Who's afraid of the Big Black Bat?

Edward. People were always comparing them him to the Riddler, as if he were some one-trick pony like the others in Arkham. But, Harvey wasn’t like the others. Not anymore. He was cured. “Edward,” he said coolly, uncovering the penny and then frowning. “Chance is not on your side today, friend.” It was tails. He tucked the penny back in his pocket and shook off the dirt from his suit. “Always with the jokes.”

“Oh well. I’m not so worried about losing a coin toss to you anymore.” He said with a smile. “It wasn’t a joke so much as it was an observation. It looks perfectly identical to your other side. No odd scarring, no dents. I’m just a little curious about where the money came from.” He mused. “But anyway, how are you? My friend. How have you been?”

Harley folded her arms across her chest, staring at Ed as he stated a random fact. Sometimes she wondered how his brain retained so much knowledge about useless things. He was the smartest person she’d ever met, and he always knew how to take her mind off things and get her thinking. “I wonder why they do that. D’ya think it’s ‘cause they drive on a different side of the road, too? It’s so strange, but also kinda cool, y’know?” Harley wished that she was in Europe, riding carousels that turned in a different direction. She’d be safe there, and far away from Joker and his carnival of terror. “Got any more cool carnival facts fer me, Eddie? Ya really do teach me somethin’ new every time I see ya.” 

When Ed offered to help her, if she ever needed him to, she shook her head with a smile. “I couldn’t drag ya into somethin’ so… dangerous. I’d never risk yer life ta save mine, yer my best guy. Losin’ ya would hurt more than takin’ whatever he decides ta throw at me. D’ya understand?” The thought of Joker hurting someone so close to her made her feel sick to her stomach. Her friends meant the world to her – they were her family. They were there to pick up the pieces whenever she couldn’t cope anymore. The Rogues were a bad bunch, but to her, they were angels in disguise. “Yeah, I remember goin’ through that. White noise kinda helped me, along with Bud an’ Lou’s snorin’,” she said, chuckling. “I hope nobody gave ya too much trouble… Did ya think of any new riddles while you were there?”

“You know I do Harls, I’ve got tons. Just for you, but perhaps we should save some of those facts for later. Right now I’m a little too concerned about you to really teach you anything.” He replied. “I understand that you think this is your battle, and sure. It may be true, but I care about you just the same as you care about me. So saying you’d never risk my life to save yours? Well, it works both ways. Because I’d never save mine and risk yours. Who would I be without you? You’re my best girl.” He replied with a smile, “Besides. I don’t have to be physically involved, I can just lend you my mental assistance. A plan or two if things go sour. Just don’t hesitate to call me. I mean it. I don’t mind getting into a little trouble for you.” 

He smiled as she offered him some advice. “White noice may help. I’ve been trying audiobooks lately, and I never want to fell asleep and risk missing a good chapter. Unfortunately, Professor Puzzles is still stationed with Oswald, but even then. My bird doesn’t snore.” He said with a small chuckle. “They always like to give me trouble, Harls but I always get through it. You know, I’ve been trying to keep that part of me at bay. But, of course I have. I’ve thought up quite a few but I only really like three of them. Maybe I’ll test them on you later.” He said, taking a sip of his drink.

A penny on the ground. The sight caught his eye as he walked, head down, and he paused, causing the person behind him to bump into him, causing Harvey to stumble to the pavement. A tear ripped through the knee of his jeans and he half-scowled as he looked up at who had walked into him. He took a deep breath and shook his head, scowl fading and replaced by a smile. His thumb and forefinger wrapped around the penny and he waved it in the air for show. “Penny on the ground. Good luck if it’s found face up.” Harvey flicked it in the air and slapped it down on the back of his hand, covering it from the stranger’s view. “What do you think? Heads or tails?”

Edward paused the seconds he saw the man who leaned down to pick up a coin, a small part of him was telling him to just keep walking. The Gotham Rogues all had a common enemy but it didn’t necessarily make them all friends. Harvey Dent at his best was entertaining and a good conversationalist but at his worst? Well. He didn’t like that version of Harvey too much when he reared his ugly head. “Playing coin toss already, Harv? I’ll take heads.” Edward teased. “I didn’t get to see you in Arkham but I see the rumours are true. That must have costed a pretty penny.” He said gesturing to the man’s face. 

