Ed knew that he was playing with fire. He knew that he had to be careful. He didn't want to get on the wrong side of Barbara, but he didn't have much time left. He had seen Olivia in a way he thought he would never see her before. There had been a darkness inside of her as he watched her on the screen as she was locked in that room. He had seen her anger. He had seen her rage. He had seen all of it.
There had been a part of Ed that had been tempted not to take her to Jim. It was only a small part of him that questioned what would happen if he left her. Would they be able to go away together? Would she be able to accept him for who he was? He didn't know and he didn't even think about it that much because he knew that there was no option where he left her as she was. Olivia wasn't the woman he had seen when he walked into that hotel room.
"You need him for a reason, don't you?" Barbara spoke to Ed as they stood in the warehouse, waiting for Jim to bring Penguin to them.
Ed wanted nothing more than to kill him, but Barbara knew that his mind was preoccupied on something else. He had been almost too eager to find Tetch. She knew that he didn't care about holding the city to ransom. Barbara's plan was simple. She intended to hold Tetch until she had Penguin. She knew that once she killed him then she would be able to take over Gotham's underworld completely. He would no longer be a threat to her.
"What?" Ed demanded from Barbara.
Tetch was stood to the side of them, dressed in Arkham Asylum uniform. Ed had taken his blood already, ensuring that the vial of blood was safe in his fingertips. He didn't trust anyone else with it. He had tried to take the blood in secret, but Barbara had caught a glimpse, seeing exactly what he was doing from around the corner.
"You took his blood," she commented, a smirk on her face. "You need it for the antidote, don't you? And there's only one reason why you'd be bothered about that antidote."
"Gordon will be here soon with Penguin," he said to her, his gun in his fingertips by his side as Barbara adjusted her fur coat around her shoulders. "Focus on that and I'll focus on what I need to focus on."
"Which is little Olivia Gordon, isn't it?" Barbara checked. "She's been infected, hasn't she? She's no longer on the side of the angels."
"She'll be fine," Ed declared, not wanting to discuss it with her. He hardly ever wanted to discuss his relationship with anyone, preferring to keep it private. It was no one else's business and the fact still remained that he didn't know where he stood with Olivia. He had hoped that they would be fine together, that they would be able to move on and start a new life together. It was all he longed for.
"I'd quite like to see it," Barbara said, stroking the barrel of her gun with a gloved hand. "I imagine she is quite the handful with that virus inside of her. You know, I always thought that she was quite meek and mild…especially from what I'd seen of her. You know, her ex-boyfriend would hit her…and then she dated the Ogre. What a crazy time that was, huh?" Barbara chuckled. "And then there's you. She fell in love with the Riddler."
"She fell in love with Ed," he responded, not missing a beat as he looked down to her. "I was Ed before I was him."
"Yeah, but you were weak and docile," Barbara said, "nothing like the man you are now."
"She accepts me for who I am."
"I wouldn't be so sure of that. She has morals, you see," Barbara said. "She's boring and predictable. She's good. At heart, she's good, anyway. Love can make you do crazy things and I know that, but not to the extent that she'll be able to accept you for who you are, no matter how much she tries otherwise."
Ed tried to keep his face neutral. He didn't want her to say anything else. But everything she said were things that he had thought about. They were things he had known and feared all along. He had tried to get her back. He had tried to convince her that she couldn't stop herself loving him. He had even tried to be softer for her than he usually would be. But he didn't know if it was enough. Because there would always be a history between them.
"Jim's here," was all Ed said when they heard a car pull up outside.
Tabitha and Butch stood back as Ed looked to the entrance, seeing Jim walk in with Penguin in his grip, Harvey to the other side of him.
"Hey, sweetheart," Barbara said at the sight of her ex. "Long time no see."
"Not long enough," Jim said.
"Don't feel bad, Oswald," Ed called out to him. They moved further into the empty warehouse, their feet splashing up puddles as they walked in. "This was inevitable. Your death at my hands."
"I'm assuming this can go smoothly?" Harvey said, knowing that Ed was playing all sides. He wanted Oswald dead, but he also needed the antidote for Olivia. He needed to save her. And Jim was running out of patience.
"Enough," he snapped. "Let's get this done."
