A Gotham Trilogy : Vengeance : A Gotham Nightmare
Please Note:
This is to the M rated Unbreakable : A Gotham Romance, a novel length fic which is AU and tells the story of how Penguin, Gotham's crime king, becomes the most powerful man in the city, and builds a dynasty along the way, after cheating death thanks to Ivy Pepper, he now has the underworld and the authorities in the palm of his hand, he also has two spouses – his wife Rose, and his husband Ed Nygma, and is the father of two children. If you haven't read this first fic, I recommend you read it first before you read the second as this IS an AU fic and Unbreakable is where it all begins, to lead into this second fic. As in the first fic, Rose will sometimes speak to introduce/end certain parts of the tale.
Vengeance has subjects including a hot three way romance/marriage, scenes of a sexual/passionate nature, scenes of violence and is a heavy roller coaster of emotion. Once again, this fic is AU, and written for those who enjoy AU fics as opposed to strictly canon.
Book 3 is now in progress!
Summary:
Set five years on from Unbreakable: A Gotham Romance.
Oswald now has his life exactly has he dreamed it would be – he has a polygamous marriage to his husband Ed and his wife Rose, they have their children to raise, and he has risen to power as the new owner of Gotham Oil, now renamed Cobblepot Oil, making him the most powerful man in Gotham. It seems that life is going well and nothing can go wrong - until an event happens that shatters everything.
Oswald is leaving Cobblepot Oil with Ed Nygma, the one true love of his life, when a lone gunman steps out and opens fire, shooting Edward Nygma in the head and fleeing the scene. Oswald is devastated as Ed's life hangs in the balance, and it seems no one can trace the gunman. As Jim Gordon wonders who was the real target of the shooting, it seems the two ex criminals could potentially have enemies anywhere...
As Ed fights for life from a complicated and difficult to treat gunshot wound, Oswald becomes desperate, as he realises the brilliant deal he cut to save his own life back in the days when he was sick and searching for a cure to his inherited disease, the same deal that had seen life fall into place as he wanted it to be – has now tied his hands – he can no longer turn to Hugo Strange for help.
As his oil business begins to run into trouble and he feels caught between hunting down the shooter and devoting his time to nursing a very confused and sometimes hostile Ed, it seems Oswald's grand scheme to rise to power and escape the ties to a life of crime are crumbling. As Ed begins to make a slow recovery, it soon becomes clear a large chunk of his memory is missing – he only recalls Oswald from the days when they were sworn enemies...
The newly founded Cobblepot dynasty will have to pull together in this crisis, and as the hunt for the gunman gathers pace, Jim Gordon warns Oswald that if he finds the shooter first and takes revenge, he will be back in jail for life – and lose everything.
But can Oswald really sit back and leave the hunt to the GCPD, after all the devastation that bullet has caused to Ed? Or will he slide back into his former criminal Penguin mode and hunt the gunman down to exact a bloody revenge?
Warnings: Three way relationship m/m m/f, scenes of an adult nature including sexual and scenes of violence. Strong language and heavy emotional themes.
Introduction: Seven Years on.
Rose Cobblepot: It had been seven years since Oswald became the owner of Cobblepot Oil. In the eyes of the world, he was a legitimate businessman now, he was the most powerful man in Gotham and life was wonderful. But maybe in a city like Gotham, nothing good can last forever...
I had never been happier, I shared my life and my bed with Oswald and his second spouse Ed Nygma and we had a great relationship. My son by Oswald – Ozzie – was now almost eight years old and looked more like his father every day. But it was Lilly Kapelput, Oswald's daughter, who was now eleven, who was his absolute double. She had his love of dark clothing , carried parasols instead of umbrellas, and she had her father's icy blue eyes and all of his facial expressions. Who would have thought the baby fathered by Oswald during a one night stand with Ivy Pepper so long ago, would have turned out just like her Dad?
Ivy still lived on the other side of the estate, in a big house with a huge greenhouse, where she shared her home with Lilly and her six year old son Eddie, who was fathered by her close friend Ed Nygma, at Oswald's request – now every member of the Cobblepot dynasty had a blood tie to the family name...
We really thought nothing could go wrong. But all it took was a bullet, just one bullet, and everything started to fall apart...
Chapter 1
It was a bright afternoon, the kids were all home because it was school holidays, which meant Rose and Ivy shared the responsibility with Gertrude, who was cooking dinner, as the kids played in the vast, rambling gardens of the estate while Ivy kept a watchful eye, warning them not to dare to pick or stand on those innocent harmless flowers that just wanted to grow in peace.
