Edward wouldn't have guessed that Bane would be holed up in the Krank toy factory, of all places. Truth be told, it seemed more like a place the Joker would choose. Like most of the structures located in North Gotham's old industrial district, it had fallen into disrepair, the company itself filed for bankruptcy five years before. A giant metal bear, once a cheerful bright yellow, was now rusted away, with one eye remaining. Edward parked his car a block away and slowly approached the main service entrance of the factory, keeping a tight grip on his cane and a close eye on the streets around him. The night was falling, which meant that the only people out would be the vagrants and the low lifes brave enough to risk running into a Bat. Edward's eyes darted upwards to the roofs of the surrounding buildings, making sure that Batman and his merry brood weren't watching. If Bane was hiding here, he wanted to be the one to alert the GCPD. He needed to be the one to do it. He felt his cell phone vibrating in his coat pocket and pulled it out. It was Penelope's number. It was the fifth time she'd called him since she'd caught him with Harley. He put it back into his pocket. He couldn't speak to her until he delivered Bane into GCPD custody. That would make up for everything. It had to.

Edward had crossed the street and was now in the shadow of the toy factory. He saw the metal bear, little more than a skeleton and suppressed a shudder. For the first time since he'd left his office, he wondered if he'd made the right decision to come here. Not that he was afraid of Bane. Certainly not. He hadn't survived fifteen years as one of Gotham's top Rogues by being a shrinking violet, thank you very much. It wouldn't be like with Tetch, or with Croc. He wouldn't directly confront Bane. He would simply get confirmation that he was here, and then he'd be gone. He'd be back with her before the morning. As he approached the building's front entrance, he realized that he couldn't see his informant. He frowned. He'd told the man to wait for him here. Noise from an adjacent alley caught his attention and he raised his cane, ready to deploy the taser he'd installed in it last month. He lowered the cane when he saw his man approach. "Hey, Boss," the informant said, rubbing the back of his head.

Edward gave him a sharp nod. "Well?" he asked. "Where did you see Bane?"

The man gulped and pointed towards the rear of the building. "Near the loading zone. There's a back door open that leads into the building."

If Penelope was there, she would have noticed that the man was jittery and have been suspicious. Edward though, operating on little sleep and emotionally fraught from the day's events, missed the warning signs entirely. "Lead the way."

The man did as Edward requested, taking him to the back of the building. Sure enough, there was an unlocked service door that both men used to gain entrance to the factory. The corridor was dark, but Edward could see lights on ahead, in what would have been a back stock room once upon a time. What caught his eye, however, was the large tank set up in the middle of the room. It was as almost as tall as Edward was, with a red hazardous materials symbol crudely spraypainted on the front. It was the TITAN. It had to be. Edward dashed up to the tank, careful not to risk touching it and looking at the almost neon green liquid he could make out inside. Bane had to have been here. He grinned. Now, all that he had to do was call GCPD, and they could set up a sting to catch Bane when he came back to retrieve his ill-gotten gains. He was just about to pull out his cell phone when he heard the sound of footsteps running away. He looked up to see his informant running out the door which they entered. What on Earth...? Then he realized it with a chill down his spine. It was a set-up. He moved to run, only for a door to his left to open wide. Bane stepped forward, effectively blocking his way out of the room. "Ah," Bane said, looking down at Edward. "Riddler. It's been a long time. I am pleased you decided to join me tonight."

Edward, for a moment, lost the power of speech. It was too easy. How stupid could he have been? It was a trap. His gutless informant had betrayed him. Then he cleared his throat. "Bane," he said as casually as he could to a man who had nearly two feet on him when using his venom, which, judging by his sheer muscle mass, he was. "You're looking well. I take it you were expecting me?"

Bane chuckled. "Astute as always. I find myself in need of your investigative services."

"Yes, well," Edward said with all the bravado he could muster. "Consulting hours are between 9 AM and 5 PM Monday through Friday. I'd give you my office address, but I don't think you'll be able to fit through the door. Good evening, Bane."

