They say life fshes before your eyes when you die. Maybe it did, but it was hard to notice over the searing pain of my skull cracking open like a watermelon.

  The light was red, a universal sign for stop. The driver would have seen it if they looked up from their damn phone. A walk across the street became a one man gymnastic set as my body was sent spinning like a carousel through the air. I want to say I died with some profound thoughts, but only one word came to mind. Ow.

  I awoke in an alley. Far too grimy to be the streets I had just been crossing. As I got up, I realized I didn’t have a scratch on me. Did the bastard patch me up and dump me here? Steam billowed out of gutters tinting the area in a light fog. Sirens were constantly wailing in the distance, almost as permanent as the shining moon above. As my gaze drifted upward, I squinted in disbelief.

  Is that a damn gargoyle? Sure enough, perched on a nearby rooftop was a stone statue of an ugly creature. It looked as threatening as it was out of pce. Looking around, I spotted more of the hideous ornaments. The old but sturdy buildings stood like gothic towers.

  “What the hell?” I muttered, spinning around in circles. This wasn’t any street I could recognize. The only familiarity I felt was the gnawing of hunger in my gut. Kidnapping or not, I needed to get some food and shelter.

  Making my way through this strange city, I couldn't help but notice the inspired graffiti that marked various walls. A crude depiction of a clown with wild green hair. A humanoid crocodile man with too many teeth to be accurate. So many different depictions, but one showed up more than any other. Bats. So many bats. Sometimes they were a man, sometimes a beast, but it was always a bat.

  Man, the locals must be really into comics here. Did I miss a convention or something?

  My thoughts paused as I came across a bar. A woman walked out in a fancy jacket. She had a strange confidence to her. She was talking on the phone when a car pulled up alongside her. The windows rolled down and gunfire erupted from the opening. The car was already peeling off as she hit the ground.

  Normally I'd be shell shocked in a situation like this, but I felt compelled to help her. I ran and pressed my hand to one of the many openings. I was no doctor, but I knew enough that plugged holes saved lives. I shouted for someone to call an ambunce, but no one was on the street.

  “You’re gonna be okay,” I said, trying to console her.

  All she could do was gurgle. She shivered, life fleeing from her eyes. I clenched my teeth as I pressed down hard. I was doing everything I could, I wanted so desperately to save her. And then I felt something. A strange glow enveloped my hands and I felt a swell of something inside me.

  Energy poured out my hands and into the wounds. My eyes widened as dent bullets plopped out and torn skin was mended. Her eyes mirrored mine as she scrambled to her feet. She lifted her shirt and I instinctively looked away. She poked at her now unblemished chest.

  “Holy shit! No wounds, not even a scratch. You one of them metahumans?”

  “Meta-wha-” I stammered, still looking at my blood stained hands. They weren’t glowing anymore and I suddenly felt like I had run a mile.

  “You alright?”

  “Yeah, I just need to catch my… everything really.”

  “Shit, you just saved my life. Never expected a guardian angel. Let alone one as cute as you.”

  I didn’t put much thought into that st comment, my legs still feeling like jelly.

  “You got a name?”

  “Ryan,” I said panting. “You?”

  “Luna Guiliani,” she said with an air of pride. She spoke like the name had weight to it. Maybe it would if I was a local.

  “Hey, can I ask a favor?”

  “Anything,” she said, still looking at her chest in disbelief.

  “Can you tell me where we are?”

  “The diamond district.”

  “And that’s part of which city?”

  She looked at me like I sprouted a second head. Which honestly seemed possible if the st few minutes were anything to go by.

  “Gotham.”

  “Ha ha,” I deadpanned. “ Where am I actually, it’s been a long day and I’m kind of freaking out here.”

  “You’re in Gotham city.” I studied her face and there wasn’t a hint of humor. She either thought she was telling the truth or had the best poker face I'd ever witnessed. I just pinched my nose in annoyance. She just came out of a bar, of course she was drunk.

  “Alright, thanks anyway,” I said, turning to leave.

  “Wait” she said, grabbing my arm with a surprisingly strong grip. “You got some pce to be? I could buy you a drink.”

  I was about to say I could buy my own when I realized my wallet was gone. Christ, was I run over by a serial killer? Why was he so thorough in stranding me here?

  “Just water for me, thanks.” As we walked she held my arm. It was strange but not unwelcome. I noticed a few patrons. Some here alone, some with company. Most were women. I hadn’t been to many bars but this seemed like a strange ratio.

