Celestia was ready to take a flight back to the state where they lived to get back to Flash, it seemed a long way to go, but it was worth it.
Flash was at a supermarket buying food for himself. When he was done, he went to the crash register.
"Are those microwave dinners any good?" He asked the cash register.
"I don't know." She answered.
"I'll give 'em a whirl."
He gives her a bag of toy army men.
"For the kids."
He picks out a coupon for the orange juice.
"Hold on, I got a coupon for that. It was in the paper this morning."
"$19.83."
"Okay."
"Are you here all by yourself?"
"Ma'am, I'm 8 years old. You think I'd be here alone? I don't think so."
"Where's your mom?"
"My mom is in the car."
"Where's your father?"
"He's at work."
"What about your brothers and your sisters?"
"I'm an only child."
"Where do you live?"
"I can't tell you that."
"Why not?"
"Cause you're a stranger."
Flash is walking home, and the bags with the groceries break.
Flash is in the basement putting in a load of laundry when the furnace opens. Usually, Flash gets scared. But this time...
"Shut up."
And with that the furnace closes.
"I don't get it. It looks like there's nobody home." Joker said. "Last night the place was jumping'. Something' isn't right. Go check it out."
"Now?" Harley asked.
"No, tomorrow, egghead! Now! Go ahead. "Now.""
Kevin is washing dishes when he turns to see Harley at the door while she puts her foot and drops her shoe through the dog door. Flash grabs the remote to play the same movie he used to scare the Pizza guy.
"Get the hell outta here."
"All right, Johnny. But what about my money?"
"What money?"
"Acey said you had some dough for me."
"Is that a fact? How much do I owe ya?"
Flash is readying the firecrackers with a pot and lighter.
"Acey said ten percent."
"Too bad Acey ain't in charge no more."
"Whaddya mean?"
"He's upstairs, takin' a bath. He'll call you when he gets out. Hey, I tell you what I'm gonna give you, Snakes."
Harley was listening and she was thinking it was all real.
"I'm gonna give you to the count of ten...to get your ugly, yella, no-good keister off my property...before I pump your guts full of lead.
"All right, Johnny. I'm sorry. I'm goin'.
"One… two... ten."
Flash lights the firecrackers as the sound of gunshots play. This scared the heck out of Harley and she ran all the way to Joker's van.
"Keep the change, ya filthy animal."
Harley is back in the van.
"What happened?" Joker asked.
" I don't know who's in there, but somebody just got blown away"! Harley exclaimed. "Somebody beat us to the job, they're in there! Two of them. There was arguing. One of them blew the other one away."
"Who?"
"I don't know! I recognized one of their voices. I know I heard that name "Snakes" before."
"Snakes? Snakes. Snakes. I don't know no Snakes. Snakes."
"Let's get out of here."
"Hold it. Hold it. Let's wait and see who it is. We work this city too. Supposing the cops finger us for a job...and they start asking us questions about a murder in the area. Wouldn't it be nice to have a face to go with their questions?"
"That's a good idea." Harley smiled.
"Of course, it's a good idea."
At the airport, Celestia was trying to get a ticket to Gotham to get back to Flash.
"Everything's full." The ticket agent said.
"Everything's full?"
"I'm very sorry, but it is Christmas Eve."
"What about another airline?" Celestia asked.
"Nothing available. May I help you get a hotel room? Tomorrow, we can get you a flight."
"I can't wait that long."
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but we're doing absolutely everything we can."
"I'm trying to get home to my 8-year-old son. Now you're telling me it's hopeless?
Celestia began to panick.
"No, no, no, no. No way. This is Christmas! The season of perpetual hope. I don't care if I have to get on your runway and hitchhike...if it costs me everything, I own...if I have to sell my soul to the Devil himself...I am going to get home to my son."
"Excuse me."
Some guy came to her and pulled her aside.
