Justice League- Saturday Session
By Kairi Taylor
DISCLAIMER: The characters are not mine, they are the copyrights of DC Comics and Warner Bros, and HOPEFULLY they will make sure that the Justice League movie is not as bad as Batman Vs. Superman. I mean seriously, Wonder Woman was awesome we need more DC movies like that.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The story is based on a post I made a few months ago on my Tumblr page where I had a random thought about certain members of the Justice League taking up a hobby. The sketch itself was actually inspired by the first episode of "Stranger Things". (I assure you though that no one here will be fighting the Demogorgon. No, not that one either.)
In the area of midtown Manhattan, near the Empire State Building (to be precise two blocks down and away from the GameStop at the corner) there sits a hobby shop called Eric's Laboratory. It was opened by a man named Eric Mendez, a local chap from East Elmhurst who had once worked as a clerk himself at the now defunct Forbidden Planet comics store. Rather modest in size even for a specialty store in the city, it housed two floors packed to the brim with various collectables for those seeking them, be it comics, resin statues, video games, DVDs or even a good old fashioned book. The store was sorted rather intricately; one section was separated by a small fence and it housed several tables and a large wide screen HDTV on the wall. This was the area where people who would play card games, tabletop RPGS or video games gathered. And this particular section is where our story takes place.
The Saturday that Zatanna came in to the store was a rainy one, the downpour heavy and drowned out only by the sounds of Jindou's "Wild Challenger" playing over the store's loudspeaker. Zatanna approached the counter, which was adorned with several boxes of small Funko Pop figures and saw manning it was a tall man with a slight trace of a beard, in his late 30s, lazily typing away at his keyboard. On his head was a hat with a logo of a Pokeball. "I see you're still trying to catch them all Zane," Zatanna said as he turned to look at her.
"Hey, some hobbies don't die so easily," Zane replied with a smile. "But these new Pokémon are getting ridiculous. How many pandas do we really need?"
"Don't ask me. I zoned out after they started naming the games after rare stones." Zatanna then reached down into her jacket pocket and pulled out a slip. "Now before we get into the specifics about how a whale and cat can produce an egg, I think we should move on and get my order." Taking the slip from her hand, Zeke gave it a quick look over and said "Oh yeah, this one! I was wondering who went out of their way to buy it." Reaching down behind him, Zane produced a large, leather bound red book from a bin labeled 'special orders' and said to Zatanna "It's not every day we actually get an order for Tobin's Spirit Guide here. Let me guess, it's work related."
"More or less. Constantine needed a copy since he lost his in some place he was investigating some time ago. Let's just say the old hotels in this city have some serious infestation issues."
"Rats?"
"I wish," she sighed. "How's business by the way?"
"Good now that NYCC is a few weeks away. We're getting our vendor's booth this year and we got a lot of specialty merchandise lined up. We even convinced some people over at Funko to let us sell some exclusive figures too." Zeke pulled out a long sheet and pointed to one set in particular. "They're letting us sell the figures based on the new season of Voltron Legendary Defender, plus a new convention only Katie Holt."
"Too bad I don't have room for that one myself," Zatanna sighed, "and I STILL haven't gotten a contact from them about mine. Oh sure, Power Girl and Wonder Woman, but what about me?"
"Give them time. Maybe the rest of the Justice Society will get one too." Zane pointed out. At this time, their conversation was interrupted by a woman in a Dominos uniform, carrying 3 boxes of pizza. The scent of pepperoni lingered over their noses as the woman said "Hi, I got 3 bacon pepperoni and sausage pizzas. Where do I leave 'em at?"
"Yeah, take them into the gaming lounge over there." Zane pointed to his left. Zatanna whistled as she said "Wow, someone is having a serious get together. Who's all that for?"
"Some old friends of yours, actually." Zane answered. "I'm surprised you didn't know they were here."
"Really? Who?" Zatanna looked over to the gaming lounge area where Zane pointed to and gasped. Who she saw there at the table was a gathering she did not ever suspect she would see.
