Chapter Eleven

Edward Nygma was not a fan of big crowds or open spaces, and a car show had both in high number. The open showroom was filled with people in their finery milling about with glasses of champagne in hand and smug expressions on their faces. They were Gotham's elite, the most important families in the city, minus the Wayne family of course. They were rich and powerful people who never left their little bubble of finery, the mayor and his officials in tow. There were those who ran big businesses and industries, some of which had worked their way to the top over the years but most had just inherited them from their fathers. The only decent human beings at this event were the waiters, everyday people who could only hope to catch a glimpse of this life through service, and the token invites like the Police Commissioner.

Edward spotted said Police Commissioner a few feet away from him and quickly turned to hurry over into another corner. It had been a while since anyone had seen his face and knowing the types of people at this event, they'd never really remembered it in the first place. That combined with a haircut and a bit of a cleanup, a nice suit and god awful cologne, he was practically a different person. For the purposes of their plan, he was a new person, just another wealthy Gotham elite come to see the car show who just happened to be walking around with an earpiece that allowed him to communicate with an 11ft tall crocodile.

"You remember the plan?" Edward whispered, turning away from the crowd for a moment to pretend to adjust his tie. It had been a while since he'd worn such a fine suit, and he wasn't going to pretend he didn't like it. He only wished it were his green Riddler suit and not a boring old black one. At least he had a green tie, all be it the wrong shade of green.

"Yeah." Croc growled back, his voice kind of hard to understand due to its gravely nature. Edward always had to pay extra attention when talking to him to figure out exactly what Croc had said and how he had said it. If he misjudged the tone he might fall prey to a crocodile temper tantrum. How had Madeline managed it?

"Are you in position?" He asked, doing a quick check to see if anyone was watching him talking to himself.

"Yeah, I'm on the roof. Don't understand why, but I'm on the roof." Croc growled. Edward glanced up at the ceiling. The roof of the car show room was glass, reinforced of course but it wasn't be difficult for Waylon to break through.

"We checked the schematics but the building is new so there are no connecting tunnels like in the older buildings." Jack added, also on the same line. Edward had put him in charge of the technical side of the operation. He would have preferred to be doing that part himself but the plan called for someone on the ground who wasn't an 11ft tall crocodile, and he couldn't send Jack in because the kid was too young and not capable of pulling off being from the upper-class.

"So how do we get out again?" Croc asked, forgetting parts of the plan already. Riddler sighed with frustration, how many times did they have to go over this.

"Once Madeline shows up everyone will go into a panic and head for the doors, once most of them are out I will hit the emergency lock down button to seal us in, then Jack will hack into the city grid and kill the power. The locks are on a separate system but the garage doors at the back are linked up to the main power grid so they'll be easy for you to open. If we get this done quickly we won't have to deal with the GCPD but if we do there won't be too much interference from them at the back entrance because the area is quite confined with lots of cars in the way. There is a bit of a ways to go before the first sewer entrance but those roads should be fairly quiet with the odd..."

"Excuse me, monsieur?" A stranger asked, startling Edward a little too much for him to seem inconspicuous. Still, he tried his best to regain his composure and spun around, but nothing could compare him or his composure for the stunning beauty before him. His jaw almost literally dropped but to save himself from looking like a fool he clenched it shut.

She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and that was a big complement coming from him. He had never really been that interested in women before, not that he was gay, he just didn't really put them on his list of priorities. That list had become rather small since Batman's demise, so perhaps they had crept onto it without him realising, or perhaps this woman was that beautiful she had forced her way onto it. Regardless, she was stunning. Auburn hair tied in a loose bun with strands lightly curling by the side of her face, leaving just enough of ear uncovered to reveal the extravagant and most likely very expensive rosy coloured earrings. Her eyes were blue, a crystalline blue that could almost be considered silver in the right light, but never grey. Her nose was straight and very elfin in appearance, her lips slightly thinner but more delicate and regal than that of American girls, and her cheek bones rivalling that of Angelina Jolie. She was very thin and willowy but not to the extent that she looked sick, her collarbone pronounced in a way that made her seem even more regal and refined Her dress was tight a tight fitting, scarlet dress with a slit up on leg, and very tall heels that made her slightly taller than Edward. Without them it was likely she'd be the same height, if not a little bit shorter, but still very tall. Some would have considered her to be too thin to be attractive, but Edward thought she was gorgeous.

