"So you wanted to stop him from hurting Miss Kringle. But then you were the one who hurt her. How does that add up? That's not very logical. I thought you were smart. A reasonable man." An insane man, clearly, but there was no need to point that out right now, given they were literally in an insane asylum. Jim looked around with obvious irritation at the buzzer sound, then shook his head and focused on the riddle.
It seemed familiar, actually, now that he heard it again. "Betrayal!" He smiled, self-derisively. "I've felt that in your apartment that day."
"I didn't mean to hurt her!" Edward snapped, his voice wavering and feeling more than a little heated. When did this turn into an interrogation? "I loved Miss Kringle." She was the love of his life, his first in every sense of the word. She made him feel loved. And then she took it all away from him. He didn't blame her, he should have seen it coming really. "I just wanted her to stop saying those things and-and-" Her neck was just really flimsy apparently. He didn't quite remember what happened after that, he blacked out.
"Some detective you were. Not exactly Gotham's finest." Edward laughed, his own riddle forgotten. He was already worked up, distracted, trying to find a win. A way to brag. "Her body was in the GCPD, you moron. Her hand was in the vending machine." Ha!
"You shouldn't hurt the woman you love. I've done it too often too." Although he had never killed any, so at least there was that. Endangered them, however, that was unfortunately a different matter. "I'd never have thought you'd hurt her, Edward. I've seen the two of you together. You seemed happy."
Jim shook his head and then his mind caught up with something and he frowned. "Why was her hand in the vending machine?" What kind of twisted mind thought up something like that? "You mutilated her? Why even drag her to the GCPD? You should have turned yourself in after doing this to her. You didn't mean to, you went too far."
"I mean, I wanted to but I wasn't in the drivers seat, so to speak." Edward huffed out a bitter laugh because before he may have tried to downplay the crazy but if Oswald had taught him anything, it was to embrace it. To be himself. Oswald decided to be the Penguin, he turned what people mocked about him into a symbol of what he was. Edward couldn't help but admire that thinking. "That was the other guy. He stole my dead girlfriend, he wanted to play a game, a little scavenger hunt."
He wished he could say it was fun but he wasn't sure. He felt as if at some point that day, something snapped apart or maybe it was even before then. It was hard to pinpoint and he didn't like thinking about it. He rubbed his temples and tried to move forward. "Most people need it, some ask for it, some give it, but almost nobody takes it. What is it?"
"Advise." That was an easy one. "And you should take some, Ed. You are better than this." Jim walked back a few steps to get a better view of the camera. Perhaps he should have seen this coming. Friends with Oswald, after all. He had to wonder what came first, the murder or the Penguin. Maybe one day he would find out, but Oswald had a habit of spreading violence. "Ed, what other guy? Who stole Kristen's body? Who would do such a thing?"
"Me." Wait. "The other me." It didn't sound right because it just seemed like he was imagining this other self to get away or to make excuses but it wasn't like that. This other him, it felt real. It was real. He talked to him, he took over and did things. He was the one who pushed him, who set him on the path he had to be on. He was what he was supposed to be. "He didn't want the fun to end, this is who I'm supposed to be." And he really did believe that. Changing wasn't on the table for him. "That's why I'm here, remember? Crazy."
"So, what? You got like a split personality thing going on? Is that it?" In a way, the thought made sense a little. He knew Ed, he had thought he knew Ed. Mild-mannered, clumsy, not at all aware of when he was inappropriate, brilliant, but weird. He knew him, he liked him. The Ed he had met with all of this, he was very different.
"Do they give you meds for that in this place? Because you are not supposed to be like this, Ed. You are a good man, you gotta remember that. I thought you were my friend. I wanted you to be my friend. I trusted you."
"They're a little busy making dead people alive and experimenting with mutation to give any real medical advise here. I've seen my therapist twice and they've not been helpful. Usually I'm the one giving the therapy here, I'm very good at it. I've diagnosed half of this place correctly by now and I gotta say, whoever is doing that here? They're sloppy. They confused a schizoid personality disorder with a schizotypal personality disorder. I mean, honestly."
