"And then he said, 'At least I made the evening memorable for you!' The absolute gall, Bruce! Honestly, why did you allow him to come here?"

Bruce resisted the urge to grimace. "I'll talk to him, Veronica." Veronica huffed, then turned to talk with a few of their other associates. Bruce sighed and checked his watch. It was 7:45. Not two hours, and Edward had already antagonized someone. Frankly, Bruce was surprised he'd lasted that long. Bruce looked towards the piano, where Dodgson, his wife, Sharp, and a few of their socialite friends had been standing, chatting for the past forty-five minutes. Edward, who had been regaling the small crowd, was gone. Bruce checked the refreshment table where Edward had been previously. He was absent. Bruce scanned the room but could see no trace of the private investigator. He spotted Joan Leland chatting with Leslie and Joe Bryant twenty feet to his left. Dr. Young wasn't with them. Bruce inwardly sighed, then headed to the far right corner of the room, where he saw Tim, Cass, Barbara, and Damian clustered together in deep conversation. He joined them just as Barbara was giving the group an update.

"...My Dad's reviewing the USB Nigma gave him. Steph's patrolling the East Side now. Nothing exciting happening, but I sent Helena to back her up just in case. Dick had a bank robbery in Bludhaven, but he's settled it."

"Tt!" Damian huffed. "At least Grayson's having fun!" He gave Bruce a respectful nod as he joined them. "Father."

"Damian," Bruce acknowledged with a nod of his own. He turned his attention to the rest of the group. "When was the last time any of you saw Edward or Dr. Young?"

Damian's eyes narrowed, while Tim looked down at his feet. "They went off together about fifteen minutes ago," Cass answered without batting an eye.

"And you just let them go?" Damian hissed. "You let a Rogue wander around the manor unsupervised!?"

"They're outside, not wandering around the Manor," Tim defended. "It's not like they could stumble across the cave." He looked back up at Bruce. "I thought maybe...they deserved a little privacy."

Bruce considered this. He was as apprehensive about letting Edward out of his sight as Damian was, but Dr. Young's encounter with Valenti had rattled her. Maybe, some alone time with Edward would do her good. Maybe, the best thing he could do for them was to take a step back and let whatever may happen between them happen. "Alright," he said. "Keep an eye on Mayor Sharp and the study to make sure, but leave them alone for now. If they aren't back in a half-hour, we'll go looking."

Damian made a disgusted noise. "Wonderful. Who knows what disgusting things they may get up to in the meantime?"

Bruce would rather not imagine.

"...So there I am, my hands cuffed in front of me, Batman dragging me along by the elbow out of the Fine Art Museum, when I get the, admittingly, not so smart idea to make a break for it. In my haste, I'd forgotten that Robin was behind me, and he grabbed for my belt. Unfortunately for me, given our relative heights, he grabbed my backside and ripped the spandex off of it!"

Beside him, Penelope's face broke out into an amused smile. "So you flashed your underwear in front of Batman and Robin? Oh, Edward."

Edward chuckled. "Oh, it was worse than that. You see, the spandex was skin tight, so I didn't wear underwear under it. Batman and Robin marched me out and they, Gotham's finest, Summer Gleeson's news team, and the viewers at home got a front-row view of my bare ass hanging out of my catsuit!"

Penelope laughed in earnest, harder than he'd ever seen her laugh, having to stop and pause to collect herself. They had spent the last twenty minutes or so wandering around the back lawn of Wayne Manor. The lawn was surprisingly sparse, having only a small rose garden that Edward vaguely noticed they were in front of. In the Spring, it might have been more impressive, but he doubted it, or anything really, could compare to the sight of Penny as she was now, laughing, smiling. She sat herself down on a bench set up by the rose garden, her hand over her mouth. "Oh my. That must have been quite the blow for you."

"Oh, it was," Edward agreed, sitting down next to her. "I couldn't show my face in Arkham for weeks without getting catcalled, hooted at, or getting a few marriage proposals." He let out a dramatic sigh. "And that, my dear doctor, is the reason why I stopped wearing spandex."

Penelope's laugh had finally died down but in the light of the full moon, he could still make out the flush on her face, the sparkle of her ice-blue eyes. She shook her head. "Has Ellen heard that story?"

