A short time later after Lex left, James could feel the yacht begin to move. There was a set of glass windows on one end of the lounge, and he watched the city skyscape pass by as the ship moved. Maggie was engaged in a conversation with a movie director, and James went to the bar to get her a drink. Liz saddled up to the bar next to him and whispered “I got my key card good to go. I need to get to the puzzle box before my dad strikes.”

“You mean that one?” James nodded his head towards the curtain.

“No, I’m certain that’s a fake. When you get a chance, follow me.”

“Got it.” James said, grabbing a glass of champagne and bringing it to Maggie. After listening to the director drone several minutes about getting the right shot, Lex Luthor appeared on the stage.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome aboard The Chiron. I would like to thank you for coming today and supporting your favorite charities. Several of you donated over ten million dollars, money sorely needed in these trying times. With your help, so many people's lives will be helped. To that end I am offering all of you an amazing chance.”

The curtain behind pulled back revealing a large golden box on a stand. It had to be at least two feet in length and had to weigh a lot if it was solid gold. “What you see here is the main discovery that we uncovered. Not only is it the first known puzzle box ever to be discovered, it’s also one of the most intricate. We have yet to open it, though using x-rays we have determined nothing lay within.”

Lex continued, “The chance I am offering is if anyone can offer a solution that opens the box, not only will I match and double their donation to charity, I will also gift them a two-week vacation on one of my private islands. Anyone who is interested can come up and review all the information we have on the box and then write their solution down. At the end of the night, we will then attempt to see if any managed to get it right.”

The people around James began to clap, and James found it was obnoxious. Just a bunch of people just jerking themselves off about feeling good about themselves. He glanced at the box and knew that Liz had been right. His gut told him that the box on the stage was not the one he was looking for, yet he also felt it was somewhere on board. With everyone now distracted he turned to Maggie and said “I will be back. I have to use the restroom.”

She nodded and then said in a whisper “Do you want me to come with you?”

“No, I will be back as soon as possible.”

He slipped out a side door while Lex was starting to recite the riddle. He began to head towards where he knew a set of stairs led down into the yacht. As he was making his way however, there was a loud cacophonous boom, and the entire yacht shook. Alarms began to blare, and he moved down the corridor. Hearing a group of people coming towards him at a run, he tried a storage closet door and slipped inside.

A voice he recognized as Mercy said “What happened?”

“We're not sure, but it appears that a large explosion took place in the engine room.” 

Mercy cursed and said “Are we taking on water?”

“No, the hull doesn’t seem to have been breached, and the fire suppressant system appears to be working.”

“Alright, take some men with you and go and check out the engine compartment. I will take the others and secure the lounge and deck. If you find anything, let me know ASAP.”

When they left, James exited the closet. Clearly the Riddler had blown the engine to stop the Yacht. He guessed the next move would be to cut power, and seconds later the lights went out leaving emergency lights on in the hallway. Thankfully the door pads worked, and by examining the keypads he was able to spot the remains of oil on the buttons used and after a bit of trial and error was able to figure out the code for the doors.

After checking a few doors, he heard someone coming down the hallway. Rather they were sneaking around so James slipped into a room and got inside of a closet. Seconds later a person dressed all in black entered the room with a duffel bag. He opened it and pulled out a gray looking brick and slid it under the bed. Then he stood and tossed the duffel bag onto the bed. Then he left, and James opened the door and went to look at what they had put under the bed.

Like he thought it was a bomb. At least it looked like a bomb to him. He didn’t see any timer on it, and the control mechanism seemed to be a cellphone connector. It seemed safe to move, so he did so pulling it out and placing it back into the duffel bag it came from. While he could disarm it, he had another plan for them. He had to be quick though, as who knows when the Riddler would set them off.

Avoiding people running about trying to solve the problems cropping up in the ship, James quickly picked up several more bombs and the bag had filled. Sure he had gotten them all, he paused in a hallway when he sensed around the corner two people were talking. Being careful he glanced and saw that it was one of the men dressed in black speaking to the woman whose face was odd.

Suddenly it clicked, and he realized who this must be. As he came to that realization the man said “As you command.” Then the man took off down the hallway.

The woman turned and said “Are you just going to stand there?”

Realizing that she was speaking to him, James set down the duffel bag and stepped out. “Good Evening.”

The woman narrowed her eyes and said “It isn’t very polite to eavesdrop. Some people might take it wrong.”

His gut warned him to be careful. “What can I say, I like to live a bit dangerously. I’m sure the daughter of the demon would understand that.”

Talia’s al Ghul’s face broke into a grin, but her body had tensed like a spring. “You have me at a disadvantage.”

“Hardly. If anything I’m the one at a disadvantage. Your beauty is quite disarming.” James said. “But I am not here to fight you. Only to stop the man you decided to work with.”

