Elizabeth's contemplation of her humanity was interrupted when the guards fetched the Rogues for their group session. It was just her luck that Miss Rosslend was the one escorting her. The guard was gripping her arm tightly and Elizabeth was beginning to feel a tingling in her arm from the pressure. Glancing over at the other woman's hard face she frowned; she could smell the bitch coming from her, Rosslend simply reeked of it. 'Fuck. Mr. Wayne smelt different earlier too… Shit. I couldn't identify human scents yesterday. Maybe Mr. Wayne was right and my genetics are changing. Damn it.'
Elizabeth nearly fell into Professor Crane when everyone stopped in front of a large door. Someone opened it from the inside and Elizabeth heard a woman's voice greet them. She glanced around the Professor a saw very nice looking black woman. A pang of guilt and sickness flashed through her as she thought of Dr. Dysart and her chewed off cheeks.
"Hello, Miss Howard, I'm Dr. Leland. I lead the group and some of the individual sessions for your section. It's nice to meet you."
"It's nice to meet you too doctor." Elizabeth was pushed in was forced to take the last seat in between Penguin and Hatter.
"Good Afternoon." Penguin said extending his flipper-like hand, "The name is Oswald Cobblepot, also known as The Penguin. It's a pleasure to meet such a fine bird as yourself."
Elizabeth smiled as best she could for how grossed out she was, "Thank you, I'm Elizabeth Howard." She shook his hand but before she could pull it away he turned her wrist and kissed the back of her hand.
"I'm sorry for the comment I made a fortnight ago, you must understand it is not often that we Rogues see a woman as beautiful as yourself."
"Of course, Mr. Cobblepot, I completely understand." When he released her hand she had to restrain herself from wiping it on her pants. There was a tap on her shoulders and Elizabeth turned around. Jervis was smiling at her.
"It's wonderful to see the whole you, you were just a pale reflection of yourself before!" He clasped her hand in both of his and shook it vigorously.
"Wonderful to see you properly as well, Mr. Tetch," Elizabeth said smiling at him.
"Oh please call me Jervis, I insist!"
"Okay, then you can call me Elizabeth." When he let go Elizabeth glanced around the room; it was one of the nicer rooms at Arkham with wood panels and comfy chairs for the patients to sit in. She assumed that it was to make the inmates feel relaxed and free to talk, just like removing the guards.
"Okay everyone we're going to start," Dr. Leland said shepherding the last of the guards out and shutting the door behind them. "Now as you might have noticed that there is a new patient with us today."
"Oh really, where?" Edward said looking around.
"What have I said about using sarcasm, Mr. Nygma?" Edward rolled his eyes at her reprimand, the Riddler stop being sarcastic? Never going to happen.
Dr. Leland sat in her winged arm chair between Two-face and Scarecrow. "Because we have a new member we're going to try something a little bit different today. Today's session will focus on our thoughts about each other. Now I don't want anyone arguing, remember everyone has their own opinion so don't fight over what somebody says, understood?" They murmured their agreement. "Good, we are going to start with Miss Howard."
"Me!? Why me?"
"Because you are new to the group I want everyone to hear your impression of them, I know you've had time to talk but I want to hear your first impression of everyone and then what you think of them now. You can start with Mr. Dent." Two-face grunted softly when she used his pedestrian name but didn't say anything.
"Umm…okay…" Elizabeth said rather confused about how this would solve any psychological problems. "Well, I haven't really had a chance to talk with him so my first and current impressions are the same."
"And that is?"
"That he's kind of a pervert."
"Don't need to say that twice," Two-Face muttered under his breath catching coin.
Dr. Leeland made a note on her clipboard nodding her head slowly. "Why don't you continue around the group and let's try not to comment everyone about what she says, just take it all in."