☠ - And a name/ topic to hear what they hate the most about it/them

“Batman had a habit of recruiting children to fight with him. They may learn fast, but those first few times? The first fight with a new Robin you can tell it’s their first time. They don’t solve riddles nearly as fast as the Bat does and I always feel like I’m wasting my time. Their young minds are still growing. I’d much rather test adults. And believe it or not, I do take issue in hurting children. Children don’t deserve that sort of punishment.” 

          Crawling, more like drowning in them. He didn’t have an exact, charted number of how many criminals there were exactly out in NYC, but he was getting close. Tim listened intently, but the trademarked bat-scowl stayed the same. If he made it any deeper, he may look like he was snarling. Ed’s recollection did check out, he’d read the records God knows how many times, but there was always something going on, and it took a mind to crack down on a mind. That’s what made this all the more infuriating.

          “I don’t bargain with criminals,” He huffed, maybe showing a little more teeth than necessary. He stood his ground though, he wasn’t moving. “But I’ll take the information, for sure. After you go back.”

“I fly without wings. I’m harmless, but will kill you.” Edward replied, “And you’re running out of me quick. The more time you spend researching and hunting these criminals down yourself the more time they have to wreak havoc to the innocent civilians who live in New York City. You don’t like to bargain with criminals, sure but I don’t squeal when there’s nothing for me to gain, either. Now you can send me back to Arkham and try to beat me for answers. Wasting both of our time, or... Robin.” He paused and glanced around him at the other side of the alleyway, “You can let me go, I’ll give you a half of what I know now and once I’m in a safe location, I’ll send you the other half. You can always hunt me down after, you know. If you can find me.” 

E回 - For a fear they have.

One thing came to mind when he thought about fear. Being held down. Trapped in one spot. Most of his very worst memories consisted in the inability to move. Being restrained. In Arkham, they used to restrain patients who were particularly ill-behaved. Not to mention the chair they’d strap you to when they were frying your brain. The worst he had there for regular restraint was about 6 hours, though and it was nothing compared to the 168 hours he spent cuffed to a bed. Losing track of time and losing sanity. He kept thinking he’d die there. That the woman he had once believed to be his soulmate would just stroll in and snuff him out with a pillow. It’d be so easy. Even if he wasn’t restrained, she had her strength. The restraints just made it so much worse because he knew there wasn’t even a sliver of a chance of escape. 

Thinking back on it. It was ironic in a way. Fearing the inability to move, to think. This must have been how Kristen felt when he held her down. His hand around her neck. He swallowed hard before answering. 

“Well... the obvious answer would be um- damaging my beautiful mind. My intelligence is just far too important to me.” He lied.

“Ecco.” Edward said with a tight lipped smile, “Isn’t that right? I looked into you. Not that there’s much to look into. Your name is falsified, isn’t it? All I know about you is that you work for Jeremiah Valeska. Now, like I implied last time we met... I’m not a huge fan of clowns. But the more I looked into you, the less I feel I was able to dig up. You’re a mystery. And I love mysteries.” The man paused before adjusting his glasses. “Who are you, Miss Ecco? Are you anyone at all?” 

@riddle-me-that continued from here.

[text: Ed]: Arkham? That place does little to ever help us.

[UNSENT text: Ed]: I found myself desperately missing you

[text: Ed]: That is way too vague to ever calm my worries and you know that.

[text: Ed]:  Edward you know you can talk to me, right? Always.

Becoming director of S.H.I.E.L.D. was a lot of work, and honestly, Daisy had kind of expected it to be so much, especially at the beginning. She’d seen what Coulson had been like when he first started being director, closing himself off from everyone by staying in his office all day. Apparently, that was just because there was a lot of work to do, and that was just the work for here. She still had to go on a massive trip to all of the other S.H.I.E.L.D. bases to see what other damage Fury might have done to the organization – her organization. It felt like she was on the phone constantly, but at the end of the day, she could at least go home and relax. When she opened the door to her place and saw a familiar face, she paused. “Hey Mack, I’m gonna have to call you back. Yeah, bye.” She hung up and and quickly moved across the room to wrap Ed in her arms. “Ed! You’re here!” she squealed. “Yeah, you’ve got it here. Are you okay?”

