Row, row, row your boat.
...
He could hear the footsteps as the flying menace landed on the roof of his laboratory. Oh, no one else would be so brave or stupid to approach his boat in this weather. Simple, really, the ice water meant he would generally not be disturbed. The intruder could wander up there all he liked; there was no way in- What was that?
A click.
Impossible! He had left no latch!
The door began to slide open. He scrambled to conceal himself in the shadows. It was still too early. Too early.
...
Gently down the stream.
He kept the glove on his lap. His controlled experiment was very delicate, and an unexpected variable had shown up. Now it was time to take a risk of his own. He began writing quietly as the dark shadow moved through his small craft.
The shadow stopped and seemed to smell the air. Was he seeing the hallucinations yet? The shadow stumbled slightly. He smiled, Getting seasick, little bat? But there were no other symptoms or reactions. Most interesting. He wrote what he saw.
Batman approached the man sitting in the chair, but made no move to free him. Instead, he simply stared, seeming lost in thought. A few moments later, and unfortunate Test Subject #1 screamed, flailed for a moment…and was no more.
...
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily.
Batman's head turned in the dark. He seemed to focus on the paper. Could Batman read with all the fear gas percolating the small space? Could he recognize the name - one Jonathan Crane? This fear gas was subtler than its predecessor. It would cause mild level hallucinations rather than full on fear. The perfect tool for breaking someone's mind over a long period of time. He wondered what Batman could see. Was it cracks in the hull? Swarming insects? Perhaps a nice ubiquitous acidic mist?
Batman had to be a fool to come here. Even Riddler wasn't that stupid.
He slipped the glove onto his hand. Oh, he wanted to. It would be too easy to slip the needles into Batman's skin. He was right here! And he still had not forgotten what the Batman had done to him. It had been no small feat to escape from Killer Croc. It would be so easy to inject him and try again to break his mind...
But he wasn't ready to be thrown into the icy water just yet. He watched the shadow retreat up the hatch once more and let out a quiet breath. No, he knew the Batman's strengths. What he still needed to know…were the Batman's fears.
...
He sent a series of messages over the radio. Encoded, of course. Better to make Batman wonder. Better to make Batman fear which enemy he had failed to kill.
'Fear Will Tear Gotham City To Shreds.'
...
Life is but a dream.
