Ask/Dare Bruce, Jeremiah, Edward, Oswald, 514A, & Jerome - Gotham *OPEN* + MS

Mini Skit #18

*Bruce, 514A, Edward, & Oswald are all gathered together and are sitting at the table in Wayne manor* 

Bruce: Ok, since we all are here and you guys have wanted to know what happened between Jeremiah and I at Ace Chemicals. I should also make a quick disclaimer that anything Jeremiah said, in his side of the story, like how he thinks it's my fault he looks hideous, it's not true. 

Oswald: Well, of course, you can never trust the word of a Valeska it seems. 

Edward: Yeah, and it brings about a metaphorical curse if you do, which is basically your overall case with Jeremiah. 

514A: Let's let Bruce tell the story now. 

Bruce: Thank you, Five. *Five nods back* So this is how it all began. *As Bruce is talking we see a flashback of all the events that happened* I was arriving home and well, I spotted some news papers about my parents deaths. I looked up from them and saw a familiar couple walk into my home. They were so familiar that I couldn't place an identity for them. I followed them inside. I didn't know what I was looking at. The couple claimed they were my parents but I already knew that that wasn't true, as much as I wanted to believe that they had somehow come back from the dead. Alfred showed up, told me we needed to get me prepared for something because we had a guest. That guest was Jeremiah. He was there, with a malicious smirk on his face and held a glass of wine. He had taunted me about Selina's failure to kill him. *The flashback pauses*

Oswald: Oh! So that's what the celebration at the Siren's Club was all about.

Edward: Wait, the street trash girl tried to kill Jeremiah Valeska???

514A: Ha! I didn't think she even had it in her to kill someone! *shrugs* Oh well, I guess this city has that power to bring out the worst in people. 

Bruce: Can I please get to my story? 

Oswald: Oh, sorry. Anyway, carry on. 

*The flashback unpauses*

Bruce: I tried to attack him but Alfred held me back. I was stupefied. Why was Alfred acting directly on Jeremiah's orders? Who were those people posing as my parents? Jeremiah brought out a bomb into the living room, which Alfred questioned on whether it was an Italian meringue cake. Ridiculous, I know. Jeremiah then revealed to me that the couple were actually 2 people that Jeremiah had kidnapped and had a surgeon alter them to make them look like my parents. He also had a few more of those meringue bombs stashed around the house. We had a brief dinner. It was with grilled cheese sandwiches. And to this day, the sight of cheese, even the tiniest amount, gives me PTSD because of what happened, as stupid as that sounds.

Oswald: Oh my, how appetizing...

 Bruce: It would have been, if it was just a normal birthday, without Jeremiah, or any of his sinister plans. That sick bastard had even tried to sympathize with me by comparing the situations of how we both lost our parents. 

514A: Oh that's right, Jerome killed both of their parents. 

Oswald: And their uncle. 

Bruce: He also tried to manipulate me, but when it became apparent that I wasn't falling for his bullshit, he got angry and yelled about how he wanted to quote unquote "be connected to me" and that he also quote unquote "offered to be my best friend". But everyone knows that friendships aren't that artificial enough to be formed through documents. I mean there's all the treaties and acts between countries, cities, and states throughout history but that's not the same thing. He then said something about being connected to me in "other" "ways". I asked him what he meant by that but he said I'll know when I see it for myself. He left with the doppelgangers and blew up my manor. Alfred and I managed to get out of there. I managed to chase him down by following the doppelgangers. I first went to the theater, where I saw Zorro on that night when my parents died.