Hunters of Justice (RWBY/DC)
Chapter 20: Riddle Me This
[~][~]
Yellow street lights casted a dull hue over Gotham City, the light of the full moon partially obscured by clouds and drawing shadows along the buildings. The streets themselves were empty and devoid of life, with the odd exception of civilians coming home from a late-night shift. They had this nervous disposition, looking over their shoulder to see if anyone, or anything, was following them. For most, nothing happened, much to their relief, but others weren't so lucky.
'God, I can't wait to get home…' a woman thought to herself as she continued her trek home. The diner had a busy night, preventing her from leaving until well after midnight. 'At least I got tipped a lot. Should be enough for rent this month.'
A yawn broke out of her mouth, which she batted away with her hand. She was so tired, almost to the point of exhaustion, and she wanted nothing more than to get home to her family as soon as possible. As she passed an alleyway however, one that she knew was a straight shot to her home, she refused to even look at it. As tired as she was, going in there in the middle of the night was practically an invitation to be robbed, or worse. And that was without considering the several hundred dollars' worth of tips currently held in her purse.
She heard a clang coming from behind, causing the woman to stop and sharply spin around to face the source. Outside of a single rolling tin can, there was no one to be seen. Still, her eyes remained focused on the alleyway, and heartbeat quickened. Slowly, she turned around and kept walking, now at a brisker pace. Her eyes darted from side to side, trying to spot any potential danger as the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. Then, she heard another sound, this time much closer. The woman turned around yet again, opening up her bag and grabbing hold of a small bottle of pepper spray. Once again, she saw no one, but now she was no longer convinced she was alone.
"… Whoever you are…" she began, her body shaking, "I'm warning you… Stay back."
No response was heard. The silence was broken only by a faint ruffle of fabric, which she assumed came from the clothesline hanging in between one of the alleys. Still, she stared hard into the alley, trying to discern any shapes. For a brief moment, she thought she saw the silhouette of a man, but just as soon as it appeared, it was gone. Startled, she pulled out her phone and turned on its flashlight, shining it into the alley, then sighed in relief as she saw it was only a metal trashcan. She put away her phone and released her grip on her pepper spray, then turned around.
Only to find herself face to face with a large, hulking man.
"Hello there," he greeted her, looking down at her with intimidating eyes. He was taller than her, much taller, not to mention physically built. He had a short mop of dark brown hair, rough around the edges but not reaching his upper ears. A thick, slightly unkempt beard covered his face, and a few of his teeth were missing. If the woman was nervous before, she was terrified now, and the man seemed to recognize that.
"Hey, no need to be scared," he insisted in a faux comforting tone. "I'm not going to hurt you. Just wanted to know why a young girl like yourself was wandering around Gotham City at night all by herself."
The woman said nothing, slowly backing away while keeping her attention squarely focused on the man in front of her. He had a wry grin on his face, one that held a menacing intention behind a helpful façade. Then he took a step forward, and the woman pulled out her vial of pepper spray.
"Stay back, now," she ordered. The man did as instructed, chuckling in slight amusement while keeping his hands up
"Okay, okay. Take it easy, lady," he said.
"Yeah, he was only asking a question," another, shriller voice responded from right behind her. With a start, the woman turned around to see a smaller, skinnier man staring at her. His blond hair was long and wild, the top of his head slightly thinned. His eyes were blood shot, and patches of his long-sleeved shirt were torn around the elbows, exposing a few freshly healed track marks. The woman moved to aim her pepper spray at the newcomer, only for the first man to harshly grab her wrist and rip the vial away from her. He threw it to the side, where it clattered against the pavement, while the second man grabbed her with surprising strength and forced her into the alleyway. She struggled against his grip, trying to break free, only to stop when the first man brandished a knife.
"See, that's better," he stated with another, far more wicked smile, then held up his other hand. He gestured with it. "Now, hand over the purse."
Her heartbeat was pounding in her ears, and she didn't move a muscle. She was completely terrified, as though she was a deer in headlights. The man was growing more impatient, then thrust his hand into her purse and yanked it away violently. She screamed frightfully, but the addict holding her kept her in place while his partner fished through her purse and grabbing her wallet.
"Ooh-hoohoo!" he laughed victoriously, flashing the several hundred dollars around in the air. "We hit the jackpot!"
The addict laughed alongside his partner, letting the woman go. She fell to the ground with a thud, and she immediately began to scramble away on her back. When the two men shot their attentions towards her, however, she stopped.
"So," the addict began, "what do we do with her?"
The first man thought for a moment, trying to think on what exactly to do, and failed to notice a shape descend from the rooftop behind them. The woman, however, did, and despite her reasoning telling her everything would be alright, fear still coursed through her body.
"Well, for starters," a young girl replied, catching the two men off guard, "you can give her back her money."
They spun around sharply, both men pulling out knives to face the voice's owner. It was no one they recognized, but the red and black outfit, hood, and half-cowl told them she was a hero. A young one at that, a teenager at the very most.
"Ah, great," the first man grumbled, "another wannabe superhero."
"Hey! I'm not a wannabe! I am a hero!" The girl paused, then sheepishly looked to the side. "Well, a hero in training, but still!"
The two men looked at each other, then back at the young girl. "Right… Now, how about you just run along, little girl? I really don't want to be the guy who beats up children."
"Yeah, so scram!" the addict yelled out, but the girl shook her head.
"Not gonna happen," she insisted. "So, how about you give back the money you stole, and you don't have to say you got beaten up by a little girl?"
The first man couldn't help but laugh at the wannabe's spunk, while the addict sputtered in anger.
"Don't make me use this, little girl!" he threated, but to his shock the girl waved him off.
"Don't make me use this," she replied, brandishing a knife of her own, one that was bulkier yet with a smaller blade than either of theirs. They looked at it in confusion, then the exposed part of the girl's face blushed. "Gah, not that! I didn't mean to...! Uh, this is so embarrassing…!"
The two robbers stared at the young hero as she fiddled with the knife, wondering what to do. The girl seemed to notice this and flashed a sheepish smile at them.
"Sorry, just got it this morning. Still not exactly used to it," she admitted.
"…How can you not be used to a – Never mind," the larger man cut himself off. "Look kid, stop playing with knives before you get yourself hurt."
"Oh, it's not just a knife," she replied, still twiddling with her weapon. "It's also a highly customized, interchangeable ammunition semi-automatic firing system!"
"A what?" the addict asked, completely confused, but the girl merely smiled and held the knife forward.
"It's also a gun," she clarified, then pressed a button on its side. To their shock, the knife flipped over, internal components shifting and extending outward. Before their very eyes, the knife transformed into a block-shaped gun, two barrels extending forward. The first was smaller, while the second was much wider and thicker.
"Oh, shi-!" they both yelled just as the girl fired two shots into each of them. Electricity coursed through their bodies as the rounds hit their chests, sending them spasming to the ground. Happily, the girl holstered her weapon and skipped over, whistling a jaunty tune as she grabbed the stolen money from the large man's pocket. She then skipped away, then stopped and turned around.
"Oh yeah, one more thing," she said as she aimed her pistol yet again, this time loading a cannister into the under barrel. She fired it, the cannister exploding into a weighted net that enveloped both men just as the electricity wore off. They tried to escape but found that the net wouldn't budge.
"Why you little-!" the robbers yelled, but the girl was already away, flying through the air in a trail of rose petals. They watched her disappear into the night, and at the same time, heard police sirens racing towards them.
"… Well, crap."
"Are you okay, miss?" Weiss asked the clearly shaken woman as they sat on the steps leading to her town home. She and Robin had been looking her over as soon as they managed to get her away, and luckily found no injuries on her. The robbers must have only been interested in her money.
"I… I'm fine," the woman insisted. "Thank… Thank you."
"It's no problem at all," Weiss replied, offering a comforting smile while Robin checked on a small scrape on her knee.
