I don't own DC or the characters.
Chapter 2—
Commissioner Gordon stood beside the bat signal as it seared the hero's insignia into the thick polluted sky, staring at the scuffed shoes he wore. He had given up searching for the Bat among the nearby rooftops since the Bat always steeped out behind him from the shadows as if he were one of them. So he'd just wait until the deep voice spoke up, the only way his presence could be noticed was when he announced it himself, taking everyone by surprise. It was his game: always with the upper hand. The old man could do without the heart attacks it gave him though.
He had already waited ten minutes when the shadows spat out the masked man. "The problem?"
The sound made him spin on his heel and glare half-heartedly at the figure that crossed the roof top to sand on the other side of the signal to him. Jim Gordon looked into the whites of his mask, trying to imagine the colour of his eyes and the emotion within. Needless to say, he didn't get very far before the blank expression the Batman wore twitched with impatience. It startled the man to speak.
"It's the Riddler, he's broken out of Arkham."
"What is it this time?"
Commissioner fumbled in his pocket for the notes to hand over to the Batman. Once he took it, Gordon then continued to switch the massive signal off, now the Bat was summoned. The said detective flicked through the notes, the date and time of the escape, eye witness accounts from the guards (their excuses) and lastly the note left by the Riddler himself on his cell door.
"Let's see. 'I can be quick and then I'm deadly. I am a rock, shell and bone medley. If I was made into a man, I'd make people dream. I gather in my millions by ocean, sea and stream.' A new one." He noted and Gordon could only nod. "Have your people worked it out?"
"Er no. I was hoping you might be able to work it out. The next note was left at the police department's door; we checked the cameras and the Riddler left it in person."
"What does it say? 'Near am I to the black cloak of the road. I am the yellow hem of the sea's blue skirt.' He's taunting you." As he thought, the Batman wandered back into the shadows absentmindedly.
An officer burst onto the roof, paper in hand and spotted the Commissioner standing alone. She seemed to be a high-ranking officer, her hair tied back in a blonde bun, narrowed eyes and a straight line for a mouth. She looked over the roof as she crossed to the Commissioner and handed over the papers, watching Gordon's eyes widen on reading the words written before him.
Her face was still flushed and she was still breathless; she doubled over to clutch her chest while the Commissioner turned back to the darkness, unable to guess if the Batman was still there. He sighed in relief as the figure emerged once more to take the items warily.
"Another note?"
"Yes, just as confusing as the last."
He took the first piece of paper and read 'My weapons screaming, soaring, seeking sky. Flowers of fire flying high. Eastern art from ancient time. Name me now and solve this rhyme.' Then the second: 'I slip the bonds of earth and travel higher. Fragile, bright, and vast I greet the day. I roar like a dragon hoarding fire. Then silent as a whisper drift away.'
"Are these even relevant to one another?"
"It gets worse," a third piece of paper changed hands, "this one is just random. 'Gold in a leather bag, swinging on a tree. Money after honey in its time. Ills of a scurvy crew cured by the sea. Reason in its season but no rhyme.' The breathless visitor regained herself as she spoke, "Good luck, Caped Crusader."
"I'll take a look at these, if he strikes before we find out anything though…"
"I know the drill. God knows what he's planning."
The last part was muttered so Batman didn't comment only faded back into the darkness to leave, a mutter behind him as he did so, "Does he do that a lot?"
Batman landed on one of the other roofs and, putting the grapple away, he flicked through the notes once more while he waited for Boy Wonder. He took less time then expected, he had to give it to him, he was in good shape; after scaling up and down tall buildings and crossing Gotham on foot, the boy wasn't even breathless. Batman was just glad he had a grapple to save him the trouble.
"Are you any good at riddles?"
"The more I am clever, the more I am good. The more, as a rule, I am misunderstood." A shift in the shadow told Batman he was running a hand through ebony hair.
"That's good. Easy though—the answer is riddle. If you're going to go up against Nygma, you'll need better."
"His name is Nashton not Nygma. Don't encourage him in his delusions. Besides, why would I go up against him? I haven't challenged any professionals, that's your turf. I just take out the small wannabe bad guys. Unless you are asking for help then I will intervene."
The boy was smiling, even through the gloom and Batman had to grit his teeth. He had fought effects of Scarecrow's fear toxin and Joker's laughing gas but the bright cheeky grin was so contagious.
"You think you can kid?" He offered the boy the riddles and watched in slight satisfaction as he growled and snatched the paper.
"I haven't been a kid in years." Hadn't Batman said something like that to Wonder Woman once before?
"The first is probably sand; the sandman makes dreams and quick sand is pretty deadly, etcetera. Black cloak of the road is definitely the asphalt or tarmac. The yellow hem…"
"The sand on a beach, I got that one. What about the Eastern art one?"
"I'm not sure yet, the first two lines mean nothing to me. 'Screaming, soaring, seeking sky. Flowers of fire flying high.' I'm not sure about those either."
"And the last riddle?" Batman goaded.
He had an idea of his own but watching the boy work it out was a curious thing. The only way to work out to Riddler's puzzle was to think like him and that wasn't a very cheery thing to do. He could see why the media called him the Boy Wonder; they might not have seen him in person or spotted him themselves but the criminals caught by him told them all they needed to know; he was good.
