Ageless - A Batman Beyond fic

[Lordfrieza]

The sound of rain splattering on the roof of the old building echoed through the upper rooms. The building itself was a holdover of old Gotham. A brick monstrosity that had been created to help with the homeless problem. Of course Gotham Greens had turned out to be a hotbed of criminal activity. It's very design was to gather the poverty stricken into a single place, and of course leave the rest of Gotham to do as they pleased. Over the years the building shut down, the people were moved out, and it sat empty for years. At least until it was purchased by Dahl Industries. Once it was purchased it was slowly changed, reflecting the tastes and life of the owner. The owner that sat in her office overseeing the various contracts and applications to the modeling agency she ran. An agency that itself dealt more in legalized prostitution then it did with actual modeling.

Mary Louise Dahl leaned back after looking at the latest contract. The girl couldn't be eighteen. She looked for the possible signs of a similar condition that she suffered from, but didn't see a one of them. Instead it was simply obvious that her guardian had forged the paperwork needed in order to get her into an interview. She studied the head shots, the various photographs of her, and then placed the file down. Twenty years ago she would have simply accepted and moved on, but over time she had become more choosy. The simple fact that her business worked within the confines of the law was the main reason. Her small hand reached over to a bottle of aged brandy and poured a bit into the bottom of a glass.

"Leslie P. Cooper," she said as she looked at the file lying there, "Well Leslie, I'm going to guess that your parent is looking for an easy paycheck."

She downed the brandy, looked at the phone, and then cursed as she picked it up. She knew what was going to happen the moment she made the call. The police would come into her business, they would look at Leslie's file, and then they would look at the files for the other girls for the current year. Depending on who they sent it could be a quick process that would be mostly painless, or it could be a potential cashgrab. She breathed out, "Fuck," she cursed as she looked at the phone, "Do I do it or just deny her application?"

She knew that if she simply turned it down that whoever was her guardian would likely attempt again at a different agency. That or they would use one of the various websites to collect on her. The other option was a little more hands on. She breathed out as she considered it. Did she really want to do this? Whoever Leslie P. Cooper was didn't really matter to her. Her eyes went back to the file. The girl couldn't be over thirteen years old. She saw the expression on her face in the head shots. It was the looks of someone that had been made to suffer. Someone that had faced horror at home, and that was desperate for some kind of relief. Doing this was likely the only chance she had at a normal life. Well, it wouldn't be normal. It wouldn't even be appropriate. She looked toward the middle drawer of her desk. The other option was clear. She could handle it.

[MTVCCVC]

Got to say, that's one of the best setups and openings I've read in a while.

God work, LF.

[Lordfrieza]

(Oh, what the hell)

1919 Bleaker. The street was known as the wall. It was the place that separated old Gotham from Neo Gotham. Those that made enough to live better, but not enough to live in Neo Gotham lived here. The old gated communities were the last gasp of the fairly well to do. They had gathered together in their attempt to stay sheltered from the criminals. Their hopes that the rod iron gates, the cinderblock walls, and the possibility of a couple of security guards would keep the unwanted elements out. It hadn't worked when it was all just Gotham. It certainly didn't work now. The wall of the gated communities did keep the normal tweakers out.

It kept the normal addicts from running inside, but it did nothing for the idiots that used slappers, or the spliced freaks that went on nightly hunts. It was a nice illusion, and of course it did nothing for a woman that barely stood as tall as very young girl. A girl that had a small purse on her. A girl that was actually nearing a century in age. She knew what was going to happen. She slipped through the gate, something she had planned on doing, and she began to walk toward the house. Mary Louise Dahl had the file memorized as she walked.

She wasn't sure what she was going to do after she got there. She had no idea about how she was going to deal with this. She knew that she had to stop what was going to happen to Leslie P. Cooper, but afterward, she didn't know. Did she take her with her? Could she take her with her? Would it even be right to? She breathed out, there was so much she missed out on. Raising a family was one of those things. She had believed that maybe it would happen, but it never did.