The Fall & Rise...

Barbara Gordon stepped forward towards the Big Top with seemingly half the entire City. Barbara had thought she'd avoided most of the crowds but there were people everywhere. Checking her phone she saw that she still had some time before the show started. She was itching to look behind the scenes and to hopefully find more clues regarding the woman-bat...Bat-Woman she had seen kicking ass in the alley.

The Big top was lit up like a lighthouse, calling people towards it. At the entrance, there were several performers displaying some of the acts people could expect. There were a few jugglers, a woman walking on stilts, a man with a tight red suit and pale skin doing some acrobatics and then some clowns pretending to throw buckets of water at the people going inside. Barbara's stomach tightened slightly. She and most of Gotham City were not fans of clowns...

A voice seemed to shriek above most of the noise as a small boy hurtled out from the throngs of people and almost collided with a young man beside a motorcycle. The kid was crying out


The second that the young man pulled off his helmet, Barbara knew that he was the boy she had seen confronting the gunman outside the circus before. She had quickly sketched his face and recognised the eyes. The drawing was inside her bedside cabinet and she'd looked at it several times since drawing it.

Barbara couldn't hear what the man and kid were saying but saw the child extend a picture and a pen. The man seemed to make the child happy as he signed the paper. Barbara couldn't help but smile at the gesture. Two adults then left the crowds and cut straight to the man and child. Barbara recognised the calm yet concerned quick steps of parents. As another pair of adults headed towards them, Barbara saw that many of the trailers round the back of the Big top seemed unattended.


Slipping by unnoticed, Barbara jogged to the first of the trailers. She held back as a bearded woman walked past, talking on a cell phone and blowing smoke from what Barbara hoped was a cigarette. Barbara stepped up to the door of the trailer and knocked twice. No answer. Barbara opened the door and stepped inside.
It was a relatively small trailer that was clean but lived in. A laundry basket was on the table full of colourful clothes, a wordsearch was half done on the couch and a half drunken mug of coffee sat on the counter beside the hob. Barbara started to look around but there was nothing suspicious at all.



The voice through the PA made Barbara jump and she fell backwards over the shoes laid out neatly by the door. Barbara scrambled to rearrange the several pairs of shoes. She needed to get moving. Barbara left the trailer and slowly pulled the door shut.

As she turned to walk away, Barbara walked straight into a man and almost caused them both to fall. The man wore a dark coat with a Gotham Knight's hat on his head. His backstage pass swung around his neck and Barbara was painfully aware she wasn't wearing one.

"I'm so sorry. My bad. Wasn't watching where I was going. You'd have thought a lion tamer should be more aware of her surroundings but what are you going to do?" Barbara laughed and shrugged, hoping her fake laugh would pass. The man raised an eyebrow but was clearly in a hurry as he shuffled past without stopping to speak. Barbara watched him leave and saw him hit shoulders with the young man...who was coming towards her. In a blind panic Barbara ran further backstage, passing piles of clothes, balls a smoke machine and large tyres. She finally came to several tables and benches in what seemed to be a communal eating area. It was mostly empty with the show about to start except for a young woman who seemed to be running lines with her face stuck in a script of some sort.

A couple then sat down on one of the benches. They had been the man and the woman from before. They had seemed nice. The man called out



The young man approached quickly with his motorbike in tow. Barbara sat down and tried to act invisible. She took out her phone and began looking on facebook hoping not to stand out...

Panic filled Barbara's mind. He was coming over. The Ricky guy was talking to her. He was looking right at her!!! Barbara could feel her heart beating faster. She didn't know what would happen if she got caught backstage. Trying to act cool, Barbara looked up at him, raising her eyebrow.






And with that, the mysterious boy was gone. Barbara saw he hit himself with a face-palm as he walked away. Barbara smiled. He was sweet. He was horrendously awkward but he was sweet. Barbara put her phone back into her pocket and stood up. Her Dad popped up into her mind, frowning at her talking to boys but she pushed him out of her mind. Barbara opened her mouth to call out when the PA blared out.

