#Unswag!Riddler

[therealityhelix]

Mixed Arcana

A sorceress, a clairvoyant, a diviner, and a ghost walk into a bar...

[realityhelixcreates]

Shards of the Nexus: Fragments pt 2

Another handful of drabbles and character moments, and perhaps a more important event that I couldn't really fit in anywhere else.

@cardwrecks @captainbaddecisions

Ed kept his knife pointed at the two men before him. Arkham cursed softly, sucking at his fingers, where Ed had cut the gun from his hand. Ed had the gun now, though he only held it at his side. He didn't know how to use it.

It was enough though, that he had it and Arkham didn't. Both men, Arkham and the...the...the weird one held still, clearly surprised to see him.

“I found you.” Ed declared. “I solved your riddle, and I found you.”

“It took you damn long enough.” Arkham drawled.

“I still did it. I did what you wanted me to. And within the time limit you gave too. Acknowledge it.”

Arkham rolled his eyes.

“Narcissistic little twerp. What, do you want a medal? For just doing what you were told? You want a little head pat, someone to call you a good boy?” he sneered.

Conflicting feelings burned in him; elation and embarrassment. Rage. He raised the knife, body tensed for a lunge-

Arkham was smiling.

Ed hesitated.

“You.” he growled, pointing the knife at Arkham once again. “You're just trying to get under my skin so I lose my temper and do something rash.”

“Yeah. I am.” Arkham shrugged. “It seems pretty easy.”

The other Riddler had been slowly moving while he taunted Ed, shielding the other one's body with his own.

“Why are you protecting that...” Ed paused. Selina had said...she'd given him a long, excruciating lecture intertwined with a threat: get with the times, or get out of her sight. Selina worked with all kinds, and if he wanted to continue availing himself of her services, he could not be a danger to her subordinates. He could not afford to lose Selina right now. “I mean, protecting...hiiiiim?”

“Them.” Arkham corrected.

“Detective.” the Detective clarified.

“Why? Are you together?” Ed demanded.

“What's it to ya?” Arkham mocked. “Got a little crush?”

Anger and fear flushed him again, and though he knew his face was turning red, he stayed in place. He wouldn't rise to it this time.

“We're friends.” Detective said, and Ed scoffed.

“People like us don't have friends.” he asserted.

“Maybe, maybe not.” Arkham said. “But we do have allies.”

The barrel of a handgun pressed into his black curls. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see brilliant green and purple, so bright they clashed. Movement from his other side, colors more subdued, but green and purple nonetheless. This other wore shaggy sideburns and held some kind of capsule in his hand, its top opened, twin prongs protruding from the base. A taser?

Surrounded. Ed kept still.

“And how much poorer are you for not having any?” Arkham grinned.

“Feel free to drop those weapons any old time.” the holder of the gun said, his voice deep and acidic.

“But I did it.” he murmured. “I did it. I figured it out on my own.”

The gun-holder sniffed, unimpressed.

“It took you seven months.” Arkham pointed out.

“Don't you try to tell me it's easy! Moving across realities? Without any instructions? No way that's easy!”

“It isn't.” Detective said, taking control of the conversation. “It is actually quite challenging. The paths are often in unexpected places, and sometimes certain requirements must be met.”

“There, you see!” Ed said, gesturing at the Detective. “Thank you-ow!”

The gun-holder had suddenly pressed the barrel very hard against his head, and the furry-cheeked one moved up on him quickly.

“Please put that away.” he said. Oh right. Ed was still holding his knife. He slowly slid it into its sheath, strapped to his thigh, and carefully set Arkham's gun on the ground. The furry-cheeked one deliberately closed his taser capsule in response, and replaced it on his belt.

Ed turned his head to properly look at the man who still held a gun on him.

He didn't look much older than Ed, dark hair and surprisingly green eyes. His gun didn't waver.

“Well?” Ed demanded.

The man looked down his nose at him.

“No ultimatum has been given to me.” the young man stated.

“Puzzles.” the Detective said quietly.

“He's still technically armed.” the young man, Puzzles, complained.

“And there are four of us here.”

“How many of us are there?” Ed asked, looking away from Puzzles.

“Well,” Detective said, “If you're ready, that's something we can find out together.”

?~?~?~?~?

Helix peeked around, searching for signs of life, a bottle of her seasonal cider in hand.

“He's not here.” Unswag said, drawing a worried glance from her. “He's on one of his getaways.”

“Oh.” she said, and her disappointment stung him. “Where? Maybe I can-”

“No.” Unswag shook his head. “I meant it when I said 'getaway'. He wants to be gone for a little while. You understand.”

“Yeah, I guess I do.” she sighed. “Wish he'd told me.”

“He never does. It'll be a week or two, and he'll waltz back in like nothing ever happened.”

“Something I did?”

“Yes.” he admitted. “But also no. Just existing is enough.”

The way she 'just existed' specifically. The way she invaded homes and privacy. The way she was just there sometimes, uninvited. As if she belonged there. As if she lived there. As if she were permanent.

Swag didn't know how to handle it. He didn't know either, but he was much less able to run like Swag did. There had never been permanence in their lives, not family, not home, not identity, nothing. And then this cosmic horror from beyond the stars had smashed her way into their world and their lives...and had decided to love them. Had decided to stay. Lashed herself to her human meat and the emotions and sensations that kept her mortal, just so she could be with all of them.

How was he supposed to handle that?

He sometimes mocked his counterpart for his cowardice. For refusing to be as assertive as he ought to be. But Unswag was no different, was he?

“I'm still here though.” he said impulsively. Swag wasn't here to watch. He would be alone with her. A chilling yet exciting prospect.

Helix found a seat for herself in response, and he curled his long stick legs into the chair next to her.

They shared the cider and a crossword between them.

?~?~?~?~?

Narci watched YJ through the screen as he hovered over the ticking bomb. The older Riddler was carefully disassembling it in a different room, but Narci was watching and providing instructions.

He watched YJ's little shears hover over the twin wires connecting the timer to the explosive.

“Okay.” Narci said. “We've got a red wire and a...brown wire? Weird, isn't it usually blue?”

“Tailor made just for me.” YJ muttered darkly. “Well, which one is it?”

“Cut the red one.” Narci answered.

The shears moved from one wire to the other, hesitating. Why was he doing that? They were running low on time.

“Er...which one?”

“The red one.” Narci repeated. YJ swiped a hand over his face. He'd lost his glasses in a previous section of the maze, but that hadn't slowed him down that Narci could see. The shears moved back and forth.

“Red!��� Narci snapped. The time was ticking down.

“Which one is it!” YJ snapped back.

“The fucking red one!”

“Narci, I can't see red! Right or left!” YJ cried. Seconds left.

“What? What do you mean-Left! It's left!”

“Too late.” Arkham chimed in over the intercom. “YJ, you're dead. Narci, you let your partner die. Welcome to failure, boys.”

“Goddamnit!” YJ cursed.

“What do you mean, you can't see red?” Narci demanded, frustration and disappointment wrestling in his chest.

“It means he's colorblind, you little idiot!” Puzzles shouted into the intercom. “We told you that before we started! Didn't you read the file?”

“Yes!” Narci shouted back. “I memorized it! It didn't say anything about being colorblind!”

“Protanomaly! Do you know what words mean?”

“Isn't that about him being nearsighted?”

“No, my eyes are fine otherwise.” YJ sighed.

“You've got a phone, why didn't you look it up?” Puzzles persisted, the acid in his voice conveyed perfectly over the crackling intercom speakers. Narci hadn't wanted to admit that he hadn't known the word, but now that he typed it in...

Wow. Really no red. That was kinda sad, it was such a nice color.

“Well why was he sent in there to do this if he's disabled?” Narci demanded.

“Oh, no you don't.” Arkham said, reclaiming control of the intercom. “You are the one who failed to prepare. You were given all of the information you needed in order to succeed, and you did not utilize it. You will not blame your partner for your failure. He was counting on you, and you are the one who failed him.”

“But shouldn't it have been the other way around?” Narci protested past the stinging words. “I should have been the one to go in! I can see everything! I could have gotten through those traps much more easily!”

“And that is why you were to be support.” the Detective's musical voice replaced Arkham, and Narci cringed. He hated letting anyone see him fail, but the elegant older Riddler most of all. “Your physical capabilities are not in question. YJ's are. YJ's ability to work with others has already been proven. However, you clearly need practice in teamwork. That is what this is exercise is about. Not showing off what you do best, but working on what you do worst.”

Narci bit down on his response. He hadn't talked back to the Detective since that first time. He-they-were too important. They were the most important.

And they were right. Narci did not work well with others. That wasn't what he had been trained for. Even now, he couldn't seem to stop seeing these 'brothers' as rivals. To chafe under the label of 'youngest' and least attested.

“Step out of the booth Narci, it's Puzzles turn.” Arkham said. “Get ready to go into the maze, if you're so sure you can make it. I'm shuffling the traps, so you'd better hope Puzzles is better support than you were.”

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

Shards of the Nexus: DDOS

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/qUraM54

by Realityhelix

In honor of the recent AO3 attack, here’s a bunch of extremely short smut vignettes with all our favorite Riddlers. Lbr, none of these people are straight.

A note: Swag and Unswag are not brothers! They are the same man split into two different possible life paths. That story comes later. They refer to themselves as twins because they look nearly identical.

A WARNING!: Nash is underage! But I also remember what it was like to be seventeen. Anyway, I’ve put his little drabble at the end so you can skip it if you want. But I absolutely did warn you!

Words: 1454, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 14 of Shards of the Nexus

Fandoms: DCU

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Underage

Categories: Multi

Characters: Arkham!Riddler, Puzzles!Riddler, Swag!Riddler, Unswag!Riddler, Detective!Riddler, Narci!Riddler, YJ!Riddler, Nash!Riddler, Helix(oc), Lust(OC), Bruce Wayne, Jervis Tetch

Relationships: Arkham/Puzzles, Swag/Helix/Unswag, Detective/Jervis, YJ/Bruce, Nash/Lust

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/qUraM54

[spinningorigins]

Riddle me this! When are twins not twins?

When they’re the same guy.

Swag+Unswag in those rare moments when they aren’t attempting to murder one another.

Completely Unfounded Personal Headcanon: They share a single soul between them. As long as one lives, both live. They have no idea.

[therealityhelix]

Unswag wants to kill you so badly it makes him look stupid

He's trying, okay???

So, if Swag is what you get when the Riddler decides he's had enough, and chooses to become the opposite of what he is, Unswag is what you get if that choice was never made.

He showed up I think three separate times, and the last time he got his shit wrecked so hard by his twins girlfriend that he decided to start dating her too.

He considers himself retired, rather than reformed, and while he's decided that trying to return to the lifestyle of the Riddler isn't in his best interests, he's not really trying to be a good guy either. Like Swag before him, and technically him before Swag, he's trying to figure out what he wants to do with himself.

Unswag has some divinatory capabilities, being able to see into different versions of his own reality, usually to to observe the possible outcomes of an action. He doesn't always choose wisely though. He is also able to see spirits and other invisible things, as well as the energy signals of living things. It's very obvious when he's doing this, as his eyes glow brightly.

He is not very friendly, even to Family. Think feral cat behavior. He is extremely finicky about touch, and who he allows to touch him. Even if he deigns to touch someone, that doesn't count as permission to touch him. He's aware of these issues and trying to work on them.

But oh, boy is it hard. Everyone is just so stupid. He has to hold back constantly. Aren't you proud of him?

@cardwrecks @captainbaddecisions

[therealityhelix]

The Gray Curse: One and the Same

The thing is, they are technically, literally, and figuratively the same man.

Geez, I just wanted to redo this piece, but it still needs so much cleaning up? I don’t know why this scan is so dirty! Anyway, I know he would be unlikely to keep it, but I love Unswags original mop hair.

And eight years later, I’m still yelling about how hard Swag’s hair is to draw. Damnit, It’s difficult!

@cardwrecks​ whyyyyyyyyy, @captainbaddecisions​

[therealityhelix]

Shards of the Nexus: Mandelbrot Set

The past can never be returned to, yet it still lives.

Song: I'll Be Good-Jaymes Young

@cardwrecks @captainbaddecisions

“He's not you, you know.”

The club wasn't open yet, but the thrumming energy remained in the copper veins and concrete bones. He'd called her over frantic, something about their illicit prisoner in the upstairs kitchen. The devil in the mirror.

She thought he might have escaped, might have been trying to murder Edward again.

“He used to be.”

“Yes, but even back when he was part of you, you were still more than that.”

“It's fake, Helix. You see that, don't you?” Swag said, self-depreciation threading through his voice. “This party animal lifestyle, it's a cover. He's...right. In that respect. It's just another mask.”

“Is it? Then when he was separated out, why did you remain? If you're fake, why do you still exist?”

He thought about it for a moment.

“Because I'm the original?”

“No you're not!” Helix scoffed.

“You think he is?”

“Nope!”

He paused again, uncertainty crawling across his face.

“Gonna need further analysis.”

“He's what you used to be. But so are you. Your body still bears the scars of those years. You lived them too. You are now what you decided to become, but this incarnation of him came from you, and is brand new. You are the exact same man, each as old and as real as the other. But you are not each other. You have different mindsets, different goals and needs and desires, clearly.

I don't mean it cruelly, Edward. But I don't think either of you are superior or inferior to one another. I think you're different modes of the same man.”

“Yeah, I...I guess, yeah.” Swag said slowly. “He's everything I used to be, and then some. I'm what he chose to become and more. We...the same...Yeah. We're not even brothers, we...we're the same guy. Do you think we can help him? Do you think he can be helped?”

