~Enigma~

Enigma Riddles, presumed daughter to the notorious criminal mastermind, the Riddler, has reappeared once again. This time the young girl robbed none other than the Gotham City Police Department. At least 12 civilians were found dead out of a total of 21 fatal casualties. These victims include, 4 criminals, a numerous amount of officers and 3 veteran army members. An inside source confirms she stole something from Commissioner Gordon's private office, along with a box from the storage room. This source also confirms that due to the clues she left behind, Enigma was covering her father's trail. The station still holds its claim that whatever she may have stole was in no way related...

Footage of Robin and Enigma fighting comes across the television screen. A voice over was being dubbed by the voice of Gotham's own star reporter, Vicki Vale. The two really seemed to be going at it, however, something was off about it compared to most of their fights. Every now and then one or the other seemed to lose themself in a daze. Towards the end of the battle, Robin caught Enigma off guard. He snapped her arm back and a loud pop came from it. Enigma knew it was broken but it did not seem to matter to the villainess. She retorted with two kicks to his head, pushing him backwards. He was too slow on his feet to block it. They were both arguing back and forth but the camera was not close enough to pick up on the sound.

How can the police protect us if the station can't defend their own men? This is Vicki Vale, reporting to you live from the scene of the crime.

"Idiots" From the edge of my bed, I shut off the television. The thing I stole wasn't in any way related to my father's crimes. Hell, I had no clue what the old man was even up to lately. My pops wasn't really letting me in on it yet. I was at the GCPD for my purposes alone, it was not my father's doing. My gaze shifts from the television to the object I stole. It was so slim, tiny compared to most of the needles I have seen. Careful not to prick myself, a gently press my finger against the base of the syringe. A smug smile comes across my face for finally I had it in my possession. Two weeks of planning, misleading the police and I stole the same drug they had forced into my system. No one would suspect it because stealing drugs wasn't my M.O. The best part was how the drug did not exist in their files. Gordon never put it on record. Honestly it was downright shameful how the minds of police were so foolish, bending to my will. I basically told them this would happen days ago, yet their brains are empty. Police do not remember stuff long enough to be able to stop me.

Although running around the city as Enigma was fun, I admit the internship with Jason had taken up most of my time lately. Enigma was appearing less frequently than I first imagined. Jason is NOT a distraction. My father told me to lie low for a while, robberies were the key to staying under the radar. He did not wish to give me an explanation to why I should be lying low but I in no way needed one. My father is a genius man, of course has his reasons. I will not interfere by asking a few questions. Questions would only insult his intelligence. Therefore, when I did steal this week, I stole wisely, leaving marvelous hints to where I might hit next.

With Jason around I was able to lie low, no killing only stealing. I mean, he did not know about my identity. He didn't need to know. He has just always been around lately. After my drugg...let's say overdose, Jason and I have gotten close. We'd hang out at the manor or my place and play video games, race cars and sometimes watched movies. Lately, I've been thinking that my father's internship idea was not as bad as I assumed. Minus the fact me and Jason had to deal with the stuck up, anti-social dumbasses, Jason and I would just mess around on the machines or goof off. It was sad that the amount of time they "needed" to do the work Fox assigned us was so long. It took me half the time they used to do both my part and Jason's.

I don't think Wayne Enterprise is being fully honest about what us teens are exactly doing in this internship. Lets just say by the second day I could tell were not making supplies for offices. The formularies we were using were weapons designs. Our latest project is a computer program and with the coding I put in it, the device would shut down a computer upon contact. I knew something was off about the company from the start. Lets face it, I've hacked Wayne Enterprises enough times to know that even the most innocent secretary could be hiding a bank account in the Cayman Islands. But why would Wayne Enterprise need this weapon? I'm sure that the other kids have no clue what they were creating. They just thought they were playing around with computer codes. The lack of curiosity is what blocked them from their true potential. They were mindless, doing exactly what they were told. Personally, I did not mind that Wayne Enterprises was secretly using teens to create weapons. I could always steal any weapon worth it-maybe that was my father's plan for me.

