Friendship Is Magic: Gotham

by Jaycren

Where Does A Little Girl Hide Everything

Author's Note:

This chapter written by the talented Equestrian Twist.
Edited by Minaren.

And Now Let The Games Begin!!!!!

The sound of mechanical buzzing silently echoed through a single darkened street in Gotham”s downtown district. The street’s name held no particular importance, nor did the names of the many shops that were scattered across it. No, on this night none of these mundane things truly mattered… it was what was on the inside that counted.

An explosion erupted from the outside of one these stores, producing a sound so loud that there could be no doubt that almost the entirety of Gotham had heard it. A less than subtle approach to a more then simple problem, that could have been solved by easily picking the lock to the door. But the perpetrator had built an identity around being a less than subtle man, with a penchant for clues and a psychological need to leave his calling card.

“These radio-control attack crafts are performing better than I ever could have dreamed. But I suppose that is to be expected. After all, I am the one who built them.”

A man dressed in a green overcoat and bowler hat, strutted into the destroyed front half of the building and peered with confident glee at vast amounts of jewels and baubles left miraculously untouched by the explosion. A pair of slender women, dressed in fishnet stockings and green leotards and hefting two empty burlap sacks over their shoulders, stroad silently in behind him.

“Did I not tell you this plan was flawless. A perfect test for my attack craft’s destructive capabilities, but controlled just enough to leave all the precious lucre inside perfectly unharmed. My calculations met to their most exact and finite decimal points. Clearly, there is no better word to describe me other then genius!” His two henchwomen only rolled their eyes in response.

The man twirled his cane in his hand, before pointing its curved end at the vast amounts of valuable items laying in glass cases before them. “But time is still our enemy. Collect as much as you can carry and let’s make our leave. The game can’t start, if the players arrive before all preparations are complete.”

As the women started breaking glass and scooping fresh cut jewelry into their bags, the genius--as he liked to call himself--placed a small lensed box on the ground, which projected a large holographic green question mark on the wall. The sounds of broken glass being crushed under foot, and the whirl of spinning helicopter blades soon caught the man’s attention.

“Never let it be said that I don’t give credit where credit is due. You truly are as great and brilliant a pilot as you boast yourself to be. Congratulations Ms. Bellatrix, welcome to the Riddler’s employ.”

A woman with sparkling silver hair, and dressed in the same question mark outfit as the women whom came in before her, sauntered into the building like she were its owner. In one hand, a complex RC remote hanging lazily from her fingers while the other was preoccupied flipping her hair with all the confidence of a wealthy runway model.

“Was there ever any doubt? The Great and Brilliant Trixie is everything she claims to be and more. There is absolutely no room for fantasy in the descriptions of her feats.”

The Riddler rubbed his chin in thought as he contemplated the title his newest henchwoman had chosen for herself. “Hmmm… Trixie? Tricks? I like that.” He stated with a smile. “Tricks, Echo and Query… All essential parts of a good riddle. My dear, I do believe you’re going to fit right in with our little band.”

The Riddler turned on his heels before crouching back down near the box. He began typing in a code into a keypad located on the box’s back side. “Now if you would, please turn off the attack crafts. We don’t want to risk drawing anymore attention then that explosion no doubt got us.”

Tricks nodded, and quickly went about landing the attack craft with her remote before flipping a switch on its side. The craft’s engine slowly died, but strangely they both could still hear the sounds of mechanical blades spinning while in flight.

“I thought I told you to-” The Riddler whirled his head around in annoyance, only to feel his purple domino mask tighten on his face, as his eyes widened in shock. Behind Tricks, was a second drone, obviously store bought, but boasting a detachable video camera on its front.

It flew up higher into the air, before changing directions and soaring out of sight over one of the street’s taller buildings. Tricks immediately flicked her remote back on and started up the engines to her attack crafts. “Don’t worry Mr. Nigma, Tricks will-”

Before she could finish, the Riddler grasped his hand around her wrist and pulled it away before she could use the remote. “ARE YOU A COMPLETE IMBECILE?!”

