๐‚๐ก๐š๐ฉ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ -


Bruce helped me calm down and then started working a new suit for me, it was an off-white and built to show my slimmer figure whilst providing me the protection that Bat's suit had if not better.

We got to my mask and made it so it covered my whole face again but still allowed my eyes to be shown as I didn't want it to get too complicated and didn't want too much change, we worked on the suit until early hours of the morning and I looked at the time to see it was 7AM.

I hadn't slept since the flood which had to be 3 days ago and Bruce noticed how tired I was and offered to take me home but I shook my head, he knew something triggered for all this to happen and it was to do with the Riddler for certain.

"We're going to Arkham, together," I say.

Bruce looked up at me confused and shakes his head no in strong disagreement, I knew that it wasn't ideal to talk to Riddler when I was like this but I needed to know who he befriended as there was only one other person who I knew that left that orphanage alive.

And that man was insane and violent, he was often called Joker and I never got his real name.

"I think I know Ed's new friend and it won't be pretty," I sigh.

Bruce seemed hesitant and knew I wouldn't back down from this so he reluctantly agreed and drove us there and we weren't swarmed by news so we left our helmets on his bike and walked into the building, the guards seemed concerned because of my appearance but didn't stop us from visiting Ed.

We went through the normal process of giving anything that wasn't needed to them which for me was nothing as I didn't being anything but Bruce put his phone in and we were let through, the door opened and I see Ed's eyes light up when he sees me but was soon disappointed when he saw Bruce.

We walked into the room and the doors closed behind us making me feel trapped but I pushed it to the back of my mind knowing that I had bigger problems, I knew that if Joker was his 'new' friend then it would cause so much more trouble then I could prepare for.

"I got your letter, who is it?" I ask.

I was so tired and I had heavy bags under my eyes as my skin had gone down a shade or two and my hair was the only thing that was presentable besides my clothes, Ed looks me up and down and Bruce gives him a sour look as he did which only made him smile.

"Seems like you have bigger problems, Y/N. Did you hear my lovely singing I left after bugging your phone?" Ed grinned.

He meant my mask but he was covering for me as he knew the camera was there and listening to us but that still didn't stop him from admitting he was messing with me, I knew he was intentionally stalling but I didn't know why he was stalling.

"Answer the question, Edward." I spat back.

His confidence dropped when I called him by his full name as that's when he knew he pushed the line,ย  he knew that I was no longer going to be sweet and kind and this was when he knew he couldn't push me around anymore.

I had only been like this once in my life and it ended with me in a fight in the orphanage because someone threatened him, his expression change made Bruce look confused but knew that he knew that Ed was not going to mess around now.

"Fine, It's Joker," Ed shrugs.

I should have known.

I take a deep breath and take my hands off the table and stand straight, Ed knew that I couldn't hurt him but he knew that I was so unstable that I would go around throwing hands like what happened when it last occurred.

"You act like he's the worst option," Riddler shrugs.

He was the worst option, he tried to throw Ed and I into danger and get us dead.

I could feel anger starting to cloud my judgement as he said that because of all the times I had helped him and got him out of trouble and here he was acting as if none of that happened, Bruce didn't know who Joker was and most people didn't as he never reached the news due to Riddler.

"I can't look at you anymore, I was in denial about you being the Riddler and hoped you were done with Riddler once you came in here. Clearly not," I sigh.

Riddler goes to talk but I cut him off.

"We're two different people now, you're not even Ed anymore," I said with tears forming in my eyes.

Bruce seemed surprised by my reaction as Riddler stared at me blankly and with sadness in his eyes, he realised that this was saying that any form of bond we had left was now severed because of his actions and how many times I tried to look past his actions.

I slammed my hand against the button that sent a request to leave the room and Riddler's eyes open as tears soon formed, Bruce had stood there in complete silence the entire time but I knew that without him I would of ended up losing it.

"Y/N, you can't leave me! After all we went through?!" Riddler begs, trying to get a second of control over me again.

The doors started to open and I turned away from him and resisted the urge to look at him knowing I would crumble and give in, I walked through the door once it opened and Bruce followed me and grabbed my hand and I turned to him and sobbed into his chest.

It hurt so much to leave someone I trusted and thought would be with me until the end but here I was, I could see the disbelief on Riddler's face as the door closed and a tear drop on the floor as the guards came to remove him.

Bruce comforted me and the guards gave him his phone back and took us to the waiting room to let me take a moment until we got home, we were there for half an hour as I sobbed until we walked out to be swarmed by the news of course.