"Such a small vile...where could I keep this?" I ponder to myself, eyes still focused on the needle. My plan was simple. Step One: Kidnap Batman or Robin, whichever fool came to try to stop my crimes next. Step Two: Design my crime to be an illusion so it will appear as if they caught me. Most likely I will use holographic technology. Step Three: The riddle will lead them on the opposite way of my attack. They will be blindsided to the falseness behind it I will be able to shoot them with a tranquilizer gun. Step Four: Tie whoever falls for my trap with some rob and wait until he wakes. Step Five: I'll stab the needle into his, most likely, Boy Wonder's arm and in a few seconds I'll know everything! I could ask him any question I wish like who are you really? what is your darkest secret? A live video feed would be linked to my father so he can watch as he gets home. My pops would be so impressed with me, not only tricking Robin but getting him to sequel on his man crush of a bat or visa versa. "Where to hide it? Where to hide it?" I ask myself, eagerly.

The needle could not be hidden in the basement, Kane would find it there. No way was I letting him take this. I pace my room, searching for the perfect spot. The security alarm goes off as someone knocks on my door. I took a major upgrade to the system since the drugging incident. It was not because I did not trust anyone in Gotham, nor the fact Kane knew my location, but it was how a lot of people knew where I lived. The list was already growing;

My father knew for he was the one that gave the hideout to me. Alfred knew because he dropped Jason off here a plentiful of times. Bruce Wayne was most likely privileged to the information because Jason kept no secrets from him. Jason of course knew. Kane was aware of it yet I could not place how he knew in the first place. Query would stop by from time to time as my father's personal assistant, Ms Nina Damfino. This was how I kept in touch with my father. Echo and Query always had this dislike for me, which was mutual. I was surprised the first time I saw her on my doorstep because I did not think my father would have clued the two idiots in. Nonetheless she was putting up with the visits to make my identity appear real. Probably even got brownie points with my father. Query would only laugh when I asked what my father was up to. Once I overheard her talking to Echo on the phone. She was chuckling, speaking of my father's grand scheme. Query said something along the lines of how frustrating it can be that the Riddleman can give a disgraceful little brat such a crucial role in the plan. I would assume I'm the disgraceful little brat but how could someone be at the center of it all and not even be aware of the plan. Anyways, the more people who knew about my house, the more people who could break in. The television showed the image of Jason waiting at my door. Carefully, I hid the needle in a fake book beside my bed. The Da Vinci code, a classic. It was my spare copy, hollowed out for the needle. I know not many people would be searching for the drug here but you never know when Batman and Robin may stop by or crack my identity. That's the thing about being the daughter to a notorious criminal mastermind, at any moment you were ready to run.

As quickly as possible, I change into jeans and a tank top. My enigma gear is tossed down the hidden shoot in my wall. I was about to walk out and greet him when I noticed the bloodied, green domino mask still on my face. Oops, I thought as I hid it in the office desk drawer. "Didn't expect you here so early."

"Yeah, I figured it was our one day off of that stupid internship, might as well make the most of it."

"Where are we going?" Jason knew it bothered me when he didn't answer my question. He pretended not to hear it, sitting up at the kitchen counter instead, "Jason..."

"Who said we're going anywhere?"

"You want to stay here to hang out? But...umm...well...there's nothing to do here."

"Says the girl with almost every video game hooked up to her TV, some of these I haven't even heard of before."

"So? I like video games."

"Exactly-" He paused, his blue eyes shifting over to my arm, catching sight at the brace. Usually, I use makeup to hide my scars from being Enigma but my arm was fractured pretty badly from last night. One night Robin had left a series of knife marks on my arm from his batarang, those were easily hidden with a long sleeve shirt. Any blue or black punch marks were pushed off as softball wounds from sliding. No one would ever know the truth to my identity, this was one of my alias I could not spoil. All of this is mostly Robins fault for injuring me to so many extents. He was more violent than the last one, stronger, more rough. It was amusing and actually, I liked him more. He was more of a challenge and harder to beat. Luckily, there was not a time in these past few weeks that I was brought into jail again. No longer would I let them catch me. Holographic images of myself and my speed had helped me escape each time. It would be a cold day in hell before I let them take me in, not when Commissioner Gordon was off the rails. I made a makeshift brace out of a wrap to appear like I burned it. The brace was just extra support for my fracture. Jason looked concern- "What did you do this time?"