"You got this when you fell?" he asked, and the woman nodded. Nodding back, he opened a pouch on his utility belt and pulled out a can of disinfectant spray. Robin then gingerly held the woman's leg up and aimed the can at the injury.
"This will sting," he announced. The woman nodded in understanding, then hissed as the spray contacted her skin.
"I'm back!" Ruby announced as she glided in. When she landed, a misstep almost caused her to wipe out, but a quick flurry of steps kept her balance. "Heh…nailed it…"
"Sure…" Weiss smiled and rolled her eyes. Damian shook his head, while Ruby pouted.
"Anyway!" Ruby started, her pitch slightly higher as she turned towards the robbed woman. "I got your money back."
"Oh, thank you!" the woman said as Ruby handed the wad of cash over. "Thank you! You don't know what this means to me and my family!"
"It's no problem at all, miss. Just doing our jobs," Ruby insisted. "Do you need any more help?"
"I…no, I should be good," the woman responded as Weiss helped her to her feet. She then turned to walk into her home, then stopped at the door. "Before you go, what do I call you two?"
"I'm the Red Reaper, and this is my partner, Ivory Mage," Ruby responded, and turned to face Robin. "You already know… Did he already leave?"
Weiss and the woman scanned the area, trying to find where Robin had gone. True to Ruby's observation, he was nowhere to be seen, and the Red Reaper sighed.
"Uggh, that is so rude," Weiss complained, then turned to face the woman. "Still, we have a job to do. Head on back inside."
"I will. And once again, thank you both. Thank Robin for me, too," she requested, and Weiss nodded. The woman then walked back inside, and once they heard the door lock behind them, both huntresses zipped away on their grappling hooks to a nearby roof. Robin was waiting for them up there and looked slightly irritated, which by itself wasn't anything new.
"You took your sweet time," he complained, and Weiss narrowed her eyes at him.
"And you were incredibly rude just leaving her there," Weiss insisted, but Robin didn't look phased by her comment.
"She was safe and sound at her home, and there was no need for us to linger when we have more important matters to attend to," he reminded the former heiress. "In case you've forgotten."
"I haven't forgotten anything, although you've seemed to have forgotten basic manners!" Weiss and Robin growled at each other, but before their argument could continue, Ruby stepped between them and extended her arms to their chests.
"Guys, guys! We're friends here, okay!" Ruby said, trying to calm them down. Weiss and Robin glared at each other for a few more moments, then they both sighed and took calming breaths. After a few more moments, both heroes stepped back. Ruby smiled then removed her hands from her friends.
"There, see? Isn't that better?" she asked. Weiss and Robin looked at each other for a moment, then huffed and looked away. Ruby sighed exasperatingly, then decided to refocus on the task at hand. "Let's refocus. Robin, you have more experience dealing with the Riddler. Anything we can expect?"
Robin looked at Ruby for a moment, then nodded. "A few things. One, Riddler's a complete egomaniac. He's obsessed with proving himself the intellectual superior over everyone else."
"And he does this by using riddles?" Weiss finished, and Robin nodded.
"He has no powers of his own, and he usually goes down after a few punches. As crazy as he is, however, he's still a threat thanks to his intellect. Nygma's a legitimate genius, and you cannot underestimate him."
"How can we beat him?" Ruby asked as she inspected her pistol, appreciating its design.
"Solve his riddles," Damian answered plainly. "The more we solve, the more riled up he gets. After a certain point, he starts making mistakes, but it might take some time to reach that point. So we might be playing his game for a while."
"Perfect," Weiss groaned. "Although, with a name like 'the Riddler', I should have expected this."
"Oh, come on!" Ruby insisted with a smile. "Try to take a look at the bright side! It could be fun! Or, as fun as it can be dealing with a supervillain… Unless he gets too bad, in which case it stops being fun…"
Ruby continued to mumble to herself, then noticed Weiss' and Damian's stares. Coughing, Ruby sheepishly smiled and pointed to a nearby building.
"Onward!" she ordered as she prepared to zip away, only to stop and turn to Robin. "Mind leading the way? You know the city better than me."
Robin looked at Ruby with a plain expression, then nodded. "Oracle picked up a few traces of code a few blocks away. We can start there," he said, then pulled out his grapple gun and fired a line into a nearby rooftop. He zipped away, leaving Ruby and Weiss behind, who pulled out grapple guns of their own.
"Hmm, would've thought you'd integrate the grappling hook into your new gun," Weiss noted, and Ruby shrugged.
"I will, eventually, but there wasn't enough time to fully integrate it," she revealed. "Red Hood and I only finished it this morning."
"Remind me. Who designed it, him or you?"
"Me, obviously." Ruby looked almost offended by Weiss' question, and her partner held up a hand placatingly. The Red Reaper nodded, then both she and the Ivory Mage zipped away on their lines towards Robin's location. When they landed, the trio continued on, leaping over rooftops towards their objective.
"By the way," Weiss continued, "have you thought of a name for it, yet?"
"Yes, actually," Ruby answered with a smile. "I'm thinking of calling it 'Rose Thorn.'"
"It fits," Robin admitted, briefly looking back towards Ruby. When she smiled back at him, he quickly turned his attention back to what was ahead of him, almost redoubling his efforts. Ruby thought nothing of it, but Weiss couldn't help but find the reaction odd. Still, with more important matters to attend to, she moved the thought out of her mind, figuring it wasn't all that important.
"Guardian and I are staking out Black Mask,' Jaune detailed over the radio as Ruby crouched on her perch, looking over the city block with her mask's built in binoculars. "There hasn't been an opening yet, but we have some ideas."
"Got it. Try not to do something stupid, alright?" Ruby joked, and she could hear Jaune groan.
"I know, I know." Jaune paused, then spoke again. "Dragon, how are things on your end?"
"We just entered the Lounge now," Yang replied, and Ruby could hear the smirk on her sister's face. "Geez, I know B-man said this place was considered high class, but I've never seen so many stuffed up rich people in one place before. Ivory, does this remind you of anything?"
"Grrgh," Weiss growled, and Yang laughed.
"Heh-heh. Seriously though, we'll let you guys know once we get more information. Just gotta figure out how to get the Penguin to squawk."
"I'm sure you'll figure something out," Ruby said, nodding to herself. "Lotus, how are things on your end?"
"Going well, nothing to report yet," Ren replied. "We're currently trying to figure out a way inside. Shouldn't be too long."
"Got it." Ruby paused, then looked over to Robin and saw that he was waving her over. "Have to go. We got a lead."
She received a chorus of replies from her friends and teammates, then shut off her comms and jumped down towards Robin. Ruby extended out her cape to slow her descent, landing softly on the roof right next to Robin and Weiss. Crouching down, she looked towards Robin, who himself was holding a small handle projecting a light into his eyes. He then pressed a button on the side, and both Ruby's and Weiss' HUDs had a radio frequency projected onto them.
"What's this?" Ruby asked.
"This," Robin started, "is a radio frequency Riddler often uses for his little games. Connects to the various machines and computers he has set up all around the city, not to mention any emplaced cameras. The fact that we're picking this up means something of his is nearby."
"What are we waiting for, then?"
To Ruby's surprise, Weiss shook her head. "The fact that we're receiving this signal at all is suspicious. It implies that either we've stumbled across an operation of his, or that he was expecting us. I don't know which is worse."
"Oh," Ruby whispered. She hadn't thought of that, but now the signal did seem suspicious, if not an outright trap. The looks on her partners' faces told her they felt the same, and now they were at an impasse towards what to do next.
"The way I see it," Weiss began, "we don't have much of a choice but to find it."
A heavy silence fell over the trio as they pondered Weiss' words. Slowly, they nodded in agreement.
"You know this is a trap, right?" Robin stated, Ruby nodded back.
"Yes. Now we just have to spring it," Ruby declared, standing fully upright. "The riddle is around here somewhere. We find it, we're one step closer to finding the Riddler."
