Before We Grow

Gotham City

Gotham had always been an interesting city. You could find billionaires and beggars on the same street. The cops were great, but they stepped back when Batman arrived. It was almost always dark, and always raining.
    I had only ever been to Gotham once before, and that was for my parents funeral. This time, I arrived on the roof of a train. My legs ached from gripping onto a metal rod, and my face was stinging with the lash of the wind. I had to jump off and sprint away before the conductors found me, which made my legs ache. By the time I was actually walking the streets, my entire body was in pain.
    "First thing's first," I whispered, "Shelter."
    Papa had always said, if you ever find yourself stranded, you have to get shelter first, then you can worry about food and water. Shelter was the most important thing.
    I knew I didn't have enough money to rent an apartment or hotel room, and there was no way I was going to stay at one of the orphanages. That left squatting in some abandoned building, which Gotham seemed to have plenty of.
    I walked down the streets, gripping onto my backpack. People gazed at me as I passed, some looked at me with hungry eyes. I kept my gaze forward, my shoulders back, and my jaw locked. They didn't know that the gloves and boots I wore had an electric charge strong enough to send them through a brick wall. If any of them touched me, they would be singed.
    My legs took me down mainstreet. Lights flashed all around me, giving it the illusion of daytime. Gotham's elite wandered around, laughing and drinking. Every so often, one would drop a coin into the cup of a beggar.
    I pushed through them, making sure not to look any of them in the eye. It was probably odd, seeing a ten-year-old homeless girl walking among Gotham's elite. If it was, nobody batted an eye. I managed to make it to the slums of Gotham, where my eyes fell upon an abandoned hotel.
    It was several stories tall. Several walls had fallen out, and there were large holes in the floor. Graffiti covered every inch of exposed wall, old police tape loosely hung off the side, and caution signs dangled everywhere. It looked as if it were hit with a nuclear bomb.
    I ignored all of this, stepping over the rubble and into the bottom floor. The stairs were still intact, allowing me to climb them to get to the second floor. With each step I took, I feared the entire building might come crashing down. It would be just my luck to have two buildings fall on me in one lifetime.
    I made it all the way to the fifth floor. Nobody in their right minds would go there, which was why it was perfect. There was little to no chance of anybody bothering me up there. It was the perfect headquarters for a hero-to-be.
    One closet still stood intact. All four walls, the cieling, and the floor was as if nothing had happened. It even had patches of emerald carpet left over. It was big enough for me to stretch out in. At that moment, all I wanted was to sleep.
    "Good enough," I yawned, "Tonight, sleep, tomorrow, I get a costume. The next day, I find Batman."
    The plan seemed so simple, yet so complex. I dropped my backpack on the floor, using it as a pillow. Curling up in a ball, I barely shut my eyes by the time I was asleep.
***
    I wondered if Mama and Papa would be proud of me. They were always peace, love, and glitter glue. They might not even know the definition of revenge. Maybe they wouldn't be proud of what I did, but, I think somehow, they would be. They were never faced with a God-like superhero being the demise of those they loved most in the world. If they had, they would understand, and they would be proud of the lengths I have gone through to achieve this.
    That's what I tell myself, at least.
    The next morning, I gathered all my stuff in my backpack and headed back to the streets of Gotham. I needed clothes to make into a costume, meaning I also needed sewing supplies. Mama had once tried to teach me how to sew, with disastrous results. Still, I had to try.
    I made my way down the streets. The previous party-like atmosphere had gone. It seems that, with the rise of the sun, came the business people. Men and women alike bustled about in suits and ties, most with their phones to their ears. Not a single one of them paid any attention to the battered kid walking among them.
    Based upon signs and conversations overheard, I found my way to a shopping center. There, several different stores stood all in a row. It was a one-stop-shop for all your needs and wants.
    A clothing store stood at the end. I figured they probably had sewing supplies as well, so that's where I headed. As I did, I passed an electronics store where TV's in the window played today's daily news.
    "In other news," the reporter stated, "The daughter of the recently deceased Brimsey Family has vanished. The Brimsey family is well known in the field of politics and engineering, and their death hit the nation hard. They left behind their ten-year-old daughter, Lucille Johanne Brimsey. She vanished early Saturday morning from her childhood home in Baltimore Maryland."