"Limes and oranges cured the scurvy, right. They swing from trees, is the answer citrus? Is citrus the right word? What is it in English?"
"Citrus. However…"
"You can rhyme citrus…and lime but not orange. Is it orange?"
"We have sand, asphalt, more sand and an orange."
"Hm, 'Near am I to the black cloak of the road. I am the yellow hem of the sea's blue skirt.' It's a beach, with sand, near an asphalt road."
"The docks."
A scream ripped through the still night air, making both crime-fighters freeze. "You go to the docks, I'll get that." Boy Wonder said before scurrying nimbly to the edge and slipping over without hesitation.
In a way, Batman was relieved, the kid was right not to go against any high ranking villains; the kid would need a whole lot more before he was ready and he knew that. It didn't stop the Batman from being curious though, if there was someone endangering this kid in training him, even though he was doing fine for now, it had to be stopped before whoever it was got the kid killed for thier own needs. Batman pulled out his grapple gun and shot out into the night sky.
Boy Wonder glanced back to see Batman fly from the roof and instantly envied that technology again, all he had was a sling shot and stolen explosives. At least, the Dark Knight took him seriously; the ten-year-old relaxed once the caped hero had left. He hoped he had made a good impression, the Batman was his idol; he couldn't screw up in front of him. That would be too embarrassing.
He dropped down into the alley and slid along the wall. A man lay on the floor, the right side of his face bloody and his suit was torn and tattered. He lay on his back, both handing trying to shield himself from the attacker. Boy Wonder crouched on a dumpster, gauging the right time to pounce upon the criminal. Only when he saw the glimmer of green did he realise, the Riddler had given the Batman a goose chase.
"Look, if my riddle is answered then I'll let you go. Now tell me, a monkey, a squirrel, and a bird are racing to the top of a coconut tree. Who will get the banana first, the monkey, the squirrel, or the bird?" He asked.
"I-I-please no."
Since the man was in no state of mind to answer, Boy Wonder spoke up, "None of them, you can't get a banana from a coconut tree."
The Riddler spun to face the young voice coming from the shadows. Then BW remembered he had not once spoken to any other criminal. He almost face palmed but pushed the thought to the side. He had to act fast to save the bumbling man who was also searching the darkness for the boy. The super-villain cocked his head, no doubt contemplating whether Boy Wonder spoke or not to.
"Let the man go," he sighed, "you wanted the riddle answering; it was answered."
"Fine, run along." He shooed the man off who gladly scrambled up to his feet and ran leaving a brief case behind. Then he turned to the new vigilante. "You use a knife to slice my head and weep beside me when I am dead. What am I?"
He thought for only a second. "An onion."
"Good, would you mind stepping out into the light for a second? You unnerve me when I can't see you."
"You have every right to be unnerved. Sand and asphalt and more sand are all the docks; there's an orange at the docks. What about 'Screaming, soaring, seeking sky. Flowers of fire flying high.'? It's a weapon that goes up. A missile, a rocket, what?"
"So close Boy Wonder, you really are sharp. A worthy opponent for me to challenge, even one so young. I'll give you a hint, 'If I eat, I live. If I breathe, I live but if I drink, I die. What am I?'"
"Fire. Orange fireworks?"
Boy Wonder had barely uttered the word when thousands of sparks of colour lit up the night sky. Riddler tapped his chin and shook his head as he gazed up at the show above, he watched carefully like an artist admiring his work. No doubt that was coming from the docks—if BW could get their in time to solve the stupid puzzle then he could avoid the authorities.
"Orange is just another puzzle, Boy Wonder."
Boy Wonder pulled his slingshot from his back pocket and looked for the pellets of knockout gas, he loaded and aimed. Just as the Riddler turned to face where the boy hid, he fired. Hitting him square on the nose, the Riddler collapsed. Once he was sure, no goons would jump out at him, he knelt and pulled out his marker, writing 'bad riddles' then proceeding to drag the unconscious villain the short distance between the alley and the police department. He kicked open the door to the building, throwing the villain down and bowing mockingly. As he rose, he spotted an open-mouthed Commissioner in the corner but he was already turning and leaving.
He faintly heard the whispers of the officers. "Is that Boy Wonder?" And, "He is real."
That could wait, maybe he'd screwed up the low profile take on things but nevertheless, it was the first super-villain he took down and he had done it in style. As he ran through the alleys and back roads to the docks, he wondered what Batman would think of that. Then he stopped in his run, momentarily slowing to a stop to slap himself from the silly chase for approval from his idol before picking up pace again and it wasn't long until he as at the docks.
The moon hung in the clear night, scattering beams of pearly light to reflect over the calm waters. The glittering scene contrasted so sharply to the rusting old buildings that it was almost cliché. It was relatively quiet after the loud explosives had stopped their big show. He ran between warehouse and warehouse, looking for any clue where Batman was, Riddler may be dealt with but he had a devious plan and men to carry that out. He all but ran into the lemonade van parked outside one. Maybe that was it, it was this warehouse. Then again, only orange had no rhyme and so lemon couldn't be the answer even the Riddler had verified it.
He carried on running, there had to be something…a note. Below the name of the warehouse, 054N63, paper fluttered softly in the wind where it was pinned. 'I have two bodies joined together as one. When standing still. I ran and ran. What am I?' Boy Wonder cursed the answer, hourglass, as it came to his head straightaway. Time was running out it seemed.