*Two years ago*
The two well-dressed people looked very out of place in the Flee, but they walked to the middle of the room with confidence.
"We're looking for 'Mama Gotham.'" the man called out, gaining the attention of every child around them. "We have a business proposition for her."
"Martha and Thomas Wayne." a voice laughed from the balcony above them. "I'll be damned. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Alyssa asked as she walked down the stairs.
"As my husband said, we have a business proposition for you." Martha said. "Is there some place private we can talk?"
******
"Stupidest idea you've ever had."
"Alyssa-"
"Ozzy this is Fish Mooney we're talking about." she stressed. "You go to work for her, she'll find every single weak spot you have and use it against you. Not to mention the fact that she still thinks I'm dead. I'd prefer to keep it that way."
"You won't have to go anywhere near her. Its a way to take her down, don't you want that?"
"If you do then what?" Alyssa challenged. "The whole city'll be in anarchy!"
"You underestimate me, my dove." Oswald smirked. "With Fish, Falcone, and Maroni out of the way, the city will need a new king."
"....So that it then? Its all a plan to put you ontop?"
"Well yes. But every good leader needs a good number two."
Alyssa blinked. "Me?"
"There's no one better suited for the job. And I trust you with my life."
******
*Now*
Knock knock knock.
Alyssa opened her apartment door, her eyes widening when she saw who was on the other side.
"Hi Alyssa." Oswald smiled. "I'm alive."
Smack!
"Missed you too." he said sarcastically, rubbing his cheek.
"That's for making me think you were dead!" Alyssa snapped.
"Okay, I probably deserve that-" Smack!
"And that's for making me deal with your mother."
"My mother adores you." Oswald frowned.
Alyssa scoffed. "Not when she thinks you've been seduced by some hussie! She started blaming me for introducing you to girls! I mean I love the woman, but she drives me nuts." she sighed. "Come on in."
She stepped aside and let Oswald walk -- well, hobble really -- in.
"What happened to you?"
"Fish happened. She's every bit the woman you said she was."
"I did warn you. Why come back then?"
"The same reason as you, Gotham is my home."
Alyssa looked down. That was not really the reason she'd returned to Gotham, but she let Oswald continue.
"The Wayne's plan for Arkham City is moving forward. They had wanted you to have a part in it, didn't they?"
"Yeah, they were going to give me a share of the land for the kids. I had plans for houses, a school...." Alyssa sat next to him on her couch. "Now I'm just waiting for the call to see if Mayor James is going to follow through on that part of their plan."
******
Ring ring!
"'Ello?" Alyssa held the phone to her ear.
"Ms. Connors?"
"Brucie! What can I do for you?"
In her dealings with the Waynes, she had been over to their house a few times, and met their butler and son. Both seemed like lovely people, but she hadn't actually gotten to know either.
"I was wondering if you could come by the manor. I wanted to talk to you about my parent's plan for Arkham."
"Oh. Yeah, I can come over, how's noon tomorrow? You can get Alfred to make those peanut butter cookies of his." Alyssa joked, earning a laugh from the boy.
"Mom always has him make them when you're coming over."
"Good. I'll see you then."
******
"Mayor Jame's hates me." Alyssa informed, taking a bite of the cookie in her hand. "Even if he's following your parent's plan, no doubt he's planning to cut me out of it entirely."
"But you were going to build a safe haven for those kids." Bruce frowned.
"Ah, James' doesn't see it that way. When the kids got snatched, he tried to send them all to an Juvenal Corrections facility upstate. He doesn't really support the whole 'Mama Gotham' thing."
Bruce looked down a moment. "...Can I ask you something personal?"
Alyssa looked at him in slight surprise. "Depends on what it is."
"My father told me once that you had a house in a small town in Kansas."
"That's right."
"Then why did you return to Gotham?"
Alyssa chewed her lip. "Its a long story..."
"I-I don't mean to pry..."
"No, its alright." she shook her head. "Uh, there's this friend of mine, a few years younger than me. His mom didn't treat him well, so I offered to let him live with me. But we got into trouble, because I wasn't his legal guardian. They gave him back to his mom, but I promised I'd come for him." she sighed. "So, I had to find a way to make money and a stable household, that way I'd be able to fight for custody. And Gotham is nothing if not a city of opportunity."
"...And have you gotten him back?" Bruce asked when he finally found his voice.
"No." Alyssa shook her head. "He and his mom live with a traveling circus, so its not exactly easy to plan court hearings..."
"I'm sorry." he looked down. "What's his name? The boy?"
"Jerome. His name's Jerome Valeska."