"Erm, yes?" Edward stuttered after he realised he'd be staring in awe at her for a little too long. "Can I help you?" He didn't really know how he was supposed to talk to this woman, any woman really, let alone a regal heiress.

"Actually, monsieur, I was wondering if I could help you?" She asked, her accent heavenly to listen to. So refined and elegant, the voice of class itself.

"With what?" Edward asked with caution. What did he do? What did he do? Had she perhaps seen him talking to himself like a mad man. She probably thought he was a mad man. But then why had she come over to talk to him.

"You look to be struggling with your tie." She beamed with a glowing smile, gesturing to Edward's tie. In his attempt to seem busy by adjusting his tie over and over again he had in fact made it look rather messy, as if tied by a common thug and not the great Riddler.

"Oh yes. Stubborn thing, can't get it right." Edward laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head but then quickly returning his hand to his side after realising that a gentleman wouldn't do such a thing.

"Allow me." The French lady said, and went to fix the tie. Her hands were also delicately thin and elegant as they took the soft fabric of the tie and wrapped it around in an almost erotic way, at least Edward thought it was erotic, but that was because he had never gotten laid before.

"My name is La Demoiselle Adalicia Dubois. And you?" The French lady asked as she pedantically smoothed out every crease in the fabric and ensured its perfection. A perfectionist, even more wonderful.

"Edward Nygm..." Edward began, only realising that he was going to blow his cover when he was too far into his name to change it. "...Nygmobblepot. Yes, Edward Nygmobblepot." He announced, feeling quite insulted by his own lack of intelligence. What a stupid name.

"Nygmobblepot?" Adalicia clarified, also seeming to find it stupid. "How very strange."

"Yes well, it's just one of those names." Edward laughed awkwardly again. "You know, you may not like them but once you're given them you're stuck with them." The conversation was going nowhere, and now that she had finished fixing his tie Adalicia was looking at him expectantly. Edward didn't really know what to do in this situation, so he did the thing he did best.

"What always runs but never walks, often murmurs, never talks, has a bed but never sleeps, has a mouth but never eats?" Edward blurted out before he realised what he was saying. Great, now she was going to think he was a weird freak who was obsessed with riddles. Well, he was a weird freak who was obsessed with riddles, but she didn't need to know that. Oddly enough, instead of looking at him as if he were an alien and then hurrying away back to the land of sanity, Adalicia smiled and her eyes lit up with excitement.

"A riddle? Oh my how fun." She gasped, clapping a little with joy. "Let's see now..." She thought for a moment and during that moment Edward watched her with awe. She was stunningly beautiful and liked riddles, had someone made her for him. This was all very strange, but too wonderful for him to be bothered about it.

"I have it." She announced suddenly, snapping Edward out of his adoring gaze. "La rivière." She announced and looked to Edward for his approval.

"Yes, that is correct." He applauded. Okay, it was an easy one, but it still only took her a few seconds.

"Another another." Adalicia pleaded, moving close and resting her hands on Edwards chest. It made his spine tingle and a shiver of delight rush through him. He had to keep it together though.

"Alright. Let's see. My first is often at the front door. My second is found in the cereal family. My third is what most people want. My whole is one of the united states. What am I?" Edward asked, using one of his hardest and most complicated riddles. He certainly wouldn't reject her if she couldn't figure this one out, but if she did he might just fall in love.

Adalicia took a little longer with this riddle, thinking about it for quite some time and muttering to herself in French as she did so.

"You having fun there?" Croc asked with an irritated tone. Either he was frustrated with having to wait so long for Madeline to show, or jealous that Edward had such a beautiful woman to talk to. Edward was aware of the gravity of the situation that was about to occur when Madeline showed up and he needed to be one his toes, but Adalicia was a once in a life time find. She probably didn't even live in Gotham, so he might never see her again. Still, who did she think he was, a wealthy businessman or something? How would she feel if she knew the truth. How would she react if she found out he was not a regal lord or refined gentleman, but a borderline narcissistic, obsessive compulsive, attention-seeking egomaniac criminal mastermind? Then again, if Madeline had fallen in love with a cannibalistic crocodile man, surely it wasn't that farfetched for Adalicia to get over a little bit of crazy.

