Before We Grow

Blitz Begins

After a day of cutting and sewing, I had my costume ready. It was both flexible and provided a tiny bit of armour. If I kept at this 'hero' business long enough, maybe I would be able to upgrade to the same material as Batman. Until then, I had to make do with what I had.
    I stood on the roof of my abandoned hotel, dressed in my costume. The lights of Gotham sparkled beneath me. I smiled, allowing the wind to blow through my hair. It was the perfect night to enact stage one of my take down Superman plan.
    "No, where oh where could Batsy be?" I muttered.
    The small radio attached to my belt buzzed, "Bank robbery on fifth street, Mister Freeze present. All units converge."
    I had managed to hack into The Gotham Police Department radio channel through the one I bought at the nearby electronics store. Hopefully, that would keep me updated on crimes, and where Batman might be. So far, it had done it's job.
I had no idea who Mister Freeze was, but I figured he had to be some sort of super villain. When there was a super villain, there was a superhero. At the moment, that was the best place to find Batman.
    Fifth street was five miles away. I could make it there in twenty minutes if I took ot the rooftops, just as I had seen Batman and Robin do before. The electronic store down on Main Street had been playing loops of previous Batman and Robin missions.
    All I had to do was jump. The electric charge in my boots could amplify my jump, and soften my landing. I just had to be brave.
    The next building was ten feet lower, and fifteen feet away. The boots could help me get there, I just had to move. Yet, I found my legs frozen.
    "Come on, Lucille! You'll never impress Batman this way!"
    If I was ever going to avenge my parents, I had to take a leap of faith. I had to be the bravest I can be. It was difficult to be brave when you're a kid, as the entire world is large enough to gobble you up.
    I had to tell myself, if Robin could do it, so could I. I had seen him, read about him, there was no way he was much older than me. He had enough bravery to keep him running after clowns with a giant Batman. If he could do that, then I could jump off a building.
    Pressing the button on my glove to charge my boots, I gathered my courage and leapt. The electric kick sent me soaring over the fifteen foot gap. I began to drop, the wind causing a bit of friction against me. It blew my shirt up, making my skin grow goosebumps.
    I landed with a loud thud, rolling onto my shoulder. Jumping back up, I checked myself. Miraculously, I came out unhurt. I cheered, "Haha! I did it! I actually did it!"
    Spinning around, I faced Gotham City, "Batman, here I come."
    Leaping from rooftop to rooftop provided a quicker transport than running down the streets. My boots helped me jump more, therefore getting there faster. I made it to the bank before Batman.
    The police had surrounded the area. All guns were trained on the glass doors. Several cops hid behind their cars, others seemed not to care about their safety. They were waiting for something, for someone.
    We all waited silently, preparing for The Batman to descend from the heavens in a ball of darkness. It seemed as if all of Gotham had fallen silent in anticipation for The Bat and his bird to arrive. Yet, nothing happened, there was no great vigilante jumping from the rooftops.
    "Where is he?" I whispered.
    I was crouching on the rooftop of the bank, watching the sky carefully. Nothing happened, everything was silent. The entire world had fallen silent in anticipation, yet the hero never came.
    Suddenly, a thought hit me. If I were to take care of this 'Mister Freeze' for him, Batman would have to notice me. This might be a little out of my league, logically I should start with the small mugger or thief. But, my philosophy is, if you're going to do it, you might as well go big or go home. There was no point in 'working up' to the bigger prize, that only wasted years in our already short lives.
    Plan A had failed, so it was time to jump to Plan Z. I jumped up, running towards a nearby air vent. If the cops saw me go in, they wouldn't hesitate in stopping me. I had to get in silently, and hope I had the advantage of surprise.
    Pulling the grate off the vent, I dropped it on the roof. The vent was dark, I couldn't even see the bottom. It was my best shot of getting in, and getting my name out there.