The idiots here were giving him meds but like hell was he going to take them. Firstly, he didn't want to and secondly, he didn't trust what they were giving him. "You weren't my friend. You were never my friend. You humoured me because I could do what you wanted. You never wanted to spend time with me outside of work, did you? That's why you didn't want to go on that double date. You never wanted to hang out outside of work. Friends do things together, they don't just hand you a file. Don't pretend we had something deeper than we had."
"Oh, come on. Don't take that personally. I don't spend time with anyone outside of work." Well. It was true. Perhaps sad, but certainly true. "I've barely seen Lee outside of work at the time. But I still spent time with you. I came looking for you when I needed help. I'd have helped you if you needed me." He was still trying to help him now.
"I care about you, Ed. I think you need help. I don't think you are a killer, you are just talking yourself into it. I don't know why. Why do you suddenly want to kill? It's not like you. You are smart. There's nothing smart about killing. It's not a riddle either. You bludgeoned Officer Pinkney. What are you, a bully? Who told you that was a good idea?"
"You don't know me! Stop acting like you know me. I'm not Detective Bullock. I'm not--" Not a friend, not accepted, no one of the guys. Not much to lose. He didn't even want to be but it was always that thing of feeling on the outside. Not always because of people but because of himself, because of how he was. He didn't fit. He tried before and it was exhausting, tiring. To be himself was all he'd ever wanted.
He frowned, unable to know what to do with the idea of someone 'caring' about him. Likely a load of crap to keep Lucius and Bruce alive. He focused instead on that last comment. "What does Mr Penguin have to do with any of this?"
Ah. This old chestnut. "Actually, he wanted the opposite. He tried to talk me out of it." Weirdly enough. "Arkham really did a number on him." It was haunting to see a man like Oswald acting like that. "Your handiwork, that one. That's what Jim Gordon's friendship does, huh?"
"That's different. Oswald... He wanted my friendship. He's the Penguin, he's a criminal. He chose to be on the other side." Which, he supposed, ultimately Edward had as well. "When you studied, why did you do it? Isn't there any part of you that still remembers that you just wanted to be one of the good guys? Catch the bad ones?"
That was it. The world wasn't black and white and there was no place for heroes in Gotham, but they still had to act like it. They had to fight bad. Edward wasn't supposed to turn on them. "You should be good for your own sake. You are. You could be."
"I thought it was interesting and I liked the field. I wanted to do something a little more interesting but..." He failed the psyche eval and that kind of marred his future career. He had liked the GCPD, it had been safe, friendly, a chance to try again and get what he most certainly didn't get in school. Or ever. "I'm a criminal. I'm not better than Mr Penguin. Do I deserve to be a brainwashed monkey too? Leave me here, see what happens. It's only a matter of time."
No one here got better. No one here got helped. This was the best experience he'd had here and, in his opinion, the most healthy. "I can't be, Jimmy. We both know that. There's no going back even if I wanted to."
"Whatever happened to Penguin here, it shouldn't have." He was glad Oswald had snapped out of it and he felt guilty for leaving him to it, for condemning him like that. He shouldn't have left him behind. But that only made him even more determined to at least try with Edward, for what it was worth. "But would you want to? Go back?"
Just a question. Ed liked questions.
"Hugo Strange put you up to this? You know what he is doing here. Bruce is just a child. I don't think you would hurt a child. You have to be better than that."
"I--" He never considered it an option and, as far as he felt, he was too far gone. Would he want to go back? "Back to what?" Back to being ignored, dismissed, talked to like an idiot. To be treated like a weirdo, told he was odd and a creep. Go home alone and keep himself busy doing whatever he could to keep himself from being bored. "I don't have anything to go back to. No point in going back. You can only go forward."
And this was what he'd chosen. He lacked direction, purpose, sure but he was hoping to solve that as soon as he got out of this dump. "Like I said before, you don't know me." Maybe he would hurt a child. "You know what? I've been derailed long enough! Last riddle, Jimmy boy."
He couldn't keep letting Jim play these head games. He was getting under his skin, that wasn't good. "I can fill a room or just one heart. Others may have me but I can not be shared. What am I?"
"I thought I knew you, Ed. I'd be sorry if I was completely wrong about you." Jim had at the very least managed to buy a lot of game, but it was a question how reassuring that was, given everything. "You can't trust Hugo Strange, Ed. He might get rid of you too, like he wants to get rid of all the evidence. Let me contact the GCPD. That's your best chance to get out of this alive too. You are smart, you have to realise that."
