Chapter Eighty One: the Night Before Christmas.
Chapter Eighty One: the Night Before Christmas.
Harry Potter wondered how got himself into the predicaments that he got in sometimes. He was surrounded by a bunch of Christmas shopping procrastinators. He was in one of the biggest and most exclusive malls in Gotham City. Harley followed him close behind and she was joined by Pamela. Lyta stuck close to Harry and Diana followed the both of them. She looked fairly amused at the expression on Harry's face.
He recalled how they got into this position. It all started when they all got together for breakfast this morning and they discussed plans that they had for the holidays. Sapphire, who was with them this morning, said that she was going skiing with her father in Aspen. She left for the Airport straight from breakfast.
As for Harry, and the others, they were heading to the Blackgate Manor until Boxing Day. When they were done there, they were heading off to vacation until just before New Year's.
"So, where are you going for the holidays?" Pamela asked Harley.
Harley spoke in her obviously bubbly tone. "I'm going home to my family, to visit them. With both my mother and sister, you know, they live in Brooklyn."
'That's really not a big surprise,' Pamela thought to herself and any bond mates that happened to be listening into the conversation.
"But it's not after Christmas, because it's murder to get a flight out of Gotham City this time a year," Harley explained. "Unless of course you have a private jet or something. And I can't get the time off until after, because we're short staffed. But thank you for inviting me along."
Harley decided to milk the moment, she was given an invitation to join them on this shopping trip. She was also invited to join them for Christmas and that was something that she was excited about.
The only problem was she hadn't purchased any gifts for them or anyone else until the last minute.
"Always the same every year, I wait until the last minute," Harley said. She shook her head. "And you thought Blackgate was a madhouse. Well some of the guys in the Arkham ward look pretty sane compared to these people here."
"I agree," Diana mused. She really was regretting this trip, maybe not as much as Harry did. She did have to pick up one or two more things, but she had the vast majority of her shopping done. Well before the aptly named Black Friday, she should note.
Pamela crinkled her nose. She was pretty sure that she had everything in order. Diana leaned over towards Pamela and gave her a slight smile.
'Just grin and bare it, honey,' Diana thought to her.
'Figures that Harley would be someone who would wait until the very last minute,' Pamela thought.
Emily piped in on the conversation after a few seconds. 'Amanda's just as bad.'
'I so am not,' Amanda said. 'I got my shopping done a full two days before Christmas this year."
"Good for you,' Kara commented, applauding and Donna joined in.
'I'm being triple teamed and not in the good way,' Amanda sighed. She clutched her hands and lowered her head.
Harry held Lyta on his back since she wanted to be up there. Harley had a death grip on his hand that she thought was subtle. Given that it was Harley, it wasn't all that subtle at all. Pamela and Diana looked kind of amused, even though the crowds were getting to them.
'Figures, you'd draw a crowd wherever you went,' Donna interjected. She looked amused, as did the twins.
Harry shook his head and he knew that kind of attention was a blessing and a curse. He saw Diana in particular keeping her eyes on some people who were looking at Harry quite shiftily. If they tried anything, she would take them down quickly. It was a well-known fact that she was his bodyguard.
'Do you think that anyone is going to try anything?' Karen asked.
'Always a chance, we are in Gotham City,' Harry replied. He was on a hair trigger to be honest.
"So, you were the one who had the interview with Day?" Harry asked.
"Yes, I conducted the initial Psychiatric interview with Julian," Harley confirmed. She spoke with a passion that many should have with their chosen career field. Then again it was hard to tell and when it wasn't just Harley being Harley. "You could kind of tell it by the crimes that he committed, but he's really insane. He is obsessed with dates, months, and days to an obsessive memory. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of them."
Harley collected her thoughts.
"Insisted on him calling me Calendar Man when I talked to him, he's embraced the name fully," Harley added. "He's frightenly intelligent and well spoken, but very OCD. It's almost hard to believe that he committed these crimes and you'd never guess it if you didn't know."
She shook her head. It was obvious that she was recalling something.
"Come to think of it though, Doctor Crane was like that as well," Harley said. "He was well respected, well spoken, intelligent. But it wasn't until after he was caught that it was obvious what was wrong with him."
"Day is locked up where he can get the help that he needs though," Harry said.
"Yeah, but he's an interesting case, about how a mild mannered man can just snap," Harley added. Her lips tugged into a brief smile. "Something went really wrong up there. It went really wrong all in his head, he's….well you know."
The group couldn't continue this conversation. They made their way to an extremely expensive jewelry store.
"I think we should take a look inside," Harry said.
