All We Do Is Watch Them Kill

Ch.1 Despair Bound

"We've arrived on a new planet / A new brand of sanity / Everybody looks at you / Everybody plays it cool / Measuring tapes for eyes / Suddenly aware of shape and size / And you think, "How am I gonna do this?"

-JOSEPH, "Good Luck, Kid"

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On the outskirts of Jump City you packed the last of your toiletries from the bathroom, the nagging worry of departure, unwritten luggage labels, tissue paper lying on the floor.

You hated it all.

In the next room, you could hear your mom's radio playing. The radio host's voice filled the room. "Good morning Jump City! Today we will have a cool, crisp morning with fifty-three degrees and rising to a pleasant seventy-five later in the day. We'll have bright and sunny skies all day long, so be sure to enjoy the beautiful weather!"

Despite the announcer's cheerful tone, you couldn't help but feel a sense of sadness and apprehension. Wanting to be alone to gather your own thoughts, you locked the door behind you. Last night you had been restless, and you were much too tired to overthink things now.

You turned the hot-water knob, you hissed at the cold, no time to wait. You washed your hands, face, and brushed your teeth. You took a deep breath and tried to calm your nerves. Your mom came and rattled on the door interrupting your thoughts. "Are you ready?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm coming. Sorry." you replied, turning off the tap with the bustling of papers as you folded a towel onto the rail.

She glanced at you curiously as you opened the door.

"If you want to make it to your flight on time, we'd better hurry with breakfast."

It was at eight o'clock when you and your mom rushed out the door and drove down to the airport.

You were wearing a favorite casual outfit, jeans and a short sleeved top. Your black rain jacket tossed in the backseat.

Gotham City stood on the Eastern Seaboard, a place between fear and suffering. It was from this city that your mother freed herself with you when you were only two years old. After her brother had died, she fled to the West Coast. Probably, you later realized, to get as far away as possible from Gotham.

It was from this city you were damned to spend an entire summer until you turned eight. That was the year you decided you'd never return again.

It was settled these past four summers, your dad Bruce, vacationed with you in Metropolis for a week instead. His severely busy schedule not permitting much distance from Gotham or much time, if any, with you.

But summer vacation was nearing its end and you weren't headed to Metropolis. It was to Gotham City where you sentenced yourself, a move you took with great dread.

You despised Gotham.

You longed for Jump City with its bright skies and profound warmth. The radiant, upbeat city.

"Honey, you're brooding," your mom said snapping you from your thoughts. "Are you sure you want to go? Because you can still change your mind."

"I want to go." you told her instantly, your face betraying you with doubt, for she half smiled.

You had always been a lousy liar, a trait you unfortunately shared with your mother.

"If you say so. Just take good care of yourself," She said her smile not reaching her eyes.

"Yeah, I will."

"If anything and I mean anything happens, call me," she said. "You or Bruce can contact me whenever you want—I'll try to answer you as soon as I can."