“Sir... you’re hurting me…”

With a fury that she had not yet seen while under the supervillain’s employ, The Riddler pulled Tricks closer until their noses practically touched. “You were planning to shoot down that commoner’s drone weren’t you?”

“I-I...I…” She stammered.

He shoved her back. “Here’s a question… What is lost, the moment you say its name?” Tricks found herself unable to answer, both for fear that responding might set him off again, and that she didn’t know the answer to the riddle.

“The answer is silence.” He stated as if berating a child for failing a math test. “That drone just filmed us all at the scene of the crime. Which means someone else had to have seen us from the other side of the camera, and that means the surprise is lost!”
“The moment that film gets to this person is the moment when the police have evidence that I committed this crime. But even without that, simply saying my name at this location will give the GCPD reason to start investigating… as well as other people. AND THAT’S GOING TO SHOOT MY PLANS STRAIGHT TO HELL!”

Tricks jumped back in fright at his sudden shout. “They’ll be searching for me based on their witness’s recollections rather then following my brilliantly placed clues! They’ll win by cheating, and deny me my chance to prove my intellectual superior to the dullards of this PIECE OF SHIT CITY!”

He kicked the glass scattered about the floor in rage before turning towards Tricks. He stomped at her and pointed his index finger. “Find that drone and follow it to its source!” He threatened. “We’re making it a stop before we get back to the hideout.” Tricks nodded hesitantly, before starting the attack craft and shooting it high into the air in search of the drone.

“Echo! Query! Pack up whatever you’ve collected and bring the car around, the heist’s been botched. But don’t worry, I’ve got another job for us to take care of before the night is done.”

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The tiny drone raced over buildings, boulevards and neighborhood streets at the fastest speed a remote-control children’s toy could achieve. It reached an open window set high on a rather ordinary-looking apartment building. Most passersby wouldn’t normally give it a second glance, which the owner hoped would help her hide the evidence should those criminals come searching for the footage.

The drone flew through the open window and landed on the lap of a seated preteen girl. She quickly turned off the remote and quieted her drone, before removing the camera from its front. She flipped open a viewing screen on the camera’s side and replayed what she had been able to record. Her eyes widened in shock, not only was she able to collect visible evidence of the Riddler and his henchwomen stealing from the jewelry store, but also a direct confession of the crime by the Riddler himself.

“Crap... this is big!” She closed the closed the viewing screen and desperately searched for a place to hide her camera. She heard a door open when she found a place she thought was good enough.

“Scoots, I’m home!” A familiar female voice called out from the other room. The girl sighed in relief at the sounds of her sister entering the house, rather than some crazed supervillain. “I brought dinner; some beef perogies from that place down the street you like.”

Her sister needed to be warned. “Raymona!” Squeaky wheels echoed from the young girl’s bedroom, as she raced her wheelchair into the living area of the apartment her sister rented. The prism-haired adult in ripped skinny jeans, white muscle shirt and opened short sleeve button up, reached her hand up to her ear as she placed the bag of stuffed dumplings on the counter next to the door.

“Remind me to oil your chair after we eat. A noise like that could get us arrested for assumed animal abuse.” Raymona snickered as she started to pull out a few of the takeout boxes from the bag.

“Ray, you’ve got to listen to me! I just saw some shit go down a few blocks-”

“Woah, woah… Do mom and dad let you talk like that back at the house? Just because I don’t give a shit whatever the fuck comes out of your mouth, doesn’t mean you should become a sailor the moment you-”

“Ray! I just saw the Riddler rob a jewelry store!”

Raymona was almost immediately struck silent. “That crazy question mark guy who just escaped from Arkham last month?”

Scoots nodded. “I was flying my drone when I noticed him blowing up the front half of the store. I caught it all on tape.”

Raymona blinked, then crouched down to place her hands on her sister’s shoulders. “Did he see you?” She asked earnestly.

