Meanwhile Bruce is visiting an old Friend

Bruce had woken up again in the middle of nowhere and wondered what he had done this time. Without Alfred to help him, he had to help himself. Fortunately for him, there were secret camps all over the city that he had used as Batman over and over again. Near his current location, he had a larger warehouse where he conducted his ballistic weapons tests. He had a suit there too. That's what he thought. Usually Alfred took care of such banalities. When he reached the chamber he saw the firing range he had used before and in a cupboard there he also found a suit for himself. But now he had to think about what he should do. When he would return to the villa he could already imagine how this would end. And right now, maybe he should focus on his condition. He called a taxi and drove it to the tower. He was sure Barbara would be there.

When he went up the stairs to the old bell tower he heard the light buzzing of the servers. Apparently she was really here. He hadn't opened the door all the way when he heard her voice.

"Hey, Bruce? What do you want to know this time?"

Bruce grinned and closed the door behind him.

"Can't I just close the door before I get on your nerves, Barbara?"

"Who are you and what have you done with Bruce Wayne, Mister?" grinned the young redheaded beauty and rolled off her monitors.

Bruce laughed amusedly and admired Barbara sometimes. Despite all the pain and suffering the Joker had done to her, she was still in a good mood and happy. She took on her role as Oracle and was a genius when it came to computers. She had access from up here to all the networks in the world, some legal and some illegal. It could check with Justice League data in minutes or with the FBI, CIA or similar groups. Although she was paralyzed from the belt down, her instincts and abilities, which she had acquired as a bat girl, remained sharp as ever.

"He's a mess without his servant Alfred." He answered and Barbara nodded eagerly.

"It's gotta be something serious you're sending him out of town. I don't remember this ever happening. Is everything all right?"

"How to take it. I'm afraid we have a danger in the city greater than anything we've ever known. And I don't want Alfred in danger. Besides, I don't have the guts to take proper care of Damien."

"I think I know who this is about, and yes, I agree. Alfred will take very good care of him. Maybe he'll even repeat the mistakes he made on you." Grinned her and went on as he made a stupid face. "Imagine there would be a Wayne with a sense of humor. Horrible, isn't it?"

"It'd still be better than him trying to take over YOUR humor. How are you doing? It's been a while since we've seen each other."

"Yes. Our last meeting was shortly after his death... him."

"Yes, and I'm afraid that his death triggered the current crisis." Answer Bruce honestly.

"And so he plays his games even after he dies. Is it a gift from him," she asked worriedly, but Bruce shook his head calmly.

"No, I'm afraid that joke doesn't come at his expense. You've probably noticed the weird murders, right?"

"Do you mean the torn ones or the drained ones? In the city, the numbers are going up significantly and I have not yet discovered a pattern. And I have some interesting information for you." She said and rolled back to her monitors. "My father found the Riddler. Or what's left of him."

Bruce followed her slowly and pulled a chair towards her. "What do you mean? What's left of him?"

With a few small movements of her fingers Barbara opened a dozen pictures of the Riddler. But what Bruce saw there had only little of the former Riddler. Most of the pictures showed him in a hospital bed. However, only the hull of it was left. It was as if someone or something had just ripped his arms and legs out of his trunk. A wonder he even survived an attack like that.

"This is bad. How is he," he asked and took a closer look at the pictures.

"If only that were Bruce. But it's not just the physical wounds. Here's his latest riddle. Let's see how long it takes to solve it." She said and handed him a printout. Bruce looked at the note and walked up and down with this note. She could see his forehead wrinkling. Again and again he went back and forth, took the sheet from all possible directions and then hit it on the table.

"That's a joke, right?" he finally asked.

"I'm afraid not. That's one of ten riddles he's puzzled. They're all just as cheap and just as bad. It almost seems as if he has also suffered mental damage. They ran some tests on him. He's still as intelligent as ever, but his exams are just ridiculous. I just wanted to show it to you in case it had a double meaning. But if you don't find anything, it means it's really nonsense." She said anxiously.

"That would suit him." Bruce more or less said to himself.

"Who would that suit?" she asked worriedly and Bruce just smiled at her.

"I'm sorry, Barbara. I want you to stay out of this. This enemy is..."

Before he could finish this sentence Barbara had already opened some more windows on the screens. Many of them showed the battle between Power Girl and an Invisible Enemy. However, there were also some mug shots taken by witnesses that clearly showed Dracula.

"Before you try to tap into any nonsense, I just wanted to show you that I know who you're talking about. You really think ME's gonna miss a fight where Power Girl's gonna wreck an entire neighborhood?"

"Have I ever told you that you're too curious?"

"More than once, yes. But this story here scares me. This enemy. There's no indication Power Girl won. And she's a Kryptonian, after all."

"Neither did she. Why do you think I ordered a lockdown of the city? This enemy is powerful enough to spiritually manipulate a woman like Power Girl. Imagine this happening to an experienced warrior like Diana or a man like Clark. I can't allow that." He said calmly and looked at the pictures of the shattered city. This short fight was enough to wreck an entire neighborhood.

Barbara looked closely at her old mentor and could see traces of concern on his face. He knew more than you did. He always knew more than you do. But he wouldn't tell her. Not yet.