Disclaimer: I do not own any content in this story except the plot and 'Spark Bomb'
Ok, So I worked insanely hard on this! It's over 8900 words overall (this chapter and the next)! (sorry about that hehe) I hope you enjoy! And please REVIEW! XX
The cold night air loomed over Jump City, the streets and roads were unusually silent tonight, normally ablaze with human, and to a lesser extent vermin, activity, the many different twists and turns of the city were vacant replaced only by the eerie sound of a cool breeze whistling through the seemingly empty county.
A bizarre green light shone through the windows of the old Jump City paper mill; inside stood heavily armed men and women, all retrofitted with green lab coats, suits, boots and gloves all of which were covered in purple question marks, their faces masked by thick yellow goggles. The smaller guards were armed with machine guns and electric cattle prods while the bigger and tougher looking guards held rockets launchers and machetes.
Near an old lit fireplace in the manager's office, which judging by the amount of books that were inside resembled more of a library, in a big red armchair sat, a man dressed in a green and purple suit, a green question mark present on his purple tie and another purple on the front of his green bowler hat, a cane in hand, which had a sharp metal question mark on the end.
"Riddle me this… What bird packs a wallop? Is it A Swift? A Crane? No… A Robin!" spoke the man swirling a glass of brandy in his left hand, the flickering embers of the fire place cast an orange glow over his crafty looking face
One of the guards from outside, a ginger haired man walked in through the wooden doors at the end of the room, he appeared nervous which he was right to feel, for the man he worked for had a notorious reputation for killing his hired help.
"Uhh, y-your newspaper sir" said the guard quivering slightly, placing the paper on the table to the left of the chair
The man in the chair smirked, placing his brandy and cane on the table he picked up the paper and looked it over, sure enough, he groaned when he saw the front cover… the headline read 'Titans capture Killer Croc' and the picture underneath showed the Titans standing heroically in a group pose.
The Guard looked nervous.
"Tell me, loyal stooge, what prey tell is your name?" asked the man, as he pinned the titans picture to a dart board
"M-my name, its, uhh, Stan, Stan Lawson" said the Guard
"Alright then… Tell me Stan Lawson, do you have the intellect to match wits with… The Riddler"
"Well uhh, I don't really uhh…"
"Riddle me this… What lives in the corner but travels the world?"
The guard had a puzzled expression on his face, he was new to the hired help lifestyle and, unlike his co-workers, wasn't used to this kind of examination
"Uhh, ummm, I guess, urrrgh, a globe?" shrugged the Guard, as he slowly retreated back towards the doors
The Riddler's smirk vanished replaced by a look of utter distain, moving swiftly he snatched a purple box in the corner and flung it at the guard, striking him in the head and knocking him to the ground, The Riddler snatched up his cane and approached the fallen guard, planting the heel of his shoe on the guards chest.
"The correct answer is… A postage stamp" said Riddler
"Oww, sorry boss" said the Guard shakily standing back on his own two feet
"Well I'm afraid sorry's not going to cut it this time, seems to me the only thing you can do right is deliver papers… which is why if you don't want to be thrown into the harbour wearing cement shoes, you'll deliver this box to a… shall we say, old acquaintance of mind" said Riddler
"Uhh, yeah, yes sir, Mr Riddler sir… uhh where do I take it again?" said the Guard picking up the box
The Riddler groaned and flung a dart at the newspaper on the dartboard, puncturing the black and white face of a certain boy wonder.
"You will deliver the package to Titan Tower, or more specifically… Robin"
The team was gathered in the main room, simply relaxing like normal teens would...
"Hey! What happened to all the Soda!" I voice complained form the kitchen
"You drank it all KF!" Robin called back
"Dang it..." He trudged in to the main room, "I was afraid of that."
Sparkbomb smiled softly and said, "go out and get more silly, You're not called the fastest kid alive for nothing."
He grinned, "I know. I'm Awesome."
"Don't get ahead of yourself." Raven interjected and the team laughed.
