Chapter Four: Forgiven

When she woke up, the room was spinning.

Or was she spinning?

Sylvia opened her eyes carefully, noticing that the guards were gone, but around her were four familiar souls. Alfred, Bruce, Fox, and Jim. Like herself, they were drugged; Jim was strapped to a chair by the arms and legs, and he looked the worst between the five of them.

She quickly collected herself, getting to her feet, only to be outweighed by her unbalanced equilibrium and she went crashing back down to the concrete floor.

"What the fuck did they…oh, no... Alfred…Alfred, wake up!" Sylvia said loudly, but in all reality, the words had been spoken barely above a whisper.

Nausea suddenly masked her dizziness. Sylvia picked herself off the ground, rushing to the nearest thing that looked like a sink and upchucked anything and everything that was left in her stomach. After dry heaving the last two minutes, she wiped her drool from her chin with the back of her hand, squinting through the blurriness until her vision became sharper, and noticed Jim was the only one in a chair.

Like her, he was groggy.

"Jim...fuck, Jim! Oh my god, are you okay!" Sylvia cried, running to him, and nearly stumbling over her own bare feet. She knelt down in front of him: "Oh my god, Jim, can you hear me? Jim…Jim! Say something!"

"Hi, Vee…." Jim groaned, squinting his eyes at her.

"Did they drug you?"

"Yes."

Sylvia glanced down at Bruce and Fox, shaking them awake.

"Guys, wake up!" She said hastily. "Wake up!"

Fox groaned, sitting up, and looked around just as Bruce did the same.

"My word…That was extremely unpleasant," He said logically, rubbing his head.

Bruce sat up as well, looking at Sylvia curiously before noticing the rest of them were around him. Alfred, who had managed to get through the dizzy spell without vomiting his lungs out, rose to his full stance.

"Can't imagine what they gave us," Alfred said dismally, rubbing his elbows. "Not exactly the gentlest of orderlies, were they?"

"Well, we're not dead." Sylvia reminded. "That's what's important."

"Why are you here?" Fox asked, getting up, glancing at Alfred and Sylvia. "How did you get in?"

"Posing as a guardsman," Alfred answered. "This one pretended to be a prisoner." He nodded his head at Sylvia. "She had me fooled."

"Alfred!" Bruce exclaimed, and he quickly hugged the butler, who returned it whole-heartedly.

"Where's Strange?" Sylvia questioned the room. "Where is he?"

"We don't know. We were gassed," Fox answered.

Alfred chimed in: "Like us—we were caught in the hallway…."

"No—not us. Mr. Wayne and I were held up in some type of room, being questioned by a lunatic who has, might I add, a bit of an obsession with riddles."

"Ed?" Sylvia suggested. She stepped towards Fox: "Why was Ed there?"

"He wasn't with us technically—he was playing a game." Bruce pitched. "Asked us questions, wanted to know what we knew about people who ran Indian Hill, Wayne Enterprises…."

"Apparently the answer 'Board of Directors' was not a satisfying answer," Fox said offhandedly, while he appeared seriously offended. "Who else would run Wayne Enterprises?"

"And 'I don't know' is never sufficient," Sylvia stated, rolling her eyes to the ceiling. "But did he seem okay when you saw him?"

"Why on Earth would that matter?" snapped Alfred, taking Bruce's shoulder and pulling him back to him protectively. "That lunatic damn near killed them!"

"If it was poisonous gas, they'd be dead already."

"But the fact remains—"

"—Let it go, Alfred—" Bruce suggested warily.

"—Master B and Lucius were put into a situation they needn't have been. I'm assuming you're trying to defend this inmate because he's a friend of yours?"

Sylvia said coolly, "It's complicated between us."

Fox asked curiously, "Is he a lover?"

"What!" She responded incredulously. "No, of course not!"

"That's an emphatic 'no' for a simple question," Fox noticed while Bruce and Alfred silently agreed.

"Fuck you!" Sylvia snapped at Fox, who looked unaffected by it. "My love life isn't the thing in question here, guys, so you'd fuck off if you know what's good for you."

She strode past them and stood before Jim, who looked at her sadly.

"Are you okay, Jimmy?" She said softly; it was a 180-degree change in her voice from when she had spoken to the other three.

"No."

"Did they drug you?" Fox asked.

"Yes. They drugged me. Made me talk."

"About Wayne Enterprises?" Bruce assumed as he undid Jim's restraints.

