Disclaimer: I do not own Batman Beyond

Chapter 1- The Wheel of Fortune

"Tramp!"

I grunted as I fell to the ground, having been pushed by a demon with pigtails.

"My daddy says that it's tramps like you that make the city pay more than it has to!" Such delightful words from a nine year old no?

And imagine, all I had been doing was standing by the monkey bars.

I was never one for public places, much less a park. A park in Gotham City no less. I had merely been passing through, as I usually did. After all it was the quickest way to Stuart Orphanage (my refuge-that-wasn't-really-a-refuge).

But instead of holding my head straight and ignoring the happy-go-lucky children, accompanied by their one-part loving, two-parts cautious (because as I mentioned before it was Gotham City) parents/guardians I had gotten side-tracked, by a dog of all things.

It was the most criminally adorable pooch I had ever seen. A fluffy golden retriever that had appeared out of nowhere with a ball in its mouth. It obviously belonged to someone, who most likely recently got it, if it was still as friendly and naïve as to wander off and up to complete strangers (or it could have been a part of a paedophile's attempt to lure young children).

Either way, I couldn't resist playing with it.

Hence why I stood by the monkey bars to toss the ball to the puppy. And that was how the owner of the puppy found us. Head's up: the puppy was better behaved than its owner – a seemingly rich brat dressed in a light purple suit with matching purple sandals.

I liked the colour, that being said I couldn't exactly knock the style (it had glitter all over it), because it was definitely in better condition than what I wore – a ratty hooded shirt that was half way over some faded khaki pants, worn out sneakers completing my ensemble.

Miss Pigtails was appalled that I had been playing with her 'new gift'. That coupled with the fact that she was bigger than me, my muscle mass was near non-existent (And would you believe that I actually did some semblance of exercising every now and then?), obviously gave her the right to push me over and tell me off (I'm a little orphan, hear me shout! Push me over and tell me off! Hah!).

Apparently her mother had told her about thieving hussies while her dad warned her about tramps who didn't care for territories (And didn't that paint a picture that I'd have fun dissecting later).

Little Miss P. kept on huffing, even as I rose to my feet. I brushed off the seat of my pants and stared at her offhandedly as I contemplated my next move.

I wasn't going to hit her, I'd never laid my hand on a child in that manner, at least not in the last eight years.

Seeing the puppy Riley, Miss P. supplied, trot up with ball and slobber in mouth, an idea ran through my head.

Mere moments later, Miss P. let out a horrified screech, as she was subjected to spit being wiped all over her face and clothing thanks to yours truly. Hint: the spit didn't come from the dog.

Sticking out my tongue at the disgusted look on Miss P's face, I spoke smugly, "Tramp Germs."

Miss P. let out another terrified screech (It sounded like nails on a board made of glass really) before stumbling away, a confused retriever a few ways behind her. I myself spun around and made my way out of the park. It was getting dark and I had to get not-home before all the Jokerz came out or worse one of the kids got my share of food.

Every once in a while I have encounters of a similar nature with different persons. Miss P. wasn't the first and I doubt she would be the last.

'Which is fine by me.'

And it was, it just meant that there were that many more people to one-up and prove wrong.

It seemed as if being an orphan in your second life provided its own source of entertainment. I've seen the heights that humanity can obtain as well as the depths to which they can sink. Meaning you've lived it once and the second time 'round it's both apathetic and well…comic (At least that's the way it seems to me).

While on the matter of 'comic' though, I would have never expected to end up in some future version of a comic book series. Don't get me wrong I'm not exactly sure of the timeline, but I am sure of where I am.

Gotham.

And from what I foggily can recall, Regular-Batman's Gotham didn't have flying cars or robots of various shapes and sizes hovering and flying all about the place. (Not to mention the fashion sense of some of the people).

I keep listening for the sound of a cape or two flapping through the wind or the scuffling sound boots make when they run across the roof (From the safety of my bunk bed, of course. Not-Regular Gotham had some creeps roaming about in the night…more so than in the day) but always in vain it seems. And that in itself made me laugh because I vaguely recall doing the same thing and getting the same result when I was a child in my first life. The only difference is that then I wasn't an orphan whom used the name of the orphanage as her surname.

In fact during my later years of that life I became very successful. At least I'd like to think of becoming a Member of Parliament well on her way to becoming a Minister with a portfolio as very successful (what with all the sayings of corrupt Governments and all).

I had no idea what was to become of me as I was now. But I guess everyone isn't always dealt a fair hand by Fate, just as everyone doesn't always win at the Wheel of Fortune. I guess that's the Circle of Life, through despair and hope, through faith and love, 'til we find our place on the path unwinding…

'…Pffft.'

It comforted me somewhat that I could remember tidbits (though I confuse even those sometimes) of my past life. But as was said, that life is past.

.

.

.

I wonder what will happen to me here in Not-Regular-Gotham. One thing was for sure though, it promises to be interesting.

Word Count: 1076

A/N: Greetings. I've had this fic idea since last year and I really just wanted to put it out there. I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with this, but I know that I want to write it. With that said, it won't be frequently updated.

More on little miss sunshine (pun not intended) will be given in the next chapter.

Constructive criticism/comments/questions/suggestions are welcomed and appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

U.P.: Sign Out