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quandaryqueen · 2 years

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Fools Part II

Assault on Arkham Edward Nygma X Reader

After escaping a draining relationship, you find a way to restore the previous fervour for life... But fate had other plans.

Prepare yourself, this is going to be a long one.

Part I

"Oooh~" Coos Harley Quinn in intrigue. You try your best to remain apathetic, turning away and pretending you did not notice her. "I spy with my little eye, the Riddler's sweetheart!"

It irked you. Riddler's sweetheart? It's been a year since you walked away from him, but Harley does not have a way to know. It's not like a hiatus of Quandary can tell her of your split from Edward. You sigh, dropping the act. Of course Harley Quinn is here and of course, she just had to announce your presence.

"Quinn." You begrudgingly acknowledge her.

The former psychiatrist giggles before she launched herself to cling on your neck. "How's it goin' Quandie?"

"All was well until this happened." Or should I say, after this will happen. Whatever does Amanda Waller need you for? You've been clean for the past year, what could she possibly want from you?

With that revelation, everyone now knew that the casually-clothed person among them was the Riddler's former sidekick. Just your luck. It came to some fellow night crawlers that the Quandary's real identity is obscured despite being as well-known as the Riddler. Everyone knows who the Riddler is, Edward Nygma, but Quandary? Who knows? The only known details about them is their repertoire of prowess, the public debated that the mysterious figure is a multi-talented individual...

Who would have thought Y/N L/N, co-owner of the quaint cafe in 19th Street is Gotham's most wanted criminal Quandary? Amanda Waller apparently.

Ever since you walked out of the Riddler's workshop, slipped your ring off, you've abandoned your identity. You were no longer the Quandary to his Riddler and you were no longer L/N-Nygma. Everything was going fine without him but then these people decided to fuck you over. You've yet to know what was up, but fuck it, things like these succeed in seldom.

Introductions are far from needed, everyone seems to be getting along already, the nanobomb in your neck can attest to the bind of your new friendship. One quarell, aka distraction and boom. KGBeast's head was blown up, but all's fun. Escaping was out of the option, now that you're a member of the Task Force X. The hope of living normally again was taken away the moment you were finally well-adjusted back to society. Now you're sitting in the floor with six other criminals, excluding the guy whose head was blown off the moment he tried to go against Amanda Waller.

She started the meeting with a heavy one, "You're going to break in Arkham Asylum."

Sure, you have no problem with that, you've studied its structure for the benefit of breaking your former husband out, along with some of his friends. Quandary was the reason why Arkham now utelises motion lights in every corner. You can break in, with teammates surely it won't be as difficult even if their reactions vary from disbelief, namely Black Spider, Killer Frost, Captain Boomerang and King Shark, and of course enthusiasm from Lawton and Quinzel. With a wide array of teammates, consider it done.

"A week ago while in my employ, a lowlife calling himself the Riddler managed to gain access to my computer system."

Well shit. Pfft, of course Waller needs you in a way that can be held leverage to Edward. Not that he cares anyway, she would just be wasting her time if she thought she can utelise you against him. You have moved pass Edward but... What was he up to? What benefit would grant him to post information about the suicide squad? He couldn't care less for fellow convicts... Unless, of course, he needed something else from Waller. A dirt of sorts. Edward is not above doing blackmail, so no doubt blackmailing Amanda Waller really is his goal.

She continues. "He downloaded a file containing the identities and histories of every current, past and potential members of the suicide squad. He's threatning to release them all in the internet. You're going to get it back. Riddler's got one copy, and it's on a thumb-drive in his cane. Which is currently locked away in the Arkham property room."

"In the intensive treatment building right under the solitary confinement cells... Good times, ain't it, Quandie?" She turns to you with a certain fondness at the mention of Arkham.

You cannot reciprocate her nostalgia, you have never been incarcerated in Arkham. Your means of entering the building was only breaking some fellow criminals out for your benefit.

"Sure." You can only answer to Quinzel's musings with a void of interest.

"So we'll get someone inside," Deadshot chimes in.

"Is it me? Can it be me? Dibs!" Harley cheerfully exclaims, before she once again latches herself on you. You fail to hide the blantant irritation in your eyes as she shook you excitedly. She couldn't care less about your vexation. "Come on, Quandie! It'll be just like old times!"

