BRUCE:

The airport in Gotham seemed much smaller than Bruce remembered, it had an odd air about it as well.

'Can't be helped' he thought, after all the last time he was in Gotham he was much smaller.

Bruce followed all the signs until they led him to the baggage claim area, where he waited for the machine to start moving and his bag to appear. There were small seating areas opposite every carousel and Bruce headed to one of the emptier ones, he figured he'd let a few people go rather than try and squeeze through and struggle for his bags. He turned his phone on and was met with three missed calls from his uncle, he sighed. The people cleared out pretty quickly and there were only two bags left both of which belonged to him, he pulled them off the belt and threw one over his shoulder and pushed the other one towards the large exit doors.

Bruce wondered if he would recognize his uncle, it had only been five years but they hadn't seen each other and barely spoke and a lot happened in those years. He decided shortly after arriving at his first boarding school that if his uncle didn't come get him by the end of the year then he really had no family left.

"BRUCE!" a man shouted.

The man who called him was his uncle. He recognized him immediately. It was like getting punched in the stomach, he half expected his mother to emerge from the car behind his uncle. He was wearing a fitted black suit and a large cream coat over it, Bruce got hit with a memory of being in the store with his uncle and mother the day they bought the coat. Before he could get lost in his own emotions, the man had wrapped his arms around him and said something he didn't hear, welcome back he assumed. Bruce and his uncle shared an awkward greeting after that before sitting in the backseat of a matte black SUV.

"I assumed you'd have more things; your mother and I could never help ourselves…" this was his explanation for the large car.

"Umm… this is Quinn, she's Old Man Evils' daughter, you don't remember him do you…. why would you, he worked for your grandfather…anyway this is his daughter, ah…she'll be driving you to school…the bus doesn't come out to the manor…"

"Uncle, would you mind if I rested a little bit it was a long flight…and umm…it's nice to meet you, Quinn."

Bruce knew his uncle couldn't really refuse him that, and he didn't, so he put on his earphones and listened to some music and rested his eyes. Bruce opened his eyes in the heart of Gotham City, it was dark, scary, grimy, and above all, it was home…or part of it for the young heir to the Wayne fortune. Bruce closed his eyes again and when he opened them, he was in the suburbs near the manor, they all looked the same; big houses with overly manicured lawns hidden behind big gates and overpriced security systems. Bruce sighed when they got to their gates because he knew it would still be a while before they got to the main house.

"I would've picked you up in the helicopter but someone called in a bomb threat to the base where we keep it..."

"Gotham." Bruce sighed.

"Gotham." His uncle agreed.

They walked into the house and his uncle explained all the changes that had been made, there weren't many and the main one was the location of his new bedroom. Bruce was left to rest until dinner, he'd slept on the plane and in the car so there wasn't any need but he wasn't gonna tell his uncle that. He decided on his way back to Gotham that he couldn't let his emotions rule him, he couldn't be the temperamental Wayne brat…even though he could get away with it. With that in mind he got up and went to the gym, he barely remembered where it was. 'What did we ever do with all this space?' he thought to himself.

After a lengthy workout, Bruce showered and joined his uncle for dinner.

"It's just soup, I figured you wouldn't want too much after your flight…but all that exercising maybe I should make you something more substantial…"

"Soup is good uncle."

Bruce sat at the table in the kitchen and his uncle set a bowl of soup in front of him and in front of the seat opposite him.

"Bread?"

"No thank you."

Silence.

Bruce and his uncle used to be close, very close. His uncle had lived with him for the first five years of his life and they talked every night on the phone if they weren't in the same country. When Martha Wayne got shot it was like a piece of her brother died alongside her. Alfred had woken up that night by falling out of bed, on the ground he realised he hadn't called his nephew for the night and had this need to hear his sisters voice. He called and called but no answer, he assumed it was the time zones but he didn't care because he HAD to speak to his sister. It was hours before he saw the light creeping into the room and decided to turn on the TV and make some tea. The story was the third one he heard and the words ripped through him like bullets. 'How am I ever gonna be a person again?" was his last lucid thought for a very long time, at least that he remembered.

"Uncle? Uncle?!"

"Huh? OH! Yes. Sorry…"

"Where's your husband?"

"Ah, he said he'd give us some time, just as family."

"He didn't have to do that…" Bruce said quickly but paused, realizing he may have sounded a bit harsh, "I would've like to see him."

"He'll be happy to hear that."

Silence. Again.

"How was Beijing?"

"Hong Kong."

"Hong Kong?"

"I didn't get into the school, I guess the Wayne name doesn't carry as much weight their especially if your mother is hated by the owner's son."

"That asshole still works there and he let his idiot son have a job?!"

"They said my mother could get away with a lot because of my grandfather but she hadn't afforded me the same luxury…" They said a lot but Bruce chose to stop there.

"Oh, and my Mandarin is shit." He added.

