Oddly enough, Citrus felt a spring in her step as she walked in the hallways. She and Babs called each other last night after she wrote in her diary and talked about their day and all the fun girly stuff. Apparently, a friend and possible crush of Babs who'd been gone for seven months.

Citrus wished that Babs had told her more about her friend. After all, Babs wants them to meet and be friends. Citrus said that she honestly had to know the person first or at least meet them.

The hallways seemed somewhat crowded that day. Maybe there was a fight? She'd better hurry then if she didn't want to get caught in it. Citrus ran down the hallways to Professor Langstrom's classroom where to her surprise, the little bat she saved was in a cage in front of the classroom. Not to her surprise though, was that the class had moved their seats back away from the bat. Citrus chuckled a little and started to head to her seat. Babs caught her wrist and was smiling as if Citrus was the sun.

"He's going to be here soon! OhgoshIhaven'tseenhiminsolong! Iwonderhowheis. Ohpleaseohpleaselethimrememberme..."

Citrus tried to catch every other word, but Babs' speech was a blur. Wait, why were the girls in here wearing a whole lot make-up? More people than Joker or Harley looked like clowns.

Citrus breathed and almost held her nose. Ugh, the room was a frenzy of smells. Chocolates, vanilla, mints, exotic flower, herbs, candy, and other scents too weird or strong to recognize. None of them were what somebody would want to wear altogether. Especially in a science lab! The smells could contaminate any chemicals they may deal with or what if the fumes were flammable?

She almost choked. Citrus walked to her seat next to Jonathan Crane. Weird, the seat behind was empty. How come she hadn't noticed that before? Crane was sketching something in his notebook, a scarecrow? Jonathan snapped his notebook closed and glared at her. She raised her arms in a fake surrender and began to doodle in her own notebook. When little flowers didn't cut it, she looked at the clock.

The late bell would ring in two minutes and hopefully class would begin. Maybe there's an assembly today that everybody wants to see? Nah, high school kids hate assemblies unless it's got something to do that's inappropriate. Oh crud, maybe there's going to be a huge prank and she was the only one who knew about it. Babs was incoherent and no one else would talk to her since she was the newbie. This...sucked...epically.

The bell was about to ring when somebody stepped into the room. Citrus saw his shoes at first since her eyes had been glued to the floor. What the? He was wearing Testoni shoes, those things were expensive a heck. And, he wore a Gucci suit. Ok, Citrus had to calm down. Just because he was rich, it didn't mean...

That's when she saw his face. The guy looked so much like the jerk who'd been able to bully her for years. They even had the same shade of dark hair, although this one's eyes were a lighter hue of blue and his hair was longer. Heck, his hair reached his shoulders. He had bags under his eyes, but that only highlighted the blue even more. He walked to Babs' desk and did a fist bump with her. No way, this was Babs' friend?!

As long as he didn't keep next to her, she wouldn't panic. She wouldn't panic. No, he was coming her way. Citrus saw her hand shake and flashbacks of what the bully did to her flashed through her mind. Citrus realized with dread that rich boy was supposed to sit behind her. It was okay, she could handle it. At least that was until he was next to her desk. Something came off him in waves. Whatever eeriness came from the others, couldn't compare to his. There was a darkness about him, a haunting. Something, frightening, and it had nothing to do with what he reminded her of. She had to get out. She paced towards Professor Langstrom when it dawned on her.

The boy was watching her. His eyes pierced her soul. She asked Professor Langstrom if she could step out for a moment, and he let her. The look on her face may have convinced him. Heck, she felt like blowing chunks. In the hallway, away from the smells and his eyes, she felt some peace.

What was she doing? He could be like Oswald, a little unusual, but nice. She should give the guy a chance. Citrus took a deep breath, she would not run. She would not duck and cover like a child in a thunderstorm. There was something off about him though. Something...wrong.

Citrus clenched her fists, gathering what little courage she had. She would not let somebody rule her life again. No more of it. No more. Now was not the time to get over-emotional. She could control her fears and not the other way around.

Her stubbornness was greater than whatever he had. She would win against her fears. Citrus stomped into the room and she avoided his eyes as she sat into her desk. No, she should have met his eyes. Or not, judging from the class's reaction to her face.

They looked more afraid of her than the bat. Even Crane was staring at her with wide eyes. Citrus softened her eyes when they met Babs. Babs looked as if a light bulb just lit in her head with horror. Guess she had forgotten Citrus's description of the a-hole who picked on her.

Citrus took a deep breath, letting the stenches cloud her mind. The teacher shook out of whatever trance he'd been in and continued on with the lesson. She could sense rich boy behind her staring. Who was he anyways? She'd been so concentrated on controlling herself that she hadn't even heard his name.