"About Wayne Enterprises, about everything…." Jim said unhappily. He suddenly took Bruce's arm. "I never should have made that oath to you. I was arrogant and naive. I'm sorry. I tried to do the right thing" (Bruce, Fox, Alfred, and Sylvia exchanged odd glances) "but what a fool I've been."

Fox cleared his throat and said gingerly, "Mr. Gordon, what kind of drugs did they give you?"

"Honesty serum. Strange said it was 'honesty serum'."

"Potions that make you tell the truth," Sylvia muttered as she finished untying the one restraint around his legs. "Back then, we used to just torture people until they gave us what we needed. This world is getting soft, isn't it, buddy?"

"Vee—"

"—Not now, Jim—"

"—Vee—"

"—I said 'not now'!" She interrupted him, putting a hand over his mouth. "There will be plenty of time for you to tell me the truth about whatever you feel it is that I don't already know about, but first we need to find Strange."

She freed his mouth so she could bend down and untie the other restraint on his leg.

"Vee, I'm sorry I wasn't there for the times you needed me," Jim continued, ignoring her comments from earlier. "I wanted to be the brother you wanted me to be, but I can't…not always, but I should have been there for your wedding, but I let my pride get the best of me."

"Seriously, Jim, you can stop." Sylvia said curtly, as she stood. "I already know that stuff. Trust me. I know you."

"You're the only woman that hasn't abandoned me," Jim said quietly, looking at her with puppy dog eyes. "The truth is that I know no matter what I do to you, you'll always be there for me. Sometimes, I take advantage of that, and I manipulate it to my own benefit, and I'm sorry…."

"I already knew that too. Seriously, there's nothing you can tell me that I haven't already figured out for myself."

"I know when I find Lee. I'm sure she'll have found someone else. That hurts, but then I think: 'well, another one is gone, she'll be happier without me'. But it doesn't hurt as much, because I know I'll have you; I know you got my back...no matter what I do."

"…Jim…."

He stood in front of her and said softly, "I really don't know where our mom went after they divorced. I'm not sure if she died or—or what—but I know that since she has been gone, I see you differently. Not like a sister... You've been a maternal figure to me more than her, even when she was still around."

"Okay, stop." Sylvia urged, putting a hand over his mouth. "You're freaking me out with your confessions, okay? Like, seriously…Hush, please."

Meanwhile, Fox, Bruce, and Alfred exchanged looks that consisted of confusion, doubt, and discomfort.

"I hate it because I took our parents for granted," Jim rambled, taking Sylvia's hand from his mouth, "I took them for granted, thought they were immortal. And you're right, Vee. You're right. I felt like I was the favorite…You were always in my shadow, and I didn't notice until a lot later."

"Jim."

"I love you a great deal," He wrapped his arms around her in a bear hug. "More than I will ever love anyone else...more than I love myself..."

"But you hate yourself. So, that's not much of a compliment."

"I just love you a lot, and I want you to know that."

"Okay, Care Bear." She patted his shoulders, and pushed him away from her gently. "As much as I like hearing you grovel for my affection and apologizing to me, I can't be this close to you right now, okay?"

He looked at her, confused.

"The police thought you checked in with them. Strange sent one his puppies to the GCPD, and you can ask Alfred—they looked just like you. Acted like you…Well, for the most part."

"What do you mean 'for the most part'?" Fox asked curiously.

Sylvia didn't say it, as if the actual vocalization of it would make her puke.

Instead, Alfred piped up: "That impostor kissed her."

"Like on the cheek?" Bruce assumed.

"With his tongue," Alfred answered, shuddering with disgust.

Fox, Bruce, and Jim looked completely appalled, glancing at Sylvia in turn.

"Needless to say," Sylvia managed, "that's ultimately how Harvey and all of them figured out you weren't—well—you. I had a feeling you weren't you when you called me 'doll', 'sugar bean', and 'sweet thing'. Yet, he couldn't remember that you" (She pointed to him cleverly) "called me 'Vee'. Must have been the only thing Strange or whatever-he-was didn't know about the one and only James Gordon. Suffice to say, it was a bit aggravating talking to Not-You."

Jim rubbed his head and said softly, "Well, I'm glad you're okay."

"I'm okay, just...for now...keep your distance."

Fox turned to Alfred: "When did you find out that we never left Arkham?"

"I knew immediately, but getting here wasn't exactly the easiest thing in the world. Little Frumpkin just blew through the highway like she was driving a tank, instead of my car."

"Hey, don't talk smack about me—We got out of there alive," Sylvia reminded loudly.

"Then we were stuck in the bloody elevator for a while," Alfred continued. He addressed Jim with a mixture of admiration and incredibility: "I don't know how you two grew up without killing each other. This one could be really argumentative."

