THE
ARKHAM CITY
CHRONICLES

:

the riddler

"They say the only place Batman is at home is in Gotham…. But truly, the only place he's accepted for who he is… is Arkham City. First it was Arkham Asylum, but now, now it's Arkham City! Beware Batman; your first challenger has stepped up to the plate… So, old friend…. Riddle me this?"

Chapter 1 – The Darkest Night

"Break it!"

"You break it!"

"Oh for crying out loud…."

Three of Joker's goons played with the lock on a door into the museum. The Penguin was waiting within, and the good old Joker had planned for a few little explosives to be planted within. First and foremost they were allies – but – the time for alliances had diminished. According to word on the street of Arkham City, the Batman had been crushed by Bane during a fragile alliance turned sour and put simply; the Joker wasn't exactly one to uphold his end of the bargain; at least not the way he'd prescribed to.

"What if the Penguin had the same idea as the Joker? Maybe his booby trapped the door!" one of the mask wearing bandits uttered in a husky tone. His eyes tracked backwards and forwards between the other two companions he had with him. The uncertainty in all three of them was unbelievable and the air was thickening with the worry that they all breathed out with every breath.

"Tell ya' what. We'll get one of those politician assholes that are in lock up to open the door for us? Threaten him with somethin' he'll find valuable. What'd'ya say?" one of the three uttered, sounding almost genius in the way he presented the idea.

"Sounds good! Let's go find one!"

Turning hastily, the three of them stopped in their tracks when a shadow appeared from above. It narrowed and narrowed until it was no more, and the figure falling from above was revealed; Batman. Standing to full height, the dark knight's eyes tracked over the three unnerved souls that had frozen before him.

"What are you three planning on doing?" he spoke, his emotionless voice cracking the invisible ice that had frozen the three in place.

"B…Batman! It's the Bat! The Joker said he was dead!" one called quickly, only to try and rush the dark knight, drawing a small knife in his approach. Swinging it, the criminal missed as the Batman ducked quickly underneath the slash. Bringing his shoulder up into the mans elbow and snapping it out of place, the caped figure followed through in his assault with a quick kick into the goons ribs, casting him over a nearby railing and ultimately – falling to his concussed state.

"I'm going to allow the two of you to consider whether or not you want to leave peacefully… or suffer the same fate as your friend…" Batman uttered as he eased himself out of his combative state. Advancing slowly toward the door and waiting to see the reaction of the two goons, Bruce Wayne cocked an unseen brow under his mask. Immediately, as soon as they saw Batman's intentions to be true; Joker's men bailed. Easing his hand over to the earpiece he had, Batman pressed it firmly.

"Oracle… it's me. Can you get a lock on the exact position of the Penguin? From what I can tell, Joker's trying to cut down on the competition in Arkham City. His goons failed…. But that's never stopped him before."

"Sorry, Bruce – that's a no can-do. Penguin seems to be blocking all our tech with some sort of military grade equipment. You're going to need to take it out before I can help you."

"On it." Bruce uttered casually, clicking his mic off and advancing the door. Cutting the lock off with a quick slash of his bladed gloves, the sound of chains falling to the floor followed promptly after. Hand moving toward the door, Batman pushed the handles down and the sound of the door opening crept into Bruce's ears. Pushing once more, the door brushed slightly open and the sound of a snapping wire caught Batman by surprise.

Tick… Tick…. Tick…. Click…. Cha-chick….

BOOM!

A fiery wave spiralled out of the doorway and crashed itself into Batman, casting him through the cemented railing that the goon had fallen over. Crashing forcefully into the floor, his cape still swarmed by the flames, Bruce Wayne's eyes struggled to stay open and then…. After one last effort, they closed over. Everything went black. The next thing Bruce knew he was struggling to free his hands from two latches hooked over them. Green question marks lit by LED's spiralled around the room and focusing on anyone for longer than a few moments would force you into a dizzy spell. The chair Bruce was bound to was bolted into the floor and the smell of moist soil could be smelt all around. The room that the Batman found himself in was no bigger than a prison cell.

A screen previously occupied by a question mark lit up with a face and the sound cracked in and out. The Riddler's trademark green suit flashed onto the screen and Batman's mouth pulled in anger at the sight.

"Riddler!" he shot forcefully, "Let me go! You don't want to be playing games with me. Not today!"

"Oh Bat's!" Riddler smiled pleasantly, "I almost forgot that you were here. I brought you over for a little play at the mind…. To see just who really is the most intelligent between us." Riddler spoke simply, spinning his stick casually in hand.

"So… I bet you're wondering just how all this is going to work? Well, fear not, there's no riddle that needs to be solved for that valuable information!" Riddler grinned cheerily, "To test your ultimate capabilities, I've put your life at risk. Three key challenges need to be solved for you to escape my little underground Bat-Prison; all of which contain fantastical riddles made by yours truly. Along the way, you'll get to save some of the stupid doctors and nurses that failed before you. I tried this game with them – but they were no fun." Riddler smirked, "Oh and Bat's…. by the time you're out of here… your no kill policy will be out the window…. Because lets just say some of these riddles… require a lil' more than a metaphorical brain!" The Riddler paced across the camera presenting his image to the Batman and then stopped.

"Okay!" he paused for a moment, "Your first riddle to get you free of those binders. An easy one to start us off! What's reliant on the dark but fears it like no other?" the Riddler looked deeply into the camera lens and waited, "Quickly Batman; you've got ten seconds!"

Bruce's eyes tracked around the room for signs of what it could be, and his heart was racing. What was going to happen if he didn't answer the riddle in time. But in the midst of all the worry and panic, it hit him; the answer to the riddle. Who relied on the dark like no other? Batman. Who was scared of the bat's that lurked within that darkness? Batman. Eyes snapping closed and open, Bruce shot a look over to the television and with three seconds to spare he blurted, "Batman!"

The Riddler's eyes rolled and he tapped the camera with his stick, "I'm looking for another word?"

Bruce hesitated, almost feeling reluctant to reveal his past weaknesses and fears.

"Me." He spoke softly, the timer hitting 'one' the moment he'd spoke.

"Good work!" the Riddler cheered. "Time to open the door to the next room and get you out of that chair. Don't wait too long before moving along; the doc's are waiting!" the screen shut off quickly and a static only resumed. The braces binding Bruce's hands to the chair released and he stood up from the seat, casting a look around the small room. His attention was quickly drawn back to the door in the corner that snapped open and slowly creaked inwards to reveal some light from the opposite side.

It was time to set things straight. To save the people tormented by the Riddler's sick games. To set the questioning villain in his rightful place.