The Riddler

Barbara leaned back further into the bath, letting the warm water pour over her skin. She let out a deep breath and closed her eyes. For just a moment, Barbara was absolutely calm in the bathtub. But the sound of footsteps somewhere in her house snapped her right out of tranquility. She grew tense. Barbara knew she was supposed to be alone so that meant either Dick or Dinah had come by unexpectedly or someone had broken in. And the sound of multiple sets of feet told her that it was, unfortunately, the latter.

She tried to be as quiet as she could as she sat up straight and reached out of the tub for anything she could use as a weapon in case the home invaders found her. Her hand rested on a large novel she’d been planning to read in the tub just as violent pounding began at the door. Barbara let out an involuntary yelp and clamped her hands over her mouth. But it proved to be too late.

“She’s in here! Door ain’t locked, move in boys!”

The door swung open and Barbara reflexively threw the book. It hit a large muscular man in street clothes in the forehead.

“Ah! The bitch got me!”

He grabbed his head in pain as two more men similar in build and fashion sense entered the room. After them was a man who looked very different from them, none other than the Riddler.

“Question: When do you want your boat to flood? When your boat is a bathtub!” The Riddler walked up to the tub. “So sorry to interrupt you at such an inopportune time, Ms. Gordon. But I’ll be taking you away for a little while and there won’t be time for a costume change.”

Barbara became acutely aware at her lack of clothing and covered up her breasts with her hands. Riddler ignored this and held out his cane with the end of it pointed at Barbara’s face.

“Come along with us and don’t be fussy. We’ll make sure you get back home in seventy two hours maximum. Now just grab on to my cane and I’ll help you dry off and get into your chair.” Riddler’s mouth turned up into an insincere smile.

The whole situation caused something to click inside of Barbara. Likely, it was the fact that this was the second time a supervillain had her at their mercy while she was completely naked. Barbara suppressed the rage inside her and grabbed on to Riddler’s cane. She leaned in and whispered to him.

“You can’t take me without a fight.” Barbra grabbed the cane with a second hand and scowled at the Riddler.

She pulled hard on the cane and Riddler tumbled forward. He smashed his face against the tile wall and slipped further down into the bathwater.

The Riddler’s henchmen began to move in when they saw that Barbara meant business. Barbara saw this and tried to maneuver herself out of the bath and into her wheelchair. In her hurry, she fell out of the tub and slid across the bathroom floor where she stopped halfway in front of the door.

Barbara didn’t want to give up her fight yet and used the question mark part of the cane to hook around the leg of one of the attacker’s and pull him over. He tumbled backwards and crahed into a shelf of spare towels. A second thug grabbed the cane and pulled it out of her hands.

“Nice try, lady!” The crook hit her in the back of the head with the blunt end of the cane.

Barbara grabbed the back of her head, trying to massage the pain out. In her daze, things became less focused. The last thing she clearly remembered was the voice of the Riddler.

“Get her in the car, her neighbors probably heard our fight.”