Chapter Text
Freaking out is an understatement. Ava was losing her shit big time.
She had seen the destruction that the rogues could cause to the city. She had read about it in comics back at home and after the “incident" she had lived them. Hell, last week Scarecrow decided to gas half the city with his new fear toxin (she spent eighteen hours quarantined in Been There, Done That with Jerry, Clara and a confused Red Robin). But reading/hearing about the villains and seeing one in the flesh are two very different things.
Riddler snapped his fingers and the car was bathed in light again.
Ava quickly covered her eyes, momentarily blinded.
She could hear groans to her right, probably from the other three passengers. The goons didn't even flinch.
She was too busy adjusting to the new light to notice that Riddler had started making his way around the carriage. His cane hitting the metal floor in a rhythmic motion. Click, click, click
He looked each and everyone of them dead in the eyes. The homeless man yawned and continued to stare at the ceiling, ignoring the situation as a whole. The businesswoman -Ava had decided to call her Tinkerbell in her mind. She had the same hairstyle as the cartoon fairy, it was right there.- was pale as a ghost. Which is a completely normal reaction to the situation, Ava probably had the same expression right now. She was also halfway holding the businessman like a giant stress toy - and we have found Terence ladies and gentlemen! - and using him as a human shield. Terence was doing a great job pretending to not be intimidated, but the shake of his hand and the tears of sweat dropping from his forehead said otherwise.
Riddler reached the last passenger. He had his arms crossed in his chest, looking more pissed than scared. The young man held his gaze, almost like he was trying to blow up the Riddler with his mind. Ava seized the opportunity to get a better look at the boy while the Riddler was distracted. He was around her age, maybe younger. His clothes were baggy but with a sense of style. A bag rested at his feet. A high school student on his way to class? Or a freshman at Gotham university?
Then it clicked. Oh I'm so blind. How did I not see it sooner?
That 's Duke fucking Thomas.
Wait, isn’t he a daytime vigilante? What is he doing here?
After at least sixty seconds of intense eye contact, Duke finally looked away. His gaze fell on the other side of the carriage.
Right on Ava.
She felt like a deer in the headlights. This was her first time meeting any of the bats in their civilian identity (after all, she spent a better part of the day sleeping after her shift), and she had the distant feeling that she wasn't coming across as collected as she wanted.
He frowned a little, like he’d seen something weird and was trying to make it make sense.
Ava teared her eyes from the boy just in time to miss a glint of recognition in his face.
Let’s focus on something else….the goons!
Strangely enough, seeing the matching tracksuits made her smile a little. It would be insane to find one of her Riddle goons regulars in the middle of a hostage situation…right? She shaked her head. Nah the odds are very very low.
Riddler’s distorsionated voice pulled her out of my thoughts. “While we wait for the big Bat to appear, why don’t we start with some riddles? Who wants to go first?” He clapped his hands and looked at us like he was genuinely waiting for someone to volunteer. Safe to say, no one was too eager to entertain the madman. “Come on, I promise they will be easy. Scouts promise.”
“No one? Fine, I’ll choose myself” He tapped his chin with his finger and pouted. Slowly, a wicked grin began to appear in his face. He started to sing. “Eeny meeny miny… mo!”
His finger landed on Tinkerbell. She gasped, tears rolling down her cheeks. Terence tried to hide her from the man, but the damage was already done. Both of them were shaking, holding each other for dear life.
Ava glanced at Duke. He was tense as a bow, sitting on the edge of his seat. It was obvious to anyone watching him that he was dying to intervene, but something was holding him back. Maybe he is waiting for the bats to get to the scene?
Just in case, Ava started to slowly slide to the opposite side of the carriage. She was still seated in the plastic chairs so she prayed to whoever was up there that they wouldn’t make any sound. Ava was very close to reaching one of the doors when Riddler spoke again.
“Ready?” He smiled at a terrified Tinkerbell. She didn’t respond, didn’t even breathe. “Listen carefully, I’ll only say it once. Here it goes:
I feel your every move. I know your every thought. I’m with you from birth, and I will see you when you root. What am i?”
