Part 3
'No luck, master Bruce?' Alfred asked as he poured out another cup of tea.
Bruce was staring at the BatComputer monitor, at the two mug-shots joined by an unflattering college ID photograph. He'd hung around the scene, tried to gather more evidence but it hadn't shed any more light on why Dead Switch had blown apart the second floor of Judge Hill's house, or why Riddler had Alistair Hill killed. He knew now why the video had been just long enough for him to trace - Riddler had wanted him there. Wanted him to see that but be unable to stop it. He brought up the video again and watched it critically as he sipped the tea. There was nothing new there, but he caught the "We" again and felt a thread that was being untugged. He decided to go back to what they'd discovered about the late Younger Hill.
Alistair Hill, the second son of Judge Hamilton Hill, studying at Gotham U on an advanced college course for his desired field of expertise. 'Criminal psychology.' Bruce murmured to himself. The boy had obviously wanted to follow in his father's footsteps in the justice system. Did that account for the bizarre collage of papers on his wall? Why did Hill's younger son have such a fascination with that particular criminal? And why had that criminal gone after him?
Why use "We"?
He brought up the college class records and Alistair's social media. He had expected Riddler to wipe the account - the man was always so keenly aware of the internet at large - but it was still intact and looked as though it hadn't been tampered with. Bruce had to assume at this point that Nigma had left it alone as a clue as to what was to come. He began a systematic search for friends that matched the class roster - the "we" that had been blurted out still rattled around his head was, statistically, more likely to be his friends than anything else.
Three other people were mentioned in Hill's social media posts and photos that also appeared on the class roster for several classes the victim had taken.
Cassandra Wilds, Morgan Templeton, and Victor Blackwall. Photos on social media and college records matched. Riddler hadn't called to gloat about his victory - the game wasn't over just yet. All three of these people could be in danger. 'There's three more possible victims.' He groaned to himself.
'The Batman certainly can't be at three places at once. Might I advise Commissioner Gordon be kept abreast of these developments, master Bruce?' Alfred accepted the teacup he held out and put it down on the tray. 'After all, I'm sure Commissioner Gordon would be more than happy to see Mr Nigma and Ms Scott safely in Arkham again.'
He'd been thinking the same thing. But the thought niggled in the back of his mind - why these three? He felt like he was missing something.
'We've got Blackwall and Templeton under watch right now, Batman.'
Gordon didn't have to turn around to know who had shut down the signal on the roof of the GCPD. There was only one person brave enough to touch that and that was the person it was calling.
'What about Wilds?' Batman asked.
He watched as Gordon took a breath, steeled for bad news. 'She's not at home or at her dorm. So far, she hasn't turned up. Her roommate says she isn't just one to disappear but she does do quite a lot of circuit training and never takes anything more than a water bottle with her. They're all playing dumb. All of them are claiming they don't know why Riddler and Dead Switch are after them.'
'Have they talked to you about Hill's collage?'
'They're saying that Hill was obsessed with Riddler. Wanted to figure him out. They tried to talk sense into him, but he wanted to learn everything he possibly could and help his father finally nail Riddler and put him back in the asylum.'
'Riddler was in custody.' Batman replied.
'I know, but that hadn't been released just yet. Hell, they hadn't even been charged yet. They were just in Arkham as a preliminary.' Gordon shifted. 'I don't like this, Batman.'
Neither did he. This didn't smell like a case of obsession that had gone awry. This was something more.
'I want to know the second you find her.' He warned Gordon.
'Depends on how we find her.' The commissioner replied ominously. 'You might be seeing her first.'
With nothing else to do but wait until Wilds reappeared on the radar, Batman went back to the facts.
Someone had planted a bomb and a riddle at the museum - but Nigma and Scott had been in custody hours before it appeared. It certainly could have been them, He'd talked to Scott who had denied their involvement. He knew Riddler would tell half-truths, but Dead Switch would outright lie. Dead Switch had planted a bomb in Judge Hill's house - that much Bruce knew to be true, it was a Dead Switch special. Her brand of very precise destruction. One or both of them had killed Alistair Hill. Chalk under his fingernails. His computer - which they'd used to make the video - had been damaged beyond repair by the explosion. Bruce kept coming back to why?
'Would this have something to do with Two-Face and Penguin, I wonder?'
