Chapter 84

I make a quick stop before heading back to the GCPD, stopping by a small cemetery. A sign by the entrance reads: Unclaimed Persons, people who couldn't afford to pay for graves or had no one willing to. I find two aging, unmarked white crosses by a tree and, placing down a basket, I remove the contents: two plates of dried salmon and roasted vegetables, candles, flowers, berries, and a picture frame. I set the items up in front of the graves, and light the candles. Most garbage trucks would've finished their rounds by now, so I'm not worried about interrupting someone's schedule.

I sit down by the small memorial I've constructed. The dim candlelight flickers against the sepia-toned picture, an image of my parents and myself. We're in our best clothes, my mother in a white dress with ruffles and my father in a simple brown suit, the suit he always wore when conducting business. I curl up into a ball as I examine the image. I hated having to wear the pink dress my mother picked out for me, with floral print all along the front and sides. It was taken about a year before the fire happened, this is the only picture I managed to save after-the-fact. The corners are slightly singed, but because it was in my father's safe, it remained intact.

"Mom...Dad...I saw you guys in a dream recently," I tell them, "you two were alive and...older. Like you'd been alive the whole time. Strange dream I know…"

I turn to a grave on the right, "Mom...I finally got a boyfriend. Well, maybe calling him a boyfriend is too much but...it's what you always wanted for me. Although...he's not one of us...and I'm not one of him. His mother hates me...and you'd probably hate him too."

"Dad…" I turn to the other grave, "well...I'm not starving. I made dried salmon and vegetables, slowly cooked over two days, just like you and Mom taught me. I remember, you'd save your money to buy this for birthdays and holidays...now, I can buy it whenever I want. I have a job too, technically...three, plus some superheroism on the side. You were the one who introduced me to the Gray Ghost, and Zorro, and all those other heroes. You'd sacrifice your tobacco money so that we could go to the cinema, and watch their movies. You said that a real superhero, is one who helps others, no matter the personal cost."

"I...I miss you guys. I've been back in town for several months now I-...I should have visited sooner. But I want you guys to know, that I really think I've found my calling as the Trickstress. The CIA just...didn't do it for me. It felt like I was just blindly playing for one team, without consideration of whether they were right or wrong. But, as the Trickstress, I can do what's right, instead of what's demanded of me. I...I'd like to think you guys would approve of that…"

"Miss?" the voice of a young boy calls out.

I get up, brushing off the grass from my pants, "...yes?"

The boy is about thirteen, with a clean-cut haircut and a youthful complexion, but something in his eyes, there's a dark, complex maturity within them. It's almost too familiar. He wears a crisp sweater over a clean white shirt, he must either be quite wealthy, or simply a formal dresser, kind of reminds me of how Ed dressed as a kid.

"Well, I was wondering how you knew which graves you were looking for. None of these are marked, and the number of graves are quite numerous," he asks.

I point to the tree by the grave, "Landmarks, like this tree. Four graves down, toward the end, the patch of land across from the expensive granite graves...what are you doing here? Visiting family?"

The boy points to a set of graves over in the expensive section of the cemetery, "My parents...they're buried over there. Up toward the middle, in the clearing."

I glance up in the direction he points, where on a flattened hill two graves sit, having the hill all to themselves.

"Oh...I-I'm sorry…"

"Don't be," he shakes his head, looking back down at my parents' graves, "the wood on these markers are weathered, and the photograph has browned with age."

He snaps his head up, realizing that we're about the same height. Slightly embarrassed that I'm just as tall as this boy, I also realize that it won't be long before he's taller than me.

"You must have been quite young when they passed," he deduces.

I nod my head, "Yeah...I was maybe a little younger than you."

"I'm sorry for your loss…" he glances around, as if he's looking for someone, "...does it ever get better? Do the emotions simmer, or will they always be there?"

I cross my arms, trying to come up with an answer, "I guess...it depends on whether or not you want them to go away. But, personally, as I've gotten older, I've come to realize that this isn't what my parents wanted me to be. I knew they wanted me to be someone who helped others, and I'd like to think that's what I became."

