To My Hope (Edward Nashton x Vigilante!Reader)

The Big Picture

As soon as Edward scurried out of the diner, leaving you watching after him in mild confusion, your phone rings, Bruce's ID coming up on the screen.

"We've got the Penguin," his voice says as soon as you answer. "I'll send you the location of where to meet us. Okay?"

"Yeah," you breathe, pulling out your purse as you quickly pay for your drink, "okay."

Gordon and The Batman are already waiting with Penguin in the darkness of the night, only the dim glow of their cars' headlights and distant illuminations from buildings' windows lighting the scene.

"The hell is this?" Penguin demands furiously, looking between them, then at you as you approached from behind. "Good cop, batshit cop?!"

"Who's the Riddler?" Batman asks immediately, glancing at you in acknowledgement as you stand by his side, the pure whites and pastels from your Hope outfit a stark contrast between the darkly clad man.

"Riddler?" Penguin repeats incredulously. "How should I know?"

"Let's make it easy for you, Oz," Gordon speaks up condescendingly. "Cops caught you doing something. They were gonna shut you down, put you away. So you gave up the bigger fish to save your ass."

"You ratted out Salvatore Maroni," The Batman concludes. "His drops operation."

"But the cops, city officials, the mayor, the DA, they got greedy, right? Wasn't enough, a big career-making bust. They wanted to take over the drops business too, but they needed a minor league mope like you to run it."

"So... you don't just work for Carmine Falcone," you interpret with a frown, "you work for them, too."

"What, are you crazy?!"

"Did you kill that girl?" You questioned, and the Penguin scoffed in disbelief.

"I didn't kill no girl!"

"We know she worked for you at the 44 Below," Batman tells him, as they continue questioning him, and the Penguin looks between you all again in annoyance.

"Boy, you guys are a hell of a trio here. Why don't you start harmonising?! There's only one problem with your little scenario okay: I ain't no rat! You got any idea what Carmine Falcone would do to me if he heard this kind of talk?"

Gordon showed him the photo of his former partner in anger, and you watched the scene helplessly, running your fingers through your hair under your hood.

"Are you El Rata Alada?" The Batman asked, and you looked at him in bewilderment. "The symbols in the maze," he clarified, "left when Savage died. It's like a stool pigeon. A rat with wings."

"Yeah, it says, You Are El Rata Alada," Gordon agrees, and Penguin repeats in an amusement, pointing out the mistake of 'El,' instead of 'La'.

"You are El..." Batman mutters under his breath, and your eyes widen as you catch on.

"URL."

The Batman pulls out his laptop, trying different domain names a few times before the screen flashes black, then a beep sounds as a question mark inside pointed brackets blinks on the top left of the screen. Your breath catches in your throat, Gordon cursing in shock under his breath.

> DID YOU FIND HIM?

EL RATA ALADA?

> YES

MAYBE. IS A PENGUIN A RAT WITH WINGS?

> INTERESTING

> YOU'RE MISSING THE BIG PICTURE