Nocturnal Insanity (Batman Fanfic)

Chapter 9

I stare blankly at the screen. Nygma has gone to park the car somewhere, leaving me to answer the riddle that unlocks the door to his hideout. Seriously this man is obsessed with riddles, he wouldn't stop asking me a few hundred during the car ride. I was so close to hitting my head off the dashboard.

I'm not good at riddles. Or any type of puzzle for that matter. I prefer to confuse people by pointing a gun in between their eyes. I take a deep breath and re-read the riddle.

I weaken all the men

For hours each day

I show you strange visions

When you are away

I take you by night

By day take you back

None suffer to have me

But do from my lack.

What the heck? I put my hands on the sides of my head and try to think. 

Strange visions? Night? I rack my brain. A dream maybe? I guess that could be a strange vision, and you can dream in  the night. You don't suffer if you have one. And I suppose if you don't dream then you do suffer a little.

It's a dream. It has to be.

I type in the letters by the touch pad on the screen. D....R...E...A....M. I wait for something to happen. Nothing. I stare at the screen, slightly confused. I spelt it correctly, so why is nothing happening.

A brick starts to move slightly to the left, but only for a second. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a giant gush of green slime drops down onto me, drenching my clothes, hair and seeping into my skin.

"I see you got the riddle wrong", an oh-so-smug voice says behind me. I turn around to face Nygma. 

"Just open the door", I sigh, trying hard not to let my anger boil up. He smirks and types in a word on the screen.

Sleep

Why didn't I think of that? Well, I was close, really close.

I hear a small clicking noise and the door swings open. Nygma looks at me, still smirking.

"Ladies first", he says. I seriously want to slap that smirk off his face. He wouldn't like being covered in green slime. It stinks like hell too.

I step into his hideout. The first thing I notice is that it's very...green. The sofa is green, the walls are green, the floor, the furniture, the doors,  even the computers. Okay so there is a bit of purple mixed in, but apart from that, it's like a stepping into the Emerald city from The Wizard Of Oz.

"The bathroom is down the hallway, third door on your right", Nygma says, "You can have a shower and get the slime off of you"

I throw him a thankful smile and walk towards the bathroom, trying hard not to get slime on the carpet. 

Like that'll stain anything.