You Deserve Better [Shawty]

[Deleted]

The Riddler was not wearing his Sunday best at the moment. He was wearing a hat to cover his face and an oversized shipping uniform. Allen fit comfortably in his uniform. Lucky bastard.

Now, I'm certain you're wondering why the Riddler was wearing a shipping uniform. It's actually quite a simple riddle. A few weeks ago, Edward had a huge fight with Nina. She was being stubborn, stupid, and asking him to change for her. Something she said she would not ask of him. It had infuriated him to the point that he almost killed Allen on the spot until he was reminded of his most recent plot. He buried himself in his work, and like a drug addict he told himself he was finished. But also like a drug addict he found himself craving his addiction. He started hacking into her security, and it was simple enough to keep an eye on her. She stayed trued to her word about starting her business and getting a guard. He had watched this guard suspiciously. How could such a small woman be any use to her? How could she trust someone so randomly, without any legitimate background checks? Nina could be so annoyingly stupid sometimes. He was amazed she managed to make it through her life before him.

He tried to ignore the agitated feeling he felt. She was making a mistake. He would be right as always and the business and the guard would lead to her demise. He started pacing, and that was the point where he knew he had to step in. He just needed to run his own background check, and then he could let her go. She would be safe, and he could continue his life without.

Those thoughts and events lead to the Riddler standing in the back of a giant shipping truck with boxes of biological test samples surrounding him. He had watched how the new shipment process worked. The guard came out and checked both for any hidden surprises and the quality of the shipment while Nina continued to work inside. The guard would then move the boxes herself.

The door to the back of the truck was already opened, and Edward pretended to be looking at his clipboard instead of the small woman hopping into the back of the truck. He ignored the woman as she glanced around quickly for any thing unusual. She had already checked the outside of the truck. Edward didn't have any tricks up his sleeves.

The trunk door was slammed shut and locked by Allen from the outside.

Well...except for that....and well one other thing.

He looked up from his clipboard as he tossed the tacky hat off his head of hair. "Please don't startle like a cat, I only have a few question and then I will be on my way. If you don't know who I am then I already deem you as inadequate for your position," he stated, pulling out his cane that he had hidden behind one of the back boxes.

[shawty]

To say she was pleased that she'd been cautious in inspecting the vehicle only to be taken by surprise when the rear door shut, would have been an awful understatement. She whipped around, hand going for her gun, but one look at the man and she gingerly released the weapon. She scoffed under her breath; she should have realized that was going to happen. She crossed her arms and gave the man a very displeased look, silent a moment even after he was done talking, before she casually eased her posture. She was less than startled, at least by him, it was the loud noise that had shaken her, but in her experience, the man was lucky she had enough mind to look before she pulled her gun and pressed the trigger.

“I'm from Gotham, I know you who are. I've also had my ears filled with Dr. Stenet's whining and moping about you.” She replied to his first declaratory statement tonelessly. To his second, she offered him a brow raise and nodded. ”Well ask away, and I'll answer to the best of my abilities. If this is about Dr. Stenet's mental status, though, I think you'd need to take a seat. I'd hope it's not,” she quickly added, “because I really need to get back in there and do my job.”

'Yeah, a job, you know what those are. Yeah, some of us do have those and don't have time to answer your sniveling questions, not that I personally think you're worth it given the past weeks, but I'll entertain you since Dr. Stenet likes you.' She added curtly to herself in her head. She really hoped he'd just get on with it. She didn't any need of his flashy, vain words, or any other proving act. It would be a waste of time, time she could've been protecting Nina. For all she knew, the woman could be in the process of being kidnapped right now and what would be her excuse?

'Your psycho boyfriend was holding me hostage.' She replied to that situation in her mind.

[Deleted]

He wasn't certain how he felt about this strange little midget knowing information about him based from Nina. While a part of him was happy to hear she was talking about him, another was worried about what exactly the girl knew. He understood that Nina trusted this person, but that was the very reason the girl was now trapped in a truck with him. Edward didn't trust the people Nina trusted. She was too naive.

