"Emma, Emma, we've landed."
I wake up to my older brother impatiently shaking me. I open my eyes and see his short blond locks of hair jerking with every push. A line of people are standing, waiting to get off the plane. I drowsily get up with a yawn, and join the queue of passengers. Mom is a few people ahead of Ian and I, fiddling with her phone. Once we arrive to the entrance, I step off the plane and take a deep breath. It feels different here. The air is less moist and the sun isn't as hot as usual. Car horns honk constantly in the distance instead of seagulls. Then, my eyes open wide when at what I realize.
I'm in Gotham City.
After all of that packing and tears and time, we are finally here. It is a bit colder over here and the air is thicker. The cityscape can clearly be seen towering above everything in the distance. Of all the buildings in the city though, one stands out. The wide, glass covered body has a giant W with some some small text I can't see below it, but I immediately recognize what it is. It is Wayne Enterprises. Wayne Enterprises is by far one of the biggest company in the US. It makes everything: computer software, video games, home appliances, insurance, and even some weapons for the government. The CEO of the company, Bruce Wayne, must be one of the richest people in America.
The three of us enter the baggage pickup area and grab our things. Once we have everything, we exit the building. I stand in awe as the endless roads and millions of cars branch out in the distance.
"Emma, come on," my mom says to me. She and Ian are getting in a taxi. I hurry to them and enter. Inside of the car smells like a dead animal that has been dead for a while. And the scent of his burning cigarette doesn't help it.
"Where to lady?" he says through the rear view mirror.
Ian skims over a big map and touches it with his finger. "Uh, take us by the police station in the Diamond District." The taxi pulls off with a screeching start and I jerk backward. Ian and I smile at each other. During the ride, my mom and the driver talk about 'how better Heineken is than Guinness' while Ian reads some book about an Indian who got lost at sea with a tiger. I enjoy the drive, staring at the huge buildings and counting the people I see who are talking on the phone. Forty-two. I look at my phone and see that it's almost five thirty already. Soon after, we arrive to a HUGE complex. The top of the building is infested with satellites as far as I can see. I get out and help my mother with her baggage.
The front desk lady is blond and is wearing a lot of lipstick. She actually looks a lot like the lady I sat next to on the plane.
"Yes can I help you?" She chews her gum like it's her job and has a thick New York accent. I've never heard one before now, and honestly, I could get used to it.
"Uh, yeah," says my mom, "I'm looking for Jim Gordon."
"Oh yeah, he said he was expectin' you. Just gimmie a second, I'll call 'im ova." She presses a button in her desk and speaks into a microphone mounted on the table. "Commissiona Gordon, someone's here for ya." She releases the button and looks at my mother. "He'll be here in a minute." A litmus while later, the elevator on this floor dings and it opens. Out comes a man with short cut orange hair with some gray on the side and a same colored rectangular shaped mustache. His square glasses seem to glisten as he comes toward us with open arms.
"Francine, Ian, Emma! How long has it been?" He asks as he hugs his sister. "Ten years?" He asks as he squeezes me harder than a hungry boa.
"It's only been five months, jeez Uncle Jim." I say. He lets me breath and gets his next victim: Ian.
"And you have grown so much! You're almost taller than me, Ian."
"Again," I say, "only five months."
"And the same sense of humor Emma." He looks outside. "It's getting pretty late, so I should take you all home," he says. "I'll go get my keys." He goes back up the elevator.
I turn around and look out the glass double door. I see a car that wasn't there before. Inside is a sketchy looking man in a white suit reading a newspaper. I stare at him, and for some reason, my stomach tightens. He looks up and glares at me, his face scarred badly. Before I can look away, I see him put on a mask; a black mask; and he drives away. Who was that, I think to myself. Whoever it was, I have a bad feeling that it wouldn't be the last time I would see him. And why was his face damaged so badly? And what's up with the black mask? And why. . .
"Emma, I've got the keys," says my uncle.
"Oh, right." I follow everyone outside, into his car. He has a large black jeep; one of those big armored Fords.
As we drive the car, I can't help but think about what I saw. His face, his scarred face, keeps appearing in my mind when I try to forget it. Who was he? A ghost? An I going mad? I'm so deep in my thoughts, that I don't notice the silence in the car, so mom turns on the radio.
". . . In other news, police commissioner Gordon is once again put at the mercy of the infamous Batman. Late last night. . ." Uncle Jim turns the volume down.
Batman? "Uncle Jim, what's the Batman?" I ask him. He frowns at my question, then smiles.
"Just a myth. Don't worry about it Emma."
"I don't know," says Ian, "I have a friend who says he saw him. He said he's a human-sized black creature with horns on his head."
"Look," says my uncle, almost shouting, "there is no such thing as a Batman!"
"But the news. . ."
"Vickie Vale would do anything for a story. I can assure you that thing is not real."
"How can you be sure. . ." Ian just doesn't know how to shut up does he?
Uncle Jim turns around and points at Ian. "Jim, watch the road," my mother says. He ignores her.
"For the last time. . ." He doesn't get to finish his sentence.
"Jim!" mom yells and points out the window. A huge black Chevy is speeding towards us. I can't breathe. I can't blink. I can't even scream. I can only brace for impact. And I do. It hits the side of the car and we all jerk violently in the other direction. I hear a deep cracking sound. A bone breaking.