"Matrimony." Adalicia answered dreamily, catching Edward off guard again, this time surprising him with her answer. She'd gotten it right.

"Wow." Edward gasped, not able to hide his shock for the sake of seeming gentlemanly anymore. "That's correct." Adalicia laughed with delight.

"Oh monsieur, your riddles are très bien. Tell me, what do you do for a living?" Adalicia asked, and Edward went pale. Shit. Shit shit shit shit shit! Crap, what did he do for a living?

"Yeah Edward." Croc added, seeming like he was trying to ruin this situation for him on purpose. "What do you do for a living." Adalicia was looking at him, expectant for an answer with a genuine smile on her face. She was really curious about him, in a good way, and seemed to genuinely want to know about him. Edward felt his heart pounding like crazy in his chest, partially due to his anxiety from being in such a crowded room and partially because of Adalicia. He'd never felt like this before. He told himself over and over again that it was just oxytocin, nothing more than chemicals going haywire in his brain. But if it was just in his brain then why did he feel it in his chest.

"Robotic engineering." Edward announced quickly. It wasn't a lie. He did engineer robots, just for criminal purposes."

"Oh my, that is incroyable. You are so intelligent." Adalicia confessed, sounding genuinely impressed. "Oh it is wonderful to speak to a man of intellect. So many men today are so obsessed with the body, that they forget to improve the mind." Adalicia sounded so forlorn with the state of affairs, but her words made Edward feel very good about himself. He was certainly no Hercules.

"Yes. A lot of people are mere brutes nowadays." Edward announced rather loudly so that Croc heard him. As he expected, he received a growl of irritation. He might have to pay for that later, but his ego certainly felt that it was worth it.

"Oh, monsieur, you will have to join me next week at the museum." Adalicia added quickly, an idea popping into her head. "There is a lecture about the galaxy and beyond by one of my favourite scientists."

"Oh, so you are a astronomer?" Edward asked, curious as to know how much of an astronomer she was, and if that included stupid star sign rubbish.

"Oh no." Adalicia confessed regretfully. "I do not have a profession. My family do not believe it suitable for a lady to study science. Only literature and art."

"Still noble things." Edward added quickly, falling instantly for the trapped princess narrative. "But you love science?"

"Oh yes. I try to attend as many lectures as I can. Especially while I am in Gotham." Adalicia beamed, a smile from ear to ear. "So, will you come with me?"

Edward had been about to answer when there was a loud bang followed by an almighty roar. Adalicia's immediate response was to cling to Edward for dear life, but unfortunately, Edward had to head towards the danger. He turned his head to see Madeline who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, standing atop one of the vintage cars and glaring at the fleeing crowd with bloodlust in her eyes.

"Come monsieur, we must run." Adalicia pleaded, trying to drag Edward along with the crowd to the exit. He wanted to go with her so badly, but he had a job to do.

"I have to go." He blurted out, trying to sound heroic. He didn't have time to try and convince her to let him go, and pulled his arm free from her grip. Without him to hold onto, Adalicia was swept away in the crowd towards the exit as Edward ran towards the control room. On his way he bumped into a couple of people and nearly knocked an old lady over as he collided with her, but continued onwards to the security room where the lock down controls were.

Waylon dropped down through the glass and landed on his feet with a heavy thud. It wasn't too bad of a fall, he'd survived worse. As he landed, Madeline, who had been about to make her first kill, snarled at his interruption. Waylon growled back, although he didn't really know if this was a form of communication or just aggression. So long as he kept Madeline's attention away from the fleeing civilians, it was fine with him.

"You aren't getting away from me this time." He warned, trying to sound menacing but it just came out as desperate. It was true though, he was determined to catch her and keep her with him. He had lost her too many times, and not just since she'd been turned into a reptilian creature, every time in their relationship that things had just started going well he'd lost her. It wasn't going to happen again.

