A/N: Enjoy! Leave a review if you love the writer/story. ;)

Sheldon shifted in his spot, his slender fingers wrapping around the wireless phone loosely as he checked over the menu one last time. Leonard, Wolowitz, and Koothrapali had vacated the apartment in favor of eating out with Penny and Bernadette that evening. Since it was 'Anything Can Happen' Thursday, Sheldon took the opportunity to enjoy a quiet night with a Superman movie marathon and the Sian Palace. He checked his watch noting that he had about an hour and a half before the marathon started, so he swiftly dialed, listening to the phone ring.

"Sian Palace," came the heavily accented answer.

"Yes, this is Dr. Sheldon Cooper. I'd like to place a carry-out order for this evening."

"Go ahead please."

He rattled off the order and the woman on the other end of the line assured him it would only be about twenty minutes before his meal would be ready. Sheldon was delighted. The food was rarely prepared so quickly. He pulled on his jacket and grabbed his keys before securely locking the door behind him. As he lightly stepped down the stairs, he paused momentarily at Copper's door, allowing himself the smug grin as he passed. It had been nearly ten days since he had added the chemical dye to the good doctor's shampoo. He had been certain to stand near the window that looked out onto the busy street below to see a bright orange head bound onto the sidewalk and move steadily away. The sight had given him an evil sense of glee as he enjoyed his breakfast and he had to admit that it simply tasted better when coupled with the knowledge that his revenge was nearly complete. All that remained was for her to come to him with her absolute surrender.

As he strode down the street, he considered that he did indeed owe Copper a certain degree of respect. She had worn that hideous hair color like a warrior with a prominent battle scar, not even blinking at the blatant stares she received. Naturally, she had switched shampoos, but she had been completely unaware of his knack for lock picking, though she was certainly aware of it now. When Copper had taken to hiding the bottle before she left for work, he had simply started stopping by her apartment in the hour between when he got off work and before she got home. Even now, he shook his head with a tiny smirk, impressed with her creativity in some of the hiding places she had chosen. The fact that yesterday she had blatantly placed it in the bathroom waste basket, however, had revealed her desperation. She had clearly underestimated him, again, as he had always worn gloves when venturing into her apartment. Still, she had yet to curtail to his will. It was only a matter of time and he had infinite patience.

The very thought made him cackle with glee.

Sheldon held the door to the restaurant open for an elderly couple with a polite nod before stepping inside. He moved to the counter and gave them his name. The woman at the register looked at him in confusion.

"We do not have an order under that name, Dr. Cooper."

"How can that be? I just called in not even half an hour ago."

"I'm sorry, Dr. Cooper, but we haven't gotten a phone order in over an hour."

Sheldon frowned, opening his mouth to argue with the woman before comprehension dawned on his features.

"Oh, well played, Dr. McIntyre, well played indeed."

He turned on his heel and rushed out of the door, his long legs metaphorically eating pavement as he strode down the sidewalk. He was not certain how she had managed it, but it took a certain amount of ingenuity to pull that kind of stunt. And her acting had been superb. In short, she had deviously retaliated and it was now his turn. She was going to be on her guard for his vengeance. He got back to the building, taking the stairs two at a time. Reaching her door, he rapped against it sharply with his knuckles.

*Knock, Knock, Knock*

"Copper!"

*Knock, Knock, Knock*

"Copper!"

*Knock, Knock, Knock*

"Copper!"

The door opened silently. She was simply wearing a pair of shorts and a Superman t-shirt, her bare toes painted a lively shade of purple. His eyes snapped up to her face, bright orange curls escaping the loose ponytail she had tied back. There was a Sian Palace container in her left hand, while the right held a pair of chopsticks, a piece of tangerine chicken firmly and securely clamped between them. Idly, Copper leaned against the door, crossing her legs at the ankles and the action drew Sheldon's attention. He wondered at how the golden limbs seemed to go on for miles before they were covered with the ragged denim edges of her shorts. Shoving the observation to the back of his mind, he crossed his arms across his slender chest as she casually munched on her piece of chicken before she began fishing for another.

"May I help you, Dr. Cooper?"

"Indeed you can. I'd like to know how you managed to deprive me of my meal this evening, but I believe the more pressing question is how you got your hands on my meal."