There were five of them at the table. The first one to stand out was the most well-known of the Justice League; Superman himself in his red and blue uniform. He sat at the table, staring intently at the notes he had kept on his notepad. Sitting to his left was the 2nd most well-known member of the Justice League, the gosh darned Batman (come on, did you REALLY expect me to use that old meme? Even Frank Miller must get tired of it.) He sat next to Superman also in his standard uniform, fingers steeped together, listening intently. Next to him sat the 3rd most well known and most relatable of the Justice League; Diana Prince, aka Wonder Woman. Unlike her two colleagues next to her, she was wearing casual clothing that evening, consisting of a blue t-shirt and grey jeans with glasses on her face. Sitting at her side was someone that no one would ever believe could sit down with the 3, at least not in handcuffs; the person in question was one Harleen Quinzel, or more infamously known, Harley Quinn, Suicide Squad member, ex-girlfriend of Batman's most hated foe, landlord for a building in Coney Island and, at the moment, drinking root beer from a large mug. Dressed in casual clothes herself, consisting of a t-shirt, jeans and denim jacket, and her blonde hair with red and black tips done up in pigtails, she eagerly received the order of pizza from the delivery girl as she excitedly said "FINALLY! I've been jonesin' for a slice ever since I got here!"
"I'm still amazed that you can eat this kind of food without any visible effects." Diana observed.
"I know, but you can thank my gal Ivy for that," Harley pointed out.
"The serum Ivy gave her changed her body's metabolism rather drastically," Superman explained. Batman nodded in agreement and added "Plus she is rather ACTIVE in her spare time."
"Hardy har har," Harley sarcastically laughed. "You do know I am a trained gymnast, right? A girl had to do a lot to keep her grade point average up ya know!"
"I wouldn't know. I did more than gym work." Batman mused.
"I find that very hard to believe," Diana said. Superman looked over at the pizza boxes and said "You do intend to share, right?"
"Sure sure, after all you DID find a way through the moors," Harley replied as she opened the first box, passing along a slice. "Bats on the other hand, he's gotta earn his."
"I think taking out the Warg qualifies me for one slice."
"Uh uh, you had back up for that one! I'm talking noble accomplishments and feats here! Besides, I figure you for the protein bar kind of guy with all the stuff you can do."
"I prefer jerky myself," Diana said. "It's actually quite handy when you're low on provisions."
"I'm a burger and fries kind of person," Superman added.
"Ahem! If the 4 of you are through comparing food preferences, I want to continue this campaign." The voice belonged to the table's current DM; Oliver Queen, also known as the bow wielding super hero Green Arrow, sat at the head of the table, the dungeon master screen located in front of him. At his side was a large can of Red Bull as he carefully laid out the scenario that the other players were now in. "Ok then, now where was I…"
"Gloomy forest with stereotypical fog surrounding us." Harley reminded him.
"Yeah, I thought so…After escaping the confines of the haunted Evershire Forest, your party has finally arrived at the gates of the mansion of Lord Maxwell."
"I see what ya did there, archer!" Batman merely rolled his eyes as Diana suppressed a chuckle.
"Anyway, as you approach you can sense a quiet dread overtake the midnight sky. An eerie fog covers the roof, but just barely, as dim lights flicker in the upper windows. The entrance has a stone gargoyle at either side of the doors, the figures in the shape of a reptilian—"
"I'm casting my magic missile spell at both of them ugly lawn gnomes." Harley sighed as she bit into a slice of pizza, seemingly anticipating a possible trap.
"That's reckless," Diana said, "you could be wasting mana doing that."
"Maybe. But we all met up with them mystical whacko types before. It ain't beneath them to try to ambush people with some sort of hell hound or shapeshifter waiting' for ya at the start!"
"She's actually on to something," Superman agreed. "Remember the last time we had to deal with Felix Faust? He had iron statues of snakes waiting for us."
"It wouldn't be too out of character for a sorcerer to have a few creatures like that as a precaution." Batman chimed in. "It does take away the element of surprise but it was likely Lord Maxwell was expecting us to arrive sooner or later."
"And it looks like Harley's instincts served her well," Green Arrow said, "because as soon as the magic missiles hit, each of the gargoyles let out an ear splitting howl of pain."
