This is a story that has been nagging me for what i think has been about a year or two. So lease enjoy and tell me what you think. Constructive criticism is always welcomed and wanted.

L.L.A.P

~Laces

Chpt.1

"Jai." Whimpered a small voice. "Jai, I'm scared."

"Shhh. It's gonna be alright." Another, older, voice whispered. Everyone else around them were silent except for the occasional sob and shifting feet.

They felt the dark truck they were confined in lurch to a stop, and the back door opened, small amounts of light streaming into the truck making the people inside wince.

"Out of the truck." Barked the man who took them. A small African American little girl holding an older mixed girl's hand timidly walked out.

"Jai…" she whimpered.

"Shhh, Jinx. It's okay." The older girl, Jai, tried to comfort.

"Shut up girl!" exclaimed the man, and other girls walked out of the truck along with Jai and Jinx.

They were lined up, but Jinx didn't stop holding onto Jai's hand tightly. Dogs barked at the girls, keeping them straight and afraid as they bared their teeth. Jinx stared at the dogs and looked over at Jai.

"Puppies." She whispered with a small smile.

"Yes, Jinx. Puppies." Jai nodded.

Into view came a short fat man with a pointy nose and a monocle.

"Will these ladies do, Mr. Cobblepott?" questioned the man who took them. Mr. Cobblepott nodded as his eyes lingered over all of the girls.

"I'm not sure about the little one though." He stated, his eyes locking on Jinx. Jai saw him eyeing the little girl, and her grip on Jinx's hand tightened.

"The little brat was with the brunette wandering the streets. She wouldn't leave without her. I figured that she would grow into a striking young woman that you would also enjoy." The man informed, a sick smile on his face. Mr. Cobblepott seemed to think over this, then nodded.

"Very well." He handed the money over to the man and then turned to the girls.

This was slavery. Women were being kidnapped and sold to people in Gotham right under the government's nose. And rich men, like Mr. Cobbleptt a.k.a the Penguin, had plenty of unknown spaces that could hold the girls.

Many of the girls looked scared and broken. Many of them were either slaves before or were previously abused. All except for Jinx and Jai.

Jinx looked scared, but was far from broken. Jai, on the other hand, held her head up high, and didn't look away and tremble when the Penguin glanced her way. Jai wasn't weak.

The Penguin enjoyed women. He usually gave them to his favorite guards or trained them to be waitresses at his iceberg lounge, but he did occasionally keep a few for himself.

"Hello Ladies." He said with a sickening smile. "You are going to walk inside this building, there, there will be men waiting for you. They will be your new masters. Is that understood?" he questioned, but was answered by the silence of broken women.

"I don't get it." Jinx whispered, but everyone heard her.

"Excuse me, but what did you say, my dear?" Penguin questioned as he stalked over to the little girl. Jinx hid behind Jai's leg, and Jai kept her strong look, glaring at the men.

"She doesn't understand what we did to deserve getting sold to you. And I personally don't get why we have to listen to what you say." Jai growled.

Penguin smirked at the girl, then turned to the rest of the women.

"Everyone head inside." He instructed, and all the women did so except for Jai and Jinx.

"You two are going to be mine." Penguin informed with a happy smile.

"Like hell we are, you low life pig." Jai growled, eyes narrow.

"Come now, do not be like that. Being mine is fun." He chuckled. "I can give you names. Like, you are Victoria, and your little friend is April."

"No." Jai stated sternly. "I am Jai and she is Jinx." She growled. "Now tell us where we can get out of here."

Penguin quickly pulled out his umbrella and pointed it at Jinx.

"Please be more civil. I do not need the little girl, and this umbrella shoots bullets." He smiled.

Jai frowned as she looked down at Jinx.

"Jai…" the little girl whimpered.

"It'll be okay." Jai whispered then looked at Penguin. "What do you want us to do?" Jai questioned, her voice tight with anger.