Rose was upstairs in the master bedroom, she had put on a clinging red velvet dress with a plunging neckline, it hugged her curves and as she tossed her long, red hair off her shoulder and added a touch of perfume to her neck she smiled at her reflection, noting how her hair was only two shades darker than Ivy's.
Oswald had recently remarked he wouldn't mind trying a threesome with two red heads... what was it with her husband and women with red hair? Obviously, it was going to happen. She didn't object to his massage evenings with Ivy once a week and Ed certainly didn't care, he was in this arrangement purely to be with Oswald. And of course, now Eddie had come along, he was proud to say he had a child by Ivy, his closest female friend. They all got along so well. And money was never going to be a problem, life was comfortable. Not for the first time, she paused to think how lucky they were to be living this life together...
Rose checked the time, then she picked up the phone and called her husband.
"Oswald?" she said as he answered, "Are you leaving soon? Your mother said dinner will be ready in an hour. Ed just left to meet you."
"Yes Rose, I know, he just called me," Oswald replied, "It's been such a long and boring day here! I can't wait to get away!"
"And I can't wait to see you," she said seductively.
He laughed softly.
"I think we need some serious bedroom playtime tonight – the weekend is finally here!"
"That's why Ed's left to pick you up early," she reminded him.
"See you soon, my love!" Oswald replied, then the call ended.
Rose smiled as she left the bedroom and headed towards the stairs to go down and join the rest of the family. Again, she thought how life couldn't be more perfect. As she went down the staircase, the clock on the wall shifted the minute hand. It was five minutes to four o'clock...
In the heart of the busy city, Oswald was already in the elevator and heading for the ground floor. He had left instruction with his secretary that he would be out of town until Monday – a complete lie, but it meant he was free of all responsibility as soon as he left the building. As the doors opened and he stepped out into the marble hallway, he had his sights fixed on the entrance, and as he caught sight of Ed entering the building, he smiled as his heart missed a beat. Leaning harder on his cane, Oswald hobbled quickly towards the entrance, as Ed spotted him he smiled too.
"How was your day?" Ed asked, pausing to briefly kiss him.
"Shitty as usual," Oswald admitted as he looked up at him, "Oh, how I miss the days when I was mayor of this town. I even miss the crazy old days when I was a criminal...I don't miss the jail time, though!"
Both men laughed. Then as they left the building, they linked hands and walked out on to the busy street together.
"I can't wait to get you home, I've been thinking about you all day!" Ed said, and Oswald glanced at him as a flicker of excitement came to his eyes.
"Maybe I won't wait till we get home," Ed added, "I might just park up somewhere on the way back and blame the traffic..."
"What an excellent idea," Oswald said as they walked on, heading for Ed's car, "I'm not sure what excites me more, you getting me alone or you and Rose taking me to bed tonight..."
"That's decided," Ed replied with a smile, "I'm definitely parking on the way home."
"What a way to start the weekend!"
One look told Ed that Oswald was already excited.
"Come on, horny little Penguin," he said, "Let's get out of town, get parked up and get your pants off..."
Oswald laughed as his face flushed. Ed squeezed his hand.
"I love the way I can still make you blush."
The car was in sight. It was now four pm. As he felt a hand on his shoulder, Ed tugged on Oswald's hand, turning back. Oswald glanced at Ed, whose eyes had widened.
"What's wrong, Ed?"
They had taken three more steps. Then as a figure a short distance away raised his hand and fired off a volley of shots, the street erupted into panic as people screamed and dived for cover. It all seemed to happen in slow motion.
Oswald turned to see a gunman in a hooded top, his face in shadow, firing off round after round. The gun was pointed at both of them, and suddenly his criminal past kicked on to override the shock and he dived for the pavement and rolled, still clutching Ed's hand as he dragged him with him. Oswald landed hard, feeling an ache in his damaged leg. His cane clattered to the ground as Ed's body jerked, then he rolled over on his back. An eerie silence descended as in the distance, sirens wailed. Oswald raised his head. In that moment he briefly saw the shooter still holding a smoking handgun. Then the gunman turned and ran, ducking down an alley.
Oswald sat up, dragging his damaged leg up from an awkward angle. He saw a red, stinging slash on the back of his hand where a bullet had skimmed his flesh. He reached up and wiped blood from the side of his face, that was from diving down to the sidewalk too hard and too fast...
