Ed was weird lately for a reason you couldn't understand. He was often locked up in his office, under the pretext of work. You knew there was something else behind it, but you trusted him and waited for him to speak about it before jumping to conclusions.
On the other hand, you were distant too, occupied to help your boss. You couldn't visit him anymore, because of a pretended contagious disease. This insured you even more that they were torturing him, but you were in a dead end to rescue him.
Ivy was working hard and it was paying off. She regularly came home with As, smiling and proud.
The more you spent time at Ed's, the more you looked like a real family.
You wanted to find a new home and be independent but at the same time you needed to stay with Ed.
Your job was calm and you liked kids, but truth was, you missed the GCPD and the bar. You had paid a visit to Butch and Tabitha who were now ruling Gotham, just to let them know that you were still in the picture. Butch was actually embarrassed and didn't know how to act around you, probably because he knew you would never betray your boss, unlike him...
You had worked on your powers with the little box found on the dead monks and you were improving.
Yes, things were weirdly calm lately.
But it was about to change.
You had just came home from your job with Ivy and you were extremely tired. Ivy immediately started her homework and you chilled on the sofa.
Fifteen minutes later, as you were falling asleep, a knock on the door made you jump. Ed rushed out of his room to open and found Oswald behind it.
"Penguin ?!"
"Ed !"
They were smiling happily and were actually very cute if you forgot the part where they were psychopathic murderers.
"Oswald ?!"you exclaimed.
"Hi Psychic !"
You were all standing in front of the door and Penguin was waiting patiently outside.
"Can- can I come in ? Although these feathers seems warm, I'm pretty cold..."
"Of course, where are my manners ?" Ed declared making a step backwardsto let him in.
"How how have you been ? Good I hope !" Oswald asked kindly.
Ivy smiled proudly.
"Hey Penguin ! Guess who's first of her class !"
"Good !"
While they were all speaking happily, you were inspecting Oswald carefully and weren't that happy to discover him...like this.
"What happened here ?" you interrupted them coldly as you indicated his clothes.
"Oh nothing to worry ! Good old Butch and Tabitha playing ! They considered killing me, so that's pretty nice of them !"
"Nice of them ?" Ed murmured.
"You went to Butch and Tabitha ?"
"Nothing to worry ?" you claimed.
"They did a pretty good job on you in Arkham huh ?" Ed stated worriedly.
"I'm sure you want some tea !" Ivy exclaimed seeing you losing your mind. She took your hand and brought you to the kitchen.
"Nice of them ?!" you choked.
"I know, I know. He changed, we can't trust him anymore," she stated gloomily.
"That's it ? We don't do anything to avenge him ? He saved us Ivy ! If it wasn't for him, we could have still been in this horrible lab !"
You took the tea pot rageously and got back to the living room.
"It's helped me to create the perfect puzzle to get rid of my Jim Gordon dilemma. Normally I would love to share, but the new you is kind of freaking me out..." you heard Ed declare.
You stopped where you were, shook.
What the hell ? What was he speaking about ?
"The tea is ready," you said, trying to act natural.
I'll have to ask him about that later...
Quickly, Oswald left, even if you insisted for him to stay, considering he had no place to go. But he refused, pretexting that he needed to visit his mother's grave.
As Ed closed the door behind him and turned around, you crossed your arms and stopped in front of him.
"Wh-what is wrong Pep ?" he asked anxiously.
"You tell me Ed ! What the hell is your 'Jim Gordon dilemma' ?!" you blurted out angrily.
"Oooh that...I can explain," he said embarrassed.
You rose an eyebrow.
"Well, huh. So Jim Gordon. He...decided to dig further the Kringle case. And he needed to be stopped. So I stopped him. I mean, I am stopping him," he stuttered.
You sighed heavily.
"You lied to us."
"I didn't ! I just...kept the truth from you ?"
"What are you doing to him ?"
"Nothing to worry, really !"
"Tell me, or I'll use my power to find out," you threatened him.
"I'll condemn him for a murder he didn't do."
"You are going to murder someone ? To condemn Jim ? He doesn't deserve that !"
"Yes he does ! He is suspecting me !"
Ivy was following the argument carefully behind you.
"There are other ways Ed ! I don't recognize you lately ! You are so closed and...selfish ! What is wrong with you ?"
"If you don't like to stay here, you're free to leave," he declared harshly.
That was too much. You headed to your room, grabbed quickly your stuff and opened the door.
Ed was back to you and with a quick look to Ivy, you saw that she didn't want to follow you.
"Oh you agree with this too ? Bye bye then."
And you slammed the door behind you.
Of course the first thing you wanted to do was run to Jim and tell him everything. But you couldn't, you just...couldn't.
Ed's cold face when you left came back to your mind and you felt a lump in your throat.
What was wrong with you ? Why did you have to protect him even though you hated him ?
Because you didn't. Quite the opposite.
