A/N: Hello there! I'm super thankful for the response to this story and what's going on in it. Any comments and followings are greatly appreciated!

GoldObsidian: Thanks a lot! I'm glad you liked it. I'll try to do my best to honor Ralph and Sue's history here, but don't be surprised if humorous Ralph moments don't pop up now and then.

Back to the writing!

"Huh."

The words left Sue Dibny's mouth without consideration, and then she was rewarded with intense stares from the Demon's Head and his daughter. "I-I mean, wow. That's…sorry, I just didn't' expect this. An empty giant pit." An awkward silence followed, and she exchanged a look with her husband. "Um…what was in there?"

"The ancient chemicals that keep me from aging," Ra's answered shrilly.

"Huh."

"Indeed."

Talia stepped forward, hand on her hilt. "Father, shall I kill her? Her insolence radiates in waves."

Not looking to Sue's stark white face, Ra's shook his head. "She may be a sophisticated woman, but she is no threat, daughter. Merely a pawn."

"Hey! I'm a lot more than a pawn," Sue exclaimed loudly. "Just let me out and I can show you!"

"I have no doubt of that, Mrs. Dibny," Ra's explained, "but my business is with your husband, so your patience will need to wait a bit more." He swerved and snapped his fingers. Somehow, the binds of Ralph's body collapsed into being looser, and he used that immediately to right himself to normal.

"Thank god!" said Ralph. "If I'd been left like that, I might as well be that Olsen kid when he took a bad dose of Gingold."

"Who?" The Demon's head asked, puzzled.

"Sorry. Reference. You were saying?"

"Let us talk alone, Mr. Dibny. Come," Ra's replied, beckoning to a further hall with less green torches and some natural light. Giving a reassuring look back to his wife, Ralph followed Ra's through the rocky hall until they were in a crisp balcony that was somehow worked into the area. All the natural light that filtered through and the architectural fibers and structures confounded him. How had this been accomplished?

Then he felt his nose wiggle and put the thoughts to the back of his mind. Those were mysteries for another day.

"Where are we?" Ralph asked.

"Nanda Parbat. You might find it a good vacation spot this time of year."

Ralph leaned against the wall, arms folded in rubbery fashion. He wasn't sold. "All seriousness aside, why me?"

Ra's took in a deep breath "…I seek a challenge."

A sharp and unexpected wind blew into the balcony at that moment. From another view, it appeared to make Ralph's form bend out of regular shape – at least momentarily. "What?"

"You, Mr. Dibny. You are a sleuth I have never met in the flesh or the mind. The Detective matches my wit with a darker one. His offspring have sparred my schemes at every turn. That loon Hawkman returns every so often, babbling about our past squabbles. And the Question? The less he rambles about my plots, the better. But you follow small crimes and odd conspiracies others label poppycock. You have an eye for the odd, and that is something I wish to admire – to respect. That is all I ask."

"Hmm." Ralph looked to the vast environment beyond the balcony – the snow and the ice, the sheer vastness of the trees and nature that stretched for miles. He honestly wanted to refuse the offer because of who Ra's was. None of his previous clients had been the leaders of mass terror organizations, and there was probably more Batman could let him in on. However, there was something about this mystery that just…intrigued him. Beyond the potentially impossible task of escaping with his and Sue's lives, Ra's was offering him that mystery he'd needed. Something so confusing and impossible it would be the perfect thing to reveal.

And to think, he was figuring this out instead of Batman! Batman!

"If you aid me in this endeavor, I will be in your debt," Ra's added.

Of course, Ralph's gut had to intervene. "And what happens if I say no?"

Something in Ra's posture shifted. At first, Ralph thought it was his legs or upper body, but then came to realize the source of disruption was something so ireful it made the man glance at his finger. The rugged texture of his index finger has shockingly turned into a warped and dried one, where age reigned.

"There will be no consequences, Mr. Dibny," Ra's said, "but understand that I require the pit to survive. Survive. I am at wit's end. So if you refuse, I may soon be no better than dust."

That was something chilling to consider. Ralph looked to himself, Ra's, and then the balcony on more time. The temporary sights swirled in his mind, diluting what he might be thinking before he came to a stop and just waited. "Alright. I'll find your Lazarus Pit's contents."

"Very appreciated…detective," Ra's swiftly reposed with his hand out. Ralph shook it and looked back to the cavern.

"So, what now?" he asked.

"Don't worry," Ra's interrupted smoothly. "This will be all taken care of, once you close your eyes." The scent of a certain gas entered Ralph's nose, and he mentally swore.

"Oh, man! Not again…." Then he collapsed into a cavern of black thoughts, the Demon's Head standing idly over him.

When the couple woke up, they found themselves back in their hotel room and with all their bags. Ralph put a hand to his groggy forehead while Sue folded off the bed and looked around, coming to her senses.

"That…was something," Sue exclaimed as she bent down and grabbed her wallet, which had fallen onto the carpet. "What did Ra's say to you?"

"Huh?" Ralph said while remembering. "Oh! Yeah. I said I'd go find his Lazarus pit."

"What?" Sue shrieked. "Ralph, he kidnapped us! He's a terrorist!"

"And he's also a guy who needs my help! You said it yourself, I need a mystery and this is the best one I've got." Ralph moved closer to Sue, wrapping his arms slowly around her reassuringly. "Honey, I want to do this. Can you understand that?"

"…Alright," Sue replied with a gradual smirk. "But you aren't doing any of this alone, sweetie. Got it?"

"Of course." He lovingly pecked her cheek.

"Hey, what's that?" Sue pointed, her finger aimed at the wall. Ralph saw it too and elongated his arm some feet before snatching it over to the pair of them. It was a small slip of paper with an address and a message on it, though some water or substance had dampened it.

My sources and my iron mind suspect this one man. You will find him at this address:

KRAHD INDUSTRIES, LOCATED IN MIDWAY CITY.

OWNED BY ONE DAMIEN DHARK.

FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS WILL BE SENT.

"Damien Dhark?!" Ralph said shrilly.

"You know him?" Sue asked.

"Not personally, but I know of him," Ralph explained while elongating around the room, rummaging for something he needed. "He's a former friend of the League and Ra's who went and formed his terrorist faction – H.I.V.E. He's also an occultist, and I last heard Green Arrow was giving him hell."

Sue smirked. "Guess I'll need to buy plane tickets, huh?"

Ralph smiled, stretched his neck over, and pecked her on the lips. "Thanks, honey."

As Sue went to go call the airlines, Ralph stretched to the far side of the room and admired his costumed self in the mirror. For once, he looked happier than had been in a great while. And much happier than Batman would be when he found out about this (he hoped).

They were going to solve this mystery!

A/N: That's what Ralph thinks. But make of it what you will. Next chapter, there'll be some cool cameos and a certain baddie from Arrow making his debut. Watching out for the DARHK shadows, huh?