Batman: The Animated Series - A Bounty Hunter's Love

If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich

Batman: The Animated Series 'Fan Fiction Love Story'

By Tayla Drago

Episode #34 – If You Are So Smart Why Aren't You Rich

Software designer Edward Nygma returns to his office and finds it locked and his name on the door gone. His boss, Daniel Mockridge, smugly informs him that he has been fired since Nygma sued him for royalties to the computer game he designed called 'Riddle of the Minotaur'. Nygma protests, saying that the company, Competitron, is now making millions from his game. Mockridge dismisses this, and reveals that quite a while ago, he tricked Nygma into signing a contract that did not give him any royalties or copyrights to the game, to secure the vast fortune for himself.

"You are a fool, Mockridge, to think you can get away with this!" angered Nygma. "Your amoral greed is no match for an intellect like mine!"

Outraged, Nygma challenges that Mockridge's greed is no match for his genius, to which Mockridge responds was this...

"Oh, yeah? Then tell me something, Eddie? If you're so smart, why aren't you rich?" What a jerk! Two years later, Mockridge, free and clear of any obligations to Nygma, is negotiating to sell Competitron to Wayne Enterprises for a lucrative buyout. "So, you see, Mr. Wayne and Mr. Fox..." Mockridge shows them the floor plan from the whole thing. "We can make it happen with your business and my ideas."

Like Bruce, Lucius, or Megan to be sitting around or didn't care on what the man must say but to get over with it already.

"Then I want this deal to be over with if you wouldn't mind, Mr. Mockridge." said Bruce. "This city needs the jobs to create it."

"Oh, it will alright. Even your pretty bodyguard/bounty hunter will be so pleased with it."

Great, the snob of a man was flittering with Megan.

"Like I care about it." she said to ignoring Mockridge. "(And stop flirting with me already!)" Megan gives him a raspberry.

The negotiations are interrupted when Mockridge catches sight out the window of a stock update screen, which someone has tampered with to send him a riddle, inviting him to 'The Wasteland'.

"Oh, no...! What's he trying to do?"

Megan sees the board from outside of the window.

"(What in the...?)" Megan gets to it by hacking into the system.

Even Bruce sees the man to be having some troubles on his end right now.

"Something wrong? Mockridge?" he tries to talk to the man. "Are you okay? Mockridge!"

"Ah...we'll have to wrap this up for later, you guys. Excuse me."

Mockridge leaves the meeting in a hurry, and Megan points to secretly shows Bruce Wayne as he turns to see the message too.

"He was sure in a hurry." said Lucius.

"(I know this guy's a showoff, but from the looks of it...he's hiding something from some message being shown outside.)" Megan sees someone hack into the system to be a green question mark type of symbol. "(Bruce, looks like we have to get to the bottom of this right away.)"

Bruce and Megan both consider the message in the Batcave, where Dick Grayson is enjoying 'Riddle of the Minotaur' on the computer.

"Sounds like some type of riddle."

Megan sees where Bruce was getting at and not good for her as Gidget was trying to know about the message on what was all about, since the robot knows about who's who to keep it a secret.