Riddle 030: Half-Life (50% Droning)

[questionauthority]

[A - ACTION: The Kitchen of 726 Anderson Lane.

Eddie's in the middle of preparing a nice, hearty breakfast for his family. Question: How best to spend this Fourth of July? Take his beautiful wife and kids out for a picnic in John Doe Park? Maybe see if Jonathan and his family want to come along? Honestly? It's days like this that it feels pretty damn good to be Edward Nashton.

Wait. That... isn't right. It's Nigma. Edward Nigma. He'd taken that name to get as far away from that miserable childhood as possible. ...hadn't he? No, all Eddie can think about now is a childhood here in Mayfield. His old man teaching him how to ride a bike. Playing catch with him in the backyard while Mrs. Nashton made her world-famous lemonade. The day he'd come racing home to tell his father he'd won a contest at school. And his father had been proud of him...

No. Stop it, Edward. You'd cheated that day, remember? Your father was never proud of you. That's why you strove to prove yourself better than everyone else, because you are better than everyone else. You're a genius. Cleverer than Crane. More intelligent than Lex Luthor. You've got bigger brains than Batman.

...and it's here that Edward Nashton---Nigma, dammit---comes to a haunting conclusion. There never was a Batman here in Mayfield, was there? There was never a reason for one. There was never a reason for the Riddler, either. All of a sudden, Eddie's feeling much less enthused about today.]

[B - PHONE: Shortly after breakfast.]

"Bury deep,
Pile on stones,
Yet I will
Dig up the bones."

Memories. Something... something isn't right. I'm starting to remember things that didn't happen. Things that should never have happened.

[Or should they have? What's wrong with the life Edward's leading here in Mayfield? For once in his pathetic life, he has the chance to be happy. Yet again, the Riddler is beginning to question himself.]

None of this is real. ...is it?

[C - ACTION: That afternoon, various places around town.

The Riddler needs to clear his head. Perhaps some of that fresh Mayfield air will do him some good. Those who bump into him may hear him reciting a little riddle to himself. Something to keep him anchored in all of this confusion.]

"Up a hill,
Down a hill,
Over them I may roam,
But after all my walking,
There's no place like my own."

[This neighborhood, these streets, this perfect little slice of American suburbia. This place is a far cry from Gotham. This place isn't truly home.

...right?]

Comments

[puzzlerprince.livejournal.com]

[All Edward can do is alternate between staring at the multicolored eggs and staring at her. She's... wearing pink. It looks almost unnatural. Yet the color suits her very well. She looks like a dream, just as radiant as the day he married her---

Stop it. Eddie clutches his temple abruptly in an attempt to steady himself. This isn't real. It can't be real.]

[deaths-heritor.livejournal.com]

...Now, Edward. You should at least pretend to take a bite before you make that face.

[For a moment, her normal sarcastic expression flickers across her face.]

You aren't feeling ill, are you? We have such a busy day of fun ahead of us.

[puzzlerprince.livejournal.com]

[Fun? Since when did Susan know the first thing about fun?]

I'm not sick. I just feel... odd.

[deaths-heritor.livejournal.com]

It's because you stayed out so late last night, isn't it?

[She chides gently.]

I told you not to [try to avoid me anymore] -- ... to celebrate... too hard before the actual holiday...

[She looks vaguely confused for a moment before shaking her head.]

I'll find you some aspirin.

[puzzlerprince.livejournal.com]

[He looks just as confused as she does.]

You don't have to go through any trouble for me, dear.

[No. No. Susan is not your wife. You're not even sure if she's your friend anymore, for that matter, given that you tried to---tried to---]

[deaths-heritor.livejournal.com]

Don't be silly; they're right in the cabinet... We've kept them here for years.

[She sounds slightly unsure of herself as she walks for the closet in the hallway just outside the dining room.]

Are Slugger and Luke still asleep?

[puzzlerprince.livejournal.com]

Mmhmm... They should be awake soon.

[Hopefully one of them will realize something's wrong since the usual voice of reason in the household doesn't seem to.]

[deaths-heritor.livejournal.com]

Wake them up if they're not down in a half hour, would you? I don't want them to miss even a moment of our family vacation.

[Susan will come up with the bottle of aspirin and hand it to her hubby before breezing back to the kitchen. She will pause for a moment before picking up a frying pan.]

After all, the last time we had any time off was back in Sto Helit.

[Wait. Where?]

[puzzlerprince.livejournal.com]

[He nods in affirmation, muttering a soft "thanks" to Susan when she hands him off the bottle. Though the mention of Sto Helit definitely catches his attention.]

What was that?

[deaths-heritor.livejournal.com]

I said, the last time we had any time off was when we went to Westport for the summer BBQ. I'm sure you remember - You sang the national anthem quite well after downing those six-packs.