"You got a little bit of a dilemma. We got a crisis ourselves. Allow me to introduce myself. Jack Kurtzman. Polka King of the Midwest?"
Celestia was confused.
"The Kenosha Kickers? Hi there. Hiya. That's okay. I thought you might have recognized...I had a few hits a few years ago. That's why I just... "
He sang a song that he sang years ago.
"These are songs?" Celestia asked.
"Yeah. Yeah, we... Some fairly big hits for us." He said. "Y'know, in the early '80s. Yeah, we sold about 623 copies of that."
"In Gotham?"
"No, Sheboygan. Very big in Sheboygan."
"Did you say you could help me?"
"Anyway, I'm ramblin' on here. Our flight was canceled...so we're gonna drive." He pointed to his crew. "See the guy in the yellow jacket over there by the Budget sign? He's gonna rent us a nice big van to drive to Milwaukee. Now, I heard you had some problems gettin' to Chicago? To see your kid or something'?
"Uh, my son. He... We left, and he's there." She told him.
"Oh, gee. If you have to get to Gotham, we'll gladly drive you. It's on the way to Milwaukee."
"You'd give me a ride?"
"Sure, why not? You've gotta get home."
"A ride to Gotham?"
"Sure, it's Christmastime."
"Thank you. Oh, thank you."
"If you don't mind goin' with polka bums?
"No, I'd love to."
At the house, Joker's van was behind the backyard. Joker and Harley Quinn were asleep while waiting for something to happen. Then, Joker wakes up to hear a door close. He see's Flash come out with a ladder and see's him use it to get up to the tree and cut of the top.
"Hey, Harley. Harley, Harley!" Joker shook her awake. " Look at this. I think we're getting' scammed by a kindergartener."
Harry and Marv are looking in through the window when Kevin catches their reflection in an ornament, he's putting on the tree; pretends to ask for help.
"Dad, can you come here and help me?"
But they weren't buying it.
"Remember that kid we saw the other day? He lives here." Joker said.
"If the kid's here, the parents got to be." Harley replied.
"Actually... he's home alone."
Flash realizes the two jokesters were watching him. He quickly ran as they left.
"What? You wanna come back tonight?"
"Yes!"
"Even with the kid here?"
"Yes!"
"I don't think that's a good idea."
"Look, that house is the only reason we started working this area. Ever since I laid my eyes on that house, I wanted it."
Flash opens the window and is listening to the next speech.
"Let's take it one step at a time." Joker ordered. "We'll unload the van, get a bite to eat, we'll come back about 9:00. This way it's dark then."
"Yeah, kids are a-scared of the dark." Harley laughed.
"You're afraid of the dark too, Harley. You know you are."
"No, I'm not."
"Yes, you are."
"Mom, where are you?" Flash whispered to himself.
Rental van used by the Polka band was driving through the road. The band is playing "Deck the Halls"; Jack is trying to get Celestia to play, but she politely refuses.
"Do you play? Do you wanna try?" Jack asked. "Go ahead, try it. Try it!"
"No." Celestia refused.
"Okay."
That night, Flash is walking up to a small shack where a woman dressed as an elf is coming out.
"Excuse me."
"Yeah?"
"Hey, nice shoes."
"Oh, thanks."
"Is he still here? It's really important that I see him."
"He's gettin' in his car. If you hurry, you can catch him."
A guy dressed as Santa was getting upset with his car.
"How low can you go! Giving Kris Kringle a parking ticket on Christmas Eve! What's next, rabies shots for the Easter Bunny?" He grunted.
"Santa, hold on. Can I talk to you for a minute?" Flash stopped him.
"Quickly. Santa's got a little get together he's late for." He told him.
"I know you're not the real Santa Claus."
He pulls his fake beard down.
"Uh, what makes you say that? Just out of curiosity."
He pulls the beard up.
"I'm old enough to know how it works. But I also know you work for him. I'd like you to give him a message."
That surprised him.
