Disclaimer: I do not own any content in this story except the plot and 'Spark Bomb'
Ok, So I worked insanely hard on this! It's over 8900 words overall (this chapter and the next)! (sorry about that hehe) I hope you enjoy! And please REVIEW! XX
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
...Immediately...
Robin stood atop a stone gargoyle on building in Midtown Jump City; the Titans had agreed to split up to cover more ground while attempting to decipher the second Riddle…
I am the first you ever saw
what greets you every morning
but what goes out in the end
He turned the dial on the side of his communicator, adjusting the range to reach every Titan communicator in the city.
"Attention Titans, come in Titans"
Gorilla Beast Boy, who was still in the prison yard, morphed back to his normal self; to his left lay a pile of injured convicts each moaning about different animal bites
"Uhh, Robin… This is just a guess but uhh… I don't think the Riddler was here" said Beast Boy embarrassingly into his communicator. Sparkbomb's faint laugh could be heard, though slightly muffled, through the speaker on the device.
"That's what I tried to tell you… but that's not important right now, Riddlers already sent us his next riddle" echoed Robin's voice.
"Yeah I just got the message from Spark…"
"That's not all… Beast Boy, he's got Terra… if we don't save her by sunrise…" said Robin solemnly
"Oh yeah I know" said Beast Boy as if nothing was wrong
"Uhh, Beast Boy… did you hear what I just said?" asked Robin surprised
"Yeppers" said Beast Boy grinning.
The rest of the team stayed silent.
"You realise she's in danger?" said Robin
"Yep… I guess the shock hasn't set in yet" said Beast Boy in an enthusiastic tone
"Well in that case be careful because…"
"TERRRRRRAAAAAAAA, Nooooooooooo… why? Why? Why? She was so beautiful… I loved her man! I freakin loved her dude…" screamed Beast Boy, yelling so loudly the Robin dropped his communicator and covered his ears.
"… Uhh Beast Boy… we can all hear you" came Kid Flash's voice over the communicator.
"I knooowwww… (Sobbing) I don't care…"
"It'll be ok Bb..." Spark's comforting voice said, before fading out in to silence.
Robin picked up his communicator which thankfully hadn't fallen of the gargoyle and spoke
"Beast Boy pull yourself together… Riddler's got Terra… If we don't solve his next Riddle soon, who knows how many people are in danger" said Robin "Now think, what's the first thing you ever saw, that greets you every morning and goes out in the end?"
Kid Flash was running along the beach leaving a long winding trail cloud of sand behind him… "Hmmm, I'm gonna say… my refrigerator" said Kid Flash into his communicator
"Wha? How does that make any sense?" asked Robin
"It's that last thing I see at night… I get hungry ok" said Kid Flash running his stomach
Starfire flew over the empty city streets, gazing at the vacant sidewalks and quiet alleys in quiet contemplation "… umm, a bed? The moon? The septar star system?" said Starfire into her communicator
"Hmmm, no, on earth we don't see the moon in the morning" said Robin
Cyborg stood outside the pizza restaurant looking for green question marks or generally anything suspicious looking… "Uhh, a battery pack?"
"Oh come on you guys, don't think so personally… think about it… this is the Riddler we're talking about… there has to be a double meaning here… think" said Robin rubbing the side of his head
Raven stayed silent partly because she didn't know the answer and partially because she was lost in thought; Terra had betrayed their trust, and in the end Raven and her friends had almost paid the price, she'd trusted Terra as a friend and trust, for Raven, wasn't something that was easily restored.
"Any ideas... what about you Spark?" Robin asked, while pacing on the roof top.
"Huh? Well, let me think…" said the quiet one, 'First thing you see… goes out in the end' she thought; The revelation hit her like a ton of bricks, a sad solemn glaze overcame her silver, misty eyes "… Mom…" She whispered to herself
Robin froze mid-stride and his expression weakened, as he picked up on the whisper. Thinking quickly he pretended not have heard clearly. "anyone know?"
"... Light?" said Kid Flash, shaking his head in an attempt to hide his sad disposition, at what he thought he heard.
