questionauthority | Entries tagged with all it takes is one bad day

[A - ACTION - Hospital.

On an ordinary day, during an ordinary visit to the hospital (perhaps to see Ema), the Riddler winds up running into another familiar face. But there's something quite different about him today. He's got that cheery look in his eyes, a dopey smile that's been plastered onto his face. But unlike his ordinary childish facade, the look on Bruce Wayne's face is eerily... vacant. Empty.

Question: What happens when you discover that the man who's outwitted you, outmatched you, and beaten you to an absolute pulp more times than you can count has been turned into nothing more than a brainless automaton with no mind or free will to call his own?

Answer: Grin like a madman and gloat when nobody else is around.]

So you've failed at last. Disappointing, but not entirely unexpected. After all, who can truly hold a candle to my genius? Not you, Dark Knight. [He laughs.]

If only you could see yourself now. The World's Greatest Detective? Hardly.

Question:

"What is greater than God? More evil than the Devil himself?
The rich need it, the poor have it, and if you eat it you'll die?"

Answer: Nothing. You're nothing now. You've lost. And I, Edward Nigma, have finally---

[Won? ...no. No, he hasn't. Mayfield did this to him. Mayfield took the Batman and broke him down into nothing. Not the Riddler. This... isn't his victory. This was never a victory at all. And as soon as he realizes that, Edward's wide smirk fades into a venomous glare. Shoving the husk he once called his archnemesis out of his way, he moves to depart the hospital and put as much distance between himself and that... thing as he possibly can.]

[B - PHONE - Unfiltered. The winning edge is completely gone from his voice now. He sounds strangely empty.]

Riddle me this. What is the one thing we have all seen and will never see again?

[C - ACTION - 726 Anderson Lane / The Hall of Doom.

Whether he's sitting in the kitchen tinkering around with a strange contraption he's received in the mail or in the empty conference room of the Hall of Doom, the Riddler is uncharacteristically quiet this evening. Bother him?]

[A – 726 Anderson Lane - Family / Neighbors / Stalkers

Edward’s back from Port West. Not that he feels any more comforted by this abrupt return back home. Sure, he isn’t trapped in the basement any longer, but he’s not exactly ready to come to terms with what he’s done. And what he tried to do.

So, of course, Eddie’s got to head out. Try and leave before Susan and Slugger wake up and try to find him. With any luck, they might still think he’s stuck in Port West if he can sneak out of the house quietly enough. But… agh, dammit, he makes his way into the kitchen first, scrawling out a little note for the both of them to find when they wake up.

“What has branches and leaves but no bark?”

Stupid, idiotic compulsion. Forcing him to leave clues as to where he’s going even when he doesn’t want to be found. Especially when he doesn’t want to be found. He heads out the door, down to the driveway and stops. Right in his tracks. Mayfield's given him a nice little surprise.

His old car, the Riddler-Mobile.

He'll take a few moments to marvel at this fine, fine vehicle of his. It isn't quite as beefed up as the Riddler-Mobile he'd received this past Christmas, but it's still as reliable a supercar as any.

Question. Where’s Edward Nigma going? Well, assuming his fake family hasn’t already caught him bolting out the door, he’s going to be in…

B – The Mayfield Public Library - Open

Yep. The library. It’s here that the Riddler’s sifting through the comic book sections, picking up various old issues of various old publications. Feel free to distract him. Once he’s finished, though, he heads to the front desk with comics in hand and addresses the librarian.

C - The Diner - Open

Later on that afternoon, Edward's grabbing himself some lunch. He sips at some coffee, working on yet another crossword. Occasionally, he'll tap his pen against the table, quirking his brow in thought before jotting something down in a notebook.

D - Drive-In - Night

Anyone hanging around the drive-in, you'll spot a grown man sleeping in the backseat of the most hideously green car you've ever laid eyes on. The movie hasn't even started yet and likely won't start for another half-hour or so. This guy just really doesn't want to go home.]

[A - Action: 726 Anderson Lane - Morning

Edward Nigma isn't having such a hot morning. After searching his room in frustration for any trace of his familiar emerald suits or his trademark canes, he heads into his study, tearing into a letter he received in the mail this morning. His eyes narrow as he scans through the letter. He's being asked to kill. Judging from the almost formulaic structure of the letter, he assumes that the rest of the town has received identical letters, if not a good deal of the population. He isn't the only one being asked to play this little game.

There's no question that Edward's greatest desire is to be recognized and accepted for the true genius that he is. But can the town actually promise him that? There has to be a catch. There's always a catch. Flipping through the rest of the documents he's been given, he pauses when he comes across a small photograph. He's in it. Prominent in the foreground, really, sitting on a park bench. In the somewhat blurred background of the photograph, a young brunette in a labcoat plants a soft kiss on his cheek. Eddie shoots to his feet and stares down at the photo, his stomach churning incredibly uncomfortably. He's horrified, appalled, enraged that this town would dare to...

There's a beat as he attempts to maintain his cool. He flips the photo upside down so that he doesn't have to keep looking at it, reading through the rules and regulations of this little game. This town's promising him acceptance? Fine. He'll do it. He'll play their little game.]

[B - Action: Mayfield High School.

Dressed in an uncharacteristic black, wearing a matching trilby atop his head, Eddie sits behind the desk of his Ethics classroom.]

I trust a good deal of you received something interesting in the mail this morning? Well, then. By a show of hands, how many of you intend to take part in this little game that the town's set up for us?

