"They're hoping to make a new addition into this town." Selina told the younger ones.
"Really? Like what?" asked Lionel, curiously. "I mean... What could this new addition be?" he added.
"I suppose we'll just have to wait and see." Selina replied.
"Aw, phooey!" Lionel grumbled.
"We can just hope it's promising..." Selina said. "Kitten, can I trust you to keep an eye on Lionel?"
"I'll try, Aunt Selina." Cherry replied.
"Hey, don't worry! Not like I'm gonna get lost or cause trouble or nuthin'! PROMISE!" Lionel replied. "...Although I'm perfectly fine with this lovely lady keeping an eye on me." he added, kissing Cherry's hand lightly.
Cherry didn't say anything, but just fanned herself. The carriage soon stopped, and the driver opened the door to let them out, helping them outside once they came to the new location.
"Okay, here we are!" Lionel exclaimed, looking around. "So... What exactly are we looking at?"
"From what I've heard, they're making something very special for the city, almost like our very own Eiffel Tower, or something to put us on the map." Cherry said to Lionel as she stood with him.
"Our own Eiffel Tower, eh?" Lionel parroted. "Sounds tres magnifique, if you get my drift."
"Vous êtes l'étrange." Cherry murmured behind her fan.
"I like to think that strange is just another way of saying remarkable." Lionel replied casually.
Cherry just rolled her eyes.
"Best behavior, both of you." Selina reminded as she walked with them among the group of adults.
"Like I said, no need to worry!" Lionel replied. "We're gonna be FIIINE!"
Cherry rolled her eyes again, but she listened to her aunt.
"Blood, sweat and tears," The man in front of the gates told the crowd. "That's what turned this dream into a magnificent reality, gentlemen."
"Well, there's a pleasant mental picture..." Lionel snarked. "Especially for the folks in the crowd with nausea problems."
Selina gave him a quiet nudge.
"That and Bruce Wayne's money." Another man chuckled.
Some of the other adults laughed to that out of amusement.
"Spoken like a true, county prosecutor, Mr. Dent," Mayor Tolliver chuckled. "Money always helps, but it is the ingenuity of the city's captains of industry that provided these marvels. And may you select few truly enjoy this special preview of the Gotham World's Fair."
"A fair, huh?" Lionel asked. "Maybe there's gonna be rides, and games, and food!"
"It does sound like fun..." Cherry replied. "Beats standing around here."
"If you folks will come with me, I'll show you around." Mayor Tolliver told the group as he walked them inside as the gates opened.
"Alright! Now we're talkin'!" Lionel grinned as he and the others made their way through the crowd.
Cherry looked up at the grand Ferris Wheel.
"I recall a time where your father asked your mother to meet him at the Ferris Wheel... They got stuck up at the top, and looked at the stars... They were worried they wouldn't make it, but they admitted that their best comfort was each other's company." Selina told her niece.
"Deep stuff..." Lionel commented, before glancing at Cherry with a knowing smirk.
Cherry gave a small nod as she was told another fact about her parents which Selina promised to tell her every day once she was old enough to understand.
"The Stairway to Heaven," Mayor Tolliver told the people as he unclothed something which looked like some sort of signal. "A fully electronical lantern, bright enough to illuminate the very celestial firmament above. Higher even than the police department's new lighter-than-air patrol craft."
"Astounding!" Lionel replied. "With a bulb THAT big, you could see it from above Earth itself! The electric bill would be monumental, though..."
"It means much to me that even the children admire this." Mayor Tolliver smiled to Lionel.
"Well, it IS quite the spectacle." Lionel replied.
"Let's see it." Another man smiled.
"The light tends to show off a bit better in the night time, Ambrose, but here's a sight you needn't wait to marvel at," Mayor Tolliver smiled before showing the Ferris Wheel. "Gotham's own answer to the Eiffel Tower: The Fox Wheel will elevate you 250 feet into the sky at the astonishing rate of fifteen miles an hour."
"WOWSERS!" Lionel exclaimed. "You wouldn't wanna fall off of THAT!"
Cherry nodded as she just kept staring at the Ferris Wheel.
"Still, I... Am starving," Lionel continued as his stomach let out a roar. "So hopefully this place has some eats!"
The adults continued to talk as Cherry came up to the Ferris Wheel and soon bowed her head, now thinking about her parents again.
Lionel glanced at her. "Something wrong?" he asked.
"Just... Thinking..." Cherry said softly.
Lionel realized that it might be about something personal. "I see. In that case you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to..."
Cherry glanced back at him. "My parents died after I was born."
Lionel went pale at that. "Oh..."