Robin and Weiss nodded at Ruby's declaration, and they too stood upright. They took one final look at each other, then split apart. Each fanned out in different directions, wanting to search as much ground as possible. Weiss headed north, aiming towards a series of warehouses, while Damian went south towards some apartment complexes. Ruby, meanwhile, ascended a large spire, giving her a bird's eye view of the cityscape below.
"Where are you…?" Ruby asked herself as she scanned the city, looking for any sign of a riddle. There was nothing obvious to the Red Reaper, and she sighed in annoyance. Looking around, she saw another spire, this one higher up, and so she grappled towards it. Now with a higher vantage point, she again searched her surroundings, but nothing obvious stood out.
"Darn it…" she grumbled, and prepared to zip away, only to pause as something irregular caught her eye. Scattered along the rooftops, she saw a series of shacks that looked out of place from the surrounding architecture. She had only been in Gotham for a short time, but even she noticed the very distinct look of the city. If she had to describe it, Gotham had a modernized Gothic theme, but even that wasn't quite accurate. These shacks, in contrast, did not match the theme. Instead, they looked hastily constructed with haphazard attempts to blend into the scenery yet distinct enough to draw attention should one be looking at it more closely.
Narrowing her eyes, Ruby carefully scaled the spire she was hanging off of, careful to keep her eyes on the structures. The higher she climbed, the more she noticed a pattern appear. The shacks on the rooftops, when seen together, formed a curved shape, and slowly Ruby felt the hint of a smile cross her face. Finally, she was getting somewhere.
But she needed to be higher. Looking around, Ruby tried to find another perch, one that was higher up, to get a better vantage point, but to her dismay found none. The Red Reaper pondered her next move, trying to decide how to see the entire picture. She wondered if Weiss could possibly create a platform for her to stand on, but before she could even ask her partner for her assistance, an idea popped into Ruby's head. She looked up into the night, then to her glider cape.
'Can I?' she wondered. After a moment, she nodded to herself. Ruby then repositioned, angling her body against the spire and using its top as a sight. She breathed in and out three times, psyching herself up, then launched herself forward with her Semblance. Her body dissipated into a cloud of red rose petals, ascending high in the air. Ruby kept her form as long as she could, until finally she could no longer hold it and thus returned to normal. When she did, she spun around and opened her cape, angling herself so that she slowly descended.
"Darn it…" Ruby cursed, seeing how she still wasn't high enough. The shape was clearer now, but still wasn't completed. As Ruby continued to slowly descend, she decided to boost herself one more time. Thanks to her cape, Ruby found herself able to do so, although the secondary boost wasn't as high as the first. Still, as she slowly descended through the air, Ruby found what she wanted.
From high above Gotham City, Ruby could see the shacks make a familiar shape. Dozens of them lined up into a perfect question mark, one that could only be seen from her position.
"Found it," Ruby announced to Weiss and Damian, taking a picture with her cowl. She smiled to herself as she glided down to the nearest rooftop, only for her radio to sparkle to life.
"Finally! Took you long enough!" a shrill, male voice said, one that she didn't recognize. Surprised, Ruby wavered and almost crashed, but was able to reorient herself in time and made a stumbling landing. She dusted herself off, then frowned.
"Who is this?" Ruby asked, holding her fingers to her ear.
The man seemed to chuckle. "I'm not surprised you can't figure it out, given how long it took you and your friends to solve a puzzle that simple. A child could have done it. Oh wait, you are a child, aren't you?"
At once, Ruby groaned, realizing just who the man was. "You must be the Riddler."
"She can be taught! Bravo, bravo I say!" The man clapped, and Ruby's face held an unimpressed look.
"Listen, we can do this the easy way or the hard way," Ruby began, but Riddler cut her off.
"Oh, you must be new at this to start off with that tired song-and-dance routine. It's so basic, and a bit sad," Riddler mocked her. Ruby ground her teeth in frustration, the man quickly riling up her nerves, but he continued. "Listen, Red Reaper or whatever you call yourself. Just turn back and grab the Batman. It's the only way you and your little friends will be able to get to me. The riddles I have set up around Gotham City are perfectly designed to best even him, so for you, it'd be impossible."
"You've been expecting us," Ruby stated, and the Riddler laughed.
"Of course, I have! Why wouldn't I? After that, it was child's play to plan my next move."
The Riddler's declarations, although mocking, told Ruby enough. Nygma was definitely involved in Scarecrow's attack, that much was certain. But she needed to know more, and given what she knew of the man, playing his game would be the only way to beat him.
"You know," Ruby began, "you say that solving that riddle was hard for me? Actually, I found it pretty easy once I figured out what was going on. It was simple, and kind of uninspired."
"What?" Riddler shot back, sounding offended.
"Yeah. I mean, a series of shacks assembled like a question mark? Where's the challenge in that? You just had to get high enough. How about something with more…oomph?"
"Grrgh," the Riddler growled. "Fine, you want to play that game? Sure, I'll show you. Just so that I can rub your nose in your inevitable defeat by my superiority. Riddle me this, little Red Reaper: What is the beginning of eternity, the end of time and space, the beginning of every end and the end of every race?"
"Hmm," Ruby hummed to herself, thinking over the riddle. A long pause descended between the two, and she could imagine the satisfaction on Riddler's face.
"There's no shame in giving up," he mockingly told her, but Ruby continued to ponder. Finally, she smiled and held her fingers up to her ear once more.
"The letter 'e'," she answered. There was a pause, then the Riddler scoffed.
"Grrh, you got lucky there. That was an easy one," he replied, and Ruby smiled. She was getting to him, and that was good in her eyes.
"Now that I've proven I'm up to it, how's about you let me know where the next riddle is?"
Rather than answer, the Riddler laughed. "Ohoho! You think I'd just tell you? Little girl, that isn't the game. You have to find my riddles, otherwise what's the point? If you can't even figure out where my riddles are, then what hope do you have in finding me?"
With that, the Riddler cut off, and Ruby sighed. Then, she pressed her fingers to her ear again, and spoke. "Guys, I solved the first riddle."
"We heard," Damian replied, a slight growl in his voice. "I told you he was an egotistical maniac."
"Egotistical is an understatement," Weiss countered. "Sounded like he was in love with himself. Still, he did confirm that he was, at the very least, an accomplice in Scarecrow's attack. I'm not comfortable letting a man like that run around free."
"On that, you and I can agree."
"Same here," Ruby said. "We need to find the rest of those riddles. Oracle, any suggestions?"
"Yes, actually," Oracle replied, the faint tapping of keyboard presses sounding in the background. "As soon as Damian caught the first signal, I've been running a tracking software through it. I've managed to isolate several key hotspots around Gotham City, around ten in total."
"We have to do ten of these things?" Weiss asked, then groaned.
"Yes, unfortunately."
"Great…"
"Oracle, can you upload the trackers to our masks?" Robin asked.
"Already sent." True to Oracle's word, a faint beep came from Ruby's cowl as the software was uploaded remotely. A signal bar then appeared on the corner of her HUD, and Ruby nodded.
"Alright, let's go solve some riddles," Ruby announced as she zipped up into the air, gliding towards the closest signal.
Weiss kept a close eye on the signal tracker as she made her way across the Gotham skyline. Coming to a wide street, she refused to break her stride and created a series of platforms to leap across. The signal grew stronger, and the Ivory Mage allowed herself to nod.
'The sooner we get this over with, the better,' she thought, continuing her search. Annoyance had been slowly building up in her, having been searching for the Riddler's next game for almost half an hour. When he had said his riddles were scattered throughout Gotham City, he had meant it. There were several times where Weiss got lost among the dark alleyways and twisting rooftops, but after a while she had managed to gain a solid grasp of her destination. At the very least, she had managed to stop a few crimes along the way, mostly petty theft and armed robbery.
The trek also allowed her to get a better view of Gotham itself. It was a far cry from the vibrant Jump City or the classical city of Vale. Instead, if she had to describe the city in just one word, she would have to say it was dirty. In every sense of the word. There was a deep, grungy smell that covered everything, a filth that permeated every building and every soul. A sense of hopelessness was tangible across the city, that people had given up on their lot in life getting any better. It was sad, more than anything else, and she wondered why the Batman would devote so much time to helping a city anyone else would have written off as a lost cause.