[This question's not just for the sake of class discussion, it's for the sake of evaluating who could be a potential threat. Any one of them could be targeting him, after all.]

[C - Action: After School, On the Way Back to 726 Anderson.

The Riddler ducks into a phonebooth, taking another good look at the name he's been assigned.

"el Reino de España (Antonio Fernandez-Carriedo)"

"The Kingdom of Spain?!" ...one of those countries, then. The question is, how the hell is he supposed to find this target? It's not as though he can simply find him on a map. Not for this. Edward puts the paper away, heading out of the phonebooth and making his way back home. The gun in his breast pocket hardly weighs him down. He'll find his target. And he'll make it to the next round. And he'll win the respect and admiration of this whole damn town.

If there's one thing that Edward Nigma knows, it's how to play a game. And how to play it well.]

((OOC: Tags may come a bit slow today and tomorrow. Still adjusting to life on the West Coast. Thanks for understanding!))

[A: 726 Anderson Lane - BACKDATED TO THE DAY AFTER PROM.

Riddle me this: Who's as green as his suit and just woke up with the worst hangover ever? Answer: Edward Nigma, of course. Family members ~~and unexpected visitors~~ will find the Riddler downstairs at the breakfast table, dressed in a green bathrobe, half-heartedly fumbling with his daily crossword while he picks at a plate of eggs. He looks incredibly groggy, tired, and somewhat foul-tempered.]

[B: Mayfield High School - TODAY. It appears as though your favorite Ethics teacher is looking a little bit better after a long weekend and some time to recover. On the chalkboard, there appears to be a hastily drawn picture of a man with a long face and a garish smile.]

A dangerous criminal has been apprehended. Caught red-handed. He's responsible for the deaths of countless innocents. Question: How do you proceed? Do you take an eye for an eye and serve him a death penalty? It only makes sense, doesn't it? Especially if you consider the possibility that he may escape from his prison. And it's true. He could certainly escape and kill again. And again.

For the safety of these innocents, and for the good of the people, it may be worthwhile to consider a utilitarian approach. That is to say, you would subscribe to a system of ethics in which you would seek to increase the safety, happiness, and well-being of all mankind to maximum levels. But...

[He draws up another picture on the chalkboard of a cloaked figure, shrouded in a long, flowing cape.]

...there are those who might disagree with you. Those self-righteous radicals who feel as though they should follow the rules. Whose rules, exactly? Their rules. Their morals are absolute. They simply can't be compromised. Even if executing a murderer and a madman will maximize our well-being, murder is still murder to them. Nothing changes that. This is a deontological approach, class. And the ends never justify the means to them.

...so riddle me this. What would you do, if you had a say in this criminal's fate?

[Around Town:

There's a good chance that, after school, you'll find the Riddler on an investigation. He'll be found in one of three locations---

C: Sniffing around the Zemekis Corps Office Building, trying to get a grasp on what exactly it is that people do here.

D: In the Downtown area, glancing into windows and occasionally taking notes on a small notepad.

E: At the Mayfield Hospital, to answer some questions. A hospital in Mayfield seems rather arbitrary, doesn't it? Especially considering that death isn't even permanent. Why would one even be here, then, if that's the case?]

[After getting off the phone with some drones at the Mayfield High School, he hangs up---though it appears as though he hasn't placed the phone all the way onto the hook. As such, you'll be able to hear him talking to himself.]

...Ethics. This place wants me. To teach Ethics.

[He laughs to himself. A cruel, ironic, cold laugh. A sad, pathetic laugh. What a joke.

He's distracted, however, by the sound of a knock on the door. There's the sound of some shuffling, a door creaking open, and indistinct chatter. Then the sound of Edward opening the package he's received, and a sharp intake of breath when he sees just what lies inside. Those of you on the phones can't see it, but his housemates most certainly can. It's a bright orange prison jumpsuit, the words "ARKHAM ASYLUM" stenciled on the back in black letters, with his prisoner number over the front pocket.

With a low, almost inhuman growl, he throws the package to the ground, marching over to the phone. He doesn't care who hears this.]

Is this some kind of a joke to you, Mayfield?! [He laughs harshly.] Well, guess what? You got me. You really, really got me. Ha. HA. HA.

[This town wants to remind him that he's an awful person? This town WANTS him to be a criminal? Well... There's only one thing to do, in that case. And with that, he filters the call to a few select people:]

[Filtered to Lex Luthor, Pokey Minch, and Harley Quinn]

I need to speak to you. Immediately.

Current Location: 726 Anderson Lane

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Edward Nigma | The Riddler

September 2021

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Page Summary

Riddle 036: What is it that nobody wants to have, yet nobody wants to lose?
Riddle 028: What always comes too late? Answer - Regret (Backdated to the Day After Port West)
Riddle 027: All About the Game (And How You Play It)
Riddle 026: Raining on Prom Night
Riddle 019: If You Can't Beat 'Em...

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Riddles are your compulsion. Your addiction.

And a riddle that everyone knows the answer to is... "worthless."

Entries tagged with all it takes is one bad day

Riddle 036: What is it that nobody wants to have, yet nobody wants to lose?

Riddle 028: What always comes too late? Answer - Regret (Backdated to the Day After Port West)

Riddle 027: All About the Game (And How You Play It)

Riddle 026: Raining on Prom Night

Riddle 019: If You Can't Beat 'Em...