Selina runs as fast as she can through the streets of Gotham, hearing his voice, the voice of the man she loved, calling to her, even begging her to come back.
But she can't, not now that she knows who they are.
About three years ago, she snuck into a party with the most dangerous crime boss, "Batman," in an attempt to steal a jewel he owned. Normally, she wouldn't get involved with someone like him, but as they say, curiosity killed the cat.
She only knew him as Bruce, one of Gotham's wealthy residents, with whom she (for the first time) enjoyed talking. Then she liked his company, and then she liked him.
(A sh¡ty sketch of Bruce and Selina at the party, I might complete it later; bcz wtf did I do to B)
He was kind despite his reticence, intelligent, fair, and someone she couldn't take her eyes off. She truly loved Bruce, more than anyone she had ever met.
And his children were all very kind: Dick and his jokes, Jason (whom she rarely saw because of his "solo work away from the family") and his kindness beneath all that harshness, Cassandra and her quiet concern, Tim and his restless concern, Stephanie and her jokes, Duke and his obvious kindness, unlike his family (optional, you can ignore if you don't like it), and his honorary daughter Barbara and her thoughtful observations.
At first, she didn't understand why she saw Bruce as a father when she already had a present and caring one, but as she says, "Why settle for one when I can have two? Besides, my dad doesn't mind."
She loved Bruce so much that she kissed him and nearly jumped into his arms when he pulled out a diamond ring and asked her.
She loved him so much that she ignored the whispers around them as they walked the streets of Gotham.
She loved him so much to notice the ominous stains on some of his clothes.
She loved him so much to know who the man she was about to marry was.
But she couldn't deny it anymore, not after she saw the caverns beneath the house (or as she knew it, Batman's Batcave) and the blood and corpses in the gaps between the bridges.
Not after she saw one of the kids, whom she considered her own children and called kittens, and saw them blush and fluster at the slightest attention, shoot a man begging for his life without a moment's hesitation or a shred of remorse. (As if he were used to it.)
Not after she saw the man she loved condemned a family to death because one of its members had upset his children.
Not after she saw them laughing and teasing Bruce, saying, "He's finally getting married," and "He already had kids before marriage, so what's next?" And Bruce laughing shyly, as if nothing had changed.
But something had changed, something big for Selina.
That night, on her wedding night, Selina ran away when she discovered that her man was a gang leader.
_______________________________
Hello again, here we are again with another worm that refused to come out.
When Selina disappeared, Bruce spent the entire night shouting in the streets, calling out to her and even begging her to come back.
In the morning, he returned home devastated. His children, on the other hand, were angry.
At first, they didn't like Selina, but when they saw their father's happiness, they reluctantly accepted her presence because it was the first time they had ever seen Bruce so happy.
When he killed Tony Zucco and Dick hugged him for the first time, he was happy.
When he adopted Jason (whom he drugged after trying to escape in the middle of his conversation with B following the robbery attempt and couldn't get out afterward, at least until he joined the family), he was happy.
When Jason came back from the dead and B told him that the Joker wouldn't bother him again, he was happy. (He didn't die; he would live, but he would wish for death.)
But not like this overwhelming happiness, which seemed pure in its simplicity. Her laughter delighted him, seeing her delighted him, and even the smallest gesture from her made him feel like he was on cloud nine. (Outwardly, he was calm and composed, but they knew Bruce better than to be fooled by that.)
When they got to know her, they loved her, even though they would rather die than admit it.
She wasn't a replacement for their real mothers. Dick would never forget his mother and her laughter, Jason would never forget his mother's cooking and care (before her addiction), and so on for the rest.
But Selina was different. She was like another mother in a different way—bold, fun, and oblivious to their true nature. The children agreed that she had to remain oblivious, at least until after the wedding, so she wouldn't be able to run away.
Her departure angered and saddened them. Why? Didn't she love them enough? What had she seen? How much did she know?
The children decided to join Bruce in his search for Selina, and even Jason, who had broken away from the family to start his own gang in Crime Alley, shared their goal.
But time passed and they didn't find her, and Bruce became even more withdrawn afterward, at least until three years later when Talia (Bruce's ex-girlfriend, whom Dick wanted to stab, as Dick added) arrived with news that revived the family.
Meanwhile, Selina had escaped to the Midwest, specifically to Amity Park, Illinois. She lived on the outskirts of town, near the woods, buying a small cabin and filling it with cats. Under a false identity (Selena Nightangel), she hoped Bruce no one would find her.
