NEGLECTED Reader x DC Villains
(Please someone write this sbiflesoodofl)
in the cramped Narrows apartment in Gotham.. A place where her parents tried to build a life. They weren’t rich, but they showed up. her mom would wake at dawn to make (insert food from your country), humming songs from the (insert country name) while braiding her hair. Her dad fixed broken radios for neighbors, but sometimes he’d leave with a duffel bag and come back with cash thick enough to cover rent for two months.
She was seven when she found a small bag of powder tucked under the sink. Her dad knelt down, holding her hands tight. “The world don’t give us much, baby,” he said. “We do what we have to to keep you safe.” She knew it was wrong.. saw the way cops eyed their block like prey... but when her parents held her close at night, it didn’t feel like a crime.
At 14, the sirens came. She hid in the closet, clutching her mom’s locket, as officers dragged them out in handcuffs. Her mom yelled back at her, “We’ll come back for you!” but the words were swallowed by the roar of patrol cars.
The orphanage was cold, full of kids who either pitied her or picked fights. When families came to adopt, she’d go silent.. I already have parents, she’d think, staring at the floor. I’m just waiting.
She’s 18 when she steals from Bruce Wayne—her fingers slip into his coat pocket for a wallet, but find a photo of a boy with with his parents (imagine that it's a photo of him and his parents) and a bright smile on their faces instead. He catches her, but instead of calling the cops, he just says, “You don’t belong on the streets.” (uhh.. Okay? This feels like he's kidnapping her.)
She says yes to his offer not because she wants a new family, but because she’s tired of sleeping in alleys.
Wayne Manor is a palace made of marble and distance. She meets his children..
- Dick is always rushing out the door, promising to “spend more time with her” before vanishing for weeks.
- Jason glares like he resents her presence, muttering about “strays getting handouts” and never making eye contact twice.
- Tim barely notices she exists.. he’s glued to his laptop
-(Insert the other batfam cause there's so many of them and I can't think anymore)
- Even Alfred keeps his distance, polite but cold, leaving meals outside her door instead of asking her to join the table. (Sorry Alfred😞)
Bruce himself is gone more than he’s home. When he is there, he asks generic questions like “How’s school?” (she never finished elementary or ever went to school again.. He said he'll enroll her but he keeps on forgetting) or “Settling in okay?” but never waits for a real answer before his phone buzzes and he’s off again.
She tries to reach out once.. shows Bruce a photo of her parents (the one in the locket), tells him she’s still waiting for their parole hearing. He just nods and says, “You deserve better than that life.” It feels like he’s calling her parents garbage and by extension, her.
After that, she stops trying. She locks herself in her room, scrolling through news sites for updates on her parents, watching TV with the volume low. Family dinners are rare, and when they happen, she sits silent while the others talk about cases, business deals, or things she can’t understand. They don’t ask about her life. She doesn’t ask about theirs.
It’s not that they mean to neglect her they’re busy saving Gotham, running a company, carrying ghosts of their own. But intentional or not, she feels like a ghost in their house.. only seen when they need to feel good about “helping someone,” then forgotten again. (Aray ko)
A year later, she gets a job at Mama Rose Cafe in the city (I'm so good with name fr) run by a woman who grew up in the Narrows and doesn’t ask about her past. It’s simple work.. pulling espresso shots, wiping down sticky tables, chatting with regulars who know what it’s like to scrape by.
For the first time since her parents were taken, she feels seen. Mama Rose teaches her to make pastries, lets her take home leftovers, and listens when she talks about missing her mom’s cooking. No one asks her to “move on” or “be better” they just let her be.
One slow Tuesday, her phone pings with a group chat invite. The name is “Insert some corny or really cool name” and she assumes it’s a wrong number. But before she can leave, a message pops up: “Harley said she’d bring the pancakes. U in, Ivy?”
Curious (and bored), she types back: “Um… not Ivy. Think u got the wrong person.”
The chat explodes. “WHO IS THIS??” from someone named Joker. “New recruit?” from Riddler. “Maybe she’s a plant,” from Two-Face. (I'm not good with chatfic like those wattpad stories so they're all ooc.. Dont hate meh guy)
But then Harley types “Aww, c’mon guys.. let her stay! We could use a new voice around here.”
Against her better judgment, she stays. At first, she just lurks... reading about their villain stuff, the heroes and the vigilante, arguments over Gotham’s best pizza, some shenanigans, and rants about other stuff. But slowly, she starts to talk... she shares some stories, laughs at their terrible jokes, and also rants about her life.
They don’t know she’s Bruce Wayne’s ward. She doesn’t know their real names.. But for the first time in years, someone listens. They don’t judge her for missing her parents, or for stealing to survive, or for feeling like she doesn’t belong anywhere.
Meanwhile, back at the manor, no one notices she’s home later, or that she smiles more when she’s texting (maybe someone does notice who knows). They’re too busy with Gotham. And she’s too busy finally feeling like she has people who get it.
Thanks to my lovely friend for helping me fix it up a little (or a lot cause I can't write 😭)
Now someone please write this because I kennat.
I feel like I was going to write more here but this is the limit of my lil brain.
