Farrah Bowman never wanted to go live in Gotham. Let's get that straight, first and foremost... Farrah, or 'Far' as her friends were so fond of calling her, was strictly a country girl. Redneck at heart, and proud of it.

There were some things that differed her from the average hick, of course... She preferred rock to country, and was more interested in video games and superhero comics as a child, honing her skills with the guitar and harmonica, rather than squirrel hunting with her BB gun along with the boys on the street (though that was fun, too). The other girls in the small little town of Ludowici seemed awfully keen on going out and seeing the bright lights of a big - like, for instance, Gotham City...

But not her. Far was one of the handful who was perfectly happy in the sleepy little town. She was more than content on her acre and a half of land, exploring with her two faithful mutts and fishing in the surprisingly deep pond. She loved the clean air, she loved all the rain. She loved the swamps, and all the wild blackberries. She loved walking along the road with her mom and dad, catching fireflies at the beginning of dusk. She loved the lightning storms, and sneaking out to sit with the dogs in the barn, letting them curl around her and take a nap. Yes, everything closed just after six, save for a few gas stations and the small, always-crowded movie theatre, but she had plenty of fun despite that. Way more fun, she was sure, than she could ever even hope to have in Gotham.

So, that was why it was so crushing to have to leave her home. It was a small, one-story house, that she remembered to have once been a trailer, long ago, but man, it was hers... Or at least, it used to be... Her father had gotten laid off, and he couldn't afford to feed both her and her little brother.

Well... he could, but just barely. Far was more than willing to give up some things to keep her little sibling well-fed, but her father hated it. He knew she would be much better off if she went to live with his brother. His brother, her uncle Charles (she called him Charlie in her head), was a scientist.

In Gotham... Gotham.

Farrah shuddered in her seat, train rumbling under her feet as it approached the ever-closer city. She didn't look out the window; she knew it would only make her feel worse.

Gotham was... well, she supposed it wasn't too bad, if she tried to look on the bright side as hard as she could... The schools were much better, so she was told... And it was home to Batman. The city had it's own superhero mascot!

But if she looked on the not-so-bright side, it was also a polluted, crowded, ridiculously crime-infested city with nary a naturally placed tree or swamp in sight... And let's not forget: with superheroes came super-crazies trying to take over the world, starting with the city they were in and who was she kidding, she was going to be miserable, plain and simple...

She would be completely out of her element. And the fact that her uncle was socially-challenged didn't help. She could vaguely remember him in a distant Christmas. Not much of what he looked like, but she distinctly remembered how he blew up the turkey, and stuttered a lot. And he taught her how to make a rather domestic bomb out of diet cola and mentos...

And she may or may not have grown in her knowledge of such things. Because damn it all, she liked making things go boom! She had her own little spot in the barn where she made them and everything!

A grimace crossed her face as a thought hit her... She used to have a spot in the barn. Used to... but she didn't live there anymore, so it was probably gone by now...

The urge to hug her two dogs hit her, but they were states away... Her mom and dad had told her that they would see if they could get her uncle to agree to live with her two dogs so she wouldn't be so lonely, but she hadn't heard much about that and her hopes weren't very high...

"We are now reaching our final destination, folks, so it's time to get ready to meet dear old Gotham City. Thanks for riding the metro, we hope your ride was enjoyable, and you all have a good night."

Farrah glanced up at one of the speakers and made a face. "I don't think that's very likely, bo'," She sighed, southern twang thick with emotion, "'Cause I sure as hell am gonna be out a' kilter in this yankee-town..."

A clean-cut man in a blue coat sitting across from her tried to suppress a smile as he looked at her. "You're... not from around her, are you?"

"Nope," She answered dryly, "What was yer first clue...?"

"The accent." He chuckled. "The plaid helped some, too."

She shrugged as she stood up and slid her single-strapped backpack over her head, grabbing the large duffel back and throwing it across her shoulder as she walked over and grabbed one of the poles. "Y'know, ta me, yer the one with the accent."

He gave her a small smile as he stood next to her. "Don't worry too much about Gotham... We've got our own, personal heroes guarding the streets. Just stay out of alleys, and you'll be okay. And... stay out of the ghettos. And don't go near the asylum."