"Of course," Edward huffed good-naturedly. "It was one of the first ones Deirdre and Nina told her, the traitors." He gestured toward Penelope. "Well, that's my most embarrassing story. Your turn."

The flush on Penelope's face died instantly. "Oh, no."

"Come on," Edward wheedled. "I shared mine. It's only fair if you share yours."

"Well, it doesn't begin to compare with yours-"

"Of course it wouldn't. That doesn't mean I don't want to hear it. Come on, Penny."

Penelope gave him a half-hearted glare before she relaxed. "Alright, fine, but not one word of it to anyone. I mean it, Edward."

Edward held up his hands. "Rogue's honor. Well, Ex-Rogue's honor, but you get the gist of it."

Penelope rolled her eyes, then smoothed out her flowing skirt before she started. "It was my Junior year at Gotham University, on my twenty-first birthday."

"Oh, I like where this is going," Edward quipped.

"You stop that," Penelope scolded. "Anyway, my roommates decided that we all needed to go out to celebrate." She shook her head. "We took a cab out to the East Side to go to some club. I might have...overindulged." Edward tried to imagine Penelope drunk and grinned. "So about three hours in," she continued. "I decided that I wanted to get a tattoo."

"A tattoo?" Edward asked. "You, with a tattoo?"

"I was quite drunk at the time," Penelope defended. "I decided I wanted to get angel wings tattooed on my back. Well, one of my roommates knew a tattoo parlor was just a block away, so we all went. I told the artist what I wanted, took off my shirt, and got in the chair, still very drunk. The second the needle hit my skin..." Penelope flushed a bit in embarrassment. "I fainted."

Edward threw his head back and laughed, loud and hard. "You fainted?" he asked between laughs. "Right there in the parlor?"

"Right in the chair," Penelope said ruefully. "I woke up in the ambulance my roommates called. I wound up spending the night in the hospital for observation. The worst part of it was, when I got out and went back to my dorm, my parents were there. They'd come out from Ohio as a surprise, only to find out I'd gotten drunk and fainted in a tattoo parlor."

Edward laughed again. "Oh, they must have been delighted." He shook his head. "Oh, my dear doctor. Did you ever wind up getting that tattoo?"

"I most certainly did not," Penelope said. "I could never show my face in a parlor again. Besides, it would hardly be professional."

"I suppose not," Edward agreed. He heard the sound of voices somewhere to their left and got off the bench. "I think we should move." Penelope quickly got up to join him and the pair walked past the rose garden, towards the very edge of the manor. Edward noticed that Wayne Manor was built next to bluffs that overlooked the edge of the Gotham Bay. What better place for privacy?

"Where are we going?" Penelope asked.

"You'll see," Edward said with a grin. He wanted to reach out and take her hand but resisted. The further the two got from the Manor, the more the sounds of the gala were replaced by the sounds of the surf and the breeze. Finally, he came to a stop just ten feet or so away from the edge of the bluffs. Before them lay the ocean, with the full moon and stars illuminating it. He heard Penelope gasp.

"Oh," she breathed out. He turned to her only to nearly gasp himself. She was looking up into the sky, delight etched on her face. In the moonlight, she was positively glowing. She may have been at that moment the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. "I can't remember the last time I've seen such a clear night," she said. "It's beautiful."

Yes, she was. "Well," Edward brought himself to say. "That's the tradeoff for living in a big city, I suppose. Only Bruce's crowd gets to see anything but city lights and smog."

Penelope nodded, her eyes still fixed to the horizon. "Look!" she said, pointing to a constellation. "You can make out Orion's Belt! There's Alnitak, Alnilam, and-"

"Mintaka," Edward finished. He gave her an indulgent smile. "Seems we share astronomy in common."

Penelope nodded. "I was fascinated with it when I was a girl. Where we lived in Ohio we always had a lot of stars on clear nights. I used to go out at night and chart the stars. My parents got me a telescope for my thirteenth birthday and we'd go out star-gazing during the summer when my father didn't have to teach. I still have that telescope in my apartment closet." She sighed. "I don't remember the last time I used it."