You only broke in Arkham with her once and you weren't particularly thrilled about it. She wasn't really serious when you needed her to.

"Harley Quinn and Quandary both have encyclopedic knowledge of Arkham's layout and its logistics." Amanda Waller adds. "You'll be snuck into Gotham. You will rendezvous with a power broker who will set you up for the break in. This is as off the grid it gets, so keep the body count minimum. Deadshot, rubber bullets only."

"What about the bats?" Lawton brings up a good point. Ahh, Bats. You really didn't miss him.

"He has his hands full on another case. In fact if we get it right, we might be able to take advantage of him." After that, she begins to saunter off.

The last thing you remember was Amanda Waller scoffing in amusement, before turning away. "Gas them."

Then, you awoke, situated beside Black Spider and strapped to your seat. Amanda Waller once again wanted to present the complete control she has by dropping you in individual boxes and refused to open the parachutes until the last minute. Once the chaos has somewhat subsided, you were deployed to Gotham and arrived in the Power broker Amanda had mentioned via the sewers to avoid the Bat's radar. You were told he's kept busy but it was better safe than sorry. The aforementioned power broker was someone by the name of Oswald Cobblepot. All were a blur to you, but you only became more aware of your surroundings after dinner.

Harley was urging you to "catch up" over a glass of wine, but you declined. And to avert her attention away from you, you pointed at Lawton. Hopefully he doesn't mind her floundering about around him for your peace and quiet.

Harley wasn't the only one interested in mingling with you, in the form of Digger Harkness thinking you're a lovely little sport, draping his arm on your shoulder with a steinbif beer in hand.

"Oi, L/N! Care to join us for a pint?"

"No." Blunt and straightforward, you hoped it was enough to drive a point and yet he doesn't get it.

"Oh c'mon now, loosen up." He drawls, his weight relying on yours for balance.

Since simple refusal were already hard to comprehend for his sloshed state, you opted for an action that spoke louder. You grab his wrist and pried it off you, before taking a step aside causing him to stumble. You left with a huff, taking indignant steps to your room.

On your way back, you pass between Killer Frost and King Shark. You paid no mind to them, they seem to be getting along quite well despite the misstep in their introduction when Nanaue tried to take a bite of Louise. You didn't notice their heads turn to your direction when you cut between them, brows furrowing as to why you looked as though steam was coming out of your ears.

You arrive at your door but as you twist the knob, someone calls you by your alterego. You need not turn, you knew it was the Black Spider.

"What is it?" You turn to him, hands resting on the doorknob, just wanting to make this quick.

He was leaning against the wall, arms crossed to his chest. You hoped that this will not further spiral downwards to a full interrogation, you needed your sleep for fuck's sake.

"I was made aware of your previous affiliations with the target. Rumours also state that your relationship with the Riddler were... personal."

What the fuck does he mean by that? Wait, nevermind. With his tone, you already knew where this was going. And you can't fault him.

"You heard right. If you need assurance that I won't screw this operation up simply because of my forfeited connection with Nygma, you needn't worry. Our days together are over."

He seems to be satisfied with your answer. "Good. Just making sure we don't have another lovesick Quinzel."

"Right, I see where you're coming from." And by god, you hoped that Quin doesn't encounter Joker. "It's that all?"

"Yes. Thank you for humouring me." And with that, he turned to the corridor and was no longer there.

Finally, you were able to get inside your room and collapse on the bed.

All those months you stay clean from crime, you steer yourself in a better direction in life after a decade of experience with Edward. It was pathetic that you blamed it all on him back then. It was your choice to tamper with evidences pointing at the Riddler back in your GCPD Pathologist days, it was your choice to break him out of Arkham, it was your choice to follow him in life of a crime. You chose to become Quandary. It was your choice to become a fool.

Admittedly, it was fun while it lasted. The chaos you stirred with him, the riddles, god the riddles... You would be lying if you said you didn't miss them... It's been a year, why does it still hurt? The relenting absence of his presence in your life continues to persists and hinder your daily life. It hurts the same the moment you walked out his life. Your finger has been itching without the wedding band on it and you tried once to wear a different to fill in the sense of its absence, but it didn't felt the same. You tried to force it in yourself to move on and yet everything reminded you of him. And now you're presented the opportunity to see him again. Or is it? I mean, the mission isn't him, it's retrieving the copy of the documents he downloaded.