Madeline had other ideas, and charged straight for him. She ducked to the right as Waylon went to grab her by the neck and twisted her body around to come up on his left side and take a bite out of his neck. Waylon had expected her to try such a thing and bent backwards so she missed and fell forwards in front of him. As she did so, he wrapped his arms around her, pinning her arms to her side and holding her tight. He wasn't going to be able to hold her for long though.

"Hurry up and lock us in." He snapped down the line to Riddler who should have been near the controls.

"Just a second." Riddler replied, sounding like he was trying to work out the controls. It shouldn't be too hard for him, unless he was still distracted by that French lady he'd been flirting with.

There was a clunk sound, and the roller doors began to lower over the doors and windows as the last few people hurried out, scrambling in all their finery like commoners. Waylon lost his grip on Madeline and suffered greatly as her heel collided with his crotch. He tried not to buckle over but that took all of his effort. Fortunately, Madeline had noticed the lockdown and seemed to be a little worried about it as she hurried from window to door, trying to pull them up and escape. It was a good sign, she was intelligent enough to notice when she was trapped, so perhaps she was still in there somewhere.

"You aren't getting out." Waylon growled, the pain in his groin finally subsiding but he didn't feel like he could do much more than stand and growl. Madeline spun around and snarled at him, a more vicious but defensive growl. She knew she was trapped and she knew he was responsible.

Before any more fighting insured, the lights flicked off, startling Madeline and giving Waylon the opportunity to make the first move. Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough to utilized that opportunity to its fullest and Madeline got over the initial black out shock faster than he'd anticipated. He felt all air escape him as a very expensive vintage car collided with his gut and sent him flying back, crashing into the wall.

"Urgh." He grunted as he heaved the wreck off himself. "Edward, I thought you said she wasn't built for this sort of stuff?"

"I did." Edward said through the earpiece, but Waylon could also hear him faintly to the side of the room in the door way, ready for the next part of the plan. "She must be stronger than we thought."

"Good to know." Waylon hissed sarcastically as another car flew his way. Madeline wasn't strong enough to throw cars like basket balls, it took her a sizeable amount of time to lift them over her head and throw them. This gave Waylon a bit of time to figure out where the car was going to fly.

One came hurtling at him at top speed and he moved to the side just in time to avoid being hit by it. He was still close enough however, to grab the car by its spoiler, using the force of the throw to spin himself around and throw it back with more speed and more force. It was too fast for Madeline to dodge and the car hit her in the side, knocking her to the ground rather than driving her into the wall. Waylon felt a pang of regret when Madeline hit the floor. He hadn't really thought that through. She was still moving though, all be it injured, so he hadn't killed her again.

"I got the knock out serum ready." Riddler reminded through the earpiece. "Pin her down so I can knock her out." Riddler had taken a sample of the stuff they'd used to knock out Madeline and Waylon in the theatre from Waylon's bloodstream while Waylon had been unconscious. The only part of his body that could actually be penetrated by a needle was his tongue so it was likely Madeline would be the same. He had to pin her down and keep her mouth open since Ridder didn't have a high powered dart gun to use. It was going to be difficult and they'd have to act quickly.

Waylon put his arm on the back of Madeline's neck and pinned her to the ground as she was still recovering from being hit by a car. Luckily she wasn't doing the writhing thing again so he was able to maintain his concentration. He used his bodyweight to keep her pinned down as he levered her jaws open, holding her head back and pulling her bottom jaw down so she couldn't close her mouth.

"Hurry it up!" Waylon snapped as Riddler hurried over with his syringe in hand.

"Please don't let her snap her jaws shut." Riddler asked politely, looking very worried for his own safety.

"If you want to keep your arm then you better do it quickly." Waylon growled, struggling to keep her mouth open. Riddler cautiously but quickly put his hand in Madeline's mouth and pricked the needle into her tongue. As expected, the sudden pain caused Madeline to struggle more forcefully, the effect of being hit by the car starting to wear off. To his credit, Riddler didn't retract his hand as she started struggling and continued to inject the serum, all be it looking as pale as a ghost and sweating profusely as he did so.