Edward nodded along, imagining her as a girl, staring up at the sky and longing for what might be beyond the horizon. Then in a flash, he remembered another child who spent years staring up at the sky. "There were a lot in Waterbury too," he murmured. Penelope looked at him, surprised. "I remember," Edward said, "When I was still living there, on nights when my parents were..." fighting about whose fault it was that he was born, "Being their usual charming selves, I'd climb up to the roof from my bedroom window and just look at the sky." He could see it too, the view of the sky from the house in Waterbury. He was seven, his parents' voices in the house dull shrieks, but he hadn't been paying attention. He'd been staring up at the sky, dreaming of the world away from his parents, away from Waterbury, the world that was just waiting for him. As soon as it appeared, it was gone. He let out a wry chuckle. "I suppose old Wadderbury was good for something."

"'Wadderbury'?" He heard Penelope ask. Edward turned to see she had a bemused look on her face, and he'd realized what he'd done.

"Oh Lord," he groaned. "The old 'Conneddicut' drawl. Now I know I had too much champagne. It only comes out when I drink." Or when he was comfortable enough to let it out. Ellen had heard it once or twice, much to her amusement.

Penelope let out a small laugh. "I don't mind it," she said. Then her voice dropped. "I don't think I've ever heard you talk that much about your childhood."

Edward shrugged. "I don't remember that much of it, and what I do remember...it's not worth talking about."

Penelope's expression returned to its default, serious expression. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

Edward waved her off. "I brought it up, Penny. Don't worry about it." For the next few minutes, the two of them stood in silence, taking in the sights and sounds before them. The sight of the ocean was a reminder that there was a world out there, outside of Gotham, waiting for them-no. Not for them. He wasn't in love with her. He wasn't. She deserved better than that.

"Edward?"

Edward looked back at Penelope and noticed that she had her arms folded across her chest. She looked as if something was on her mind. "Yes?"

Penelope wet her lower lip, then spoke. "I know you said that you didn't want to bring up Strange, but...do you ever think of what you'll do after Strange? About what your future will look like?"

Edward blinked. Well, that wasn't a question that he'd expected. "My future?" He considered the question. "Well, the future is a riddle only time can solve. I haven't given it that much thought."

"Really?" Penelope asked, in a tone that suggested she wasn't pleased with this response, though her face remained neutral. "With how methodical you are, I can't believe that you haven't thought about it."

Edward shrugged again. "A side-effect of being a Rogue I'm afraid. We were never sure of where we were going to be the next day, let alone a year later. I didn't have the luxury of planning for a long term future."

Penelope sighed, then shook her head ruefully. "That's no way to live."

Edward frowned. Where on Earth was this coming from? "I suppose not." Then he grinned. "Well, as good Dr. Leland would say, if I can't say for sure what my future is, I can talk about what I'd like it to be, at least."

Penelope looked curious. "What would you like it to be?"

Edward rubbed his chin. "Well, for starters, it doesn't include Strange and Sharp. Other than that..." Edward paused and looked up at the sky. What did he want? For the first time in his life, he could allow himself to think about the future. It was a tantalizing prospect. "I'll still be taking cases, of course. My mind rebels at stagnation. It might be hard to find a challenge but..." Would that be such a bad thing? He'd spent twenty years living a life of extremes. "But I'm sure I could manage." His thoughts turned to his friends and a smile came to his face. "I'd like to spend more time with the girls, Nina, Deirdre, and Selina. I don't see them as often as I'd like." He snapped his fingers. "And Ellen! I'll be sending her off to college in a few years. I'll get her into one if it kills both of us." He missed out on her childhood, but he had the rest of his life to make up for the lost time. He'd get to see her into adulthood. "Then I'll help her open an art gallery someday. She says that it was a dream her mother had." A dream he'd help kill. He'd make it up to the both of them. "And then there's..." he trailed off and looked back to Penelope. She was standing next to him, listening to him intently. Edward smiled at her. "I'd still pop by your office every week."

Penelope looked surprised. "Even after Strange?"

"Of course," Edward said. "Why wouldn't I? You're my friend after all."

Penelope brushed a hand through her hair. "And if I'm not in that office anymore?" she asked.

Edward furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"

Penelope sighed. "I've been thinking a lot of the direction Arkham will take when Strange is gone. And I've decided...I want to be part of it."