Pamela nodded in agreement. She wanted to see if they had any crystal perfume bottles. She made some perfume for each of the girls. The redhead was on the hunt for something nicer to put it in.
"I thought that you got your shopping done months ago," Diana replied.
"I did," Harry said.
The group saw a woman who looked to be in her fifties stare at them fairly disdainfully.
"Man, she looks like she hasn't gotten laid in decades," Harley murmured underneath her breath.
It was a statement that was meant to be muttered, but it was obvious from the woman's gaze that she overheard Harley.
Her attitude did shift when she saw the one and only Harry Potter.
"We'll meet back at the front of the store," Harry told them. Pamela, Harley, and Diana all went off.
Harry nudged Lyta and caused her to get off of his back.
'Well it looks like you're getting a bit fat, aren't you, Lyta?' Donna teased her.
'Actually, I can carry her on my back for the entire day and not really notice,' Harry reminded Donna.
'Which you have,' Donna replied with a snort.
Lyta gave Donna a wicked smirk until she could hear some warnings to behave by Hippolyta and Lily. The girl folded her arms and gave a slight scowl. Harry lead her over with a smile through their face.
Harry reached the rings. He was looking for inspiration for ideas. He could make something along those lines with his own skills and magic. The young emerald eyed man was just taking a nice close look at what they had to offer.
A loud "oooh" erupted from Lyta. Harry slowly turned towards her and raised his eyebrow. Lyta clapped her hand over her mouth suddenly. He saw a rather understated emerald bracelet.
"It's so pretty," Lyta whispered. Her expression danced when she looked at it with pure awe etched in her eyes.
Harry cleared his throat and got the attention of one of the attendants. "Could you bring that out please, so my daughter can try it on?"
"Certainly, sir," the attendant said in one of those overly posh accents that might as well have been fake.
The bracelet was on Lyta and it matched the color of her eyes. The girl didn't bother to ask him to buy it, after all, she figured that he would have purchased a pretty good gift already.
Harry was always able to pick up on what was said, as much as what was unsaid. He could tell how much his daughter wanted it.
Harry fished his wallet out and pulled out his credit card. He turned to the attendant with a smile. "Ring it up."
She looked at it in surprise. "At once, sir."
Lyta squealed in delight. She was too wired to really say anything, so she settled for hugging Harry tight. He bent down to pull her up into a hug. Lyta gave him a slight kiss.
Harry smiled and gave her a slightly reprimanding smile. He kissed her on the top of the head, fully realizing where they are.
The attendant handed Harry a receipt. No sooner did this happen, did Pamela, Harley, and Diana join them. They just finished up their business on the other side of the store.
"So, are you all ready to go?" Harry asked. He got nods of confirmation.
The group was about ready to go and leave through the front exit of the store. Unfortunately, they ran into someone.
They were interrupted by a six foot six musclebound African-American male with gold teeth, who is dressed like Santa Claus. There were three others that were dressed like Santa's Elves. All of them were armed with weapons. It was nothing fancy, rather there was a shotgun, a couple of handguns, and a m16. It was obvious that they were armed and dangerous no matter how you sliced it. They were here to rob the store.
"Alright, every one of you freeze and step back, and none of you get hurt," one of the elves said gruffly. "None of you bitches want to be on Santa's naughty list, don't you?"
The leader of the gang pointed a gun in the direction of Lyta. Harry reacted about as well as one would expect. Harry stepped close to him.
Before the man could respond, he was lifted off the ground and thrown into the man beside him. Diana rushed over and nailed one of them with a clothesline to the man closest to her. He did a three sixty flip and landed right on his face.
There was chaos and screaming. No one seemed to know what happened. Lyta took advantage of this distraction and punched Santa in the face as hard she could. He was sent crashing through the door, taking the door frame with him.
The dust settled and the only thing Harley saw was someone crashing through the door and breaking it. She saw the members of the gang down and in a lot of pain.
"I think we're done here," Harry said, leading the group out of the side exit.
The scene shifted to locations to a very exclusive restaurant that was part of a hotel. The hotel was owned by the one and only Rupert Thorne, which meant that was fairly large and looked extremely over the top. It was something that even Donald Trump would shake his head at regarding how excessive and over the top it was.
The man himself seated down at a table. Carlton Duquesne sat on his right side and Carl Grissom sat on his left at a table towards the back of the establishment. It was a place that was private enough to ensure that your conversation wasn't overheard. At the same time though, it's in plain view of everyone who happens to come in.
The reason for this was extremely obvious, given the company that Thorne found himself in. On the left side of the table was Luigi "Big Lou" Maroni and to Maroni's left were "Fat" Tony Zucco and Eddie Skeevers.
