A/N: Hey guys it's Hallie! This is the 'prequel' to the main story of our Influence series. It focuses on Ren's father, Joshua Logan AKA Image, her mother Marie Logan, and Bruce Wayne. It will also be bringing in a villain that will come to play in Ren's storyline later on.

I didn't start out planning to do this, but here I am. :)

Emu is not writing this with me, but she is proof-reading it.

Please tell me in the reviews if there is something you do not understand (so I can fix it) or anything that you feel could be improved. :D

I do not own Bruce Wayne, Gotham, Marie Logan, or Young Justice. I do own the world of Creatonia and Joshua Logan.

Chapter 1

Josh's green eyes flitted across the large campus.

Gotham State University.

He made it. After coming to this world five years ago, he didn't know if he would ever understand their society and education. Thankfully, his powers allowed himself to imagine that he and Marie could understand this world's (or country's) main language.

That took a whole lot of mental energy.

After that, the laws of Earth became fairly easy to understand. Some were very similar to his home world of Creatonia.

Nerves gnawed at the pit of his stomach, for he didn't know anyone at his new college. During high school he only really spoke to Marie, and even at his job at a local convenience store he kept to himself. He was afraid of people discovering who and what he was. Marie was lucky, she fit right in. She wasn't a freak here.

Josh was considered an immigrant turned American citizen, and yet he scored a full paid scholarship to GSU. Marie discovered her talent for acting in high school. During one of her performances, a talent agent found her and set her up for a TV audition for a show called "Hello, Megan!"

She got the part.

Marie didn't want to leave, but the two of them were low on money. The show was a great opportunity. So, she took it.

He missed her like crazy, but this would be good for her.

For them.

With a sigh, he trudged through the busy campus to registration. After dealing with a peppy welcome crew member, he able able to make it through the sea of people. He was going to be living in the H. Wilson Dormitories with an unknown roommate.

Room 106.

He opened the door to be met with a dark empty room. Josh stepped into the room and flicked on a light. The white fluorescent bulbs buzzed as they turned on.

'No… This doesn't look like a prison at all.'

The walls were painted a dull blue and it had two small windows over the two twin beds. The Creatonian spent the next hour setting up his side of the room. He was setting up the desk near his bed when the door opened. The redhead turned around to come face-to-face with a young man who had dark hair and a poker face.

The new man had dark blue eyes that stared intensely at Josh, "Hello."

Josh waved. This man looked slightly familiar.

The dark haired male stepped closer and extended his hand, "I am Bruce Wayne."

The Creatonian shook his hand, "B-Bruce Wayne? The billionaire?"

He nodded.

"Why is someone like you going to a college like this? Shouldn't you be at Yale or something?"

"This is home."

Josh drew his hand back, "Oh."

Silence followed for a few moments before Bruce cleared his throat, "So, what is your name?"

"Oh, right. My name is Joshua Logan. I go by Josh. And I am nobody important."

"Got it."

Bruce moved his stuff over to the right side of the room and began to unpack. When Josh got out his blue electric guitar, it caught his roommates attention, "Nice guitar."

The redhead looked over, "Oh… Thanks. It took me a lot of miscellaneous jobs to pay for her."

"You play?"

"Uh, yeah. I hope you don't mind… I practice almost everyday."

"No, it's alright. I hope you don't mind that I tend to have girls over."

"Fine. Just… no sex while I'm in the room. And have some sort of sign if you are doing it and I'm not here. I don't wanna walk in on you."

Bruce chuckled, "Got it."

Josh smiled, maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

Josh's first week at GCU was pretty uneventful. He dove straight into his studies, while getting to know Bruce a bit more.

He couldn't see how they could ever be friends.

Bruce Wayne was important, and he was a freak.

He didn't start out with that mindset when he came to Earth.

In his world, he was normal.

His father was well respected.

In Creatonia, it was Marie who was the "freak", she was a Myopic… She didn't have the ability to manifest her imagination like most Creatonians.

He still loved her though. He didn't care about powers.

