Bear with me here folks, we got a lot of stuff to address before we get to the good stuff.

Ladies and Gentlemen, let me tell you what I did with the last chapter and why there hasn't been more story. What I did was write myself into a corner I still haven't gotten myself out of, and what you are seeing here is my attempt to get out of it by going into the ceiling... the problem with that is that I've left all my friends and family behind and would like very much to see them, but I need to find a hole to come down out of. What is the problem? Well, it's one I'm sure some of you might have realized, how can there be a Sailor Moon in the more realistic and natural Batman Begins/The Dark Knight universe that Chris Nolan created? To tell you the truth, I never got that far in the process... no, that's a lie, I looked over it in the process. I do know exactly what I want this story to have and to accomplish, but that doesn't include us ever seeing Serena as Sailor Moon again, or truly addressing the matter with Bruce/Alfred/basically anyone not a Sailor Scout or Darien. That was/is the point of Mac, to try to explain what happened to Sailor Moon. Now folks, I can write this story with the idea that I have in mind, but I want to know what you guys feel/think. What would you like to see? Should I roll with my idea, or do you really want the Sailor Moon issue to be completely addressed? If so, throw me some hints at how you would like it done.

Even though Chicago is the basis for Gotham City in the movies, it really doesn't work as the city's actual location, considering Gotham is supposed to have a seaside port. From the movies I almost get the feeling that Gotham City is located in its own state, considering it has its own license plate and area code. So, I've decided to roll with that idea for the story. The only important thing to note about the state is that it is small, basically only holding Gotham and a few suburbs, and is located roughly near Naval Weapons Station Earle and Sandy Hook Bay in New Jersey. It's about an hour-and-a-half from New York City.

One thing I'd like to point out is that Serena is telling this story from a point in the future, so her inner-dialogue might not be what you'd expect.

Oh, another thing! I'm thinking about running a contest for the best piece of fanart... things like YouTube vids or fanmixes or Polyvore sets or wallpapers/headers, just anything inspired by the story... seeing stuff like that gets me writing faster!

I do not own Sailor Moon, Batman, or anything related to the two. Some text is being borrowed from a Gotham Tonight viral marketing that was done for The Dark Night, which I do not own.

This chapter plays with a different form of telling the story. I've always enjoyed books that aren't just a straight narrative, but use other forms to tell the story. I hope you like it.

3 years and 4 months later

Aired October 21, 2010 - 01:00 ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

SUSAN MILLER, GCN ANCHOR: Welcome to another hour of GCN Newsroom, I'm Susan Miller. For those of you just joining us here, let me get you caught up to date on the breaking news that has everyone here in our newsroom smiling. Bruce Wayne has announced his engagement to long-time girlfriend Serena Tsukino saying in a statement released through The Wayne Family Foundation that they are 'absolutely thrilled' at the idea of spending the rest of their lives together. Nothing officially has been said about when or where the wedding will be, but we are hearing that a tentatively scheduled symposium by Wayne Enterprises on Wednesday, April 27th of next year was changed to later in the year this morning. We're joined now by our business correspondent Jeremy Lane, and Jeremy, this is not only a great thing for the couple, but also for Wayne Enterprises as well isn't it?

JEREMY LANE, GCN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It is, Susan, it really is. This is Bruce Wayne finally settling down, finally showing everyone he is ready to take on some real responsibility, and that he's putting to bed the playboy antics that for so many years worried investors. Wayne Enterprises stock has already been going up since the announcement, and we're seeing companies with major contracts with Wayne getting a bit of a boost as well. And that just goes to show you that it isn't just Wayne Enterprises that is going to benefit from this wedding, but Gotham as a whole will as well. I mean, this is going to be a big wedding, this is going to be the society event of the year, possibly the decade, and that means a lot of money is going to be interjected into the Gotham economy.

MILLER: Well it certainly has been the case that when Bruce Wayne does something, he does it big, and I'm sure getting married isn't going to be an exception to that rule. Now Jeremy, am I right in saying that you're about to head over to Wayne Tower?

