sneered, harshly jamming the bullet into the wrist-gun.

"I've got more important things to worry about." The colonel's eyes drifted to June and Richard.

Deadshot dropped the subject, re-focusing back on me and raising an eyebrow for a response to his earlier question.

"No need to worry about me. I'll have one of the meatbags come pick me up." I provided, flipping my phone on to check for damage. Papa warned me not to lose or break this one or I'd be dumped into the lake with weights attached to my legs.

"Meatbags? That's so dehumanizing, you're not that kind of person, Lucy." June addressed me.

I twirled my fork and stabbed into a stray piece of chicken. Her statement made it seem like I wasn't a villain that murdered people on a daily basis. Was she mindlessly ignoring that facet of my life?

"That's actually the nicest way I've heard her refer to them. I even think she might be doing it affectionately at this point." Zoe remarked, picking up on my annoyed bewilderment and knowing I would say something to set off the two non-criminal adults.

They could be considered outlaws now after attacking a government base. Non-criminal didn't apply to them anymore.

"I need to make a phone call." I exited the conversation before I could start a debate about heroes and villains.

My parents had blown up my phone with calls and text messages, even Frost had contacted me. As the phone dialed I secretly hoped Papa wouldn't pick up. On the last ring my hopes were dashed.

"Pumpkin, pumpkin. My Pumpkin Princess, where are you? Daddy is so worried."

"Yeah, it's a long story…"

xxxxxxx

"What are you doing here?"

I twirled around to face my favorite little bird.

Damian crossed his arms, unmoved by my radiant smile. I felt like swooning from how handsome he appeared in his slacks and button-up. His fair locks had been brushed neatly back and those brown eyes were glaring heatedly. Those looks of his were a potent mix of his parents, but the young man leaned more towards Talia's middle-eastern heritage.

And I thought I looked exotic.

"I was finishing up the business I told you about." I freely admitted and latched onto his arm as a girlfriend would. He huffed irritably at the contact but didn't push me off. "Did you track me down because you missed me? That's so sweet."

Since I dressed casually in a pleated-skirt and blouse with makeup covering my bleached skin and tattoos, the people passing us on the street paid us no mind. We were two typical teenagers fooling around on the streets of New York.

"Don't make me out to be a stalker, that's your forte." He argued.

I pouted. "I'm hurt you view my attentions as stalking. I just miss you so much sometimes and we're both so busy all the time, randomly popping in on you is the only time I get to see you."

His face curled in mortification and he tugged me forward with a hard yank. I giggled, burying my cheek into further into his arm without a care to where he was leading me.

"Stop that, you're making it difficult to walk." Damian grumbled.

"Nooooo, you smell nice and I know you like having me close."

"Delusional as always, clown. I'm only allowing your clinging because it means you can't cause trouble."

"Really? Then I know a better way to keep me occupied." Before he could protest I lifted Damian's arm and draped it over my neck. My arm wrapped around his waist and pulled him closer. "Now you can walk unhindered and still be close to me."

Damian froze, his body tensed against mine. I rubbed soothing circles along his hip and gazed adoringly into those conflicted eyes. My ministrations elicited a shiver from him that he played off as revulsion for my proximity, but I knew better.

Our walk resumed.

"From how peaceful the city is, you must not have caused the usual ruckus to save your friend."

"I caused a big one. The government's trying to cover it up, they can't let the citizens know that illegal experimentation on kidnapped victims was happening beneath people's noses." I snorted at the hypocrisy of it all.

People like Waller could get away with immoral acts as long as it was sanctioned by a higher power that could deem it all as "good". That woman probably had more blood on her hands than I did, but she would never be persecuted like my kind was. My kind would always be "villains" while the likes of her would always be "heroes".

What a skewed world.

At least Rick and June weren't so biased about the subject anymore. Rick in particular left the safehouse with a new understanding of how one could find themselves on the opposite end of the law. Richard and June would forever make that family a target for ambitious members of the government. That kidnapping wouldn't be the last time Rick found himself questioning his morals. Perhaps it was poetic justice that the events to turn him were reminiscent of mine.

"If you've completed your mission why are you still here?" Damian pried.

I came to a stop in front of a jewelry store. There was a beautiful set of ruby earrings on display. The bright color matched the shade of lipstick Mama often wore.

"I'm avoiding the punishment that waits for me back home. I wasn't supposed to leave." I shared.

Papa cursed me out for skipping town without his permission and for aiding an upstart hitman he felt was too chummy with the clown family. The Joker's manly pride had been grievously wounded by Deadshot's involvement with Mama and I. The play-dates he had grudgingly agreed to, but us involving the hitman in an Arkham breakout was tantamount to betrayal in Papa's eyes. Arkham Asylum was a special place for my parents and the breakouts they staged could be viewed as romantic. All in all, the king of the underworld was beyond pissed.

