Authors notes: Hey everybody! This is my first REAL fanfic...and I'm really nervous about posting it. In contrast to what I said in my bio (for those of you who bothered to visit it) This one isn't going to be a long one-shot. I've persuaded one of my friends to break it into chapters for me! So Yay about that! I don't know when I'll be updating, but I promise It'll be within this month (April 2013) And hopefully I'll get into a routine. Anyway, there's a lot of OC's in here...like...a lot. I apologise for any and all OOC behavior in later chapters, and I hope you enjoy! Reviews are greatly appreciated, and I'll respond as soon as I can!

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN BATMAN OR ANY RELATED CHARACTERS...despite how much I want to.

PROLOGUE

Jillian threw her book bag on the generic tile floor of her 7th period classroom.

Crap. Is the To Kill a Mockingbird quiz today? She plopped down into her desk and contained a groan.

Reading the board, she obediently dug her binder and pencil out of her backpack. She began scrawling down the journal entry, and then Miss Seacrest walked up to her.

"Jillian," the teacher said, hovering behind her.

"Yes?" Jillian replied, pausing her writing and looking up.

"You're needed down in the front office," She said in a grave voice that Jillian didn't understand.

Packing up, she walked down to the office, not knowing what to expect.

Mister Strand, the guidance counselor, and Misses Trent, the assistant principal were there, waiting for her. Misses Trent had her eyebrows drawn close together, looking stressed, and Mister Strand 's lips were a thin line.

"You needed me?" Jillian asked.

Misses Trent squeezed her eyes shut, and said, "yes, dear. There's something you need to know,"

Mister Strand, upon hearing his co-workers' voice crack, continued "There was an accident...your grandmother, she...she died."

Jillian's eyes widened. NO! I can't lose her, too! "This is a joke. You're kidding me, right?" Her voice rose and broke in panic. This is impossible. I can't be alone. I'm not alone. This is some sick joke. It has to be! I can't be a complete orphan! No!

Misses Trent looked down at the floor, and had tears brimming in her kind, brown eyes. "I'm so sorry, honey."

Jillian was trembling uncontrollably, shaking her head, tears forming in her cerulean blue eyes. She could tell Misses Trent was trying to tell her something, but she had the sensation that she was under water. She couldn't hear very well, and the world blurred as the tears spilled over.

She very much wanted to go into fetal position and crawl into a corner. That's it, then. I'm officially alone in the world.

Her sobs wracked her body, and she curled in on herself, sitting against the wall.

"...and you're going to be relocated and then..."

"WHAT?!"Jillian screeched, loathing the thought of leaving her home.

Mister Strand cut in. "Well, you're a minor- you can't possibly live by yourself," he said this calmly, as if her whole world wasn't coming crashing down on her.

"No!" She yelled, the lump in her throat making the word come out strangled. "Where are you going to take me? I have no relatives left!" She spat out the last part spitefully

"You'll be relocated to Gotham City. A man named Bruce Wayne was willing to take you in," said, a certain reverence in her voice as she mentioned the man.

"Gotham City? I've never even heard of that place!" Jillian complained. "And who's this 'Bruce Wayne' guy? I don't know him! He could be a psychopath, and you'd just ship me off to go live with this guy?! What ever happened to Stranger Danger?!" She cried, her wavy black hair falling into her face.

"I'm so sorry," the guidance counselor said. "You have today to gather your things. Tomorrow Misses Trent agreed to take you to the airport. Your flight has already been paid for, and your transcripts are already sent."

Jillian wondered how he managed to be a guidance counselor when he said all of this without a hint of compassion in his voice. She nodded mutely, wiped the tears from her face, and went back to class.

"Hey Jill, what's wrong?"

"What'sa matter, Jill?"

"Are you okay?"

"Jill, why were you crying?"

The whispers of her concerned friends and classmates wafted to her. She just shook her head and kept her attention at the front of the classroom, where a videoclip was playing. She wasn't listening, for she was lost in her own mind, drowning in her thoughts.


A/N: Hello, again, those of you who decided to read to the end of the prologue! Please review! :D I'll give you a thousand internets!