I do not own Central City or the DC created-owned character in this story. However, this is my own AU. Please enjoy for free.
Central City: 11 Years Later
A bright autumn sun shone down on the city park. A Great Dane ran to an area between a row of bushes and the back wall of a public bathroom. There, he began digging intently. Within a few minutes, his nose sniffed a time capsule.
The large mouth stretched to wrap around the metal canister. The dog then carried it as he loped out of the bushes, through the park, and to the opening of a large pipe from which overflow gathered by the city's drains let out into a river.
Weeks had passed since the last storm. So, the inside was dry and crusty with dirt, leaves, and discarded papers. The dog lowered its head and dropped the canister.
Moments later, a small hand, just big enough to wrap around the canister, picked it up. That hand and its twin twisted the stubborn cap off with more strength than their size indicated. When turned upside down, the canister released a large roll of money, a small bag of broken Oreos, and two wrapped and sealed pieces of dried meat. Small fingers reached inside and pulled out a black and white photograph. Brown bangs were brushed aside so hazel eyes could study it. The freckled nose almost touched the stiff paper. "I should leave you behind, you're a dead give away if they find you," A small thumb brushed over the image gently.
The picture went into the inner pocket of a black leather jacket rather than the back pocket of the worn jeans wearing dangerously thin in the knees. The roll of money went into the same pocket. The broken Oreos, though, were poured directly into the boy's mouth. He grimaced. Being in the airtight time capsule near the cold water pipe going into the public bathroom since he put them there weeks ago, they weren't "too" bad. They certainly weren't like Oreos fresh from the package either. After leaving the pipe he tossed the bag into the first trash can he passed. Then he headed for a bus stop.
A woman in a pink dress that ended above her knees and apron with a large pocket at its front stood at the bus stop. So did three fit men between the ages of twenty and forty with open eyes scanning their surroundings. One held the leash of a German Shepherd, eyes facing and ears pricked looking even more alert than the men.
The boy's form tightened, but he strode on toward the sign and bench anyway. He stopped beside a woman. The German Shepherd turned its stare upon him with its nose twitching as it sucked in more air than usual. Then the canine stood up and took hurried steps toward the boy pulling his leash tighter. The man holding the leash turned hard eyes on the boy. The boy put on a brash smile and reached a hand out toward the dog. "Hi boy, want this?" He pulled bits of the dried meat out of his pocket.
The dog's tail lowered and wagged. His mouth opened in a friendly grin and pant. The man holding the leash gave it a tug and said in a low hard voice, "heel." The dog marched back to the man's side and sat. The man stared coldly at the boy, who smiled back at him while putting the bits of meat back into his pocket. Then, one of the other three men stepped up to the boy's side, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a cigarette. Once he had it between his teeth, pulled out a lighter.
The boy suddenly turned his back toward him and studied the woman at his other side. She had blonde hair graying at the temples that was pulled back in a ponytail. Her blue eyes with worry lines etched around them were reddened by now dried tears. One calloused hand clutched her purse, another was clenched into a fist at her side. She did not bother trying to smile at anyone, but stared unseeing across the street. However, her nose twitched at the smell of smoke. She glanced first down at the boy staring intently up at her and then at the smoking man. "Really? Right beside a kid? If he were mine, I'd smack that out of your mouth."
The man scowled. Then he pulled the cigarette out, dropped it on the ground, and stomped it. The boy gave the woman a huge grin. Then he bowed his head and stuffed his hands inside his jacket.
There was not a man among the three watchers that missed how, after pulling his hands back out and letting them hang at his sides a moment, the boy reached his right hand, not into the purse she held tight and close, but into the front pocket of her apron. As the bus pulled up, the boy pulled his hand back out, turned, and walked away. None of the men boarded, but one shook his head.
The woman stepped onto the bus. After she sat down, she felt an extra weight resting on her lap She reached into her pocket. Wrinkles deepened in her face in confusion as she pulled out bills. Unfolding them she then examined and calculated quickly. They amounted to over two hundred dollars.
Her shout made all three agents turn their heads and stare after the bus. They missed the boy flattening himself against the wall of the alley he'd walked down. His eyes went wide. He swallowed. I didn't think she'd draw so much attention so soon!
He turned and pelted down first asphalt then sidewalk, then asphalt again. His scanning gaze noticed a door marked "bathroom" built into the back of a building. He stopped in front of it. The nob showed a hole for a key probably inside with an employee. The boy shut his eyes. The mechanism snapped sideways. He turned the knob, pushed, and went in. Once on the other side, he re-locked the door. Then he slumped against it and sighed.
He turned toward the sink. His reflection was disfigured with cracks and water marks in the old mirror. He walked up to and turned on the facet beneath. Lukewarm water gushed out. He cupped his hands under it letting them fill before drinking their contents. He did this several times before turning it off and wiping his mouth.
He looked back into the mirror. His small hands gripped both sides of the discolored and chipped sink. He breathed out slowly again staring at his own reflection beneath the clouded parts between the cracks. Okay … bus stops are being watched. Train stations will probably be watched. Those Oreos aren't going to fuel me all the way to Gotham City. Need to keep the meat in case I run into more agents with dogs. Need to save energy ... Hitchhiking. And things will probably go better if I have longer legs.
He clutched both sides of the dingy sink and stared harder into the dirty cracked mirror. The freckled face, brown bangs, and hazel eyes disappeared. Th figure got taller, curves appearing in places. The jacket and jeans remained, but got larger to cover the growing amount of flesh. The face lengthened and thinned. Blue eyes under blonde hair appeared. Other than the clothes and at least two decades of years being shed from the face, hair, and eyes the person staring into the mirror was identical to the woman at the bus stop. The head nodded. Then the very different body turned away, walked to the door, unlocked it, and slipped out.
The long legs took the "young lady" down several blocks to another gas station, which she entered. She walked down a few aisles grabbing a bottle of milk, a package of Oreos. The man behind the cash register didn't mind as "she" smiled at him while he rang up her purchases and took the cash out of her soft hand. Outside, she approached a man with graying hair under a ballcap about to get into his truck. "Hey, going anywhere near Gotham CIty?"
The man turned back toward her, raising eyebrows at her and removing his hat, "Uh, well, not 'too' far from it. I'm going in its direction."
The girl shrugged. "As I can catch a bus the rest of the way from wherever you drop me off I'll be good. For now, I just need to go east and north."
The man grinned. "That I can do. Hop in little lady."
He opened the passenger side door. She hopped in with a smile. He got in and drove.
Minutes into the drive toward the interstate highway, a much smaller tuck with a satellite atop it appeared pulled over on the side of the road. Big men leaned against it staring at each vehicle rolling by. Before they sight became too distinct and close outside the windows, the hitchhiker dropped one of the Oreos she'd been snacking on. She bent over to get it. Therefore, only the middle aged male driver was visible to the man they passed.
Almost a minute passed before her fingers wrapped around the treat. After sitting back up, she put it in her mouth. The driver raised his eyebrows. "You ain't afraid of germs are ya?"
The girl shrugged, but only spoke after swallowing it down with a little milk. "Not as much as other things."
He laughed. "Nor of men like me either, I guess. You should be careful. A pretty thing like you."
The girl stared out the window. "I can take pretty good care of myself … usually … Just every now and then, I need help from good people like you."
"Thanks for the compliment, Miss."
It's true ...
What do you think?
God bless
ScribeofHeroes