A/N: Welcome back to Every Good Riddle. As you can see, I'm trying very hard to develop Janice's character a lot more than in the old version, where she was pretty much a paper cut out. I want to know what you think of her. And if someone makes a comment about the fact that she called herself Question Mark, I will go ballistic. I've had too many people bitch about her name, which is why I even included Riddler calling her out on it. Just shut up about it. It's not going anywhere, so your complaints will be for naught.
Chapter Four
Petty Thievery
The tall building was silhouetted against the blood red sky, like a finger pointing in accusation at the silver moon. Only two figures slunk across the silent streets, hiding their slim figures where even street lights didn't reach. They made their way towards the doors of the imposing building, sliding gracefully through the shadows like dancers. When they reached the doors, Riddler turned to Question Mark.
"Stay back, out of my way." he reminded her. She rolled her eyes.
"If I'm just going to be in the background, why am I here?" she asked.
"Don't worry, you'll get your time in the limelight. But stay back for a moment while I get this door unlocked." he said. He took his staff and jammed the tip into the lock on the door, but didn't hear the click. He looked at the door in confusion. Question Mark rolled her eyes.
"Didn't work, did it?" she said. He turned at her and glared. "The actual lock is just a facade. The timed lock is the real thing, and the mechanism is in too deep to reach with any sort of lock pick. Here, step aside and let me do it." She pushed Riddler aside and spun around, delivering a punishing roundhouse kick to the lock. There was a sharp cracking sound and it began sparking. She grinned smugly at him as he passed. He snarled at her.
"I could have done that, you know." he said, pouting slightly. She nodded.
"Suuuure you could, boss. Suuuure you could." she said. He narrowed his eyes at her and brushed past, striding into the building angrily. She followed behind leisurely, her arms behind her head, whistling. He stopped abruptly, causing her to bump into him. She nearly fell over.
"Hey, what's the big—" she began, but Riddler cut her off.
"Security cameras." he reminded her, nodding towards the darkness. Every so often, blinking red lights temporarily illuminated the darkness, displaying the location of the alert cameras. She looked around and nodded, slipping into the darkness as the plan specified. Having memorized the locations of the cameras, she easily navigated the blind spots and got to the reception desk. She booted up the computer and accessed the security grid, shutting off the cameras and turning on the lights. Once the cameras stopped turning and the blinking red lights went dim, Riddler stepped further into the room. Without bothering to wait for Question Mark, he made his way towards the storage rooms. Question Mark hopped the desk and followed, staying far enough behind that his only indication that she was even following was the click, click, click of her boot heels. He stopped suddenly again, running through his mental map of the building, and she walked up beside him.
"What exactly are we looking for?" she asked. He ignored her and continued going through the map in his mind. "Earth to Riddler, come in Riddler! Where are we supposed to be going, anyway?"
"Will you be quiet?" he hissed, turning towards her. "I can't think while you're blabbering in my ear like that!" She narrowed her eyes at him.
"I'm just trying to help, you don't have to bite my head off. Geeze." she said, pouting angrily. "If you weren't so pissy all the time, maybe you could actually accomplish something, and you wouldn't be called lame by high-schoolers." Riddler's left eye twitched slightly, and he pretended to ignore her and strode down the hall, still trying to remember where he was going. Question Mark sighed and followed leisurely. She knew exactly how to get to where Riddler wanted to go, but she'd let him wander around lost for a little bit. After all, if he wasn't about to admit that he needed her help, she wasn't about to give it.
It took them about 15 minutes to find the storage room containing the parts that Riddler was searching for. 15 minutes longer than it probably would have taken if Question Mark had been the one leading them. But they did manage to find it, in the end, and Riddler began opening boxes and pulling out parts, trying to find what he needed. Question Mark leaned against the wall and crossed her arms, watching him. She sighed.
"How long is this going to take?" she asked.
"As long as it takes. Just sit there and be quiet until I'm done." he said. She snarled and closed her eyes. He could have sworn he heard her mutter 'stupid techno geek', but ignored it. He knelt down and peered under a shelf, pulling out a box hidden underneath is. A grin spread across his face as he saw what he had been searching for, settled amongst piles of Styrofoam peanuts and bubble wrap. He pulled one out and held it up to the lame fluorescent lighting and turned it over and over in his hands.
"Is that the thing we came to get?" Question Mark asked with an exasperated sigh. He turned and gave her a slightly disapproving look.
