Before We Grow

When There's a Wayne, There's a Way

Barbara had taken me to the hospital and checked me in. Before we went in, she took my goggles and outer shirt as well as my belt. That way, they wouldn't put together Lucille Brimsey and Blitz. The gloves and boots, however, stayed with me just in case. So long as I kept them off, the hospital staff would never know they were actually weapons.
    The doctors took all the necessary information, including my real name. That meant the cops would come soon after to take me back to the system. From what I could gather, there was a foster family waiting to take me in Smallville. All I knew about them was that their last name started with a K.
    I decided not to wait for the cops to take me away. Early in the morning, just an hour before sunrise, I decided I had enough treatment. I peeled the wires and tubes from my arms. They had splinted my nose, and sewed the stab wounds. As much as they knew, I was mugged just a few blocks from here. Batgirl found me bleeding out, and rushed me over.
    My feet came into contact with the hard floor, sending chills down my spine. I hurried to a chair where my clothes were waiting. It took one minute to change from the open-backed hospital gown into what remained of my costume. Generally I could do better, but the wounds slowed me down. When I was ready, I turned to head to the window.
    The nearby roof wasn't much of a jump, compared to what I had done in the past. It would usually be a piece of cake, but my wounds made it harder. I turned on my boots, took a deep breath, and jumped.
    My legs gave out as soon as I landed. I rolled on my side, wincing with every inch. The same thing happened for five more rooftops. By the time I made it to the fifth, I was in more pain than I began with.
    "You'll open your stitches that way."
    I shot upwards, glancing around the rooftop. It was seemingly empty, but, in this town, nothing is ever as it seems. Batman emerged from a nearby shadow. I instantly leapt up, feeling empty without my goggles to cover me.
    "What are you doing here?" I asked.
    Batman glanced me up and down, "I should ask you the same thing, Lucille Brimsey."
    "So, you know my name, no big deal," I replied, "I suppose Batgirl told you."
    "No, I saw you in the paper."
    "Of course you did."
    Batman stared at me for a moment longer. This was what I had been waiting for, a chance for me to ask him to help. Yet, at that moment, all I wanted was to run away. Suddenly, getting Batman's help didn't seem like such a great idea.
    "The battlefield is no place for a kid," Batman stated, "You would be better off in a home."
    "With the other orphans?" I demanded, "No way. I have to avenge my parents. Besides, Robin's not much older than me, and you let him fight!"
    Batman gazed down at me, "Robin is different. You are untrained, unhinged. You don't know the difference between good and bad."
    "I know it better than you! I know enough to know who deserves to be put down!"
    "Is that why you went after The Joker?"
    I hesitated. Though I couldn't see his eyes, I could feel them penetrating my skin. It wouldn't surprise me if he had x-ray vision.
    "No," I replied, "I went after him to get your attention. I thought I needed your help, but now, I'm not so sure."
    My encounter with Batgirl severely changed my perspective. Batman kept dismissing me, yet Batgirl was willing to train me. All this time, I had been after him, when really, I needed her.
    "Crime fighting takes training, strategy, and weaponry, all of which you do not have," Batman continued.
    I crossed my arms, "Well, one day, I might. You had to start somewhere too."
    "Lucille, not everyone can be a hero."
    "I don't want to be a hero!" I exclaimed, "What I want is to avenge my parents, and if I have to be a hero to do so, then I'll do it! Their spirits won't rest until I give justice where justice is due."
    Batman stared at me, "You're doing this for your parents?"
    "Of course I am!" I exclaimed, "You said you saw the papers, didn't you?! Perseus and Ann-Marie Brimsey, killed in Metropolis two months ago. They died because of Superman! The so called 'God' killed the only two people I had left in this world. He's supposed to protect us, bu-but he-he killed them."
    Tears brimmed on my eyes. I didn't want to be a hero, because heroes didn't exist. Those we thought were heroes killed just as many as the villains. They caused just as much harm as those they sought to protect us from.
    Batman decided something in that moment. You wouldn't know it by looking at him. His mask hid most of his face, and his lips were always in the same position. Behind his mask, he was making a decision that would forever alter our lives and the lives of several others. Most of all, he made a decision that stopped me from going down a path I couldn't return from.
    Batman knelt in front of me. My tears were falling free know. It took all of my control to keep sobs from escaping my body. I felt all of my grief, all of my sorrow, and all of my pain cave in on me. I wanted to break down, but I knew I had to remain strong.
    "I was in your position not to long ago," Batman's voice had become softer, "When my parents were killed, I wanted to make sure justice was served. I wanted to rid the world of any and all evils. Eventually, I learned that wasn't possible, but I could do the very best I could to save some. Even saving a few is better than helping none at all."
    I glanced up at him. Batman, the world's most secretive super hero, pulled his cowl off. That night, in the cool Gotham air, on top of a building where nobody could see us, Batman revealed his most sacred possession to me. The man I had tried to track turned out to be Bruce Wayne, one of Gotham's richest businessmen, all along.
    "I became Batman, just like you became Blitz. I took on this responsibility to ensure that nobody would ever have to go through what I did again," Bruce smiled gently, "My life became lonelier than ever before."
    "Bu-but you have Batgirl and Robin," I stated.
    Bruce smiled, "I didn't always. Robin helped me realize that I can't do this alone, and neither can you. It's a hard life, Lucille. There's pain, suffering, but there's also joy in knowing you're protecting the innocent from ever feeling the same pain you did the day your parents died."
    "That's why I came to you. I needed help, and I thought-"
     I stopped myself. Something was different, but I don't know what. I don't think I was the same person who came to Gotham all those weeks ago. In fact, I think I've changed several times in the course of this one conversation. Something about what Bruce was telling me made me realize exactly what I was doing, and what I had to do.
    No, what my parents would want me to do.
    "You came to me because you thought I would help you take down Superman," Bruce continued, "You and I both know, Lucille, you never were going to kill him. You never could."
    Something told me he didn't mean I physically couldn't, rather, I wouldn't. He was right, I know that now. I might always hold something against Superman, but I could never kill him. That much was seen when I went after Joker.
    There was a reason I came here, why I hunted him down, and it wasn't for revenge. Maybe I couldn't be the hero, but I could be something. There was a future out there for me, one that would protect kids like me from suffering like I did.
    "I need help," I cried.
    Bruce did the one thing I never expected, he grabbed my shoulder and pulled me into an embrace. I allowed my sobs to flow freely now. They shook my body as I buried my face in his chest. Something about him tightening his arms around me made me feel as if the dangers of the world could never touch me. He would help me.
    "You have a decision," he told me, "You could go back, and find a home and a happy life, or you could become like Batgirl, Robin, and myself."
"They'll never leave me," I sniffled, "The pain, it'll never go away, will it?"
    "Never."
    "But, I can do something about it. I can't bring them back, but I can stop it from happening again. I can make sure other kids don't turn out like me."
    Bruce nodded, "It's a hard life, filled with pain, but you help people. If you truly want to follow the same path I did, then I can train you, prepare you, and, most of all, give you a home."
    "Thank you," I squeezed his chest, "Thank you so much."
    Even if I found a happy life with a happy home and a happy family, the pain of losing my parents and not doing anything about it would never leave me. I had tasted the life of a vigilante, and I liked it. If protecting the innocent would keep this from ever happening again, then I would endure any pain that came with it.
    I might never be the hero, nobody ever truly can, but I think this is what my parents would want me to do. Saving the world might not be on my agenda, but I could try. Most of all, I could keep anyone from becoming what I have become; a tragedy.