A light bulb popped into Beast Boy's head "Of course!" said Beast Boy
"Where would light be?" Raven question plainly
"A lighthouse!" yelled Beast Boy, morphing into an eagle and flying out of the prison
"No, Beast Boy wait…" said Robin, but his words fell on deaf ears.
'Hang on Terra, your old pal Beast Boys coming to the rescue' thought Beast Boy as his headed for the coast
Robin slapped a palm to his head; honestly he should have seen that coming… "Ok guys, assuming the rest of you haven't left for the beach like Beast Boy, I just want to remind you all that there's more to these riddles than meets the eye" said Robin
"What does that even mean?" asked Cyborg
"It's mean we need to think this through… The Riddler said the riddle would 'Shed some light' on his plan… shed some light, what could that mean?" said Robin
"Darkness" said Sparkbomb
"Explain" said Kid Flash
Sparkbomb coughed to her side before elaborating, "You can't 'shed light' on something already lit now, can you?." She said rhetorically.
The others pondered her words, "That's it!" said Robin smiled in congratulation. She briefly smiled back at him on the communicator screen.
"To the movie theatre" said Kid Flash, who at this point was on his way to rendezvous with Robin.
"No... That's too easy…" said Robin before being cut off by a high pitched whistle the screeched out of his and the other Titans communicators, followed by the Riddler's voice
"Dearie me Robin… it appears you're up the creek without a paddle" said Riddler
"Riddler" exclaimed each of the Titans
"Precisely… Robin, it seems you're more lost than a blind man in a hedge maze, and it appears the time is midnight exactly; I have to say, I'm disappointed… Batman would have solved them all by now" said Riddler
"Shut up about Batman! I'm nothing like him!" said Robin angrily, Kid flash and Sparkbomb nodded; being the only other team members to have known Robin with Batman.
"Now there's something we can agree on… To that end, I have a proposition for you… I'll give you a helpful hint that should help you solve this riddle, but you'll have to pay a price" spoke the Riddler, chuckling
"What's the catch Riddler?" demanded Robin
"Well as you're aware, I have the technology to hack any electronic system in the country… It would be a shame if some of your old enemies should get their hands on this hardware and shall we say, pay an unannounced visit to your humble abode" said the Riddler
"Forget it Riddler, We don't need your help!" said Cyborg
"Don't be foolish Titans, what hope do you have to win without my help?" said the Riddler, clearly not amused
"We'll fight and win without it Riddler, We won't let fear define who we are!" said Robin
Riddler laughed, "Oh but you will. You may not know who. You may not know when. But You Will.
The titan's communicators went silent…
Robins mind raced; Somewhere dark. He has Terra. Terra was last seen alive in the volcano. Which in know underground. Underground is dark. THAT'S IT!
"Titans change of plan, regroup at the old volcano, we're going to get to the bottom of this" said Robin grappling onto a nearby roof ledge and swinging away
Twenty minutes later the Titans, stood outside the entrance to the old silver mine where they'd fought Slade all those years ago
"Beast boy, why do you have a starfish in your hair?" asked Kid Flash
"I was standing on a cliff at high tide and I kind of, sort of, fell in" said Beast Boy embarrassingly tossing the starfish away
"It was most clever of our spooky house guest to have us come here" said Starfire shinning her green energy inside the tunnel entrance
Robin shot Starfire a look that went unnoticed. I can't believe the Riddler's here! And bringing back all those old issues with him! I left Gotham for a reason. I am not Batman. I don't need Batman.
"Let's just head inside and investigate, and be careful, this place could collapse at any moment, so be quiet" Said Robin, focusing on the task at hand
The walk through the tunnels took longer than expected, Beast Boy, who had volunteered to lead, led the team to a dead end and after much backtracking had set the team back an hour, time was dwindling and it looked as though Terra's chances we in free fall, but as luck would have it, through the nostalgia filled caverns in which they had crushed robot worms, Starfire recognised where she was going and after allot of walking the team once again found themselves at a large round cave, in the middle of the cave lay a rather familiar pedestal on top of which sat some sort of metal ball.