"You're infected," Tetch suddenly observed, chuckling to himself. "How wonderful."
"Let's get this show on the road," Ed demanded as Harvey looked at the grenade around Tetch's neck. Ed had put that there just as a precaution, uncertain of what was going to happen. But then he saw Penguin move. He jumped to the side and reached for the pin, pulling it and tossing the grenade into the direction of Ed and Barbara.
The two of them jumped to the side as the explosion went off and Tetch ran off, Jim and Harvey chasing after him. Tabitha, Butch and Barbara forced themselves to their feet and followed them, knowing that Tetch was worth a lot of money for his blood. Ed scrambled to his feet, but he didn't follow the crowd. He had no intention of going in the same direction as them.
Instead, he chased after Oswald. Running outside, he checked that he had the vial of blood in his pocket. His gun stayed by his side as he came to the entrance of the warehouse and looked around for any sign of Penguin. He didn't see him before it was too late, his nemesis hitting him around the head with a steel pipe.
…
Ed was groggy when he came around, his head pounding and his limbs aching. He tried to move his arms, but he found that they were secured tightly behind his back. Opening his eyes as he groaned, he looked around and realised that he was in the back of a car.
"He's awake," Penguin's voice entered his ears. "I was getting lonely."
Ed's hands were handcuffed and the doors were locked. He looked outside as he tried to deduce where they were.
"Where are we?" Ed demanded to know.
"In the middle of a police blockade. We had to hunker down a minute."
"Where are you taking me?"
"I don't know," Penguin confessed. "Why? Do you have some place you have to be? Oh, right, that's it, yes, you do have somewhere to be. You had that vial of blood in your pocket, didn't you?"
Penguin held up the vial in his fingertips, showing Ed it in the rear view mirror. Ed felt panic rise up inside of him. Tetch could have gotten away. No. Jim will have gotten to him, not Barbara. Jim would find him and he would take his blood. They would recreate the antidote and Olivia would be safe. But Ed didn't know that for certain. He had been working on the antidote for the exact same reason he worked alone. He didn't trust other people easily.
"You know, I'm going to savour this moment," Penguin said. "You know…the moment of knowing that I've finally gotten you and your little girlfriend is going to die too, isn't she? The virus will kill her eventually…it'll be too much for her."
"You think that?" Ed demanded from him.
"I know it," he contradicted. "And I want to savour this moment for as long as possible."
"You mean gloat."
"Yeah, gloat," Penguin said, the smile on his face wide as he laughed. "I've finally gotten everything that I want, but the worst part is that you dragged Olivia back into this, didn't you? She faked her own death-"
"-Her brother forced her to fake her own death," Ed interrupted.
"She'd have seen that was the sensible option eventually," Penguin retorted. "But the point still stands that you found her and dragged her back into this mess. If you had just left her alone she'd still be living in Florida in complete bliss."
Ed said nothing, wondering if he perhaps had a point. But no. He couldn't be right. They belonged together. He belonged with Olivia. He had to go to her. He had to bring her back.
"No, she wouldn't be," Ed denied.
"You're in denial and I understand that," Penguin said. "But you did this to her. You've done nothing but cause her pain and you still won't let her go. You still won't leave her alone."
"Because I love her," Ed snapped loudly, leaning forwards. "I love her and she loves me."
"And you think love is enough?" Penguin questioned. "You think that love is going to be enough to get you through this? That you could run away with her and she could be everything that you thought she would be?"
"She's everything I need."
"No, she isn't," Penguin snapped. "Because you've done things that she will never forgive you for, no matter how much she might claim to want to move on."
"Would you shut up?" Ed demanded as he heard his phone begin to ring, but it wasn't in his pocket. He looked to Oswald who held it in his hands. He looked at the caller ID, but it was anonymous.
"Let's have a look, shall we?" Penguin said and he answered the call.
"Hello?" he said in a sing-song. "Ah, if it isn't the woman we were just talking about…little Miss Olivia Gordon."
"Liv?" Ed questioned and shook his head. No. She was locked away. She was safe until the antidote was made. "No…it's not her."
"I'll put her on speakerphone and prove it," Penguin said and did just that.