I sigh, "I tried to make pasta but instead I slipped on the floor and the pot landed on my arm." The pre-planned words came out of my mouth softly. I had set it up so the pasta pot was still in the sink along with a ton of towels.

"You were cooking?" Jason repeats in disbelief. "The girl who put her lunchable in the microwave was cooking?" My face flushes. I may be very intellectually smart but I did not know much about acting normal. That is how my lunchable almost set fire to the break room. How was I supposed to know the way those worked, I never had to pack a lunch before and my father filled the fridge with the plastic crap. He said normal kids ate them. Kids was the key term, all the other teens just had pizza or a sandwich nothing like what I had. Jason would never let it go that I knew how to use a laser protocol generator and not a lunchable.

"Hey! That was not my fault... the package did not have instructions on them."

Jason rolled his eyes before reaching over the counter to see my arm. His attempts to peak at the burn scars did not work because of how tightly I wrapped it. I winced in pain as he touched it, "Really Em? Biggest clutz I know." Jason teased, getting a laugh about it.

"I am not!" I am no clutz. If I was even in the slightest bit, I'd be dead. I understand why he might come to that assumption, but it was not fair to think I, Emily Nashton, was a clutz.

"Sure you aren't." Jason rolled his eyes before looking down at the papers spread across the breakfast bar. "Another robbery?" He did not sound shocked, just trying to make friendly conversation.

I shrug, acting as if I knew nothing about it. "Apparently, where was it this time?"

"Police Station." Jason frowned pushing the paper aside.

"and here I thought that would be the safest place in Gotham." I almost choked on my words, it was hard lying about other people's poor intellect. I had to change the topic before I got caught with my fake attitude. "Want something to drink?"

"Not really." Jason kept reading the article. I'm sure he wanted to read to see if the boy blunder or bat brains came to the scene at all. Everyone in this town cared about them way too much. I went to get myself a glass of water."Stupid reporters." Jason grumbled to himself, making me grin. "All they do is emphasis everything."

"What do you mean?" I ask, pretending not to know. He was right, they made it sound like Batman and Robin's wins were outstanding and our loses miserable. This time around the roles were switched, I actually approved of the way they made me sound.

Jason's eyes shoot up, almost as if for a moment he had forgotten that I was there. "Just they make it sound like she outsmarted Robin when the television showed something different."

"She got away didn't she?" I try to not let the anger show in the tone of my voice. I did outsmart Robin. What did Jason know about this, he wasn't there.

"Yeah." He said grimly, little did he know we wouldn't be having this conversation if I didn't get away. I needed the topic to change, talking about myself when I wasn't Enigma never ended well.

"Ready to get your ass kicked in video games, by a girl who hasn't played in months?" I grin, making Jason look up.

"I'm 90% sure you're all talk and no game, Em."

"Really?" I get up, heading for the couch. "Where did you pull that statistic from the calculator in your non existent brain?" I laugh, getting out the controllers.

"Was that an attempt at in insult?" Jason banters back grinning. "Insults shouldn't have such complex words, you dork."

I roll my eyes at his comment, was it true? Did people not understand I was insulting them because of the vocabulary I used. That is just tragic in itself. "Pick whichever game you want to lose at."

"Do you like violent video games?" Jason asked, holding up the a disk. Do I like violent video games? Was that even a fair question?

"What do you think I play, cooking mama?" I roll my eyes, plopping down on the couch. Jason chuckles, as he gets ready to play. In seconds we are both going at each other with snipers and guns, trying to see who gets the most kills. Surprisingly, he was good but I was better. Well... being honest, I knew all the cheat codes by heart. My controller, the purple light up one, was rigged with them programmed inside it. Yes, I know it is some dumb house rule to treat your guests by letting them win but this was Jason. I was not going to let him beat me at anything. His numbers were at least ten kills higher than mine so it was time to use the codes. I hit the X button twice before jiggling the switch, resulting in a sudden tripling in my numbers without a single shot.