Edward raised an eyebrow. "You want to go back to Arkham?"

"Not right away," she clarified. "Not while Joker is still there, but I've been talking with Joan and Dr. Thompkins about restructuring Arkham, to make it purely a mental health center, not a prison. With everything I've learned and done in the past few years, I think I could return to my position as head of research better equipped for the responsibility." She looked at Edward and her gaze seemed almost sad to him. "I enjoy what I do now with GCPD, but I don't want to do it forever. I want to go on to take a greater role in reforming mental health care in Gotham."

Edward took her in. "I'm not a bit surprised," he said. Dr. Michael must have been the biggest idiot in Gotham, to turn her down for some Suzie Q. Homemaker. "Well, I hope the future head of research can spare some time for me. I may have to break into Arkham and steal her away otherwise." He should end it there, but the champagne, the way she looked in the moonlight, the way she made him feel when she laughed and smiled, it loosened his tongue. "To tell the truth," he said softly. "I can't picture any future that doesn't have you in it."

Penelope seemed to melt at that, and a small smile returned to her face. "I'm sure she could," she teased. A small flush reappeared on her face. "Don't take this the wrong way," she said. "But I've become a bit fond of you over the past year."

Edward laughed. "It has been a year since the Barnes case, hasn't it? What a year it's been." Penelope nodded, but Edward noticed that she looked like she had more she wanted to say. "What?" he asked, ignoring the nervousness that was bubbling up in his chest. What did he have to be nervous about?

Penelope took a breath, then a stricken look came over her face. "Wait. What time is it?"

Edward looked down at his watch. 8:20. Damn. The hour was just about up. "8:20," he said with a sigh. "We should start heading back to the Manor before Bruce sends a search party."

He watched Penelope's shoulders slump slightly. "Of course." She took one last lingering look up at the sky. "You were right," she said softly. "I needed this. Thank you."

Edward smiled at her. "Not at all, Penny. You know, we ought to do this again sometime. Not here, of course, wouldn't want to presume on Bruce Wayne, but we should go out star-gazing again. Just the two of us." Edward felt his face flush and he rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, maybe Ellen can tag along. If you're comfortable with that."

Penelope's face turned wistful. "I think I'd like that," she said. Then she turned around. "We should get going."

Edward lowered his hand. "Right." As they walked away from the bluffs, a vision came to his mind of him, Penny, and Ellen off together on some night, the three of them staring up at the stars together, almost like a family. It was nice. The two of them made the trek back towards the manor in silence. It felt though to Edward that there was something left unsaid between the two of them. They were walking past the rose garden when he spoke without thinking. "There was one thing I forgot to mention about my possible future."

Penelope turned to look at him. "What's that?"

Edward paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. This was a bad idea, he should say something minor and let it drop, but the champagne had loosened his inhibitions. "Well...after Strange and Sharp are dealt with...when things have calmed down..." When there wasn't danger hanging over them...when it was safe...he looked at her to steady his nerves. I'm not in love with her...but when it was safe...maybe..."There's a question I'd like to revisit."

"What question would that be?" Penelope asked, curious.

For a long moment, Edward could barely hear anything over the sound of his heart beating. This was a bad idea, there was only one way this ever ended for him, but..."I-"

A derisive sneer was the next thing the pair of them heard. "Tt! There you are!" Edward turned around his fists balled up instinctively when he saw a child standing before them. He was short, though his glare made up for it. He looked...very familiar. The boy looked over his shoulder and called out behind him. "Father! They're by the rose garden!"

Edward heard footsteps approach and the smiling face of Bruce Wayne appeared. "Ah! Edward! Dr. Young! We were wondering where the two of you went!" Wayne stepped forward and offered a hand out to Edward. "Nice to see you again. How have you been?"

Perfectly fine until your son interrupted me. Edward swallowed his irritation, took Wayne's hand and shook it. "Busy, though I can't complain." He dropped Wayne's hand and turned his attention back to the boy, who was fixing him with a glare. "I don't think I've been introduced."

"Of course," Wayne chuckled. "This is my youngest, Damian." He nodded at the boy. "Damian, say hello."

Damian huffed. "Hello, Nigma."

