Anger. That was the one emotion he still felt. It wasn't an ordinary type of anger, either. It was a bitter, infuriating hatred, at everything. Oh, how he hated the world. Just as the world hated him.

He shoved his hands into his pockets as he walked on, unnoticed by everyone else. It was a cold night, with no moon to shine through the dense thicket of clouds in the sky. Anyone with half a brain was indoors, enjoying his or her night in the comfort of his or her warm home. Not him. It wasn't as if he was stupid; quite the contrary: he was brilliant. The only problem was that no one else seemed to appreciate his genius.

A brisk wind blew, and he simply zipped his coat up as far as it could go and forged on. His surroundings were foreign to him; he had left town in a hurry, packing his few important belongings and catching the next train out. He hadn't cared at the time where the train was headed, as long as it was headed out of Gotham. Now he wished he had bothered to check. Finally he came to a bus stop, one of the few he had seen in this quaint little town. Exhausted, he nearly collapsed on the bench, somewhat shielded from the cold. Suddenly, he felt something sharp poke him in the wrist. He removed his hand from his pocket, and found the culprit: his old pair of glasses. To any other person, it would appear strange: a rectangle in the design of a bar of music, with an eight note in the middle; the eight note bent downward slightly in the middle, forming what looked like the letter 'M'. The man grinned. Ah, the sweet memories that were revived through these simple pair of glasses. Sweet….and also some bitter. He grimaced at what had happened on that fateful night…

FLASHBACK

"Now the moment the world's been waiting for. Without further ado… the SHOW STOPPER!" the Music Meister grinned wickedly, knowing there was no one who could spoil his plans.

"This show's closing early, Music Meister," came a voice from above. The Music Meister turned in disbelief, only to see Batman, with Black Canary in tow. Thoughts ran through his head. 'How did they escape? They were supposed to DIE!' MM thought angrily. The Dark Knight continued, "Due to criminal intent… and bad ratings." 'Oh, funny Bats, has to make a joke,' he thought grimly. He smiled nonetheless. "Well, I guess that's my cue," he said with a smirk. With a push of a button, his worldwide performance began.

END FLASHBACK

Oh, what a glorious occasion. He has been so close! The world was literally in the palm of his hand. But that cursed Batman had appeared, and ruined everything!

"Oh, clever Batman," the Music Meister muttered sarcastically under his breath, which rose is a puff of white into the crisp air. It was because of him, the famous Dark Knight, that the musical genius had been placed in Arkham. As if that weren't enough, he had lost the stunning Black Canary to that tight-wearing Robin Hood wannabe! The Music Meister gritted his teeth as memories of his days in Arkham flooded his head. He had been sentenced to a minimum of 20 years, but had only done one and half; he'd gotten out on "good behavior". As soon as he'd been let out, the Music Meister had packed up and skipped town. After all, what is one to do when one is hated by society, and wanted by every super-zero in Gotham? This one ran. Now he was in the small town of… something or other. All he had from his past were his glasses, roughly ten bucks in his pocket, and the clothes on his back. He sighed. The good guys always had it easy.

"Alright guys, I think we're good. I'll lock up; you all can head home." MM turned around slightly to the sound of voices close by to where he sat. A door opened, letting out a small flood of light. A small group of people, mostly female, came out. One held back, and called to someone in the building,

"You sure you'll be okay by yourself, Sy?" Another voice, the one who had spoken up first, answered.

"Yeah, thanks Kriss." The voice from inside was also female, and immediately the Music Meister perked up. The voice was… well, he couldn't find a word for it. It had a light, gentle tone, like… Music Meister couldn't compare it to anything; it was purely unique. Yet he was certain he had heard it before. He rose, and began casually walking down toward the building. The second girl, Kriss, called back to the building,

"Okay. Just be careful; it's dark out, not to mention freezing." As if to emphasize, Kriss shivered. The voice inside laughed, a soft, mellow sound that seemed to warm the Meister's insides. Kriss walked off down the street. Soon, the lights inside the building went off, and MM could hear footsteps walking towards the outside. He began walking again, slowly. A young girl, perhaps in her early twenties, around the same age as he was, stepped out. In her left arm was a collection of books. Using her free right hand, the girl grabbed a set of keys and locked up the store. She immediately turned, bumping right into the Music Meister. Her pile of books fell to the ground, and he bent down to pick them up; at the same time, so did she.