"Hey!" Jason caught on, turning to me in disbelief. "No fair! You rigged it." He crossed his arms, tossing the controller at me.

"No, I just knew something you did not. You never said we couldn't use cheat codes."

"I thought no cheating was implied."

"I do not cheat, it's against my nature. Cheat codes are just knowledge that some players have to help gain an advantage over those who are not aware of them. Cheating would be if I sabotage you."

"Really?" Jason rolled his eyes, he was just pissed I beat him at the last second." Do you know cheat codes for every game?"

I pause, why lie about something that wouldn't get me in trouble. I nod, "Yeah, pretty much. The cheat codes are the best parts to figure out... wait there is one without cheat codes..." I catch myself, thinking about the room upstairs. Sure, it wasn't really a video game but I could make it seem like one. The setting was meant for my training but with a few adjustments it would work.

"Really? No cheat codes?" Jason seemed hesitant, looking to see if I was lying.

I shake my head no, "None it measures pure skill but I must warn you it is a lot harder than any of these foolish games."

"What is it called?"

I pause, thinking of a good name for the system I had upstairs. My father just called it the Simulation Game. "The Simulation Game, it is only in prototype mode but it is the next thing my father is working on."

Jason raised a brow at this," seems interesting enough, how do you play?"

"I'll show you, come on." I head upstairs, passing my room, the bathroom and what was supposively my father's room. "Here." I stopped at the white door, Jason had a look of curiosity in his eyes. His expression grew more confused as we entered.

"There is nothing here...it's an empty room Em." Jason looked around and I began to feel like he thought I was insane. The room had padded walls, floor and ceiling, all of which white.

"Not everything is what it seems." I stand in the middle of the room before pressing my hand to the floor. It regenerated the image in red, confirming my identity. The front wall turned into a giant keyboard with the bold green words, Welcome E. Luckily, it had not said Enigma. It scanned both me and Jason's image before putting it up on the wall. "So who do you want to fight? Drug lords? Criminals? Gangsters?" The system let me pick anyone to fight, including Batman and Robin but I would never let Jason know that.

"How about all of the above..." Jason said, looking around in awe as the room transformed into a dark, gloomy alley way of Gotham. I smirk, perfect. The best way to train was when you did not know who your opponent is. I made sure to uncheck Batman and Robin because that would be very hard to explain.

"Hand to hand combat or weapons?" I ask, as the question appeared above on the screen.

Jason grinned. He paused a moment, giving it much thought. I wasn't too nervous about him seeing me fight, because he already has numerous of times. Plus I have already selected a level that was impossible for even me to come out alive. In my best condition I could not defeat it. My father had specifically designed it to be impossible to win at. I give it five minutes before we are both on the ground with the words, failed, on the screen in bright red letters. "Whichever you thinks hardest." Jason replied, getting ready for the fight.

"Hand to hand combat while our opponents have weapons." I type this in to the system before backing up towards Jason. The whole room went pitch black. Numbers in bold green letters started to flash on the walls, 3-2-1 BEGIN, before everything turned back into a street like setting. "Let me warn you, if these virtual images make contact with you it will shock you, project blood where you are hit. If they cut off anything the illusion of it falling off will happen but you won't be injured in real life."

"Cool." Jason smirked, ready. My hands curled up in fists, waiting for the first attack. "Okay first to die buys ice cream."

"I love free icecream, you've got yourself a deal."

After a minute or two of silence Jason frowns, "Are you sure you pressed-" A clown throws knife into his arm and I could hear him curse under his breath. Jason spins behind him, and knocks out the clown in three punches. Impressive. "EM Behind you!"

I duck to the ground, sweeping a kick underneath one of penguins goons. I knee him in the groin and toss his umbrella gun away from the fight. "Thanks, I grin before seeing four of Falcone's Gangsters charging at us. " I'll take two, you get the others." I charge at them, using a back handspring at the last second to get behind the goons. Jason and my team up worked pretty well together for soon those five minutes went to ten, then fifteen and we were both still on our feet and battling.

