Through a Glass Darkly

First off: copyrights go to whoever owns them.

I have some acknowledges to make. This story was inspired by two stories on this site and I want to recognize them and their authors. They are Daughter of The Batman by lozza1989 and Friend of the Knight series by Sarah Chante. (I really hope you two finish these stories because I really love them. If you're not able to, I'll be more than happy to finish them, just let me know).

Also, this is a tribute to my childhood hero, Batman. I was raised on the Burton films and the DCAU. For some reason, when I was little, I wanted Michael Keaton's Bruce Wayne/Batman to be my dad. Don't get me wrong, I love my dad very much, not ashamed to admit that I'm a Daddy's Girl.

So please enjoy and destroy (constructive criticism please, we're all adults here).

Crossing Paths

It was nighttime at Gotham's Axis Chemical Plant. The air was heavy with the acrid smell of chemicals churning. Footsteps clanked on the heavy metal catwalks, not wanting to fall into the vats spewing noxious fumes below. The two men ahead struggled to keep their coughs quiet. Not that Jack Napier cared what his subordinates were breathing in. He had more important things to worry about. Such as the file of evidence that can send the Boss to roast in Old Sparky at Blackgate Penitentiary. And the little brat was dragging her feet…again…

"Come on, kiddo. We haven't got all night." Napier growled at the small girl he was dragging along. She tightly gripped the stuffed toy elephant that she had carried along. "Start climbing." He shoved her towards a ladder. Using one hand, she began climbing up. Her scuffed Mary Janes slipped on the cold metal and she almost fell down. Napier roughly grabbed the back of her white blouse with its pink embroidered butterflies. He supported her long enough for her to regain her footing before pushing her upwards.

"Hey Jack, was it really necessary to bring the kid along?" One of the men asked from the catwalk above. He was wearing a light charcoal-gray trench coat. Napier didn't care what his name was. Or the other's for that matter. "We could've left her in the car."

"She's small enough to climb into the office. Unless you want me busting the door down with your face." Napier chuckled as he followed the pipsqueak up the ladder. Gray Trench Coat's terse expression made Napier feel…silly. Seeing others' expressions of pain always brought a smile to his face.

The other man, wearing a dark yellow scarf, helped the girl off the ladder. "What if she bolts?" Yellow Scarf asked.

"She won't." Napier said as he got off the ladder and got in front of the group. "Because you saw what happened to Mommy and Daddy when they ran, right sweetie?" He flashed a toothy smile to the girl. She nodded with a gulp. "And you're not going to run away from your favorite Uncle Jack, right?" She didn't say anything; she was either scared or smart enough to be quiet. Maybe both, he wasn't sure.

Aw well. Not that she mattered to him. She was going to end up like Mommy and Daddy anyway. As soon as Grissom got what he wanted from her, Napier would help the little brat gain a pair of angel wings. Or devil horns, the image of the little kid looking like one of those cartoon devils made him chuckle.

Napier got in the lead and yanked the kid's elbow. The manager's office was at the end of the long catwalk. "Damn," Napier heard Yellow Scarf mutter behind him as they walked to the office. "Being around him is like playing hot potato with a live grenade."

"And the grenade is missing its pin." Grey Trench Coat replied as he checked the safety on his AK47. Napier smirked. So they have a sense of humor. He liked that. That also meant he had less reason to kill them should he feel like it. Less reason to say his favorite quote.

They finally stopped at the end of the catwalk. Tessie was happy, the first time she had been all night long. Uncle Jack, as he called himself around her, finally let go. He wasn't really her uncle. Nor did she want him to be. "Sweetie," Uncle Jack put his hands on his knees and bent them. "Do you know what will make Uncle Jack very happy?" Tessie shook her head. "Inside that office is a special folder. I want you to get it for me."

"Then you'll take me home?" Tessie asked nervously, holding her Babar close to her. She wanted to go home, even though she knew the mess would still be there. At least there, she could hide under the bed with Babar and be safe. At least Mom and Dad were there, or rather what was left of them.

