Gotham 1. Chapter 1

Another temporary setback, yet luckily an amusing one. Oswald Cobblepot chuckled lightly at the man bound in the bedroom, muffled pleas escaping his bound lips. "She didn't believe me." Oswald slowly waddled towards the rich man and set the boy's cell phone on the plastic countertop. Straightening himself to his full height, Oswald gave a crooked smile, "You must be quite the scamp." Adrenaline pumped through his veins as he noted the tears welling up in the man's blue eyes. Delving into his pockets, he chuckled again as he clicked the switchblade.

"Honestly, I'm a tad bit disappointed that I couldn't get the money. Although I must thank you for the cash you had on hand." Cobblepot limped over to the man and pulled the man's neatly parted hair until his eyes met his. "It's too bad your mother didn't take me seriously." Slightly trembling, he cut the gag off his victim's mouth with the switchblade, leaving a thin gash down the man's lips.

"Help me!" the man yelled, body seizing in fear. The screaming was quickly silenced as he felt cold, sharp metal pressed tightly against his throat."

"Nobody can hear you but me Tim, I can call you Tim, right? We were friends after all. If I were you I would either be silent or beg for mercy."

"Please, let me talk to her. I can get you the money. My father is the CEO of Hoyt Industries, he can give you more than you asked…" The man hissed in pain as Cobblepot's clammy hand slammed across his face.

"I don't care about the money any longer. Your mother didn't believe me...nobody believes in me. You are just like the rest of the rich. Arrogant and ignorant. Believing that I should shine your shoes and praise you. I've learned from my mistakes. Just as you will now." Bringing the switchblade down on the man's jugular, euphoria swept over him as he saw his sallow complexion in his prey's dimming eyes.

Grabbing the car keys and leather wallet from the counter, Oswald searched his sweater for blood stains and limped front door. "Time to go home."

*Not all those who wander are lost- J.R.R Tolkien*

Mary stirred the stew in the large vat, wiping the sweat off her forehead while her mother was placing rolls in one of the ovens.

"Is the soup done yet? Dinner starts at five." Quickly walking to the counter,Mary's mother smoothed down her stained apron and teasingly snapped her daughter's hair covering.

"Any minute now." Mary stated gently smiling at her worn mother and noting the dark patches underneath her eyes. "Honestly mom, you should relax. The hungry homeless of Gotham will be able to wait for a five minute rest." Her mother simply smirked and walked over to the stainless steel countertop to fold the mismatched silverware.

"I think if your mother ever stopped working she would drop down dead." Mary turned and smiled at Brian, who was giving her a lopsided grin as he pointed his tattooed arm across the room at Mary's mother.

"Yeah, luckily we have you and Snake to work with us. Otherwise, I think she would." Mary muttered playfully shouldering Brian's thick frame.

He rubbed his front gold tooth with his tongue and chuckled, "I think we're the lucky ones. This is as sure as hell greater than Blackgate! Ain't that right Snake!?"

Snake simply nodded sucking his lip ring in concentration as he bleached the dining room tables. "At least I don't have to worry every time I bend down that's for damn sure."

Noticing the soup was finally ready, Mary tucked a stray blonde hair back into her cap and smiled, "Soup's ready!" Her mother whooped and set the wrapped silverware on the counter to be placed in the dining room by Snake.

"Good! We have ten minutes left people!" Mary eyed the entrance warily as the customers began to come in, dirty and in stiff positions. She knew there would be illegal drugs and weapons in their pockets. Luckily, this place had nothing to steal. They had to scrounge up money simply to pay the rent each month. It was dimly lit and use to be one of the many abandoned restaurants with rat poison scattered around the room. All they had to steal was given out freely.

"What's on the menu today Barbara?" a regular laughed, rotten teeth stretched into a ragged smile.

"Soup like usual Joe!" Mary's mother laughed her creased face lightening with laughter. Joe sauntered up to the counter and Mary could notice the track marks on his arms.

"How has Barbara's beautiful daughter doing?" Mary nearly wretched as she smelled the mixture of liquor and nicotine on his breath.

"Great Joe, thanks." she stated politely, pulling away quickly to help her mother start to fill up trays.

"Everyone you know what to do! Form a line!" Barbara yelled while pulling her graying hair out of her face. While Brian and Barbara were filling trays, Mary was tallying the number of people coming in and the drink orders. When the line finally cleared, she slumped onto one of the rickety metal stools on the front desk and rubbed her temples. Then she heard the bell on the front door ring.

