Jerome Valeska One-Shots

Without You Finale

After Jerome's violent threatening, it doesn't take Dwight long to get his experiments up and running. While his first attempts are disappointing failures, there is no shortage of bodies and Jerome can be patient when he must. The noticeable improvement in resurrections is enough to placate him as Dwight's efforts continue.

Besides, he has other things to focus on.

The war with the GCPD is more than frustrating as of late. Of course stubborn old Jimbo refuses to step down and accept the reality that Gotham is lost. The rest of the world sure has. They've refused to send help to the citizens of Gotham, citing that they should have left when they had the chance, way back when Jerome first took power and an evacuation was ordered.

Jim is just barely hanging on to power and supplies in the GCPD stronghold. He must know it's only a matter of time before he, too, falls before the might of Jerome's veritable army, but he persists in being a thorn in his side regardless. There have been multiple attempts to raid his supply trucks and stations by the GCPD, indicating just how desperate the situation is for the police and all the sheep hiding behind them.

Jerome can practically taste his victory that dangles just out of grasp, but perhaps this is the universe's way of telling him that he should wait for his queen, that he cannot do this without her, that he needs her. Of course he already knows these things, but blaming fate makes him more patient than blaming Jim Gordon. And the ginger knows more than anyone the danger of a being a hothead.

Content to await his lover's counsel, Jerome sits back on the defensive. There will be no more attempts to conquer the kingdom until there is a joint effort of rulers.

Thankfully, Dwight seems to come through just in time. He's finally brought someone back and made life stick, at least for the past few days. Jerome himself examines the subject and is satisfied by the results. Though the memory appears to be spotty after reanimation, there don't appear to be any lasting effects.

Though nervous in the great Jerome's presence, it is easy to see that Dwight is quite pleased with himself. He clearly expects high praise from his messiah, and Jerome may have been inclined to give it. There is just the small issue of the man's over ambitions.

For the duration of his experiments, Jerome has had a spy, along with cameras placed in the lab unbeknownst to Dwight. With careful examination he has come to realize that Dwight does not just adore him, he envies him. He is controlling and manipulative of the other workers and imitates Jerome constantly, trying to emanate his charismatic persona, for the most part unsuccessfully.

Regardless, Jerome can tell that Dwight will be a problem in the future, however far off. He will not sit around and await a removal from power. Rather, he has endeavored to make Dwight replaceable.

What the man hasn't quite realized is that by having all those people doing his grunt work, he has trained them in what to do, erasing any need for himself once his initial task is complete. With the knowledge of those workers and the film from the cameras, Jerome should be able to reanimate whole armies, and Dwight won't be required for any of it, making it possible for him to be eliminated.

This is just another reason that Jerome is unbothered by waiting. The more time the team spends with Dwight reanimating corpses, the more they learn about it and the potential mistakes and complications. Gotham's King can only benefit from his patience.

And today, it will finally pay off, for it has come time for Dwight to resurrect the Queen.

Jerome and his followers have taken great pains to ensure that her body be kept safely on ice and unharmed by any until the resurrection. This is the first time that Jerome has laid eyes on his beloved's form outside the icy casket since he left her upon her death. He takes but a moment to kiss her forehead gently before indicating that the team begin.