Wally West (Aka - Kid Flash) had arrived a few day prior, having finally left young justice to become more independent. He decided why not go to the place where his previous team mates and old friends live; namely his 'bro' Robin and 'sis' Sparkbomb. He fit in well; During Cyborg and Beast boy's Meat-Tofu wars Wally would eat whatever was available, He would bring out the, as he referred to it 'fun side' of Robin, and after being told the details he brought back some of the life in Sparkbomb, Who was happy to have another familiar face around her.
"Fine, fine, fine" he grinned still, "I'll go get more soda... but... I'm getting it from star city!" He laughed before bolting out the tower
"Dude... having a speedster around is so sweet!" Beast boy cheered "no more long food shopping trips!"
"Sort out your priority's Grass stain!" Cyborg said "best part of having Kid Flash here is he's actually good at video games unlike a certain green pain I could mention."
"Hey!" Beast Boy whined, "Harsh dude."
Robin rolled his eyes with a grin from his work on the computer and briefly glanced at Sparkbomb sitting on the sofa with Star and Raven.
There was a knock on the door.
"I'll get it!" Starfire smiled and flew out the room, the re-entered just as fast, bursting through the doors with a cardboard box in her hands, with great haste she placed it on the table while the others stared at it perplexed; The box was purple and covered in green question marks.
"Uhh, Robin, I found this peculiar box by the front door"
Only one word escaped Robins lips "Riddler"
Robin and the other titans started debating over what they should do with the Riddler box; Robin had advised the other to keep their distance on the off chance it should explode, but Beast boy wasn't convinced.
"Dude, I don't get it, what's so dangerous about some box?" said Beast boy picking up the Riddler box and shaking it, Beast boy turned to find the other titans cowering behind the table
"Be careful with that thing!" Sparkbomb interjected briefly, before quickly going in to her silence.
"Beast boy put that thing down, it could be explosive!" said Robin, his eyes wide with alarm
"Explosive? Oh, my red rambunctious Robin… could it be that your time away from our dear Dark Knight has left you softer then a marshmallow rabbit" came a familiar voice
In the middle of the table, the Riddler's head appeared; the blue almost translucent image flickered every few seconds.
"Riddler!" said Robin as Riddler turn to face him
"Could it be that I… The Riddler… have hacked your primitive communication system"
"Hey, what do you mean primitive! I built this place with my own two hands" said Cyborg
"Oh believe me it shows… and by the way if your less superior mind has yet to comprehend my words, I should tell you… that was an insult" said Riddler grinning over his own undeserved sense of self satisfaction
"It's been a long time Boy Wonder, how have you been?" enquired the Riddler, causing the others to stop and stare, Robin was usually very private about his old crime fighting life; the only other person that knew about it beside him was Sparkbomb, and she wasn't going to tell a soul.
"What happened to you Boy Wonder? You depart the dull and dreary lands of Gotham City to find yourself, without so much as a goodbye I might add, in a strange city and within minute of your arrival you drive away a hostile alien incursion… is it really possible? Has the unthinkable been made reality? Could our little Robin have finally become a hero of his own? Or are you still just the same weak little Robin cowering behind the big bad bat?" mocked the Riddler.
Sparkbomb glared and opened her mouth to yell back but she was stopped as Kid flash quickly nudged Sparks arm and gave her a can of soda with a wink; only half paying attention to the hologram before him.
"Now see here strange man of many big words, Robin is not a coward" said Starfire growing angry
"…And I don't cower! I cut off contact with Batman years ago!" said Robin, his anger matching that of Starfire. Kid Flash know payed full attention.
"Cowering behind the Bat or in this case your super powered comrades… in this instance, there's no difference!" said Riddler
Raven didn't like what she was hearing, "Little Robin… You and I are going to play a game, a ballet of puzzles, a battle of wits, a duel of intellects… A war of the minds that will inevitably decide, once and for all… Is Robin a… Hero or Sidekick!" declared The Riddler, his laughter echoing through the room.
"This is not funny Riddler, I'm not playing this game… this is exactly the sort of thing I was trying to avoid" said an angry Robin
"My oh my, Me thinks there's more going on in that spikey haired head of yours than meets the eye… oh well, all in good time" chuckled The Riddler
"Games are supposed to have rules Riddler!" said Beast boy added, feeling a little competitive and ever so slightly confused as to who this guy actually is.
