A/N: Rated T for minor usage of profanity, suggestive adult themes, and substance abuse. This is my first OC story so I hope you find her enjoyable and hopefully relatable because that's the goal. Dimensional travel is a trope that'll stay in the fanfiction community, I swear. xD But then again, it could also be a dream. O_o Hopefully my take is a teeny bit original at the very least. I started this in 2013, literally the first day of 2013, and I stopped updating because...LIFE HAPPENED. Okay, life happened before obviously, what I meant was that I got busy. Good news though, I am back!

I revised chapters because what I originally wrote in MIDDLE SCHOOL had 1) too much spelling and grammar mistakes 2) most of the chapters were short. To those who have read and followed this story since the beginning, I hope you like the revisions. Please don't forget to leave reviews and subscribe~!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except my OC Teri Anderson and the people in her lives that aren't associated with DC. If I did own some rights to BTAS, I would not let the whole Barbara and Bruce thing happen. If you ship it, to each his/her own. I just don't like how it was included in the animated film adaptation of The Killing Joke. Why you gotta do that to a classic, Bruce Timm? If ya'll have any commentary on that topic, feel free to comment.

Episode 1

It is another boring day in my boring, pathetic life. My full name is Terissa Anderson, but I prefer Teri. Dylan, my little brother, is playing MY VIDEO GAME, Batman Arkham Asylum. Now I don't usually share my stuff, especially with that little vermin, but my mom made me because I'm his big sister. Honestly, I find it slightly annoying how she always sides with my little brother because she's babying him. It's not always the case though, my mom is pretty fair...though I definitely get more lectures because I'm supposed to act more mature since I'm the oldest. I'm thirteen though, I'm still young! My mom friends always comment on my appearance, telling me that I look like my mother, which is true. All of my features are from her. From my dark brown hair to my chocolate colored eyes.

Aside from looks, we have nothing in common. Our personalities are like fire and ice. She's commonly labeled as ladylike while I'm a tomboy. Honestly, I'm not though because I'm not into athletics and the only "boyish" activity I do is read comic books and watching TV shows that are "targeted toward boys". I mean, I dress like a girl...I think? Okay, I definitely prefer pants over skirts and dresses, and a graphic t-shirt over crop tops or v-necks. Still, why are we labeling boys and girls from the way they're dressed and their hobbies? Past Presidents like Theodore Roosevelt wore a dress as a kid! What changed, world!?

Anyway, it's only me, my mom, and my brother living in the apartment. We used to live in a house but had to move out because my mom's income could no longer cover the rent. She wasn't always a single parent, I had a doting father but he died six years ago. Dylan was two when he died while I was seven. My dad was awesome. He taught me how to draw, ride a bike, and read. When he was alive, we would watch cartoons such as Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, Inuyasha, Teen Titans, and Justice League. If he didn't pass away, we would've been watching Young Justice together. I really miss him. I still remember that night we found out about...his departure.

-FLASHBACK-

"Mom?" I asked.

"Yes Terissa." says my mom, Samantha.

"Mom, it's Teri! Where's Dad?"

"Probably still at work, but don't worry, he'll come back soon."

"Okay." I walk back to my room and lie on my bed. We were a lower-middle-class family, so in order to pay for rent, my dad had to work lots of hours. I stared at the clock as the minutes ticked by. Normally I would tease my brother, but he's asleep and I didn't want to get scolded by mom. Also, I was honestly worried for my dad. He's never been this late. I don't know why or how, but I had a bad feeling that something horrible happened to him. But I was just a kid and it was just a feeling.

After what felt like hours, the doorbell finally rang. I quickly ran to the door to greet my father. Then I stopped because why would my dad ring the doorbell if he has the keys? He's usually an organized person so I doubt he left it at work or something. My mom came from behind and pulled me away from the door and looked through the peephole. My mom's face went pale and I started getting nervous. She opens the door and there was a cop.

"Is there something wrong, officer?" My mom asked. I can tell that she's worried.

"Saman-Mrs. Anderson, your husband body was found in an alley." I couldn't believe my ears. I buried my face in my mom's robe and started crying. My mom rubs comforting circles around my back but it was no use. For a seven-year-old to hear that her dad was never coming back...it stays with her. I couldn't believe what he just said. My mom tells me to go to my room but I refused to. She pried my fingers off but I clung to her robe. She sighs and turns to the cop.

"What was the cause of his-his death?" She questions. The man in blue told us that my dad was stabbed 12 times by a convict who took his wallet, phone, and keys. The officer stayed in our house to protect us from the convict, but he never showed up. I mean why would he? He was just some crook who robbed my dad and the cop made it out to be as if the crook had a vendetta against my family. Was my dad's death situational, or was it planned? Either way, that was definitely the worst day of my life.