"Okay. Well this is the first I've met you and I think you're a very nice lady who is mentally tough yet caring. And when I first met Professor Crane I thought he was a nerdy college professor who didn't know how to give a lecture yet had a neat fascination about fear. Now—"
"Hold up a minute," Dr. Leeland said holding up a hand, "You knew Mr. Crane before he was admitted to Arkham."
"Well kind of, I mean I took his class 'Fear in Society' for my Psych credit at Gotham U, I think it was two years before he was let go."
"I see…" She made several more notes, "Continue please."
"Now, I think Professor Crane is an intelligent and witty man with a fascination with fear yet he doesn't let that get in the way of having a good chat with someone." Jonathan, who had looked indignant at her nerdy comment earlier, smirked and nodded slightly at her.
"I thought Mr. Cobblepot was a perv with an obsession with birds now he's still that but less of a perv and more of a polite gentleman who doesn't have a way with women." There were a few chuckles around the room and Penguin squawked with indignation.
"Jervis was an old soul who has a love that can never be, actually…he still is just a lot more childlike and playful than I first thought. As for Edward, oh dear, where should I begin? He starts off as a man who needs to show off his intelligence to everybody, yet his does care enough to help me when the sirens went off and after that he seemed pretty normal just wanted a talk. Now though…He is all that except annoying and attention demanding too."
"What!?" Edward exclaimed, "I'm not annoying or attention seeking!"
"Yeah you are! Elizabeth let me do the crossword, tell me your life story Elizabeth, pay attention to me Elizabeth, don't ignore me, listen me, me, me! Annoying." Edward's face went red with a mix of anger and embarrassment.
"Calm done both of you," Dr. Leeland said, "Edward since you feel so strongly why don't you share your opinions of everyone next."
"Fine! Two-Face I really have no opinion of you except you need to lay off the two puns they're really irritating. Penguin you really need to lose some weight! Jon you're great, creepy sometimes but great, same goes for you Jervis." Edward took a deep breath as he shifted his focus to Elizabeth. "As for you Elizabeth, you surprise me every time you talk and it's bloody annoying! You should be trembling every moment while in Arkham! I'm a Rogue at least act a little cautious around me! I could have you killed or mentally tortured! Do you have any…"
"I don't give a flying fuck if you're a Rogue! You have…"
"Calm down!" Dr. Leeland nearly shouted as both of them stood glowering at each other yelling even louder. They didn't and seeing that the session had already gotten out of hand she pressed her pager. The guards stormed in and started dragging Elizabeth and Edward, still yelling, back to their cells.
Elizabeth and Edward glared at each other from their cells. Both of them had run out of insults and instead of repeating them they had settled into a huffy staring contest.
"You know there is something else that I think about you," Elizabeth said after five or so minutes of staring.
"What else could there be? Am I ignorant as well?" Edward responded coldly not breaking eye contact.
"No, and I hope this doesn't surprise you too much sense you're so sensitive." Edward scowled. "Okay I'll stop poking fun at you…now what I left out in the session is…that even with all your other quirks you can be quite dashing."
Edward's face went wide with shock and his cheeks flushed red; but then his eyes narrowed with anger. "Why do you have to do this!?"
"What? Give you compliment?"
"Yes! I mean, no, not that, change every time you talk!"
"I'm not changing! I'm being myself!"
"Yes you are, one minute you're pissed, the next playful, and then serious for all I know you could be crying in a minute!"
"I'm sorry but I'm just being myself and if it helps you understand a little bit better all women's moods are constantly changing. It's why men can never win!"
"I know that I lived with Echo and Query for two years! They're…But you! You!" Edward threw his hands in the air as if it explained everything. Elizabeth simply eyed him, dumbfounded. With all his Riddler grandeur and he couldn't stand the puzzle of the woman's prerogative. She giggled slightly.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing much, I find it funny how you were saying you were completely bored in Arkham, that they don't challenge you enough and now you're complaining about me surprising you. And," she giggled again, "I think you're frustration makes you look adorable."
"Adorable?"
