Showtime! (The Riddler & Open to all)

[Animal]

(OOC: We please ask anyone to participate in this thread who wants to join, but if you are to join please be a part of the audience or a person outside of the building, we do not want anyone trying to play a hero since the setup have made it impossible for a hero to do anything without causing him/herself to die)

The Great Theater of Gotham City

This was a big night. The newest play made by the best actors and performers in all of Gotham was about to perform one of what is called the greatest performance in the history of Gotham City. All the people in Gotham who had a high status would be watching this show there was no exceptions. The tickets were already sold out 2 hours after the announcement of this show and people of any status will come and see this show.

Even the assassin, Animal, had received an invitation to the show. This was just not any ordinary ticket. He had a backstage ticket to where all the actors would be. But Animal wasn’t there to enjoy the show, he had been hired by a client. The payment was exceptional. Refusing this big amount of money would be more than just stupidity. The plan wasn’t simple, but it was brilliant. The actors had been at the theater 5 hours before, but they have been dead for 3 hours, time enough for Animal and all the goons to make all the preparations needed for the nights show. His client had it all planed, everything was in order and nothing could go wrong. The entire staff was switched with his goons. Every single person of the staff was involved in this great plan and they had used all day making ready for this great show. They all knew that participating in this plan could most likely get them killed, but they didn’t seem to care. Quite frankly they seemed over exaggerated in participating, like this was their biggest dream. Every entrance or exit was rigged. Once the doors were closed they could not be opened unless it was to explode. Every single seat was rigged with a pressure mine, once the pressure would relief the seats they would explode. This was of course a controlled explosion since the mastermind didn’t want the entire room to blow up. Animal was behind the stage, he was about to make ready for his ''grand performance'' as his client called it. Animal set up all his gear on the stage, there had been set up a crate where he could place his sniper and ammunition. His mission was easy; kill anyone who he was told to kill by his client. Animal didn’t know if the client would show up himself, all he had gotten was the information on what he was going to do in this act. Animal placed the mission file on the crate and opened it so he could read the details before the show would start. ''Kill everyone who the client tells you to kill, do not kill anyone of personal interest. Anyone not seated before the show starts has to be killed, except for the camera men''. It seemed a bit weird to Animal that he wanted to record and stream this entire scene live, the only reason Animal could think of was to create attention of his client. Animal could hear the crowd slowly gathering outside in the theater. Animal could feel the thrill and excitement of all the people in the theater. For every new voice he heard he could feel the thrilling feeling of excitement run through his blood. Animal closed the file. His eyes ran quickly over the name of the client. ''Edward E. Nigma''. This made Animal smile a little, he knew exactly who this person was. It was time for another riddle.

[The Riddler]

Everything was set up to be perfect! Evert little detail was just as described, and now the picture was ready to be shown. What a precession, what perfection, what a beauty. Everyone who looked at it, would surely see how great it was, how brilliant he had been! No, no it was all wrong! Something was missing, it wasn’t perfect, it seemed so… So lifeless! How could they not see it?! It was all because he was bored, the challenges weren’t there anymore, it was like harming a dead guy. How! How could they not see it! But then again, no one was as brilliant as he, of course, of course it made sense! He smashed his gloved hands into the table, before pushing all the papers of it, so they scattered into the air. The then turned and looked at the camera in front of him, which is lovely assistant Echo was plugging in. He then looked at the clock and a gruesome smile found its way forth.
Echo looked up at the Riddler, and smiled charmingly before she went out of the dark room. Soon after his phone rang, and the best of news were brought; everything was ready. Soon everyone was in there place, people were already seated. Not knowing what was under their seat, and when they found out, the game would already be on. It would be a great performance indeed. And a great reappearance for the Riddler, that had been gone for a while. Most probably thought he was dead, but soon everyone would know that they were wrong. Soon whole Gotham would have the delight pleasure of a live broad-cast of the wonderful show in the theatre.

