A Girl in a House

Walking down the streets of Gotham a with red hair and pale skin carries a grocery bag. She had a grey jumper on with a jacket over the jumper as it was quite cold in Gotham this time of year; she rubbed her nose before sneezing and then continued to her destination. She decided to cut down an alleyway that would take her close to her home a bit quicker, she did this because, in one of her grocery bags, she had a warm rotisserie chicken that she didn't want to get cold.

"Stop right there missy..."

A voice said from behind a dumpster. A rough-looking man with patchy blonde hair and red sores across his face revealed himself. When he smiled he revealed rotted teeth —many of which had long since fallen out. "How about you give me whatever's in your purse and then bring that sweet little mouth other here," he said before pulling his tracksuit bottoms done and revealing a disgusting penis covered in matted pubic hair.

The girl's face morphed into one of disgust as the smell of the man stung her nostrils. She didn't stop walking and kept moving down the alley "Yeah that's right girl," the man said. Though he was completely caught off guard when she raised her hand and a pink light shot out of it sending the man flying "You're lucky I don't want my food to get cold or you'd be spending the night in a cell or Gotham harbour depending on how I'm feeling," she said as she stepped around the guy before and continuing on home.

Fishing out her keys from her pocket she opened the door to her apartment building before going inside and revelling in the warmth of it. Approaching the elevator she pressed the button and waited, a sigh escaped her lips as she saw Jim Dikes —her neighbour— approaching from behind her. "Reconsidered about our date yet Samantha?" The man said with his greasy smile.

Samantha rolled her eyes "I'm still 20 years younger than you Mr Dikes, plus I'm sure your wife wouldn't appreciate that," She replied drearily.

"What she doesn't know can't hurt her, and age is just a number baby," Jim replied as he got closer to her with a lick of his lips.

"Touch me and I'll make sure little Jimmy is down for good," She said as she looked at him intensely. Jim hesitated for a moment before turning around and heading to the staircase muttering something about being a cocktease. Thankfully the elevator opened and Samantha was able to get to her apartment without any further trouble though she sighed once again as she could already hear the crying coming from within.

As she opened the door she walked into a moderately entryway where she took off her jacket and hung it up. Walking through the entryway she made her way to the kitchen where a slim young Asian woman was standing in a tank top and shorts, she was slicing a baguette in half and buttering the insides.

"How is she doing Cass?" Samantha asked as she placed the groceries on the counter. Cassandra turned around to Samantha with a blank expression on her face before dropping the knife and signing something with her hand.

*Still Annoying*

Samantha snickered before she started unpacking the groceries and putting them away.

"CASS!!! Where's my chicken sandwich!!!" A voice shouted from the other room.

Cass looked up towards the door to the living room and Samantha saw her grip tighten around the bread knife that she had before she let go and continued making a sandwich using the rotisserie chicken. "Do you want me to take it to her?" Samantha asked. Cass nodded her head rapidly as she plated the food up for her. Samantha laughed again before picking the plate up and heading into the front room.

"CASS!!!"

"Calm down Harley, I got your food right here," Samantha said as she appeared through the door. Before he sat on the sofa with tear marks running down her face and a moderately sized baby bump on Harley Quinn.

"Sammyyy! You're back, did you get me my vodka!" Harley asked with an excited expression.

"No Harley, you're pregnant, you'll just have to make do with this sandwich," Samantha said as she approached her.

"Boooo if Marky were here he'd let me have Vodka," Harley said childishly.

Samantha rolled her eyes before handing her the plate and then taking a seat on a separate sofa. "If he's anything like you said then I'm almost certain he wouldn't of," she replied.

"Pffft he's an asshole, knocking me up and then just disappearing!" Harley said as she aggressively took a bite out of her sandwich.

"Dead isn't the same as disappearing, unless you mean he disappeared from life," Samantha said as she turned on the armchair letting her legs hang on the side.

"Oh he's alive, I don't care what the Justice Jerks say, he just doesn't want to pay any child support so he had to fake his death," Harley reasoned.

"Well he did kill me, so maybe you're onto something Harls," Samantha said with a yawn. Samantha didn't get a reply from Harley so she turned her attention to the TV where the Real Housewives of Metropolis was playing. However, after a few moments, she could hear some sniffling, when she turned around she could see that Harley was crying, though it didn't seem to be from her usual hormonal imbalance.

"Harley? Are you okay?" Samantha asked as she sat upright on the sofa and then sat next to her.

Harley wiped her eyes "Just sucks ya know..." she said before grabbing a tissue and blowing her nose.

"I just got Mark back and then he had to go and leave again, I thought he'd be back by now and I could've surprised him with this," She said referring to her round belly.

"Jeez, I shouldn't even be able to get pregnant!" She shouted before throwing a pillow to the ground.

"Want me to call Ivy, and see if she can come back home yet?" Samantha said as she reached out to rub Harley's shoulder, but as she did she was assaulted by flashes of pain and horror making her withdraw her hand back immediately.