Copper's grey eyes reflected nothing but innocence as she gestured to the carton in her hand.

"You mean my delicious tangerine chicken? I walked down the street and ordered it, how else do you think it got here? The chicken delivered itself?"

Sheldon almost answered before he caught himself. That had to have been sarcasm; no one could possibly ask such an inane question seriously. Instead, he shoved his hands in his pockets with a scowl. Copper jerked her thumb over her shoulder.

"Would you care to join me? I have brown rice and the restaurant was kind enough to provide me with diced beef instead of shredded."

There was an evil glint in her stare that even he was able to catch.

Copper would have given anything to have had a camera in her hands at that moment. Dr. Sheldon Cooper, two PhD's, was glaring at her with an expression that could only be described as a man who knew that he was in check. The notion made her want to grin, but she was careful to keep her expression as innocent as possible. If this was a game that Dr. Cooper wanted to play, then it was best if he knew as little about her maneuvers as possible. Copper had never been so grateful for her cousin's connections at the phone company. If she had known how simple it was to switch telephone lines for a brief window of time, the chaos that would have been sown in her teenage years would have made the antics of the Saved by the Bell crew rather tame by comparison. Perhaps the universe in its infinite wisdom had kept that little tidbit hidden until the appropriate time.

"Very well, Dr. McIntyre. Since you seem to have chosen to ignore my warning, you may consider this negotiation on an entirely new level." His accent had thickened, slowing his words to a languid drawl that was in direct contrast to the high-pitched whine that had grated on her nerves during their first meeting.

Copper merely raised a brow as she popped another piece of chicken between her lips.

"Negotiation, Dr. Cooper? I hardly see where this-this tit for tat game you insist on waging qualifies as any kind of summit of diplomacy," she tilted her head at him with a mock quizzical expression, "Are you sure you won't come in and perhaps correct my assumption? The spicy mustard isn't going to keep the food warm."

The tic in his cheek made another appearance as she noted that his jaw had tightened considerably. He didn't respond to her inquiry, his eyes focused on the doorjamb with a distant look and she thought that she might have pushed him too far. Copper straightened from the door and frowned.

"Sheldon?"

Her soft call seemed to bring him back to the present as his cobalt gaze snapped to meet hers. There was that look again. Copper warily shifted on her feet, realigning her weight to be carefully balances on the balls of her feet. If she didn't know better, she might have thought that he was sizing her up like a serpent considering how quickly the mouse may dart away. She could almost see the his thoughts whirling at an impossible speed as he considered her. Finally, he put his hands in his pockets and smirked.

"Have a good day, Copper."

Words meant to convey a benign meaning should not possess such ominous undertones and as Sheldon calmly walked up the stairs across the landing, Copper felt a leaden weight of dread settle in the pit of her stomach, ruining her appetite. She shut the door firmly and locked it with automatic motions. He was going to come with something absolutely unpleasant, she knew that as certainly as she knew the sun rose in the east. That left her with a limited amount of options. Tossing her empty carton into the trash, she flopped onto her couch, sprawling across it on her back with one leg and one arm dangling over the side. Copper stared up at the ceiling without really seeing it. It would be a cold day in hell before she just waited for Sheldon to make his move. No, it was better to act first, but the question remained as to what she could do that would deter any further retaliation.

The shadows on her walls lengthened and deepened as she turned the situation over in her mind. Finally, as the streetlights outside her window began to flicker on, an idea struck her, curving her lips into a wicked smile. Copper was up and rummaging through her drawers in the kitchen in a flurry of movement, grabbing a pair of scissors and a plastic bag. She checked the softly blue glowing clock on her wall and noted that she still had about another two or three hours before Sheldon went to sleep. That gave her just enough time to run down the street. Placing her items on the coffee table, she snatched up her wallet and her keys, swiftly locking her door behind her. There was a little craft store down the street she knew of and if she hurried, she could gather what she needed before they closed for the evening. As she hurried down the street, she silently thanked whatever higher being had made Penny so chatty about her geeky friends.

Copper was sure the cashier behind the counter thought she was bonkers when she dropped her armload of purchases in front of him. He eyed her askance and she shrugged with a bright smile. He returned it as he quickly scanned the items and placed them in bags. She paid the young man and checked her watch. She still had about an hour before Sheldon went to bed so she marched up the stairs and into her apartment, allowing herself the evil chuckle. Dropping the shopping bags onto the floor, she shifted her table to give herself a bit of room to begin her little project. Satisfied, she settled on her rug in front of the couch, flipped on her television to the History Channel, and set to work.