    Sitting on the edge, I dropped my legs into the vent and jumped in. My vision was taken over by darkness. All I knew was the clanking of my body going through the vent, and the feeling of gravity pulling me down.
    I had forgotten to think that a vent going straight down would eventually exit somewhere, and that wouldn't be another section of vent. This vent was vertical all the way. At the end, I was pushed through a grate and landed in the middle of the lobby of the bank.
There, several hostages were hogtied in the middle of the floor. A few people in black outfits with black masks stood around with giant guns. One in particular stood out.
    It was a man with blue skin. He had goggles covering his eyes, and a large astronaut-like suit. His glass helmet had traces of ice on the inside. A large gun, connected to his suit, dangled from his hand. When he saw me, he quickly pulled it up and pointed it at me. Instantly, I knew I was looking at Mister Freeze.
    "Who are you?" he asked.
    I stood, "The name's Blitz, pleasure. I presume you're the infamous Mister Freeze?"
    I say infamous, but I had never heard of him. He might be a big-shot here in Gotham, but his name didn't travel outside like Joker and Scarecrow did. To me, he was a nobody.
    "You're a kid," Mister Freeze stated, "Did Batman send you?"
    "No, actually, let's just say I'm doing this as a favour."
    "How old are you?"
    "Doesn't matter," I hit the button to charge my gloves, "Let's just get this over with."
    Freeze sneered. I did my best to seem confident, but I was terrified. This was my first villain, and I might be a little over my head. Hopefully this would all be worth it when I got the attention of Batman.
    Freeze shot a spire of ice out of his gun. I managed to jump away in time. His blast froze the nearby couch, making me realize where he got his name. He shot at me again, but I dodged.
    I was definitely in over my head.
    He kept trying to chase me with his gun, all while shouting, "Hold still, you wriggling worm! Let me freeze you!"
    "Yeah, sure, let me just take off my mask as well."
    He kept chasing me. I realized he would keep on until he caught me, and that gave me a plan. I jumped in front of each of his henchmen, which would surely charge me as soon as they could. Freeze didn't notice, allowing me to dodge in time for his ice ray to hit the henchman. By the time I had made a full circle around him, all of his henchmen were frozen.
    "Drat!" Freeze exclaimed, "Not cool, girlie."
    I chuckled, "Funny of you to say that."
    He shot another ice blast. I jumped above it, landing in time to push off the newly formed spire. This launched me onto him, allowing me to place a strong kick on his chest. I didn't have the strongest muscles, in fact, I barely had any at all. Luckily, the boots added an extra kick. Freeze stumbled back. I landed on my feet, grinning at the villain.
    "I may have underestimated you," Freeze sneered, "Not anymore."
    He pulled a lever on his gun. I leapt away, but he blast was much larger this time. It caught my foot, pinning me to the floor. Freeze laughed as I did my best to free my leg.
    "No use, girlie," Freeze chuckled, "You're trapped now."
    He pointed his gun directly at my face. I felt fear overtake me. This was a terrible idea, I should have started small. I was still proud of myself for holding my own this long, even if I just became another victim.
    No, I refuse! I have a mission, and I can't die yet. I pressed the button on my glove again, maximizing the electric charge in my boots. It began to heat up, slowly melting the ice. At that rate, I would be out in three minutes tops.
    Unfortunately, I didn't have three minutes.
    "You know, you're not really as cool as everybody said," I did my best to distract him.
    Freeze, keeping his gun up, sneered, "What?"
    "Everybody at my school goes on and on about how awesome you are. Up close, you really bring shame to the name."
    "How dare you!"
    "I'm just saying," I replied, "No real supervillain would kill a kid. They'd keep the kid hostage, or use them as ransom or something. Not you, no, you have to take the lame route and kill them."
    "You insufferable-"
    "Enough talking," a new voice came behind Freeze.
    A giant black mass tackled Freeze, making him fall head over heels. When the mass jumped up, I was shocked. It was Batman, in all his dark glory. He stood like a shadow, or a demon. Dressed all in black, he seemed more like the devil than a hero. Something about him terrified me, yet thrilled me all at the same time.
