Anna moaned softly. She was lying on her side, on a bed that was far too large and comfortable to be her own. Her head felt like it was in a deep fog, and her vision was blurred. She tried to make out where she was, and slowly, a figure came into view. The person was seated not two feet away from her, facing her. He seemed to be covered in a mottled green robe… No, not a robe. A suit.
"You're awake!" he crowed delightedly.
Anna shrieked. She flung herself out of the bed, on the opposite side from the villain. Trembling, she cast a cursory glance across her frame, confirming that she still had her clothes on. "You're-you're the Riddler…." she stammered.
He had envisioned her waking to find him close to her bed, gazing at her with tender affection. She would have murmured, "Where am I?", in her soft, honey-like voice. He would have stroked her velvety hair, and whispered to her soothingly… Oh, well. This would have to do…
"You do care!" he cried in a cheerful tone. "I was worried at first that you wouldn't recognize me! But now I see that-"
"What do you want with me?" whispered Anna, her mind reeling. What could a Gotham criminal possibly want with her? She wasn't involved in anything having to do with crimes. She hadn't witnessed anything that would make her a liability for some scheme. What could the Riddler possibly want with her?
He appeared just the same as he had in the newspapers, and when she first ran into him at Arkham Asylum. And yet… Wasn't there another time that I saw him?, thought Anna. It seems like…
"The movie theater!" gasped Anna, as the horrific experiences from her date came rushing back at her, like a tidal wave. And then, "Where's Steve!"
The Riddler pursed his lips together in a childish pout, but something in his eyes changed. Something that made Anna's spine tingle.
No. No, no! NO! She just had to mention him. Now, everything was ruined. The Riddler had thought that he would be rid of that awful liar when he had so graciously removed him from Anna's life. I have to remain calm…, he told himself. I mustn't scare her….. I must not lose control….
"You were at the theater," continued Anna, her voice scaling up. "You came over to us, and… What did you do with Steve?"
"I don't want to talk about him," said the Riddler indignantly. He tried to diverge from the topic. "Let's talk about you! I have your favorite: a white chocolate mocha, with extra whipped cream and sprinkles!"
Anna's voice was barely audible. "What…have… you… done…with …Steve….?"
The Riddler clenched his teeth. His hands twisted into fists so tight that his knuckles looked like they might break the skin. "Is that all you can think about?" he hissed, with deadly malice in his voice. "Why is that thing so important to you?"
Anna straightened up proudly. She squared her jaw, and said, "I love Steve. Now, tell me what you did with him!"
That was too much. He had tried to be kind and endearing, but she had gone too far. The Riddler lost control.
He silently picked up the chair he had been sitting in moments ago, and flung it across the room. It slammed against the wall splintering into several pieces. Anna backed up against the wall, her heart pounding out of her chest.
The Riddler approached her slowly, his face expressionless. He stopped an inch from her terrified face, and looked down his nose at her. He wanted…needed to kill something…someone….
He slapped his hand against the wall, hard. Her face twisted to avoid the hit accidentally slamming against the rough edges of the wall with a nauseating scrunch. Her knees buckled, but she did not collapse. She hugged the wall, whimpering and choking back her sobs at her captor's sudden change in mood.
Anna's eyes watered more as she realized how easily this man could kill her.
The Riddler turned slowly and stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
Edward Nigma was not a violent man when faced with the best of circumstances, but when faced with the worst he could be immortalized by his lone standing wrath.
Regrettably, the conditions he was faced with now were a mixture of both the good and the bad.
Edward sighed. This was not how I expected things to turn out. What was wrong with her? What was wrong with him? He had just scared her and stormed out of the room to leave her alone to her tears. If she had just left "him"out of the conversation he would never have had to resort to such brutality. Why did she have to make him angry? She should know better.
Slowly, he removed his gloves and brought his bare hands above him to stroke his temples. He needed time to think.
The now somber footfalls of the Riddler were devoid of their once joyous steps as he entered into his large bedroom and continued into the also large bathroom he had.
In mechanical motions Edward removed his top coat, vest, shirt, trousers. He entered the shower with a serious expression and let the steamy water engulf his body while considering his present predicament. What would he… NO… What could he do to right the wrongs he was now guilty of?
Nothing. There was nothing he could do. Nothing that he could take back, and it was all her fault.
He bowed his head further into the scalding jet of water. There has to be an answer. There's always an answer. Perhaps, an apology. One fist banged against the question mark patterned tiles of his shower.
No it was her fault in the first place; if anything he deserved an apology. For it had been her who bated his wrath with that grotesque declaration of love for a man that was false as the fires of hell.