On the right side of the table is Carmine "the Roman" Falcone, who had stitches in the side of his face. His daughter Sofia sat to the left of him and his son Mario sat to the right.
The reason these members of "polite" society have gathered at this particular place, at this particular time, and on this particular day would become clear soon.
"Everyone look a bit happier, Christmas is coming, isn't it time to put all of this nonsense behind us?" Thorne asked. "Time to remember the reason for the season and know that we'd be a lot better off if we worked together."
Thorne got the attention of both sides. Whether or not they were going to listen to what he said was another matter entirely.
"The current gang war is bad for business for all three of us," Thorne warned them.
He hoped that he could mediate a truth between both of the Maroni and Falcone sides. This wasn't the first time he did this. It was about all he did when he wasn't running the illegal gambling and sports rackets for the Roman and Maroni. At least that's what he did before the shift in the political landscape.
Thorne thought that he was perfectly capable of mediating things between both sides.
There was just one problem that Thorne didn't see. Big Lou wasn't Sal and it was obvious that he was carrying a massive grudge towards the Falcone camp.
"So, you're telling me that you just want to let it go, let go what happened," Big Lou said. His hair trigger temper as on the surface. "After the Falcones run me out of the country, you want me to play nice with."
The Roman's eyes narrowed. He didn't say anything. His body language could be read though and he was just as irritated with this situation.
"I think that you more than made up for it, Luigi," Carmine replied. He took a large sip of wine. "Given that your son decided to take the Carmine hotel. But that's just like you Maronis, slipping in the back door and taking what doesn't belong to you."
Big Lou stared into Carmine's eyes. His hand wrapped around the spoon. He looked like he was about ready to dive across the table and stab Carmine to death with a spoon.
Carmine and Sofia were both upset about what happened on the twenty first. The stitches on the side of Carmine's face proved this fact.
"Gentlemen, we're going around in circles," Thorne said. He knew that they returned to this same particular argument a couple of times already. "For the good of Gotham City, you need to…"
"Rupert, I know what's good for Gotham City," Carmine warned him. His mouth shifted into a slight and not so subtle sneer. His glare went across the table towards Big Lou. "And I'll make deals with him, once he gives me back my grandfather's hotel."
"Ah, you can't take the heat, can you, Carmine?" Big Lou asked. His tone was mocking. He enjoyed any chance to stick it to the Falcones.
"I'm not willing to make any deals with him until he returns my property to me," Carmine said.
"Let me help the two of you," Thorne said. He could see the eyes of both Big Lou and the Roman on him.
The two men rarely agreed on anything, but it was obvious they both thought that Thorne was getting too big for his britches. It was almost like he thought that he was a bigger player.
"Thorne, I hope you're not telling me what I'm to do," Big Lou whispered. He wanted to slap Thorne across the back of his head.
The Roman nodded. A part of him respected Thorne from trying to move up in the world, but the way he was doing it left something to be desired.
One could also see that Sofia and Zucco glared at each other like they were trying to set fire to each other with their minds. It was a good thing that there was a large table in between both sides.
Mario shifted on the table, and he didn't want to be here.
The only thing which kept them coming to blows and guns is that they were in public and they were on Thorne's turf. So to attack here would be a problem, at least today.
"Don't you think that we should work together against the other factions?" Thorne asked. "Both Cobblepot and Sionis…"
"I'd take my chances with those freaks alone than work with a Falcone," Big Lou whispered.
"Until he returns my grandfather's hotel, we have nothing else to say to each other," the Roman said shortly.
"It's a shame, but if that's how you feel," Thorne replied. This meeting was not going his way. This petty war between the Falcones and the Maronis caused him to grow extremely uncomfortable and nervous.
"Enjoy Christmas, Falcone," Big Lou whispered. His grin grew completely wide.
There were threats that were implied, but unspoken. Both sides were unable to come to any form of agreement. Even the threat of other factions did not get to work together.
The groups all went their separate ways. There were no more threats, but this entire dinner showed that there were more than a few underlined threats between all members of the group.
A pair of gentlemen sat in a car parked behind a van across from the street of a large condo, dressed exactly like one would expect a pair of gangsters from the nineteen-thirties to wear. Their business suits looked like something that was straight off the rack. One of them had a pair of binoculars and the other had a camera.
"So, the Cat's been busy, hasn't she?" one of the thugs asked. His partner nodded with a wide grin on his face.
"Yeah, after what she did to Big Lou and Zucco, along with the Roman and his idiot kid," the second gangster agreed.
"Sofia's pretty pissed off" the first gangster commented. "She was swearing up and down that she was going to skin the bitch. You know, because the Cat was the one that ripped her off."
