Meanwhile, deep in the depths of Gotham City, evil lurked. A 5'6, 170 pound evil. Laughter- evil laughter- rose from the depths, the only indication to the casual observer that any living thing was down there in the sewers.
The laughter rose to a climax and then ebbed, as the Riddler finished his "gift." Putting on the finishing touches to the package, he called in his henchmen.
"Deliver this to Commissioner Gordon's manor." He started to laugh again, this time even more evilly, if such a thing were possible. "He will rue the day he locked the Riddler up! Hehehe!"
When Tony Piccolo arrived in the docking bey, Lucas was pacing in front of the launch. He smiled at the scene. It wasn't often that the kid got so excited about something non-computer related. Not that Piccolo didn't understand-- it was shore leave, for heaven's sake! He walked up beside the boy and clapped him on the shoulder.
"Excited, Luke?"
"What do you think?" He grinned happily. "It's shore leave and the Captain let me stay with Barb... a friend."
"A... 'friend?'"
"Yes, Tony, a friend," Lucas said, growing impatient. "When are we going to leave?"
"Well, ya' know, I heard that we might be delayed for a couple of hours."
"What?!?'
"Whoa, just kiddin', Luke." Lucas gave a loud sigh, obviously not amused. "We should be leaving in a few minutes," Tony said with a laugh. "Come on, let's get on the shuttle. You got your bag?"
"Yeah, let's go." The duo stepped onto the launch and sat down in two of the passenger seats. "So, Tony," Lucas said, "what are you doing for shore leave?"
"Just the usual; hitting the clubs, hopefully meet a girl or two... ya know, the normal stuff." He grinned mischievously at the boy. "So, back to this 'friend' of yours..."
"Tony..."
"Hey, I'm your roommate! I deserve to know the juicy stuff. How else am I supposed to start rumors around here?"
"Tony!"
"All right, all right! Man, you show a little concern and you get ya' head bitten off."
Lucas rolled his eyes. "Concern? More like indications of malicious intent!"
"Hey, Luke, try not to be so wordy with your 'friend.' She-- I mean he-- might not like your smart mouth."
The teen smiled. "Don't worry, Tony. She-- I mean he-- graduated from Stanford too, and is just as wordy with me sometimes."