Watching as Barbara pulled Jim along with her through the crowd to attempt to get some good seats, that look he felt from her father was typical, it was what he had to learn to deal with. The stereotype of being a circus performer apparently still seemed to be going strong in 2015, something that he had been taught to cope with from an early age. As the two disappeared in the crowd, he managed to catch one last glance at the pretty young redhead before nodding to himself and kicked the stand of his bike up. His parents had wrapped up their unexpected meet and greet session, all as Johnny Grayson looked backwards- realizing Ricky wasn't near him but before he could shout in his son's direction he saw the boy approaching and instantly recognized the look across the young Grayson's face that illustrated sadness.

// Johnny]: What's up Rick? Why the long face?

Not feeling up to answer his father at the moment, it was almost like with a blink of an eye-- the crowd had vanished, and the only people who were standing on the dirt lot was The Graysons. A voice could be heard booming from within the big-top, that of Mister Haly as he was giving his usual introduction to the sights and sounds for the evening. Shaking his head and doing his best to hide how he was feeling at the moment, Ricky looked up at his father-

// Ricky]: Pre-show jitters, you know how they are. No matter how much times we've done this, the butterflies never go away, especially when I hear Mister Haly's voice kick up.

Patting his son on the shoulder, Johnny fired off a toothy smile now.

// Johnny]: Don't sweat it son, we've gone over this about a thousand times. I know you always worry about what 'can' happen, but just look forward to what 'will' happen. Your mother and I have worked this routine since before you were born, we've got it down. You just worry about nailing that landing- I seen you a bit sloppy recently.. Girl fever, huh?

Johnny's joking tone brought a smile over Ricky's face as Johnny reached over and threw his right arm around his son's shoulder as they both moved toward the back entrance of the big-top. Mary had let the boys bond, something she did when noticing Ricky's anxiety coming to be- and with one glance in her husband and son's direction, the smiles on both of their faces gave her solace. As they looked through the crack in the curtain toward the center of the big-top, Mister Haly- an older, balding fellow with a pop-belly was as good of a man as there ever was. He had on a red 'ringmaster' styled jacket of sorts with yellow tassels hanging off of the shoulders. Getting the crowd into a frenzy, Ricky's eyes scanned the area- he spotted his newly introduced acquaintance Barbara through recognizing her red hair pop from a distance. Sitting next to her father, the mustached general- Ricky could respect his protective nature over his daughter, he figured he'd be the same way around people who frequent a town for no longer than a week and disappear to the next adventure.


// Haly]: .. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I'D LIKE TO ASK THAT FLASH BE TURNED OFF AS IT MAY IMPAIR OUR PERFORMERS ATTENTION AND VISION!

// Ricky]: Never really bothers me.

Ricky's eyes moved from the sea of people flocked in the stands to the multiple wires hanging from one, seemingly solid beam. The way things worked was, Ricky would kick the show off with a few simple tricks to get night moving. After Ricky's little intro, his mother and father would take the limelight with a few more advanced acts in their two man show, and once they were done- they would finish it all with a few three people tricks- the final being Ricky catching enough air to land with his father managing to stick a landing on his son's shoulders and his mother on the handle-bars of the bike, something that was insane, but something they had worked on for years.

// Johnny]: Alright Rick, almost your cue, make sure- stay focused, feed the throttle and don't take your eye off the ball.. especially with your girlfriend in attendance..

Slugging his son playfully across the right shoulder, Ricky laughed at his father's comment all as his mother patted her son on the back.

// Mary]: You'll be fine son, even if the pressure of your girlfriend watching is there.

// Ricky]: MA!

As the three shared a laugh, Mary kissed Ricky on the cheek and hugged him, all as Johnny gave Ricky a burly hug.

// Johnny]: We'll see you for the finale.

// Mary]: Be safe honey, we love you.

// Ricky]: I love you guys too.

Reaching over, Ricky grabbed hold of his specialized jacket with a pretty sick air-brushed image of himself in the midst of a trick on the back and zipped it up. Taking a seat on his bike, he took one last sigh before stepping over the bike, turning the key and kickstarting it. Revving the engine a few times, the crowd could hear it from their position all as Haly smiled.

// Haly]: PLEASE.. WELCOME.. THE BOY WONDER HIMSELF, THE DAREDEVIL SUPREME.. RRRRRICCCCKKKKKKYYY........ GRAAAAAAAYYYYYSOOOOOOONNNNNN!