"Looks like Riddlers already been here" said Cyborg noting the green question mark on the ball
Raven spoke up, "Dark... I like it."
Sparkbomb smiled upon hearing Rae's remark.
"And it looks like we solved this riddle without even trying, shed some light, duh, it's a cave… Where it's dark" said Kid Flash
"Yeah thanks Wally, I think we get it" said Robin walking over to the ball and tapping a blue button on the side.
Kid Flash patted Robin's shoulders, "nice call bro." The grinned at one another, feeling nostalgic and slight déjà vu.
All the while, the knowing three, wondered why this seemed easier than it should be; the ball vibrated before emitting a luminescent blue light which projected a blue glowing hologram of the Riddler in the middle of the cave.
"Where has she gone? Could it be that some sort of divine entity played a hand in her return? Did a homicidal super villain indeed resurrect his fallen former apprentice? Or maybe just maybe… was she never dead to begin with? Ohhh question questions questions… but none of that is important right now, the clock is ticking my fine feathered friend and you have one more Riddle to go, so listen closely…
'The Wise man is sure of it, The Fools knows it, The Rich man wants it, The Greatest Hero fears it, if you eat it you'll die… What is it?'
I hope you heard all of that since this message will self-destruct in 10, 9, 8…"
"RUN" yelled Beast Boy as the Titans turned and ran back through the tunnels, Kid Flash throwing Sparkbomb on his back in a quick burst of protectiveness along the way; the walls and ceilings literally exploded around them, hunks of rock and dirt were fired in all directions and in a matter of seconds, the group were fired out of the tunnel like cannon balls in a burst of dust, to put it simply, it was equal to the force of water blasting out of a geyser.
The Titans picked themselves up off the ground and out of the heap they'd landed in; to put in mildly they were less than satisfied about how their little cavern trip had played out.
"I should have guessed that thing was a bomb" said Kid Flash scratching his chin
"I think I've got dust in my ears…" He sneezes "...and my nose" said Beast Boy tapping the side of his head
"Did anyone else think that was too easy?" Asked Cyborg, Raven nodded.
"I know what you mean, it's almost as though he wants us to solve his puzzles, that's defiantly not part of his M.O." said Robin
"How did that Riddle go again? The Wise man is sure of it, The Fools knows it, The Rich man wants it, The Greatest Hero fears it, if you eat it you'll die… What is it?" said Starfire
At that point the group may as well have had giant question marks above their heads, because none of them had any idea how to answer that…
"Spiders?" said Kid Flash
"Spiders? Why would a rich guy want spiders?" said Cyborg
"Who's talking about a rich guy I was talking about the greatest hero… who is obviously me" said Kid Flash
"Maybe it is a…" said Starfire
"Nothing… Starfire if you say another gross sounding animal from your planet, I'm gonna crawl down your throat and pull out your lungs, honestly are you making these creature up? Here's a hint for you! I don't believe a 'flarnop' is a real animal, you know what it is, and it's nothing! Ok It's just NOTHING!" Said Beast Boy getting frustrated at their lack of progress and clearly not in the mood for another of Starfire's comments
"… You are nothing" said Starfire in the most childish way possible
"My God that's the answer!" said Robin a light bulb flickering on in his head "Wait a minute… Where's Nothing?" yelled Robin, his voice echoing into the distance
"Gotta admit that does make sense, I just can't believe out of all of us, the answer came from Beast Boy" said Kid Flash, a laugh found its way through each team member
"This is supposed to be the last Riddle… the key to finding Terra… where's nothing?" said Cyborg
"Uhhh guys hate to rush everything along but thanks to the detour we all took to get here, plus getting lost in the caves, we've only got two hours until sunrise" said Robin
"Ohhh, our poor friend Terra, one can only imagine the sad loneliness she must feel as her end time draws near" said Starfire. Raven made no comment, but glanced at the green boy sitting on the floor.
"It's Riddler, so there's usually a riddle within a riddle… How do all the things in the last riddle tie in together?" said Sparkbomb to Raven, as they stood to one side.
