Chapter 1: Jessica

She'd always been on the run for as long as she could remember. Running from home, authority, shelters, friendships – she'd done it all. It wasn't always her choice, but it was one of the few things that had remained a constant in her life, whether she liked it or not.

Today, though, was the first time ever she was on the run from Gotham's famed dark knight, the one criminals hated, envied, or admired (sometimes all at the same time, depending on who you asked). In a sense, it was amusing because she never would have guessed she would fall under his radar the way that she did. Batman tracking down a 17-year-old girl with a short, flimsy rap sheet? It would've been confusing and downright laughable to anyone else.

If only the situation really was the way it looked, and there wasn't actually more to the story.

Yet, the masked hero was following her into the closed warehouse as she tried to quietly navigate her way through the dark. She found herself in a very large stock room with tall racks of shelving and groups of pallets and boxes everywhere. The cold, night air chilled her skin through the black clothing she wore, and what little light came from the street lamps outside filtered in through the windows. Large shipments of boxed product sat in haphazard mountains across the floor, providing decent cover as she crept into the shadows. The only sound echoing throughout the building was water dripping from a leak somewhere, the droplets pattering in a slow, steady rhythm.

Was it really all that surprising that Batman was after her? After all, she was a part of the small gang committing a string of criminal acts across Gotham... except what they did was far from petty theft and armed robbery. No, what they did was much more discreet with higher stakes and enough of a bother to attract the attention of the city's greatest hero.

"We don't have to make this difficult."

A low voice came from somewhere across from the building. His words echoed slightly thanks to the metal structures and items around them, making it harder to guess where exactly he was. Her heart skipped a beat with the nervousness building in her chest, but she remained still in her position between a pair of tall racks stocked with supplies and boxes. Glancing around at her surroundings, she carefully made her way toward the center of the floor, keeping herself low and hidden among the wrapped pallets. It was a miracle her wet shoes weren't squeaking or making obvious noises.

"We don't have to do it at all," she spoke, relieved to hear the lack of nerves in her voice, which bounced nicely off all the surfaces in the large room. She couldn't let him know she was actually... scared.

It was silent for such a long moment that she wondered if he'd left. Keeping her breathing even, she snuck over to the next pallet just as she caught a glimpse of something dark slipping into the corner where she'd been a minute ago.

Right. Like he'd actually just give up and leave.

There was a door about twenty, maybe thirty, feet away, barely visible beyond several piles of packages and trash. Judging by the yellow light shining through the small windowpane, it led outside to the back end of the property.

That was it. That was her escape route.

If she could manage to make it to the rendezvous point and meet up with the others, it would be quite a story for them to hear. Escaping from the Batman... It was a wonder, though, that he'd decided to chase after her when he and the other hero, Robin, crashed their burglary. Jax and the others had taken off in one direction, and she'd gone in another. Was it really that important to catch the one straggler as opposed to the others who were dipping from the scene in the same direction?

Well, it wasn't like she could ask him.

No, there was no time for that. She could wonder about it later when she wasn't crouching in a dark, cold warehouse with Batman probably looking right at her. Taking a deep breath, she prepared herself for her one and only attempt to make it out the door. A few peeks here and there told her that he wasn't in the immediate vicinity, so she reached behind her head and pulled on the hood of her sweater as if the additional coverage would do the final trick.

She was slinking towards the door, still wary of any movement nearby, when a large shadow suddenly fell onto the ground before her. She straightened up, nearly losing her balance as ice cold shock flooded her body. Batman's tall, intimidating figure loomed over her, the outline of his mask standing out despite the darkness, and the air seemed to just vanish from her lungs.

"Stop running, Jessica."

The mention of her name sent another wave of surprise over her, leaving her speechless. At least, more than she was a moment ago. First, the dramatic and sudden entrance, and second...

"You know my name?" she managed to ask, surprised she even had a voice.

He took a slow step toward her, and her feet seemed to have lost the ability to move. "Jessica Fairchild, seventeen. Runaway, orphan. For two months, you've been running with the wrong crowd. Also a meta-human with abilities you've used to hurt people since you arrived in Gotham."

Batman paused, then added, "Your parents died two years ago, and you're estranged from the few family members you have left."