Wait, Of course, no wonder she had been so disillusioned with the ideas of love with such a falsehood. She still believed that Steven was the sender of all those treasures.
Well won't she just be delighted! , thought the Riddler as he washed away the remainder of suds clinging to his arms.
With a mischievous spark in his green eyes he considered how much more enjoyable his shower would be if a certain someone were bathing along side him.
Meanwhile….
Anna brought her knees into her chest and rocked back and forth. She had to make it out of here. She had to escape.
Gathering her lingering courage she scanned the room for any means of an escape. After a few minutes of scanning she discerned that her only way out of the room was the solid wood door that the Riddler had slammed on his exit.
Scrambling to the aperture Anna grasped the handle of the door and hoped against all hope that the door had remained unlocked.
Lady luck chose that moment to smile upon her for the hatchet slid open the instant she twisted the knob. So startled by this small bout of chance, she nearly lost her footing, and fell through the mouth of the doorway. Regaining her lost balance she glanced down the hallway for any routes leading to liberation. Curiously, there was only one other exit encored into the wall besides the one she had just left.
What if the Riddler is behind this door? She shivered at the thought of him smirking at the other end of the gateway scolding for her foolish escape plan to send her back before his presence. But what if this isn't a trap and it really is the road to freedom?
Forcing her worries to the edges of her mind Anna brought a shaking palm up to the cold metal of the ingress. Trembling, Anna wedged the door open as noiselessly as possible.
Once the door was open far enough for herself to squeeze through, Anna found herself inside what was without a doubt the Riddler's own private corridors'.
The walls of the room were green with black question marks thrown about the wall in random and messy heaps. The furnishings of the room included a large cherry-oak desk accented with an equally large computer and printer. A leather chair rested at the foot of the desk. These gorgeous furnishings all paled in comparison to the large bed that was centered in the middle of the room, sitting at a tall height of hand carved wood. A closer inspection at the carvings would have revealed the story of the riddle of the sphinx inside the vivid pictures. The bed spread itself was green and decorated with all equally green pillows.
Anna may have better appreciated the beauty of such a room were she not considering the incredibly likely scenario of the Riddler returning to his room in the next instant.
Looking about the room once more she discovered that in the whole room there was only one door left remaining in the room that could possibly service her flight.
Opening the door and entering she found that it was nothing more than a simple, albeit large, bathroom. She eyed the room a bit and decided to continue to the other end of the room in search for some sort of hole that she could reach the outside world through.
Anna froze in her tracks when she discovered exactly what was on the other wall of the same room. There stood the Riddler on the inside of a shower stark naked.
Anna barely stifled a loud gasp that made it past her lips. There stood her captor with his eyes shut, bathing. Anna tried not to stare she tried desperately to get out of the room, but she was shocked. All she could do was stand struck as she took in the unlikely sight. She watched as water fell down his build pooling at the bottom of the shower.
"Shrunck"
With that the droplets of water came to an abrupt halt. A hand pulled open the glass entrance of the shower, and Anna realized with dread the dangers she was faced with at that second. His eyes were still shut. She could still make it to an escape.
"Where is that towel?"
Not putting much if any thought into her next action Anna reached for the towel and handed it to him.
"Thank-you." The Riddler responded as the towel magically was placed into his searching hands. How very courteous for a towel to enter one's hands when they need it the mosthe thought asrubbed the stinging soap from his eyes.
Wait a second… His head shot up immediately coming face to face with "his" Anna. Instead of preparing to attack the Riddler relaxed his stance and allowed a smirk to work its way onto his freshly scrubbed face.
"Well, well Anna to what do I owe this pleasant surprise to? You're a bit late if you intended on joining me, but if you'd like I'd be happy to make a return trip with you." he said in a deeply smug voice as he secured the towel about his waist.
Anna was at a loss for words for she could stop staring at his midriff. He looked like a sculpture. Wait I did not just think that! He. Is. A. Criminal!
Noticing where her eyes were Edward let out a low teasing chuckle. "So, do you like what you see? Because I am enjoying what I see." He took a few steps closer towards Anna.
He was now close enough for her to feel his breath on her skin and see the smoldering look in his gaze burn brighter. She began to panic; he was too close to her. What if he tries to kill me… or worse.
She shivered at that last thought.
Snapping her out of her currant thoughts his hand grasped her chin with gentle but firm force.
A frown marred his features as he saw that his previous actions had now resulted in an ugly bruise. Why had he felt it necessary to scare her? There was no excuse.
