Waking up

It was like blinking in and out of reality. One moment, he was on his bed, staring at the void that was his ceiling, and the next he saw the worried face of a little girl.

"Um, Aaron, sir?" she called, poking him on the cheek. "Are you awake?"

"I'm up," Aaron said, not wanting to lose face. He sat there on his bed for a few seconds, eyes empty and baggy. He glanced at his alarm clock. It was ten o'clock.

Stifling a yawn, he said, "What's up, Chloe? Come up."

"Err, I just, um…" Reluctantly, Chloe joined him on the bed and crossed her legs, expression downcast. "Should…should I leave? You were asleep, so…"

Aaron blinked through his sleepiness. "What…" He held back a yawn. "...what do you mean, Chloe?"

She squirmed and refused to make eye contact, preferring to stare at the blanket. "It's hard to explain. Um…"

He scanned her and attempted to read her mind. He inhaled and suddenly said, "You know, I'm an orphan too."

Her head snapped up at him, surprised. "Really?"

"Yep," Aaron popped. "No parents. No siblings. It was pretty lonely. Luckily, my orphanage was decent and I was able to get into a good high school and university. I wasn't poor or rich but I do understand how you feel. It's difficult to trust people, right?"

Chloe bobbed her head up and down. Anxious but now feeling safer with his words. Sympathetic.

"How old are you?" Aaron asked.

"I think…nine."

"Nine?" Aaron repeated, amping up his astonishment. "You're younger than you look."

A chuckle broke out of her and she beamed shyly. "Thank you."

"You know, it's amazing you were able to survive for so long by yourself." He offered her a hand. "Really, Chloe. You're amazing."

"T-thank you," Chloe said, laughing and grabbing his hands. As if they were fake adults, they shook hands and exchanged smiles. "So…ah, can I…can I stay?"

"Of course you can. As long as that's what you want," Aaron said. "The streets of Gotham are no place for a kid."

"I know." She bit her lip again. "I…I'm scared. The Joker, Poison Ivy…all those people scare me."

Aaron pitied her. Growing up on the streets, uneducated and unknowing, hearing whispers of the Joker's murderous spree and Ivy's calls for human genocide. It was too much. Nobody deserved to listen to such atrocities. Nobody.

"They kill and kill…and the criminals grow worse and meaner…" Chloe was close to crying but she remained steadfast in her speech. "I'm so scared. I wish Batman could save us all."

Seeing her **** and afraid, meek and resolute, gave Aaron a level of clarity he had never had before. He decided, right then and there, to try and protect this little girl. To truly make an effort to help rebuild the world.

Because this…

This COULDN'T go on.

Gotham could not continue to be a hellhole for the next hundred years. It just couldn't. He wouldn't let it. Children on the streets, supervillains attacking workplaces, the rich stealing from the poor, and the poor in turn stealing from the working class. That was the state of Gotham City right now and it was HORRIBLE.

He pulled her into a hug and said, "Me too, Chloe. Me too."

Aaron was talented. He was blessed. He was a metahuman. He had the ability to do something about the world. And he would. But make no mistake, he wasn't a superhero. He wasn't a villain or an anti-hero or anything like that. He simply didn't have the motivation or the personality to do it. He was an office worker and he would stick to his strengths. He would continue down this road as a puppet master. A background character. A shadow. The man who secretly reigned over Gotham City. Vicki Vale, Tanya Fox, We Are Robin, Hadiyah, Jaina Hudson/White Rabbit…he had so much to choose from. So many influential women…