The truck engine started.

Edward put pressure on his cane to better balance himself with the movement. He took in the small woman across from him. Watching her for a period and conversing those few short words with her had already painted a picture for him. She was unnecessarily vocal and crude. She was a bit too trigger happy for his taste, and she had no qualms about hurting someone if she had too. The only that screamed at him like a flashing light was her lack of obedience. She seemed respectful to Nina, but he deserved that same level of respect. It didn't take a genius to tell that she completely disagreed with that thought.

The truck started moving, and Edward started walking towards the munchkin. Edward was tall to begin with, but he felt like a giant next to the small woman. "I wouldn't worry about your job," he said with a casual wave, "You might not have one after this. I mean after-all, this is a job interview." His eyes fell to the gun. He would rather not fend off bullets today. "Before we get to the questions though, I would love to clear something up," he stated, shifting his cane in his hand. "Is it true that short people have a high probability of anger management problems?" he said with a quirk of a smirk as his hand slid down the cane, gripped it, and then slammed it back up causing the top of the cane to bang (probably cracking) against the bottom of her chin. He used the distraction to pull out the gun from her holster, and as she stumbled partly back he calmly unassembled the weapon.

The pieces of the gun clattered against the truck surface.

[shawty]

She'd watched him, her habit of being suspicious of everyone and anyone didn't come from living with Rogues that threatened your life everyday, it came from growing up in East Gotham, from joining a gang, from knowing both the thrill of a crime and the caution one had to take to commit it and not be caught. She shifted just slightly to give herself her own better footing as the truck moved.

Her expression didn't change and she didn't speak as he came forward, talking, though she can admit to being irked for all of the three seconds between his question regarding her stature and the moment the cane cracked into her chin. She didn't yelp at the blow even as it made her bite the inside of her cheek and she felt blood pool in her mouth. Her past taught her not to make a sound to let your attacker or your posse know you're injured, instead she took the blow, cursing rather colorfully her mind at the pain, at the conceded, violent man. The blow very well could have grounded her as it knocked her off balance, but she'd been in enough highspeed chases to know how to ground herself and the truck wasn't speeding, so it was easier.

She rubbed her chin, aware that it'll start to mottle and she'll have bruise. She didn't offer him a look as she turned her head and spat the blood from her mouth. It was only then that she gave him attention to see that he'd dismantled her gun. She wiped her mouth, the taste of blood not bothering her, though it's one she'd not experienced in such volume in years.

"I don't need my gun," she told him coolly, "I wouldn't be a very good bodyguard if I only knew how to shoot." She swallowed, her cheek was already raw, but once again she'd not give him the satisfaction of pain. She'd answered his question, without even saying a word. She was beyond furious at him for the blow, but she knew how to keep her cool.

'It's called Anger Management, and you'd benefit from it too it seems.' She thought before turning to spit out more blood. She wasn't doing it out of disrespect, but knowing that if she swallowed too much, she'd get nauseous and there wasn't a chance that she'd let that happen around him.

[Deleted]

He watched her spit out blood. A 21st century woman who had manners comparably to a camel, more proof of how far women in society had fallen. He brushed his hands together like the gun he had just dissembled had disgusting germs. She probably was a woman who rolled around the dirt so there high possibility she had a sickness crawling on her.

"A good bodyguard would not have been wounded and disarmed," he responded to her comment. It was actually quite pathetic. He understood it was difficult for her small brained mind to keep up with his, but he expected more. "The people you will be protecting her from are calculating and violent. If you can't keep a hold of a single weapon I hardly deem you as worthy enough to protect her," he said, placing his cane back on the ground and resettling his balance.