Bruce tried to cover my face as we walked to our bikes as they shoved cameras at us and tried to get a photo of my face whilst I felt the most venerable, we got to the bikes and Bruce blocked the cameras from taking photos of me whilst I put my helmet on then put his on and jumped onto the bike and sat behind me so that he could keep an eye on me whilst we drove.

Bruce revved the engine which startled most of the news and they cleared a small path and Bruce drove through it quickly whilst he had the opportunity causing them all to shout complaints but they soon started taking photos again, Bruce drove us to the Tower and parked the bike in the garage and we both walked in and Alfred looked worried for me when he saw the state I was in.

I was determined to work through this and be able to overcome this as Bruce tried to help me get to my bedroom but I tried to not rely on Bruce, I could walk perfectly fine but he seemed to hover around me with fear that I could zone out at any moment and have the memories flood back in.

I walked into my bedroom and sat on my bed as Bruce watched me then quickly walked away and came back with a hot chocolate and some sleeping meds, I knew that I was going to have nightmares but I had to learn how to deal with this instead of running from it.

I take the hot chocolate and drink it and he had made it perfectly and I took the sleeping pills with it, I could tell Bruce was worried for me as he didn't leave my side even when I was seconds from falling asleep.


I wake up to one of the nightmares and I was covered in cold sweat and I felt how warm my body was and Bruce wasn't there, I sighed and showered so I got all the sweat off me then changed into some casual clothes to cover with my suit later.

I walk down the stairs for neither Alfred or Bruce to be there so I walk into the garage and grabbed the keys to my bike and walked to it, I twist the keys and the engine revs so I grab my helmet and put it on my head.

I realised that I didn't know what sleeping pills Bruce gave me and that some kinds advise against driving as side effects could affect the driving, I didn't have a phone to call him or my suit so I had no method of contact so I sighed and started driving to the Batcave.

It was 1AM and I saw the bat symbol light up the sky so I sped up and quickly drove into the cave and put my suit on and rushed to the meeting spot, I used the grappling hook Bat gave me to pull me to the rooftop and did a flip then landed on my feet.

"Ghost?" Bat seemed surprised to see me.

I knew Bruce would be mad at me later as he wanted me to catch up on the sleep but I had 8 hours of sleep and that was what most people managed on, I knew I missed a few days but I was feeling fine and didn't want to miss out on anything as it could be vital after hearing about Joker.

I realised I was zoned out and snapped myself out of my thoughts.

"Riddler made friends with Joker, I know what they're both like so I can't miss a single day knowing it could be the day they escape," I sighed.

Bat and Gordon looked at each other meaning that they had already escaped Arkham making me unsure of how to feel, I decided I would follow Bat's lead on this one instead of taking charge as it became a bad habit I had.

I instead walked over to the edge of the building and looked down at Gotham, I was trying to find any trace of them from up here but I knew that Bat would be listening in on police radio so he would have their location as soon as it was reported.

Only problem was that Joker was insane and wouldn't give us a chance or let us solve things like Riddler did, Joker caused you to think on your feet and that's what I was most concerned about.

"I'm going to check the orphanage, I'll keep you updated if I see anything," I shrugged.

Before Bat could say anything I took a step of the ledge and started falling which caused both Gordon and Bat to panic as they ran to the edge to see if I was okay, I grabbed onto a part of the building and swung onto it so I landed on my motorbike then drove away.

I drove to the orphanage and felt my pulse quicken as adrenaline started to run through my veins as the memories started to cloud my focus, I nearly drove into a car but swerved away last second then turned into the orphanage and climbed off the bike then stood staring at the building in silence.

I opened a comms with Bat and grabbed my flashlight, Bat never accepted a comms so fast in his life.

"Ghost, you're not meant to drive after taking sleeping pills so don't even dare think about looking for Riddler or Joker," Bat warned me.

That might explain how I nearly drove into the car earlier, but it might also be the stupid building at the same time.

"I hate to break it to you but I'm already at the orphanage," I shrugged, opening the main doors.

I notice a shadow run down a hallway once I opened the door and switched on my light, I pointed the light down the hallway they went to see no trace of them but knew it wasn't my mind playing tricks so I knew they were here.

They most likely wanted to talk to me but I don't think Bat would arrive in time, he would be seconds late if I got into trouble so I decided to stall.

"They're here for sure, how far away are you?" I ask.

Bats comms start breaking on me but I heard that he was 5 minutes and understood that he told me to wait, Ghost being ghost didn't listen and instead closed the comms and walked in with their flashlight knowing what they were getting into.