The second gangster nodded and shivered as well. He turned the man beside him. "So what the hell are we doing out here anyway?"
"Grissom was told by Eckhardt that his mistress was stepping out on him with Napier," the first gangster said. "You know, before the dickhead got himself shot?"
"Who do you think is doing it?" the gangster asked.
"Hey, as long as we're not the ones getting shot, then who the fuck cares," the first gangster said. He shrugged and shook his head. "But Eckhardt got his fat ass killed before he can confirm that Napier's been doing the nasty with the boss's mistress. There's no way to prove it, at least not yet."
The first gangster lit up a cigarette and took a long drag off of it.
"If those two are fucking around with each other, there's no way that they're going to resist getting together when Grissom is preoccupied with something else," the first gangster said. Smoke blew into the alleyway. The second gangster had a dumb look on his face. "He's going to take advantage of the fact that the Boss is in a meeting to fuck his bitch."
The look of comprehension spread over the thug's face. "Oh, why didn't you say that in the first place?"
The first gangster lifted his hand up and slapped himself on the face with a sigh.
"Hey, did you know that smoking's bad for you?" the second gangster asked.
"So, is running your mouth at me," the first gangster grumbled. "Some quack doctor said that, what do they know? You're about as bad as my mother."
"I thought your mother was….."
This conversation was cut short by the front entrance of the condo swinging open. Napier stepped out, with Grissom's mistress following him. She was an extremely attractive blonde that used to be a model. He wore an extremely expensive looking tailored suit, while she was just in the process of doing up a white silk robe.
The two thugs watched from afar, out of sight. The lead thug nudged the second thug in the side. The second gangster smacked his hand around and pulled out a camera.
The very intimate conversation showed them in an extremely compromising position. The thug continued to snap pictures. The conversation ended with the blonde kissing Jack on the cheek and she closed the door behind her.
Jack got into his car and drove off.
"So, we should go and get these developed…."
This thug conversation was cut off by a rapping outside of the window. The lead thug rolled the window down and looked towards the person responsible. "What the fuck do you want?"
The person responded by shooting both gangsters in the head with a silenced colt-45. The two men slumped down onto the car seat, bleeding from the wounds that killed them instantly.
The man reached into the car and picked up the camera.
Bob the Goon, Jack's number one man, scurried away from the car as quickly as his legs could carry him. The incriminating evidence was in his hand and no one would be the wiser.
It was around two in the afternoon. Harry split off with Diana, Harley, Lyta, and Pamela, standing in front of the corner apartment where Sapphire lived. She already just left to spend Christmas in Aspent with her father.
He arrived at the apartment to drop off his gift for Alex, who was currently sharing the apartment with Sapphire. He invited her to the manor already for Christmas, but she turned it down, saying that she already made plans for the holidays. She did make it perfectly clear that she wasn't spending the holidays with Lionel and Alexander.
Harry knocked on the door and waited for an answer. The door opened and Harry was caught momentarily off guard. It was answered by Tess of all people.
'That's right, Alexa is her student mentor at Harvard,' Harry thought, shaking his head. 'And I wouldn't be shocked if she reveals that she knows that Tess is her younger sister."
"Harry, it's good to see you!" Tess said in an excited tone. She maintained her composure in seconds. "How are you doing, how's school been, what have you been up to…well I know what you've been up to, but I mean other things that you've been up to."
Harry smiled, that was certainly a mouthful that she said.
"I've been doing well," Harry informed her with a chuckle. "School's been going pretty good. And I've been just settling in for the holidays, preparing for the new launches that are going to happen in the first quarter of the year."
It was at this point that Alexa came into the living room from the direction of the kitchen. She noticed that Harry was standing in the hallway still. She took a moment to clear her throat.
Alexa shook her head and gave Tess a slight smile.
"Tess, why don't you let Harry in already?" Alexa asked. Tess stepped back as gracefully as she could with the circumstances and allowed Harry to enter the room. "Would you like to join us for coffee and pie?"
Harry was a caffeine addict at heart, so he would never turn down a cup of coffee and he was never one to say no to pie.
"I think that would be a good idea," Harry replied.
"Oh, that's great," Tess commented in a bubbly voice. She grabbed Harry by the hand and lead him into the living room, much to Alexa's obvious amusement.
While Tess and Harry got comfortable in the living room, Alexa moved off to the kitchen. Harry turned towards him with an inquiring eyebrow.
"So, how have you been doing with your studies?" Harry inquired. Tess looked at in with a quizzical look in her eyes. "I do have access for how you're doing accamedemically due to the fact that it's my company providing the scholarship. But it's great to hear these things from the horse's mouth sometimes."