But at the same time, there was something she couldn't describe hidden underneath the filth covering Gotham. Something that, should it be exposed, would shine bright and lift everyone's spirits. Perhaps that was why he continued his crusade? Regardless of his reasonings, Weiss continued to respect the man, even if she was finding him to be a tad overbearing and stern. Not to mention paranoid.
At least she could tell he cared. That was more than she could say about her own father.
Before Weiss could ruminate further, the signal tracker went wild. The Ivory Mage stopped, standing still on a hover platform high above a dark Gotham street. She turned around in a circle, scanning everything in sight to try and find the Riddler's puzzle. Her eyes revealed nothing, and so Weiss frowned and pressed a button on the side of her mask. At once, a thin blue shimmer crossed her HUD, revealing the city's utility lines as it passed. She could see everything, from electrical wirings to gas lines and water mains. A perfect tool for trying to find anything out of place, or something put in place by a delusional maniac.
"There you are…" she mumbled as she spotted an array of electronics assembled inside an abandoned warehouse. Weiss created a series of platforms to make her way to a cracked window, and once she reached it used Myrtenaster's blade to gently force the window open. She slid it up and crawled inside, landing on a catwalk with a loud clang. She froze, hoping there wasn't anyone around who heard that, but after a few moments found she was only joined by a few rats. With her weapon still clutched tightly, Weiss made her way towards the electronics that had caught her attention, her HUD illuminating the otherwise pitch black interior.
"GAGH!" she shrieked in pain as the lights inside the warehouse suddenly turned on, bathing the interior in a dull yellow. Weiss' HUD shut off automatically, but instinctually she held her hands close to her eyes to try and rub out the spots. After a few moments, the pain dulled, and she slowly blinked them open, only to find herself staring at the fully activated Riddler puzzle before her.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," she groaned as she made out what could only be described as a maze of square tubes reaching up one of the walls. There was a single metal hamster ball at one end, and at the very top of the maze sat an opening near one of the catwalks.
"So, you finally found the puzzle?" Riddler taunted her as a screen flickered to life. For the first time, Weiss saw the Riddler's current appearance, and she wasn't impressed. The man was dressed gaudily, wearing a bright green overcoat over a purple undershirt. Dark green question marks covered his clothes, and a single upright question mark sat at the front of the villain's green and purple-rimmed bowler hat. Held in front of him, leaning diagonally across his body, was a dark green cane toped with a golden question mark, and Weiss couldn't help but groan some more.
"Really went the whole nine-yards with the theme there, didn't you?" she asked, and the Riddler smiled.
"Rich, coming from the girl cosplaying as a magician," Riddler mocked, then waved his hand and cane around with a flourish. "But can you solve this?"
"I can," Weiss declared, placing her hand on her hip, but the Riddler laughed.
"I'd like to see you try!"
The screen shut off, leaving Weiss alone once more. She studied the maze for a moment, then pressed her fingers to her ear.
"Oracle, I found one of Riddler's puzzles," she said, keeping her gaze on it at all times.
"I see it," Oracle responded. "Yeah, this a typical challenge of his."
"Were you able to get a lock on his signal?"
"No, unfortunately. He's bouncing them around all across the city, and I can't get a good lock. You're going to have to keep playing as I try to narrow it down."
"Understood," Weiss groaned as she shut off her comms. She then refocused on the maze itself, trying to figure out how best to proceed. There were no controls for the hamster ball, at least none that she could see, which begged the question towards how Riddler expected Batman to manipulate it.
"Seriously, you might as well give up now," Riddler taunted through the warehouse's speakers. Weiss ignored him, and instead brought her fingers up to her chin. She then looked at Myrtenaster, and a thought came to mind.
"Maybe…" she began as she held out her weapon. Using it as a focus, she carefully formed a small repulsion glyph behind the ball and released it. As expected, the ball sprang forward, hitting itself against the next shaft's wall.
"What?! How did you-?!" Riddler began, and Weiss smiled. "Grrgh, of course. You and the Red Reaper had to have powers, didn't you? It was only a matter of time before the Batman branched out. No matter, this is a cerebral test, not one of brute strength, and I doubt you have the intellectual capacity to complete it successfully."
Instead of showing annoyance, Weiss merely laughed, knowing that would rile him up more. She moved around the maze one last time, carefully plotting out the best course. Once she found it, she smiled.
"Please," she began as she moved towards the starting position. "I can do this in my sleep."
With that declaration, Weiss generated another glyph to push the ball down the track. At the bottom of a vertical shaft, Weiss formed another glyph, and when the ball made contact, it thrust the ball upwards. Another glyph repelled it sideways into a corridor, preventing it from falling straight down. The warehouse became filled with the sound of metal being flung into metal as Weiss repeated the motions one after another. She'd move the ball with her glyph, catching it against the shafts or with her glyphs if need be. Sometimes she'd allow the ball to descend, other times she'd manipulate it to the next level. Before long, Weiss had maneuvered the ball into the opposite opening, and with one final glyph, pushed the ball outside.
"See?" Weiss stated victoriously, twirling Myrtenaster in her hand before generating a series of platforms as a staircase. With prideful steps, she walked up to the ball to see it had opened automatically, revealing a small trophy of a neon-green question mark. As Weiss picked it up, the Riddler growled.
"You got lucky. That one was easy," Riddler clarified, "at least compared to the others. You stand no chance of beating them."
"Watch me," Weiss taunted, smiling towards where she knew Riddler had some security cameras looking at her. He scoffed one last time, then the line went dead. Smirking to herself, Weiss brought up the signal tracker once again. The current signal she was on was dead, proving she had accomplished it, but she was still picking up a faint signal nearby.
"Well, let's see if you can give me a challenge, Edward. I've been looking for some, but so far, you've been disappointing."
Weiss knew Riddler heard that, and liked to imagine him screaming out with indignation, but he didn't deign her with a response as she began her trek to the next puzzle.
Robin zoomed through the spacious sewer pathway on his R-Cycle, bobbing and weaving between extending poles, arcs of electricity, and various other traps while also keeping a close eye on a timer in his HUD. He had about sixty seconds left before the current trial ran out, which he knew was plenty of time. When a spout of flame shot towards him, Robin swerved around it, his years of training the only thing that prevented him from wiping out. Still, the course was remarkably easy to the young vigilante.
Speeding along the track, Robin spotted a large gap with a ramp. He angled towards it and throttled his engine, increasing his speed. As he closed the distance, he saw several large sawblades swoop down towards his head. Rather than feel any fear, Robin merely frowned and expertly maneuvered around them, the sawblades passing barely a hair's width from his helmet. When he finally entered the ramp, a wall of fire erupted before him, but again Robin increased his speed. The R-Cycle sped off the ramp, its speed carrying it through the gap and onto the opposite ledge. Upon landing, he momentarily swerved from left to right, but kept his balance and sped on through.
"Robin, this is Red Reaper," he heard Ruby announce over the radio. "Ivory Mage and I have managed to answer more of Riddler's puzzles and riddles."
"Good," Robin answered as he swerved up the side of the track, avoiding an erupting concrete wall. "I'm currently doing another track of his."
"How in the blazes did he manage to make this without anyone noticing?" Weiss asked incredulously.
"Meticulous planning, and the fact that he's setting them up in areas no one goes to," Robin answered as he looked at his timer again. It read thirty seconds, and with a slight frown he increased his speed as the track angled sharply downward.
"You and I both know that's not even close to fully answering it," Weiss countered. "I mean, where does he get the resources to construct all of this, the time to put it all together, and the money? How much did this stupid maze cost?!"
As Weiss cursed, Robin could hear the banging of metal in the background. Despite himself, he couldn't help but let out a smirk.
"Having trouble, there?" he asked.
"No, I'm – Gods damn it!" Weiss cursed. "Who puts a pinball slapper in a maze?!"