“He… he saw my drone. But I flew away as soon as he did! I don’t think he’d be able to follow me.”

Raymona looked at the floor as she processed the information. Suddenly, she shot her eyes back up so she could look into her sister’s. “Scoots, listen to me. Go to your room and grab your camera, then stay there until I tell you to come out. I’m going to call the police.”

Raymona lifted herself off of Scoots and walked over towards the fridge. Reaching behind it, she pulled out a polished wood baseball bat and rested it on her shoulder before making her way towards the phone. It was only after she picked up the receiver that she noticed her sister hadn’t moved.

“Go!” She urged. Scoots didn’t need to be told a third time, and slowly started to roll back towards the safety of her room.

Once out of sight, Raymona started to dial 9-1-1 into the wall phone’s keypad. It was only beginning to ring when she heard her sister scream from her room.

“SCOOTS!” Raymona leaped from the phone and bolted down the hallway, paying no mind to decorum as she kicked in the door to her sister’s room. She held up her bat ready to swing...

“Scoots are you-”

...only to stop when she noticed a whirling machine with a mounted semi-automatic floating outside her sister’s window. They heard the front door slam open, but never took their eyes off the drone currently pinning them down.

Footsteps echoed down the hallway from several pairs of feet. The door to the room opened, a sinister laugh accompanying the creak of its hinges. “So you’re the little looky-loos who thought it a good idea to record my activities, hmm? A very unwise decision on your part, I must say.”

The chambering of two semi-auto pistols rung out, as Raymona turned towards her attackers. A woman with short black hair, and a woman with long blonde hair and a police hat were each pointing a pistol at her. Meanwhile, another woman standing behind them was adjusting the barrel of the the drone’s gun towards Scoots with use of a remote control.

The Riddler walk out from the doorway until he was standing between his two henchwomen. Raymona growled at the psychopath standing before her. “If you do anything to hurt her, I swear I’ll-”

“I don’t think you’re in any position to be making demands here. We’ve got advanced technology as well as proper weaponry. You have… a stick. Unless you plan to deflect bullets like a neanderthal, you have no odds of winning.”

Raymona furrowed her brows even more in disdain. “Never tell me the odds…” She whispered. She glanced back towards Scoots and noticed the drone’s gun pointed at her. Begrudgingly, she decided to respond. “What do you want?”

“I think you already know, and you’re going to tell me.” He said with a smirk. “But not here. We’ve attracted enough attention as it is, and we don’t need anyone to know we were here if we can help it. So to put it in a way someone like you would understand, you and your sister are going to come with us on a little ride.”

Raymona clenched her fist tighter around the baseball bat’s grip. It made her furious how little she could do to protect her sister in this situation. The black haired woman strode closer until she was standing behind Scoots. Raymona flinched, about ready to jump should the woman try to harm her sister in any way.

The Riddler spoke again. “In the meantime, why don’t you ponder this riddle.” She turned back towards the Riddler as he lifted his cane. He swung it, whacking Raymona on the back of the head, sending her to the floor.
As she began to lose consciousness, she could hear the Riddler asking her his question. It sounded like he was trying to talk to her through a jello mold. “What is the one question you can never say yes to..? Think about it. I’ll ask you again later.”

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Raymona awoke to find her arms tied to the back of a foldable chair and her legs bound to the legs on its front. Her vision was blurry, but she could tell she was in a room with little to no furnishings and that was very dimly lit. The two women from before were standing before her, but she couldn’t make out any signs of the Riddler or the third girl that was with him.

She shook her head and released a hiss. She glared at the two henchwomen once she had regained her sight. She was in a concrete room with thin piping running along the walls and a long access hallway spanning a long path before her. The two women were standing on either side of a junky old TV and VCR, placed upon an equally rundown cart with wheels.

