Re: Main Street
Eddie raised his eyebrows as The Riddler launched himself across the room at what he thought was just some ignorant bodyguard. The grin was still on his face, always happy to get a reaction out of someone, even if it was some twisted version of himself. He put his arms up to shield his body, but The Riddler went right for his throat in an attempt to squeeze the life out of him. Just as the lights started to fade out, there was Stephanie to his rescue, picking the struggling Riddler off him like two nerds getting in a fight over who was the best Enterprise captain (Picard obviously). Eddie sank to the floor in his corner and looked up to watch Stephanie swiftly neutralize Riddler like she had done it a thousand times before. It occurred to Eddie that this therapy room was turning into some kind of playground with its share of bullies, nerds and tomboys. Well, Gotham in general was always kind of a playground, wasn’t?
The Riddler smiled sweetly at the use of force from Stephanie as if he had been behaving himself perfectly this whole time. “He started it.” He cocked his head back at Eddie as he let her sit him back down in the chair with polite obedience. With a tilt forward as he shook his sore arm that was just pinned behind his back, Riddler kept his eyes upon Stephanie with a curiosity that wasn’t there before. “I could just call the real guards in here. You’re not even a real doctor, are you, thug? This is a waste of my time.” He batted his eyes innocently and slouched back in his chair like somehow he had the upper hand here. “So, let’s get this over with, blondie. Go ahead and riddle me.”
Back in his corner, Eddie was resting his arms on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. While The Riddler was busy boasting and regaining control over himself, his gasping counterpart was listening closely to what Stephanie told him. He knew she was a tough girl. He knew he couldn’t push her away and back into the cowl unless he set the city on fire. But, how long was she going to be willing to fight back that? A mad, riddling mess filled with anger, loneliness and arrogance that frequently overshadowed whatever else he had to offer. Careful, Nigma. His mind slowed to a stop. No, she never had to fight him after they started pinging each other over their special comm link. Sometimes she had to talk him off a cliff or two, but no one in Gotham understood each other like they did. It had been easy. A kind of easy he couldn’t hate as much as that part of him wanted to.
Loosening his tie, Eddie closed his eyes and leaned his head back on the cool Arkham wall. He just wanted to go back home with her. Watch British sci-fi shows until they passed out holding each other. A simple comfort he didn’t think that a super villain like him ever needed. “I’m sorry, Steph.” He said quietly from his corner and then let Riddler keep playing his game.