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Robin and Sparrow followed the green and purple goons into what was supposed to be an abandoned office building. The moment the door slammed shut behind them, and the metal, anti-rogue barriers shuttered into place.
“Well, fuck,” Robin muttered. Sparrow nodded his agreement.
The flat screen tv in the lobby of the building flickered to life. Riddler appeared in his classic neon green suit with a purple shirt, and green bowler hat. There was a giant, glimmering, golden question mark in the background behind him, and he was casually twirling his question mark walking stick.
“Welcome Little Birds.
To a world full of words.
Answer these riddles five,
And make it out alive.
However, answer wrong, and a choice you’ll make.
Who continues forward and who I take.
Answer wisely and with care.
If not, your lives, I will not spare.”
With that last parting line, the tv faded to back to its original black screen. Robin spun around and punched the metal shutters with a resounding curse. Sparrow pulled him back before he could break his hand.
“Come on. That’s not going to help,” Sparrow muttered. Robin cussed a few more times, but ultimately allowed himself to be pulled away.
There was only one door leading out of the lobby that had anything resembling a screen. There were dozens of other doors, but the one that led to the stairwell that would take them up was the only one that had a glowing screen on it. On the screen, in eerie red letters were the following words:
Round One: Level Easy: You have two U.S. coins that total 55 cents, and one of them is not a nickel. What are the coins?
The two Birds put their heads together for a few minutes to try and figure out the answer. They didn’t want to imagine the consequences of getting it wrong. Riddler’s grating voice came over the loudspeaker urging them to think faster. The two of them went through every US coin they could think of, from the penny up to the dollar coin. Eventually, they figured out that the riddle said that one of the coins couldn’t be a nickel, but that didn’t mean that the other one wasn’t a nickel.
“One of the coins is half-dollar coin, and the other is a nickel,” Robin crowed triumphantly.
“You are correct,” Riddler called over the PA system as the door opened with a groan. The two Birds looked at each other with skepticism filling their eyes.
Sparrow and Robin traipsed up the stairs, reluctant to face another one of Riddler’s traps. Robin kept claiming that Batman and Nightwing would find them. Sparrow had his doubts. Of course, given his history with parental type figures, he could be forgiven for his doubts. At the third-floor landing, another glaring screen faced them outside the door to let them into the floor. The screen read:
Round Two: Level Intermediate: I am a five-letter word. Remove my first letter and I become a form of energy. Remove my first two letters and I become something needed to live. Rearrange my final three letters and you can drink me. What am I?
Once again, the two boys put their heads together in an attempt to figure out the riddle. They debated for several minutes before Sparrow stood up on shaky legs and announced that the answer was “steak”.
Riddler’s face popped up on the screen, “Bzzzt, wrong answer.”
Sparrow took a step back from the door, but before he could get too far, the floor panel underneath Sparrow crackled with electricity. Sparrow screamed like he was dying and dropped to the floor like a stone. It broke Robin’s heart.
Robin scrambled to his side as soon as it was safe to do so, which was only a few seconds but felt like an eternity later. Sparrow remained unconscious, but while his brother had been unconscious, Robin thought hard about the answer.
Just as Sparrow groaned, a sign of returning awareness, Robin called out, “The answer is wheat. If you remove the w, it becomes heat, a form of energy. If you remove the h, it becomes eat, something needed to live. And if you rearrange eat into tea, it becomes something to drink.”
Riddler’s irritating laugh sounded through the speaker. “Ding! Ding! Ding! Right you are. Proceed with caution.
Robin helped Sparrow sit up. He couldn’t help but notice that his brother's left arm had a faint but noticeable tremor, and that Sparrow seemed to be disassociating. Robin dragged him through the open door and down the hallway. The third floor opened into what was apparently the now abandoned cafeteria. It looked like something straight out of any horror movie.
By the time they reached the next door, Sparrow was coming out of whatever episode the electric shock had sent him into. Robin heard him mutter “what the fuck” before the other shook his head to clear the cobwebs and last dredges of shock from his system.
They cautiously approached the next door as the screen glowed with its malicious lettering. Sparrow threw the screen a vicious glare, and Robin was only barely able to keep his partner from tearing it off the wall. The evil, or so Robin and Sparrow thought, letters appeared:
Round Three: Level Hard: You measure my life in hours, and I serve you by expiring. I’m quick when I’m thin and slow when I’m fat. The wind is my enemy.
Once again, the two teenaged vigilantes put their heads together to try and figure out Riddler’s very twisted sense of humor. They argued for a bit, and once or twice, Sparrow could tell that his eyes were close to flashing green because he was close to losing control of his emotions. When that happened, he would stop and take a deep breath.
They couldn’t agree on an answer before Riddler rudely interrupted them over the speaker. “Boys, tick-tock. We don’t have all day. Time’s awasting. I need an answer now, or it will be considered a fail.”
Robin stepped forward and swallowed. He looked at the screen, and said “An emergency flare.”
