The Games We Play

Without His Riddle

~Edward~

Arkham was so quiet without my riddle, I have been here a few days. I got caught by the bats in hopes to see her again. You were drunk. We got caught because you were drunk. The medication obviously hasn't kicked in yet. She left so hastily the other day, I was almost certain she turned herself in. Of course my mystery wouldn't do something so predictable. It made me like her even more.

I missed her dearly, she was so intriguing in comparison with the other inmates.

Jonathan shook his head, "You were off thinking about her again." His tone was a bit upset, I don't get why this matter troubled him.

"Do I have anything else to do?" I fiddle with the Rubix cube Jonathan kept at his desk. A Christmas present I gifted him last year. "Plus she's such a perplexity. You wouldn't understand."

"You do have something else to do." A flash of hurt spread through Jonathan's eyes, grabbing the cube to get my attention. I glare briefly before standing up from his desk. "I don't get why you're obsessing with her when we are all relying on you."

"You think she's distracting me from my plan, Jonathan. I am the Riddler, the greatest mastermind of our time. I will have a solution to our little Arkham problem."

"We have only a month and I believe you have no solution."

"How dare you challenge me?"

"Here I thought you liked being challenged?"  His Scarecrow side edges out of his voice, sounding darker. I stood down, keeping my tongue in check. I did not want to deal with that side of Jon.

"Not in that way."

Dr. Crane takes a step back as well, knowing now was not the time to get into it with Riddler. They only had a few minutes left of the session. "Well you better know what you are doing, cause if you ruin this summit for us you'll be a dead man walking, and she'll be too."

"What are you saying."

"I'm saying every rouge knows you have a thing for her, if you don't come through she'll be a target." Jonathan spoke coldly, "and maybe I can help you, but I won't help her." His watch went off, breaking the tension in the room. The buzzing signaled two minutes left, before the guards came to get me. Now we'd have to make it look like a real session.

As I am brought to my cell I move past a row of fellow rouges. Selena was fast asleep, Harvey was bickering amongst himself, and Pamela was flirting with a guard, Everyone doing what they so normally did, everyone had a pattern about them. Myself included, usually I'd spend the days testing my fellow inmates with riddles and conundrums. I sigh, seeing the two empty cells down the hall. One of course belong to myself, but the other was for my Perplexity. "Riddle me this-" The guard shoved me into my cell before I could even start. "Your dim witted brain couldn't handle it anyways." I spat back, getting even more upset because she wasn't here.

She wasn't here to play mischievous pranks on the guards and inmates, to sneak around trying to see who could manipulate people better. Her or I. Our games were lost in time without her.

Why did she matter so much? My focus should be elsewhere and here my curiosity was to where she was, if she was okay. I slide my hand back through my hair, before deciding to clean off my glasses. Perhaps we could break out once more, figure out where she went. No. I need to be in Arkham until I find a way for us to lock the World Conference summit hostages in here, then a way to dispose of the whole damn place. It was a lot harder than it sounds.

In the midst of my thinking I hear a small cry come from down the hall. Perplexity. My eyes shoot towards the doorway, waiting for her to come in. My heart fell seeing how she was brought in. Batman drags her unconscious body beside him, beaten up with eyes swollen from tears.

"Purity? What did you do to her bats!?" Pamela hissed, eyeing her wilted flower. Bruises painted her skin black and blue. Ivy is upset, for everyone in Arkham knew Ivy held a resentment against men, especially those near  hurt girls.Her uproar got the attention of some other inmates, they all moved to see what the commotion was about.

Batman remains calm. He knew better than to speak or engage with the inmates. He tossed Lexi into her cell, like he would do with any other criminal.

I see Oswald giving me a look of concern. Why does everyone think that I like her! Even though she is a mystery, I am too intelligent to actually have real feelings for a simple minded-girl...then again, my Perplexity had far from a simple mind.

For the first time I look closely at her. My Perplexity's normally symmetric face was scarred with a harsh red bruise on her left cheek. The theories of how she could have got it makes my stomach turn a little, and I look up, making eye contact with the Bats. Did she fight him? Did she not want to come back to Arkham? Why wouldn't she to come back? Me? What could she possibly done for him to hurt her that badly?

A soft whimper escapes her lips as she tries to regain consciousness. The Batman doesn't bother to look at her as he just moves to leave her cell.

I feel anger boil in my chest as I look at the Batman, as it normally does when he outsmarts me. But here he stands before me touching what's mine

"Riddle me this.."

My voice must have come out dark, cause the whole hallway went silent. Even Joker's laughter. For once everyone in Arkham was curious what I had to say.

"Avoided by all yet not feared by the brave. I am someone that's around if your failed to save. All of us here have plenty of it to give, and yet without me you'd struggle to live. What am I?"

The Batman kept walking towards  the door, leaving her behind as if she was just trash like the rest of us. "WHAT AM I!?" I snap loudly, hitting the side of the glass cage. I pound my fist on it again and against, "WHAT AM I BATS! CAN YOU EVEN THINK CLEARLY IN THAT DULL  CEREBRUM OF YOURS!"

My fists bleeds as it continues to collide with the barrier that separated me from him.

The only sound that broke the tension was Joker's laughter. His chuckles erupts down the hallway, as if he couldn't contain himself anymore. I roll my eyes, knowing I just proved everyone right. Maybe I did have some feelings for her. I didn't care at the moment. I kept pacing the wall me and Lexi shared hoping she'd wake up soon.

"Pssst Ed, Ed..." Selena's voice purrs from the other side of Lexi's cell. "I'm breaking myself out  at night fall, if you want I can grab painkillers from the med ward."

I was about to speak when a soft groan comes between the two of us. Lexi's eyes slowly roll open before closing again. I nod, wishing I could be in there with Lex. I could only sneak around the cells after 10pm when the lights went off and the guards diminish to 2 checks.

Selena spoke before I got a chance to, "Purity dear what happened." Her nickname for Lexi echoed about, for once everyone was listening in. Not just me.

"I thought it wasn't real, I was trying to prove it wasn't real...I never meant to hurt anyone but myself."

Her eyes swells up, shining a bright blue in contrast to the redness they held. Her hands trembled as she tried to stand up. "They wouldn't leave me alone...they wouldn't leave me alone. I had to, I had to discover if this is real..."

"Riddle me this-"

Selena interrupts, "Ed, not the time for a riddle."

"What can you never get rid of when you lose it?" I ask, looking down at the floor. I was never one for apologies but my words must have gotten to her, this would have never happened if she stayed with me. Before Perplexity had the ability to answer I take a deep breath "My temper. I am sorry Alexandria."