"Hey Bruce? Wayne? Why does the newbie hate you? She looked ready to kill you just now," a student said to the rich kid. Citrus thought his name was Harvey.

Bruce Wayne? Why did that name sound familiar? Then again, he was rich and probably socially powerful. Of course his name would be famous.

Citrus kept her eyes on the clock, waiting to dash out of that class. Every minute felt like forever. Finally, the bell rang and she ran for dear life.

...

In the locker room, Citrus could feel the girls glaring at her. Oh come on, did every girl in Gotham High crush on him but her? She felt tired though, must be the adrenaline rush.

"Hey Lemons. You okay?"

It was Harley, with her mascara so thick it was like a mask.

Citrus chuckled a little, "Yeah I guess. As long as I don't have to see whoever that rich kid is, I'll be okay."

"You mean Bruce Wayne? The biggest teen heartthrob in all of Gotham? Let me guess, you're attracted to him against your will, right?" Ivy laughed.

Citrus felt like puking and it must have showed. Harley and Ivy gasped while Selina froze.

"Wait, ya think he's icky? How is that possible?" Harley said in shock.

Selina kneeled before Citrus and pushed back a few strands of hair, " What did somebody do to you?"

Citrus flinched. Oh crap, they might spread rumors that she was raped or something. Well, she almost was.

She tried to keep her composure as she spoke," I fear people like him. People who are rich and have social power can get away with almost anything. If you're the little guy, they'll squish you like an ant. And there's nothing somebody can do to stop them. A person who looks a lot like, Wayne, hurt me for years. I tried to get away and he tried to break me. I escaped, but it was close. I will never let anybody control me like that again. I will fight people like him, always."

Citrus let more words flow than she had intended, " I can still feel his hands on my stomach, trying to push down my pants. I'm glad for damaging his precious jewels when I got away in time."

The girls could tell that his precious jewels weren't actually jewelry.

" That explains some things. How long ago was that?" Selina asked.

" About a week ago, right before I moved to Gotham," Citrus hesitated, " I guess he wanted to leave a mark I wouldn't forget."

" I guess it worked," Ivy murmured. "You let him win."

"What? But I got away before he did any physical damage..."

"But he left his mark didn't her? It didn't have to be physical. I'm not saying you should love Wayne, but give him a chance. It doesn't have to be now, but it needs to be soon. If you don't that pain you carry could last forever."

Citrus clenched her fists. Ivy had a good point. That jerk would win if she didn't do something.

"Oh and almost all the girls in Gotham High have a copy of Bruce's schedule now. Here's one for you," Selina handed her a piece of paper.

Citrus raised an eyebrow at them and the girls flushed.

"Hey, yer the only one who doesn't think he's dreamy," Harley defended.

"Don't you have a boyfriend?" Citrus poked.

"Ooh, she's got claws," Selina smiled.

"I love Mistah J, I just happen to think some other guys are handsome too."

Citrus was about to giggle until she saw the schedule. Her face drained of blood and she moaned.

"He has four classes with me including this class and lunch," she laughed bitterly.

"Wait, you don't have math," Selina said as she looked over both of their schedules. "How come?"

" It's our senior year. I took all my math classes already. Starting from Middle School."

"C'mon ladies! Onto the field! Don't make me come in there!" Crock called.

That got all the girls moving. Outside, the boys were doing the same as yesterday, lifting weights or running. The girls started to laze around until the coach called for the daily obstacle course challenge. Citrus saw to her dismay that Wayne was across the way. His eyes were on the obstacle course thankfully and not on her.

"Okay, we all know the drill. If somebody can beat the record on this course, they get credit for the day and they can laze around all they want. Who's stupid enough to try it? How about you O'Brien?"

All eyes landed on Citrus and she ignored a specific pair as she smiled sweetly at the coach. Admittedly, her feet still hurt, but she wanted to wipe that smug look off Crock's face.

"It will be my pleasure," some members of the audience snickered as she took her place at the starting line.

To her left, Bane and Croc stood next to her. To her right, crud, it was Wayne.

"Hi, I'm Bruce Wayne. Do you have a pretty name to go with that pretty face?"

Oh yeah, teen heartthrob. Of course he'd think she was attracted to him. She ignored him, shoving aside her fear. She was going to kick his butt.

Crock blew the whistle and she ran as fast as her feet could carry her. Wayne ran alongside her, no matter what pace she was at. She looked from the corner of her eye and saw that he winked at her. That scummy...