"HA! This ain't my first rodeo in Tolkien Land!" Harley boasted proudly.
"Do I even want to know…" Superman began to ask but Harley merely smiled and said "Ask Power Girl about the time we accidently fell into a portal into some land named Lodoss. That place was a hoot."
"Try Avalon." Batman replied.
"Is it weird we all are so casual about being in other dimensions?" Green Arrow asked. Batman shook his head and reminded him "You're sitting at a table with an alien and a demigoddess. Travel between dimensions is the least surprising thing."
"Ok, what the heck did I just walk into?" The five of them looked towards the source of the question. Zatanna looked at them, arms crossed as she observed "You are the last 5 I would suspect of actually enjoying a pen and paper RPG."
"I'll have ya know that studies show playing these kind of games actually foster creativity!" Harley said to the magician. "Plus, I had to do a study on statistics in junior college and this was a pretty damn good way to get a passable grade."
"And it's actually pretty fun to pretend to take on a Minotaur as opposed to fighting one for real." Diana said, Superman nodding in solidarity. Zatanna then replied "I can't argue with that point."
"I guess I'm the only one who took on a robot Minotaur." Batman recalled.
"A robot Minotaur?" Diana asked. Harley snapped her fingers and said "Yeah, I remember, Riddler! He had an entire maze built to get revenge on some guy. This was when he was starting out. How'd ya get out of that?"
"I literally changed the Hand of Fate." Batman stated flatly.
"Basically you cheated."
"Yes."
"Can't blame ya." Harley sighed, "That guy can be a real spoilsport in checkers."
"Now comes the part where I ask how this all happened. So, how the hell this all happened?" Zatanna asked them. Superman chuckled and responded "Kind of a funny story. I got into in because of family and I needed to get some info before I could help out."
ABOUT 3 MONTHS BACK…
"I remember this." Clark said as he picked up the large hardcover manual from the table in his kitchen. Sitting at the table was his son, Jon, along with the son of Batman, Damien Wayne (he actually had some free time to visit that day)
"You do? I suppose you should. It has been around for a long time." Damien said to him.
"Yeah, like the 70s." Jon added. Clark flipped through the book as he asked "Why the sudden interest in a pen and paper RPG? I thought you two would be more into electronic versions of this."
"It's primarily tied into our schoolwork," Damien stated, "and our teacher wants us to do a project explaining the social aspects of these types of games. It's kind of theatrical in the approach if you ask me and a lot of the material seems to focus on European fantasy and folklore."
"Still, we get to slay dragons and not actually have to risk getting actual injuries." Jon pointed out.
"I'll relent on that. And the prospects of being a Ranger actually suit me."
"I'd figured you would be an assassin or rouge." Clark pointed out to Damien.
"Father says sometimes it's good to try out different roles. The abilities of a Ranger and their tactics are quite useful actually in real life—"
"Uh boys, before you both get started on that discussion," Clark interrupted, "what precisely did you need from me?" The two boys looked at each other, back to Clark and nodded. "That's just it. See, we're pretty good at the character creation details and everything…" Jon started.
"But in the department of campaign creation, we are not that strong. We do have a few others for the game, but not all of us are suited for story telling or crafting a believable campaign. Father unfortunately is a bit busy and Alfred….well he's actually more of a card game fellow."
"Ah. What about Barbara?" Clark asked.
"She laughed. A lot. She's more into World of Warcraft." Jon said.
"Even if she was into the game, I think what she comes up with may be overly complex. You have much experience in journalism and literature, plus as far as I have heard from what Father and your wife has told me, you have encountered quite a few fantastic adventures."
"So, we need you to be the Dungeon Master dad." Jon finished. "At least for a few games."
Clark raised his eyebrows. He had done many things throughout his life. The favor that was being asked of him today however, that was something he was never prepared for. "Ok, give me some time and I'll see what I can do."
