"One person's sanity is another person's reality."

A soft knock at the bedroom door pulled Bruce from his slumber. A second later, Alfred pushes open the door and peeks his head inside. Bruce stirs and blinks his eyes open, a sliver of light shining through his dark curtains.

"Sorry to wake you sir; but while I was cleaning your quarters I heard your phone go off twice, that Flores girl is trying to reach you." Alfred says curtly. The second he hears Flores he shoots up from his lying position, a delayed pain thudding through his body.

"Thank you Alfred." He tries not to look desperate as he beelines towards the bat cave. When he arrives, it's ringing again. Panic sets in his bones. He's quick to answer.

"Flores." He rasps out.

"Hey there." She sounds calm, which confuses him.

"Is everything okay?" The tone of his voice deepens.

"Oh yes. I just have a lead. Sorry to bother you, I don't know if I should just use this for emergencies or what..." She trails off awkwardly. Relief flushes over him.

"A lead?"

Flores goes into some detail about the information she received. A feeling of familiarity touches Bruce when she says Arthur Fleck, but he was so dazed from just being woken, it doesn't register. Bruce, or rather Batman actually knows this Arthur Fleck character. He's too distraught to pick up on it though. He was just relieved she was okay. When Alfred mentioned she's been calling, he assumed the worse for some reason.

He offers to join her at Arkham, but she says no. She was annoyed with constantly being offered companionship. She liked doing things on her own, Alex was stubborn like that. She liked having control over certain situations. She could handle herself.

Once she pulls up at Arkham Asylum, she feels anxiety but also excitement. She hopes this could be a big break of information. A breakthrough in the case. She gets let in and walks through security when she enters the building, being ushered along by these big guards into what looks like a boardroom. Alex waits, taking out her small notepad and a pen. Two full time nurses enter the room. She slightly expected them to look rude and rough around the edges, as they usually do when dealing with the insane or criminals. She knew how it was, even in the current year. The world wanted to say they're accepting of the mentally ill, but they still get treated so poorly by the system. Arkham had the worst of the worst. Literal psychopaths. Harm doers. People slipped through the cracks and went too far.

The nurses wasted no time delving into Arthur Fleck, as they worked with him the most. He arrived close to two years ago, badly injured, mangled. He had spent time in their critical unit, healing from chemical burns. He wasn't allowed to be in the regular hospital though, as he was a high risk offender. Overall he behaved while being locked up. He knew he had done wrong, just wasn't able to help himself. The compulsions. Then the night of August 8th, he was gone.

"Do you think he would be capable of these two murders?" Alex had to ask.

"I very well think so." Nurse Jaclyn has solemnly replied. "Honestly though, we have his file, but we don't have little details about him. He would only share so much during his psychological evaluations." She continued on.

"But, he had developed a uh, friendship, with another inmate of ours." The other Nurse, a nicer older lady named Carole, said. "They were always gabbing away. You probably know of him, Edward Nashton."

"The Riddler?" Alex hums.

"We prefer to use our patients' birth names, but yes." Carole nods, an uncomfortable look on her face. Surely she thought of the crimes Riddler had done before being caught and committed to Arkham.

"Am I able to speak with him?" Alex asked, tone desperate. She watches the nurses exchange a glance, and begins to mentally prepare to persuade them...

Thankfully, she doesn't need to.

While the nurses go fetch Edward, Alex ducks into a bathroom and pulls out the 'phone'. This time, Batman picks up after a couple of seconds.

"Hello." His brute voice comes through the speaker.

"Hey man." She pauses, wondering if it was okay to call him that. She heard Gordon do it many times. "I got some surface information from some nurses, but they told me he was close with uh, Edward Nashton. So I'm going to interview him. Just wanted to update you... like I said I would." She felt herself carefully choosing her words, not wanting to seem weird.

"Alex, no."

"Pardon?" She's confused.

A sigh leaves his lips. "Don't. He'll get in your head. It's not a good idea-"

"Listen man, for one thing I'm not an idiot. Second, you don't know me. You don't know my interviewing skills. Ask Gordon. I've cracked so many suspects before. It's fine." She explains, becoming furious by the second. "Also, he doesn't know me. When you were after him, taking him down, he knew it was you, that's why he fucked around with you so much." She hoped the words touched a nerve.

Silence. She knows he didn't hang up, but there's still that radio silence. "I'm coming to help. Wait for me to get there." Bat replies, completely ignoring her words. He was bothered, but not hurt. Alex wasn't too fond of his controlling personality trait. She didn't need his help.

"Oh come on. I got this. I'll meet up with you afterwards. Don't come here." She changes her tone slightly, sounding like she is now pleading with him.

"Alex."

"I will see you later." Before he can reply, she hangs up and shoves the 'phone' into her blazer pocket. She shakes off her annoyance and exits the bathroom.

...

A large buzzing noise sounds before a li tone guards voice booms through a speaker "it's unlocked, you can go through Ms. Flores."

Alex nods and twists the doorknob, entering a grimy looking interrogation room. There's a desk and chair on her side, separated from the other side which is the exact same. A glass wall separates the halves. A small mic is connected. On the other side there sits The Riddler. At a first glance, he looks like a sweet and innocent guy. He's got a soft looking round face, mousy brown locks on top of his head, combed nicely. Glasses with clear frames. She knows who he truly is though, she knows not to let his appearance fool her. Not one bit. But she could pretend.

"Mr. Nashton-"

"Call me Edward, please." He speaks, a coy smile on his lips.