Sometimes the mask cracked. Inclusions in amber flesh, precious flaws. A souls cuneiform scrawled in the earnesty of under-eye circles and watery smiles. A treasure of simple trust, a display of hope, for himself and also for himself.

The tips of her fingers found the curve of his jaw, and his breath stilled under her touch.

“I think that's already been proven.” she said softly.

The scene stamped itself onto the background of reality, lingering in a world of lapis and amber, iolites and summer peaches. Then he stepped away.

“Good, 'cause there's some weird shit goin' on in here.” he said, snapping the moment in an act of self defense. He opened the kitchen door where their prisoner was trapped, peeked inside, then closed the door again just as swiftly.

“Welp.” he sighed in cheerful exasperation. “He's nude. Y'might maybe don't go in there.”

The torrent of magic that flooded from the door was...concerning. She hadn't done anything that should have caused it.

“I have seen naked men before.” she said, distracted by the sour chili burn. “Or are you worried I'll get to comparing?”

Swag stood up much straighter-he seemed tall to her, but then, most everyone did-and pouted dramatically.

“I am three times sexier than he'll ever be, and everyone knows it!” he declared.

“Than the guy who looks exactly like you in every single way?”

“Yes! Clearly! I mean, just look at me! You can't deny it.” he insisted. “But uh, about that looking exactly like me part...Well. Just take a look.”

Helix popped her head inside the door for a moment, taking in what she realized with a swift shock, was a magical wreckage.

Something had gone very wrong.

Magic rolled off of him like mist under a waterfall, an outflow of clashing impressions that stung her mouth and nose in the way of the very hottest habanero lime salsa. Smaller sensations burst under it, nettles, wormwood, newspaper ash, each melding into one another almost too fast to notice, the energy winding its way around her nerves.

Yes, he was nude, and it meant nothing in comparison to the crackling lights in the air, the eerie glow from unnaturally wide cyan eyes. They spotted her, and it was as if he looked through her, at every place she'd ever been, at every version of herself she'd ever been. He drew back at the sight of her, a great mass of shaggy, straw-colored hair spilling over his slim shoulders, hiding most of his bleached skin from her sight.

She entered the room, wading through the atmosphere of thickened magic, Swag trailing in her wake. Unswag crawled to the farthest edge of his binding circle, overgrown fingernails clacking on the tile. He bobbed his head up and down, a series of desperate bows, waving his hands in warding, pleading motions.

“Please...I can hear the name of the mother...” he muttered, his voice a chorus of multiple selves that echoed back and forth, twisting, turning, backwards and upside down. “The mother...her name...”

She could feel Swag shudder behind her, unsure of how much he was actually perceiving. She stopped at the edge of the circle, and Unswag gazed up at them from under his veil of pale hair.

“Hello Brass Man. Hello Hazel Woman. Do you know...the name...the others...the others do...I can hear it...”

“The others?” she asked, surprised. “You can hear them?”

He nodded.

“See and hear...but not clearly. Too many...too much. It won't stop. Please...”

There was nothing wrong with the circle that she could see. None of this should be happening, but that didn't erase the washed out figure before her. She placed her hand on the circle barrier, slipping though as easily as the membrane of a bubble. Unswag cowered.

“Show me what you are seeing.” She commanded. Swag grasped her shoulder, ready to pull her back.

Slowly, hesitantly, Unswag took her hand, long nails digging into her wrist. He looked straight into her eyes, and the magic slammed into her, shattering the world into shimmering facets, shining mirror shards that reflected the moment from every possible angle. An uncountable number of Helixs, Swags, and Unswags reaching out to touch, watching, waiting to see what the next moment held.

She stumbled backwards into Swags arms, and he buckled under her sudden weight.

“Helix? Babe are you alright?” Swag cried. “What did you do to her you pale-ass fucking snake-”

She snapped her fingers, and the circle broke.

“Helix?” Swag asked. Nestled against his chest, she tilted her head back to look into his worried face.

“He's dying.” she whispered. “This world is so much different than I realized. There's just too much magic pouring into him, and he doesn't have any way of releasing it. Eventually it'll thin him out until he's nothing but a ghost, and then he'll dissipate like dry ice. I have to let him out. We were always going to have to let him out.”

Swag helped her find her balance, and both faced the newly freed Unswag.

He hadn't moved.

If he were going to make a break for it, this would have been the perfect chance, but instead he huddled in a messy heap on the kitchen floor.

“O Walker Beyond...” he mumbled. “Bride of the dead...bring us Spring...new life....please...please...”

She reached out to his quaking form, cupping his hollowed cheeks. Her fingers burned against his frigid skin, thumbs brushing the rims of his watering eyes.

“I am going to help you.” she said.

He moaned softly, either in horror or relief.

Swag hovered close, but she let him disappear, let Unswag disappear even as she cradled his face in her hands. Fading back into herself, she let a connection open inside her, allowing the roiling magic mixing within him to flow through her and out into the multitude of miniature realities that made up their universe.

The glow in his eyes flickered out, leaving pleading, saturated cyan, which rolled up, and he collapsed on the flaxen cushion of his overgrown hair.

They knelt beside his prone form. He peered back up at them.

“Do I...die now?” his voice trembled.

She shook her head.

“Not this time.”

Artist: Me, @cardwrecks, verticalthoughts

[therealityhelix]

Shards of the Nexus: Applesauce pt 2

What did those elf eyes see?

Content warning: Gore, violence, torture

@cardwrecks​ @captainbaddecisions​

?~?~?~?~?

The Nexus had wound tighter in the past few months, opening new doors, introducing more brothers. The Family dynamic was shifting again, to accommodate. Narci was making overtures, forging friendships with those who hadn't known him before. And Helix, as was her way, greeted them each in turn.

One of these new selves, a quirky fellow, to say the least, had been expressing quite a bit of interest in her. It shouldn't have bothered him, but this 'Codec' seemed less stable than most, and Swag could see a disaster waiting. It wasn't any of his damn business. But what if it was?

Swag tapped his fingers on the kitchen table, staring down a basket of apples she'd left. Home grown and bright green; she knew he liked them. Where did her generosity come from? Why them? Why this Nexus? Why was she really here? There had to be something that she actually wanted here, from them.

Even if it was nothing more than companionship; he could understand that. But he wanted-no, now that he'd been thinking about it for so long, he needed to know. This was exactly why he didn't like to let himself dwell too much. He couldn't help but to spiral into obsession.

He needed to know more about her. He needed to know what she really wanted. He needed to know what it was that had cowed Narci, had silenced Arkham. What she could really do. What his actual danger quotient was. He needed to know...just for the sake of knowing.

Unswag was worried. He showed it in accusing stares over dinner, short, snapped replies. Swag imagined all the sudden upheaval must be unsettling him. That part of himself had never been as flexible as he was now, still didn't seem too fond of disruption unless he was the one causing it. It really did all come down to control.

“You need to let it go. Whatever it is, I can see it gnawing at you. You know what happens...”

“Since when do you give me life advice? Man, don't worry about it, I've got this on lock.”

He didn't, and U.S. could tell, and Swag knew he could tell, but he really did not want to have a discussion about his new obsession with the very embodiment of the part of himself that had been created by those obsessive tendencies.

But Unswag was determined to force it. He held up his phone and swiped with a flourish, sending the screen into an endless upscroll of occult and magical texts.

“I hacked your kindle. You used the same number sequences we always did.” he stopped just short of calling Swag a dumbfuck, but the insult was layered under his expression. “You don't understand this stuff, and you don't have to. You don't really want to know, trust me. Just let it go.”

“S'all bullshit anyway.” Swag griped. “Either a buncha medieval blowhards mistranslating Hebrew, or modern grifters with names like 'Moonraven Crystalwolf'. Nothin' real. I gotta find somethin' real.”

Then his eyes fell back on Unswag, who shifted uncomfortably. Wait just a damn minute...

“Hey. You. What did you actually see?” Swag demanded. Had the answer been in front of him the whole time?

Unswag looked away.

“I've already told you. The two of you teamed up and kept me from returning to my 'sinful ways'. I saw no other options, so I have behaved myself. Is that not enough?”

“Oh, no no no, what did you actually see?” Swag crossed the space between them, taking his reflection up by the collar of his pressed white shirt. “What is it that makes you tremble every time she touches you? You ain't smitten, you're scared. What is it? What did you see?”

Unswag kept his head turned, lips pressed thin.

“Riddle me this...” he hissed quietly.

“Don't.” Swag growled back. “This ain't that. I'm just trying to get to the bottom of some things.”

Unswag related to Helix differently than Swag did, and he'd long suspected his pallid twins quivering ardor was based on more than just being unfamiliar with positive feelings for others. He was frightened of her, even as he poured adoration at her feet. And yeah, maybe he was frightened of those feelings, of what she represented. Lord knew, he'd been there. Back in the beginning, when he'd had to pry himself open, expose himself to the terrifying ordeal of being known. Maybe some of it was that. But definitely not all of it.

“Spit it out. Or...” he let the threat dangle.

“Or what?” Unswag snapped, calling his bluff.

“Or. Hm. I could stop letting her see you?” It was an absolutely toothless threat; he obviously couldn't and wouldn't do that, and Unswag laughed in his face.

“Even if you were serious, you couldn't stop her. Nothing can stop her. Don't you see? She has access to spacial reality, her power is limited only by her imagination. And wouldn't you know it, she's surrounded herself with the intellectual titans of a dozen worlds. She's learning, constantly! She will never be as intelligent as any of us, but that doesn't matter. She just has to be smart enough. Don't you see? You all think you know, Detective, Narci, you, you think you know but you're blind! None of you see!”

He'd grown agitated, grasping at Swags shirt like a pale mirror of his actions, shaking him slightly. It was...almost revolting, seeing this from the outside, this wide-eyed, stretched mouth rant's-edge he'd been on so many times before.

“Look-” he started.

“She flayed me alive.” Unswag said, a sudden quiet smallness taking over his voice.

Swag recoiled, as much as he could while his twin still held him by the collar.

“Wh-what?”

“She locked me in the circle, and left me to starve to death. She tore the air from my lungs, and you just watched. She crushed me like an insect. She ripped my limbs off, one by one.”

“Stop. She wouldn't-”

“She squeezed my heart until it stopped! You just watched! She broke every bone in my body and left me to drown in my own blood! She liquefied my organs and you just watched! She dissolved me into loose atoms and kept me alive nearly to the end! You don't see! None of you see! She's a monster! You opened your arms to a monster! And I did the same because I want to live! Of course I'm smitten, this one lets me live! I will revel in that mercy! And of course I'm scared, you thick-witted buffoon; you are going to fuck it all up!”

He released Swags shirt, slipping from his numb fingers and backing away.

“She's as mad as any one of us, and like an infant elder god, she doesn't know it. She doesn't know her impact, doesn't understand what she does to the people around her. She's the most dangerous thing you've ever come into contact with, and you want to confront her? Because you got a question lodged in your brain, and can't let it go. Let me know when you plan to do it, so I can get a ticket out of town. I do not intend to be here when you make this mistake.”

He stalked to the door to his room; Swag could see his hand trembling on the knob. He turned back.

“Oh, and that Codec fellow? You're right; he's going to be a problem. He sees even less than you do. You should have been more assertive. Now you're going to have to deal with the backlash. Again; I'll be out of town.”

He didn't slam the door, but the soft click was loud in the sudden silence.

It was too much to take in, too at odds with what he knew. Helix didn't do things like that. He knew she didn't do things like that, because she hadn't. And damn if she hadn't been provoked. Unswag had to be...what, lying? Exaggerating? Faking that shuddering grip, that horrified grimace? To what end?

He shouldn't be going down this road, he knew he shouldn't. But he was like a rock, hurtling down a hill.

The next time she visited. He would just ask. What could that hurt?

Helix seemed frazzled when he saw her next, eyes slightly red around the rims. He set to mixing her favorite cocktail. It looked like she could use something.

It was pomegranate vodka and dark chocolate liqueur, a simple mix he'd taken to calling a 'Double Helix', though he hadn't told her that.

“Hey, Starlight, how's it going?” he slid the drink over to her. “Haven't seen you around for a bit.”

“Didn't know you were back in town yet. You've been gone for some time.” She accepted the drink, taking a small sip.

He couldn't get his hands on the metal circling his finger in Gotham, so he'd gone to where he could, and turned it into a sort of impromptu vacation.

“Something happen while I was gone?” he asked.

“Well...Narci's been troubled. Yeah, I know, tell you another one. But he's been doing really well! Going out, meeting new people...”

“New Riddlers. That might be the problem really.”

“Maybe? I've been encouraging it. For one thing, you guys understand each other. Shared experiences. For another thing, I want him to see all your variances. Noticing the differences between you might help break this idea of Riddler supremacy that had him so wound up. Help him understand his place in all this. I can't keep him isolated from everything, after all; that's no good for him either. He's tried to forge relationships with some of these new fellows. I'm glad to see him being more honest with himself, but they all seem to be going wrong. And he's still so young, and distressed by it, and...I'm a little worried that he might be going off his meds.”

“Oh. That. That would be bad.”

Narci's medicine was a chemical barrier to homicide. Him being without it would indeed be bad.

“He hasn't gotten violent with you, has he?”

“No. No, but he has become withdrawn. Sometimes he comes home, and he smells of blood. I don't know if it's his, or someone else's, and I honestly don't know which would be worse.”

