It's a never ending game.
The rec-room was surprisingly full of inmates, all of which were doing different things. Some were chatting about past capers, others were watching the news and frowning at the fact that non of the crimes had any taste to them. Harley was sat crosslegged on the floor knitting of all things, it looked like she was knitting a purple hat. Ivy was naturally taking care of one of her potted plants, gently stroking it's leaves while Jervis sat next to Harley examining the knit work she was performing.
Drury was in the room with Garfield as per usual, with Drury reading a magazine and Garfield watching the television with a bored look to his scarred face.
Heck even Croc was in the room, his looming form sitting on the floor watching the tv, picking at something in his teeth and quite frankly non of the other inmates wanted to know what it was.
Angstrom was sitting next to Edward on the sofa, legs pulled up to his chest as he rested his head on his knees and next to Edward, who was meditating, was Jonathan, reading as per usual.
The room was actually quiet save for the occasional chatter between Otis and Drury as Otis fed his rats.
Everyone looked up as Shark entered the room, before he quietly took a seat next to Croc except he sat on an actual chair.
It seemed non of the inmates were interested in talking or causing a ruckus, they were quite happy to sit and do their own thing.
"Say, Drury, what other colour ya want on ya hat?" asked Harley as she held up her work so far towards Drury.
"Green please, Harley," Drury smiled at the hat. "It looks awesome!"
"Yeah it does don't it!"
"Why the sudden interest in knitting child?" Jonathan questioned with slight tilt of his head.
"Huh?" Harley frowned before she laughed and waved him off. "Just the docs! They think it'll help my reabillitaion, creating something instead of destroying it, ya know?"
"Ah, I see," Jonathan nodded before he went back to reading and harley went back to knitting.
All was quiet and then it was in up roar.
"Croc, turn that up a minute would ya?!" Garfield yelled across the room to the huge reptile man, who obligingly grabbed the remote and proceeded to turn the volume up on the tv.
Edward had so far been listening but not concentrating as he sat meditating on the sofa, but it seemed something on the tv had caught his attention.
He slowly opened one eye and looked at the television, which it appeared everyone else was gawking at in shock and confusion, even anger for some of them. Heck some even looked scared.
He studied the tv and after a while he opened both eyes and stared in shock and wonder.
Sure enough, the reporter was talking about a new Batman having been spotted and there was video evidence of it too. This was played on the tv of this new Batman beating up a couple of Two Face's thugs, before taking out Two Face himself. Poor Harv' always trying so hard but never succeeding.
Everyone was silent as they watched the footage with looks of shock, horror, confusion, fear and anger on their faces… all except one.
Edward was smiling, soon that smile turned into a grin and then he was chuckling quietly to himself before he couldn't contain himself any longer.
He leapt into the air cheering. "Yes, Yes! He's back, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!"
He finally stopped but he was still laughing as he opened his eyes, before he fell silent at the glares and dead beat looks everyone was giving him.
He gulped slightly before rubbing the back of his neck out of nerves. "I mean… oh dear."
They all rolled their eyes before turning away from him and watching the tv once more, Edward sat down on the sofa again, looking extremely happy to say his arch rival was back.
Jonathan was giving him a critical stare. "You sound more like a fanboy then Batman's arch nemesis."
"Well aren't you happy he's back?" Edward cried with a smile to a frowning Jonathan.
The ex-psychologist pointed a finger to his own face and raised an eyebrow at Edward. "Does this face look like I'm happy?"
"It's hard to tell…" Edward trailed off and waved his hands around slightly. "You haven't got much of a face left… that's all…"
Jonathan huffed before he turned and gave a sideways glare at Croc, muttering under his breath. "Yeah, ya'll can blame that he'ah lizard brain fur that."
Edward laughed slightly. "Your accent…"
"Yes I know, now can you see why I try to cover it up!" Jonathan growled, but he wasn't that angry… if he was his accent would of slipped up again. "What I do not understand is why you are so happy Batman is back."
"Don't you see?"
"Clearly I don't."
"With Batman back my game can continue, I can finally prove to the world and to Gotham who is the better, who is the smartest."
"Edward you do realise that this is not our Batman?" Jonathan questioned. "Bruce Wayne is dead."
"Bruce Wayne, maybe… but Batman is alive," Edward pointed at the screen. "And I test Batman… not playboy billionaires!"
"Well.. in any case, what is the point? I thought you were thinking of retiring anyway?"
"That was before he came back!"
"Edward-."
"I know what you're going to say and I don't care," Edward growled. "Batman was my enemy, did you ever stop and think to consider that maybe I didn't care about who he was underneath the mask?"
"Your one goal in life was to figure out who he was," Jonathan pointed out before he smirked. "Something I beat you to, it seems."