"You should learn some patience." he said. In response, she gave him the finger. He rolled his eyes and rose to his feet, dusting himself off after kneeling on the less-than-spotless floor. "Let's go, before Batman shows up." he said, handing the part to Question Mark. She tucked it into the leather bag she was carrying over her shoulder, then opened the door to the supply room and slipped out into the hallway. Riddler quickly followed her, trying to keep pace with her as she twisted and turned through the hallways, headed towards the exit.
"Going somewhere?"
They both whirled around and saw three figures standing there, barely visible in the dim light. Riddler growled.
"And a good evening to you, Batman and company." he snarled. Batman, Batgirl, and Robin all stepped into the brighter lights, Batman as stoic as usual, and Batgirl and Robin were smirking smugly. "How did you find us?" he asked.
"Your tampering with the lock set off the silent alarm." Batman replied. Riddler smirked and turned towards Question Mark.
"Not so smart a move, was it?" he said gloatingly. She snarled at him, her eyes narrowed into thin slits.
"And I suppose you had a better idea, oh magnificently intelligent leader, who can't even figure out how to properly pick a lock?" she replied.
"I always have a better idea." he answered.
"Your argument is fun to watch, but who are you, anyways?" Batgirl asked. Question Mark turned towards her, her hands on her hips.
"The name's Question Mark." she replied, looking more than a little exasperated and annoyed. "Anyways, can we just get this over with? I'm feeling really frustrated right now, and I could use something to beat up."
"Don't worry, we'll make this quick." said Robin. Question Mark smirked.
And with that, she rushed at them.
She was blindingly fast, and managed to deliver a punishing roundhouse kick to Robin, knocking him into the other two. They hit the opposite wall of the narrow hallway, and before they could recover, she rushed at them again, doing a forward tumble and striking against Batman's chest, pushing herself off and being propelled back across the hallway, colliding in a more gentle manner with the wall, and sliding down. Batman, however, was not as lucky, evident by the sharp, painful crack that was possibly a breaking rib. He made a grunt of discomfort, and Question Mark smiled.
"Painful, huh?" she said. He merely looked up and glared at her.
Meanwhile, Riddler had taken advantage of the Bats' distraction, and had slipped away. It took a while for anyone to notice his absence, but soon enough, it was noticed, by Batgirl and Robin. They slipped away from the fight, as Batman seemed to be holding his own against Question Mark, and followed him.
"You're not leaving yet, are you? The party's just getting started." Batgirl said, doing a flip and landing in front of the fleeing Riddler. He turned to try and run the other way, but Robin was there to block his path. He pulled out his staff and twirled it. Riddler turned so that his back was to the wall and he could see both of them, and raised his staff to a defensive position. Robin rushed at him, but he easily deflected the blow from the staff, pushing him out of the way, trying to clear the path. But Batgirl quickly cut him off, aiming a quick right hook at him. He blocked with his staff, causing Batgirl to yelp when her knuckles met the metal with a sharp crack. Holding his staff at each end, he smashed the long section into her ribcage while she was recovering, sending her to the floor with a small cry of surprise. Robin had recovered and tried to attack from behind, but Riddler dropped out of the way of the strike and swept his feet out from under him.
"Question Mark!" he yelled to catch her attention, jumping to his feet and fending off Batgirl as she rushed at him again. Question Mark looked away from Batman, causing her punch to miss its target, and noticed Riddler's ongoing battle with Batgirl and Robin. In a split second she moved to the back wall and jumped towards Batman, her sharp boot heels aimed for his chest, smashing him into the opposite wall. His head connected with a sickening crack, and he slumped to the ground, temporarily stunned. Question Mark then jumped towards the three-way brawl and did a kick that struck Batgirl in the back, causing her to stumble forwards. She then used Batgirl's shoulders for leverage and sprung towards Robin, smashing into his chest. She turned back towards Batgirl, who had recovered from the kick, and delivered a punishing right cross directly to her face, knocking the young woman out. Robin rose shakily to his feet and tried to attack her, but she blocked with her forearm and struck him with the back swing, knocking him into a wall. He, too, fell limply to the floor. Question Mark smirked triumphantly.
"Not so tough, are they?" she asked, nudging Robin's unconscious form with her boot. Riddler narrowed his eyes.
"There's no time for standing around like this. We'd better get out of here before they wake up." he said. She looked at him in confusion.