"Gahh! This is crazy, I wanted to stay home and play karaoke party, instead I'm out here in some boring old derelict mine, and for what? So the girl who I used to like can be stolen away by some green and purple loon with a weird hat" said Beast Boy
"I wouldn't call this place boring Beast Boy, did you not see the exploding cave?" said Cyborg nudging BB with his elbow
"… Hey guys, I had an idea" said Kid Flash "Since Beast Boy thought up the answer without realising it, maybe he can do it again?"
The group look dumbfounded, at this point that was actually a good idea… Cyborg grabbed Beast Boy by his leg, flipped him upside down and started shaking him
"You heard him Beast Boy, we need answers, so start spilling…" said Cyborg
"I'm gonna spill all over your metal boots if you don't put me down" said a very dizzy Beast Boy
"Beast Boy think! All these Riddles, the court house, the cave, nothing… do they have something in common? Is there something we're missing? What does this all mean to you?" said Robin pulling a dropped Beast Boy up from the floor
"It means… nothing" said Beast Boy sheepishly
They starred... This may take a while...
"Hey! Booger Boy get over here!" came a male voice through Sparkbomb's communicator
"HEY!? Who is this!?" demanded Beast Boy, as he stood up and joined the team in quickly forming a circle around the device, so they could all hear.
"It's your fairy god mother… Look, Shut Up and listen! The final riddle, it has a double meaning" Robin frowned, Who the hell is this guy?!
"Uhh okay… seriously who is this?!" said Beast Boy, not really grasping the concept and wondering why some guy was talking on his girl's... his... friends communicator.
"Just answer these questions! The fool knows it, the answer to that is nothing…"
"And nothing is boring, so stop wasting our time!" said Beast boy
"Nothing, to a fool, is boring… now tell me what you define as boring?"
"Well let's see, Numbers, big words, suits, papers, pencils, organization…"
Feedback was all they heard; whoever that was cut off the signal.
Cyborg and Robin fumed at the idea of someone hacking their system and breaking in to their radio frequency.
Kid Flash didn't notice, "So basically work bores ya?"
Robin snapped back in to focus, "wait!... not work... that's too general... its business! Business bores you, right?"
"Yeah!" said Beast Boy
A still angry Cyborg muttered to himself while pacing around the team. Starfire questioned, "what does this have to do with anything?"
"Do you get it, this Riddle was designed to test not just robin but the team, and the only way to think like a wise man, is to ask the fool" said Raven
"Yeah! Hey wait a minute..." said Beast Boy in confused realisation.
"No time… Beast Boy, what comes to mind when you think of a rich man?" asked Robin
Beast Boy shrugged "I dunno."
There was a short pause as Riddler echoed in Robins mind; the references to batman, the comparisons between them...
Robin and Kid Flash glanced at each other, "Bruce Wayne".
"More specifically, Wayne Enterprises, a business owned and run by Bruce Wayne" Kid Flash said in a speeding pace.
"Riddler's in the Wayne Enterprises building in the city" Said Robin in shock and masked horror.
Sparkbomb snapped to attention, forcing her eyes away from their fixed state on her communicator.
"To the T-Car" said Cyborg
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
"Woo, I tell yawl, those new fusion thrusters on the back of the car pack a punch" said Cyborg
"I'll say, and with no traffic, getting here was a breeze" said Beast Boy
"I still say I could have gotten here faster" said Kid Flash
"Quit your bragging you guys, I think Riddler knows we're here" said Robin, looking up at the roof, four large green searchlights were shining question marks into the sky with green lights
"Do those remind you of anything?" said Beast Boy to Robin in particular
"Don't say it Beast Boy! Let's just head up there, he'll never expect us to come down from the roof" said Robin who launched a grappling hook at the roof, which upon contact pulled Robin up a high speed causing him to launch up and land on the roof with a skilful flip, followed closely by Starfire, Cyborg on Pterodactyl Beast Boy, Raven and Spark on Rae's dark magic and Kid Flash who ran up the side of the building; However, none of them were prepared for the sight they saw in front of them.
