Just a disclaimer. This chapter may include triggering content. It's nothing too bad, but I thought, for your guys' sake (just in case) that I would add this as a warning. Okay, continue at your own risk.

Vigilante

Chapter Two

Being the new girl in such a small town was not easy. Ally was learning that quickly. Everyone that had lived here, had lived here for long time and they were all familiar with each other. Everyone knew who everyone else was and if something happened (which nothing usually did) everyone knew about it.

So walking down the hallway at school and trying to engage in friendly conversation among your peers was not an easy thing to do. Ally strode down the halls of her new school, exuding all the confidence and friendliness that she could muster. She wasn't exactly new to being the new girl in town. A few years ago when she lived with just her mom, they had moved several different times. In the coarse of six months she'd gone to ten different schools, but all of people at those schools had been more willing to open up to her than these people were.

She stops at her locker, sighing and leaning her back against the metal door. She sighs, frustrated, and surveys the scene around her. Actually, there weren't that many students in the hallway, only like twenty or so teens that were scattered scarcely throughout the corridor. The cool kids that hung out by the water fountain with their two hundred dollar sunglasses that were all too cool to talk to you. The procrastinating bums who were scrambling to get their homework done at the last minute. All your typical high school stereotypes were there.

But one particular person happens to catch Ally's attention. Almost exactly across the hallway from her, a girl, probably her age with lots of curly black hair that seems to overpower her face, is frantically and constantly looking over her shoulder. She's visibly shaking, curls bouncing as she does, and a look of paranoia flashes through her brown eyes at even the slightest sound when she checks her surroundings. Ally continues to watch her for another four minutes or so, and after about the twelfth time of looking over shoulder, she notices her one-person audience. Ally and the strange girl lock eyes, an intense gaze between the two of them ensues. The girl looks scared and depressed. Her eyes go wide with fear and she looks as if she's almost pleading for Ally to look away. The only thing is that she can't. For whatever reason, Ally has become physically incapable of looking away. The dark haired girl continues to stare back at her, but now she looks angered.

The back of Ally's head contorts in intense pain, like someone had let a rubber band snap back against her skull. She gasps, as all the air is knocked out of her all of a sudden. She falls down to her knees quite clumsily as pain shoots through every fiber of her body like blood flows through your veins. She groans as the ache begins to dull away from her body. Ally gets back up on her feet, pondering her odd behavior. What had that girl done to her?

She looks up in that same direction. The girl was gone.

Ally frowns, confused.

What the hell just happened?

Ally stumbles a bit when she turns to walk, her balance still a little off from her unsuspected fall, but she manages to make it to the bathroom.

Ally opens up a stall door once inside, only to be met with a teenage couple right in the middle of some special time together.

Not like sex or anything, but a heated make-out session nonetheless and the outline of the guy's hand under the girl's shirt doesn't go unnoticed by Ally either.

She steps back, the door is still hanging open, and fidgets uncomfortably. "Um... awkward."

The couple, a short haired brunette with a nice build and sky blue eyes and a tall girl with lengthy blond hair and pulchritudinous facial features, breaks apart from their saliva swapping to acknowledge the third presence in the room.

"Oh, hey," the girl says cheerily, she looks the least bit embarrassed about being caught being felt up by some guy in a bathroom stall.

The duo untangles themselves from each other and steps outside of the small enclosed toilet area.

"I'm Cassidy," the girl says, she sticks her hand out in front of her with a bright smile playing on her lips.

"I'm Ally," she replies rather stiffly, coughing uncomfortably and awkwardly shaking the leather-clad blond's hand. Literally, the girl was wearing so much leather she was practically wearing a cow itself. She looked like the cover girl for a playboy. The Bad Girl Mechanic who happens to be surprisingly comfortable fixing up a car while wearing a thong.

"This is Elliot," she gestures to the boy next to her in a giggly, carefree tone, but then adds on with a sharp and warning undertone, "my boyfriend."

Elliot offers a small yet genuine smile. He wraps his arm around his girlfriend and brings her into him tightly.

"Well, nice to meet you both. Can I, uh, use the bathroom?" Ally asks.