What. The. Fuck
Is that supposed to be an easy one?
Tinkerbell had the same reaction as Ava. Her gaze was erratic, searching the carriage as if the answer was written in the walls. Riddler smiled, watching this unfold before his eyes.
Terence turned quiet. He wasn’t holding Tinkerbell anymore. He just stood there, staring at the rogue’s shoes. He had made peace with the fact they were never getting out of there alive.
No, no, there’d got to be another way. There had to. In all the comics, in all the movies, the civilians were always saved. One way or another.
And I swear to God, I refuse to be the exception.
Ava wasn’t naive enough to think she could take any of the goons in a fight. So the only other option was to beat Riddler at his own game. Or at least try. Either way she was buying time for Batman or other bats to arrive.
Having Riddler’s goons as regulars meant that Ava knew a fair amount of riddles. After five or six of them you start to notice the pattern, the little clues if you will. She was pretty sure that this riddle wasn’t about an object or something you could actually touch. So that only leaves with the worst types of answers: the abstract ones. You know the type: “sadness”, “love”, “silence”...
Ava could hear Tinkerbell talking to herself. Her words didn't even make sense, growing more anxious by the second. Riddle pulled out a pocket watch, making a show of checking the time. Ava had to admit it, the guy was good. He was psychologically terrorizing Tinkerbell to the max.
Okay, time to bullshit my way through to freedom.
“Hey! I think I know the answer” Ava spoke, getting the attention of the rogue. The other passengers froze on the spot. Duke looked at Ava like she had just announced that she had killed a puppy. While Tinkerbell and Terence both wore confused (but slightly hopeful) faces.
“You do?” Riddler took a step forward, crocking his head a little to the side. Ava nodded.
Out of the corner of her eye she could see Duke glanzing at the windows and back at her. Had Batman arrived?
“That’s wonderful news! Let’s hear it then”
Shit. Okay let’s put our thinking caps on. Riddler not only plays with his victims, but he also makes them think, reflect, and exhaust all the possibilities.
Ava turned her eyes to the windows, ignoring all the people in the carriage. It was dark enough outside the car that she could see herself in the glass. Her green eyes looked back at her. God her dark circles were worse than ever, she really should invest in a better concealer-
“Well Miss? We are all waiting for you” The rogue signed to the goons. Two of them broke formation and approached Ava. The one on the right was slim, kinda built like a swimmer. The other one was all muscle. When he crossed his arms in his chest, Ava could see his biceps poking through the fabric.
Ava turned her attention to the Riddler. What’s your goal here? Just scared us? No, you want us to take a look inside us…you want us to face our reflection.
That 's it!
“Our reflection!” Ava suddenly yelled. The rogue stayed silent, a small satisfaction smile crawling up his face. “The answer is our reflection”
Just as Riddler opened his mouth (maybe to congratulate Ava, to order the goons to kill them all or maybe to ask them another riddle) the window in front of Ava exploded.
Ava rushed to cover her head with her arms. She could feel the little pieces of glass tearing her skin, cutting her shirt and face. She bit back a yell of pain. The two goons weren’t so lucky. The window was right behind them, quitting them straight in the back and sending them to the floor.
The power went out again.
And all hell broke loose.
A woman was screaming. The sound of dress shoes hitting the floor echoed in the carriage. Someone was saying Ava’s name, but she couldn't make out who.
She tried to run, but something tripped her. She hit the floor hard, knocking the air from her lungs for a couple seconds.
A fight was happening. She could hear punches, metal against metal and screams of rage.
A hand grabbed her forearm, lifting Ava from the floor like she weighed nothing.
“Don’t touch me!” She slapped the face of whoever had her with her free hand. They let go for a second, but it wasn’t enough for her to run away. They grabbed her again, pulling her closer to them and away from the broken window.
“It’s okay, it’s okay. I’m not with the Riddler” A man’s voice said. “I’m Duke. Let’s get you out of here”