He looked at how she handled her anger. There was one positive trait. She still seemed to be thinking logically and not like an gorilla. The anger behind her eyes didn't go unnoticed though. It caused him to smirk. "I have a riddle," he stated, "A woman lives on the tenth floor of an apartment building. Every morning she takes the elevator all the way down, and goes to work. In the evening, she gets into the elevator, and, if there is someone else in it she goes back to her floor directly. Otherwise, she goes to the seventh floor and walks up three flights of stairs to her apartment. Why?" As he spoke he pulled a lollipop from his pocket. He wondered if she would understand his meaning behind it. No, probably not.

[shawty]

She looked up at him, her mouth quirking into a smirk to match his, “What a nice little riddle, I've heard it before,” the wound in her cheek was stopping its bleeding, that she was thankful for at least. “But I'll hold answering until the end, because in my opinion there's something far more important for you to understand.” She stepped forward and stared at him seriously. His IQ may have been astounding, but IQ had no say in his commonsense, nor gave him the right to think he knew why she acted as she did or made the choices she did. She crossed her arms casually.

“You've never been a bodyguard, have you? You've never had to hold yourself responsible for the protection or well-being of another person, or even a group of people. I have before Dr. Stenet, before I was even old enough to be in high school. So, please don't think you can judge me on a job you've never had. Knowledge and experience are two different things. Knowing how to handle a situation and actually acting, two separate spheres, but I assume you're aware of that.” All she said, she said levelly, because honestly, there was no use screaming at him. What point would that prove? That she was incapable, that was the answer, and she knew she wasn't. She'd have quit if she wasn't. She shifted her footing. “Now let's take in your disgust at my behavior. I saw that you weren't very keen on me spitting out blood. Do you know how horrible it tastes? Or that if you swallow enough of it you'd get nauseous? I'd rather take the minor humiliation of spitting it out than throwing up on your shoes. I think I can say you'd not have enjoyed that last option.”

Shannon looked at the pieces of her gun on the floor of the truck. “A good bodyguard knows how to handle themselves without a gun. I know at least twelve different ways to disarm a person as well as being trained in martial arts. A good bodyguard also knows that they can and will be disarmed eventually—it's unavoidable—and the trick is to know how to bounce back after that and still do your job. Escaping being wounded, now that's luck or observation, but my disarming and wounding, that had nothing to do with experience or my ability.” She brought a hand up and tucked back a piece of her blonde hair before her blue eyes met Edward's. She was being respectful, none of her words were spoken in contempt, instead they had the level of one who's merely explaining.

“It had to with my respect for Dr. Stenet. I gave her my word that were I ever to meet you, I would in the best of my abilities not attempt to harm you. I let you disarm and hit me; and had you not been Edward Nigma, the minute I turned around at the snap of that door your head would be a bloody mess.” She told him honestly. She wondered if she should tell him about the Sirens, how she didn't need to be lectured over the violence and calculation any of Nina's enemies could have. She had been one of those people, worked with them. She was probably still one of those people, only now she had discretion. She ran her tongue along the raw inside of her cheek; yes, that was definitely going to hurt even more in the morning. “I've dealt with the type of people you're talking about, and I was a lot younger than a person probably ought to be, though,” even she could take a shot at herself, “probably not much smaller than this. I can protect her because I've protected myself from them.”

'I can't say the same about you, though.' She thought while she spoke. 'You can't protect her. You're the one who brought all those violent, calculated people to target her. You bring people questioning her about you. You put her in more danger than I ever could, and you...you're just another one of those people. You can and have hurt her.'

She pursed her lips and moved on. She'd said all she'd wanted to first, “So your riddle, it's because she was a midget and couldn't reach the upper buttons, but she could convince other people to do it if they were there, but when there wasn't anyone else, she'd press the highest button she could, the seventh floor, and be forced to take the stairs the rest of the way. What separates me from her, though, is that she's an idiot. She could have reached the right button just as easily with a pen or an umbrella, but why even take that hassle? She should have realized that shortcoming first and gotten another apartment on a lower floor or somewhere else. You'd think that with that being a frequent problem she'd have found a better solution. I'm not incapable because of my height, nor do I let it hinder me like that woman. You don't let your leg hinder you, you prove yourself everyday that you won't let that define you. I'd like to think that what other people see as our shortcomings, makes them make the mistake of underestimating us.”