-FLASHBACK END-

I wipe away a tear that manages to escape my eyes. I really miss my old man. Not only did my dad die, but I feel like there's more to it. Now that I'm older, I have created a few conspiracies on my dad's death. The more I really think about it, the less it makes sense. If someone wanted to rob my dad, why stab him so many times? And how did the officer even know it was my dad who was murdered even though he had no identification. According to the officer, the crook took his wallet, phone, and keys. Actually, now that I'm really thinking back, the officer seemed close to my mom. Then again, I was a kid so maybe I was just imagining it. They found the convict and locked up the guy, case closed. Yet, I'm still not satisfied. I have a gut feeling there's more to this story...

Gah, I should stop with these depressing angsty thoughts! I'm probably thinking like this because of all the Detective Comics I've been reading. Life isn't a comic book, I'm not a detective. I can't take it anymore, I need a distraction. I grab the remote and turn on the small TV in my room. There are two TVs in our apartment, one is in my room and the other is in the living room. OOH! Young Justice is playing, nothing can ruin this!

"Teri! I think your video game is broken!" Dylan yells.

"WHAT! NOT MY BATMAN VIDEO GAME! ANYTHING BUT THAT!" I am so going to kill him for this. I run out of my room to smack my brother's head, but he was gone. I looked at my video game enraged. It's jacked up! That's not fair!

"Dylan!" I roared as I hunt him down. He was in the kitchen with my mom. The little gremlin holds onto my mom's leg and screams out, "Teri is trying to murder me."

"What happened this time?" My mom asks with a sigh.

"He broke my video game! It was a gift from Angie!"

"You will be grounded for three months, young man. No TV, no going outside," she states.

"But that's way too long mom! How come!?"

"Because I said so, is that clear?"

Dylan pouts and walks to his room. Dylan glares at me and sticks out his "screw you" finger. What the heck!? How rude of him! He's only eight! Why that brat! Grr! I walk back to my room and turn off the TV. I'm not in the mood to watch anything right now. Man, life sucks for me. It's the last day of summer vacation, my baby brother hates me, and my arch nemesis Valerie and her followers will harass me tomorrow for the dumbest excuse ever! When will a miracle happen, when!?

-NEXT DAY-

Last night I slept pretty well, though I can't say my morning went as well. There's only one bathroom in our apartment. My brother and I don't shower in the morning. Instead, we just wash our faces and brush our teeth. I take long showers, wasting a lot of water. Pretty ironic because I always tell my kid brother to take shorter showers. Gosh, I'm a hypocrite.

I walk groggily to the bathroom and wash my face. I open the mirrored cabinet where my toothbrush is, and a cockroach crawled out and went on my hand! Eww! I scream and started waving my hand frantically, trying to get rid of it. The nasty, pesky bug wouldn't get off and instead crawled up so I slammed my hand on the wall real hard.

I lifted my hand and gagged at the sight. The insides of the bug are all over my hand. I make a gagging sound and rinse my hand off. I could feel a bruise forming on my partially numb hand. I cringe and went for some ointment when I smell mom's cooking. She's an amazing cook and I pretty much drop whatever I'm doing to eat the heavenly delicacy. I even turn off Naruto...that's a very big deal.

I brush my teeth and wash my face, ignoring the forming bruise on my hand. After putting on my uniform, I go to eat breakfast. My mom made an omelet for me. I grab my spoon when my mom grabs my hand and glares at me.

"What happened to your hand?"

"I hit it against the wall."

"Teri! You could've fractured your hand! Fortunately, it's only a bruise. But you're going to have an aching feeling if you don't rub some alcohol on it," she scolds.

"I doubt it needs alcohol mom. And fracture? That's impossible unless I sandwich my hands between bricks or something..." I stop talking when I catch my mom's glare. It could possibly beat Batman's infamous bat-glare.

After I put ointment on my arm, my mom gives me my lunch. I don't like the lunch served at school. The only exception is the tamales, though my Hispanic friends disagree. I then notice that I haven't seen Dylan. I yell out Dylan's name, but my mom shushes me. She says Dylan was sick and couldn't come to school.

That brat is such a liar, I know it. I heard what sounded like the hairdryer in the bathroom earlier. He's probably just pretending to be sick so that we don't have to walk to school together because that kid holds grudges. I don't get why he's so upset, it was his fault after all! Damn little brothers. My mom kisses my forehead and watches me go out the door to make sure I was safe.

