Mama Gotham

Only Just A Dream

Life in the Gotham Narrows was simple; every man for himself. Sure, there were families, friends even, who held a steadfast and die-hard loyalty to each other but the stranger down the street was hardly your problem. Rule number one: look out for number one.

Alyssa had spent her entire life caring and worrying for others, so one would think the shift of focus would be difficult for her. One would be wrong. As soon as the sunset on the city and all the children were in bed one could find her in one of the Narrow's fighting rings, drinking, making bets, and occasionally fighting herself. Once she crossed that old bridge the rest of the world ceased to exist.

Not that this was a cure all by any means. The quality of her work was beginning to slip. She was short with the older kids and no longer had interest in playing with the younger ones. Selina had more than once found her asleep at her desk with a pen in her hand and papers stuck to her face.

"Mom! Come on, wake up!" the teen shook Alyssa's shoulder.

"Hmm?" she blinked and yawned. "Oh, hey kitten." she peeled herself off of her paper work and stretched her arms above her head before reaching for the half-empty whiskey bottle on the corner of the desk.

"Mom, are you okay?"

Alyssa scoffed out a fake laugh. "You know I'm gettin' really tired of everybody askin' me that. I'm okay, I'm fine." she insisted. "I swear, the next person who asks me if I'm okay, I'm punchin' em."

Usually Selina Kyle was quite good at masking her emotions and keeping them to herself. Alyssa was her weak spot however, which meant that she was a different story.

"Don't lie to me!" She snapped.

"I'm not!"

"Yes you are! You're lying to me, and you're lying to yourself!"

"Selina Marie Kyle, you have no right to speak to me that way!"

"Mom, I'm worried about you!" Selina's voice cracked slightly. "Ever since that whole thing with Tetch, you've been acting crazy! Something happened that night, and I get that it was hard, but pretending it didn't happen isn't gonna help!"

"Oh so you're worried I'm so out of it I'm about to blow my lid? Who are you and what have you done with my kid?" Alyssa slapped a hand over her mouth.

"Mom..?"

"I'm fine...." Alyssa leaned on the desk for support.

"No, you're not." Selina insisted. "You're running on fumes, and you can't run forever."

"You don't have to worry about me kitten. I'm the mother, worrying is my job."

Her daughter scoffed. "Mom, could you stop being so high and mighty for once? You're right, you are my mother. You're my mother, and I love you, and I wanna help you."

Alyssa studied the girl's face, seeing the genuine worry and concern in her eyes. Her sweet baby girl. She recalled the guarded, short tempered child she'd been when they'd met. That was a girl who did not trust the world around her, and with good reason too.

But that girl was no longer here. Gone was the sad little girl who'd been convinced that her mother was still alive. She'd found a new home with a new mother. Sometimes Alyssa envied her daughter; to be able to drop the life you have and exchange it for a better one must be a wonderful luxury.

Then again, Alyssa considered what that meant for her. While the people she cared about could be formidable foes when she was threatened, they'd also had their moments of being foes themselves. Oswald, Edward, even Jerome.