A/N: I just saw the debut of Sue Dibny in the Flash TV show. While slightly different than what I expected, the chemistry is on point and I'm happy Sue is finally joining her to-be-husband in another form of media. On a similar note, I'm more inspired than ever to do my best here and make it work like a charm!

GoldObsidian: Thanks for your praise! I'm doing my hardest to keep Ralph and Sue at least a little in-character here. And it's okay if you don't know Dhark, this chapter will provide more details.

Now back to the mystery!

If it weren't for the Dearbon fortune that Sue was lucky enough to have inherited, her and Ralph may have never been able to go on their mystery-hunting trips. It was the reason they could see so much and find the truth in odd places. And thankfully she'd been smart enough to invest in interest capital that renewed every month; their Opal City flat and Ralph's nylon clothing weren't cheap.

The funny thing, in this case, was that the two had never taken a visit to Midway City. Never, not once. Chalking it up to an abundance of superhero work, they'd heard tales from Ralph's teammate and sometimes-friend Hawkman about the city's grand metropolitan design. Sue was already making a list of things to check off on their presumably short time there, and she hoped some downtime would be problem-free.

Their taxi dropped them off in front of a large rectangular building that went for a couple of miles left and right, surrounded by a moderate parking lot. "KHRAD INDUSTRIES" was placed on the front of it all. The front entrance was very ornate, with aged green bricks and some sleek design that looked modern. To Sue, however, it was less impressive than every building she'd seen – especially the Hall of Justice.

"Khrad Industries, huh?" Ralph announced from the entrance to the parking lot. Out of curiosity, he stretched up into the air until he was around thirty feet higher than he normally would be and gazed down at it. Feeling confidant with the view, he retracted back down. "Looks like a normal company from the outside."

"Doesn't hurt to check them out, then," Sue mentioned. "Lex Luthor owns a multi-billion-dollar corporation and he constantly skimps jail because people think his building looks nice."

Ralph gave her a teasing grin. "I never said I believed in the facade. Just an observation, sweetie."

"Sure." She looked momentarily to the blinding sun and turned to her husband. "Uh, what's with the costume? You packed a full week of normal clothes."

"That's where you come in, honey," Ralph said. "Think you can fit me in your purse?"

"…Might I ask why?" Sue pondered to him.

"To get in. Unnoticed?"

Sighing, Sue opened her turquoise purse to her husband. "This better not be a regular thing, Y'know. The last thing I need is a mess of lipstick for the dryer to sort out."

"Heh," Ralph said nervously. "You got it!" He looked to the bag, then breathed and slowed his body's movement. Sue might've fallen backward when her husband folded in on himself to the point that he resembled a small rolled-up towel on the ground.

After picking him up and placing him in her purse, Sue eyed him a little. "How long can you hold that form?

"…A little while…" he wheezed from inside the bag. "Just keep… your purse open…somewhat, and…I'll slip…out."

Sue hummed in agreement before walking up the steps and through the entrance. Somewhat like she'd pictured, the entrance lobby was a rectangular one with green seats and a green set of walls and carpeting. A thin pencil of a woman in a white suit sat at a desk, typing monotonously when Sue walked up to her.

"Might I help you?" The secretary asked without looking up.

"Hi…uh, my name's… Glinda… and I was interested…in, uh," Sue stuttered while trying to come up with an excuse. "…the company."

The secretary replied, eyes still glued to her typing. "What about it?"

"…Just…whatever you guys do?!"

As the "conversation" between the two women went on, the small purple and white sliver that was Ralph slipped out of Sue's purse onto the floor. Making sure he was safe from prying eyes, he quickly sneaked near the wall and elongated up to the air duct in an instant, depositing himself there in no time.

Once inside the ventilation duct, Ralph unfolded his body so he was back to normal size – and still in the vent. Memorizing the schematics he had downloaded of the building, Ralph made a couple of turns. It was a tight squeeze, but he had stretched in smaller spaces than this and was more than comfortable doing it if nobody saw him. He hoped. A turn left and the smell of machinery and something foreign entered Ralph's nostrils. Funny, given that Khrad Industries was only supposed to be making renewable automobiles. The idea that they were up to no good was a given, but Ralph's curiosity spiked nonetheless. When his eyes spotted the slits of an exit, he immediately began elongating himself through the duct and slightly peeked out.