As I was walking, I couldn't stop thinking about Dylan. Despite it being his fault, maybe I should give him some slack. I am his big sister, so I should try to act mature...and wow did I really think that? Kids, this is what happens when your parents condition a certain rule for you. Gosh, being the oldest sucks. It's really sunny outside, so I stare at my shadow. I'm 13 years old and 4'10. My friends are roughly 5'0 or taller.

I like staring at my shadow because it makes me look taller. Now that's a silhouette. However, it wasn't my shadow I was staring at. I don't recall wearing a trench coat and a hat. I gulp and walk a bit faster. If I look over my shoulders now, I'm toast because I won't act swiftly if someone were to grab me. Is this a prank, or is someone actually following me?

The shadow was still looming nearer, inching closer. Beads of sweat start rolling down my face. Okay, now I'm officially scared. I make a run for it, gasping for air. I may not like running, but if I'm hella scared I can book it. I got to school safely and rest my hands over my wobbling knees as I catch my break. I turn around to look behind me and there was no one in sight. Phew, that was a close one. I take in another gasp of oxygen and wipe away my sweat. That's when I hear someone laughing at me. I recognize that putrid laugh anywhere, I turn around to be faced by Valerie and her annoying companions.

"You run funny, it's VERY funny," she cackles. I roll my eyes and power walk away.

Valerie and I used to attend the same elementary school together. At first, we got along but then she started hanging out with the wrong crowd. Girls who tear into other girls to feel better about themselves, they must have some inferiority complex. We're all girls so we should stick up for each other. It doesn't help that there's terrible "Reality" shows that portray girls as mean girls who get away with everything and live a good life. Man, this is why mainstream media sucks. At least I have superhero shows and anime in my life~!

"She even walks weird," Valerie whispers rather loudly to the minions she calls friends.

"VERY weird," they say in sync. Guh, I hate the 'VERY' gang! I mean why do they love using and emphasizing the word 'very'. It's VERY annoying!

Anyway, that's a bitch thing to do. It's not like she runs or walks like a saint or some shit. NO ONE looks good running for their lives! Hollywood needs to do a better job, I swear! I just hope my friend Angie is at school. Angie is my best friend and has been my best friend since the second grade. We're both enormous nerds and we both dislike Valerie. Not hate, dislike because unlike Valerie I stand by my fellow girls. I have other friends too but we either grew apart or they moved away. I see Angie at our usual spot, which is the staircase. I jog up to the stairs and we greet each other with our handshake.

"How's it going?" Angie asks

"Horrible! A cockroach went on my hand, my hand is bruised, and Valerie can't keep her mouth shut." I reply.

"That sucks. So how was your summer?"

"Let's see, Dylan broke my video game yet he's the one who's angry. "

"Sounds like a handful."

"It is." I groan.

The bell rings and we go to class. School is very boring. Throughout the entire school period, almost every single teacher made the students participate in those dumb greeting games. I'm not very good at socializing so I was really awkward. I'm just a shy person, but if you get to know me, I'm a real spitfire. I guarantee there are students who think I never swore in my life, well I'd hate to fucking disappoint them.

One teacher didn't have any icebreaker activities, but we did have to listen to the teacher yapping about the chapters we are going to cover. Finally, the school bell rings and everybody leaves classroom quick. They already packed their stuff while the teacher was talking, but I was too busy daydreaming to notice the time. I was the last person to leave class and it's not bad because the hallway is clear. I leave the building and walk toward the gate. I try looking for Angie so that we can walk with each other but I couldn't find her. Her dad most likely picked her up. Damn, looks like I'll be walking alone.

I'm kind of scared of walking alone because of this morning, so I jog to my apartment. Around seven minutes I see my apartment and smile. I actually made it out alive. That's when I felt someone grab me from behind and push me into an alley.

"Hey! What the heck!?" I ask.

"What's wrong kiddo? Don't kids enjoy playing a game of cat and mouse?" asks the man in the trench coat.

"What do you want from me?!" I exclaim, then all of a sudden, he starts laughing. His laugh is truly frightening, and yet it sounds really familiar. I don't recall meeting an adult with a laugh like that. Actually, I don't recall talking to old people, period. I don't even talk to the adults at my school.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Joker!" Wait, Joker? As in the Clown Prince of Gotham?

Anything italicized marks a character's thoughts, flashbacks included because they're recounting the memories in their head. I'm still adding cue words just to be safe. I also decided to refer to chapters as episodes because BTAS was a series that produced episodes, therefore I had to do it! Hopefully, it makes you feel like you're in a cartoon show. I hope you've taken a liking the story so far~! Show your support by following and leaving reviews!