"Oh, of coarse!" Cassidy giggles, she pushes her boyfriend out of the way and they both slip out of the bathroom.

Again, what the hell had just happened?

Ally peeks her head into the stall, cringing at the thought of what the toilet may have previously been used for.

"On second thought, maybe I'll just pee in a urinal."

…

After three agonizing class periods, lunchtime had finally come around and Ally was more than eager to dig into the leftover lasagna she'd brought for lunch.

Since she still didn't have many friends, she sat down at a table by herself. Really she hadn't interacted with any of the other students. Unless you counted Paranoid Locker Girl and The Bathroom Stall Couple, and she certainly didn't want to eat lunch with any of them. But that was okay. Ally was use to being by herself. She was an only child and growing up her parents had always both been really busy with work. Don't get her wrong, she wasn't bitter about her parents always working, she quite enjoyed her childhood, but Ally always had been some what introverted and was never too keen on making friends. That didn't mean she didn't wish people would be kind enough to come up and talk to her.

Kind of like Austin. Granted, he had kind of been forced into associating with him, but he was usually pretty friendly. And quite the charmer too, but that was off topic. Anyways, Austin and her had only known each other for a couple days, but she seemed pretty comfortable around him. And even though she had learned her way around the school by now, he still insisted on walking her to classes. Then again, he did have all the same classes as her.

Except he hadn't been at school today. Ally found it kind of odd, but didn't give it a whole lot of thought.

She was just happy that it was Friday and her first week at a new school was officially over. She was really looking forward to going home and laying in bed for two days straight.

Ally sat alone at the lunch table, as she planned on doing for the whole lunch period. So she wasn't prepared for the shift on the bench indicting that someone else had sat down on it.

"So, you're the new girl, huh?"

Ally turns her attention and stares up questioningly at whoever was speaking to her. She's met with the face of a dark complected girl with matching dark hair who's looking at her through the lens of some pretty nice looking sunglasses.

"Um, excuse me?" Ally says, wiping her face with a napkin.

"I'm Kira," the girl replies, she's got a dangerous looking smile on her face as she extends her hand out toward Ally.

Ally looks down at it questioningly before shaking it, with extreme caution. She's already had two strange encounters, so excuse her for being weary.

"I'm Ally," she says quietly.

Kira nods. "Yeah, I know who you are." She looks over her shoulder quickly, seeming to get distracted by something. Ally looks in that direction as well, but she doesn't see anything. Soon enough, Kira's head snaps back to look straight ahead.

"I don't know what they've told you about me, but-"

"They?" Ally questions. "No one has said anything about you."

Kira's expression changes. She looks almost upset by this information. Her pink lips turning into a pout. "Oh."

Ally just nods, turning back to her lunch. Maybe if she just ignored the girl, she'd go away.

No such luck. Kira scoots herself closer, a little too close for Ally's liking. "I'm kind of the bad girl at school. I've got a bad rap. Gotten in trouble with authority." She takes her glasses off her face and waves them in front of Ally. "You see these shades?" Kira smirks deviously when Ally says that, yes, she indeed does see the sunglasses right in front of her.

"I stole them," Kira whispers in her ear. She lingers there for a secret before sitting straight up again.

"Wow... That's..." Ally trails off uncertainly. "That's bad-ass."

Kira leans over the table, slipping her sunglasses back on, and her loose fitting tank top gapping very much at the top.

"Kira!" Someone from behind them yells. Both Ally and Kira turn their attention to a tall, slim black guy who's staring down at Kira angrily.

"What the fuck do want, Trent?" She hisses at him.

He looks taken back by her tone of voice, but brushes it off. "We're ready when you are. Meet us at the place." Trent nods his head back, gesturing to whatever "place" he was talking about.

"Not now, Trent. I'm busy, okay?!" She snaps at him. "Besides I think you guys can light up without my supervision by now!"

Trent gestures toward Ally. "Who's your friend."

"This is Ally," she says lazily, clearing becoming bored with conversation with him.

He smiles at her. "Hey, I'm Trent."

"I heard," Ally replies dryly.

"A girl with some attitude," he observes. "I like her, Kira." Kira just gives him a look. "Well, look Ally, a bunch of us are gonna skip fifth period later on. You're welcome to join us?"