Uncle Jack smiled his creepy smile. "Honey, I never break my promises. I'll personally take you home. Now get going." Tessie tried the doorknob. It was locked. She looked at Uncle Jack, confused. "No, princess. You'll have to go through the window." He pointed to a small open window above the door.

"That one way up there?" She followed his arm with her big grey eyes.

"That's right. Come on, I'll give ya a boost." Uncle Jack's black eyes glowered at her as he interlocked his fingers and offered his cupped hands to her. Taking the hint, she stepped into the makeshift foothold, moving Babar to the crook of her arm.

High above, a black shadow slipped through an open hatchway in the roof. Quietly, he crouched on the catwalk above the quartet and followed them along. He saw Jack Napier, dressed in his black trench coat and tacky purple trousers. His hunch was right, as always. So Grissom's trying to get rid of evidence. Not if he had anything to say about it.

A flash of pink fabric caught his attention. The shadow looked. Napier was helping up a little girl in a pink jumper with an embroidered butterfly on it. Her brown hair was falling out of its braid and her swollen eyes were red. His stomach set into a knot. He knew what Grissom was capable of. And he also knew that the child's life was in danger. Again, not if he had anything to say about it.

The shadowy figure watched as Napier pushed the girl up to the window. Her chin just came up to the edge of the doorframe. Nervously, she braced herself on the wooden doorframe before stepping over the plane of glass. Sliding down, she gripped the top of the window frame. This wasn't good. Part of him wanted to swoop down there and end it all. But he needed her to get away, just incase they'd start firing when he took them down.

There was a slight whimper. "What's wrong?" Napier asked in a mockingly concerned tone.

"I'm going to fall!" the little girl said. The shadow watched her fingers begin to slip.

"You'll live." Napier said. Just after that, the last of the chubby fingers disappeared. The shadow heard a thud followed by a sharp cry. He sighed, relieved. She'd fallen the last few feet but was safely away. Now was the time to act.

Napier brushed his hands together. "Turn around boys, keep an eye out for trouble." Damn. The shadow thought, watching the two men turn, keeping an eye on the walkway. Now he couldn't sneak up on them from behind. He'd have to wait for another opportunity.

Tessie winced as she stood up. Her ankles and tailbone hurt from the hard landing. Don't cry, she scolded herself as she stood up. She had just turned eight and can handle falls. It was dark inside the office. "What does it look like?" She called out, putting Babar into the top of her jumper to hold him.

"It has security photographs and a videotape in it. Start looking." Uncle Jack snapped angrily from the other side of the door. Shivering, she began opening drawers, looking for those black and white photographs. Tessie tried to hurry. She hoped he wouldn't get mad. Mom and Dad made him angry before he…

She had opened a file cabinet and was running her fingers over the manila files inside. Her fingers rustled against something familiar. Glossy photographic paper. Was this it? Tessie pulled out the file. Inside were black and white photographs of Uncle Jack and another man moving through the factory. There was also a videotape labeled Security.

"Uncle Jack! I found it!" Tessie called out.

"Good girl! Bring it out here!" His praising words had a frightening edge. Tessie tried to unlock the door, but it became clear that she needed a key for it. How was she going to get out? The window was too high up for her to reach. She noticed the office chair, a temporary ladder. See Tessie, the little girl could hear Mom; you're smart enough to figure it out.

Wobbling, she stood on it and managed to touch the top of the glass pane with the tips of her fingers. The chair moved beneath her. Swallowing her fear, Tessie stood on her tiptoes and pushed the file out. It landed on the floor with a thump. Uncle Jack muttered as he picked up the dropped file. Now how was she going to get out?

"What's taking you so long?" Uncle Jack was getting mad.

"I can't reach the window!" Tessie felt like she was losing her balance. The chair squeaked and bobbed the longer she stood on it. Even if her fingers managed to rest on the pane, she wasn't strong enough to pull herself up and over.