“Holy shit. Are you okay?”

“I'm fine.” she said firmly. “I'm more worried about him. This is so important to him. He wants to make it, but he's got no frame of reference for healthy, much less happy. So I'm afraid he's falling back into familiar, for lack of anything else.”

And 'familiar', for Narci, was grotesque. Grotesque and intensely personal.

“Do you need help?” It was foolish to ask. What could he do? He didn't really want to get involved, did he?

But he'd fallen into the habit of offering her help very soon after meeting her. It was as if he had this drive to be useful to her. To prove something.

Was he really that different from Unswag?

“Yes, but I'm working on it. I've approached the new guys, the ones he's been talking to. I've asked them to keep him out of their schemes, but I don't know if they're willing to listen. I think little Vex views me as some kind of captor. He's not ready to entertain the thought that a Riddler could just...not. Be that. Or at least turn the identity into their own thing. The Old Man seems willing to at least discuss it though. Seems a responsible sort, though I guess you don't get to be that age in this kind of game without an abundance of caution and experience. I've also sorta...um...been trying to steer Narci away from his ideal role model being Arkham, and, uh, more towards...well...”

Her gray eyes snared his. He swallowed.

“Me.”

“Isn't it a better choice? If he's going to model himself off of anyone?”

Swag rocked back, uncertainty in every line.

“Helix, I do not want this kind of responsibility.”

“Neither did I, but it takes a village, damnit.”

He drew back further, surprised.

“Wait, but didn't you volunteer?”

“Yeah, because he needed me to! Puzzles needed me to, you all needed me to! I was the only logical choice! Narci was falling apart fast. Did you want to see Puzzles die again? I didn't!”

A whiplash of anger, because she knew, she knew how he felt about Puzzles previous death.

“I figured you would understand.” she continued, before he could snap back. “I can take care of his physical needs, I can teach him many new things, but I cannot be his everything. Peel back all the fear, the suffering, the anger, the guilt, and he is still no more than a teenage boy, with all that comes along with that, and I...I can't relate. Not like he needs me to. He is too old for me to be his mother, but too young to be on his own out there.”

Swag shrugged, a little at a loss.

“I was on my own younger than him.” he pointed out.

Helix just looked at him.

“Okay, yeah, that's not the best point, huh?” he muttered. The anger lingered, transmuting into irritated acceptance. Because she was right, damn it all. Narci had been right on the edge, maybe mere days from murder, and everyone had known it. He had known it, which was why he'd argued with her in the first place: over the danger Narci posed to anyone around him. And he was just a kid still, even though that was easy to forget under all the layers of horror. His youth was just one more of those layers.

Helix was clearly certain that he could turn himself around, if he had the support structures needed by a kid on the cusp of adulthood. And she was correct that it could not be her. At least, not her only. Narci needed friends around his own age, a variety of positive influences, mental and emotional support, a metric shit ton of therapy. He needed his Family. And no slight to Helix, but while she might be family, she wasn't Family, not fully. Mentally, she simply wasn't on the same level as the rest of them, and would not be able to keep up with him like they could. Emotionally, her scarring was so very different as to be nearly unrelateable, and she recognized all of this.

She knew that she needed help, their help, his help, and he didn't want it, but he was going to do it. It was a foregone conclusion the minute she'd brought it up. Because it was the logical thing to do.

“S'not just me though, right?” he checked. “Like, I'm not objecting to helping you out, I just don't think that's something I can take on all by my little lonesome, y'know?”

“No, of course not! I just focused on you because I felt you were the most different from where he used to be.”

“Oh, well thanks.”

“I'm pretty sure YJ would be happy to get involved. He was willing in the first place. Puzzles is likely to lend a hand here and there as well, he just couldn't shoulder the whole burden. I...I wish I could ask Detective, but...”

“Yeah.”

“But Narci and Vex are getting along really well, The Old Man seems to really like him, Bambi and Ark, uh...probably won't be hostile? At least? I still don't know about that Bird fellow-”

“He seems all right.” Swag interjected. “Pretty well collected. Real proper, not unfriendly. I don't really know what he's like on the criminal front; he didn't say and I only barely asked. The details ain't really my business.”

“You're more influential than you think.”

“Don't want it.”

“Wouldn't trust anyone who did. Anyway, there's others but...ehhh, I don't have to get along with them, as long as Narci does.”

“Who don't you get along with?”

It was a serious question. Helix got along with practically everyone, in one way or another. Even Arkham. Sorta. Somehow. Nobody had a normal relationship with Arkham.

“Wait. Is it Codec?”

“It's Codec. You knew, huh?”

“I had an idea. Let's just say looking at him feels kinda...familiar.”

“And that's why I thought I should give him a shot!” she said, spreading her hands. “He has so much potential to-”

“To be like me? Maybe. But not everybody can do it like I did. I barely did it like I did. I did it the hardest possible way. I didn't get any of the help he probably needs, though I likely should have. Now, I'm not saying he's a lost cause or anything, but he's probably not ready to reach out for that help, and he might never be, and that ain't your fault or your responsibility.”

“I know.” she sighed. “And I don't think we'll be seeing each other anymore anyway. Some lines were crossed.”

“Howwww, do you mean?” he drawled, uncomfortable curiosity slithering along his nerves.

Helix placed a handful of rusty screws, and a broken spring on the bar between them.

“A'ight, you got me. What are these?”

“They're from the deathtrap he made to put me in.”

?~?~?~?~?

Artist: @cardwrecks​

[therealityhelix]

Shards of the Nexus: Orbital Unreasonance pt. 2

Puzzles continues to have a rough time. The balance remains extremely upset.

Song: Black Magic Woman-Santana

@cardwrecks​ @captainbaddecisions​

                                               ?~?~?~?~?

“Look, I just need to speak with her.” Puzzles insisted. “I have need of her services, and I know you have a way to contact her. I don't.”

“Yeah sure. Course I do.” Swag said, regarding him a bit like a distant scientist regarded a lab rat. “Didn't think you got along so well, though.”

“She's fine!” Puzzles said hastily. Right. The twins were uncommonly fond of the weird little witch. Personally, he didn't dislike her exactly; certainly, she could be irritating at times, but he was not always the most pleasant person to be around either, and well aware of it. “A little slow sometimes, but fine!”

Swag's mouth stretched into an unimpressed line. Oh, why did he always say so much more than what he needed to?

“She has skills none of the rest of us do.” Puzzles pointed out. “I wish to employ them.”

“Sure, dude. Good luck.” He whipped out his phone and began texting. “Wait, you have her number? She has a number? Well, just give me her number, and I can contact her myself!”

“Sodium Hypobromite formula.” Swag said, and Puzzles paused for a moment to break the formula down into its atomic symbols. Then he ground his teeth in frustration and jumped for the phone, which Swag held high in the air, well outside the shorter mans reach. He was just about the climb the damned beanpole, when the phone buzzed in Swags hand.

“Oh, hey. That was quick. Just a sec.”

He brought the phone to his ear, keeping a hand solidly on Puzzles head, holding him at arms length as he casually chatted with Helix.

“-And you'll never guess, but Puzzlebox is here, and he's looking for you! So don't come over, he's extra nerdy today. Okay, take care babe!”

“What?” Puzzles exclaimed in dismay as Swag hung up. “What kind of petty, surly, uncivil-”

“Just wait for it.”

“Good afternoon, Puzzles.”

The young Riddler jumped and whirled to face the short woman. Her expression was neutrality spackled over amusement, and he couldn't help but feel as if they were sharing a joke at his expense.

“Um, yes. Good afternoon. I need to speak with you. Alone.” he glared at Swag. “I have need of your unique services.”

“Oh? Well, let's go into the library then.”

She led him there, to a room where the sound didn't carry. She was very familiar with the layout of Swags home, he noticed. Puzzles wasn't much of a gossip, but any information could be useful in the right circumstances.

“You want something magical.” she stated. “You'll have to tell me the specifics. There's plenty I can do, and plenty I can't.”

Puzzles actually had no idea what she was really capable of. Magic was an unpredictable, disordered thing that he hated thinking about. And he needed it more than anything else right now, so he would wade into those dark waters, and try to ignore the shapes that coiled about his ankles.

“Can you create a body?” he asked slowly, fully aware of how suspicious that sounded.

Helix leaned forward, gray eyes narrowed.

“How do you mean?”

“A living, human body. That a spirit could move into. Prince is possessed, and I need a place to put the other spirit.” Puzzles explained.

“A vessel for a ghost? You know, I've never actually met Prince?”

“Oh...he's my...” She had never met him? No, they couldn't have met, they were both still alive. He jabbed his finger at the door. “He's like them! But for me. And he's in danger right now. So can you do it?”

“No.” she said, and he flopped back heavily in his chair. Damn it, this had been his best idea.

“But I can do something else.”

He sat back up.

“Well? This is urgent, please do not prevaricate.”

“What I think you are looking for is an homunculous of a sort. That kind of alchemical prowess is out of my wheelhouse. But...and I don't like to do things like this, at all...I can create a Soul Jar. Do you remember?”

“Remember what?”

“Never mind. A Soul Jar is an object that can house a soul. Each one must be specially made per individual, but I know how to do it. I'll need to know a little more about your possessor before I do though.”

“He was one of us once, but he died some time ago. I don't know how he came back, but it wasn't...it wasn't the same as me. He did it on his own. I honestly didn't think he had the will. He was...hmm.”

It was imperative that he picked these next words carefully. He did not want to drive her away from helping him.

“He was athletic. A gymnast. Young, beautiful, energetic. As prideful and...driven as any of us. Will he be safe in this object? What if it breaks?”

“My enchantments can prevent that. He will be safe. I'll see if I can't pull some strings and send you on the right path to a better solution as well, but the Soul Jar will get him out of your Prince in the meantime.”

“It will do. Actually, it will be much better than the current situation. What's your price?”

“A favor, to be called in at a later date.”

“Oh, I hate that.” Puzzles said. “Are you sure the favor can't be a huge bag of cash?”

She shook her head.

“I know you don't have much experience with magic, so please understand. This kind of sorcery cannot, should not ever be purchasable with mere money. What's the price of a spirit, Puzzles? What combination of numbers can convey the value of a human soul? No one wants the answer to that.”

“I see...” Esoteric transactions could not be expected to follow a simple tradition of monetary exchange, could they? Some ingredients couldn't be bought. Hen's teeth, the sound of a cat's tread, a baby's first laugh, and so on.

But an unspecified favor at an unspecified time...It would have to be at least equal to what she was doing for him, wouldn't it?

It was uncomfortably humbling to think that he had nothing of equal value to offer.

“How long does he have?”

“I don't actually know for certain. Prince seems to think he will be gradually replaced.”

Helix stood.

“I'll meet you at home in four days time.”

                                                                    ?~?~?~?~?

It was a pair of slender jade bracelets, bound together by a dainty brass chain, with a matching question mark charm. They were also enchanted to be stronger than steel, and comfortably hold an entire human soul. They rested on a folded velvet cloth, on the coffee table in the main room of his home, and Puzzles and Prince stared down at them with a critical eye.

He could see no flaw in them, and Helix had demonstrated their durability by throwing them on the floor and stomping on them, but they still looked so...delicate. These little things were expected to contain Narci?

Narci had seemed larger than life, especially at the end. Could these elegant accessories really encompass him?

Helix certainly seemed to think so, though she looked a little rough today, hair a bit limp, eyes a bit sunken. She had said she didn't like making things like this. Perhaps they took a greater toll than he would have guessed.

“These are beautiful.” he said. “But I expected an actual jar. Why is it called a Soul Jar if not-no no-thank you for doing this. I know I am not efficient at expressing appreciation, but if this works, you may have saved a life.” he paused. “Or cost more than you could ever imagine. We'll have to see.”

“Why did you have to say that?”

“This Riddler could be...trouble.” And coming from him, that was saying something. “He died in a terrible state-”

“New Jersey.” Prince interjected, and Puzzles shot him a venomous look.

“-after doing some truly awful things.” he finished.

“And you thought I would refuse to help because of that.” Helix said.

“I would have.” Puzzles admitted. “All of us would have. Yes, him too. We...he was an embarrassment. And an uncomfortable reminder of what any of us could have become. But most of all, he hurt Family. He has not yet been forgiven, making this entire situation very unstable. I won't go into further details.”

“All right. I'll find out eventually anyway.” Helix retrieved the bracelets and approached Prince.

As far as Puzzles was concerned, Helix's survival instincts didn't exist. She was cheeky as a fly in the face of a lion. Like a gentle draft, she invaded their spaces, appreciated and annoying to various degrees. So quietly self-assured, so blasé about the danger she might be in, so overly familiar when caution might be the clearer path. In fact, she was about as daring as he was.

Yet Prince unsettled her.

He hadn't yet figured out why. Prince was...barely a person. He consisted only of the Riddler persona that Puzzles had built, representative of those protective walls, the mask he'd painted to distance himself from, compartmentalize the cruelty, coldness, and violence he'd felt he needed to perform in order to pursue his chosen path. He was the shameful thrill of power through fear, the source of guilt looming huge over him, the deeds that overshadowed his name, all sieved out from him like leaves from tea.

Prince did not claim the name of Edward Nygma. Prince was the Riddler, and nothing more.

Maybe that was Helix's actual problem. She got along with Unswag, because he and Swag were literally the same man, a whole man, a man she knew and cared for in every aspect. Prince was a costume who had gotten up to dance. A hollow creation, a scaffolding that had been meant to protect Puzzles, and had instead, nearly eclipsed him.

