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“Sorry we’re late,” Two Face grunted in greeting to his henchmen as he walked into the hideout two hours later than expected. He did nothing to conceal his disheveled hair, loose tie, and half untucked shirt knowing his goons were far beyond commenting on anything he did or said without waiting for a coin toss first—fear of his violent outbursts driving them more than their purchased loyalty. “The troll that blocks our driveway had harder riddles than usual today.”
The Riddler strolled in thirty seconds behind him holding his bowler hat to his chest and looking equally as disheveled, a smug grin spread across his face. “While I hardly believe troll is an accurate depiction of yours truly, I’m decidedly pleased at your ability to willingly admit your defeat and my genius in one fell swoop!” He used a hand to smooth his hair down before tipping the hat onto his head.
Two Face looked as angry as always but he wasn’t rolling his coin across his knuckles in annoyance or anticipation which indicated that the Riddler would be joining them for the briefing today. The redheaded rogue being in the room had its pros and cons.
On one hand, it distracted Two Face enough to not take his frustrations out on his hired guns. If Riddler was there, he had someone far more willing to be on the receiving end of his impulsive whims than they were. A human punching bag, as they saw it, perfect for relieving the tension that constantly plagued the man. Which was often worth the effort of pretending not to hear the obscene noises coming from their boss’s office.
On the other hand, while Two Face barked his orders and demands at them and was quick to go off on rage-induced tirades half the time, he respected the men he hired so long as they didn’t question him or make their presence too disagreeable. Whereas the Riddler saw the goons as beneath him entirely and used every opportunity to point out their perceived incompetence. Not to mention the infuriating way he would he would point a finger at the sky and say—
“Riddle me this!” If they hadn’t already learned to maintain a neutral expression at all times in Two Face’s lair, they might’ve groaned and rolled their eyes. “What can you hold in your right hand but never your left; and your left hand but never your right? Anyone? Anyone?” He scoffed when no one took the bait. “No, no. Silly me. It would be far too dense to assume any of you mouth breathers could use your brain for more than two seconds to answer a riddle designed for elementary aged children. I know brute force is the only reason you’ve made it this far in life, so why bother exercising the abandoned hamster wheel taking up the limited space upstairs, right? Better to leave the thinking to those with far more valuable insights to offer than the likes of whatever you lot could cook up by banging two rocks together amongst yourselves collectively.”
The so-called genius jumped up on the desk stationed at the front of the room where Two Face had begun spreading out the plans to start mapping their next heist. It wasn’t a good sign when he held up a blueprint stained with too much coffee to be legible and let out a low growl, hand instinctively reaching into his pocket to pull out his coin in a manner the goons knew all too well.
It was going to be a long night.