paper love | edward nygma

Chapter 39 ○ Escapist

**TIME SKIP - 7 Hours**

Edward had found the secret entrance. It wasn't long until he found the elevator that Hugo Strange regularly used. It was a small entrance but led to a big discovery. Edward had no idea what he would witness. As he entered the laboratory, he thought of what might be down there. He didn't know it was Indian Hill, a government-run operation set on testing the human limits, and sometimes they went past those limits.

On the other hand, Grace had been getting bored of the Asylum. The guards treated her well, but she was almost sure that it was because of her powers and their fear of her. She could move things without even touching them. She heard a few men mumbling about something called "telekinesis," but she didn't know what that meant. In fact, she thought it was an animal at first. 

Her eyes glowed more often and sometimes of different colors. However, most of the time they glowed green. She found it peculiar how it was the same color of the question marks she saw in her dreams. They were mysterious little things and would appear in unrelated scenes. If she was dreaming of a forest, there was a question mark carved into the tree. If she was flying in the sky, there were green question marks in the fluffy white clouds. Sometimes she woke up during the night and couldn't even remember the dream itself- just the question marks. 

Edward got out of the basement and promised to himself that he would never go down there again. There were hands clawing at the glass of the apparent cells. Small panels on each wall had numbers and letters inscribed on them. He didn't know what was happening but he knew it wasn't moral. Now, he wasn't one to judge. He killed someone by strangulation. However, he didn't experiment with the woman. This was different than a simple murder. This was worse than death.

As he walked out, a guard approached him. The imbecile wasn't sure about what Edward had been doing, but either way, the guard thought Edward was insane and didn't care what he did. "What are you doing out of your cell?" The guard's voice was stern and worried at the same time. "Sorry, I got lost. Escort me back please." The guard gave Edward a suspicious glare and grabbed him by the arm. They slowly walked back to the small brick cell.

Grace planned to leave the dreaded place sometime. She even tried talking to Hugo about leaving. "Excuse me, when can I leave?" Her voice boomed unintentionally. "Not yet, we have more tests to run." She slammed her hand down on the padded gurney and stared directly at the professor. Her eyes turned to a bright green without her knowing. "I'm tired of the tests! They are annoying! Why can't I just leave this disgusting excuse for a home already?" 

He chuckled at her. "Well, you can leave. We just have to prepare you. It will take a while though." She squinted with anger. "Any length of time is worth it if it means I get out of this hellhole." 

**TIME SKIP - 4 Hours**

Edward sat in his cell and thought about what he could do after his escape from the asylum. He was going to be hunted, that was for sure, but he didn't want to hide his entire life. Ever since he killed Grace, he felt a rush. It was almost like it brought out this new being in him that was more cocky and arrogant. The voice that was in his head actually came to life, and it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. 

As he sat there and thought, he felt a small breeze from above him. He brushed it off and thought it was just another hallucination. However, it wasn't. He looked up and saw a vent that seemed to have no security attached to it. These imbeciles who ran the asylum couldn't even correctly install a vent. His face was pasted with an evil grin. He could finally escape. He climbed on top of the concrete slab excuse for a bed and used his upper body to boost himself into the vent tunnel. 

The preparation for Grace's departure started. They kept her in the same leather catsuit but gave her high-heeled boots. They were leather as well and had one small emblem on the side of each boot that had a small snake on it. She smiled at the snake because of its dark green scales. At least she was getting stuff before leaving. If she didn't have shoes, she could risk injury! Sometimes, she wished the simple things were done sooner. They also handed her a mask. It was in the shape of a diamond on either side and seemed to be made of leather as well. It was very sturdy and was even a bit hard to put on.

A guard came up to her and was clearly scared of her. He was sweating and his eyes were wide. "Why are you so nervous about me? Relax. Anyway, what do you want?"  He quickly cleared his throat and spoke. "Uhm- Professor Strange e-expects you to know that he will have full control over you during your departure and when you are o-outside of the asylum walls." Her eyes turned a neon green with rage. "WHAT? FULL CONTROL?" Hugo, from across the room, quickly glanced over to the woman in the leather suit. 

"YOU EXPECT ME, AFTER I DIED AND CAME BACK TO LIFE, TO NOW ALL OF A SUDDEN BE A LABRAT FOR YOUR LITTLE EXPERIMENT?" Hugo rushed down to the concrete floor where Grace was standing. "You need to calm down, you are extremely unstable!" That made her angrier. "OF COURSE I AM UNSTABLE, YOU PUT 1 MILLION VOLTS OF ELECTRICITY INTO MY DAMN BODY!" 

"Yes, but look at you! You are amazingly strong! Now please just-" He reached out for her arm. "NO!" Grace shut her eyes and swung her arms out to her sides. She screamed with a loud roar. She was sure that the rest of the asylum shook, and well, it did. It felt like an eternity before she stopped. Grace heard no talking or worry, and you could probably hear a pin drop. She opened her eyes slowly. The sight was horrifying. Everyone was there on the floor, a few people looking up at her with a glazed look in their eyes. 

There were wires and scraps everywhere. Small electrical sparks appeared near a few men. She looked around to see more damage and finally set her eyes on the rear wall of the large room. There was a large square opening, and her eyes followed to a grate on the floor. She could live how she wanted. This life would be different. She never thought she would ever say that in her life, but she did truly have a new life now. She wasn't anyone's victim anymore. 

Both Edward and Grace were in the vents now. Grace had her mask on while Edward had his usual pair of glasses. He was having a bit of trouble navigating through the asylum, and a few moments before he swore that he felt a large shake below him. Little did he know, it was the very angry reincarnation of his past lover. 

Grace crawled through the vent tunnel very clumsily. She wasn't used to being in small spaces like this. Her hair was in a long ponytail and flowed down the back of her leather clothing. Her mask covered her eyes only and left half of her nose and all of her lips and chin exposed. The boots made it even harder to walk as the heel on the bottom wasn't exactly comfortable for crawling in a vent. 

Grace thought the exit would be easy until something strange happened. She bumped into someone. She didn't think she would meet anyone in there, but it was a prison after all. She looked up to see the person's face and saw a shocking sight. The person had glasses, messy dark brown hair, and a prison uniform. "Who are you? What the hell are you doing here?" She stared at his face for a few seconds. His face was the same structure that it had always been in. His cheekbones were perfect, his eyes were perfect, everything was perfect.

"Hello? Look, can you help me get out of here?" She looked back at him and swallowed the lump in her throat. "Go right, then left, then straight." She guessed the directions, but she really hoped that it was to something like an execution room or a laboratory. She was surprised that he was there with her and didn't even recognize her. It made her upset and confused. "Thanks. Do I know you?" She stared back at him and she felt her eyes starting to glow. "No, I must have one of those faces. Bye." They went the opposite ways that day. She hoped it would stay that way, but Edward wanted to know more.