"Duck!" I throw a pimp off of Jason's back and onto the ground. I start to beat him until he faded away in the machine. Two Face and the Penguin both came up from our left. I saw a look in Jason's eyes, I could swear he liked this. Maybe I was once again seeing what I wanted to see. I grin, "Do you want the ugly contradiction or the bird brain?"

"I'll go with the ugly contradiction, it's like beating two people at once." Jason smirked as we both charged at the two villains. A KAPOW! ZAP! BAM! later and both of us had taken down the criminal idiots. Jason and I were panting, waiting for the next string of goons to hit us but they never came. I helped a grinning Jason up to his feet.

"Well that was fun." Jason said, looking around just to double check no one else would be attacking us. The room turned black again with the words complete appearing on each wall. No way, had we actually done it?

"I- I didn't think we'd last that long" I admit in utter shock. This wasn't supposed to be something capable of beating. How did Jason stay alive? How did I? It made no sense to me.

"Last long?" Jason smirked, looking up at the words completed. "We killed at this level!" He high fived me while laughing, "so this is the reason you think you can handle yourself?"

"Of course, wait, who buys iceceam if neither of us died?" The idea was already in my head that we were supposed to get icecream, making me really wanted some.

He laughs,"I'll buy you icecream if you promise me something."

I shot him a look of suspicious, "I don't agree to promises unless I am told what I'm promising ahead of time."

"Well..you know how Wayne Manor hosts a charity ball every December 15th so the rich actually feel like it's benefiting children who can not afford christmas presents?"

May I ask when Bruce Wayne wasn't having a party. It seemed like no shock that another one was on the horizon. "The one thats in two days?" Considering I have lived in Gotham my whole life, I would have to be deaf not to hear about it. This time of the year it was all the tabloids talked about, not that I read those lie infested things. I always found the event stupid because the rich spent more money on the ball then the needy children.

"Yes, in two days."

"So what am I promising to you?"

Jason bit his lip, he seemed unsure how to go about this. "Well Bruce's events are always so boring...I mean he's forcing me to go when it is all these adults talking about work, finances or bragging about stuff I don't care about. Not to mention I already have to dress up in a stupid tux and I was wondering..." His voice trailed off.

"Wondering what?" I tilt my head slightly because I was not following his train of thought.

"If you would come so we could make fun of how serious they are all taking it."

I pause, confused to what he was asking. "like-a-a-date?"

"No, yeah, maybe." Jason was a bit flustered. He seemed prepared for me to hit him or laugh in his face but not question it.

"You know there is no other answer left to my question, which is it?"

"Fine a date."

"It doesn't have to be if that's not what you meant."

"No it'll be fun." Jason smiled, reassuringly.

"And I have free privilege to kick your ass if you try something?"

Jason rolled his eyes. I'm sure he wouldn't make that same mistake twice. "Sure."

"And I don't dance." I spoke firmly, not wanting to go out on that dance floor.

"Alright, alright. Anything else?"

I grin, not even trying to hid my true excitement. "It's a promise."

Not only was Jason going to buy me ice cream but for first time I was actually invited to an event. Usually, I would forge an invite or preform a con while at a ball but now I could actually enjoy myself. Out of all the weekends, I highly doubt my father would need me this one. He never preformed cons on the night of Wayne's events. Also my father did ask me to lie low. Therefore, this was the perfect distraction from being Enigma.

-Meanwhile-

The Riddler leaned back in his purple velvet chair with a smug, know it all smile on his lips. The scene before him brought much amusement and inflation to his ego. He was watching the two teens through camera's previously placed in Enigma's hideout. Of course his simple minded daughter was unaware of there existence in her home.

The Riddler absolutely loved how everything was going so smoothly, how could he ever ask for it to work out better. His pure genius was at his finest, no match against fate. "Echo, tell Kane to get ready." His orders were firm, as he zoomed in on the two teenagers. Two pawns in his game, smiles showing how oblivious fools they were. "This Saturday is a go."