#pi verse

[lfthinkerwrites]

Pick a character

Her mother

Barbara Gordon

Digger Harkness

Dick Grayson

Voting ended onFeb 25, 2025

Which character should Enigma interact with in a oneshot?

[lfthinker]

April 2nd, pt. ten

Title: Downfall

Chapter Title: April 2nd, pt. ten

Fandom: Batman

Rating: T

Chapter Summary: Edward Nigma, private investigator, reaches his final destination.

AO3 Link

preview

"I'll tell Montoya and Cash to head to the East Side. They were in Coventry last I checked." Which meant they were close, but Jason was closer. He didn't wait for Bruce's response, shutting the sequencer off and shoving it back into his jacket pocket before getting out of his chair and picking up a duffel bag he'd brought with him. Bruce was wasting his time in the Bowery. Strange knew who he was. If this was his and Joker's scheme, then there was only one place he would send the Clown, as an extra 'screw you' to Bruce. Jason ran out the door, down the stairs, and out the side door of the building, into the alleyway. His bike was still there, parked next to a dumpster halfway down the alley. He opened the top box of the motorcycle, placed the duffel bag on the seat, and unzipped it. He reached inside, pulled out a pair of desert eagle pistols, and placed them into the top box. He also placed three flashbang grenades, a .9 mm, and spare ammunition clips. Harley wouldn't have a full army with her, but she wouldn't be alone either. 

[lfthinkerwrites]

Edward Nigma, knowing that his daughter is a lesbian and therefore will never be interested in any of the Wayne boys.

Edward Nigma, remembering that Wayne has a daughter and that she may be the worst of them all.

[lfthinkerwrites]

Here’s a dark little tidbit about PI Verse that may or may not be about to come up in the story.

Bruce damn near almost had Ed executed in the wake of Jack Drake’s death.

For a brief moment in time, Bruce believed that Edward was involved due to his past connection with Harkness and the fact that he knew the Batfam’s identities at the time. (This was pre-coma after all.) He was minutes away from contacting Ra’s to inform him of who used one of his Lazarus Pits when he pulled himself back.

For the record, Edward 100% was not involved and Bruce later proved it, but the horror of what he’d nearly done stayed with him for a good long while. No one else in the Batfam knows, except for one person. I’ll leave it to you to guess which one.

(Hint: not Alfred.)

[lfthinkerwrites]

The Last Betrayal

Title: Downfall

Chapter Title: The Last Betrayal

Fandom: Batman

Rating: M for graphic violence

Chapter Summary: Edward and Harley come face to face.

AO3 Link

This...is probably the toughest chapter I've ever written. Please heed the warning on this one folks.

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Harley's eyes darted about as she listened. "She was just gamin' you," she said, almost as if she was trying to convince herself of that fact. "She was just tryin' to make you into another one of her science projects! She doesn't love you! Not the real you! Jonny loved the real you!"

"I'm not the man I was when I was with Jonathan," Edward said. "Not anymore. I'll never be that man again." He swallowed the lump in his throat. "Jonathan's gone, and he took part of me with him. This is who I am now. This is the 'real me'. Penny loves me now, and that's more than I ever hoped for. I'm happier now than I've ever remembered being before. If you're my friend, then why can't you accept that?" Harley said nothing. "You know what losing Jonathan did to me," he said. "If you're my friend, then why do you want to make me go through that pain all over again?"

[lfthinkerwrites]

Reckoning

Title: Downfall

Chapter Title: Reckoning

Fandom: Batman

Rating: M for threats of suicide

Chapter Summary:

Penelope is informed of what's happened to Edward, and Harley is forced to confront her exact role in Edward's story.

AO3 Link

Preview

Harley saw the glare on Joker's face and let out a shaky laugh. "Sure we did, puddin'!" she chirped unconvincingly. "Everything the Doc asked for!"

Joker huffed. "Was that so hard? Honestly, it's like you've never robbed a pharmaceutical plant before." Joker's frown was quickly replaced with another smirk as he turned his attention back to Penelope. Under the bluish hue of the lights, he looked like a cadaver. "Speaking of Doc, you'll never guess who we ran into at Wayne Pharm."