Because damn if he knew the answer to that stupid riddle.
He knew Strange planned to ditch him. Any idiot could see that. He didn't have any real faith in Edward and he only used him as a distraction. He literally wanted him back in a cell after he took down Lucius and Bruce, it was lucky everything had gone nuts from that point on and he'd been given this beautiful chance to play. This place was almost a panic state out there.
"Hmm." It was tempting but. "What do I get if I let you?"
"You know the law as well as I do." Probably better, given the man's memory. "You could get another hearing. Maybe a reduced sentence. Privileges for good behaviour. Cooperating is always a good choice." Jim looked up at the camera, trying to appeal to Ed's better self. Perhaps literally. "You know what Strange has been up to downstairs. Imagine all of that unleashed on the city. Or in here. You stand a better chance on my side. I'd want to keep you alive. Strange won't."
Edward turned off his mic and took a moment to contemplate it. Jim didn't know the answer, he knew that one. It was so obvious. No one ever beat him. Still, this did leave an issue. How did he get out of here alive? He had heard it was inn lockdown and the monsters in that basement were going to be unleashed on them. Maybe he could use Jim. A way out of here, a potential escape without having to dodge the monsters and creeps. Screw a hearing, what was he going to get? Some months off his sentence? Bullshit.
This, however, was exploitable. The chances of him escaping while Jim is busy? Around 60%. Way better odds than he had right now. He hit the button again. "What's the plan, Jimmy boy? Let me see if I like it. We contact the GCPD ... then what?"
"Harvey is acting captain right now. Let me call Harvey and we can have special forces down here." There was nothing Harvey wouldn't do for him, he knew that beyond the shadow of a doubt. He was sure Edward knew as well, it wasn't as if that was subtle. Likely why they'd trapped him here without a way of contacting anyone. "He is just waiting for my go ahead."
Honestly, he'd not be surprised if Harvey was on his way already, but mostly he needed Edward to think about something other than hurting him and Lucius and Bruce.
"Seriously? He's acting--" How? How is that moron acting captain? Whatever! Apparently everyone had lost their minds lately. Maybe there was something in the air. Maybe it was something Strange was putting out there. If the GCPD came, wouldn't that make it harder for him to escape? He supposed if he knew from Jim where they were, he could escape the opposite end and try that? It was now down to 58% but it was still his best chance. "How do I know you won't just betray me and lock me in a cell?"
"Still a better chance at survival than what Strange is giving you, I can tell you that much," Jim said, trying not to just sound dry. He had liked Ed once upon a time, but given the man's history with him, obviously locking him in a cell was far from being the furthest thing on his mind. "I need to stop whatever Strange is doing, find proof of it all, find Selina Kyle and arrest him. You in a cell isn't that high up on my list right now."
"If you do, I will kill you. Don't think I won't find a way." Edward didn't make idle threats and if it wasn't for Jim's ridiculous luck, he would have had him by now. He paused and considered what Jim had just said before frowning. "Trash girl?" Ah. See. That one was easy, the kid did not listen at all. "She went to find her friend. I met her in the vents. She really has a listening problem, just didn't seem to care what I was saying. She's probably in the basement."
"No, she never listens." That was a well-known problem. Jim sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Then I'll go to the basement. Probably have to anyway. Now let me out of here, Ed. You're wasting both our time and Hugo Strange is hard to predict. Who knows how much time we have left?" He needed Harvey at his back and he needed to somehow save them all. As usual.
"I know where the phone so just ... go left, down the hallway, go down a floor and I'm in the third room on the right." And, just in case his backfires, Edward armed himself swiftly with some sharp objects he'd stolen before lazily stretching out and poking Lucius and Bruce with his foot curiously. They should wake up soon. Or here's hoping.
He didn't feel like dragging bodies or babysitting his victims. He needed that window for escape.
Jim wasted no time. He was out the door immediately and he rushed down the hallway and the stairs, counted until three and finally opened the door to the room Edward was in, his eyes settling on Bruce and Lucius. "What have you done to them?"