"You'll want to hurry up. I'm losing my grip." Waylon growled. He was certainly strong enough to hold Madeline's mouth open, but it was managing that strength that he found difficult. He always struggled with restraining himself, hence why he'd hurled that car a little too forcefully at her. If he used any more strength to hold Madeline's mouth open he ran the risk of dislocating her jaw or even ripping it off all together.

"Almost... There!" Riddler cheered, and quickly yanked his hand out as Madeline's jaw's snapped shut. He hurried away back to safety and Waylon let Madeline go. She scurried away from them and snarled and hissed as she tried to get the taste of the serum out of her mouth. It was fast working stuff and her movement began to slow as she slipped in and out of consciousness. Then, she was overcome by the serum and fell into a deep sleep. Waylon caught her before she hit the ground and the feeling of holding her limp body in his arms was all too familiar to be comfortable. But at least he had her now, and she wasn't dead this time. She was alive and he could finally get her to safety.

"GCPD are closing in. You need to get out of there now." Jack interrupted through the earpiece. Waylon carried Madeline to the doors at the back and gentle lay her down as he heaved it up and open. Riddler was first out surprisingly enough and instead of following the road to the sewer entrance they were going to take to get back to Pinckney Orphanage he took a right.

"Where are you going?" Waylon asked, confused as he scooped Madeline up again. He could hear sirens in the distance. He did not want to have to rescue Riddler again.

"I'm just going to check that everyone made it out okay." He lied. He was a really bad liar.

"You're going to check on that French girl aren't you?" Waylon guessed, and if it had been a game show he would have most certainly taken home first prize.

"I just want to make sure she's okay. That way she doesn't get anyone to look for me." Riddler explained. He didn't need to justify himself. He wanted to get laid, it was simple as that.

"Whatever." Waylon sighed, he wasn't really all that interested in what Riddler wanted. He just wanted to get Madeline to safety before the GCPD showed up and tried to lock them both up in Arkham.

As Croc hurried away in Madeline in his arms Edward quickly moved around the perimeter of the building to the front where a crowd had gathered. The owners of the building and the cars as well as the GCPD, fire brigade, ambulance, and curious onlookers. He did a quick scan of the crowd for the beautiful Adalicia. It didn't take him long to spot her, she stood out like an angel in a choir, standing close to the police tape and looking at the building she believed Edward was still trapped inside with genuine concern and dread on her face. She really cared about him didn't she? He very cautiously slipped into the crowd undetected and moved over to Adalicia. He lightly tapped her on the shoulder and she spun around with a start. Her face turned from worry to wondrous relief and without warning she flung her arms around him.

"Oh monsieur Edward, you are alright! I was so worried." She cried, holding onto him tight. Edward felt a warm fuzzy feeling in his chest and lungs, a calming warmth. He wasn't used to someone showing genuine concern for him, but it felt wonderful. Adalicia pulled away and scowled at him, but her expression was caught part way between irritated and impressed.

"Why did you do that?" She demanded with the cutest irritated voice Edward had ever heard. "You could have been killed."

"I know. I had to go and turn on the emergency lock down so the creature, whatever it was, couldn't escape and wreak havoc." Edward blurted, making it up as he went along. Regardless, Adalicia was impressed.

"Oh you brave brave fool." She applauded and scolded at the same time. "Don't ever do that again. You are not Batman."

Edward noticed some of the GCPD nearing closer to where they were standing. Any one of them could easily identify him. He needed to leave.

"Listen, Adalicia. I have to go. When is this lecture at the museum?"

"Next Monday, but why do you have to leave?" Adalicia asked, looking puzzled and worried.

"I'll meet you there at 6 o'clock." Edward added quickly, not answering Adalicia's question. He wanted to kiss her but didn't think the time was right so he hurried off into the crowd and then out of it across the street and back to Pinckney Orphanage to deal with another woman of a different kind.

I'm sorry this took so long. I could make something up about me being busy or having a family crisis or being sick (which I was for a couple days) but in all honesty I've just been playing a lot of fallout 4