It was close to eleven before she finished, her face and arms smeared with paint, little feathers and small pieces of fluff stuck to her skin. Copper washed off as much as she could in the kitchen sink and then gently placed her handiwork into the shopping bags once more, grabbing her keys and quietly leaving her apartment. The building was quiet as she tiptoed up the stairs. Leonard had mentioned to her that Sheldon possessed hearing that was on par with a Vulcan's, so she was exceptionally careful in sliding the spare key that Leonard had given her into the lock and turning it quickly to avoid any metallic scratching sounds. Amateurs always thought you had to be slow when opening the door, but that only made more noise, which is why her brother never managed to surprise her when they were little. Her bare feet barely made a whisper against the cool floor of the boys' apartment. Setting the bags down silently, she pulled out her newly created supplies, shoving her keys into her back pocket. The apartment was completely dark and that was to her advantage. Moving down the hall, she paused to listen at his door, gently testing the doorknob. It was locked, but she had come prepared for that.

Sheldon Cooper wasn't the only one who could pick a lock.

Letting the door swing open, she softly stepped into the tiny bedroom, noting the even pattern of the large lump in the bed rising and falling with Sheldon's breathing. As quickly as possible, she arranged her crafted weapons of fear about the room before leaning down and purposefully placing some of his precious comic books out of order before selecting one from a bin that she intended to leave intact. With her pair of scissors, she carefully cut a tiny vertical sliver from the edge of the first page. It wasn't even noticeable, but it would do the job. Copper replaced the comic exactly where she had found it. With a last look around, she left, careful to softly close the door behind her. She heard a small murmur, then silence. He hadn't woken up.

Good, she thought, biting her lip to keep from giggling manically. She wiped down the doorknob with a tissue she had brought, then did the same to the outer one as she made her way back down to her own apartment. Feeling giddy with adrenaline, it took some time before she fell asleep. It was hours later when the sound of a scream and hurried, heavy footsteps echoing from above her bed that woke her up with a grin.

Her mother had been right, she thought with a smirk, closing her eyes once more and settling into her feather pillows.

Payback is such a bitch.

Sheldon opened his eyes as his alarm clock beeped insistently. He had heard a door open or close last night and assumed it was Leonard coming home, so he had allowed himself to drift back into a deep and peaceful sleep. Sitting up, he rubbed at his eyes blearily and yawned. Letting his hands drop, he simply sat, letting his body adjust to being awake. It was at the moment that he realized something was very, very wrong.

The room was still semi-dark, the sun not having completely risen just yet, but he could make out tiny red pinpoints of light dotted about his room. As his gaze become more focused, he could see that they were eyes. Little, glowing red eyes that were attached to-to...

"Sweet Sufferin' Jesus!" He screamed in horror, pulling the covers up to his chest in terror.

Teddy bears.

There were at least a dozen of them, all with intently crimson eyes and bands of feathers around their necks. Two even maliciously perched at the end of his bed, as if they intended to crawl up the covers to devour him. Some sat unmoving on his shelves, there was another at his nightstand. The hair of the back of his neck stood straight up as he slowly turned his head, the color draining from his face. Three of the horrid little monsters were silently observing him from his headboard. Gasping in fright, he leaped from the bed, ramming his back into the door of his room. Blue eyes darted left, right, down...oh God.

One tiny white bear held out a paw on the floor, a little orange string tied around it and a rolled up piece of paper. Sheldon swallowed, his entire body trembling as he gingerly leaned down and snatched the paper from the denizen of evil's outstretched limb before kicking the thing away from him and across the room. Blindly, he felt for the doorknob and turned it, stumbling out of the room and into the hall, slamming the door to the den of horrors behind him. He fled to the bathroom, making sure to press in the lock securely. Sitting on the cold floor, he unrolled the sheet with still mildly shaky fingers and watched as a little plastic bag dropped into his lap. He lifted it at the corner and saw that it contained a miniscule scrap of paper. He let his eyes lift up to read the note which was written in crayon, every letter a different color, the handwriting reminiscent of a child's.