Query was in the theatre, making sure that the last things were functioning. She was putting the goons in place, and making sure that the bombs worked, so that this whole place would blow up in if someone tried to disturb. Everything was precisely at it should be, and in a few minutes the brilliant master-mind, and her boss, the Riddler, would bring Gotham a splendid surprise, sadly only few would enjoy it.
She found Animal, and gave him the ear piece, that Riddler had instructed that he should have. ”The Riddler is on the line…” she said in a smooth and almost seducing tone, like she always would. She then turned away so her blond hair swung in an elegant movement after her.

[Lt. Vic Valentine]

Getting to know this city had been hectic, but a girl had to treat herself to something nice on occasion. Normally, she would watch an Opera first, however, this evening a play would do. She had tickets later in the week for La Traviata.

Vic was in her seat looking her program. She had on a black designer down with the slit going up generously along her left thigh showing off a hint of those long, cool, smooth legs of hers. It was a strapless dress. She wore white gloves and a white fur around her shoulders. Her hair was fixed in a dainty up doo and black pill bottle cap hat was with purple stripes and purple netting for a classy little veil over her face. Her shoes were simply purple stilettos and a small handbag that matched her shoes. Around her neck were a string of pearls with matching pearl studs in each of her ears. Black mascara, black eyeliner, and purple eye shadow gave her a little glamour, too.

On the inside of her right thigh a simple black .38 special was holstered out of sight on her inner thigh. To top everything off her lipstick was fire engine red.

Still, she felt slightly over dressed for a play, but at an opera... forget about it!

Vic pulled her phone out to check the time and makesure it was on silent. She would not turn it off but leave it on vibrate in her handbag in case GCPD needed her for anything. You could never leave your phone off when you were a cop in this town. And besides, nothing would be more fun than taking down some scumbags in a gown that cost as much as she made in a month. This was probably why most of her nice things had bullet holes in them.

[selinakyle]

Fashionably late. That was always the best way to arrive, at least Selina thought so, even if it wasn't planned that way. She had intended on arriving in style and mingling with the stuffed shirts before the show, as they were always a good source of amusement, and she needed something to amuse her lately. Perhaps that is why she decided to come in the first place. Whether the play itself was good or bad, it was a distraction. Everyone needs a distraction.

On her way to the theatre, she had to make a slight detour - and that detour was a back alley pimp who decided it was a good night to toss his girls around like pinatas. She took care of it, with great pleasure, however it seriously damaged her ensemble. Black and red go together quite nicely, but not splattered like a crazy modern art piece. SO she was forced to return home and slip into another short black dress and freshen up. A girl needs to look decent when she goes to the theatre.

When she finally arrived at the theatre, looking very much like a modern Audrey Hepburn, there were very few people left standing in the lobby. It would be hard to schmooze...especially as those left were, to be frank, not worth the effort.

She, like those that were still in the lobby, then made her way towards the usher to enter the theatre. She saw a few familiar faces in the crowd...quite a few. Realistically, she knew this would be such an opportune hit...for anyone. With Batman missing...and all these high society targets...tonight's performance may turn out to be more exciting than she thought.

Selina took her program and headed down the aisle to her seat. Along the way she made her friendly greetings to those who wished to do the same to her. Friendly greetings from this lot usually meant they wanted something from you or wanted to merely kiss your behind...the fact that she had at one point pilfered something from just about everyone in her section, made her smile to herself as she then sat down in her seat.

Perusing the program, she was little interested in it and it was but a momentary distraction. Her attention continued to be on the crowd...perusing it with her piercing green eyes. What she was looking for...she wasn't sure...and she'd hate to admit it, but she hoped to see a familiar grimace out there...She hated that she felt that way...she hated that it..that HE, had that power over her...but regardless, she had to deal with it, as she always had.