Perhaps she found it disturbing to gaze upon what looked like a friend, and see no human emotion in those frigid green eyes. A familiar face with all care carved away, leaner and meaner than he'd ever wanted to be. A body, a huge and powerful representation of all the things that had threatened to swallow him up, a voice full of the same sway and sarcasm, but capable of turning it on and off like a robot.

Inhuman.

She stood before Prince, clutching the bracelets, even more dwarfed by him than Puzzles was, and reached out.

“Give me your hand.” she stated. Prince raised an eyebrow.

“How forward.” he teased. “Sorry to break your heart little lady, but I don't feel that way about people. Leave the blushing and mewling to my weaker half.”

Puzzles scowled. Now was a bad time, but Prince had obviously picked up on Helix's discomfort, and that was as good as blood in the water to him.

If it had been Puzzles saying it, she and he would have fallen into mild bickering. They often did. But it wasn't him, and instead, Helix spun the bracelets around her finger a few times.

“I can always leave, you know. Technically, Puzzles hasn't paid me yet. I can leave, and take these with me, and let you be slowly devoured by the spirit that you invited in. It's not my responsibility if your little cry for attention didn't go as planned.”

Puzzles eyebrows shot up, and he saw the spark of outrage ignite in Prince. Was she trying to make an enemy?

“I'll remember you said that, little lady.” Prince said darkly.

“See that you do.” she said, grabbing his hand and slipping the bracelets on over his wrist.

“You're a fresh one, aren't you? Strong grip. Oh, I'll remember.”

Helix didn't answer. Instead, she spoke a quick series of words that sounded like gravel and glass in her throat. The bracelets chimed like bells, the sound growing, resonating deeper down than just his ears.

Prince trembled visibly, jaw falling open, eyes rolling back. He collapsed in a boneless heap.

“Hmph. No resilience whatsoever.” Helix sniffed. “And he thought he was going to intimidate me?”

“What...was that supposed to happen?” Puzzles asked. “Is he going to be all right?”

The caress of magic gelled against his ribs in a way he found deeply uncomfortable. It wasn't the swift, sudden inversion of Gray magic; it was like dizziness in his blood, like existing in more than one place at the same time.

Was that how she lived her life?

“He'll be fine.” she assured. “His spirit is weak, and the separation was hard on him. Plus, he tried to resist, just as I activated the spell! A true contrarian, that one.”

“You're not wrong. He's going to be angry when he wakes up.”

“I won't be here. I do have one more thing for you.”

She handed him a slip of paper, upon which were a set of complicated instructions.

“Find her, and she should be able to help you out with a body. She's an accomplished alchemist, but she may need you to provide some of the materials. Look up how an homonculous is traditionally made.”

He did, and instantly regretted it.

“That's disgusting!” he complained. “There is no way that actually works!”

“I honestly don't know. But you see why there may be some ingredients that she could not provide.”

“I'm not giving her my-!”

“I'm not saying you need to, just that you might need to be ready to gather some unusual things!” Helix cut him off. “You want this body or not? That's up to you. I've come up to the end of my ability to help. You have to go this last stretch without me.”

Puzzles sulked, still balking at the thought of what might be asked of him.

“I'll do what I have to, just...I hope it won't come to that. But...Thank you. For all of this. Your insatiable drive for meddling has been a great help.”

Helix rolled her eyes with a grin.

You're very welcome.” she answered.

                                                                      ?~?~?~?~?

Turn left at Kings Drive, and pass between the signpost and the cemetery wall, left foot first.

Count exactly one hundred and nine steps.

Spin clockwise once and continue for seventeen more steps.

At the alley, enter walking backwards until reaching the bricked up door.

Knock once each on the eighteenth brick from the bottom right, the thirty-seventh, and the fifty-fifth brick, then the tenth brick from the top center, all within one minute at exactly five o'clock.

Ridiculous. But the door opened nonetheless. A very tall woman in a badly stained lab coat stood in the doorway, waiting.

“Doctor Alcyone?” he asked. “I...I need you to brew me a miracle.”

It was the greeting he'd been given, as hokey as it sounded.

“Oh? So you're the pretty riddle the little spiral sent? Come on in then.”

Puzzles didn't expect normalcy from the interior of an alchemists abode, and he didn't get it. What he got were shelves full of bones, and jars full of...things, delicate arrangements of feathers and wire. Huge, weathered books, organic looking stones, and diagrams everywhere. A whiff of ammonia, rot, animalic and floral, alternating steps. Liquids bubbled in backlit glass, corked up gourds hung from the ceiling.

Those he eyed with suspicious disgust. 'Let it putrefy in a sealed cucurbit', huh? Absolutely repulsive.

Puzzles had looked up alchemy the night before, and had remained awake into the late hours, studying in fascinated horror. He'd never needed to give it much thought before, regarding it as simply a form of proto-chemistry, or more uncharitably, ancient grifting.

And it was a little of both of those things, but he hadn't expected all the religion and philosophy that also came with it. Or the messiness.

He'd thought it was all refining metals and creating new alloys, fine tuning techniques for the making of acids, cleaning agents, medicines, with a little medieval hocus pocus thrown in to make it more of a spectacle. He hadn't known how...organic, it could be. He had even known that an alchemist had discovered phosphorus, but he didn't know it had been like that!

“So, Madam Helix tells me you require the penultimate expression of the Great Work.” Doctor Alcyone said. Her voice reminded Puzzles much of the Detective; rich and musical, and full of smug self-assurance that they know just so much more than you. “I wonder though; why should I? It is quite the undertaking after all, and I can't just go handing out homonculi to every slick fellow who comes to my door, no matter how pretty his eyes are.”

Did many slick fellows come to her door? Did many people at all come to her door? The question hovered over his tongue, but he managed to keep it in. The atmosphere felt more severe, the doctor's gaze sharper, more probing, and the conflicting scents were effecting his head.

“Well, Doctor, a man's life depends on it. Two, actually.”

“And men die every minute. You know this well.”

Well, he didn't like that.

“All right. It gives you a challenge though, doesn't it? A chance to exercise your art?”

She scoffed.

“If you know I can do this, then I know I can do it. What challenge is there in something I already know I can do?”

Oh, so it was gonna be like that, was it? This woman might know Helix, but was obviously not as gormless as the family witch.

Or was Helix's affable personality nothing more than the esca glow, to distract from waiting anglerfish jaws?

Just how much had she been letting him get away with?

And this woman, this alchemist very clearly wasn't like Helix. Maybe that meant...

“How about a huge bag of cash?” he ventured.

“Now we're talking!” she snapped her fingers. “Plus materials.”

Puzzles cleared his throat, turning a bit pink.

“Yes, ah, the materials. Will you really be needing the, um...”

“Yes.” she stated flatly. “For a human sized body, I'll need about eight fluid ounces.”

“Eight!?!” Puzzles spluttered. “I hope you don't expect it to be fresh!”

“Oh no. Frozen is fine.”

Oh. Oh. Of course! “And...what else?”

She ticked off on her fingers.

“One large gourd, to begin with, any of this person's DNA that you can get hold of, the blood of an entire pig, and one wedding band worth of gold.”

“Oh, is that all.” Puzzles deadpanned. It seemed too simple.

She smirked.

“Some of that eight ounces does have to be yours.” she stated.

He scowled.

“Why?”

“Reasons.”

Puzzles groaned. Were all magicians like this?

                                                                        ?~?~?~?~?

Within the Soul Jar, he waited, biding his time. In here, he was functionally immortal, but it came with the added frustration of being completely immobile, and nearly unable to communicate.

Most annoyingly, Prince was pretending he could hear him, and having a once-sided conversation with his bracelets, putting words into his 'mouth'.

But he couldn't allow himself to be annoyed. He wouldn't be here without Prince. He owed him everything.

Yes, Prince, like Puzzles, was worthy of devotion. If he ever got out of here, he would dedicate his new life to them without question. Especially whichever one of them had gotten these magical bracelets. Prince had briefly mentioned someone new, but he hadn't been 'awake' during the 'transfer'.

Someone new? A new Riddler? Had someone come while he was gone? What was he like?

Motherly? Like-no.

Stern and intimidating? Like-no.

Innocent and struggling? Like-NO!

This was so hard. He knew when he clawed his way free of the flames, that a different kind of torment waited here. He would have to face what he had done, and who he'd done it to, but he wasn't ready. Not at all.

As a pair of bracelets though, there was little he could do. Prince carried him around everywhere, and spoke for him, even though he wasn't talking.

But he owed Prince everything, so if he wanted to wear him around as a decoration, then so be it. He would be happy just to be here.

Prince said they were making him a new body to live in. A new body. A new life. He would live again! He would be better this time, properly reverent to his superiors, like he should have been the first time.  

Yes, he'd do it right this time. Just as soon as he could feel again. Just as soon as he lived again.

                                                                         ?~?~?~?~?

He was going to have to discard this false identity after this particular heist. It was simply too embarrassing.

He'd signed the fake name in fake handwriting, handed over the fake driver's license to the lady-why did it have to be a lady-at the desk. And now here he was, alone in this room, staring down the little cup and trying to muster up the courage to perform this part of his duty.

Puzzles felt that he shouldn't be this embarrassed about it. After all, his contribution would, in theory, be a priceless addition to this repository's collection. He was young, healthy. His brain was genius level in prowess. And damn it, he was beautiful, and he knew it!

Unfortunately for them, he wasn't actually here to contribute, and he was a bit embarrassed. He always had been shy about this sort of thing, though he viewed it not so much a flaw as a completely normal personality trait. Who wouldn't be put off by the clinical and nonchalant attitude toward something so very personal?

Well...Swag perhaps, but Swag did not have completely normal personality traits. He too, seemed larger than life, untouched by average concerns.

And kind of a super freak, but that was more Puzzles' opinion. He wouldn't be bothered by this. He'd be done by now. Where did he get that devil-may-care approach? Puzzles could really use a bit of that now.

He really didn't want to touch anything in this room, especially not the...facilitating materials provided. There was no way everything got cleaned as thoroughly as needed. But he wanted to help Narci and Prince...Why?

Prince was easy: Puzzles felt responsible for him. The man wouldn't even exist without Puzzles, he was culpable for his creation. As for Narci...

There had been potential there. Narci was different from the rest of them. He was not a born genius; he'd worked for it. Some of the others hadn't seen the value in that, but Puzzles could. He'd been more physical that the rest of them, had different skills. If he hadn't been so emotionally broken, he could have had a lot to offer.

Puzzles hadn't liked him, but he had seen the potential. And he hated to see potential go to waste.

Now there was a second chance. Puzzles wasn't obligated to help, but he felt the drive to anyway. He'd seen beyond the veil of the grave, and that changed a person. So too, had Narci, so perhaps change was due for him as well. Besides, ever since Prince had been separated out of him, Puzzles had begun to tire of the whole criminal game. The prospect of helping someone instead...the idea of it felt nice.

In theory. The reality of it was likely going to be even more annoying than what he was doing right now. But that would come later. For right now, he had made a choice, and set things in motion. He would see them through until the end.

Fifteen minutes later, he burst from the back of the building, red in the face and clutching a temperature controlled container under his arm. Orderlies followed him, but they weren't armed or anything, and he outpaced them quickly. He flung himself into his car and peeled away, hoping, begging, pleading with the universe that no one had recognized him. Yes, he'd given a false name, but his face had been on the news before, and he was horrified at the thought of seeing it there again, over a headline like “Esteemed Supervillain The Riddler breaks into sperm bank, steals ungodly amount of human cum.”

The things he did for Family.

He'd already visited the hobby store for a decorative dried gourd, and the thriving Chinese market for altogether too much pig's blood. Though he'd been dead and buried for two years, finding potential vectors for Narci's DNA hadn't actually been that difficult: Not all of Narci's old hideouts had been completely cleaned out, and in one, Puzzles had found a gnarl of his curly black hair in the long dry shower drain. Gross, sure, but it felt rather in the spirit of everything else that was going into this plan.

Now all he needed was the gold.

He'd saved it for last, knowing he would need the validation of knocking over a jewelry store after everything else he'd done today.

The security here was armed, and his clumsy smash and grab attack got their attention nearly instantly. He darted between bullets with a handful of rings, shouting riddles and insults over his shoulder. If he made a scene here, maybe no one would place him at the repository. Hopefully.

Returning to the doctor's lab was something of a pain, carrying all this nonsense while counting steps and walking backwards. She didn't even help him carry any of it, just led him back inside.

“Now let's see. Blood, gourd, oh, is that hair? That will do, yes. And...” her eyes fell on the cold case. “All eight ounces?”

“Plus three point seven milliliters.” Puzzles grumbled. “I've brought everything you asked for. This better be worth it.”

“Everything except the promised huge bag of cash.” Doctor Alcyone pointed out.

“Once I've got the body.” Puzzles insisted. “I'm not entirely sure I trust in all this malarkey. You'll get paid when I see the actual goods.”

The Doctor snickered. In the eerie light, Puzzles noticed for the first time how sharp her teeth were.

“Do you really think you have anything to bargain with here? Ah, she has spoiled you, hasn't she? Maybe if she weren't so damn powerful, she'd have had to put you in your place, and you'd know better by now. Oh well.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Pay it no mind. You should know, Edward Nygma, that you are well out of your depth, and the sharks gather, even now. Do not put blood in the water, boy. Once it starts, nothing will be able to make it stop.”

There was a quality in her voice that made him shudder inside, and he suddenly wondered if she really was, had always been, had ever been human.