"I didn't mean to do that Anna." At that he suddenly dropped her chin and brought her into a demanding embrace as she was pulled against him into a needy as well as starving hug. In that hug the Edward Nigma swore to never let her go.
She would never leave his side. She was his everything. And as his he would never scare her again.
"Could you please put some clothes on?"
"What?" he said as he began to play with her hair not paying attention to the fact he was nearly nude and the girl in his arms was clearly unnerved as well as afraid.
With scared eyes Anna looked up at him once again "Please get dressed."
Understanding showered down upon him like rainfall.
Letting out a small disgruntled huff Edward left the bathroom with Anna and entered his bedroom. He walked purposely towards his dresser and opened one of the drawers before sweeping away his towel from his waist and placing himself inside a pair of boxers.
"Do you think you could have warned me, before you started changing?" Anna said her back still turned away from him unsure as to whether he had finished changing or not.
"Well based on my deductions I'd say that after our previous encounter there is really not much left to your imagination. So, modesty is really more of a courtesy rather necessity. Besides it's not like I have anything you haven't seen before." the Riddler said with a haughty tone.
The thought of her with another man before his self brought furious rage into his senses, but he hid it well enough as he waited for her to respond to his comments.
No response came from Anna as she stared at the floor with rouge coloring splayed all about her cheeks.
A lone eyebrow rose up to Edward's forehead. In a few heartbeats that lone eyebrow was accompanied by a toothy smile. "You haven't have you?"
"No but that's none of your business." She cried out in outrage at how blatantly he had moved onto the subject of her personal life.
Wisely the Riddler decided that taking the conversation any further would be a loss. Despite her clear outrage he was happier for it. She so sweet, her blush is enticing. Those thoughts brought only a stronger need to possess the girl before him. That same greedy feeling he got when he successfully pulled off a heist was their festering underneath the surface of his skin begging for her to belong to him. To be his forever.
"I suppose not. Want to hear a riddle?"
Not waiting for her to answer he recited the riddle," The more you have of it the less you see. Question: What is it?"
She frowned; she hadn't the foggiest, but before she could say she was unsure, the Riddler answered the riddle himself.
"Darkness, and as such is the time. I believe it is time for bed." He said with a stretch of his limbs.
"Where do I sleep?"
"Why next to me of course"
"What?" Anna's jaw dropped there was no way she was sleeping in the same bed as a half naked man let alone one of Gotham's most wanted.
"I believe I said…"
"I know what you said and there is no way that's happening; besides I'd rather sleep on the floor than with you." Anna honestly didn't know where she had gotten this sudden courage from, but what she did know was that if it kept her from having a super villain sleepover than she would thank God every day for such a mercy.
The Riddler's eyes narrowed with a mean and sharp look. "You will be sharing this bed with me, and you will go to bed." The statement was not an offer it was a command. One that Anna refused to obey.
Growling the Riddler stalked towards her with looming steps. When he arrived at her side he towered over her with not only his physical presence but the menace that poured off of his body in waves.
His hands snaked about her waist before picking her up to unceremoniously toss into his bed.
As she flopped onto the bed she tried to raise herself up but was once again pushed down into the plush green bedspread. Looking up she saw that the Riddler had successfully pinned her onto the bed and was now straddling her waist in a pair of green boxers.
"Now are going to get to bed or will I have to hold you here the whole night?"
She felt terror well up inside her; she let out a small squeal and nodded her head to indicate that she'd behave herself.
"Good" and with that he reluctantly tore himself from the position.
Now under the covers he wrapped his arms around her chest and pulled her closely to his chest. He loved how perfectly her body shaped and fitted to his. She was comfortable. To him she was perfect. His own private riddle. Even her hair smelt of riddles.
At that thought he intertwined his legs with hers and whispered a goodnight as he brought his lips gently against her cheek.
Anna's body stiffened as she felt his arm entrap her body closer into his chest. She felt the tendrils of fear waft about her senses as she felt him lean forward to inhale her scent. This apprehension only increased when she felt his legs pierce in-between her own legs and immobilize any movements that had been previously available to her. Her eyes sparkled in anxiety as his lips brushed tenderly against her cheek. She knew tonight would be an arduous night.
Anna refused to shed tears at this imprisonment because she knew that she could escape. She knew that she would escape.
Time passed by uncomfortably and without momentum. Anna lied impatiently against the Riddler as she began planning her escape. As the hour passed on Anna felt the Riddler fall limp against her and leave the land of the conscious.
