As he walked down the main hallway of Arkham Asylum, Ward felt increasingly nervous. He checked his watch. It was 2:00 AM. It wasn't unheard of for Strange to ask for him to come to Arkham at odd hours, but this early, and on a Saturday moreover? Something had happened, something big, and Ward wasn't sure he wanted to know what it was.

When he arrived at Strange's office, Schrader was there too, sitting in a chair in front of Strange's desk. Strange was standing, his hands folded behind his back. He gave Ward a solemn nod as he entered. "Good morning, Phillip. Shut the door."

Ward did as he was asked and stepped further into the room, sweat beginning to bead on his forehead. "What's happened?"

"I'm surprised you don't already know," Strange chided. "Bane escaped from prison. He arrived in Gotham sometime earlier this evening. He has stolen the last of the TITAN that was released."

Ward's jaw dropped. "Bane's here?" He shot a quick look towards Schrader, who he noticed for the first time had a smirk on his face. "Didn't you tell me earlier this evening that Young left the city?"

"Yeah, turns out the bitch had perfect timing," Schrader said, leaning back in his chair. "I guarantee she'll never show her face in Gotham again after this."

While Ward would be glad to see the end of Penelope Young, he still felt uneasy. He'd imagined that either Bane would never show up, or that he would come quietly, kill Young, and be recaptured quickly. Now Young was gone, out of Bane's reach, and Bane had a stockpile of TITAN. "What are we going to do about this?"

Strange arched an eyebrow. "'We?' We will do nothing. As I told you when you approached me with this scheme, I cannot be involved in any way. The two of you would need to succeed or fail on your own." He smiled at the pair, which to Ward was even more frightening than when he was angry. "And you have succeeded brilliantly. Young has been driven from Gotham, Gordon and his GCPD have been discredited even further, and Batman will have his hands full with Bane. And you did it all without arousing any suspicion or involvement from any other third parties. Well done." Schrader's smirk widened, while Ward fidgeted with his hands. It was a small movement, but Strange caught it. "You seem troubled, Phillip. Is this not what you wanted?"

Strange's dark eyes bore into Ward as he attempted to form the right words. "It is, of course. It's...Bane with TITAN. He could do a lot of collateral damage before Batman or whoever takes him into custody."

From his seat, Schrader snorted. "It's a bit late to worry about that, isn't it?"

"I agree with Detective Schrader," Strange said, his voice smooth and cold. "You knew that this plan was dangerous when you approached me with it, Phillip. You were in favor of it. You told me that Bane was rational and could be contained. Now that his presence is no longer a hypothetical but a reality, you cannot second-guess yourself. Collateral damage is inevitable. To bring about the world we all desire, we must be prepared to do all that is necessary and commit to our actions. Any hesitation will be our downfall. Do you understand?"

Ward wanted to protest, that leaving Bane with the TITAN would backfire on them, but no words came. He was in too deep to back out now. He swallowed. "Yes, Hugo. I understand."

"Good. Now, we need to begin our plans for Phase Two..."

According to the clock on his bookshelf, it was 3:00 AM, but Edward was still wide awake. He lay on his back on his couch, staring up at the ceiling and counting the small cracks in the cheap plaster, as he often did when he had trouble sleeping. 35...40...45...60...he felt his eyes begin to droop at last. 65...70...that doesn't mean you're not in love with her. His eyes flew open again. "I'm not in love with her," he muttered angrily. "I'm not."

Is that why you couldn't take your eyes off of her tonight?