LANE: Yes Susan, we're going to head over there to get some of the reaction to the news from employees and maybe we'll even get a glimpse of the Groom-to-be. We do know that the board of directors had a meeting earlier today so we're hoping he might still be in the building and we can catch him on the way out.

MILLER: I'm sure you're going to run in to some happy people over there. Thanks Jeremy.

LANE: My pleasure.

MILLER: Well as Jeremy pointed out, this is a big society event and no one knows Gotham society like Katie Silver, editor of The Gotham Register and she joins us here now. Katie, I have to say, it's a day some didn't ever think would come.

KATIE SILVER, EDITOR, THE GOTHAM REGISTER: Well some people is really the right phrase to use, because for those of us society watchers we increasingly thought this might happen ever since Bruce stepped out with Serena at the Delane 50th Anniversary party back in June of2007 and continued to see her exclusively from then on out.

MILLER: That's right, they have been dating and living together for some time now.

SILVER: Well, for part of the time at least. We know she came to Gotham and started staying with Bruce about 3 months before the party, and from August of that year until about February of this year she was splitting time between Wayne Manor and a penthouse Bruce owned in New York while she attended Columbia University to get her Economics degree.

MILLER: And this was all on Wayne's dime, correct?

SILVER: We really don't know for sure, but I hesitate to go down this route because of the implication that Serena Tsukino is some sort of gold-digger-

MILLER: That wasn't where I was trying to take this at all.

SILVER: Well a lot of people will, and I will say that from what I can see and what I've always heard this has never been a case where Serena asks for anything, Bruce has just provided it without question. And at the end of the day, I think Serena provides Bruce with something that money can't which is the love, support, and stability that he's been missing since his parents were killed. I mean, this is somebody who hasn't really had anyone that can tell him no since he was 10 years old. His guardian, Alfred Pennyworth, who tried very hard to calm and control Bruce growing up, was at the end of the day still the family butler. But for a while now he's had Serena, who was very famously heard yelling at Bruce to slow down one day as he was zipping through the streets of Gotham and got into a very heated argument with him about his spending habits in the middle of an Armani store. We at the Register used to get stories in almost every day about some crazy thing Bruce did, but since Serena entered his life those stories are nowhere near what they used to be.

MILLER: And I think you just provided a very good explanation for why investors are really liking this day.

SILVER: Well they should really be liking Serena more than anything, because this could easily be a story of him marrying some model or socialite who enjoyed the bad behavior he was getting in trouble for before.

MILLER: Katie, you seem to be a big fan of Serena.

SILVER: Well I am Susan. I've had the pleasure of speaking to her a few times and she's a very sweet and smart girl who really cares a great deal for Bruce and wants to help him make his parents proud, which at the end of the day is very good news for Gotham. She reminds me a great deal of Martha Wayne to be honest.

MILLER: Let's switch topics now and focus on what everyone is sure to be thinking about, the wedding itself. What do you think we'll see from these two?

SILVER: I think we'll see a ceremony held at Wayne Manor, which has some amazing gardens and a very nice creek running through it. I think it will be big in terms of numbers, but probably very elegant, not ostentatious at all. I expect we'll see a Japanese influence in it, after all she is from there, and I bet there will be a lot of light colors with dark accents, which has been the sort of theme of their relationship, she brings the light to his sometimes darkness.

MILLER: Well Katie, you are always full of information for us and today was no expectation. Thank you so much for speaking with us.

SILVER: Thank you Susan.

