Friday, August 7, 2009 – 5:56am – 1480 E Russ Way, Apartment 91; Gotham City, New Jersey
Throwing open the door, Tommy Elliot barged into the room, his trench coat surrounding him like a cloak and parts of his bandages around his face torn off.
Normally the entrance would've startled the still dressed Edward Nygma, his dark green top hat tilted low over his sleep-deprived, matching eyes, the shadow hiding the deep bruise high on his cheek bone. But he didn't even flinch from his spot on his surprisingly clean couch when Tommy pointed a gun at him.
"What were you thinking?!" he shouted, slamming the door behind him as he cocked his gun. "I should just kill you now and save me the trouble of cleaning up this mess."
Eddie cocked an eyebrow, "Did Batman show up?"
After a long hesitation, Tommy finally switched the safety back on and lowered his gun. "Even though it worked, you jumped the gun. He will not be pleased."
"From what I have gathered, there are plenty of forces at work to make sure the Bat fails. Why bother about this incident? Pin it on one of the loonies. I thought our only concern was the girl."
Tommy's eyes narrowed at the way Eddie spat that last word. "That's what this was about?"
Edward's green hues narrowed dangerously.
"I told you not to get involved—"
"I'm not," he emphasized, rising from the couch to his full height. Though he only stood at about the same height as the intruder, his dark green, well-tailored, dress suit made him look more elegant and almost more menacing than the man with the .45 pistol. Not to mention the black cane he still had in his hand or the dangerous look in his eyes from underneath his top hat. "Now, get out."
Tommy looked surprised. "Don't you—"
"I said, get. Out."
Eyeing the different side of the man he thought he knew, Thomas paused. "Are you tracking her?"
Edward's eyes flashed with insult. "Of course. Since last night." It had been easy to slip the tracker to her, once he shoved his conscious out of the way.
"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work. Until he's out of the way, you don't get what you want."
Friday, August 7, 2009 – 6:17am – Amusement Isle; Gotham City, New Jersey
He was furious. No amount of bombs or other reckless acts would cure him of his anger. He wanted at the source of his frustration. He wanted him.
Before, knowing Batman's identity was a mere joke. A riddle.
But now that he met her…
He hated them both. They both deserved to die.
Edward paused outside of the gates of the amusement park that gave the island its name. The rising sun reflected off the harbor, the orb right on the skyline. Being the smartest man in Gotham did have its perks. All he needed to hear was the wisp of a rumor of the clown's whereabouts, and deducting the actual location wasn't hard. Finding the gates' locks shattered on the ground only confirmed his intelligence.
The laughter guided him from the gate to the manager's office—the only light seen for at least a mile. Even when he threw open the door, much in the same style that Tommy had done less than a half-hour earlier to him, the laughter continued as the clown pointed and shrieked in response to the GCN's continuous reports of the bombings.
"You've earned your audienccce," the seated figure wheezed without turning around. "A display like that—that's a hell of a business card!" He burst into laughter again, cackling like the madman he was. As he squirmed in his chair, his dirty orange legs flying about—the remains of the jumpsuit, Eddie allowed him to finish his spasm patiently, still standing ominously on the threshold with his cane positioned evenly between his feet. While Eddie still knew he was the smartest man in Gotham, the clown was holding his due. "What's your propositionnn? And you better have brought me my…effectsss"
The Riddler smiled, his perfect, white teeth glowing with the TV screen as the Joker burst into laughter yet again.