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 werenโt 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 heโd 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. โThe world donโt give us much, baby,โ he said. โWe do what we have to to keep you safe.โ She knew it was wrong.. saw the way cops eyed their block like prey... but when her parents held her close at night, it didnโt feel like a crime.
At 14, the sirens came. She hid in the closet, clutching her momโs locket, as officers dragged them out in handcuffs. Her mom yelled back at her, โWeโll come back for you!โ 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, sheโd go silent.. I already have parents, sheโd think, staring at the floor. Iโm just waiting.
Sheโs 18 when she steals from Bruce Wayneโher 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, โYou donโt belong on the streets.โ (uhh.. Okay? This feels like he's kidnapping her.)
She says yes to his offer not because she wants a new family, but because sheโs 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 โspend more time with herโ before vanishing for weeks.
- Jason glares like he resents her presence, muttering about โstrays getting handoutsโ and never making eye contact twice.
- Tim barely notices she exists.. heโs 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 Alfred๐)
Bruce himself is gone more than heโs home. When he is there, he asks generic questions like โHowโs school?โ (she never finished elementary or ever went to school again.. He said he'll enroll her but he keeps on forgetting) or โSettling in okay?โ but never waits for a real answer before his phone buzzes and heโs off again.
She tries to reach out once.. shows Bruce a photo of her parents (the one in the locket), tells him sheโs still waiting for their parole hearing. He just nods and says, โYou deserve better than that life.โ It feels like heโs 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 canโt understand. They donโt ask about her life. She doesnโt ask about theirs.
Itโs not that they mean to neglect her theyโre 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 โhelping someone,โ 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 doesnโt ask about her past. Itโs simple work.. pulling espresso shots, wiping down sticky tables, chatting with regulars who know what itโs 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 momโs cooking. No one asks her to โmove onโ or โbe betterโ they just let her be.
One slow Tuesday, her phone pings with a group chat invite. The name is โInsert some corny or really cool nameโ and she assumes itโs a wrong number. But before she can leave, a message pops up: โHarley said sheโd bring the pancakes. U in, Ivy?โ
Curious (and bored), she types back: โUmโฆ not Ivy. Think u got the wrong person.โ
The chat explodes. โWHO IS THIS??โ from someone named Joker. โNew recruit?โ from Riddler. โMaybe sheโs a plant,โ 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 โAww, cโmon guys.. let her stay! We could use a new voice around here.โ
Against her better judgment, she stays. At first, she just lurks... reading about their villain stuff, the heroes and the vigilante, arguments over Gothamโs 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 donโt know sheโs Bruce Wayneโs ward. She doesnโt know their real names.. But for the first time in years, someone listens. They donโt judge her for missing her parents, or for stealing to survive, or for feeling like she doesnโt belong anywhere.
Meanwhile, back at the manor, no one notices sheโs home later, or that she smiles more when sheโs texting (maybe someone does notice who knows). Theyโre too busy with Gotham. And sheโs 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 ๐ญ)
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.