Oh, wow, the stoner juveniles were offering for her to join them in ditching classes. She felt so flattered.

Before Ally could decline his offer, she was spoken for.

"Ally and I are gonna stay here for the day," Kira informs him.

'Ally and I? What was this Ally and I?' She thought. 'I'd only just met this girl and she was acting like we'd been best friends forever.'

"But Kir-"

"Just go! Okay Trent!" She gives him a sharp look. "Have fun without us, kay?"

"Okay," he replies quietly before leaving the two girls.

Kira turns back to Ally, this time with a friendly smile on her face instead of her usual untrustworthy smirk. "That's Trent. Don't mind him. He's on so many drugs he hardly had any idea what's going on anyways," she explains and rolls her eyes.

"Good to know..."

"Come on." Kira grabs Ally harshly by the forearm, right under her elbow.

"But I'm not done with my lunch yet!" Ally reasons.

"That's okay," Kira shouts over her shoulder as she drags Ally through the lunchroom. "Lunch is almost over with anyways."

Ally stomach contracts in painful twists at the contact.

…

Ever since lunch, Kira had clung to Ally's side. This girl was harder to get rid of then lice. She was practically dragging Ally around on a dog collar, always pushing and pulling her in various direction.

Ally would have tried to escape several minutes ago had it not been for her sheer amusement. From the way she was talking, Kira sounded like she was under the influence of quite a few drugs herself. Plus, Kira's grip on the girl was pretty strong. She wasn't sure if she could actually escape.

"And this is my locker," the coloured girl says cheerily, as if there's something significantly different about her locker from all the others. She enters in the combination of her lock, opening up the locker and grabbing a pack of cigarettes out of it. She lights one up, right in the middle of the hallway and takes a drag from it. She leans against the locker door. Finally, releasing Ally from her vice like grip.

Kira holds the cigarette out between the two of them, offering it to Ally. The brunette shakes her head, declining the offer and Kira goes back to smoking it herself.

The two of them stand in silence for awhile, but Ally can see Kira glancing at her every now and then out of the corner of her, so she doesn't try any method of escape.

After a few minutes of unpleasant silence, two girls- one a short haired brunette and the other a light brunette with naturally wavy hair- walk up, approaching Kira.

"One second," Kira says to Ally, when she notices the girls.

Both girls stop abruptly in front of Kira, looking intimidated by her. Kira is taller than both of them by a considerable amount and she looks like someone you wouldn't want to mess with.

The brunette nudges her friend in the side, trying to get her to step forward so she doesn't have to. The quirky-looking blond obliges, looking nervous and fidgety. She's stiff with fear, making awkward strides until she's right in front of Kira.

"Did you get the pills?" She whispers frantically and then gasps, almost surprised that those words came out of her own mouth.

Kira throws the cigarette to the ground and steps on it with her foot to put it out. Her eyes glance back up to mousy girl in front. "Nope," she answers simply.

"Why not?" The other girl voices her distress, stepping up right next to her friend.

"Kira, we gave you the money and you said you could get them for us!" The blond whimpers out.

"Trust me, Tilly," Kira places her hands on the girl's shoulder, "you don't need anymore pills. I think you've had enough for now."

Tilly gapes at her. "Then I want my money back," she fumes, hands clenching into fists.

"Oh," Kira winces with fake guilt, "no can do blondie."

"Kira!" The brunette shouts angrily at her.

"Shut up, Brooke!" Kira bites back. "This doesn't concern you!"

"You're cheating us out of our money. So I think this does concerns me."

"I need the money more than you do," is Kira's simple response.

"What does a girl who steals need money for?" Brooke asks defiantly, folding her arms over her chest.

"Zip it, bitch! We both know if I don't supply you with the good birth control then you'll just end up pregnant."

Brooke shuts her mouth after that. She and Tilly share a look, but exchange no words.

Kira smiles satisfactorily. "I've got way too much dirt on the both of you for you two to be defying me." She turns to Brooke. "We wouldn't want your parents to find out that there sweet little saint of a daughter is the biggest slut in school now would we?"