Hopefully the fact that I asked how far he was and my confidence to walk into made them think he was closer than he was, I walked down the hallway that I saw one of them run down and kept my eyes peeled and tried to stay wary of my surroundings.

I knew Riddler wouldn't be the same and would act more like how he did to Batman after I broke the bond we had left even though it was relying on a thread at that point, I shook my head as I realised I was zoning out again and sharply turned to look behind me to make sure no one was there and turned back around.

Gordon was stood in front of me which scared me, I didn't jump or anything but I felt my heart skip a beat as I stood as still as a rock and stared at him blankly.

"How did you get here before Bat?" I asked Gordon, confused.

Gordon looked at me confused meaning that one of us had our comms altered, Gordon thought Bat was already here but I knew mine was the one working because he mentioned the sleeping pills I took earlier and Riddler and Joker wouldn't know about those.

"Your comms have been altered, we need to be careful with them now," I sigh.

Gordon nodded his head and we both started walking around the building together with our flashlights, I would see a shadow move every so often and would try to shine the light on them only for it to fail which made me think they were trying to lead us somewhere.

I knew that Gordon wouldn't be able to do much against Riddler or Joker so I knew that we would now have to wait outside for a chance to get a upper hand as they clearly planned this, I walked towards a window and Gordon followed me and I saw Bat outside so I walked to the main entrance with me.

Gordon and I walked back to the main entrance but something seemed wrong, Gordon looked fine so it must be something the two escapees were planning.

We walked out the main door and Bat walked up to us, his cold, blank expression as usual.

"I told you not to go looking for them," Bat scolded me.

I would argue that I knew Joker better than the both of them but Gordon probably looked into Joker's files and knew his whole deal, I didn't get involved much with Joker as a kid but I roughly knew his unpredictable nature which meant he was a total opposite to Riddler.

"I'm fine, I found Gordon but they tampered with his comms to make him think you were already here," I responded.

I was happy that Bruce was so protective of me but for some reason I was coming of rude even though I didn't mean to, Bat just sighed and we walked back into the orphanage and I walk with him up to the point where Gordon and I had got to.

I see a shadow and manage to shine it on the person in time and recognise it to be Riddler so I ran after him, I took a sharp turn to the corridor he went as Bat shouted at me to stop as Riddler ran through some doors.

I ran after him and ran through the doors and Bat followed close behind me but hit a wire of sorts causing an explosion to go off and almost hit Gordon as he ran through the doors, I recognised this as one of the tricks Joker often pulled on the nurses and as much as some of them deserved it Gordon didn't.

"Recycled tricks, funny," I rolled my eyes.

I heard Joker's laugh echo but the only problem was that we were in a big room so I didn't know where it came from, so I felt a sudden rush of adrenaline rush through me to prepare to fight him even if it was going to be mostly mind tricks.

"Here's a riddle, no answers or help from Ghost though," I heard Riddler speak through the old speakers.

I knew how to get to that room as it was a few doors away but I couldn't run off, I knew if I run off I would be falling into their trap but Joker was also most likely in this room too or close by too.

" ๐ˆ ๐š๐ฆ ๐Ÿ๐ข๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐š ๐Ÿ๐ซ๐š๐ฎ๐ ๐จ๐ซ ๐š ๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐œ๐ค. ๐Ž๐ซ ๐ฉ๐ž๐ซ๐ก๐š๐ฉ๐ฌ ๐š ๐›๐ฅ๐ž๐ง๐ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ญ๐ฐ๐จ. ๐“๐ก๐š๐ญ'๐ฌ ๐ฎ๐ฉ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐ž๐ซ๐ฉ๐ซ๐ž๐ญ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง."

The fact that Riddler said that they could not ask me for help was to try and stall us meaning that they were trying to most likely trying to get a sneak attack, I look at Bat and he also seemed to notice how this was done to intentionally stall us.

"The answer is confusion, stop stalling," I rolled my eyes.

I noticed a shadow by the door meaning that they were trying to lock us on so I ran over and threw myself against the door, I fell through it and hit Riddler as I did so I quickly restrained him whilst he was on the floor and Gordon and Bat caught up with me.

Gordon threw me a pair of cuffs and as I went to cuff Riddler he had a bright flower and pressed something which caused a gas to spray me in the face, I fought against my instinct to let go and quickly cuffed him then jumped back.

Once the gas was out of my face I grabbed Riddler by the collar of his jacket and dragged him up onto his feet and slammed him against the wall in hopes to get Joker's attention, Bat looked at me concerned and I realised Gordon didn't have a gas mask or anything meaning that he would be affected whilst Bat and I weren't but if one of us left to get him out of here it would be an upper hand for Riddler to run.

