Anonymous
The Riddle escaped again. And after several weeks of hiding he decided to come out and play. Batman and Robin were out of town. Batman and Superman were involved with a situation in London, England. Robin was off somewhere with the Teen Titans. Thus Batgirl had to carry the ball.
The clues he sent were ridiculously simple. To be or not to be? Where does one go when one goes Hollywood?
Batgirl knew that several years back a group of bored millionaires and investors tried to make Gorham City the next Hollywood by opening up a movie studio just outside town. They ultimately failed, of course. But Gothic Productions was still there. Abandoned and forgotten. She bet her cowl that the Riddler was there and hiding in Stage 2-B. It reeked of a trap. But the only way to get her prey would be to play his game.
Normally she struck at night under the cover of shadows. But Riddler knew that and would be prepared. So she decided to make her move during daylight. Gothic was pretty much isolated. People could be seen coming from miles away. But maybe she could sneak in via parachute. Borrowing one of Bruce Wayne's personal airplanes, to be piloted Alfred Pennyworth himself, the cowled vigilante put on a chameleon jumpsuit over her costume. The chameleon was a special hi-tech outfit that would let her blend in with her surroundings. After a testing the suit and making sure its limited power source was fully charged, she headed for the air field where the unassuming plane and its pilot would be waiting.
Later she was plunging through the air like a missile. The chameleon covering her movement perfectly. As ground zero loomed closer Batgirl angled her trajectory and at the right moment triggered the chameleon's chute. It opened up and the nearly invisible girl glided to a perfect landing into a western ghost town. The chameleon's power source petered out and Batgirl was pretty much visible again. Removing the jumpsuit, and its built-in parachute, Batgirl stashed it someplace safe and began to stalk.
She made her way to Stage 2-B with no problem. Outside one of the doors was a promo-poster of an aborted movie. Bo Derrick in a skimpy safari outfit that showed more flesh than it covered. Revolver in one hand and a bull whip in the other. Clearly this future bomb was trying to capitalize on the Indiana Jones craze from years ago. Batgirl picked a door she hoped wouldn't attract too much attention, used her lockpic, and entered the stage. She had to assume Riddler knew she was there. She took some nose filters from her utility belt and put them in place. He, Joker, and Penguin had a fondness for gas.
The set looked like the entrance to a pyramid. Batgirl cautiously moved about until that all too familiar laugh pierced her ears.
"Riddle me this! What's the opposite of a tomb raider?"
Despite herself, Batgirl answered. "A raider's tomb." That's when the trap door opened. Batgirl dropped down and hit the floor below. Before she could even think she felt the sudden penetration of darts piercing her protective costume and skin. They were drugged. She'd pass out soon. Maybe never wake up again. The last thing she heard before darkness set in was the Riddler's maniacal laughter.
Batgirl awoke to another all too familiar experience. She was gagged with her hands tied behind her back. She felt a painfully sharp, almost cutting, sensation pressing against and across her belly. She opened her eyes. She was on the floor of a large empty room lit by torches. The pain on her belly was a tight and taught wire secured to rings on both sides of her. The rings were attached to some kind of hidden weights inside the floor. The pressure was murder. Her utility belt and cape were removed. She was surprised the mask was still on. To her left was a door with no door knob. To her right was a switch. Both serious running distance from her current precarious position.
"When is a mouse in a maze not a mouse in a maze?" Came the Riddler's voice from an unseen speaker.
When it's a bat in a maze you contemptible cornball, she thought.
"When it's a bat in a maze." Laughed the Prince Of Puzzles. Then he got to business. "When I was in the stir I got hooked on a kid's video game called 'Tomb Raider.'
"All those puzzles and death traps. Childishly simple to one of my intellect. But it did inspire me.
"You're going to be my 'Lara Croft,' Batgirl. If you survive all the levels we will have another battle of wits another day. Assuming you even exist after this."
Huh? What's he mean by that, she wondered.
"I leave you with your only clue for this level. When is the right way to go not the right way to go" The Riddler laughed that insane over the top laugh again and then everything was silent.
The wire pressing against her belly suddenly started to steam and burn. The wire must have been treated with a special chemical, Batgirl thought. She couldn't help but groan through her gag as the chemicals burned through her costume and onto her flesh. The wire snapped and the two weights dropped deeper into the floor. Suddenly spikes shot out from ceiling which began to drop. Ignoring the pain of the chemical burn Batgirl rolled to her feet and charged for the distant switch. It was difficult but she managed to press it with her hands tied behind her back.
The spiked ceiling was halfway down now, The door on the opposite end of the room opened and Batgirl raced for it. She made it through just as the ceiling was mere inches above her and the door started to close. The bound and gagged vigilante found herself in a corridor. Before she could catch her breath she felt a rumbling on the floor. A boulder came rolling out in her direction. batgirl turned and ran as fast as she could. With her hands tied behind her it was awkward going. Ahead was a pit. Too small to catch the boulder. Maybe she could, no. She saw spikes inside. Batgirl leaped over the pit and landed clumsily. But she was still on her feet and able to keep running. Suddenly she felt the floor start to buckle. It was made of some flimsy material. batgirl could only keep running and hope she didn't fall into whatever deathtrap was below her. The breakable part of the floor wasn't wide enough to stop the rolling rock that was gaining on her. It was literally inches behind her. The end of the corridor was fast approaching. There were two openings. When is the right way to go not the right way to go?
