A/N: Heh, I'm not dead!
Seriously, where did the time go? Once again, I apologize for being so late...
Thanks for the reviews! I'm thinking about rewriting this once I finish it, to tweak things and genuinely try to make it better. It'll take some time, but we'll get there!
Anyway, a bit of a crossover in this one, and I hope you enjoy!
"Kryptonite," Eve murmured under her breath, her gloved hand skimming over the science magazine article.
"Krypto-what?" Edward asked while glancing up from his crossword puzzle. They were lounging in her office, the room being one of the warmest in her warehouse. A blizzard was raging outside, bathing everything in white and rendering the windows useless to look out of.
Eve straightened herself from her slouched position on her couch, leaning to the right so he could see the article with her. "Kryptonite. It's a type of rock from space. It says that it has weird effects on people."
"Magic space rocks? I doubt it."
She shook her head. "Even if they aren't, it's apparently rare and valued enough to be on display at Gotham Museum, courtesy of LexCorp… huh." Her eyes lit up and she glanced at him. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Eve, you had me at 'valued'."
She had volunteered to be the feet of the operations and Edward was her eyes, staying at her base and keeping surveillance. A day had passed since they devised their plan, and the storm has lost its intensity, but some snow still trickled from the sky.
Eve snuck around the back of the museum, darkness covering her movements. It was far after hours and no one ever guarded the back door. Picking the lock proved difficult, as she wasn't the most talented in that skill, but she managed. The door squeaked horribly as she crept in, alone, but no one seemed to notice. In fact, she was quite positive no one was around, a fact that struck her as odd. There was an abnormal chill in the air and was only being a few degrees warmer than the outside. Museums were kept cool to preserve relative humidity, but when was cool... too cool?
She shook off the thought and crept around to the main exhibit hall, still surprised to see no guards. Despite the lights being off, a green glow emanated from the room. Upon moving closer, she realized it was her objective, the Kryptonite, giving off the ethereal light.
Its glass case was easily dismantled and she stared at it with awe. The rock was one of the most unique, most brightest shade of green she had ever seen. Looking at it, she believed that it couldn't have come from Earth; no, this form of beauty could only come from somewhere in space.
Eve had just grabbed the hand-sized rock from the case, examining it, when clunky footsteps thudded behind her. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. She turned on her heel, readying herself for who was there, when she came within a few feet of a blue figure.
Her eyes widened once they landed on the cryogenic gun that rested in his hands, and she took a step back. "Freeze," she said, not unkindly.
"And you are the Painter, I presume?" His voice was robotic, monotonous, without emotion… cold. Then again, perhaps not completely; there seemed to be an underlying tone of urgency, or impatience, that made her curious.
"That I am. What are you doing here?" Eve saw his attention avert to the glowing green shard in her hand, his red-covered eyes intense.
"Studies have shown that Kryptonite can cause mutations of strength and regeneration within humans," he answered.
One of her eyebrows arched. "And…?"
"It is one of my hypotheses that Kryptonite could accelerate the regeneration of healthy blood cells in Nora, and destroy the sick cells," he continued, his face losing some of its hardness as he spoke of his wife.
His wife, of course. Eve mentally berated herself for not realizing it sooner. Victor Fries was arguably the most sympathetic of the Gotham Rogues, according to both Edward and some testimonials from her thugs. The majority - if not all - of his crimes were executed in order to help restore funds to cure his wife. His dedication to Nora was quite astounding, she believed.
Eve wasn't quite sure how to respond, as she now felt a pang of guilt and selfishness run through her. Here she was, wanting the Kryptonite for her own monetary gains, and there he was, needing the rock to test and see if it would help his sick, dying wife. It conflicted her to no end, and she panicked, her gaze flicking from Freeze to the Kryptonite, then back to Freeze again.
Freeze didn't look happy to see she was in his way. "I request you hand over the Kryptonite now, or I will forcibly take it from you." He held up his gun, the mechanics in it beginning to glow a bright blue as it charged.
She winced, not liking the situation at all. She was another Rogue, for god's sake; giving a valuable object over to another person just wasn't something a Rogue did, dying spouses aside. A thought raced through her, wondering what Edward would do in this situation, or if he was watching her conflicted self with disdain; why didn't she just run?
But oh, sympathetic she was. Throwing his cold demeanor and dangerous weapons to the side, Freeze was a lot like a kicked puppy, trying so hard to help the one thing in his life that made him happy, but nothing working. The Kryptonite, however, that was new, something that had never been in Gotham before; at least, not to her knowledge. It was from space too, which means there was no way Freeze could've tested it before. This could be a breakthrough in restoring Nora, and here she was, debating running away with it to sell it. Rogue status be damned, how cruel was that?
With a sigh, Eve made her decision, and lifted the hand that held the Kryptonite out in front of her. Freeze's gun was lowered to his side as he approached, taking the rock from her and analyzing it shortly. More harshness in his face left him as he glanced back up at her. "Thank you for this, Painter. I am glad to see we could come to a peaceful agreement."
She nodded, a sincere grin spreading onto her lips before she could stop it. "I hope it helps with Nora, Freeze. I really do. Good luck." With a final nod, he turned and began to make his way out of the museum.
Eve watched him go for a small time, until her earpiece blared and she quickly answered it. She could barely get out a greeting when Edward's voice cut in sharply, "What was that?"
"What was what?"
"You just… gave Freeze the Kryptonite! How stupid are you?"
She sighed, her feet beginning to move on their own accord out of the museum from the same way she had come. "It's not called being stupid, Edward, it's called 'doing the right thing'."
"And the 'right thing' includes allowing an obsessed ice cube to take a priceless rock from space?"
Her left eye began to twitch, a sign of her becoming quickly annoyed. Freeze wasn't an 'obsessed ice cube' to her. She certainly didn't appreciate Edward's jab at a Rogue that she found herself not disliking. "Yes, it does, especially when it involves a dying wife that he would do anything for. Do you know how much dedication that takes? More dedication that the either of us, maybe anybody, has given something before."
His end of the line was quiet for around a minute or so, enough for her the leave the museum in silence. "You're a very kind person, you know that?"
A scoff bubbled from her lips before she could stop it. Her, Eve Thaler, creator of acidic paint, murderer; kind? The thought in itself was ridiculous. She detested the majority of people, she killed without a second thought, her moral code was completely messed up…!
"Yeah, right. A nice thought. I appreciate the sentiment."
He answered quickly, "Think about it. You give your thugs shelter, you helped Two-Face when you could've just ran, and now look at you, handing over Kryptonite to Freeze."
She opened the door to her van with more force than necessary, annoyed with the conversation. "That doesn't mean anything. I've killed people."
"Well, I'm not saying you're perfect, but you handled that situation in far nicer way than I would have," Edward replied, seemingly unperturbed by her frustration.
She had just placed the key into the ignition when she stopped momentarily. "I think you would've given him it, too."
Eve could almost envision his raised brow. "Oh? And what makes you think that?"
"You may be sociopathic, but I think you would've realized that giving the Kryptonite to Freeze was a good idea."
"I think the fact that I cannot fathom why you did it in the first place disproves your theory," Edward retorted.
"Well, then maybe it would've been the huge gun in his hand that would make you pass it over... Anyway, I'll be back in a few minutes."
She thought he would hang up, and judging by his silence, she thought he did. So, when his voice piped up halfway through her drive, she jumped. "You're really not bad, Eve. A few crimes does not relinquish your kindness."
Her brow furrowed on its own accord. Suddenly, she was very glad he couldn't see her, or he would've seen the noticeable blush that spread across her cheeks. "...Thanks, Edward."