Luckily, I carried fabric scraps that my suit was made for in case it was ever torn or ripped and threw a scrap of the fabric to Bat who covered Gordon's mouth and nose with it, Gordon held it against his face and he seemed good for now but it meant we would have to speed this whole process up.

"Got any flares left, Bat?" I asked.

Bat clearly understood where I was going with this and lit one then threw it down the corridor, Joker seemed to have ran and left Riddler but might of looped round so that he could get us on the way out but I knew there was a window not far.

I dragged Riddler by his collar and started dragging him down the corridor where Bat had just thrown the fuse and Joker jumped out at me, I didn't expect it so I threw Riddler at him causing him to fall to the floor and tried to push Riddler off him.

I grabbed hold of Joker's arm and when Gordon threw me cuffs, I got one of his hands in the cuff before he slapped something on my arm and electrocute me at a high enough Voltage to stun me temporarily causing Bat to run after them.

Gordon and I were left with Riddler until Gordon ran after Bat possibly expecting me to grab Riddler and follow them, I go to grab Riddler for him to swing a piece of metal and hit me in the side with it causing me to stumble back.

So he wanted a dance? Not a great way to ask, but I'll take it.

Riddler threw the metal pole towards me so I catch it and throw it against the floor hard so it bounced against the floor and then hit him in the face, he fell to his knees which was ironic so I walked up to him for him to jump at me and we both fell to the floor.

"I really didn't want us to meet like this again Ghost," Riddler hummed.

I kicked him off me and rolled to the side then quickly stood back up and shot the grappling hook in his leg and sharply pulled at it causing him to scream out in pain, the scream echoed in my head with all the other screams I remembered from this place which caused me to pause for a moment but I shook it off quickly but Riddler seemed to notice this.

"Aw, still got a soft spot for me?" Riddler taunted.

I pull at the grappling hook so that it dragged Riddler to me and then picked up him by the collar and slammed him against the wall, I quickly put the cuffs back on that he managed to get out of but put one cuff on me and the other on him then took the grapple out of his leg.

Riddler looked at the cuffs and then looked at me and I rolled my eyes, I heard Gordon shout something so I started running to the direction they went which meant I was now dragging Riddler with me.

I saw Joker with a bat in his hands about to hit Gordon in the face with it whilst Bat was running over to help so I quickly shot the grapple it Joker's leg and pulled it so he fell on his face, Joker dropped his bat and Bat picked it up and put the cuffs on Joker whilst he had the chance.

"Where were you?" Bat asks.

I lifted my arm to show that I was now cuffed to Riddler.

"He forgot how to ask for a dance nicely," I shrugged.

We took them outside of the orphanage and Arkham's transport had arrived to take them back to the Asylum, I uncuffed myself from Riddler and he turned and threw punch at me which I didn't expect so I took a hit in the face.

I quickly hit Riddler in the face with a lot of force that it broke his nose causing him to stumble back, his nose bled a crimson red and the transport soon cuffed him again then took him to the van.

Riddler didn't take his eyes off me which Gordon to raise a brow as Bat watched them close the door then turn to me, I knew this meant I was in for a lot of trouble but I started to get affected by the side-effects of the sleeping pills he gave me earlier as the adrenaline must of weakened them earlier.ย 

I walked over to my bike which caused Bat to grab my arm to stop me, he noticed how tired I was and how I didn't seem to be able to focus and clearly dazed.

"Gordon, I'm going to look after Ghost because something happened," Bat turned and said to Gordon.

Gordon walked over and he nodded his head after staring at me for a moment, they talked and I looked back at the building to hear the screams again but quickly looked away again which Bat noticed but Gordon didn't.

Bat drove us to the cave and helped me get out of my suit, I was so daze I could barely focus as it made me feel even more tired.

"I told you not to go," Bruce sighed.

"I know but I was scared something would happen to you or Gotham," I spoke.

Bruce didn't argue back with that one as he knew it would be hypocritical of him if he scolded me for it, he sighed and I smiled as I knew how protective he was being of me as we were in the orphanage.

Bruce drove us home and he carried me up to my room as I had almost fell asleep on the ride back home to the tower, I smiled and when he went to leave me to go to sleep I grabbed his hand.

"Stay," I asked.

Bruce smiled and got on the opposite side of the bed and pulled me close and I fell asleep in his arms, I felt so safe with him holding me so close and smiled as I slowly drifted to sleep.







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