She'd actually given him a compliment, respect in those words. She never doubted his intelligence and it was true he never let his damaged leg define him. Instead it was his intelligence, that's what made him Riddler after all. She watched him with the candy, recognizing it instantly as a Tootsie Pop. Immediately she was reminded of those commercials and the sarcastic urge came, fueled by her unpleasant sentiments towards the man, to ask him if he'd figured out the riddle around those things. Yet she held back, knowing well, it would only add fuel to his own negative sentiments towards her.

[Deleted]

Edward didn't understand why he constantly had to meet woman who felt the need to argue with him. Was there a larger force out there that attracted these annoying creatures to him? He listened as he continued to suck on his tootsie pop. He moved to one of the boxes behind him and took a seat. He had no desire to stand the entire time. He also had no desire to be at a close enough range for her to attack.

He would have interrupted her many times during her speech, but just like every other woman on the planet she kept continuing so he waited patiently. When she answered his riddle correctly he smirked. He brought his hands together and gave her a quick round of applause. He had to admit that he was somewhat surprise she had even gotten that far on his riddle. "Excellent, so you do possess some resemblance of a brain," he stated, pulling his cane in front of him so he could lean his chin on it. She was quite confident in herself and that was something to be respected of, but she still hadn't realized the danger she was in. It made him question her abilities.

He looked at her small form. Her size was a disadvantage, but she was right that lower expectations gave you a larger advantage. He could also tell that she was well built. She wasn't as strong as Bane, but he could note the curve of muscles in her body. If she knew how to use the muscle she would be far more deadly. She had potential, and he already knew Nina liked her. The way she spoke to him made him doubtful. To him body guards were replaceable when it came to abilities. They were there for distraction as Edward thought of a cunning plan for escape. He could care little for their actual ability to protect because Edward could protect himself. With Nina protection was definitely something he was taking into consideration, but his main focus like always was trust. He had to trust them. The trust had to either be gained by fear, respect, or friendship. But let's be honest, friendship was rarely taken into consideration.

His issue with this girl was that he didn't trust her. There was no reason for him too.

"Dear, I don't particularly care about your opinions of being a body guard. As far as I am concern, as a body guard you have no opinion, you have no life, you have no personality. You are there as a shield, and as a shield you do not speak. If you feel the urge to speak, you only speak when spoken to. The fact that your lips are so loose is actually suspicious. When I look at you I see a teenage girl ready to gossip with her friends. You are too arrogant and believe you can get away with anything. You can't. Why? Well that is a simple answer. You are just a body guard. Please do not think you are more then that, and please do not disrespect me by believing you could actually defeat me," he stated these fact with no raise in tone. He was talking calmly as if explaining the weather.

"I give you credit for the riddle. If you continue to answer my riddles correctly, I believe I can put up with you. However, I do not need your moral lesson afterwords. I will admit I am far more impressed then I thought I would be, but I cannot allow you to work with us if you do not understand your position," he said in conclusion. The girl was growing on him in away. She was snarky and annoying, but he enjoyed it to an extent. It reminded him of Allen in a way, but Allen still understood his place.

[shawty]

She watched him sit, and ignored his first comment on what amount brain she possessed. It was like a allowing water to roll off her back. She did, however, remain standing. She could move quicker that way, she was absolutely aware of the danger she was in. It wasn't like Nina didn't tell her what to expect, what not to do, the whole nine yards. She observed him, giving him her full attention. There was much she could say in retaliation to him. She could point out how if he was so confident in himself, thought she was arrogant for believing she couldn't defeat him, than why had he disassembled her gun the first chance he got. She could also tell him, how little friends she actually had. A gang was not a gaggle of friends, it was dangerous family. She'd betrayed them and she'd paid the price for it, though that was a scar she was happy to never allow anyone to see. Instead of saying everything she could have, she said nothing, just waited until he was finished.