So this was the fabled biological son of Bruce Wayne. Edward took a quick study of the boy. His facial structure and many of his features were identical to his father's, though his skin was darker, and his eyes green instead of blue. There was something in the boy's gaze that made him uneasy. Something cold, almost demonic. It seemed familiar. The boy, Damian, looked unimpressed at him, then turned his attention to Penelope. "Father was more worried about you, not him."

"Damian," Wayne warned. Then he gave Penelope a concerned look. "I just wanted to make sure you were alright, after what Valenti said." It seemed friendly enough, but something about how fondly Wayne spoke to her cut Edward to the quick.

"I'm fine, Bruce," Penelope said. "It's not the worst I've heard, believe me." She turned back to Edward. "I should get back to the party, but thank you again."

Edward smiled. He wasn't sure how much Wayne knew about his and Penelope's friendship, but at the moment, he didn't care. He gave her a sweeping bow. "Not at all. I'm always glad to brighten one's evening-"

"You could brighten my evening if you stopped wasting our time," Damian groused.

"Damian, that's enough," Wayne warned.

Edward jerked back up, meeting the brat's glare with one of his own. "Charming. Clearly, you don't take enough after your brother in terms of manners."

"Edward," Penelope scolded.

Damian huffed. "I don't have to take that from a certifiable psychotic that used to put people in death traps!"

Edward grit his teeth. Oh, they were going there, were they? "I beg your pardon, young man," he said. "But 'psychotic' is a specific diagnosis, one that does not fit me. If you're going to be throwing terms around like that, you should probably learn their actual definition first."

Damian rolled his eyes and looked ready to say something else when Wayne grasped his shoulders. "Come on Damian. Let's go back to the party." The boy sullenly nodded, then turned to follow his father back towards the ballroom. As Edward prepared to follow them and Penelope, he could overhear Damian mutter.

"...Wasting our time and making a doctor act like a trollop."

Penelope wasn't close enough to hear it, but Wayne and Edward both did. Wayne's face darkened, and Edward saw red. The words were out of his mouth before he had time to think them through. "Do you kiss your mother with that mouth!?"

Damian went still for a moment as if what Edward said touched a nerve. Then the boy's eyes narrowed, he balled up a fist, and before Wayne could stop him, surged back and punched Edward straight in the gut. Edward collapsed to his knees, winded and resisting the urge to upchuck the contents of his stomach over his tuxedo. God Damn but that brat could throw a punch! "Edward!" Penelope shouted, dashing to his side.

"Damian!" Wayne barked out. "Go to your room!" The boy looked like he wanted to interject, but a glare from his father silenced. "We'll discuss this later. Go." Edward watched the boy give him one last glare, then storm off back to the manor. Wayne crouched down and helped Edward to his feet. He guided him to the bench that he and Penelope had sat at a half-hour earlier. Penelope was at his side in a second. "I'm so sorry," Wayne said with a sheepish look on his face. "Damian's...had issues about his mother. We're working with him on it." Edward nodded, taking deep gasps of breath. He didn't think he could speak just yet. Wayne shuffled for a moment, then asked awkwardly, "Do you need anything?"

"I'll look after him," Penelope said decisively. "You should see your son."

"Of course. Again, I'm so sorry about this." Wayne turned around and followed his demonic hellspawn back to the ballroom. Edward took a few more breaths, then straightened out a bit, wincing as he did so. It'd been a while since he'd taken a gut punch like that, but he's had enough of them over the years that he was recovering quickly. Penelope had her hand on his forehead.

"You're skin's not clammy, so it doesn't look like you're in shock," she murmured. "He didn't hit you in the ribs, did he?"

"No," Edward choked out. "Just my stomach. I'm fine, Penny. Just give me a few minutes."

Penelope nodded in relief, then her face became thunderous. "Good, because frankly, I'm not sure which is more embarrassing. The fact that you got in a fight with a twelve-year-old or the fact that you lost!"

"I didn't lose," Edward grumbled. "He cheated! He went for a cheap shot! And he started it, in case you hadn't noticed!" Edward winced a bit. "What a brat! I'm never complaining about Ellen's behavior again!"

"His horrid behavior aside, you're the adult, Edward. You should have let it go."

