The Darkest of Knights

"Good getting to know you." Jonathan said extending his hand out to her again. "Had fun. I mean it. It's not every day I get the chance to have a meal with someone like Dick Grayson or Barbara Gordon. Least you gave me a chance."

"I had a good time too." Anna smiled. "I believe that everyone deserves a chance at something." she shook his hand. "And I mean everyone."

"Right well you might want to get out of here before someone sees me with you... could get messy. Anyway good talking with you. Should do this again some time." Jonathan said as they walked out and down the street. "Nothing to fear, but fear itself. La dee da ditty da.." He sung in a mumbling tone.

"We should!" Anna waved to him and walked the other way. She decided it was best not to go back right now, she could tell them later. Walking down the quiet streets, enjoying the silence.

11/16/31
01:00 pm
Cloudy

Alice had given up trying to call Karmy. She just starred down the large screen trying to be an oracle to the bats. Trying to help them find Slade. They only had an hour and thirty to meet this deadline and they were already trying to come up with a counter attack. "Maybe we should just let Nicole and Dick go in by themselves. No tricks, no plans. Just Batman and Robin." Alice suggested. "If they're the dynamic duo, I'm positive they can come up with a plan on fighting Hugo Strange. Nicole has a very trained mind, she only needs to surpass his technology." Alice explained. "You think Nicole can handle that?" Damian asked.

Making her way down the quiet side of Gotham, Anna pulled her beanie lower over her head as the wind picked up a little. After a while, she decided to duck into a bar for one drink, to warm up a little. she sat down at the bar, and waited for the bartender to notice her.

"What feels like it takes care of everything, and yet when its over, you feel like you have more problems?" A voice slurred slightly next to Anna. A large cane seemed to be blocking her view from his face, but the silhouette of the cane itself; she knew immediately who he was. The silhouette of the cane was that of a question mark. What are the chances to run into two different well known villain's of Gotham's finest? "I don't suppose a drip like you knows the answer do you?" He asked Anna.

Anna raised an eyebrow, again, in question. "Uhh... A baby?" she answered, not really caring if she got it right or not. "Scotch please." she asked and waited for the bartender

"Actually it's what you just ordered. Good answer though." The Riddler smiled and chuckled to himself. "I take it you're not one that really thinks too much." The Riddler said looking into his whiskey. "Powerful stuff this is. Tastes like crap." He tossed the drink behind his back. "I'll have what she's having."

Anna grinned and sipped her drink. "I think only enough as I have to." shed tapped the bar twice to signal the bartender for another round. She didnt plan on getting drunk, just warm. "I'll pay for this round," she nodded. "You know who I am?" she held out her hand to shake.

Thorne adjusted his tie, just fixing things up a little as the bat clan left. Now that they were gone he could try to get back to business as usual. aside from the gaping hole in his office. The crime lord side and retrieved his cigar from the floor, dusting it off lightly before taking a slow drag. He smirked lightly, looking at the massive blast hole, and, laughing lightly. "I should sue..."

(for the record, you guys know how hard it is to post when I come back there are 4 pages, and then by the time I've finished reading those, there are another four waiting for me? You girls are animals )

"I can solve any and every riddle." He boasted turning on his chair. "And I know you to be the hippie that follows the Bats, right? So why are you buying me a drink?" The Riddler asked. "That certainly is odd. You must be feeling really light hearted. Now then: if there are three switches and one light bulb in a seperate room, and you can flip the switches as many times as you want but you can only enter the room once, how would you figure which switch is the right switch that would turn on the bulb?"

(Sorry Deceiver o_o.. Random posts... We gotta post something. Also we're waiting for red XP)

"You can call me Anna. And I don't 'follow' them. Not doing it now, am I?" Anna chewed on a piece of ice that had been in the cup. "I'm an odd gal, what can I say." she grinned. "If I wanna buy a man a drink, I will. I'm a hippie for a reason, ya know." she held her finger up with a smirk. "And uhh.. Use a rope tied to each of the switch and pull them at random?" she guessed. "Never was too good at the riddles, bit. Sorry, dude."

"Not usual that a girl would buy an old man a drink unless she wants to kill him and take his wallet." The Riddler smiled accepting the drink, despite his last comment. "To solve the riddle you'd need a sense of what light bulb's attributes are. You flip one switch on for five minute, flip it off, flip the second switch and enter the room. If the bulb is on, its the second switch, if the bulb is off and hot, its the first switch, if the bulb is off and cold, its the last switch." The Riddler explained. "What hides your true scent and masks it with another?" He smiled cheerily. .

Cyrah jumped about a foot when Nicole approached, but calmed down when she saw who it was. "Oh, uh, hey there." She said. "What's up, you alright?" She asked, guessing that Nicole was probably not doing well with the whole thing on TV and all that. She could at least offer support, if nothing else.

Cassius shook his head at Alice's suggestion. "Although they ARE the dynamic duo and all that, I'm not sure about sending Nicole off to the man that probably wants to get his mitts on her, even with Batman. I'd recomend him and someone not probably in his plan, like that guy." He said, pointing to Damian in recomendation.

