Tang Ri Shan

Conundrum

(Personally I love the Beware the Batman series, and I loved the Question from JLU so, why not combine two of my favorite DC characters? I own no characters in this story. Enjoy!)

Chapter 7

Wesley Fermin walked quickly down the dimly lit hallway. He glanced at his watch and wiped his brow with a handkerchief.

"I appreciate you coming on such short notice" He spoke over his shoulder to the tall man walking behind him. The man just grunted.

"I assure you, you will be paid most handsomely for your trouble" Wesley continued as they approached his office door. He unlocked it and ushered the tall man inside.

"Who is this?" A voice growled from the shadows, making Wesley jump. A third man emerged from the shadows.

"Will you please stop doing that?!" Wesley burst out. The tall man didn't say anything, but he cocked his head as he stared at the man in the shadows.

"Again, who is this?" The man in the shadows gestured to Wesley's companion. Wesley straightened his tie and cleared his throat.

"This, is our new muscle. I've been assured from my contacts that he hasn't failed yet."

"We are not impressed" The man growled, causing the tall man to scowl.

"This is the-" Wesley started, but the tall man cut him off.

"I am the ten-eyed man" He barked in a deep, harsh voice. As if to prove his point, he held up his fingers, each of which had a blinking eye on the very end. "And I see no one worthy of judging me here"

"Is that so?" The shadowed man asked, tossing a coin in the air and catching it. "Maybe you should take another look" With that, the man stepped out fo the shadows into the light. The Ten-eyed man gasped and the eyes on hsi fingers opened wide.

"Ten-eyed man, meet your new employer." Wesley explained as the two men stared at each other.

"W-what happened to your face?" was all the ten-eyed man could utter.

Meanwhile

Oracle watched the scowl on Batman's face deepen as they watched the recording one more time. On Batman's other side, Katana shifted, clearly agitated.

Funny how easy it is to read people Oracle thought, allowing a small grin to cross her face.

"I'm assuming that this is the infamous 'Question' that Lady Shiva was speaking about?" Oracle turned to see a balding man with white hair walk towards them.

"Yes Agent Pennyworth" Batman replied without glancing up. Oracle, who was still staring at the man, saw confusion flash in his eyes, then he noticed her and smiled. Oracle frowned, feeling anger rush through her. The two men were clearly on first name basis, but were holding back because of she was there. As she realized this, she caught a smile on Katana's face and her frown deepened. She felt like a third wheel, or fourth, as the case was.

"He wants to meet" Batman continued, still not looking up from the screen. "The question is, where?" He played the recording again, while the agent closed his eyes, listening.

"Wait" He held up a hand and Batman froze the video. "Those words, Gigas Latro"

"That sounds like Latin" Katana pondered.

"It is" Oracle cut in, still feeling a little annoyed about feeling left out. Katana and the agent both looked at her. "Gigas means big" She smiled, but that smile quickly faded. "But I don't know the other one" She admitted.

"Latro. It means hunter" Batman answered. "And who's the biggest hunter you know of?"

"Ah, Orion" The agent realized as Batman tapped a few keys and brought up an image of the constellation.

"But how does that help us determine where the Question is?" Katana asked.

"It doesn't" Batman growled. "It's an obvious distraction. There must be more" He replayed the message from the beginning again. Then again, and again.

"Anything?" Katana asked, placing a hand on her hip.

"This phrase keeps sticking" Batman replied, pressing a button "I would expect nothing higher from the stars of Gotham's law Enforcement"

"Stars. Well that points to what we already know, the night sky. Maybe he means certain stars, like on Orion's belt?" Katana reasoned.

Oracle frowned. Somehow that didn't sound right. Closing her eyes, Oracle concentrated, droning out the noise of the cave around her, the voices of the others, the squeaking of the bats, and the dripping of water. She broke the message apart in her brain and scanned through the various phrases like a computer program. It was like most of the message faded away, leaving snippets of speech. To see what others overlook- nothing higher from the stars- I'll be watching the big hunter. "Watching the hunter" Oracle mused. "Where would he be able to..." Oracle's eyes snapped open as sudden realization flooded into her and she gasped out loud. "I've got it!" She crowed triumphantly.

Everyone looked at her, even Batman. "Explain" he ordered.

"The answer is right there" Oracle pointed to the message. "He's watching Orion. What do you watch the stars with?"

"A telescope" Katana answered, still looking confused.

"Right, and he also says nothing higher, like the telescope is going to be high up!" Oracle was so giddy she could barely keep still.

"Ah, I see" Agent Pennyworth's eyes lit up. "The higher up the telescope, the easier it is to view the stars."

"What others overlook" Batman mused, then he spun around to the keyboard. "Like overlooking the city" He tapped a few keys and a city plan appeared on the screen. A few more keys zoomed in on a section outside the main city. "Like at the abandoned observatory on Mt. Gotham."

"You could easily see most of the city from there" Agent Pennyworth noted, nodding his head. "Mt. Gotham is one of the highest hills in the area

"And you could certainly be able to see Orion from there" Oracle beamed.

"Nice work" Katana smiled at Oracle, making the girl smile even wider.

Meanwhile

The Question sat at a computer in his room, the blue glow from the screen being the only source of light. His featureless face was frozen, but if he had eyes, they would no doubt be in motion, scanning the data that filled the screen. The Question hit a key and a picture appeared on the screen, a picture of a tall man wearing brown with dark glasses. Even though the Question had no visible mouth, the agitated breath, sucking air through clenched teeth was clearly audible. "The Hydra is getting bigger" He mused, flipping over his wrist to glance at his watch. "Not sure how much longer I can hide" He typed a few more commands and a growling voice eminated from the computer's tiny speaker.

"You sure he can take down Batman?" a low voice growled, mixing with the static.

"Positive" Wesley's tinny voice responded.

"Do it, and you'll get your reward" The first voice growled.

"Do not worry." A new voice said, deep and commanding. "I will see to it that he is defeated"

"Hurry Batman, get with the program" The Question muttered aloud, as he resumed his typing.