"Oh stop crying." Uncle Jack muttered. Tessie saw his gloved hands reach up for her fingertips. "I'll pull you out." He gripped her chubby hands tightly and pulled hard. Tessie slid over the pane and more or less landed in Uncle Jack's arms.

"Police!" A loud voice broke the silence of the chemical plant. Napier let the kid fall. Yellow Scarf and Grey Trench Coat cursed and waved their weapons from side to side. Down below, Napier saw him. Eckhart. One of his 'associates' in the GCPD. The fat bastard was holding a bullhorn up to his face. "Jack Napier, you are under arrest for murder!" The bullhorn squealed with feedback.

Grissom…it was a setup all along. Napier silently cursed, picking the girl up by her elbow. So the old man thought that Napier had pinched Alicia's ass one time too many. Napier drew his revolver and fired at the cops assembled below. Yellow Scarf and Grey Trench Coat followed his lead, pumping out bullets into a shower.

The little girl was cowering next to him. He made sure that he still held her arm tightly. "Come on boys!" Napier shouted, moving behind Yellow Scarf and Grey Trench Coat. "We've overstayed our welcome!"

Now was the time to act. Best to stay above and track them. The shadow followed, not taking his sight off the brightly colored jumper. "Anybody who shoots the kid will answer to me. Boss wants her alive." And me…the shadow thought as he clenched his teeth.

Tessie cringed, terrified. She unwittingly buried her face into Uncle Jack's trench coat. It was just like before…except this time she wasn't hiding in the closet and listening. She saw the flash and watched the people fall down, clutching their sides in pain.

"Come on!" Uncle Jack growled and pushed her out of the trench coat. "Keep moving if you don't want to get hit!" Tessie shut her eyes and let Uncle Jack lead her. At least she couldn't see the blood if she had her eyes closed.

The shadow noticed Napier's two companions aiming their weapons at the girl and Napier. They decided to join his betrayers. Making up his mind, he jumped, landing on top of them. "What the…?" one of them cried out. Batman punched him in the face. He fell, out cold.

"Oh shit! It's the Batman!" the other man, the one in the yellow scarf, shrieked in a high voice. Batman recognized him from the night before, he and his buddy had jumped a family of tourists outside the Monarch Theater, sending the father to the hospital for stitches. Batman had let him live, to warn his friends about him.

"Nice to see you again too," Batman said before slamming his fist into the coward's face. Underneath the steel and Kevlar gauntlet, he could feel the small bones cracking and a few teeth loosen. While he'd never kill on purpose, he wouldn't go easy on them. By the time he was through with them, they'd wish he didn't have his One Rule.

"Stop stumbling!" Napier hissed at the kid as she tripped on the iron staircase they were climbing. For some weird reason, she had her eyes tightly closed. "You know something, sweetie, it'll be much easier for you if you opened your eyes." He hissed, turning another corner.

There was another exit at the top, a little hatchback window. He had to get there. No way in Hell was he going to let Grissom get his hands on the brat. She'd be Napier's leverage. If Grissom wanted the list from her, then he'd have to take back his faithful right hand man. Then that Judas wannabe would get his just desserts.

Napier and the little girl were weaving through a maze of steaming pipes and vats. Batman was almost on them…

"Stop, please!" Tessie panted as they finally reached the top. Uncle Jack listened and stopped. Her lungs and feet throbbed. It hurt to breathe. She had tripped a few times and skinned at least one knee if not both. Babar was slipping through her jumper. Tessie re-secured him by looping his head under one of her shoulder straps and resting him by her armpit. It was awkward, but he wasn't going to fall. Mom told her to keep a close eye on Babar the last time she saw her…

Uncle Jack was looking over the railing. "Hey Eckhart!" he yelled as he cocked his pistol. Oh no! Tessie saw the fat policeman look up at them. "Think about the future!" He fired, hitting the man. With a loud cry, Eckhart fell against a pipe before slumping to the ground. He didn't move.

