The Penguin's Heart (Oswald Cobblepot fanfic* orig charac)

Gotham's Monsters (Start of S3)

Red/Evy P.O.V

The 6 months of training went by so quickly. My stance, balance, & striking speed had improved dramatically from the relentless training schedule. I enjoyed learning how to use the sais & evasion techniques. The last helped me land more attacks. Ras was impressed with my quick progress & had high hopes for me. I would continue to get training by Slade until I returned to the mountain during holidays & school breaks. I was fine with that schedule as I enjoyed learning & improving.

Alfred & Bruce came to pick me up on the last day of our holiday. I was sent down to the village camp just in time to be ready by the morning. Bo & Cui stayed at the mountain. As orphans, they had no family to go to. I gave them my address so we could write. I needed buddies to practice Cantonese with & they were happy to share their language. I would miss them so much.

As they picked me up, they were curious about my stay. I was able to share enough to keep up the harmless facade. Along with the letters & safe appearance, they were none the wiser. I was glad they weren't.

Ozy & I were a little shaky. The Underworld was in a bit of a tailspin with Hugo's monster's loose. He had it under control but was stressed. The morons under us were panicking & tried to underwork for "safety". I gave him suggestions for special treatments.

They quickly fell into line with my creative solutions. But, I needed to get back pronto as him being my shadow would lose its effect in a few weeks. More importantly, I needed to fix our relationship. It wasn't doing his confidence any good with my frequent disappearances. Besides Ed, I was the only stability he had. But, their visits were restricted by the new temporary head doctor at Arkham.

A long flight took us back home. It was back to the circus of a city we called home. We were going to confront the board tomorrow. I was prepared for more lies of innocence. But, I wasn't thrilled about being bait. After the lab, I could only guess how much more dangerous things would get. I really wished Bruce would drop it before we possibly got killed.

The possibly only good news out of Gotham was Gordon & Lee getting back together. I surprised to hear from Selina that they ere back in town. Gordon decided to be a bounty hunter instead of a cop. But, we knew that wouldn't last & started making a bet when he would crack. Selina gave him 2 months but I figured more like 5. Lee also decided to stay out of the GCPD & worked at Gotham general. They found a small decent apartment to rebuild their lives in. I was honestly rooting for them.

The bigger piece of news was that my mom was alive. She was leading a band of Strange's experiments after their breakout. Hunter were being paid 5 grand for their arrest. Luckily, she hadn't been caught. Instead, her lackeys were being caught breaking into pharmacy stores. I began to worry about her health as that could be the only reason behind it. I couldn't wait to finally see her in a few days.

"Well, that should be the last of it. I'll put the kettle on. There's nothing like a sweet cup of tea to make home feel like home after a long trip away." Alfred commented as we finished carrying in all the cases

"Hey Master Bruce & mistress Evy?" He asked for confirmation, getting silence

"Are you both alright?" He noticed

"Were we right to leave Alfred? Stay away all this time?" Bruce asked

"Well, considering the appalling sight of the topiary, I should say absolutely bloody not." He joked

"Alfred, you know what we mean." I snapped causing him to face us

"I know you know why we left." He gently replied as he looked into both of our eyes