[Reaper]

In reapers search for animal he found himself in need of a little cultur in shape of the new act in the theater. In his finest tuxedo, of course equicked with his desert eagle and his sawn off underneith the long trench coat with the red tribal icons on. If someone would reconise him it would be someone who has met him in his mercenay form. Dressed up he went to see la traviata, but something was off... something wasnt right about the personal at the ticket stand... he thought " naaah screw it. tonight im just gonna have a good night and relax a little" he found his seat sat down and now waitet for the perfomens to begin. while he waited he took a look around and noticed some very special people. A lady who looked pretty normal but reaper could see that she was hiding a gun under that fine dress she was wearing. What a fine girl right there. He noticed that many of the people in the hall was importent people from all over in gotham. But of course he gave a rats ass about it. He just wants to enjoy the the show.

[Animal]

Animal plugged the earpiece in his ear. He noticed the beautiful face and body of Query. Not that it aroused him, but he noticed it. A bit scrambling noise was at the start as it entered his eye, but it quickly changed to a clean and clear signal connected to the Riddler. The plan was set, as soon as the monitor would roll down in front of the curtains, Riddler would tell them about the current situation as the curtain would roll off and make Animal’s intervention sniper rifle appear before the audience. Animal looked down at the rifle, the bullets were not loaded. He slowly started to load the sniper and made ready for the big show. ''I’m Ready''

He waited. He could hear the sounds of human talking and blabbering. He closed his eyes. The thermal vision of his mask was toggled off, he knew he didn’t have to use it, but he wanted to let the light in the mask stay on. The noise from the audience slowly died out. This was it, the time of his prime performance. He could not disappoint his client. This job had been planned for weeks. As soon as Riddler would pull the curtains away it was time.

It is Showtime!

[The Riddler]

In a slow and elegant movement, he brushed back his hair, before placing his hat on top of his head. He stood up, and walk in front of the camera. He straightened his tie, and grabbed his all to famous cane with the question mark on top. This was going to be a night that Gotham never was going to forget. A stain upon the cities record and a reminder of how helpless they were against criminals like the Riddler. Not that there were any like him, since he was one of a kind.

The theater was buzzing with life, but everything slowly quieted down, as the light turned down, and dramatic music started to play. The doors were shut and locked, and no staff was to be seen anymore. The music went kept playing for a little while, before the curtain finally was raised, but the stage was empty. A large black screen slowly rolled down, and a large light show played over the audience and the stage, and the dramatic music stopped.
”Ladies and Gentlemen! I bit you all welcome to night the night’s performance! To nights entertainment will be none other than me! Now you might ask, who are you, what is going on, is this what I paid to see? The answer is no!” a chuckle sounded from the speakers, as the man behind the voice found this very amusing. Not that it should come as a surprise to anyone who knew how the Riddler was like (which should be everyone in Gotham). He was a big time diva, and when he wanted to do something, he wanted to do it in big scale!
”To nights entertainment will be provided, by none other than the fantastic, unfathomable, genius… Me! ” the well known question cane swung into the light, before the Riddlers face showed on the giant screen.
A lot of people started to talk to each other, and some got up, and started to leave.
”Animal… Will you be so kind to take care of the guest who is leaving?” he grinned.

”I wouldn’t advise you to get up, since you are now sitting on a pressure plate connected to explosive which I have just activated…” the Riddler bursted into a hysterical laugher, and threw himself backwards, to that his whole body how was visible in on the screen. As always he was dressed in his green suit.
”The situation is now, that you are trapped inside this theatre with me. Anyone trying to get up will detonate the explosive. Anyone trying anything foolish will get shoot by my lovely assistant Animal. And anyone trying to get someone to rescue you will get this whole place blown up, since it has been packed with explosive, and opening the doors will detonate it…. And oh yerh… We are gonna play solve a riddle…”

[Lt. Vic Valentine]

When the house went to half Vic felt that familiar bunch of butterflies as the music began to play, but then... Well this was not what Vic payed for. It wasn't until a moment into the man's monologuing that she realized who he was. Harvey had briefed her on all the major crazies this town had to offer, and of course Edward Nygma was a name she had learned, The Riddler.