"I guess I'm out of practise... are you okay, Ed?"
No reply.
Oswald's heart thudded as he turned to Ed, who was on his back, with his eyes closed He had a single puncture wound on the right side of his head, just above his eyebrow. It was a bullet wound. Fear gripped him as he knelt there, grabbing at Ed's jacket as he shook him.
"ED! Wake up, look at me, say something..." his voice was filled with panic as blood ran from the bullet wound.
"Please, Ed!"
The sirens were getting closer. For a man who had spent several years avoiding the law, he was now glad to hear them coming as he hoped the paramedics were on the way too...Ed had been shot. His Edward had taken a bullet to the head and he didn't even know if he was still breathing... Panic overwhelmed him as he knelt there cradling Ed in his arms.
"Help, please, someone help him!" he yelled as tears ran down his face.
When her phone rang, Rose saw Oswald's number and smiled as she answered the call. Her smile soon faded and her face paled as fear made her legs buckle. She had heard a strangers voice and the words her husband was in the hospital, there had been a shooting... then as she had asked the caller to explain, the nurse had said, her husband was at the hospital, he was very distressed and could she please come right away, because his husband had been shot and had serious injuries. Rose had stammered a reply and hung up. She felt in a daze as she made her way to the kitchen, where Ivy was talking with Gertrude, who was refusing to give her an old family recipe because she said, it was a secret.
"Ed's been shot..."
They both turned and stared at her.
"Oh no..." Gertrude said as her eyes filled with tears, "What about my son? Please tell me Oswald is unharmed!"
"Oswald is shaken up, very upset... he's not hurt. I need to go there right away," Rose said, "All I know is, Ed has serious injuries. I don't know how or why, but there was a shooting."
Just then the kids came in from the garden.
"Mommy, why are you crying?" asked Eddie as he stood there with his hair the same shade as his father and an expression on his face that mirrored Ed.
Ivy blinked away tears as she leaned close to her son and explained as best as she could.
"Daddy's been shot, he's in the hospital," she told him, "We have to wait here, Aunty Rose is going over there to find out how he's doing."
"My Daddy is hurt?" Eddie started to cry and Ivy gathered him into her arms in a comforting embrace.
They stood there looking very much the children of Oswald Cobblepot, Ozzie in black jeans with a white shirt and black waist coat, his older sister standing beside him in a black dress, leaning elegantly on her closed parasol. They exchanged an ice blue glance as if telepathy had just passed between them.
"Who hurt our Uncle Ed, Mom?" asked Ozzie, "Can we have a – I mean, do you have a name?"
Rose shook her head.
"I don't know, Ozzie," she replied, "But you have to stay here..." she glanced to Lilly, "Look after your brother, your Dad needs me, he's very upset."
Lilly nodded solemnly, then Rose glanced to Ivy. Now she was at the kitchen table with her son, trying to comfort him as he sobbed.
"I'll call as soon as I have any news."
Ivy looked pale as she nodded. Then Rose hurried to the door, snatching up her car keys as she fought back tears... Ed had been shot? Why?
"Wait for me!"
Gertrude had hurried out after her.
"My son will need me," she said.
"I think he's going to need both of us!" Rose replied, then they left the house together.
On arriving at the hospital, Rose was alarmed to be directed to a room down a corridor near the emergency department, but when it was explained that Oswald was in distress and had needed a sedative, she breathed a relieved sigh and went in. Her husband was sitting on a bed, he was fully clothed, his jacket was open, his shirt was stained with blood.
"Oswald?" she said tearfully as she hurried to his side.
"It's not mine, it's Ed's blood," he said quietly as he sat there, his usually spiked hair limp as it hung about his face. His cheek was scratched, there was a dressing covering a wound on the back of his hand.
"My poor boy!" Gertrude exclaimed, and as he looked into his mother's eyes, he became tearful.
"Ed's still in surgery. He was shot in the head... Mom, I don't think he's going to make it, they said he might not survive!"
As he started to cry she embraced him. Oswald was sobbing. Rose put her hand on his shoulder, but he just clung to his mother for solace.
"I'm here for you too," Rose whispered.
He was shaking as he let go of his mother, then he pushed his hair off his tearful face and turned to her.
"I can't lose Ed!"
Rose saw such desperation in his eyes that it scared her – Oswald had always been so capable. Now, seeing him like this, it was like looking into the eyes of a frightened stranger. Her husband had never been so shocked, so utterly shattered before.