"It's all right, I've got it," he said, his voice somewhat raspy due to the cold. He cleared his throat and stood up. The girl stood also, and said,

"Thank you so much! I'm so sorry; I wasn't looking where I was going."

"It's fine," Meister smiled at her, trying to get a look at her face, but it was too dark.

"Well, thanks again," she said, taking the books. Just as she was about to walk off, the clouds parted just a sliver, allowing moonlight to shine directly over the store, and the girl. She has long, brownish-blonde hair, which was braided down her back. A few freckles splashed across her nose, and her eyes…. The Music Meister stopped cold. Her eyes… they were the color of a beautiful moonlit ocean. He knew only one girl with eyes as dazzling as those. The girl had started walking away, and the Music Meister, coming to his senses, called out,

"Sirena!"

The girl stopped. For a second, the MM thought he had the wrong person; after all, it had been years since he'd seen her. But the girl turned, slowly, to face him.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" she asked, puzzled. The moon had faded, covered once again by the clouds. 'Great', he thought sarcastically. But he pulled down the hood of his jacket, revealing bright red, slightly un-kept hair underneath. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his signature music note glasses and slid them over his eyes. The girl looked confused for a moment. Then, a look of total surprise washed over her.

(Enter MM's P.O.V.)

"Oh my god… Neil? Neil Meisters?!" Sirena stood, clearly stunned at the sight of me. She blinked, and ran up to me, embracing me in a hug. I returned it with my own, and saw that she was still shocked. "Neil…. Oh god, it's been so long…." Sirena shook her head in disbelief.

"Since high school, right?" I grinned. Sirena nodded.

"Ten years… Wow. But, anyways, how have you been?" she asked.

"Um…. good," I replied. Well, what am I supposed to say? Sirena smiled cheerfully.

"Well, I'm glad. I-" a phone ringer went off suddenly.

"Oh, sorry," Sirena said, and quickly silenced her phone. I took the opportunity to ask her how she had been doing.

"You know, same old, same old. I work here," she said, pointing to the shop she had come out of. Squinting at the sign, I recognized the shop as an old bookstore.

"Well, some things don't change," I laughed, and Sirena joined in.

"Well, I'd best get going. How long are you in town for?" she asked me. I stopped to consider it. Honestly, I had no idea. My main goal had been to get out of Gotham. Now that I was here, and with Sirena….

"No set time. Just checking out the sights," I replied casually, not at all like a villain who had come to escape his past.

"Great!" Sirena exclaimed. "We should hang out sometime."

"Of course," I replied with a smile. "How about dinner? Tomorrow?" Crap. I had just asked her out, and not only did I have NO money, but I hardly knew my way around town. But Sirena responded,

"Sure! I'd love to." She smiled.

"Alright, it's a date," I said. We hugged farewell, and I watched as she disappeared down the street. Damn it. I didn't have a place to stay, I had no money, and… we've been through this. Suddenly, a man pushed past me, shoving me into a wall. As he dashed past, I noticed something fall from his pocket. A wallet. I grabbed the wallet, resisting the urge to just take it and run, and called out to the man. But he was long gone. Upon checking the wallet, I found no driver's license or identification. What I DID find was several hundred bucks in cash. After making sure no one was around, I pocketed the wallet and ran. Within an hour I had a room at the J&V Inn, reservations for tomorrow night, and was able to relax for the first time in years. The main thing on my mind was my date with Sirena. It had been years since I'd seen her, and I was determined not to lose her again.

I needed to post this. I got an idea, told my friend, who basically forced me to publish it. So there. The next chapter includes the background on MM and Sirena. Also, I had no clue what MM's real name is. So I made one up. If you have any better ideas, I'm open for suggestions. This is NOT, repeat NOT, a mushy romance. I liked the way the first chapter came out, so I'm leaving it. But the genre is "crime" for a reason, not romance. You'll see what I mean later on.

Review=Updates. Enough said.