Edward growled and turned over on his side. "There was one, singular moment when I knew that I was in love with Jonathan. I remember that clear as day. I have not had a moment like that with Penelope. Therefore, I am not in love with her." He lifted his head to look down the hall towards his room where she was sleeping. He'd resisted the urge to get up and check in on her more than once since she'd went to bed three hours ago. She was fine. She was safe. She didn't need him coming into her-his-room like he was some peeping tom. He rolled over onto his back again and stared up at the ceiling. This was a mistake. Not one day and she was undoing him. No, he thought. It's not her fault. It's Schrader's for terrorizing her to the point she needed to stay with him for her safety. It was Cash's for putting that damn thought in his head in the first place. The man never could keep his mouth shut. Why had Cash had to say that and put this damn thought in his head that wouldn't leave no matter how hard he tried to ignore it? "I'm not in love with her," he insisted again. "I'm not. And she most certainly isn't in love with me. You heard her yourself, she's too busy for that sort of thing. And even if she wasn't, you're not exactly her type." His thoughts darkened. "It doesn't matter how brilliant you are, or how passably good looking. You're a reformed super-criminal with enough baggage to fill a train car. No sensible person would touch you with a barge pole." He let out a long sigh. "And even if she would... what could you offer her? A relationship? I can't. Not after Jonathan." He shut his eyes, the memory of what Croc said in his mind. "I can't go through that again."

But you want her.

"I don't," Edward insisted. "Not like that."

No? Is that why you can't stop thinking about what it would feel like to run your fingers through her hair? Or about how the summer sun's brought a golden tone to her skin?

Edward clenched his fists. He would not start thinking about Penelope like that. Once he started, he'd never stop, and it would ruin everything. A thought came to his head and he snapped his fingers. "I know what this is all about. How long has it been since you've been to Pandora's? A year? Longer? You're feeling a bit pent up. When this case is over, you just need to book yourself a session and everything will go back to the way it was." That was what he needed. A night at Pandora's with a pretty brunette-no. Blonde. Maybe a man this time. Or maybe both. He wasn't picky.

A loud knock on Edward's door brought him out of his thoughts so suddenly that he almost fell off the couch. He was about to yell out in irritation when he remembered the time. It was past 3:00 AM. There was another loud knock at the door. Edward narrowed his eyes. If it was an ambush, they wouldn't bother to knock, but who would be by at 3:00 AM? He slowly got up from his couch and grabbed his cane where he left it hanging on his coat rack. His eyes darted to his hallway. If the knocking had woken Penelope up, there was no sign of it. As quickly and as quietly as he could, Edward moved to the peephole and looked through it. He got a clear look at who it was on the other side of the door and scowled. He opened the door and Cash walked in, almost running him over. "'Bout time, Nigma. Where's Doc?"

"Asleep," Edward answered, hanging the cane back up. "Like I was about to be when you so rudely barged in! You do realize that it's after 3 in the morning, don't you!?" He turned on the living room overhead light and squinted in the brightness. Once he'd adjusted and put his glasses back on, he realized how shaken Cash looked. Cash was like a brick wall. He was never shaken. "What's happened?"

"Aaron?" Both men turned to see Penelope standing right where the living room turned into the hallway. She looked at both men expectantly. "What's going on?"

Cash sighed, looking like a man who wanted to be anywhere but here. Edward dreaded what the man was about to say. "I just got a call from Commissioner Gordon," he said at last. "Bane's in Gotham, Doc. He took the last of the TITAN that was on the streets."

It was a warm night, but Edward felt a chill go down his spine. Bane was here? Why would-then he understood. The TITAN theft hadn't just been about rattling Penelope. It was to lure Bane here to do Strange's dirty work by either driving her away or killing her. From the ashen look on her face, he knew that she realized it too. "Oh," she said faintly. "Oh my God." She wobbled on her feet a bit and Edward made a move to stabilize her, only for Cash to beat him to it.

"Easy, Doc," Cash said, guiding her to the dining room table. "It's gonna be alright."

Penelope sat robotically in the dining room chair, her mind swirling with the memories of what had happened at the asylum. Of what she had done to Bane. She felt sick. 'By extracting the venom formula from his blood and refining it, I will be able to create a new formula that will enable patients to withstand our more intensive treatments. Project TITAN will pave the way for breakthrough therapies in the future.' "He's coming for me," she said. "He's going to kill me-"

"He won't," she heard Edward say. She looked at Edward, who had taken the seat across from her at the table. He looked determinedly at her. "I won't let him."

At that, Penelope laughed incredulously. "How?" she said. "Edward, this is Bane. How can you possibly go up against him?"

"Who said anything about going up against him? I can out-think him with both hands tied behind my back. Don't you have any faith in me?"