Bane seemed amused by Edward's words. "Leaving so soon? According to that worm who just abandoned you here, you've been looking for me."

Edward's posture stiffened and he silently cursed that useless incompetent. "Well, you know me. I always like having my finger on this city's pulse."

"Indeed," Bane drawled. "So then, you know why I'm here. And I'm sure you can guess why I would need to speak with you."

Edward swallowed and thought fast. "Well," he said, gesturing to the tank behind him. "You seem to have located the TITAN without needing any help. Did the glowing green liquid inside give it away?"

"I am more interested in the woman who created it," Bane said, his face darkening. "Where is Dr. Young?"

Edward felt his heart race, but he fought through his nerves. Bluff your way out. "Well, from the rumors I heard, she's no longer in Gotham."

"Oh?" Bane looked somewhat surprised. This made Edward more at ease. Years of venom had sapped away at his brain.

"Yes," Edward continued. "I can't give you any more specifics, I'm afraid. It's not like I keep tabs on the woman."

Bane rubbed his chin for a moment and Edward thought he might have a chance to escape. Then the massive man smirked. "I must admit, I'm a bit surprised to hear that. Are you not her champion?"

Edward's eyes widened. "What?" How-how could he know? He'd been out of Gotham for years, how could he possibly know?

Bane took a step towards him. "Before I came to Gotham," he spoke in that thick accent of his, "I thought it would be prudent to see what the bruja's been up to since I was removed from Arkham. Imagine my surprise when I came upon a transcript of some commission she spoke in front of months ago." Bane laughed. "She seems to have quite a high regard for you, Nigma, though I can't imagine why."

Edward clenched both hands tight to keep them from trembling. "What can I say?" he sassed. "It must be my dazzling wit and impeccable style. Get to your point, Bane."

Bane crossed his arms across his chest and glared down at Edward. "If the bruja was as far away from Gotham as you say she is, then why did you come here tonight? She is under your protection, isn't she?" Edward's only answer was a stony glare back at Bane. His fear had receded in the face of Bane's remarks about Penelope. Bane shook his head. "Out of respect for our past acquaintance, I will give you this one opportunity to give me what I want and leave with your life. Where is Dr. Young?" Edward said nothing. "Come now," Bane chided. "I can more than double whatever amount she's paying you." Then he paused. "Unless...it's not about money, is it, Nigma? You are...attached to the woman, aren't you?" Edward's face reddened, but he bit his tongue. Bane sighed. "You have unfortunate taste, I'm afraid. Do you know what she is? Do you know what she did to me?" Bane's voice became rougher as he became angrier. "She had me locked away in the Medical Center in Arkham Asylum, suspended from the ceiling, like a cow in a slaughterhouse. She drained the venom from my blood for that formula of hers. It was painful, Nigma. I can still feel that pain in my dreams at night. I still have the scars from the tubes that were implanted in my back. And I can still see her face, Nigma. Those cold blue eyes of hers never looked at me once, not in all the times she took my blood. I was not a person to her. I was a means to an end." He looked harshly at Edward. "Is that a woman you would be willing to die for?"

Maybe not that woman, no. But the woman she was now? The woman he had come to know over the past year? He closed his eyes and thought of her smile, the all too rare sound of her laughter, the look of determination on her face when she was tackling a problem, the strength she'd had when facing down the commission. That woman, he would burn in Hell for. He opened his eyes and stared Bane down. "You're wasting your time," he said. "In the first place, she's not the woman either of us knew in Arkham. She wants to spend the rest of her life making up for what she did. She's not worth making the effort to avenge yourself."

"She feels sorry now, so she shouldn't have to face the well-deserved consequences for what she did to me?" Bane questioned. "Perhaps she isn't the woman we knew, but that does not erase what she did to me, just like how your crimes as the Riddler can never be erased. And if she's as sorry as you say she is, then surely, she would be willing to apologize to me in person."

Edward bared his teeth. "You're never getting within five feet of her," he hissed.

