Author's note: This is going to be a really rough start. Just a heads up. But if you stick around, you'll finally get a glimpse of our criminal mastermind.
Batman yanked open the door to the Upper Corridor of the medical facility; the corridor split off into two separate hallways. The hallway that continued straight to the X-ray room had a yellow line painted on the floor; the hall on the left that branched off to the surgery and patient observation had red and blue lines to indicate the path to their respective rooms. Both hallways had been painted with lime green question marks scribbled on the walls and ceiling. On a desk in front of the door was a particularly large question mark, with an earwig placed in the center. Batman cautiously lifted his cowl, and placed it in his unoccupied ear. No sooner had he inserted it, then a condescending sing-song voice spoke into his ear.
"Greetings, Dark Knight Detective. Are you ready for another game of cat and mouse?"
"Save it, Riddler. I've got better things to do than play games with you." Batman snarled.
"Oh, but you'll take up my challenge, or your friends will die. And remember, you do this alone. No, communications, no cheating. If anybody contacts you, I'll know about it. Now... All you need to do to start is walk straight down the yellow line to the X-ray room. You can manage that, can't you?"
Batman sprinted down the long hallway, all too aware of the security cameras following his every move. When he reached the end, he pulled open the doorway. The entire room was covered in the same hastily scrawled green question marks that adorned the hallways. Batman's eyes were immediately drawn to the center of the room, where a small steel cage had be set up. Locked inside were Green Lantern and Shayera Hol; both were unconscious, and had been tossed carelessly in a heap on the floor.
"Now... The real puzzle begins. I've set up three bombs in this room; when they go off, they'll release enough carbon monoxide to kill you and your friends ten times over. To solve the puzzle, you need to find and disarm them all... You have three minutes, starting... NOW!"
Batman ran to the cage; as soon as he'd confirmed that John and Shayera's vitals were stable, he retrieved his lock-picking tools and when to work on trying to open it. However, he'd barely inserted the pick when a shock issued from the cage, forcing him away.
"Not today, Batman!" The Riddler scoffed. "Cheating will earn you a one minute penalty! You'd better hurry!"
Batman swore and charged into action. He noticed quickly that a grate on one of the wall fans had been recently replaced. He ripped the grate off the wall, revealing the bomb. Analyzing and disarming the bomb was simple enough, taking only about twenty seconds. He quickly scanned the room, noticing scratch marks on the floor in front of the radiator. He found the bomb behind it, disposing of it as quickly and easily as the first.
"Oho, not bad, Dark Knight! Maybe when we're done here you can help me find my car keys? But wait, I forgot! You're going to die in there! There's still one more bomb, and you still have a minute to fail. Show me your best shot, Dark Knight."
Batman's last sweep of the room led him to a desk littered with pictures of X-rays. Batman rummaged through the drawers, finding the final bomb in the bottom drawer.
"Very good, very good," the Riddler goaded. "But can you disarm it in the thirty seconds you have left to live? I wouldn't bet on it... Tick, tock, tick, tock..."
Batman carefully opened the bomb, and made to cut the first wire; he stopped short, noticing a wire that hadn't been present in the first two. It wrapped around itself, leading to deep within the bomb. Upon following it, Batman saw that it led to another bomb hidden behind the desk. By closely examining the make of the two bombs, he realized that the first bomb was a decoy, and that disarming it would trigger the second.
"Times running out Batman... What are you doing?" The Riddler shouted, beginning to sound agitated. "Disarm it, you monkey! You only have ten seconds, or they'll die with you! Five... How did you figure that out? You must have cheated, you can't be smarter than me... You'll see. Now. Get over to the surgery room!"
"I'm not leaving without them"
"You'll leave them, or I'll kill the rest right now." The Riddler barked.
Batman reluctantly left the room, following the yellow line back to the entrance to the Upper Corridor. He followed the red line to surgery, dreading what he'd find ahead. The room wasn't as bad as he'd expected; Superman and the Flash were unconscious and strapped by operating tables (Superman's bonds being infused with Kryptonite to keep him weak). Other than the Kryptonite, Batman couldn't see any immediate threats.
"Puzzled, Dark Knight? That's good! In order to survive this room, you'll need to solve one of my riddles! So, Batman... 'Can you stay one step ahead of this not so silent killer?' The clock's ticking, detective!" Accompanying his words, the gentle ticking of a watch issued from the earwig.
