(Okay! You guys asked for a sequel, well since you asked so nicely, I couldn't help but oblige you! Thanks again for all your wonderful reviews guys! This next part would have never come about if not for your reviews! D)
Edward sighed dejectedly as he stared out the recreational room window onto another dismally gray day. He examined the bars and plexi-glass thinking it seemed bit overkill even for Arkham. He hated being here with every fiber of his being. He didn't belong here.
He was, after all, far superior to most of his fellow cellmates who often whooped and hollered manically throughout the day and night. He cringed in annoyance at the mere thought. Edward knew he had his moments, but he justified to himself that most of those episodes had come about from just being imprisoned in this place. Arkham would draw the madness out of anyone.
None of them could recognize his genius, but deep down he knew the truth; he wasn't like the rest of them. Monkeys. That's what most of them were to him exceptions ran few and far between. Sure, he could enjoy talking to Crane on an intellectual level, but most conversations with him, if they didn't involve discussing fear tactics on the psyche, turned to talking about current events, which more times than not, turned into discussing their arch rival, Batman, and how he'd taken down and returned yet another escaped Arkham inhabitant.
At the mere mention of Batman, a pang of resentment would course through Edward as he wondered why he had to be the one Batman had decided to pick on. Why not Crane or Tetch or any other one of Batman's rogues? Had any of them had to endure such pain and humiliation at the hands of Batman? If he had to guess? He doubted it. There was no way to be sure of course save actually asking, and even though it drove him crazy wondering if he was the only one, there was no way Edward planned to breach that subject to deduce a solid answer to his query. Too many questions would follow, questions led to implications which led to more questions.
No, Batman was a name he definitely didn't want to hear or discuss. Another cringe rippled up his spine at the memory of their last encounter. He hadn't come back to Arkham full of his usual sarcastic witty banter that night. And as a matter of fact, he had kept decidedly quiet the whole time Batman was present. Edward had only answered direct questions making sure to say nothing that might raise otherwise invasive questions about his capture.
The doctors opinions at Arkham all differed when it came to Batman's methods, but no matter what their stance, they were all very interested in discussing in detail a patient's escape, plots, and capture. This of course was not only to try and figure out more about their patient's psychosis but to also analyze Batman vicariously through their patient.
Edward stayed silent mostly because he didn't want any remote chance of Batman bringing up what he had done to him in front of the Arkham staff. The thought of them micro analyzing that event made him feel ill. Not to mention, if the doctors knew about it, it wouldn't be long before everyone else also knew about it. If at all possible, that was a secret that would stay buried for a lifetime and then some.
Batman had thankfully been kind in that department staying stone silent as the guards took him into custody and wordlessly disappeared moments afterwards. Edward had somehow managed to hide the proof of his battered bottom from the admissions doctors at check in which was no small feat, even for a genius such as himself!
The staff always made an inmate undress in front of them before they gave him the regular white clad Arkham duds. It was standard procedure to make sure no patient was hiding anything from the outside to help facilitate another escape or put themselves or the staff in any danger. That is saying that the patient had arrived conscious and was not in need of immediate medical attention. If needed, any trips to the infirmary followed to which an inmate was put under a microscope until fully recovered.
Luckily Batman hadn't bruised him up… visibly speaking, so there was no reason for the doctors to do more than ask the preliminary questions about his physical health before escorting him back to an awaiting cell.
The gallery of rogues had jeered, laughed, and shook their heads in disgust at seeing his incredibly quick return. He'd only escaped less than a month prior. Normally Edward would have tried to save face by bragging that he'd almost thwarted Batman, and next time, he would come up with an infinitely better riddle to foil his best opponent. They would all see that it was he who would be the one to finally outwit and defeat Batman!
Not this time. This time all he wanted was to get back to his cell and be alone, so he could silently cry himself to sleep. Crying one's self to sleep was not an uncommon occurrence in a place like Arkham.
The morning after had been better since the first few days an inmate was returned, they were kept in solitary. That meant no group, no moving to a doctor's office for one on one therapy, and unless medically needed, no poking and prodding. If a doctor planned to speak with him, they would do so through his plexi-glass cell.
The solitude was meant to be a type of punishment keeping an inmate out of the regular populace since most inmates relished being able to tell their tale of 'life on the outside.' Not that these tales wouldn't still be told, just not as enthusiastically. The seclusion also gave the doctors a chance to get 'first dibs' at getting the accounts of a patient's romp through Gotham before the story became muddled and embellished through many times of telling it.
The privacy was good; it left him time to lick his wounds and heal both emotionally and physically. Edward's ass stayed sore for the next few days, and he had angry red welts for the remainder of the week. Every time he'd sat down or absently rolled over on his cot, he was reminded of the incident. Anger was the first emotion to settle in his mind, the next emotion was humiliation followed by fear of it ever happening again, and finally regret for pushing Batman to the extreme to spank him in the first place.
Why did he have to keep ending up here? Why couldn't he just be satisfied without having to challenge the Bat? These endless strings of questions poured across his mind on a daily basis until he stopped questioning and made a decision. No more.
He was done having face offs with Batman, and he wasn't going to end up back in Arkham. He had told Batman that he would work with the doctors, and at the time, he had only said so to try and refrain from getting punished. Now, he took the time to really think about his future and his options. He didn't want to be in Arkham anymore, and he honestly meant to really make an effort to change that.
Since returning three months prior, he had made what the doctors had said were great leaps and bounds in his progress to being able to re-enter society. He'd talked to them and listened to their suggestions carefully forcing away the urge to lace every answer in the form of a riddle. Although he mentally responded in a riddle, he did his best to answer without being cryptic. It wasn't easy, and Edward had often times found that he was still giving riddles within his answers without meaning to.
This fact discouraged him when he thought about his actual progress being made, but the doctors of course weren't on par with his intellect to figure out his subtleties. Batman would have noticed, but Batman wasn't here, and Edward wasn't about to point out any flaws in his efforts towards rehabilitation. Not when freedom was so close he could almost taste it! He did tip them off slyly through some of his answers, but as he'd suspected, none of them got it, and that was just fine. He'd done his part, it wasn't his fault if they couldn't see he wasn't fully ready to give up the guise of the Riddler. The real question was whether or not he could keep himself fooled.
After several hearings in front of the parole board. Edward Nygma was released back onto the streets of Gotham as a free man. They said he was cured of his criminal ways.
Batman watched from a distance as Edward exited the court house building as the cameras flashed and the news crews all fought to be the first to get a statement from the reformed villain.
Edward of course lavished the attention gratefully smiling broadly for the cameras.
Batman frowned at the display as he thought, 'They may think you're reformed, we'll see. I'll be watching and waiting for you to slip Nygma. And when you do, I'll be there to catch you.'