"How curious. I'm in a similar situation." He turned his head towards the female worker exiting the store.

She beamed at us. "Were you interested in buying something for your girlfriend, sir? I can assist you inside if you'd like."

"G-Girlfriend?" I heard Damian stutter for the first time.

"I am interested in those ruby earrings on display." He snarled at me for not denying the woman's assumption. Like I would correct her.

"That's a lovely choice, Miss. There is a necklace in the back that would compliment it well." Mary, as her name-tag read, opened the door for us to enter.

Damian refused to budge however and removed his arm from my shoulders. The stormy expression marring his face stated his position on the matter. I leaned up to whisper in his ear.

"I could steal what I want. Or, you could make this easy for me." My lips grazed the shell of his ear and he trembled from the contact.

"Nothing's ever easy with you, Lucia." He groaned and then decided to play along by inhaling the scent of my hair and dragging his fingers up my back. I almost arched into the touch. "I expect you to behave."

I stepped back with a smirk gracing my face and nodded at the flustered employee eyeing us jealously. I wasn't the only one willing to play dirty to get what I wanted.

"I promise to behave, Dame."

He snorted humorously and followed me inside the store.

So many shiny, beautiful pieces of art were on display. I was ever so tempted to run around the store like a child. A firm squeeze on my hip from Damian squashed that urge and caused me to squeak each time he did it.

"Are you ticklish?" The sarcastic inquiry was followed by him casually digging his fingers into my side as I browsed a selection of rings. My answer was to bite my lips, muffling a giggle.

"Stop it." I demanded, unable to keep a straight face. "I'm trying to make a serious choice here."

They had an interesting ring made of ebony in the shape of a bird in flight. The wings fluttered outward and a diamond sat in the center of its chest.

The ring had to be sign. What were the odds that I'd find an avian-themed ring while out with Damian Wayne?

"Making a man spend thousands of dollars on you is a serious decision." He hadn't noticed the item I was concentrated on, instead the rogue messed with my ticklish areas.

"Don't pout. This won't even put a dent on your fortune. You might even be richer than me." I playfully shoved him when he wouldn't stop harassing my sides.

"You're right, between my inheritance from Mother and Father, you'd have to buy the Queen of Britain's jewelry to cause a sizable dent."

The employees had left us alone to browse the merchandise after Damian requested they box the earrings and a watch I'd selected. If they knew how loaded either of us were, they'd encourage us to purchase everything in the store. Currently, they were still trying to figure out if we were serious about purchasing the expensive items I'd chosen.

"This." My nail tapped delicately on the glass. "This is the last thing I'd like."

Damian bent down to see the pick.

"Why do you want this?" Some of the cheer left him.

"It reminds me of you." I pressed against his back. "Most girlfriends want precious mementos of their boyfriends."

"That's not us." He refuted hollowly.

"It could be."

"Impossible."

"Entirely possible."

Mary stopped what would have been another dispute.

Despite his misgivings, Damian informed her of my choice and gave the woman his credit card. The look of shock on Mary's face from the realization that he was related to Bruce Wayne prompted my date to shush her. I laughed into his back from how bug-eyed and clumsy the woman became as she rushed to the cash register.

"Imagine how she'd react if she knew who I am."

"Flee the store like any sane person." Damian dryly offered.

"What does that say about you? The bird doesn't have a choice, duty dictates that he confront me. Damian Wayne doesn't have that same obligation. He could have ignored me, it's not like I was causing mayhem." I left him with that lingering thought to claim my purchases. Earrings for Mama, and a watch for Papa, good things to tide over their anger when I returned.

Damian was silent and contemplative as we left the store and drifted along with the crowd. Further conversation proved useless after he snapped at me for asking him to put my new ring on for me like a gentleman. I could see that the surly mood would last until he sorted out whatever was bothering him.

A loud cry of Damian's name drew him back to reality. To my horror, the adoptive son of Bruce marched up to us.

"I've been looking all over for you! This kind of stunt isn't helping your case, kid." Dick Grayson frowned reprovingly at his misbehaving younger brother.

Without the dark blue costume on, Grayson appeared as a normal youth in their twenties. He looked nothing like Damian with his pale skin, pitch black hair and equally dark eyes. Even their sense of fashion conflicted. Where Damian was dressed traditionally, Grayson was dressed casually. No one could confuse them as siblings in the looks department, but their savage bickering was very sibling-like.