"You won't lose him," Rose said firmly, "He's strong, he can get through this, he has to get through it. He's got so much to live for – you, his son, he won't give up."
The door opened and Oswald looked up sharply, hoping for news but dreading it at the same time. But it wasn't the surgeon. It was Jim Gordon.
"Oswald, I'm sorry, and I know this is a bad time," he began, pausing as he noticed Oswald's tearful face, and how he had taken hold of his wife's hand as his mother kept a gentle hand on his shoulder. He was shaking and looked devastated. He was sure in all the time he had known him, even back in the days when he had been known as Penguin, he had never seen Oswald in a state like this, no matter what had happened in those turbulent times - and it was a real shock.
"I'm sorry," Jim said again, "But I need to ask some questions. Harvey's over at the scene of the crime, I just need to know what happened and then I'm going to find this guy."
Oswald barely looked at him, his voice was hushed as he started to speak.
"We left Cobblepot Oil just before four pm... We started to walk away toward the car and then Ed looked back like something distracted him, he looked at me like he was confused... I asked him what was wrong and we'd taken three, maybe four more steps and the shooting started."
"Did you get a good look at the gunman?"
Oswald glared at him.
"No Jim, I did not because bullets were flying and I dived for cover! I was holding Ed's hand. I pulled him down with me... I thought he was okay...he wasn't...."
He started to sob again as Rose put her arm around him.
"Did you see his face?" Jim asked.
Oswald's eyes were red and his face streaked with tears as rage burned ice blue in his eyes.
"No, I didn't see his face. But you'd better find him before I do! If I get my hands on the man who did this to my Ed, the streets of Gotham will run with his worthless blood!"
Jim had his notebook in his hand, but kept the pen raised, writing no more as Oswald made that threat. He knew the former head of the underworld couldn't be known to have made a death threat at a time like this. Oswald didn't need trouble, he needed support...
"We will find him," he assured him, "I'm going to leave now - I can see this is a bad time. I'll come over to the house at a later time and maybe by then, you can remember more. I just need to ask, for the sake of your safety and that of your family – have you fallen out with any old associates in the underworld who might have arranged a hit?"
Oswald wiped his eyes and looked up at Jim.
"I have no enemies these days. And that wasn't a hit, Jim. It was a low powered handgun, six chambers, six bullets. It took six bullets for one to hit Ed. Tell me what kind of half assed hit man would do that!"
Oswald was right. His remark had just sent the case into a new direction – one that so far had no leads...
"You think it wasn't an underworld job?"
"Of course not! An assassin would have fired one shot, a fatal shot. Ed's alive. I just hope he stays that way."
"Okay, I'll get to work and see what I can turn up," Jim said, "As soon as I have any leads I'll call. And if you remember anything else, get in touch."
Oswald said nothing, he just looked down at the floor as Jim left the room, still wrapped up in thoughts of Ed, knowing all he could do now was wait and hope that he pulled through.
The hours went on. Oswald called Hugo Strange to beg for his help – and Strange reminded him the terms of that deal he had set up a few years back. At the time, Oswald's deal with the city had been watertight, foolproof and had got everyone exactly what they wanted. But it had also prevented Strange from using his monster making experiments again, he was also banned from bringing the dead back to life. He was forbidden to intervene in anything other than formerly approved treatments – or go back to jail. He told Oswald he wished Ed well, but he could not offer any assistance. Oswald had ended the call and thrown the phone against the wall, cracking the screen. Then it had rung and Rose had answered. It was Ivy, waiting for news.
"There's no news yet," Rose replied.
"It's been hours! I just want to know he's okay," Ivy sounded upset, "He's not just my friend, he's my son's father!"
"I know that," Rose told her, "Just try and stay calm for the kids... how are they doing?"
"I put Eddie to bed two hours ago, Ozzie went up at nine and Lilly's up at the table, making a list of ways to torture the man who shot her Uncle Ed."
Despite the circumstances, Rose managed a smile.
"She's more like Oswald every day..."
Then Ivy spoke again.
"So the gunshot wound... I know you said it was serious... was it his chest?"
"No, Ivy. He took a bullet to the head."
Ivy drew in a sharp breath.
"Oh no, poor Ed..." her voice was tearful, "I kept thinking the worst it could be was his chest or maybe his back, I never imagined... oh god, this is bad...Do the cops know anything yet?"
"Not yet," she replied, "They just started the investigation."
"Can I speak to Pengie?"
"You can try," Rose replied, "He's... not too good right now."