"Indeed" The Riddler hologram enlarged to a point where the hologram covered the whole table, the full Riddler, hat, cane and all could now be seen, as well as someone tied up with a bag over their head behind him
"As you can see, I have taken a hostage… If you aren't able to solve, complete or escape my three challenges by sunrise… She will die" The Riddler let out a high pitched laugh, like a rich French gentleman
"Today is not a good day to toy with me Riddler, let the hostage go, it's me you want!" said Robin
"Hmmm, tempting but no… and for your information I have no interest in you my boy, no it is the Batman who has earned the right to call himself my adversary… unfortunately like allot of this worlds heroes, he's repetitive and without you to get in the way, where's the fun? So I thought, why not take some time out and go back to simple and basic. Matching wits with you lowly children is like a vacation."
Raven rolled her eyes, from the corner of the room, near Beast boy and the door.
"Who's the hostage Riddler?" asked Cyborg, noticing the hostages obvious quivering
"I'm glad you asked, the hostage is in fact… hmmm, on second thought, No… If you to find out, you'll have to solve the first of my three Carefully Placed conundrums… Tata Robin… Let the games begin" spoke the Riddler, putting extra emphasis on the words Carefully Placed, before the hologram vanished.
The Five Titans looked around at each other in confusion, "So Robin, I take it you know this wakko?" said Cyborg, "Yeah, It's been awhile; I had run-ins with Riddler back when I was training with Batman… He's insane, he likes to talk and prove that he's smarter than anyone else… up until now the only person smarter than him was Batman, If Riddler's here and out to challenge me, then that can only mean one thing… the Riddler's bored"
"Well you are The man of Bat's sidekick…" Sparkbomb's eyes widened, she put the unopened soda on the table and quickly shook her head at Starfire, silently pleading her to take it back. "Uhh I mean apprentice" said Starfire changing her terminology after sighting Robins glare and Spark's violent head shaking behind him.
"I'm not a sidekick… now let's drop the subject and get back to business… we need to find the first Riddle!"
"Well where do we start looking? All we have is this box… and its empty!" said Beast Boy peering inside, Beast Boy was holding the box at eye level and looking into it, leaving the bottom of the box facing the others, on the Bottom side of the purple box was clear green writing
The other Titans just stared; surprised that Beast Boy had actually found it… Robin took the box from Beast Boy and read the green text aloud:
'You do not want to have me
but when you have me
you don't want to lose me!
What am I?'
The Titans stood in silent thought for five minutes until each had come up with an answer…
"A Date?" said Cyborg
"A Race?" grinned Kid Flash
"A bad riddle" answered Raven with a monotone, careless voice.
"A Lucky Tamaranian Death Beetle?" asked Starfire
A short silence filled the room as everyone stared at her.
Until,
"(Gasp) A Convict… Quickly, to the prison" said Beast Boy standing on the table, beaming with pride at the team.
The group stared at Beast Boy again… they had to admit, that answer did make sense, but Robin wasn't convinced
"Uhh, Beast Boy, I really don't think…"
"Away we go" yelled Beast Boy darting out of the room, presumably heading for the exit… leaving a stunned group of teens to look to Robin for the answer
"Should we follow him?" asked Sparkbomb asked quietly, Robin just shook his head
"No, I was about to say he wasn't far off, but the real answer is a Lawsuit" said Robin, a small smirk present on his face as he looked at the faces of his team; but it was soon lost as one face bothered him, she was staring at the floor and seemed distant. Hmmm... I wonder...
The room was filled with a collective "Of Course"
"Then we're off to the Courthouse right" said Cyborg
"Exactly… Titans Go!"
They headed out fast, Robin gently grabbing Sparkbomb's wrist along the way, to try and gain her focus on the mission, she smiled weakly in response.