Raymona struggled against the ropes that kept her bound to the chair. “Where the hell am I?! What did you do with my sister?! I swear to god if you bitches did anything to her I’ll-”

“This chick’s sure got some balls on her… don’t ya think Echo?” The blond haired woman purred as she leaned on the television set.

“Yeah Query,…” The short haired woman agreed. She grabbed her pistol from the hostler on her hip and chambered a round, pointing it at Raymona’s crotch. “Maybe we should shoot and see if she can sing soprano~”

A voice suddenly echoed down the hallway, causing the woman to pull back her gun in surprise. “Ah, Ah, Ah girls, there’s no time for that. Just put in the instructions and leave our friend to the game. We need to find the evidence before anyone can link us to the burglary.”

The women chuckled before Echo holstered her gun. Raymona cocked a brow in confusion. “What’s he talking about... instructions? What’s going on?!”

Query smiled as she pulled out a video tape from beside the VCR and placed it within its slot. “The Riddler has decided to be generous and give you a chance to play for you and your sister’s lives.” The screen sputtered to life as a recorded image of the Riddler started to play.

“Greetings Raymona Dashiell, I trust that your sleep was pleasant?” The recording smirked. “Pay attention now, because that’s the only answer I’ll be giving you tonight.”

Raymona blanched in surprise. The video only continued to smile at her. “Don’t look so shocked, I make it my business to learn a little bit about everybody.” Raymona opened her mouth to reply. “...And I wouldn’t say a word my dear, this is a recording after all. I won’t be able to hear you.”

Raymona furrowed her brows in contempt. The cocky bastard was now purposely playing with her emotions. If she ever got her hands around that scrawny egghead’s neck, she was gonna…

The Riddler in the video lifted up a file filled with papers that look like it belonged in an episode of CSI. After opening the folder he began to read. “Hmm… Quite the school record you have here. Excellent work in both physical education and sports, but absolutely abysmal grades in almost all other subjects. One has to wonder how you ever made it through the Gotham school system with such inferior intelligence.”

Raymona couldn’t keep herself from growling. The Riddler lifted up another file, this one with a different name printed on its front. “Your sister, Sophie Scarlet, isn’t much better. In fact, she has even less going for her. So sad to see an orphan girl paralyzed at such a young age… and the perpetrator of the hit and run has never been identified. How unfortunate...”

Raymona wanted to scream at the video recording, even despite how pointless the action would be. Who was he to pity and berate them? That puzzle-obsessed, psychopathic know-it-all had no idea of the struggles they had to fight through in school and in life, especially in a city like Gotham. Life wasn’t easy for anyone here. The streets were rough for low-income families, and many people in this category often had to stoop to illegal means in order to survive. Thankfully it never had come to that for her or Scoots. Even still, hearing judgment from a twisted man like the Riddler was more than enough to make Raymona see red.

“Now I bet you're wondering why your here and where your sister has run off to..? Well the good news is, I can tell you she’s safe. That is... for now. You see, being the fair player that I am, I’ve decided to give you a chance to win you and your sister’s freedom. You just have to make it through my little game first.”

The recording of the Riddler paused and began to stare at her as if wanting to give some time to contemplate her situation.

“The game is simple. All you have to do is make it through the maintenance tunnels and find your sister on the other side. To make it easier for you, I’ve even placed riddles and clues at the different branching paths you may encounter. Follow these riddles and you will eventually find your sister.”

The Riddler smirked. “However, if you get a riddle wrong, and end up meeting an intersection without a riddle or find yourself at a dead end, well…” Raymona heard the sounds of a metal door being opened behind her. She looked over her shoulder and saw Query standing next to the open door, just as the semi-automatic mounted drone flew in next to her. “...we’ll just have to emphasis the meaning of ‘dead’ in that statement.”
Query and Echo both snickered to themselves as Query cut the binds to the chair and Echo continued to hold her at gunpoint. Once finished, Query and Echo slowly exited the room and locked the door behind them, leaving Raymona alone at the mercy of the Riddler’s attack craft.

