3 YEARS PRIOR

It had been raining that day. But she had been happy; she was eighteen and her high school graduation had been a week ago. She was due to start at Gotham University in September of that year and she was currently doing a part time job at her favourite bookstore in town. The rain pounded on her umbrella, but she was happy.

Her mom was waiting for her in their apartment, ready with a photo of the feast that she had prepared for them in the celebration of her graduation. Things were good.

Until they weren't.

For in Gotham city, happiness will always be tainted by the dark and the evil that filled this city.

They lived in a relatively safer part of Gotham. Her mother came from old money, but since her family had died, she'd put it all in an inheritance for Skylar. And her dad, who had died years ago, had also left them a lot of money. They lived a comfortable, safe life. It also helped having money, because of her mom's weak heart and the hospital visits. But they were happy.

The rain did not seem to stop that day. But Skylar did not mind. She liked the rain and enjoyed it for the most part. She turned around the street, ready to walk to her apartment building. Then she froze.

There were police cars and ambulances and her building had been taped off. There was a crowd gathered there, a crowd of familiar faces that seemed to blend together.

Throwing her umbrella aside, Skylar pushed past them all and skid right under the tape. There were no officers to stop her. There were families standing inside the tape, huddled together under umbrellas held up by police officers. They were all shivering and shaking, and something told her that it was not because of the rain. She scanned the ambulances and the crowds, trying to see where her mom was. She was soaking wet and there was a huge chance that she would catch a cold now. But it didn't fucking matter.

Her mom was what mattered.

Then, Skylar saw her. Her heart dropped straight to her feet. Mom was surrounded by medics, and officers, strapped to an oxygen tank and some sort of heart monitor.

"Mom!" Skylar screamed, pushing past the officers. "Mom, no!"

'Where did this kid come from?!' 'What are you doing?!' Officers and medics were speaking things, but it didn't matter. Nothing mattered.

She was at her mom's side, trying hard to keep her breathing steady. "Mom, no...don't go. Stay up! Stay with me! You can't leave me."

Her mom blinked, softly. Her breathing was haggard and fogged up the oxygen mask. "My Sky...you're getting all wet."

Skylar let out the softest of laughs, trying hard not to let her tears fall. "Mama...you say the strangest things sometimes. And don't talk, okay? The doctors are going to help you. You're going to be alright. You have to be."

"I was afraid..." Her mom's voice sounded so soft, yet it rang loud in her ears. There was noise everywhere too, the chaos caused by whatever happened. But that was muffled. All she could hear and focus on was her mom. Her amazing mom. "I saw things, I saw you and I thought you were gone, baby. Gone forever. My baby girl."

There was a sharp pain settling in Skylar's chest. A pain that felt like she was being stabbed by a thousand knives. "Mama, stop. It's okay. You're gonna be okay."

"I have never felt more afraid in my life," Her mom hadn't heard her, it seemed. Skylar grabbed her mom's hand. It was cold, too cold. She had a sinking feeling it was not because of the rain. "I can't lose my baby girl. I can't."

"I'm here," Skylar squeezed her hands. "I'm not going anywhere."

"My baby girl, my sweet baby girl," Her mom's voice was getting softer by the second, like she was just slipping away. Which couldn't happen. Skylar would be her mom's anchor. "There are so many things I have to say, so many things you have to know. I want to tell you more about your dad, about our family..."

"And you're going to tell me everything, Mom," Skylar had to be steady. She couldn't cry. No matter how much pain her mom was in. No matter how much pain her own heart was taking every passing second. "I'm going to listen."

"There's so much to tell, baby. So much," Somehow, her mom squeezed her hands, her breathing so rough that it broke Skylar's already destroyed heart. "Your dad, I miss him. I miss him so much. He'd want me to tell you every story..."

Her mom, her beautiful, amazing, kind mom...the little bubble around them grew and grew so much it was ready to burst. "Skylar, my sweet baby Skylar..."

The bubble burst. Her mom's hand slipped. Everything was numb.

