"Alright ladies! Inspection time!"

Sixteen-year-old Valeria Torres looked up from her novel and groaned. While the other girls in orange jumpsuits began panicking and hustling to hide their contraband, she did not. In the eyes of the guards, the girls at the center, and everyone else – nothing she did or said mattered, and she certainly didn't have anything valuable to protect – she never had.

She held the book at her side as she stood by her cot, surveying the overcrowded room that had served as her home intermittently over the past two years. The room was mostly unadorned; it lacked any real furniture, and the lone window near the ceiling was surrounded by brick walls covered in peeling paint. Girls stood by their beds, and their behaviors varied as the two guards entered the room.

Some of the girls hurled obscenities and taunts at them, while others smiled and offered more seductive nicknames. Valeria's stomach lurched at the latter. While the thought of male guards taking advantage of young vulnerable girls was disgusting enough, for Valeria, there was more to it than that. Something...personal.

Valeria's cot was near the back of the room and was the last to be searched. She studied the two guards as they approached. One was light skinned, overweight, and short. The other was tall, skinny, and had the gross habit of scratching his butt in front of them all the time. And thus, Valeria had come up with their nicknames: Bigs and Wedgie.

"Last, but not least, we have our little escape artist," Bigs said as he approached.

Wedgie upended her cot's mattress and started tearing it apart. "What's her name again?" he asked, inspecting her pillowcase.

"It doesn't matter," Bigs said, eyeing the book in her hands. "She's nothing but a penny thief. Speaking of which, I'm guessing you stole this from the library. Give it here."

Valeria shook her head. Part of her refusal was personal. She had grown attached to the character in the story. He was an orphan like her, but more importantly, he started off as a kid no one cared about, and that hit close to home. But there was another reason she had refused. A more...strategic one.

"Maybe you don't understand," Bigs growled, his face inches away from her own. "You do what I tell you to do! But maybe you're deaf? Dumb? Or maybe you just no understand English?"

I speak English just fine, asshole, Valeria thought to herself. She met his eyes with a defiant stare and waited patiently. When he tried to steal the book from her, she used one hand to cradle it like a football, and the two of them struggled for a moment.

"Give me a hand here, Wiggins!" Bigs yelped.

The other guard grabbed Valeria from behind, and the three of them tussled. Once her plan had succeeded, she released the book. The two guards took a moment to catch their breath as they moved in front of her and studied the cause of the commotion.

"Aren't you a little old to be reading this?" Bigs asked, holding up the book.

Valeria remained silent; she didn't feel obligated to respond. Plus, her focus was on something else – something she stole during the commotion. Wedgie's key-ring was bulky in her hands, and she did her best to steady them so they didn't make a sound.

"Whatever," Bigs said, turning away. He placed her book in the box with the other contraband, picked it up and yelled, "Alright ladies! Line up by the door. It's time for breakfast!"

The other girls filed into a line, and Valeria made sure to be last. She had expected the guards waiting for them by the exit, but they weren't the only ones there. A short, elderly lady yawned by the doorway. Valeria recognized her, the penguin-like woman had been her probation officer over the past two years. But there was another man standing next to her, one she had never seen before.

The man was tall, with black hair interspersed with grey. Based on his semi-formal attire, Valeria would have guessed he was a lawyer, but something about his face suggested otherwise. He had olive colored skin, a wide set jaw, and dark eyes that watched her every move. It was hard to pin down what troubled her about him. But she recognized the subtle smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Valeria had seen a smile like that once before. She remembered how she had felt in that moment two years ago. She had finally felt visible. Important. Special. But it had all been a lie. The man she expected to be her new father figure back then didn't see her that way at all.

I was an object to him, Valeria thought to herself. I was just another possession. Nothing more.

Valeria watched their new guest from the back of the line until he broke eye contact with her, turned to the probation officer, and whispered something. Afterward, he collided with Officer Bigs and almost knocked the box of contraband out of his hand.

While the collision appeared harmless and accidental, Valeria swore she saw something else. A flash of movement too subtle for an untrained eye to notice. But she knew the man had grabbed something and held it behind his back. This was ironic; she was concealing a set of keys behind her back. When she reached the exit, the probation officer motioned for Valeria and the other guard to stop. They were the only ones left in the room, and the elderly woman nodded at the guard as she spoke.

"Thank you, Officer Wiggins. I have a special visitor for you today, Valeria," she said, motioning to the other man. "This is your uncle, Luis."

This was a lie. Valeria had no Uncle Luis, and while it was tempting to expose this smug figure's charade, she decided it might be fun to mess with him first. She offered a fake smile as she said, "Encantada de conocerte, extrano. Nunca tuve un tio." Nice to meet you, stranger. I've never had an uncle before.

The man smiled back. "Igualmente, Valeria, y lo haces ahora." Nice to meet you too, Valeria, and you do now.

Valeria looked up with surprise. The man's smirk had widened, but she didn't get a chance to reply before the probation officer came between them.

"Looks like you two are getting along," she croaked. "Could I ask that you speak in English please?"

"Yes," the man named Luis said. "I was just saying that I haven't seen her since she was a little girl. Right, Valeria?"

Valeria paused. He had answered with another lie. A smooth one that showcased just how charming – and deceptive he could be. She swallowed a lump in the back of her throat before finally deciding to play along. "Yes, it's been a long time."

"If you don't mind," Luis said as he turned to the probation officer, "I would like a moment to speak with my niece alone."

The elderly lady frowned. "We normally don't leave the delinquents alone with family members and..."

"I only need a moment," Luis pleaded as he leaned closer to the probation officer and whispered in her ear. His whisper was louder than it needed to be, loud enough for her to hear him. "The girl's mother was recently diagnosed with cancer."