"You chose to go down that bumpy road, Jeeves. You didn't have to argue with me." Sylvia noted wryly, smirking at him.

"On a contrary, I'm sure I did. How your husband deals with your quibbles is beyond me."

"Well, my quibbles tend to lie parallel to his own agenda about nine out of ten times; those are pretty damn good odds."

"I find it admirable that you are able to bat away every cynical remark I have about your personality."

"Whatever, Alfred." Sylvia sighed, rolling her eyes. She looked at Jim: "What are we going to do now?"

"I need some water." Jim muttered.

"Is that a fact?"

"Well," Bruce uttered pointedly, "he can only tell the truth right now, so..."

Alfred patted Bruce on the back, saying, "Don't start in with that one, Master B, trust me," when Sylvia sent the two of them a cold glance.

After a few minutes had passed where most of the drug had been worked out of their system. They all stood in a circle, contemplating their decisions that led them up to this moment. Two orderlies dressed in white garb came strutting in, holding a young girl by the arm. When she was finally let go, Sylvia noticed her on sight.

It was Selina, or 'Cat', as she preferred to be called.

She looked directly at Bruce: "You."

Glancing at them all, he took the initiative and walked towards her. They spoke in low voices.

"What the hell is this room anyway?" Sylvia questioned. "Is it a closet, a kitchen…Can't be a torture room, I don't see a rack anywhere."

"Who was the imposter?" Jim inquired, looking at her curiously.

"Some guy. I don't know. Didn't really care to find out more."

"Was Harvey fooled?"

"Are you kidding!" Alfred said harshly. "If it was left up to him, you'd still be here and we'd still be chasing our tails, looking for the lot of you! Luckily, Sylvia was there."

"The only person around or alive that would have known Jim wasn't acting like himself would've been Babs. Kinda cold in this room," Sylvia mused as she glanced at her own bare feet.

"Who is 'Babs'?" Fox questioned.

"Miss Kean," Alfred clarified.

"Jimmy Boy's former flame," Sylvia said with crooked grin.

"Right." Jim mumbled.

"What are they talking about, do you wonder?" Fox asked, eying Bruce and Selina indicatively.

"Who knows: true love is an enigma." Sylvia sighed, smiling genuinely at the young lovers.

"Speaking of E's and 'Nygmas'," Fox said unhappily.

"Don't start."

"He wouldn't be around," Jim said knowingly. "Strange probably put him back in his cell."

Selina suddenly left with the two guards and Bruce turned to them, looking more troubled than ever.

"What'd she say?" Jim asked.

"She'll do what she likes. And….there's a bomb."

"I imagine that last part should have come first, don't you think, son?" Sylvia contemplated. "And here we were worried we'd die of starvation and dehydration in a fucking elevator. This certainly puts things into perspective."

"Well, no amount of cannibalism would save you after being detonated, would it?" Alfred remarked. "So, you might as well get that idea out of your head instantly."

Fox glanced between them unsteadily and said, "Starvation, dehydration, cannibalism—What kind of conversations were you two having before?"

"One of survival. You're not on the menu," Sylvia joked. "You've nothing to worry about."

"Grand." Fox remarked, although not so enthusiastically.

"So, we're in here while there's a bomb going on," said Alfred, looking at Bruce. "What are we to do until then? Wait for her to come back?"

"She'd have a plan," He answered calmly. "She always does."

"And if the bombs go off before she comes back?" Fox offered.

Alfred sighed, "Then we'll die here, won't we?"

Sylvia glared at Alfred, and the rest of them: "You all may die here, but I certainly am not. I just reunited with my husband, and if you think Strange is going to be the reason why I have to call Oswald and tell him I'm not coming back, then you all have another thing coming!"

"But—" Bruce began.

Alfred pulled him back: "Actually, let her steam a while. She thinks best when she's miffed."

Excluding Sylvia, of course, all of them turned to Jim for confirmation and the man shrugged—they knew the answer already anyway. An alarm started going off above.

Sylvia was just about to leave until Selina stormed through the doors, smiling.

"What's going on?" Bruce asked.

Selina returned, "Simple psychology. I was just waiting for the right moment."

They followed her through the doors, to a cafeteria, where Victor Fries and someone who could only be Bridgit Pike back from the dead having an ice-and-fire fight across a set of tables with Dr. Hugo Strange standing in the back, looking on with horror.

Fifteen Minutes to Detonation.

The P.A. system above spoke in a flat tone.

