He called me Lizzy.

My Pa, raising me to be the warrior I was, had disappeared before my seventeenth birthday. No trace, no letter, and certainly no whereabouts of his location. The old crank's down our street had bet their chess board's that he'd  been the victim of white-clawing. They really believed my Pa had been white-clawed by the faceless Diabolics outside our dome. Those old men must be blind. Even if they could navigate their white head's through the rows of slums, they could not see Pa's wit.

However, without Pa to guide me, I was no better than the thieves around Delta-Dome, tricking the poor families that littered the streets like dirty pebbles in the muddy stream of death. There was nothing for me in Delta-Dome, and if Pa figured it was time for him to disappear, then I would too. 

This meant overruling the security center, the only law and order which presided Delta-Dome's citizens. After pulling a few strings to avoid military-police I would slip past the iron door where Diabolics lurked in every corner, waiting.

I would do all this alone, of course.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

"You are not doing all this alone, of course" My co-partner in crime, Sage Sullivan smirks.

I knew Sage since I was eleven.

Our first encounter, being the messy and memorable one it was, consisted of flying bullets and permanent bruises. It happened one night in a sulky bar, Pa hovering over Brutus's knocked-out body (Sage's father), while Sage and I flew  fists at each other's heads in an argument I was the root of.

 Brutus had accused me of touching his cup of foamy-stuff, saying my cold gray-eyes made me "look wrong in the head", and my pale skin "was the symptoms of becoming Diabolic". I was a starved little large-eyed thing at the time, mistakingly bumping into his glass.

 Pa was wringing out his hat outside, his silvery hair slick from the rain. He heard snaky Brutus's words of poison but only watched me from afar, his mouth twisting into a grim smile. Pa was testing me and I knew it.

"Your folks don't feed you, 'that why you stealing from me now? Think twice ya little devil, this glory-juice only works for hard-workin 'fellers like meh-self" Brutus laughs huskily, slapping his large hand on his very much larger knee. I did not  flinch or move from where I stand, realizing his dark eyes were still lingering on my figure. 

"Yer too scrawny to square-up on me, little-devil. Girls can't fight, 'unlike muh boy over here" Brutus rotates his large-frame to younger Sage, who looks firmly down at his lap. I almost pity the blonde-haired boy, if Pa was anything like this man I would have poisoned his drink a long time ago.

"Sir, I'm not here to fight. My apologies for bumping into you" I shifted my body into a slight bow, fixing my eyes remotely to Sage. Without warning, Brutus grabs my wrist in his fat fingers, pulling me down in front of him. 

"Not so fast, little-devil. I wantcha to pay me for another drink. You's grimy 'lil self touched it, can't have meh-self 'gettin sick now, can I?" Brutus snarls, tightening his grip.  

"Sir, I will do no such thing. Kindly release me" I demand, impassively. At that moment I must have done something to look inhumane, because Brutus gasps. 

He doesn't lift a fat finger off my wrist, instead screaming, "SAGE TEACH THIS LITTLE-DEVIL A LESSON BEFORE I DO". Poor Sage, having seen the physical capabilities of his own father, leaps up to attack me.

Fortunately, I am prepared.

 In a swift motion, my fingers wrap around Brutus's drink, smashing the glass at the plump man's head. The thick glass seeps into his skull, and he cries out for Sage to kill me before his body strikes the floor.

 I am caught off guard as Sage's fist finds my stomach, an impact I would surely have felt if there was any food in my body to begin with. I catch his very arm, but he flings his other against my cheek, hard. Without blinking, I drag his arm in the opposite direction, where I take his back and slither my arms to form a dangerous choke-hold against his neck. The beautiful art of jiu-jitsu, Pa's own teachings.

I would have won the brawl quickly, just like that, but Sage has more wit than I gave him credit for. He collects a large piece of glass from Brutus's drink and sinks it down my thigh, repeatedly. His actions do not bring me any pain, but the last thing I want is to be a limp. 

I push him away only to mount him, delivering sharp blow's against his face. His fingers are still fixed around the glass, and he swipes at my face, going around a second time at my chin. My hands control his armed hand, pushing it down against the bloodied floor. I link my arm over his shoulder and under his elbow, grabbing my own wrist. Quickly, I thrust him to the side and sink the grip deeper, prepared to break his arm if I had to. He is shaking, I noticed.

"STOP!" Shots are fired aimlessly, likely from the barman. I push Sage down, looking up only to find the whole room crowding around in a circle at the situation. Pa must be staring, only I can't tell from his lowered hat. Sage uses the opportunity to muster the strength to push me away, scrabbling backwards. Only, his back hits cold metal, the barman's rifle against his back. He is still shaking.

"Oh my, did that little girl just kill Brutus?"

"What a monster!"

"Wasn't it self-defense?"

"I wouldn't 'ave my worst enemy 'fightin Brutus..."

The Barman is about to strike Sage with his rifle, but the small dirty-blonde flees, using the blood to slide in-between Pa's legs. As he sprints out, he doesn't look back. Unless I want to bring down any trouble on Pa, I realize I should do the same. But I 'aint no coward, only twice as stupid. So I wipe the blood tricking from my cheek, and slowly, confidently, leave the room with all eyes watching me. Idiot bystanders. But what could they do? This was Delta-Dome.

As I leave, I head home with Pa gradually following behind me. His dark blue eyes twinkle ominously, until he finally stops me at the edge of the passageway. We don't say anything to each other at first, only listen to the yowling cat's and mugging's occurring within the radius. It is still raining.

"Elizabeth. And so it seems you are ready for this world" He doesn't quite meet my eyes.

"But you're stupid" He cuts in, stepping forward and lowering his hat, allowing the raindrops to darken his hair. My own black bangs are drenched, sticking over my eyes in awkward directions as more raindrops come to wash the red from my face.

"You killed a man today because he brought you discomfort. That was selfish of you. He had a son relying on him for food, maybe even a family" His voice hardens.  

"I taught you how to fight so you could protect your friends and family. Not for the reason of murder, no matter who it is. Do not allow yourself to become cocky" He digs his hands through his wet hair before continuing, "Today should have ended differently. The boy attacking you did it from fear, he didn't want his father to hurt you any more than he would have. Think above the situation, Lizzy."

I offer him a slight nod. Pa is clever, but we are very much different people. I had seen the bruises littering Sage's neck and legs from first-glance. I was doing him a favor. The world would be a much better place without people like Brutus. And although I respected and followed Pa, this was one matter I couldn't agree on him with.

Bad men were better off dead.