When it's left, Batgirl thought. She turned left as soon as she reached the end. There was just enough room for her to dodge the boulder as it crashed into the wall. She tried to catch her breath panting through her gag. Trying to breathe through her nose as her heart pounded. Minutes later she was finally able to focus and tried to work her bonds. It was no good. They were too tight. She then looked around her new narrow prison. There was a switch which would open the obvious trap door beneath her. Once again she backed into the wall and pressed the button.
Once again she plunged downward and this time landed in salt water. The bound girl kicked furiously to reach the surface. She broke surface, the long tunnel that lead down here, and gasped for air. The gag had absorbed the salt water and left its unpleasant taste in her mouth. Not to mention make the burn on her belly feel worse. The pressure on her wrists was getting worse too. She must have been bound with rawhide. And the water was making them contract.
She could hear the sound of a motor and feel the churning of the water. Getting as much air as she could Batgirl went under to find her escape route. The source of the churning was a huge fan between her and an open tunnel. The blades were too fast to swim through. Batgirl searched and found a lever on the wall. Kicking her legs she swam over to it and tried to grasp it with her bound hands. The rawhide, or whatever, was getting unbearably tighter, her lungs were starting to burst, but she got a hold and pressed her legs against the wall. With all her might she pushed out and pulled the lever halfway down. She swam over to her air pocket and inhaled deeply. Once again, with her lungs full, she submerged and swam back to the lever. Grasping it she was able to force it all the way down.
Two things happened. The huge fan slowed and another door opened. A huge shape swam out. A shark.
Batgirl kicked out and swam for the fan. The shark was almost on her when she timed her move and shot between the blades. She made it through and the shark's snout was clipped by the giant fan, causing it to break off the chase. Batgirl swam into the tunnel and made her way to the far end. Her lungs were again about to explode when she broke the surface. There was a ramp that let her step out into a room full of crates. After gasping for another supply of air, Batgirl looked about and found a crate with a jagged edge. She went over to it and began to rub her bonds up and down against it. It took forever it seemed. But finally a stand came loose and Batgirl was able to wiggle her hands free.
The first thing she did was pull the bitter tasting gag out of her mouth. She then searched the room and found another switch. Pressing it she opened another secret door that lead to another corridor. Batgirl looked and noticed the floor was the same collapsible stuff as the last one. There were elongated slots in the wall all perfectly spaced. Bracing herself, Batgirl charged in. Outrunning the feeble floor, leaping up to avoid a swinging sword blades from slicing her in half, she made it to the other side.
The next room was another corridor with an open vent at the far end. Spikes popped out and the walls began to close in. Batgirl charged and climbed into the vent just barely. She crawled through only to be sprayed by a gas. Batgirl immediately began to feel weak and dizzy.
The Riddle's voice returned. "The gas is poisonous. It enters the pores of the skin. So there is no doubt you're exposed. But the truth is a cure-all."
Batgirl made it to the other side and found herself in a room with a huge carving on the wall and three busts in the center. Large, medium, and small. She could feel the poison was already taking effect. Batgirl looked at the busts. They were mostly incomplete. The large only showed the details of a mouth and square jaw. Medium was a woman's eyes, nose, mouth, and jaw. Small was the most detailed with only the eyes missing. It looked like Robin with a blindfold. Obviously medium was Batgirl and large was Batman himself. She looked at the carving which showed a royal family holding their crowns in their hands. A king, queen, and prince. Though they looked Egyptian there was the tell-tale symbol of the bat on their clothing.
As her vision started to blur and her legs and arms start to leaden, Batgirl knew what this was about. Truth is a cure-all. Assuming you even exist after this. In order get the antidote she had to remove her cowl and place it on her bust. Thus exposing her secret identity. That's why the cape was taken. She couldn't hide under it. The world was starting to swirl about. She couldn't last much longer.
She peeled off her right glove and kneeled down. She bowed her head and pulled off the cowl making sure her face couldn't be seen. She then tied the glove around her eyes and stretched the fabric as much as she could so it could cover as much as it could. Her breathing was now labored, her heart pounding, hands and limbs barely functional. Still she managed to get up and using her photographic memory went over to the busts. She placed the cowl on her image and heard a click A small door under the bust opened up. Batgirl felt about and found a bottle.. Risking a peek she then opened the bottle and drank.
She then passed out.
Consciousness returned and the Riddler spoke again.
"Clever, Batgirl. Your secret identity is still safe. But the game's not over yet. This is only the first level. If you make it out we'll talk again.
Batgirl just laid on the floor. She gathered her strenght and then got up. She felt her way to the busts and removed her cowl. She heard a wall slide open. Kneeling down again she removed the glove blindfold and replaced her cowl. Slipping on the glove she stood up and saw the new entrance. Sighing she stepped in. The wall closed. A tiger growled.
And the game continued.