    Batman and Freeze began to fight. I focused on melting the ice, trying my best to get my foot out. I didn't have enough time, as Batman's sidekick landed in front of me.
    "I don't know what you were thinking, but it was really stupid," Robin commented.
    He was just a few inches taller than me, and twice as strong. His outfit, newly retrofitted with black pants underneath his red tunic, was framed by the black cape with a yellow interior. His eyes were hidden behind an eye mask, but his raven hair was visible, and going in every direction. He used his batarang to break the ice and pull me out.
    "I was thinking of being awesome," I told the boy.
    He scoffed, "You see how well that worked out for you! You need to get out of here."
    "Yeah, right, I've come this far!"
    "That's too far!"
    He moved to start freeing the other hostages, all while saying, "Get out of here before you get yourself killed!"
    He might say that, but I wasn't ready to die yet. I had a mission, and that night was the moment I would either make or break it. I spun around just in time to see Freeze ice Batman's feet to the ground. Batman was just about to break it, but Freeze had his gun pointed at Batman's head. It seemed as if all were lost.
    "It was ice to know you, Batman," Freeze grinned.
    I sneered, "Not on my watch."
    My boots launched me onto Freeze's back. The charge in my gloves was amplified as much as it would go. I grabbed either side of the power pack on his back, and delivered all the charge I had. Freeze's suit sparked, and promptly died. His gun fell to his side as he stood like a statue.
    "No!" he exclaimed, "You stupid child, what did you do?!"
    I grinned, "Took you down, Mister Freeze. More like Mister Puh-lease."
    Freeze sneered. Batman broke out of the ice just as I fell from his back. I expected Batman to praise me, maybe even to thank me. Part of me hoped my mission was over quickly, and he would already see my worth. That was not meant to be, however.
    "Who are you?" he asked.
    His voice was deep, almost as if he were gargling marbles. I wondered if that was his real voice, or if he was just using that as part of his disguise.
    "The name's Blitz," I stuck my hand out, "Pleasure."
    Batman glanced at it, but didn't shake, "What on Earth were you thinking?"
    "I was thinking I just saved your life, but-"
    "You could have gotten yourself killed. The battlefield is no place for a child."
    "Are you kidding me?" I asked, gesturing to Robin, "What about him?! He can't be any older than me!"
    Robin had freed the hostages and moved to stand next to Batman. Both stared down at me like disappointed parents. That stare fueled the anger growing inside of me.
    "Robin has training," Batman replied, "He is a professional. You are just some kid who put on a mask."
    "I am not!"
    "You could have gotten yourself killed," Batman repeated.
    "I think I held my own pretty well."
    Batman gazed down at me, "This is not the sort of life for a child. Go home, and live your life. Don't ever let me see you out again."
    Robin nodded. I felt my heart fall to my feet. Sneering, I balled my fists, "I don't have a life to go back to."
    Robin looked like he was going to say something, but I ignored him. The cops would be in here any minute, and Batman would definitely send me home with them. Except, I didn't have a home to go back to. I had to get out of there, and I did so by running back towards the vent.
    "You'll see, Batman," I used my boots to help me jump and grab the ledge of the vent, "I'll prove to you that I'm more than just a kid!"
    I could hear Robin pursuing me even when I climbed the vent. He was only halfway up by the time I made it to the roof. I didn't hesitate in leaping off the building, and jumping to the next. By the time he was out, I was gone.
    Batman would see, I would make him see. I would show them all that Blitz is nobody to play around with. I'd become one of the greatest heroes Gotham has ever seen, then he'd have to help me. If I got strong enough, I might not even need his help anymore.
    I had to make a name for myself. Everyone and their dog had to know the name of Blitz. I'd build my identity, and make it strike fear into the hearts of even The Joker. They would know, they would all know, Blitz is more than just a kid.