Bruce had thought that she'd been implying that they had something to do with the appearance of the riddle and the bomb, but had she meant it in a different way? He brought up the files on Dent and Cobblepot. Two-Face had recently spent a stint in Arkham and Penguin was fighting a court case - of which he was on bail - tooth and nail. Both had been convicted of crimes that they denied involvement in. A robbery of the 22 karat jewellers and an armoured van transporting cash. In both cases, there were no witnesses to identify them, they had been caught by circumstantial evidence. Like the riddle and the bomb.
Why plead guilty to some crimes and not others? Cobblepot hadn't contested murder charges in the past. Why robbery?
For the first time, he felt he was getting somewhere. He was close to working out what was going on. Had Alistair Hill been -
Another alert. Disappointedly, it wasn't from the GCPD. It was a Riddler alert. His accounts were active again.
'It's that time again!' He hated Riddler. The bruising looked little better than it had done a few hours ago and Bruce resolved that when he caught up with him, it was going to look like a picnic. Lower in the frame of shot was a dark haired woman in what looked like gym gear. Bruce recognised her from photographs. 'Today we have with us Cassandra Wilds. Say hello, Ms Wilds.'
'When Batman comes to get you I hope he puts the-'
'Ah, but Batman will be too late.' Riddler mocked and turned to the camera. 'I must say, I'm disappointed you haven't figured this out yet, dark knight. Is it too challenging? You're not going senile, are you?'
He would. He'd stop him. They didn't look like they were anywhere he could recognise. Wilds was bound to a chair and against a sheeted backdrop. Hardly anything to work with in regards to location. There was something, though. The sounds of … birds.
'Did you like my little surprise? I hope so. Dead Switch put a lot of effort into it, considering she only has one working arm!' He hissed but then brightened. 'Any last words, Ms Wilds? Something to confess?'
Confess?
'You freaks-'
'Sadly, seemingly, silence.' Riddler mocked and stuffed a green handkerchief into her mouth. 'Much better!' He smiled agreeably as she choked on the cloth. The birds began to call again, almost drowned out by the furious choking.
Bruce knew the sounds of those birds. They were familiar but he couldn't work out why. The cry was distinctive.
'So, Dark Knight, riddle me this. My road is metal, my heart is fire. Feed me, or I cannot move. What am I?'
A train. An old train.
The railway museum? The railway museum didn't have birds.
'Goodbye for now, Dark Knight.' Nigma signed off.
Bruce brooded long after the video had ended. It was clear that Riddler was not at the museum but he had alluded to it. While Wilds was alive in the video, there was no time-stamp or reliable way of judging when it had been recorded. More than likely, Cassandra Wilds was already dead. Resigned, he sat back and said 'Computer, phone Gordon.'
'Gordon here.' The Commissioner's voice boomed around the cave and upset the bats.
'Commissioner. I need your men to sweep the railway museum.'
'Yeah, we saw the video too.' Gordon's voice became gruffer. 'We're coordinating uniforms now. You don't think -'
'I think that's where we're going to find Cassandra Wilds. I don't think she'll be alive.' He sighed heavily. 'Riddler doesn't seem to want hostages.'
'Why?' Gordon demanded. 'First Hill, now Wilds. Why is he killing these kids?'
'I intend to find out.' Bruce promised and disconnected. He pulled the cowl over his head and ran the video through an ornithological database. The bird calls came back as a Kagu - a highly rare and endangered bird. Flightless - and a breeding pair were stolen from the Gotham Zoo a year ago. Rumour was they'd gone into the hands of a collector. A collector like Penguin.
Something was going on with Riddler. It had something to do with Two-Face and Penguin. It was time to pay a visit to Oswald Cobblepot.
Part 3 is a little choppier than my usual affairs. Aper came to be thanks in part to the comics and in part to BTAS (again). I can write Edward in my sleep but Bats is actually genuinely harder! Bonus points if you name the game universe the friend's names are taken from. Eobard's story is coming along. Look out for #TeamFlashSucks coming soon!*
*#TeamFlashSucks released sometime between now and 6 months time. Do not ingest. If ingested, please seek medical treatment or a cool supervillain team of your choice. May cause mild bouts of megalomania, psychosis, and bad fashion choices. You may also experience a vibrating fist through your chest/being hunted by inter-dimensional speedsters. #TeamFlashSucks is incompatible with life insurance or life in general.
