FREAKS || Jerome Valeska¹

35 || Nygma Duo

The ride to the mansion had been awkward for the siblings. They didn't want to converse about it and deepen the wound that'd been recklessly reopened. Edward didn't want to agitate her and cause her to explode again. At some point, they would exchange apologies — he would wait for the right time for that conversation, but not now.

Once at the residence, Edward asked if Oswald had received information on The Red Hoods. He hadn't. As time continued to pass, it became evident that Oswald was drowning in his anxiety. He was desperate to know who The Red Hoods were and wanted to tear them to shreds.

"Someone is testing me." The Mayor hissed, limping back and forth through the room with a glass of red wine. Reese observed him before glancing at her brother, who was sitting quietly, analyzing every piece of evidence. "They're thinking, 'Oh, he's mayor now. He has to play by different rules.'"

That's a naive way to look at things. Reese pondered about the Red Hoods, raising an eyebrow. She didn't believe whoever did this had those thoughts. It seemed they were trying to provoke or gain something.

"No, they'll see when I'm roasting their entrails over a fire," Oswald promised.

Reese chuckled, humored.

As Edward contemplated the situation, he glanced at his sister and Oswald. He couldn't help but feel upset when she looked away. "Perhaps I'm thinking about this all wrong." He spoke, not saying anything about his personal issue. The Mayor stopped in his tracks and turned to look at him. "Perhaps this is not about you at all. What if this is about the statue?"

Reese furrowed her eyebrows, thinking deeper into that hypothesis. That didn't make sense. If it was about the statue, it was still directly linked to Oswald; it was a representation of his mother. It seemed like they were angry about Penguin in general.

Oswald stared at Edward, displeased. "Of course, it's about me!" He declared, making the siblings flinch a bit. As Oswald moved his arm angrily, a large portion of wine spilled on his arm and table.

"Yes, you're probably right." Edward conceded with regret - It wasn't his intention add to the mayor's frustration. His eyes landed on the wine stain on Oswald's white sleeve. He gaped. "Oh, dear."

Oswald groaned, seeing the red stain. "Wonderful." He slammed the glass on the table, seeming like he was about to spit fire. He shook his arm agitated, attempting to shake off the liquid, it became apparent it wasn't gonna work.

"Oswald," Edward called to the infuriated man as he dipped a white napkin into a glass of water, "Take a breath."

Knowing what her brother would do, Ree handed him the salt shaker. Edward smiled appreciatively and took it before approaching his friend. Then he grabbed Oswald's arm and poured salt on the wet sleeve.

"What are you doing?" the short man asked in disbelief. Great, his beloved mother's statue had been destroyed, they couldn't find the stupid Red Hoods, his suit was stained, and now his best friend had gone crazy and was pouring salt all over his sleeve.

Noticing the look, Ed responded, "It's an old trick I learned in the lab." He glanced at the young girl with a small smile, then back down at the sleeve. "Most solvents have, as their base -"

Reese raised an eyebrow, noticing the pause in mid-sentence.

Edward looked at her with a slight smirk of realization. "I am the son of water, but if water touches me, I die. What am I?" he riddled. Reese frowned, thinking about it.

Oswald sighed with exasperation, rolling his eyes, "Again, with the riddles."

"Salt," Reese answered, still puzzled. Her mind returned to the lab, where Lucius had discovered potassium chloride — halide salt. Her eyes widened in realization. "No wonder it looked weird."