As soon as the portal his father built dropped them off on Gotham, he noticed that all humans were Myopics.

They were all ordinary (which was abnormal), at least by Creatonian standpoints.

Now, he was the different one and he didn't know how people would react to him. When he first got to Earth, Josh really didn't care. But, then this voice inside his head started to tell him how freaky he was among humans.

He tried to push it away.

It kept coming back.

It moved on to tell him how annoying and insignificant he was.

And he started to believe it.

It was the voice inside his head. It was him saying these things. Why would he tell himself those things if they weren't true?

Josh stopped talking to people after that.

He only was important to Marie. This he knew.

'She's going to become famous. She is going to see how pathetic you are. She will leave you.'

Shut up.

Just, shut up.

Josh had picked up his guitar and began to play one of his favorite songs, when Bruce walked in. The Creatonian didn't stop playing. The dark haired man watched his roommate flawlessly play the song.

"Is that Jackson 5?"

Josh didn't look up, "Yup."

"I Want You Back?"

"Yup."

Bruce sat down on his bed and leaned against the headboard. The Creatonian gave a glance a the man, "You can do other things. It won't bother me."

"I'm fine here. I like your music. You've got serious talent."

Josh stopped playing and stared at Bruce, "Really?"

The latter gave the former an odd look, "Well, yeah. What, has no one ever told you that before?"

"No."

"...Oh."

Josh smiled, "Thanks."

Bruce nodded.

The next few days came and went without much conversation. Josh still practiced his guitar every day, and if Bruce happened to be in the room, he would sit and listen.

It seemed to becoming a kind of…. tradition, if you will.

Josh didn't know much about Bruce Wayne, and he wasn't about to ask. All he knew is that he was wealthy and a orphan. The Creatonian did not feel like pushing either of those subjects, for it was none of his business.

That and the man seemed to have many walls up.

Josh understood that.

Why push your problems on other people and burden them? They don't need to deal with someone else's baggage.

'No one will ever care about you. No one does now. Not Marie. Not that new Bruce guy. You don't even care about yourself.'

Shut up.

Josh trudged his way through the halls, heading back to the dorm. When he opened the door he was met with Bruce and some girl studying on the bed.

"Hey Josh. This is Lyla Evans."

The Creatonian gave the blonde girl a nod of acknowledgement and sat down at his desk to do his own studying.

His roommate had not been lying when he said he tended to have girls over. In the past week alone he had met three of Bruce's "female friends".

He only hoped that the dark haired man was using protection. In high school the consequences of not being safe had been hammered into Josh's head.

Josh wouldn't wish those consequences on anyone.

He observed that the girls always varied in looks: tall or short, skinny or curvy, blonde or brunette.

Bruce was a womanizer.

This was obvious. But, he wasn't a jerk.

The redhead thought some of the girls on campus were pretty, but he only had one girl on his mind.

Marie.

They had been best friends ever since they were kids. He would be lying if he said he didn't have feelings for her.

And he knew that she felt the same way. She told him before she left for Hollywood.

They decided that it would be best to wait on the relationship until she got back.

'She was lying. She doesn't love you. I'll bet she's on a date with some movie star right now.'

Shut. Up.

Josh kept arguing with that voice inside his head for sometime. The next thing he knew, Bruce was shaking his shoulder, "Josh. Josh? Dude!"

The Creatonian snapped out of his daze and looked up at his roommate, "What?"

"You were zoned out for quite a while. You alright?"

"I'm fine... Just having an off day."

Bruce seemed to buy the cover, "Okay then. Hey, I was going to head into town. Wanna come?"

The nineteen year old redhead looked at him in disbelief, "Me? You want me to come?"

"Yeah. Why not?"

Josh swallowed, "Sure... If you're sure it's alright with you."

"Of course I'm sure. C'mon, the best places will fill up soon. But, we need to be back by evening"

"Why?"

"I have things to do tonight."

Josh didn't press the matter. Bruce wanted to hang out with him. The freak.

Maybe... Just maybe, he might have made a new friend.