"Excuse me miss? Is it true you serve food here?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews follows, etc. so far! It almost makes me as happy as eating a tuna sandwich. Anyways, in this story I will have excerpts of the story in italics to show things that have happened in the past, whether a memory or a dream. In this case, it is describing Penguin returning to Gotham with a little backstory.** **So enjoy!**

_*"Victor, it's tea time! Let your buton rozy see her precious man!" Oswald could hear his mother chirp in the dining room. He sighed and peered into the cracked mirror in front of him. She liked to do this every Sunday, for him to dress in his father's old suit that reeked of mothballs and pretend that she was living in a world of love and luxury. Smoothing the faded black suit and straightening his tie he stepped into the dining room._

"_Oh Victor! You look wonderful!" Oswald cringed as she pretended he was his father. He had died years ago from a mixture of failed business and cheap alcohol. Ever since he was a little boy, his mother would make him put on his father's best clothes. Rolling the cuffs of the pants and tightly wrapping the oversized clothes against his scrawny frame until it was as restricting as a strait jacket. Yet it made his mother happy so he always played the part. Luckily, he never had to answer her, he just had to nod while she rambled and gave accolades to the dead man. _

_Nodding, he sat on one of the antique chairs, slightly flinching when it creaked under his weight. His mother quickly placed store-bought wine in the glass goblets she always uses for the occasion. The archaic house in the middle of the squalor of Gotham reeked of old, faded money. The Persian rugs were threadbare, the silver was tarnished, and a couple of the windows were boarded due to previous break ins. In the middle of it all was a woman in a faded lace dress and gloves trying to keep her old lifestyle alive and (when lucid) mold her son into an upper class gentleman. _

"_Victor, I never expected to gain this much wealth in America! You did it! Your little buton rozy is so pleased with you!" He nodded and gave a faltering smile as his mother placed a stale scone on the tiny, cracked china plate in front of him. "I know you have been stressed love, yet remember, in America you have the power to do whatever you want! You will make it!"_

_He gave a slight smirk as he mulled over his mother's words. For the first time in years he replied, "Yes, yes I will." _

_His mother placed her wrinkled hand on top on what she believed to be her Victor, "Ya tebyA lyublyU". *_

_Oswald heard police sirens and grabbed tightly onto the steering wheel. Sighing, he rubbed his temples and attempted to get out of his swarming memories. Realizing he was dazed nearly the entire trip; Oswald observed his surroundings, until he noticed a bridge. Quickly, driving towards it he grinned as he saw a green sign stating cheerily Welcome to Gotham. Home at last._

_* _Remember tonight...for it is the beginning of always-Dante Alighieri*

The man had limp, black hair and a very pale complexion. His bright blue eyes were fixated on her and the nice clothes made him look unlike anyone she had ever served. He must be new to the town and mistaken this to be another cheap food joint. Mary chuckled slightly, "Yes we serve food here, but it doesn't look like this would be the type of place you frequent." The man seemed to chuckle a bit at that, lips twitching slightly in amusement.

"No, honestly it's not. I've had a bad turn of luck and I am afraid I have nowhere else to go." Mary gave a nod of understanding and noted the dark patches underneath the man's eyes. He must have been through a lot.

"Of course you can eat here if you want. What would you like to drink? Water, tea, coffee?"

"Water is fine." he stated, smiling brightly and revealing his slightly crooked teeth. Mary tallied him in and ushered him to one of the metal tables to sit. She left and yelled for Brian and Barbara to fill another tray. Barbara gave a quizzical look as she peered out of the kitchen.

"Mary, who is this new man? I haven't seen him around here before." Barbara's eyes narrowed as she noticed the nice clothes he was wearing, "What would a man like that be doing here? Brian, Snake, do you recognize him?"

Brian glanced at the customer Barbara was pointing to and gave an unamused snicker, "Looks like a rat to me boss."

"Or one of those sniveling rich kids kicked out of their parent's house. Probably drugs. You can tap those types pretty easily, especially when they get into mommy and daddy's savings." Snake shrugged and wiped the sweat from his bald head, "Or a rat like Brian said." He shrugged with disinterest and continued to wash dishes.

"The two things that piss me off most in the world are cops and rats." Brian cracked his neck and turned away, his face drawing into a tight frown.

Barbara sighed and handed Mary a tray, "Well give him this and find out who he is. I do not want any mob bosses or criminals targeting this place." Mary grimaced and quickly filled a plastic cup with tap water and grabbed the tray. Show time.

Striding towards the man she placed the tray and water in front of him and gave him a cheery smile, "Here you go! I hope you like it, that's basically all we serve here."

He gave a cheery nod and quickly unwrapped the mismatched silverware from the rag, and quickly stuffed the stew into his mouth. "It feels like I haven't eaten in ages! It's so good!" He took a large bite of the roll as if to emphasize his point.

Mary smiled and pointed to the stool across from him, "May I sit here?"

"Of course." his blue eyes flickered towards her and back to the soup.

"I've never seen you around here. What is your name?" Mary noticed the man hesitate and slightly choke on his soup.

Regaining his composure he stated confidently, "Tim Maynard. I'm not from this area of Gotham. My family runs a small business on the north side of town. Who are you?"

"Mary Walters, my mother owns this place. What are you doing here?" Oswald gave a slight frown and contemplated the girl in front of him. He couldn't help feeling cheerful over the attention he was receiving, especially from such a pretty girl. She was digging around for too much information though.

"I've made some mistakes and have been disowned and abandoned to the streets. I came across a vendor, who recommended me to go here for food and possible work. It seems like you are one of the only places that does this. Is there any way I could trouble you guys for a place to sleep or work?" Oswald took a sip of water and peered at Mary, who was contemplating his situation.

"Well it sounds like you have come to the right place. I can see if my mom can do anything for you. She always seems to complain about needing help anyway."

Oswald beamed and reached out his hand to shake hers with vigor. "Thank you so much! I think you will find I can be of great use to you."


End file.

Gotham, Angst, Crime