4 Days Later, at Eric's Laboratory
"Whew, thanks for helping us out there. I never thought this place would be hit by a super villain but that's life in the city for you!" The preceding sentence was said by the store's owner, Eric himself. A rather stout man with a short beard, he surveyed the damage outside of the store as he stood talking with Superman and Batman. It wasn't too bad, the owner noted; only the front window was shattered and a few tables were overturned. Superman smiled as he replied "Don't worry too much. We have some people in the Justice League staff that can help with the repairs."
"We're also lucky that the villain in question tried to keep the damage to a minimum," Batman pointed out, "usually it's the Titans who deal with Control Freak but they're busy with other issues."
"Wait, Control Freak? I never heard of him." Eric stated.
"He's one of those villains who are pretty focused on one thing." Superman explained. "Pop culture seems to be his forte. That's the main reason why he didn't attempt to do too much damage."
"And this is the only place in the city right now that has vintage cels of Speed Racer among its collectables. Someone with his mindset is more concerned with preserving his goods." Batman added. Eric sighed as he said "Tell me about it. It took a lot of haggling to get the cels from my contacts. I'm glad I got the Meta human insurance added when I opened up here. Thanks guys, I need to see to some other details now, if there is anything I can do to help…"
"Now that you mention it, where do you keep your Dungeons and Dragons books?" Eric looked at Superman, a puzzled expression on his face." Next to the fiction section. Wow, I never knew Big Blue was into Gygax."
"Research purposes really." Superman replied. "The latest books will do."
"Research huh? I guess saying it's for a friend would be less believable." Batman said to his teammate as Superman combed through the Dungeon Master handbook he took from the shelf. "I take it that you need some finer details for the campaign our sons need."
"Yeah, and I need as much info as I can get. I already read through the original handbooks from the 70s, and I just went through the previous editions yesterday. All I need now is a good grasp on what monsters to put in." Superman said, as he made some notes. Batman eyed one particular book and said "Maybe you could use something from this campaign."
"Ravenloft…think they could handle something like that? It looks like a more advanced setting."
"I know, but the boys could use something a bit unexpected." Batman reasoned. "Being able to make the right type of decisions in certain settings is important in our line of work and this can be a helpful indication of where they can be heading."
"Ok, but vampires? I haven't checked their stats to see how they would fare against them."
"Oh no, I can NOT be seeing this."
Superman and Batman turned to the end of the aisle where the voice was coming from to see Green Arrow standing there, a collection of books in hand. The Emerald Defender looked at them both and sighed as he said "I'm probably going to regret asking this, but there is a reason behind you two reading a Dungeon Master handbook, right?" Superman nodded and said "Our kids need help with their campaign and asked me to be the DM."
"Ah, say no more. I suggest looking through these expansion sets while you are here. They offer a lot of info on the latest class adjustments."
"You seem to be quite knowledgeable on this subject, Oliver." Batman observed. Green Arrow shrugged his shoulders and said "At the community center I volunteer at, there are some kids who love these games so I got roped into being their DM. It's pretty fun actually. We had one session that lasted about 5 hours. I had them running through one of the most complex castle sieges I ever devised and they managed to get out of it pretty unscathed. Probably should have figured that their Elven thief would be pretty efficient with her trap dismantling."
It was then that Superman snapped his fingers. "I think I just had a good idea on how to approach this. Ollie, I'm going to need your help with this."
"Me? Why not Bats?"
"I'm not as verse into this game as I would like to be. What did you have in mind?"
"We're going to have a test game, so I can see how to be a DM first hand. Green Arrow will be the one to handle the campaign." Superman explained, "While we play and see for ourselves firsthand what the boys play through."
"Interesting idea," Green Arrow said, stroking his chin in thought. "I have one setting we can use to get you ready. First things first; we need to get you guys new character sheets pronto."
"This won't take long will it?"
"It depends on the luck of the dice." Green Arrow said/
They sat at the table in the gaming lounge and watched as Green Arrow produced a few items from his pouch-mainly a few 20 sided die and a few figurines. "Ok gentlemen, we all know the score; you use the die to determine your numbers. But of course, we need to choose what particular set of skills you want your avatars to have. No offense Bats, but you look mostly like a Rogue type of guy."