After tossing and turning, every hour that pass made you more restless. Frustration had you shooting up from the bed and rummage through the drawers. Surely the Penguin kept some sleeping pills in these rooms? To you chagrin, it didn't. You huff out it disappointment, once again seating yourself on the corner of your bed. Sleepless nights aren't new to you, the bouts insomnia brought by the circumstances you find yourself in. It really didn't help that you just downed a cup of caffeine to ease your headache. A glance at the clock by the bedside table informed you it was too late to sleep. It looks like you'll be downing another bottle of energy drink to keep yourself active in this suicide mission.

With no other choice, you bend to reach for the bag under the bed where your Quandary uniform has been kindly fetched from your apartment. It was ensured that they have done so discreetly, you've contacted your friend awhile ago to inform them of your absence, as if you were gone for a mundane trip. A rush of emotions flooded you, the uniform in your grasp remained the same after you had put it away.

You don't know what will happen, but you doubt this was a simple "retrieve and leave" kind of thing. Amanda Waller recruited you of all people, the fact that Edward is here and knows your relationship with him. Well... previous. But it solidifies your suspicion that she might be using you against him.

The arrival in Arkham is the cathartic one, of course. From the delay of the planting of the device to sneak yourself in Arkham due to Harley Quinn encountering her ex much to your chagrin, the guards, the cooperation of the team (lack thereof) and of course, your lackluster of a performance in the battlefield. Amanda Waller had instructed a minimal amount of body count and that didn't go well. Lawton and Harkness were in their bouts of their one-sided dick measuring contest, making a fool of themselves in the process and causing an officer to radio in an emergency alert.

There was a protruding vein on your temple, pulsating with frustration. Perhaps working alone was more of your thing, breaking into Arkham isn't this difficult for you with enough prep time. It took you all will power not to walk off and just go home. If it weren't for the nanobomb administered at the back of your neck, you would have ditched. Not to mention, you do not look forward to possibly encounter Eddie. You really did not want a repeat of Harley Quinn encountering the Joker.

Thankfully, it has been managed, your headache subsided and the only thing left for you to do was to retrieve the cane from the property room.

"Bingo," was uttered monotonously under your breath upon spotting the Riddler's crate of property. Deadshot followed behind, helping you pry the crate's lid. There, you found the main objective. Stacked atop myriads of books and complicated puzzles, the Riddler's cane.

You watch Lawton picked up the cane, but instead of opening the passage at the tip of the modified handle of the cane, he hands it to you.

"You open it."

You blink owlishly at him from the lense of your dark visors and obeyed, reaching the for question mark-shaped cane. You twist the section of the cane, the spherical, compact make-shift storage of the supposed thumb-drive. Everyone watched in anticipation as you twist it open, only for it to be empty, replacing the anticipation with shock... At least to them, it was empty of the target they intend to retrieve, but to you, it wasn't.

In the storage, was your and his wedding bands. You had your mask to hide to dumbfounded look on your face. A certain dread racked your entire body, quivering from the cold. Was it always this cold?

He... He kept it all this time?

You thought he would have thrown them away or sold it off, he told you weren't significant for him to waste an ounce of his time to think about you. You weren't worth the time to be considered to be an object of sentiment, he often chastised you for being overly sentimental and yet... He must've not had time to dispose of them, that's the only answer. He made it clear you were unnecessary in his life— but why would he go an extra mile to store your rings together in his cane?

You've long since shut down and did not notice everyone around you in a surge of panic. Killer Frost was missing, Deadshot pointed out how she was eyeing patient's cells— Eddie's cell in the security room. The rest of the team has caught on to the fact that this mission isn't about retrieving the thumb-drive. Edward knows something, he knows everything. He hacked Waller's system and fuck, you doubt it was about retrieving what he stole. He already seen them, read them, probably had it mentally noted. Why steal the documents back, when you can silence him? And with that realisation, you immediately pocketed the rings and made a mad dash towards the wing of Arkham patients.