Nothing is safe. We have taken the Red Lightning Man.

We will take you too if you do not heed us.

You have been warned.

As sunshine flooded through the apartment, Sheldon's logical, brilliant mind finally kicked into full gear. Cobalt eyes narrowed as he read the note again, his face flushing with humiliation and anger. That witch was trying to scare him off before he had made a move. He had to give her a certain amount of credit, this was a bold if cruel maneuver on her part. He couldn't be sure yet if she was bluffing about having one of his beloved comic books. He needed to go back into his room to be certain, but there was no way he was going back there until Leonard was home. Never mind that he was a grown man with two PhD's, those-those things were demonic. Hauling himself off the floor, he began his morning routine, determined to continue with his day as if nothing had happened. He would not give her that satisfaction.

Still, the thought that she had Flash in her diabolical clutches nagged at the back of his mind. If he retaliated in any way, there was no way to be certain that she wouldn't do something unspeakable to his comic. His hands were tied for the time being and that, undoubtedly, had been her intention. He had to know more about her if he was going to win. There must be some weak point, something that would push her towards surrender. The woman was infuriating, but, if he was totally honest with himself, he would have to admit that some part of him was enjoying this little game of theirs immensely. As he stepped into the shower, Sheldon mulled over that interesting notion. The hot water hit him square in the chest and he let out a sigh of pleasure.

Copper intrigued him. She was a puzzle, an enigma, a problem that he had to solve. It was going to take time, however. He had to strike when she was no longer looking for the attack. As the water sprayed down, he turned his options over in his mind when an intriguing solution occurred to him. It would, of course, require a certain amount of planning and timing was paramount, but he had no doubt that he could pull it off. The details of his strategy began to solidify by the time he was sufficiently clean and wrapping a towel around his slender hips. When he was following Leonard out the door after breakfast, he was nearly vibrating with suppressed energy.

It took all of his considerable mental fortitude to just focus on his work that day. His attention was constantly wandering to his plans for the evening. A search of the internet yielded enough data that he felt he could initiate his little scheme. Just after lunch, he made a phone call to start the metaphorical ball he was satisfied, he placed a second. He also asked Leonard to make a stop at their building for him. Sheldon was only regretful that he wouldn't be able to see Copper's expression when she opened her door that night. Sheldon sat back in his chair with the air of a man well pleased. It would take days for Copper to come to grapple with this turn of events.

The image of her that formed, however, was almost enough to make him grin. He refused to analyze the reason why the thought of her made him want to smile.

Copper managed to turn her key around the large bags of groceries in her arms. Juggling her precious cargo precariously, she bumped the door open with a hip and kicked it shut behind her once she was through. When she caught sight of her living room, she froze, her jaw dropping in complete shock.

There must have been a dozen glass vases, each one a deep, rich green and nearly bursting with huge, gorgeous tiger lilies. Copper nearly lost her grip on her shopping, but came to her senses and busily put away the food before she returned to the living area to look for a note. She found one nestled amidst the largest bouquet. The paper was thin, almost like parchment and neatly folded. Plucking it up, she read it, eyes widening by the time she reached the end. The handwriting was cramped, but neat as it flowed across the little page.

Dear Copper,

I hope these lilies, with their lovely hues that are reminiscent of your namesake,

will be the beginning of a suitable apology from me for my boorish behavior towards you.

Sincerely,

Sheldon

Copper must have read the words five times before she could even wrap her mind around them. Her first reaction was naturally suspicion. What kind of ploy was this? Then again, wasn't this the outcome she had hoped for? He was offering her a truce, if not an outright surrender. Copper touched her chin with a finger as she walked back to the sink to fill a pitcher with water. This development required some thought.

Later, when Copper sat down to start grading her latest batch of freshman papers, she allowed her curiosity a bit of free rein and searched the internet, convinced that there had to be a deeper meaning behind this supposed gift. Several search results only added to her confusion.

The symbolism of the tiger lily is like other lilies in that they symbolize the feminine principle reflecting the qualities of mercy, compassion, and kindness. They have also come to be associated with unconditional love and were often the chosen flower of deities such as Venus or Aphrodite.

Copper frowned, her fingers tapping lightly against the keys of her laptop. Copper turned her attention to her work, muttering under her breath.

"Sheldon Cooper, just what are you on about?"