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"A villain is simply a victim whose story hasn't been told."
– Chris Colfer, (The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell)
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The warehouse was located in the shadows of Gotham's desolate industrial district, its cracked glass windows letting in faint streaks of moonlight. Inside, the air was thick with dust, and eerie mannequins standing in the low light like silent spectators among piles of old props from forgotten productions.
"M-mary, listen to . You have to let us go. We will do whatever you wish. We will resu the show just like you want, we will cast you as the main lead again. Just please don't hurt us." A middle-aged man tied to a wooden chair scread in fear while trying to free himself from his binds, his eyes closely following what looked like a five-year-old girl in front of him.
The man was none other than Jack Sniper, one of the most famous TV show and soap opera producers in Gotham. He was one of the most renowned directors and producers in the entire city, boasting nurous popular shows and franchises to his credit. Not only that, but he was also among the few individuals in the entertainnt industry who didn't have any significant controversies or scandals associated with his na. However, Sniper did have one minor shortcoming, he was not a patient man. He didn't like sticking with projects with low ratings or bad audience reception and this habit of his had landed him in trouble countless tis with the cast of his projects. This included his current situation as well.
"Calm down, Sniper. I don't want to hurt you. You are a good man with a good heart. You never treated badly despite my... special condition. You never mocked like so of the other annoying cast mbers." Mary Louise Dahl responded in a calm sweet voice before throwing a glare at so of the other tied-up cast mbers around the warehouse. "And please call , Baby Doll." She requested in a childish tone of voice before closing his mouth with a piece of tape.
The remaining cast mbers of Love That Baby! were huddled together, their faces pale with fear as their eyes darted nervously to the "little" girl. They were bound to decrepit chairs arranged in a semi-circle beneath the glare of a single flickering spotlight. At the center of it all stood Mary, her small doll-like fra casting a disproportionately large shadow against the faces of so of the show's cast. She was clutching a faded 'Baby Doll' doll in one hand and gesturing wildly with the other, her voice fluctuating between childish sweetness and venomous fury.
"Why are you all looking so afraid now? Didn't you all use to think that I was just... just a little joke?" she said, pacing in front of them with barely hidden anger visible on her cute face. "The cute little Baby Doll, always smiling, always perfect! Even then I never complained, I always put up with all of you because of how much I loved doing what I did." She complained before coming to a stop in front of a dwarf man who was tied up tighter than the rest. "But you!" She pointed a trembling finger at the man who had once played Spunky. "You tried to steal my spotlight! You wanted all the laughs, the applause, you wanted to take away my show, my family!" She scread.
Hearing her words, Spunky swallowed hard, his lips trembling, but no words ca out. He could try to deny her accusations, but he knew that his words wouldn't be able to convince the actress. After all, it really was true that he was jealous of the fa and love she had received from her little fans in the early days of the show, sothing he had never experienced himself. Also, the fact that his lips were currently sealed by tape was another reason why he wasn't able to deny Baby Doll's allegations.
"As for the rest of you," she turned to the others, her voice breaking with emotions, "You never saw for what I was. I always tried to make friends with you all, to get along with everyone. But instead of seeing the human being or the actress within , you saw my... my condition. You mocked ! Whispered behind my back like I couldn't hear you. Did you ever think about what it's like to be stuck like this? To look like a child forever? To be bullied by teenagers even when you are a woman in her twenties?"
"I... I just wanted to be normal. To grow up. To play different roles, to be sothing more. But all of you... you wouldn't let !" Her voice softened as she hugged the doll tightly between her chest, tears welling in her eyes. "All I had... all I ever had... was Baby Doll. And maybe... maybe that was all I was ever ant to be."
She looked down at the doll in her arms with longing in her eyes, her voice barely above a whisper. "The only ti I was genuinely happy was when we were a family on that stupid show. Even though I knew it was fake... at least it was mine... at least I still had a family." She mumbled, a few drops of tears sliding down her small cheeks.
After she was done with her confession, a heavy silence filled the warehouse, with the only sound being that of the distant wind coming from outside through the cracked glass windows. Finally, after a few minutes of this, Mary's expression twisted into ultimate despair as she gloomily pulled out a stick of dynamite from a nearby crate of props, its red sheen catching the spotlight.
"Well," she said, her voice hollow now, "if I can't have that... if I can't ever be happy again... then I'll end it here. For all of us." She released a tired sigh before continuing, "I can't afford to go down in history as a nobody, not after everything that I have sacrificed, after everything I have gone through." She muttered before looking at everyone with renewed determination in her eyes. "If I can't be Baby Doll while being alive, then I will continue to be her in death. We will all continue to be a part of the show even when we are all gone. We will be a family forever." She said as a sad smile slowly ford on her lips.
Everyone currently held hostage in the warehouse tried to yell and stop Baby Doll from doing what she was thinking of doing but unfortunately, they were all tied down to their respective chairs unable to move their bodies from their spots while their mouths were sealed shut by tape that was too strong for them to open. So, all they could do was sit and watch the young, depressed actress slowly light the fire that would surely bring about all of their deaths.
anwhile, Baby Doll gulped as she struck a match with shaking hands before slowly bringing the small fla closer to the dynamite stick. However, before she could light the wick of the dynamite, all the lights of the warehouse suddenly went out, plunging the room into darkness while the match in her hands fizzled out due to a sudden gust of strong wind.
Terrified of the sudden darkness and the fear of the unknown, all the tied-up cast mbers tried to scream for help, but their screams only ca out as muffled groans due to their bindings.
After a few minutes of heavy silence perating through the dark, a deep, commanding voice finally ca from within the shadows. "Mary."
Baby Doll at this point was beyond afraid, her eyes quickly darted around the room, frantically while trying to search for the source of the voice. "Who's there? Who is it? Answer ..." She blurted out as her limbs continued to shake because of the intense fear and panic she was currently experiencing.
A soft whisper of wind was followed by a noise resembling that of a tal boot touching down quietly on the floor, and then the sound of crisp, heavy footsteps started to approach the terrified girl holding the dynamite.
"I am Batman, and..." the voice responded, his sound calm yet firm before continuing with a voice that sounded a lot kinder and softer than before, probably more than any other criminal or bad guy had ever heard from him before. "... believe , you don't want to do this. You are better than this, Mary. Don't let the Gotham inside you win and destroy you. Let help you, let change your fate... please." He requested in his signature deep yet empathetic voice as he extended his hand out to her as if he were reaching out to help her. "Let be the hand to pull you out of this darkness."
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(A/N: I know what you all are thinking. No, this is not one of the chapters where Batman thrashes the bad guy/gal and saves the night. No, this is one of the few chapters where he saves the bad guy/gal from themselves, this is a chapter where he saves soone from the hell Gotham is. Baby Doll is one of THE saddest characters in DC, a representation of all the countless depressed people in real life who lose themselves to the darkness that haunts them and make bad choices that don't just hurt the people near them but also destroy their own lives. And this Bruce Wayne is soone who is actually willing to help such people out instead of just sending them to jail or a ntal institution which is definitely going to make them into a permanent villain)
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