The boy begins to squint, and he bites his lip as he sniffles, "...thank you."

"Master Bruce!" a scruffy voice calls out.

Bruce turns to a nicely dressed older man standing by a luxurious black car on the nearby road. He nods to me, "Good day, miss," before turning around and walking toward the man.

...Bruce? As in, Bruce Wayne? The son of millionaires Thomas and Martha Wayne, I'd read about their deaths in the paper. So that's him...wow, the people you meet in Gotham.

I walk into Fish Mooney's to find Jack sitting on the edge of the stage, clutching a piece of fabric in his hand.

"Jack...is something wrong?" I ask, setting my work bag down.

He shakes his head, "Timothy...he's missing."

My body straightens as a realization comes to me. "Missing" most likely means dead, especially in this line of work, and I think I know who might be responsible.

"What do you know?" I question, sitting down next to him.

"They left this...it's his tie," he unfurls his fist to reveal a scrunched up blue tie.

"Man...Timothy...he and I go way back. I told you right? We were in the Gotham Boys Choir together. I was okay, I guess, but he was the one with the talent. He...he didn't deserve this."

I shrug, "Nobody does. It's a hazard of the business. Especially with the position Timothy was in."

"I-I know. It's just...hard to grasp," he mutters, shaking his head.

I place my hand on his shoulder, as we sit silently in the empty restaurant.

"What's this here? A pity party? C'mon, it's almost opening time!" Fish appears from backstage, clapping her hands.

Jack and I get off of the stage, and start heading toward the back. Poor Jack, hopefully he doesn't end up like Timothy...

Eel and Gabe carry a large garbage bag toward an abandoned pier. They'd driven here from the warehouse, storing the bagged body in the trunk.

"Man, the boss really had you do a number on this guy. Think it was personal?" Gabe asks, as they slowly shuffle to the edge of the pier.

"Claims it was all business, but you know him. Sheesh, what a pansy," Eel rolls his eyes.

"Hey, watch it. You keep running your mouth like that and next thing you know, you'll be the next one getting dumped in the river," Gabe warns.

Once they're at the pier's edge, they swing the trash bag a couple of times before hurling it into the river, the garbage bag sinking to the bottom.

"Sayonara sucker," Eel quips, waving goodbye to the body as they turn around and head back to the car.

"Say Eel, I've been hearing from the other boys that you're thinking of getting out of the business? What's that all about?" Gabe casually switches the subject.

He shrugs, "What can I say, it might have made me the cash when I was younger, but I'm getting older, been exploring some other options. I've been trying to get my GED at Gotham City College."

"You hearing yourself?" Gabe spits, "You think you could just leave unscathed? 'Oh, sorry boss, but I've decided mob life ain't for me, I'm far too busy sitting in school like a schmuck who don't know nothin-"

"Okay, okay, I get it, yeesh," Eel tosses off, as the two of them get in the car.

Gabe drives off, but in the water by the pier, bubbles begin rising to the top, and a pale hand shoots out of the water.

Author's Note: Now the verdict on "Tales from the Arkhamverse" is in, which do you prefer? '66 series or Arkhamverse standalones?

Erik-is-my-angel1234: Thank you! It was fun to return to this time period, and to explore the Gordon family

Langley21 (your review isn't currently showing up on Fanfiction's display, but I have the email for it): Yeah, I've already written the chapter where Barbara confronts her, and it's interesting to say the least (it ends in a song). I'm glad you like the standalone, and while The Doctor Is In has its inconsistencies with BOAF, the two are still connected in one way or another. Yeah, I actually created Natalie's past with Ed specifically for BOAF, not having addressed it until the end of TDIN. Whether he regains his memories or not, Ed being the best man at Natalie's wedding would be hilarious. Although I could also see Gordon being Oswald's best man, if, you know, threatened at gunpoint

Thanks! :)