“I'll just...go fetch that money, shall I?”

                                                                    ?~?~?~?~?

Prince was at the bar.

Well. That was different.

It was near closing time, and the scant handful of late revelers was giving him a wide berth, but he paid them no attention at all.

Swag recognized the group; he regularly had to sweep them out into the streets at closing, but tonight, all he had to do was jerk his head towards the door, and they took the hint.

There would be rumors. Prince had shown up in full Riddler regalia, and though Swag had never gone for the spandex and harnesses look, the green, and the bigass question mark on the chest would draw enough parallels.

“Evenin' your Highness.” Swag sidled up to the bar. “Anything I can get for you?”

“I'm only two years old.” Prince said, letting the deepness of his voice carry the sarcasm. Swag could almost admire his commitment to the bit.

“A'ight. How bout I get you some choccie milk then? A juice box?”

Prince frowned. “How about I wring your scrawny neck?”

“Aw, is someone grumpy? Miss your nap? Don't worry, you're only two years old. You can't be expected to keep up with the adults.”

“All right. I get it.” Prince grumbled. “Thought you could take a joke.”

“And I can dish 'em too. So, why are you here, anyway?”

“I'm just wondering about some things. About how all of you function as a group. The consanguinial implications of this whole Family business.”

“Feelin' lonely?” Swag inquired.

“Not for a little while now.” Prince said darkly. On his left wrist, a pair of elegant jade bracelets jangled musically.

“Then what?”

“How do you navigate these relationships? There is a hierarchy, clearly. How is it determined? And you, you gave it all up! You are not a Riddler. Why are you allowed in and I-” he cut himself off.

“And you aren't? What makes you think you aren't?” Swag fetched a clean cloth and began scrubbing the bar.

“None of you want me around. I am difficult. On purpose. I am unfriendly and unsympathetic. I am rude, standoffish, unpleasant to be around, and I like it that way. I am what I was made to be.”

“Does that bother you?”

“Not at all. I don't care very much about other's opinions of me. I don't care much about anything. But I wonder what it would be like if someone actually cared about me, like your little Family does for each other.”

“Hmm.” Swag swiped wide circles with the cloth. “Do you think Puzzles would offer his home if he didn't care?”

Prince snorted.

“Puzzles feels guilt over my creation. For inflicting me on the world. That's the only reason. He'd erase me if he could.”

“Eh, I'm pretty sure your head is as susceptible to bullets as anyone else's. If he wanted you gone hard enough, he'd have probably done it already.”

“About that...what if I did something awful?”

“Man, we've all done something awful!” Swag exclaimed. “Look who you're talking about. We're all the fuckin' worst. I mean, YJ might have the market cornered on 'Least Worst', since he never killed nobody, but he was still involved in some heinous shit, back in his day. We all just gotta decide what we're gonna do about it. I decided to walk away entirely. Detective kept the genius persona, but took it in a different direction. Arkham will be riddling till the reaper comes for him, and then he'll probably try to fistfight the psychopomp. There isn't really as much of a hierarchy as you think, there's just each of us finding our niche, and settling in.”

“But if I hurt one of you,” Prince persisted, “and then, say, I died. If someone hurt you and then they died, would you be satisfied?”

“Weird question. Can't say I wouldn't hold a grudge, but death is one of those things you kinda have to accept. Can't really be punished further than that, can you?”

“And if I then came back? Like Puzzles did. Would that grudge still stand?”

“Man, these are some specific-ass questions. You got something going...on?”

He'd noticed his twin creeping up behind Prince, eyes blazing bright cyan fire.

Swag was about to speak up when Unswag lunged. Prince whirled, catching the smaller man by the throat, and lifting him off the floor.

Prince was the tallest of their group by a good bit, and rather powerfully built, a physical representation of the strong man Puzzles had always wanted to be. He held Unswag in the air effortlessly and began to squeeze.

Swag snatched a length of pipe from behind the bar, and slammed it down with a loud bang. Prince flinched, and glared back at him.

“Drop him right now, or I'mma put your bones in alphabetical order.” Swag commanded.

“He is the one who attacked me.” Prince sourly pointed out, throwing his flailing counterpart into an awkward heap on the floor.

“And I'll give him a talking to here in a minute. Important part is, he ain't doin' it no more, right?”

Swag shot his twin a heated look. Unswag coughed, and refused to meet his gaze. Prince stared coldly at Swag, as if trying to decide if it was worth it or not.

The bracelets chimed softly.

“Ah?” Prince muttered quietly. “You like this one? Fine. I'm leaving. Never mind any of this, I'll figure it out on my own.”

He stalked out the door, and Swag let him, setting the pipe back in its place.

“Okay.” he said. “The fuck was all that clownshit?”

“Dead mans hands.” Unswag murmured, dragging himself to the bar. “Red strings. They pull her away from us. I won't allow it.”

Swag snapped his fingers in front of his face, and the blue light faded from his eyes.

“Yo, get a grip! What were you lookin' at?”

Unswag shook his head.

“Danger. He brought danger with him. We're in danger. She's in danger.”

Swag leaned in.

“How so?”

He continued to shake his head, shaggy hair fluttering.

“I don't-” he cut himself off.

“Okay, okay. Don't hurt yourself. So, you want his juice box?”

“I'll kill you.”

Swag shrugged.

“You always promise so much.”

                                                  ?~?~?~?~?

Now we’ve really set things in motion! This chapter starring:

Helix!

Helix-1982* “The Witch”

Height: 5'0” Weight: 179lbs AL:CG

Body Count: Two (Accidental)

Danger Quotient: Negligible (Catastrophic)

Orientation: Cisgender Polyamorous Polysexual

Preferred Weapon: Magic

Favored Crimes: Trespassing-Petty Theft-Aiding and Abetting

Strong Points: Outside Perspective-Magical Knowledge-Social Contacts-Survival Skills-Advanced First Aid-Breaching Security-Social Legitimacy-Supernatural Contacts-Object Enchantment-Escape Artistry

Status: N/A*

*Helix's original world was contemporary, but took a very different historical direction. It was technologically very behind the others, and Helix is not very familiar with most modern tech.

*Helix was never a Riddler. She is included for her impact on the Family, and because they can't get rid of her.

Swag!

Swag/Unswag-1983 “The Hedonist/The Mirror”

Height: 5'11” Weight: 149lbs  AL: CN-CG/TN

Body Count: Twenty-Two/Twenty-Four

Danger Quotient: Low/Low (Med)

Orientation: Cisgender Polyamorous Pansexual/Cisgender Demisexual (Bisexual Tendencies)

Preferred Weapon: Brass Knuckles-Knife-Improvised Weaponry/Cane-Revolver-Rifle-Knife-Taser

Favored Crimes: (Then) Kidnapping-Homicide-Assault and Battery-General Heists (Now) Aiding and Abetting-Possession of Controlled Substances/(Then) Kidnapping-Homicide-Assault and Battery-General Heists (Now) Petty Theft-Identity Fraud-Cyber Attacks

Strong Points: Social Legitimacy-Social Contacts-Finance-Security-Advanced Electronics-Advanced Computing-Force of Personality (Charm)-Advanced Building Renovation-Speed-Agility-Mixology-Basic First Aid/Finance-Security-Advanced Electronics-Advanced Computing-Advanced Building Renovation-Speed-Agility-Divination-Basic First Aid

Status: Reformed/Retired

Narci?

And Puzzles!

uzzles-1990*   “The Center”

Height: 5'8” Weight: 159lbs  AL:TN

Body Count: Seven

Danger Quotient: Med

Orientation: Cisgender Homosexual

Preferred Weapon: Revolver-Taser-Fast Acting Fear Toxin-Improvised Blunt Weaponry-Bare Fists

Favored Crimes: General Heists-Assault and Battery-Fraud-Cyber Attacks-Aiding and Abetting

Strong Points:-Retro Electronics- Advanced Recycling-Hybrid Electronics-Security-High Pain Tolerance-Social Contacts

Status: Semi-Reformed

*Puzzles world is contemporary, but several decades behind technologically.

With bonus sibling vibes!

They actually get along surprisingly well, considering it’s Puzzles.

[therealityhelix]

Shards of the Nexus: Orbital Unresonance pt 1

And the past comes roaring back.

Song: The Gentle Preservation of Children’s Minds-Irving

@cardwrecks​ @captainbaddecisions​

Two years ago, on that very night-

How cliché. But it was so.

-a man, barely more than a child, had been buried, in the cheapest, most unfeeling DSS funeral imaginable.

And no one had come.

The grave had been desecrated several times since then; the grass ripped up, garbage dropped everywhere, the soulless headstone spray painted with curses, smashed with sledges.

This was one Riddler who would never be allowed to rest.

And still nobody came.

Well.

Almost nobody.

He might as well be nobody, for all anyone cared to remember him, but Prince came out every now and then, to clean away the garbage, push the broken bits of stone back together.

'Edward Nigma 1993-2011.' It was barely legible anymore.

Prince hadn't really cared about Narci, hadn't known him. They'd barely existed during the same time. And Prince doubted he would have cared even if they had known each other for years; that just wasn't really what Prince was about.

But this...disrespect. That irked him. Whatever else Narci had been, he was still a goddamn Riddler, and this disrespect was unacceptable. After all, as he was, so one day they all would be. Now, Prince did not plan on dying anytime soon of course, but what if? What if he-so often forgotten and maligned-were to die in a multiverse where this was allowed, even by other Riddlers, to happen to a Riddler's grave?

As he was, so they all would be, and if this was allowed to happen to Narci's grave, it could happen to any of them.

Once the pieces were back in place, Prince left his offering; a single green rose. It was the principle of the thing. Prince didn't care about Narci, not really, but he cared about his own future, and would not allow it to come to naught like this.

The flowers were never truly for the deceased. They were a multilayered, millennia old custom of renewal. They were the continuing lives of those who remained above the dirt. The rose was an offering towards Prince's own future. But it was the best Narci was ever going to get.

Prince heard the quiet shuffling through frosted grass, heard it stop. He glanced up to see a young man approaching the grave. See the hammer in his hand.

“What are you doing out here?” the man asked, clearly not expecting anyone to be at this particular grave.

“Paying my respects.” Prince said, dismissively sarcastic as always.

“Me too!” the man laughed, raising his hammer.

“Been out here before?”

“Couple times, yeah. Someone keeps puttin it back together. Groundskeeper most likely, but when it's gravel, he won't have to anymore.”

“Hmm. Might I do the honors?” Prince asked, eyeing the hammer, calculating the weight, the force necessary.

“Yeah man!” the young man handed it right over. “Give that motherfucker what's coming to him!”

Prince unfolded himself to his full height, an imposing presence plucked straight from the mind of his progenitor, to loom over the scornful man.

“Oh, I certainly shall.” he said, then swung the hammer hard.

The blood went just everywhere.

Well, now he was going to have to wipe the headstone clean again. Oh well.

Dropping the hammer alongside the corpse, he went fishing in his pockets for a handkerchief. A gentleman should always have one.

There was no chance to use it. The blood was...moving. The rose was moving. Drying, withering to dust, the motes rising into the air where his quickening breath condensed. They swirled together as he crouched back, taking form, ephemeral as mist, but recognizable. A face he'd never seen, a voice he'd never heard, crying inside his head, pleading, screaming. Sublimated hands reaching, desperate, numbing the skin where they touched.

“Oh...” Prince whispered, one of the very rare experiences in his short life that almost reached awe. “Oh, they are all going to hate this...”

Then he grinned, wide and wicked.

“Okay. You need something from me? Let's make a deal.”

                                                                      ?~?~?~?~?

Puzzles ran through the labyrinth at breakneck speed. Narci was on his heels, he could hear the boy crashing against the thick hedges at every hairpin turn. Slavering, howling like an animal, he chased Puzzles, determined to devour him, to rip what he desired from his body, like he had to those others. Blood-so much, so much-gushed from the hideous wound at the boy's throat, drenching the green leotard Puzzles had always teased him about, but the stained spandex only served now to display how physically powerful Narci had been.

Like this, in this feral, hungry state, Narci could tear Puzzles apart.

The thought seemed to trigger something in Narci, who had blundered into sight. The boy grew, larger and larger, his limbs stretching out into animal claws, mouth opening wider and wider into a black maw filled with rows of needle teeth.

Oh no, no.

He'd been here before. He knew this thing. Never ever again.

Puzzles pushed his legs further, but his knees turned to water at the sound of starving, guttural laughter yanked straight from memory. He crashed to the grass, rolling, scrambling. He had to kill this thing. He had to kill it!

But how could he kill his brother?

The Narci-monster, leapt on him, tearing its claws into his shoulders. His scream was a useless instinct that did nothing to prevent those shark jaws from snapping closed on his face.

Puzzles cracked one sticky eye open, residual terror trembling through his veins. That was it. He was going to check all the vents-again-to make sure Crane wasn't pumping fear gas through them. He could think of no other reason for this week long bout of debilitating nightmares.

There would be no further sleep tonight.

He dragged himself out of bed, towards the kitchen, in search of coffee. Shuffling down the hall, past Prince's room with its ironic little 'Do Not Disturb-I Can Do It Myself' sign, to set the brewer on high.

Laughter, from Prince's room, higher pitched than any sound Prince usually made, muffled speech Puzzles couldn't make out.

Prince wasn't supposed to have people over. Was there even anyone Prince would want over? The man had no friends that Puzzles knew of. He didn't seem capable.

The lilting sound was familiar, echoing back through his unrelenting nightmares, further than that, into the lost past...

