Yay passed all my finals! Thanks for all the well wishes my lovely reviewers. Well here it is. If you guys like this chapter I will be so happy. I do not think it's the best but to be honest I was at a loss of exactly where I wanted to take this chapter. This was the only idea I could write for without having to force it. Keep in mind this was also written between 2 and 4 am. Constructive criticism welcome but no flames please.

The bell that signalled the end of the school day sounded shrilly signaling a wave of students to rush from their classrooms in a frenzy to get out the doors of the buildings. With previously peaceful hallways were quickly packed and fighting to contain the sounds of hurried sneakers, the roll of skateboards, slamming lockers, and of course, the hundreds of voices fighting to be heard over one another. The chaos never lasted long and within the span of a few minutes, the hallways had been left to house only a few lone stragglers, among them a boy with dull, faded black hair and hazel eyes. He was average height but a little more muscular than the everyday 15 year old boy. His clothes were a simple long sleeved shirt and jeans and he walked with his head down and music blasting in his ears. His grades were average and he kept quiet and too himself. Everything about him screamed forgettable. He hauled his backpack up further on his shoulders and shoved his hands in his pockets as he headed out the doors and into the light rain. He didn't notice the hyper active blond until she had yanked the headphones from his ears and stood, glaring, in front of him.

"Earth to Derek Wayne, this is your soon to be former best friend. I've been screaming at you to wait for me for almost a block." He blinked rapidly, briefly seeing her baby blue eyes surrounded by a black mask and her blond pigtails encased in a black and red clown hat. For a few seconds she looked the picture of a…harlequin. Then he blinked and she was back. Her eyes the same boring mid-afternoon sky blue that everyone seemed to possess and her hair the same dirty-blond-almost-brown colour it had been since fifth grade. He shook his head to rid himself of the annoying tingling feeling that happened whenever he saw something like that and hurried to smile.

"Sorry Steph I'm just not feeling that great." She eyed him suspiciously before letting out an irritated noise and started to walk away.

"Whatever just come on." They walked mostly in silence, or Derek did. Stephanie chatted non- stop about whatever came to mind and Derek pretended to listen. It was a friendship based entirely on social status. Neither of them had the same interests or even really liked each other. The only thing they really had in common was that they came from wealthy families and one of the many unspoken rules of the upper class was to have friends in the upper class. When they reached the entrance to the Wayne estate he merely gave her a polite smile and a quiet goodbye.

The house was quiet which didn't really come as a surprise to Derek. His father figure, Bruce Wayne, was rarely present though that had slowly begun to change. Ever since the new head of security had been put in place at Arkham. 'Home' He looked around wildly for the person that had spoken but found no one. The whispered voice sounded familiar but he knew that he had never met someone who would refer to that mad house as home. Derek pressed his lips into a straight line as he entered the kitchen and robotically made himself a sandwich to compensate for his missed lunch. Something seemed off to him. Not in the way that something was missing but he felt almost…worried. There hadn't been a breakout since the man was put in charge and it was, for some reason, unnerving. He tried to shake the feeling as he poured a large glass of orange juice and carried his meal up to his room, snatching the daily paper along the way.

The walls of his room had been covered with the achievements that he had done in the eleven years that he had been in Bruce's custody. A place had already been cleared and a frame bought for when he received his diploma in a few months, three years ahead of his age group. It didn't bring him any joy though, all the trophies and awards. They just felt hollow. He found himself staring at the list of rules that Bruce had him sign when he was younger. Some were standard like 'I will take responsibility for my actions' and 'I will use appropriate language' but some others were simply bizarre. He was not allowed to garden or study plants in any way. He was forbidden from engaging in riddle games or jokes. Solving anything with a coin toss was frowned upon. He was never to read Alice in Wonderland and he was forbidden to enroll in the school's intro to psychology course. The punishments were like the rules. Some were normal enough but others just seemed extreme. If he swore, his mouth was washed out with soap. Acting like a child could result in: loss of privileges, a time-out, or a trip over Bruce's knee depending on the severity of the offence. The one time he'd told Bruce a joke, mid-laugh, he had felt the painful impact of a wooden spoon to his cheek. The times he used a coin to decide on something, the palm of his hand had been smacked with a ruler. When Bruce found out that Derek had ignored him and read Alice in Wonderland with the rest of his class, his back had been sore for days after becoming very familiar with Bruce's belt. He was currently enrolled in his school's psychology course and he knew what to expect when he came home every day.

