There For You ||Edward Nygma|| [4]

Chapter Eighteen || What is to come

Barbara was right. Nyssa had taken the submarine and was long gone by the time Charlotte, Ed, and Oswald got to the pier.

Back home, Charlotte tried to change the bandage over Oswald's eye, but he wouldn't stand still with both the pain and the anger he was feeling.

"Ah!" He exclaimed when Charlotte tried to clean up the area around the eye.

"You need to stand still," she told him one more time. "Or I'll tie you up on that chair".

Meanwhile, Ed was looking out the window thoughtfully. He didn't speak a word since they saw the submarine was gone. Months of hard work for nothing.

"That bitch stole our submarine!" Oswald continued his rumblings and Charlotte sighed.

She was mad as hell too, but she was more worried about treating Oswald's wound, which was turning out to be an impossible task. Every time she got near the wound, he would grab her arm and shove it away from him.

"And our gold," Ed added.

"And by now she's probably landed somewhere on the mainland, impossible to track!" Oswald kept moving his arms, so Charlotte gave up on trying to clean up the wound for the time being. "After all we've been through these last months, we are once again left with nothing! Nothing!" He punched his fist on the chair in frustration.

"Back to square one," Ed spoke, more to himself than to the other two. "Common criminals".

Charlotte was worried about Ed. She didn't like when he closed himself off in his head in this way.

"We saved this city from certain damnation, but will we see any credit for our loyalty, our selfless bravery?" Oswald rambled on while Charlotte put the bandage around his head. "Of course not!"

Once Charlotte was finished, she walked up to stand behind Ed and wrapped her arms around his torso. He placed his hand over hers, but not even her touch was able to calm him.

"I don't want their thanks," he hissed. "Or their respect. You know what I felt, standing shoulder to shoulder with those people out there?"

He moved to turn around, so Charlotte let her arms fall back to her sides.

"Nothing," he said emotionless. "I... feel... absolutely nothing for those drab... boring people. That was me once. Minimum wage at a thankless job at the GCPD. 'Yes, sir. No, sir. Thank you so much, sir'. Picking up scraps from my master's floor. Shy, awkward..." Ed looked at the full body mirror at the corner before continuing, "...pathetic Ed".

Charlotte stepped forward slowly when Ed continued speaking. He adjusted the jacket with a confident expression.

"Common criminals?" He shook his head slightly. "Never again. I've shown this city who I truly am once before, and I will do it again". Charlotte continued stepping closer and closer to him, her pupils dilating with each step. "They will bow to the Riddler, and they won't get up until I permit them to".

Charlotte bit her lower lip as Ed spoke, so confident and determined. He was indeed a real man. Her man.

She stood next to him and he grabbed her hand in his. "They'll bow down to both of us," she said, staring at their reflection in the mirror.

Oswald got up. He was now feeling far better with Ed motivational speech. "Yes. You're right. Our accomplishments have been erased, our brilliant minds underrated. If they had let me run this city the way I wanted to, it would not be in ruins now. I have the men, the money, the guns..."

Ed looked at Oswald and raised a finger towards him. "Gordon took them. Why? Because he still sees you as Fish Mooney's umbrella boy, and he always will".