HaHaHaHaHa

Thank goodness I'm an only child. Had Jay survived we would have competed and argued over everything to the point our parents would have shot us in frustration. There couldn't be two heirs to the throne and I refused to be the spare.

"Who's your date?" Grayson replaced his frown with a smile for my sake. "I didn't think you were ready to talk to girls. Wait till your dad hears about this."

Damian bristled at the teasing, a rude retort nearly flew out his mouth until he glanced at me and an air of impish delight emanated from him. My eyebrows rose challengingly. There was no way he was going to expose my real identity. He wasn't primed for that kind of mischief.

"This is no ordinary girl, she is the Joker's daughter."

I cackled, astounded that he took the plunge.

Grayson winced from my outburst. "That's not funny, Damian. She's not likely to go on another date with you now."

"I like him even more now." I said. Damian reached over and rubbed his sleeve against my cheek, revealing the "wicked" tattoo I'd covered. "Goddam it, I just complimented you! Do you have any idea how expensive makeup is and you're just rubbing it off?!"

Damian caught my punch. "Do you know how expensive that jewelry was?"

"Touché, pussy cat." I deflated a bit since his argument held better than mine.

He scowled fiercely at my comment. "No, no. Don't ever associate me with felines. I hate cats."

HaHaHaHaHa

Someone's a little touchy. That must have been a subtle dig at Catwoman. Bats has a way women. Damian must get vexed seeing his mother compete with Wonder Woman and Catwoman for his father's affections.

HaHaHaHaHa

Why do they need to emphasize the woman part in their names? Why do the males do that too? Better names could have been chosen for many of them.

"Why is she here?! Why are you with her?!" Grayson mussed his hair, stealing peeks at me every chance he got, as if I was going to split the minute he looked away. "Most importantly, why'd you expose your identity and mine to her?!"

People stared at us, wondering why Grayson was yelling. He reigned in his temper, lest he get into a physical altercation with Damian. I remembered the bloody fight they got into when Dame first arrived to Gotham.

"Father must not have explained his wishes to you since you're never present." The dig made Grayson grind his teeth. "He desires for Lucia to be integrated into the family for rehabilitation. Whenever I come across her, I see to his wish. As for our identities, she's known them for years and done nothing with the information."

Grayson shook his head in disbelief.

"Call him then. See what Father has to say."

"I'll do that and you keep an eye on her." He stepped off to the side and pulled out a phone.

"That was tense." I sat down on some steps leading to a fancy building. "Did you see how red his face got while you were talking? He was this close to strangling you, Dame."

It seemed liked Damian wasn't going to respond, but then he chuckled. "Dick typically has that kind of reaction to me."

"Aren't you just the infernal, little brother? Riling him up like that and throwing a dangerous criminal in his face."

"He's not my brother." Damian hissed.

"Can't be easy, having to compete with him for you dad's favor."

"I'm warning you, Lucia. Don't push me." His knuckles clenched painfully.

"He probably doesn't have to re-align his entire character to suit Bats or Wayne. He doesn't have to struggle for the scraps of affection like you do. He doesn't have to fight for your dad's love." My words were triggering an emotional storm for Damian. His fingers were beginning to draw blood. Behind all the fury was extreme pain. "Honey, why do you torment yourself? Why stay with people that don't accept you?"

Grayson's return prevented Damian from lashing out at me. The younger Wayne quickly wiped all signs of turmoil off his face, a mask of indifference was left for us to see.

"She's coming with us." The older Wayne announced.

"What?" Damian spat with deadly calm.

"You started this, you'll finish it. And Bruce said it'll be good for both of you." He fired back.

Another verbal fight was about start.

"Someone explain to me what's going on right now!" I insisted, shoving the adopted brothers apart.

"Congratulations, Lucy. You get to meet my teammates, too." Grayson sighed in resignation.

"Teammates? Is he talking about the Justice League?" I asked Damian. "I'm only remotely interested in meeting Wonder Woman…and maybe Aquaman."

"Women." I was subjected to a disappointed eyeball from him. "No. He means his ridiculous pack of teens." Damian paused to correct himself. "Actually, they're not teens anymore so Dick should come up with a new name."

I gasped. "You're taking me to the Teen Titans?!"

"You got it." Grayson puffed up with pride. "They'll put up a fight about the new addition, but they'll welcome both of you with open arms."

HaHaHaHaHa

What the hell?! I don't want to be surrounded by a bunch of teenage, horn-dogs pretending to be heroes! Hell no, I've got no idea who is part of the team! What if one of them tries to steal Damian?!

HaHaHaHaHa

I have to defend what's mine! No one steals from the Immortal Princess!

Fists up, Lucy! xoxoxoxoxoxoxo