"You cheated, Jonathan," Edward huffed and folded his arms across his chest. "You placed him in a situation where he couldn't win, he had no chance and he beat you still… oh ho… that has to sting."
The Scarecrow glared at before he snapped his book open and began to read it again, not giving the riddle lover the satisfaction of hearing his southern drawl sneak in as his anger rose to boiling point.
"Oh come on spooky, lighten up."
"If you call me that one more time I will personally break your mind."
Edward huffed and folded his arms. "Ugh, fine. Still… Batman is back."
"If you are so pleased about this situation then why don't you break out?"
"Situation?" Edward stared at him flabbergasted before he shook his head. "I think you mean blessing and yes.. I am going to break out tonight."
With that said, the Riddler got to his feet and walked out of the rec-room with Jonathan staring after him shaking his head.
"Idiot," he muttered as he flipped another page in his book.
"He's not really going to go up against this new Batman is he?" Kirk asked with slight concern. He liked Edward. True the man could be a pompous know it all, but he was smart and he was generally a nice person if you didn't show your self to be ignorant. Thankfully Kirk's study in genetics and gene splicing had earned him a place on Edward's very small list of non stupid people as it was named.
Jonathan sighed and closed his book briefly, before he took his glasses off and rubbed his tired eyes. "You will learn something about Edward once you've been with him long enough. Beneath that ego and know it all exterior is a very timid and scared little boy who is desperately crying out for love and attention. Especially attention. He does not know any other way to get his attention other then doing this and going up against Batman, but he knows he has to put other people in danger to do it," Jonathan paused slightly and put his glasses back on before he opened his book once more. "Somewhere… beneath the madness and the obsession is a deep seated need to be punished. Why else would he need the clues?"
"I thought he used those to challenge the police?"
Jonathan shook his head. "That is his excuse. There is.. believe it or not… a good person underneath Edward's murderous and harsh exterior… in truth all Edward is, is a little boy playing dress up in the big fancy clothes crying out for his father to notice him, just this one time to see how brilliant he is, for the world to see he truly is a genius. That's all Edward is and once you realise this.. he is hardly scary anymore."
"But the fights with Batman…" Kirk trailed off. "If he wanted to prove something to his father why does he fight Batman all the time? Surely he should be fighting his father?"
Jonathan looked at Kirk and gave him a slight withering look, before he remembered that Kirk was not a Doctor of the mind and the look passed, but he take his glasses off again. "Kirk. Edward's father, from what I can gather, was a very big brute of a man, who liked to use his fists as punishment and his belt as a lesson teacher. He was very big, very strong, very opinionated and very, very cruel. But he was also the thing that Edward always wanted recognition from, always the thing he wanted to prove himself to."
"So…?"
"Think about. His father was big, strong, stubborn, cruel and always the thing that got in Edward's way," Jonathan paused and gave Kirk a sideways glance. "Put yourself in Edward's troubled mind and ask yourself… who does that remind you of?"
Kirk thought for a while, before it all came crashing down on him, of what Crane was meaning. "Batman…" Kirk whispered as he stared at the ex-psychologist.
"And there you go," Jonathan sighed as he placed his glasses back on and flipped his book open again. "Edward may want to beat Batman, but most of all he wants to prove himself to him, because Batman reminds Edward so much of his late father… it is uncanny and truth be told it scares Edward. That's why he goes out again and again to prove his intelligence to Batman. That's why he's so happy he's back, not so the game can continue but so-."
"So he can finally prove himself to Batman and in doing so, his father too."
Jonathan nodded his head and sighed. "You understand now?"
"Yes," yes Kirk did understand. He understood just how messed up Edward's head was and how much he just craved to be respected and loved and actually appreciated. It was sad that actually all Edward wanted was attention and in his head this was the only way he figured he could get it, as well as proving himself the smartest at the same time.
At this realisation Kirk laughed softly.
"Something amusing?" Crane questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes," Kirk nodded his head before he looked up at Crane with a sad smile. "The irony of it all. If Edward was actually a good person and used his intelligence for good instead of hurting people, then he'd get everything he's always wanted, he'd even get Batman's respect."
Crane smiled and nodded. "And I am afraid to say you will find that most of us in this very room are a delicious case of irony, Kirk," Crane turned back to his book and sighed. "You'll figure it all out soon enough, but Edward is the one I pity the most, simply because he'll never get what he wants because he will always be one of us."
The silence in the room was broken as alarm bells went off, lights flashed on and off and the world was now coated in a blanket of red and black as the sirens broke out about a prisoner who had escaped.
Jonathan sighed and folded the page he was on before he quietly shut his book and placed it down on the table. "And so the game continues."
THE END.
Note: Okay... so there goes Edward Nigma's retiring plan out the window :P Any way, i hope you guys enjoyed this one and giving me more requests to do.
Up next! SEASON OF INFAMY!
