[ ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ's ɴᴏᴛᴇ ]

Hey there everyone. First off thank you so much for checking out my story.

Second off just as a little side note I'd like to point out that the time setting of the story is episode 2x11 but from there on out I might stray from the story line.

Also I will let Satan run rampant in this fanfic and I mean it; so yeah, trigger warnings are freebies.

P.S. There are multiple OCs. Only one will be the love interest & main character.


ʟᴏᴠᴇʟᴇᴛᴛᴇʀ

ᴘᴇᴏᴘʟᴇ ᴀʀᴇ ᴍᴜᴄʜ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴄᴏɪɴs; ᴛʜᴇʏ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴛᴡᴏ ғᴀᴄᴇs. ᴀʟᴡᴀʏs. ɪᴛ ᴅᴏᴇsɴ'ᴛ ᴍᴀᴛᴛᴇʀ ɪғ ᴛʜᴇʏ sᴀʏ ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ. ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴅᴏ. ᴀɴᴅ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʜᴜᴍᴀɴs, sɪᴍɪʟᴀʀ ᴛᴏ ᴀ ᴄᴏɪɴ, ʏᴏᴜ ɴᴏᴛɪᴄᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ғᴀᴄᴇ ᴏɴʟʏ ᴡʜᴇɴ ᴛʜᴇʏ ғʟɪᴘ.

•••

The blood glistened under the hazy sunlight.

The dim illumination was the best one could hope for in Gotham where gloomy weather was a trademark. Somehow the city seemed like it was built for calamities. The pale rays of light, the grungy sights that contrasted so disgustingly with the haughty decor of the more privileged buildings, it all came together to form a setting that practically urged for catastrophe.

Under those circumstances the scene the girl stood in front of could even be considered cinematographic; a body laying lifeless, the fresh scent of crisp morning air mingling with the tang of rotting flesh, gashes on the victim's forearm and stomach still leisurely streaming out of the wounds. A twisted grin formed on the girl's lips without her consent and she quickly diminished it before someone looked at her like she might have some sort of necrophilia. It wasn't the fact that there was a dead man sprawled in front of her that was making her smile. Rather the fact that she was going to be one of the people solving that crime, putting the pieces of the puzzle together. She'd always been keen on puzzles. Fae Noland loved to solve things no matter how uncanny or impossible they seemed. She could still recall the first 3000 piece puzzle she finished or the moment she realized that science wasn't just her favorite subject it was the most accurate way to figure out real life puzzles.

The sharp snap of latex pulled the girl out of her daydream. The tall man beside her adjusted his gloves as he went directly towards the pool of blood in the middle of the location. He took two steps then suddenly stopped and spun to look back at her with a goofy kind of face.

"Come along now."

The girl quickly jolted into action as she followed after the man with her notebook and gloves in hand.

Police sirens wailed as men and women in suits, blue uniforms and plastic coats went around marking the perimeter, making calls, keeping people away from the area where the dead man lay. Her smile crept up on her again and this time she was caught.

"Thrilling, isn't it?" The odd man smiled brightly as he eagerly stood over the body.

Fae's black eyes stared back to him with a cool demeanor.

"I've dreamed of this day." She slightly smiles, pulls a pen out of her pocket and clicks it.

"Too bad he had to die for it to come true." The dark humored joke was meant to break the ice with her new resident but worked a little too well. The young man burst out in a rambunctious chuckle as a few officers gave him annoyed looks from the corner of their eye although the man was much too caught up in his laughter to notice. Fae was embarrassed by the boisterous reaction but kept a friendly smile until the man was through. He let out a satisfied sigh and playfully waged a finger at her.

"You're a riot."

She awkwardly shrugged with the same cordial smile and confused eyes. He grinned and shrugged back with an inexplicable glee before crouching to examine the victim. Fae observed the peculiar guy with curiosity; plaid moss green suit, tidily combed hair, glasses, cleanest shoes she'd ever seen in her life. He was unusual to say the least. But there was something about the uncommon that called out to her. Perhaps it was because she considered herself to be just as strange. The thought made her disregard the looks the man had received and she felt almost lucky to have been assigned someone as curious as Edward Nygma.

Ed inspected the body with precision and intrigue and Fae crouched beside him to do the same.