The chamber he was staring into was a massive room with a large roof. He must've wound up in the back of the factory. Below him, there were legions of conveyor belts and at least a few areas where car parts were being assembled by teams of competent workers. From his vantage point, it all looked like clockwork. Not even that illegal in fa-

"We need more time, Mr. Dhark."

Ralph twisted his head and froze. Two figures approached his vicinity from many feet below. One looked to be a worrisome foreman holding a clipboard and looking tenderly to the other man. Said person had a black business suit on, peachy skin, and the boldest white hair you could picture out of a crowd. He might've looked otherwise healthy, but Ralph let his neck lower some more feet to see visible, black veins all over his skin. Then a lightbulb went off in his head.

The one and only Damien Dhark.

"I understand, Renaldo, but we've already used up most of our resources," Dhark said charismatically. "This shipment is going to need to be here by tomorrow morning."

"But sir-"

Dhark held up his finger, causing the foreman to stop cold in his tracks. "Is that understood?"

"Yessir." All courage in the lesser man seemed to have vanished and instantly be replaced by fear.

"Great!" In the span of a second, Dhark's entire energy changed into a much more positive and convincing one. "Now, how about we get some lunch? I guess you could say all this planning has worked up an appetite!" They kept walking through and right under Ralph's hiding spot (much to his relief). Tempted as he was, Ralph needed to find a safer spot where he could get better information. Yeah, that was the right idea…

But as he attempted to retract himself, he felt an unnatural pull through his body. One second it was like being chocked, and the next he was sent flying towards the pavement. Ralph's body splattered and squashed into the floor, bent out of shape by the mysterious power.

"Mr. Dibny, or should I call you the Elongated Man? What a surprise!" As he expected, the voice of Dhark permeated everything Ralph couldn't see.

"That was…you?" Ralph wheezed while sorting his body out. Dhark seemed to be alone somehow, and with a glance, almost every other worker had disappeared. "I heard you could move objects with your mind. Guess that was my introduction."

"And I heard you prefer to snoop around like a good little Scooby-Doo," Dhark chuckled. "Tell me, what exactly can I do for you?"

Ralph took a second to choose what he'd say carefully. "Just wanted a peek of your factory. That's all."

"That's all?" Dhark repeated menacingly. "You may be a moderate detective, Mr. Dibny, but your lies need work. I can hear your heart, and it's a few beats off."

Hear my…heart? The list of stuff Ralph didn't know about this guy seemed to be growing even longer. From the way Dhark had already drawn him out, escape or excuses would probably not work. Asking him directly about Ra's would probably exacerbate the situation, and his powers alone might not be enough for someone with telekinesis. He needed information.

Which left the only other option he could think of: scuffling.

"Are you going to answer me?" Dhark demanded with a hardening tone.

"Of course," Ralph said, bending in on himself and straightening up. "What I wanted to say was…this!" Hoping that Dhark's ego was more distracting than his senses, the Elongated Man hooked a fist and shot it out until it smacked Dhark right in the face. He fumbled backward with his hands clutching his nose, giving Ralph the time to turn and stretch away. However, he'd only gotten a few feet before a manufacturing instrument flew past his head and into the wall – violently.

"Hewww brewk mhhyyy knooseee!" Dhark screamed gutturally. His left hand clutched his bleeding nostrils while his right focused itself in the air. To Ralph's horror, unfished automobile parts rose up behind him. "Uhhhh wheeessh uu hidddnt dooo that."

He might be inclined to agree with the latter part, as the furious objects flew towards his body, and It took considerable effort to dodge them.

From the lobby, Sue tried her best to think of a conniving way to keep her cover going. The beady-eyed secretary glanced her way but was seemingly more in love with whatever she was typing up than letting "Glinda" get a tour of the factory. Or maybe she had already checked out her alibi and was only delaying the inevitable villain enforcement. Trust yourself, Sue told herself.

CRAAAASSSHHH!

"What was that?" exclaimed Sue as she swerved and looked to the entrance of the warehouse section.

"Nothing to worry about. Mr. Dhark's portably working his nerves out again," the secretary robotically breathed.

Not convinced. Sue got up in a sweat and pushed through the doors with no, the sudden cries of the secretary be damned. She meandered through a few different aisles before noticing acres of equipment on the ground looking thrown and bruised beyond normal. She would've gone deeper past the mess had she not heard some ecstatic yelling.