"I'm in the middle of getting my doctorate in Marine biology," Tess said. It was impressive, given that she was only sixteen years of age. "But, it's nothing compared on what you're doing. You got another one since the last time we talked. I can't believe that you can do enough work to get one done in a year considering how busy you are."
Alexa entered the room, carrying the coffee and pie. The interesting thing was that she wore an apron and looked quite domestic.
"You know, Harry was asking you about your accomplishments and not his own," Alexa commented. Tess looked rather sheepish.
Harry waved off the statement. "Well the conversation got sidetracked a little bit, but it is a valid question never the less."
Tess looked a bit vindicated and she didn't hesitate to show Alexa this.
"And to answer your question, I've got a system down, where I minor in the next subject that I'm going to major in," Harry said. "This year was a bit of an exception to that rule, since originally I was going to do Biology and not Psychology. So I'm doing a bit more work than I do normally."
"It does sound like a pretty good system," Alexa said. She turned towards Tess. "Wouldn't you agree?"
"If it works, I wouldn't change it," Tess conceded.
Both of them were obvious geniuses in their own right. If both were willing to put in the work, they were easily capable of doing the same. As a matter of fact, Alexa has already done something quite similar.
"So, what are you doing in Gotham?" Harry asked.
Alexa answered the question. "Plan was always for Tess to join me for Christmas."
She smiled and added. "It just was supposed to happen in Metropolis and not in Gotham City."
"I see," Harry replied with a nod. "And the invitation is still open to join us at the Manor, there's enough room for everyone. And I drove over so I can leave straight here."
"Well who can pass up an offer like that," Tess said. Alexa looked at Tess and raised her eyebrow. Tess responded by giving her a pair of the big puppy dog eyes.
Alexa could not believe that she was being manipulated so handily .She threw her hands back into the air and gave an exasperated sigh. "Fine."
The trio finished up their coffee at that moment, along with some really good pie.
"I made it myself," Alexa told him with a smile. She reached over to gather up the dishes, but Harry's hand brushed against hers since he was about to do the same. Alexa smirked widely. "Well, if you want to help me with the dishes, you can."
Harry nodded his head in response. The two of them entered the kitchen to let Tess do whatever.
The moment they entered the kitchen, Alexa threw her arms around Harry's neck. She kissed him deeply, practically shoving her tongue down his throat.
Harry responded accordingly, their tongues battled for domination. She wasn't easily dominated, but she succumbed to his tender actions in a matter of moments. He reached around and groped her ass, she he knew that she got off on that.
An eternity seemed to pass. Alexa backed up against the counter when she pulled away from him. Her red hair clung down against her face. She smirked sexily at him, licking her lips.
"You know, I never got to return the favor from the last time that we were alone together."
With that said, she slunk downwards to unzip his fly using her teeth.
Alexa saw his cock spring out. She cooed when she looked at it. Her hand traced down the edge of it, feeling its hardness grew within her grip.
"I think I'm going to enjoy returning the favor," Alexa whispered. She leaned forward and gave him a long and lingering kiss with her tongue. She raked her tongue against his hole.
Alexa's tongue slowly brushed all over his throbbing manhood. She lathered his cock in her salvia, all while playing with his balls all the way.
She leaned back and placed her lips around him. Slowly, she made her way down on Harry. She teased him when she inched his throbbing manhood deep into her mouth.
Harry groaned when he felt her hot mouth tighten around him. He placed his hands on the top of her head and allowed her to come down onto her. Her lips pressed against him.
She came all the way off of him, slowly, but surely. His cock lathered in her salvia when she backed off.
Without warning or preamable, Alexa pushed her lips down onto his throbbing manhood again. She hummed a tune when she worked over his cock.
"Alexa, oh god," Harry grunted. He felt her sexy mouth work him over. Her nose rubbed against his pelvic bone.
She continued to work him over. Things proved to be getting a bit heated, although they had to be careful because Tess was in the next room.
Alexa looked up into his eyes. His cock inside her mouth was an erotic sight for sure. He pumped into her mouth when she deep throated him.
She reared her head back and allowed his manhood to unleash a shower of seed into her. Alexa drank up Harry's load really good. Her eyes glazed over when she smiled.
She got to her feet, her nipples poking out from behind the edge of her apron. Harry removed the apron and unbuttoned her blouse.
"Harry," she whined. Her breasts were encased in a nice lacy purple bra. Harry squeezed them and caused her to whimper.
He trailed a series of kisses all the way down her stomach, until he reached the crown jewel that was her center.
