On the ever dark street of Gotham, a dark skinned young child around the age of 8 or 9 with an average look on his face dressed in tattered cloth can be seen running with arms folded in front of him.
His head swiveling from left to right as he looked around in fear, finally he looked behind him to see a group of men who were chasing him with faces full of anger.
His small body allowed him to move around the crowd as he ran. Soon he saw a familiar alley which he turned and ran into. The men chasing him stopped as the leader waved his hand as they divided themselves.
Of course this was unknown to the kid who had a smile on his face, as he saw the light at the end of the alley, he only needed to cross it and his safety was guaranteed.
He looked back at the men still chasing him only this time they were lesser in number. He found it weird but as he turned to keep running his body slammed into the figure of a man waiting for him.
The child dropped the wallet he was holding, with dollars falling out of it. Looking up to the figure in front of him, the child's eyes widened in fear as he began apologizing "Please sir, I am sorry. I need the money for my mother's health"
The figure said nothing until the leader caught up from behind, the men behind him bent over as they picked up the money and wallet which they handed to him.
Pocketing the wallet, the leader squatted as he grabbed the boy by his neck easily lifting him up.
As the leader lifted the boy by the neck, the child gasped, his feet kicking helplessly in the air. The leader's face twisted into a sinister grin as he tightened his grip just enough to force a look of terror across the boy's face.
"Thought you could get away, huh?" the leader sneered, glancing down at the other men. "Always the same story. What was it this time? Mother's health?" His grip tightened as the boy's face turned pale.
"Please," the boy managed to choke out, his small hands clawing weakly at the man's grip. "I... I didn't mean to... In just... I had no choice!"
One of the other men stepped forward, a cruel smile playing on his lips. "No choice? You little thief! You think it's that easy, huh? Just snatch and run?" He raised his fist, poised to strike, but the leader raised his free hand to stop him.
The leader held the boy up by his neck a moment longer, letting him squirm and gasp before tossing him roughly onto the hard ground of the alleyway. The boy tried to crawl backward, fear flashing in his eyes, but one of the men planted a foot on his chest, pinning him down.
"Thought you could steal from us and just run off?" the leader spat, rolling up his sleeves. "Think again."
The boy tried to stammer out another apology, but it was cut short as the first blow struck his side. He cried out in pain, clutching his ribs, but the men didn't stop. They circled him, taking turns landing kicks and punches, each one more vicious than the last.
"Please... stop..." he whimpered, curling up to protect himself, his small body unable to withstand the onslaught. His words only seemed to spur them on, their laughter echoing off the walls of the alley.
After a few minutes, the leader raised his hand, and the men stopped, breathing heavily as they looked down at the battered boy, who was barely moving.
The leader knelt down, grabbing the boy by his hair and forcing him to look up. "Now you're going to pay in a way you never expected," he sneered. "Word on the street is that there's someone looking to buy kids like you—paying good money, too. We'll make a fortune."
The boy's eyes widened in horror as he struggled weakly, but the leader only laughed. "yes, that's right. You're not getting out of this one, kid."
One of the men pulled out a rough cloth sack, and without any further ceremony, they shoved the boy inside, tying it tight to muffle his pained cries. With their prize secure, they slipped out of the alley, merging into the shadows of Gotham, knowing that soon enough, they'd be cashing in.
They walked back into the street carrying the boy in the sack, the people walking by noticed that but no one bothered to act as they swaggered and left with the boy.
Gotham has been turning worse for the past three years when the death of the Waynes was announced. As for the boy in the sack, he drew his last breath due to being malnourished for a long time and their beating was the last straw.
Inside the sack as the boy drew his last breath, it was soon followed a black mist appearing, then a panicked rapid breath as the boy once again came alive, this time his eyes had a look of confusion in it.
"I'm in the dc universe" The boy said out loud to himself as he shifted uncomfortably in the sack. John, who digested the memory from the boy, began panicking once he came to terms with his situation.
He has always been careful, planning out his day, mapping out his routine to avoid unexpected situations and circumstances, Yet today as he was walking back home from work, a meteor fell on the city he was in.
As he drew last breath, he was overwhelmed with confusion as he made sure to check the news everyday so as to be prepared for things such as this. Something akin to a meteor surely should have been mentioned to warn the people or action taken to evacuate them.
As he drew his last breath, he still couldn't find any explanation for the sudden meteor. It was John's first time dying so he knew nothing of what happened after.
But here he was in the body of a child of the gotham dc universe, as a fan of comic, anime, manga and novel reading. He wasn't unfamiliar with the situation, so he could understand only that he was filled with confusion on why it was him.
His whispered question hung in the air, unanswered: "System... are you there?" But no pop-ups or voices responded, and he could feel the weight of the silence settling in. The lack of a guiding system meant he was alone in figuring things out.
Trying to stay calm, John closed his eyes and ran through what he knew. "Alright, Gotham... dangerous, crime-infested, run by people who play by rules I don't understand yet." With the Waynes' recent deaths, Gotham was spiraling, making survival more challenging. And if Bruce Wayne was still a child, there'd be no Batman yet meaning no one to keep the city's criminals in check. He swallowed, the daunting reality settling in.
"Escaping Earth," he muttered. He didn't know how possible that was at the moment, but it seemed like the best way to stay out of the madness that Gotham, this earth and the DC Universe was certain to bring.