Unfortunately, the chaos you've caused from the break-in had resulted into summoning Arkham's special forces, aka, the ones with the shields and guns, and will shoot if you don't cooperate. If only your break-in was silent, this could've been less loud. Thankfully, Waller has yet to find out about it.

You spot Killer Frost and... Him in a bit of a pickle, having been surrounded by the special forces, lacking any defense other than a broken slab of what used to be and what should be a wall. Things would have escalated from there if you didn't arrive with weapons and defenses.

This was the nearest you could ever come to Edward, the deep seated feeling of feelings were ignored and shoved further down by busying yourself with shooting back at the special forces. Harley was the only one who squinted at you for reaction and even if your face was concealed, she knows you were pushed in a tumultuous corner. That, and the fact that your aim was off.

As for Edward, try as he may to play it cool but to see you again... It does make memories resurface. Mainly, your last moments together, he was unsure how to approach. Would it make sense to approach you? Well, in his excuse, he knows that the only reason why you're here, is because of him. What else could it be? Of course Waller was going to use you against him, that's the oldest trick in the book. Or maybe it was the fact that you were a highly efficient jack of all trades.

"You were supposed to off him as instructed by Waller, correct?" Your voice was heavy with voice modulation built within your mask, but the shiver down in Edward's back was all the same. "Care to tell us why you spared him?"

"Yes. He says he knows how to turn off the bomb." Killer Frost says, side-eyeing the Riddler as if asking him to back her up.

And that he did, turning around and lowering the collar of his Arkham inmate uniform. On his nape, was the similar X mark where the bombs were implanted.

"Look familiar?" He says. "I can do it, but you have to get me to the medical bay."

"We got maybe five minutes before Waller figures out what's what." Deadshot says. You sense the improbability of that happening, since the threat of the special forces are barely neutralised. "We get to that room, or we're dead."

"We should've brought a tank." What Digger thought was a mere sarcastic quip, ended up being somewhat helpful.

"We have one." Lawton firmly pointed out, before glancing at King Shark.

Thankfully, there were no further arguements that ensued. Nanaue was particularly blunt in terms of revealing his fear of heights, but thankfully Killer Frost was there to offer her guidance. A ripped piece of fabric did the trick and some of Killer Frost's guidance, King Shark was finally able to eliminate the threat of the special forces. Soon, you were on the move for the med bay.

Edward practically burst in the medical bay, making a beeline straight to the complex control panel and monitors and began twiddling away. His voice was nonchalant, as he goes about things as casually.

"Let's see now, we need this on, this for back up..." He mutters to himself, then turns to all of you. "Grab a chair."

And so you did. You were wary of this little operation of his, seeing as the med bay contains a lot of things. Knowing Edward, oh lord, anything can be a weapon for this man. God knows, maybe the whole thing is an elaborate ruse for him to kill you... You took a seat nonetheless. Black Spider took his place by the window, keeping a lookout.

"How do you diffuse this bomb exactly?" Lawton asks, he must've had the same doubts as you were.

"It's the electro shock."

"The what now?" Boomerang raises a brow.

"I'm gonna run a thousand bolts through your head and fry your bombs." You can only watch with narrowed gaze as Edward gathered wires with pads meant to stick to your body. God, this doesn't bode well with you. "Good, now put your chairs around a circle around old sparky here."

You settle on your seat, white-knuckling the armrest as he goes around, distributing the adhesive pads and strapping your fellow inmates one by one. Everyone had stressed the fact that they were wary of whatever this operation is, Edward seems to be confident. You hated how he didn't take too long to get to you and god, the tension was already suffocating before.

"Lose the mask, Y/N." His voice was light, sweet even. It was sickening.

First of all, how dare he act as if you're back to first name basis and second, why is he pretending as if nothing happened?

But you complied, slipping your mask off and shaking your hair in place.

Edward knows how to keep things internal, so it wasn't that noticeable when he froze. To see you in your uniform was one thing, but seeing you take your mask off, be Y/N... You were as beautiful as the last he's saw you.

"Any conductives in your pockets?"

"O-Oh um..." Fuck, you didn't expect your voice to come out like that. Shy, flustered even. Your eyes refused to meet his. Not to mention, how you fumble to retrieve something in your pocket.

