Jackie pulled up to Wayne Manor and turned the car off, she looked at the mansion before looking back at the kids.
"Mommy, I'm tired." Ben said, rubbing his eyes.
Jackie turned to Ed "Get the boys inside, I'll get the bags." She said, pulling the keys out of the ignition while Ed got Ben out of his car seat while Julian followed behind Ed as he held onto his teddy bear.
"C'mon boys." Ed said, taking Julian's hand as he took them to the front door.
Jackie grabbed all the bags as she began to drag them all to the porch where Alfred was already greeting them into the house.
Alfred came out to assist Jackie with the bags "What's going on?" he asked concerned.
Jackie shrugged her shoulders "I don't know. Ed just showed up and told me to get the boys in the car!" she said, walking with Alfred inside Wayne Manor.
"Well, doesn't that sound familiar?" he remarked, smiling at Jackie as they closed the front door.
Jackie checked on the boys as they slept in bed together; Julian held onto Boo Boo with all his might with one hand while his other arm was wrapped around his youngest brother.
She closed the door gently as she walked down the stairs where a slice of Apple Pie and a cup of tea was waiting for her in the kitchen.
"So are you going to tell me what's going on?" Jackie asked, taking a seat next to Ed.
Ed smiled as he finished his cup of tea "Yeah." He said, putting the cup down.
Jackie cocked an eye brow as she waited for him to begin, she began to play with her cup of tea before taking a small bite of her Apple Pie, waiting for a story.
"There is a rumor going around that Jonathan's thugs have pledged their allegiance to another since his death." Ed spoke softly.
Jackie looked at Ed confused "All of them?" she asked.
"Yeah. All of them." Ed told her.
Jackie nodded "Don't tell me they all pledged to The Joker!" she said, with a small chuckle.
Ed shook his head "No, but he tempted them." He said.
"With what?" Jackie asked.
"With fortune, and freedom, and women…" Ed said, messing with his cup.
Jackie sighed "So who'd they pledge their allegiance to?" she asked.
Ed opened his mouth to tell her when a loud knock came at the door; Alfred adjusted his suit as he reached for the door.
The door opened and both Ed and Jackie turned to the manor entrance to see who was at the door.
"Alfred?" Jackie asked, getting off her chair and towards the door.
Alfred turned to Jackie in shock "…you've got…visitors." He said, walking away from the door.
Jackie turned to Ed before finally reaching the door to see nearly 50 thugs waiting for her.
"Mrs. Crane." A thug said softly.
Jackie softly closed the door behind her and looked at the sea of men in front of her "…anybody want to explain to me what's going on?" she asked softly.
Ed exited the house and stood next to her "They plead their allegiance to you!" he told her.
Jackie turned to Ed in shock before looking back at the thugs "But…I'm not a…" she trailed off, looking at the thugs.
One thug, Claw, walked up to Jackie and took her hand "We all agreed when Jonathan died, that we didn't want to leave the Crane name. So we're loyal to you, whatever you need, we're here!" he told her.
Jackie choked up "I don't have any use for you guys. You were always his team, not mine!" she said.
The thugs nodded in agreement as Claw shook his head "If we're not with you, Joker's gonna tear us all apart." He confessed to her.
Jackie took in a deep breathe as she tried to hide tears "You guys wanna come inside?" she asked, opening the door to let them all in.
The thugs entered the house one at a time, quietly invading Wayne Manor while Ed held Jackie close as she let tears fall down her cheek.
Ed smiled as he stroked her hair "They did it because they loved you, I asked them to join my team; but…they really loved Jonathan as much as they love you." He whispered to her.
Jackie nodded "Okay then."
"You never told me why I was here, Ed." Jackie said, finishing her dishes before turning to Ed.
The Riddler smiled "The Joker got pissed off your late husbands' thugs would rather be nannies than on his team. So, like always, he's going to try and take it out on you." He told her, putting his hat on.
Jackie rolled her eyes "He should just stick to trying to kill Batman, he'll live longer!" she said.
Ed grabbed his cane "Yeah." He said, getting up from his chair.
"So are you going out tonight?" Jackie asked, drying her hands off.
Ed nodded "Yeah, I'm gonna go get into trouble; maybe mess with the Batman; tell Bruce I said 'hey'." He said, leaving the mansion.
Jackie sighed as she left the kitchen, she turned the light off as she walked into the living room where her new thugs were all playing a game of Poker.
"Hey guys," she said softly, getting their attention "I'm going to bed, so just keep it down." She said.
The thugs nodded, waving goodnight to Jackie as she quietly climbed up the stairs and towards her bedroom where the bed from the opened door welcomed her with open arms.
Jackie fell face first into the bed, she groaned a tiresome groan "Oh, yeah…" she groaned, falling asleep on the bed with not a care in the world.
She didn't care that she felt someone rearrange her in bed and tucking her in gently, she didn't want to open her eyes as she groaned and let out a small smile "Thanks." She muttered, falling asleep again.
The hand stroked her cheek before leaving her bedroom and shutting the door behind them.
