A/N: So sorry for the lack of updating. I've been working on this though, I promise. Thanks to ZabuzasGirl and shalmarrose for your lovely and encouraging reviews. And thanks to those who alerted, favorited, and are following. I love hearing what you guys think of this story. Enjoy!

Chapter 12

The Riddler watched from a platform above as his goons were quickly incapacitated one by one by Batman. This was all part of the plan. He smiled smugly when he heard a gravelly voice behind him.

"Riddler," it said. The only man who he had failed to stump.

"Oh, hello Batman," he greeted, "I knew you would come."

He looked haughty with his cane in hand and his bowler hat worn like a crown with his question mark insignia decorating the front. To anyone looking in, they would think nothing special about him. No one would begin to contemplate what was happening inside of him. That there was a clock inside; ticking away the few precious months he had of life left. Not even the great Detective standing before him. Appearances could be very deceiving.

"I'm taking you to Arkham, Riddler," Batman said across the room.

A sly, conceited smile crept onto the Riddler's face; a very joyful smile indeed. He had something up his sleeve.

"Sure you can go ahead and do that, I'll come quietly," said Riddler calmly putting his hands up in surrender.

Batman stepped forward to grab him but Riddler held up a finger.

"But first," he started, "what do you think will happen when everyone finds out who is the man behind the mask, Mr. Bruce Wayne."

Batman froze as the weight of the Riddler's words sunk in.

"Believe me, it wasn't hard to figure out," he said smugly. "It was obvious whoever was posing as the Batman was of great wealth or at least had a benefactor," he revealed condescendingly.

Bruce just remained still and silent, listening.

"So I went to the top dog in Gotham; Wayne Enterprises. It wasn't difficult to infiltrate your place. All I had to do was walk in looking official and they left me alone to roam free."

Riddler pulled out a stack of papers from a folder lying in front of the computers and proceeded to wave them around tauntingly until finally throwing them down at Batman's feet.

"Go ahead take a look I have plenty of copies," he emphasized his point by sweeping up another folder and two discs. "You should really be careful with what you keep lying around."

Bruce quietly shuffled through the papers finding schematics from the Batpod and different receipts of orders made by the 'liquidated' RND department.

"Don't think that I didn't piece those ordered parts together," Riddler snapped not liking Batman's lack of response. "Some of those parts assembled together make that nifty grapple gun and…and…"

Riddler broke off falling back and leaning heavily against the desk behind him his right hand coming up to clutch his head. The thin man groaned in pain.

"Though desert men once called me God,/ Today man call me mad,/ For I wag my tail when I am angry,/ and growl when I am glad," he moaned brokenly.

"Edward," Bruce attempted but Riddler growled stopping his words.

"I know who you are! I know the answer to the biggest riddle of them all: Who is Batman?" Riddler shouted bringing the point of his cane down with a resounding clap.

Silence reigned between the two as they measured up one another; the Riddler with a pained smile and Batman with his ever expressionless face.

"You would tell everyone that answer, Edward," Batman asked, "After all they are inferior, so why give them the satisfaction of knowing who I am?"

The gleeful smile that was on Edward Nygma's face quickly vanished as his left eye twitched. There was silence for a moment longer as Edward thought it over.

"You're right," he breathed sounding exhausted and his shoulders slumping. "Why should I tell them?"

Edward collapsed into his seat looking ill. Inside Bruce knew that Edward Nygma would realize his identity. But then again, Bruce also knew how smug it made the Riddler to know that he had an answer that everyone wanted to know but were too blind to figure out.

"A cat," Batman voiced.

The man dressed in green eyed him carefully before chuckling shortly but gave no words of praise for his correct answer to the riddle he groaned through his pain.

"What can touch someone once and last them a lifetime?" Edward questioned looking at him eagerly yet the spark in his eye was not quite there.

The answer to the riddle was what kept him silent for just a moment. He observed Edward who sat pathetically with sweat now sparkling across his face. The man must be in agony but from what? Bruce couldn't tell.

"I know you know the answer," Riddler croaked, "and I know you know who I'm referring to."

Love, was the answer to the riddle and without a doubt he was speaking of Sylvia.

"Keep her close," Edward advised, "You think the explosive being absent from the car was an accident? Bombs are Joker's specialty. That car would have gone up in flames if he wanted it to but obviously he didn't. Joker's obsession with her is odd even for him."

His words echoed in Bruce's head as he escorted Riddler out to the police outside. The prisoner was taken out of his hands and into a police cruiser. Bruce could only hope that the Riddler wouldn't tell others of his identity. The satisfaction of being the only one to know will hopefully be enough for him for a long time. As he looked at Edward's form in the car, Bruce had a feeling it would be.

Batman stood in the back alley behind the building he and the Riddler had previously been in. Once Gordon got a chance he joined him.

"He'll be taken to Arkham," Jim told Batman who nodded.

"He knows who I am," Bruce revealed to the good Commissioner.

Jim looked panic stricken.

"We can get him a separate room in a different-" Jim said quickly trying to think of ways to keep the Riddler from having contact with too many people.

"It won't be necessary," he said shaking his head. "I convinced him that if the world deserved to know, they will figure it out for themselves."

Jim quietly chuckled. Batman was using the Riddler's own tactics against him.

"There's something else, Jim," voiced Batman from the dark. "He's in pain from something. I couldn't tell but it looked like the ache was coming from his head."

