Heeeey guys! I know so far this isn't incredibly OC/Riddler, but it'll happen, I promise. I'm just trying to make it as realistic as possible. I mean... Riddler IS insane afterall.
Anywho, thank you all for the kind words, per usual. Your reviews are what inspires me to keep going!


I was on paid medical leave for two weeks, and desk duty for three. A fractured bone takes a lot out of you, and the work to get better after it is even more of a pain in the ass. However, it wasn't all for naught, Bullock surprisingly boasted up and down in the station about how the rookie cop took down The Riddler. Many of my fellow officers delivered candies, flowers, and even take-out food on many of my days off, my partner, Steven, would stop by every lunch and tell me all the gossip that was mucking about. Hell, even the Commissioner stopped by to tell me what a good job I did.

Its sad to say, but it felt damn good. I wasn't the best cop by any means, but to be awarded so much by my peers made me feel like I was back in high school, being told my cooking was delicious.

My mother called me up, hearing that I'd had a run-in with none other than Mr. Nashton. She fawned over me like a mother hen.

"Are you sure you're alright? And he's back in Arkham? He didn't hurt you?"

Oh he hurt me alright. And got in my head. Damn thing.

The only downside to it all was the dreams. More often than not, they were full of skin-on-skin, lips crashing together, and a warmth that only lovers know. I would wake up agitated and my leg throbbing as a casual reminder that: news flash, you just had an erotic dream about a maniac that would kill you before he'd so much as touch you.

Still, the dreams continued. It was just an ongoing battle between my subconscious and myself.

"Couldn't stay away, could ya?" Steven slapped me on the shoulder the first day I was back for desk duty. I just gave him a small smile as I set my pencil down and glanced his direction.

"Shouldn't I say the same to you? You could have taken more time off than a week. You went through more than me."

"Bah, I didn't tackle a damn rogue to the ground!" He laughed lightly as he took his seat across the room at his own desk, but turned to face me instead. "I just hung out in a room until The Batman came to our aid... and then hung out even longer."

"Still, that must have been worse than anything imaginable." I said as I faced him as well. "Weren't you scared?"

"Petrified. Oh man though, The Batman was probably the scariest thing in there! He was so tall and... built" Steven puffed his chest out comically. "Like a damn body builder or something."

"I'd imagine he works out - I mean he IS The Batman." I said with a smile as I lightly rubbed my bad leg. "And anyway, you didn't see any rogues?"

"Nah. Just a bunch of thugs from Blackgate. That's about it." He waved his hand dismissively. "And you - little miss rogue taker... What was he like?"

"Who?"

"... Your father. The Riddler of course!" He was leaning on his knees toward me, a happy, open smile on his face. We hadn't bothered speaking of the night until now.

"Oh... You know I'd met him before."

"No, you met Edward Nashton before." he corrected. "Come onnnn, what was he like?"

I snorted.

"Pompous."

"I coulda told you that."

"What else am I supposed to say, Steven? He was annoying as all hell. Never shut up."

"Heard he threatened you when he was being taken to the island."

My head perked.

"He what?"

"He said it to your face. Or were you so out of it in pain you didn't notice? He said he was gonna come and shoot ya." My mind boggled as my eyebrows furrowed at my partner. When did he say that?

Oh. The horse comment.

"That wasn't a threat." I said quickly. "He was just trying to get under my skin more." Steven was shaking his head immediately at me with a small smile.

"Naw, come on, man... Haven't you read his file? He never out-right threatens people, you know. It's all in his riddles! One time, he asked a doctor what implement can be produced from potassium, nickel and iron... And you know what the answer was?"

I looked at the ceiling in thought.

"I was never good at science." I finally said. Steven was getting excited, like he was talking about a new TV show he was really into.

"Think about it. Their codes are K, N lower case i, F lower case e... And that spells...?"

"Uh... say it again without the lower cases." I said slowly. He looked at me like there was something growing on my face, or that I was a moron.

"... K, n, i, f, e."

"So knife." I said as I leaned in my chair and stretched my back.

"And you know what happened when she solved it?" He was leaning really far forward now. He looked like a kid telling a spooky story.

"She got.. a knife?"

"In her back! He had broken out of Arkham just to stab her to death!" Steven's voice had risen to an excited yelp now, a few passer bys were peeking in our office with quizzical looks.

"Hush your voice." I said as I tried giving apologetic looks to them all. "And either way, that's so bull."

"Why so?" Steven gave a pout. "It's true, I was told by Collins."

"For one, Collins tells lots of bogus stories. For two, Riddler doesn't just -kill- people. He puts them in stupid traps and lets them try to figure out if they live or not." I folded my arms at him, a slight agitation creeping up my spine. To believe such a stupid story would be ... well... stupid.

