‘I wish I hadn’t cried so much!’ said Alice, as she swam about, trying to find her way out. ‘I shall be punished for it now, I suppose, by being drowned in my own tears!

- Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

He had walked on the moon.

Watched the sun rise from the summits of all the tallest mountains on earth.

He’d stood alone against the worst humanity had to offer.

Shaken hands with seven Presidents and ten kings.

Been thanked by teary-eyed victims and cursed by fiendish inhuman evil.

And now, Roy Hopper, AKA “Kilroy,” was a security guard at a department store, because that was the only place that would hire him. Sadly, the downside of having a secret identity was that you couldn’t exactly list “Masked Superhero: 1937 to Present” on your resume.

But he had no regrets.

He hadn’t gone into the field for acclaim or riches. That was one of the reasons why he wore the mask. If you weren’t careful, it all went to your head. You forgot who you really were and lost yourself in the process. You forgot why you were doing it.

Of course, the inverse of that was also true.

There was a constant danger that if you wore a mask long enough, you forgot what the face beneath looked like. You started to think you were the person you dressed up as.

Which was one of the reasons why Roy didn’t get involved with other superheroes.

He’d never joined any of the super-teams or done interviews.

Roy wasn’t in the game for all of that. He didn’t fight crime to make himself feel better or because he was even necessarily the best suited for the job, just because… someone had to.

Because the world was the way it was.

Because no one cared.

And if he didn’t try to help people, no one else would.

The only sign that Kilroy had ever been there were a hundred thousand messages he’d scrawled on things, all over the world.

He might have shunned the spotlight, but no one could ever doubt that Killroy was here.

He continued making his rounds, checking the deserted sales floor of Drews department store.

It was one of those buildings that hadn’t been remodeled much over the years, which meant that it had a large open atrium that rose up five stories.

From that central area, the different departments branched out in four directions, displaying all of the consumer treasures that money could buy.

Roy had grown to love this store. It meant something to him now. It felt like… home.

There was a noise above him, and his eyes instantly snapped to trace its source. After spending so many decades as a hero, it was second nature to him now.

A second later, Roy saw both the source of the noise and the reason why he’d come to love this stupid store so much.

The 10 year old redhead in question arrived on the scene, standing up backwards on the handlebars of one of the store’s bikes, riding it down the stairs.

Roy winced, wondering how much his young companion’s attempts at daredevilry would cost him tonight.

To be fair, the girl was very, very good at things like this.

Anything that required a superhuman balance and nerves of steel.

Roy himself had always been blessed with enhanced agility and balance, but the little girl could pull off stunts and flips that Roy couldn’t have pulled off on his best day.

But that wasn’t surprising.

The girl was powerful. More powerful than he hoped she ever had cause to realize.

The girl moved her feet, using her weight to turn the bike in a lazy circle when it reached the bottom of the stairs, then ran it straight into a display cabinet.

The action had been deliberate though, and she used the impact to backflip over the glass display and land directly in front of him like a circus acrobat.

She held out her arms. “Applause, applause!” She cupped her hands to her mouth and made the sound of a roaring crowd .

“We’ve talked about this, Red.” Roy shook his head. “There’s no room for showing off when you’re on the job.”

The girl rolled her eyes. “I’m not on the job, Roy.

” She rearranged her red ponytail. “I don’t work here, I just break in.

” She smiled up at him. “Unless, of course, you want to take me on as a sidekick?” It was a job pitch she frequently made, and she sounded hopeful and eager.

“Please? I think I’d be really good at crime-fighting. ”

“I don’t believe in sidekicks.” He told her honestly.

“This is a lonely business, Red. You’re on your own.

Everyone else is a hostage, a victim, or a distraction.

You do your job and you go home. You don’t take your work home with you, because you’ll never find anyone who would understand it and it’d be too dangerous for them. ”

“Why?” She sounded baffled by that idea. “It makes more sense to take them along if they’re in danger. Loving someone capable of defending themselves would mean that you didn’t really have to worry about them as much. They’d be a partner. Someone… you could have fun with.”