She leaned onto the arm of her chair and placed her chin on her balled up fist as he spoke of the bombs rigged to their seats to go off if they tried to get up.

"Fannnnnnnnnntastic."

Vic sighed. She would have already nailed him with a bullet had he actually been present, but of course, like a yellow bellied bastard he presented himself on a screen rather than in person. Vic shifted to lean on her other arm now. Her mind was already ticking away. Many of the patrons were screaming and freaking out at this point, and loudly. Vic barked at them.

"If you people want to get out of this alive then SHUT UP SO I CAN HEAR THIS!"

Vic propped her feet up on the chair before her. Her legs glistened from the generous amount of honey she slathered on them each week to keep them smooth. She took a lot of her beauty tips from Cleopatra.

Normally, Vic would go into a little rage and try to hunt the bastard down, but this was Gotham and if her partner, Harvey, taught her anything about this town it was to always expect the worst when least expected. She observed the theatre, mentally noting exits and estimating the wingspace on the stage as well as its depth, might come in handy later. She looked up and observed the batons. The place had a fly system, likely a manual fly system with weights and a load bar. Also, another handy thing to consider.

For a moment, she had the idea to flash her badge, but that might not be a good idea, no telling who in the room was a goon and where they could be. Vic shifted her legs, keeping her gun hidden for the moment. She was happy she brought it. Always handy to have.

[selinakyle]

Well....she wanted a distraction...she sure got one. It wasn't necessarily the distraction she wanted, though.

Nygma. She should have paid better attention when she arrived. She was mad at herself that she did not recognize the goons scattered throughout the theatre. Now there she was...in a seat that would explode if she left it...and the general populous of the theatre in panic. A crowd in panic was not the best company.

If it was possible, she would be fine with getting up and letting half the theatre burn. LEt's face it, most of the low-life's were in the seats. However, the glitch was, firstly...she'd have a hard time escaping unscathed and secondly there were a few INNOCENT civilians in the crowd....It wouldn't be right....

The woman beside her was silent and obviously in some state of shock. Her hands were gripping tight on the arm of the chair and and turned a very pale shade of white. The older man sitting on the other side of her seemed to already have resigned to his fate as he mumbled a prayer, tears streaming down his face.

To be honest....she wasn't quite sure how she was going to get out of this one. She was pretty good with security systems...but a bomb she couldn't see? Might pose more of a problem.

The woman who was sitting next to her went from shock to panic and Selina could feel the fight or flight vibes emanating from her...it may have been her...or just the entire crowd. She had to think and worrying about the others around her losing their minds made it harder...

It was then that she heard a woman yell a couple rows back telling everyone to be quiet so she could hear. Selina turned her hear to look at the woman. The way she had worded her statement immediately gave Selina the enforcement vibe. Whether she was police, private eye, former enforcement, FBI, CIA....didn't matter really. If Selina was right, she hoped for the woman's sake none of the surrounding force heard her.

She turned her attention again to the screen. She hated the games some villains always wanted to play. It was tiring. Like a joke that keeps getting told over and over again. She had to hand it to Nygma...this was a good one....but would have been better if she hadn't decided to be there.

[Reaper]

A flash went throu reaper... Was it real? Was it really animal on the stage? Everything around him become unimportant and he couldent concentrate on anything else but animal. A smile came onto his lips while he whispered" Animal, i finally found you" A thought of joy went throu him. Untill he realized that he would have to answer the riddles or die either by bomb or shot by he's best friend. He didnt know what to do. Call animal out loud and hope for the best or just wait untill it gets his turn and then hope that animal would reconize him. The world around him came back and it was full of screaming people except for a few that just looked like they where finding a way out. Reaper set his sight to the big screen with riddler on it and waited.

[Animal]

Animal looked upon the crowd as the curtains quickly slided to both sides. The people in the theater started panicking. Several of them stood up only to notice a trigger device making them explode at the exact same spot they were standing. The shuffling of who would be killed if another person stood up had not yet begun. Animal had the switch at his side. Riddler had told him to make it all random but Animal wanted everyone to fear standing up, thinking that it will be their own seats which would be blown to pieces.