"Okay, Edward. My name is Detective Flores. Thank you for agreeing to chat with me today, I really appreciate your time." Alex says, taking a seat in the chair across from him. His eyes were fixated on her, not once leaving her face. She smiled politely when she met his gaze.

"No first name? You get to know my own." He replies, sounding confused.  Alex obviously sees through this coy act of his. She chuckles and replies.

"Alex. Was just being formal, my apologies." She could play as well.

"Alexandra?" He wonders. She nods in confirmation. "Pretty. Feminine. It suits you." He comments. "Pardon for being foreword."

She forces a smile. "Thank you, Edward."

"Now... what can I do for you, Alexandra?"

"I just have a couple of questions about Arthur Fleck, if that's okay with you?" She asks, twiddling her pen between her fingers. He doesn't reply but simply nods, adjusting his sitting position in his chair. The cuffs around his wrists make a clanging sound against the table. Alex tries her best to seem relaxed, so he remains the same way. She wasn't anxious per say, but was cautious of how she portrays herself, knowing guys like Edward pick up easily on other peoples moods/body language.

"You two were close while he was here. Before he escaped." She offers.

"We spoke. We had a lot of the same views and interests. Talking made the time here go quicker." Edward replies. She jots down on her notepad. This was easier than she thought. Unless every word out of his mouth was a lie. He hasn't said anything too detailed, she couldn't tell.

"Makes sense. Was he from the Gotham area?"

"Yeah always. He lived in this apartment complex I think called Den Apartments Lived with his mother, who died..." Edwards trails off, eyebrows knitting together. Alex's pen scribbled across the notepad.

"Did he ever talk about his past to you much?" She inquired.

"Not entirely. He told me about how he got all the burn scars, such a sad story..." Edward trails, his mouth forming a small frown. Alex nods, showing him she's actively listening. "Acid. He almost died.

"Was it thrown at him?" She asked gently.

"Oh no! He was pushed, for god sakes.... By that man that everyone calls a hero. He got those awful scars on his cheeks too from that fight" Now, Edward's voice has a hint of disgust. Alex's stomach churns uncomfortably.

"What man?"

"Batman of course." Now, Alex wasn't sure if this was a lie, either made up by Edward himself, or a lie Arthur told Edward. Her head was spinning.

As if on cue, the buzzer to the door behind her sounds and the door is thrown open. By the look of Edward's expression, it seemed like the man of the hour had arrived.

When Alex looks over her shoulder, he's there, as if saying his name had summoned him into the room like a spirit. Batman, clad in his suit, rain droplets covering him. "No! Noooo no no. What is he doing here?!" Edward screeches, completely flipping from seconds ago where he was calm and collected. He hops out of his chair, shuffling backwards from the glass towards the back wall.

"Hey hey Edward, relax it's okay." Alex coaxed, attempting to soothe the man. Would help if the glass wasn't between them. She spins towards Batman. "Leave." She demands.

"You set me up, you ridiculous girl. I knew I shouldn't have agreed to speaking with you." Edward cries out, his face reddened. His body physically shakes with anger, unable to control himself.

"I didn't Edward, I didn't tell him to come here. Please just relax." Edwards shoulders rise and fall quickly, with each deep breath he takes.

He ignores her and then, a wicked grin spreads across his face. "I got a little riddle." Like a switch has been flipped, insanity and evil taking over him. "It can be cracked, it can be made, it can be told, it can be played. What is it?" A silence falls over the interrogation room. "Huh? What is it?!" He screams, smacking his cuffed hands onto the table.

"A joke." Batman simply replies, glaring at Edward..

Suddenly two guards marched to his side of the interrogation room and grabbed Edward roughly by each arm. "Hey! Let him go!" Alex yells at them, but obviously they ignore her. Within seconds he's pulled out of the interrogation room. Furious, Alex turns around and faces Batman.

"I was getting actual information before you came here. You just ruined it!" She shouts, poking the armor on his chest. "I had his trust."

"He was probably telling you lies and getting in your head." His stoic voice bothers her in the moment.

"Was he lying when he told me you pushed Arthur Fleck into a vat of acid?" Alex's tone is accusatory, she's practically chest to chest with him, staring up at him.

Memories flash through Batman's head, chasing the man through the chemical plant and then, Batman went to grab him to pull him back, but Arthur pushed off him and fell backwards. Arthur Fleck. The guilt lingered. He tried so hard to block the memory out.

"Who are you?" She asks, tone full of disgust. He looks down at her, unable to even answer. She moves around him and leaves the room. Batman follows her close behind, all the way out of the building. When the fresh hair hits them, he then speaks.

"I didn't push him. I was trying to grab him. I told you he'd get in your head." He says, wondering why he's even trying to defend himself to her. Deep down, he doesn't want her to think he's a monster. Usually, he wouldn't care about such a thing, other people's thoughts or opinions. Alex continues walking away. Batman reaches out and grabs her wrist gently. He doesn't need to use any force, and she stops walking on her own. She yanks her wrist away but doesn't walk farther. Alex turns and looks up at him again, squinting her eyes.

"Why isn't he coming after you then?" She wonders. "He clearly told Edward he blames you for his injuries."

"I don't know. Maybe he wants to avoid me, since I already got him once." Bat replies, words cocky but tone was much different. She nods slowly in understanding. "He knows he'll get caught again. He's just causing a mess now.. for us all to clean up."

"Well, Edward gave me an address. I think we should check it out." Alex replies, pulling her notepad from her pocket and seeing Den Apartments scribbled in her messy writing.

"Okay." He replies simply.

"I'm still pissed at you, by the way." She adds, glaring up at him.

"Okay."