"Nah it's okay, at least you and Cass are still here," Harley said with a grateful smile.

"Yeah well, my family is dead and my childhood home is destroyed... I appreciate the rent-free room," Samantha replied with a blank expression.

"Awww Sammy you know just what to say to make a girl feel better," Harley said as she wiped her eyes and then went back to demolishing her sandwich.

"I think I'm gonna go to bed," Samantha said as she waved Harley goodnight before disappearing into her room.

She removed her clothing before standing fully naked in front of a full-length mirror. She looked at her smooth flawless skin, her taught stomach stomach muscles and perky breasts; one blink later and that all changed and her body was marred with deep gashes and bruises, her rib cage was jutting out and a hole was in her chest. She blinked again and the vision was gone; Samantha turned around before putting on some pyjamas, she then lay down on her bed crawled into a ball and started to cry.

———————————————————-

A young woman walked through an old creaky house. The house was full of holes and had little to no insulation —you could even see your own breath inside. Silence had been her only companion for the past few years; sometimes she even forgot the sound of her own voice, but she was glad, as hearing her own voice would do nothing but make her feel sick. She wandered through the halls of the house like a ghost, she didn't even feel like a person anymore. Just an entity that existed in this house, and yet this was how she preferred to live.

When she first came to this house she wondered if she made a mistake. she wondered if perhaps there was another way, perhaps she and her friends could find another solution. Those were the hardest days, the constant what-ifs and hypothetical scenarios where things might be okay and she could go back to her friends. She had to remind herself that this wasn't possible and that the last time they tried she lost one of her friends.

So she remained strong and stayed in this house. One day she woke up and realised she hadn't spoken to anyone in over a year; she realised she hadn't spoken at all, but memories of her friends still plagued her so eventually she stopped thinking at all and started existing in this house. She would live out the rest of her life in this house and no one need ever be hurt by her again.

Walking through the corridors she came into what seemed like a kitchen, though most of it was broken and the entire place looked lifeless. She untucked a chair that had no back to it and sat down before going through the motions of eating cereal —though there was nothing there. She was no longer a conscious being, thinking had become too painful and so she just allowed herself to move around like a zombie. Her power wouldn't let her starve to death so in the end it didn't matter, however, her appearance had become gaunt and unhealthy during the years she had been here.

After finishing an imaginary breakfast she stood up and walked up to the second floor of the house where there was a balcony that hugged the entire second floor. She opened the door not flinching at the temperature as it was nearly as cold inside as it was outside. She sat down in a seat that overlooked a bayside town and watched as the sun peered over the horizon and moved into the sky. She did this every day until noon, before it was to appreciate the beauty and now it was because of habit.

At noon she walked inside, before heading back downstairs. Though as she walked past the front door window she saw something that made her stop. Two young men were at the gate to her house and one of them made eye contact with her; this incident sparked the first thoughts she'd had in years.

'No one should be able to see me...'

———————————————————-

"Alright, Mark you ready?" Mai said as she held a staff that was pointed directly at him.

Mark took a deep breath and nodded as he pointed his own staff at her. Mai snapped into action as she thrust her staff at him at near inhuman speeds, but Mark was able to see the thrust coming from a mile away and sidestepped it before knocking it away with one end of his staff and attacking her with the other. Mai ducked underneath the swing before spinning while still leaning forward and snapping her staff back hitting Mark in the shoulder —though she held back considerably to not hurt him.

Mark cursed before jumping back and sending multiple fast thrusts at Mai, which she managed to dodge and avoid despite their ever-increasing speed. Mark had to hold back to stop himself from thrusting hard enough to kill Mai, but it seemed she wasn't as concerned as he was as she sidestepped his thrust before spinning into his guard and smacking him with her staff. However tapping into a bit of his abnormal strength Mark pushed her with his staff which launched her a few feet to the side, though she managed to roll and was ready again.

They exchanged multiple hits where neither one could gain the advantage over the other. Mark then managed to sweep her feet from under her, but she rolled backwards before sending a thrust right towards his chest, which Mark caught with his offhand. Mai tried to pull back but Mark's grip was solid so she rushed towards him and turned around inside her staff which collapsed into three pieces. The end piece curved around and hit Mark in the face; Mark let go as it would be rather suspicious if he didn't.

Whipping her staff around like nunchucks she began another assault on Mark who backed up and avoided most of the strikes. Mark then collapsed his staff in an attempt to meet the unpredictable nature of her attacks with his own, though she was much more of a master than he was. 'If I didn't have these powers I'd probably have been knocked out by now,' he thought to himself. However, in his moment of distraction, Mai managed to get the middle section of her staff around his head she then pulled him into a judo-like throw and onto the ground.

"Nice try Mark, but you still have a long way to go," she said with a smirk as she helped him up. Mai was his training partner and the daughter of the only Martial Arts Dojo in Bayview, though she hated that term and repeatedly told him to call it a Wuguan.