That prompted Strange to look up in fear and then, as though deciding now would be the best time to get going, he stood and ran. When he did, Freeze and Firefly caught the movement and threw their preferential element at each other, locking the doctor in as a median. The man fell flat on his back when he'd gotten enough of a dose to vaporize a dog.

"If he doesn't die from that, I'd be surprised," Sylvia said amusedly.

Firefly and Freeze exchanged regrettable expressions. After all. In some ways, he was 'Father'.

Jim was on Hugo Strange, hitting him a few times before Strange woke up. Seeing Jim, he smiled. Seeing Sylvia, his smile retracted a little.

"Well, it seems that my plan may have gone awry," He drawled.

"Forget surprise," muttered Sylvia. "Now, I'm just damn near disappointed."

"You could say that." Jim said to Strange with a sarcastic smile. "Now, I'm going to stand you up. When I do, you're going to show us a tour of your secret lab."

"No, no!" Strange squeaked, shaking in his shoes.

"You don't have a choice!"

Strange was pulled to his feet.

Jim said offhandedly, "It's this way, right?"

"We can't go down there!" Strange insisted fearfully. "We can't! I set a bomb! The lab is going to blow up! We have to get out of here! In ten minutes, everything within a quarter mile of radius will be dust."

"That's madness," said Jim, switching serious glances with Sylvia, then looking at Strange, who was slowly losing his composure.

"If you want to live—which I do frankly—we had better leave!" Strange responded strongly.

"We detected a radioactive material down there," Fox said coolly, "You got it out first, right?"

"There wasn't enough time! They forced my hand, but by my calculations, the chance of a radioactive cloud is fairly low."

"If you're wrong, thousands of people could die."

"Yes, yes, yes, but paying that price will be better than releasing what's down there."

"How do we shut it down?" Jim demanded.

"The security walls are up—the lab is sealed—"

"—There must be someway in—"

"—Please, we have to go! We have to leave now!"

Having had enough of his pleas, Jim grabbed Strange by the collar and threatened, "You tell me how to get that bomb and shut it off or I'll batter you to death right now!"

Sylvia looked on with pride.

Strange confessed helplessly, "In which case, young man, I suppose I will have to die."

Sylvia strode up to him saying, "I'll gladly indulge."

"Vee—"

"Jim, if there's no way of disarming a bomb, I'm going to get my jollies in before I fucking die. Aside from torturing my husband and nearly ruining my marriage, I think I'm a little entitled to kill the weasel, don't you!"

Everyone's face looked troubled—as needed—until Selina chimed in, "Wait! Nygma knows a way down there!"

Sensing the doc was a lost cause, Jim let Strange be. He turned to Fox, saying, "Could use some help…."

"You got me." He said dutifully.

Jim spoke to Selina and Bruce, saying, "You two. You've got nine minutes. Get as far from here as possible. Alfred—" (Jim turned to the butler) "—get them out of here, no matter what happens."

Alfred pushed Bruce and Selina out of the doors even though Bruce was fiercely protesting.

Jim looked at Sylvia.

"No!" She immediately fired. "If you think even for a second that I'm leaving—"

"For once, I need you to stay," Jim said quickly.

"Oh, now I need to know why."

"You need to know why?"

"Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't, but you've never once asked me to stay when my life and yours are threatened. So yes, I'd like to know."

"Nygma won't budge for me, but for you, I know he'd move mountains."

"That's sweet."

"Could we—" Fox insisted, gesticulating for them to move forward with the impromptu plan.

The three went sprinting down the hall way with Sylvia leading the way to Ed's cell, taking down any guard that tried to disrupt their mission. When one guard did, she knocked him out cold, took his keys, and fled down the hall. The other two were louder, considering they wore shoes; hers were still sitting in the stuck elevator.

When she opened Ed's cell, he looked perplexed at first, then he smiled.

"I'll tell you what's happening," Sylvia said breathlessly. "But first, you have to come with me."

Jim and Fox arrived shortly behind her. Ed glanced at them with a frown: "Liv?"

"Just come with me!" She snapped, grabbing his arm and running down the hall.

They stopped shortly at a dead end, where, presumably, was the entrance to Strange's lab. Sensing the urgency, Ed hastily pulled up a panel.

"What do I get if I do it?" He asked Jim.

"You get to live!" Jim returned coldly.

Ed looked less than ready to appease the detective, but Sylvia hushed Jim, which made Ed happier. After she silenced him, she put her hand on Ed's face.

"If you do this for me, we're even."

"This will account for framing Gordon?"