"It's not about if I have faith in your abilities, can't you see that!?" Penelope almost screamed at him, forgetting for a moment that Aaron was in the room. "Edward, you can't risk your life like that! You're a father, think about Ellen! She needs you alive!"

Aaron looked almost bug-eyed at Edward. "Wait, you've got a kid!?"

"Well, what else do you want me to do!?" Edward shouted back. "Hand you over to Bane on a silver platter!?"

Penelope took a deep breath, folding her hands in front of her. She shut her eyes, but she could still see herself standing in front of Bane as the procedure to extract Venom from him was performed. She hadn't allowed herself to watch as his body thrashed, suspended as it was, or let herself hear his screams of pain. Bane was just one person who held the key to potentially curing the super-insanity that plagued Gotham. What was a little momentary discomfort of an assassin to finally obtaining that cure? A moment of clarity came to her and she felt serene. "Perhaps that's what you should do, Edward."

A stricken look came over the faces of both of the men at the table. "What!?" They both said as one.

Penelope continued, her voice trembling, almost hysterical. "I wronged Bane. He has every right to want to kill me after what I did to him. If my handing myself over to him prevents more bloodshed, shouldn't I do it? Isn't that the least I can do to make up for it-"

Edward's fist banging on the table brought her back to reality. "Just how stupid are you!?"

Penelope opened her eyes. Edward was staring back at her, his face flushed with anger. "Edward-"

"No, listen to me!" he shouted. "Do you think, that if you walked out of here right now that Bane would just kill you!?" His voice lowered and it became more calculating. "You are the only person alive who knows exactly what's in that damn formula and he's only got a finite amount left. He would force you to either make more for him or to tell him how exactly you made it." She opened her mouth and he raised a hand. "Oh, I know what you're about to say. You wouldn't. You'd never. Not willingly, you wouldn't. But do you think that would stop Bane? He would torture it out of you. And then, only then, would he put you out of your misery. And how many more people would die as a result?"

Penelope knew in her soul that he was right. She bit her lip to keep the tears at bay. Don't break, don't break. Then she felt a bare hand cover her own and she looked up with a start. It was Edward's. He'd only touched her without wearing his gloves once before, but the warmth of his touch was comforting to her. Edward's face was no longer angry but instead had an almost pleading look.

"You're not thinking things through," he said, rubbing his thumb across her knuckles. "You're not thinking about your mother, losing her only child. The GCPD and your Arkham group, losing a valued colleague and advocate. Dr. Leland, or even Cash here losing their friend. Then there's Selina's and Ellen's loss..." His voice took on an almost plaintive quality and his grip tightened ever so slightly. "And my own."

Penelope took a deep breath, then gently withdrew one of her hands to place it over Edward's. "I'm sorry," she said. "But what I did with TITAN caused so much pain and misery for so many people. I can't stand the thought that it might hurt you too."

Edward offered a half-smile. "Now, my dear doctor. I was a Rogue. It's not my first brush with peril by a longshot. May I remind you that I ran through a gauntlet of death traps to save you not even a year ago?"

"Yeah, we all remember," Aaron said gruffly, reminding the pair that he was still in the room. Penelope self-consciously pulled her hands away from Edward's and set them in her lap. "So Genius, got any plans for how to handle this?"

Edward leaned back in his chair and thought long and hard. As much as he hated to admit it, Penelope had a point. He couldn't risk a confrontation with Bane. "Cash," he said at last. "GCPD's still under the impression that Penelope's out of state, right?"

"As far as I know, yeah."

That was a relief. "Good. Then this is my plan. We proceed as if nothing has changed. Once it dawns on Bane that she's gone, he'll leave, or Batman will dispatch of him."

"That's your plan?" Cash asked. "Just leave Bane for Batman to deal with?"

Edward shrugged. "I may be the premiere investigative mind in town, but I know my limits. Batman's not going to tolerate any of Bane's shenanigans, especially in this climate. It's best for all involved if I stay out of the way." He looked back up at Penelope to ask for her input, but she was staring down at her lap, her face completely blank.

Cash spoke for her. "What if Bane figures out she's still in Gotham?"

"We're the only people who know she's here, and none of us are about to say anything to the contrary. It's a small risk. In the meantime, I'm going to call in all of my informants to keep their eyes and ears open. Perhaps I'll be able to give the Dark Knight a hint."