She narrowly dodged a shove from Bane by doing a cartwheel and nearly hitting a hurdle. Crud, he was coming at her again, and there was a hurdle less than five feet in front of her. This was going to hurt. She attempted to do another cartwheel, but ended up doing something different. Instead of her back bending sideways, it bent backwards.

She made it over the hurdle and had a far from perfect landing. The only good news was that she fell onto her behind. She struggled to get up, but Wayne and the others already crossed the finish line. Citrus grunted as she stood up, her back felt bad. That...hurt.

The class was staring at her as she rubbed her back. Coach laughed loudly and rubbed away a tear.

"I didn't know you could back flip O'Brien.'

Citrus whispered in pain, " I can't."

Crock widened his eyes, "Uh oh. Um, you get to go see the nurse."

Oh no, what if Dad found out? "No, I just need to stretch, I think."

Crud, her voice sounded like a whimper. And her back making a loud cracking noise.

" Nope, you're going to the nurse so I don't get in trouble."

Yeah. the bastard was that self serving.

This day couldn't possibly get any worse, right? Then Citrus remembered her schedule. Oh yes it could, and she felt like crying.

After getting a checkup from the nurse and calming her dad over the phone, Citrus felt like her world was spinning. She wasn't going to faint, but she did feel like taking a nap or hiding. Damn, she was supposed to make criminals know her strength. With this school's population, she wouldn't doubt that at least half of the school's population would end up either on the streets or in jail.

She had to be strong, no emotion. No fear, no pain. She had to stay strong. She was going to be a protector, a defender, and hopefully so much more.

But to do that, she had to prove herself. That meant not only showing strength, but smarts as well. It certainly didn't help if one missed their classes to see the nurse. She missed Music class. Citrus texted Edward and Meister, asking what she missed and if they could practice later.

Missing lunch was a relief since she wouldn't have to face Babs or Wayne. Although her stomach rumbled.

...

Aside from music or plants, it turned out she sucked in the arts. The teacher assigned a boy called Matt Hagen who was skilled with clay. He had a natural way of molding it. It was almost like he was a part of it.

Citrus on the other hand, had the art skills of a two year old if she was lucky. She had to be able to draw crime scenes, and she had a difficult time just drawing a stick figure.

After several failed attempts to draw.. well, anything, the bell rang and Citrus prepared for the worst. The next two classes were with Wayne. How much fun can a girl have?

However, she didn't see Wayne in Psych. Maybe he ditched? It wouldn't surprise her since all rich boys were like that. They had enough money to do whatever they want.

"Can somebody tell me about the Attribution theory?"

Harley raised her hand quicker than anyone else. She was an expert in this class, so why'd she act like a twit in others? Well, there was no Mistah J in this class. For some reason, even though she was smart, she had a need to degrade herself for her boyfriend's needs.

Government with Mr. Coyne was running smoothly. He decided that the class could have fun in the computer lab while he counted his pennies again. Citrus rolled her eyes, why did everyone seem obsessed with something? Then again, looking back at herself. Yeah, she was a huge hypocrite.

They were walking to the computer lab when Citrus noticed something on the ground. Scraps of red and yellow fabric making their way to the janitor's closet. Citrus looked back at the class and figured it'd only be for a moment. Curiosity always got the best of her, and it'd probably kill her one day.

Inside the closet was dark so she searched for a light along the wall. She was shoved, something rattled to the ground with a metallic clang, and the door shut closed. Whatever the clang can from, it had a weird smell, not at all like what janitors use. Citrus began to sweat and choke on whatever the gas was. She pounded on the door profusely.

"Help! Somebody let me out!" Citrus screamed.

Images flashed in her head from around a week ago. What the heck? She felt way more scared than she should have been. Citrus coughed so much that she felt dizzy. Oh no, she was not going to...

Citrus woke up to the feel of fingers pressing her stomach. She instantly panicked, thinking she was reliving a nightmare. Then she realized with an even darker fear that it wasn't a nightmare, it was real. Her shirt was lifted up and somebody was prodding her stomach. No way she was going through that again.

She kicked whoever it was off her and jumped up. Her vision was kind of wavy and she had a hard time standing up. After a moment, she looked at her attacker. No, it couldn't be. It was him, her bully. It was Paul Sloan. That rich kid who claimed that he was going to be an actor one day. That and he was going to work for the mob like his dad. Those blue eyes cut her and she screamed.

Citrus tried to run away and tripped on some sort of ninja outfit. She clamored over it backed away from the coming monster. She screamed again and somebody grabbed her. She looked up to see Harvey Dent keeping her from fighting the beast.

"Let me go! He's a monster! A monster!" she screeched.

"Calm down!" Harvey said as he struggled to hold her.

