RATED MATURE FOR SOME LANGUAGE/VIOLENCE

Summary: An AU where Valerie's life goes a little differently...

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It's been a few days now since the incident. A few days since Valerie Joash burned her house down, killing her good for nothing parents. Then again, they shouldn't even be considered as parents. They were the TRUE villains of the world, void of any humanly love or sympathy that they should've been showering their child with.

She regrets absolutely nothing. They deserved to die, anyways. Screaming for mercy; pure fear etched across their expressions.

Well...

Maybe she did regret one thing.

As the flames raged on, Valerie watching her chaotic masterpiece, her sister suddenly limped out as she coughed her lungs out. Somehow--except for a few minor injuries--she was completely unfazed.

It was nothing short of a miracle.

However, Valerie didn't waste any time at all to rush over to her sister and wrap her hands around her neck.

She can't risk having any witnesses! But even as her grip slowly tightened, all her sister did was look straight into her eyes and smile.

"I'm sorry for everything that's happened to you, Val... Honestly, I don't blame you for doing this. And if you must kill me, then go ahead. Just know that I love you--I always have."

Her sweet smile was still there, her eyes reflecting nothing but earnesty.

It was so unfair! Just how can she still be so bright and compassionate even at a time like this?

It made Valerie feel so dirty, so unworthy, so...EVIL.

How the hell can she murder the one person she ever truly cared about and vice versa?!

Then, from afar, she heard the blaring sirens of the ambulance and GCPD cars fast approaching. In shock Valerie quickly pulled away from her sister. But just as she was about to make a run for it, her sister suddenly hugged her.

"I wish you the best, my fire goddess."

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And so Valerie was all alone now, striving desperately to live off of the streets like many other orphaned kids.

She never stopped thinking about her sister. Of all the good times they've had, of how her sister was always there to comfort her whenever Valerie had to endure yet another round of harsh abuse.

But that was all so...pointless now. There was no reason to sit around and wallow in self pity over things that she clearly would never have.

After all... She didn't deserve love, anyways.

But soon she was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard footsteps, looking up from where she was sitting in an alley to see three large men.

"Pretty little thing, ain't she?" One of them remarked gruffly, flashing a toothy grin.

"Well, if we clean her up then I'm sure she will be." Another replied, a wicked smirk plastered on his lips as he eyed Valerie shamelessly.

"C'mon, guys, let's just go... We can't keep Fish waiting." The last one sighed, seeming to be the one with at least the most moral conscience.

Valerie was quick on her feet, jumping up and was just about to dash before one of the earlier two men grabbed her arm.

"Where're you going, sweetheart?" He leered, his jeering laughter freezing Valerie's blood in fright. "The fun's just about to begin! Come with us and you'll see!"

"Let me GO, you fucking bastard!" She yelled angrily, trying to kick and punch him away. But no matter how much she tried, he was simply far stronger!

"Feisty little thing!" The other one snickered, stepping in front of Valerie and cornering her. "Don't worry, that'll only add on to the fun!"

It was then that Valerie was completely paralyzed; memories of her father flashed in her mind.

Of all the...atrocious and unspeakable sins he's ever done to her.

"HEY!" The men looked behind them, seeing a bearded middle aged man with a fedora and a furious expression. "Let her go!"

"Oh, please, you and what army?" One of them scoffed before the man suddenly pulled out his gun, shooting the brute's leg as he shouted in pain.

"You wanna fucking die?!" The man exclaimed, before the men cursed and decided to just run away as it was not worth the trouble right now.

"Hey, you! BUTCH!" The last man, the one who really didn't want to do anything to Valerie, reluctantly stopped and turned to face him. "Manage your dicks a little better, will ya?"

Butch only grimaced before leaving the scene. Once Valerie and her mysterious saviour were all alone now, he slowly walked closer towards her.

She felt as if a bucket of ice cold water was dropped on her when she finally realized what had happened, and before she can panic he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, hey! It's okay now, I promise." He assured, leaning down to her level to look at her. "I'm Harvey Bullock, and I'm a detective at the GCPD. Again, you're safe now." He paused, his brows knitting. "What's your name? And where's your family?"

Valerie couldn't take it anymore, breaking down at that. For a few moments Harvey could only stand there awkwardly, really not knowing what to do as she cried and sniffled before he gently wrapped his arms around her.

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The weeks that followed involved Harvey taking Valerie to the GCPD, trying to get any information that he could about her. But she wouldn't budge, although he can tell that the young woman has unfortunately been through some great trauma.

Harvey doesn't know what came over him that day. A lot of people see him as callous, and someone that is really questionable as to how he even managed to join the police force with his snarky attitude and half ass work ethic. But he IS a good person, and of course he couldn't just stand to the side and let god knows what happen to Valerie especially when he had the power to stop it.