  “Luna, what was all that racket? And what the hell happened to you?” A stocky bartender asked, wiping down a mug.

  “Nothing much, just got shot,” she said casually. “Nice of you to come check on me,”

  “Oh yeah, hear a gunshot and run towards it. That’s how you survive in Gotham,” she responded with a roll of her eyes. “Go wash up in the bathroom, you’re not dirtying my tables.”

  I was taken aback by how casual the bartender was to sight of us. The locals must have seen a lot of violence in these parts. We went to our respective bathrooms and washed up. I still couldn’t believe I had healed her. I tried to summon the glow, but my now clean hands remained inactive. I came out and Luna was waiting for me at the counter. The bartender gave me a look.

  “I see you found a new one. How long is this one gonna st?”

  “Jeez, Mar, don’t scare him away,” Luna said. “We’ll take a pint of beer and a gss of water.”

  “Beer? Didn’t I already fill your tank?”

  “Too te for an AA meeting. Sides’, I got company now. And give us some sandwiches too, I can hear his stomach from here.”

  I chugged the water and ate with ravenous glee. I had never felt so drained. Luna began lighting a cigarette as she watched me. “You don’t mind if I smoke, right? Helps with the nerves and I'm real jumpy right now.”

  “Go ahead.” I couldn’t bme her, even if I hated the smell of the stuff. She exhaled and a puff of smoke left her lips. “So how’d you get to Gotham?”

  “Got run over and then I woke up here.” It was true enough. I gnced at the clock overhead. It was 8 PM. God, I was run over in the morning. How long had I been unconscious? I asked a more urgent question. “Can I borrow your phone?”

  “Uh…” She looked suspicious, like I had ulterior motives.

  “I promise not to look at the gallery, I just want to make a call.”

  She reluctantly handed me the phone and carefully eyed me as I typed on the keypad. The back of the phone had the strangest logo I’d ever seen. It was like a W but sharpened and triangur. As the call rang continuously, I felt a pang of dread.

  “Sorry, but the number you’ve dialed is no longer in service,” The automated voice said before hanging up. I dialed another number, my friend Billy. The same message greeted me. When I tried my sister’s number, someone did respond.

  “Hello?” A woman with a thick accent asked.

  “Hello, this is Stacy’s brother, can you please put her on?”

  “Goddamn telemarketers,” the woman snapped. “At least get the name right.”

  “Miss, I know my sister’s number like the back of my hand. Please, tell her it’s urgent.”

  “No Stacy lives here,” she grunted before hanging up.

  I tried a few other desperate calls from memory, each one getting simir results. I handed the phone back to Luna and slumped in my chair dejected. I was truly alone now. No money, shelter, or contacts. I had been someone before and now I was little more than a ghost. I tried to take my mind off the mounting dread and looked at the TV screen. My eyes shot open as I caught what the news anchor was saying.

  “-says that she saw Batman chasing down the assaints. The GCPD has made no comment about the viginte’s involvement and said they are doing everything to find the missing civilians. We’ll be right back with more coverage after these messages.” Commercials began pying, but I hardly paid them attention. My eyes snapped to Luna and she leaned back a little from the intensity.

  “Is this a damn joke?”

  “What?”

  “That guy was just talking about batman. Like he’s real or something. If this is a prank, I'm not ughing.”

  “Um, Batman is real. I know he started off as a myth, but that kinda died when we saw him in the news. Then there was the big speech when he and the justice league formed.”

  There wasn’t a hint of humor or sarcasm in her speech. I had never seen such a natural liar. I turned in my seat and saw a woman reading a newspaper. I walked over and tapped her shoulder.

  “Pardon me, can I read that paper?” I asked. She looked up at me with a flushed face, clearly drunk. She handed it to me and I sifted through. It appeared to be a regur newspaper with various articles about sports, the economy, and the like. One gring issue was on the front page though.

  Batman thwarts breakout at Arkham Asylum. I wanted to scream. I handed the paper back to her and then returned to my seat. I visibly shivered with frustration. I tried pinching myself and was met with very real pain. Was this a psy-op? A coma? Did the accident give me psychosis?

  "So, I’m guessing you got no pce to sleep tonight, huh?” Luna’s voice broke through my moody thoughts. “If you want, you could come over to my pce. Though I understand if you want me to take you to a men’s shelter or something.”

  “Men’s shelter?” I asked. “They make those?” She just gave me a pitying look, like I asked the dumbest question in the world. I shook my head with a sigh. “Alright, your house it is.”