Jess wasn't sure how to feel, but she was definitely stunned. He'd just recited her whole life to her like he was reading off flash cards for a quiz. It might have been impressive if it wasn't for the fact that it made her feel vulnerable and exposed as if her identity had been revealed. This was the first time in a while that she heard her last name let alone mentions of her past that she'd tried to forget... tried to run away from.

This was something he always did, wasn't it? Batman was known to be a master detective and gave local police a run for their money. But it didn't make his reciting of her life any less bewildering.

She still hadn't said anything, staring at him in confusion and astonishment.

"I can help you." His voice was gentler now. "You're not a bad kid, Jessica. It's not too late to walk away."

The second mention of her name seemed to snap the teen from her awe. "How do you know anything about what kind of person I am?" It was almost defensive, the way the words left her mouth.

She could've sworn his eyes were narrowing at her from behind the mask.

"You helped Robin when he was hurt, didn't you?"

Memories of her first encounter with the other hero filled her mind's eye: the failed blackmail operation, the pouring rain that had soaked her clothing, the young man sitting on the ground with a bleeding gash in his leg.

Jess hesitated before crossing her arms and replying, "He wasn't meant to be hurt."

"Which means you have boundaries, and that means something."

She opened her mouth to speak, but he kept on.

"Turn them in, and you won't go to jail."

"What?"

"It doesn't take a genius to see you want a better life than this. You can make a better one if you leave this behind."

Batman stepped to the side, away from the door. The darkness engulfed him more, and he almost blended in despite Jess's eyes having adjusted. "Think about it."

It took a moment for her to realize he'd moved in order to let her pass and get to the exit. Was he really letting her go? She slowly stepped towards it, unfolding her arms and reaching for the handle, gaze still on him as if anticipating he'd change his mind.

He didn't. Jess had the door open, letting a faint breeze drift into the building. She felt like she should say something, but what? About to step through the doorway, she heard: "Make the right choice."

Mild irritation at his persistence stung her, and she turned to respond along the lines of how he didn't know her, didn't know about her life or what she supposedly wanted.

But with the light from the street lamp spilling through the doorway and into the building, Jess saw that he was no longer there. It was just her, the mounds of boxes, and the ever steady dripping of rainwater.

"So you let her get away."

The dry voice salted with annoyance accompanied the dark-haired hero dressed in red and green as he met Batman on the roof of the warehouse. It was eerily quiet; other industrial buildings down the street were dark and unoccupied, and the night threatened to overwhelm the few street lamps littered about this rundown part of Gotham.

"She'll come around. We just have to give her some time," the older hero responded promptly, looking out into the street.

"Time to do what? Keep stealing and hurting people?"

If Batman sighed, he was doing so at this moment. Turning around to face him, he changed the subject. "What about the others?"

Robin rubbed at a sore spot in his upper chest. "They split up again after they exited the building. I nearly intercepted the one in charge, but the bastard apparently knows how to fight. He had weapons, even a smoke bomb."

It certainly wasn't something he liked to admit. Someone beating him in a fight? That rarely sat well with him. It didn't help that the culprit and his gang had gotten away... and for the second time. It helped even less that Batman had let the teenage girl go all because he thought he saw some chance at redemption for her. Not unusual of him but ridiculous nonetheless.

"We'll get them," was all Batman said, starting to head across the rooftop.

"What makes you so sure we will if you're just letting the criminals escape like that?"

Truthfully, it was a rhetorical question. He knew why the man had let the girl go and why he wasn't as bothered about the others escaping. But Robin had never agreed that this was a good idea in the first place. Batman was well aware of his opinions and, as usual, didn't care.

"She'll come clean. All she needed was a push."

Without another word, the Dark Knight leapt off the rooftop, his cape spread behind him to guide his flight to the ground. Robin shook his head, burying his annoyance, before following suit.

It didn't matter to him that Batman thought this Jessica was worthy of another chance. In his eyes, she was old enough to tell right from wrong, and everything she'd done warranted consequences. And, knowing his father, he recognized that they had different ideas in mind for what kind of consequences she should suffer.

As far as Robin was concerned, she was a criminal. End of story.

They first met by accident in the streets of Gotham.