"Why not finish them off right here? They're completely vulnerable." she asked. He smiled smugly, looking at her as though she were stupid.
"Because that would defeat the purpose." he replied. She snarled, but he ignored it, and turned to leave. After hesitating for a moment, looking at the prone, unconscious forms of the Bats, Question Mark sighed and followed.
The apartment was a welcome sight for both as they entered, having easily sneaked by the sleeping concierge and the dozing night guard. Janice pulled off her mask and threw it onto the table along with her bag, beelining for her bedroom and the bathroom contained within. Riddler opened the bag and took out the small mechanical part, dragging himself over to the couch. He collapsed onto it and turned the piece over and over in his hands as Janice came out of her room, first-aid kit in hand. She sat in the chair across from the couch and started applying disinfectant and Band-Aids to her many cuts and scrapes. Riddler watched her as he pretended to examine the part, which she didn't seem to notice. The heist played over and over in his mind, and the question of whether of not Janice was truly a useful addition to his group crossed his mind. Her rash temper and lack of self control were certainly an annoyance, to say the least, but she did have some very useful skills, such as her photographic memory and her ability to fight. He decided that it would be useful to keep her around, even with her temper. She looked up from dabbing a scratch with a cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol, and he forced himself not to flinch, knowing she couldn't tell he was looking at her. She tossed the cotton ball into the waste basket and pulled out a Band-Aid, putting it on the scratch, never looking away from him. After a minute or so of this, he set the part on the coffee table in front of him and looked up at her.
"What is it now?" he asked with an exasperated sigh. She stared at the part inquisitively.
"What is that thing for, exactly?" she asked, leaning her elbows on her knees and placing her head in her cupped hands. He sighed again and leaned back confidently, picking up the mechanical part and twirling it with one hand.
"I'm afraid that's on a need-to-know basis," he said, leaning on the armrest nearest to him. "and you don't need to know." He prepared to dodge an incoming projectile, remembering that she was still holding the First-Aid kit, but nothing was thrown. She merely narrowed her eyes and growled in annoyance.
"Well, if I'm going to be the one saving your ass from a bunch of vigilantes in tights, then I do need to know." she growled, crossing her arms in annoyance. He narrowed his eyes at her.
"I don't need your help, you know. You're only here because you want to be." he reminded her. She smirked at him, cocking an eyebrow.
"Yeah, right. You're not that generous, Eddie. The only reason you're letting me stick with you is because you need me for something. I'm guessing because I can kick more ass than you. Or maybe it's my memory. Well, whatever the reason, you're not going to hide anything from me." she said. He clenched his teeth and snarled slightly, but she just kept smirking at him triumphantly, knowing she was right. Eventually he gave up and sighed.
"It's a part to be used in building a machine that is integral to my plan to rule all of Gotham. That's all you need to know." he replied, massaging his temples. She looked at him in vague frustration but, realizing she wasn't going to get a better answer, sighed and stood. She tossed the First-Aid kit to Riddler, who caught it expertly.
"I'm not giving up on knowing what that thing does, you know." she said. "But I'm too tired to deal with it right now. I'll see you in the morning." With that, she rose from her chair and sauntered towards her bedroom. Riddler watched her as she left, confused as to why she had been so lenient. It didn't seem to be like her. Maybe it was just because she was tired from the fight with Batman, Batgirl, and Robin? He shook his head. It was better not to dwell on it. After all, who could be expected to understand women's emotions? Especially that particular woman.
Janice cracked open one eye and groaned at the annoying sound of her alarm. She reached for the clock radio and groped for the 'sleep' button. Substitute teaching had its perks, but having to get up at 5 o' clock in the morning was not one of them. She pulled the sheets tightly around her until she remembered that work was pretty much her only escape from the constant annoyance that was Riddler, and pulled herself away from the soft, tempting mattress. Groggily, she dragged herself to the bathroom and took a quick shower, and pulled on her outfit, a pair of dress pants and a white button down blouse. She then strode out into the living area and flicked on the light. Riddler, who had crashed on the couch, still in full garb and makeup, hissed and hid his eyes in the cushions.
"Do you have to wake me up at 5 in the morning?" he grumbled, taking the couch pillow from beneath his head and placing it over so the light was no longer burning the back of his eyelids. Janice rolled her eyes.
