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Changing Tactics	By : spankingfemfatale Category: DC Verse Comics > Batman Views: 2299 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the Batman series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Satisfied with the Riddler's answers, Batman hauled Edward up off his knee to a standing position as he voice activated both doors to open. The Riddler's embarrassment over the current situation left him unable to look Batman in the eyes as he covered his face with gloved fists and tried to control his sobs. Batman almost felt bad for him, but quickly remembered they still needed to save Robin as he commanded, "Get in the car."

The Riddler's breath hitched in his throat as he wordlessly complied climbing into the car and gingerly sitting down. The soreness that radiated from his seat made him want to cry again but he sucked it back leaving no more than a slightly quivering lip as evidence to the near break down.

Batman jumped into his seat command activating the car to close the doors and fire up the ignition as he buckled his seat belt. He looked over at the Riddler who was currently holding his arms wrapped tightly around his chest and staring out the window in an attempt to avoid looking over at Batman. He could see the distraught look on his face and the frowning shaky lip in his window's reflection. Batman smirked at the thought that it made Edward look so young as he ordered, "Put your seatbelt on."

The tears that had threatened to spill before did now cascading silently down the Riddler's checks as he quietly obeyed snapping the belt in place. As the Batmobile spun around to leave the hill, the Riddler couldn’t help feeling depressed at the turn of events his evening had taken. And as they sped down the cliff side his depression turned to mortification at the thought of any of the other villains finding out what had just happened. He'd be the laughing stock of Arkham!

Would Batman ever tell anyone? The Riddler doubted that he would, but just the mere thought of it getting out made his stomach lurch in trepidation. No, Batman wouldn't tell. Edward sighed dejectedly wiping the tears from his eyes. It was bad enough to have had Batman spank him like he was some errant toddler; it was far worse letting Batman see him cry over it because it had and still did really bother him.

Once he'd gotten his emotions under control again, he was able to relax a little letting his hands drop into his lap as he tapped his fingertips together for a mental distraction. He did a quick side long glance in Batman's direction; Batman was of course focused on the prime directive eyes squared on the road as if the whole thing had never even happened. And for that, the Riddler was grateful.

Batman didn't show it, but he had noticed the Riddler's peripheral glance and had decided he liked the fact that the Riddler had nothing to say and subsequently had his massive ego in check for once. It was the first time ever he'd been able to get him to willingly keep his mouth shut while being conscious. No witty remarks, no riddles, no smugness, no endless questions, just subdued quiet. He wondered if repeating this type of punishment in the future would be beneficial; his lip curved slightly in a small grin as he gathered the Riddler wouldn't think so, not that his agreeability would factor into the equation.

They pulled up to Tinkerbelle's Magic shop, and Batman parked in the alleyway as the doors slid open. Batman turned to stare at Edward asking, "Should I expect any surprises?"

The Riddler frowned as he mumbled sarcastically, "I don't see much in the way of surprises since you've made it clear that I'll be solving all the puzzles meant for you." He purposely left out the fact that there were two thugs he'd paid to stand guard over Robin. He’d decided it was his last ace in the hole to create an obstacle for Batman. Hopefully the two hirelings would cause enough of a distraction for him to make a clean getaway.

Batman grimaced at the Riddler’s complaining before telling him, "Just get out of the car Nygma."

The Riddler obeyed begrudgingly striding straight to the steel-framed door and punching a special made code in to set off a silent alarm and alert the two goons watching over Robin in the basement before typing in the right code. The door creaked open leading into pitch black. As they progressed through the shop, the Riddler half-heartedly warned Batman where the traps were located remarking the answers to his puzzles as they came upon them. He figured if he had to do all the work then Batman would at least half to listen to his concepts and ideology behind why and how the whole motif of his master plan fit together.

Batman frowned quickly tiring of listening to the Riddler boast about how cleverly he'd devised his traps and how Batman had ruined a perfectly fine challenge. When they'd gotten to the cement stairwell leading down into the basement the sounds of cascading water could be heard.

The Riddler knew the hero in Batman would need to rescue Robin as quickly as he could and made sure to mention that Robin was just ahead of them as he’d promised he would be. Batman took this queue as Edward had hoped he would rushing ahead to access Robin’s situation. By the time the Riddler had reached the bottom of the stairwell, he had paced himself a good thirty feet behind Batman.

As Batman rounded the corner Robin was clearly visible trussed up in a straight jacket that was suspended in the middle of the plexi-glass tank he had been encased in. The tank was currently about three-fourths of the way full of water and filling fast. Robin’s mouth had been duck-taped shut, and when he saw Batman his eyes lit up and he kicked futility in an effort to warn Batman of the shadowed figure moving up behind him.

Batman grunted as an excruciating pain rippled across his shoulder blades. He had been distracted long enough for the thug behind him to strike him across the back with his wooden bat, but he’d recovered his wits quickly kicking the next oncoming henchman swinging a crowbar at his head in the gut before turning to the side to grab a hold of the other thug’s bat and pull him forward to connect a swift punch to the chin and knock him out.