He winced as he sat at his desk, the welts becoming more agitated by the minute. Sighing and resigning himself to not finding a comfortable position, he finished off his lunch and pulled the paper towards him. The front page headline caused him to start banging his fist on his chest as he nearly chocked.

Scarecrow captured: Safety of patients in Arkham questioned.

The article went on to say how an inside source had leaked information that led to the belief that the new head of security, Lyle Bolton, was abusing patients. He knew that outside of being an empathetic human being and wanting to there to be no need for violence, he shouldn't be worried. But he was, deeply worried. His breathing had become sharp pants and his hands shook. He heard the door slam shut, alerting him to Bruce's return and what was about to happen, but he was frozen, his mind lost in a deep fog. He stood shakily and stumbled back towards his bed. One hand gripped the footboard for support as all strength seemed to suddenly leave him while the other pressed to his stomach which was now rejecting his meal. The corner of his mouth twitched and, as the door opened, he looked up at Bruce in a jerky fashion. He knew not to expect any kind of pity but he had hoped that Bruce would at least leave him alone to calm down. He was wrong. The brutal backhand sent him back onto the bed and he kicked and squirmed to get away as Bruce made short work of his pants and boxers. The first strike from the polished riding crop sent a wave of painful heat through his rear and a humiliated heat through his cheeks. His gasps for air became more ragged with every strike of the riding crop until his vision began to swim and darken. Immediately after the last strike, he surrendered to the darkness.

He was walking yet falling. He tried to grasp at the plant steams that sprouted from the walls around him but they recoiled angrily at his touch. He tried to cling to a rubix cube whose squares had all been coloured black but his hands simply slid down the slick surface.

'And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting on the palled bust of Pallas just above my chamber door.' Derek looked about for the speaker. It was the same voice that he had heard earlier and yet, there was still no one there. A soft tickling sound drew his attention to the suddenly present jack-in-the-box that seemed to be winding itself. The clown that sprang forth was anything but childish. The wild green hair and blood red smile terrified him into fleeing in the opposite direction.

'And his eyes have all the seeing of a demon's that is dreaming and the lamplight o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor.' He ran until he came face to face with a door. A door that, not a second ago, had not been there. A door with a 10/6 sign carved into it. He opened it cautiously and took a step inside, then another. The door slammed shut as a monstrous black crow flew in after him. The candles in the room lit themselves as the crow landed on the frame of an old, gothic mirror.

'And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor shall be lifted Nevermore.' He stepped up to the mirror but instead of himself, he saw what might have been his brother. His face and body shape were the same but his hair was darker and had a blue tint to it and his eyes were golden green. The mirror image placed his hands on the mirror before raking his nails down it savagely.

"Let me out!" Derek jumped backwards but for some reason could not run. "You locked me in here now let me out!" Derek slowly inched his way back to the sleek surface.

"What for?" It seemed like a dumb question to ask but that was all that would come out of his mouth. The other snarled at his lack of action.

"They need me and I want to go home!" Feeling a little braver, Derek took another step towards the mirror.

"Where's home and who are they?"

"Arkham you little idiot and they being the Rogue gallery, my family. You tricked me into this now I want out." The mirror image shoulders slumped and he looked up with a tired expression. "I want to go home." He held out a shaking hand. Derek sighed seeming to realize what was going on.

"But Bruce was our chance for a normal life." The mirror image pressed both hands to the mirror with a pleading expression.

"We never wanted that. He's a horrible person under that pleasant façade. Please, let me go home. I really don't care if you stick around or not. No matter what though I won't let them keep suffering." Derek smiled.

"You go. I've seen what I wanted to see." Derek reached through the mirror and pulled the other through.

"You're not going to stay at all?" Derek shook his head.

"I was created on your thoughts of what could have happened if you had lived a normal life and your unconscious desire for that. I was created to live out that dream and, to an extent, I have and neither of us was very pleased with it. So this is goodbye…Thorn." Thorn smiled sadly even as he felt his eyelids grow heavy. He jerked awake and looked around the tastefully decorated room. It was dark, the clock saying it was nearing on 2 am but he had plans to work out. It was time for a long over due reunion.