A Clever Fascination

Chapter 15 - Arkham

Arkham was always cold. It didn't matter which room you were in, what time of day it was, whether or not the temperature was all that important to you at all. It was cold. Ed didn't usually mind the cold. If it was too cold, he could warm himself up. But if it was too hot, cooling down could prove to be a rather difficult task. There was no warmth in Arkham though.
And in spite of his shivers and the screaming of the clinically insane, all Ed could think about was Katherine Valentine. The women who put him right in the middle of hell.

Planning to kill her had been a stupid idea. Now the very thing Edward had tried to avoid had become a reality; she was his enemy. Having an enemy was hardly a bad thing for someone in his line of work. The issue stemmed from the fact she was just as smart as him and was apparently capable of taking him down in a mere 24 hours. And she was also extremely attractive, that was another issue.

He admittedly quite liked this reaction, though. It was interesting that Katherine had made the near-death incident into a rivalry. If she had reacted with fear and avoidance, Edward would not have known how to handle it.

"That would've been a real disaster," Yes. He'd have entirely lost her entirely. "You never had her. All you've really done is underestimate her."

"I already knew she was brilliant. I just... don't want to kill her."

"I don't want to kill her either. I never said I wanted to kill her. In fact, I'd say she's growing on me. Really, this was one hell of a move. I'm impressed."

Edward rubbed his eyes as he paced the small room he was locked in. This had always been more than just 'talking to himself', this was like a different person entirely that lived in his mind and sometime took control of his body. Still him. But not quite. A different Edward Nygma.

Now he was left to his thoughts, which he couldn't tear away from the detective. If he wanted a rival, she sure was giving him one. Gordon had put him away before, yes, but he had a certain level of notoriety for doing it. That's why he'd made Commissioner. Jim was known for this. But Katherine wasn't.

"So am I."

"God, don't say it like that! I'd call you pathetic if I- oh wait no; you are pathetic. Pine all you want but don't let it make you a dud again."

The other him was right. They had gotten over this a few years back, when the two of them decided to combine what they had and put the all best parts of each of them into one person. The new and improved Riddler. They'd made some promises like; no more trusting Oswald, no more taunting Jim Gordon and no more fawning over women that will probably betray him, leave him or die. Of course, practically all of those promises had been broken in a matter of months by one or the other.

"When it comes to companionship and love, I'm not at my best, you know that." He sighed.

"Oh! Ohhhh! You said it!! You said the L word!"

Edward's eyes shot up. He watched the other him make a spectacle of his words as he flew around the room in that damned striped Arkham uniform.

"N-no. I-"

"You're right though. All it takes is a pretty smile with half a brain cell and you're off like a rocket. You go dumb as a rock." The other him taunted, acting like the mad man the people of Gotham thought he was, banging on the walls creating noise that no one but him could hear.

"You were the same with Doctor Thompkins," Edward reminded him "Don't you remember? 'Lee, what am I to you?' And you're calling me pathetic?"

The two scoffed at one and other.

"Alright, I take your point," The other him had settled down, slumping against a wall at the thought of his stupidity when it came to Lee Thompkins. "But you know who else is a Doctor, Eddie?"

"That was fun." His head was down but he still grinned to himself.

"Right? Three PhDs, huh? That's so hot. Hm no, I feel like we're talking about crushes at a sleepover. Change the subject." The man jumped to his feet again.

Ed didn't reply to the comment straight away and he didn't change the subject either. The other him began to pace once again as Ed sat and watched the image of himself through his fingerprint-covered glasses. There was something he wanted to bring up but he wasn't sure he could bare the mocking when he was at his lowest. Arkham was always his lowest.

"I thought I'd just scared her a little, but it only made her more determined to see me rot. Should I maybe just try being... nicer?"

"Uhh I don't know. How much nicer are we talking? Because you gotta find the balance. Like don't set her on fire or anything but don't go writing any poetry. Women want a bad boy." His other self had a colourful way with words, he was witter and always had been. To put it bluntly, this was the side of him that could talk to women.

"Not 'point a gun at your head' bad."

"I concede. Damn, you sound invested. Do you genuinely like her?"

"Do you?" He shot back.

The other him didn't answer as quickly as he had been doing. He thought for a second, tilted his head and his hair moved out of place. Not that his hair was tidy in any way before that. His puzzled expression was a reflection of how Edward was feeling about the whole situation.

"I don't know," He admitted. "Maybe you ought to let me meet her. Then I could tell you."

This was just one of his tactics to get him to let that malevolence out of the dark corners of his mind. The ones that only emerged when he was alone and gave these parts of him control. He only took control when they agreed or when Edward's guard was down. But the latter was banned as part of their arrangement.

The door to Edwards cell started rattling and the sound of keys tampering with a lock alerted him. Must be time for the Rec Room.

"C'mon Nygma." The guard who escorted him huffed before the door was even fully open. He knew the drill after all his visits.

Ed hated Rec time. Spending hours with literal lunatics was not the way a man of his intellectual standing preferred to spend his time. But while-ever the city believed he was mad, he could avoid Blackgate. The room was already full of people in black and white uniforms shouting, spitting, running, crying, growling, screaming or staring. Though he'd come to peace with the fact he would end up back in Arkham for a while, Edward really hated being in here. pBeing in this room could help him come up with an idea on how to get out, though. He'd had time to think hard and be more cunning with his escape.

After all, the answer wasn't just going to walk right up to him...

"Well, if it isn't The Riddler back behind bars, once again locked in this madhouse of ours."

...Unless it was.

-

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