“These tunnels are covered in security cameras, so if you make even one mistake we will see it. But thankfully for you, there is one other way out.” Raymona turned back towards the video. “Tell me where the footage is, and both you and your sister will go free.” The Riddler’s expression grew dark as his eyes became more piercing as they stared through the screen. “My attack craft is built with a one-way radio that will be recording everything you say. Give me the information, and I promise you will see your sister alive.”

The man on the screen paused again as if waiting for her to reply. He seemed to shake his head as if realizing this was impossible, and finished his message before the video cut off. “...till then, good luck and happy hunting. You’re going to need it.”

As the screen turned black, Raymona turned towards the drone. Its gun was already pointed at her, which she could only assume was the work of that third henchwoman, who was probably watching the security cameras along with her boss. Raymona growled and began on her way.

She hated the idea of being that lunatic’s guinea pig, running his maze for some cheap reward. Though she would never consider Scoots’ life a menial reason to risk her own, she just couldn’t help but make the comparison considering the circumstances. She didn’t even know where Scoots had hid that footage, so telling the Riddler about it was definitely not an option, and even though she didn’t like to admit it, intellectual challenges like word games and puzzles weren’t her strong suit. She would have to make sure she was extra careful while solving the puzzles, her sister’s life as well as her own now hung in the balance.

It didn’t take long for Raymona to find the first intersection, as well as the first riddle taped to the wall on a piece of paper. On the inside, a pencil was taped under the written riddle. She read it aloud.

“How can you place a pencil on the ground so that no one can jump over it?” Raymona smiled. “Sweet, I actually remember the answer to this one.” She took the pencil off the paper and placed it against the wall. “But how does this tell me which direction I need to go?”

She picked up the pencil and studied it. Her eyes widened, a black arrow had been marked on the end of the pencil point towards the tip. Placing the pencil back against the wall, she eyed the arrow and saw that it was pointed down the left hallway. Without a second thought, she started to make her way.

The cement hallways had little in terms of visual distractions, for which Raymona was thankful. Less distractions, meant she could place all her focus on solving the riddles. The only thing that annoyed her was the loud spinning blades of the drone behind her. Not only was it distracting, but it also served as a constant reminder of what would happen if she failed. She looked at the piping on the wall, and gave a slight smirk. She wondered how much damage she’d be able to do if she were able to whack the machine with one those pipes.

It didn’t take long for her to find the next riddle, this placed her at a three way intersection. Raymona opened the paper containing the riddle. She read it aloud. “A murderer is condemned to death. He has to choose between three rooms. The first is full of raging fires, the second is full of assassins with loaded guns, and the third is full of lions that haven't eaten in 3 years. Which room is safest for him?”

Raymona scratched her head in thought. “I guess I’m the murderer then?” She muttered, glancing at the three hallways. “Ironic…”

She looked down each of the three hallways. On the floor before each hallway was a different marking. One depicted three wavy lines, another three holes, and the last three straight lines. Raymona could only guess that each picture represented a different room in the riddle, it only figured that Riddler would have made the answers as ambiguous as possible.

Raymona glanced at each picture a second time. “Hmm…” She pondered. “I guess the holes could represent bullet holes, which means that hall represents the room filled with assassins with loaded guns.” She looked at the three wavy lines. “...And the wavy lines could mean fire? But then what is the answer?”

She folded her arms and closed her eyes in thought. “If I walked into a room filled with fire, I would die immediately. The same thing would happen if I walked into the room with assassins.”

Her eyes opened. “But lions wouldn’t survive being starved for three years! I remember Felicity telling me about them once!”

She turned towards the hallway with the three straight lines drawn before it. “Which means the lion room has to be the safe one!” She shouted with pride. With a sudden new viger placed in her step, Raymona began marching down the hallway towards the next riddle.

As she walked, she heard the sounds of the the drone grow quieter and more distant. Raymona paused in her stride and looked back, the drone wasn’t following her. She cocked a brow in confusion, when suddenly the drone shot past her with frightening speed.