"If you're going to scream, I will gag you," Harry whispered. Harry pulled down her skirt and her panties, to reveal her smooth hairless snatch. He slowly rubbed her slit.
Alexa could feel his manhood push against her entrance. The only thing that prevented him from going inside of her was her lifting her hips.
She lifted her hips slightly and allowed him to enter inside of her body. She felt so soft and slick. Alexa sexily bit down on her lip when he entered her. He slowly pushed into her. He worked her up to an orgasm.
"One quick one," Alexa begged him. She didn't know whether or not Tess could hear them where they were. She bit down on Harry's shoulder which stifled her moan.
His large tool stretched out her dripping hot snatch. Harry's hands traveled over her body when he pushed into her. His hand reached around when he groped her ass.
Alexa bit down on his shoulder even harder in response. Her hand went into his other shoulder, digging her nails inside.
The door was swung open a crack momentarily and a pair of eyes looked out. They grew widen from the show.
"Cumming," Alexa whispered. She bit his ear in response.
Harry pushed into her snug snatch. She tightened around him and she came down onto the counter.
"Need to finish you off," Alexa whimpered. Harry pulled out of her. "And soon."
Alexa kicked her high heel shoe off and exposed her stocking clad foot. She slowly pulled her stocking off. She used her right foot to stroke Harry's large cock, when she placed her hands up against the counter to maintain her momentum.
She did the same with her left foot as well. Alexa rocked herself back and forth against the counter, working Harry's cock with her feet. She gave him an amazing footjob.
Harry felt the skin of her legs. She never had to shave her legs, the hair only grew on the top of her hand thanks to the meteor shower.
He felt her elegant arches rub him into completion. He groaned when his balls ached.
A shower of cum erupted from his cock and splattered Alexa's feet from her efforts. She fingered herself into an orgasm and relaxed against the counter.
After Alexa and Harry "did the dishes", the two of them exited the kitchen. They heard a scramble back towards the couch and Tess sitting there.
She tried to act a bit casual, which caused both Alexa and Harry to smile at her.
"So, what are you waiting for?" Alexa asked her. "Why don't you go up and pack so we can get over to the Manor by nightfall?"
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," Tess said in a breathless voice. She scrambled to get up and pack.
Alexa thought about slapping Tess on the ass to get her to going. Given the free show she got, common sense prevailed.
"Merry Christmas, Harry," Alexa said, giving him a kiss on the cheek, acting casual.
Bitter weather was just the cause of the day for Gotham City. That was nothing compared to the reception that this particular comedian got when he performed earlier this month in Gotham City. The sidewalks and streets were mostly clear, but the snow was coming down. Fortunately for him, the worst of the worst would happen when he came home.
He made his way through the front entrance of the small apartment that he owned. Nothing fancy, just some little place that he hung his hat where he built his future. After his performance last month and the bad reviews, he wasn't sure if he had much of a future. The people in Gotham City could be extremely unforgiving.
The comedian, Joseph Kerr, shared the apartment with his wife Jeannie. Who he ran into when she was just getting back from a shift. She was an okay looking blonde, not supermodel looking, but pretty enough.
"Oh, Joe, I didn't see you there," Jeannie said. She shook her head. "I was just getting off from my shift."
"I was as well, darling," Joe answered, shaking his head.
He went to get the bills. It didn't seem to be anything too expensive. They did work some halfway decent jobs.
The couple made their way into their small apartment. When they were settled in, Joe put a kettle onto boil. Jeannie made her way into the bathroom.
When she returned, Joe gave a sigh. "I was thinking, maybe I can make it as a comedian."
Jeannie looked at him, with a raised eyebrow.
"I have to quit my job at Ace Chemicals to do it, but…..I know it sounds silly," Joe continued. He leaned back onto the chair and closed his eyes. "But, if I work at it, I can do it. I know they skewed my debut and last night, I bombed, but…..we have enough money saved up where we'll be fine for a while. And your job pays very well."
Jeannie looked into his eyes. "You got to do what you got to do."
Joe nodded, grateful that she was the supportive spouse that she was. He didn't know what he would do without her. He took a cup of tea into his hands.
A timer dinged in the bathroom and she rushed off to check on something. He just casually drank the cup of tea, watching the nasty snow storm that was taking place in Gotham City.
"Joe, I'm pregnant!"
That statement caused him to drop the cup of coffee on the ground in shock. It shattered to the ground, but he didn't really notice.
Elsewhere in Gotham City, a young raven haired girl with blue eyes sat in a rat-hole apartment in one of the rougher areas of Gotham City. It was near enough Crime Alley to be a cause of concern. The wail of sirens and the sounds of gunfire could be heard in the background.