"Can you guess what kind of wounds these are?"

"Clean cuts, cast-off stains; blade, maybe a knife."

The man smiles with a nod.

"Yep."

A pair of black shoes appeared at Ed's left causing both the scientists to look up to the blond man standing with his hands on the sides of his belt. Jim's blue eyes scanned the area with the look of repugnance and animosity that he seemed to have on as a default.

"Good morning detective Gordon." Ed greeted the man as he stood with one swift movement.

"Morning Nyma. What've we got here?"

"Uh well, victim is a 29 year old male, no past records, just recently got a job as a chemist at Ace Chemicals, given the state he's in he'd probably been out drinking before he was attacked. Maybe he was mugged?"

"Mr. Nygma, I have to disagree with you on that."

Fae suddenly unlocked her vision from the body to the men standing above her.

"His zipper is open, obviously that could easily have been something you could forget if you were as drunk as this guy was but I doubt you'd completely break it off." The girl stood as Jim and Edward listened to her rationalization.

"Are you saying he was the attacker?" The detective said as Harvey arrived bringing the scent of black coffee and musky cologne.

The girl cocked her head making her ponytail tilt and made a face that showed it could be a possibility.

"Could be. You never know in Gotham, right?"

"I hear that." Jim agreed and turned to his partner who held a foam cup in his hand.

"Hear what?" The older detective asked nonchalantly to the blond as he eyed the two others standing around the body.

"The intern, uh..." Jim pauses for a moment while looking to the girl.

"Noland. Fae Noland." The girl pipes in upon queue.

"Noland here says the victim may have initially been the attacker. Probably attempted rape."

"Well that taught him." The man nodded as he took a sip at the steaming liquid in his cup.

"Yeah." Gordon stretched out as he stared at the dead man.

"Does he have a girl; an ex maybe?"

"Let's get on that." Jim snapped his fingers and the two went off in an instant.

Edward and Fae were left to each other once again and a slightly uncomfortable silence started to set in.

"Very observant, Ms. Noland."

"Mrs." The girl said and Edward started to fidget and adjust his glasses.

"I - I'm sorry. I didn't see your..."

Fae raised her hand and wiggled her bare fingers.

"Ring." Nygma blushed and smiled a bit at the girl's humor as he looked down.

"Just messing with you. Thanks by the way."

Ed looked back to her and watched her smile, amused.

"You're very welcome Ms. Noland." He raised an eyebrow and they both looked down to the man.

"Back to work." The girl stated with a nod.

•••

Good luck was never an option for Fae. To her it was always just a myth or something that happened in movies to help ease the pressure of being the hero. And since she was no hero she'd never been granted such a luxury. Now compensation was another thing all together and to Fae it seemed to be the only thing that worked. She thrived from it actually; she didn't have many friends so she compensated by being an ace student, she wasn't strikingly gorgeous so she compensated by being open and kind, she was facing imminent death so she compensated by being humorous.

The girl took another glance at her watch and heaved in a deep breath as she made out the time. The respirator she wore muffled her quiet conversation with herself as her gloved fingers meticulously examined the corpse that laid cold in the equally frigid M.E room. Nygma's abrupt entrance made her immediately stop whispering her worried thoughts and smile instead.

"So?" The tall man asks, walking in while placing his own mask over his mouth and nose.

"I'm absolutely sure it was an attempted rape that got this guy killed."

"Really? How so?" Ed stepped up closer to the dead man as he analyzed the spot she was pointing to.

"That there is the spot where he got cut. The attacker made sure to get past the intestines and reach the common iliac artery." Fae gave him a knowing look and the man responded instantly.

"The arteries connected to the pelvic region."

Nygma's eyes widened at the piece of information.

"Whoever did this wanted to punish him not just defend themselves." Fae concluded and stepped away from the metallic table as she peeled off her gloves.

"Hmmm. Very interesting." The man trudged out his words with a thoughtful expression.

A giggle echoed in the silent room and Ed snapped back to notice the girl shaking her head and removing her mask to reveal a grin on her face.

"As interesting as it may be I believe my shift is over."

Edward turned to check the LED clock that announced 8:00 P.M in bright red then redirected his vision back to the female.

"Ah... It seems it has." He watched from the corner of his eye as Fae unbuttoned her lab coat and smoothened her light blue blouse.

