batwomans_gotham | Can't run from me.....

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Can't run from me.....

She smiled, anticipating the moment.

The scientist was fleeing, but Katalyn was in front of him, not behind. He didn't see her because he was focused on the falling shadow of the Batman.

Sticking out her foot from the shadows she smiled, satisfied when he crashed to the alleyway with a yelp.

"You'd think a genius would have some sort of aircraft on his rooftop," she shook her head, muttering as she went to the fallen man as she coughed. "I mean please. Running from a Bat on foot is just stupid."

She reached down and grabbed his gun, trigged her left claw and sliced through it, then chucked it. "Hold still. The Bat's a second away," she laughed softly, golden eyes gleaming as she put a foot on the back of his neck. He made some muffled growl, but she only rolled her eyes, then looked up, grinning.

"Hey. There you are," she said. This was a good night. A very, good night.

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She was currently curled up in a heap, sobbing and holding her broken arm.

She hadn't even noticed that the gangers had stopped beating her, after they'd gotten her arms they'd kept kicking her until she was down, thier hands grabbing at her and voices taunting her.

She was, to say the least, near out of her mind with fear.

A curse flew out of his mouth that was slightly shocking to see a little kid say. His eyes widened and he knelt down next to her, touching her arm lightly to see how bad it was off.

If he hadn't been so stupid and blinded and pigheaded by who knows what, she wouldn't have gotten hurt. They were insanely lucky. There could have been two little lifeless bodies here and that would have been the end of that. He had honestly and seriously thought he could take them, he had no idea what had gotten into him that had made him like that and it wasn't normal...or was it? There was a part of him that constantly put himself into harms way, maybe making up for...that.

Why did everyone he cared about always get hurt? He didn't even know Katalyn that long but there was something about getting turned into a little kid that made him trust her a heckuva lot more.

"Katalyn," he said in a slightly hoarse voice, surprisingly cold and emotionless compared to the little fireball he was not fifteen minutes before. "Katalyn, they're gone.

"Don't hurt me," she wept, gasping when he jostled her shattered arm. She still heard the ganger's laughter, and was still afraid of what they'd do after they finished beating on her. "Please... leave me alone!"

"It's me, Bat..." he sighed. "Bruce. They're gone, they've left already. Come on, let's get out of here, we can make it to Leslie's clinic, it's not too far."

She nearly slapped him, but stopped, then slowly came too her senses, still crying, but now a little more under control.

"Dr. Leslie..." she nodded, then looked around and trying to get up, biting her lip until it bled. But all she could manage was a stumble. She tried to go shadow, but that wasn't working.

"I can't," she whimpered, terrified.

He stared at her, blinking, even though his face had gone totally impassive, he understood that kind of crippling fear she just showed. It'd pass. Though if she really couldn't walk because she was hurt he wasn't sure how he'd be able to carry her.

"Anyway, like you said we don't have that much time." He folded his arms, waiting for her coldly instead of offering comfort.

She just bowed her head. Her legs, stomache, chest, and back were so severely bruised she could hardly feel anything.

Finally she managed to prop herself up with her good arm, and then got unsteadily to her feet.

"I need help," she whispered, obviously very unsteady, tears leaking down her face from the pain of it.

Just for a second, one could see the emotion on his face, the sorrow that he had yet again caused the harm of someone else, it was all his fault and he hated that. He felt like running after those thugs again just to get revenge for Katalyn's injuries. But that would only succeed in getting himself hurt as well and they'd both be stuck down here. Serves you right. You'd deserve to get hurt.

He didn't look at her, but he reached over to help prop her up so she could hobble along with his help. "C'mon. Lean."

She did so, then nodded, still shaking and crying.

"Twenty feet down, up the manhole, two streets to the left there's a back door in an alley," she shook, then struggled to keep up with him as they started.

He followed her directions, helping her along until they reached their destination. It was slow going, but he was patient (after all, it was his fault) and they eventually made it. If she faltered, he made sure to steady her but no words left his mouth, he was too busy brooding to himself.

Leslie, having been monitoring one patient and fixing up her office a little, looked up at the security monitor of the back alley, stunned to see two tiny children making they're way down. She blinked, saw how they were walking with purpose, and wondered if these were more innocents the woman named Nightlife would occasionally send to her. They were at her door, anyway.