Edward had taken the start of the conflict as his chance to make a swift exit. He’d anticipated the fight to last mere moments; they were street thugs against the Bat after all. But mere moments were more than he’d had previously, and where there was a chance to escape, he planned to take it. Edward ran across the dimly lit expanse of the basement in an effort to make it to the old fashioned dolly elevator he’d noticed when they’d first started setting up his trap the day before. He hoped to make it there and out of the building before Batman had realized he’d disappeared.

He did make it to the dolly, but as he put his hand through the pull up bar, a batarang thudded into the wooden frame and door to the dolly. A jolt of fear ran through the Riddler as he desperately tried to open the door, but the batarang was successful in jamming the entrance unmovable. He turned back around to see Batman striding towards him forebodingly. Sweat broke out on his brow and the hair on the back of his neck prickled as his nervousness rose with every nearing step Batman took.

By the time Batman had made it up to the Riddler, he had plastered himself up against the wall looking quite terrified as he tried to anticipate Batman’s reaction to his betrayal croaking out shakily, “Now… you, you can’t blame me for trying can you?”

Batman narrowed his eyes at him stating simply, “Water trap. Now. I will deal with your deceit later.”

Edward nodded and quickly pushed himself off the wall to make his way back to Robin. The trap was an old Japanese torture device that magicians had used to demonstrate their abilities in escape. The Riddler had devised a release code in the form of a Suduko for fun with the theme. As he filled in the code to release Robin he couldn’t help reeling Batman’s last words through his mind over and over. What did he mean he’d deal with his deceit later? He didn’t want to think about what that could encompass after the last encounter he and Batman had had.

The Riddler took all of a minute and a half to finish the puzzle and set the steel doors cranking open to free Robin. Batman reached into the tank dislodging Robin from the pole he’d been harnessed to and hauled his shivering form out of the cold water.

Batman scowled at the Riddler as he undid the tape from Robin’s mouth and Robin sputtered out, “Boy, you made it just in time! I think I might have gotten hypothermia if I was in that water much longer!”

Batman helped Robin steady himself as he undid the clasps holding Robin prisoner in the canvas jacket. Robin breathed a sigh of relief as he flopped the wet fabric on the floor and stretched his arms and shoulders that had gotten quite stiff from being bound for so long.

The Riddler watched the duo silently hoping the police would arrive shortly and haul him off to Arkham since all of his plans had been suitably foiled and there was nothing left for him to look forward to other than getting returned to Arkham and plotting his next escape and caper.

Once Batman was sure Robin was okay he stated, “I radioed for your bike to meet us out front, you go ahead home; I’m going to take care of him,” he nodded in Edward’s direction.

Robin sneered as he tightened his hands into fists glaring at the Riddler and angrily remarking, “If you want, I can take care of him.”

Batman shook his head no replying, “Leave Nygma to me, you just go home and get some rest.

Robin nodded in agreement, “Alright then, I’m ready to get out of here, and I’m definitely looking forward to a hot shower and dry clothes.”

Edward sighed following Batman's glare as a sign it was time to head back up the stairs. The fact that Batman hadn't knocked him unconscious yet worried him. There was no reason to keep him conscious now that all dangers had been averted. Maybe he was waiting until they got up stairs to the Batmobile so he wouldn't have to carry him? Maybe Batman didn’t see the need in resorting to such actions anymore. Small justifications helped to ease the steadily growing sickening tightness that had formed knots in the pit of his stomach over his anticipating what Batman planned to do to him.

Batman could sense the anxiety expelling in waves off of the Riddler due to his earlier threat. 'Good,' he thought, 'you need to be worried. It's about time something had an effect on you since getting locked up never seems to deter your bad behavior.'

The trio made their way up and out of the building, and when they reached the street, Robin's motorcycle sat purring contently next to the Batmobile. Robin slipped on the jacket and helmet stowed in the bike’s side compartment and was happy to hop on ready to ride out and call it a day. He gave Batman a quick wave goodbye as he kicked up the kickstand and zoomed off disappearing down the road in a flash.

All Edward could think was, 'Great, now I'm all alone with him.' He wanted to run, but knew it was pointless and would only serve to anger Batman further. When the doors to the Batmobile opened, he didn't wait to get told to get in and buckle up, hoping his eager compliance would reward him with a reprieve taking his mark of good behavior as reason enough to just drop him back at Arkham unscathed. He strongly doubted the validity of these thoughts, but it was better than thinking of alternatives that he knew he was sure to find out about shortly.

Batman clicked a button on his wrist communicator and a metal casing dropped down and over the dash and console of the Batmobile as the doors closed sealing the Riddler inside the car. Edward's blood ran cold as the machine speedily clinked a protective layer over anything that could be pushed, pulled, or otherwise meddled with and he was left in the cold darkness of the Batmobile. He heard rummaging in the trunk for a few minutes before the car's encasing shed again and the driver's side door rose open. He heard a click signifying the trunk’s closing as Batman emerged from around the back of the car and swiftly jumped into the driver's seat. As they took off and drove down the city streets Batman said nothing more than the words used to activate the Batmobile's controls.