In the middle of the roof, to the left of which was the giant neon sign of 'Wayne Enterprises', sat Terra, bleeding and broken but alive, in what appeared to be a round blue bubble…
"Terra!" Starfire proclaimed flying over with great speed, the titans quickly following. Starfire reached out to hug her long lost friend, but her arm went straight through her. "Terra?!"
"It's a hologram!"
"We've been scammed!"
Robin's eyes went wide in anger, "Riddler! Show yourself!"
"Why of course!" came a voice from who Robin realised was a person in the shadows, stepping out from the shadow the buildings sign was the Riddler himself
"What's this Riddler? Another Hologram?" said Robin
"Oh no Robin… I'm the real deal, although at this point I can't blame you for having suspicions" said Riddler
"Well the fun's over now Riddler, we've got you outnumbered five to one; we solved your damned riddles and got our friend back, which means you have no leverage and no way to escape" said Robin
Riddler simply chuckled under his breath "Oh you poor little bird, I'm afraid once again you've only succeeded in one thing, and that's proving my superior intelligence over yours… after all, didn't the Batman teach you never to run into the odd glowing bubble?" said Riddler
It was only then that Robin realised the huge mistake he and the team had just made, without thinking Robin threw one of his birdarangs at the Riddler, the birdarang hit the bubble with a ricoshade sound and flew back hitting Beast Boy in the head.
"Oww dude that stings" said Beast Boy rubbing his head
"It's like watching primates in the zoo, your sheer incompetence continues to astounded…" mocked the Riddler
"This wasn't part of the game Riddler, you cheated!" said Kid Flash
"Oh no you pointy haired speed freak, you simply failed to complete my last riddle" snarled the Riddler
"What are you talking about, the answer to the last riddle was nothing, nothing to a fool is boredom, business is boring and your light show here was a big giveaway" said Robin
"Ahh, but you forgot the last part of the riddle… Tell me Robin, what does the greatest hero fear?" asked Riddler
"Nothing" said Robin, arms crossed
"Oh really, well in that case let's put that to the test, or to be more precise, I have been putting it to the test, since the moment you opened that box to be exact" said Riddler
"What are you talking about?" said Robin
"Tell me Robin, did you really, journey to the other side of the country to escape Batman's leadership, did you do it to escape your legacy and carve your own, or could it be that you simply realised you don't have what it takes… to be the Bat!" said Riddler
"Shut Up! Don't pretend that you know me, you know nothing about me!" yelled Robin. Sparkbomb heart raced in overwhelming sadness, knowing how much this must be hurting Robin, and one glanced to Kid Flash showed he realised the same.
"Oh really, well then, I guess you should know, ever since you opened that box my loyal minion left of your door step, I've had my boys hacking every security camera in the city and your tower, including a few I hid just to catch you off guard… and what did I do with all these camera's? Why I've been transmitting your teams quest to solve my riddles all over the world wide web, I mean, after all, didn't you notice how nobody has been on the streets all night, that's because their all at home or their places of business just waiting to see you fail… even now people are turning in and watching you, here, trapped, completely at my mercy… and just wait until the Batman sees this, why, he'll probably look down on you with shame" said Riddler
Robin sank to his knees, the Riddler had bested him, he'd failed not only himself but his entire team… he'd abandoned Batman and his war on crime because he'd believed there must be a better way, a way to be a hero without giving up on a normal life, instead he'd successfully proven how Batman's way, was the only way… The other Titans spoke, but to Robin it was all just noise, he felt sick, he couldn't focus… he felt as though his whole world was about to come crashing down on top of him.
The titans looked to one another; they were stuck, seen and verbally slaughtered. Yet there main concern was there broken team mate on his knees.
"What does The Greatest Hero fear? Who knows, after all he's certainly not here" mocked the Riddler
Kid Flash shouted in fury and ricoshade off the side of the bubble like a red and yellow pinball, his repeated attempts of escaping the bubble had only resulted in his arms being badly bruised and strength failing, but it was all he could do to escape, Beast Boy had no room to change without crushing the others inside the buddle, Cyborgs lazers could bounce off the walls and vaporise everyone inside, that went double for Starfire, Raven was trying to force her rabid emotions to stay in check and Sparkbomb was watching Robin, kneeling completely unresponsive, on the floor… Cyborg tried punching the buddle wall again but it absorbed his blows like a sponge and knocked them back with twice the force.