They looked as if they were still alive, at least. Jim grabbed Edward by the arm, not even violently. He just didn't have time for games. "Show me where the phone is."
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It seemed familiar, actually, now that he heard it again. "Betrayal!" He smiled, self-derisively. "I've felt that in your apartment that day."
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"Some detective you were. Not exactly Gotham's finest." Edward laughed, his own riddle forgotten. He was already worked up, distracted, trying to find a win. A way to brag. "Her body was in the GCPD, you moron. Her hand was in the vending machine." Ha!
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Jim shook his head and then his mind caught up with something and he frowned. "Why was her hand in the vending machine?" What kind of twisted mind thought up something like that? "You mutilated her? Why even drag her to the GCPD? You should have turned yourself in after doing this to her. You didn't mean to, you went too far."
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He wished he could say it was fun but he wasn't sure. He felt as if at some point that day, something snapped apart or maybe it was even before then. It was hard to pinpoint and he didn't like thinking about it. He rubbed his temples and tried to move forward. "Most people need it, some ask for it, some give it, but almost nobody takes it. What is it?"
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"Do they give you meds for that in this place? Because you are not supposed to be like this, Ed. You are a good man, you gotta remember that. I thought you were my friend. I wanted you to be my friend. I trusted you."
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The idiots here were giving him meds but like hell was he going to take them. Firstly, he didn't want to and secondly, he didn't trust what they were giving him. "You weren't my friend. You were never my friend. You humoured me because I could do what you wanted. You never wanted to spend time with me outside of work, did you? That's why you didn't want to go on that double date. You never wanted to hang out outside of work. Friends do things together, they don't just hand you a file. Don't pretend we had something deeper than we had."
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"I care about you, Ed. I think you need help. I don't think you are a killer, you are just talking yourself into it. I don't know why. Why do you suddenly want to kill? It's not like you. You are smart. There's nothing smart about killing. It's not a riddle either. You bludgeoned Officer Pinkney. What are you, a bully? Who told you that was a good idea?"
He paused. "Penguin?"
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He frowned, unable to know what to do with the idea of someone 'caring' about him. Likely a load of crap to keep Lucius and Bruce alive. He focused instead on that last comment. "What does Mr Penguin have to do with any of this?"
Ah. This old chestnut. "Actually, he wanted the opposite. He tried to talk me out of it." Weirdly enough. "Arkham really did a number on him." It was haunting to see a man like Oswald acting like that. "Your handiwork, that one. That's what Jim Gordon's friendship does, huh?"
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That was it. The world wasn't black and white and there was no place for heroes in Gotham, but they still had to act like it. They had to fight bad. Edward wasn't supposed to turn on them. "You should be good for your own sake. You are. You could be."
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No one here got better. No one here got helped. This was the best experience he'd had here and, in his opinion, the most healthy. "I can't be, Jimmy. We both know that. There's no going back even if I wanted to."
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Just a question. Ed liked questions.
"Hugo Strange put you up to this? You know what he is doing here. Bruce is just a child. I don't think you would hurt a child. You have to be better than that."
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And this was what he'd chosen. He lacked direction, purpose, sure but he was hoping to solve that as soon as he got out of this dump. "Like I said before, you don't know me." Maybe he would hurt a child. "You know what? I've been derailed long enough! Last riddle, Jimmy boy."
He couldn't keep letting Jim play these head games. He was getting under his skin, that wasn't good. "I can fill a room or just one heart. Others may have me but I can not be shared. What am I?"
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Because damn if he knew the answer to that stupid riddle.
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"Hmm." It was tempting but. "What do I get if I let you?"
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This, however, was exploitable. The chances of him escaping while Jim is busy? Around 60%. Way better odds than he had right now. He hit the button again. "What's the plan, Jimmy boy? Let me see if I like it. We contact the GCPD ... then what?"
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Honestly, he'd not be surprised if Harvey was on his way already, but mostly he needed Edward to think about something other than hurting him and Lucius and Bruce.
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Which, realistically, he might just do.
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He didn't feel like dragging bodies or babysitting his victims. He needed that window for escape.
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They looked as if they were still alive, at least. Jim grabbed Edward by the arm, not even violently. He just didn't have time for games. "Show me where the phone is."
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