Started With a Riddle (Under Some Major Construction)

Chapter 2: The Doctor is Out

MONDAY 5:48 PM

Some sort of light was blinding me, it reminded me of my visits to the dentist, but in a scary way. Nothing felt right, I was afraid and unaware of where I was. The only light in the room was on me, everything else was pitch black. I was bound to a wooden chair by some really old ropes, even a sudden movement could leave a burn.

"Just on time. You and I have some business to attend to, yes, oh yes we do. You, my dear guinea pig are going to help determine which of my new concoctions are stronger. Now let's see...which would you prefer to try first?" I could only see his arms, the rest of his body was hidden away in the darkness. In his hands were two differently colored viles, a blue, and a green. I was left with no choice but to cooperate or else I'd be dead within minutes, well, either way, I'd be dead.

"Blue it is! Oh lucky you, this is going to be my first test run with this one. You'll be the very first one to sample it!" He stepped into the light setting the green vile aside while pulling out an empty syringe from the pocket of his blazer. He drew the liquid from the vile, it sent shivers down my spine, I hated needles with a passion. "You know, before I dare do anything we should get acquainted, it was awfully rude of me to not even ask for your name! Wasn't it?"

He pointed the needle upwards and flicked it like nurses usually do to release trapped air bubbles. He then turned to look at me, taking a few steps closer he rested a hand on my shoulder. "It's a pleasure to meet you, my name is Jonathan Crane and I'll be exposing you to your fears today. So tell me, what is your name?"

"M-my na-name is...L!" I shakily said to the guy with a potato sack on his head. It's strange for him to be dressed so formally but to wear a bag on his head, then again he has to fit the name 'Scarecrow'.

"Well L, I'll be taking care of you today. Now I know what you're thinking. I may be a villain known for killing several but just put this into the equation, I also have a doctorate. I am a licensed psychologist and I believe you're in good hands." He said it so calmly, it was just so creepy. And his calming tone was matched with his body language, his hand which rested on my shoulder was now brushing up against my cheek. "Now from what I can tell from your body language you're not quite fond of needles, after this test you'll definitely be horrified of them."

He took his time to roll up my sleeve, preparing to pierce my arm with the needle. Mere inches away from my arm a savior came, or so I believed. A knocking sound came from straight ahead, someone was at the door. Scarecrow sighed heavily before putting the syringe down. "This better be important." He walked over to the door opening it a tiny bit allowing the smallest amount of light to come in. "What do you want?"

"Johnny boy! Remember when you said you'd do me a favor? Well, I've come to collect! Now if you would please drive me to the bank that would be exceptional!" An oddly zany voice said. It was kind of familiar, a voice I think I've heard on the tv once. Doctor Crane brought his hand up to his masked face and sighed once again.

"If you haven't noticed it already I'm pretty occupied. I'm with a patient, but if you'd like you could come back another time. Now if you'll excuse me I have some terrifying things to study." As he began to close the door before it could meet with the frame something stopped it.

"At least let me come in, maybe observing for a bit will inspire my next heist. I've been lacking passion for quite a while if I do say so myself." Whoever the hell was preventing my death from happening sounded really familiar and I needed to see the face that matched his voice.

"Fine...you can come in but don't touch anything. Grab a mask from one of the cabinets and stay at least five feet away." He turned around and was about to walk over to me but before he could even take a step the door swung open and a cane whacked him in the head. Footsteps echoed through the room as the man in a fedora walked over to me carefully stepping over Scarecrow's unconscious body.

"It looks like the doctor is going to be on break for a while. In the meantime, I could use some assistance. Care to join me? Resisting will only end badly for you." He stepped out the dark with a grin plastered onto his face. At that moment I remembered where I had heard his voice, just last week there was a riot at Blackgate Penitentiary, it was declared that it all started because the Riddler had given a speech about inmates having rights. Some clip of his escape was aired, he had an accomplice and that accomplice was the Scarecrow. It would explain what he's doing here now.

"Why should I help you?", I questioned taking a glance at his outfit. He was in a dark green suit, paired with a purple tie and a purple question mark pin above the pocket where his purple handkerchief rested. "You're dressed pretty formally for a guy who kills people." My words seemed to humor him, he gave out a small chuckle.

"You're not like the others Johnny has brought in before...you don't seem as frightened. Yes! You'll be perfect for the job! Your cooperation would be acknowledged, I could even repay the favor and buy you...well a little bit more time before you're administered with what he calls fear toxin." He seemed sincere but then again these crazies are just so sick in the head that they know how to get in your head. I thought about his offer, maybe it wouldn't be so bad and if I do amazing he could even save my life. "So...are you in?"

"Thought you'd give me a riddle first but okay. Let's go do whatever the hell it is you want me to help you with." He came closer to me and pulled out a pocket knife. Slowly but surely he cut my limbs free from the chair. Red marks were left everywhere, they burned a bit too but I could handle it.

"If you want I could give you one on the way there. But first, are you qualified to drive?" He helped me up, something unexpected from a crook. I nodded my head yes and gained a smile from him. He held onto my wrist dragging me through the dark room and down a flight of stairs. Reaching what I assumed was the first floor I noticed how bland the place was, well I mean it looked sort of like a home with furniture and all but there was no color, the walls were all grey and they weren't even painted you could tell it was all covered in grey wallpaper because the edges were peeling. I'm just going to assume this is where the Riddler lives, kind of odd for the Scarecrow to do his whole doctor routine at someone else's place. As we walked out the door something surprising caught my attention, I even gave out a little laugh. "What's so funny?" He gave me a confused look as he dug into his pocket.

"I expected the Riddler to have his car the same shade of green as his suit. Oh, the irony...", I laughed a bit more to myself before being tossed his keys. I obviously took the driver's seat while he called shotgun. His car may not have been green but it was pretty nice for someone who doesn't really make a living, my only issue was how dirty the exterior was. "So...where am I supposed to drive you to?", I asked starting the engine and driving onto the road.

"It'll just be a quick drive to the bank, you know the one right? Downtown by Wayne Tower." I knew just where he meant, I was near there with Richard however long ago it was. I don't think I was out of it for days, maybe just hours. I drove back to the city since we had seemed to be in the outskirts, somewhere near Miller Harbor. "Now about that riddle..."

"Spill it, I want to hear what the Riddlers got up his sleeve!", I said turning only to catch a glimpse of his face, he was cleaning the lenses his glasses with his handkerchief.

"Alright, here it goes. I am a fruit, take away my first letter and I turn out to be a crime. Take away the first two letters and I turn out to be an animal. Take away my first and last letters and I'm a form of music. What am I?" From the top of my head nothing was coming up, apples just couldn't be the answer and kiwis were out of the question. Most of my focus had to be put on driving and because of that, this was even more difficult. At least we had reached the bank, he stepped out the car. "I'll give you some time to think of an answer, in the meantime stay here and keep the car on. This won't take long.", he smiled holding out some sort of cylinder. With the press of a button, it expanded turning into a can which he whirled as he walked off. Within moments I was frightened by loud popping sounds coming from inside the building.

A few minutes passed and police sirens echoed from a distance. Running out of the building was the Riddler with two bags. He got in the car not even waiting a minute before shouting, "Drive! Step on it too, the cops will be here any second!" He tossed the bags into the backseat. I have no idea whether those gunshots were him killing people or security guards shooting at him but his suit was still in nice condition. My heart started racing when I spotted the Batmobile in the rearview mirror, god knows why if anything I should've been happy because I'd be saved. I stepped on the gas pedal and tried my best to go back the way we came.

'Watch out' was the last thing I heard before I lost all control of the vehicle.