"I'll give you a heads up if I find out anything on my end," Cash said. "I'm sorry I had to be the bearer of bad news, Doc."

Penelope shook her head. "It's not your fault, Aaron." She got up from her chair listlessly. "I'm going back to bed." She walked down the hall, Edward watching her all the while. He hadn't seen her so close to a breakdown since that day at the memorial last year. Worry for her, fury at the ones responsible for this whole mess, and sheer frustration warred for dominance in his mind. Did she still think she was so worthless that she deserved to have Bane tear her apart? Did the events at the Asylum still haunt her that much? He remembered with a chill what Dr. Leland had told him all those months ago about Penelope's state of mind. Guilt could lead one to do very stupid things...

"Nigma?"

Edward looked back over to Cash, who had an unreadable look on his face. "Yes?" he drawled.

"Keep an eye on her, would you?"

Edward nodded. "You don't have to remind me." Whatever he felt for her, he needed to put it out of his mind and focus on the task at hand. He would not lose her. No to Bane, not to Strange, not to Schrader. Not even to Penelope herself.

Penelope managed about another three hours of uneasy tossing and turning before the sun came up. By the time she'd pulled herself together enough to take a shower and dress, Edward was already gone. He'd left a short note for her on the dining room table. I'll be back by sundown. Stay inside the apartment. Penelope had brought her laptop out and sat on the couch, ostensibly to see if she could get anything productive done, but that was a futile hope. She'd felt comforted the night before by Edward's presence, but the knowledge that Bane was back had destroyed her last illusion of safety. Did Schrader, or Ward, or Strange hate her so much that they were willing to endanger countless people by luring Bane here? No. She wasn't a person to them. She was just an obstacle. Neither was Bane. He was just a tool. Neither were the people of Gotham who were caught up in this mess. They were pawns to be discarded as they saw fit. What was driving these men? Was it just about grabbing power, or did they genuinely believe they were doing the right thing? Penelope sighed and leaned back against the couch. Bane, by contrast, at least had understandable motives. Who wouldn't want to kill the person who had experimented on them? She hugged her arms around herself. She'd thought she'd worked through what had happened over the past year, but perhaps it was simply buried, pushed down by thoughts of the Case, or of working to reform Arkham or of Edward-

Penelope looked at the clock. It was past four now. She hadn't eaten and barely moved from the couch since she'd come out of Edward's room. She wasn't tired, or hungry, or even scared anymore. Instead, she felt almost completely numb. Rationally, she knew this level of disassociation wasn't healthy. If a patient was behaving like this, she'd intervene. She got up to fix herself a drink of water, then went back to the couch and waited for Edward. Every hour he was gone, her anxiety increased. He was an intelligent man, the most intelligent, dynamic man she'd ever known, but his ego could lead him to be reckless. If Bane got his hands on him, she'd never forgive herself.

She heard the front door open at 5:00 pm exactly, and Edward walked inside. The relief she felt on seeing him again was the most emotion she'd felt all day. "How did it go?" she asked.

"Well, hello to you too," he said, taking her in. God, but she looked miserable. "How was your day?"

"Never mind that. Did you find any leads?"

Edward sighed, hanging up his hat and cane. "I've gotten the word out to my informants and monitored the usual channels of communication." The media wasn't reporting on Bane's return for the time being, but the word had spread like wildfire among Edward's more nefarious circle. Oswald and Selina knew about Bane being back too, but neither knew that Penelope was with him. "But so far, there's been no further word on Bane's movements." He frowned a bit as her face went blank. Penelope wasn't the most demonstrative person even on a good day, but this coldness, this numbness was closer to how she'd been when they'd first met. Add that to just how rundown she looked...he worried about her. He'd found himself halfway out his office door five times that day to come back to her earlier before he'd stopped himself. He was more helpful to her out there working the case than he would be hovering over her. "It's possible now that he has the TITAN that he's already left."

Penelope shook her head. "It's possible, but we both know that's not likely."