Penelope knew what Joker would say. She felt her nails digging into her palms as she fought to keep herself from screaming. "Who?" she asked as blandly as possible.

Joker's eyes lit up, almost glowing with sadistic glee. "Why, it was your boyfriend, Eddie!"

[lfthinkerwrites]

Promise Me

Title: Downfall

Chapter Title: Promise Me

Fandom: Batman

Rating: M for the aftermath of violence and temporary character death.

Chapter Summary: Stephanie gives Edward her answer

AO3 link

preview

"Don't talk like that," she said. "You're going to be alright! You're going to be in the hospital for a while, and you're going to get really sick of hospital food, and you're going to be bored out of your skull, but you're going to be alright! Ellie's going to visit you every day and yell at you for being an idiot, but you'll get better. Dr. Young will be there with you too! So will Selina, Query, and Echo! Your whole family will be there with you! You can't give up, Edward!"

Edward gasped out a breath but didn't let go of her hand. "Promise...me..."

Stephanie violently shook her head. "You're not going to die!" she shouted. "You're not going anywhere! You-" She felt a hand on her right shoulder and looked behind her. Cassandra was behind her. She said nothing, but she didn't need to. Her glassy eyes full of unshed tears said everything she needed to know. Her friend gave her a nod. Stephanie's breath hitched. She turned back to Edward, then leaned her head down, her forehead resting against his knuckles. "I will," she said. "I'll look after her, Edward. I'll protect her." She squeezed her eyes shut but felt the tears dripping down her face anyway. "I promise!"

[lfthinkerwrites]

'Uncle Eddie'

The winning oneshot! Rated T for canon typical violence, referenced drug use and referenced child abuse.

Stephanie Brown is eight years old when she first meets Edward Nigma.

Her father doesn't lock in the closet anymore whenever he has his 'friends' over. She's gotten too big for that. Now, he tells her to stay in her room. There's no lock on her door though, so she can look down into the living room from the top of the stairs.

Three people are at the small dining room table across from her father tonight. Two of them are women, one tall and blonde, the other short with dark hair. They're standing behind a man, sitting at a chair directly across from Stephanie's father. He has reddish brown hair and is wearing a green leotard. Stephanie can just make out the purple question mark on his chest. She thinks she hears her father call him 'Eddie'. Her mother is, once again, nowhere in sight. She's probably asleep.

Stephanie can hear her stomach growl. She hasn't eaten since before school, but her father will yell at her if he sees her coming down the stairs. She'll have to wait until later, to get a snack from the fridge, if anyone went to the grocery store. As quietly as she can, Stephanie scoots away from the railing and turns to head to her room.

She wasn't quiet enough. The blonde woman turns sharply and catches sight of her. Her eyes widen and she swats the green man on the shoulder. "Boss!"

All four heads turn at once, and Stephanie is frozen to her spot. Her father's face turns red and she knows she's in for it. The green man, Eddie, merely raises an eyebrow. "Arthur," he says. "You didn't tell me we had company."

"It's just my kid," her father says, rubbing the back of his head. He gives Stephanie a strained smile. "Go to your room, Steffie. Daddy and Uncle Eddie have grown-up stuff to do."

Stephanie nods. The man called Eddie looks at her a moment longer. He has green eyes. Cold eyes. Stephanie can't get back to her room fast enough.

When Stephanie is twelve, her father comes back from jail with an unwanted guest. "Hey Steffie," he says. "You remember Uncle Eddie, don't you? He's going to be staying with us for a few days."

Stephanie knows full well who he is now. Edward Nigma. The Riddler. He and her father are working on some big score. She knows what her father is now too. Cluemaster. A wannabe crook trying to ride Nigma's coattails. Nigma walks into her living room like he owns it, giving her mother, drowsy on the sofa, a disdainful look. He turns to look at Stephanie, and a shadow passes over his face. It's soon replaced by a smirk. "Tiffany, isn't it?" he asks.

"Stephanie," she answers, fists clenching. He shrugs and continues on his way.

"I hope you're not expecting me to crash on your sofa, Arthur," he says.

"Of course not," her father says. "You can stay in Stephanie's room."

