Greetings and Salutations to anyone who cares enough to stop and read this. JustAnAverageGuy101 here. (Great name choice, right?). This is one of the first stories I'm doing so let's hope it goes well. On to the obligatory disclaimer. I do not own Chaotic, anything else from 4Kids Entertainment or anything from DC Comics. With that out of the way, onto the story. I thought it would be interesting to see what happens when The Question from the DC Animated Universe gets involved with the events of Chaotic. What'll change? Anyways I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1- Asking the Right Questions.

"How does one make the right connections to solving a case? The answer is to simply ask the right questions. When one does such, the question provides the key to the answer, the missing link in the puzzle and the buried truth that people know is out there but refuse to pursue."

These were the thoughts running through the odd mind of the man known to his friends as the very thing he seeks to answer: The Question. "So why can't I find the one I'm looking for when it comes to you?" he said, speaking his thoughts aloud as he looked down at the small device half-disassembled on his desk.

Question's idea of a good day was always the same: locking himself inside his quarters on the and searching for the "unseen links" to the "great mystery" as he liked to call them. As of late, he was investigating 4Stars Entertainment, a company that produced a card game called Chaotic. A game that had gained popularity with the younger generation and even some celebrities with a seeming unnatural speed, at least he thought so.

So many questions that need to be asked, but how to know which questions are the right ones? He thought as he tinkered with the yellow colored "Code Scanner" he had purchased.

"The game was only made about 3 years ago, but compared to other games of its type, this one grew more popular at an alarming rate compared to others. And how did it stand out to the younger generation exclusively in comparison to others?", He thought as he continued to examine the internals of the device for just about the sixth time that day.

"Nothing in the circuitry matches with any mind control technology in the JL archives, nor is there any sign of any such resemblance" He thought to himself, stumped by this point. "It's not advanced enough for someone like Gorilla Grodd or the Brain, doesn't have the kind of frequency emission tech used by someone like Sonar because the emitter is far too simplistic for the kind of frequency he uses, and most certainly not alien in origin," He mused. "Very odd".

The only odd thing is some circuitry that doesn't seem to have an apparent purpose and a signal transmitter and receiver. "Is it just a toy, '' he thought? No, it can't be harmless. That's what they want you to think. Subliminal messaging maybe? For all I know this could be the second coming of MK Ultra being used in conjunction with aglets on shoelaces to bring the younger generation under the control of a newer totalitarian regime run by the social elite or maybe mental suggestion and brainwashing done by simplistic copies of technology from Apokolips like what was done to Superman a couple years ago."

He stopped and took note of the time. 10:35, July 11th, He noted, "it's been longer than I thought," as he finished reassembling and reactivating the device. He picked himself up, wincing as his pain surged throughout his body as he aggravated the numerous injuries scattered all over and in his body: A reminder of his interrogation at the hands of CADMUS. 16 fractures of the arms and legs, 21 smaller fractures scattered across his ribcage, a severe concussion, and possible nerve damage done from constant shocks, and that was just the tip of the iceberg. The interrogation also left a significant toll on his mental health. It had been several months since the whole incident, but he was still healing, and confined to bed rest by order of JL medical personnel and even by J'onn for that matter. The real thing keeping him in his room was Helena as Question knew she could and WOULD most likely strap him into his bed if he tried to do any work.

Given recent events, Question still felt like work needed to get done, especially with the whole business of Brainiac being inside Luthor was an unexpected turn to say the least

Admittedly, he found the game entertaining. The concept of the "Tribes' ' (he had chosen Mipedian) was intriguing, but more so was the descriptions of the Creatures and Locations. The mystery only deepened when he logged onto one of the Chaotic chat rooms.

"The way they talk about it," he murmured to himself, "almost makes it sound like Chaotic is an actual place." He then noted that the players who talked about it that way, had at least a 7-game winning streak online, with some mentioning receiving a code. "Intriguing. Very intriguing. What is your purpose? What secrets do you hide?" he said to himself, as he glared at the device sitting innocently on his desk, as if trying to burn a hole into it.

He was then distracted by the pit in his stomach, realizing he hadn't eaten since yesterday. "Or was it the day before that?" He mused as he donned his coat and hat and limped slowly down the hall to the cafeteria of the Metrotower.