"That's not true I taught you myself"

"It's been a while since we've spoken, uncle."

They'd both finished their soup by this point and Bruce offered to load the dishwasher but his uncle sent him to bed.

"Goodnight, Uncle."

"Goodnight."

Alfred was left in the kitchen with dirty dishes and his hurt feelings. What could he have said? He washed the dishes by hand and cleaned the kitchen before crawling into bed at 1 AM to find the dawn fleeing. Alfred sat up in bed when his alarm went off, he hadn't slept for more than an hour and had to go make his nephew breakfast.

"He's a big kid, he can pour himself cereal or something, he's been taking care of himself for this long, come back to bed." His husband told him.

"I'm gonna give that kid everything he needs until he tells me he doesn't want me in his life" it was a proclamation that he hadn't said aloud before but one he needed to hear and one his husband needed to hear.

"He shouldn't have had to take care of himself like that, Matt." Alfred headed for the kitchen.

"You'll turn into that kids' butler if you're not careful" he called after his husband.

SELINA:

Selina had been trying to wake up early, to get used to it again for when school started, but she found herself lazily opening her eyes to find her alarm clock displaying the time of 1:49 PM.

"SHIT"

She rolled out of bed and scrambled to the bathroom to shower before going into the kitchen and making herself a sandwich. Selina grabbed her black hoodie from off the couch and gazed upon the mess that was her home.

"Later." She waved at the mess putting the hoodie on.

There are four things on the agenda for Selina: meet her new fence, meet her probation officer, get rent money from across the river and deposit it. She started by meeting her new fence, he was some slimy guy with too much gel in his hair who wasn't above hitting on a seventeen-year-old girl. He was waiting for her in an alley in between a restaurant and pawnshop.

"You kids grow more and more every day." He extended his hands for a hug.

"Andy told me I could sell things through you but you needed to meet me so here I am." She stayed away from his gross embrace.

"I don't like to work with cold gals, why don't we start with a hug, huh?"

"You're not the only fence in Gotham." She turned to leave.

"Okay, okay, whatcha got kid?"

She gave him some bracelet she snagged off some debutant looking girl, turns out it was a white gold and diamond tennis bracelet. 'Where do you even play tennis in Gotham City?' Selina wondered to herself. She only got two thousand for the bracelet, a treat according to her new fence.

"Graham, thanks so much for asking. Nice to know the kids these days are getting taught manners by their parents"

Selina walked away from him; it was better to keep as much from him as possible.

"Nothing?! For real? I just helped pay your rent, Kitty!" he yelled after her.

Next is the probation officer, who was gonna be waiting for her at the house. Selina rushed home and found the woman inspecting the door to her building.

"Mrs. Wells."

"Ah, Selina."

Selina knew the woman was uncomfortable in her neighbourhood, none of Gotham was safe but people tended to feel safest in their own neighbourhoods.

"Quickly, please."

They walked up to the apartment and the Mrs. Wells inspected the apartment as Selina made some tea.

"Messy." Remarked Mrs. Wells as she picked clothes off the floor.

"There's no need for that and some jeans on the floor doesn't make for an unsafe environment."

"This neighbourhood isn't safe."

"Is yours?"

"Do you have food?"

Selina walked over to the fridge and revealed that it was not empty.

"Selina, I'm here to make sure that you get everything you need from us, I don't want you to feel abandoned. You know judges only give emancipation in special cases. The system is not going to leave any children behind; the new mayor is making changes and…" she continued to give Selina the same I-care-about-YOU speech she'd heard enough times.

The check-up was finished after Mrs. Wells finished her speech, Selina watched from her window as she rushed across the street and scrambled back to her own neighbourhood. Selina grabbed a coat and put it on over her hoodie before taking a deep breath and walked out the door. The next thing on her to-do list was to get rent money and for that, she'd have to get on the ferry. Selina hated the ferry; it was old and the only stories people told about it was how long it's been since it was fixed or switched out or how many of "these things" have sunk. She hated the river too, she felt like she was riding across the Styx.

She got off the ferry and got on a bus to a motel deep in the city. She got off at a bus stop next to a "spa" and went inside the building. Selina gave the lady some money and the lady handed her a bracelet with a key attached to it without looking up or counting the money. She walked down a narrow hallway and entered a room with a locker inside a pink circle, she entered the locker room and found her locker which she used to store her hoodie, coat, and anything in her pockets. She found some shoelaces in her pockets when she was emptying them and tied them around her ankles, over her pants, then locked her locker and wore the key-bracelet. She climbed out of a window in the locker room and crossed the street to the motel and walked into the lobby, avoided the cameras, and stood by some employee-only room.

"Your late."

The voice came from behind her and made her jump a little.

"Sorry Lily, Probation officer," Selina explained.