When he was she didn't smile, thought in her mind she was. He'd moved backwards out of her reach. He'd retreated from her, afraid she was going to harm him did he? She'd just said that wasn't going to happen. Maybe she was just good at hiding how much she was actually afraid of the situation she was in? Actually that was exactly it. You didn't show fear where she'd come from, it was a weakness. She was poignantly aware of the threat she herself faced.

“Speak when spoken to? Well you have been speaking to me,” she told him casually. “So I've listened to your critique, and all I have to say is, you're entitled to your own opinion. Yet,” she told him to make a point, “I'm not merely a bodyguard. I'm also her personal assistant and secretary all which require my being vocal.” She spoke softly.

“Your opinion, is valuable to me, Mr. Nigma, since my employer cares about you, but that's the line. Dr. Stenet is my employer; it's her orders I follow without argument.”

Well, most of the time anyway. She added in her mind before getting back on subject. “And it is her who defines what my position entails.” And she knew what her position was, she could assure him of that. She only felt the need to argue to with him because he assumed too much about her, her behavior, and how it was best to fix it. Yet her behavior had been what had kept her alive up to now. And she too engrained to change it, anyhow.

[Deleted]

He smirked at her comment. It always humored him to see how flawed other's thought process were. He even found himself letting out a laugh at the small child. She must have listening issues as well as brain development problems. His laughter continued as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. When the screen of his Blackberry was in view, his laughter finally ceased and left a huge grin.

He didn't look up at her as he spoke. He was clicking things together on his phone. "I don't think you understand me," he remarked then pressed the ball on the phone.

Popping sounds followed by a loud boom from above engulfed the truck with noise. Edward knew the noise was far louder then the actually explosion because of they were enclosed in metal, but Edward didn't feel threatened. The place he had chosen to sit was just out of the range of the little trap he set up. So Edward only looked up as he watched the boxes closest to the truck doors explode, with the destruction of the air pockets he had put into it. Edward never watched ninja movies, but he assumed it would look similar to what he saw. Glimpse of silver reflected off the light, almost the same way rain reflects off the moon. Unlike rain though, needles were quite painful on the skin. Hundreds of needles, some filled with a questionable substance, some broken from the partial explosion landed in the small girls skin. He didn't have enough time to take in the pain on her face or reaction because half of the ceiling above was falling on top of her. He smirked. Question mark explosives, it had been so long since he used them. When the ceiling landed on top of her, he finally stood. The whole incident took merely a few seconds. Amazing how loud and silent things can become in such a short period. He walked towards her.

"She is not your employer. I am."

[shawty]

Everything happened fast, not that she expected anything different and immediately she acted. There was no way to dodge all the needles, but she was able to get away from at least a small fraction of them. Once again, pain wasn't something she easily showed. It was engrained in her and were anyone to look at her the only thing they would have seen was the clench of her jaw, and the subtlest change in her eyes for just a moment. A person would have had to be looking for the eyes specifically, though. Then the ceiling disengaged. Wasn't that just fantastic, she felt in the most sarcastic way possible. She looked up, just quickly to ascertain which direction she needed to go and she took off, towards Edward. She ducked the ground, not letting out any noise when more of the needles were forced further into and some out of her skin as she hit the ground.

All her actions took only a few seconds as well, and when the ceiling completely fell, it caught her left leg just below the calf. She wasted no time in grimacing and twisting around on her back. She'd heard Edward, but paid him no mind just yet. She used the strength of her other leg and, sitting up, the strength of her arms to push the heavy item off her foot. She could see a nice wound, but ignored it. Instead she turned to Edward, glowering at him. Yet she was still speechless as she focused on removing some of the needles. She knew she'd not get all of them in one go, but she was focusing on something else in order not to let her anger overcome her. She imagined taking of them and stabbing him, but pressed it away reluctantly. Instead she cursed in her head. This guy had a temper and sadistic streak that reminded her of the Siren's at their worst. In fact, that brought an irate smirk to her face for a moment.

