Gotham's Unknown 3 Predator and Prey

Chapter 5: Strike One

Sarah sat at home spinning in her chair in her home office feeling bored out of her mind. The reason she had been home so much these past few days was because of a work event that she was a little too embarrassed to tell Daniel about.

The day after Lorraine had her incident, just after she had gotten off the phone with Edward she noticed something going on in the halls. She stepped out of her office and noticed three guards fighting an inmate. They were trying to get an inmate to go back to his cell but he was refusing of course. Sarah just barely stepped out of her office and the guard not paying a bit of attention to his surroundings ended up thumping Sarah in the top of her head with his nightstick. Typically a small concussion wouldn't have bothered Sarah ever since she was a child but this time not only did it hurt but it knocked her out. Malcolm insisted that she stay home for a while and maybe see some kind of doctor to see just what the hell was going on with her. The wound had healed but it was still concerning because Sarah hadn't felt pain for the last 15 years so saying that she was worried would be an understatement. Though she was terrified to tell Daniel because she didn't want him to worry. Though Daniel Van Dahl seemed like one of the toughest men in Gotham when it came to his family he was soft and gentle. He would help Adam with his homework, he would read to Lorraine when she was little, and especially whenever Sarah missed her father the most he was there. Even though he came from such vicious men of Oswald Cobblepot and Edward Nygma and he was just as vicious as them and even more so with his abilities he was still a kind sweet loving man and that was why Sarah couldn't tell him that she thought something was wrong.

Sarah sat in her office for a while until suddenly the doorbell rang throughout the empty house. Sarah stood and before going to the door Sarah went into the kitchen. She reached up on top of the fridge and pulled down a large wooden box. She opened it and pulled out a large silver revolver with gold decals all over it. It was her father's favorite gun, surprisingly it was an anniversary present from Harley. Sarah took the gun knowing whether it was loaded with toy flags or bullets but knew the sight of it would scare someone either way then went to the door she looked through the peephole and saw a very well dressed man adjusting his tie. Sarah opened the door carefully. "Hello Miss, may I have a moment of your time?" Asked the man with a very interesting British accent.
"I'm sorry, my family and I are very agnostic about the whole religion thing, try next door though." Said Sarah as she tried to close the door but the man put his foot in the door.
"I'm not a solicitor." He said with a soft smile so Sarah opened the door a bit wider. "I believe an introduction is in order, my name is Arthur Dupont." Said Arthur as Sarah was immediately filled with such a burning rage that she threw the door open wide revealing the gun she had kept concealed behind the door. Arthur ran but tripped down the stairs which gave Sarah the upper hand. She stepped hard down on Arthur's back crunching into his spine as she pressed the barrel of the gun into the base of his skull.
"Give me one good reason I should splatter your brains across my walkway!" She snarled as she cocked the gun.
"I can help your son!" He said louder then he should have but Sarah gripping him by his shoulder and flipped him grabbing by his tie sort of choking him with it.
"What do you mean?!" She growled.
"Your son has taken after his grandfather in his vigilant ways." Said Arthur as Sarah let go of him.
"Get in the house but leave any weapons you're carrying on the porch!" Barked Sarah as she turned.
"I don't own any weapons." Said Arthur very sincerely which caused Sarah to scoff.
"You're definitely not from Gotham." She stated firmly.