The confidence front he's cultivated cracked for a split-second, having bee caught off-guard when you handed him your wedding rings. He didn't expect you to keep it in your pocket after you collected the cane from the property room, where the supposed hard-drive was in.

You look up for the first time, his face sunken with solemnity. He must be deep in thought to pause like this, his eyes fixed on the rings that you placed on his palm. Not a word was spoken in the room, you couldn't sense the other presence and the eyes that were on you. The only person you could see was your lost love and how you sense his feelings. However, you wish not to prolong this stupid fucking personal stuff. It would be hypocritical of you to roll your eyes at Harley for being emotional at the sight of Joker, but here you were, unable to find your bearings before the Riddler.

"You can strap me down now."

"Of course." And just like that, you clicked the Riddler in place and his typical bravado returns.

He first pockets the bonds, before he binds you down. He was gentle, making sure the restraints weren't too constricting. He can't have your skin chaffed from his carelessness.

"It'll all be okay." His hands lingered longer than he intended, slender digits relishing the warmth that he missed. But he pried himself off before he can get carried away.

Goosebumps erupted from your skin when his fingers traced along your arm and you resisted the incoming shiver that came with it. It was already bad enough that your personal bygones were coming back in full screen before fellow rogues and not to mention, how it hinders.

All the grudge just suddenly disappeared and you didn't know why. He didn't even said he was sorry, nor do you even see it ever coming and yet you were ready to forgive him... Better yet, you already forgave him. And you were angry at yourself at the fact that you fell for him, hell, even before you can see him again. When you found the rings tucked away in the secret storage of the cane, you were at a back and fourth between your skepticism and optimism, the fact that he must've kept it because how it meant to him. And seeing him freeze when you present him the ring further solidifies that he had indeed kept it due to sentiments.

As of cue, Waller calls the leader, Lawton, but that didn't stop Edward from working. He broke off a piece of wood from a mop as a makeshift silencer for each of you. When he assist you with yours, you avert his gaze. You didn't want another repeat of the pause between you, especially when Waller is already on-call with Lawton and he's doing a bad job lying to save all your asses.

All was prepared, Waller was on the line and the electric shock was bumped to the appropriate setting, distributing electricity equally among you. A scream would have ripped itself loudly from your lungs if it weren't for the piece of wood between your teeth. Edward can only watch you convulse on your seat with a wince, his chest being ripped from the sound of your muffled pain. A few seconds more and he turns off the machine.

Your body slumped over and with your ragged breathing, the wood fell from your lips. The room stenched with smoke and you swore you saw stars dotting your vision whilst the electricity was coursing through your skin.

"Fuck, that better be it." Your voice came out from your squeezed throat.

"I'm never doing that again." Boomerang pants, eyes squinted in pain.

"Are you kidding? I feel great!" Typical Harley.

"Are you okay, Y/N?" Edward asks, voice laced with worry.

"Why'd his head explode?"

You didn't get the chance to respond, hearing a familiar beeping beside you, coming from King Shark.

"Uh... Guys?" Nanaue utters nervously.

"Run it again!" Killer Frost barks, her voice raspy.

"I don't know, maybe he has thick skin?" Edward says, voice different from when he spoke to you, as he was more nonchalant at the face of emergency.

And before you knew it, a clot blood shot at your direction and King Shark's metal mouthpiece shot forward, almost hitting Lawton and piercing through the wall. Upon opening your eyes, the figure beside you was now headless.

"Because the bomb in his neck neck didn't diffuse, you asshole." Killer Frost snaps at Boomerang.

"So what's his excuse?" Digger glances at Black Spider, who stood by the window with his head intact.

"Ohoho, that's rich..." Everyone glanced at Edward. "Haven't you solved it yet? The Black Spider, is Batman!"

Without warning, he pulls out a Glock from his pocket and began shooting towards who you thought was the Black Spider. His aim was sloppy, giving Batman a window of opportunity to throw a batarang at him, resulting to him stumbling back and accidentally twisting the control panel, activating the electro shock again.

