Summary
A teenage Edward Nygma's life was saved because of a dispatcher talking to him until he was rescued. Now, as an adult, and working as the head of the Cyber Crime Division in the GCPD, he still couldn't find the man who saved his life. He needs to, just to thank him.
Chapter 1
He was slowly losing his life in the most agonizing way possible. If death was a simulation, then this simulation runs on 60 FPS, which was far too slow for his neural networks to use efficiently. The random sounds of cheap B-movie sound effects could be heard through the cracks, and the light coming from below the door was all he could comprehend for the moment as his lifeblood seeps out of his wound.
Edward Nygma was dying, and there was simply nothing he could do.
He mourned for all the great things he could have achieved. He could have left long ago, no need to stay here any longer, not when his mother had left him with this scoundrel of a man and ran away with a person three times her age and 10 times her worth to live a happily ever after without him.
Edward knew that there was nothing that bolted him down in this place except for the sense of false duty to his father, and what good did that bring?
He turns around, to lay on his back, and couldn't help but whine at the pain that the simple actions had caused. It was so little, nothing much but a head turn, yet here it is exhausting him.
Nothing but his mind slowly draining out as it breathed the last of its life.
No one will ever witness his true genius, and he truly did mourn that thought.
He wanted to be praised.
He wanted to be seen for his potential.
He wanted to be seen for his achievements.
He wanted to be more than that boy down the street who had an odd fixation on puzzles and riddles.
He wanted to feel happy, the same sort of happiness he got from said puzzles and riddles, only for it to come from stuff other than those.
He wanted to experience life.
He wanted- He wanted help.
Why couldn't anyone ever help him? What was so wrong with him that people decided to turn a blind eye? Why was it that every other boy or girl that were having just a tiny problem home, like their parents not letting them hang out with their friends, were seen more important than the obviously abused child?
Why was it that he never sought out for a solution?
Or sought out for help when it truly mattered?
Help …
His eyes slid down the room, to one wall, where one cord could be seen attached to it. Following the cord, he can see the landline.
Help …
He forced himself to move, despite all the pain and the nausea hitting him in waves, despite the slowly forming bile in the back of his mouth, he resisted, and clawed the wooden broken floor to pull himself across the room.
His hands raised, trying to grab hold of the handle, only for him to knock the table that the phone sat on.
He felt his breath stop, listening intently to the sounds of the television, fearing for any change that could occur, that the man could have heard.
But to his fortune, for once in his miserable life, the sounds did not mute.
The sound of the phone's ringing, however, caught his attention.
His hands flailed for a second, clicking on the numbers, and waited-
"911 emergencies."
"I'm dyi-dying." He choked out. "There's blood- blood on the floor."
"Where are you?"
"The Bowery. Street number …" He didn't realize he was slowly losing consciousness, did not realize that his hold in reality was slipping. All he knew for sure was that this is it, he was going, and he isn't willing to go without letting his father fall with him.
"My dad's- Dad's a- a-" Was he losing air?
"Breath in, calm down, ambulance is coming."
"Gun. He has a gun, he'll shoot anyone. I'm not his first vic- victim."
"It's alright, police are coming too. Don't worry, just stay with me. What's your injury?"
"I'm bleeding- in the head … I'm losing lots of blood."
"What's your name?"
"Ed- Edward."
"Edward, tell me something happy, something you did today, or yesterday."
"I … got a scholarship confirmation to Gotham University."
"That made you happy?"
"It's a full- full ride. Dad doesn't-" Air was in low supplies now. "Thinks I cheated. Always thinks I cheated."
"I believe that you earned that scholarship. I bet you're going to be doing good, what's your major?"
"Undecided. I'm- I'm doubling majors. Skip- Skip foundation."
"Well, if you got a full ride scholarship to Gotham University of all places, then I believe you can do it. Let's make sure that you'll get there, alright? Just take more breathes. Can you count for me?" The operator asked, and he couldn't help but snort.
"I can count in decimals, binaries, hexas, and octans." He can! He really can! It's just too hard to think about it now, not when so many things are flying over his head at the moment.
"I have no idea what that is, can you explain?" Explain? No one ever asked to be explained. Maybe he should, it's nice to know someone wants to learn.
"Decimal is- How we count. We write 1, 2, 3, and … Uh …"
"Go on, I'm listening."
He started crying.
"No one ever listened to me, they always said I'm lying." He admits, what did he ever do to lie? He only practiced a puzzle game once, and it's been stuck with him ever since.
"Well, I am, son. I'm listening." That was a really comforting thought.
"When is the police coming? I don't think I can- feel my legs anymore." He whispered, now closing his eyes and squeezing them. "I like- I like walking. I don't want to lose my legs!"
"What's all that racket?!" Came the voice from the other room, Edward squeezed and couldn't help but let a whimper out.
"Please- Please- Don't let him get me- Please! I'm scared!" He couldn't continue as the door slammed open. The screaming from his back was so common, so annoyingly repeatable, that it had become background noise by then.
He didn't want that.
He didn't want that to be the last thing he heard.
"Mister Operator? Can- Can you sing for me?"
"What?" The confusion in the voice made him chuckle.
"To sleep? My mom- she- she never sang me to sleep, ever."
"I- You're going to survive this, Edward, you don't need that."
"Please?"
"…"
He almost gave up hope, but his spirit lifts up when he heard singing coming from the other line.
"Is this the real life? Or is this fantasy?"
Edward was lost.
All he remembers then was the smooth voice of the operator, the evading blue and red lights from the windows, his father's snarling face as he spits abuses at him, the cold that seeped into his bones, the cold floor that slicked with blood.
And the still nice singing from the operator, even as yelling was heard, and his father was forced out of his sight. His eyes couldn't follow, couldn't tell exactly why he was snatched away.
But he could then see paramedics surrounding him, trying to talk to him, trying to pull away the phone.
But he didn't let go.
Because the song was entrancing.
He always heard the song before, it was both famous and infamous, a classic. It held no meaning but a way to connect to other people, but now?
It spoke to him.
"We're losing him!"
"Thank- Thanks for the song." He said before letting go of the handle.
He was a 15-year-old boy from the Bowery who managed to survive head trauma and a gunshot to the lungs. A definite poster boy to everyone else who heard of his story, which was most of the child population of the Bowery.
Edward swore to himself to find the man who sang him his supposed last lullaby and thank him.
Riddle: What is the music of life?
Answer: Silence.
Conclusion: He didn't die, he merely went on a substantial and returned.
AN: -
This is mainly inspired by:
Batman the animated series
Batman Arkham video games
The comics during Riddler's redemption arc (before the reboot)
Anyways, I actually wrote this before Gotham ever aired. So, as I wrote the names, I feel weirded out by thinking of them all in different ages. The settings are mainly inspired by the Animated series, Ed's occupation was obviously inspired by the Arkham game (last released game). His morals are inspired by the games and his stint as a private detective in the comics. Montoya is mainly inspired by the animated series.
(I'm currently just dumping all the fics that I found in my laptop that were written years ago and decided to finally let it see the light of day)