Mama Gotham

Two Of A Kind

Paint splattered angrily over the canvas, the colors having no real rhyme or reason. They blended together in a bit of a blur, mirroring the inner turmoil of the person holding the brush.

"That's a cool picture." Selina said, leaning on the frame of the open window behind her.

Alyssa huffed and wiped her hands on her smock. "I just, painted what I'm feeling. I do that, you should know that by now."

"Yeah." Selina nodded. "But this one's different from the others I've seen. Still-" she pushed herself off the window. "Its really good. You should send it to a museum."

"You've been saying that since you found out I could draw." she rolled her eyes.

"And I'm gonna keep saying it until you listen." Selina said as-a-matter-of-factly. "So. You gonna tell me what's wrong?"

Alyssa bit her lip. "Where to start? Fish still wants me dead, Ozzy's planning to throw the city into total anarchy just so he can put himself on top, and Mama Gotham is officially the newest member of the Falcone family. So that's fun."

"...That's not what I'm talking about." Selina shook her head, watching the older woman intently.

"Huh?"

"The painting? You only poor your feelings into your art when something's effecting you emotionally. And going by this..." she looked over the canvas. "Its something big."

Alyssa huffed. "...Damn you for knowing me so well. Alright yeah. I went to see Ed after the press conference, and lets just say he wasn't all too happy with me delving deeper into Gotham's underworld."

"But, he's your best friend." Selina frowned. She had heard countless stories about Edward Nygma, and they had always painted him as the perfect guy; smart, kind, and loyal.

"Yeah well, he said he changed his mind. To which I snapped that I didn't want us to be friends either and kissed him."

Selina's eyes went wide. "What?!"

"I'm not good with emotions, okay?" Alyssa threw her hands up into the air. "I mean I didn't even know I had a crush on this guy until Oswald pointed it out! And even then, my way of telling him was kissing him in a fit of rage." her shoulders slumped and she looked down. "I'm a mess...."

Selina sighed. "Well, its a good thing you've got me then."

*******

*Three years ago*

Alyssa had had a good life in Smallville. If she was honest with herself, she had occasionally missed Gotham City, but taking care of Jerome the last two years had left little time for that.

But Haly's Circus had finally caught up with them, and accused Alyssa of kidnapping. It didn't matter that Lyla was a drunk who had men over nearly every night and beat her own son. It didn't matter that the police had had to pull the red haired boy from Alyssa kicking and screaming.

All the court saw was a high school drop out who had taken an 'unhealthy' interest in a boy five years younger than her. She could still hear Jerome crying, begging her not to let them take him back.

Alyssa shuddered. She hadn't been able to stop that, but before he had left she had promised him she'd get him back.

That was the only reason she had returned to Gotham. In this corrupt little city, anyone with enough money could buy a few buildings and rise in power quickly. The lawyer she had hired said she needed to get connections, a reputation, make herself look like a fit guardian.