Blasting out from beyond the curtain- emerging from the darkness was indeed Ricky on his dirt-bike, and to the horror of his mother and father, he had ditched the helmet. As he zoomed past Haly, the crowd roared in excitement as he gained his footing and instantly pulled the bike back, pulling off a sick wheelie that extended from one end of the area to the other- the crowd loved the simplicity of things as before he dropped the bike back down onto two wheels, he somehow manipulated it so the bike turned in a 180 manner on dirt and spun, all as he jumped and landed backwards on the handlebars, the bike was still moving forward as he crossed his arms over his chest and pretended to doze off- playing to the fans.

// Haly]; RICKY GRAYSON, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!


// Haly]: NOW DIVERT YOUR ATTENTION TO THE LIGHT..

A spotlight popped on, showcasing two HUGE ramps, the elevation was nearly at the top of the big-tent. In between the ramps was an inordinary gap, one that was filled with spikes upon spikes that glistened with the light hitting it.

// Haly]: NOW WATCH AS RICKY GRAYSON ATTEMPTS TO PULL OFF THIS DEATH-DEFYING JUMP!

Hitting the throttle a few times, Ricky gunned it towards the first ramp and with ease hit it- the crowd let off a collective gasp in the process but as he soared like- well, a Robin- he stuck the landing and spun the bike again, all as he threw his right arm up to another roar of approval from the people within the area.

// Haly]: RICKY WILL NOW SHOCK AND AWE YOU!

Picking up speed as he headed straight, Ricky made a quick left turn and as soon as he was centered, he gunned it again- this time as he hit the top of the ramp, he pulled back and FLIPPED himself AND the bike - once again the crowd broke into a collective gasp, but Ricky hit the landing on point as he slid toward the barricade and spun the bike once more as he lifted his right fist into the air, the crowd was loving it. It was easy to lose themselves in the show, especially as a performer like Ricky was doing now, the adrenaline rush was all too potent. Despite his huge arsenal of tricks at his disposal, the number one rule of show business was to always leave the crowd wanting more so they would continue to support the product. In a day and age where the circus was a lost art and not too profitable due to the internet and how you can find things of the sort there, Ricky needed to always give less than what he should to insure that he'd have a place to perform next time.

// Haly]: AND NOW.. THE GRAYSON LAZY-BOY SPECIAL!

This was the 'crown jewel' of his tricks, it was a pretty cool concept. After Mr. Haly had announced the name of it, Ricky hit the throttle again and turned to the left, as he did so he hit the ramp and centered the bike with some CRAZY hang-time. Despite Haly's ask of no flash, cameras went off like crazy as with the bike leveled, Ricky pulled his feet off of the pegs, and stretched himself out with his legs over the handlebars and head near the end of the seat, almost as if he was laying flat on his back in bed. As the bike took a nose dive, Ricky quickly jumped into position, gained control of it and stuck another picture perfect landing to the delight of the crowd. Kicking the stand from out beneath the bike, he jumped up onto the seat and put both arms into the air-

// Haly]: RICKY.. GRAYSON, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN- GIVE IT UP FOR HIM!


With the crowd bursting into the chant of his name, Ricky was all smiles and nods- all as he looked up at the steel beam to the right where his parents were.. he saw his mother staring in his direction, patting her head asking without verbalizing where his helmet was, but the boy just shrugged and winked, she couldn't help but to smile and take pride in the moment. Moving himself and bike to the back- he parked it to the corner and quickly swung around to the center where he'd be able to get a better view of his parents act. Haly took the center again-

// Haly]: .. FOLKS REMEMBER, RICKY IS THE YOUNGEST OF THE TRIO- YOU STILL HAVEN'T SEEN MOM AND DAD YET! IF THAT LEFT YOU BREATHLESS, WAIT UNTIL JOHNNY AND MARY GRAYSON ARE THROUGH!

That was the cue for the same spotlight to beam down on Johnny and Mary standing on a platform connected to the top of the steel beam. Running across both beams was a tight-wire and of course above that was the acrobatic hangman hoops to showcase their skill.

// Haly]: JOHNNY AND MARY!

Johnny kicked things off by using the tight-rope to jump up and grabbed hold of the hangman wires hanging from a independently supported wire on the top of the beam.

// Haly]: Johnny likes to call this.. MONKEY SEE, MONKEY DO!