Raymona was shocked, but she also saw an opportunity. If that drone was going where she thought it was going, then if she followed it she might be able to find Scoots quicker than expected. Without hesitation she began giving chase after the drone now shooting down the hallway.

As she ran she could hear the sounds of someone else’s heavy footsteps echoing down the hallway as the drone grew closer to whom Raymona assumed was calling it. It bounded around a corner as Raymona came to screeching halt. The footfalls she was hearing earlier had stopped.

She poked her head around the corner and raised her brow in suspicion. That girl she had seen with the Riddler and the others was standing under her drone with an extremely freaked out look etched across her. She was glancing around nervously, as if she was expecting something to job out and grab her.

Experimentally, Raymona grabbed some loose concrete off the floor and threw it in her direction. The noise making her jump as it echoed down the hallway. She turned, activating the gun on her drone and shot at the wall where the gravel had landed. She must have hit a steam pipe because the room sudden began to grow foggy a few seconds after.

She coughed… “Batman?!” She shouted. “I know you're out there!” She turned in several directions trying to make out if anything was moving through the steam. She turned her back towards Raymona, and that was when she saw her chance.

Raymona began to sneak through the smoke. “Where are you?!” Tricks turned around right at the moment Raymona was close enough to attack. “Batman?!” Raymona delivered a punch straight into her cheek sending her flying backwards and causing her to hit her head the floor.

The steam began to clear as Raymona stood over her captor. “I’m not Batman.” She growled.

The Riddler’s henchwoman had been knocked unconscious, and as a result the remote she had been holding had been smashed against the floor during her fall. The drone powered down and fell to the floor with a thud. It was then she noticed a fallen piece of shot-off pipe.

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Raymona arrived in the room holding her sister five minutes later then she probably should have, and when she got there her eyes widened at what she saw.

Batman… the Batman, the dark defender of Gotham city, was standing over a beaten and bruised Riddler and his two unconscious henchwoman. He was currently cuffing the Riddler to the piping on the wall while Scoots watched on in awe.

“How…” the Riddler spat. “How did you find me?”

“You’ve never been good at multitasking Riddler.” Batman answered. “You were so focused on getting the footage back from your hostages, you forgot to clean up your dirty work. It was easy to follow your trail with the amount of careless clues you left behind.”

Scoots turned her head once she started getting the feeling someone else was watching them. Her eyes widened upon seeing her sister.

“Ray!” She turned her chair and rocketed towards her older sibling. She stopped just short of colliding into her so she could give her a hug. Raymona eagerly reciprocated.

Batman turned and gave them both a slight smile. “I’m glad to see that you’re both alright.”

“Yeah…” Raymona's eyes widened after thinking about the statement. She grabbed Scoots by the cheeks and started looking her over. “You are alright? Right Scoots? That bastard didn’t do anything to you while I was gone, did he?”

The Riddler groaned in annoyance. “We didn’t touch her, you insufferable troglodyte. Unlike some of the other dullards that plague this city, the Riddler has standards. I don’t harm the handycapable, such an easy task would be beneath the talents of my brilliant mind. I only challenge those I consider my intellectual equals.”

Raymona smirked as she sauntered towards the masked madman. “That’s a pretty big compliment coming from a guy like you. I didn’t think you thought so highly of me after playing that video at the start of the maze.”

The Riddler released a mock chuckle in response. “You overestimate your worth.” He sneered causing Raymona brows to furrow. “You were always a means to the end. I deduced it was your sister who was flying the drone, so we knew she had to be the one hiding it. The plan was to scare her into revealing the information by hanging over her head your death being avoidable.” Raymona felt her teeth clenching. “Even if you somehow managed to make it through my maze without assistance, I would have threatened to shoot you anyways so she’d tell me the truth. Not that I expected you to make it all the way anyways.”