"Ed? What's going on?" Olivia asked from him, her voice harsh and demanding.
"Olivia, how did you get out?" Ed asked, his voice panicked as he leant forwards. His face was almost pressed against the metal wire that separated the front seat from the back seat. "What is going on?"
"Did you think that you could lock me in a room, Ed? Honestly?" she questioned and he swore he had never heard her sound like she did. She sounded nothing like his Olivia. She was full of sass and her chuckle at the end of her sentence was dark and low. "It was easy enough to get out when you can manipulate people."
"Liv, Jim will be bringing the antidote to you. You need to stay put." Jim tried to plead with her.
"No can do, Ed," she sang down the phone. "Now, tell me why you're with Penguin and I'll come for you."
Ed wanted her to come. He wanted her to come for him, but he feared what she would do if she found him with Penguin. He had seen the anger inside of Jim and what he was capable of. He didn't want to think that Olivia could be anything like her brother. He knew that she could deal with Penguin with the virus flowing through her. But he didn't want her to. If she hurt him then, no matter how much she hated him, she would never forgive herself. Olivia was no murderer. She was his sweet, innocent Olivia. He couldn't do anything to risk that.
"I can get out of this, Liv," Ed said.
He heard a loud bang on the other end of the line and he suspected she had hit something out of frustration. "Tell me where you are!" she demanded from him.
"This is fascinating," Penguin commented, turning around to look at Ed, the smile on his face growing. "You're scared of what she would do to me."
"Not because I care about you," Ed sniped.
"I can see that," Penguin said. "It's because you care about her…about what she would become if she hurt me…you wouldn't want her, would you? She wouldn't be the Olivia you fell in love with."
"Ed, can you tell that idiot to shut up?" Olivia snapped down the phone.
"Olivia, listen to me," Ed said, trying to ignore Oswald's comments. "You need to fight the virus. Fight the virus and stay in the GCPD. I will find you and we will leave. We will get out of Gotham together."
"We can do that right now if you let me help you," she hissed at him.
"I'll tell you what," Oswald drawled in a low voice. "I'll text you the address on this number where we're going and you can meet us there."
He hung up before Olivia could respond and Ed kicked at the back seat, shaking his head ferociously, unable to comprehend what might happen if Olivia did come for him. This wasn't what he wanted. He felt around behind him, knowing that there had to be something there to help him get out of the handcuffs. His fingers danced around the backseat until he felt it between the cushions: it was a pin.
…
Olivia had managed to get out of the GCPD by playing the damsel in distress. She had shrieked for help, begging for someone to help her. The door had opened and Olivia had left the room, knocking out the officer on her way. She had found her burner phone in the pocket of the jacket she wore and had called Ed as she left the precinct. She had been tempted to smash the phone when Ed had told her that he didn't want her to come and help him.
But she wasn't going to listen to him. And then Oswald had given her the address. He was taking Ed to the docks. Olivia's lips arched at seeing that.
"So poetic," she mumbled and stormed off down the sidewalk, looking onto the streets around her. There was chaos everywhere. People were stealing from shops, fires were raging and fights were breaking out. Olivia ignored everything that was going on, but then she heard a familiar voice yell her name. Turning her head over her shoulder, she saw her brother approaching her. He was running to her just as a car hit another car, the bang echoing down the street and screams ringing out.
"Leave me alone, Jim," she demanded from him.
"No," Jim said, still trying to fight the virus. He needed to continue fighting it because Lee needed him and he needed to save his sister.
He had just been in the lab when one of the scientists finished making the first vial of the antidote. They had said it would be another two hours before they had more. Harvey had told Jim to take the antidote at the exact same moment the news had come in that Olivia had broken out of the precinct. Jim had gone after her, knowing that there was no other option but to give his sister the vial. He could catch Lee at her house before she left the city. He knew that he still had time.
But he didn't know if Olivia did. He needed her to see sense and she wasn't doing that anytime soon so long as she was infected.
"What? You think that I can't handle myself?" she demanded from her brother.
"That's the issue, Liv, I'm worried about what you can do," Jim continued, moving towards her slowly, hands held up in the air defensively. "I'm worried about what you will do with Ed."