"He touched my stomach. He's going to hurt me!"

"Bruce was checking to see if you had any internal damage! We already called for the nurse. You're going to be okay! Calm down," Harvey insisted.

It was only then Citrus's vision started to clear up. Then she saw Wayne's face. He looked hurt and worried. Real hurt and worry. Citrus was still shaking but she calmed herself. She didn't know what to say to him. Why was she seeing things?

The nurse came then and asked her dozens of questions.

"Dearie, why were you in the closet anyway?" she finally asked.

"I... I had seen something and I thought to investigate. I was shoved into the closet with something else, I couldn't see what it was. It sounded metallic. I choked from the gas that came from it. After that, I woke up and saw, some weird things. I don't want to say what, it's private. But, I think I saw my worst fear."

Wayne turned away from her and looked into the closet, searching for something. He picked up a canister and examined it.

He looked at her without meeting her eyes, "This it?"

"I... I don't know. It was too dark. Damn, I feel really tired. It's like I have goosebumps all over."

"Nurse, is this the first time this had happened?" Wayne asked.

"I am not permitted to say..."

"This is students' safety for chrissakes! I knew this school is twisted, but at least they were honest about it! Tell us already," Citrus growled. She felt an overwhelming amount of anger.

The room was silent before Harvey spoke, "Jeeze, and people think I'm bipolar."

"Guys, we have no idea what was in that canister. It may not be a good idea to mess with her," Wayne murmured.

Citrus suddenly felt really, really fatigued. She also felt giggly. "Hey, can I go beddy bye?" she giggled.

"Like I said, bipolar," Harvey chuckled.

The world was spinning even more than it had earlier. It was kind of pretty. Swirly, swirly, swirly.

She giggled fervently before sighing. Darkness began to creep in. It felt nice...

"Ow!" cried as she was pinched. "Whadja do that fer?" Citrus asked.

Wayne was looking at her face, but not her eyes. "Possibly saving your life. You've got to stay awake till this is over."

Weird, rich boy, didn't seem like a rich boy. Citrus wrinkled her nose like whenever she did when she was thoughtful. He seemed different. The darkness that surrounded him was now like a warm light. It was nice. This was, somebody different from Bruce Wayne. Who was he?

...

Hospital trips were never fun. Hospitals stank of chemicals and something rotting. She told doctors that she felt fine now, and that it was no big deal. Nobody listened until her dad came. Citrus looked out the window since the doctor's would be talking to her father for hours.

She loathed doctors and their tools. She'd admit that they were smart, but that didn't mean that had to like their methods. Citrus looked at the clock. They said they'd be back in four, long, grueling hours. Stuck in a room like that, is not fun and not productive.

Citrus smiled maliciously as she picked the window lock. It was a good thing Gotham General had rooms on the ground floor, it made it easier to escape. She was a cop's daughter, did they honestly think that she wouldn't know how to pick a lock?

Was she crazy? Maybe, but if she wasn't the first victim, she wasn't going to be the last. She would just have a quick look and see before they notice that she's missing.

The school was only eight blocks away. It'd have to be a real quick looksee, but it was better than nothing. As for defense if she did get into trouble, she'd go Casey Jones with her backpack. Yeah, she was a fan of TMNT and others needed to learn how to deal with it.

Citrus was careful to listen for anything on her way there. Unfortunately, she heard something that might not help her.

"Drop the drugs criminals! Nobody sells drugs in Gotham while I'm around, " a deep, gargled voice commanded.

"And what're you gonna do stop us, ninja boy?!" somebody squeaked.

Ninja? Like that outfit in the janitor's closet? Citrus ran toward the voices and couldn't believe her eyes. The alley was filled with garbage, construction materials, and containers of delirium. There were some metal construction poles along the wall. An idiot was facing off Salvatore Maroni's hooligans, and the idiot was dressed like a ninja.

She would've laughed in pity if it weren't for the look on that ninja's face. He looked like a soldier. Somebody determined to fight in war. There was something about him. She didn't mean it in a romantic sense, but one of awe. Citrus tried something difficult, use common sense. There was no way he was the one who shoved her into the closet if he was fighting drug dealers. She should leave right now, but something told her to stay.

That look in the idiot ninja's eyes...How could no one else see it? One of the gangsters held up a gun and the guy still reminded her of a warrior. He was either really brave or really stupid. She knew that she was the latter though. After all, she was going to help him. She grabbed some poles quietly, careful not to rouse attention just yet.

The gunmen had a finger on the trigger and Citrus threw a pole at his hand. It hit dead center to her surprise. The crowd looked in her direction and she faced the ninja.

"Hey idiot, you want to live and fight," she called, "Why?"