Bane simply smiled. "And how, exactly, do you intend to stop me?" He took another step forward and Edward raised his cane, ready to deploy the taser. He was fast, but Bane was faster, ripping the cane out of his grasp and throwing it across the room with one hand, and lifting Edward off of the floor by his throat in the other. Bane's grip was tight enough that Edward was beginning to have difficulty breathing as he clawed helplessly at the massive hand and arm. Bane simply shook his head. "Do you know why no one else in our profession ever took you seriously, Nigma?"

Edward glared. "Because true genius is never appreciated in its time?"

Bane's grip tightened a bit more, squeezing Edward's throat. "There it is. Your abilities can never measure up to your insatiable ego, your need to be the smartest man in the room at all times. How many times could you have had the city at your mercy, only to trip over yourself in your pathetic need to best the Bat?" Bane brought Edward close to his face. "Which brings us to tonight. You could have stayed hidden away in whatever little love nest you made with the bruja and sent the policia to my location, but you had to come out in person, as I knew you would." He loosened his grip enough for Edward to gulp air. "Fool. Tell me, what was it tonight? Did you need to get one over on Batman, or did you need to be her hero?"

"You're the fool," Edward spat out. "Hasn't it occurred to once since you came here that you're being used?" Bane frowned but said nothing. Edward continued. "She didn't have anything to do with the TITAN that you have now. It was stolen from the GCPD at the behest of Warden Ward and Hugo Strange. They released it on the streets to get you to come to Gotham and kill Dr. Young. Are you going to let them treat you like a weapon?"

Bane hummed but didn't release Edward. "I am not familiar with this Hugo Strange, but Warden Ward...I was wondering who the bruja had angered enough to send me a message." He laughed. "Well, no matter. After her, Ward is next, then the payaso. Then I will take the TITAN with me back to Santa Prisca." His grip began to tighten around Edward's throat. "I will ask you one more time, Nigma. Where is Dr. Young?"

Edward had it in him to give Bane one last defiant smirk. "Where you'll never find her. I have over half a dozen safe houses in this city. Most of them are booby-trapped. Do you think you can go through them all and find her without alerting Batman? Riddle me this-" he was cut off by the sound of his phone vibrating. Bane's gaze went to his jacket pocket and with one hand, he reached into it. He pulled out the still-ringing phone and looked at it. Then he smirked and held it in front of Edward's face.

"Penelope Young is calling you," he said. "Shall we answer?" He took a few steps forward, towards a small area behind bars that had once been used for storage. He hit a large green button that was on the wall next to the room and the bars shuttered open. He unceremoniously tossed Edward inside and hit the button again. The bars closed before Edward could get onto his feet, trapping him inside. He ran to them anyway and shook them in a futile effort to get free. "You're right," Bane said, standing just beyond the bars. "I do not have the time to search the city for the bruja. She will come to me."

Edward's grip tightened on the bars. "She won't!" he said.

Bane simply smiled. "If she values your life as much as you value hers, she will." He then walked towards the entrance, away from Edward.

Edward let out a frustrated shout and pounded his hands against the bars before he sank to his knees in despair. Penny, Penny. I'm sorry for everything, I'm sorry. Don't come for me, don't come for me. "Penny," he choked out. "Penny..."

"This is Edward Nigma, Private Investigator. I'm either with a client or otherwise preoccupied. Please leave your name and number and I'll get back to you."

It was the fifth time Penelope had tried to call Edward since what had happened that afternoon, and the fifth time he hadn't picked up. Penelope wet her lip before she spoke. "Edward," she said, her voice still thick with emotion. "Please. Even if you're not ready to come home, please, talk to me." She hung up her phone and collapsed against the sofa, covering her eyes with her hand. After seeing him and Harley together and hearing his poor attempts at justifying himself, she'd been ready to pack her things and call Aaron to come to get her. Then she'd heard Edward's voice ringing off the walls of the cheap apartment building, tearing into Harley and defending her. She hadn't been able to bring herself to go after Edward when she saw him walk out of the building. Now she wished more than anything that she had. There was so much she needed to say to him, so much she needed to hear from him. She checked the clock. It was just after 8:00 now, and the sun was beginning to go down. She got up from the couch. If he wouldn't come back to her, she'd go to him. One way or another, they would talk. They'd figure everything out.