"A delusional egocentric with a chip on his shoulder the size of a planet," Robin answered as he continued to speed down the track.
"I figured!"
Robin smiled before leaning forward and increasing his speed. The timer now read ten seconds, and as the track bent upward, he could see the finish line. The clock ticked down, and as Robin sped towards his destination, he knew that despite how fast he was going, it wasn't fast enough. So, out of desperation, he pressed a button on his handlebars, which injected a nitrous-oxide mixture into his engine, increasing his speed greatly. He felt his body being pushed back from the sudden change in speed, but he kept his grip tight along the handlebars. With a second to spare, Robin passed the finish line, then slammed on the brakes. His tires squealed as they slowed down, and he fully turned his bike to the side as he came to a stop.
"No! No, no no!" Riddler shouted angrily over the track's speakers. "How did you do that?! It should've been impossible! You're cheating, aren't you?! It's the only way you could possible complete these tracks on time!"
Robin smiled and looked towards a camera. "It's called skill, Nygma. Something you've never been able to account for."
"Why you little-! GAAGH!" Riddler screamed once again, frustration seeping in his voice. It had been building with each victory the trio had over him. At first, the villain was able to maintain his confidence and smug arrogance. He punctuated nearly every message to them with taunts and mockeries, demeaning their intelligence and ability when compared to his own. He even compared them negatively to the Batman, insisting that they bring him along so that he could beat his arch-rival. But, as the night wore on, so did Riddler's confidence, to the point where now he was nothing more than just a raging wreck. This pleased not only Robin, but also Ruby and Weiss, although the former heiress was getting more and more frustrated as the maze puzzles she had been focusing on got harder and harder.
"Ivory, you good?" Ruby asked.
"Come on you stupid – Yes! Finally! Bow to my might!" Weiss cheered as she seemingly accomplished the difficult puzzle.
"Heheh! I'll take that as a yes!"
"Yes, but—Oh be quiet. And wipe that smile I know you have off your face."
"Whatever you say!" Ruby happily said, clearly not ceasing her smile. Robin couldn't help but chuckle at the two partners' banter. It was amusing, to say the least, not to mention a change in pace from the normally serious Wayne Manor. He was coming to appreciate it, although he could stand for Ruby to tone herself down just a tad, as she was proving to be somewhat distracting at times.
"Oh, by the way, just found the last mural," Ruby announced. "Have to admit, this one was a little tricky. Who would have thought he could have painted small portions onto blimps that had to be arranged in a perfect order?"
"How'd you manage that?" Robin asked, genuinely curious as he made his way out of the sewers.
"Oh, that was easy. Once I figured out what was going on, I contacted the pilots and explained the situation to them. They were surprisingly helpful!"
"Why am I not surprised you took such a straight forward solution?" Weiss sighed, and Robin could feel Ruby puff up her cheeks.
"Hey, it was actually pretty hard! I had to direct them from the ground like an air-traffic controller. On the bright side, I now have a new appreciation towards what they do."
"As you should," Robin admitted, fully leaving the sewers and reentering the Gotham streets. As he made his way down towards where his HUD said Ruby was located, his tapped a button on his helmet and reconnected to Oracle.
"Oracle, how many are left?"
"You got them all," Oracle announced, tapping away at the keyboard. "I've managed to isolate the signal they were bouncing off of, but we have a problem."
"And that is?" Weiss asked, her position on Robin's HUD showing that she, too, was making her way towards Ruby's position.
"It's another riddle," Oracle answered, and the three heroes let out a simultaneous groan.
"Send it to our HUDs," Robin ordered, pulling into an alleyway and parked his R-Cycle. He got off the vehicle, then pulled out his grapple gun and shot himself up to the roof, rejoining the Red Reaper.
"Sent," Oracle announced as Ruby happily waved towards him. Off in the distance, he could see a white speck make its way towards them, which he easily recognized as Weiss jumping across the rooftops or creating platforms to cross large streets.
"I have to go," Oracle continued. "There's an ongoing situation at the Iceberg Lounge, and I've lost radio contact with Red Robin, Spoiler, Verdant Lotus and Pink Lightning."
"Something happened at GothCorp?" Robin asked, suddenly concerned. The look on Ruby's face told him she felt the same.
"What's happening at the Iceberg Lounge?" she asked as Weiss rejoined them.
"A fight broke out at both locations, but so far their vitals are holding strong. As such, I'd advise sticking with your current objective. If need be, I'll send the Batwing to pick you up and drop you off at their locations."
Ruby, Weiss, and Robin looked at each other, then nodded as Ruby pressed her fingers to her ear. "Got it. We'll let you know once Riddler is appra…appre…is caught."
Weiss sighed while Oracle laughed. Robin remained silent, his only reaction being a shake of his head. Once Oracle clicked off the radio, a sheepish Ruby refocused herself and brought up the riddle to her HUD. Robin and Weiss echoed her actions. Words scrolled their HUDs, tinted a bright green. Whether that was Oracle's doing or simply the signal, they did not know, nor did they really care.
"'What is always on its way here, but never arrives?'" Weiss read aloud, then groaned. "Great, another Riddle. Why am I not surprised?"
"Yeah, at this point, it's to be expected," Ruby concurred, then began to prance around the rooftop with her finger brought up to her chin. "Hmm, this one's tricky. Shipping related?"
"No, that's too obvious," Weiss said, shaking her head. "He asked me a few riddles, too, and none of them had obvious answers."
"Fits his MO," Robin concurred, then hummed to himself. "Always coming, but never arrives..."
The trio thought hard on the rooftop. An indeterminate amount of time passed, which they couldn't accurately pinpoint. It all seemed to just pass by so quickly. A multitude of potential answers were given, but none seemed to truly fit. Finally, Weiss perked her head up in realization, which both Ruby and Robin noticed.
"I got it," she announced. "Tomorrow. The answer's tomorrow."
"Tomorrow? What do you mean?" Ruby asked, but Robin held up his finger.
"Now, she's right. If you think about it, tomorrow never truly comes. It's always everchanging, moving one day ahead of us at all times."
"Ohh," Ruby said, nodding. "Now I get it. But, how's tomorrow supposed to lead us to the Riddler?"
"It's probably a taunt," Weiss suggested. "Saying that we'll never be able to catch him."
"But it's just as likely to be a clue towards his location," Robin pointed out. He wracked his brain, trying to discern what the possible answer could be, while Ruby's face held a contemplative look. After a few moments, she pressed her fingers to her ears once again.
"Oracle, can you do me a favor and give me everything in Gotham City related to 'tomorrow'?" she requested, breaking Robin and Weiss from their thoughts.
"One moment," Oracle replied. A few seconds later, a small directory appeared in their HUDs. "There you are. A list of every business, street, and transport associated with tomorrow."
"Thank you." Ruby shut off her comms, then turned to Robin and Weiss. The two were already poring over the details, and Robin nodded towards her.
"Good idea. It's likely that Nygma's hiding out in one of these places," Weiss congratulated her partner, to which Ruby beamed. The trio continued their search, remotely scanning the locations to try and discern where Riddler was hiding.
"I think I got him," Robin announced, settling on a single location. "A laboratory once owned by the disgraced inventor T. O. Morrow. There's a blackzone around it where I can't get any feeds, and I guarantee that's where Riddler's set up his base of operations."
"Well then," Weiss began as she checked Myrtenaster. "What are we waiting for? Let's go nab this guy."
"Took the words right out my mouth," Robin stated before he, Ruby, and Weiss flew off into the night.
When the trio finally arrived at the building, Weiss couldn't help but sneer at its condition. It was dilapidated and condemned. Broken windows were sealed off by plywood, dark streaks of grime and Gods knew what else cascaded down the brick exterior, and the rain gutters were hanging off of the roof by a thread. It was disgusting, which made it a perfect place for a madman to set up shop.
"I'm in position," Robin announced as he glided over to the building's roof. He pressed a button on his mask, then frowned. "Lead lined walls and roofs. I can't see inside."