Animal quickly grabbed the sniper rifle and activated a laser sight he had attached on its side. This was not about killing them all, it was sending a message. Spreading the fear in the hearts of the citizens would be something they would never forget. Animal looked through the scope of the rifle and started taking down each person that was still standing up. An echoing silence spread throughout the audience as the first shot was fired. A deafening sound from the sniper rifle made everyone shot up. And the first victim fell to the ground lifeless. A shot directly into the head, the person didn’t even get to feel a thing. The shot even penetrated and hit the pillar behind the target. The audience sat and stood in shock of hearing the heavy sniper rifle being shot. Their worst nightmare had just begun; this would be an evening none of them ever would forget. The shock which had paralyzed most of the crowd, a few of the people was still sitting down, seemingly unaffected by the whole situation, was broken when the sound of the rifle being reloaded. The screams started again. The people that had chosen to remain seated also didn’t say a word. All the others who were standing got shot down one by one. The terrifying sound of the sniper being reloaded after every shot, the laser sight pinpointing everyone who was going to get shot, the blood and bodies of the already dead people, the screams of the dying people trying everything they can to escape with their lives intact while they are one by one being taken out. This all seemed like a nightmare, but it’s just a game after all, a game of riddles.

After having shot the last of the remaining people who tried to flee from the scene animal stood up and gazed upon the crowd. As far as he could tell, he had already shot about 80 people because they tried to escape. He noticed that he had even shot one of the guards when one of the targets had run in front of the guard. Oh well, a single of them didn’t matter much in Riddlers calculations anyway. Animal flipped the switched and started fully reloading his rifle. ''Let the game begin'' he said into the earpiece. It was time for Riddler to have his fun.

[The Riddler]

Patiently Edward stood waiting for the screaming to stop so he could begin having his share of fun. Not that he minded the screaming, he actually enjoyed hearing people screaming again. Perhaps because the very sound of screams reminded him that he was back in business? He sure had missed being back, but despite that he still didn’t mind waiting a little longer. It paid out in the end. With Animal en action he could get the stillness he needed for asking his riddles. He wasn’t about to shoot defenseless people like that, no they needed a chance!

So he waited, admiring his hand as if it was made of diamonds in the mean while. Well he was pretty close to being of the same value of diamonds! He was gorgeous, intelligent and brilliant in every way. Clearly Gotham needed a guy like him, no not like him, they needed Edward Nigma, The Riddler! He was a one of a kind and as important as the sun!

When he was told it was his turn to play, a broad smile spread across his lip as he turned towards the camera again. A smile that told that there was little chance for anyone to survive, or there wasn’t supposed to be a big chance. You never really knew did you? Perhaps someone had fucked up the security, or someone was smart enough to disable the bombs, or someone managed to guess the riddle, that would be fun would it!? Or perhaps it would be fun if some guess, so they could feel that rush of adrenalin as they sat back knowing that they had looked death in the eyes? HAH! Brilliant!

“You! E20!” he said loudly to make sure everyone could hear him through the little screaming and panicking that was left. Well he did want to be the center of attention. Well the man was allowed some attention, which he got when the spotlight turned to him “What stores memories forever?” the guy was asked.
The guy sad scared stiff in his chair and tried to speak, but his jaw just moved up and down, and only a low stutter could be heard in the microphone that had been put down in front of him. He desperately looked around him for help, but found none, and then looked up at the screen again, still trying to utter some kind of words.
“Tic-Tac, Tick-Tac, the clock is ticking!” he hurried the guy, but the only thing it did was making the man’s jaw open and close even faster, making him look like a fish. “I take that as a no! That sadly means that you won’t survive tonight!” he said with a short sad expression but then smided vividly.

“B1!” he pointed towards the seat of his next victim with his question cane, the spotlight following, for a second making it look like it was the cane controlling the light. “I grow older each year, but I never die, what am I?”