Edward sighed. "No, I suppose not." He took the seat next to her on the couch. She had her arms wrapped around her, almost like she was trying to disappear into herself. He wanted to reach out to her, to try to comfort her, but he didn't know how. "Penelope," he said as gently as he could. "I know this is a very trying time, but you should relax. Let me worry about all this."

"It's my fault, Edward," Penelope said softly. "I brought this down on everyone. All I wanted to do was to try to make up for what I did, to try to salvage something from Arkham, but I can't. No matter what I do, I'll never be able to make this right." Her voice began to hitch and Edward instinctively moved towards her, only for her to get up from the couch. "Excuse me." She fled down the hallway, not looking back at him. Edward heard his bedroom door shut.

He leaned over and wiped a hand down his face. "What do I do?" he murmured. There must have been a moment, once or twice, when he'd comforted Jonathan in times of distress. Surely, he could do the same for Penelope? Except Jonathan had never regretted or felt guilt over anything he'd ever done as the Scarecrow. Edward leaned back. This was one riddle he'd have trouble solving. He got up from the couch and went to fix dinner. Perhaps when she came out, she'd be up for talking again. Perhaps if he couldn't find the right words to comfort her, he could distract her.

Penelope did not come out for the rest of the evening.

"This is Dr. Penelope Young, It is now 7:00 pm on March 15th, 2005. Tonight, I will begin the first step towards what I hope will be a bright future for mental health treatment."

Beneath her, the 'volunteer', a patient who was promised early parole for his cooperation, looks at her with a raised eyebrow. "You sure this won't hurt, Doc?"

"There may be some momentary discomfort," Penelope says as she fills the syringe, a slight edge to her voice. Years of research, experimentation, and hard work have come down to this one moment. She won't let the misgivings of a criminal stand in her way now. "It should pass. Now, relax." She grips onto the patient's arm and injects the TITAN into his bloodstream. Now to see what her work and Mr. White's contributions have achieved.

Almost instantly, things go wrong. The patient winces at first, then begins to convulse against the gurney. Penelope shrinks back in alarm and confusion. It isn't supposed to do this. Then the patient's muscle's bulge out to almost comical proportions. No, no, she'd accounted for the Venom's effect, she'd created an enzyme to counteract the most extreme effects, but the patient keeps growing bigger until she can see...oh God, his rib cage was breaking through his skin!

"Call a medical doctor!" she cries out. "We have a problem! This wasn't supposed to happen!" No one responds to her. She looks around and realizes she is alone in the Arkham medical center. The patient meanwhile continues to convulse, his eyes roll back in his head, and he lets out a pained roar. Finally, the patient breaks through his restraints and sits up. The patient has now become Bane.

"BRUJA!" he screams at her. "BRUJA!"

Penelope wants to run, but she's rooted to the spot. Why is she alone, why is she here, where is everybody? "Someone!" she screams. "Help me!"

A cold, Teutonic voice answers her. "Is this not what you wanted, Dr. Young?" Penelope turns around to see Hugo Strange peering down at her, looking like her like the insignificant bug she is. "Your formula has succeeded beyond all expectations. Now the patients will be able to withstand out more...extreme punishments." No, no, no no, it wasn't supposed to be like this, she never wanted to hurt the patients, she wanted to cure them. Wait. This is wrong. Strange wasn't at Arkham yet. Why is he here? As if he hears her, Strange smiles, a rictus grin that almost splits his face in half. "Thank you, for your service." He nods to Bane who is still standing behind them. "Make her suffer first." Then he disappears, and it's just her and Bane. Penelope shuts her eyes and turns around, ready to accept the punishment she deserves. When she opens her eyes, Bane has someone else hanging limp in his grasp. In one, large hand, he held Edward's head. With one squeeze, he could pop it like a grape.

Every nerve in Penelope's body comes alive at that moment. "NO!" she screams. "No, don't hurt him, please! He has nothing to do with this, please!" She runs toward him, only to feel someone pull her back. She doesn't even look behind her, too transfixed in horror as Bane lifts Edward with both hands. Edward looks towards her then, like he wants to tell her something, and then Bane raises his knee and brings Edward down in one swift movement, breaking him in half. Penelope screams louder than she ever has before, a loud, keening cry that echoes off the decaying walls. Then she hears something else. Laughter. She looks behind her at last. The Joker has her in his grip, his green eyes wide, laughing, laughing, laughing...

