Calloused hands ran up and down Elizabeth's sides sending shivers across her entire body.
"You're blushing," a familiar voice whispered in her ear. She tried to turn around and face him but he wrapped his arms around her waist to prevent her from moving.
"Let go," she said though she made no attempt to free herself.
"Not until I've solved you." He ran one hand down to the hemline of her secretary skirt and slowly began pulling it up. "Not until I've unraveled all your secrets." As his fingers played across her skin Elizabeth could feel herself unraveling. Feelings she hadn't felt before were boiling at the surface of her consciousness. Her complex thoughts were harder form and something animalistic was rising through the muck of emotions.
"No," Elizabeth said trying to break free of the arms entrapping her but it was too late. She felt herself transform into something inhuman, all her control vanished and all she could see was red. In the distance she could hear screaming but she couldn't do anything to stop her actions. Her hands felt hot and liquid was filling her mouth. She couldn't stop herself she had to have more. Her frenzy continued until she was covered in the glorious sticky liquid only then did her thoughts begin to return.
There was a groan at her feet and she looked down Dr. Jyuugatsu was lying there his eyes vacant and his guts trailing around her feet. She backed away but his intestines caught her feet and she fell onto another body. It was Dr. Dysart blood bubbled around her mouth as she tried to breathe. She looked at Elizabeth with hate filled eyes before they went empty as well. Elizabeth looked around in horror, she was surrounded by bodies. The guys from the office, the old woman from next door, the gay couple across the hall, her friends from college, and… Elizabeth eyes filled with tears.
"Mom, Dad, Victoria…" Elizabeth tried to run to her fallen family but they were getting farther and farther away. She collapsed in a sea of blood and starred at her reflection. She looked like herself again brown hair and brown-green eyes but her faced was streaked with blood, she looked like an animal. Her reflection wavered and her hair change to steely gray, her eyes became a fiery gold. Then it smiled at her a wide toothy and bloody grin.
"Hello," it said its wolfish eyes piercing right through her soul.
"Who are you," Elizabeth asked as her reflection rose from the blood.
"I'm you of course, the new you, the real you."
"No!"
"Join with me; I can get you your revenge."
"I can't you killed them."
"Yes but me and you can become I." The wolf extended her hand.
"Never!" Elizabeth batted the hand away.
"We'll see…"
Elizabeth woke with a start and wiped cold sweat from her forehead. She laughed softly as she looked around the dark cell. It was just a dream.
"Are you okay," Edward asked sleepily through darkness, "you were moaning and kicking in your sleep."
"Yeah I'm fine, just a bad dream."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Edward sat up in his bed, hoping to pry some from her information to solve her with.
"No, no, go back to bed I'm fine." Elizabeth flipped her pillow to the cool side and laid back down facing away from Edward.
"I know you've been through a lot and you've been very brave about it," Edward in as kind of voice as he could manage, "but it's not always good to keep those types of emotions bottled up." Elizabeth tried to ignore him but she could feel his gaze against her back even though she knew he couldn't see her. She sighed and sat back up.
"I try and never show weakness Edward, that's something you should understand. Crying and comfort is best left to when I'm alone with vanilla frosting and a marathon of horror movies to make me feel better."
"So you're a comfort eater. Maybe you're right and you wouldn't look good in a skin tight suit."
Elizabeth chuckled, "Well I can see you and with your jumpsuit open like that and I have to say it's a good thing that you aren't wearing your green leotard any more with that pudge you got going around the stomach."
"It wasn't a leotard," Edward said his face going red.
"And now you're blushing."
"Well let's see how you look after six months in Arkham with little to no exercise." Elizabeth's face fell and Edward could sense the change in her. "Though I'm sure that won't happen…you met your lawyer yesterday right?"
"Yeah, Jacob Lesh and his intern Wallace."
"Lesh is a good attorney; he'll make sure you get treated fairly. And don't worry I know the Gotham justice system well enough that I'm sure you'll get off."
"Thanks, Edward."
"You don't need to thank me if it's true."
"No, I mean thank you for cheering me up, believe it or not you're the closest thing to a friend I've made in a while."
"W-what?" Edward said his face in complete shock.
Elizabeth blushed; she hadn't meant to say that, "nothing! Good Night!" She laid down quickly and pulled the covers over her head.
Edward could barely see the outline of Elizabeth as she laid back down, he wanted to talk to her some more. He knew the more they talked the closer he was to solving her but right now he was thoroughly confused by her. She thought of him like a friend. It didn't make sense. Nothing about her did. Tomorrow he would find out more though, he'd have a chance to talk to her without glass walls between them. Thank logic for the Rogue's recreation day, no doctors, no walls and all the time he would need to observe her. He liked watching her.
"Fuck," he said under his breath. It was probably the drugs; they were impairing his thinking, making him think things he didn't mean. Yes, that's it. Tomorrow he wouldn't eat the drugged eggs and he'd be able to look at her with a clear head.
Elizabeth rubbed the inside of her arm nervously and winced slightly when she aggravated the bruises. She was inside the recreation room with the Rogues, unshackled, with only three guards, and she had to spend the whole day like this. Fuck. Talking with them through the glass or under the eye of a psychiatrist was one thing sure but having to spend a whole day with them? She was so screwed.
Cautiously she sat down in a worn arm chair in the corner. She could see everyone from here and there was a pile of books next to her. Jervis and Jonathan were reading, Two-Face and Penguin were watching some soaps, but Edward was sitting in the chair across the room staring at her. She flushed slightly under his piercing and calculating gaze but she turned her head and picked up a book. The Kingdom by Nick Sanders. 'Hmm…never heard of this one before, it looks well-worn must be pretty good.' The description from the back was missing so she'd have to read it to find out what is was about. Well it wasn't like she didn't have the time. She opened to the first page and read.