With no muffler, screams filled the room and when you said you couldn't take a single shot of electricity in your system, you meant it. The mission was a complete shitshow, your body hurts, Batman now knows your identity, somehow it had gotten worse when the fucking Joker appeared shooting shots and throwing marble-like bombs.

You break free from your restraints from the excessive thrashing, thankfully Edward didn't made it all too tight. You yank adhesive wire off your temples, breathing heavily in amidst the smoke filled room. Upon slipping your mask back on, you pull Edward's unconscious body out of the room. You find yourself separated from the Task Force X when you got yourself and Edward in a secluded spot in the asylum. At this point, you couldn't care less about them, nor the mission. As if you'd fulfill the real mission, Waller can fucking suck it.

"Hey," you didn't hold back smacking Edward's face to wake him up. "Get up, I'm busting you out." You only stopped when you heard him sputter, his eyes shooting open and blinking rapidly to adjust his vision.

"What happened?"

"Your aim was shitty and Batman subdued your threats. You could've watched where you hand landed, I thought I'd throw up blood after that second dose of electric shock." You groan, throwing your head back and cracking it. "Look, we need to get out. The bomb's already diffused, Arkham's about to be hell and transportation will be difficult to obtain."

"Any ideas?" You rose a brow at his question.

"Aren't I supposed to be asking you that question?"

"Between you and I, you're far knowledgeable than I in this field."

He is still enamoured at the memory of you breaking him out of here for the very first time. And to be reunited through these circumstances, it almost felt poetic, walking back through memory lane.

You didn't realise you already had your mask on, looking away from him to conceal the rushing heat spreading across your face.

"Alright then," you cleared your throat. "There's a chopper, but I doubt that we'd get there especially with our lack of weapons. Arkham is presumably going to undergo a lockdown from the break-in."

"How did you even get in?" He asks.

"Penguin gave us a hand. Had a strategy catering to our roles and abilities, some of us entered disguised as staffs—" you paused, eyes widening at an epiphany. "Heh... I got it. Let's get you out of that uniform, shall we?"

Edward smirks, the long-lost warm feeling spreading across his finally returning to him, reigniting the feeling he thought he'd never feel again. He's partial to following ones lead, but he doesn't have any problem following you because in no time, Arkham Asylum was no longer in sight. You got yourself saddled in a stolen car and booked it.

"I missed you. There was no passing moment wherein I didn't think of you. You simply had an impact on me, I can't the deny the fact that I relied on you so much that I forget to do some things." Edward blurts amidst the drive, solemn eyes remaining in the road. Your neck practically snap at his direction. "I'm sorry I... I was acting like a fool."

Your tense shoulders grew lax. "Oh Eddie..."

"I truly am sorry, Y/N. I recognise that I don't deserve your forgiveness but I want you to know how regretful I am to let you go by letting myself go. I was wrong in a lot of aspects and I should have listened to you instead of being stubborn." Oh shit, he was admitting to being wrong.

"Eddie..." My love. "I forgive you. And I missed you too." You didn't expect your voice to crack. "I deny it to myself, but every waking moment I yearn for you and sometimes I'd see you at the corner of my eye and mistake strangers as you... I wanted to crawl back to you and beg you to take me back, but I was scared of getting hurt again—" Fuck, here comes the waterworks.

"Shh, hey," his hand reaches to cup your face, thumb gently running under your eye to swipe the tear away. "I'm sorry that I made you feel that way... I promise to be better."

You reach for the hand that caressed you, lacing your fingers between his and placing a kiss on his palm. "You promise?"

"I'm a man of my word." He doesn't know what he said wrong, that you started to laugh through tears. "What's funny?" He asks with a slight chuckle.

"This whole thing... It's so foolish."

"Why do you think that?"

"The fact that we're only getting back together after the worst thing has happened to us."

"That doesn't sound foolish to me. It's love."

"Well then, love is foolish."

Edward smiles, relieved that you were finally by his side again. He stops the car over the edge of a cliff, the ray of sunrise peaking from the horizon. He looks at you with sunset eyes, and leans forward. You meet him in the middle, automatically melting into his warmth. He couldn't bare to pull away even if the kiss was over, his forehead pressed against yours.

"Then I suppose we're both fools." With every word, his lips touched yours, before diving in for another kiss.

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