But Roy was far beyond the days of ever being able to go into the field again. And even if he wasn’t, there was no way in the world that he’d work with her.

He’d grown to love that crazy little girl. But… she scared him sometimes.

The things she could do…

The things she sometimes said…

“Red…”He began.

“Nah, that’s not who I am today.” She assured him, casually reaching over to begin juggling a half dozen glass paperweights, like the dexterity and concentration it took were nothing. “Today, I’m someone else.”

“Uh-huh.” Roy’s hand snapped out to grab each one of the very expensive glass orbs from the air in succession. “I’m used to it.”

“I don’t really feel like I need to limit myself to stuff like that, Roy.

” She shook her head, the very picture of mischievous youth and enthusiasm.

“When I become a hero, I’m going to do so much amazing shi…

” she paused before using the profanity, then quickly chose a more acceptable word so that he didn’t reprimand her language again, “…stuff.”

Roy carefully arranged the paperweights on the shelf again. “I don’t see how, since you refuse to go to the Horizons Academy.” He turned to look at her, launching into his standard lecture. “I still think you should get professional training if you intend to go into this field. ”

“Hanging out with those rich pukes?” The girl rolled her eyes. “Fuck that, Roy.”

He decided to let her language slide for the moment. “You’d get to march in the store’s Thanksgiving Parade if you were a student…” He teased, hoping the thought of the attention and the pageantry would appeal to her.

“Do I seem like a girl who enjoys walking ? For any reason?” She arched an eyebrow. “Now, if we could take your motorcycle… ”

The girl loved the old Indian cycle he’d sometimes driven during the war. She seemed to view all of that chrome and white metal as some kind of magic, calling her to the business.

But Roy didn’t ride it anymore. It had been parked in his warehouse apartment behind the store for years.

“I’ve spoken with your foster parents and they say they’d have no problem with you enrolling.”

The girl looked almost amused. “Roy? They wouldn’t have a problem if I decided to take up crack cocaine and cliff-diving into active volcanoes.

” She shook her head. “They don’t care what I do, I’m just a tax write-off for them.

Which is why it’s,” she looked down at her plastic GI Joe wristwatch, “…4AM and I’m in an empty department store with you and they have nothing to say about it. ”

“They love you very much.” He tried, feeling more like it needed to be said, whether or not it was true.

The girl continued to stare at him. “No, they don’t.” She countered, sounding accepting of that fact. “But it’s sweet of you to lie, Roy. Thank you.”

Roy had known the girl for a few years now. And in his opinion, she was amazing. Terrifying at times, but still amazing. He’d always been a loner. He’d never had a family, except his idiot brother. But hanging out with the girl had really shown him what he’d been missing all these years.

He loved that little girl. She was the daughter he’d always wanted.

“I love you too, Roy.” She smiled at him, looking touched.

Roy’s eyes cut over to her, a sudden twinge of fear slicing through him again. Was she…

“Yeah, I’m psychic today.” She bobbed her head, hearing the unspoken question and answering it before he could even finish it. “It’s pretty cool, huh?”

Roy didn’t think it was cool. The girl’s powers seemed limitless and varied. He always hoped that eventually they’d reach some kind of equilibrium and she’d better understand how to use them, but they were constantly shifting and growing in intensity.

Some days, the abilities were broken and didn’t work in their intended ways.

Some days, they were limited to agility and endurance.

Some days, they were truly staggering in their sheer power. Stronger than anything he’d ever seen. Stronger than anything he’d ever hoped to see. …Nightmarishly powerful.

And Roy suspected that sooner or later, she’d develop a power which would endanger her, if not the entire world. Some powers couldn’t be controlled.

The girl waved away his unvoiced concern. “Relax. I got a handle on this, Roy.” She held up her hands to her forehead. “Just… whatever you do… don’t think of anything gross or perverted.”

Roy’s mind immediately followed her suggestion, against his will.

The girl burst out in taunting laughter, utterly enjoying the embarrassing images which she’d caused to unwillingly pop into his head.