Sitting in front of the array of computers in front of him, Edward smiled. He loved watching. Whether it be observing some idiot in one of his traps or a random bat flying around the city, Edward saw it. Some of the other villains ridiculed him of course, the cretins, saying that sitting in front of the computers actually damaged his brain and questions plauged his mind. He ignored them of course. Who were they to talk about intelligence? He was The Riddler, the smartest man in Gotham, even the world. Hearing a beep go off at screen eight, Edward turned his chair towards the computer. "Interesting." He murmured, watching the event playing out on the screen. At one of his traps, Batman was there, trying to figure out how to get to the trophy encased inside. Riddler was amused by the Dark Knight's befuddlement at his puzzle and laughed heartily when the Bat flew away in defeat. "He'll be back." Edward reassured himself. "They always do come back." He watched Batman fly all around Gotham, attempting to solve the various traps, giving up on most. "Why doesn't he solve them?!" Riddler yelled at the screen, tired of being ignored. He had had enough of being made fun of by the other villains. He needed to defeat the Dark Knight once and for all. An idea sparked into Edward's head, lighting his eyes up. 'I'm such a genius!' He thought to himself. "The reason," Edward stood up and talked to the computer screen like he was giving a speech,"That Batman doesn't solve my riddles is simple. He needs motivation. He'll ignore the harder ones since he 'can't be bothered'. But give him a reason to, say endanger someones life, and suddenly everything becomes much more interesting." He let out a low, dark laugh. Turning, he whisked his hat onto his head, grabbed his cane, and set out through the door. He had some renovations to do to some certain buildings. With the last deathtrap set into place and working, Edward mentally checked off step one. Yelling at some of his hired muscle to get their butts over here, he examined the computer screens carefully. He needed hostages. Honest, good, citizens of Gotham that would force Batman to come after him. The Riddler found a few stragglers here and there that would do, but it would be too noticeable to gather them all up. What he needed was a group- "Hey boss!" One of the thugs called out, Mike, Edward recalled. "What?" Riddler asked angrily, annoyed that his thought process had been disrupted. "Uh, I just wondered why this thing was blinking" Mike responded, pointing to the screens sensor alarm. Raising an eyebrow, Edward walked over to the screen, examining the area. It was a large building, a church, except the bell tower had a large gaping hole on the side of it. "A bomb." Riddler glanced back to Mike. "That's what caused the sensor to go off." He was about to back to the other computer when a flash of movement caught his eye. It was a whisk of a cape, nothing more, yet it peeked his interest. Yelling at the thugs in the room to be quiet Edward eavesdropped on the camera's microphones. "Oracle." The gruff voice of Batman filled the room. "The shot came from the church. It was Joker. He tried to trap me and set off a bomb. I've left some guards and medical staff locked safely in the church. I'm going after Joker." Edward turned off the sound and sat down in his chair. This was his chance. Not only was Batman leaving the hostages he needed in one convenient pick up spot, but the Dark Knight would be too preoccupied with Joker to notice him. Springing up from his chair, he grabbed a mini army of his thugs, walking cane in hand. Arriving at the church, Edward found it almost too easy to break into. He might as well as just knocked. Walking in through the doorway, he gestured his thugs towards the guards, who pitifully tried to defend themselves. Gathering up the hostages Riddler left the church empty, and placed each of their hostages in their respective new homes- one of his deathtraps. -The Next Day- As much as Edward was pleased that his theories were correct about motivating Batman, he was not happy about how far the Dark Knight had gotten. Edward smashed his fist down in rage at the Dark Knight's success. Batman had just rescued another hostage and had swore vengeance on The Riddler. Edward shrugged it off though, there's no way that Batman could catch him. Turning off the camera, he leaned back in his chair, briefly closing his eyes before jumping awake at a loud noise. The front door of his hideout had been kicked down. Gunfire echoed throughout the building, most likely his thugs trying to stop the intruder. The shots slowly diminished as Edward's guards were defeated. Walking to the corner of the room, Edward grabbed the gun and cane that lay there. "It can't be Batman!" Riddler was slightly worried. He knew he had angered the Dark Knight with his deathtraps. "There's no way he could find me here!" Seeing the door to his room open slightly, Edward released the safety of the gun and aimed it at the door, waiting to see who walked through.