Encrypted <?> (Edward Nashton x Reader)

Not so happy landlords

It had been a day or two after the incedent with Edward, or should you say, the Riddler, had taken place. No one had seen him since. It was a little concerning, you'd admit. The murders have skyrocketed once Edward dissapeared, and for some damned reason, no one gave thought to it once. Except him.
Fucking Batman. He's the only one with common sense around here. I told Gordon about what happened in that house, but no one talked to me about it except Batman.
He had messaged you the other day, asking about what you knew. He had done so through the platform Riddler reached out to him with La ratta atta. Still pondering if Batman knew who he was and your relationship status with him, would you get in trouble for bringing Edward in? Would this finally screw over your job? He had inside information about where you were going to look next, what would be done, and how it would be carried out.

The decision took to you Batman. The one person you refused to work with. He himself had a work partner too. It was both duos against each other in the search for Gotham's most infamous criminal. But of course, that had been shattered thanks to Edwards lack of presense. He hadn't responded to any texts, emails, or any letters. Of course you didn't know his house, otherwise you'd have gone there yourself. You instead sent them to a P.A box he had previously owned.
He wasn't ever famous, was he? Other than the Riddler shit,

A loud banging noise disrupted you from your thoughts, and quite frankly, almost made you soil yourself.

"Open this door." It boomed.

Shaking, you cautiously wandered over to the voice, and glanced through the peephole.
Fuck, speak of the Devil.

"If it isn't the caped crusader himself. To what do I owe the pleasure?" You responded.

"You know damned well what you owe. The Riddler? The guy you've been working with? He has access to all security, information, and shit we have on him. I think you know what I'm here for."

"Vengance?"

"Cut the shit. Where is he." Batman began pushing through your small baracade of the door.

"Hold on, don't break my door. My landlord isn't super accepting of superheros breaking his property." You slowly opened the only thing that could protect you from a potential attack.

He grabbed your shoulders and pressed you against a wall, "Tell me where he is, and I can leave without doing anything illegal."

Shocked by the sudden movements, you stutered: "Like I would know, I haven't seen him in 2 or so days."

He released his grip on you, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Well, funny you say that. In '2 or so days' He's been on a fun little murdering spree, killing anybody who dare betray Gotham. And you just so happen to be the last alive person to talk to him."

It struck you, the last alive person to talk to him. Should you take that as a complement or an insult? "Listen Batboy, I really can't tell you where he went. I can tell you what we did last and what we planned to do, but that's it."

He pulled up a chair, and perched on it as if he were ready to strike at any time. One wrong word and you were done for.

"We planned on going to this suburban house. Eddy - Edward thought that something might be there. I thought so too. We went in, took a quick look around, with a permit of course, and I headed upstairs. Something passed by me and I didn't hesitate to book it out of there. You would too if there was supposedly no one in the house. I went outside and waited for him. 20 minutes passed by so I left. The best chance we have is seeing if his car is still there. Other than that, I have no leads. Unless there's something you're not telling me about."

His head sank, as if he did have something to tell you. Getting out of his chair, he waved his hand. Motioning you to follow. "You said something about his car. Let's go look."

You treaded behind him until that dreaded house Edward hadn't stepped foot out of since you'd left. Averting your eyes up to the sad gray block of concrete was one of the hardest things you've done today. It hurt to think about how you'd just left Edward in there. All alone.

Peeking around the corner, his car was still there.
Oh fuck, is he dead in there?

Batman obviously looked shocked too. He started forward, into the house. You following not too far behind.

"So, batsy. Are we looking for Edward himself, or any evidence that he's still alive?" Saying the words practically choked you.

"Either works. Anything to know where he is, or where he might be. I know damn well this fucker isn't dead."

The word use hurt a little. You nodded in reply, and headed upstairs to where you saw the figure last time. Nothing

He followed shortly after you, his boots clanking terribly loudly on the unfinished stairs. At the top, a long hallway greeted the both of you. He pointed to the right and went his way. You of course, went the other.

The room you'd stumbled in was filled head to toe in books, lots and lots of books. In the middle sat a raggy old desk with a few papers scattered on it. One stood out in particular.
May 20th,
Warmth will melt it, but not the owners heart. Too bad-
The rest was scratched out. Was this some sort of unfinished riddle? Was this put here because Edward knew you'd come back for him? You didn't want to think about that. That meant he knew that you knew about his little alter ego. What a massive downfall that would cause.

"Hey Batman, come here for a second." A minute later, you heard the heavy boots clomb down the hallway. You showed him the paper with the half riddle on it.

"Can you figure it out? I've been decent with this, but only when they're fully completed." He stated.

With a puzzled look on your face, you finally responded with "It's probably a place. Something with melting and a bastard of an owner."

His face flushed, and he ran down the stairs and out of the house.

"Batman? What is it?" You said, trying to keep up with him.

"The Iceberg Lounge."

Fin.
1100 words

A/N
I literally sat down and went, "I'm going to write the title and maybe a paragraph." I finished this in 30 mins. Oh what a coffee and a happy mood will do to you.

Cheers,
- Luca