"Well, sorrryyy, princess, but I need to get ready for work, and you're a freeloader. Ergo, your sleep cycle means very little to me." she said. She waited for a witty comeback, but Riddler merely buried his face further in the crook between the armrest and the back of the couch. "Anyways, don't call me during class today. That was really embarrassing." she said, wandering over to the kitchen and turning on the coffee maker. She grabbed the loaf of bread from the counter and pulled out two slices, throwing them in the toaster. Riddler yawned and sat up, stretching.
"Sure, fine." he mumbled, standing and cracking his back. Janice did a double take.
"Wait, did you just agree?" she asked, looking at him, dumbfounded. "Say that again, I want to make sure I heard that correctly." Riddler peeled off his mask and rolled his eyes.
"I said, I won't call you while you're teaching a class again." he replied, wandering over to the kitchen, where the coffee pot was bubbling, and poured himself a cup. Janice just stood there looking dumbstruck. "Are you okay?" he asked, not really caring about the answer, but feeling like being polite.
"I should be asking you that." she said. "Since when are you so agreeable? Did you hit your head or something?" she asked. Riddler looked into his coffee, using the surface as a mirror, and snarled at the state of his makeup, which he hadn't washed off the night before, having fallen asleep working on the blueprint for the device he was going to need for his plan.
"I'm just not feeling well this morning, that's all." he replied, trying to wipe away his smudged eyeshadow as best he could. "I'm guessing it's from trying to digest your cooking."
His head reeled as Janice's palm connected solidly with his cheek, causing him to drop his mug, the porcelain shattering when it met the linoleum floor, leaving a puddle of coffee pooling at their feet. He reached up and touched the newly formed, stinging red mark on his cheek, and his look of shock changed to an exasperated frown.
"You really shouldn't do that, you know. Violence won't get you anywhere." he said. She cocked an eyebrow at him, clearly not amused.
"Violence is how I saved your ass last night. You wouldn't have been able to get out of that without my help." she reminded him, crossing her arms.
"I would have done just fine without you. I've held my own against the Bats before." he replied. Her unamused scowl changed to an amused grin.
"Oh, really? And I'm guessing that's why you keep ending up in Arkham. You totally meant to do that, right? All a part of the plan?" she said, chuckling. He had no reply, and just glared at her in response. She started giggling. "What's the matter? Bat got your tongue?" she asked, smirking at him.
"At least I have useful abilities. I'm a credited super genius. And what are you? A petty sidekick, a woman with no other reason to being a part of this than a pathological need for destruction." he said. Janice stopped laughing and growled at him, which he smirked at.
"I'm every bit as useful as you are, Riddler. You wouldn't have been able to get anywhere without me last night." she spat, poking him in the chest. He winced as she poked hard enough to leave a bruise.
"I also wouldn't have run into the Bats, in case you care to remember." he replied. She looked like she was about to yell at him, but stopped when she noticed the time on the oven. Her eyes widened.
"Damnit, I'm going to be late for work!" she cried, grabbing the toast from the toaster and her purse from the table. She quickly scarfed down the toast as she went to the closet and grabbed her coat, pulling it on. "Remember, no calling me!" she yelled as she stood at the door. Riddler rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah." he said, waving his hand, not really listening. She narrowed her eyes at him, but knew that she couldn't waste any more time arguing, and strode out the door, locking it behind her as she always did. After all, no one needed to know she was secretly hiding a super villain in her apartment.
As the door closed, Riddler breathed a sigh of relief.
So she's back to normal. Good. He thought. Her sudden personality change had been worrisome, not that he would ever admit it.
After all, she was just an annoying tag along, nothing more.
It was almost more worrying that he had to keep reminding himself of that.
Janice poured herself a cup of coffee from the pot in the teacher's lounge. There were a few teachers milling about, but she mostly ignored them. She had no interest in befriending her colleagues; she'd never gotten anything good from doing so, and the only things that interested her these days were staying below the radar and getting a chance to run around as Question Mark every so often. Of course, that meant having to deal with Riddler...but she was an expert at having to take the bad with the good. She'd gotten used to doing it over the years.
While stewing about her argument with Riddler that very morning, and glaring at her untouched coffee, she didn't notice Baker come up behind her.
"Good morning, Janice." he greeted. She turned around and tried to fake a smile, as she wasn't really in much of a smiling mood.
"Good morning, Jonathan." she replied. Jonathan looked at her with what seemed to be a concerned look in his eyes.