She was halfway past the parking lot outside the apartment building when she walked by an empty spot and froze. That was Edward's parking spot, and his car was gone. She paused and a fresh wave of anger came over her. Edward must have come by at some point to get his car. How could he do that and not come talk to her, or even return her calls-then another thought came to her. His office was only a twenty-minute walk away, and he never drove there. Where could he have gone in his car? Perhaps to one of his friends, to cool down? No, after his argument with Harley, he wouldn't go to Selina. The Iceberg Lounge was a possibility, but given what was going on, would he really-Penelope's heart dropped. No, he wouldn't. He must have found a lead on Bane and persued it, without telling her. It was like with Waylon Jones all over again, this was why she'd hesitated to tell him about the TITAN being stolen in the first place, she needed to find him before he got himself killed. She pulled out her phone and quickly called Aaron's number.

"Doc? What's up?"

"It's Edward," she said.

Aaron's tone immediately became sharp. "What did he do?"

Penelope sighed. "We...had a bit of an exchange earlier, but that's not important right now. He's been gone for eight hours, and his car's missing. I think he found a lead on Bane."

"And he just took off?" Aaron scoffed. "Great. For a guy that says he's a genius, he can be a real dumbass. I'm out on duty now, but when I get back to GCPD, I'll tell the Commissioner-"

"No," Penelope said. She took a deep breath. "I'm going to go back to my apartment to get my car. I'll tell Commissioner Gordon."

"Doc, are you sure?"

"Yes," she said. She'd been passive from the beginning of this whole mess, and look what had happened. No more. It was time for her to take control. "I'm calling a cab. I'll be at headquarters in about an hour."

As soon as the cab dropped her off in front of her building, Penelope dashed to her car, still in its parking spot. She hit the unlock button on her keys and opened the door, put her purse on the passenger seat and sat down. Before she shut the door behind her, she took her phone out of her purse and dialed Edward's number one last time. As the phone rang, she fought off the panic that was bubbling up to the surface. Keep cool. Keep focused. She would be of no help to Edward if she fell apart here or in GCPD. She thought of Schrader and her eyes narrowed. She would not give him the satisfaction of seeing her break.

"This is Edward Nigma, Private Investigator. I'm either with a client or otherwise preoccupied. Please leave your name and number and I'll get back to you."

Penelope slammed the car door shut and nearly threw her phone back onto the seat when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw something small, black, and blinking fall from door's lining and onto her lap. She turned on the car's light as soon as it shut off, then picked up the item with her fingers. It was still blinking, a small red light pulsing every few seconds, and it...Penelope gasped. It was shaped like a bat. A tracking device? A bug? When had Batman put this in her car? She remembered the night he'd come to her apartment and told her about the stolen TITAN. It must have been that night, but why? Had he thought she was involved, or-

The sound of her phone ringing cut through her thoughts. She looked at the phone, still in her right hand, and her heart lifted. Edward! She put the bug on her dashboard and answered her phone. "Edward! Where are you!? Are you alright? Why didn't you call me back? Did you find Bane-"

A man laughed in response and her breath caught in her throat. "Oh yes, he did, Dr. Young."

Penelope felt her blood run cold. "Bane."

"You remember me, Dr. Good. We have much to talk about."

If Bane had Edward's phone, then...then...Penelope's grip tightened on her phone. "Where is Edward? What have you done with him?"

"He is with me. As for what I will do to him...that is up to you. We are at the Krank Toy Factory. I will send you the directions. Come here alone, in half an hour. No policia, no Bats, or tomorrow morning, his broken body will be delivered to GCPD."

Penelope took a sharp breath. Bane would kill her, but Edward, her Edward..."How do I know he's still alive? Let me talk to him!"

"No," Bane answered. "If you wish to talk to him, you must do it in person. If you do not, then you will never speak to him again. Do we have a deal?"