While Sarah was dealing with quite the interesting visitor, Adam had told the school nurse that he didn't feel well which automatically made her worry because in the nearly four years he had attended this school never once had he come to the nurses office feeling ill or even being injured. The nurse hardly knew his face let alone his name so when he came in just after lunch saying that his lunch hadn't agreed with him and he had thrown up which meant that he had to be sent home due to the school rules. Adam suggested she call Daniel because he knew that Daniel wouldn't answer the phone so he nurse immediately got his father's phone number from his student file and gave Daniel a call but he didn't answer. The nurse then called Sarah which unexpectedly to Adam she answered the phone. "Hello Miss Ivory, I'm the school nurse calling from Gotham High School, your son Adam has come to me and said that he threw up in one of the school's trash cans. He said his lunch didn't sit with him right and though this doesn't seem too serious it is school rules that if a student throws up they have to be sent home. Are you able to come pick him up?" Asked the nurse as she nodded and then after agreeing with whatever was said over the phone she hung up. "Alright Adam your mother is coming to get you." Said the nurse as Adam's eyes grew wide.
"No! I can walk home! No need for my Mom to come to school!" Said Adam as the nurse took his head.
"Honey, though I don't know you very well your records speak volumes of your excellent grades and your excellent attendance, minus those 2 weeks you were absent in middle school, it shows you love to be at school but school rules are that if a student throws up they have to be sent home. I'm sorry." Said the nurse as Adam sighed and stood taking his backpack and going into the waiting area of the office. He sat down and hung his head.
"Hey." Said a young gentleman sitting next to him holding their head back with tissues in their nose.
"Hey..." Said Adam as he glanced at the boy but actually recognized them. "Hey, aren't you the kid that does Matt Percy's homework?" Asked Adam as the kid nodded.
"Yeah..." He said as the kid sighed.
"What happened?" Asked Adam as he pointed at the kid's nose.
"Oh well, his girlfriend Wendy Lowe demanded I write her an essay for English but I'm in the advanced courses! I don't even know what they're teaching in basic English!" Said the kid as they sighed. "Long story short Matt found out and he broke my nose." Said the kid as they sighed then eyed Adam up and down. "Aren't you like the Joker's son? What's your name like JJ or something?" Asked the kid as Adam chuckled.
"No my name is Adam and no I'm actually his grandson, my mom is his daughter." Said Adam as he ran his fingers through his fluffy blonde hair.
"Jasper... Bet the Joker was a shit Dad and Granddad too." Said the kid as Adam sighed and smiled.
"Actually no, I got to hang out with him for a while and he was really cool and fun. He had a lot of good jokes that weren't about murder or anything horrible. He taught me some really cool stuff too." Said Adam as he smiled thinking about Joker, truly he was the only member of his family that could do that anymore.
"Like what?" Asked Jasper as Adam leaned back.
"Well none of the stuff that you'd expect, my mom insisted that if he taught me anything about being a criminal she'd hit him in the mouth." Said Adam as he laughed and so did Jasper.
"Your mom sounds badass." Said Jasper as Adam nodded.
"She is pretty cool, she's actually a psychiatrist over at Arkham." Said Adam as he smiled.
"So excuse my ignorance to your life since we've only just met but isn't your whole family like psychos?" Asked Jasper as Adam looked at him shocked.
"Is that what everyone is saying about me?!" Asked Adam as Jasper nodded.
"You and your little sister, but it's not true is it?" Asked Jasper as Adam gave him a look. "Hey don't give me that you know what your grandpa does!" Said Jasper as Adam sighed.
"Look we may have a few screws loose but no more than any normal person outside of Gotham. I heard that people all over the country sometimes even go on to live completely normal lives with the exact same psychotic tendencies that the people in my family have! It's everyone else in Gotham that has the problem, the so called normal people of this city are so ignorant to the actual INS and OUTS of mental health that instead of seeing someone who hallucinates or someone with an uncontrolled violent temper as someone who needs help they see them as someone who needs to be punished for crimes they didn't commit! It's sick and wrong!" Said Adam as he wanted to go on but Jasper stopped.
"Jesus, ok you can stop! I didn't need the lecture, god! I understand how ignorant this town can be I mean you can count on one hand how many nonbinary people live in this town!" Said Jasper as Adam looked at him.
"How many?" Asked Adam as Jasper laughed.
"Well there's the deli guy's kid, that prep school masculine presenting kid with blue hair, that older feminine presenting person I met on the bus though they might be from Metropolis and just visiting, and me." Said Jasper as they held up four fingers and Adam smiled. "You know this town doesn't even have a pride parade! It's completely ridiculous!" Said Jasper as Adam held out his finger.
"Actually I know why they only had one pride parade in the entire history of this town." Said Adam as Jasper looked at him.
"Why did they only have one pride parade?" Asked Jasper as Adam leaned.
"Do you realize that 90 percent of the villains that reside in Gotham are members of the LGBTQ+ Community?" Asked Adam as Jasper's eyes grew wide.
"No way!" Said Jasper as Adam nodded.
"Oh yeah, did you know that the Penguin and the Riddler have been married for almost the last 40 years? My Dad is their son." Said Adam as Jasper shook his head.
"Dude you could fill every volume of the encyclopedia with everything you know about the villains in this town!" Said Jasper as suddenly the nurse walked in.
"Adam your mother is here, Jasper how are you feeling?" Asked the nurse as Jasper nodded.

Adam went outside and got in his mom's car, she didn't look too pleased with him. They sat in the car for a moment until Sarah spoke up. "Really Adam, lying to get out of school. I thought you were better than that." Said Sarah in a very disappointed tone.
"I'm sorry..." Adam muttered.
"By the way you should be more careful with things that aren't yours, Stagg." Said Sarah as she pulled something out of her pocket and put it in Adam's hands. There in his hands was the tie pin that he was wearing the night that he was humiliated at that party. The tie pin was one of Daniel's it was a lesser favorite but the reason Sarah was so upset was because she had given it to him on Valentine's Day last year, it was the first thing she had bought him after she got out of Arkham.
"You know?" Asked Adam as Sarah sighed.
"Of course I know, I'm your mother. Now I want you to tell me everything that happened that night." Said Sarah as Adam nodded and told her everything as they drove home.

When they got home Arthur was waiting for them. "Hello Adam, I'm gonna help you be the White Stagg this city needs but only if you want to?" Asked Arthur as Adam looked at his mother and nodded.
"I do, I really do."