"And I was going to until he called you a trollop!"

Penelope's mouth dropped. "He did what? Really?"

"Really," Edward affirmed. He took in a deep breath and exhaled. "Granted, I didn't handle it in the most mature way, but I'm not letting any kind of insult against you stand."

Penelope shook her head. "How chivalrous of you," she quipped. Her face softened all the same. "Are you sure you'll be alright?"

Edward waved her off. "I'm fine, Penny. It's not the first time a child has left me winded, sad to say." A flash came to his mind then, of another green-eyed child, punching him in the stomach. Another one of Wayne's brats-wait. What? What time is it when an elephant sits on your fence? Edward shook his head. "I just need a few minutes. You should head back in before anyone else comes snooping."

Penelope looked reluctant, but she got up and walked back towards the balcony they'd started their adventure from. Edward watched her as she disappeared, then leaned his head back. Well. That hadn't been how he wanted their hour to end. He looked up at the stars and thought about his missed opportunity. "It's just as well," he muttered. "There's only one way that ends."

When Edward returned to the ballroom ten minutes later, the party was still in full swing. He could spot Penelope talking with Dr. Leland in a far-right corner and he smiled. A few feet to their left, he saw Mayor Sharp on the receiving end of what looked like a grilling from Dr. Thompkins. He smirked. Good.

"Hi, Mr. Nigma!"

Edward looked to his left and saw Tim Drake waving him over to the refreshment table where they had met. Edward walked over. "Timothy," he said politely. "I haven't missed much, have I?"

"Just Mayor Sharp giving a few remarks, nothing important." Drake looked at him with a hint of pity. "Bruce told me that Damian punched you. Are you alright?"

"I'll live," Edward drawled. "Where is your father now? Giving Damian the scolding of a lifetime I hope."

Drake snorted. "Oh yeah. Damian's grounded. Commissioner Gordon did pull him out to talk to him though. I think they're in the library, talking about whatever you've got on that USB."

Oh, how delightful. Edward let his gaze wander to the middle of the room, where Dodgson was standing with the rest of the Arkham board, his wife and all their society friends, telling some stupid joke and laughing. Edward felt an evil smile come to his face. Oh, how the mighty were about to fall. Dodgson happened to turn towards the direction of the refreshment table. "Nigma!" he yelled out. "There you are! Get over here!"

Edward did as his client requested, trying to keep the amusement off his face. The last thing he wanted was to tip anyone off. As he joined Dodgson, he caught Penelope and Dr. Leland looking at him out of the corner of his eye, as well as Sharp. Edward kept his face neutral, despite the smirk that was threatening to split his face. "Hello again," Edward addressed the crowd. "Did you miss me?"

Mrs. Dodgson's vapid friends giggled, while the Arkham board members looked uncomfortable. Edward took a moment to stare down Valenti. He hadn't asked Penelope what exactly the man had said, but the fact that she was upset by it was all he needed to know. Valenti seemed bright enough at least not to say anything to him, instead taking a long sip out of his glass of champagne. Dodgson laughed again and slapped Edward's back, hard. "There's our favorite Rogue!" It seemed that while Edward was with Penelope, Dodgson had gotten tipsy. Dodgson laughed again. "Oh no, not a Rogue anymore. Where's that plate in your head?" Dodgson raised his knuckles and tapped on the back of Edward's head. "Ah, there it is! Does it hurt when I do this?" He tapped harder and laughed at the metallic noises.

Edward stood frozen for a moment. He'd never allowed anyone to touch him where the doctors had repaired his skull. He took a quick look at the other people in the room. Dr. Leland looked horrified, Thompkins scandalized, Sharp vindictive. Penelope though? Her face went taut and her eyes narrowed. She took a step forward, clenching her fists over and over again. She looked ready to tear Dodgson apart. Time to defuse the situation. Edward forced himself to laugh. "I thought I felt something. Perhaps it was just the breeze." The crowd around him, Dodgson included, laughed. Edward shot a quick look at Penelope and winked. She didn't look amused, but she relaxed and stepped back.

"Isn't he great?" Dodgson laughed at his friends. "What a champ! He just helped me save hundreds of thousands of dollars!"

