Behind the Mask (A Batman and Robin Fanfic)

Chapter Twenty Two

Robin's POV (continued):

The Commissioner was working on quarantining the people affecting by the toxin that Riddler had used. All the entrances had been demolished except for the front door.

“This is clearly a trap” I said as Batman and I walked in the front door.

It was completely dark and extremely quiet. It was like walking in a horror movie, when you know something is about to happen to you but there’s nothing you can do about it.

I took a few stealthy steps, hearing the glass crunch under my boots with every step I took. There were muffled noises, sounding off near us. I struggled to make out what it was.

“help…Help me…please”

Batman and I followed the cries. We entered what looked like the ruins of an office. A desk was toppled on top of a figure. I helped Batman lift up the desk that was pinning a doctor to the floor.

“What happened?” Batman asked, the hospital looked like a war zone.

“It was that crazy guy with the question marks! He came in here, guns blazing, setting different areas of the hospital on fire, rambling on about having something to prove to someone.”

Batman nodded in understanding and told the Doctor to find the Commissioner.

The hallways were dark and the only light was provided by the various small fires that were scattered throughout the hospital hallways. The farther away we got from the entrance, the louder and louder shrieks, screams and moans got. I just tried to drown them out and stay alert as I followed Batman.

Hospitals had always creeped me out and now we were in an abandoned one that reminded me of a labyrinth, attempting to track down a genius psychopath that had just gotten more psychotic...things were going great.

“No!” Batman hollered at me as he smashed his arm against my chest.

Ooof.

“What was that for?!” I questioned irritated. He pointed down to the white tiled floor. I didn’t see anything. Then I looked closer and something caught the reflection of the moon coming in the window.

I squinted harder and realized that if I had taken another step, I would have been decapitated. It was a trip wire, set up to an axe, hidden in the darkness, hanging from the ceiling.

Fantastic.

Finally, we reached our destination. The psychiatric ward.

“Should we use the vents to go in? I’m guessing he’s expecting us” I suggested.

“There’s probably no— ”

He was cut off by the door opening.

“point.” He finished his sentence.

We stepped in the doorway and analyzed the situation.

Six hostages. Two suspended in the air and hanging by straitjackets. One strapped onto a stretcher with several IV’s being poked into her skin. Two trapped in the decontamination center and the final hostage sat on the arm of the chair that Riddler was sitting in, he held a pistol to her temple.

Six Hostages. Two Nurses, Three Doctors and One Patient. Time to go to work.

“Well, well, well, look who decided to come to the party. Welcome, Dark Knight. Are you ready for the party games?” His eyes were bloodshot and his voice had its usual cryptic sense but this time it had a darker, grittier tone.

“Stop this Nigma, let these people go. It’s not them you want.” Batman reasoned.

“Oh, on the contrary, they’re exactly who I want. He told me that I wasn’t gruesome enough, that I needed to be more evil, and that I wasn’t in the same league as them. I’ll show them who’s evil. It’s me, I’m the best, I’m always the best.” Riddler replied, rambling on like the madman that he was.