"Flash Sentry, 671 Chadborn Avenue. Do you need the phone number?"
"No, that's all right.
"This is extremely important. Please tell him instead of presents, I just want my family back. No toys. Nothing but Sombra, Celestia, Snips, Starlight Glimmer, Limestone Pie and Microchip. And my aunt and my cousins. And if he has time, my Uncle Cranky. Okay?"
"Okay. I'll see what I can do."
Flash turned to leave.
"Wait. My elf took the last of the candy canes home to her boyfriend." He said.
"That's okay."
"No, don't be silly. Everybody who sees Santa has got to get something'. Here, hold out your little paw there."
He pours out a few mint Tic-Tacs into Flash's glove.
"There you go. Don't spoil your dinner."
"I won't. Thanks."
Flash leaves, the guy gets in his car and starts it, only for it to stall.
"Son of a..."
Flash walks into a church to watch a choir singing "O Holy Night" because he wants to think. Just then, he see's a man sitting in a nearby pew. It was none other than millionaire man...Bruce Wanye.
"Merry Christmas. May I sit down?" He asked.
Flash lets him sit next.
"I know that girl, that's Barbra Gordon, daughter of Commissioner Gordon." He pointed to the redhead.
"He's a cop's daughter. No wonder." Flash commented.
"You live next to me, don't you? You can say hello when you see me. You don't have to be afraid." Bruce told him.
"What do you mean?"
"I've been around these streets, even at night when Batman is around. But there's nothing to be afraid."
"Well, I'm not afraid anymore. Even when I'm hear." Flash frowned.
"Yeah. Well, this is the place to be if you're feeling bad about yourself."
"It is? Are you feeling bad about yourself?"
"No."
"I've been kind of a pain lately. I said some things I shouldn't have. I really haven't been too good this year. Yeah. I'm kind of upset because I really like my family. Even though sometimes I say I don't. Sometimes I even think I don't. Do you get that?"
"I think so. How you feel about family is a complicated thing."
"Especially with an older brother."
"Deep down, you'll always love him. But you can forget that you love him. You can hurt them; they can hurt you. That's not just because you're young. You want to know the real reason why I'm here?"
"Sure."
"I haven't been that much into the Christmas spirit since my parents were killed. Ever since I was your age, I wanted the wash buckling toy so bad. But, instead I got some antique that was his. I wasn't grateful, so I threw it and broke it in a nasty huff."
"Gee, that was harsh."
"Yes, it was."
"You know, you don't always have to come here to remind yourself of it." Flash told him. "You still have a family, right?
"I keep losing a few people who were close to me. But yes, I still have a family."
"I made a wish that possibly made me lose all of them."
"Don't say that, family maybe pain, but they still love you."
"Don't you have a son?"
"Yes, sometimes he can be reckless. But he's always loyal."
"He's an only child."
"You know, sometimes I get afraid of things when it comes to the past and present."
"No offense, but aren't you a little old to be afraid?"
Bruce smiled.
"You can be old for a lot of things. You're never too old to be afraid."
"That's true. I was afraid of our basement. It's dark. There's weird stuff down there, and it smells funny. That sort of thing. It's bothered me for years.
"Basements are like that."
"I made myself go down to do some laundry...and I found out it's not so bad. I worried about it, but if you turn on the lights, it's no big deal."
"So, you're now a brave boy, like Batman."
"I wish I can be like him. But not for a guy in the second grade. You can get beat up for wearing something like that. I have a friend who got nailed because there was a rumor, he wore dinosaur pajamas."
Bruce chuckled.
"You better run home where you belong." He told him. "Think about what I said. All right? It's nice talking to you."
"Nice talking to you."
"Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas."
As Flash left, Bruce's butler: Alfred ringtone rang on his phone.
"Alfred?" He picked up the phone.
"Master Bruce, Joker and Harely Quinn are on the move." He said on the phone.
"I'm on my way."
He hurried back to his mansion.