Tentatively, Anna freed one arm from her captors grasp. Shifting nervously to the feat of sliding her second arm away from him, she escaped only to have his arms rewrap themselves about her waist. Sighing she began to try and pry his tight grip off her waist when he let out a guttural sounding groan, and pulled her into his suffocating hold.
"Anna…" he mumbled as one hand began to stray higher only to seek refuge on her chest. Shocked at the sleeping man's cheekiness Anna redoubled her efforts. She would have none of this Co-Ed sleep over nonsense.
After an amazing battle of limbs Anna had wrestled her way out of the clutches of one of Gotham's notorious, and now faced the next challenge of freeing herself from the room. All she had to do was reach the door and make her way through it. She'd be home then, able to relax and smile with no worries over gruesome kidnappers.
Alas, all her carefully placed movements were for naught, for when she padded across the old floorboards a loud grotesque sound shrieked from the creaking wood.
The once sleeping man awakened without further warning and kicked away the constricting covers. "Riddle me this…" he hollered as his body twisted into a grim position of doom while he twisted a cane that he had reached for in his scramble.
Had Anna not been guilty of attempted escape she would have found the idea of the Riddler twirling his cane in a pair of boxer shorts hilarious. However, she became fretful at the punishment that was sure to follow her actions.
"Anna?" Edward called out in shock as he realized she no longer inhabited his bedside. "What are you doing out of bed? I thought I said that you were to lie beside me.", he grounded out with anger coloring the meaning of his words.
The guilty party shifted from foot to foot unsure of how to respond. Should she lie? Of coarse she should lie.
"Um would you believe I was going to get a glass of water?" Anna innocently inquired.
"No, I would not." The Riddler replied, but in a softer voice he added,"But I'd like to."
"Come with me we can go into the kitchens and get your glass of water."
Obediently Anna followed along. After a few minutes of wandering they arrived to a wall with a small key code pad hanging above it. Nigma enter the code with a flurry of numbers until the wall collapsed revealing an impeccable kitchen.
"Wow." Anna muttered awestruck at the sheer vastness of the kitchen.
"Like any good man I enjoy a good meal" he said as he handed her an ice cold glass of water.
"Thanks."
"Tell me Anna why are you trying to escape me? Do you really hate me so much that can't even stand to lie in the same bed?" he couldn't help asking such a loaded question. It was his nature to know everything to anything. Even if her answer fueled the betrayal he felt he needed to know.
" I ddd-on't hate you I just want…"
She did not hate him. That revelation alone nearly sterilized all the hurt from his heart. It made his chest swell with pride, joy and good things. It made him want to smash his lips against hers for such hope, but now was not the time.
"You want?" Anything she desired would be hers. All she need do is ask. If that was all it took to ensure her love he'd gladly bring her the moon if she so desired it.
"I just want to go home." Anna whispered lightly.
"No! You can't leave me!" He had thrown his chair behind him with such force that the thump had echoed across the halls. "You haven't even gotten to know me yet. You should. I'm quite the fun person and besides you can't do that yet."
"I didn't want it like this you know. I wanted to take you out to dinner first. I wanted to have a relationship built on trust. One where I didn't always need to be checking to see if you were still lying next to me. You know that's a very rude thing to do." Closing the distance between them, Edward smiled as he began trailing his fingers down her neckline.
" But I can't stay here."
"I believe I've been more than fair. To be quite honest with the way you've been behaving I have half a mind to simply be rude back. So stop saying unreasonable things and I won't have to." He declared with an angry pout.
She was going to stay here with him for all of their existence. She was not allowed to leave. He would be her friend, her lover, her Riddler because she already was his everything. Love at first sight was truly a wondrous experience.
"You don't understand I don't have any clothes or any other supplies. How can I live here without these?" Maybe she could trick him into letting her go home.
"Oh… If that's the case tomorrow morning we will go shopping now let's get to bed" he said with a turn on his heels.
No such luck Anna thought. I wonder where we'll go shopping. I wonder what tomorrow will hold.
Waffles. Anna sat awkwardly as the Riddler hummed about the kitchen, fixing her an enormous breakfast. Her thoughts drifted back to the night before.
I know that it was a bad excuse to say that I wanted to go shopping, but now, with this clingy nut job, I'm going nowhere fast. Maybe the sooner I play nice the sooner I escape. I have a better chance of escaping once he starts to trust me. I just have to hold out that long… or until the unlikely event of my being rescued. Besides, I do need some clothes...
Her reverie was interrupted by a far-too-cheerful voice. "Maple syrup or powdered sugar?"
"Uh…syrup's fine."
"There you are," purred the Riddler as he set a heaping plate of waffles in front of her. Anna's eyes bugged. I can't eat all this!