MILLER: We just got here into our newsroom a statement from District Attorney Harvey Dent, who is a close friend of Bruce and Serena. Wayne was a major backer of Dent's campaign two years ago, and the couple hosted a large fundraiser for him and are reported to be the ones who introduced him to his girlfriend artist and Columbia professor Gilda Gold. The statement reads 'I could not be any more happier for my friends Bruce and Serena. They are a pair very much in love and I have nothing but the highest praises for the two. They do a great deal of good for this city and I have no doubt they will continue to do that as they enjoy their lives together. I think I speak for all of us in Gotham when I wish them the best of luck.' Some very nice words from our District Attorney and their good friend. Right now we're going to air a piece we did recently on Bruce Wayne that talked about him and by extension Ms. Tsukino. Afterwards we're hoping to have for you some words from members of the Wayne Enterprises board of directors. We're being told the meeting this morning started late and ran a little long so most of them are still at Wayne Tower, where our own Jeremy Lane should be soon. But let's go ahead and run that piece now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LYDIA FILANGERI, GCN ANCHOR, GOTHAM TONIGHT: Bruce Wayne was born in 1975 to Thomas and Martha Wayne. He was born to a life of wealth and extravagance. It was Judge Solomon Wayne who commissioned architect Cyrus Patney in 1851 to construct Gotham's financial district. In the center of this district, a merchant house was opened under the name of Wayne Corp. Providing merchants with a variety of goods, the family business became a staple in the flourishing city, generating an endless stream of revenue. Despite the vast family fortune, though, his parents continued to work. His father operated the largest free clinic in the city, and used Wayne Enterprises to launch public works projects, like construction of the city's monorail system, while his mother became a community activist leader and part-time teacher in some of the city's most dangerous areas. Laraine Goldberg was a friend to the couple and worked alongside them in the community.

LARAINE GOLDBERG, COMMUNITY ACTIVIST LEADER: They were Gotham City's patron saints, for sure. The Waynes were not only two of my best friends, but they did so much for charity. And if I could nominate them for sainthood, I would.

FILANGERI: Their philanthropy inspired others into action, but just before they could completely help those affected by the ongoing depression, the unspeakable happened. Thomas and Martha Wayne were gunned down outside the Gotham Opera House in front of their 10-year-old son. As the last remaining member of the Wayne family, Bruce became the sole heir of the family's fortune, as well as the head of Wayne Enterprises. Custody of the boy was granted to the family's butler, Alfred Pennyworth, who tried tirelessly to calm his young master as he began to act out in response to his parents' demise.

When his parents' murderer cut a deal to testify against a Gotham city mob boss and was subsequently assassinated by an alleged mob hitman, Bruce Wayne disappeared without a trace for the better part of seven years. Various reports had him yachting around the Pacific, while others cited him living in Brazil, owning and operating a local modeling agency. But without any contact or proof of life from the billionaire, reports of his whereabouts dwindled, culminating in the declaration of his death by his trusted guardian, Alfred Pennyworth.

In his absence, Wayne Enterprises came under the control of William Earle, who initiated the flotation of the company. In the process of going public, though, Gotham got a big surprise, when Bruce Wayne resurrected himself from the dead, just in time to purchase enough stock to become the majority shareholder in the company.

Regaining his authority, Wayne secured himself a position as owner, while entrusting all the work and responsibility to CEO Lucius Fox, which many consider to be one of the smartest moves Wayne ever made. Bruce's return to Gotham seemed permanent, as he took up residence in his family's ancestral home, Wayne Manor. However, any thoughts of a newfound maturity quickly subsided, with the news of a drunken episode that resulted in the burning down of the palatial estate during a birthday bash. Homeless and forced to relocate, he found himself atop one of Gotham's luxury towers, in a two-story, 25,000-square-foot penthouse apartment, with 40-foot ceilings, two gigantic balconies, a parking space - for his helicopter - and a 360-degree-view of the entire city below. The price? Who knows? But the monthly maintenance fee alone was reported to cost around $31,000. The real perk was the location.

Over the course of the two years it took for Wayne Manor to be rebuilt, Bruce made appearances at all of Gotham's ultra-posh eateries, clubs, and lounges, creating a commotion wherever he went with a gaggle of gorgeous women in tow. By the time he returned to his rebuilt home, Wayne had been linked with numerous women, and his reputation as a permanent playboy seemed cemented. It was this reputation that worried stock analysts and business experts. His position as figurehead of his late father's company comes with great influences over the entire city, and fears were ripe that his antics could plunge Gotham into another depression.