Nygma twiddled his thumbs and pressed his lips together as his eyes scurried around the room.

"Ms. Noland."

The girl looked up as she placed the white coat on her left forearm.

"Yes, Mr. Nygma?"

"I - I wonder... I mean, it is your first day on the job and perhaps you'd like to get a coffee... To relax." He finally manages to stammer. The man nearly holds his breath as he awaits the response.

It came followed by a warm smile and gentle black eyes.

"I would actually." Fae nodded and Ed lit up with a childlike happiness.

"I - I..." He began to stutter but stopped for a moment and recollected himself.

"I'll be just a minute."

Fae nodded again and left the room as the young man stood unbuttoning his own white coat.

The girl tried to forget the thoughts that swam in her mind as she walked down the hall of the police department. The surgery would fix everything soon. Soon she would be able to go out with friends and dance like she loved to and not worry about having a moment stolen from her because of the fear of having a heart attack at any moment.

Soon, soon, soon.

The mantra had been her personal therapy against depression and anxiety for the last couple of weeks since she found out she'd need the bypass.

Soon, soon, soon.

"All set." Edward's voice pulled her out of her trance.

He greeted her with an animated grin that eased her so easily that she couldn't help but smile back.

"So..." She drew in a breathe as they walked out of the police department and into the chilly air of the city.

"Where should we go?"

•••

Ed thought it was all in his head. He kept trying to recall if Fae had truly accepted his invitation to go out for coffee or if he had simply dreamt it. He wasn't sure if the shine in her charcoal eyes were due to the lights in the café or if it was because she was enjoying their time together. He didn't really know if she'd truly been so kind to him the days following that either. He kept asking others if they'd noticed the intern just to make sure she wasn't another figment of his imagination. She wasn't. She was as real as one can be before transforming into a fairytale; sweet and humble and oh so witty.

In fact it was her enthusiasm towards his riddles that made him question her verisimilitude in the first place. She was always answering them correctly. Sometimes immediately. Sometimes it took her a few hours but sooner or later she would come up with the answer. Usually that would make him feel a little defeated like the only thing he considered unique about him was possible to someone else. But when it came to Fae it was almost as if she was the missing puzzle piece. As if the riddle only mattered if she answered it. And so he made sure to always come up with one for her.

I'm tall when I'm young and I'm short when I'm old. What am I?

That one didn't take her two minutes. She simply smiled and answered with utmost ease; a candle. He first realized she was fond of his riddles when they were solving the drowned man case.

What is as light as a feather, but even the world's strongest man couldn't hold it for more than a minute?

Harvey looked like he would very well drown him as well before she rang in with the answer; his breathe. Soon enough it became a routine; they met on the job, Nygma would propose the riddle and without a doubt Fae would answer it correctly. There was no reason why today should be different. But it was.

Starting with the fact that the body laying lifeless in front of him this time was none other than Fae Noland's. Nygma moved slowly and tensely as he observed the girl drenched in her own blood. She was still in the same outfit that she'd been in when she left the department last night; a black skirt and a jeans button up shirt. Ed recalled how perfectly ironed the shirt had looked yesterday while they casually spoke and went about the GCPD side by side as always. The deep crimson fluid that stained it completely made the piece of clothing hardly similar to what it had been. Especially since the killer had gouged the girls torso from chest to stomach with one slash of a blade.

"God dammit." Harvey hissed as he walked up behind Ed.

The scientist dropped his notebook from the shock of Harvey's sudden comment yanking him away from the scene that burned itself into his memory. Jim arrived just behind his partner and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw who it was and in what state she was in. As Ed crouched to pick up the small black book Jim and Harvey exchanged looks then observed the man who was coming back up while wiping the notebook.

"Nygma, you ok with being here?" Jim asked concerned and the tall man merely nodded as he stared at the dead girl.

"All these young people are screwed. First that kid from Ace Chemicals now Noland." The older man shook his head with a disgusted look on his face.

"You think there's a connection?" Jim's eyes went from Harvey to the girl on the ground.

"Don't know." Harvey scratched his beard as his eyes fixed on the gory mess at his feet.

"Let's go back to the office, take a look at her file maybe then we'll come up with something."