"For starters, you can call me master." He informed and Jai grunted. However, she looked down at Jinx and her welfare was Jai's first priority.

"As you wish… master." She sounded like the words pained her to say.

"Good girl, now follow me to this room." Penguin said, beckoning to a room to the left.

"Jai, can you read?" Jinx inquired, and the older girl understood what she was referring to as she looked up from the shadow coming from the Penguin.

"Yes Jinx, I can read. Can you speak now?"

"Yes, I spoke earlier." Nodded the little girl.

Before Penguin could ask them what they were talking about, three of the guard dogs came charging at him.

In that moment, Jai pulled Jinx to a door that led to the exit, knowing the entire building's layout just as well as the Penguin did.

"Jai…" Jai quickly pulled the little girl up onto her back for a piggy back ride, knowing that the younger girl was too weak to run for a long time, and sprinted with the girl clutching her tightly.

The girls found themselves in a city, but that didn't stop them from continuing to run.

Jai sprinted to an abandoned looking building and ran inside. She quickly hid behind what looked like a crate and Jinx climbed down from her back.

Both girls sat there in front of each other, and were hugging each other tightly.

"J-Jai?"

"Yeah Jinx?" she whispered, panting.

"What was that man going to do to us? What did you read from him?" Jai shivered and shook her head.

"He was going to do bad things to us. Just… bad things, Jinx. We can't let him find us again. We can't."

"Hiding from something?" both girls jumped at the voice, and turned around to see a tall burly man standing in front of them.

Jai and Jinx stood to their feet, and Jai stood in front of the little girl protectively.

"Calm down girly, I'm not going to hurt you." The man said, his voice calm and relaxed.

The man had curly thick black hair, blue green eyes, and was wearing a black leather jacket.

"Who are you?" Jinx questioned in a small voice.

"The name's Jason, squirt. Jason Todd." He smirked. "What about you?" Jinx looked up at the older girl, unsure of what to do.

"I am Jai." The girl stated. "And this is Jinx. We are here because we pissed someone off and now they might be searching for us." Jai informed and the man raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Who exactly are you running from, babe?" he inquired, but Jai didn't know if she could trust him, not to mention she never exactly liked being called babe.

"We don't need to tell you anything." Jai stated firmly, her brows furrowing over her grey eyes.

"I didn't say that you had to, but I may be able to help if it's an enemy of mine." He informed, but looked a bit intrigued.

"What if we were running from one of your friends?" Jai inquired, and Jason chuckled.

"I don't have many friends." Jai looked a bit apprehensive, but figured that she'd start running if the guy was friends with Penguin. She grasped Jinx's hand, ready to run.

"Mr. Cobblepott otherwise known as the Penguin. That's who we're running from." She stated, and Jason raised an eyebrow.

"Why are you running from that douche bag?" he inquired. The term douche bag directed at Penguin put Jai at ease.

"We were sold to him." Jinx whispered before Jai could explain. "He said that we were his."

Jason's eyes widened in shock, and his features hardened in anger.

"Just when I thought that Bastard couldn't get any worse." He grunted, mumbling to himself, and then looked back at the girls. His face softened, especially when he saw the scared expression on Jinx's face.

"Here, come with me. It's safer further inside here." He informed and Jinx looked up at Jai before she was going to trust the man.

"Alright." The older girl nodded, and the two followed the man deeper into the building into a room that had some guns lying on the table, and a laptop. The room was lit and their shadows were cast along the floor.

"Jai, are you gonna read?" Jinx whispered, and the older girl nodded her head.

"Read?" Jason inquired, looking at the girls questioningly.

Jai's eyes were looking down at Jason's shadow, while Jinx was looking up at the man. Suddenly, Jai looked up at Jason, and her eyes were wide.

"Jai?" Jinx questioned and the girl looked pained.

"Oh my god." She whispered, her grey eyes staring at Jason. "You… oh my god." Jason looked at her, utterly confused.

Her eyes started to water slightly, but she wiped them on her sleeve.