The fresh coffee did little to thaw the ice in his gut. Was he still dreaming?

Dreading what he might see, he opened Prince's door.

The other man, the usurper of his face and motives, slowly looked up from the files he was reading, and glared.

“Do you mind?” he sniffed. “Can't you read the sign?”

Puzzles closed the door. Prince was alone in the room. There wasn't much space for hiding things in there, much less a whole person. The computer wasn't on. His phone wasn't on.

Was Puzzles hearing things now? Minor hallucinations were said to be a symptom of sleep deprivation, after all.

He'd better check those vents again. And the carbon monoxide detector. And for mold. And the water.

                                                                      ?~?~?~?~?

Detective settled down for the evening, crisp blankets in a straight line just under the chin, temperature perfect and comfortable. Jervis cuddled close at their side, exhausted, but content. Just another lovely night as one of the most successful people in Gotham. Their olivine eyes slid slowly closed in the quiet darkness.

An inky pool bubbled up at their feet, lapping at their ankles like a deadly asphalt seep. They stepped back quickly, trying to avoid the blackening stain. Puzzles crouched on the shore of the pool, letting the disgusting waves wash over his hands, seeking something beneath the surface. Detective wanted to pull him back, to wipe his hands clean, to banish this filth forever.

But the woman-Helix-was there now, standing between Puzzles and themselves, kneeling at the young man's side to plunge her hands into the poison goo with him.

Up to their elbows the two wallowed, seeking, seeking, the galaxy crowning Helix's head as a halo, a blood coronet on Puzzles brow, and they cried out in success, straining back, pulling.

A hand broke the surface, corpse pale and trembling. Puzzles and Helix tugged, bringing the creature forth. It opened its eyes, cornflower blue and full of madness, and the Detective screamed-

Staring into the silent darkness. There was no comfort anymore, only the understanding that something terribly dangerous had re-entered their lives, and all their safety now rested on the shoulders of their volatile son, and the outsider.

                                                                    ?~?~?~?~?

Unswag watched his girl and his twin spin around the dance floor while the janitor worked around them. Regular hours were unknown to Edward Nigma, and as for Helix...

She probably told the time by the folding of a plants leaves, who knew. As long as she wasn't reading it in his entrails, why should he care?

He added another turn to the maze he was drawing, a convoluted mind exercise that would never see construction. It felt like a waste sometimes, but it kept his brain occupied. Perhaps he could compile them into a book, and watch people complain in the reviews about how hard they were.

Laughter burst over the lively music; Helix had tripped, and instead of catching herself with her magic, had let herself fall onto a patch of glitter-covered floor the janitor hadn't yet reached. Swag had gone down with her, the two of them rolling around, shimmering with discarded glitter and...something else.

Something tugged at the edge of his vision, trying to intrude. Something, something, something.

The walls were weak.

He closed his eyes with a soft sigh, opened them again, and Looked.

A dozen pairs of snow white hands grasped at Helix, pulling, squeezing, choking, pleading. Red strings trailed from them, winding, binding, latticing her body with crimson possibility.

That she was in danger seemed clear, but from what quarter? Certainly not from him: though her removal might afford him greater freedoms from fear and danger, it would also deprive him of her, and despite everything, he didn't actually want that.

Helix glanced his direction and he immediately blinked, dropping the vision. It was extremely obvious when he was doing it after all, as his altered eyes glowed their brilliant cyan.

Helix and his glittery counterpart approached the bar he perched at, sharing a bottle of water.

“Well,” Swag said with a smirking glance in his direction. “Looks like we're gonna need a shower after all.”

So that was the direction the evening was going. Unswag would find the glitter a dire annoyance. But washing it off of them, to reveal fresh skin underneath...

It had promise.

He set the vision aside in his mind. He would have to think more on it later.

His maze lay half-finished on the bar for the rest of the night.

                                                                     ?~?~?~?~?

Arkham waved in the distance, beckoning him forth. Puzzles rushed to his lover's side, trying to play it cool the whole way.

Arkham chuckled.

“Always so eager. I missed you, Puzzles. So much.”

“Really?” Puzzles asked, a thrill zipping through him. Arkham didn't say things like that, normally. Feeling like the most special being in existence, he happily allowed Arkham to wind his arms around him.

“Oh, yeah! I thought about you a lot while I was away. Thought about everybody. I had a lot of time to think.” Something was off about his voice but Puzzles couldn't place it over the rush of his pounding heart. “I love you Puzzles. Do you love me?”

Puzzles whole body went hot, locking up with shock and elation. Love? Was it love? He was definitely attached, possessive, smitten even, but love? Love was so hard, and Puzzles sometimes wondered if it hadn't been beaten out of him as a child, alongside his innocence. But...he was so willing to try.

“Yes!” he exclaimed. “I do!”

Arkham squeezed him tighter.

“I'm happy to hear you say that. Too bad you're lying.”

“What?”

Puzzles looked up into the older mans face and couldn't see his eyes. Blood was running from his mouth, from a horrendous gash at his throat, and Puzzles couldn't see his eyes!

“You never loved me, Puzzles. Nobody did. Nobody ever even came to visit me, except Prince. I loved you so much, all of you so much, but you couldn't wait to forget me!”

The squeezing was too tight now, forcing him into silent gasping.

“Don't you remember what it was like, Puzzles? To be cold and alone, and dead? You were there too, once. Do I need to remind you?”

Arkham flung him backward, into a deep hole, back into that accursed black box, and the lid slammed down, encasing him in heavy darkness. Puzzles tried to scream and couldn't; his jaw was wired shut, his lungs flooded with formaldehyde. He was bound by his ill-fitting funerary suit, pulled tight over his torso, to hide the stitches where he'd been eviscerated, and he could feel it, feel the cold and the still, but he couldn't move.

He was a spirit, trapped within his own corpse, wailing silent in the dark.

And he was not in here alone.

Something was trying to invade his frigid body, to join him in his eternity of agony, and its intrusion was almost as sickening as the sound of worms scraping at the wood.

:Don't you remember me, Puzzles? I was your brother. I would do anything for you. I just need to be remembered.:

He knew that voice, that soft and airy voice, such an unlikely vector for the horror it had wrought.

With incredible effort, Puzzles forced his eyes open.

Though it was still dark, it was no coffin, and his breath was stifled not by an unresponsive cadaver, but by a hand on his throat. Prince mantled over him like a vulture, staring with wide-eyed intensity.

“Hiya, Puzzles!” he said, feather light voice not his own.

With a choked cry, Puzzles flailed his arms and legs, landing several heavy blows that knocked Prince to the floor.

“Ohh...pain.” 'Prince' said, savoring the sensation with shuddering delight. “Wonderful...pain...”

“Narci!?!” Puzzles gasped. Was he really awake? Could this really be happening?

“You remember me!” Narci-in-Prince cried, tears in his voice. “I found a way out. Of Hell. As long as I stay inside something, they can't take me back. You can't let them take me back!”

“Tall order.” Puzzles sat on the edge of his bed, trying to process what he was hearing. “The nightmares...that was you wasn't it? You've been torturing me for weeks!”

“I was trying to communicate. But every time I did, your mind went to such dark places...”

“Gee, can't imagine why!” Puzzles snapped. Narci wanted to be remembered? For what? The intensely personal string of betrayals he had perpetrated against his Family? For his grating and overly arrogant personality? For his unrelenting failures?

“I know! I know...Let me earn it! I'll dedicate everything to you. Every part of me can be yours to command.” He fawned at Puzzles feet, a groveling display that felt so wrong coming from Prince's body. Puzzles kicked him away, repulsed.

“How did you even get in there?”

“He invited me.” Narci said, gazing up at him with doe-eyed adoration. “He's the only one to ever come to my grave. He invited me to stay.”

“Oh sure, because we all know how selfless and sharing Prince is. An absolute saint, and not at all a truculent bastard who routinely does things for the express purpose of pissing me off.”

“Then ask him yourself!”

Prince's eyes rolled back in his head, and he collapsed for a brief moment, before shuddering back to wakefulness.

“Woo! That's a trip. The hell am I doing in here?”

“Making my life just so much harder.”

“Oh really? Excellent.”

“Cut it.” Puzzles said. “Do you know you're possessed right now?”

Prince smiled.

“Took you long enough to figure it out, genius. Is it nice, having your friend back?”

“Do you have any idea what you've done? He's supposed to be dead! Why would you offer to let him do this? I know you have some kind of motive, because the goodness of your heart is nonexistent.”

Prince shrugged, but he was still grinning wide at Puzzles obvious distress.

“He just wants to be remembered. And you know what? You all want to forget me too, sweep us both under the rug, but now you can't. He's back, and I'm the one who brought him, and now none of you can ignore us anymore.”

“Bastard.” Puzzles groaned, rubbing his face in tired frustration. “You complete bastard. Just what exactly am I supposed to do about this?”

“Beats me.” Prince said. “You're the one with all the friends. All the weird, magical, supernatural friends. Surely one of them can figure something out. Better hurry though. The longer he's in here, the more likely it is that I'll be permanently put to sleep. You don't want to lose another one to him, do you?”

“Absolute bastard.”

 ?~?~?~?~?

Now introducing: Prince!

He’s an asshole!

Here’s a quick profile:

Prince-2015  “The Usurper”

Height: 6'4” Weight: 209lbs  AL:NE

Body Count: Unknown-Increasing

Danger Quotient: Very High

Orientation: Cisgender Asexual

Preferred Weapon: Electrified Cane-Knife

Favored Crimes: Kidnapping-Homicide-Torture-Assault and Battery-Cyber Crimes-General Heists

Strong Points: Security-Advanced Electronics-Advanced Computing-Deathtraps-Basic Building Renovation-High Pain Tolerance-Retro Electronics-Retro Computing-Basic First Aid-Hybrid Electronics

Status: Active

Also sorta reintroducing: Unswag!

He is also an asshole! But he’s getting better??? Maybe??? A little???

(Author’s note: Swag and Unswag are not brothers. They are the same man. Two possible life paths existing in the same timeline. For further reading look here and here and this blog.))

Swag/Unswag-1983 “The Hedonist/The Mirror”

Height: 5'11” Weight: 149lbs  AL: CN-CG/TN

Body Count: Twenty-Two/Twenty-Four

Danger Quotient: Low/Low (Med)

Orientation: Cisgender Polyamorous Pansexual/Cisgender Demisexual (Bisexual Tendencies)

Preferred Weapon: Brass Knuckles-Knife-Improvised Weaponry/Cane-Revolver-Rifle-Knife-Taser

Favored Crimes: (Then) Kidnapping-Homicide-Assault and Battery-General Heists (Now) Aiding and Abetting-Possession of Controlled Substances/(Then) Kidnapping-Homicide-Assault and Battery-General Heists (Now) Petty Theft-Identity Fraud-Cyber Attacks

Strong Points: Social Legitimacy-Social Contacts-Finance-Security-Advanced Electronics-Advanced Computing-Force of Personality (Charm)-Advanced Building Renovation-Speed-Agility-Mixology-Basic First Aid/Finance-Security-Advanced Electronics-Advanced Computing-Advanced Building Renovation-Speed-Agility-Divination-Basic First Aid

Status: Reformed/Retired

Also starring: Puzzles!

Puzzles-1990*   “The Center”

Height: 5'8” Weight: 159lbs  AL:TN

Body Count: Seven

Danger Quotient: Med

Orientation: Cisgender Homosexual

Preferred Weapon: Revolver-Taser-Fast Acting Fear Toxin-Improvised Blunt Weaponry-Bare Fists

Favored Crimes: General Heists-Assault and Battery-Fraud-Cyber Attacks-Aiding and Abetting

Strong Points:-Retro Electronics- Advanced Recycling-Hybrid Electronics-Security-High Pain Tolerance-Social Contacts

Status: Semi-Reformed

*Puzzles world is contemporary, but several decades behind technologically.

And Detective!

Detective-1970 “The Matriarch”

Height: 5'8” Weight: 142lbs  AL:LG-LN

Body Count: Two (Known)

Danger Quotient: Low

Orientation: Genderqueer  Pansexual (Male Preference)

Preferred Weapon: Derringer-Razor Wire

Favored Crimes: (Then) Kidnapping-Assault and Battery-Large Scale Heists-Extortion (Now) Aiding and Abetting

Strong Points: (Then) Deathtraps-Escape Artistry-Disguise-Employee Loyalty-Security-Advanced Electronics-Advanced Computing (Now) Disguise-Social Legitimacy-Employee Loyalty-Security-Advanced Electronics-Advanced Computing-Divination-Finance-Social Contacts

Status: Reformed

And bonus nightmare!

Artists: Verticalthoughts(deactivated) shyfluffy(deactivated) @cardwrecks​

[therealityhelix]

Shards of the Nexus: Orbital Unresonance pt 3

Somehow, Palpatine Narci returned.

Song: The Phoenix- Fall Out Boy

It’s time for the finale! @cardwrecks​ @captainbaddecisions​

 ?~?~?~?~?

Puzzles stared at the text message, going over it again and again, trying to make sure the wording was right, that it had enough information without being either overly flowery, or too blunt. There was no way to make this go over well, but he didn't have to make it worse either.

He swallowed, took a long, deep breath, and hit send.

                                                                     ?!?!?!?!?

YJ tilted his head, slowly setting his coffee down. Had he read that right? He tipped his glasses up, squinted at his phone. Pulled them back down, squinted again.

Then Arkham entered the conversation with a simple :Not for long.: and YJ knew he had to act now.