"You think that I want to do anything but leave this place?" Olivia demanded from her brother. "I want to get out of here, Jim. I want to be with Ed because I love him and he loves me. Everything he has done has been to keep us together. The only reason he framed you was because he was scared you would find out what he had done," Olivia said and then shook her head firmly. "No," she drawled, "correction…what we had done."
"You did nothing."
"I covered up his murders," Olivia snarled. "I knew about Dougherty. I knew what he had done and I told no one. I told no one because I didn't really care…and then Kristen…I knew about that and still intended on keeping it quiet because, again, I didn't care! I didn't care because Kringle would have gone to the police and said that I was involved with Ed…she'd have seen me go down with him. And you know the worst thing? It would have been for a man like Dougherty!"
Olivia laughed loudly, shaking her head as Jim watched her, wondering just what his sister was saying to him. This didn't sound like her.
"A man who was nothing but a bully and I know about them, I've dated a few in my time," Olivia said, waving a nonchalant hand. "And each time I wished that I could have put a bullet in their head, but I'd never had the guts to do it because I'm weak, Jim. I've always been weak…relied on you too much…relied on other people to save me…and I'm done with it. I'm done with needing other people."
"This isn't you, Liv," Jim said to his sister.
"What?" she snarled. "You prefer docile, weak Olivia? The naïve school teacher? Well, that's not me, Jim, not anymore."
"You were never weak," Jim said. "You've gone through so much in your life and survived. Why would that make you think that you're weak?"
"Because I should have stopped it!" Olivia snapped at her brother. "I should have been able to stop it…done more…been better."
"Olivia, please," he begged from his sister.
"No," Olivia said. "I've made my decision and I am fed up with doing what should be the right thing. I'm fed up with living thinking about people who I don't care about…Kringle…Dougherty…everyone else in this godforsaken city whose corrupt. So I'm leaving. I'm going for Ed and we're leaving here."
"Not on my watch, Liv," Jim said and he moved to his sister, but he didn't get far as she pulled out a gun from the inside of her skirt's waistband. Holding onto it, she aimed it in front of her and Jim's eyes widened as he watched his sister.
She clicked off the safety lock and Jim shook his head. "You wouldn't," he said to her.
"I'm going for him," Olivia said. "I'm going to kill Penguin and we're going to leave this place."
"You're going to kill Penguin?" He asked from her. "Olivia, you don't have it in you to kill anyone. You're not a killer…and you wouldn't kill for him. You can't kill for him."
Olivia's smirk took over her face. "Do you really think that?" she asked Jim. "You underestimate me, Jim. If I get there and it comes to it…his life or Penguin's…then I'll kill Penguin. I'll kill him so that we can get out of here and we can live in peace."
"I didn't think you were naïve, Olivia," Jim said to his sister. "But you are if you think that will ever happen because I'll come for you. I'll come for you and I'll make you see sense…sense that Ed isn't right for you."
"You don't make that choice anymore," Olivia said. "Now go away. I have to get to Ed."
"No," Jim said and he moved forwards towards her. She kept hold of the gun she'd stolen from the GCPD. "You won't shoot me, Olivia. You might not be you, but there is still some of you inside of there…my little sister…the girl I helped to raise…my Olivia who I know. You won't shoot me. I know you won't shoot me."
He continued moving to her, hoping that he was right. And Olivia stood there, her teeth ground together as Jim stood before her, his hand going onto the barrel of the gun. Her finger shook by the trigger, but she never pulled it. Jim knew she wasn't lost. He lowered the gun and moved his hand to her cheek, stroking it softly before he struck, managing to slam the antidote into her neck. He felt her struggle, her eyes changing before him and her face contorting.
"What are you doing?" Olivia demanded from her brother as he watched the blue liquid empty from the vial.
"I'm doing this for you, Liv," Jim said as his sister's body began shaking. "You're going to be fine."
He caught hold of her as she fell to the floor, cradling her in his arms and looking down to her, hoping that this would be enough to save her.
…
Ed couldn't believe what was happening. He had somehow managed to get the upper hand on Oswald once more. He had used the pin to free himself from his handcuffs and had waited for the perfect opportunity to have Oswald where he wanted him: at gunpoint. He was driving him to the docks, planning on killing him once and for all. He had tried to call Olivia on his way there, but she hadn't been picking up. He wondered what was going on and where she was, but he only hoped that he could deal with the situation before she arrived.