"I'll stick with what I know for now." Batman said, grabbing one of the sheets of papers that Green Arrow gave them. Superman looked of classes readily available to him and said "Fighter seems something I can work with. But then again, Magic does sound useful.
"I'm having a hard time seeing you as a wielder of the arcane arts." Green arrow admitted. "Raven yes, Stargirl maybe, but you? Nah, not seeing it."
"Don't be so surprised. I have some history of using magical artifacts." Superman pointed out. "Don't remind me," Green Arrow sighed, "because I'm still smarting from the last incident with Morgan Le Fay."
"Holee Renaissance Fair! Is it me or do I see 3 superheroes geeking out?!"
Batman cringed. The Brooklyn accent was unmistakable and instantly familiar to them all; standing a few feet from them was Harley Quinn, in a t-shirt and denim pants, holding a large bag of her own. "Harley Quinn? What are you doing here?" a curious Superman asked.
"What, a girl can't have hobbies? Actually most of my hobbies probably involve the roller rink, hot dogs and grievous harm to some jerk's face but I got nice and simple stuff too." She held up her bag and said "Also the center where I work at needs some new books and stuff for the patients and I got my nephew's b-day to look forward to. What's your excuse?"
"Also community related." Green Arrow said. "I'm trying to get them familiar with the D&D system so Superman can be a proper DM."
"And with only TWO of ya?" Harley laughed "Talk about confident."
"We COULD use more teammates I guess," Superman mused "but are you familiar with—"
"Read it and weep, Steel Man!" Harley fished around in her pockets and handed over a series of folded papers to Superman. "I got kids in the clinic who are into this stuff too, so I have a few of my own character sheets. Bats ain't the only one here who has prep time."
"I'm not always prepared. I am just cautious when I need to be." Batman replied. "Hah, I say." Green Arrow retorted "Who else actually carries around Shark Repellant?"
"Aquaman," Batman responded, "which caught me off guard."
"Gentlemen, we're missing the point here. I know quite a lot of stuff on this fantasy hooba jooba, so I want in." Harley interjected. Green Arrow shrugged his shoulders and said "A little unorthodox but what the hell? I do need some more players. And since she has some grasp of the game's fundamentals, she may give you guys some pointers."
"If it means I can keep an eye on you, I'll allow it." Batman relented. Harley sighed "And I thought Waller was a tough case. You should see HER on a game night."
"I have." Green Arrow admitted. "That woman is nigh unstoppable in poker."
"Ummm…what's going on here?"
The group turned to see Diana, in her own casual clothes, looking on at them. "It's the start of an interesting campaign," Green Arrow stated to her. "We're helping Big Blue here become a Dungeon Master."
Diana arched her eyebrows. "A…Dungeon Master? Is there something I should know?"
"Hoo boy. Let me guess, no one on the Amazon Island is remotely familiar with Dungeons and Dragons." Harley said.
"Oh we know PLENTY about dragons. Let me tell you about the Black Wing—"
"Not what I meant at all. Interesting yeah, but utterly not where I was going with this." Harley chuckled, amazed at the fact that there were still some things about culture outside of Themyscira unknown to her.
Batman held up his hand. "I'll give you the abridged version of this…"
20 Minutes Later…
"This is quite fascinating." Diana murmured under her breath as she looked through the Monster Manual that Green Arrow handed her. "I am actually familiar with some of the entries within this book. The entry on the Gnoll is rather accurate. Barrow Wights need slight adjusting."
"Tell me about it." Batman sighed. "The vampire entry is also fairly accurate. They even addressed the running water weaknesses that you can use to your advantage."
"I would press you two for details about the various monsters and supernatural entities you have beaten," Green Arrow started, "but we really should start with the character creation."
"Hey Wondy, why not join us? It would be pretty cool with your insight into this. Plus, it won't be a complete sausage fest here!" Harley excitedly asked. The Amazon warrior put her hand to her chin, thinking about the offer presented to her. She rarely took any new hobbies that didn't require physical exertion. But this was a rather intriguing game to her, as it reminded her of the many exploits she had outside of the Justice League. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have a simulated adventure. Plus I don't have to worry about cleaning up actual dark elf blood when a battle is over."