..."Penelope! You're dreaming! Penelope!"

Penelope opened her eyes and screamed again. In the darkness, she could just make out a pair of green eyes looking intently at her, she could feel a strong grip around her. She wrenched a hand free and backhanded the figure with all her might. "Stay away from me, you monster!"

Instead of the Joker's laughter, however, she heard another familiar voice. "Jesus Christ!" Penelope's breath came in a gasp. That was Edward. She fumbled for the light on the nightstand and when it came on, she saw Edward, sitting on the foot of his bed, a hand up to his red face. "Jesus Christ!" he yelled out again, looking at her incredulously. "I think you almost broke my nose!"

Penelope's breath still came out in gasps. "I thought-the Joker-I thought-"

"The Joker?" Edward asked. Then he sighed. "Penelope, you were dreaming. That's all. It's just me."

"I thought-" Penelope stammered. "I thought I was back at the Asylum, I was experimenting on Bane-I saw him kill you-I saw him-" Her voice quivered. "I...oh God, oh God..." Don't break, stay composed, don't break, don't break, don't break- No. This was too much. The weight of everything that had happened over the past week, since Batman arrived in her apartment came down at her at once and the dam broke. "Oh, God..." She curled up, knees hugged into her chest and began to sob.

Edward sat at the foot of his bed, watching the stern, composed, strong woman he'd come to care for completely break down. He'd never seen her like this. "Oh my God..." he murmured. Then he moved towards her, sat himself up at the headboard and awkwardly, but gently hugged her to his chest. "Hey, hey," he whispered into her hair. "Hey. You're alright. You're safe. I'm here. I'm here."

Penelope, acting on instinct, threw herself against Edward's chest, wrapping her arms tight around him. She continued to cry against him, only barely registering his hands rubbing her back, his arms rocking her. "I'm sorry," she choked out. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" she heard him ask. "The slap? Believe me, Selina's done far worse."

"For everything," Penelope gasped out between sobs. "The TITAN, Sharp, Strange, everything. It's all my fault. If I hadn't been so arrogant, so blind, so stupid...all those people would still be alive. Sharp would have never become Mayor. Strange wouldn't have so much power...oh God, Edward, how could I have done it? I was supposed to help people and I experimented on them! I'm no better than the Joker-"

Edward's voice cut in harsh. "You stop that." Penelope looked up into Edward's face, tears still streaming down her cheeks. Edward shook his head at her. "You know, back in February, after my encounter with Croc-" a shadow passed over his face and he bit his lip, but he continued to speak. "When I was at my lowest, someone very dear to me said something important. She told me that I was only responsible for my actions." He gave her a small smile. "I'm sure you don't need to be reminded who said that." Edward moved his hands from her back to her shoulders. "Did you make terrible mistakes? Yes. That's undeniable. But Penelope, you weren't the only person involved. First and foremost, if anyone deserves the lion's share of the blame for what happened at Arkham, it's the Joker. If you want to talk specifically about the TITAN experiment, there's Sharp and the Board, for approving and encouraging it, and let's not forget that it was Ward who handed Bane over. Out of all of those people, only one person has done anything to make amends for it. That person is you, Penelope. Strange and his minions sent Bane after you now because you're trying to make up for what happened by stopping them from doing even worse things. That's not a small thing."

A fresh wave of tears came to Penelope's eyes and she hastily tried to wipe them away. "I don't deserve praise for doing the bare minimum, Edward. Nothing I do is going to change what happened."

Edward frowned a bit. "You're going to be stubborn I see. Alright then." He gently pushed her away, so he could get a clear look at her face. "Tell me: when you were back at Arkham when you realized how dangerous the TITAN chemical was, what did you do?"

Penelope paused, remembering all too clearly. "I stopped the experiments."

"And when you found out that it was the Joker who was funding you, what did you do?"

Penelope took a breath. "I told him I wouldn't do it. I tried to give him back his money. I begged him to stop, but he wouldn't listen."

"He never does," Edward said. "Which leads us to the night of the riot. What did you do?"