"Oh dear," she said, hurrying out and freezing. What were two little kids doing out here, dressed as super hero's? And so beaten.... "Oh dear, you two, come inside at once," she said, putting her hand on the tiny boy's back and moving before she blinked at the little girl, who looked ready to collapse.

He looked up, old memories of actually looking up at Leslie coming back, and especially with them staggering out as kids in this neighborhood that had so much meaning for him made him stop, open his mouth, and his lower lip trembled a little, and he let go of Katalyn.

"Leslieeeee," he buried his face in her clothes with a sob.

"Good gracous!" she said, catching the tiny girl who fell with a cry. Then she froze and slowly pushed back the boy's cowl. She'd heard about the male Batman, and the cry was unmistakable, even if it was a little boy, not a little girl.

"Bruce?!"

He looked up through tear-blurred eyes, managing a nod, trying to contain his hiccups. A vague part of him remembered that this was highly embarrassing but the built up emotion had been suppressed too long and he buried his face in her clothes again.

She put an arm around him, staring in shock, then looked at the little girl as she squeaked with pain and fear, and then scooped both up and took them into the clinic, bolting the door behind her before she took them to a room, setting the little girl on the table and then stroking Bruce's hair.

"It'll be alright, Bruce, easy there," she said gently. "Can you tell me who your friend is? And what happened to you?"

He felt really embarrased now the he had broken down, and sniffled a lot before he could get his hiccups under control and speak properly. He hadn't cried like this, since...well, then. He felt like he was back there, in that nightmare, with Leslie calming him down again. Except he was in a Batsuit. So maybe this was some kind of nightmare...

"This guy...umm...a scientist. And...it exploded. The thing, I mean." He sniffled, rubbing his eyes to get the stupid tears out. Even though it was masked by a little kid's voice, the words were mature. "And it's all my fault. Everything, all of this, is all my fault. She got hurt cause of me. It's always my fault, I should have gotten the broken arm, not her."

"A scientist," she said, shaking her head, then slowly feeling the little girl's arm. "Oh dear, that's a bad break... please, Bruce, it will be alright, but I need to set her arm soon or it will never function properly again."

She hated being unable to comfot him, but the arm had to be set and both children looked over for other problems. "Who hurt you?"

He let go of her reluctantly, more sheepish now that he had relatively calmed himself. He shrugged, coughing, trying to put that random breakdown behind him.

"Uh, Nightlife knows." He had enough sense to give Katalyn the courtesy of her name not being revealed if she didn't want it to. "They were a gang, I didn't recognize them and I've never seen them before in patrol. I suppose I haven't looked underground enough, but as soon as I get back, I'll surely look into it." A tiny frown, he really sounded like his older self except with someone warping the timbre of his voice. He folded his arms, he had gone on long enough in his life without people comforting him (or able to receive the comfort, even if the effort had been there).

"Now Bruce, don't be like that," Leslie said softly, knowing the look all too well as she bandaged the girl's arm. Then she blinked and looked at the girl closer. "This isn't that Nightlife, is it?"

He frowned again, but answered the question slightly sullenly. "What other Nightlife would there be?"

"I don't know, Bruce, I've only seen her handiwork," she said gently.

"Well, that's her, then." He said slightly petulantly, pulling his mask back down over his face. "I just know that we have to find this scientist guy or whatever, and find him now. I can't stay like this for long."

"Yes..." she said, then blinked as the "passed out" girl stirred, then apparently attempted to squirm away from Bruce.

"Miss Nightlife, are you awake?" she frowned. Katalyn whimpered, and tried to roll away.

"Is she okay?" he bit his lip, peering at Katalyn a little closely. He did indeed feel quite responsible and guilt was just eating away at him inside. More mad at himself for her getting physically injured rather than scaring the life out of her. "You okay?"

"Leave me alone," she sobbed, then looked up at the doctor, who she knew quite well. "He wouldn't just leave. He wanted to take on all the pipe gangs and he wouldn't listen to me. If they hadn't been in a good mood they would've done stuff to me n' killed him, and he never listens! He doesn't get it Dr. Leslie!"

"Shh," Leslie picked up the girl, knowing when a child needed comfort. She looked at Bruce. "Is that true?"

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