I hear metal clicking. I open my eyes and my face is laying on the frozen road. My body is in pain. So much pain that I don't even know what parts are hurting. I push myself up and feel a sudden sharp pain in my side. I look down and see that my once blue jacket is covered in blood. My blood. I stare in horror. Am I going to die? It hurts so badly, but I try to ignore it. I look around.
I see three other bodies. Ian, mom and Jim. The worst runs through my mind. No, they can't be. . . I crawl to uncle Jim since he's closest to me. His brown trench coat is also covered in blood. But he's breathing. Just barely. So is Ian. But what about. . . I see my mother lying in the snow. No. I get up, ignoring the splitting pain, and run towards her. I see her brown hair is scattered wildly around her head. I kneel down beside her and press my head on her chest to listen for a heartbeat.
Nothing.
Nothing for a few seconds. Then, one single beat. Her chest expands, then deflates. She's alive. But just barely. I try to laugh in relief, but my stomach feels like someone is using a jack hammer on it. Instead, tears come out. Both from the pain, and of joy.
I hear another metal click. I turn around and see someone. He is dressed in black and is wearing a black mask, and stands over my uncle.
With a gun.
He wears a mask almost exact to the man I saw before. He also is surrounded by three other men dressed the same. They don't seem to notice me, despite the illuminating glow from the fires. I sit on my knees in the snow, staring in horror like if you tell a child that her parents died the day before. Is he going to shoot uncle Jim? I want to stop them, but my body won't move; it is paralyzed by both fear and excruciating pain. I can only manage a small whimper. The one holding the gun hears me anyway. He doesn't shoot my uncle. Instead, he walks over to me, his friends following him. The four of them are like robots sent for one purpose: to kill.
He #!*% the gun, with the same cold metal clicking sound, and rests the end of it on my forehead.
I am terrified.
"Are you afraid to die, little girl?" he asks me. Does he expect me to answer? The tip of the gun is cold on my skin in the freezing air. I look at his eyes through the mask; no mercy. This is it. I am going to die here.
I can see his finger tightening on the trigger. Just as the gun is about to fire, I catch a slight glimpse of something; a shadow in the dark. Almost like a big bird. A really big bird. The silhouette flies closer and closer toward us, until it hits one of the men. What is that? It's pitch black, so aside from the fire, I can't see anything. I can only hear someone yelling in pain and a thud. Will it hurt me too? I hear the other say "Get away from me. Get awa. . .". More cracking sounds. More bones being shattered. One more left. The one holding the gun to my head is worried. His hands are shaking and he is looking around frantically in the dark.
"Are you afraid to die?" I ask him. I don't know why, but I do. He looks at me, like he's looking at a dead body. He's scared.
He grabs my shirt and pulls me up. A pain jolts through my midsection. I stumble down, and he yanks me back up. I feel a cold metal against the side of my head. I'm a hostage.
"Stop it!" I yell.
"Shut up!" he yells. "Hey, come out! I'll shoot her! I will!"
Then the unspeakable.
In front of us, a large dark figure drops. It is tall, has two horns on its head, and it has white eyes; two cold, paralyzing, menacing eyes that seem to be staring through my soul. When it breaths, warm air is visible coming from its mouth. What the hel. . . The man tightens his hold around my neck, so tight that I can barely breathe.
"Stay back!" He points the gun at the creature. "I'll shoot her! I swear it!" He moves the gun back to my head. The creature stares at the man, it's fists clenched tightly. Is it a man? I see its feet slowly step toward us. The man pushes the gun so that my head tilts. The creature keeps walking. "I said stay back or I will shoot her!"
The creature continues to walk. The man shakes even more violently now. As the creature gets closer and closer to us, the man steps back, taking me with him. We back into the light of a street light. I can see that the man is sweating. I can smell it too. He is breathing hard and fast. The creature continues to walk towards us, its eyes planted hungrily on the criminal. We stand at the edge if the circle of light given off by the street light, and the creature is just outside. Then it steps inside.
He is a man.
He is tall and is wearing some kind of costume. It is black and dark gray all over with a black cape. He wears big gloves on both hands with three spikes protruding out from just after the wrist. He still looks just as menacing.
"Oh God," says the man. His hold around my neck loosens and he lets me. He turns around and runs down the street.
The person in the suit looks at me, then takes out something, shoots it in the sky, then disappears. I look at the man running away. He is two blocks away when the man in the costume slams on his body from above. While on top of the criminal, he brings his fist back and launches it into his face. In one punch, the man in the mask is out cold. The costumed man disappears again, then drops in front of me a few seconds later.
I step back as he walks closer to me. Is he going to get me too? Then he stops, and turns around.
"Are you okay?" he asks. His voice is deep and raspy. Although he was asking if i was alright, his voice made it sound like a threat. At first, I stand in awe. Is he talking to me? I look around. He turns around to face me. "Well?" he says, aggrovated.
He sounds impatient. "Uh huh." I say, still shocked.
He turns around again. "The police are on their way." He shoots his gun, "Stay out of trouble," and flies off into the snowing black night.
I'm still standing, trying to process what happened, when the police arrive.
Did I just see, the Batman?