"Well then he put her in some sort of machine with a knife! Either way, she died." Steven said with a huff. "It's in his file. Really!"

"Yeah, I'm sure." I muttered as I turned back to my chair. "Just like your idea that Batman is actually half bat."

"Well after meeting him I don't think that... However I bet he's some sort of illegal luchador wrestler!"

"Oh please." I crumpled some paper and threw it at him. "What is with you and your crack-pot theories?"

"Makes the job easier, I suppose." Steven shrugged his shoulders and turned back to his desk. "Besides, doing paperwork all day gets boring."

"You can say that again-"

"Doing paperwork all day gets-"

"I didn't mean literally!" I threw another paper wad at him, causing Steven to laugh lightly.

"You're too tense, Kat. Gotta take this job with a grain of rice, otherwise you'll end up just like the loons at Arkham." I snorted at him.

"Hardly."

"Officer Cunnings-" I was cut off by an older man coming to my doorway. His white hair was slicked to the side and a deep frown caused even more creases than usual on his face.

"Oh! Commissioner. Hello." I yelped awkwardly at him. His face always felt so stone-set. A permanent frown unless his daughter came bouncing around. Ugh. His daughter. Despite my wanting to, I cringed at the idea of her coming around. Everyone seemed to eat out of the palm of her hand and she was so damn -perfect- at everything.

"Afternoon." He said with a nod before tossing a newspaper on my desk. "Know anything about this?"

On the front with big, blocked letters read "Riddler: Having An In With The GCPD?", and below it a picture of...

My skin immediately crawled as my blood ran cold. Because of the angle that the picture was taken of...

That son of a bitch.

-I- knew what it was of. It was when I tackled the asshole to the ground in his lair. However thanks to a well-placed camera, it just looked like a female cop on top of the Riddler, almost straddling him sexually.

My face was an immediate deep shade of red as I jumped to my (painful) feet with a,

"Sir, that is obviously not what it looks. Bullock can back me up with-"

"I know, I know." Gordan waved his hand lightly to show he wasn't too terribly worried with me. "I just wanted to make sure you knew about this. Clearly you don't."

I glanced back down at the picture. My face wasn't shown, however you could see brown hair pulled in a bun and a feminine figure in the uniform. How long would it take for people to realize who it was?

"I'm so sorry commissioner." I bowed my head in embarrassment. "I didn't know there was a camera..."

"I wouldn't think you'd think of that. Hell, not many people think when they're in the middle of an arrest of a rogue. Still, I want you to keep a tight lip on this. If anyone asks - it wasn't you." I nodded dumbly at him.

"Wasn't me. Right... but it wasn't! Well I-I mean it wasn't anything along these lines and-"

"It just flat out wasn't you. You've never touched the Riddler short of arresting him. Clear?"

"Yes sir."

Steven was approaching behind me and looking down at the paper.

"Phoooooo Kat! Look at that. Never thought your ass could look good, huh?" He tried to lighten the mood of the room with a quick swat to my behind, just making my face grow redder as my chin dipped so low it touched my chest.

"Aww come on, I was joking" He tried saying as he laid a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry, Commissioner. I've got my eye on this horn dog."

"Good. And keep jokes like that away from prying ears." The Commissioner stated before leaving our doorway.

We stood like that, quietly for a few seconds, before Steven said:

"Well. That's a little fucked up, huh?"

A little?

"I'm going for a ride." I said flatly. He walked after me as I hobbled on my cane (yep, got one of them amazing things) out our door.

"To where?"

"Visiting a certain Mr. Nygma." I growled deep in my throat. He was behind this. I knew he was.

"Gordan probably doesn't want you doing that..." Steven started which just made me stop in my tracks and give him an icy glare. "Right. Right. I'll uh... I'll just cover the paperwork here then. You'll have to start at the front desk you know."

"I don't need the obvious explained to me." I mumbled back as I hobbled my way toward the front door of the GCPD and to my car.

The drive to the boat was a fast one, but the wait for the boat ride took a bit longer. In my waiting, my cell phone went off. I.D. read "Commissioner." I frowned, knowing if I didn't answer, I'd lose my job. Even THIS douche wasn't worth all my years of hard work. I answered it with a quick swipe on it's face and murmured a -

"Hello?"

"Figured you'd be questioning him. Listen, I have one of my best guys on stand-by. So if you meet any trouble... just call me. You don't need to say anything, just a call and I'll send him over."

"Best guy?" I leaned against my car as I watched the gentles waves on the harbor. "Why?"

