Crimson X

Chapter 6: Cane

Riolu happily pranced next to his owner as the two walked through the asylum. It’s tail was wagging, despite the random screams and growls from some of the more severely handicapped patients. His ears were perked as he was alert, looking for anything that could possibly pose as a threat to his girl.
“Hopefully you’ll get to meet Mister Nigma today, Riolu,” Shar smiled down at her dog as she unlocked her office’s door. “He might be out of the--.”
Shar stopped talking as Riolu was growling at something in her office. She glanced up and sighed, shaking her head. Walking in, she dropped her purse down on her chair and sat down, her dog following and still growling at whatever was in her office.
“Riolu,” Shar placed her hand down for him. “Relax, it’s just Mister Nigma.”
“So you have a mutt?” Riolu barked in protest causing Nigma to raise his hands. “Geez, someone’s a little sensitive.”
“It’s in their breed,” Channing chuckled. “What are you doing out of your cell, Mister Nigma?”
“Oh, I’m just escaping today,” He smirked at Channing. “I have places to go and riddles to ask.”
Shar furrowed her eyebrows, “Why are you leaving…?”
“Joker will be here in, let’s see,” the Riddler looked up and counted. “Five days. I figured it’d be best if I were to get out of here before everyone gets let lose. I can barely stand them when they’re in their cages as it is.”
“So why did you stop by my office?”
Edward opened his mouth and closed it, trying to figure out what he did some here in the first place. He then snapped his fingers as he thought of the reason, “Simple, I wanted to make sure you had all of my trophies in the right place before the Joker gets here. Also, you should go to this nice Italian restaurant, on 19th street, tonight at seven. You can bring your parents.”
Shar glared at him, “How did you know my parents were in town?”
“You’re not the only that hacks, Doctor Simpleton,” The Riddler waved his finger back and forth. “I’ll find you there.”
“What if I don’t show up?”
“Then, we can all find out who Crimson X really is,” Riddler stood up. “I better get going now. It won’t be long before those primitive guards figure out I’m missing from my cell. I made sure the security cameras wouldn’t see me enter your office.”
“Alright, be careful,” Shar watched him as he walked out of her office. “See you tonight.”
---Time Skip---
Arthur Jones ran into Shar’s office, his face was flustered; probably from running too much. Channing watched him as he searched her office. Confusion was clearly written on her face.
“Riddler escaped,” He breathed out. “Have you seen him?” Shar shook her head. “Damn it!” He ran out of her office.
Shar glanced over at her dog and laughed lightly.
---Time Skip---
“Maroni’s, is it?” Her father questioned as Shar drove her parents to a restaurant. “Why are you taking us somewhere so expensive, we don’t need to eat there.”
“I haven’t been there before, and I’ve heard that it has some good food,” Shar turned into the parking lot. “So I just figured we could give it a try. Besides, I can afford it. The asylum pays pretty good, and I still have some money from my old job.”
“I’ll be paying for this, Shar,” Her father laughed, which only caused her to roll her eyes.
She huffed a “whatever” and stopped to a park. Shar opened her door and locked it once everyone was outside. She mentally prayed that it was a safe part of Gotham and she wouldn’t have to worry about her car being broken into.
Her father and mother walked ahead of her. Channing ran a hand through her blond hair and glanced around, looking for Nigma. Her dress flowed behind her; a black dress with a red belt. Her father glanced back at her and narrowed his eyes suspiciously as her daughter seemed to be looking for something. His eyes then glanced at her dress. Realization hit him, but he decided to say nothing.
Once the trio made their way in the restaurant, a rather snooty waiter asked for a reservation. Shar narrowed her eyes thinking. It could very well be under many things, if Nigma made it.
“Shar Channing?” She questioned and the waiter looked down.
“Right this way.”
Shar blinked as the waiter led them to a more private table. She couldn’t actually believe that Nigma used her name; it’s not like he ever said her name before. It was to the point to where she doubted he even knew it.
“Your server should be here momentarily,” he passed out three menus to the family. “I hope you have a fine time dining.”