When he felt Daisy’s arms around him, Ed broke into a wide grin, pulling her closer to him. She squealed like she was delighted to see him and he let out a soft laugh, trying to keep it down. He didn’t want to alert her neighbours. “Thank you Daisy, I’m so happy to see you.” He mumbled, nodding his head when she asked if he was okay. “Now that I’m here.” Ed replied as he finally pulled away from her, taking a good long look at his old friend. “You look really good.” He commented before pausing. “How have you been? I want to hear about you, okay? The last thing I want to talk about right now is where I just came from.” He said as he walked past her and into her apartment. She said he’d have sanctuary here. He’d be safe. 

          This was supposed to be a quiet night, comparative to all the other ‘quiet’ nights of late. Tim thought he could go out, run a city scan, maybe sit on a rooftop for a while and take in the sounds, before he snuck back into his personal cave and finished his summer class exam. He had it all planned out, just like everything.

          And then he heard the call for an Arkham breakout. And his groan couldn’t have been louder. 

           He couldn’t exactly pattern the trajectory of exactly who had come out of the almost Super Prison compound, but he knew he had to get looking. A few moments of searching close to the perimiter gave him exactly who he was looking for. His night could not get worse. “Nygma,” He growled, the scowl in his mask deepening with his angry, white-eyed squint. “You’re out of your cell.”

Ed’s muscles tensed as the other said his name. The way a parent might scold a child. He hated the way it sounded, so patronizing. As if Robin had any right judging him. “My dear bird,” He said folding his arms around his chest. “I’m sure you have bigger worms to catch than myself, the streets are crawling with dangerous lunatics. Far crazier than we know me to be! I wasn’t even convicted of any recent crimes. I think you’ll find I signed myself over to Arkham, I needed therapy. I got it.” Edward replied. 

He moved towards him. “If you’d like, I can offer a trade. A few names of some of the escaped convicts? Locations? For my freedom?” 

Harley watched as Ed poured the wine, leaning against the wall with a small smile on her face. She’d missed him terribly, and often found that her heart felt heavy in her chest whenever she thought of him. He was one of her best friends – he brought light and laughter to her life. Seeing him again was exciting, he made her feel a little bit safer. It wasn’t like he could do anything to help her if Joker decided to terrorise her, but she knew that he’d be there for emotional support. “Maybe in the past,” she said, making her way towards the table. “But not now. Not after everythin’. I have ta admit that I was a lil’ intrigued by the carnival, though…”

She took a seat opposite Ed, then took a sip of her wine. “Him bein’ back in the city feels… bad. I’ve always been weak when it comes ta him.” With a sigh, she reached across the table for Ed’s hand. “It’s so good ta see ya, Eddie. Better than I can put into words! How’ve ya been?” 

“I won’t deny the appeal of a good carnival.” Edward replied with a smile before clearing his throat. “But this one isn’t a good one per-say. Hey, how about a fact! Did you know that in Europe carousels turn clockwise but here in America, they turn the other way around?”  He rambled. The month he spent locked away in Arkham had left him eager to talk to someone who would actually listen. To spew the facts he’d memorized for fun when he was younger. He knew Harley wouldn’t mind it. She, unlike the majority of people, actually liked to listen to him talk. 

She reached over and took his hand and Ed eyed hers before squeezing it. “Harley, I want you to know that I’m a lot stronger than I look. If Joker hurts you again, tell me? Maybe I can do something about it?” It was a suggestion he knew wasn’t going to actually go anywhere. Harley would never allow him to fight her own battles, but he couldn’t just sit around uselessly if she was in danger. She was one of his best friends. And friendships like theirs were hard to come by. “I’m alright.” He replied. “A little tired. You know how it can be just coming out of Arkham. As soon as you’re a bit used to the screaming every night, you start being unable to properly sleep without all the noice.” 

“I must say,” Ed spoke as he finished pouring himself a glass of wine. He already had hers set up across from him. His friend seemed to be going though a rough time. With the return of Joker and all. Edward wasn’t stupid. Joker escaped around the same time he did and the man wasn’t exactly subtle about bringing a carnival into town. “I’m glad you’ve decided to come and meet with me. With everything that’s happened to you recently, Harls... I thought you’d be halfway to that carnival by now.” He didn’t mean it as a slight, Ed spoke his mind and half the time he didn’t realize when something he said was too sensitive.

He waved her over towards him with a swift gesture of his hand. “Come, sit with me.”