Some more time passed, and eventually Valerie began to trust Harvey. He knows her much better, but she would NEVER disclose the fact to him about the crime that she did. Every single day her demons ate her up more and more, but she just got used to it.

Valerie trusted Harvey enough now to move in with him. As odd as it may be, they considered each other like father and daughter. Valerie saw Harvey as her saviour, and a man with a genuinely good heart despite being rough around the edges. Harvey, on the other hand, accepted her with more than open arms. He can't exactly explain how or why, but it seems like Valerie has grew and formed a soft spot on him. And at that moment, he knew that he would protect her come Hell or high water.

As they became more comfortable with each other, Valerie harboured an increasing interest on being a part of the GCPD. Once she shared to Harvey about it, he appealed to Captain Sarah Essen and helped Valerie enroll into police academy.

Until she--finally--passed it.

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"This is my daughter, Valerie Joash." Harvey introduced, Jim only raising an eyebrow as he took in the beautiful young woman.

As if reading the detective's mind, Valerie only chuckled. "I'm not actually Harv's daughter. More like his adoptive daughter, I guess." She grinned, holding her hand out. "Anyways, nice to meetcha! I heard so many things about you, Mr. Gordon."

"All good things, I hope." Jim replied with his usual tight lipped smile as he shook her hand. "And please, just call me Jim."

"Oh, they've got donuts!" Harvey exclaimed as he saw some officers come in with a box of fresh donuts.

"Harv, I don't think that's for you!" Valerie giggled.

"Whatever, I'm getting some anyways! Chocolate for you?"

"Yeah, fine, whatever! Don't look at me if you get in trouble, old man... But yes, chocolate please!"

As Harvey went on his way, Jim spoke up once more.

"He's different around you."

Valerie looked at him, cocking her head to the side slightly. "How so?"

"Well, don't take this the wrong way, but he's kinda a dick to other people."

"I suppose that's true." She laughed softly. "But just give him some time, Jim. After all, you just joined the GCPD. He really isn't as bad as you think."

"Maybe not..." He mumbled. "Anyways, what made you wanna become a police officer? You're quite young, at first I didn't expect that you actually worked here."

"I've always wanted to be a police officer ever since I was little. Then...some things happened." She sighed. "Let's just say my life went to shit. If it isn't for Harv, though, then I don't know what my life would be like right now. But I'm glad to be here, and I really hope to clean this city up!"

"I hope so, too." Jim smiled, happy to have found a like mind.

"Hello!" A new male voice suddenly chirped, Valerie and Jim turning around to regard a lanky man with glasses. "Goodmorning, Detective Gordon. And..?"

"Oh, Valerie Joash! But you can just call me Val. I'm new here." She beamed.

"Well, nice to meet you! I'm Edward Nygma, but you can just call me Ed." He giggled boyishly. "Are you Detective Bullock's daughter?"

"Adoptive daughter, more like." She chuckled.

"Do you, by any chance, like riddles?"

"Val." Harvey returned, two donuts in hand. Harvey simply frowned at Ed before giving the chocolate one to Valerie and leaning into her ear. "Ignore him, Val. He's weird."

Valerie felt her heart ache at that. Ed seemed nice...not to mention cute. But she didn't say anything; she'll just scold Harvey about it later.

Ed, totally unaware of what Harvey said, only continued to smile cheerfully. "What's nowhere--but everywhere--except where something is?"

Valerie thought hard about the riddle, actually wanting to try it out as she repeated the question over and over again in her mind.

Harvey groaned, rolling his eyes. "Forget about it. Let's go, Val." He grumbled, shooting Ed a glare as he bumped pass the nerdy forensic as he walked away munching on his sprinkled donut.

Ed's smile dejectedly faded away, but jolted slightly when Valerie suddenly patted his shoulder.

"I got it!" She grinned. "It's NOTHING!"

Ed felt his heart flutter, and he returned the wide grin. "CORRECT!"

Yes... Maybe this time he'll have a friend.

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So I've actually had the idea for this story for a while now, and I FINALLY did it!

I dunno, I just suddenly had the nagging thought of what it would be like if Val's life was different. If she never got associated with Fish in the first place and we know the Val that we know now, and if she got associated with people like Harvey instead. I thought it would be so interesting what Cop!Val would be like and how her relationships will be affected, especially her romances with Eddie and Ozzie. And it was also fun since many heroes and villains tend to have lots of versions (both in Marvel and DC), so I wanted to dabble in it with my Val!

What do you guys think of Cop!Val? I will PROBABLY write a bit more about her, and she's also free to be roleplayed with if ya want! 👮‍♀️