:Puzzles, do you require any assistance?:

He could probably afford to put himself out there, as a small challenge to Arkham. After all, the man damn well owed him one. Whether Arkham saw it that way, however...

:Clothes. Shoes. Toiletries. Sufferance.:

And like that, YJ was locked in. He would not renege on an offer; why make one, if you weren't going to follow through? And these were certainly all things that would be easy to provide. But...

Narci? Returned?

Fear and grief rose as a pillar on one side. Hope and the potential for a second chance rose on the other. What was the boy's mental state? Could YJ actually help him this time? Could he be helped in the first place? Had he returned in search of vengeance? Forgiveness?

YJ wasn't sure he could achieve either of those things.

Clothes. That was something YJ could do. He just needed a little help.

:Swag?:

:No comment.:

:Swag.:

:No. Comment.:

:I just need to know what size clothing to look for. You're better at guessing these things than I am.:

:It's not guessing, I can just tell.:

:So tell me.:

YJ wrote down the measurements Swag quoted him, down to shoulder width and inseam. Then he left the conversation. There was some uncomfortable talk there.

“Bruce?” he called down the hall. “Something's come up. I need to go shopping!”

                                                                      ?~?~?~?~?

Nash felt sick. It couldn't be true, could it? But Puzzles didn't pull pranks like this; he was much too serious a person. Which meant it had to be true.

His cheek stung with the memory of pain, the scar on his skin marking him all the way down to his soul. It was supposed to be over.

He would have to move again, wouldn't he? Narci always seemed to be able to find him. It had been comforting, right up until that last time...

That last time, when the blood poured from the gash in Narci's throat, a grotesque crimson mirror to the white in that beatific smile, as he held Nash down, held his gaze until his eyes, cornflower blue and full of madness, grew glassy and unseeing. Until the blood threatened to drown Nash.

It still felt as if some of that blood was inside him. It had gotten into his mouth and nose, the cut on his cheek, and though Nash knew, logically that it wasn't still there; psychologically, he had tasted the waning life of his beloved brother, swallowed it. His body had taken it in, digested it, incorporated it into his own cells.

It remained with him. It was in the tug of the scar on his cheek whenever he smiled. In the smell of blood that he now built traps specifically not to spill. A background whisper in the voice of every person who ever told him they cared about him.

Narci had haunted him for years. Now, maybe he would never be free.

“Lust?” he called weakly. His Sin was home, wasn't he? “Lust, where are you?”

~Here, darling~ the dark creature glided into sight. ~You sound distressed. What troubles you, my dear~

Nash held out his phone wordlessly for the embodied Sin to read.

~Ohhh, dear me. Narciiiiii...That shouldn't be possible. He has earned his place with us in eternal torment. Pride should have had him. He would have torn the miscreant apart~

“Has anyone else ever escaped from Hell?” Nash asked.

~Hmmm. Yes. Unfortunately. Many times. Remember that when I say 'eternal' I am being hyperbolic. Yes, it is on a timescale that seems unthinkable by a mortal mind, but truly nothing is forever. Narci should not have been let go. He must have found a loophole, and I think I know what it was~

“A loophole out of Hell? How does that even work? Aren't there only two options once you're dead?” Nash asked. Well, maybe there were three. One could become a ghost. The otherworldly being laughed, it's breathy voice both mocking and delightful.

~Never has there been a more potent corruption than that of Christian hubris~ Lust purred in amusement. ~So many otherwise decent souls brought low by Pride's creation: the idea that Heaven and Hell is all there is, and that their laws apply to all, both retroactively, and in the future. The sheer devastation this one idea has wrought~

Nash tilted his head. He'd met angels. He'd met Lucifer himself! He knew these thing were real!

~I love you, my darling host, my dearest Eddie, so I will tell you; we Sins, we Virtues? We exist in dozens of forms. A form of me exists in the circles of Hell, yes. And a form of me exists also in Tartarus, and Naraka, and many other places. We aren't strictly celestial or demonic, we are terrestrial. We originated here, with you. I have existed since before your species even had words for gods. I have existed since before your species was your species. I have changed and grown with you. This is why you all have aspects of each of us. We are of you, to some degree or another. And we are under the jurisdiction of the gods your people have accepted over the years as well. It is a complicated relationship~

“So you're saying...all religions are true?”

~Of course not~ Lust scoffed. ~Humans are misled or make things up constantly. Such as that the rules of a religion ever further removed from the teaching of its founder somehow apply universally. Without the consent or invitation of others, up to and enthusiastically including by sword and flame. Pride seeded that through the world using the lips of His own followers, and filled his circle forever.  Brilliant piece of work. However...Narci is a bit of a special case. He had a great many of us tugging at him, but Pride was by far his greatest corrosion. But Narci was no true believer, he merely believed that if there was a Hell, he belonged there. He sacrificed himself for you. For the others. For himself. The damnation was not complete. Pride will have shredded him most severely, but that very spiritual destruction may have been what allowed Narci to free himself. What has returned here is unlikely to be whole. He will be weak. Easy to destroy, if that is what you want, my dear~

“I...” Nash faltered. “I don't want him here, but...I don't want to get anywhere near him. Puzzles is taking care of him, but I can't imagine why. He hated Narci too. Doing this will put Puzzles at odds with Mom. And with Arkham! So it's got to be really important to him, to go against them like that. I wish I understood, but I just...I just think I should stay away for awhile. Narci's crazy. He's a monster with no friends. He won't be around for long. But in the meantime, we should go away, hide somewhere.”

The shadowy Sin wrapped Nash in his many comforting tendrils.

~Whatever you want to do, darling. Whatever you need. I can take you far, far away, or we could move to one of your newer hideouts, and keep watch. Narci won't know about any of those~

“We should keep watch.” Nash decided. “I might not be able to do much, but I can prepare. Maybe I can save Puzzles for once.”

Or maybe he could save himself for once.

                                                                       ?~?~?~?~?

Arkham picked through a box of wingnuts. He needed a fairly large one...that one should do. He twisted it finger tight, then reached for the pliers.

The miracle of resurrection just didn't feel special anymore.

It was worth a chuckle to know that the only people who got that gift seemed to be the worst among humankind. After all, here he was, living again, here Puzzles was, and now Narci. How many murders between them, and yet their victims hadn't been afforded the same opportunities. Laughable.

Still.

There was no way Narci had earned this. Narci didn't earn things. He was a pathetic coward and a failure, a weakling who hadn't been deserving of the name. Puzzles had friends who sacrificed to bring him back. Arkham had loyal followers for the same. Narci had nothing and no one, the little fool had made sure of that. He wouldn't be staying long, if Arkham had any say in it. He was ready, any moment. He would enjoy it too.

Except.

Except...

She had gotten involved. Puzzles had gone to her first. The young man was canny enough; he knew how Arkham would have reacted. So he'd played his cards against them both, and the gamble had paid off. As long as she was involved, Arkham would stay back and wait. Wait for a slip-up. One would come, eventually, and Arkham was capable of great patience.

Until then, he had other plans, other goals. Other people to test who hadn't yet, but eventually would, fail. There were more important things to think about than a worm reaching for the stars.

                                                                     ?~?~?~?~?

Something was wrong.

Her lovers were so quiet. Contemplative.

Unswag got this way sometimes. It was very natural for him. He would let himself wander down the pathways of his mind for hours, rotating things over and over. But she'd caught him Looking at her from time to time, brilliant fire in his eyes, and wondered what he was seeing.

Swag, however exercised a different form of mental discipline, and was next to never this reticent.

They watched her cook, matching reserved expressions constricting like hard hands on her shoulders. Spinning the past few days in her mind, she sought what she might have done to cause their upset. It had to be connected to her somehow, or Swag at least would be complaining about it in search of sympathy. Instead, they shared empty small talk as they ate, and nothing got solved.

The washing up lacked its usual warmth, the tension creeping up her spine. Oh, she hated this.

“Edward, would you like to dance?” Helix asked. They usually did, after dinner. A simple intimacy. A reaffirmation of their secret, silent pledges.  He seemed distracted by her question.

“Hm? Oh. Sure.”

He was willing to go through the motions, but the enthusiasm just wasn't there. The lively beat continued around them as she simply stopped in the middle of the floor, and lay her head against his chest.

“Edward. Please tell me what it is.”

Swag sighed, wrapping his arms around her more earnestly.

“Sorry babe. It ain't your fault. But...it also kinda is. Isn't it?”

Helix gazed into his face, seeking his eyes, but he'd pushed his glasses up, and their tint hid the lapis she sought.

“I don't understand what you mean. What's happened?”

“You helped Puzzles out with a little something a few weeks ago, right? Something about a ghost, maybe?”

Helix nodded.

“His friend was possessed. Puzzles said he'd been one of you once...” she faltered on seeing his lip curl. “I made something for him to reside in, so he wouldn't overpower Prince. A pair of bracelets.”

“Those bracelets...so he was right there the whole time, huh?” Swag said softly, then cursed just as softly. “Don't tell anyone else about those, okay?”

“Okay...?” she agreed. “But what's wrong? Puzzles said he hurt Family, but didn't say anything else. What did he do? Did he hurt you?”

“Not me, not directly, but...” he shut his mouth abruptly, one hand cupping her head, pressing it gently back against his chest. She could hear the quick bounce of his heart. It didn't match his somber voice. “I'm sorry, Helix. I can't talk about it. I won't. I don't want to accept that this is happening. I don't want to think about you being within a hundred miles of it.”

Wouldn't talk about it? Swag talked about nearly anything, if asked. Maybe not in detail, and maybe there were some things that shouldn't be asked, but she wouldn't have guessed this would be one of them.

Then again, she hadn't even been aware that there was a Riddler who had died before she had entered the Nexus. No one had said a single word about it. What could a Riddler have done to make himself such a pariah among his peers?

She glanced back at Unswag, who closed his eyes and shook his head. Nothing. She would get nothing, not from anyone. It was a little shocking. What had she helped bring into the world?

Why had Puzzles agreed to it? Why had Prince?

Unswag came up silent behind her, placing his gloved hands inoffensively on her shoulders.

“You seem tense.” he said, leaving everything else open.

“Think we could probably do something about that.” Swag added.

A distraction. An offer to take the evening on a different course, away from the impasse they'd found themselves at.

Helix agreed.

                                                                     ?~?~?~?~?

The weeks passed while Puzzles tried to smooth things over with the others. He knew Arkham's feeling on the matter, and the sheer relief upon realizing that he was going to remain passive unless provoked almost melted the icy fear in Puzzles spirit.

YJ brought clothes and toiletries, offering any other help that he could, but seemed so reserved, so concerned for Puzzles well-being. For Prince's. For Narci's.

Swag and Unswag were a wall. They refused to have anything to do with it, didn't want him to mention it. Swag didn't even speak in the same way he usually did, dropping the laid back affectation, matching Unswag's clipped tone. How strange, how wrong to think this was once how he had always sounded. Almost intimidating.

Puzzles hadn't known him Before, no one had. Unswag was the closest they'd ever gotten. Perhaps it was better that way.

The Detective and Nash were the most difficult to approach. They were each equal halves of this river of pain, the headwaters and the mouth, the original and final targets. In different ways, he felt he had betrayed them both.

Nash had gone fully underground, answering only one of Puzzles attempts to contact him with a simple “Don't look for me.”

He did, of course, but the boy had completely disappeared. Puzzles had to admit; Nash was perfecting the art.

The Detective on the other hand, welcomed him in as if he'd been gone for ages, rather than a few mere weeks. They looked...bad, which was a major red flag where Detective was concerned. Their carefully cultivated outer beauty was as meticulously maintained as a castles walls, and served much the same purpose. For them to let it go, even a little bit, showed a weight much heavier than Puzzles had expected.

Still, they set out snacks and coffee, played quiet music over their perfectly balanced sound system, and generally made things comfortable for Puzzles. A weird little bug of guilt chewed at him. Far be it for a famous masked career villain to question whether or not he was doing the right thing, but...

But this was different. This was personal. The guilt he felt stemmed from the guilt they all felt regarding this subject: that they had all watched Narci spiral, and did nothing. Puzzles refused to do nothing ever again.

“You've made some interesting decisions lately.” Detective said, their rich voice weary. “Things I wouldn't have expected of you.”

“I don't know that I have the words to adequately explain myself. I know, it's almost unbelievable that I would run out of words, yet here I am.”

“It's not a rebuke.” Detective corrected. “I would not have expected it, but I'm not challenging the validity of your decisions. You never do things without reasons, whether I know those reasons or not.”

“Well...we have seen that some of my reasons have been quite poor, and some of my decisions have had disastrous results, so I can't claim some secret wisdom in this case. I guess I...panicked. A little bit. I've gotten outside people involved. I've set things in motion, and I'm not sure I'm properly prepared for their consequences. There isn't much room in my home; he'll barely have more than a broom closet to himself. I'll have to think about feeding three people. About mental engagement. About containment. About keeping him and Prince from getting into trouble. The amount of money that is going to go into this is staggering.”

“Welcome to fatherhood.” Detective said with a chuckle, and Puzzles groaned.

“I was hoping to avoid exactly that.”

“Sometimes things sneak up on you.” Detective shrugged. “And sometimes they present themselves at your front door with a label on. But ultimately, you are the one who makes the decision, and it sounds as if you have.”

“Yes, I suppose I have.” Puzzles said. And that was it, wasn't it? He had decided.

They shared snacks in a companionable, if somewhat awkward silence. Something bothered him the entire time however, and by the time he'd finished his coffee, he'd figured out what it was, and what he was going to do about it.