"See, added bonus already!" Harley smiled.
"I guess we have our party then," Superman said, as he turned to Green Arrow and said "So we can get started on our avatars."
"Cool!" Green Arrow said. "So, you still want to be a magic user?"
"No, I think I'll go with a fighter class. A knight perhaps. Better yet, let's make it a former knight" Superman said. "Ah, going for the mysterious past gambit huh?" Green Arrow mused. "I'm already digging it. How about you Diana?"
"I'll go with what I know. I'll choose a Fighter as well."
"What no paladin?" Harley asked her. "Wouldn't suit me to be honest," Wonder Woman replied, "especially since you can't use a sword."
"They do get some mean clubs thought." Harley pointed out. "As for me, I made one character that would be perfect for this. Check out my totally sweet elven mage sheet!" Harley handed over one of the carefully folded papers to Green Arrow who whistled and said "Hoo, now this one is a keeper. And now Batman…"
"I'll go with the Thief class." Batman flatly stated to the surprise of no one in particular.
"If Catwoman ever caught wind of this, she will never let you live it down." Superman said to him.
AND NOW, BACK TO THE PRESENT…
"And that's how it all got started. It was meant to be a short campaign to help out Big Blue, but we figured what the hell, we don't get to do much on Saturdays." Harley concluded "Of course, other than the other crazy crap we put ourselves through. If we can get PG in on this, it would be awesome."
"And how far have you gotten so far?" Zatanna asked.
"Believe it or not, we're all at least level 7 now." Superman revealed to her. "Green Arrow's included a lot of interesting side quests."
"Plus he injected quite a few cryptic hints. It took me a while to decipher a few of them." Diana added. "Of course, it helps if you are fluent in a few dead languages."
"Seriously, Caesar cipher?" Batman asked him.
"It kept you all on your toes." Green Arrow pointed out. "Now enough flashbacking, let's continue the battle."
"Fine by me, I've been on a roll." Superman laughed. Harley snickered and said "That was sly."
Green Arrow coughed as he took on a more stoic tone, while Zatanna observed the session more intently. "The number of Kobolds in the room has now been significantly dwindled thanks to the tandem efforts of the warriors Kalel and Diana…"
"Seriously, you two could have come up with a little more creative names." Harley said, lazily chomping into a slice of pizza.
"Your elf is named Deedlt the 3rd." Diana answered.
"Yeah, but it's an HOMAGE. There's a big difference there."
"Focus now." Superman said. "We still have some archers to take out."
"And this is the part where I rain down lightning death!" Harley said as she grabbed her dice. " Green Arrow smiled with a brim of self-assurance as he said "Before you can act however, the door to the cellar shatters apart and splinters into a thousand pieces. From the depths below arrives a Troll Berserker, wielding a blood encrusted battle axe in his hands."
Grabbing his own dice, Batman stated "And this is the part where I jump in from the ceiling ramparts, hitting him in the back with my own fire arrows." Everyone in the table looked at the Dark Knight, not at all surprised at the tactics he employed, knowing his knack for adding dramatic effect.
"You've been waiting to do that all night, haven't you?" Superman asked him.
"Yes. Yes I have."
Zatanna laughed as she observed "This is going to be an interesting game I can see."
AFTERTHOUGHTS
One of the many issues when writing 3 stories at the same time (that's right, I'm doing two more, I'm insane like that) is trying to work out just where precisely you want the one you are focused on to go. With this one, I felt like going slightly more comedic seemed fitting, given the circumstances I imagined up for these people. Would any of them really get roped up in a game such as Dungeons and Dragons? Who knows. The social and gaming life of superheroes, super villains and anti-heroes doesn't always occupy my mind. But I'd like to think it could be something to poke at occasionally.
Originally, it was Dr. Fate that was the Dungeon Master. I felt in the end, Ollie should take over that role as he is actually one of my favorite heroes thanks to Kevin Smith's run on Green Arrow many years ago. (Side note, I have not exactly forgiven Judd Winick for what he did with Mia.) I guess in the end he fit in quite well, especially since he probably would enjoy a game where he gets to find ways to mess with Batman.