Jim suppressed a snarl, but Sylvia nodded, saying, "Yes. Now, please...We don't have much time."

Ed picked the lock, and it opened. Fox leapt forward, but Jim stayed behind.

"You need to get as far from here as possible." Jim warned.

"I know the stakes." Sylvia reassured.

Jim joined Fox in the elevator shaft and they made their way down to the basement. When they had gone, Sylvia turned to Ed, who watched expectantly.

"We need to get out."

"Out? why—"

"Strange made a bomb."

"A bomb—"

"—Yes, a bomb. And it is set to go off in ten minutes. Less than ten, actually."

"Oh, just great," Ed growled.

"Stop pouting and come with me!"

And just as she was headed down the hallway with all of the cells, including Ed's, two guards came up, including the one who had seen her in handcuffs about to be admitted. Recognizing her from earlier, it didn't take long for him and the other guard to push them into Ed's cell, lock it, and then walk away as though they couldn't hear the alarm blaring above.

Sylvia hammered on the door, shouting, "I'm not even a fucking patient, you fuckers! GET ME OUT!"

Ed sighed, looking at the ceiling, "This would be my luck."

"What luck?" She asked, sitting against the door hopelessly. "This isn't exactly an ideal situation for me either."

"I wasn't talking about the bomb. There finally was a way to make it up to you, so you could forgive me for framing your brother—"

"—And killing one of the Strike Force—"

"—That too…." Ed readily agreed. "Once I accomplished that….Well, it doesn't matter anyway."

The P.A. System updated with the new detonation count down but Sylvia made a point to ignore it. She didn't want a countdown if her life was going to end. She'd prefer it to be a surprise.

She leaned her back against the door, sinking down, sitting beside him.

She looked at him, saying, "I did forgive you. You know."

"Did you?"

"I have."

"It's not because we're about to die, is it?" He asked, unconvinced. "Things change when one's life is at stake. Feelings get stronger, stakes are higher…."

"Would it make a difference if I told you that I forgave you long before you opened Strange's lab."

"Why are you smiling? We're about to die, Liv." Ed said tiredly. "Wait, what did you say?"

Sylvia stood; Ed did too.

"You've done some atrocious things," She cared to acknowledged. "You killed Kristen, and Officer Dougherty; you framed my brother for a crime that I committed...put Bruce and Fox in a room and then tried poisoning them—a lot of that should bother me."

"Doesn't it bother you?"

"It does," Sylvia conceded, nodding. "But only where my brother is concerned. You put his life at stake, and then pretended to be my friend."

"Not to rehash old arguments, but I wasn't pretending."

Sylvia stared at him, contemplating whether or not she wanted to get into that debate or not, but owing to the fact that they had very little time to get their feelings out to the open, she decided to ignore his comment.

"You've hurt me enough in the past that I would be able to kill you and not feel too bad about it. At least not a couple months from now."

"So you would feel bad for a little if you killed me, then."

Sylvia chuckled, "And that's your silver lining? Really?"

Ed looked at her with a mild annoyance, "Liv, we're going to die in a nuke. You might as well cut the bit and get to the point, please?"

"I know you," She said lightly. "I knew you back when you were just Ed: The Forensic Guy. You were nervous, awkward, and you had never killed a soul. In some ways, I think I helped you into becoming...well, whatever it is you claim to be. You're a part of me, a friend that I wouldn't find anywhere else in the world. You're quite possibly my best friend. Just being able to say that…."

Two minutes until detonation.

"Are we okay, then?" Ed questioned.

Sylvia smiled, holding out her hand. He shook it.

"Great," He said with a quirky smile. "Forgiveness is always good to have just before we die."

And then…No bomb. No detonation of any kind.

"It's been more than two minutes," Ed mumbled.

"I guess Jim got to it before it could explode."

"Clever Jimbo."

"Watch that tone of yours when you're talking about my brother."

Feeling it best not to press his luck, Ed smiled innocently. Then they hugged. But there was a stern side to the hug as Sylvia drew back and her eyes bore into his.

"Let this be a warning to you."

"Yes?"

"If you go after my family again—any of them—you and I will no longer be friends."

Ed said logically, "'Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.' Is that about it?"

"That's exactly right."

The door opened; it was a guard, who looked at the both of them, saying, "Accountability for all the inmates." He pointed to Sylvia: "You're not a patient, are you?"

"That's correct."

"Get out of here, then."

"Roger that." Sylvia sighed, getting to her feet. She smiled sweetly at Ed, who waved at her. "See you later, Eddy."

"Bye, Liv!"

And the door closed on her way out.