"Make sure you eat all of it! We don't want you to be starving, now do we, Anna?"
Anna shifted uncomfortably. She reached for her fork, and carefully cut off a bite of waffle. She brought it slowly towards her mouth, and then cast a sideways glance at the Riddler. He was staring at her so intensely, she thought his eyeballs might pop out of his head.
"Um…are you going to watch me eat?" Anna queried.
"Yes…" said the Riddler in a trance-like voice, sitting down, his gaze fixed on her.
Anna put the fork down. It took the Riddler a second to realize that she had.
"Aren't you going to continue eating?" the Riddler asked hurt. "You don't like it, do you?"
Anna looked at him strangely. Man, this guy really jumps to conclusions! "No, it's fine. It's just a little creepy to eat with you staring at me!" she retorted defensively.
The Riddler relaxed. "Ah." He continued to look at her, though not so furtively.
When Anna was almost finished, the Riddler asked her, "Soooo…where would you like to go shopping?" He said it in a mysterious way, as if the identities of her favorite stores were some great secret.
"…The mall's fine…I usually don't really…"
"To the mall!" The Riddler leapt up, grabbed Anna's wrist, and tugged her energetically to the kitchen door. Anna tried rapidly to regain her footing. "Wait! Wait!" The Riddler continued pulling. "You don't have any clothes on!"
The Riddler stopped. He looked down at his muscular personage in surprise. He was still cloaked in his forest green robe, with his green slippers on.
He chuckled. "So it would seem!" He led the bewildered Anna away from the door, and back to his quarters, a place Anna was already beginning to regard as a traumatizing abode.
Anna was still wearing the clothes she had arrived at the Riddler's hideout in: an off-white, long-sleeved shirt, and a tight-fitting pair of jeans. The Riddler muttered to himself as he scanned through his closet. Finally, he came out with an armful of green fabric. He began to undress.
"Uh, I think I'll just go-" Anna stammered hurriedly.
The Riddler raised an eyebrow. "Ah, yes, I forgot. My changing clothes in front of you makes you uncomfortable." A slow smile spread across his face. "I'll just slip into the closet and change then. Don't you go anywhere now! Unless you want to join me…in the closet…" he finished slyly.
Anna's mouth dropped open. The Riddler chortled and slipped into the closet.
A cold sweat was breaking out on Anna's forehead. I have to get out of here, her conscious screamed at her. I have to escape. I can't stay with this-this criminal any longer!
"No," she told herself firmly. "You have to gain his trust. You'll never be able to escape otherwise."
Before Anna was able to regain her countenance, the Riddler popped out of the closet with a loud, "Ta da!"
Anna stared. The Riddler had struck a dashing pose, which he held until he realized that Anna's gaze was less than impressed.
"What?" he questioned.
Anna searched for the right words. "It's nothing… It's just…I thought you were going to try to go, you know, incognito."
Now it was the Riddler's turn to stare. "But this is incognito."
He was clothed in a tight-fitting green suit, with shining, green shoes, green gloves, a purple tie, and a dark green hat perched on his head. The only thing that was missing was the question marks. Anna told him so.
"It's just…I think people will recognize you, even without the question marks." Was he serious. Wasn't he supposed to be a genius.
The Riddler sighed, disappointed. Why is it so hard to please her?
"Very well," said the Riddler. "What do you think I should wear?"
A mastermind Gotham criminal was asking her what he should wear? Anna couldn't believe it. She gazed past him, to his closet. She shouldn't help him but these were clothes. There was a higher order involved.
"Um… Do you have anything that's not green?"
The Riddler finally ended up in a tight-fitting green t-shirt, with his suit jacket over it, and a pair of pants that could almost be called brown, though they were still green. Anna somehow managed to convince him to wear black shoes.
The Riddler instructed his guards to keep watch over the hideout, and then he helped Anna into the shotgun seat of an inconspicuous, brown van.
"Sorry about the ride," he said sincerely. "Fair warning the seat-belts do not work." He peered intensely into Anna's eyes, which made her shift uncomfortably. "I promise you won't die. "
"Really, it's fine," Anna said. She didn't like the way he had said "promise".
They drove down the rainy backstreets in silence. Until…
"I am windows that are tinted many a color. What am I?"
"Er…stained glass?"
"Nope! Eyes." The Riddler turned and again gazed into Anna's big, brilliant eyes. They were a luscious shade of green, dazzling even in the gloom. Sigh…..
Anna tried to ignore the infatuated look on the Riddler's face. She turned away as they pulled into the mall parking lot. She was all too aware of the Riddler's stupid grin.