In the year since they'd become reacquainted, Edward had never once asked her what had happened that night. It was a boundary he had always respected. Penelope shut her eyes and remembered the armed men storming the medical center, of hers and Aaron's trek to the old Arkham Manor, of her desperate flight to the library, Zsasz, the bomb-she trembled. "I tried to get to my office to destroy my notes," she whispered. "I couldn't let Joker get his hands on them. I tried so hard, but it didn't matter-"

"Yes it did," Edward insisted, his hands rubbing her shoulders. "When you realized how dangerous your experiment was, you didn't continue, damn the consequences as Jonathan would have. You stopped it. The night of the riot, you didn't hide away to save yourself as I would have. You risked your life to make sure Joker couldn't create his army. The fact that he did anyway doesn't change that. Which leads us to after the riot. You could have sold your formula to the highest bidder. You could have stayed in private practice for the rest of your life. You could have gone back to your mother in Ohio or left the country even. Instead, you stayed in Gotham and decided to consult for GCPD." Edward's voice grew gentle. "And even before you knew what he was really up to, you stood up to Strange to protect me, when you had no reason to do so. You were the only person in the whole of GCPD who was willing to trust me, despite what everyone else thought. And when I did tell you about Strange, you could have just ignored it or dismissed me. You didn't. You threw yourself all in." Penelope's eyes flew open when she felt Edward's hands on her face, his thumbs wiping away the tears still trailing down her cheeks. He smiled at her, a soft look in his eyes, and Penelope felt her own heart skip a beat. "And after all that, you still mean to tell me that you're even just a bit comparable to the Joker? Pardon me, my dear doctor, but I don't believe that for a second. You're a cold, stubborn piece of work sometimes, but you're no Rogue. And I would know," he smirked a bit and chuckled. "So I won't hear any talk otherwise, especially from you."

Penelope's breath hitched again, but this time, a small laugh came out. "God," she said, shaking her head. "You are terrible at consoling people."

Edward's lips jutted out into a pout. "Oh? There's gratitude for you. Well, you're terrible at letting yourself being consoled, how's that?" He smiled at her. "Maybe we're not as terrible as everyone thinks we are, eh?"

Penelope laughed again, a few more tears coming from her eyes. Edward's thumbs were there, wiping them gently. Now that the worst of her emotions were behind her, she was slowly coming back to herself and she realized how close they were to each other. He was holding her face in his hands. She should pull away, reassert boundaries, but she didn't want to. "I'm sorry," she said. "I shouldn't have lost control of myself like that-"

Edward rolled his eyes. "I think I have you beat in terms of emotional displays."

Penelope nodded, taking him in. Edward was in his sleepwear, his usually coiffed hair tousled. In this state, it was so easy to forget that he had been the Riddler, or that he was Edward Nigma. He was just Edward, her Edward. It was harder to deny that he was an attractive man. She reached a hand up to the side of his face she had slapped. It was red and looked like it would bruise. "I'm sorry," she said. "Do you want me to get you an ice pack?"

"It's fine," Edward said dismissively. "I'll get one in a bit. Don't worry about it, Penny."

Penelope blinked. "Penny?" She shook her head again. "It's been a long time since anyone's called me that."

Edward's face flushed a bit as if he'd only just realized what he had said. "Ah. Well. Have I earned the right to that?"

"Yes," Penelope said without hesitation. "Thank you, for everything. What you said...do you believe all that?"

"You know I do, Penny," Edward said, leaning in closer to her. "I never lie." His face was only inches from her own now. His hands were still on her face, almost caressing her. She should pull back, this was too close, this was a line they shouldn't cross, but she didn't want to. Edward leaned in closer, his eyes shut.

Penelope's shut too, on their own accord and she leaned up. "What are we doing?" she whispered.

Her words were like cold water on a fire. She felt Edward's hands leave her face and she opened her eyes. Edward had scooted himself towards the left-most part of his bed, his eyes wide and his face looking almost stricken. "I...I..." he got off his bed and fled from the room.

Penelope sat there alone, confused, and a bit hurt when she fully came back to herself. Edward had been about to kiss her. And she would have let him. "Oh my God," she whispered. "What are we doing?"