“Oooh, so very close, Birdie, but not quite the answer I’m looking for,” Riddler crowed in excitement.
The two vigilantes heard a metallic squeal, and before Robin could roll out of the way, a giant, almost cartoonish hammer swung out down from the ceiling and caught Robin in the side. Robin went flying into the wall and grunted when upon impact. He slowly slid down and crumpled into a small heap on the floor. Sparrow rushed over to his side and tried to check him over for injuries. Sparrow couldn’t help himself when Phantom took over, and he growled. Even Riddler went silent. Sparrow knew his eyes flashes ectoplasmic green, even through his mask; something that hasn’t happened in a long time.
“RIDDLER! I WILL BE COMING FOR YOU!” Phantom screamed, and then he choked and gasped. He hadn’t lost control of his emotions like that since…well…Before.
“My! My! Is the little Birdy upset?” Riddler cooed. “I very much look forward to meeting you. Perhaps, you could even be my sidekick instead of the Bats.”
Sparrow didn’t deny him but went to check on his brother instead. Robin was attempting to sit up, so hopefully he wasn’t hurt too badly. Sparrow pushed his arm under his brother to take some of his weight. Robin bit his lip to stifle a scream. Sparrow realized that his brother must have cracked some ribs when he hit the wall. As Sparrow continued his quick field exam, he discovered that Robin also had a concussion and either a sprained or broken wrist. All of these injuries combined pushed him over the edge. He could feel Phantom fighting for control.
“Sp’rr’w, c’me b’ck to me,” Robin slurred.
Sparrow fought with himself for a few minutes, but eventually, the more human side won. (Meanwhile, Riddler was watching everything through the cameras with intense curiosity. Obviously, Sparrow hadn’t gone anywhere. But why were Sparrow’s eyes flashing green light?) Sparrow settled himself against Robin’s side, being careful of his injured ribs. It seems as though they had forgotten that they were trapped inside of Riddler’s scheme. Riddler didn’t seem to mind too much. Because he knew that they were about to have a very juicy conversation.
Sparrow pulled his knees up to his chest and laid his head down on his arms that were crossed over his knees. “Batman is a lot like JF,” Sparrow said softly.
“Wh’t you mean?” Robin questioned skeptically.
“They both get so focused on one thing that they forget anything else exists,” Sparrow replied.
“B’tm’n will come,” Robin stated with certainty, even with a concussion rattling his skull.
“Yeah, but will it be worth it?”
“Huh?”
“Sure, Batman will come. But at what cost to us? You say Robin is magic, but I've seen the way you've been pulling away from Batman. From Nightwing. From me. Phantom was the same way,” Sparrow whispered.
“Can you tell me about Phantom?” The Boy Wonder asked as he laid his throbbing head on his brother’s shoulder.
Sparrow let out a gusty sigh. “Phantom isn't…a pleasant story. You sure you want to hear about him?” Robin moved his head in what he hoped was an approximation of a nod. Sparrow pinched the bridge of his nose before leaning his head against the wall.
“It starts with a boy and a hole in the wall. Well, technically it starts when JF and MF were in college. They were obsessed with the paranormal and wanted to prove it existed. Their first invention didn’t work the way they intended and got their supposed best friend very, very sick. He ended up nearly dying as a result of their negligence.
Flash forward fourteen years. JF and MF decided to try again. Only instead of remaking the original design, they made it bigger. And in the basement of their house because that's where their lab was located. Never mind that they had two minor kids who had access to their lab at any time living in the house. In fact, it was the boy's responsibility to clean the lab.”
Robin stopped breathing. He'd heard tales of how the Flash and Kid Flash had gotten their powers. He knew enough that Sparrow should never have had access to that lab. Robin noticed that Sparrow's left hand and arm were trembling, again, and he was gasping for air instead of breathing normally. He leaned his whole weight against his brother as a sort of living weighted blanket. Sparrow's breathing slowly returned to normal, and his arm stopped shaking.
“Sorry,” he rasped.
“You good?” Robin asked, even though he knew that Sparrow was decidedly NOT good.
Sparrow licked his lips and swallowed a few times before nodding. “Anyway. One day, about a year ago. JF announced that his grand invention was complete. So, all four of us trooped down to the basement to watch him power it on. Imagine our surprise when it did absolutely nothing. It sparked once, then fizzled out.
A few days later, Pharaoh and Belladonna convinced me to take them on a tour of the lab and show them JF's invention. It wasn't working, so what was the harm? I put on the appropriate safety gear and stepped inside. Belladonna wanted a picture. On my way out, I tripped over something, a loose wire, a random screw, a broken panel, something.
My hand caught against the wall. I felt something give underneath. A button. I later found out it was the secondary “ON” button. The reason that JF's invention didn't work the first time was because he didn't turn it on.
I did. But in the process of doing so, I…something changed. I changed. Things started coming out. They called me a “ghost”. Well, I mean, they called me a halfa, half-ghost, half-human.”