He growled, "I made an oath and I intend to complete it."

Her nose wrinkled, "What kind of oath?"

"One to stop people like them and save the innocent."

She smiled, "Want some help this one time?"

Ninja looked shocked as she hit one person with her backpack and another with a pole. She applied self defense by poking one guy's eyes, pretending to go for the nuts, and then breaking his nose. The crook screamed.

Crud, somebody was behind her with a knife and she wouldn't be able to reach in time. Ninja covered her by throwing some stars in her direction.

"Thanks!" she called.

After what an hour, they had the drug dealers running.

"Are they gone?" she asked, panting.

"Yeah"

They both collapsed onto the ground before laughing.

"Are you crazy?" they asked at the same time.

They laughed some more before ninja pouted behind the mask.

"Hey, we beat them," she said.

"Yeah, but they should've have been afraid of me. I need to strike fear into the hearts of criminals."

Citrus frowned, "Fear may not be the best maneuver. Besides, going out dressed like a ninja isn't the best idea. You aren't the first to stand up to them and you wouldn't be the last. I'll admit though, you're really good at fighting". She hesitated, "Who'd you lose?"

The ninja flinched which confirmed it.

"You remind me of a soldier who's lost somebody. You're looking for vengeance."

The ninja nodded, "And what about you?"

"That would be telling," Citrus replied.

The ninja leaned his head back against the wall, "Women confuse me."

"We confuse everybody. It's fun."

They sat there, watching the skies. Her watch beeped and she realized she had to get back to the hospital. She stood up slowly and so did the idiotic ninja.

"Um, thanks for helping."

"As long as you promise not to get killed, you don't owe me anything," she stated.

She started walking when a rat scurried past her feet. She squealed like a little girl. Citrus hid her face in disconcertion as the ninja laughed his butt off.

"You just beat back a miniature army of mobsters, who would make most men pee their pants, and you're scared of a rat?" the idiot howled with snickers.

"Men are something people understand. Things people understand, aren't what they fear. I understand rats, but I just happen to dislike strange things running across my feet," she said in defense.

The ninja snickered a little bit before looking at the rat, "Hey what's an animal that people fear?"

Citrus felt a humorous dread, "You're not thinking about dressing up as a rat to fight crime, are you?"

"Not a rat, I'd get killed then," ninja scoffed.

Citrus sweat dropped, " Um, whatever you end up doing, don't get killed. Gotham sees enough bodies."

"Hey, can I see you again?"

She twitched, "No. You're suicidal and I've got a mystery and a future to think about". Citrus waved goodbye and ran off.

The ninja looked up at the sky as a stream of bats flew by. A grin appeared on his face, " An animal people fear."

...

Citrus was tired and sore by the time she got home. Her dad took way too long with doctors even after she got back to the hospital. Why were dads so overprotective. Then again, considering the reckless stuff she did tonight...

She had just collapsed onto the bed when her cell phone cried. Oh great, caller ID said it was Babs.

"Hi Barbara..." she answered.

"Okay, we need to have a talk later but I figured I should tell you now. Bruce is funding a school dance on Friday. The theme is Costumes and Masquerade. I can't wait! I met a cute boy who asked me to it called Dick Grayson who really flexible and cool since he was in a circus, and he said he could get you a date! Youare coming since I already contacted your dad about it. He says you're going," Babs said quickly.

A... dance? Funded by Wayne? Why? Citrus hated dancing because she always stepped on people's feet. Oh, and it was masquerade? In Gotham High? This was going to be epically evil.

"Hey Citrus? I'm also taking you out shopping with the Gotham Sirens. We need to get outfits."

Citrus almost gagged and reminded herself that even if her father wasn't contacted about this, she really didn't have much of a choice. "Look, I'll go to the stupid dance, but right now, I'm really tired. I've fainted enough in school already and I have no desire to do so tomorrow. I'll see you tomorrow, but for now, let me sleep."

She hung up the phone before landing her head into the pillow. She looked back at the past couple of days when it hit her.

Jonathan Crane claimed that he was going to make a gas that incited people's fear through hallucination. He was drawing a scarecrow with red and yellow coloring. He also was bitter towards her and said that she had better watch out.

Jonathan Crane was the most likely suspect for throwing her in the closet. He was probably testing his gas on her to see its affects. Why hadn't she realized it sooner? And she thought that ninja was a fool?! She had to tell somebody or...

No, she had to somehow prove it first. She needed to think like a detective, and stop whatever crime may occur.

Watch out criminals, Citrus O'Brien is going to hunt you down...after she gets some sleep.

Chapter's song: A Thousand Angels by Rachel Macwhirter.