"You haven't told us just how he did so, Albert," Sharp said in that insufferable voice.

A gleam came to Dodgson's eyes and Edward braced himself. Seemed like Dodgson was about to do a little exposing of his own. "Well, let me tell you the story, Quincy. Better yet, let me show you!" Dodgson reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a manilla envelope. He opened it and Edward could see that the contents were the pictures that he had taken of Mrs. Dodgson, in flagrante delicto. Dodgson began to distribute the pictures. By now, the noise in the ballroom had died down, as more people began paying attention to this display. "Eddie here got me pictures of my dear darling, Tina, with her trainer! With the gardener! With my goddamn moocher son!" As Dodgson's friends looked at the pictures, their faces began to flush. Mrs. Dodgson stood still as a statue, all the color drained from her face. Even Sharp, to his credit, looked appalled by his friend's behavior. Finally, Dodgson took the empty envelope and threw it at his wife. "Remember that prenup sweetheart? You're not getting a cent! You can run off back to Arkansas with Ben, or Javier, or fucking Dirk for all I care!"

Big tears welled up in the eyes of the soon-to-be-ex Mrs. Dodgson, and Edward almost felt sorry for her. Almost, until she met his gaze and her face twisted into a scowl. "You-you-you CREEP!" She backhanded Edward, snapping his face to the side. Edward winced and cupped his cheek. Mrs. Dodgson pushed her way past Edward and ran bawling from the ballroom, followed closely by her plastic friends.

"Alright, Albert," Sharp said. "That's enough." He turned his beady pale blue eyes to Edward and gave him a dismissive nod. "I think it's high time for you to leave. You've caused quite enough trouble for one evening!"

At soon as Mrs. Dodgson and company had left the room, Wayne and Commissioner Gordon returned, both with dark looks on their faces. They pushed their way through the crowd, heading straight towards Dodgson. Edward smirked. Showtime. "Oh, I have one more trick up my sleeve, Mayor Sharp," he said in a brassy tone of voice. He took a quick look towards Penelope, whose eyes widened in realization. "You see," he addressed the room. "Mr. and Mrs. Dodgson had joint accounts, so when Mr. Dodgson gave me permission to look at her spending habits, he also gave me permission to look at his." Dodgson still had a dopey grin on his face, though the Board members seemed to be catching on to what was happening and shooting each other worried looks. "Now, I am a man of expensive tastes myself, so I'm not one to judge their spending habits, but it struck me that they seemed to be spending more money than Mr. Dodgson should be making as a consultant. Being on the right side of the law now, I thought it would be prudent to look into it, just in case Mrs. Dodgson was up to criminal mischief." He looked Dodgson dead in the eye. "Imagine my surprise," he said. "When I combed through the account and saw a $250,000 transfer from Arkham Asylum's general fund to the Dodgson account." All the noise in the room died and the grin finally fell from Dodgson's face. His face went pale and his eyes widened in realization and terror. Edward's grin only grew wider. "And what a coincidence, this transfer happened not two days after Mr. Wayne generously gave the asylum a grant for renovations." Wayne and Gordon were less than three feet away now and they stopped behind Dodgson. Edward nodded at Wayne in acknowledgment. "I'm sure you didn't approve of that transfer of funds, did you, Mr. Wayne?"

"No, I did not," Wayne ground out. Dodgson whipped his head around and his mouth dropped as he saw Wayne and Gordon tower over him. "Commissioner Gordon showed me everything Mr. Nigma found. And yes, I will be pressing charges." Gordon stepped forward and grabbed Dodgson by the elbow, not too gently leading him out of the room. Dodgson turned back to give Edward an impotent glare, only to whither under his smirk. When Gordon had pulled Dodgson out of the room, Edward turned to face the Arkham board, Mayor Sharp, and all of Dodgson's friends. They stared back at him, their jaws dropped. The Board members, in particular, looked terrified.

"I have to wonder," Edward said conversationally, looking right at Valenti as he spoke. "If I were hired to look into how the grant money was allocated, what else I would find? It may be something to keep in mind, the next time someone comes forward with questions about how the Asylum is run." He then turned to Penelope and gave her a nod. On cue, she, Dr. Leland, Dr. Thompkins, Wayne, and Joe Bryant approached the hapless Board members.