"Are you feeling alright?" he asked. She was slightly taken aback by the concern.
"Yeah, why?" she asked.
"It's just that you seem angry." he replied. "You're like that every morning you get here." She sighed and leaned back against the breakfast table, staring into the surface of her coffee moodily.
"It's nothing, really." she replied. "I've just got someone staying with me who can get pretty annoying a lot of the time, and who seems to get a sick pleasure from making me angry whenever he can." she explained, taking a sip of the coffee.
"Well, if you don't get along very well with him, why are you letting him live with you?" he asked. "Why not just kick him out?" Janice opened her mouth to reply, but quickly realized that she didn't really have an answer. Why did she let Riddler stay with her? Aside from being incredibly annoyed and angered by him on a regular basis, it also posed a serious risk. After all, if anyone found out that she was harboring a known escaped criminal, it would be disastrous. She would be thrown in jail for certain, and she already had enough trouble getting jobs, she didn't need a criminal record on top of that.
Jonathan looked at his watch, then at the clock on the wall.
"It's almost time for first period." he reminded everyone. None of the teachers seemed too pleased about this revelation, but Janice was too lost in thought to really care as she made her way towards her classroom in an almost trance-like state.
She went through the rest of the day without any events of interest. She set up each of her classes with groups projects, small things that wouldn't require a lot of her attention but would keep the students busy while she wasted the day in thought. The question of why she allowed Riddler to live with her was not an easy one to answer, and it required most of her concentration.
Of course, not everyone was as pleased to go along with her spacing out as most of the students. Barbara, for one, was rather annoyed by it; not by the lack of work, but by the fact that it was as dull as the day was long. About halfway through class she finally got fed up with watching her stare off into space, lost to the world, and stood, abandoning her group (which consisted of three giggling blond girls discussing a movie they'd gone to see that weekend) and striding up to the desk. At first, Janice didn't notice her, so she cleared her throat.
"Janice?" she said. Janice, slightly startled, looked up at her, clearly snapped out of her daze.
"Yes, Barbara?" she asked, blinking as though trying to restore her sight. "What is it?"
"I was just wondering if you were feeling okay. You've been sitting there staring at nothing all class. It's not like you." she said. Janice sighed.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I've just been having a tough time dealing with someone staying at my place." she said. "Nothing to worry about. It's just that something Principal Baker said to me really got me thinking. We'll get back to actually doing stuff tomorrow, I promise." she said. Barbara nodded, but wasn't really convinced. Her...'night job' had made her paranoid about everyone and everything around her, and Janice's sudden personality change made her suspicious. What was really going on to make Janice so sullen?
Barbara was determined to get to the bottom of it, no matter what.
Janice had spent pretty much the entire day thinking about why she permitted Riddler to live with her, and as she got on the public bus that evening, after a long few hours of marking and other assorted teacher work, she had finally come to a conclusion. It wasn't that she enjoyed having Riddler to stay with her—not at all. It wasn't like she was masochistic or anything. And she felt no compulsive need to keep him around; she wasn't afraid of him in the least, and she was in no way loyal to him. In the end, her decision was that she only allowed him to sleep on her couch and eat her food because she enjoyed being Question Mark. It was a risky job that certainly had its downsides, such as being considered a flunky by Riddler, and just having to generally deal with him, but the good outweighed the bad. She had never been more exhilarated than when she was decked out in green and black, breaking into buildings and causing havoc for the general public. She remembered how good it felt to completely destroy Tulley's office in revenge for his firing her (all for punching Riddler in the face and nearly breaking his nose, which was completely deserved), and how amused she had been by how no one had figured out that it was her. Being Question Mark was fun and exciting, and as long as she had Riddler around, it would continue to be that way. Because as much as she didn't want to admit it, Riddler was a better criminal than her. He knew the ins and outs of being a criminal in Gotham, and he knew exactly how to plan and bend everything in his favor. With him on her side, she knew she could continue to be Question Mark with little inhibition.
Of course, if a time ever came when she could make her way in the criminal world without Riddler's help, she would ditch him in an instant. There was no emotional attachment; it was a purely business relationship, and those had a tendency to be terminated when their usefulness ran out. She knew this from too many years in the working world, and the best option, in her experience, was to be the one doing the terminating. As soon as she could stand on her own two feet as Question Mark, free from her association with Riddler, their partnership would be history.
That's what she kept telling herself.
