"Master Wayne, are you sure that this is a good idea, considering your... community service?" Alfred asked Bruce as he drove us to Wayne Manor. I was spending most of the trip staring out the window with Bruce every now and then telling me what I was looking at. So far, the most impressive sight I had seen was Wayne Tower, which when I told Bruce that caused him to have a satisfied smirk.

"Alfred, I don't think she will be with us for long and while she is, I'm sure she'll be more concerned with her own affairs to go looking into ours." There was something else to Bruce's reason for letting me stay, and while Alfred with curious about it, he knew that then wasn't the time to be asking questions. I later found out that Bruce was questioned more in depth about it that night in the cave.

"So how does Gotham look to you so far?" Bruce asked me.

"It looks like what I thought an American city would look like- big and dark"

"Well, that is a good way to describe Gotham City," Right around that time we passed a bridge, leading to a place that didn't look the least bit hospitable.

"What is that area over there, beyond the bridge?" I asked, curious at how a place that looked so rundown could exist in a city like this.

"It's a place called The Narrows. It's very underdeveloped and what is there is mostly rundown. Of all the places in Gotham, it fosters the most crime. It's a haven for the criminal world, where money is so prized that some would throw out all values just to get a few bucks…" Like before when he was talking about the downside of Gotham, Bruce underwent a transformation when he talked. The charmer that I had known disappeared, and someone else came out. Someone angry, someone who wanted change, someone willing to fight. But as quickly as it appeared, Bruce realized where he was and who he was talking to and the look with gone.

"Needless to say, it is not a place I would take someone on the Welcome to Gotham Tour." He joked.

"Do you host that tour often"

"Only when my training to walk on water allows." Our laughter rang out in the car, and Alfred briefly turned around to look at us.

"It is so unsettling not to be able to know what the people behind you are laughing about." He said.

"I'm sorry Alfred. Maybe this situation will provide you with a reason to learn Japanese in your spare time." Bruce suggested.

"Yes, because I have so much of it Sir"

As was my habit when I had free time, I began to play with my hair. My hair-the source of the nickname I was called in Japan and apparently the hairstyle I would have had in the future. It was then that I realized that I needed to get rid of it, change it from the way it was to something completely different. It was time that I threw "Meatball Head" out the window.

"I need to cut my hair" I blurted out, catching Bruce off guard.

"Excuse me?"

"My hair, I need to cut it. It reminds me too much of things I want to forget." I told him.

"When do you want to do it?"

"As soon as possible." He nodded his head in response and then turned to Alfred in the front seat.

"Alfred, we need to go to a hair salon."

"Master Wayne, you aren't due for hair cut for another month."

"Not for me Alfred, for Serena. She needs to cut away the past, so to speak."

"Well at that rate, why don't we just get her new clothes too, so she won't be wearing the past."

"What a fine idea Alfred!"

"I was kidding Sir"

"I'm not" Bruce turned back to me. "What would you think of getting you some new clothes after you get your hair cut?"

"Oh, I don't know. I really should be saving my money until I get another source of income."

"Don't worry about it, I'll cover the clothing as well as the haircut." I didn't know what to say to that. I was shocked! Why was this man offering me these things? And what was he expecting in return? Just my eternal gratitude? This couldn't simply be a man trying to help the poor runaway from getting in with the wrong crowd, unless in Gotham clothing with a determinant in your status as a criminal. Something about this was just not right, even for super-trusting me.

"Why are you willing to do all this?" His confused look spurred me on. "You're offering me a place to stay at your own home, which on it's own is a lot, but now you are offering to pay for my hair cut and new clothing! You have to see why I am a little suspicious, even with what you said at the airport" About half-way though my talking, he had started to nod his head in understanding.

"I truly can't tell you why I am offering you all of this. It could be I'm just in a very generous mood, or maybe it's a bit of guilt."

"Guilt? Why would you have guilt?"

"Guilt that I have so much money, or maybe I sympathize with starting over."

"This has something to do with your long disappearance, doesn't it?"

"Very perceptive of you." He said grinning. However, he became serious again quite quickly. "When I left Gotham many years ago, I went with nothing. I had to... earn what I needed to survive. While that was my intention, I know how hard it was. Now, I see someone in a similar position to my own, and I feel the need to help. Does that make sense?" Before I had a chance to reply, the car stopped. I saw Alfred get out of the car and walk to Bruce's side of the car.

"I do believe that we have arrived at the salon." Bruce told me as Alfred was walking and opening the door. He proceeded to exit the car and then Alfred put a hand in to help me out.

"Thank you" I told Alfred in my terrible English.

"You are very welcome Miss" He replied smiling. Turning around, I saw that Bruce was smiling as well.

"So you know a bit of English! That's very good, you won't have as hard of a time learning." He said to me as we walked into the salon. As soon as the people saw Bruce come in, they swarmed around us.

"Mister Wayne, how lovely it is to see you! What is it that you are needing from us today?" A man who I assumed to be the owner asked as he greeted Bruce.

"It's good to see you too Kevin. And it actually isn't me that is needing your assistance, but my friend here." All eyes immediately turned to me as Bruce gestured towards me.

"Well, well, well, isn't she pretty, and with such nice long hair." The man walked over to me. He put his hand out and touched my hair. "And it's so soft too. I'm guessing you are going to want to cut it off, aren't you?" He looked at me for an answer.

"She doesn't speak English, I'll be translating for her. She just moved here from Japan, and is wanting a new hairstyle for a new country." Bruce explained.

"Well that is fantastic! Some many possibilities with so many hairs" The man exclaimed. Immediately he started asking Bruce questions to ask me, and after a 5 minute process, we managed to get an idea as to what to do with my hair. It took about hour for Kevin and his team to fix everything, but I have to say that the finished product was amazing. Bruce managed to convince me to let him pay for it, but I did manage to get him to delay the planned shopping expedition. All in all, I left the salon feeling like I had rid myself of a huge chunk of my past. It truly was an amazing feeling.

So I promised you all my vision of Serena, didn't I? Well, OK, as I am a person who delievers, here is what I picture Serena to look like as she is leaving the salon, minus the outfit.

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Remove the spaces after you cut and paste

As always, please tell me what you think. Even if it is really bad and you make me cry, I still want to hear it. I am really still trying to get a hold of Bruce's character, so it will be awhile before he is anywhere close to perfect.