"About where our last conversation left off," Penelope said in that cold tone. "How you said this wasn't the time or the place to discuss how Arkham is run?" Penelope put her hands on her hips. "I think it's safe to say that circumstances have changed. Meet with us in the Library, or we'll, as one, hire Mr. Nigma to look into how the rest of Bruce's grant was spent." The Board members' faces paled, and Valenti looked ready to say something to her when Wayne cleared his throat.

"I have my checkbook in my pocket," he said. "I can pay Mr. Nigma's fee in full right now."

At this, the Board members caved, Patton nodding and gesturing the group to follow them. Edward watched Penelope, in particular, look smug at Valenti and smiled. Go get them, partner. He then turned to address the final target of the evening. Sharp stood still, his mouth agape. Edward clucked his tongue. "I do apologize for the commotion, Mayor," he said in a voice so condescending it even annoyed him, "But I think it's for the best Dodgson was exposed in this way. You wouldn't want your association with him to hurt you politically, now would you?" Sharp seemed to come to life then, his face purpling with rage. He took a step towards Edward, only for his bodyguards to stop him. Sharp sneered, then stormed out of the ballroom with his entourage. His performance done, Edward walked back to the refreshment table, past an amused looking Drake, and downed a final glass of champagne. His face and stomach hurt, but he'd earned it, damn it.

The gala died quickly soon after. Between Dodgson's humiliation of his wife and his subsequent arrest, the guests found excuses to leave. Edward himself walked out of the ballroom with a spring in his step. Assault and battery aside, it had been a good night. As he walked down the hall, he saw Wayne standing outside of the library. "Thanks again for your help," Wayne said. "And sorry again about Damian. He's been indefinitely grounded."

That made Edward's smile wider. Then he shuffled a bit. "My whole display didn't put too much of a damper on your gala, did it?" He hadn't stopped to think about how Wayne might feel about his mother's gala being co-opted, and the man had been good to him in the past. To his relief, Wayne waved him off.

"Are you kidding? This will be the talk of my social circle for years." Wayne smiled at him. "Have a good night, Edward."

Edward nodded. "You as well, Mr. Wayne." Edward walked further down the hall, only to find Pennyworth waiting for him at the front entrance, with a covered plate.

"Master Bruce informed me of the night's events." He handed the plate to Edward. "This is a plate of chocolate raspberry cream puffs. Consider this as an apology for Master Damian's atrocious manners and our thanks for what you uncovered."

"Well, I accept both," Edward said jovially. Desserts for Ellen, just like he promised. "Thank you again, for a truly memorable evening."

"Likewise," Pennyworth said drolly, opening the door for Edward. He stepped through, back out into the cool Autumn evening. He was halfway to his car when he heard a voice behind him.

"Edward?"

Edward turned and saw Penelope behind him. "I thought you were off with the Board members," he said. Not that he wasn't happy to see her.

"I was, but Bruce said you were leaving." Penelope ran a hand through her long, dark hair. "I wanted to thank you again for everything tonight."

"Not at all," he said. "I just hope my performance was useful."

"I'll say it was," Penelope said with a smirk. "Joan, Dr. Thompkins and I will be meeting with the Board tomorrow at Wayne Corp to outline our main concerns."

"Oh to be a fly on that wall," Edward quipped, and this time, Penelope didn't try to hide her smile. He took her in, one last time. God, but she was beautiful when she smiled. "Well, I should get going. I have an interview with Vicki Vale first thing tomorrow morning about tonight's events."

Penelope looked surprised, then shook her head. "Oh, Sharp will love that."

"I'm sure he will." He gave her another sweeping bow. "Until next time, my dear doctor."

"I'll see you Friday, Edward," Penelope said. She looked at him like there was something else she wanted to say before she seemed to think better of it. "Goodnight." She turned on her heel and walked back into Wayne Manor. Edward watched her go, then resumed the walk back to his car. As he opened the door and put the plate of cream puffs down, he looked back up at the sky full of stars. For a moment, he indulged himself with a thought of him, Penelope, and Ellen together. His own little family. Then he sighed. Not now, but maybe someday, when Sharp and Strange were gone when it was safe...maybe. Maybe.