The audience got a good laugh at that as Johnny swung from each wire to another with grace, all as he reached the opposite end, doing so like a monkey would with vines. As he once again got started, Mary begun to do the same- as they met at the middle, they stared at each other for a second- emulating primate action as Johnny let go of one hand and hung there with his left- the crowd gasped as Mary did the same- the couple locked hands and let go at the same time, both grabbing the other's wire.

Haly]: GIVE IT UP FOR JOHNNY AND MARY GRAYSON!

With applause blasting full on, the Graysons once again went their separate ends and regained footing back on the platforms across of one another. Johnny backed up as far as he could go and faked falling off the edge by losing his balance- he kicked himself forward, running straight across the narrow tight-rope, drawing gaps and 'ahh's. from the crowd as he did so with such ease. As he reached the end of the tight-rope, he reached out and tagged Mary who jumped OVER her husband and landed on the rope and too sprinted across of it!

Haly]: LOOK AT THE BALANCE! THE GRACE! AMAZING!

Ricky had locked in on his position, it was about five more tricks before he'd have to get his bike started and ready to go to finish off the show.

Haly]: NOW THEY'LL SHOW YOU WHY THEY'RE DOUBLE THE FUN!

Little did Ricky know that those words would echo in his head.. forever. Watching his parents from his position, he saw Mary and Johnny both move to the center of the tight-rope, and with a few bounces, they looked to gain air- as they did so, the to the left of the beam, the wire.. snapped. As the wire snapped, the crowd instantly knew it wasn't part of the show and jumped to their feet- but before anyone could do anything- before Ricky could make a move to try and lend a hand.. both Graysons lost their footing and was sent crashing down to the unprotected dirt ground beneath the tight-rope. All he could do was watch in horror as his mother and father fell from about three stories up- and crashed down onto the floor.. with sickening thuds. The audience, for the second time in the evening were left in horror.. some looked to their significant others for support, burying their faces in the provided shoulders whilst others.. were in shock and couldn't believe what they just saw. Ricky.. he was in between the two.

// Haly]: GET SOME HELP! WE NEED SOME HELP HERE, NOW!

Sirens blasted in the distance all as the other performers, both in and out of makeup sprinted from the back to quickly approach the situation and see if there was anything they could do. Dropping to his knees as he stared from his position, the tough, daredevil supreme, Boy Wonder known as Ricky Grayson was reduced to tears.. nothing but tears. His facial expression was blank, his eyes told a story of defeat, fear and uncertainty. Bringing both hands up he locked them together and pressed across of his eyes, hoping this was just a bad nightmare- that this was nothing but a terrible- no good, awful dream.. but it wasn't, reality had set in- and reality caused Ricky to jump to his feet, shove past the officers that tried to set up a barricade and jump towards his parents.. his mother lay, eyes open- gone. Her chest had no rhythmic movement, she stopped breathing. As someone tried to give the woman CPR- another shouted out from his position-

// Voice]: WE'RE LOSING HIM! HIS PULSE IS DROPPING!

As painful as it was for him to do it, Ricky dropped his mother's right hand and darted over towards his father- his breathing had slowed, his eyes was closed.. but the way he landed would prove to be the determining factor in the situation. With deafening silence, Ricky slid near his father and wanted to reach out to try and wake him, let him know that he was at his side- but it was of no use, after one extended- struggled breath.. both John and Mary Grayson had met their end, doing what they loved the most.

"C'mon kid.. C'mon, let's get you somewhere safe..."

There was no fight left in the boy, his attitude had been.. stomped. He wasn't so 'amazing,' now, nor was he 'daring' or even a 'boy wonder.' His lips trembled, his body ached, his heart hurt. Richard Grayson had just witnessed The Fall of The Graysons, a situation that would haunt him forever, and there was nothing he could had done to stop it, no amount of effort could have aided his parents from falling to their inevitable death. Being stood up by a gentle set of hands, Ricky's mind couldn't wrap around what had happened, instead- he looked toward the man that had helped him to his feet as he glanced over his shoulder at the EMTs that rushed int with stretchers- his eyes fell on the man- the same as earlier, Barbara's father.

"It'll be OK son.. Ricky, right?"

Staring over his shoulder, Ricky saw as two white sheets was placed over the bodies of his parents- Ricky broke into tears again as he attempted to dart forward but Gordon grabbed the boy and pulled him in, locking him in a hug of sorts.