The complete void of sound was driving the Riddler crazy as he stared over at Batman with dreading curiosity. What had he dug around for in the trunk? What did he plan on doing next? They weren't heading towards the police station or Arkham, so where was it he was getting brought to? When they had turned onto the highway heading towards the lighthouse the Riddler had an unsettling idea where they could be heading. He wouldn't would he? I mean, could he really blame him for trying to escape? He was a quote unquote villain after all right?

When they turned off on to the same exit, Edward's stomach did a flip flop and he could stand the silence no longer, "Wha… why are we going back up here?" he stuttered out nervously. He really didn't want to hear the answer as he was pretty sure he knew why.

Batman's eyes didn't leave the road as he stated matter-of-factly, "I told you that I would deal with your deceit later; it's later."

The color drained out of the Riddler's face as a wave of nausea swept over him making him feel like he might faint right then and there. His lips contorted into a pout as he thought that this couldn't really be happening to him. It was surreal and illogical and almost inconceivable to think of it happening once and absolutely absurd to think of it happening twice. No, Batman couldn't be serious! This had to be some ploy to scare him. It was in deed scaring him, so much so that his skin had broken out in goose bumps and beads of perspiration dotted his forehead. His ass still throbbed from the sting of the last time Batman took him up this road, and he didn't think his self-esteem could take a second round of the same abuse.

His need to know outweighed his fear as Edward asked nervously, "What are you going to do to me Batman?"

Batman gave him a hard look, his features unreadable, as he answered, "I'm going to help you help yourself."

Edward gulped at the ominous sounding threat as he numbly repeated part of Batman's words in his mind '...going to help me help myself.' He couldn’t help giving a small snort of disbelief thinking it sounded like something the doctors at Arkham would say to him in one of their chat sessions, but he knew Batman had never been much for talking. His eyebrows arched worriedly remembering their last ‘chat’ as the overwhelming feeling to cry washed over him at the prospect of facing the same humiliating consequences.

Unwilling to sit idly by saying nothing as his fear turned to anger he yelled, "What you've done to me is unconstitutional you know! It's not right I tell you! You can't..." he tapered off as he felt his nerves starting to make his voice waver. He was getting too emotional and realized too late that letting Batman know how scared he was could have been the worst mistake he had made since it proved this new method of punishment was effective.

Batman didn't respond to the Riddler's outburst as the Batmobile continued to swiftly fly back up the cliff side; it wasn't long before they were parked back in the same spot that they had been at about an hour earlier.

The Riddler tensed as the ignition cut off and the doors slid open. Batman looked at him giving the simple command, "Get out," before doing so himself.

Edward's heart raced as batman disappeared around the back side of the car to retrieve whatever it was he'd dug up in the trunk before they'd left the magic shop. He thought about jumping in the driver's seat and trying to drive off in the Batmobile, a fleeting thought. Even if he could figure out how to drive it, he presumed that Batman would probably have some way to disable anyone else from stealing his car.

The Riddler was so lost in his own thoughts he hadn't even removed his seatbelt by the time he realized Batman was standing beside him setting something to clunk down on the roof of the Batmobile.

Edward looked up at Batman dumbfounded and numb with fear. Batman frowned his disapproval at the fact the Riddler was still in his car and not outside as he'd instructed, "I said out. Now."

Edward decided quickly that now would be a good time to start trying to manipulate his way out of this mess. He straightened his back and folded his arms to try and give Batman a look of practicality as he admonished, "This is ludicrous! You're not the law and should leave the task of rehabilitation up to the professionals at Arkham. I mean you already did this once, and the fact you feel you need to do it again so soon means it didn't work the first time and was a waste of time."

Batman smirked at the Riddler's attempt to avoid the inevitable. He then grabbed the makeshift paddle from the roof of the Batmobile to show Edward that he would be making a more prominent point with this application as he replied, "This time won't be a waste of time."

The Riddler's eyes went wide blinking nervously at Batman's new implement as he retorted, "You've got to be kidding me! You've got a paddle?! There's no way you're using that thing on me!"

Batman responded in all seriousness, "Actually it's a boat ore, but it'll work. Now stop procrastinating, and get out of the car. It's time to get this over with."

Edward definitely didn't want to get out of the car now as he whined petulantly, "This isn't fair! I don't deserve this kind of treatment!"

Batman snarled, "Don't deserve this? It's the least you deserve Nygma." He reached down to his wrist clicking the timer on his watch and leaned on the hood of the car before stating, "If you don't get out of the car by the time my watch sounds in one minute, I'm going to come and get you, and Edward, if I have to pull you out of there, it's just going to make me angry."

Edward's head swam; he knew he needed to get out of the car and face Batman; there were no other choices plausible that wouldn't end in the same result. At least if he complied willingly, Batman might go easier on him. He doubted he'd get any mercy whatsoever if he tried to escape. The alarm started to beep on Batman's watch, and so as not to incur further penalties Edward sighed deeply, undid his seatbelt, and got out of the Batmobile.
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Changing Tactics