The woman she came to meet was a partner, or whatever the Gotham equivalent of a partner was. The deal was that Selina would pickpocket the guys on their way to their rooms and when she fenced the stuff, she'd give her half. Lily was tall, pale and was mostly legs and hair and she loved to gossip but she was smart and could sneak around like a ghost and most importantly, Selina could trust her.

"Whatever, you ready? The guy that's coming has this watch I promise it costs like eighty grand, can you imagine paying eighty freaking grand for a watch? My girlfriend Tiff knows because she saw one day and her ex used to have one like it and he bragged all the time…" She went on and on until they heard someone approach.

Selina moved into position and Lily walked over to the man and wrapped her arms around him before leading him towards their room. Selina walked out and bumped into the man, apologised, went to the reception area and out the door. She crossed the street and snuck back into the "spa" and got her things and walked to the receptionist, who handed her a Gotham Knights hat. Selina sat slumped at the bus stop in front of the motel with her hair hidden by her coat and hat. Someone came running out of the motel cursing and yelling about some little bitch who stole his goddamned watch. Selina heard a gunshot and didn't flinch, eventually, the guy tired himself out and wanted to direct his rage at Lily but she was long gone, in fact, she winked at Selina as she passed her. Selina got on the bus and managed to ferry back without joining the souls in the river or catching the man's eye. She was exhausted when she got home and fell asleep on the couch with her coat and shoes on. She was not looking forward to trying to do school work on top of all this.

In the morning, Selina found herself on the couch wearing nothing but her hoodie, she dived into the pile of clothes on the floor next to her and emerged with the watch that costs eighty freaking grand and breathed a sigh of relief. She walked over to where she hid her money and put the watch there too.

"You can't go anywhere for a while lil watchie…ah shit" she spotted the rent money undeposited.

Jay:

Jay sat in front of his computer and looked at the pictures he had taken of his newest classmate: the Wayne boy. The airport was empty when Jay got there, he had expected to be among lots of paparazzi looking to sell the picture of the Wayne heir landing back in Gotham but they were still arguing about whether or not he'd already arrived in Gotham or not. Jay usually didn't think too much of himself, in fact, he says he hates big-headed people, but when he succeeds like this where the grown-ups fail, and professional grown-ups no less, it made him feel a little pride and pride was always a dangerous feeling for him.

The Wayne boy was handsome, he didn't look like any of the boys at East Gotham High.

'Of course, he doesn't, he's a thoroughbred' Jay thought to himself

Bruce Wayne was the son of the richest men in all of Gotham and his mother was this singer from the kind of money that makes the Wayne fortune look like milk money. The Wayne boy's family history unfolded in front of Jay like some kind of novella and he ate it up. He decided he had to know the Wayne boy, see the house, the photo albums, meet this Alfred Pennyworth uncle of his, Jay had to know more. He had a file on the Wayne family and his favourite article was one about the late Mrs. Wayne, it was an article from a gossip page in some old Chinese newspaper about the most beautiful woman in the country being on the market. It was the picture that caught his eye, it was in the middle of all the text and it was a full-length picture of a young Martha Wayne, no less than 20, in a dress that fit her like a glove, dark slicked-back hair, and eyes that were so alive Jay thought one day she'd wink at him.

Jay had accumulated files on any noteworthy people who crossed his path however minor the initial interaction may have been. Once Jay bumped into a dog walker when he was at the park by his house and got this weird feeling from her so he followed her for the rest of the day hoping the something would happen. At the end of the day, he got to her apartment and wrote down all the names before going home and finding her. Her name was Zoe something and she had been declared missing in her home country six years ago and was on the run, at the time it was an exciting story but now he can't even remember her whole name.

Jay closed the documents he was looking at and removed the hard drive and placed it in his drawer. He stretched and looked out the window before deciding on a whim to go for a walk. It was early in the morning so it was pretty cold outside but Jay liked taking deep breathes when it was cold like this, it was almost winter, his favourite season.

He went to the park and found a bench to sit on and removed a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. removed one and lit it. Jay liked to sit in the park and smoke with his head clear.

'School starts tomorrow…how tedious'

When he finished his cigarette, he flicked it and started walking back home and realised the cigarette was still lit in front of him and decided to step on it to put it out. Some man walked past him, stepping on the cigarette as he passed, something about the act filled Jay with rage and he pulled the guy to the ground by the back of his collar and started kicking him before running back home.

The spontaneous act of violence, the cold air against his sweaty skin, the tightness in his chest from running, all these things made Jay feel alive but he had to hide that part of himself. The kids in school thought he was this cool guy who was on the basketball team that didn't stick out too much and didn't fail but wasn't the top of the class and he wasn't ugly but he wasn't who all the girls were after, he existed in a comfortable average space.

Jay got back to his room and fell onto the bed, he thought about whether that man would press charges or not, he pictured his face as he cried to the police about violent youths in the park. He let out a little huff of amusement.

'That Wayne boy is gonna be in school tomorrow' the thought came to him suddenly.

"I didn't get a good look at the airport," he said aloud.