Up on the Housetop
"Tell, me, what is black, egotistical, flies a short distance, then drops to the ground in a ball of flame?" came the voice from the dark silhouette atop the adjacent building. After a moment without Batman responding, the Riddler's face fell. "Come now, you don't have a guess? Fine, then, I'll tell you!"
Batman didn't give his foe the chance, though. He leapt across the gap between the two apartment buildings, his cape snapping taut and slowing him to glide with ease. He was about halfway across when a bright flash cut through the darkness, and a gleaming object lanced outward from the shadowy form. The projectile tore through Batman's fanned out cape, burning a large hole in the fabric. Instantly, Batman dropped downward.
The Riddler skipped over to the edge of the building, giggling merrily to himself. "The answer to my riddle: YOU! Haha!" He paused in his revelry and returned to his more demure persona. "Now I see that you aren't very good at riddles, so let's try something else…" With a flourish, the Riddler extracted what appeared to be a Rubik's cube from within his green question mark emblazoned suit and twisted the central section so that each face bore its own color. Then, he gingerly dropped it into the alley between the two buildings.
There was a few second delay, and then a massive explosion wracked the brick chasm. "It appears that you're just as bad with puzzles, my dear!" the Riddler said with glee. He peered over the lip of the rooftop in hopes of spotting his victim.
Suddenly, there was a flash of black in front of the Riddler's face. He spun around in surprise as the Batman landed nimbly behind him. "How?" he screamed.
"Enough of your games!" Batman snarled in his throaty altered voice. He socked his enemy in the face with a gauntleted fist, causing the criminal's head to jerk back and strike the concrete rim around the roof violently.
"Try one of these out!" the dazed Riddler cackled. Before the Dark Knight could punch him again, he ducked under the tattered cape, rolled over, and cast a pair of six-sided dice onto the pavement at Batman's feet. Knowing instantly what this meant, the vigilante dove to the side.
"Hahahahahahahahahaha!" cackled the Riddler, getting up off the pavement. "You're so jumpy, my dear. Why so skittish? They landed on twos, after all!"
"I said enough games!" Batman bellowed, delivering a powerful kick to the madman's chest.
The Riddler flew back, crashing into a protruding vent. He rose, clutching his side, but was promptly flung back onto the ground by another blow from the enraged crusader.
"Had enough yet?" he growled.
"That's a matter of—" the Riddler began, but he was suddenly cast aside. He flipped over the vent, bounced against the short concrete wall, and tumbled over the edge.
"Great," muttered Batman. He dashed to the rim of the square roof and dove over the side. He soared downward, performed a graceful front flip, caught the Riddler, and landed on his feet atop the hood of a car below, breaking out the glass in the front windshield and setting off the car alarm.
The Riddler looked up at his nemesis, smiled coldly, and said, "Tell me, what goes beep-beep, vroom, rrt, kaboom?"
Batman hesitated for a moment, and then suddenly bounded off the parked car. He rolled onto the street, causing a passing motorcyclist to swerve out of control in his attempt to avoid a collision. He sped away into the darkness as the car alarm stopped. Just as Batman, dragging his foe, crouched behind another parked vehicle, the automobile exploded in a furious ball of flame.
"Ah, so you're not hopeless at riddles!" the Riddler remarked nonchalantly.
"Shut up," snapped the Batman, retrieving a set of handcuffs from his utility belt.
Author's Note—Thank you very much for reading, and please review. Check back shortly for the continuation of the Riddler's exploits.