Tears were forming in your eyes, clouding your vision. You bumped into several persons when you heard a familiar voice call your name.
"Pepper ?"
He placed a hand on your shoulder to stop you.
"Are you alright ?" Harvey asked worriedly.
"No, not all Harv."
"What are you doing here ? What's wrong ?"
You sobbed.
"Come with me", he declared kindly, holding you into his arms.
-
Harvey brought you home and you invented a lie about Nygma not to betray him. Harvey invited you to stay as long as you needed and was extremely nice to you.
You acknowledged that you've missed him and the few time you spent together cheered you up a bit.
"I have to get back to work, there are left overs in the fridge or you can order a pizza if you want, there's money in the second drawer."
"Thank you so much Harv, you're too kind."
"You're part of the GCPD family Pep. I would have done the same with anyone. God I would have even done that with Ed !" he giggled.
You nearly choked but kept yourself together.
If you only knew Harv, if I could tell you...
-
Later in the evening, as you were watching TV and eating a pizza you paid yourself, the home phone rang.
At first, you thought that he was better not to answer since it wasn't your house, but the ringtone insisted and you picked up.
"Yes ?"
"Pep, it's Harvey ! They got Jim !"
Of course they did...
-
Harvey was back from work very late at night and you didn't hear him. You had fallen asleep even though you wanted to wait for him to know what happened exactly.
The TV journals weren't specific on the details of the arrest and you wanted to know everything.
When you woke up, you noticed noises from the kitchen and rushed there.
With a sleepy voice and your eyes still not fully open, you immediately asked Harvey:
"What happened ?"
"Good morning Pep."
"Good morning. What happened ?" you insisted.
"They arrested him. Someone tricked him, he would never do that."
"Of course he was tricked ! We have to get him out."
Bullock sighed.
"He's in prison Pepper. We can't do that."
"Yes we can."
Harvey sighed again.
"Can we go visit him ?"
"Not before a few weeks."
This time, you sighed.
"I have to get to work."
"Yeah, me too."
-
Your job was going on normally. You tried to speak the less possible with Ivy, but she was constantly trying to make you come back 'home'.
"Ed is super worried about you ! He keeps asking me to speak with you while I'm here."
"Yeah, he worries I'll snitch he's a murderer and a liar. Rest assured, I won't talk, even if he deserves it."
After this talk, Ivy only came to make sure you were alright and you did the same.
Weeks went by, and you were working on a way to free Jim. Bullock joined you soon enough and days later, you could finally visit him.
When he arrived in the meeting room, Harvey immediately started to joke with him. That was his way to empathise. Jim looked exhausted and not that healthy. Obviously.
He was surprised to see you here but you changed the subject.
Before leaving, you both promised him you'll free him, but he was too focus on the baby's loss to listen to you.
Harvey was reassured, coming here enabled him to start a plan to get Jim out.
-
Some days went by before you could implement your plan.
The right night was eventually there and you were ready to rescue Gordon.
Ad you were used to, you weared the clothes Penguin designed you and spared a thought for him, wondering where he could be right now.
The fake ambulance you were in with Harvey stopped, waking you up from your slumber.
The body bag Jim was in, jumped and the guard you were working with opened it.
"Harvey ? What are you dokng here ?" Jim asked, lost.
"Just chilling. What do you think ? I'm getting you out of here !"
They argued for a bit and when Jim was finally decided to leave, he asked for another favour.
You rolled your eyes.
When he explained you for the young guy in prison, you immediately exclaimed :
"I'll come with you."
You rushed to the infirmary and while you distracted the guard, Jim bit him and helped the young dude to stand up.
The poor guy was full of bruises and looked in very bad shape.
You suddenly noticed a man walking to the nursery. You followed him from close behind.
"Prisoner Gordon. You're supposed to be dead."
"I'm as surprised as you are."
"What brought you back to life ?"
"Friends," Jim replied with a smile, knowing you would be behind him.
"Friends...It's good to have friends. But where are they when we need them, huh ?"
"Right here, bitch," you exclaimed hitting him hard. "It's so much more satisfying than using my power !"
"Come on, let's go !" Jim declared before leaving.
-
Harvey left you in Gotham, telling you that the less you knew, the better it was for you.
If only he'd known that you were more aware than anyone...
Harvey was home soon enough and he wasn't alone.
"You're back, huh ? You couldn't stay safe for once ?"
"I need to find the son of bitch who tricked me."
You nodded.
"Where are you staying ?"
"Don't worry, I have a safe place."
"We should get some sleep," you suggested.
"We'll work on the case, you can rest if you want," Harvey told you kindly.
Guilt burned your gutts for the millionth time. You thought you would feel better when you would have freed Jim, but it was worse. Now he was just under your eyes and you weren't telling him who sent him in a prison for weeks.
You laid on the couch and tried to fall asleep, but you kept hearing 'traitor' in your head.