Shar nodded a thanks and glanced at the table. There were four seats and four sets of silver ware. All of which were wrapped in green cloth with purple question marks. She quirked an eyebrow and shook her head, knowing that it must be Nigma’s.
“Everything alright, Shar?” Her father questioned. He’s been keeping an eye on her the entire time.
“Yeah,” She nodded and read her menu. “What to have…What to have…”
“I’d recommend the paste all’ ortolano pasta,” a person piped up.
Shar glanced up and gulped slightly. There was the Riddler in all his glory. A green tuxedo with golden question marks clothed him. He leant on a question mark cane as he stood there smirking down at his psychiatrist.
“Mister Nigma,” Shar smiled nervously. “Fancy meeting you here?”
“Yes, of course,” he chuckled lightly. “I just thought I’d eat at one of my favorite restaurants, who would have guessed that I’d run into you.”
“Would you like to join us?” Her mother asked enthusiastically; most likely hoping that something would happen between him and her daughter.
The Riddler quirked and eyebrow and looked at the mother, “Oh, I don’t know. Are you sure?” The mother nodded. “Very well, it’d be rude to decline an invitation.” He sat down in a chair, and almost immediately was handed a menu by a waiter, as if they were waiting for him to join them. “How very rude of me, I’m Edward Nigma.”
“I’m Danielle Channing,” she motioned to her husband, “And this is Davis Channing.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” He smirked towards Shar who just sat there staring at him.
Davis nodded, “So how is that you two know each other?”
Shar opened her mouth to speak, but she wasn’t sure what to say. Did Edward have something in mind? Surely if she said he was her patient that escaped Arkham would cause some stir. Her eyes glanced to Edward’s green ones; hoping that he’d just talk instead.
Of course, Edward never lies, he hates liars. He spoke in a matter of fact tone, “Why I was one of her patients.” His eyes danced with amusement as her parents glanced at each other with worry. Their daughter was a forensic psychiatrist, the one that works with victims and criminals.
“One of her patients?” Her mother spoke with some worry.
Edward nodded with a darker look on his face, “Riddle me this. Where do Gotham’s loons go?”
Her father stood up, “You were in Arkham, weren’t you!?”
“Dad,” Shar stood up and tried to make him sit back down. “Calm down. Mister Nigma won’t hurt us, at least I don’t think.” She glanced at the man who had his arms crossed with a smile on his face. “I’m in a bit of a predicament right now, so don’t make a scene.”
“What kind of trouble is he putting you through!?” He asked through clenched teeth.
Shar shook her head, “I’ll tell you later, this isn’t the place for that. Besides, he’s helping me with some other stuff. No, I’m not a criminal, kind of.” She waved her hands. “Let’s just eat dinner and then we can leave. I have some things to do tonight.”
“You better give us a full explanation, young lady!”
“I will…I will,” she nodded and gave a glare towards Nigma who just laughed it off.
“So which criminal are you, Edward?” Her mother asked as she looked over her menu.
“Only Gotham’s most notorious criminal, the most intelligent person in all of Gotham,” he placed his menu down. “I am The Riddler.”
“OCD?” Her father question Shar.
“Yep.”
Riddler cleared his throat, “So, Davis, what is that you do for a living?”
Davis’s eye began to twitch at this man calling him by his first name, “I’m a hacker.”
“Hacker or cracker?”
“My father’s a hacker, Mister Nigma,” Shar sighed. “He’s hired by companies to check their security. What he does is legal…Most of the time.”
Her father choked on his water, “I hacked into your Facebook to see if you were staying out of trouble. Apparently I should do it more often.” He glanced over at Nigma and glared, who in turn returned the glare.
Shar put her face in her hands; it was going to be a long night.
---Time Skip---
“Well,” Nigma stood up as the other three did so, “It was nice meeting you.” He walked over to Shar, “Nice seeing you, Doctor Simpleton.” He leaned forward and kisses his cheek, and place a hand on her back. Shar immediately turned a bright pink. “I’ll be seeing you again, soon.”
