Mirror Mirror: Chapter Six

Inside the Gotham City Bank:

The Bank is dark, empty and eerie but a single voice echoes giddy and disembodied throughout the marble halls:

“Question: what’s Bat and right and red all over? The answer may just surprise you!”

Seemingly from nowhere Batman lands in the center of the grand structure, silhouetted by the skylight at its center, his cape falling shroud like around him as he stands straight into its descent around shoulders.

“Spare me Riddler,

Batman says as he eyes the place, studying all possibilities.

“Your answers are getting as predictable as your crimes.”

Batman eyes the place, studying all possibilities.

“Tut-tut, wrong-o Batty-boy!”

Batman’s attention is immediately drawn to his right where the Riddler’s echo seemed to reverberate on his spectra-meter.

“But I shall grant you another shot!”

A slight *click* of the heel nailed the Riddler’s coffin. Batman ducks into cape as he steps back into the darkness becoming one with the shadows.

Riddler’s POV:

He stands watching Batman from above in the rafters, looking down upon the scene as Batman disappears. He then slides into place, dropping something down below as he himself drops down just opposite balancing the ropes weight, crooning as he does so with more enigmatic boastings.

“You see, neither are my work or doing.”

When suddenly a Batarang cuts through the rope and both he and the item fall simultaneously crashing to floor. As the Riddler shakes off his landing Batman’s eyes open in the shadows before him; illusive slits in their blackened surroundings.

“I’m just here for the laugh…”

The Riddler finished leaning back on palms with a tight shrug of shoulders.

“And the loot.”

Seemingly from nowhere the Riddler holds up a bank money bag, illustrating his point. In the blink of an eye Batman loomed closer, leaning now directly before his gaze, gaining substance from the shadows.

“Ever the bridesmaid, ever the puppet.”

He said with a rolling grumble of voice, though the Riddler didn’t seem intimidated.

“Tsk, tsk, Bat’s,”

Just like with the bag of money the Riddler produces a gun from his other hand.

“But don’t shoot the messenger.”

*Bang!*

Dodging bullet Batman flips to the side and as more begin to fly he pulls cape around him upon landing, switching on its harden shell-like casing to protect against the onslaught. Once the clip had run out Batman lands dives forward into the Riddler position with fists forward.

However it is not the Riddler his fists meet…

*Crash!*

It is broken glass Batman finds himself standing among; glass from the item the Riddler had been balancing on the other side of rope. The glass of a mirror. Batman had been speaking to the Riddler’s reflection the whole time, but, of course, now, he had vanished.

Annoyed that he should fall for such a basic trick, Batman quickly scans the room for any clues to his folly.

“Enhanced echo.” flashes across his alert scanning revealing the reason of what had allowed the Riddler to get away with Batman believing he was before him…but how? That’s when Batman realized that he was now standing inside one of the banks vaults, the door being opened allowing the Ridler’s position to be concealed as his voice bounced, reverberating outward form the vault which the mirror’s position had been carefully concealing. A visual riddle solved.

Batman studied the vaults opening.

“Not forced.”

Ready to move on, he turns to inspect the vault itself only to come face to face with:

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

And the laughter echos…