"Thermal's not picking up anything, either," Ruby revealed as she lay prone on a rooftop opposite the laboratory, holding a scope to her eye.
"Paranoid, isn't he?" Weiss rhetorically asked, and she saw Robin nod. "How are we going to get in?"
"One moment," Robin said as he pulled out an apparatus. It unfolded, revealing a twin-stick interface and a holographic projection into his HUD. At the same time, his HUD changed perspective, showing them the electronics in the immediate area.
"There, next to you Ivory," Robin announced while placing a group waypoint. Weiss followed it, seeing that it landed on a wall-embedded computer monitor with a built-in keyboard.
"I see it," Weiss replied as she made her way towards it. The screen was idle, showing only a dull green Wayne Industries logo that briefly flickered to a question mark. She pressed a few keys, which immediately caused the screen to shift.
"It's password protected," Weiss revealed. Without saying a word, Robin dropped the apparatus from above, which she easily caught.
"Use this," Robin preemptively answered, and Weiss nodded. She then crouched down and reopened the apparatus, which then wirelessly connected to the computer. Ten underscores appeared in the projection, and after taking a few moments to determine how the hacker worked, Weiss began to manipulate it. Letters shifted across the screen as she used the device to create words, hoping that one of them would answer it. Combination after combination formed on screen, but none were the correct answer.
"Stupid thing," Weiss grumbled as she continued to work the device. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ruby glide over to a barely intact fire escape, while Robin had returned to a sealed skylight. Finally, Weiss formed one final password combination, reading "ALANTURING", and the computer beeped in acceptance. Around the building, she heard the unlatching of locks, and smiled as she pocketed the device.
"We're in," Weiss stated as she moved to the door, clutching Myrtenaster in her hand while gently opening it with the other. When she got inside, she was greeted by a moldy interior, the walls heavily rotted. Dust floated in the air, and a foul stench threatened to make Weiss hurl. She kept the contents of her stomach contained, with great difficulty, and put on her rebreather before continuing her trek inside. Even if this air wasn't technically poisonous, she saw no reason to subject herself to it.
"I'm on the third floor," Robin spoke through the radio as he entered the building.
"Second for me. Geez, this guy needs to clean up the place," Ruby complained, to which Weiss nodded. She crept into the next room, seeing pieces of broken lab equipment scattered across the floor and on tables. Years of dust was accumulated on them, telling her that for whatever reason, Riddler wasn't using it. Whether it was due to disinterest or simply not part of his current plan, she couldn't begin to guess.
When she entered the next room, she saw that, unlike the rest, it had been completely cleared. There was clear evidence towards work being conducted in the room, judging by the suspicious lack of furniture and dust. The floor itself became a grate of metal and glass instead of hardwood, and despite the clear invitation, Weiss refused to step foot on it. Instead, she went back into the next room and, using a glyph, placed a wooden chair on one of the panels. Nothing happened, causing her to frown.
"Alright, Nygma. I know this is one of your tricks," she announced to the empty room, spinning around to try and see if there were any clues towards his whereabouts. "One that I'm not going to fall for. So, how about you make this easy and just come on out."
"Oh, but Ivory?" Riddler replied over the building's intercoms, the lights suddenly turning on and illuminating the activated panels. "Where's the fun in that?"
Weiss watched as the chair suddenly had electricity course through it. The wood charred and burned, but otherwise remained intact. Rather than appear fearful, Weiss looked unamused and placed her hand on her hips.
"Oh, come on!" Robin shouted, telling her that he, too, was experiencing the same thing.
"Why'd you have to taunt him?" Ruby asked, and Weiss groaned.
"Oh, like him doing this is my fault?!"
"And the arguing begins already!" Riddler taunted, causing Weiss to growl and clench her fist. "A pity, given my latest puzzle. If you can't work as one, it'll make you all sizzle."
"What makes you think we're going to play your game?" Weiss asked, and Riddler laughed.
"Hoho! You don't have a choice!" As Riddler spoke, Weiss heard locks clamp shut all around the building, and metal doors slammed themselves from in-between the door she walked in. Quickly, she spun around the room, watching as every entrance and exit was barricaded before her very eyes.
'Dammit, it was a trap!' Weiss realized with a grimace, while Riddler cackled.
"Now you finally realize how out of your depth you truly are!" Riddler mocked as the building shuddered. "You and your feeble little minds had no chance of besting me, not when you've fallen into my little trap. If you ever want to leave this building alive, you have no option but to solve my puzzle before the timer runs out, which I sincerely doubt you'd be able to do."
Riddler stopped talking as a large screen descended from the roof. A projector shown a countdown onto it, starting at sixty before ticking down. Weiss didn't want to know what would happen when the countdown reached zero, but she had no intention of staying around to find out.
"Dammit, I can't break through!" Robin shouted as dull thuds rang through the walls, likely explosions.
"Neither can I!" Ruby responded, Weiss hearing her stab and slash Rose Thorn repeatedly into the thick metal. "This knife blade's too short to get all the way through! Oh, if I had my sweetheart right now this'd be nothing!"
Weiss, meanwhile, tried to lift up the barricade with her glyph, but the heavy object barely moved. If she had more time, or some of her old Earth Dust, she was certain she could get out, but neither was an option.
"We have no choice," Weiss said as she eyed the countdown. Fifty seconds, it read, and Weiss frowned. She eyed the puzzle, kneeling down next to it while pressing down on her ear. "Do you guys see a bunch of floor panels, too? Ten by ten?"
"Yes, all electrified," Robin answered.
"Same," Ruby replied, and Weiss contemplated their situation. She thought back to Riddler's taunt, about how if they didn't work together, they would 'sizzle'. Obviously, a reference to the electricity, but how would…
Weiss' eyes widened as she realized exactly what to do. "Guys listen to me. We have to step on the exact same panel at the same time."
"Are you sure?" Ruby asked, and despite her partner not being able to see her, Weiss nodded.
"Yes," she insisted. "I think we have to make a pattern."
"Of what, exactly?" Robin asked, then paused. "It's a question mark, isn't it?"
"Probably," Ruby stated in a flat tone, and Weiss nodded. She looked back up at the timer and saw it was now nearing thirty seconds, and she frowned.
"Alright, I need you all to do exactly what I do," Weiss said as she moved to the center of the grid. At the same time, she connected her mask to the others, which simultaneously showed her what they saw. "Reaper, move two spaces to the right. Robin, move one to the left."
Both of her teammates moved themselves into position, and Weiss nodded. "Now, step onto the space."
The superheroes moved as one, gently stepping onto the platform as instructed. Weiss instinctually flinched, as did Ruby and Robin, but to their relief no harm came to them. Instead, the gridspace lit up bright green, showing a dark question mark in its center. Each let out a sigh, and Weiss smiled before refocusing herself.
"Okay, now jump over the next space to the one behind it. One, two, three."
Each of them jumped over the grid, their years of training allowing them to jump at the same time. Once again, none of them were shocked as the space lit up. With the time ticking down, the three heroes strode forward two more spaces, then on Weiss' urging, moved right a single space. They then walked forward four more spaces before turning left for two more. Finally, with the countdown nearing the final seconds, they moved down one space to complete the question mark, and at once the entire grid lit up and flashed green. The countdown stopped at exactly one second left, yet all three instinctually flinched.
"…Did we get it?" Ruby quietly asked. As if answering her question, the metal doors closing them in slid open, allowing them the opportunity to escape. "I'll take that as a yes!"
"No!" Riddler yelled through the intercom once again while Weiss, Ruby, and Robin left the deathtrap. "You three are cheating, you have to be! You looked up the answers on the internet, didn't you?!"
"If your riddles and your puzzles are so basic that they can be looked up on the internet, that says more about you than me," Weiss taunted as she ran through the building, and Riddler screamed in frustration.
"GAAGH!"