"You shot him…" Tessie looked at Uncle Jack, still holding his pistol out. The smile. That terrible and scary smile was on there. Tessie shook, like the first time she saw him smile, right when he pulled her out of the closet and dragged her past the mess…

"And your point?" Uncle Jack mumbled as he tightened his grip on her arm. He was hurting her as he pulled her back. A thing of black caught her attention. "Jesus Christ!" Uncle Jack jumped.

That's when Tessie saw him. He was huge, tall and completely wrapped in black with a yellow belt and symbol on his chest. The symbol and pointed ears on his mask reminded Tessie of a bat. Just like the ones she saw with her parents at the zoo. He looked at her with dark blue eyes.

"You try anything dumb," Uncle Jack pulled Tessie close to him. There was a feeling of hot metal close to her ear. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that he was pointing the gun at her. "And she gets it."

Napier looked at the black figure blocking off his escape. Damn. Why does there always have to roadblocks for every escape? He wrapped his arm around the brat's neck. She tried to pull his hands off.

She began crying. "You…you said you were going to take me home." Like before, her sobs got on his nerves.

"Of course, home to heaven, sweetie. Or will it be hell? Come on," Napier panted as he backed up nervously. "Wouldn't you like that, sweetie? To be a little angel or a devil?" She shook her head furiously, tears running down her red cheeks. Again, the thought of her as a little devil dressed in red and yielding a tiny pitchfork was a hilarious one.

"I…I…wanna…go…home…" The brat gasped each word. Meanwhile, the shadow figure hadn't moved. Instead, he watched them with dark eyes. There was something almost unnerving about him watching them. Time for him to go.

"Thanks," Napier fired the pistol at the man. The kid buried her face in Napier's arm. A sharp pain filled his face. "Goddamn it!" Napier dropped his pistol and held his hand up to his face. The man must've blocked it. How? Through his fingers, Napier could see the figure holding up his arm. Hurting and bleeding, he backed up more.

He didn't notice how close he was to the railing until he had fallen over it.

Frightened, Tessie screamed as they fell. A pipe came into view. She grabbed it with one hand, then the other. By the moans next to her, it was clear Uncle Jack had grabbed it too.

Don't look down, she could hear Dad warning her. She did anyway. Far below, a vat of green stuff bubbled. Even high up, she could feel that it was hot and smelled terrible. She didn't want to fall into it. Her hands began to slip.

Batman leaned over the railing and grabbed both of them by the hand. He leaned back, trying to pull them both up. But they were beginning to slip through his fingers. Any longer in this position and he'd fall over, sending all three of them tumbling into the chemical vat below.

He could only save one. Now came the choice he didn't want to make. Which one?

Through trickling blood, Napier looked up at the figure. Don't let me fall, he silently begged.

Though falling tears, Tessie looked up at the figure. "Don't let go of me." She begged.

Batman saw it in the girl's big grey eyes. Fear. Desperation. Begging. He had seen that look before. He once saw that look on his parents' face. And he wore it himself once, when he was no older than the child he was supporting. It had haunted his nightmares for years.

He made a promise that nobody would go through what he went through. And he was going to make good on it.

"I won't." Tessie heard the Batman whisper. An earsplitting scream erupted next to her. Uncle Jack must've slipped out of the man's grasp. Tessie watched as he fell, with failing arms and legs into the vat below. SPLASH! Uncle Jack disappeared into the stuff, sending a wave of green gunk flying upwards.

She had no time to absorb what had happened. Batman effortlessly pulled her up and rested her on his forearm. Tessie unconsciously wrapped her arms around his neck. "Hold on." He whispered as he threw something onto the floor. White smoke rose around them. BANG! Batman shot something up into the air. Startled by the loud noise, Tessie buried her face into his arm. Pretty soon she felt like she was flying. She dared to peek out.