He stood, crossing behind the Detective and whipped out his trusty comb. Then he began to comb their unacceptably messy hair. Detective froze in place, slowly relaxing into the demonstration of care.

“Now what could you possibly be thinking?” Detective asked quietly.

“If you aren't going to take care of yourself, then someone has to.”

“Ah.” they said, as if a great mystery had finally been revealed to them. Maybe it had. “You sound like YJ when you talk like that.”

Puzzles took a few moments to contemplate how he felt about that observation.

“Thank you.” he said.

                                                                       ?~?~?~?~?

There was no more time to plan and prepare. The day had come. Puzzles had gathered up everything he thought a new human might need: clothes, a snack, a bottle of water, and of course, the magical bracelets that housed their soul. Prince had handed them over with a little wave, like a child saying goodbye to an imaginary friend.

Puzzles thought about putting them on himself, but dismissed the idea after remembering the repulsively groveling actions of Narci-in-Prince, and could not stand the thought of those servile expressions on his own face.

Instead, they went into one of his many pockets, jingling softly, and he hefted the backpack full of clothes, and trudged to Doctor Alcyone's door. It was annoying to have to do this all on foot, especially knowing he'd have to walk Narci back the way he'd come. Luckily, both he and Narci had always looked younger than they really were, and both had very dark hair and very pale skin. Anyone on the street would think they were brothers, on the way home from school.

“Oh good, you're here!” the doctor exclaimed. “Come in, come in! We don't want him getting overripe!”

Puzzles didn't even want to picture what that might look like. For a short time, he'd wanted to visit during the growth process, just so he could keep tabs on how the body was coming along, but Helix had persuaded him otherwise.

“It's not gonna be like the development of a baby.” she told him. “It's less organized. You might see something like an arm hanging off of a brain with teeth, or something. This is unnatural, Puzzles. These are people who wanted to unravel the works of the gods. And some of them actually did it.”

So he'd stayed away until the doctor contacted him.

“You have the Soul Jar? Excellent. Quick question, did this handsome fellow die violently?”

“I...don't see how that's any of your business.” Puzzles said.

“Oh, it's not, and I couldn't do anything with the information anyway. It's just that sometimes, no matter what you do, the body remembers. This is my way of refusing to take responsibility for a possible defect.”

Puzzles narrowed his eyes.

“What defect? If you are responsible, rest assured, I will hold you as such.”

She gestured at a large, backlit aquarium full of mysterious, semi-pearlescent liquid.

Narci floated, fully grown, down to every last detail. The alabaster skin, the shoulder length black hair, the powerful body of an Olympic level gymnast. The long, thin scar across the width of his throat.

Every last detail.

Puzzles lips pressed thin in consternation.

“You are not responsible for this.” he conceded.

“I do take my work very seriously, you know.” she said, activating a pump. The thick liquid began draining out, leaving Narci's body soaked and sparkling at the bottom of the aquarium. At Doctor Alcyone's prompting, he grasped the empty body's slick wrist, and slipped the bracelets on.

“Welcome home, Narci.” he muttered. “Don't make us regret this.”

Nothing happened for a few long moments. Then, with clear difficulty, the eyes opened, cornflower blue and full of madness.

                                                   ?~?~?~?~?

And that’s that on that!

Pleas welcome: Narci!

He has Problems!

Narci-1994   “The Wight”

Height:5'6” Weight: 177lbs  AL:NG (formerly CE)

Body Count: Seventeen

Danger Quotient: Med (Catastrophic)

Orientation: Nonbinary Polyamorous Asexual (Strong Male Preference)

Preferred Weapon: Magic-Bare Hands-Spell Stones

Favored Crimes: (Then) Homicide-Torture-Kidnapping-Assault and Battery-Petty Theft (Now) Possession of Controlled Substances-Petty Theft-Trespassing

Strong Points: Gymnastics Training-Escape Artistry-Magical Knowledge-Security-Advanced Computing-Object Enchantment-Basic First Aid-Powerful Guardian

Status: Reformed

YJ!

YJ-1981* “The Favored Son”

Height: 5'9” Weight: 183lbs AL:LN

Body Count: Zero

Danger Quotient: Low

Orientation: Cisgender Bisexual (No Preference)

Preferred Weapon: Bear Spray-Flash/Smoke Bomb-Taser-Retractable Baton-Knockout Gas

Favored Crimes: (Then) Kidnapping-Cyber Attacks-Small Scale Heists-Fraud (Now) Aiding and Abetting

Strong Points: Social Contacts-Leadership Skills-Security-Basic First Aid-Stunt driving(motorcycle)-Futuristic Gear-Futuristic Electronics-Futuristic Computing

Status: Reformed

*YJ's world is contemporary, but the technology is far advanced of the others.

Arkham!

Arkham-1970 “The Pater Familias”

Height: 6'1” Weight: 184lbs  AL: CE

Body Count: Unknown-Increasing

Danger Quotient: Very High

Orientation: Cisgender Pansexual

Preferred Weapon: Electrified Cane-Pistols

Favored Crimes: Kidnapping-Homicide-Torture-Fraud-Assault and Battery

Strong Points: Deathtraps-Employee Loyalty-Security-Basic First Aid-Advanced Recycling-High Pain Tolerance-Advanced Electronics-Hybrid Electronics-Advanced Computing-Force of Personality (Intimidation)-Advanced Building Renovation

Status: Active

Nash! and ‘Friend’!

Nash-1998  “The Lost Boy”

Height: 5'9” Weight:156lbs  AL:CN-NE

Body Count: Eight

Danger Quotient: Med-High

Orientation: Cisgender Demisexual

Preferred Weapon: Retractable Cane-Spike Keyring-Bear Spray

Favored Crimes: Petty Theft-Assault and Battery-Cyber Crimes

Strong Points: Survival Skills-Basic First Aid-Advanced Computing-Aura of Attraction-Powerful Guardian-Supernatural Contacts-Escape Artistry

Status: Semi-reformed

Swag and Unswag!

Helix!

Detective!

And, of course, Puzzles!

He’s really not used to altruism, but he sure tried!

[realityhelixcreates]

Color palette for Unswag. He keeps things very simple.

[realityhelixcreates]

💡How many WIPs do you currently have?

Oh boy. Okay let's see...

There's Lasabrjotr of course. My War and Peace.

Beta, Theta, and Me, which was supposed to be an exploration into gender expression in an A/B/O setting. I kinda lost the plot though.

Dance of the Spheres-a story about political intrigue and the many little ways consent can be taken from us.

Interlock-Helix/Swag first time fic which might never be finished because i am really bad at long form smut.

Parallel Play-But how did Unswag get involved? Possible companion piece to Stolen Kiss

Sinister and Adroit-meeting Arkham

Blinded by the Light-meeting YJ

Braided Pinstripes-meeting Swag

Talking to a Wall-meeting Puzzles

La Belle Malefique-meeting Narci

Absent Ozymandias-losing Narci

Emergent Mitosis- Arkham, YJ, and Narci all Split. Helix is (almost) killed, and you'll never guess who done it!

Well, you might.

Refusal-Arkham and Puzzles have a talk about independence

Second Circle-Nash spends a few moments in Hell, and realizes the monster he is becoming

Some Fathers Just Play Catch With Their Sons-Arkham cares for Nash in the only way he knows how.

By Talos, This Can't be Happening-unexpected epic

The Magic (Anon) of Growing Up-Baby Swag returns! And this time he's got friends?

The Morel of the Story-a Young Justice Riddler fic completely unrelated to the Nexus. I just felt like this guy needed a friend.

The Stone That Split the Stream of Time-about a Loki variant that won the Battle of New York and took over the world. This one might also never be finished. Kinda hit a wall.

Now, most of these are short, single chapter affairs, but still...kinda a lot?

[realityhelixcreates]

If all the riddlers got together to play a dnd session, what class amd race do you think they would choose? Including Helix of course.

HA! I love this! Well, first off, I'm not even going to speculate on who's DMing. Harley, probably. They're also a bunch of nerd-ass losers, who would play obvious self inserts, and would have to be physically restrained from being massive rules lawyers. Here's how I think it would break down.

Arkham-Human Rogue/Ranger, he would choose other humans as his racial enemy, put an unnecessary amount of points into Intimidate, and constantly be out 'scouting' (Stealing things).

Detective- Aasimar Mage, Divination Specialization. Puzzles complains constantly about that being the most useless kind of wizard. Detective goes all out, with individualized, tarot-themed spell cards, and is very obnoxious about them.

Swag-Half Elf Bard, makes up his own bawdy poetry. It's awful.

Unswag-Half Elf Rogue/Mage, rarely talks, other than to declare his actions. Jealously protective of his dice.

YJ-Human Paladin, long-suffering leader of the group, on the verge of oath breaking at all times.

Puzzles-Human Fighter/Rogue, likes to punch people and take their stuff. Second biggest troublemaker in the group.

Narci-Drow Monk/Mage, has a hard time maintaining alignment requirements.

Nash-Tiefling Warlock, surprisingly adaptive, consistently rakes in the most xp per session. Has to eventually ask Lust to stop making commentary on how hellish pacts actually work.

Helix-Human Wild Mage, the only one who knows how this game is actually meant to be played, constantly accused of intentionally botching her wild surge checks in order to deliberately 'accidentally' turn her teammates into squirrels.

[realityhelixcreates]

Are the Riddlers religious?

A more difficult question than you might think. Gotham, as a part of the DCU is aware of the various supernatural and superhuman entities that exist within their universe, and the Riddlers would be aware of even more than the average person. What makes a god? What makes something worthy of worship? How does a culturally Christian society like America reconcile these entities?

The Riddlers each have thoughts about god or gods, but only Helix and Narci actually worship anything, like with prayer and ritual and offerings, the trappings of religion. The others? Well, this is the best I can really give you:

Arkham: Antitheist-If gods exist, they need to die.

Detective: Ietsism-They are part of reality, but there are parts of reality beyond them. There is an overarching, transcendent reality that they can occasionally see into. They believe the existence of the Nexus proves them right.

YJ: Agnostic-If there are gods, it doesn't matter. We are the ones that built the pyramids, we are the ones who invented writing, and we are the ones who impact each others lives. Worship yourself.

Swag/Unswag: Apatheistic Omnist-Yeah gods exist. Probably all of them. But they aren't worthy of us, honey.

Helix: Draconolotrix-Worships dragons. Especially a specific dragon, who is also a deity among dragonkind. She is technically also a priestess of this goddess, though her clerical powers are weak and very specific.

Puzzles: Staunch atheist, no matter what he sees or learns.

Narci: Syncretic polytheist-Xie worships Thoth, Hermaphroditus, and (somewhat ironically) Persephone, in her role as a goddess of death and rebirth.

Nash: Demonolotor-while he wouldn't claim to worship demons, he does consort, trade, barter, and deal with them very often. Since Lust is technically a minor deity(an elevated daimon), Nash also has minor clerical powers.

[realityhelixcreates]

🩷 for lasa reader, loki, Thor, Helix and all the riddler family.

Dream Job!

Lasa!Reader: You had the smaller ambitions of someone who knew they would never leave their small town, except, perhaps, for another small town. Your hopes or the future revolved around owning your own bakery.

Lasa!Loki: Wrestled a lot with whether he actually wanted to be king or not. There was a lot of identity wrapped up in it. Although, leading a circle of mages on Alfheim also sounded pretty good.

Lasa!Thor: Wanted to be a Valkyrie when he was too young to understand why he couldn't. But beyond all the power and prestige, beyond all the posturing, Thor also struggles with identity. Deep down, he really just wants to protect people. To be useful for something other than the job chosen for him at birth.

Helix: She jokes that she could be an amazing astronaut. She doesn't even need a spaceship! But really, the concept of a 'job' is a bit hazy for Helix. After all, what kind of jobs are there for a cosmic sorceress with a rural upbringing, who barely got a high school education, and who's understanding of technology is locked in the 1970's? She's a damn good witch though, for the times and places where that counts as a profession, and would likely choose that every time.

Detective: A detective. They actually got basically everything they wanted in life.

Arkham: Ruler. Arbiter of life and death. Master of all he surveys.

YJ: He got his Masters degree in computer science so he could develop the finest game engines in the business. He just got a little sidetracked. Deep down, well not so deep at all actually, he also just wants to make the world a better place. That desire has been used against him before.

Swag: He likes what he's got. He's getting all the attention and fame that he wanted. People like him. He's got enough money to live well, and fuel all his million hobbies. He can't really think of anything better. He doesn't let himself think about it.

Unswag: He'd like to continue designing mazes and puzzles. They quiet the mind. Maybe he could just do it without all the maiming and murder this time?

Puzzles: Puzzles was one of those poor fellows who didn't plan for the future, because he didn't think he was going to live to see it.

Narci: Olympic gold medalist in gymnastics. His father convinced him that that was not only his destiny, but his sole purpose for existing. Sometimes, he still wonders if he should have done it.

Nash: Nash has gone through a lot of dream jobs. Initially, he wanted to be a pharmacologist, and develop medicines to help prevent what happened to his mother from happening to anybody else. This was before he came to understand that it wasn't just depression, but his father who had helped push her into a death of despair. After that, he wanted to be a vigilante, like the Batman, but in a different way. He wanted to kill the people who hurt him, to punish the world, and he thought that was justice. Later on, after spending lime as Lust's earthly host, he thought about becoming an occultist. Nowadays, he's just looking forward to being a demon.