Weiss smirked as she eyed a series of wires extending out of the walls and into the floors and ceiling. At the same time, she saw red barrels embedded into the walls, the smell of gasoline coming out of them. She figured he likely intended that, if they couldn't complete the puzzle on time, he'd set the building on fire, or at the very least their rooms. Above, she heard the pattering of Ruby's feet, and when the wires went upstairs, Weiss followed them and almost ran into her partner.
"Oh, hey!" Ruby greeted Weiss with a smile before the two continued to follow the wires. Ruby pulled out Rose Thorn, sliding it back to load a round before they finally came across a metal walled room in the middle of a long corridor. Robin ran in from the other side, his sword held in hand, and nodded towards them. The young vigilante held a finger to his lips, telling them to be quiet as he crept to the room. Weiss and Ruby followed, forming up on the opposite side of a door. Silently, Robin pulled out a small metal wire with a camera attached to the end and poked it underneath the door. There, through the small lens, they saw a room filled with computer monitors of all shapes and sizes.
"They cheated, they must have been," they heard Riddler mumble as he walked back and forth inside the room, throwing objects haphazardly into a bag. Robin nodded at the confirmation he was there, and prepared to pull back the camera when the Riddler suddenly stopped and turned towards the door. The crazed man snarled, then aimed his cane at the door and pressed a button on its side, causing a large minigun to pop out of the wall next to him.
"Move!" Ruby yelled as she grabbed Weiss and Robin and used her Semblance to burst them away just as a hail of gunfire tore through sheet metal and rotten wood. Sparks and splinters filled the air as a deafening cacophony of gunfire erupted around them. The three heroes lay prone, covering their heads while trying to figure out what to do.
"Goodbye, cheaters!" the Riddler taunted as he opened an escape hatch from inside the room, and they heard a ladder extend to the ground. "Maybe next time!"
"Oh, there won't be a next time, for I am officially done!" Weiss shouted as she formed a shield of Nth metal glyphs around herself and her two teammates. The bullets slammed into them as she stood up, each impact causing the glyphs to shake and ripple like raindrops on a pond's surface but otherwise do no harm. Robin, Ruby, and Weiss herself charged through the gunfire, Weiss forcing her Aura entirely into her Semblance to block the otherwise fatal blows and caught a glimpse of Riddler's foot escaping to the floor above.
"Robin, the gun!" Weiss shouted. At once, Robin pulled out a batarang and threw it around the edge of the glyphs and towards the still firing minigun. The thrown projectile latched onto the weapon, and instantly short-circuited it. The minigun whined and slowed to a stop, the gunfire ceasing, but neither of them allowed themselves a chance to rest. Ruby grabbed hold of them once again, turning all three into a cloud of red, white, and orange rose petals. She followed Riddler's footsteps up to the roof, turning herself tangible just as he made his way towards the roof's edge.
"Oh no you don't!" Ruby shouted as she aimed Rose Thorn at Riddler's back, then fired a shock round into him. With a pained gasp, Edward Nygma spasmed to the ground, and Weiss encased his wrists and ankles in glyphs while Robin tied him with a bolo.
"Don't move," Robin hissed as he held his sword to Riddler's throat, the electricity coming to a halt. Weiss forced the Riddler to his knees and joined Robin in pointing her weapon threateningly at him. Ruby joined from the side, and only then did the Riddler look up from the ground.
"You have a gun? You weren't supposed to have a gun," he complained, but Ruby cheekily smirked.
"You should see my baby," she said, then looked at her partners. She motioned Weiss to take the lead, knowing that her partner was more skilled in this area than she was, and Weiss quickly took the opportunity.
"Now then, Edward," Weiss began, crouching down to look at the Riddler at eye level. "We have a few questions we want to ask you. We already know you sold Jonathan Crane a copy of your Enigma computing system, which he then used as part of a greater plot to plunge the city into chaos. That makes you an accomplice to an act that caused millions of dollars in property damage, not to mention hundreds of hospitalizations and dozens of deaths."
Nygma said nothing and merely growled, and Weiss narrowed her eyes. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way, Edward. Don't make us do the hard way."
"And what might that entail, exactly?" Edward Nygma mockingly asked, only for Robin to bring his face close to his. Using the pommel of his sword, Robin edged the Riddler closer and closer to the roof's edge, and as his back extended out from it, Robin hissed into his ear.
"That's one question you don't want answered," Robin told him, dangling the Riddler by the scruff of his shirt. A suddenly paler Riddler quickly nodded, knowing that like the Red Hood, the current Robin was entirely serious in his threats. Robin quickly pulled Riddler back, and the green-clad man breathed in and out for a few moments before recomposing himself. A heavy pause hung over the air as the three young heroes stared at the top of Riddler' s head.
"I didn't sell Enigma to him," he quietly spoke, his head hanging down.
"But you did sell it," Ruby pointed out, and he nodded.
"Yes, I did. To a third party."
"Do you know who they are?" Robin asked, but Riddler shook his head.
"No, because they lied and cheated. I thought they were working for Black Mask and wanted my system to avoid police detection, but when Scarecrow set off his bombs, I recognized my handiwork. I assure you, I had nothing to do with him."
"Yet you still intended to sell your system to a wanted criminal?" Weiss crossed her arms and frowned, but Riddler remained unapologetic.
"Yes, just not one who's completely crazy. I have standards, unlike the rest of the idiots in this city."
"Indeed." Weiss huffed and shook her head. "We're getting off topic. Do you have any idea who they can be?"
"No, again because they cheated. All I knew was that they were very dangerous people, people I didn't want to mess with. It's why I was hiding in here for the past month, minding my own business until you came along."
Weiss frowned, noticing the glaring omission in the Riddler's statement. "And the riddles? And the puzzles?"
The Riddler didn't answer and instead looked away with a grimace, telling her everything she needed to know. True to the files she had read up on him, the Riddler was obsessive over his games, and even when he was in hiding, he simply couldn't help himself. A part of her felt sad for him, but she pushed that thought aside.
"Edward Nygma, you're under arrest."
After Ruby and Robin went back down to Nygma's control room to connect Oracle to his mainframe, the Batwing was sent for them. The VTOL aircraft ferried them across town, the landscape below them shifting from concrete jungle to dense swamp and finally a thick forest. A worn road wound through the landscape, connecting Gotham City with perhaps its most infamous location. As the Batwing landed and allowed them to escort the Riddler out and into the arms of waiting staff, they saw a sign over the building's main entrance.
"Welcome to Arkham Asylum," Robin said as they escorted Edward Nygma and the nurses through the building. Once inside, the trio felt as though a dark presence was weighing down on all of them, and neither of the huntresses could stop a shiver from running down their spines. As they continued walking down, their heads swiveled from side to side, paying close attention to the what was happening around them.
"Gods, it's like out something out of a horror movie," Weiss whispered, keeping an eye on the dark, gothic architecture and feeling the heavy atmosphere, and Robin nodded.
"Yes. None of us like it, and we've tried everything to make it better," Robin revealed, keeping his hand hovering near his sword. "Trust me when I say that there is literally no other place for miles that can keep these people contained safely, and they do try their best."
They continued down the corridor, passing by several guard stations before finally reaching a service elevator. A contingent of guards, armed with rifles, were waiting for them, led by a bearded man with a hook for a hand. Ruby could read the nametag on his chest, and saw that it said 'Aaron Cash'.
"Well, welcome back, Riddler," Aaron greeted the bound supervillain, who himself merely grumbled angrily. Aaron smiled at this, then looked towards the young heroes as Riddler was escorted away. "Thanks for the assist. He broke out a few months ago, and we hadn't been able to find him."
"He didn't make it easy for us," Weiss admitted, to which Aaron nodded.
"He does that." Aaron then offered his hand, which all three heroes gladly took to shake. "We've got it under control from here, and I won't take up any more of your time."
"Thank you, Officer Cash," Robin replied, genuinely sounding respectful. He alongside Ruby and Weiss turned around, preparing to leave, only to stop as a red light suddenly flashed. The security guards and Robin grew tense while Ruby and Weiss became alarmed.