The Prison outside Jump City was average to say the least, a round dome topped centre complex, with various square buildings around it and a large faced off exercise yard around the back, most of the non-super powered criminals were in the large yard cleaning up litter after an unsuccessful riot… to say they were in a bad mood was putting it mildly, but then again, nobody wants to pick up litter at eight o'clock in the evening.
Above the yard, Pterodactyl Beast Boy morphed back to his normal self in the middle of a circle of convicts
"Ok Riddler, come out and face your doom" announced Beast Boy imitating a boxer
"Hey it's the little green pipsqueak!"
"Should 'ave come here along punk!"
"Get him!"
"Ahhhh, Not the face, not the face!" squealed a girlish cry.
A gang of around thirty convicts in orange jumpsuits dog piled on Beast Boy
Meanwhile at the Jump City Courthouse...
The Titans T-Car pulled up outside the tall white Courthouse surrounded by green grass, bushes, trees and a metal fence, it look quite out of place in the down town area, which was oddly quiet tonight… The front doors of the Courthouse were open, eerie green lights were glowing through the doors from the inside.
"Alright team, here's the plan…" said Robin
"Are we gonna split up?" interrupted Kid Flash
"No… Riddler makes a habit of setting traps, if one of us gets caught, the other need to be there to help" said Robin
"Then it looks like we're going in the front" said Cyborg prepping his arm laser
The front doors at the entrance each had a green question mark painted on them, inside the hallways veered left past an information desk then right past a series of oak doors before ending at two brown double doors, both of which we're marked with glowing green question marks.
"Ok seriously, what is with this guy and green paint? I get that it's his symbol but really, I think he's over doing it" said Kid Flash, folding his arms while staring at the building.
"Alright team, behind these doors is the main court room, The Riddlers probably set a trap in there somewhere, so be ready" said Robin taking a fighting stance
Starfire blasted the doors clean off their hinges shattering them into small wooden chips, however on the other side of the door instead of finding some kind of bizarre death trap or barrage of bullets, there was an empty courtroom, not even a single question mark in sight.
"Huh? There's nobody here" said Cyborg.
Raven rolled her eyes. "How do we know The Riddler's not just sending us on a blank chase?"
The answer was simple. "Because it's the Riddler."
"Gotta admit, I thought there'd at least be a bomb or something" said Kid Flash, looking around, unimpressed
Robin thought for a moment, before coming to a realisation…
"This is part of the Riddle…" said Robin
"What do you mean?" asked Sparkbomb, her eyes darting around the location.
"Think about it, the Riddler said to find his 'carefully placed' conundrums" said Robin
"Carefully placed… so that means it's on top of something" said Kid Flash
"Maybe, but think about it, where's the one place where something must be carefully placed" said Robin
"On top" said the remaining titans
"No, on the bottom, if something isn't place correctly on the bottom the whole thing comes down like a house of cards, and don't forget where the Riddle was on the box" said Robin
"Right… and the box was empty just like the witness box is right now" said Cyborg pointing over at the witness box next to the judges seat/ or the bench
"Kid Flash, check under the witness seat" said Robin
Kid Flash dashed over and turned the chair upside down, sure enough there was a small square purple box taped to the underside with a timer underneath
"Uhh guys, I think we should get out of here" said Kid Flash
At that moment the timer sprang to life and counted down… Five,
Four,
Three,
Everyone's eyes went wide in shock.
Two,
A short gasp came from the team.
One…
In the blink of an eye the Titans found themselves standing outside the courthouse which erupted in a wave of fire and shattered glass, bricks toppled, the roof caved in… it was a miracle the surrounding area was grass and a metal fence or it could have been a city wide disaster.
"Oh my God, what happened?" said Robin, his eyes darting in all directions before settling on a very exhausted looking Kid Flash leaning against the T-Car.
Starfire, went from Spark to Raven assuring all was well. She received a blink and a dry "yeah."
"...woo, Cyborg, you really need all that tech?... It weighs a ton!... There was a bomb under the witness stand,... I warped us out of the building as fast as I could" said Kid Flash gasping all the while.