The Riddler cheerily pulled her out of the car, and nearly skipped to the front of the mall. Anna sometimes had to remind herself that he was a grown man. But then…whenever she had those thoughts, her mind was sent plunging back to that awful night, just a short time ago. His hand smacking against the wall with such force… There was no doubt about it. She had seen first-hand that behind his jolly façade, he was just as dangerous a criminal as all the papers believed him to be.
They entered the mall, Anna rubbing her shoulder nervously.
"Where to?" the Riddler asked, pretending to be oblivious to her anxiety. He was very aware that she was far from at ease by his side. If I could only take her hand…. Show her that I'm not the man she thinks I am. She would realize, then, that there is no one else in the world but me, who would care for her, love her, never leave her side…. I would take her face gently in my hands, whisper to her that everything was going to be alright… Her downcast eyes would flutter open with new understanding. I would caress her cheek, our lips would touch….
Somehow, the Riddler got the feeling that maybe that kind of comforting was not exactly what Anna needed right now. He restrained himself. I'll bide my time… She'll come to adore me soon enough…
Anna ignored the creepy smile sneaking its way onto the Riddler's face. "Abercrombie," she said, and marched off toward the store, with the smirking criminal following at her heels.
By the afternoon, Anna had five bagfuls of clothes and shoes, all of which the Riddler had insisted on carrying. They strolled down the middle of the mall, stopping at every stand or shop that Anna just happened to look at, whether out of interest or just plain glancing. Finally, Anna stopped looking, and just stared at her feet.
Despite everything, though, Anna had indeed become more comfortable in the Riddler's presence. She hated herself for it, but when they were just walking like this, without any weird stares or sexy innuendos, the Riddler was actually kind of tolerable.
"Mr. Riddler?"
The Riddler was taken aback. "Please, call me Edward."
Edward? Anna had never realized that his name was Edward. Most of the newspapers, her only reservoir of information about him, had called him simply "The Riddler".
"Okay, Edward?"
The Riddler trembled inwardly as she delicately spoke his name. "Yes, Anna?" He turned towards her with his hands clasped, and batted his eyelashes lovingly, even though she wasn't looking at him.
Anna spoke so softly that the Riddler had to lean in close to hear her words. "Thank you…"
The Riddler jerked back, shocked. Did she just…thank me?
"For what?" he inquired, flummoxed.
"For…taking me shopping." Anna replied. She had meant to say other things, like, Yeah, thanks for not killing me…or worse. And thanks for breakfast. And- She had meant to say thanks for everything. But…it seemed too weird, thanking your kidnapper. So she just thanked him for buying her so many clothes.
"Why, you're welcome!" crowed the Riddler, clearly pleased. I just knew she'd come around! Thanking is the first step to liking! Perhaps she likes me already…
They walked on in silence for a moment, and then the Riddler asked Anna the most obscure question she could possibly imagine.
"What are your feelings regarding…children?"
"Children?" Anna repeated, perplexed.
"Yes, you know. The smaller versions of adults. Chubby cheeks, wispy hair-"
"I know what children are!"
"Well? Then what are you feelings about them?" The Riddler stopped walking, and laid a hand on Anna's arm. Anna found herself standing face to face with the Riddler. Suddenly, she felt very small.
"Children are…cute, I guess. Why?"
"Oh, no reason," said the Riddler nonchalantly. "Have you ever considered…having any?"
Anna looked at him in disbelief. What on- What is he getting at?
Anna made to look at the floor, her favorite method of avoiding uncomfortable situations, but then hesitated.
No. Look at him. Look him in the eye. Show him that you are more than just some defenseless girl. Show him that you are not just a puppy on a leash.
Anna looked directly at the Riddler. She spoke with such confidence that the Riddler had to blink to cover his surprise. "Frankly, I'd never really considered it. I suppose I might like to have two. Or three."
The Riddler grinned. "Oh, wonderful! I've always wanted three, myself. One is just so…you know." He glanced at her sideways, as if he were waiting for her to realize something.
"What?" asked Anna, her stomach twisting into a knot.
"Nothing. I was just thinking that we're very alike…in that we both want three children. And we're alike in other ways, too-"
Anna's jaw nearly hit the tile floor. Realization of what the Riddler was getting at had just struck her full in the face. "Oh…my…GOD!"
The Riddler did not know whether to be hurt or amused by her reaction.
"You mean-you were talking about-you and me- Oh my God!"