That all changed, though, when he literally ran into Japanese-born Serena Tsukino at Gotham International Airport, and started down a path towards maturity. TSA Agent Maria Holt was there when it happened.

MARIA HOLT, TSA AGENT: So I saw Mr. Wayne walking through the airport, playing around on his Blackberry and not paying any attention to where he was going. And then I saw Serena, and she was reading her book and just looked overwhelmed by everything and she wasn't paying attention to where she was going either. And then I noticed that the two of them were about to crash into each other but before I could say anything - BAM - they hit each other and the papers went flying and she grabbed out to keep from falling and he grabbed her and the next thing I know they're standing in the middle of everything, just holding on to each other. Let me tell ya, with the way they were, I knew something was gonna happen between the two... and it wasn't just going to be a little fling.

FILANGERI: A fling it most definitely is not. Since that day at Gotham International almost 3 years ago, the twosome have been inseparable, and Bruce has turned away from wild nights out and too extravagant of spending, and has been focusing more and more on leading Wayne Enterprises and working to help Gotham City through The Wayne Family Foundation, one of the largest private charitable foundations in the world. And Serena isn't keen to just sit around and enjoy Bruce's riches, as she is currently attending Columbia University, studying for a degree in Economics, with many people saying that she intends on working for the Foundation once she graduates.

These days the parties Bruce Wayne is likely to be found at are more dignified affairs, usually charitable in nature. Although he has been showing signs of becoming more politically aware. Last year Wayne provided a major donation to Harvey Dent's campaign for DA, and Ms. Tsukino was instrumental in planning a fundraising event the twosome hosted for Dent, responsible for millions of dollars in donations from Gotham's elite.

It's hard to tell what the future may bring, but many people are betting that it is going to be good things for Wayne. With a beautiful and smart woman by his side, a maturity that seems to be growing by the day, and a company that just keeps getting better, the dark shadows of his past seem to be fading away from Bruce, which is without a doubt a very good thing... and what's good for Bruce Wayne usually proves to be good for Gotham. For GCN, I'm Lydia Filangeri.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MILLER: We'll have more on the engagement of Bruce Wayne right after a quick break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

Don't worry folks, we are certainly going to cover these 3 year in coming chapters, once we all figure out how to treat the elephant in the room. We'll see how exactly Serena ended up at Columbia, how Bruce and Serena are doing under the pressure of living two lives, we'll explore Harvey Dent (I'll be borrowing from the comic book instead of the movie on this one, since I really don't want to deal with Rachel), and we will eventually get to The Joker. And everyone in Japan isn't just going to stay there, expect some visits from them.

So Serena's engagement ring is a big deal... one I'm sure you all would like a hand in picking, so here is a poll with a bunch of options that I hope has the PERFECT one in it. Here is the link (Just remove the spaces).

tiny . cc / rj1se

If you're having trouble with it, the links will be in my profile.

I have another Sailor Moon story I'm working on again, I've mentioned it before, it's called "I Am Born New" and I'm going to be working on it as well. I'll be doing some audience participation for that one in the form of polls, so I'd love if you all would read the story and answer the questions I have for it. Here are the links to the polls I'm running at the moment. (Just remove the spaces as before)

tiny . cc / lqla0

tiny . cc / z1fva

tiny . cc / o2bax

If you're having trouble with them, these links will also be in my profile, which also has a bunch of fun stuff for this story as well.

By the way, thank Prince William and Kate Middleton for this story starting back up. If they hadn't got engaged, I wouldn't have been able to come up with the idea to get the ball rolling again! Oh, and the other story was always going to have a Prince in it, this news didn't cause it.

I'm going to be going back through the story and fixing errors I've seen in previous chapters and to fix some of the notes I left in them, so if that sends out alerts and stuff, I apologize.

I'm still looking for a beta, if anyone is interested.