To My Hope (Edward Nashton x Vigilante!Reader)

Preview

(A/N: I originally posted this on my Tumblr, but since there's a lack of Dano!Riddler x reader fics on Wattpad I've decided to release it here and on Ao3 too 😄 hope you guys enjoy! If you want to see more Riddler x reader imagines there are legit hundreds of them on my Tumblr - @imagine--if💚)

Thursday, October 31st.

You usually take the 'day shift', as Vengeance is always the shadows of Gotham's streets under the cover of the night's darkness. The people of Gotham know who you both are, as vigilantes, but in slightly different lights. There's The Batman, a dark and mysterious character you never see coming, someone who can scare off the toughest of thugs just by seeing his symbol highlighting the sky with a hollow circle, a bat in its centre. He's Vengeance, something fitting that he identifies himself as too, prepared to fight whatever and whoever persists in disturbing the peace, causing chaos, causing violence.

Of course, the violence and chaos still run rampant, but with Batman around, there are very few who dare to carry on through the night. He has terror on his side. You, on the other hand, have odd admiration and support.

Maybe it's the way you go about things, with your pure white suit outlined in gold, the hood that covers your head and goes perfectly over the top half of your face not quite as menacing as Vengeance's darkness and destruction. You're out in pure daylight most of the time, on rooftops, too high to be noticed, ready to jump down and stop the threats and attacks. Fight off the gang who's messing with a vulnerable older woman, then give her a hand up and get her home safely, smiling and waving at the stunned faces who see you leaving the scene with a friendly grin.

They called you Hope after just a few weeks. And that fits perfectly. That's what you want to be, Hope, because without hope, there's no strength to carry on persevering and believing in better. But no one knows who you truly are as a normal citizen of Gotham, the same as them not knowing who Vengeance is under his mask.

It's a surprise to everyone that you and The Batman get along. Truthfully, you and he made the decision to be vigilantes together. Bruce Wayne and yourself have had a brother-sister relationship for as long as you can remember. You share similar pains and understand each other without too many words. He's exactly like a fiercely protective and trustworthy brother, and you're the positive and determined sibling, practically opposites, but it works for you, always had.

But it's Halloween today, which means a lot more petty crimes and daring attempts of disorder and fighting. So you're both out tonight, stopping a gang from the subway from beating down a random man who got off the train at the wrong time. A younger boy is the last one left in the end, staring up at you and Batman with wide brown eyes, and you give him a small, sympathetic smile, as if to say, "This isn't the way to live your life, is it, really?" He seems to get it, and stumbles backwards onto his feet before sprinting off. You watch after him with an unfocused gaze, and The Batman nudges you from your side.

"What's wrong?"

You frown, shaking your head. "Nothing. It was just something I did yesterday. Well, someone I helped out."

"You saved their life," he assumed. "They were probably starstruck that they got to meet Hope."

But you shake your head again. "No, it wasn't like that."

It really wasn't. It was an incident similar to the one you had just come across tonight: you were just finishing up, ready to get back home and call it a day in the late afternoon, when a man walking with his head down was suddenly yanked from the main street into an alleyway. You were quick to spot the action, easily overpowering the young, drunk thugs demanding money, and the man you had saved watched in complete awe the whole time.