Her shoulders drooped. "Yeah... yer not makin' me feel any better 'bout this place..."

The man laughed. "Sorry... Just... try not to worry about it too much, and you'll be fine."

"Sure, sure," She muttered, "But I reckon it's a little too late for that..."

"You'll be fine!" He assured her as the doors opened. He rushed out and waved back at her. "I'll see you around, kid!"

She walked out and made a face. "Now what in the hell are you smokin'? Theres only some thousand people in this here place..."

The first thing she noticed was that the air was thicker than she was used to, and tasted a bit... sour, if that made any sense. Rain pattered against the sidewalk, a small comfort to the girl, as she walked to the parking lot where her uncle was (hopefully) waiting.

It wasn't really all that hard to find him. There was only one car in the parking lot due to the fact that it was around two in the morning, and all the lights in the car were on, and Charlie waved at her to come over from inside the car. Trying to ignore the huge, rather intimidating buildings in the background, Farrah leisurely strolled over to the car as Charlie got out with an umbrella and jogged over, slipping a few times as he did so.

Towering over her, he mumbled something to her as he held the umbrella over her head (probably a greeting) and started to take her duffel bag.

"Hey now, no need fer none 'a that, Charlie," She told him, almost offended, "Yer already lettin' me stay at yer place an' eat yer food. I can tote my own stuff, it's fine!"

He fidgeted with his hands as he led her to the trunk and opened it. "I-it's no trouble, I assure you! You j-just rode th-the train for hours... I thought... thought you might be tired."

She gave a wry smile, showing off her dimples as she threw her few bags in the trunk ungracefully and shut the trunk. "Well, yeah, I am pretty tired... but tha's life, I reckon. Just gotta deal... But what about you, how do?"

Charlie blinked. "I-I... Uh... what...?"

She faltered and gave him a look to make sure he was serious. These people couldn't even speak the goddamn Queen's english. "Err... How've you been? I haven't heard from you since... it was so long, I can't even remember. I was 'bout knee-high to a grasshopper."

Maybe it was the dark, but he almost looked a little guilty. "I... yeah... S-sorry..." And awkward silence went on between them before Charlie cleared his throat. "You're... probably tired, we should... get in the car and take you h-home."

Farrah hummed and nodded. "Sounds like a right good plan to me."

As they got in the car and Charlie revved up the engine, Farrah took the time to take a good look at her uncle.

He was a skinny, almost ridiculously tall man, having to hunch down to prevent his head from hitting the roof of the car. Pale, with wild and wavy hair. He had sideburns that framed the side of his face. White hairs from stress melted up from his facial hair into his reddish brown hair. He had heavy bags under his eyes and lines on his face from, she guessed, stress, and five o'clock shadow.

Charlie caught her looking at him and blushed, holding out his hand for her to shake. "Um, h-hi. I-I'm your uncle... you-you're Farrah, correct...?"

She nodded and shook his hand. "Yep. It's nice to meetcha."

The man nodded and stared at the steering wheel, twisting his hands together nervously. "Um... i-it takes awhile, to get to my home... you could sleep, i-if you want..."

"Sounds good, cap'n," She told him as she stifled a yawn. "Jus' wake me when we get there..."

As it turns out, Farrah had been more tired than she thought, because as soon as her head leaned against the window, she knocked out almost instantly. Just one thought ran through her head before it all went to black.

She wanted to go back home.

Author's note~

Damian died, and I was not, and still am not, happy. So I decided 'bump it', and changed it in my head. Damian was a little shit, but he was MY little shit, and he didn't even die in a good way! And the only reason he even existed was to give Batman MAN-ANGST?! HELL no. Batman's got enough shit on his plate, let him be happy for once!

*Ahem, anyways... This is my... uh... it's a thing. Not worth calling a tale yet, but it'll get there. Maybe. Basically, it's an AU where Damian didn't die, he just... um, well, you'll see.

This is just the beginning, so it's not much to look at yet, but I hope you didn't... hate it...? Thanks for reading, regardless if you did or not :)

,Blue