In hindsight, walking into a police station in a city famous for its psychotically insane weirdos while in my goblin persona was a bad idea.
I did my best to look non-threatening, holding my arms out, one hand empty, the other hand holding the boxes of donuts and the evidence up. My smile disappeared and I stared emotionlessly at the armed men.
"If you shoot those, someone is going to die."
Their eyes narrowed, and a few more armed policemen spilled into the room. The clerk behind the desk pumped his shotgun and sneered at me.
"Yeah? who?"
"Me."
They didn't exactly laugh, but I noticed a few of their faces twitching as they hid smiles. I took advantage of the slightly lighter mood. Inching towards a chair by the door, I pointed a finger at my other hand.
"Sorry to bother you, but I brought donuts and incriminating evidence. I'll just set it here and be out of your hair. Have a nice night."
They didn't stop me from setting down the boxes and backing out of the building. A few of them shifted and looked at each other, but in the end, I managed to leave the building without incident. I gave them a tiny wave before running away with my arms in the air while making Zoidberg noises and grinning like a loon.
By the time they followed me out the door I had hopped onto my glider and disappeared into the night. I couldn't help cackling quietly. That had been a lot more fun than it should have been. Despite what I said, my armor was almost certainly bulletproof. The lack of immediate danger made clowning around fun. It had been over a decade since I had been able to let loose, so I was glad that I still could.
I hid and transformed back to normal. It felt weird like my armor was soaking into my skin. The worst bit was the way my teeth itched as they shifted.
I stopped by a store and nabbed myself a laptop next. I was forced to get a cheap one, and completely used up my stockpile of cash. I'd emptied the entire stockpile of money I'd liberated from the security guards to pay for this piece of junk. Even then, I almost was unable to afford it thanks to buying those donuts for a joke. It was worth it, but I should have gotten the laptop first. Without a computer, I wouldn't be able to access my actual money.
The rest of my night was spent setting up the computer in a coffee shop and moving my money around so the old man and his flunkies wouldn't be able to take it back. I knew that there was no legal way he could, at least not without drawing unwanted attention, but those people had already demonstrated how little they respected laws they didn't like.
It wasn't easy working while ignoring the whispers. I had transformed back into my normal form, but I still stuck out like a sore thumb. It hadn't occurred to me before, but the hospital scrubs I was wearing weren't exactly street clothes. I had worn them for almost all my life, so it didn't occur to me that it would look weird. The people were mostly content to stare though, so I was able to work in peace.
Once I was sure I would have at least some money stashed away I set off to find myself somewhere to rest. It had been a stressful, emotional, exhausting couple of days, and I was looking forward to sleeping somewhere other than a lab.
I strolled through the streets with the bag over my shoulder. The air was chilly this late, but my body could handle it surprisingly easily. I wouldn't want to be dressed like this come winter though.
I had wandered into the rougher part of town. It was pretty obvious when I did. The streets were dirtier and the buildings were worn and had broken windows. There were fewer people out and about as well, and those who were around had an unsavory look to them. A few men were looking me over like hyenas watching an antelope for a sign of weakness. I didn't look unattentive or scared though, so the brighter ones were wary.
One hefty looking man got in my way. He was filthy and greasy looking, and his breath smelled like booze and halitosis. He grinned maliciously and opened his mouth to say something, but I wasn't interested in bantering right now. I lobbed my bag at him and lunged at him when his eyes started tracking it.
The man's eyes widened when he saw me move. He barely had time to flinch before I planted a foot in his stomach, knocking the air out of him. I caught my bag in one hand before backhanding him in the chin with the other. He toppled over, wheezing and gasping.
I casually stepped over him and kept walking. Everyone in the area backed off after that. I could tell that my face was being memorized though. That could be a problem later. I couldn't do anything about it, so I just counted myself lucky that I wasn't going to be jumped immediately.
I wandered around for quite a while. Finding a safe place to sleep was going to be harder than I thought. If I were older I could just book a hotel room, but unfortunately, I was too young. Moving my money around on the internet had been tricky, but when people could actually see that I was a minor in hospital scrubs there were had a whole different set of obstacles.
Even homeless shelters were off-limits for now. A thirteen-year-old alone in a place like that might not draw attention, but it would raise questions, even in Gotham. I didn't need anyone asking about my identity.
It was funny: I was technically a multimillionaire, but I was looking for an abandoned building to sleep in.
Eventually, I saw some sort of abandoned conservatory or garden. It was overgrown, but I could see the glass of a large greenhouse peeking out from among the trees. I was immediately drawn to it. How long had it been since I had seen a plant that wasn't on a dinner plate? The plastic plants in the hallways of the complex didn't count, so it had been at least over a decade.
I immediately made a beeline for it. The gates and the ticket stand were old and broken, so I could waltz right in.
The place was really overgrown. There was a massive number of plants, and many of them were much larger than they ought to be. I recognized a rhododendron bush that had grown three stories tall. This place was like a jungle.
I didn't see any trace of human presence. This was the perfect place to rest until I could get my feet under me. If I needed to lie low till Daedalus couldn't hunt me down, then a place like this was as good as any.
The air was wonderful. It smelled green. It had a life to it that the disinfected air of the lab and the exhaust-filled air of the streets lacked. I kicked off my shoes and walked through the bare grass, savoring the feeling on my feet. It was softer than any carpet and springy as well. I walked about till I found a small clearing and flopped down into the middle of it.
Using my laptop bag as a pillow, I stared up at the night sky. The clouds were still blocking out the stars, but I found it beautiful. I reached up behind my head and pulled out a bag of Dr. Mason's beef jerky. The teriyaki flavored chunks of dried meat tasted like a gourmet meal. Freedom makes for an amazing spice.
I stuffed the empty bag in an empty pocket and drifted off with a small smile on my face. Sunrise was a few hours off, but it had been a long day and I definitely earned the right to sleep as long as I wanted.