The Riddler decided to be amused. Perhaps I was a bit too soon… Besides, the expression on his darling's face was simply too priceless. He chortled. "Never mind, never mind. Are we done, or do you want to go somewhere else?"
Anna looked away, her eyes wide, trying to regain her composure. Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God. He did NOT.
After a long moment, Anna pushed the thought from her mind. She locked it in a mental safe, wrapped the safe in chains, obliterated the key, and hurled the package off into space.
"Yes, there's one more store," she said, inhaling deeply. "But I want you to wait out here."
The Riddler narrowed his eyes. "Now, Anna, you know I cannot allow you to-"
He followed her gaze. It was trained on the name of a store across from them. He read the name slowly. V-I-C….
The look on the Riddler's face was so positively devilish, if Anna had turned around and seen it, she probably would have died of fright.
"Oh, this will be fun…" purred the Riddler.
He took Anna's hand, and dragged her straight into Victoria's Secret.
Anna cast furtive glances around her as she and the Riddler went through underwear. Yes, the Riddler was looking through women's underwear. Anna would rather have been any other place in the world than where she was at that moment.
I can't believe this is happening to me, she thought. Anything but this! The people in the store were starting to give them strange looks. As if it wasn't bad enough that the Riddler looked like a deranged leprechaun, now he was in a sacred female store paying for her clothes.
Anna grabbed a handful of random undies. "I'm going to go buy these. Now." She started walking towards the cash register.
As they exited the store with her purchase, Anna let out a sigh of relief. Please, never let me see any of those shoppers in there ever again.
No sooner had she relaxed, when the Riddler gave a jubilant cry. "Look there!"
He pointed to a suit shop, just a few stores down. Inside, Anna just caught a glimpse of a dashing, green suit. The Riddler headed for the shop, towing Anna along behind him. "This will only take a moment, my dear."
Anna let herself be dragged. After forcing the Riddler to follow her around all day, she decided that he should at least be able to go to a store that he wanted to go to. She was more concerned with how he had called her "dear".
When they entered the store, the Riddler nearly sprinted straight for the green suit, only to find that another shopper had moved in front of it to inspect it. The shopper was mustachioed and corpulent, and as the Riddler made a beeline for the article of clothing that had caught both their interests, he blatantly shoved the round man aside.
"Out of my way, out of my way!" he cried angrily. "It wouldn't fit you anyway, you oaf-like buffoon!"
Anna was appalled. She rushed to the fallen man's side. He huffed and puffed as he tried to right himself.
"Are you okay, sir?" Anna asked concernedly. "I'm so sorry!"
"It's not your fault, young lady," wheezed the man, shooting a furious glance at the Riddler.
When the man had gone, Anna stormed over to the Riddler, who was busy worshipping the handsome suit.
"What the heck was that?" she demanded.
The only thing that could wrench the Riddler's gaze away from the beautiful suit was something a thousand times more beautiful. He gave Anna an innocently confused look. "What was what?"
Anna curled her lip in disbelief and rage. "What do you mean 'What was what'? You just knocked that guy out of the way! And you didn't even notice?"
The Riddler looked at her, not understanding. Anna realized this, and it only fueled her anger.
"I can't believe you! You're so rude! What, do other human beings simply not matter to you?"
The Riddler searched for words. He had never seen his precious cherry blossom so angry! He opened his mouth to speak, but for once, the Riddler was speechless.
Anna shook her head in disgust. She stalked away from him.
The Riddler was hurt. He couldn't comprehend why she would care so much about a silly, old man. He ran after her, and reached her before she could leave the store. He placed a hand gently on her shoulder. She shook it off with a snarl.
"Anna…" he pleaded. "Look, I'm sorry about the old…man. (He almost said hippopotamus.) I'm not a rude person, really! I just…didn't see him…"
Anna looked completely unconvinced. The Riddler scanned the room. A man had just walked in, and he was looking at a suit, standing not too far from them.
"Here," declared the Riddler. "I'll prove it to you."
Anna watched in surprise as the Riddler marched right up to the man. "Hello there, sir!" he said enthusiastically.
The man froze up. He would have recognized that voice anywhere…
The man turned his head slowly, and looked at the Riddler. The Riddler beamed cheesily.
The Riddler! What is he doing here?
"Wonderful weather we're having today, aren't we? For Gotham, anyhow." It took the Riddler a moment to place the man, but then, "Hey, you're Bruce Wayne!"
He doesn't recognize me… thought Bruce. But what is he doing here? It was then that he noticed the girl standing awkwardly at the front of the store, watching them. That's the girl who went missing a few days ago! Could it be that…the Riddler is responsible?It must be. In that case, I can't afford to blow my cover. I'll just go along with whatever game he's playing.