"Oh my," the probation officer replied. "Of course. I'll be right outside. The guard and I need to leave the door open, but please take all the time you need."

"Thank you," Luis said with a smile.

Valeria watched them leave, before turning back to the man, her fake grin replaced by a scowl. "My mom died when I was five," she whispered.

"So I've read," Luis said, inspecting the sole dirty window nearby. "That was...ten years ago?"

Valeria's emotions welled up inside as she pictured her mother; she was alive in her dreams, and dead in her nightmares. "Eleven," Valeria replied. "Cut the crap. Who are you?"

"Someone who thinks you have a lot of potential," Luis said, his attention focused on the world outside the window.

"Potential, huh?" Valeria asked with a frown. "Well, you're potentially some creep who abducts young girls from detention centers."

"Trust me," Luis said with a laugh, "If I wanted to kidnap you, I would have already."

Valeria raised an eyebrow. "Thanks, that's really comforting. So, you're offering me a choice huh?"

"You can either come with me," Luis said as he turned and faced her, "Or you can use those keys behind your back to escape again."

The words hit Valeria like a bolt of lightning. Of course, she was shocked that Luis knew about the keys she stole from Wedgie. She didn't know how long he and the probation officer had been waiting near the exit, but the fact that he witnessed her theft from all the way across the room was extraordinary.

But there was another issue that rattled her. This man clearly wanted to leave the building with her. Just like...he did. Valeria trembled as she thought of her previous foster father. The one who promised to look after her. Who promised she was special...and had betrayed her trust.

"You saw me take them?" Valeria asked, her voice trembling. "Why didn't you say anything to the guard?"

Luis shrugged. "Where's the fun in that? You're quick, but you could be faster. I could teach you a lot of...what do you kids call it? Mad skills?"

Valeria was caught off guard by this response. She had expected flattering words, empty promises, but not this. This man wanted to teach her things? That was different. Maybe he was different too. She studied him curiously and asked, "What are you? Some kind of expert thief or something?"

"There's a lot more to it than just that," Luis said with a laugh.

"Feel free to clarify."

"You've always been quick and elusive," he continued while pacing with his hands behind his back, "but no matter how often you escape, you always feel trapped. With the right type of training, you can become invisible and free. Just like...oh I don't know...maybe Batman?"

Any lingering fear or anxiety Valeria possessed dissipated upon hearing this. She had heard some whoppers in her day, but this lie took the cake. She tilted her head back and laughed as she exclaimed, "What a load of crap!"

Temporarily distracted, Valeria barely noticed one of the light bulbs shattering above. She looked for Luis, but he had vanished. Her search was interrupted by a gentle tug on the hands behind her back.

"This is no joke, kiddo," Luis said from behind her.

Valeria turned and gasped after noticing the key ring he stole from her. He let it jingle around one of his index fingers, the other hand still hiding something behind his back.

Valeria's eyes went wide. "Whoa! How'd you do that?"

"Come with me, and I'll show you."

There it was again. The offer to go with him. Valeria was tempted to drop everything and agree to leave this horrible place. But she was smarter than that. She knew there were horrible places out there too. Prisons worse than this one.

Frowning, she asked, "Who are you? More importantly, why should I leave with you...Batman?"

Luis laughed while twirling the key-ring around his exposed hand. "You can call me Frank, and no, I'm not Batman. Let's just say, our kind aren't as respected as the Caped Crusader."

"Our kind?" Valeria asked with intrigue. "What does that mean?"

"It means you're special, Valeria. I've read your file, and I know you've been alone most of your life. I know you've been mistreated, cast aside, and taken advantage of. But I'm offering you the chance to be part of something special."

"What makes you think I want to be special?" Valeria asked. Her shoulders slouched and she let out a sigh. "Maybe I'm perfectly okay with being a girl that no one cares about."

Luis – or Frank was it? – chuckled under his breath. "Maybe that's true. But let me ask this: If you really wanted to be boring and unimportant, then why bother reading this?"

Valeria's eyes widened as he finally revealed the other object he'd been hiding behind his back. She looked over at the worn paperback novel longingly, tempted to snatch it back.

"A little below your reading level," Frank said, holding up the novel and inspecting its pages.

"You'd be surprised," Valeria shot back. "They barely give us reading material suited for eleven-year-olds. Give it back."

Frank shook his head and continued flipping through pages. "Hmm... sounds familiar. Another kid no one cared about. But, he wasn't boring and unimportant. Turns out he was incredibly special. One has to wonder, though, what would have happened if Harry had turned Hagrid down, and didn't agree to go with him?"

"What are you getting at?" Valeria asked, her voice ripe with skepticism.

Frank shut the book and held it in one hand, while he held the set of keys in the other. "I've read about your other foster parents. I know they...mistreated you, to put it lightly. But I'm different, and I'll prove it. While they simply took you away, I am willing to offer you a choice." He held up the set of keys first. "Take the keys, escape, and make your way in the unfair world you already know. Or," he said while holding up the Harry Potter book, "Take a chance on me, and I'll show you a different world. One where you can feel unique, powerful, and most importantly – appreciated."

Valeria's anxiety flared as she weighed both options. Her hands trembled, and her mouth had gone dry. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She was afraid of being used again. Of being hurt again. But that fear felt lighter and less important than a deeper fear – a fear of missing out.

What if he was telling the truth? What if she had a chance to finally become important? Respected? Even...loved?

"There's not much time before they come back," Frank said, juggling his hands back and forth. "What's it gonna be?"

Valeria clenched her sweaty palms and closed her eyes. She took a slow deep breath before opening them again. She met his gaze, made her choice, and reached for one of his hands.