Just myself

Chapter one - Introducing Me... Among Other Things

This blistering wind blows my coat out behind me, spinning the blue wool fabric in every direction, giving me a look that some might associate with that of a 'Superhero'. Although, I am far from that. You need only look behind me at the two men tied up me, shaking in iron chains, to see that I am not a hero. Their faces are peppered with cuts and bruises, their torsos shaking in agony and cold and I stand, contemplating the look of what this planet knows to be a superhero. 

I jump down from the ledge, pushing the strands of hair that stick to my face back onto the top of my head, and land on the rooftop before the two men.

"You know," I begin, holding out a condescending finger as if I am lecturing two naughty children, "It is never okay to steal hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of jewels from a shop simply because the owner 'mugged you off'. I mean, what does that even mean? Mugged you off? Mug is not even a verb therefore it cannot be made into a past tense action, what do the schools here even teach you?... " I begin to trail off, realising that I have lost what I was originally saying. It's not good to rob places for trivial reasons... right! "So, I am going to let you go, but only if you promise me that you will never ever ever ever ever rob anywhere ever again." I pretend to survey them while they nod furiously at me. Seriously, the criminal class is shockingly stupid nowadays. Laughter tears from my throat as I choke out, "Really? You thought that I would let you go? After you robbed that much from an eighty-three year old woman and her husband? No way," I shake my head and raise my hand and one eyebrow, simultaneously. "Bye bye!" I click my fingers once, sending them to the police station with nothing more that the flexing of my fingers. 

My hand drops to my side, finally feeling the effect of the cold. Who knew that the wind at the top of the Empire state building would be quite this cold? Literally everybody who has an ounce of knowledge of basic science, yet my dumb ass is still up here. I step onto the ledge once more and pull my coat around me. The view is really very stunning. From here, I can see millions of lights, some blinking, some moving, some stationary but every one of them stands out against the velvet sky. One cannot help but imagine the people beneath these lights, going about their lives. Of course, most will be asleep now but there are the select few who choose the dark over the light. The bar-tenders who choose night shifts for the sake of fitting in another job, maybe to sustain a family, maybe to sustain a hobby. The mothers who, at this point, will probably be rushing to finish the tasks of the day that weren't completed due to their children's needs and the motherly instinct that urges them to drop everything for their offspring. The teenagers out having secret trysts behind abandoned buildings and in dark woods. The children lying awake from nightmares that their parents tell them will never happen because they are safe, they will protect them.

The untold secret of humankind is that they crave hollow reassurance in every step of their lives. They need to be told 'There aren't any monsters under the bed, honey.' and 'I'll see you in the morning.'. They need to hear the words 'I love you' almost hourly simply because of the human paranoia that plagues every being on this earth. Most dismiss this as simply nonsense and pointless but if only they knew the truth. They are never truly safe. Earth is the single most targeted planet in the universe, safe only because of the efforts of the singularly determined. One of those people being me.

I stand, facing the roof of the building, arms outstretched.

I fall backwards, to the earth, enjoying the feeling of weightless as I am supported only by the air that whips around me.

I am Elizabeth Newett, and the earth is under my protection.