They were flying up and out of the smoke. She could see people looking up at them, their eyes shone with amazement and fear. They stopped by the ceiling, Batman stepped onto a rafter beam and unhooked the wire. Moving his arms, he shifted her weight so he was carrying her with both arms. "Be quiet and don't look down." He whispered again before draping his cloak over her head. Tessie felt him moving quickly and quietly. Every once in a while, he would turn a corner or jump.

The air changed. Once hot and stale with the smell of chemicals, it was now cool and fresh, smelling faintly of rain. Tessie hungrily gulped in the air. Through the folds of the cloak, she could see the stars twinkling high above. Relaxing the grip around his neck, she tucked her head against the crook of his arm.

Underneath the body armor, she heard his heart beating and felt him breathing. She felt safe in his firm but warm and gentle grip. The soothing rhythm of Batman's heartbeat and movement made her sleepy. For the first time all night, Tessie felt safe enough to sleep. He won't hurt us Babar, she thought as she yawned. Because would he have gotten us away from Uncle Jack if he wanted to?

The little girl was asleep by the time Batman reached the Batmobile. Parked in the shadows, the top slid back as he approached. Carefully, he put her into the passenger seat. She moaned and stirred as he was buckling her in but she didn't wake up.

Clink. Something small had landed on the gravel by the car. Batman looked down. It was a little twine bracelet; no doubt it had fallen off the girl's wrist. Black and white alphabet blocks chinked together as he rubbed them. T-E-S-S-I-E. That had to be her name; more can be learned in the Batcave tonight. Batman got in the driver's seat and started up the car. Within moments, they were on their way home. Back to Wayne Manor and back to civilian life as withdrawn billionaire Bruce Wayne.

He didn't want to leave her with the police. From Eckhart's orders in the plant, it was clear Carl Grissom wanted her for whatever reason. And despite Commissioner Gordon's best efforts, the police force was famous for its corruption. So until he could figure out why…Batman activated the built in computer. The face of loyal butler, Alfred Pennyworth, appeared on the screen. "Yes, Master Bruce?"

"Alfred, we're having company tonight."

"I suppose you want me to prepare the interrogation chamber?" the wrinkled face asked dryly.

"No, not that kind of company." Batman gave a quick glance at Tessie. Her head was slumped against the window and her arms were wrapped around her chest. "The room down the hall from mine will be fine. We'll be home soon."

"Yes sir," Alfred nodded. The image turned off.

Bats squeaked and fluttered high above as the Batmobile's door slid back. Alfred was coming down the stairs as Batman picked up Tessie. "I suppose our little visitor has been the center of some dangerous intrigue." Alfred mused as she rested her head against Batman's shoulder.

"And she still is." Batman began walking up the stairs, Alfred close behind. As they wound their way to the library, Batman filled Alfred in on the events of the evening. By the time the story had finished, they were walking through the vast mansion. Their footsteps echoed through the large and empty hallways. Despite being kept clean to a mirror polish, the place often felt desolate, like a cage.

The room Batman had Alfred prepare was down the hall from the master suite, just in case he needed to get to Tessie. A soft light glowed from the little bedside lamp. The room was rose print wallpaper with walnut furniture and white bedding. As usual, Alfred had pulled back the covers and fluffed the pillows. "So what shall we do with Miss Tessie?"

Batman gently laid Tessie on the soft mattress. She quietly curled into a fetal position, wrapping her arms around her stuffed elephant. "Until we can find out why Grissom wants her, she'll have to stay here." Batman said quietly as he pulled the blanket over her.

The Axis Chemical Plant dumps its wastewater into the Gotham River through a maze of thick iron pipes. No matter the time of day or the events that take place, it always empties into the murky river.

Until tonight. The system's normally mild flow of waste had slowed to a trickle. Something was blocking the pipes. Something big. The trickle was interrupted by a loud splash. Then the flow resumed as it usually had. The night continued on as normal. Nobody would've been concerned at the slowing and restarting. They would've continued on without a second thought.

But nobody noticed the gloved hand sticking out of the water. Nobody noticed the ruined glove or the hand inside. The curled fingers were chalky white.