Edward gazed across the room at Elizabeth reading. It was an interesting sight in itself, her expression changed with every page, a rollercoaster of emotions. He had read the book many times before, so he knew the book well enough that he could read it along with her and it was a different than one might expect and if it could entertain the Riddler it was a good book. The second book had come out a few months ago while he was in Arkham, so he hadn't read it yet but he was going to as soon as he got out. He was glad that it did come out, he had read that so many groups of angry parents and "concerned citizens" had fought against the first that, it was iffy that it would. 'They would stop the work of a great author just because his view on theology. If they'd put their energies into something better the world might not be a complete mess.'
Elizabeth laughed aloud. It was a very nice laugh, soft warm and round. She had so many different laughs and so many different emotions. Elizabeth was so much more...different than the people he was used to dealing with. Maybe that called for a different approach. Yes that was it. He would have to try something he had never done before: being nice.
After two hours or so of watching her read Edward allowed his thoughts to wander back to the night before. Elizabeth and him completed the crossword puzzle from her newspaper and she had read from it for them. Luckily for her the paper had focused on the victims and not her. He knew that would change though; there was nothing that Gotham loved more than a murderer, specially a serial murderer. Edward's ears picked up the news in the background he glanced towards Elizabeth. If he could hear she could to. He watched her ears prick up and her eyes stop moving.
"Two days ago four people were slaughtered at Wayne Industries by a lone woman. At that time we did not know who she was or her reasoning behind the attack but our investigative reporters have uncovered more…" The newscaster trailed off as the image changed to outside an apartment building with a field reporter standing out front.
"Yesterday this quiet apartment building received quite the surprise when the tenants learned that one of their own was responsible for the slaughter at Wayne Industries. Elizabeth Howard has lived here for six years but now she has found a new home at Arkham." Elizabeth's fingers clenched and her mouth hardened.
"I never thought she would do something like this," Mrs. Flannery, the old women from next door, said, "sure she was a little strange but all youngsters are. I used to make cookies for her in payment for watching my dogs when I was out of town."
"I can't believe I let her babysit my kids," it was the young mother from down the hall, "what if she had lost it while with them?" She started to cry and her husband hugged her.
"Don't worry sweetheart, if she ever comes back she's never going to get close to them again."
"I don't want a murderer living here," her landlord said, "now she's paid through the next two months but after that I'm putting her stuff in storage and she is out of here."
"So you think she'll be sentenced for more than two months?"
"Of course, she should be locked up for life but I know that won't happen."
"We've lived across the hall from her forever, she used to come over for coffee and we'd go out sometimes for drinks," Carlos said his voice shaking.
Evan, Carlos' shy partner, spoke up, "She was always so nice and quirky, only thing really strange about her is that she never had anyone in her apartment for long."
"What will you do if she returns?"
The couple looked at each other, "We don't know…"
The camera switched back to the reporter outside the building, "There you have it, the people are shocked to learn the dark secret of a neighbor they'd thought a friend."
The feed went back to the studio, "Coming up next is the weather but join us every day for updates on Gotham's newest Rogue." Elizabeth's nails were piercing the hardcover book and her upper lip was curled in a silent snarl. It was time. Edward approached Elizabeth determinedly yet still a little bit cautious he didn't want to startle her and have her clam up.
"Elizabeth?" He said softly sitting in the chair kitty-corner to her.
"Yes," she bit back, glaring at him.
"Would you like to talk?" The snarl fell off her face and tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. She looked completely lost and helpless. Edward felt his heart clench slightly, he didn't want her to look so sad, her wanted to comfort her and see her smiling again. He slapped himself mentally, he was here to solve her not coddle her.
A single tear slipped down her cheek and she turned away sharply. Her breathing increased as she tried to control the tears that were falling one after another. She was wiping them away as fast as she could but she was fighting a losing battle. Edward touched her on the shoulder and she lost.
Edward fell back in the chair his arms spread in surprise as Elizabeth cried into his chest her arms enclosed tight around him. There was a stifled chuckle in the corner and Edward shot daggers at Jervis and Jonathan who were laughing into their hands. Elizabeth gave a squeeze and Edward grimaced in pain. "Hug her," Jonathan mouthed motioning with his arms as if Edward didn't know what a hug was. Awkwardly Edward put his arms around Elizabeth and held her.
At the touch Elizabeth pressed her face against his jumpsuit. Edward felt a little twinge of his heart and a burst of gooey warmth. He was now giving Elizabeth a proper hug but he wasn't sure what else to do. She wasn't sobbing, just crying and Edward felt a little useless just holding her like that; but it seemed to be working her tears were slowing. With a great sniff Elizabeth pulled away her eyes red and puffy. She wiped her eyes and looked around. Jonathan and Jervis had, had enough sense to turn back to the chess game they had started and Penguin and Two-Face had never noticed in the first place. Edward was looking at her, uncomfortable about what just happened.
"I just cried into your chest didn't I?"
"Yeah…" They looked at each other awkwardly. "It's okay though, I didn't mind."
"Thanks."
"Actually that was the first time anyone has done that…it was…nice."
"Good, I'm glad I could be your first then." They both chuckled. It was actually three firsts for Edward. The first time he'd held a crying woman, the first time somebody hugged him in a non-causal way, and the first time he'd felt this confused over a person. He looked at Elizabeth her face was red from the crying and her eyes were sparkling. There was another twist of his gut; he must have had something bad to eat. She smiled at him softly and there was yet another sharper twist. Damn.