She passed the phone back to Oswald.
"Ivy," she said.
He raised the phone, there was a look in his eyes that said he was barely in the room and in the moment with Rose and his mother, his thoughts were still with Ed.
"Are you okay?" Ivy asked.
"I got scratched when I dived for the ground... a bullet skimmed the back of my hand. I had a couple of stitches. I can barely feel it, I've gone numb. I can't stop thinking about Ed."
"I'm thinking about him too."
An idea suddenly came to mind and Oswald spoke up again, urgently.
"You know how you helped me when I was sick? Couldn't you do the same for Ed?"
"If it was a flesh wound I could give him something to speed healing but there's nothing I can do for this... he's had a bullet to the head, I can't undo brain damage."
Oswald stiffened as he sat there, his face paled again as the shock of her words hit home.
"Ivy, shut up! Ed is going to be just fine! You're not a doctor, you know nothing!"
"I was just trying to explain -"
He cut off the call. Then he got up from the bed, grabbed his cane and started to pace the floor. His damaged leg still ached from the dive to the sidewalk but the pain helped to clear his mind.
"There must be something I can do for him..." he muttered.
Rose and Gertrude exchanged a worried glance. They had both seen it; a sudden, sharp change in Oswald. The shooting had pushed him close to a breakdown...
It was just gone ten that night when Ed was finally out of surgery. Rose and Gertrude stood beside Oswald as he received the news that the bullet was out, but Ed was not out of danger. The doctors could not predict when he would wake, or how much damage the shot had caused. If Ed recovered, he would have memory loss, he would have lasting weakness, he might never fully recover. There was even a risk that he might not wake at all, the next few days would indicate whether or not he was going to make it. He was warned that if Ed remained unresponsive and there was no hope of a recovery, he needed to be prepared for the fact that in that eventuality, Ed's life support would have to be turned off. Oswald heard it all, but barely took it in because it was too much to think about. He just wanted to see Ed. When he did see him, he wept at his bedside. Ed was pale and unresponsive and had a heavy dressing over a large scar that ran halfway around his head.
"I am not going to lose you!" Oswald vowed.
They stayed at the hospital for the rest of the night, by morning Oswald looked a wreck, his usually well groomed hair was a mess, his eyes were red from crying and he was still in the bloodstained clothing from the shooting.
"We should go home and get some rest," Rose reminded him. But he was still sitting at Ed's bedside, watching him intently.
"I want to be here when he wakes."
"He will not wake yet," Gertrude reminded him, then she placed a gentle hand on her son's cheek, turning his head, making him look up at her as she stood beside him.
"We must go home. You must rest. We will return later," she told him firmly.
"Okay, Mother," he said quietly, then he rose stiffly from his seat as his leg gave him more pain, he leaned over Ed and kissed his cheek, then grabbed his cane and reluctantly turned away from his bedside.
As they walked away down the corridor Oswald said nothing, his eyes were filling with tears again at the thought of leaving Ed. Anger was building up in his chest like a rising flow of molten lava as he mentally murdered the gunman over and over in his mind. They were almost at the entrance now, and leaving Ed alone here, badly injured and barely holding on, was suddenly too much. Oswald stopped and turned back.
"I can't leave him!"
"Oswald, we have to go home for a while," Rose reminded him.
"You must rest, or you will go crazy!" his mother added.
Panic swirled in his mind as he shook his head.
"No, I'm not leaving him alone here! He needs me!"
Suddenly the nightmare events of the day just became too much to bear. That afternoon, he had been laughing and joking and flirting with Ed as they left for home, planning the weekend. Now he was here, Ed was wounded and he didn't know if he would ever wake up again. Oswald gave a sob.
"The only time I'll leave Ed is when I have the name of the bastard who shot him!" he yelled.
And as Rose and Gertrude stood there sharing the awful feeling Oswald was about to have a complete meltdown, something happened. The door to the entrance opened. As he walked in, Oswald turned around, saw him and took a heavy step forward, right before his legs gave way. He caught him, holding him up in a strong embrace. Oswald pressed his face against his leather jacket and wept. Gertrude and Rose exchanged a glance, both sharing the same thought:
Thank god, even though he now ran the Iceberg Lounge after being given the place as a gift seven years back, he had not forgotten his loyalty to his former boss. Victor Zsasz was back...
"I came as soon as I heard about Ed," he said as Oswald sobbed in his arms like a broken man, "Don't worry boss, I'll find the guy who did this, I'll find him for you..."