Penelope's mind was racing. What could she do? If she agreed, Bane had no incentive to keep Edward alive after disposing of her. If she called his bluff, Bane would kill him. If she agreed but called the GCPD anyway, Gordon couldn't mobilize enough men in time, Selina couldn't fight Bane, Cobblepot couldn't, and probably wouldn't risk everything to go up against him, she couldn't leave Ellen an orphan, but what could she do? She glanced at the dashboard and saw the device, still blinking. Then she calmed down. "Yes," she said. "We have a deal."

"Good. We will be waiting for you." He hung up the call, and Penelope put it back down on her passenger seat. She then reached over to the dashboard and picked the device back up. She didn't know if this was an audio bug or not, but it was the only card she had to play. She put the device as close to her face as she could and began to speak in a level voice.

"I don't know if you or any of your associates can hear me, Batman, but this Dr. Penelope Young. I've been in hiding in Gotham City with Edward Nigma. I know that Bane is in Gotham now. He has Edward." She wet her lip and continued, fighting to keep her voice level. "He's holding him at the Krank Toy Factory in North Gotham. I'm on my way there now. If you can hear this Batman, I'll stall Bane as long as I can." She put the device on top of her purse, then picked her phone back up. Bane had proved as good as his word, sending her the directions to the Krank Toy Factory. She started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. As she made her way north, she ran through everything she remembered about Bane. He was highly intelligent, physically formidable, but he did have one weakness. He was an addict. If his relationship with TITAN was anything like his relationship with Venom, then he'd probably run through part of the supply he had already. If Batman didn't get her message or didn't get there in time, exploiting his chemical dependence would be the best shot she had at keeping Edward and herself alive.

She clung tight to her steering wheel and a new determination spread through her veins. They would not die tonight. Not if she could help it.

"Your doctor is on her way," Bane said as he entered the room. "It seems you have better taste in women than I thought." Edward's stomach dropped and he shut his eyes. No. No. He heard Bane chuckle. "You did your best to protect her, I'm sure. There's no shame in losing to someone better."

Edward opened his eyes and fixed Bane with a glare. Something inside of him, in the very recesses of his mind, was beginning to stir. "Before the night is out," he hissed in a voice that was at once strange and familiar. "You're going to find out why you don't cross me."

Bane laughed. "Says the man in the cage. You may have been clever in your time, Nigma, but your new life has made you soft." Bane stood on the other side of the bars, just close enough for Edward to reach out and grab him if he was suicidal enough to. "I am the man who broke the Bat. What do you think you can do to me?"

Edward gripped the bars tight. "You'll see."

It had been two nights since Bane had stolen the TITAN, but there was no trace of the man. Bruce drove the Batmobile through the Lower West Side, keeping his eye and ear out for any news. It may be that Bane had left town once he'd gotten his hands on the TITAN, but deep down, Bruce very much doubted it. "Batman, come in."

"I'm here Oracle," Bruce spoke through the intercom. "What's going on?"

"I just picked up a transmission from that bug you put in Dr. Young's car. You need to hear this." She patched the audio through to the Batmobile and Bruce heard Dr. Young's voice, loud and clear.

"I don't know if you or any of your associates can hear me, Batman, but this Dr. Penelope Young. I've been in hiding in Gotham City with Edward Nigma. I know that Bane is in Gotham now. He has Edward. He's holding him at the Krank Toy Factory in North Gotham. I'm on my way there now. If you can hear this Batman, I'll stall Bane as long as I can."

Bruce's eyes narrowed. He should have known. He should have known that Edward would get himself involved, somehow. "I'm on my way to Krank Toy Factory now. Alert the GCPD." He made a sharp U-turn and drove North, going as fast as he could.

"Ok," Oracle said. "Do you want me to call Dick or Cass?"

"There's no time," Bruce said. "I can handle Bane."

"Bruce, the last time he had TITAN, you had to run him down with the Batmobile to take him down. Are you sure you don't need help?"

"I'll be fine, Barbara. Batman out." He hit the gas on the Batmobile and mounted a curb to get by a parked car. No one was going to die tonight.