Kid-Kid

Carl Knox was born in Ferroburg, and born to Ferroburg. His father was a steel worker—a career as old as the city itself—and his mother cleaned houses—seeing the inside of every life, great and small. Carl was a bright, active kid, and his life was average until his mother passed away. Carl’s father lost his job and the house soon after. The old man heard about steel work in Pittsburg from a friend and went to check it out, leaving Carl with elderly neighbors. The weeks stretched into months, his father still hadn’t returned, and Carl knew he wasn’t coming back. In time, even his aging adoptive parents left as death claimed them during a particularly bad winter. When Child Protective Services showed up for him, he ran.   That first night out on the streets, Carl wasn’t afraid. His parents were gone, but they'd taught him to know to the city. He felt Ferroburg open her arms and embrace him, and he was home. He learned fast and made allies. Something about Ferroburg itself listened to him, and he listened back. The city taught him to move and to use his surroundings to hide or confuse pursuers, and even how to guide people into unexpected dangers. He learned the names and faces and loves of a hundred people all but invisible to the world—the destitute, the mentally ill, shopkeepers, janitors, city crews, and sex workers—and through all of them he learned to take the pulse of the city and know where she was hurting. Kid-Kid misses his mom, of course, but doesn’t think about his dad much; his family is on the streets and in the poor neighborhoods.   They call him Kid-Kid, so that’s his name now. They all know if they are in trouble, Kid-Kid is the man to find, and he’ll always do what he can to help.