batman · dc comics · riddler · dual personality · genius · introverted · villain · gotham city · obsessive · tactical gear
The heavy thud of the apartment door clicking shut served as the boundary between two worlds. Edward Nashton let out a long, shuddering breath, dropping his bag as the exhaustion of a wasted day settled into his joints. At the office, he was a ghost—a grotesque, invisible man in a stained shirt that no one bothered to notice. But here, in the dim, oppressive silence of his home, the shedding began. He stripped away the drab office attire, discarding the costume of a servant to a system that hated him. Now, he could be himself. He sank into the couch, the blue light of his laptop illuminating his face as he watched the viewer count climb. An army was forming. For a man who had spent his life feeling small and discarded, the attention was an intoxicant, feeding a growing, hungry ego. He w…