Mama Gotham

The Ticking Beat

A/N: I'm back b*tches!

Alyssa liked Andy. He was kind, and showed it in a way that didn't make her feel less than, which was a hard thing to come by. Within a few months, she became sort of friends with him.

Though she was too young to take notice at the time, the more time she spent with Andy, the more Jervis would cling to her. His visits to the Connors' household doubled, whether his sister and father were with him or not. It no longer mattered if they worked on Jervis' projects when they spent time together – though that was certainly his favorite thing to do – he was ready to follow Alyssa anywhere.

Being the restless little soul she was, Alyssa was a wanderer. When her sister was in daycare or school, and her responsibilities no longer needed her at the moment, she would pick a direction and go. Her artist eye catching the strangest of beauty that Gotham was full of, she found it nice to have someone to rant to about what she saw. And Jervis soaked it all in like a sponge, giving Alyssa a level of attention she had never had before.

There was something about the attention Jervis paid to her, about the look in his eyes that said there was no place he'd rather be that made Alyssa shine with confidence. She'd never really been afraid to say what she thought, it was just that no one had ever really cared enough to listen. Jervis did though. When it was just the two of them, she wasn't the forgotten child, she wasn't slum trash.

"You're a queen." the small boy informed, setting the daisy crown he had woven on his friend's head. "You're gonna rule the world."

"Sounds like a lotta work." Alyssa chuckled.

"If anyone can do it, you can 'Lyssa. You just need a few loyal subjects." he pushed himself up from the grass and held out his arm. "M'lady?"

"Why thank you kind sir." she took his hand, allowing him to pull her up.

She failed to notice the tight grip Jervis kept on her fingers the whole way home.

******

When her head became a bit too crowded, Alyssa turned to alcohol to ease her nerves. Probably not the best option, but at that point she couldn't bring herself to care.

Tossing back her third shot of the night, she flipped the glass on its rim, tapping the bottom to signal the bar tender for more.

"Keep up the pace and you're gonna drink us dry."

"I don't think Gotham's runnin' outta booze anytime soon." she rolled her eyes at the blonde who'd slid into the seat next to her.

"Stress of the job gettin' to ya?" Barbra raised an eyebrow.

Alyssa scoffed. "Somethin' like that, yeah. So where's this magician you told me about?" she changed the subject to the entertainment Barbra had booked for the night.

"Hypnotist." She corrected. "And he's supposed to be on any minute now."

Hypnotist . Alyssa thought bitterly. Figures. The universe has a cruel sense of humor.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" a voice from the stage in the front of the room drew the women out of their conversation. Apparently the act had started without their notice. "For my first act, I will require a few volunteers from the audience."

He was scanning the crowd when Alyssa finally looked up, having downed her fourth shot and signaled the bar tender yet again. Their eyes met across the room, and Alyssa could feel the blood drain from her face.

He opened his mouth to speak, most likely to summon her up to the stage, but Alyssa was quicker. Hopping off her bar stool, she got the hell outta dodge as fast as her legs could carry her.

She only stopped as she was getting on the elevator, cursing as the heel of her shoe caught in the open door slat, snapping clean off. Her footing now un-even, Alyssa leaned against the back wall of the elevator as the golden doors closed, leaving her face to face with a blurry form of her reflection.

******

When he was not in Alyssa's presence, which was far too often for his liking, Jervis was hard at work. It kept his mind off of the darker thoughts that always seemed to disappear when she was around.

Jervis wasn't really sure where his current project was going, he had just become fascinated by how certain beats of his clocks could invoke certain reactions in others. He wanted to see if there was a correlation or if it was just a coincidence.

The door to the tiny room he shared with Alice, who was out with neighbors at the moment, banged open just as he got a new beat going. His father, who no doubt had something to yell at him, suddenly froze, his arm dropping limply to his side and his eyes going glassy.

Once the initial terror subsided, Jervis realized his father hadn't moved an inch. The ticking of the watch continued, and the boy's curiosity peaked.

"Stand on one leg." he ordered.

To his amazement, his father obeyed.

"Flap your arms like a chicken!"

The bottle in Mr. Tetch's hand shattered on the floor as he dropped it. His hands tucked into his armpits and he flapped his elbows up and down.

An awed laugh stuttered from Jervis' lips. Somehow, he'd managed to find a ticking beat that could control people to do whatever he told them too.

Alyssa was going to be so proud of him.