The girl, ten year old Jessica Todd, sat on a dilapidated couch watching television. She scowled at the sounds coming from the neighborhood and her only response was to turn up the television.
A commercial ended and the evening news popped up. Jessica's eyes blinked and she scrambled to her feet.
She came to a stop in the direction of her Father's bedroom. The girl knocked loudly on the door. Several times in fact, but she got no response. She pushed the door open.
Inside, she found her father, Willis Todd, a dark haired middle aged man with dark eyes, sprawled out on a dirty looking bed, with some woman Jessie never met in her life. Her nose wrinkled in response and she marched over towards her father.
Jessie poked him roughly in the back of the head, until his eyes opened. He turned towards her with a scowl. "What do you want?"
"You told me to wake me up at six," Jessie replied. She frowned. "And you also told me that you weren't going to bring any more of these sluts you found home."
Willis turned towards the woman in the bed, he looked honestly surprised. "Must have gotten really fucking drunk last night."
Jessie turned around, shaking her head in disgust. With one scowl on her face, she walked out of the room, leaving her father to get changed.
Willis joined her in a couple of moments, stumbling in the Apartment proper in a pair of cargo pants and a tight fitting black t-shirt.
"Actually surprised that you're home for once," Jessie muttered underneath her breath.
"It was the closest place to crash," Willis grunted. "And I wanted to check up on you."
Jessie blinked in surprise. She sank down on a chair on the kitchen table.
"And now I've got to go."
She wasn't surprised about that. She frowned. He slipped on a red hoodie and then a black leather jacket that he needed to wear on account of the weather.
"It's Christmas Eve," Jessie said to him.
Willis stopped when he was about three steps away from the door. He fished into his pocket and pulled out a wad of cash from his pocket.
"Buy yourself something nice, kiddo."
He placed the wad of cash on the table. "I'll be back in the morning."
Willis left, leaving Jessie sitting all alone at the kitchen table on Christmas Eve.
It was nine o'clock on the evening of Christmas eve and there was a Family Gathering at the Manor. People were spread out in the estate talking quietly, or in the case of some of the girls, playing video games on the Playstation.
Harry cradled a sleeping Lyta in his arms and walked her up to bed she conked out on his lap a little while ago. It was odd since she was normally so full of energy, but she had a busy day, including the incident at the mall and a sparring session with her sisters.
When Lyta was safely in her bed and tucked in, Harry made his way downstairs. He made his way towards a group of girls who were chatting.
"Have any of you seen James Gordon?" Harry asked them.
Kara was helpful in pointing things out. "He's out smoking on the deck by the kitchen."
"Thanks," Harry said. He leaned forward and kissed Kara. She looked pleased and rather gloating towards the other girls.
As Harry made his way out to the deck, he noticed the girls were broken up into groups. Alexa was in a conversation with Faora and Karen. He just left Kara, Barbara, and Donna, who were sprawled out on the couches. Barbara in particular was sitting on the side of it with her legs crossed and her laptop perched on her lap. Donna was sprawled out on the couch and now that Kara had finished speaking to Harry, she was back to laying on top of her.
Amanda and Emily were playing video games, with Harley right beside them. Harry caught snatches of an animated conversation with Pamela and Tess.
"I think that Shreck things that he has good intentions with that power plant…"
Pamela shook her head. "Well, he might think that, but it's not good for the environment at all."
They kept their voices down because not too many people shared their passion about what they were talking about.
Eventually, Harry tracked down Gordon, who was just finishing up his smoke.
"So, how are you doing?" Harry asked, when Gordon acknowledged his presence. "It's been a couple of weeks since we had a chance to really speak."
That much was obvious given the fact that Gordon was the head of a major department in the GCPD.
"Been pretty busy, crime doesn't sleep in this city," Gordon said. He shook his head. "I was lucky to get the night off. In fact, I was ordered by Chief O'Hara to take it off."
Harry raised his eyebrow with interest. "So, who is supervising the MCU?"
This question caused Gordon to wince momentarily.
"Bullock, it's Bullock," Gordon said.
That caused Harry to wince in response as well. Bullock might have been a good cop. Bullock's biggest flaw was that he was, well he was Bullock.
"So, as you might have guess, I didn't come out here to talk to you about work entirely," Harry replied, after he allowed the image of Harvey Bullock being in charge to fade from his brain. "I've come here to seek your blessing to ask Barbara to marry me."
Gordon was surprised. That was the last question he expected. If nothing else for the fact that Barbara was sixteen, going on seventeen.
