I hate this chapter. I really, really, really hate this chapter. Unfortunately, it was the only idea I had to bring up the Batman issue that panned out into a chapter. It was not the way I planned to go with the story, but it really isn't going to be that much of a part of it. However, it will come in handy when Serena needs to help Bruce in later situations.

Now, before you read this chapter, I want you to go over to the LiveJournal (the link to it is set as my homepage in my profile) and take a look at what I posted. It will really help you get in the mood.

"Come here often?" The man asked me as he slid onto the barstool beside me.

"Excuse me? What do you mean come...?" It dawned on me in that moment that I was not in my bed at Wayne Manor, as I last remembered, but some place where jazz was being played by a live band and a soulful voice sang along to it. Turning away from the bar, I saw a club decked out to look like someplace out of the 1930s, and people dressed to match.

"It isn't decked out to look like someplace out of the 1930s, it is someplace in the 1930s" I heard the man say to me. I turned to stare at him in shock, how did he know what I was thinking? "I know what you're thinking, because I'm what you thinking… or dreaming as the case maybe." He pointed to the mirror behind the bar we were sitting at, and I saw that it no longer held the reflection of the club, but showed me in my bed. "See, you're snug as a bug in a rug, and all of this is just a figment of your sleeping mind… well, except for me of course." He added as he took a sip of his drink.

"But you said…" He stopped me before I could finish.

"Don't get worked up over the little details", he waved his hand as if to dismiss the very thoughts from my mind, "let's just say that I am something inside your head that was placed here after you gave up your powers as Sailor Moon and all that they entailed." He took another swig from his glass before turning and looking at me. "Have any questions?"

"I'm going crazy, aren't I?" He remained silent. "Why else would my mind be creating such a strange dream?"

"Because I helped it." He told me.

"Stop talking like you are some separate oddity!" I was becoming agitated, and my voice was rapidly getting louder and louder. "You are just part of my mind and nothing more!"

"Why is the idea that I am some other force then natural so hard for you to accept?"

"Because I left all of that back in Japan!" I screamed in a moment of frustration, which caused no reaction from the others in the club. "I have no special powers, no destiny to fulfill, and am no longer involved in saving the public from harm!" I was no longer screaming, but I still had a lot of force behind my words.

"Oh, that's where you're wrong princess, a term I use as one of endearment and not a reference to any past position, you are very much 'involved' with saving the public." He told me with a smirk. "Yes, involved is quite a good word to use…"

"What are you talking about? I barely ever leave Wayne Manor, which actually would be much safer if my clumsy self was not in it-"

"Quick question," He raised his hand in the classic "stop" gesture before lowering it again, "how many times since coming to Gotham have you suffered from this clumsiness you so lovingly referred to, other then the collision that caused you to meet Bruce?" My lack of an answer gave him a push to carry on. "And aren't you finding it much easier to learn English then you did in Japan?"

"That happens to be because I am working one-on-one with someone everyday for two hours!" I quickly answered, pleased to have an answer to one of his questions.

"Come on, you could have been working one-on-one every hour of the day with Shakespeare and you still wouldn't be half as proficient as you are now!" I had to admit that I often found myself questioning why I found the language I once struggled with so much easier to learn now. And, the more that I thought about it, the more I realized that I wasn't at all like the girl I was back in Japan. "I can tell by the stunned look on your face, and the fact I know your thoughts, that you are realizing that you aren't what you used to be. You've adapted, or at least are in the process of, to your new life here in Gotham. Do you really think that that can happen without the help of something greater?" The once smirking face was now serious. "You're never going to be alone Serena. We're always going to be watching over you, and while our help isn't always going to be easy to see, it's going to be there."

"I don't know what to say." I managed to get out after a few moments of silence. I was still finding it hard to believe that this was anything other then a dream, but it was becoming easier to accept. There certainly were a number of valid points raised, such as the vast improvement of my demeanor and intelligence, that couldn't be logically explained.

"Well luckily you don't need to say anything!" His jovial spirit was back, and in full force. "Good ole' Mac has enough to say to cover you!"

"Mac?" I looked at him blankly.

"That would be me princess." He pointed to himself as he said it.

"Would you stop calling me princess?"

"Whatever you want doll face, but you have much bigger things to worry about then my terms of endearment." He stated.

"Such as…"

"Your 'involvement' with saving the public, which you are denying." He took a sip of his drink, giving me time to break in.

"I'm denying it because there isn't any involvement."

"You're denying it because you don't know about it" He explained. "By they way, this is going to be one of the times where our help is subtle and involves you putting together clues we give you."

"You're giving me clues?" The incredulous look on his face showed me that he most certainly was giving me clues, and had been during our talk. Before I could ask anything else, he changed the subject to one that was, at the time, rather strange.

"So, what do you think about Batman? Nuts or a good guy? After all, you were a superhero for awhile; you have to have some thoughts on the new guy. How long has he been around, anyway? Six months or so… I really can't remember, you should ask Bruce, he came back right around the time Batman showed up." He finally paused for a moment as he took another drink, but before I hand time to formulate a response and say it, he had started again. "And I wonder why he went for the whole Bat-theme… he either must really like them or is scared to death of them. Personally," He leaned in closer to me, as if to share a secret, "I would go for something that scared me, so other people would get scared of it too." He leaned back up and looked at me expectantly, "Why aren't you saying anything?"

"Well, I don't see what the point is in talking, because you know what I'm going to say and even what I don't plan on saying." He nodded his head in agreement with my assessment. "And I can't really say anything, because you just keep talking and talking and talking."

"Yeah, that's because I wanted to say what I needed to say and then get out of this whole dream sequence thing. I'm getting rather bored of your mind." He explained.

"But I thought you… I don't know, lived in my mind"

"No… I just visit, and now visiting hours are over." He stood up and grabbed the hat I never noticed sitting on the bar. "I've got to go watch that Pirate movie with Johnny Depp, I feel so left out in conversations when people talk about it." He put the hat on his head and started to walk away. Before he got too far away, he turned back around and yelled out, "Hey, good job on mastering contractions! They're one of the hardest parts of the English language!" Then he snapped his fingers and everything went to black.

It's really bad, isn't it? God, I hate this chapter so much, and I'm sure you all did too. Let me know what you thought…