Zero tapped Luna and Ivy on the shoulder and pointed to the hallway with his thumb, indicating he wanted to talk to them in private......
[Oh, question: Where is Slade? In the bar with the others, or elsewhere?]

"Trust me my good sir," Anna finished her drink and shook her head when the bartender came over to refill it. The way this day was turning out, she didn't need to be drunk. "And ohhhh I think I see what you mean." she speculated at the answered riddle and went on to ponder about the next. "Is it.. uh.. Perfume?" she guessed again.

[He is elsewhere, they split up. You can post the bats finding him..]

"Well what about Karmy? She is only 5'5", and on top of that she has a similar skin tone to Nicole." Alice said. "And with a little more make up we can make her look like Nicole too. Once they get inside she can portal us in."

"Y'know.. I'm already half drunk I don't care if you kill me or not." The Riddler hiccuped. "And that's a way to think in the box. Yeah, its perfume, the stuff you're wearing now. That or its the scotch." He said raising his glass and examining the fluid. "What lets you in and ensures that your possessions safe?"

"I don't wanna kill you sir." Anna said while she twirled the glass around on the bar. "And sweetness, I got one right!" she grinned. "And none to sure about what perfume I'm wearing. Just pulled out a bottle and sprayed it on me. Could be febreeze for all I know." she shrugged and set down the cup. "Urrhmm... That's a toughy.. A bank?"

Cyrah shrugged. "Meh, fine I suppose. No biggie." She said placidly. "You know, we never DID get the chance ot hang out. Maybe once we're done kicking ass here, we could do that." She said, trying to lighten the mood.

[Ok, Mercy.]
Slade had spent his spare time doing what he did best.
brooding.
Just generically priming his guns and other weapons, and pretty much hating the world and everyone in it. You know, typical Slade Wilson. needless to say, he was none to thrilled when he saw that irritating Bat- shaped batch of shadows. He was about to spray nothing short of a baptism of bullets up to them when two of Batface's grapples wraped around him and constricted him. Dent sung the cables over a power pole, and yanked up so Slade was dangling like a pinata. "The hell-" "Listen Slade. Answer all our damn questions and we might not rough you up too bad, kepiche?" Batface threatened as he waited for the rest of the Bats.....

"Actually keys let you in wherever you have them, whether it's your car, or your house, and if you have them it makes you know that your belongings are safe." The Riddler explained. "You don't like riddles do you? Thats okay. Nobody really does. Not even the Batman. He use to. Then he died and got replaced by his baby boy. Ugh.. makes me sick. And it's not just the booze. I think I'll blab all my problems to you if you don't mind. Chances are none of us are going to remember them. So what's the point? And when does a killer not kill?" The Riddler ranted on as he finished his scotch.

"Good job Batface." Batman said as he emerged from the shadows. He had been stalking Slade for a bit but he didn't find the right time to strike. "Optic camo in the shadows really does the trick." He smiled walking in front of Slade. "You know why Thorne hired you to take a beating on me?" Batgirl asked as she too came from the shadows on the opposite side of the room.

"No worries, I'm a good listener. Vent all you want my good chum." Anna smiled at him, resting an elbow on the bar and turning her full attention to him. "Never did get to meet the first Batman, ah well." she sighed and rest her head on her hand. "And I'm.. Huh.. That's a hard one. When he's.. Dead?"

Ivy tapped Luna, nodding her head towards Zero and slipping into the hall. Whatever could Zero want to talk about with just Luna and her, she didn't have the slightest idea.
---
"Give me your money. Now." Knightmare rasped, keeping the cold blade pressed against the man's feverish skin. A night of good rest, of shoplifting food and murdering anyone who got in her way, it had made her feel good. She had eaten just enough to line her stomach, and keep out that painful empty filling, but not enough to be actually full. She found she moved faster that way.

Now here she was, ready to do a few random muggings and rob the nearest knife weapon shop. The man in her arm lock squirmed, bringing her out of her thoughts at back to him. She repeated her request, adding a threatening push of the knife to his throat. A small scarlet thread appeared, blood slowly beginning to slid down his neck in beads. His breathing hitched and his hand scrambled for his wallet. She had half a mind to kill him right then and there, she knew she would do it after she got the money anyway.

But cutting straight across the throat right then was much more of a gory mess than she was willing to clean up.

"Now I'm not gonna give you the answer to that one." The Riddler smiled. "That one... that one is mine." The Riddler slurred over his cup. "Though there is one stranger riddle that has me stumped. Why are you being nice to me."

"Aww dang.." Anna huffed. "And I was hoping to learn the answer to that one. It's really complex. Ah well, one of these days it'll come to me." she crossed her legs and turned back to the bar, looking at the Riddler from the side. "Well, sir, that's just who I am. A nice person. I know you're a villain and I'm a 'hero', but does that mean I can't be nice to you? Not in my point of view." she smiled at him and took out some money to pay. "As far as anyone knows, I'm just some gal who came into a bar and had a drink with a villain. Sounds weird, but life's weird. I've gotten used to the randomness." she shrugged as she slid the money to the bartender.