The rain poured hard, soaking any dry civilian in a matter of seconds. The sky was a bluish black canvas and most of the city was asleep, tucked into bed behind closed and locked doors.

Only the mischievous were awake at this time, and two masked heroes scoured the rooftops to catch them.

Batman had come across a lead on a notorious gang that had quickly risen to power over the last several weeks. They'd been leaving a trail of unusual witnesses in their wake of burglaries. Many of the injuries inflicted ranged from skin boils to heart attacks, but the most recent incident had left a high-profile businessman with a sudden respiratory problem.

The lead allowed Batman and his son to track down the gang to their next hit near a rundown neighborhood in eastern Gotham. Before the man sleeping peacefully in his one-bedroom apartment could be disturbed, the dynamic duo had intercepted them.

Unfortunately, the five masked gang members were no amateurs. Not new to escape tactics and even some hand-to-hand combat, the group split up in two groups, forcing Batman and Robin to chase them in opposite directions.

Landing effortlessly onto the pavement below, Robin sprinted after the three masks and was soon in the midst of flying punches and kicks. Even in the pouring rain his skill and accuracy usually never faulted, but tonight was an exception. He'd been arguing with his father earlier that day about the same damn things they usually bickered about, and it had grated his nerves since.

So when he saw the hooded figure standing yards away, his focus shifted from incapacitating the men.

Standing there in an alleyway among the injured gang members, Robin squinted through the sheet of rain. The figure pulled back the hood, revealing a girl with wide, panic-stricken eyes. She appeared to be around his age, perhaps younger, making her presence all the more jarring. Her gaze flickered between him and the coughing men on the ground.

"What are you waiting for?" one of them suddenly shouted.

Robin first assumed the man was taunting him to kill them. If he was... well, it wouldn't have been hard to do, and it probably wouldn't have sat on his conscience the way it would have on his father's.

Still, Robin opened his mouth to say something snarky, but then he heard: "No."

The girl's eyes were still wide as she stared at him... almost as if she were afraid of him. "I told you... no one innocent."

She's with these men?

In his momentary confusion, Robin didn't see the angry reaction of the masked man to his right. With a yell, he lashed out and sliced at Robin's thigh, earning a cry of pain from the teen.

"Go!" he heard as the gang members scrambled to their feet.

Hot, stinging pain radiated through his leg, and he fell to his knees. Instinctively, he reached for his waist, about to fling a round of birdarangs, but then he saw a pair of tennis shoes on the wet, cracked pavement.

The girl stood before him, worry creasing her brow. "Don't move," she commanded and knelt down towards him. Her tone wasn't threatening, but Robin still forced himself onto his feet away from her.

The movement was a mistake; he buckled at the knees again and landed on his backside, splashing into a puddle. He gritted his teeth in frustration, determined to finish what he and Batman had come here for.

"Please." She moved towards him cautiously with her hands out, rain dripping down her face and dark hair.

This time, Robin didn't move—he wouldn't have been able to provide an answer if someone had asked him why. He watched as she held her hands above the bleeding gash in his leg, closing her eyes. What was she doing?

Suddenly, the pain dissipated. He looked down at the wound and, in disbelief, watched as the skin grew back together, sealing the bloody three-inch gap. A faint, glimmering light seemed to emanate from her palms, and for a moment, the young hero wondered if he was hallucinating. The stinging was no longer there and had reduced to a faint throbbing.

"Hey! What are you doing?! Come on!"

Robin looked up to see that one of the men was at the end of the alley, apparently waiting for the girl.

She opened her eyes and glanced quickly over at the man before looking back at Robin. For a brief moment, it seemed like she wanted to say something, but then she was on her feet and running, splashing with every step.

Sitting on the ground, fully soaked and in shock, Damian Wayne stared after her until she disappeared into the rain.

Note: hi there, thanks for reading! i'm a big fan of DC Comics and this is my first Batfamily-centric fanfic, so hopefully you're enjoying it so far. i actually published a previous version of this about a year or two ago (in case anyone noticed lol) but i have different plans for it now, hence the republishing. please drop a like/comment and let me know what you think :)

p.s. the cover is edited by me, but the actual character images are from the Injustice 2 video game. on that note, i only own what i've created, which includes the O.C. (Jessica) and other original characters.