"Ricky.. Ricky.. You've gotta be strong, you've gotta be strong. I know how you feel right now, I've been down this road twice.."

// Ricky]: THEY'RE DEAD! THEY'RE DEAD!

Bursting into more tears, Ricky shouted out as despite his effort to catch another glance at his parents, Gordon restrained him.

".. I know son.. I know.."

// Ricky]: I just stood there! I didn't even move, I was frozen! I let them die, I LET THEM DIE! WHY NOT ME, HUH?! WHY TAKE THEM!?

As he continued to speak, clearing his head, Gordon kept the boy pulled in with a hug, it's the only thing that he could offer, both as an officier of the law and as a father in need.

"You've gotta be strong Ricky, that's all you can do. There was nothing you could have done to stop this, it was an accident- there was no net.."

// Ricky]: It wasn't an accident, HE did it! That guy- I know it was him! He tried to get Mister Haly to pay him and he said he'd make Haly regret not doing it.. I saw him earlier, I had a bad feeling Jim, I couldn't shake it but I knew that was him leaving the tent during set up- it was him.. it was him.. Zucco was what I heard Mister Haly call him.. Yeah.. Zucco.."

The boy was defeated and angry, he had nothing to call on to have a second wind. Exhausted.. he had nothing to live for, he felt.

"Let's get you down to the station son.. let's get you away from here.."

A more suited GCPD officers approached and surrounded Ricky and Gordon, leading them towards a black Cadillac that had somehow navigated through the mass hysteria. Ricky was led in, not before he took one last glance at the big top where his parents lay.. beneath sheets, gently pushed into the car for his own safety, the door was closed as Gordon turned toward one of uniformed cops and ran his index and thumb over his thick mustache.

"I want you to escort my daughter home and stay with her until I'm back. I don't know if there's anything to it but the kid said Haly was threatened by a Zucco, I know the name. He used to work for the Falcones but after Carmine was put away in Arkham- Sionis came along and swept up the debris- Zucco didn't tag along. He's playing neutral as far as I know, I want an APB put out on Tony Zucco and Roman Sionis. I want them both down at the station for questioning, this could be the one chance we've got to put the son of a bitch down.

Not able to make out what Gordon was saying outside the vehicle, Ricky sat in the back of the vehicle slumped forward, an emotional wreck. The events of tonight would forever alter the man who he was set to become, he didn't know it yet but he would be OK eventually.. but that was down the line. For a 17 year old who had the world in his hands, a great family that supported him- he was quickly reduced to an orphan, nothing more than an eventual ward of the state. With a tap on the roof, the car begun to leave the lot all as Ricky's eyes moved up and looked beyond the dark tint placed over the glass.. burning with sadness and rage- he knew Zucco had done this- it was Zucco that ran into him before the show started and he'd pay. If it meant Ricky having to track him down and make him suffer, he'd get his revenge.. but grief came first- as the tears fell.. Ricky Grayson; life was just beginning.

Just when you thought that things in Gotham maybe, just maybe, were starting to look up, shit gets more fucked up. The circus comes to town, and everyone has a great time. For once, maybe the people can start acting like people in any other city; being free from worry, and from fear. The attack by the terrorist known as Bane had freaked out a lot of people,and it had taken three years for the city to get back to normal.

Instead, two circus performers, a loving mother and a loving father are dead, with their son now orphaned. And the GCPD is in a tizzy because notorious crime boss Roman Sionis was on his way to the station, and he had asked for an attorney. But not just any attorney.

“DENT? Harvey fucking Dent? You can’t be serious Jim?!”

Bullock was on the phone with Jim Gordan, who had filled him in on everything that happened.

“I’m afraid so Harv. I’m not even sure where Dent is, check with Cobblepot's camp. Still, what he did to us all those years ago…”

Gordon started to stammer, reflecting briefly on the night Dent, calling himself Two-Face, had kidnapped his family. But Bullock quickly got his attention back.

“Jim? Snap out of it!”

“Sorry Harvey. We have Sionis in a car on the way to the station now.”

“And then what?”

“You need to get us Dent. You’re an excellent detective Harvey. I’m sure you can find him. He was trying to return to public life anyway.”

And that was it. Now Bullock was stuck with the task of trying to track down a man who almost murdered the commissioner’s son, because one of the most notorious crime lords in Gotham wants to be represented by him in a murder case.

But where to even start?