Wasn't this action more of Joker's schtick? She glanced back at him, tempted to say so, but once again didn't. And further more, someone with half his intelligence could have planned something like this, in fact, she was sure the Sirens had. This situation just seemed so similar only she was the victim this time. He was such a child and yet he thought she was one. Well, she wasn't the one harming the help. How the hell was she suppose to protect Nina if he harmed her? Huh?! She snarled silently, now hardly noticing the pain of the needles being ripped from her skin. She didn't even want to think about the substances and until she felt effects she wasn't going to think on them. Wasted time, it did, to think over this.

She took a moment to rest, feeling her arm sting before she went back to pulling them out, but she'd never forgotten the man in the room. Hardly. She was always aware of her surroundings and of the people there. She honestly had expected such behavior from him. She scoffed beneath her breath, for all his intelligence, he was pretty predictable.

“What I am about to tell you, I mean in the kindest way possible,” she glanced up at him quickly, before pursing her lips to concentrate on removing more needles from her arms. “I didn't even apply for the job, it was Dr. Stenet who contacted my Microbiology professor, who contacted me. It was also Dr. Stenet who spoke to me, gave me my paperwork, and filled me in. So I'm sorry, but I don't believe you, and if this is some ploy to make me switch my loyalties to you instead, I can't do that. A bodyguard does as they're told by their employer, and until I can see concrete, contrary evidence, Dr. Stenet is still mine.”

[Deleted]

Again, he was impressed with her skills. She was a very capable bodyguard, but this interview was no longer focus on her ability to protect. Edward knew if Nina was in a dangerous situation this girl would find away to protect her. It was an admirable quality, but not the only quality he needed. He needed her loyalties to be correctly on him. He cared for Nina, but he still had difficulties trusting her. He certainly had difficulties trusting her body guard that would more then likely know the same amount of information about him as Nina did. He could not let his life be so easily played with. He would not risk it. Yes, his body guards knew details about his location, but for that reason they were tested for loyalty. This child did not understand that requirement and if she failed to meet the requirement she would be dead before the sun set.

He looked at her glare. She was fierce in a attacking kitten sort of way. "It's your decision," he stated, it would always be there decision. If she died, it would not be because of him. It would be because of her unwillingness. "I have another riddle," he remarked with a small grin as he noted the substance going into her blood stream, "The more you have of it, the less you see, what is it?"

He paused then took a step away from her. He didn't want her unconscious form landing on his nice slacks. Blood could be quite difficult to get out. "If you don't know the answer you will find out soon enough. The drug that has just been forced into your blood stream, is a strong sleep induced formula, and based on how much you took you should only be awake for another," he paused and checked his watched, Forty seconds.""

[shawty]

If she knew his thoughts, what he really wanted, she could have answered. She'd assumed it was obvious that she was loyal to him, but if it came down to her needing to save Nina or him, then and only then would her loyalty shift. She was in danger because she was connected to him through Nina. She wasn't putting Nina in any preventable danger, well than the guy in front of her. She listened to Nina and she knew tattling on Edward was frowned upon and that he'd find out if she did it. It wasn't a lesson she needed to be reminded of anyway. She knew what tattling brought. The point being, she was assured he could trust her with information, just not that she would get along with him all the time.

Yet she didn't know he had, what she considered illegitimate concerns.

“It's darkness,” she told him, but was going to make the best of her forty seconds, “but it could also be sedatives, cataracts, age, birds trained to attack at the eyes...glaucoma, Age-Related Macular Degeneration, eye injuries, blows to the head, alcohol, tranquilizers,” she'd been blinking and she shook her head. Her mind was also slowing. She could feel herself getting sleepy. “Um...sand...dust...fog...smog...” She shut her eyes, forcing herself to keep talking, though her words got slower. “frosted glass...veils in front of your eyes...and bad prescription glasses.” And then she slumped over, finally giving in, though she had fought it.