"Because Arkham is damn dangerous. I wanna find out why he did it as much as you did."

"This is... out of characteristic of you, Commissioner." I saw a boat approach, the one that would take me to the island of hell.

"I just want answers, Cunnings. Get them." He hung up abruptly, making me look at my phone all but bewildered.

Alright. Game on. I can do this.

With a hobble and half a skip, I boarded the little ferry and got comfortable on one of the benches. A few people, most looked to be doctors, disembarked and boarded. A few gave me a strange and worried look, one man sat next to me and asked a nervous,

"No one has escaped, have they?"

"Not that I know of. And if they had, I wouldn't be heading your direction." I said dryly as I motioned to the cane. He nodded slowly, clearly not content with my answer.

The ferry ride was restless. A few were reading that same news paper (then again, everyone read Gotham Times, didn't they?) and a few actually had the gal to ask me if I knew who it was that was in cohorts with The Riddler. I just laughed and said whoever it was, they were a moron to want to be around such an egotistical idiot. It made some of the doctors, clearly the ones who were familiar with Mr. Nygma, smile and nod in agreement.

Finally, we made it to the island, and the first doctor pointed me in the direction of the front office. I strolled the best I could, fronting a strong face the best I could with my cane, until I reached the front doors. Above them, I could see the remnants of what seemed to be a clown face. I couldn't help but grimace at the site... It was... Eerie.

Inside I was asked for identification, asked for my weapons, and placed in a visitors room complete with booths that had bullet-proof Plexiglas and phones between them for safe communication. I actually knew the guard on duty, he being an old cop from the GCPD, and we maintained some idle chit chat while Arkham staff seemed to retrieve my inmate.

Finally, donning a white straight jacket and no hint of green on him, the Riddler sat before me on the other side of the glass. If he looked haggard before, he looked near death now. His skin looked grayer in sickness and his hair was standing on all ends, a few knots clearly forming. He was oily and sweaty, his glasses dipped on the edge of his nose, one lens was cracked.

I watched him for a few moments as he silently stared back at me. There was no content grin, no cocky personality. There was a shell. A broken, little shell.

Finally, I pressed the hands free button and asked for privacy from my guard. He nodded, and helped himself to the other side of the door, peering in through the glass just in case.

With another long inhale of breath, I looked back at the disaster before me.

"How'd you do it?"

My voice seemed to wake something in him. Suddenly his eyes seemed to realize I was there, and he bore into me like a lion watches it prey. A lopsided grin formed on his thin lips, and his body relaxed.

"Ahh... Kat."

"That's Officer Cunnings." I corrected. "You didn't answer my question."

"Hmm? What's that? I didn't hear... Let's see... What has four legs, three legs, then finally two legs?" He was babbling lazily, enjoying the sound of his voice. "because it looks like you're on three." His eyes glanced from my cane to me, making me scowl all the more.

"Stop it, Nashton. Tell me how you did it... and -why-... and I'll be out of your hair."

"Mmm? I'm afraid I'm still not following." He mocked at me, cocking his head to one side. "Did you just miss me, is that it? Next time you'll have to bring me some of your home-cooked meals."

"Where was the camera and who is your informant?" I snapped at him while leaning forward. The Riddler just laughed... deep and low.. Straight from the belly.

It made my own belly do flip flops.

"Oh come on now. You must not have read the article if you can't tell why I did it." He said jovially. "Maybe if you read it... THEN you'd know. Instead of jumping to all sorts of conclusions and raising more suspicion on everyone here. You -are- a female GCPD officer you know."

I opened my mouth to speak, but snapped it shut. I tried to think of a response, but all that came out was-

"You're an asshole."

"Ahhh insults. The exact thing shaved monkeys resort to when they've been beaten."

"Beaten my ass. From the looks of it, -you- are the one being beaten. What, Bat getting under the skin?"

I struck a nerve.

Good.

His eyes immediately widened, and he launched his body forward almost in an assault. Good thing there was glass between us, but his forehead still came in contact with it. Looked like a nice goose egg would be forming.

"You act so damn smug with the protection of the Batman looming over your head, aren't ya?" That voice. It was the same as the time he lost it in Bullock's office. The true voice of the Riddler. I simply leaned back and folded my arms. Despite the extreme fear my mind was going through, I had to keep my cool.

"And if I am?"

"Find my riddle, little Kat. Or your sad little three legs are going to become one." He hissed, but already his side of guards had been informed of his head butt to the glass. Two strong looking men were grabbing each side of him and tugging him back, away into the depths of the asylum.

I just sat, jaw tight, knees shaking.

He'd just threatened me.

For real this time.