Riddler

The prison section was simply designed: a single corridor, with rows of individual cells running alongside it, each holding villains of every kind.

The cells appeared to be made of transparent glass, allowing those inside and outside to see each other. But ordinary glass clearly could not hold these people—it had to be some kind of special material.

"Riddler, Two-Face, Clayface, Harley Quinn, Killer Croc, Scarecrow, Ventriloquist... What an impressive gathering of talent."

As Jude walked, he called out each of their names. Yet the corridor was completely empty, which was rather strange.

"Who's there?"

"A ball of air is talking. How strange."

"Is this some new toy of Hugo's?"

"Get out here, you bug!"

Riddler slowly climbed out of bed, his shrewd eyes darting about. "Is that Mr. Invisible? I'm Edward Nygma, otherwise known as the Riddler."

Jude stopped in front of Riddler's cell and looked at the disheveled, stick-thin man. "Nygma, I hear you enjoy riddles. Why don't you guess what I came to Arkham for?"

Riddler's eyes shifted from side to side, seemingly searching for Jude's location. As he looked around, he said, "Simple. A free man coming to Arkham can only have two purposes."

"First, you're here for Batman or Gotham City. You need us old adversaries to cause that bat some trouble, making it easier for you to carry out your own plans."

"Second, a new batch of test subjects was brought in a few days ago. You must be here for them. Let me guess—one of them is your friend or family member, right?"

Jude could not help nodding in praise. This man truly had a meticulous mind. As one of Batman's intelligence-based opponents, he had guessed Jude's intentions after just one exchange.

But Riddler continued, "You're silent. That proves I guessed right. Now let me guess which of those two purposes is the real one. Personally, I'm leaning toward the second."

"Why?"

"Because you're new."

"What do you mean?"

"I've never heard of an Invisible Man appearing in Gotham. That means you're new. And since you can use high-tech invisibility, I believe you have a high IQ. You're very likely a scientist."

"Think about it. Would a highly intelligent scientist villain give up the pleasure of defeating that bat all by himself? Impossible—especially before you've tasted defeat."

"You would only be incredibly arrogant, convinced you surpassed everyone else. Just like me. Just like the me I once was. Am I right?"

"So I believe you absolutely did not come for Batman or Gotham. Then the answer is clear. You want to save someone, but you don't know where they're being held. You need... help."

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Jude applauded. "A brilliant deduction, Nygma. You're quite good at psychology."

"Thank you for the compliment. It seems I guessed right."

"Exactly right. So now, who can tell me where this so-called depths of Arkham is?"

Riddler laughed. "Even here, not everyone has been there. Clayface, Harley Quinn, and Two-Face have never had that honor. But I have."

"So let's make a deal, Mr. Invisible."

Jude said, "Go on."

"My demand is simple. Get me out of Arkham. I'm about to go insane in here. One whole year, two months, and thirteen days. To be precise, midnight has passed, so it's fourteen days now."

"I can't stay here for another minute. No one here can keep me company with riddles. I'm surrounded by low-IQ monkeys."

"Hey! Riddler, that was way too harsh!"

"Oh, come on, Harley. You may carry the title of psychologist, but that has nothing to do with intelligence. Even a donkey could earn it with systematic study."

"What! How dare you say that! I'll smash your teeth and arrange them into a question mark!"

"Cheap words. You're just Joker's sidekick. You aren't qualified to speak with me."

"Nonsense! Mr. J personally promised me that we'll get married on the twenty-fourth of next month."

"Oh, come on! Women in love really are stupid as pigs. Which month is next month? Let me tell you: the month after this month is next month, and the month after next month is still next month. You'll never marry Joker, because that lunatic only sees you as a toy—a toy he can throw away at any time."

"No!"

Harley Quinn let out a furious roar and charged at the glass, trying to break out of her cell. But the moment she touched it, a surge of electricity burst forth and instantly flung her back.

Is that the second line of defense? Jude thought as he watched the current.

"Enough, Nygma. I don't want to listen to you argue. Can you take me to the depths of Arkham? Answer me!"

"Of course, as long as you let me out."

"That's easy. Step back. You'll be walking out of here soon."

But Riddler waved his hand. "Calm down, buddy. You don't understand this place. This prison isn't made of ordinary glass. It's covered in high-voltage current. The moment it suffers an external impact, it will activate and discharge immediately. If you mess around, I'll turn into a pile of charcoal."

"But don't worry. According to my calculations, its control center should be in the southwestern corner of Arkham. With your ability to turn invisible, you can easily shut off the switch. Then..."

"Shut up. You talk too much!"

As Jude spoke, he pulled the trigger. The Freezing Ray fired continuously, quickly freezing the entire cell.

Then, with a bang, the glass wall—made from some unknown material—was shattered by a kick.

"What? That's impossible! Even Mr. Freeze can't do that. Why can you?"

"For a genius, nothing is impossible. Haven't you heard of absolute zero?"

"Of course I know about absolute zero. When an object reaches that state, all the molecules inside it stop moving."

"Correct. Even the strongest electric current relies on the movement of electrons to exist. Once electrons stop moving, the current naturally disappears. The same goes for this glass. Before me, it's nothing more than a cookie."

Riddler still frowned. "You don't need to lecture me on basic knowledge. I just don't understand. Absolute zero should only be a theoretical concept, impossible to achieve in reality. Why can you do it?"

Jude snorted. You clearly don't know Iceman from the X-Men. As an Omega Level Mutant, his potential even surpasses Phoenix's. Once he reaches absolute zero, freezing the Earth, the sun, or even a black hole would be no problem.

He could even freeze light, time, space, and the universe. Once motion stopped, everything would return to nothingness.

"My ray hasn't reached absolute zero, but it's more than enough to deal with a piece of glass. Now fulfill your obligation, Riddler, or I'll turn you into an ice sculpture."

Nygma chuckled. "So you slowed the movement of the molecules. I understand now. Follow me."

Thanks to Orange-Flavored Broccoli, Moon Drunk Alone 2, Green Ninja Sheldon, Hahahahahahahahahaha I'm Fierce, Flowers Fall and Rain Shimmers, and Xingyu * Li for their rewards. Thanks for all your votes, everyone!