Batman closed his eyes in thought, analyzing the riddle from every angle. Suddenly, his eyes shot open. As quickly as he could, he ripped the device from his ear, tossing it out the door and slamming it shut. A large explosion issued from the hallway, blowing the corridor to pieces.
"NO, NO, NO!" The Riddler's voice shouted from the intercom. "YOU MUST BE CHEATING! YOU CAN'T BEAT ME! You'll see... I still have one more room left to- No! What are you doing?" Batman heard other voices and the sounds of heavy footsteps coming over the intercom. "Stop that!" The Riddler raved. "YOU'LL SPOIL THE PUZZLE, YOU INCOMPETENT STOOGES! I HAVE TO KNOW, AND HE CAN'T, CAN'T YOU BUFFOONS SEE? IF THERE'S NO SOLUTION TO THE PUZZLE, THEN I CAN'T WIN! YOU SIMPLETONS WILL PAY FOR- OOF!" The Riddler screamed as he was beaten down by an unseen force.
With few other options than to press forward, the Dark Knight made his way to the patient observation room. The sight that greeted him there was the most unwelcome yet; Batman could see through the glass window that the Riddler had set numerous traps for him, but those weren't what worried him. Wonder Woman was on the other side of the glass, visibly weakened just barely clinging to consciousness. She was being held up by her hair by a man that Batman didn't recognize. He was bald, but had a neat gray beard that ran from his temples to his chin. His pristine white lab coat and round eyeglasses that completely blocked his eyes gave him a rather sinister appearance. He was accompanied by the same five men that had invaded the Watchtower.
"Greetings." The man said in a pronounced German accent. His voice was deep, and would have almost been soothing under different circumstances. "I have been expecting you... Mr. Wayne."
Batman couldn't prevent his jaw from dropping slightly at the use of his given name. The villain grinned at his shock. "Oh, yes. I know. I know all about you."
"Let her go. Right. Now." Batman growled.
"I do not fear you, Batman. You cannot intimidate me." The stranger said, slowly pulling a syringe filled with clear liquid from his pocket and holding it dangerously close to Diana's neck. "And you would be wise not to try."
"Who are you? What do you want?"
"We have much to discuss, Mr. Wayne. The details will be revealed soon enough."
"Fine, we can talk. Just let her go."
"Oh, no, Mr. Wayne." The man said, smiling his broad, sinister smile. "Do you take me for a fool? I know that you are most resourceful." He pointed at desk on Batman's side of the glass with the hand holding the syringe. "On that table is a syringe containing a powerful paralytic of my own design. You will inject yourself with it. Then, I will answer your questions. And you... You will answer some of mine."
"Why go through all the trouble? I was practically unconscious two hours ago."
"All of your questions will be answered if you come with me, Mr. Wayne."
"Suppose I do. You let them go? All of them?"
"But of course..."
"And if I don't?"
"Then I show you what I have in this syringe." The man said, moving in on Diana's neck again. "And I assure you, it will not be a pleasant death."
"N-no!" Diana said weakly.
"How do I know that you'll let them go?"
"You don't, of course. But rest assured that should you resist, they will all die. Very slowly, and very painfully."
"Alright. You win." Unable to think of another way out of the situation, Batman reached for the mechanized syringe on the desk. As he moved it towards his neck, he locked eyes with Diana.
"Don't." She mouthed, too weak to speak. Batman simply nodded at her, inserting the syringe and pulling the trigger. He felt his body relax instantly. The man knocked Wonder Woman unconscious with a blow to the side and dropped her to the floor.
"Escort our beautiful friend here from the grounds." The man ordered his guards. "The Batman and I have business to discuss..." He said, closing in on the now completely paralyzed Dark Knight.
Author's Note: No reviews to respond to this time... Woe is me. Oh well, I'll make the best of things and use the space to talk a bit about the future. I'm sure that many of you recognized our new foe; for those who don't, all will be revealed soon enough. The next chapter should answer a lot of questions. This chapter was a bit difficult, but I kind of like how it turned out. Or the ending, anyway. Things are going to get good soon. Also, I've been focused on Batman so far, but I'm going to be able to focus on some other characters soon enough. I guess that's all for now. Narf out.
I'm just going to say, this was a huge pain in the ass to upload. It's 5am, and here I am trying to find a workaround to post this because seems to be rejecting my documents. Ah well.