"Good thinking, but now who knows where Riddler could be" said Robin
As the orange flames of the burning courthouse made colourful patterns on the walls of the neighbouring buildings, the street light that the T-Car was parked under glowed green, it fired a green rippling laser at the street, the laser moved up and down like a photocopier slowly revealing a life size Riddler Hologram as well as the hologram shape of a person tied up behind him, it was clearly a girls figure and she was clearly wearing a girls school shirt and skirt, this got the Titans attention.
"Riddler!" said Robin
"The very same… I have to admit Robin I thought you would have figured out at first glance that there would be a bomb in the room… Are you struggling without the Batman's Aid?" mocked the Riddler, twirling his question mark cane.
"Robin de-puzzled your puzzle with ease, you strange man with a terrible taste in headwear" said Starfire coming to her leader's defence, although the Riddler didn't seem phased.
Sparkbomb fists flexed in annoyance.
"Did he really? Well in that case I suppose I'll just have to try harder, Maybe my next Riddle will help you Shed some Light on what I have planned" said Riddler
"Now just wait a minute Riddler, You owe us the identity of the girl you kidnapped" said Robin
"Hmmm, Oh very well, I suppose a deal is a deal…" Riddler reached down and pulled off the bag that was over the girls face, revealing long blonde hair
"Terra!" exclaimed the group, except Kid Flash who had no idea who she was, in shock and confusion
"Help Me, Please! Somebody get me out of here, let me go" Cried Terra, tears running down her face.
"Riddler, let her go… If you hurt her, jail will be the least of your worries!" yelled Robin, in an attempt to aid the ex-team mate.
"As over emotional as ever, little Robin… But thank you for confirming my suspicions, I had a feeling this girl was linked to your team in some way, I've seen the papers, the headlines, and I saw how this little one simply vanished from the pictures…I've questioned her again and again but all she says is that she can't remember" said Riddler
"If you harm friend Terra in any way shape or form than by Lord Tharnak himself I swear I shall destroy you" said Starfire her hands and eyes glowing green
The Riddler simply chuckled and handed Terra a white card "Read it aloud if you want to live", Out of nowhere an electric cattle prod zapped Terra in the back causing her to scream and fall forward into a distraught sobbing wreck on the floor.
"Riddler!" yelled Cyborg
"That's enough!" yelled Kid Flash
The Riddler lowered his cane to Terra's chin and lifted it up revealing her teary and bruised face "Read the card or I'll have my men return with their burning cigars and machetes… Is that what you want?" asked Riddler. Sparkbomb winced at the flashback those words gave her.
Terra shakily moved up onto her bruised knees and through teary eyes and shaky voice she read the card…
'I am the first you ever saw
what greets you every morning
but what goes out in the end'
Hands from nowhere, presumably from unseen guards, grabbed Terra and dragged her out of view; her screams could still be heard getting further and further away…
"I couldn't have put it better myself… oh who am I kidding of course I could" said the Riddler grinning at his own smugness.
Raven seemed to be torn between her neutral self and being stunned and the return of a previous and now forgotten foe.
"You monster! When I find you no mortal will protect you from my wrath" yelled Starfire, horrified at the way Riddler had clearly abused her mysteriously returned friend
"That was only a taste of what she's been through, honestly my hired help gets bored and nothing helps them take the edge off more than beating someone weaker than them to a bloody pulp… and it's going to get allot worse for her in eight hours" said Riddler
"We'll solve your Riddles before sunrise Riddler!" said Robin
"Good… because here's the surprise twist ending, if each of my Riddles isn't solved by sunrise at exactly 5.00am sharp, Terra will be executed live on national television, coast to coast" said Riddler
"Riddler you won't…"
"Quiet little Robin… I'm tired of this pointless banter, the time is Nine o'clock and counting, better hurry Robin, much like the egg laying vertebrate of which you are named, time flies… and the games have only just begun" mocked the Riddler as the hologram disappeared.
...To Be Continued...
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A/N - REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!
Xxxx After all this work, I hope I deserve some long reviews, What did you think? Likes? Dislikes? Positives? Negatives?
Did you like the focus change in this chapter? More Robin based than Sparkbomb.