    I stopped, pausing to watch the report. A Picture of my family, taken just six months ago, appeared on the screen. All three of us were smiling brighter than the moon. Papa had me on his shoulders, and had an arm around Mama. We were happy.
    "Lucille is believed to be emotionally unstable," the reporter droned on, "She was last seen wearing a green sweater, black pants, and a dog tag necklace with her name engraved on it. She is four foot eleven with short brown hair, blue eyes, and weighs ninety pounds. She is believed to have stayed in The Baltimore Area, but she may have run to Gotham or Metropolis. If you have any information on this child, please contact your local authorities. And, now, the weather."
    I sighed, of course they would look for me. It bothered me that they called me 'emotionally unstable'. Mentally, maybe, you would have to be to attempt what I was attempting, but I was in no way emotionally unstable. I was fit as a fiddle, and ten times as smart.
    Sneering, I continued to the clothing store. A hat and sunglasses found their way onto my mental list, as to keep my identity more hidden.
    The store had racks upon racks of clothes. Each was organized according to the sort of person they were designed for. I went back to the children's section.
    I already had a general idea of what I wanted. I wanted something that fit well, but wasn't to tight or to loose. In the end, I decided upon a skin-tight, black dance leotard that covered everything except my head. It even had a turtleneck. From there, I grabbed a loose, grey, hoodie, which I would cut the sleeves off. The hood would be useful to carry the battery pack for my gloves and boots in. In addition, I also grabbed a belt with several pockets, which was much to big and had to go across my chest, of other weapons and batteries. That, with the addition and steampunk-themed goggles, would make the perfect costume.
    On my way out, I grabbed a pair of sunglasses and a black snow hat. A small sewing kit, complete with tiny scissors, was displayed on the shelves leading up to the checkout line. I grabbed two of those and carried my items up to the cashier.
    "Aren't you a little young for this?" the cashier asked in a bored voice.
    I scowled, "I'm older than I look."
    The cashier didn't press on. She rung up my items quickly, stuffing them into a plastic sack. I paid for them, and took my sack with me as I left. When I was out in the sunshine, I put on the hat and sunglasses.
    My stomach practically begged me to get food. I knew I needed nourishment and hydration if I was ever going to have the strength to be a hero. As I made my way to the grocery store, I brainstormed names.
    "The Great Electric Witch?" I whispered, "No, to flashy. Volt? Nah, to lame."
    I came up with several others. Electric Storm, Lightning, Shock, The Shocker, Miss Electric, Light Switch, etc. None of them fit, they all felt wrong. As I stepped into the grocery store, a conversation between two elderly men caught my ear.
    "Did you hear about that fight between Batman and The Joker?" one asked, "Lots of shootin', I hear."
    The other nodded, "Joker held a blitz up at the bank. Gotta hand it to him, that man is devoted."
    My mind jumped on the word 'blitz'. In the dictionaries, it's defined as a sudden, concentrated attack, generally happening quickly. Loosely, it was a quick attack, or an attack with bombs.
    That was perfect! I had fair acrobatic training, when I attacked I would be quick and nimble. My electric charge would be like bombs on the person's skin. It was the perfect name for a vigilante.
    I quickly purchased some food and left the store, my mind buzzing with excitement. If I could get my costume ready in enough time, I could be out on the streets tonight. Gotham would know the name of Blitz. Eventually, Batman would know my name. Maybe then he would help me.
    My smile didn't wash away as I made my way down the streets. I nibbled on a bar, meant only to pacify my stomach. Somehow, my feet found their way to Gotham Academy.
    The children were just being let out of school. Many parents waited to pick them up, others had butlers or servants. Either way, they all had happy homes to go back to. They all had parents.
    I watched on sadly. I wish I could go back to the days before my parents were killed. I wish I could be as happy as these kids were, without a single care in the world, without the grief of lost parents.
    "Come along, Master Dick," the man was just a few feet from me, "Master Bruce is waiting."
    I turned to see an elderly man gesturing a boy about my age into the car. The raven haired boy jumped in, all the while talking about a book he was supposed to read. The old man shut the door, glanced at me, and went around to the driver's seat.
    Once I took down Superman, maybe I could have this life. I could find a new family to take me in. They would never replace my parents, but they could come in as a close second. Maybe I could have a home again.
    First, I had to take down Superman.