"What's going on?" Ruby asked, pulling out Rose Thorn.
"Prisoner transfer," Aaron Cash answered, a frown on his face. He then clicked the safety of his rifle off, the rest of his squad echoing his action. His attention was focused squarely on a metal door, and a series of clangs told that several were being opened in quick succession. All was quiet, the only sounds being doors opening and nervous breathing.
Then they heard it. It started small, faint and muffled from all the walls in between them. But it steadily grew louder and louder, to the point where it became unmistakable. A loud, uproarious laughter was echoing from behind the door, and as the door opened, Ruby and Weiss felt a cold chill fill their souls.
"HAHAHAH! HAHAH!" the man laughed despite having fifteen guns pointed at him at all times, and that was just his immediate guard. By now, every single officer and security guard was aiming their weapons at the man. Even Robin was holding out his sword, glaring with hateful eyes at the prisoner, yet the sight only made him laugh harder.
"HAHAHA! Really, all this for me? I'm touched, truly," he said, continuing to giggle as he was being escorted into the elevator. He caught a glimpse of the three heroes, and his manic smile grew wider and exposed more of his yellow teeth. "Oh, goody! Batsy's gone and adopted more young sidekicks. Ohho, I look forward to playing with you soon~!"
Ruby and Weiss were stunned to silence, and the man laughed harder. Aaron Cash and the rest of his guards piled into the elevator, refusing to take any chances, but the man kept his attention squarely on them. He continued to laugh, even as the doors closed behind him and the elevator descended into the asylum's depths. Only once the muffled laughter disappeared did the two huntresses allow themselves to breathe, and shakily they looked towards Robin.
"Was… Was that…?" Ruby began, and Robin nodded.
"Yes. That was the Joker," he answered, and again Weiss shivered. They had all heard stories about the Joker, about what he did and what he was capable of despite having no powers of his own. Both teams RWBY and JNPR understood that, not willing to underestimate the threat he posed. But to see him in the flesh, to hear his mad laughter, disturbed and frightened them more than they liked to admit.
"Let's get out of here," Ruby stated, and without saying a word, Robin and Weiss joined her.
[~][~]
Hello, everyone! Here's the latest chapter of Hunters of Justice. Special thanks to NaanContributor and Jesse K for all their help in bringing this story to life. The Gotham Arc of the story is well underway, and we have several more encounters with your favorite Batman heroes and villains for you all to enjoy.
Now, for the Q&A:
Hazzamo: I'm glad you laughed. To be honest, that was the entire point of that scene, but the incredulity of Bat-Cow being a thing and having a tendency to break into Wayne Manor just to chew on Weiss' hair, but also for the neat contrast between RWBYJNPR's situation and what Glynda Goodwitch was thinking of. The last thing she thought was that RWBYJNPR had an encounter with a weird cow.
Wolfpackersson09: Glad to have you with us! We really appreciate all the reviews you guys leave us, and we hope you continue to enjoy the story. As for shipping, my lips are sealed on that front. It will be a thing, but not a major thing as the core of the story is RWBYJNPR interacting with the DC universe. The last thing we want is for a romantic plot tumor to emerge, as that could kill the entire story if done incorrectly.
Espada-001: It was explained back in Chapter 3, actually. Basically, in HoJ, Aura stems from a meta-gene, one that is universal among all Remnantians. This isn't limited to humans or faunus, rather all lifeforms on Remnant evolved this ability. Unlike Earth's meta-gene, which has a wide array of potential effects with varying power levels, the Remnantian meta-gene is fairly uniform in that it always results in the same outcome: the individual's soul is extended outward, allowing the individual to increase their strength, durability, regeneration, enhance their senses, and more. A Semblance is just a natural byproduct of the soul coming out into the open, so it could be seen as a secondary effect of the Remnantian meta-gene. Basically, long story short even though all things do have souls, both on Remnant and Earth/other planets, Aura is a purely Remnantian thing. So, don't expect to see Batman or Green Arrow or another non-powered superhero get their Aura unlocked, as we felt giving them powers went against their very characters and why they're so interesting.
nasralraheeb: Yeah, I am aware of the RWBY/DC Comic. It's a good read, and I intend to utilize whatever new bits of information they reveal.
Croniklerx: I'm sorry you feel that way, however allow me the chance to try and clarify. In regards to Batman, for one I've established that he feels an incredible amount of sympathy for what the two teams went through. Yes, it was at a vastly different scale, but he still feels for them. Not to mention their experiences in Jump City have more than proven their aptitude and trustworthiness, and that's ignoring the huge curveball that was Ruby's eyes. That alone makes Batman want to keep his eyes close to them. Plus, out of the rest of the main JL members, Batman has the resources to house and train them like no one else. As for the secret identities, remember that Weiss already figured out Bruce's identity. After that, the rest of the Batfamily saw no point trying to hide it. Had she not, they probably would have kept their identities a secret. As for Damian and Jason, I personally see them as Jerks with Hearts of Gold. Damian can be a shit at times, which I tried to emphasize with his interactions with Weiss. But, at the same time, Damian is still a very heroic individual (Injustice not withstanding). He desperately wants to live up to being Robin, and there's a storyline where Batman drops him off on the other side of Gotham and tells him to make his way over in a certain time, otherwise he fails. Damian failed because he couldn't stop helping each and every person he could on the way, which was the actual test. For Jason, again I see him as a person who's rough around the edges, and has a different methodology, but is still a hero. His relationship is strained at times, and future events will show this, but the benefit of a lived-in world like the one we've constructed allows us to know that things happened in the past between them that buried most of the hatchet.
Unsettling-A.I.R: Glad to have you with us, and I'm glad that you're liking the original plot we've been brewing. To be honest, that originality was something we strove to do and has guided much of our decisions. The last thing we want is to be predictable, know what I mean? Plus, being original allows us to fully explore the entirety of the DC Universe much more than straight-up adapting what someone else did, and that's ignoring how boring it is to do that. As for shipping, see my answer above. With Jaune's Semblance, I can confirm that it's his canon semblance, as we see no reason to change it now that we know what it is. Besides, there's a lot we can use with his canon Semblance, as it's broken as hell and would be really fun to play with.
edinosaur25: Yep, we really tried to emphasize how evil certain villains are, so I'm glad that our efforts have been working out so far.
Jackalope89: The Bat-Cow scene was really fun to write, and you can expect more of it in the future. Same with Bat-Family Drama, when the time comes.
I Am The Prophet: Yep, this is the Gotham Arc front and center. These next few chapters are going to be fun.
Jacob9594: As you can see, yes. Yes they are.
Vein Bloodborne: Yeah, Raven is a hypocritical coward through and through. Hence why she joined Brainiac and why she's acting like a jerk towards everyone else. It's a bit of a facade she shows off, both to others and to herself to make it look like she's in control when, deep down, she knows she's not.
mastergamer14: I can't answer the first part, for obvious reasons, but I can say that we're still deciding on whether or not a potential sequel would be included in Hunters of Justice or be split off into its own separate story. Once we get closer to that point, we'll let you guys know.
meeyaaargh3412: Yep, RWBYJNPR are now going on a night on the town in Gotham City, and we plan to showcase more of how the Batfamily lives their daily lives. The teams' relationship with Batman is extremely important in this story, just as important as their relationship with Superman. Hence why they're the League members highlighted on the character tags.
Steelrain66: No one really does expect the cow. In regards to Swamp Thing, you'll need to stay tuned as to whether or not we use him. Our philosophy is that we want to use as much elements from DC as possible, however only if their inclusion fits the plot/setting. Hence we we didn't show the whole 'Tamaraneans learn languages via kissing' gag, as we couldn't fit it into the story properly yet. If we can find a way to put something in there, we'll do it. Otherwise, you'll just have to wait and see.
SulliMike23: Nope, Joker was not involved in Scarecrow's attack as he was locked up in Arkham Asylum. I do have plans for him, though.
That's it for now. See you all next time!