Brooke looks down at her shoes, but doesn't respond furthermore.

"That's what I thought."

"You're such a bitch, Kira," Tilly manages to squeak out.

Kira just shrugs. "I don't know what to tell you girls. In this town you've gotta be smart and learn who to trust and who not to trust."

Ally stands on the sidelines, completely shocked by just went down in front of her. Who would have guessed her new bestie was the school's backstabbing drug dealer. Her stomach turns uncomfortably and Ally quietly winces in pain.

The two girls eventually leave, sad and pill-less and Kira turns back around to Ally- who plays it off like she hadn't been listening- after it's over.

"Sorry about that," she apologizes with a big grin on her face.

Ally shakes her head. "No big deal."

Kira nods. She points her thumb in the direction behind her, gesturing to the retreating figures. "Watch your back with those girls," she warns. "Those bitches are crazy. I mean like mental. The blond one actually had to go to rehab for her mental disorder. She's like the biggest dependent on pills that I know."

Ally just nods along. To her, those two don't seem like the ones she needs to be careful around.

"Come on," Kira grabs her new friend's wrist once again and tugging her along.

Ally groans quietly.

So close.

…

"No one cares," he whispers silently.

He stares up at his reflection in the mirror. The boy staring back at him is one he doesn't even remember. Is he really looking at himself? His dark hair hangs low into his brown eyes that hold so much emotional. So much pain.

"No one cares," he repeats again. It comes out in a raspy voice through his dry lips.

"No one cares!" He shouts. Fresh tears begin to stream down his pale cheeks. The color has long been drained from his sickly looking face.

The boy looks cautiously around his shoulder to make sure no one is in the bathroom with him. The bathroom was empty. Just him.

He grabs his book bag off the counter and locks himself in a bathroom stall. Grabbing a small razor out of his book bag, he stares down at it, emotionless. Tears are spilling down his face. He wipes them away with the back of his hand.

He drags the razor over his thin wrists. They're so small that his veins are literally right there at the surface. He adds pressure to the razor and it breaks through the top layer of skin. He whimpers out in pain, but doesn't stop.

"No one cares."

He makes a clean cut across his wrist. Then another one. Then another one. Each time saying the same three worded phrases over and over again.

"No one cares. No one cares. No one cares."

He rolls up his long sleeve shirt to gain more access to non-cut skin. His ghostly white skin is painted with scarlet red blood. The warm liquid spills onto his jeans. Drips of red liquid spill into pools on the tile floor.

He doesn't stop though. He moves on to his other wrist now.

"No one cares. No one cares. No one cares. No one cares. NO ONE CARES!"

His vision is now hazy from obscene amounts of blood loss. He finally stops, grabbing a towel from his bag and exiting the stall. He walks up to the bathroom sink, turning on the cold water and running the towel under that before dabbing it to his arms. He grabs some wrapping out of his bag as well and wraps his entire arms in them before cleaning up his mess and slipping out of the bathroom.

A/N

Well, that was HEAVY! I apologize if the last scene was a bit too much. I'm not sure about it, but I thought it would be safer to add the disclaimer at the too than to not. By the way, who do you think the boy in that last scene was? Note: he's not a character that had already been introduced. So, don't worry. No, that was not Austin.

This chapter didn't really have any Auslly, I'm sorry. It is an Auslly story, but the main plot is way more than that. Just bear with me okay.

This chapter was basically introducing the characters that will be important later on in the story. So for those of you who have any sort of knowledge on the Batman world, I hinted at who these people are going to be later on. So any guesses on who everyone is? I mean, obviously Austin is going to be Batman. That one should be easy. Some of them are more obvious than others. A lot of them, if you don't know much about Batman characters, probably won't be very obvious to you. Oh, and there's still one character that I have to introduce. (Because you can't have a story without Dez! *wink, wink*)

Woot woot! Two updates in one day! Yay me! Who's excited for Austin and Alias tonight? I am. I'm interested in seeing what happens in the episode.

Thanks to rachelita, queenc1, Dont-Stop-Believin, cookiehamster, Scittore Ombra, and the guests who reviewed. You guys rock! Keep it up!

Kthanxbai!

Morgan :)