"Every day, Aunt Selina tells me something new about them..." Cherry said. "Ever since I was almost ten-years-old."
"At least you got someone to look after ya," Lionel replied. "Barely even knew my parents. Timmy, Dickie, and Jason are the closest thing to a family I've ever had..."
"I guess that's true..." Cherry said. "I know Selina isn't my mother, but she's been the closest thing I've had to one."
"That's... Pretty great, actually," Lionel replied. "The boys are a good bunch, even if they got into trouble sometimes..."
"I tend to try to stay away from the streets," Cherry said. "Selina says they're dangerous, especially at night."
"No kidding," Lionel replied. "I'm just lucky the boys and I didn't cross paths with that Jack the Ripper creep..."
"Another reason Selina tells me to stay indoors." Cherry replied about the serial killer on the loose.
"All this talk of danger is seriously whipping up my appetite," Lionel commented. "Let's try and find something to eat."
"Hm... All right... I guess I am a little famished." Cherry replied.
So they headed off to find something to eat.
A little while later, they came back from eating.
"It's that rich guy..." Cherry pointed out once she saw a man had come by to talk with the other adults.
"Which one? You're gonna need to be a little more specific." Lionel replied.
"Ever hear of Bruce Wayne?" Cherry asked.
"Sure, I've heard of him. A fellow orphan himself, he is. And yet he managed to make sumthin' of himself!" Lionel beamed. "Maybe someday I could make something of myself, too!"
"I wish I could be useful..." Cherry sighed to herself.
"Aw, c'mon, you're plenty useful," Lionel urged. "I'm sure you'll find a way to be somehow!"
Cherry shrugged as she wasn't sure, but soon walked off without another word.
Lionel shrugged, and followed behind her. "So, what now?" he asked.
"So, you think you might wanna go to this fair place when it's all set up?" Cherry asked Lionel. "I mean, it might be difficult with crazy people who run loose at night. That's why I stay inside at night, just like Selina taught me."
"Sure, but I'd go during the daytime." Lionel replied.
"Selina says it's safer that way anyway." Cherry replied about her mysterious aunt.
"That makes sense." Lionel nodded.
Cherry traveled along with him as she fanned herself, looking around while the grown-ups were talking amongst themselves.
"Nothing but boring adults, as far as the eye can see..." Lionel griped.
"How very observant of you," Cherry smirked in deadpan. "Did you know that the sun is yellow, and the grass is green, and the sky is blue?"
Lionel just rolled his eyes. "My POINT was, I can't see anything interesting with all of 'em in the way!" he retorted.
"You do have a point there..." Cherry admitted. "But what can we do? No one ever listens to children."
"That's dumb... Not like we don't have important stuff to say, too!" Lionel replied.
"It's just how they think sometimes," Cherry shrugged with her fan in her hand. "I often try to seem grown-up so maybe someone will listen to me... No one really asks for my opinion... I just wonder what my purpose is... And why did I survive that fire?"
"Hey, same here... Other than the fire thing," Lionel replied. "If only there was an organization dedicated to fighting for the rights of kids everywhere... But I guess that's plenty ridiculous..."
"I wouldn't know..." Cherry sighed sharply. "I guess only such a thing can exist in dreams or in fiction."
"Maybe..." Lionel sighed.
"I tend to escape into a novel to get away from harsh reality." Cherry replied to him, she figured she might as well socialize for the time being.
"Sounds pretty good about now..." Lionel replied.
Cherry soon sat down with him and brought out one of her books she brought along for the trip. "Great Expectations stars a little boy named Pip... What a sad name for a child..." she said as she took out the book to share with Lionel.
"Sounds like an interesting tale." Lionel replied, as he began reading.
Cherry then began to read Great Expectations with Lionel.
Eventually, they finished reading.
"Well, it was interesting..." Lionel commented.
"I think Dracula's a bit better..." Cherry replied. "Just imagine... Meeting Dracula..."
"Yeah... You'd always hafta keep an eye on your neck." Lionel joked.
"I'd like to be a blood-sucker." Cherry smirked.
"I imagine..." Lionel replied.
"Kitten?" Selina's voice asked as she came over. "Are you behaving?"
"But of course, dear auntie." Cherry replied softly, fanning herself like a proper young lady.
"I can vouch for that." Lionel nodded.
"Good... It's about time to go..." Selina told them.
"Alright then..." Lionel replied.
Cherry and Lionel soon followed Selina out once it was time for them to go.
"Well, THAT was an interesting day..." Lionel commented.
"I'll make it up to you eventually." Selina told them.
"Of course you will." Cherry said softly behind her fan as she followed her aunt.
"I suppose..." Lionel shrugged.