After he had gotten his food, he sat down, and took the Scanner out of his pocket, trying to think of whatever it was truly meant for.

"Something on your mind Q?" said a voice, snapping him out of his thoughts,revealing the source to be Green Arrow, as he and Dr. Fate sat down across from him.

"Yes, my latest investigation has me at a loss for once" he muttered, not taking his eyes off the Scanner. "

Green Arrow raised an eyebrow. "And what exactly would this "mystery" be?" He said, almost afraid to ask WHAT he was doing this time.

"This", Question said, holding up the Code Scanner. Arrow and Dr. Fate looked at it, then each other, then Question.

"Q,'' said Arrow pinching the bridge of his nose, "tell me that isn't a toy from that online card game for teens. How is ANYTHING suspicious about an online card game for that matter?"

"For a simple gaming item, the circuitry is astonishingly sophisticated," he defended. "There's something strange about it, but at the same time, there isn't, but the players odd behavior on that chat forums starts after they've won at least 7 matches, then they talk about it like its real life"

"Maybe because there actually isn't anything sinister about it to begin with" Arrow said, an unamused expression on his face. "Look, he said, 4Stars Entertainment was already checked by Bats and even he said the place was clean".

"That may be so, Question said, "but did he ask the right question?"

"Look, when has any of your conspiracy searches turned up any kind of good results? Name at least one and I might give you the benefit of the doubt" , said Green Arrow, leaning back in his chair and smirking at the faceless detective.

Upon hearing that, Question straightened up. "that's easy," he said, "the Antonio's chain and the BrainFreeze scandals".

Arrow still wasn't impressed. "First of all," he deadpanned, "you thought Antonio's was run by lizard people, while they were actually operating a drug ring and secondly, hiding a 32nd flavor of ice cream doesn't count as a conspiracy".

Question just shrugged in a "so?" kind of manner. "I still uncovered what they were hiding. It may not have been exactly what I was looking for, but they were still pieces of the puzzle yet to be uncovered"

"Have you actually tried playing the game?" interjected Dr. Fate. "Pardon?" asked Question.

"You said that players in the chatrooms talk about the game strangely after they had a seven-match winning streak online, yes?". Question nodded in affirmation.

"Perhaps a straightforward approach is the best one and the answer to your many questions" replied Fate.

"Fate, please, we're trying NOT to encourage him" groaned Arrow. "C'mon Q, just forget it and.." he trailed off seeing the seat Question had occupied now empty and spinning and no sign of the nutcase.

"Where do you suppose he's going?" Dr. Fate inquired.

"Honesty Doc, with him I have no clue why he does half of what he does or how he comes to the conclusions that he does, so knowing Q, it'll probably be just as crazy as the million other weird things he's done" Arrow said, already getting a headache.

Timeskip 1 hour later….

Question hummed a tune to himself as returned from his "errands", carrying several boxes from a variety of game shops in Metropolis, all of them marked with the Chaotic insignia.

"Well, that's step one done easy enough" ,he thought to himself as he walked down the hallway, receiving an odd look from Wildcat, Hawk, and Dove who all looked at each other and just shrugged. As he reached his room, he put the boxes down on his desk and went to open them, ready to build a capable deck.

"If the good Doctor is correct in his guess, then I have to win the seven matches and see what really makes this game tick," He sat down and began sorting his cards, inspecting them for anything unusual or deficient about them.

"Fascinating", he said out loud, "even the descriptions of the creatures makes it sound like they have their own individual personalities"

He had hit a bit of a jackpot as he had obtained Mugic, Battlegear, Locations, and even some of the rarest creatures in the game. Admittedly, he did like the look of the Mipedians.

…..30 Minutes Later

Question sat down at his computer. All of the card codes had been input and his username was set as QuestionR.

"Alright", he said. "Let's play".

—-

Alright, folks. That's Chapter 1 in a wrap. Really hope this doesn't crash and burn. Any constructive criticism is helpful, just let me know in the comments or PM me, it's appreciated, trust me. Follow, Fav and let me know what you think.

Cheers.