Skylar wouldn't remember much of what happened after that. Except for Commissioner Gordon putting a blanket around her shoulders and shielding her from the rain that never stopped.

*

It was Scarecrow; and Scarecrow's stupid fucking fear serum that had caused her mother to have a heart attack, a heart attack that would eventually led her to die. She wasn't the only one who had died; there had been one more victim, an old lady that lived on the ground floor. Nearly every resident of the building was left in debilitating states, mumbling about fears and nightmares come to life.

Skylar only knew one thing. One thing. Scarecrow was going to die. Jonathan Crane was going to fucking die and she would be the one to destroy him.

"Miss Hannigan," The lawyer, the one her mom had, called on her, breaking her out of her thoughts. "If you're ready, we'll go over her will and all the provisions."

Her will..her dead mother's will. Fuck.

Skylar swallowed her nerves and looked straight into the lawyer's eyes. "I'm ready."

The lawyer, Phil or something, started reading out from a piece of paper. Her mom's will. "Your mom put everything in a fund, separate from your college fund that you were supposed to get access to when you turned twenty one, but in extenuating circumstances, she added a provision that you could get access to the fund when you turned eighteen. What do you want to do with that fund?"

"I'll take access, but I don't need the money right now." (But she was going to use some of the money for purposes that couldn't be talked about.)

"There's also the matter of your father's trust fund for you," Phil continued. "According to your mom, that fund will come to you right now since you're eighteen. Your mom said your father left you a letter with that fund. I have that letter with me." He opened a drawer and reached into it, pulling out a highly yellowed looking envelope.

Skylar reached over and took it. Her name was written on it in unfamiliar writing. Her dad's writing. "What other stuff is there?"

"She's bequeathed all her possessions to you, including the apartment you resided in." Phil read on. "You are free to do whatever you want with them."

"Begin the process to sell the apartment, I can't live there. Whatever money comes from the sale, I'll use it to look for another place."

"Alright. As for..."

*

The letter weighed down on her.

Something told her that she had to read it. Read it before she put her plan into action. She sat down on her bed, surrounded by boxes that held everything she owned.

To Skylar,
My name is James Hannigan and I am your dad. Elise Hannigan is your mom. Right now you are just two years old. A great big, chubby baby. This letter should get to you when you're eighteen, an adult. Even thinking about that is scary since you're so small right now. I wish I did not have to write this letter to you, but there is no other way to say it. Hopefully, all of us will be together when you open this so we can guide you with what happens.

There is no easy way to say it, so I am going to be outright and honest with you. My father, your grandfather was in an old group, one most people don't know about. It's called the Justice Society of America. They were the first superheroes of our planet, protecting us from threats we couldn't imagine facing back then. Now the world is used to them. His name was Power and he was a metahuman, though I don't think they used that term. He had supernatural strength and enhanced senses. He was basically the strongest man I knew, and also the kindest.

At that time, we didn't know the metahuman gene could be passed on. When I was born, I had been tested. But I didn't have the gene present. And when you were born, we did the same. Fortunately, or unfortunately, you had those genes. Skylar, my sweet little girl, you are a metahuman. It was confirmed when you, a little, two year old, accidentally smashed through your crib and fell to the ground, completely unscathed.

You're strong, like your grandfather. So we had to slowly teach you to be gentle. That will be carried on. Hopefully as an eighteen year old, you are.

You have powers kiddo. There should be a key in this letter, a key to a locker to a Boston bank that contains your grandfather's costume. Do what you want with it. I know you're the kind of girl who will be brave and headstrong and confident, yet also soft and kind and gentle.

Take care, little Sky. See you when you are eighteen.

Love, Dad

Well. Fuck.

Skylar Hannigan was going to fucking scream.

OOPS. Sorry for the angsty start (but not really though hehe). I can promise though, from the next chapter, things will be a lot more lighthearted. Though, there will still be angst. And Jason definitely makes an appearance in the next chapter.

I hope you enjoyed this prologue! I would love to know your thoughts on this <3 <3

MERRY CHRISTMAS ONCE MORE!