"That's me," he said, with a polite smile. "Have we met?"
"Oh, Heavens no!" exclaimed the Riddler in a fake-cheerful voice. "I've just rob-I mean, I was just at your last charity ball!" He grinned so widely, it looked like his face was about to split in half.
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, then, Mister….?" Bruce inquired, with the raise of an eyebrow. Let's see what you've got, Riddler…
The Riddler only hesitated for a split-second. "Worthing. James Worthing. And the pleasure's all mine." Again, the smile. There was something that bothered him about this man…
"Well, I must be off," concluded the Riddler. "I trust I'll see you around?"
Bruce Wayne nodded, his eyes narrowing.
The Riddler sauntered back to Anna. She cocked an eyebrow.
"Well?" he asked. "How was that?"
"It almost slightly makes up for what you did to that poor man."
The Riddler chuckled. He grabbed Anna's arm possessively, and she flinched, but didn't jerk away.
As they exited the store, Anna sighed. The Riddler looked at her, and just caught the flicker of a smile on her lips, when all of a sudden, a black object swooped down in front of them.
"Give it up, Riddler."
Batman.
People screamed. Anna's mouth fell open. But the Riddler did the strangest thing of all. He somehow whipped his cane out of thin air, pointed it a Batman, and shrieked, "YOU'LL NEVER TAKE HER AWAY FROM ME, DARK KNIGHT!"
Batman stopped right before his fist collided with the Riddler's nose. "What are you-"
The Riddler seized the opportunity, and whonked Batman over the head with his raised cane. He grabbed Anna's wrist, and ran.
Anna was in a daze. She was barely aware of the Riddler hauling her along, whacking people out of way with his cane, and shouting gibberish and something along the lines of, "Move! Move! Can't you see there's a bat behind me? Move!" All she could think of was what the Riddler had said, "You'll never take her away from me!" What did that mean?
The Riddler jerked around, and shrieked when he saw Batman right behind them. He made a mad dash for the escalators, with Anna stumbling after him.
The Riddler sprang onto the "up" escalator, and pulled Anna close to his chest. Batman reached the escalators just as an enormously fat woman stepped in his way. He leapt onto the second elevator, only to discover that it was the "down" escalator.
"You won't get away this time, Riddler!"
The Riddler guffawed. "You'll have to catch up to me if you want to catch me, Batsy! And so far, it doesn't look like you're making much progress!"
The Riddler and Anna reached the top of the escalator, while Batman was still trying to counter the downward movement of his escalator. The Riddler didn't hesitate, but instantly yanked a passing mall cop off his segway and leapt on. "Hop on, Anna!"
"Where are we going?" Anna shouted.
"Out!"
The Riddler charged down the mall strip, manning the segway. People were running amuck, and screaming at the top of their lungs for no reason that was apparent to the Riddler. After all, they were in Gotham. This kind of thing happened every day. Just not in a mall.
Just then, Batman swung down from one of his grappling hooks, and landed right in the path of the Riddler, putting his arms out to block their passing. Anna yelped, and the Riddler let out a triumphant, "Riddle me this!" as he ran over Batman's foot.
All at once, the floor ran out. Anna gasped, and buried her face in the Riddler's shoulder just as the segway went crashing through the glass banister, and the Riddler, Anna, and the segway tumbled off the second-story floor. The Riddler wrapped his arms protectively around Anna, and….
Whumpf.
Anna didn't dare open her eyes. She kept them squeezed tightly shut, sure that she was dead. But she couldn't be dead because someone was calling her name. Screaming her name. Taking her face in their hands.
Anna's eyes flew open, and she gasped for air. All around her were fluffy, colorful stuffed animals, and directly in front of her, the Riddler's distraught face.
"Anna? Anna? Are you alright?"
Anna coughed. "I'm fine- Look out!" she cried impulsively. She regretted telling the Riddler just as much ad she regretted forfeiting her rescue status.
Batman swung down above the Riddler, but the Riddler ducked just in time. Batman landed in the pile of stuffed animals, and the Riddler hoisted Anna to her feet. "Hold on!" he crowed.
"What?"
The Riddler leapt from the pile, which must have been at least nine feet off the ground. Just as his feet left the pile, Batman reached out and tried to grab him, but snagged his cane instead. Nevertheless, the Riddler landed on his feet, with Anna in his arms. He made a break for the door, carrying her tightly. Anna stared over his shoulder at the black figure catching his breath on top of a heap of furry creatures. She watched as her chances of escape disappeared behind revolving doors.