Snap #202

"I know you suffered a personal loss because of Brimstone..." Poison Ivy said, and Grayson's darkened as he turned away from Riddler and to her, giving her a warning look.

"But do you know what really happened that day...? How Brimstone came to be...?" The redhead asked, unfazed by Grayson's expression as she approached him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Do you know whose to blame for brimstone's rampage...?" Ivy stated, her grip tightening over Grayson's shoulder. "It could have been easily prevented, but he had other plans..." She went on as she turned him back to face The Riddler.

"What the hell are you talking about...?" Grayson asked as he slapped Ivy's hand away and turned to her. "I'm warning you, Ivy. You don't want to play with me, not on this..." he added, giving her his final warning as he activated my menacing presence, which affected even Riddler as he began shivering.

However, Ivy didn't show much reaction other than stepping back in alarm. "I don't intend to. I speak nothing but the truth..." Ivy said as she quickly gathered her bearings.

"It's true that Waller perpetrated Brimstone's revival, but Riddler could have easily prevented it..." The redhead added, staring straight into Grayson's eyes without a hint of fear in her emerald orbs.

"He was even supposed to prevent it, but he didn't. He's just as guilty as Waller..." Poison Ivy calmly concluded, and her calm demeanor compelled Gray to believe there was truth in her words.

"Explain..." Grayson briefly remarked with a frown, to which Ivy obliged and elaborated, telling him everything she knew about the incident, starting from her group of villains all the way to Riddler's plan to play with Batman.

Grayson's expression sank further and further with every word the redhead spoke. Eventually, he couldn't help it and used his energy to read her mind, which only confirmed Ivy's words.

"I believe you..." Grayson said, taking a deep breath to calm himself as he looked at Ivy, cautiously eyeing him to study my reaction after telling her part of the story.

"Can you...?" Grayson remarked as he turned to Ivy, but he couldn't finish his sentence before the vines binding Riddler disappeared, and the redhead interjected, cutting him off halfway through.

"You only needed to ask..." Ivy said, faintly smiling as she stepped away from Grayson. "He's all yours..." She concluded as she began walking towards the exit.

Grayson didn't even see her off and immediately turned to Riddler, his expression hardening as he noticed the latter's grin. "Why...?" He asked, taking a step forward, to which Riddler took one back.

"You're smart... I'm sure you know why..." The Riddler calmly said, a grin still splitting his face, but Grayson could sense his fright. "But you realize how much my actions helped you don't you...?" He asked as he gathered his bearings and suppressed his fear.

"Having defeated the great Brimstone, You are now Gotham's undisputed hero..." The Riddler said, grandly spreading his arms. "Your word carries more weight than anyone in this city..." He went on, growing more and more confident as he spoke.

"It's done wonders to help your cause, has it not...?" Riddler said as he relaxed his arms and even stepped forward in Grayson's direction. "But there's more. I could help you take down Waller..." he went on as he stopped before Grayson, boldly staring into his eyes.

"I led Batman to the secret lab, which caused Brimstone's revival... but Waller already planned to let him loose..." The Riddler Explained as he gestured to the side, making a cutting gesture.

"I only added a personal twist to an inevitable conclusion... but that shouldn't matter to you..." The Riddler went on, shrugging his shoulders. "What should matter is that I have evidence of Waller's plan..." He went on, letting out an amused chuckle.

"And it could be yours for the measly price of sparing my life..." Riddler said as he spread his arms, his chuckle devolving into a loud laugh. "What do you think? Pretty good deal, right...?" He went on as he extended his hand toward Grayson, asking for a handshake to seal the deal.

"It does sound like a good deal..." Grayson said and raised his arm as if to shake The Riddler's hand, and the latter's grin grew deeper as he watched it expectantly.

However, before Riddler could react, Grayson's hand quickly shot past his extended arm and straight into his abdomen, ripping through the flesh and organs.

"But I don't care.." Grayson said as he twisted his hand inside The Riddler's abdomen, as the latter stared down at the gaping wound in his stomach with utter disbelief.

"Thousands of people died... my friend died..." Grayson went on, sounding eerily calm as he drew his hands, causing Riddler's crushed organs to spill through the opening in his abdomen.

"His wife widowed, his daughter orphaned..." Grayson continued, his expression blank as he watched The Riddler fall to his knees. "And for what...?" He asked as he kneeled before him, getting on the same eye level.

"For a bit of fun...?" Grayson said as he reached for The Riddler's face with both hands. "For you to play some pathetic games with Batman?" He asked as he gripped Nigma's head and covered the latter's eyes with his thumbs.

"You worthless piece of human garbage...!" Grayson bellowed as he slowly applied pressure on The Riddler's head, sinking his thumbs into the latter's eyes.

Riddler's let out an anguished scream as his eyes burst with a sickening squish, spraying blood all over Grayson's face, but he didn't care. "You like playing games, don't you...?" He asked as he increased the pressure on Nigma's head, causing his skull to crack, nearing its breaking limits.

"Then let's play one, with your life at stake..." He remarked as The Riddler began losing consciousness. Grayson, however, had other plans as he relaxed his grip and channeled energy into Nigma's body, healing him just enough to keep him alive.

"One hour..." Grayson said, grinning as he stared into the Riddler's newly healed eyes. "If you can withstand 60 minutes without begging for death..." He went as he manipulated the energy to start breaking down Nigma's organs and muscles instead of healing them.

"Then I will spare your miserable life..."

...

Sometime later

Ivy's eyes widened as she stepped into the greenhouse and saw a bloody Grayson standing over a buddle of red, mushy liquid, smoking a cigarette as he stared into the ceiling's window.

"I didn't know you smoked..." Ivy calmly said to announce her presence as she cautiously approached Grayson and stopped a respectful distance behind him.

"I don't..." Grayson replied as he turned to Ivy, shaking his head. "I... bought these for a friend..." He added, bitterly smiling as he threw the cigarette into the bloody puddle and stomped it.

"I thought you said violence was not the answer..." The redhead intoned, her gaze alternating between Grayson's face and the buddle of gore beneath him.

"It's not... this one wasn't for the greater good..." Grays replied, tapping his foot over the blood as it began evaporating. "It was personal..." he added, letting out a tired sigh.

"I have to go now..." Grayson said after a pout of awkward silence as the last of The Riddler remains ceased to exist. "But I'll be in touch..." He concluded as he moved, walking past Ivy toward the exit.

She could do nothing but nod as she moved out of his way and watched him leave in silence.

...

Louisiana

Belle Reve

As she sat behind her desk, Amanda couldn't help but frown. She slowly tabbed her fingers on the wooden surface as she read through the latest reports from her subordinates.

Public opinion was completely and utterly against her. She had many die-hard supporters who would jump to her defense, but ultimately, they changed nothing as they were a minority.

And to make it all worse, the officials presiding over the case suddenly decided it was a good idea to start the trial as soon as possible, robbing her of any time she had to turn how the people saw her.

Waller was tempted to use Logan immediately to get Grayson to back off, but she wanted to utilize the latter's father at a more critical juncture to hit him where it hurt.

She wanted to use Logan during the trial to threaten Grayson into taking back his accusations to embarrass him and make sure that he would think twice before rising against her as no one would pay him any mind.

"Patience... Amanda..." Waller said as she retrieved a photo of her family from the desk's drawers.

"For their sake..."