"Yes, like a puppy trying to catch his tail." The anger melted from his face and he gave one of his cocky smiles.
"Well of course, that's me the intelligent, dashing, and occasionally adorable Edward Nygma."
"Don't forget cocky."
"All of it well deserved."
"Maybe…" There was a long silence where they looked awkwardly at each other, unsure of what to say. As usual Elizabeth broke the silence. "Thank you for the rose by the way, it was beautiful."
"So you did get it, I'm glad, were you…never mind."
"Was I able to guess your riddle? Truth be told I didn't give it much thought, I didn't think I would ever see you again so I didn't bother."
"Oh? And here I was thinking of sending you progressively alarming letters about how much I know of your actions, learned through Query and Echo following you; and when I got out of here I would come visit you, probably by breaking in while you were out and then when you returned demand an answer to my riddle." It was Elizabeth's turn to be shocked. Edward was a Rogue and she had forgotten that because of how nice he had been to her. One of the things Edward complained about her.
"What if I called the cops?"
"Elizabeth, if you were going to call the cops you would have with my first letter."
"I-I was going to, I just got distracted with Mr. Wayne and everything."
"Right after it was delivered? I may not have you solved yet but I know people well enough that if someone is going to go to the cops about a Rogue they go right away." Elizabeth blushed.
"Fine, you win, I didn't want them to take the flower…"
"I am a queen, beautiful and covered with a sweet fragrance; guarded by five guardsmen, two of them clean-shaven, two of them unshaven, and the last one half-shaven. What am I?" Elizabeth frowned thinking it over trying to visualize the riddle. She immediately imagined a woman in a large ball gown encircled by five knights.
"It's quite easy…I'm glad you enjoyed you gift, do like roses?"
"Shut it, I'm trying to th—ohhh…" Elizabeth smiled, "The answer is a rose, the queen is the bud and all roses have five under leaves, two with hair, two without and one half and half."
"Correct."
"I love roses by the way, not only are they beautiful alive but dried as well and they smell magnificent."
"I'm glad you are pleased by it, I would've liked to send you more but Ivy is so touchy about her flowers."
"I think one was perfect, either way it's the first flower I've received from a guy, that's not my Dad."
"I'm thrilled I was your first," Edward said giving a Rogue-ish wink.
Elizabeth's face turned cherry red at the suggestiveness of Edward's sentence. "I…I…You…"
Edward smiled at Elizabeth's discomfort. The door down the hall clicked and the rest of the Rogues were pushed through the door. The Hatter was sporting a bloody lip and the rest of the Rogues looked like they'd been a scuffle as well.
"What happened?" Edward asked.
"Well, after you left, the session deteriorated even more," Jonathan said blood dribbling from his nose, "Two-Face insulted all of us and we all began shouting, so the guards came in to show us who's boss."
"That's right scum," his guard said shoving him into his cell. The guard looked worse off than Jonathan so it was hard to say who showed who boss. The guards left, the last one to leave banged on Two-Face's cell before slamming the door.
Jonathan smiled as he looked at Elizabeth her face still beat red. "So did you two kiss and make up?"
"In a way," Edward said. The door clicked once again and a large woman in all white nurses' uniform with greasy brown hair, large hands, and a several hairy moles on her face pushing a bandage cart. Elizabeth assumed that this was the troll woman she had heard about on her last day as an Arkham visitor. She carelessly tossed bandages in the food trays for each of the injured Rogues except for Penguin. Before she handed him his bandages she attempted a sexy flip of her hair with a seductive smile showing off her small yellowed teeth.
"Would you like antiseptic, Oswald?" She asked in a low voice.
"No, and as I have told you before its Mr. Cobblepot, only my friends may call me Oswald." He said in a huffy voice.
"Well, I could be one of your friends."
"I do not make friends with the likes of you." The nurse frowned and slammed the food tray shut. She left quickly nearly crashing her cart into the door as she left.
"Was that the troll woman?"
"Yeah."
"Nasty."