There are probably diehard D&D players out there who, after reading this, have either criticisms or detailed explanations about certain aspects of the game, or have a better idea about what character classes they would have picked for all of the characters. I don't mind. Just don't go into a 20 page detailed analysis of why trying to shoot a Troll Berserker in the back is not a good strategy because it is in my eyes.
And now…THE STINGER SCENES…
STINGER SCENE 1: She Finds Out
The night air was unusually cool in Gotham. Catwoman did not mind. After all, she had spent a few days in the deserts of Kahndaq chasing her own quarry (A particularly rare diamond sought after the Gotham Museum of all places) and the arid desert air did not agree with her. The sight of the skyscrapers of Gotham was a relief to her. However, what was one her mind was not the job she had overseas, but what was happening now.
Tied up by a bolo and hanging from a pipe was The Riddler, his green bowler hat with question mark slightly lopsided on his head. Below him stood Batman, arms folded, staring intently at the green suited criminal. "I could have SWORE you'd never solve my puzzle so quickly." Riddler grunted. "It was a masterpiece if I do say so myself."
"Maybe next time you'll think twice about using Cesarean codex." Batman answered.
"But it's rarely used; I like the appeal of it." Riddler admitted. "It took me hours to make up that line of clues too. Oh well, maybe next time I should go with invisible ink. Maybe Atbash should be my focus. "
"You probably shouldn't announce your intentions for your next crime when he's standing right here." Catwoman pointed out to him.
"Oh, but MAYBE it's what I want you to believe." Riddler retorted. "I am a complex man if I must say so myself."
"Either way, you'll be cooling your jets in Arkham for a while." Batman said. "What brings you here?"
"Business as usual. Eddie here is holding something for me and I need to deliver it right away." Riddler sighed and asked "Really, why do people come to me for their storage needs? The city has perfectly good warehouses you know."
"Yes, but you know how to keep things secure." Catwoman answered. "Now, cough up the card key. The museum director is not a patient man."
"Right breast pocket. I'd hand it to you but I'm, uh, tied up at the moment." As Catwoman retrieved the card key from the Riddler's jacket Batman said "I never figured you'd do the museum any favors."
"The reward they are offering was too good to pass up. And I do love jewelry. Speaking of which, I never figured you for the thief type."
"…Harley." Batman concluded.
"Oh yeah. Big silent Bats is into role playing huh? That has…potential."
Riddler winced. "I don't know which is more unsettling, being subjected to this conversation or knowing that The Caped Crusader knows of Gary Gygax's greatest creation. And which character is Harley running?"
"Deedlit the 3rd". Batman answered. "Ah, of course." Riddler sighed. "I need to update my avatars too."
STINGER SCENE 2- Over in Metropolis…
"I see it but I STILL can't believe it." Green Arrow sighed as he stood in the streets alongside Superman, Wonder Woman and Aquaman. Flying overhead, spewing fire and rage above them was a very large creature that they did not expect to see. A dragon.
To be precise, a Red Dragon.
"Not quite the oddest thing we have fought yet, but still a big problem. " Aquaman said to Green Arrow. "The question is why is it here and how do we stop it."
"You can thank Felix Faust for that," Wonder Woman said as she continued to stare at the behemoth. "Too bad, we could really use a Vorpal blade right about now."
"Guess we'll have to make do with our natural skills." Superman sighed. "I'll get it out of the city as far as possible. Aquaman, get to STAR Labs and see if they can lend a hand."
"Yes, I'm pretty sure that they prepare for mystical dragon attacks all the time." Green Arrow replied as Superman flew straight up at the Red Dragon, tackling it hard in its chest and pushed it away from the skyline. "What's this about a Vorpal Blade?" Aquaman asked Wonder Woman.
"Kind of an in-joke between us." She replied. "Ok, but actually do have some Vorpal Blades of my own in the Atlantean Armory if that could help. It's quite an impressive collection really."
"Wait, you do? How'd you manage THAT?"
"I'm King of the Seas. We get a lot of interesting weapons over the years."