"I'll have him checked out, see what the doctors at Arkham can find," Jim promised.

"Make sure you take a look at the computer in there as well," Bruce recommended, "our answer may be in there."

There was a pause as he contemplated Riddler's advice before he asked, "Have you spoken to Sylvia?"

"I did," Gordon nodded. "I knew I couldn't stay mad at her especially after the nightmare today. Dave was taking her home."

Jim sighed looking up at the cloudy sky.

"It was nice seeing her out on the field again at first," he thought out loud remembering the month after their argument, "It almost felt like time had gone backwards to a better time, before the Riddler…before the Joker…"

"I think it felt the same for her," Bruce said referring to Marcus.

Gordon nodded in agreement and after another pause he began again, "You going to go see her?"

He turned to Batman but saw nothing but darkness. Looking around at the empty alley, he began to walk back to the other officers.

"One of these days I'm going to find out how he does that," he grumbled to himself as he exited the mouth of the alley.

Little did Gordon know that even with years of future acquaintance with the Batman that he will have, there will still be things that he will never know and Batman's disappearing act was one of them.

Sylvia entered her apartment letting out a relieved sigh. Her peace was short lived when Dave came in close behind.

"Are you sure you're not hungry?" Dave asked.

He had repeatedly asked her that same question ever since he had forced fed her three hospital meals before they left.

"Yes, Dave, I'm sure. I'm not hungry," she answered with force patience but she knew he was just trying to help.

"You have food for breakfast right," he asked putting her purse down on the sofa and turning to her.

"Dave, if it would put you at ease, you can go check my refrigerator yourself," she said indicating the kitchen with her hand.

"Thank you, it would," he said leaving the room for the kitchen.

Sylvia let herself fall onto her couch with a small oomph. She sighed cuddling up with the soft pillows enjoying the feel of being back in her apartment.

"You have a nice refrigerator," Dave yelled from the kitchen making Sylvia laugh from her place at the couch.

Dave came back to the living room coming to stand next to the couch as he looked down at her.

"Yeah, I have a lot of nice stuff in here, some new additions too," she said sitting up from the couch.

"So the place was rebuilt?" Dave asked hesitantly.

Sylvia knew he was referring to the explosion from the Joker.

"Yeah it was. And that is where the new additions came in," she said amused.

"Like?" Dave asked.

"Bomb detectors," she said with a wide smile.

"What?" he asked surprised. When Sylvia nodded Dave continued, "You're kidding."

"Nope, the whole building got some," she said shaking her head. "And it's all because of me," she continued as Dave laughed, "I felt pretty special about it, ya know?"

"Oh, Syl," Dave laughed as he walked to her bedroom, "Alright enough talk," he said turning on the light, "it's time for bed - You have a canopy bed?"

Sylvia let out a laugh at Dave's reaction to her luxurious bed. His face was contorted in disbelief with his arms outstretched in front of him to the bed.

"Wow, kids sure put a damper on things don't they," Dave said looking around her bedroom.

"Dave," Sylvia scolded lightly rising from the couch.

"I'm serious," Dave said, "I remember when I had my bachelor pad."

Sylvia stood in front of him at the doorway to her room, staring at him seriously.

"You and I both know that you wouldn't trade them for the world," she said ending with a smile.

Dave agreed completely with her. His family meant everything to him.

"Hope you don't mind me asking but…" Dave paused thinking whether he should continue with his question, "these past few months, how did you pay for this," he finished quietly.

"I didn't," Sylvia answered honestly. "Mayor Garcia got a pretty good deal for me. He gave me a few months free of the place to help me get back on my feet."

"How long do you have left," he asked figuring that deadline was rapidly coming to a close.

"About a month to get up enough money to pay for another month of this place…" she told him before continuing a bit more quietly as the truth began to settle itself in her mind, "I just don't think it's going to be possible. I have to pay for food, gas, car insurance…it's just not going to be enough especially since I pretty much de-promoted myself at work which meant a major decrease in my salary."

There was a pause between them as Dave thought of a way to help her out.

"I can give you the same salary again for a couple of weeks-" Dave put in but Sylvia was hearing none of it.

"No," she said forcefully, "I can't ask that of you-"

"But Syl-"

"-Dave I don't need any of this," she continued gesturing to her apartment, "So what if I have a robot for a refrigerator. So what if my coffee maker is a robot. That thing can tell me the time, have an alarm, tell me the date, heat up my water at a specific temperature but you know what it can't do?"

Dave shook his head having no idea where his friend was getting at.

"Make me a good cup of coffee," she groaned agonizingly making Dave chuckle, "Poor Marcus had to make me one every morning. I went to his apartment and saw his coffee maker and you know what? It was just a coffee maker nothing special. It didn't do anything else. Its sole purpose was to make you a good cup of coffee."

Sylvia sighed as she looked into her bedroom and said, "Who needs a canopy bed? Or a walk in closet? Or jets in the bath tub?"

"You have jets in your tub?" Dave asked making to go to the bathroom but Sylvia stopped him.

"Dave, focus," she told him.

"Sorry," he said making Sylvia smile at his silliness.

"My point is I don't need this stuff. I'll be fine in a small studio apartment," she said reassuringly.

Dave looked unsure but slowly nodded. Dave left a few minutes after that since Sylvia had assured him several more times that she would be fine. After he left, she took a warm shower.

A/N: So what did you think? Hate it? Love it? Let me know what you think in a review!