"Give it up, Dhark!" Sue paused and realized her husband had to be saying that. Bolting around the corner, she immediately recognized Ralph restraining a man she assumed to be Dhark. Just as she got closer, though, her husband's coiled body seized and looked to violently stretch off the man before pooling on the ground. As if by magic.

"How?!" Ralph asked surprised as the villain's pressure lifted his chewed-and-stretched form into the air. "That pressure should've been enough to knock you unconscious at best!"

"Please, Mr. Dibny," said Dhark with a fiendish smirk, "you are in no way my equal."

"Ahem."

Dhark looked back and kept his smile when he realized Sue stood not five feet from him. "Ah. The famed Sue Dibny. You and your husband wouldn't be a couple without traveling together, now would you?"

Sue shortened her sleeves and took closer steps. "Dhark, let him go. Now."

Starkly laughing, Dhark quickened his telekinetic rip on the stretchable sleuth. "What are you going to do? Throw money?"

"I don't know," Sue responded, "but I'm a pretty pissed heiress, and I happen to have Superman on speed dial. Your call."

Seemingly weighing his options, Dhark sighed and loosened his hand, sending Ralph crashing slightly into the ground. "Fine. This was beginning to get boring." Once Sue had run over to her spouse and helped him collect himself, Dhark spoke up again. "I'm sorry, but for what reason did you think you could take me here? There's a perfectly reasonable time to fight me, and it's not during office hours."

The Elongated Man cleared his throat. "Ra's Al Ghul's lost his Lazarus pit, and he suspected you might be involved."

"…Give me a second….just, please…" Dhark wheezed, his face getting red. "HA! Hahaha! My god, that is hilarious!"

"It's no joke," Ralph iterated amid Dhark's laughing fit. "He hired me to find it."

"Wow! You?" Dhark got a couple more laughs out and collapsed to his knees. "That…is...ha! Priceless…"

"So… you didn't steal it?" asked Ralph, looking more confused.

"Why ever would I want his stupid Lazarus pit?" Dhark explained as he straightened up. "I'm already aging like wine thanks to my supernatural connections. To my, Ra's pit is worthless."

"So you say," Sue added.

Dhark glared at her. "Yes, as I say."

"If that's the case, you wouldn't mind us taking a search fo your property?" Ralph stretched an arm out to gesture to the entire manufacturing scene.

"I don't think you're hearing me, Mr. Dibny," Dhark iterated. "I don't have it. It ever occur to your brilliant detective mind that maybe Ra's sent you here by mistake? Besides, you've already committed a few questionable actions, which as we all know, wouldn't be so good for your 'heroic' reputation. And there's the matter of the mess our fight caused, which'll just be more work for my good-natured employees."

"…"

"Now, given that we've come to an understanding about my business and this…mess my former compatriot's fallen into, how about I give you a cab ride back to your hotel? It's the least I can do, literally.

"I-" Ralph attempted, but was stopped by Sue pulling part of his rubbery arm her way.

"Take the win, honey."

Once night had fallen, the Dibny's were escorted honorably out of the building and given a free lift by one of Dhark's chauffeurs. The car swerved by a small forest on the outskirts of the lot on its way out. Unbeknownst to the exiting vehicle, a small figure peered at them through the darkness. He lay on the roof of a log, dressed from head-to-toe in riveting blue and white spandex. He reached for the comms in his suit and clicked it. "Boss, this is Dwarfstar. Over."

"Report?" The communications device in his pocket breathed a gravelly voice.

"Elongated Man and his wife are getting closer. Dunno if you want me to do something about it. Because I can, y' know."

"…Not now. Your…bloody antics are appreciated, but I have plans in place. For the moment, continue to observe them. Preferably as close as you can, and report to the League of Shadows when you next can."

A sickening idea filtered through the small assassin's mind. "Ya got it, boss." He stashed the communicator into his pocket and made a surprising leap across the logs in front of him, disappearing into the hue of the night with a blue POP!

A/N: Dwarfstar! Damien Dhark! Stuff is getting complicated. Clues as to who stole Ra's Lazarus Pit are going to pop up next chapter, and expect a bit more detective work – and powers - on Ralph's part. Until then!