Pulling up to the docks, he climbed out of the car and got Penguin out. He held the gun tightly in his hands, aiming it as Oswald's back as he walked forwards towards the edge of the dock. It had started to drizzle, the rain falling through the air and dampening them as they went. Oswald's hair clung to his forehead as he felt the chill and Ed's green jacket became marred with water.
"Here we are…again," Ed said, looking around at the familiar sight. A smile formed on his face as his breath came out in a short pant, the air visible in front of him with each huff he took. "Well, I have to tell you, this feels really great."
Oswald turned to look back to Ed, his face completely deadpan. "Glad I could help," he said to him.
"Any last words?" Ed asked.
"I'm fine for now," Oswald said and Ed began to fear the worst. Something wasn't right.
"I beg your pardon?" he asked.
"I'll wait," Oswald said again.
Ed's brows arched on his forehead, face contorting into a mixture between amusement and bemusement. "I'm going to kill you, Oswald," Ed said to him. "There is no later. If you have something to say then now is the time."
"Duly noted," Penguin only said once more.
"Whatever," Ed said, not intending on wasting anymore time. "I'm not going to let you ruin this for me. If you don't have anything to say, but I do…Goodbye, Oswald."
Ed raised his gun, his hand trembling slightly as he pulled the trigger. But nothing happened. There was no loud bang. There was no smoke from the gun. He looked down onto it and continued pulling the trigger. Oswald watched him with amusement before reaching into his pocket, producing the bullets that he had.
"I took them out while you were knocked out," Oswald said to Ed, "right before I called them."
Ed turned on his heel as Oswald continued smiling.
"And it seems they found a special guest," he added on.
"Let go of me!"
"Olivia," Ed whispered her name, seeing Freeze dragging her forwards, Ivy on the other side of him. Turning to look to Oswald, Ed's face contorted with rage. "Let her go, Oswald."
"Oh, I will," Oswald said.
"We found her on the way here and figured she could be a threat," Freeze said Oswald nodded, moving around Ed at a slow pace, savouring the moment that was to come. He looked to Olivia and saw that there was nothing in her eyes that suggested she was infected. Her face was pale except for her red cheeks and eyes. Her hair was blowing in the wind, her outfit completely askew on her body.
"You did the right thing, but from what I can see, she isn't infected anymore," Penguin said and the fact that she remained quiet told them all that she wasn't. Clapping with glee, Oswald looked back to Ed. "Looks like Jim managed to get the antidote made after all."
"You tricked me," Ed said, finally realising what had happened. He had been played.
"The pin in the backseat was my tie pin. I wanted a personal touch," Oswald said and he nodded to Freeze who let Olivia go. She moved past Oswald and towards Ed, his hand holding out to meet her, taking her fingers into his and ensuring she was behind him.
"It all fell into place," Oswald admitted. "And the worst thing is that it was easy to trick you because you were distracted…what did I tell you all those months ago, Ed? What did I warn you of? She will always be your downfall and she is what drives you."
"You let her go," Ed demanded from him.
"And I will," Oswald promised him. "I am a man of my word, Ed."
"No," Olivia said firmly and looked to Oswald. "Just let us go. We have no intention of staying here. We'll get out of Gotham. Just don't do this."
"She begs so prettily," Oswald said. "But don't worry, I'm not a monster. You can have a few moments to say your goodbyes."
Oswald turned around, giving them a moment as Ed looked down to Olivia, his hands going to hold onto her cheeks. He took hold of them, bending down so that his forehead was pressed to hers. He felt her hands wrap around his wrists, clinging tightly onto them.
"Jim gave me the antidote before I could get here," Olivia explained to Ed. "I would have stopped him. I could have stopped him…there still has to be a way."
"There isn't," Ed said to her. "There is no way out of this. I need you to leave here and get out of the city…I need you to be safe."
"Not without you," Olivia said, her eyes watering and tears falling down her cheeks. "I'm not leaving you."