Stephanie whirls around. "What? Where am I gonna sleep?"

"You can take the couch for a few days. It's just until Uncle Eddie gets his gang back together." Her father is right in front of her, his nails digging into her shoulder. He's smiling, but she sees the warning in his eyes. "Suck it up, Kiddo."

"Arthur," her mother calls out. "Don't make her sleep out here-"

"Oh, look who's finally awake," her father sneers, letting go of Stephanie's shoulder and storming to the couch. "You finally sleep off that hangover of yours?"

Stephanie looks away from her parents and over to Nigma. He looks bored, maybe a little irritated but he says and does nothing. She hears her mother let out a sharp cry and sees that her father has grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her off the couch. He looks like he's going to slap her.

"Stop!" she cried out. Both of her parents look at her. "It's ok Mom," she says. "I can sleep on the couch."

Her father lets go of her mother. "See, Crystal? It's fine." He stomps over to the dining room table. "Come here, Eddie, I got some plans I wanted to run by you."

Before Stephanie goes to her mother, she looks at Nigma. Surely, he won't want to work with her father after this? Surely, he'll leave. Maybe, just maybe, he'll-

Nigma's gone to the dining room table without a second glance at Stephanie or her mother. He saw everything, and he said and did nothing. Stephanie doesn't hate Nigma like she's coming to hate her father, but she decides then and there that she hates him all the same.

When Stephanie is fifteen, she finally gets to act on that hatred. She's been following her father around on his latest scheme, following him all the way to an old toy factory Except, it's Nigma's scheme. He's just letting her father take the fall for it. She's left enough clues for Robin and Batman to follow and they're here, going through Nigma's mooks like a knife through butter. Her sperm donor is on the ground with a broken jaw and she smiles from the rafter she's hidden herself on.

She catches sight of a figure in a green suit, running towards a back exit. Nigma. While she can appreciate him leaving her Daddy Dearest to the wolves, she's still not going to let him get away. Her hand goes to her makeshift belt and she grabs a Batarang, one she grabbed from the last scheme she spoiled before Batdick chased her off. She takes aim and throws it.

She has to stifle a cheer as the Batarang connects, hitting Nigma in the back of the head and causing him to stumble forward and fall with a grunt. Aww, did you get your suit dirty? Asshole. He rolls over and looks up, his eyes meeting hers. She doesn't think he recognizes her through the full-face spoiler mask, so she contents herself by flipping him the bird. Eat shit, 'Uncle Eddie'. Batman is approaching him now and Stephanie climbs up the rafters, out the open skylight where she came in. She doesn't need to hear Batdick giving her the riot act. Again.

Stephanie Brown is twenty now and so much has changed. She's Batgirl now, finally wearing the symbol after so long looking in from the outside, even if she still can't say that Bruce is her favorite person. She's in Nigma's apartment, watching as a former enemy hugs a girl close to him, kissing her on the forehead and looking at her like she's the most important thing in his world.

Ellie is like a funhouse mirror. At first glance, she can't help but see the similarities. They're both young scrappers from the lower end of the economic spectrum. They both have attitudes to spare. They both have a love for art and creating it, though Ellie's drawings trump Stephanie's any day of the week. And of course, they both have puzzle-themed criminal fathers.

That's where the reflection becomes warped.

Ellie grew up in safety, not knowing who or what her father was. She didn't have a father, but that was better than having the Riddler as a father. Stephanie's under no illusions what kind of father the man she knew as a child would have been. And yet...she sees the man she knew as 'Uncle Eddie', the man with cold green eyes, the man who did nothing as Arthur Brown abused his family, the man who's left so much damage in his wake, hug a girl who took a chance and decided to love him anyway.

Where was this man ten years ago?

She should be happy for Ellie, and she is. Every girl deserves a father's love. She worries though. There's so much baggage that comes with being the Riddler's daughter, even if Ellie isn't aware of it yet. So much potential danger, even without Strange and Sharp, and Bolton to worry about.

And sometimes, love isn't enough.

Stephanie looks at the man she once knew as 'Uncle Eddie' and hopes to God that in this case, love will be enough.