That was until a year after her escape, when she found a small child with blue eyes (resembling him) and black hair in her doorstep , so she took him in.
She planned to care for him for a few days and then leave him for an orphanage or foster care, until she learned he had no identity. Seeing his physical wounds (and noticing the psychological ones), she decided to care for him herself. (And perhaps she was lonely, having gone from almost daily visits from Bruce's children or Bruce himself to complete solitude.)
Later she began to learn that this child's name was Danyel or Daniel, as she named him on his new identity (forged like hers) at his request, as he says, "He doesn't want to stands out ."
Danny was... a lot. From day one, he tried to kill Selina and strangled one of her cats. It was clear he hadn't lived in a community or a suitable environment for a child. He knew about weapons but didn't know what a television was.
But he loved the stars, so she hung them in his room, gave him books about them, and listened to him ramble on for hours.
This boy went from being a withdrawn (and seemingly) murderous child to a sweet, chatty kid about stars and space in an instant.
He knew how to manipulate her (as she noticed). At first, he used it to get information from her, but after six months, he was using it to persuade her to buy him candy.
She still remembered his first day of school. She would have homeschooled him if she hadn't noticed his lack of social skills. When she started taking him to the park, she overheard women talking about not seeing him at school. If she didn't want child services and the police arresting her for "abuse," she needed to send him to school.
At first, he refused, unwilling to live in a community that was still new to him. But when he asked her about the consequences of refusing, and she told him they might take him away from her, he immediately agreed.
Danny's first day was a disaster by any measure. Apparently, some mean kid named Dash saw her son as a toy to play with. So she went to the principal's office and argued with him until Dash was punished.
It was only a three-day suspension, but unfortunately, she couldn't do more than that.
At least Sam and Tucker seemed like good kids.
(Sam and Tucker sh¡ty sketch, I might complete it later, I like sam's outfit)
... Yes, she might have become attached to this child she had taken in by mistake.
But he was her child now, and she would die before she let anything hurt him.
Back at Wayne's Manor, Damian was trying to adjust to having brothers (again). They weren't like Danyel, but... something. Dick tried to stick to him at every opportunity. Jason was barely there, but he offered him a cigarette when he saw him (Dick hit him and told Damian he was just nervous), so he thought he was okay. and barely saw the rest.
Father was distant at first; Dick said he'd been like that ever since, without explaining what he meant.
But one day (after he'd tried to kill Drake), Damian was, well, crying. After months of living with the Wayne away from the grave he'd built for Danyel, he'd missed him terribly. Father came in, holding a box with two matching rings and looking lost in thought until he heard Damian's quiet sniff.
When he went into the library, trying to forget the pain in his chest (he wouldn't forget, and it wouldn't go away until he found her again), he hadn't expected to find the newest addition to his family weeping silently.
Damian always looked strong and confident, even murderly, but that's not unusual for their family.
And seeing him like that made him look, look like a child... and he was, he was a child, his own child. So he entered quietly and pulled Damian towards him despite his attempts to hide his tears.
And now he was really hugging Damian.
After that, Damian's relationship with his father improved; his father would call him for walks or to a room he hadn't seen in the Manor, and give him everything he wanted, like Titius, his proud dog.
Damian became a real member of the family, and his father (though he occasionally reverted to his own isolation) tried to be there for his other children.
Damian was whole. (Almost, he wouldn't be whole without his twin.)
He didn't tell his father and brothers about Danyel, not because they wouldn't understand, but because he felt he was doing a disservice—a disservice to Danyel, who would be portrayed as a perfect dead child when he was so much more than that; a disservice to his father, who would be mourning a child he'd never met (and might become even more isolated because of it); and, with childish selfishness, a disservice to Damian himself. Danyel was his twin, his other half, his sorrow, his anger, and he... didn't want to share it, not yet.
But aside from his mental struggle over Danyel, Damian was living the best time of his life. (Selina's scream drowned out the rain when she saw her baby.)
He had the family he and Danyel had always longed for. (The smell of burning flesh and iron was overpowering. "M-Mom?" a faint voice called from inside the gate.)
He had friends; Jon was his first and only friend, though he'd rather die than say it out loud. (Jazz stood in horror; the boy she'd seen as a younger brothe died was dying in her parents' machine.)
At ten, Damian lived. (And Danny died)
I'm not finished yet. Wait for part 2 :)
(A sh¡ty sketch of Danny, see u)