Before Davis could do anything, Nigma walked away with his cane in hand, smirking all the while. Shar raised her hand to her cheek; she wasn’t used to that kind of stuff. Her mother grinned brightly, but then frowned knowing that the man who may be taking an interest in her daughter was a criminal. Her father was trying his best to hold in his temper.
“Let’s go,” Her father stormed out of the restaurant, with the two women behind him. “I swear if I see him again I’m going to kill him.”
“Don’t dad,” Channing rubbed the space between her eyes. “I don’t want to have to be your psychiatrist.”
The three got into the car and head off towards Shar’s apartment. It was a quiet and tense drive. Shar felt guilt eating away at her. She knew that Nigma was going to be there, she could have at least told them. Once the three made it to the apartment building Shar’s father looked at his daughter sternly.
“Now you need to explain some things,” he motioned for her to sit down.
Shar did so and sighed when Riolu put his head on her lap. She stroked his head while speaking, “While I was at Arkham I discovered something about Patient X. He’s a human experiment. I swore to myself that I’d stop it.” She looked at her mother and father that were now sitting. “I knew I couldn’t do it as Shar Channing, so I had to become someone else.” She put a hand up to her hair and pulled off the wig and wig cap. Her crimson hair fell down, “I took on the persona of Crimson X. I’m a vigilante right now, stopping some crimes here and there. Though, Mister Nigma discovered that I was Crimson X. He’s blackmailing me right now and I have to do what he says.”
“He’s a mental patient, though,” Her mother sighed. “He could just be making it up.”
“While he might be in an asylum he doesn’t lie and he’s too smart to be taken lightly,” Shar shook her head. “Besides, Professor Strange doesn’t like me. He’d use anything to get me killed or locked up forever. He’s the one that sent Mad Hatter after me. Anyways, Nigma is having me set up his trophies in Arkham. Then, he told me to bring you guys to dinner at that place tonight.”
Shar stood up, “I have to go to the asylum now. I’ll be back later tonight. If you want I’ll explain more.” She stopped, “Oh, my business meeting with Bruce didn’t happen. That was just my excuse to go out as Crimson X.” She began to walk towards her room, “Gotta go.”
Shar made her way into her room and shut the door shut. She reached behind her and unzipped her dress, letting it fall to the ground. Picking up the pooled fabric she squinted at it. Her fingers picked up a small green question mark.
“What the?” She looked at it closer and then chucked it at her wall. “A tracking device! Damn it, Nigma!”
She quickly changed into her Crimson X disguise and ran out of her room. Her parents were still sitting in the living room and looked up at her.
“You need to leave, now,” Shar clicked a leash onto Riolu’s collar. “Nigma placed a tracking device on my dress when he kissed my neck. God! I can’t believe I was so stupid!” She ran to her purse and pulled out some cash. “Here, take this and check into a hotel, don’t use your real names. We need to go before he gets here. He might put you in a death trap.” Crimson X began to push her parents and dog out the door. “Go! I’ll watch and make sure that he doesn’t get you on the way out.”
As her parents and dogged rushed out the building, Crimson X flew down the fire escape. When the ground was close enough, she flung her body towards it and burst out into a sprint. X let out a sigh of relief when she saw her parents exit the building. Though, that relief flew away as she saw a black car pull up. Its license plate had three green question marks.
“No!” She yelled and ran to her parents, her wooden sword ready for combat.
The all too familiar man in a green suit got out of the car and saw Crimson X running at him, sword at the ready. His eyes widened slightly and he held up his question mark cane up in self-defense. The clashing sounded off. Crimson X leap backwards before the Riddler could swing back.
“You know,” he sounded. “Physical fights really aren’t my thing. I prefer fights of mentality.” He smirked. “Luckily for me, I have a friend here with me. I didn’t want to go to this extreme, but you leave me no choice, Simpleton. Riddle me this, what is it that in order to possess it you must first let it possess you and in order to conquer it you must first set it free?”