All the while Nygma was silent, immobilized as his brown eyes took in each detail of the bloody scene ahead. Jim and Harvey where about to leave, in a bit of a rush, when Jim spun to look at the forensics expert.

"Nygma."

The man's head snapped back to look in the direction his name was coming from and eased into the situation.

"You sure you're ok?"

Ed bit the tip of his tongue inside his mouth. He wasn't ok. He was pissed. It seemed love truly was his curse. Kringle should have been all the proof he needed but he was naive enough to try to give it another go. This time around someone else handled the task of assuring him that he wasn't going to get what he hoped for anytime soon.

"No worries Detective Gordon, we'll find who did this." He assured as he nodded to Jim who nodded as well.

"Ok."

It may have sounded like something people say to cope with lost but Edward Nygma was a determined person. He never quit until he hit the mark. From that moment on he was resolved to find the culprit and so he would. There was no other option. He looked back to the scene and started collecting clues, writing each little detail on the pages of his notebook.

1. Sharp force trauma/Laceration (full thickness)

2. Double-edged weapon

3. Blood angle: Up?

Suddenly he stopped. He stared at the splatter of blood that had nearly dried on asphalt. Up? Ed couldn't understand at all. What kind of strange weapon would create a 90 degree angle splash? Another droplet caught his eye and he followed like a hunting hound. It lead him to a small pool of the same blood that colored the entire area. The murderer had stopped to watch Fae die. He slashed her than stood there, his weapon touching the floor and created that circlet of blood.

The riddle was enough to stump even Edward Nygma. He would need to go back to the lab. Perhaps further examination of the body could give him the hint he would require to find the answer.

•••

Why? Y. Why? Y.

That was the only thing on Nygma's mind at the moment. He questioned what could possibly drive someone to killing Fae as he proceeded with the Y-incision that he was more than accustomed to. The scalpel barely did much seeing as the killer had done a pretty prestigious job at slicing in a perfectly straight line down her chest.

"Sturdy hand." Nygma mumbled under his breath as he pulled back the skin and continued the autopsy.

He started with the stomach. Carefully he removed it, weighed it and put it aside for further testing. Then the liver and other major organs were separated from the body, each one cataloged as it was withdrawn from it's owner. As Ed started pulling out the lungs he noticed something different. Whatever it was it seemed to be glimmering and hidden just behind the victim's heart.

"What's this?" The young man asked himself curiously. He meant to reach out to grab it but realized he still held the girl's right lung.

"Oh." He playfully scoffed and rolled his eyes at himself before setting the body part aside.

Returning to examine what the shining object was he found a pink, laminated card. Nygma went to pluck it but it slipped due to his gloves. He lifted the heart and left lung to retrieve the uncanny thing and as he observed the card an amused sighed left him. The card was not only pink but it had his name on it in cursive handwriting.

He read the pun and tried his best to stifle the chuckle that tried to find it's way out. Turning the plastic card he found a small message;

ᴛᴏ ᴇ. ɴʏɢᴍᴀ

I ɢᴜᴇss ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴀɴ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴛᴏᴏ ᴍᴜᴄʜ ᴏғ ᴀ ɢᴏᴏᴅ ᴛʜɪɴɢ.

Ed furrowed his brows at that. Too much of a good thing? Could the killer be referring to the fact that Fae was similar to him? She was fond of riddles, puzzles, mysteries; it fit. He looked down to Fae's lifeless body and instantly realized that the letter was indeed about her. The real question was who did he know that would want to kill Fae because of him. Who was so infatuated by his persona that they would kill someone just to make sure he was unique? Also this person didn't seem afraid of being exposed. They left a very personal piece of evidence after all. But maybe this bravery wasn't so much bravery as it was a sadistic kind of coercion. Perhaps they already knew about what he'd done to officer Dougherty or Kristin. Suddenly he became very worried. He needed to burn the letter before it got him in trouble. He wouldn't though. The inquisitiveness that seemed to run in his blood wouldn't let him leave it at that. More than that he'd just started his transformation and he wasn't about to let anyone get in the way of what he was becoming.

The man examined each letter of the card in detail as a wicked smile spread on his lips. He had accepted the challenge and that meant he was going to discover who this secret admirer was at all costs.

"Neat-O."