"You don't have a choice, Liv," Ed said with a sad whisper, his thumbs brushing away the tears that were falling down her skin. He shook his head slowly, a sad smile forming on his lips. "Just don't forget the good times we had…and that, despite everything I did, I always loved you."
"Ed-"
He cut her off, his lips descending on hers as he kissed her hungrily, savouring the feeling of her body pressed against his. He caressed her cheeks softly and gently, her hands moving to hold onto his shoulders as his glasses slipped down his nose. Moving an arm around her waist, he held firmly onto her, his lips still moving over hers quickly, not wanting to stop. He didn't want to stop kissing her, but he knew he had to. He pulled back after a moment, regret taking hold of him as a hand went to tuck her hair behind her ear, his eyes searching hers.
"It's always been you, Olivia Gordon," he whispered. "You've always been the one for me."
"I love you too," Olivia said and Ed nodded.
"And that's enough for me," he promised, bending down to kiss her once more. He kept it brief before he looked to Penguin. "Get this out the way with," he demanded from him.
"You see, it's always been love, hasn't it?" Penguin said. "Love weakened me…it weakened you…and that's why I want you around. I want to keep you around as a constant reminder that love is nothing but a weakness."
"No," Olivia said firmly as Ed pushed her out the way. He didn't need her to be a part of this. He tried to move forwards, not wanting to go down without a fight. He held his arms in front of him, launching himself at Penguin. But it did not good. Freeze was there in a second, his gun aimed in front of him as the ice appeared from it.
"No!" Olivia yelled loudly, shaking her head back and forth at the sight she saw.
The ice engulfed Ed completely, freezing him in his place and stopping him from going anywhere. Olivia's body shook as she stood back, watching Ed become frozen on the spot. Freeze soon stopped after a few moments, the effect enough to keep Ed locked in place. Moving over to the black of ice, Olivia stood in front of it, her hands going to it, the cold tickling her fingers. Tears continued rolling down her cheeks as she looked at Ed.
"You can come and visit him whenever you want," Penguin drawled out. "I have plans for him."
"You bastard," Olivia seethed, turning on him and moving forwards.
"Ah, ah, ah," Penguin warned, stepping back and holding a hand up as Freeze aimed his gun at her. "I don't want to freeze you too because, honestly, I have no plans for you. You're nothing to me, not anymore."
"I'm not going to let you get away with this."
Penguin chuckled at hearing her, shaking his head as he ignored her, looking to Freeze and then to Ivy. "Load him into the truck and take him back to the house."
Penguin looked to Olivia as she remained rooted on the spot and he drank her in. She was stood in Ed's shirt that was tucked into her skirt, the buttons askew and the collar half stood up. Her jacket was loose around her body and her tights had a hole in them at the knee. How could he think she would be a threat?
"I always warned him that you two could never be together," Oswald informed her. "You could never be happy because of who he is and who you are. You're the goody little schoolteacher and he's a man with a dark side…you'd always push him away like you did before, but he still went running back to you. He always came running back, promising that he could be the man you wanted."
"You have no idea what you're talking about," Olivia seethed.
"But I do," Penguin said. "I know him. I know who he is and I know what he has done. I accepted him. I accepted him for who he is unlike you."
Olivia remained mute, her teeth ground together and her eyes still wet with tears.
"He chose you," Penguin said. "He chose you and look where it got him. He's gone. So, I suggest you get over him and move on because you two will never be together. You never would have been anyway."
Olivia watched Penguin retreat towards the van that Freeze and Ivy had loaded Ed into. She watched the block of ice be wheeled into the back and she stood with her hands clenched into fists by her side. Ed had been frozen alive. Olivia had read about Freeze before and his crimes. She knew that people survived his freezing. If that was true then Ed could survive. She would do everything she could to bring him back. She wouldn't stop because she knew he would do the exact same thing for her. She'd do that and she'd have revenge on Penguin.
She would prove them all wrong. She would prove them all wrong and she wouldn't rest until she did. As the door to the truck closed, Olivia wiped away her tears and knew that she had work to get on with.
"I'll get you back, Ed," she whispered into the wind, the rain now falling heavily and drenching her. "He won't get away with this."
…
A/N: Moving into season 4 now and things are going to change slightly! Would love to know what you think/anything you want to see! Do leave me your thoughts!