"I didn't take you for the type of person that would care about traditions like that," James said frankly. Harry looked at him with a smile. "No offense meant, naturally."
"No offense taken," Harry agreed. "Normally, I wouldn't care, but I respect the fact that you're a traditional guy. And you're a person that I actually respect enough to try and do things the right way."
Harry stopped and thought about that. "I'm not sure if there is a right way in this day and age, considering how much traditions change and all that."
Gordon wouldn't argue with him about that point. He considered it carefully.
"You have been more or less together since you met when Barbara was twelve and you were thirteen," Gordon replied. He mused regarding something. "I'll give you my approval, although I like you to wait until after she graduates university."
Harry chuckled. "Knowing Barbara, if she's anything like me, she's not going to stop studying any time soon."
"True," Gordon admitted. He did agree with Harry about that point regarding his daughter. He didn't see her stop studying any time soon. "When she gets her first major or Doctorate then."
Harry noticed that they had a visitor in the form of the one and only Bruce Wayne.
"Bruce," Gordon commented. "I'll let the two of you speak."
Harry and Bruce walked off. They moved a short distance before he asked one question. "What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to talk to you before it got too late," Bruce said. "Not sure when I'd have a chance to do so again, due to the holidays."
Harry nodded in response and lead Bruce in the direction of one of the studies.
"Not sure whose study this is," Harry said. "Might belong to my Mum or Kara….."
'It's mine,' Kara said happily. 'So feel free to make yourself at home.'
"Actually, now that I see it, it's Kara's," Harry answered with a smile.
The two of them sat into arm chairs in the middle of the study.
"A Merry Christmas to you then," Bruce told him. "I wanted to give you a gift in person."
He handed Harry the neatly wrapped present.
"As I said, I didn't want to do a joint Christmas dinner, because I wasn't really into the ritual of the holiday," Bruce replied. "And I haven't been since I was eight years old."
Harry got the message loud and clear.
"I do try and put on a good face for Alfred's sake, but this time of year is a reminder of what I've lost," Bruce commented.
"I understand," Harry said. "I mostly do it to see the smiles on the girl's faces, and they do spoil me during it, to thank me for what I've done for them over the year."
Bruce nodded. Harry opened the present that he was given. He raised his eyebrow, it was a complete Grey Ghost collection on DVD.
"Hmm, well this is an interesting gift," Harry muttered.
"You didn't seem to recognize the them when we were at Dumpler's and that's not something I can let stand," Bruce commented. "It's a classic, a bit over the top sometimes, but a classic."
"The actor does tend to have his moments of overreacting," Harry commented.
"Yes, well that was really his career, the Grey Ghost," Bruce replied. He looked at the DVD.
"I'm surprised that these came out on DVD. Wasn't there an entire minefield with rights issues and all that?"
"Yes, it was a nightmare, but thankfully they were finally able to sort it out," Bruce said. "The fans of the show deserved a complete release and not reruns chopped up in syndication."
He did hope that the remake movie was just a bad rumor. Not only was it not going to be in the same spirit of the series, being darker and grittier because it was the 1990s, but Matt Hagen was the front runner to get the role of the Grey Ghost.
Howard Branden faced off with Officer Jordan Rich. To say that Branden had seen better days would be putting things extremely mildly.
"You got too fucking greedy for you own good, Rich," Branden lectured him. He was busy poking the officer in the chest. "And you ended up getting caught on camera taking a bribe by that mother fucking Vicki Vale, of all fucking people. And now you're under investigation by Harvey Dent, of all fucking people."
Branden finished poking Rich roughly in the chest. He calmed his nerves down.
"That's going to cause trouble for everyone involved, Rich," Branden whispered dangerously. He looked like a demented bulldog when he stared the man down. "So keep your fucking head clear, and don't do anything fucking stupid, and this will smooth over after some time has passed just like it always does. Do you understand?"
Branden was in a short temper after Frank Pratt was killed in his own house. He was finished being poked in the chest.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Rich said. He wanted to give Branden a piece of his mind, but he knew that it wasn't going to be a battle that he was going to win.
"Then go, get out of here," Branden whispered. He practically grabbed Rich around the shoulder and shoved him away.
Rich grumbled when he departed from the area. He made his way to a patrol car where he could start his shift.
"Oh, Branden thinks that he's a big shot, thinks he can tell me what to do…."
He stopped in mid-sentence and fell backwards onto the ground. Blood spurted from the back of his hand.
A high heeled boot walked towards the slain body of Rich. A slim hand pinned a picture of him taking a bribe, along with a Polaroid of him talking to Branden.
The serial killer struck again on Christmas Eve and right in the middle of the Gotham Central parking lot as well.