Moving forward.

Chapter 2: Convincing a conflicted man.

The sound of a car alarm blaring could be heard from across the street but Martin paid it little attention.  As he continued on his way he noticed his surroundings becoming increasingly more rundown looking with every step he took. It had taken several hours, and a few false starts, but he had finally found his way to the right part of the Narrows. All that was left for him to do was to find the right place, the place where he would find Edward Nygma. The problem with fight clubs though is that to avoid being raided by the cops they have to be difficult locate which makes things difficult if you are a ten year old boy with limited connections. Martin was smart however, and not the sort to give up easily so it was little surprise that he had eventually managed to get hold of the information he needed. Making his way down a dark and dirty backstreet he could hear the muffled sounds of an eager crowd coming from inside a large tumbledown building up ahead. This was it.

Using his size to his advantage Martin snuck past the bouncer on the door and headed inside. It was clear from the start that this was not a place for children. The room was full to bursting with a rowdy crowd comprised of the sorts of people you wouldn't want to run into at night in a dark alley. It made for a very uncomfortable atmosphere. Martin squared his shoulders and began looking around for signs of the man that Penguin had told him so much about. He didn't have to wait long for the Riddler to make his presence known. At that moment a voice bellowed from over head "And now, the most hated man in Gotham. The Penguin!" Suddenly a spotlight shone down on the stage, illuminating a man in a long coat and mask who was leaning against a tatty looking umbrella.

"I am SO happy to be here!"

The audience laughed, booed and jeered. Edward Nygma, decked out in all his 'finery', proceeded to launch into the routine that he now knew so well that he could have done it in his sleep. "You love me. I knew you loved me" he simpered, goading the audience to give it to him with both barrels.

Martin watched stony faced as the man onstage continued with his rather offensive caricature of The Penguin, a man who had once been Nygma's only friend. Martin was not a fool, he knew what Oswald had done to his former friend. Oswald had told him everything right down to the last tiny detail. Anger on Ed's part was understandable yet it made the taunting no less pleasant to watch. "Grundy! Grundy" the crowd chanted eagerly as a large pale man entered the ring and put his hands around Edward's throat. The house lights went out for a brief second as the excitement reached fever pitch. They went back up to reveal The Riddler, who had thrown away his costume, sporting a glittering green suit and basking in the attention of his captivated audience.

"Stupid! Lame! Bird brain!"

Each word was coated in a thick layer of distain and Ed's face was contorted with rage. "He'll never learn. You can't mess with the Narrows!" he screamed, an approving raucous assaulting his ears. With his part of the show now over Edward stepped out of the ring, wondering vaguely what poor sap was going to have their arm ripped off by Grundy tonight. The question failed to linger on his mind long however, as he made his way to the 'back stage' part of the club. He was unaware that he was being watched and the little boy who was watching him was as equally ignorant of his own observer concealed on the balcony.

****************************************************************************

Martin battled his way through the crowd in an attempt to follow the Riddler as he left the stage but the man had already vanished through a door to what Martin assumed was a back room of sorts. Upon reaching it however, he found himself confronted by two corridors. Neither of them gave any clues as to which way Edward Nygma had gone. Picking one at random he set off, hoping against hope that he wouldn't get caught by security and thrown out before he had achieved his goal. As it turned out security were the least of his worries.