-
The next morning, the house was empty and you went to school as usual. The day was extremely long and you didn't see Ivy.
When you were back to Harvey's, you found him laying on the couch.
"What are you doing here ?"
"That's my house, right ?" he replied sarcastically.
You rolled your eyes and asked again.
"I helped Jim. We found a way to hear the anonymous call that ditched him to the cops. The tape needed to be cleaned. He went to Ed for help."
"He went where ?" you yelled distraught.
"What's wrong ?"
You didn't even answer and took your stuff. You received a call from Ivy.
"Pep ! Jim is here !" she whispered through the phone.
"I know ! I'm on my way ! Stay there and tell me everything ok ?"
"What's the problem Pep ?" Harvey asked.
"I need to go. Thanks for everything Harv."
You ran to your car and drove insanely to Ed's apartment.
When you opened the door, you found Ivy hiding in the kitchen.
"What happened ? Where are they ?"
"They just left, I don't know where ! I'm so sorry Pep."
"Don't worry sweetheart. Find Cat and asks her for help for a few days, I will let you know when you can come back."
She nodded and you split up.
You ran to Ed's car. You moved carefully, always hiding, and found Jim on the ground and Ed pulling him.
For a few seconds Ed left him to open his car trunk and you jumped on the occasion. You woke up Jim and he jumped through the closest window and you followed him.
Ed noticed and shoot Gordon.
"I knew you would betray me Pepper. I'm just surprised you didn't do it sooner !"
You helped Jim find a place to hide.
"Come out, come out wherever you are ! I bet you're wandering 'why would Ed do this to me ? Set me up. Ruin my life.' I'll give you a hint Jimbo. K.K."
"Kristen Kringle," Jim whispered and Ed shot him.
You went out of your hiding to distract Ed.
"I didn't betray you."
"You helped him out and rescued him. You're not exactly on my team."
"He was your friend Ed. And mine."
"Get out of my way."
He pushed you and you grabbed his arm.
Stop, your ordered him.
He showed you the little box repelling your power and you froze.
He heard a noise from afar and ran to follow it. You rushed to your car and flee immediately.
Ed knew you would use your power and protected himself with the little box. But you should have managed to reach his mind even with it, you had trained for it. Which means he had improved it behind your back.
You sighed.
How did things become this crazy ?
You received a call from Ivy.
"Iv ?"
"I'm with Cat. Jim is with us."
"What ? How ?"
"Just come to this address."
You followed the address she left you and you found yourself in front of the Wayne manor. You parked your car and came in.
Cat and Ivy weren't alone. Bruce Wayne and Alfred, his butler, were there too.
Jim was eating at the table and when he saw you, he froze.
"You knew."
"Yes, I did."
"Why ?" he asked but you understood what he meant.
"Would you have done it if it was Lee in Ed's case ?"
He sighed.
"I honestly don't know what to think about you. I don't think I trust you."
"I feel so guilty Jim, I've done everything possible to help you."
He nodded.
He exposed his plan and you begged for him to bring you to the forest where Ed would be caught by the police.
"I can control him and stop him to do things he would regret."
Jim wasn't convinced but agreed.
-
Selina asked for her reward to the police for capturing Jim and Ed took the bait. You followed him in the forest, where he had burried Miss Kringle.
Jim went in first and you hid behind a tree.
You listened to their discussion until you heard Ed say a riddle.
"A nightmare for some. For others, a saviour I come. My hands, cold and bleak, it's the warm heart they seek."
"Death," you and Jim replied at the same time.
This time, he was staring at you sadly.
"Please Ed, don't do this," you begged taking a step closer.
"You shouldn't have interfered Pepper. You can still join me and you won't need to hurt anyone."
Your heart ached. He knew that after the dozen of men you've killed the day of your rescue, you didn't want to hurt someone again, and he was searching a way for you not to.
"No, it's too late for that Ed."
He looked at you disappointingly and turned back to Jim.
"Goodbye Jimbo."
"Drop your gun !"
The voice of Captain Barnes echoed behind him. Ed turned around and evaluated the situation. He decided to escape. You ran behind him and cops were following you too.
Ed fell on a root and you reached him.
"It's too late not to hurt anyone," you murmured in his ear.
He stared at you in shock and you turned around, ready to embrace your power just when the men where reaching you. You stared at one of them and he took his knife and stabbed his partner in the leg. With a look to another cop, you ordered him to shoot around him. He touched two of his friends.
"Stop !" you heard Barnes scream.
"Pepper ?!" Jim asked distraught.
"Would you abandon Lee without a fight Jim ?"you asked him, your eyes still silvery.
He understood and approached you carefully.
"Edward Nygma and Y/n Culpelpper, you're under arrest. If you try to resist in any way, we will shoot you."
You rose your hands and lowered your head.
"Why Pep ? Why did you do that ?" Ed asked desperately.
"I was always on your side Ed."
They handcuffed you and put a bag on your head.