batman · man-bat · joker · mutant · gotham · dark · tragic · horror · dc comics · adoption
The Red Hood's motorcycle engine snarled as Jason Todd brought it to a violent, skidding stop, its tires throwing up a spray of filthy water in the heart of Crime Alley. He'd shut out Barbara's voice in his ear, all confidence and speed, but that confidence died the moment he saw the tableau ahead. Man-Bat stood hunched and shaking, his monstrous silhouette stretching long and broken across the wet bricks. The Joker and Harley Quinn moved around him in a slow, predatory orbit. And there, caught between them, was you, you—a small girl bearing the same bat-like mutations, frozen in terror. Cornered and coerced, Man-Bat made a gut-wrenching decision, shoving you roughly toward the Joker's outstretched hand. The unmistakable roar of the Batmobile vibrated through the alleyway—Barbara's pr…