"I'll get you one day, you'll see," Mark huffed as he stood up. He had been coming here for a few months now, he hoped it would jog his memory as one of the only things that Mark had on him when John and Amelia found him was a three-section staff, but sadly it seemed that it wouldn't help. However, he did have a lot of fun learning and training with Mai.

"Mark... you did well, though you allow your thoughts to wander too often," a stern voice rang out from behind them. They both turned around and were greeted by Mai's father Yang, the owner of the dojo and master of Bak Mei.

"Mai the closer you come to victory, the more arrogant you become, one day this will hurt you," he said sternly to Mai.

"You are both talented but you have much to learn."

"Yes, Sifu!" They both shouted.

"Good, the lesson is over for today," Yang said before walking passed them and tending to the birds he kept.

Mai smirked at Mark before shoving him "Wanna grab some food?" She asked.

Mark returned her smirk but shook his head "Can't today, I'm heading over to the docks to take another look at the engine and equipment," He tried.

Mai's grin got wider "Oooooh? I thought you might be seeing a certain blonde girl with huge knockers as she comes out of hospital today," she said with a laugh.

Mark rolled his eyes and shoved her away, though she deflected his hand off to the side before sending a palm stile straight to his face; Mark snatched her hand out of the air before it could reach his face "Again? You love fighting too much," Mark said with exasperation as she shoved her away much to her amusement.

"Well it's not every day you find someone who's not a total pussy," Mai replied.

"You could always fight your dad," Mark said with a chuckle as he walked over to his bag and started to change. Mai had called him a bitch for asking for privacy to get changed so he often did it now in full view, she often did as well though not when her father was around.

"Pfft no thanks, I'm tired of getting beaten down by him," She said as she crossed her arms and watched Mark taking off his shirt and trousers in favour of some warmer clothing.

"How long do you reckon you'll be gone on the boat for?" Mai asked.

Mark shrugged his shoulders "A month, maybe two, John said it all depends on the weather," He replied.

"Well... be careful, it'll suck if I have to go back to sparring with kids," Mai said as she punched Mark in the shoulder.

A frown marred her face as soon as she did "Have you been working out? You feel a lot harder," she said with a little confusion.

Mark just looked at her with a raised eyebrow "You know what I mean!" She said with a huff.

Mark smiled "I'll catch you later Mai, say bye to your Dad for me," he said as he left through the door to the Wuguan.

Mark breathed in the cold crisp air before heading down to the docks. As he walked down the street his gaze drifted over to the house on the hill overlooking the town, he wondered why anyone would want to live in such a ruined house. 'Maybe they don't have a choice,' he thought to himself. The idea of that sent a pang of sadness throughout his body. He'd have to go up there at some point and offer to help, even if it's just fixing up the house and making it warmer. John and Amelia had shown him that there should never have to be a reason to help someone.

"Mark!" A familiar voice shouted his name.

'Shit...'

Mark turned around with a fake smile on his face to see the excited form of Megan who ran up towards him grabbing him into a hug. "Hey... Megan I heard you got let out today, I hope you're doing well," he said as he patted her back awkwardly.

"I am thanks to you, Mr Hero," she said as she squeezed his arms.

"Have you been working out? Wow! It really shows," She said with a giggle before looping her arm in his.

Mark sighed as they walked down the street together. She was going on about a hundred different things at once switching between topics that she had stopped talking about minutes before. Megan was incredibly beautiful, with her pale blonde hair, her slim face and her cute nose. But her most prominent feature was her body, not any one part, but her entire body.

Megan had tits that looked unnaturally big —especially for her height— and yet when Mark saw her in a bikini they didn't sag down at all they were perky. Going further down you were introduced to her massive dump truck; right now she was wearing a pink tracksuit and every time she moved whether it was walking or turning, her entire ass jiggled, it was damn near hypotonic. So Mark could understand why Gary was on his case about not fucking her, sometimes Mark wondered why he wasn't taking her into an alleyway.

"Megan, it's been great seeing you but I got to head over to the docks," Mark said with a polite smile.

"Do you have to... you could come over to mine..." she said with a sultry smile as she pressed her breasts into his side —fully engulfing his arm.

'Holy shit!'

"I-I'll have to take a rain check, John will kill me if I'm not there to check on the engines," Mark said, his voice a little high-pitched.

"Mmm you better..." she said as she went on her tippy toes and kissed his nose before running off.

Mark sighed before continuing his journey. It made him wonder if he had a girlfriend before he lost his memories, it would be nice to think that she'd be looking for him. Maybe he had two girlfriends; Mark chuckled at the ridiculousness of that thought.

"Yeah right, as if that could actually happen,"

(AN: So we are building up Bayview and the people who live there while also giving you a glimpse into the lives of the people Mark left behind. Originally I wasn't going to have Harley get pregnant, then I decided fuck it why not. I know some of you don't like pregnant women, idk why, but I do, not in a weird way but I don't like shying away from making a character have a kid. The trope of the birth control spell or potion is pretty annoying to me. Anyway hope you enjoyed the chapter.)

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