“Oh, how sweet. But you seem to have forgotten that you’re trying to escape. However, I will make you a deal. If you can find me, I will let you go,” Riddler called, interrupting their brotherly bonding moment.
“Robin, do you trust me?” Sparrow whispered so softly and so close to Robin’s ear that the other nearly jumped out of his skin. But Sparrow wanted to make sure that the microphones couldn’t hear what he said. Robin nodded. Sparrow looked up, a grim look of determination on his face.
Black hair faded to white. Black mask inverted to starlight white. And then, his whole outfit changed as blindingly bright rings popped up around his waist and traveled in opposite directions. A strange symbol appeared on his chest that looked nothing like a Bat or anything seen in Gotham. A neon green glow leaked out of the mask’s eye slits. And just above the boy’s eyebrow sat a thin silver and green coronet.
Phantom grabbed Robin’s wrist in a gentle yet firm hold before pulling Robin into a bridal/princess carry and then turned the both of them intangible and invisible. He flew the two of them through the building as fast as he safely could without risking further injury to his passenger. It didn’t take him long to locate the rogue who was sitting in front of a bank of CCTVs watching them as if he was looking for the two vigilantes. The look of shock on his face as he jumped out of his chair was almost priceless when Phantom and Robin appeared right in front of him.
Phantom gently set his brother down in a plush armchair before facing the rogue. Riddler stepped back as Phantom stalked forward. Phantom continued to push forward until Riddler was backed against the wall. Phantom reached out and wrapped his clawed-tipped fingers around the rogue’s throat.
“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t End you right where you stand!” Phantom snarled.
“Because, you could join me instead,” Riddler stammered out, his eyes wide as he stared at the unrecognizable teenager in front of him. If he hadn’t seen Sparrow transform, he wouldn’t dare to believe it.
This brought Phantom up short. “What?!?!”
“Sparrow! No!” Robin cried.
But Sparrow/Phantom was thinking about it. Robin could tell. “You have one minute,” Phantom said slowly.
Robin jolted as if he’d been struck by lightning. He couldn’t believe that his brother was seriously considering joining the deranged rogue. He bit his tongue so hard he tasted iron. Sure, he was thinking about running away to look for their birth mother in Ethiopia, but this…this was different. This was actively and willingly changing sides. He clutched his brother’s hand tightly, hoping that through contact he could change the other’s mind. Sparrow merely ignored him.
Riddler, for his part, thought about what he knew of both Batman and Bruce Wayne. (He knew the flying furry was Gotham’s White Prince, but it would have spoiled all of his fun if he ousted Brucie Boy. Hell, for that matter, Riddler was sure that most of his fellow big-time rogues knew who was under the mask.) Then, he realized that the one thing he could offer Sparrow was attention. Batman was dedicated to saving Gotham from rogues, thugs, and villains. This, in turn, bled into his life as Bruce Wayne. Batman’s mission would ALWAYS come first.
But Riddler could offer Sparrow something different. Something that Batman/Bruce would never even think of. Sure, Sparrow was Batman’s partner, and even his son, but Sparrow would never capture 100% of his father’s attention. Riddler could guarantee that he could offer Sparrow his attention. While it wouldn’t be 100% all of the time, when Riddler would be able to offer Sparrow his attention, it would be ALL of it. Plus, the boy could help build traps for Batman.
Riddler said as much out loud. Sparrow/Phantom dropped the rogue. Riddler barely managed to get his feet under him in time to keep from falling on his ass.
“Do you swear it?” The boy demanded. The crown on his head glowed a brilliant neon green.
Robin stuttered. Because he knew, in that moment, his brother was more Phantom rather than Sparrow, and he was losing him.
“I swear it,” Riddler answered.
“On your very being?” Phantom questioned.
“Yes…yes, on…on my…my being, I swear,” Riddler stammered.
A blindingly bright, neon green light surrounded the two of them, and then stretched out into what appeared to be strings. One went from Phantom, and the other went to Riddler. Robin could tell that it connected them at their very souls.
It was at that moment that he knew he would have to make a choice. He could either stay with his brother and join Riddler’s crusade. Or leave Phantom and go back to Batman. It wasn’t really much of a choice after all.
A few weeks later Batman and Nightwing were following a few of Riddler’s goons. Was it a trap? Quite possibly. Was it their only lead to their missing Birds? Yes. Were they going to follow the goons anyway? Also yes.
They walked into the same abandoned building where supposedly Robin and Sparrow had disappeared. Just as they entered, two young, chilling voices came over the loudspeaker.
Batman and Nightwing froze. Because they would recognize those voices anywhere. Those were the voices of their missing Birds.
“Welcome, Batsy and Nightwing. We will be your hosts tonight,” the two boys spoke in unison.
“I’m Cypher,” called the once named Sparrow
“And I’m Paradox,” said the former Robin.