"Jai, are we safe here?" Jinx inquired, and Jai nodded her head, but didn't speak.

"What the hell is going on?" Jason questioned, his voice laced with confusion.

"I… read you. Your shadow told me, actually. I'm sorry, just… your life is a very sad story." She informed. "You just wanted love, and now all you feel like you can have is revenge." Jason stared at the girl wide eyed.

"How did you… you're a meta, aren't you?" Jai nodded her head.

"Yes. I am… well, we are." She informed as she wrapped and arm around Jinx. She usually wouldn't tell someone about her abilities so easily, but talking to Jason's shadow made her feel like she knew him personally. She knew that Jason wouldn't hurt them for being metas.

"What can you two do, exactly?" Jason questioned.

"If a shadow is present, I can speak to it, and it tells me everything about the person it's attached to, but shadows speak… differently. They don't use their voice. They basically portray a video in your head. Sure, it lasts about three seconds but it's like an hour to the viewer. That's what I can do." Jai informed.

"I talk to animals." Jinx informed. "and I can... morph." She stated, but the way she said it seemed shameful. Jason nodded, understanding that the little girl didn't want to explain more about her morphing. However, he froze, his eyes sharp, and his head tilted as if he were listening for something.

"Someone's just entered the building." Jason stated, and then grabbed one of the guns on the table.

"You two stay here." He instructed, and the two girls watched as the man left.

Jinx looked up at Jai, nervous.

"It's okay." She whispered, kissing Jinx on the forehead.

"Get out." They heard Jason growl to someone near the front of the building. A few moments later they heard a gunshot fire, and then Jason came walking back into the room.

Jinx gripped onto Jai's arm, her eyes focused on the gun. She looked terrified, but Jai was calm.

"You two are safe." He nodded. Jason saw the horrified look on Jinx's face, and he placed the gun back on the table. "Everything is going to be okay." He smiled at the girl as he knelt down in front of her.

"So, you're Jinx, and you're Jai, right?"

"Yes." Jai nodded. "My name is Jai."

"And I'm Jinx." The little girl nodded. "We're sisters." She informed happily. Jason raised an eyebrow.

"Sisters huh?" he questioned, and Jai gave Jason a pointed look.

"Yes. We are sisters." Jai stated firmly, and Jason nodded, understanding the look.

"So, how old are you two?"

"I'm seventeen." Jai stated.

"I'm eight." Jinx added. Jason looked them over, as if he were debating what to do with the two girls. He couldn't just kick them out with Penguin looking for them, but the hideout was set up more like a work space than a living space. He slept on a chair with his jacket as a blanket so getting the two some comfortable beds was out of the question if they stayed there.

Jason looked down at the little girl, Jinx, and noticed how she was hugging Jai's leg tightly, but her eyes were blinking slowly.

She was fighting off sleep.

Jason sighed, an idea coming into his head, but he didn't like it much.

"Where did you two live before you were kidnapped?" he inquired.

"Our home was amazing." Jinx said with a yawn, and Jai lifted her up, letting the girl lean her head on her chest.

"Jinx, get some sleep, alright?" she whispered, and that was all it took to get the little girl to drift off, going completely limp against the older girl. Jai looked up at Jason with a frown.

"We lived in an abandoned building in Metropolis." Jai informed. "I'd sing on the street for some spare cash, and I'd work as a night shift janitor for the Daily Planet." She sighed, looking down at Jinx.

"I found Jinx curled up at the abandoned building, asleep. Just by reading her shadow, I knew that she needed help, so I... took her in. Sure, money was really low, but she was safe. When I found her she was only four years old." She explained.

Jason looked at her curiously.

"You're a street kid?" he questioned, and she nodded.

"Yup. Both me and Jinx." Her eyes locked with his. "I know you know what it's like." Jason nodded.

"That's why I'm going to take you someplace where I know both you and Jinx will be safe for a while." He grinned, handing Jai a motorcycle helmet.