Raymona felt her anger boiling over and grabbed the Riddler by the shirt tugging him upwards. “I didn’t even use my hardest riddles.” He began to chuckle. “All of them were from a children’s puzzle book.”

Raymona raised her fist ready to punch him. “You son of a…”

“I think you're overestimating yourself Riddler.” Batman interrupted. Raymona lowered her fist, and she and the Riddler both turned their gazes to meet his own.

“How so?” He asked.

“Because I found the footage, and it was in rather obvious place, if you even cared to look?” The Riddler cocked a brow in confusion. Batman turned his gaze towards Scoots as she rolled up.

She smiled at the Riddler, a knowing kind of smile like someone who was in on a joke. “This time I’ve got a riddle for you, Mr. Riddler. Where does a little girl hide everything, including her skeletons?”

The Riddler only continued to stare at her as he thought over her question. Suddenly his eyes widened as the answer struck him. “No…” He stated in embarrassment. “No!” He continued to shout.

Raymona at this point, having figured out the riddle herself, was bursting with laughter. Batman himself, as stoic as he usually was, even started to chuckle.

“No, that isn’t fair!” Riddler shouted. “I could have figured that out! If given a clue or some context I would have easily..! It’s such a simple answer of course I..!

“Face it Riddler you were overthinking things again.” Batman stated.

“Yeah admit it, my sis got you good!” Raymona added, letting go of the Riddler’s shirt as she laugh in deight.

The Riddler snarled in anger. “Outsmarted by a brat… I can’t believe!” He grumbled. “No one will ever believe you anyways!”

“That may not be true either Riddler.” Batman replied. Reaching into his belt he pulled out a flashdrive and handed it Scoots. “I’ve been recording this conversation since Raymona walked into the room. Giving them more than enough evidence to put you away in Arkham for a long time.”

“NO! YOU CAN’T SHOW ANYONE THAT!”

“I think we can.” Raymona sneered walking behind her sister and pushed her towards another door maintenance door leading out of the room. “After all, you have no odds of stopping us.” She gave the supervillain one last cocky glance before exiting the room entirely.

As she walked away, she heard his many curses of anger and distress. Though she never wanted to see that maniac again, she a least had to give the Riddler this… that was the most entertaining night out she had in a long time. She began to smiled confidently as the cursing began to grow quieter.

It never before felt so good to win.

Comments

[Tsuguri]

Pretty interesting so far. Looking forward to seeing how the other cast members pan out. If the description hadn't said that they're not really villains then I would almost expect Pinkie to be allied with the Joker, so her spot is really up for grabs.

And am I the only one to find out weird that Fluttershy has a more dubious connection to the underworld than Dash?

And since I hate leaving some questions unanswered:

“What is the one question you can never say yes to..? Think about it. I’ll ask you again later.”

Going by memory, and by what Nigma had planned, I'm going to say the answer is are you dead?

[EquestrianTwist]

9138159
My original intent was for that riddle to be answered after Rainbow Dash woke up. But I honestly like your interpretation better considering the tone of the chapter.

“What is the one question you can never say yes to..? Think about it. I’ll ask you again later.”

The answer can be found in this statement...

“Greetings Raymona Dashiell, I trust that your sleep was pleasant?” The recording smirked. “Pay attention now, because that’s the only answer I’ll be giving you tonight.”

Now that I read it aloud, it isn't all that clear in context. It looks like I'll have to take a note from the Riddler's book and think up some better clues. Hopefully this makes more sense...

[Tsuguri]

9138988
Looking over it again I can see what you were going for now, and it does make a bit more sense in the chapters context. It could honestly go either way whether you wanted to go cartoon grim or comic dark.

Still looking forward to seeing who else is going to pop up for the rest of the cast.

[Jaycren]

9139175
The next chapter is going to be Oswald Cobblepot and Lady Rebecca Belle. This one is going to be all on me. Samantha Belle may or may not make an appearance as well. The basic story is in my head already just need to flesh it out.