"It's called a kinetic energy repellent bubble, when something goes in, it doesn't come out and anything inside trying to escape, it will absorb your attacks like a fly hitting a window, It knows it's not going anywhere but it's too stupid to stop" said Riddler
"Riddler, this game of yours is over, you've proven your point, your smart, now let us go!" said Cyborg
Riddler shot Cyborg a deathly glare, "A point, you think this was all to prove a point, oh no my dear automaton, that's where your wrong, I don't expect to get out of this unscathed, oh no I want to get caught, but not before I deal a blow to Batman that will make him crumble at the power of my superior intellect… I will take from him the one thing he thought he could live without, his surrogate son, his boy wonder, his… Robin; You see he's the thing, since little Robin left to become his own hero or whatever the reason, the Batman has been lacking in something… the other villains of Arkham Asylum fail to notice, but I noticed, I realised, without the Robin, without a successor, the Batman has a time limit… he's getting older Robin, someday maybe fifty, sixty years from now he'll have to retire, and then what? Who will take over the mantle of the bat? That is why I came here, Batman needs a Robin… unfortunately in failing to complete my Riddles, you are deemed unworthy for the title of Robin… oh boys" said the Riddler as numerous Riddler henchmen armed with grenades and automatic assault rifles burst out of the nearby stairwell and stood in a line like a firing squad
"Riddler no!" yelled Kid Flash
"You cannot do this!" said Starfire
"I'm sure when the Batman and his league receive my movie of your failure they will come after me, but it's all for the best, and when the day comes that Batman must retire and the new Robin takes over, like it or not I will be the one Batman will thank… now my minions, do us all a favour and rid the world of this imbeciles once and for all" said Riddler pointing his question mark tipped cane their way
The Titans eyes slammed shut… but the gun shots never came...
All of the Titans opened their eyes to find the line of minions hanging from the roof edge, and The Riddler fighting off a black siluette, of which was too hard to make out in the dark night air and the darkness of the costume.
"You dare make a mockery of the Riddler, I captured the Teen Titans, I rigged this impossible trap, the victory belongs to me!" yelled Riddler taking a swing at the form, before receiving a blow to the head, knocking him out cold and his cane smashed to pieces.
As the cane shattered, the force bubble vanished, freeing the captive Titans inside… all of whom held mixed emotions to their helper, Who promptly turned away and disappeard into the night.
...
"Dude, what just happened?" asked Beast Boy
"No idea man..." Kid Flash answered
"This is one heavy night..." Cyborg sighed
"I suggest we take this evil villain to the jail of cells and go home..." Starfire said.
But when they looked over, the minions and green suited man were gone. "I guess the mystery dude took 'em" Beast boy reasoned. And with the weight of the night events on everyone's shoulders, they agreed and just wanted to go home. The titans shared glances each wondering how to handle the web wide videos of their failure, but they shook it off and decided to wait until morning. One thought remained... What to do about Robin? There disheartened and humiliated leader.
Sparkbomb watched her leader and lifelong friend; never before had he looked so lost. In a spare of the moment decision, she reached out and held his hand and they all headed home; each titan now and then throwing a reassuring comment Robin's way.
No titan thought any less of Robin for the day's events.
Robin walked slowly, in a matter of minutes he'd had his pride, his self-respect and all his good works tarnished, maybe the Riddler was right, maybe Robin didn't have what it takes, not just to be the Robin to his Batman, but to be a hero in general, after all he had to depend on his friends to solve Riddler's puzzles and he'd led his team into three traps in one night. What kind of leader was that?
The Car ride back was silent.
A/N - REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!
Xxxx After all this work, I hope I deserve some long reviews, What did you think? Likes? Dislikes? Positives? Negatives?
Did you like the focus change in this chapter? More Robin based than Sparkbomb.