“So you are with the one who has been snooping around looking for the man of questions.” Talia said. “And why exactly should I let you go?”

“Because you have greater plans and working with The Riddler will only set you back on them.”

“You claim to know my plans?” Talia said.

“No, all I know is that The Riddler will bring nothing but trouble to you. I’m sure you're aware he will betray you when he thinks he can.”

“Then he will die.”

“No doubt. But he is not stable. Are you really willing to risk everything for him?”

She narrowed her eyes and said “No. Do as you will. It is not my place to interfere in family affairs.”

She started to walk away when James said “Don’t go with the Riddler when he leaves. If he is the man I think he is, you will only come to harm. And a child should never lose their mother.”

Talia had stopped then with frightening speed turned around and brought a blade to James throat. He was unsure what it was made out of, but his gut warned him that it was sharp enough to truly cut his skin. Her eyes flashed at him dangerously, and she said “Who are you?”

“Who I am doesn’t matter. What you want to know is how I know about a certain kid with a name starting with a D. Even that doesn’t matter, because I won’t tell anyone about him, not even his father. I do not speak of it to threaten, but because I don’t want to see him lose his mother because a fool made a poor choice.”

“I should slit your throat and bleed you like a pig. You know too much.” She hissed glaring at him.

“Do I? Or is it the fear of what your father would do to him? Make no mistake I will not betray your son to the demon. I only spoke to save your life.”

The blade held steady on his neck and then reprieved itself. “I will overlook this, but make no mistake. Should I hear one word of things that will not be spoken coming from you I will end you.”

“I understand.”

Talia glared at him then left. Somehow she had gained the ability to access the ability to disguise her face even without a mask. Very curious, he thought. Grabbing the duffel bag, he continued onward deeper into the bowels of the yacht. Behind one of the doors, he discovered a moon pool behind two heavy watertight doors.

Beside a small sub that was clearly Lex Luthors based on it’s tacky green color, was a larger opening for a black sub. Three men were currently guarding the sub, apparently waiting for the Riddler to return. Slipping inside he carefully snuck over to the sub and when none of them were watching slipped down that hatch of the sub.

He placed the duffel bag in a discreet location and then left before anyone noticed. He didn’t feel bad about what he was planning on doing. James was going to give him a chance, and perhaps he would be wrong about what Edward Nigma picked. There was always the possibility of redemption. 

After wandering the ship, he finally heard Liz’s voice. Tracking it down to a secret vault hidden in the ship, James peeked in to see Liz leaning against a table with an open golden box. She had a triumphant gaze at a furious looking man who looked absurd in a suit covered in question marks. The riddler’s face was sneering, making the wrinkles on his face sink into caverns that highlighted the man's madness.”

“About time you came. I opened the box twice already, before you even stepped aboard. Of course I’m sure you were planning on bringing Lex down here after you made sure you could solve it right?”

Edwards' face turned purple with rage and he spat out “So the prodigal daughter returns from the dead. It’s a shame it didn’t take.”

“Oh yes, well no thanks to you. I do have to thank you though; I did look up to you once. I really did think you were the smartest person in the world. Now I see your just a piece of shit which thinks he can prove himself doing crimes and leaving stupid little riddles. So of course you see this box and think oh that’s for me, not realizing that you're just a two-bit thug who thinks he’s smarter than he really is.”

The riddler scowled and paced glaring at Liz. “Is this your idea of revenge? Coming here to mock me?”

“Mock you? No. I despise you. You may have created me, but you are also the worst part of my life. I came here today not for you. For me. I knew I could outsmart you. I just proved it myself. You're not going to leave your mark here tonight.”

“Bitch I made you who you are. I looked at you that night, and I knew that you were too weak. I could see that whore mother of yours had wormed her way into your head. Riddle me this Enigma, how many times did I slam my cane into your pretty little face?”

Liz closed her eyes and shook her head. “My mother is a better person then you will ever be Edward. You tried to turn me into a monster just like you, and now I can see why. You just couldn’t handle being a failure alone. Because that’s what this is all about. The great riddler is just a hack that can’t stand being a loser.”

This set off Edwards, and he charged towards her attempting to swing the staff. She simply threw a few marbles into his path, and he slipped and tumbled into a wall. The Riddler stood shakily and said “This time I’m going to make sure you stay dead bitch.”

James stepped into the room and said “No. You're not touching her. Ever again.”

Startled Edward whipped his head to look at James, his eyes filled with rage spittle flew out his mouth as he said “Who the fuck, are you?”

“I’m your daughter’s friend. I just came along to witness her rubbing your nose in the shit stain that is your life. But I already knew that she is smarter than you by far, and I don’t think she got it from you. As far as I can tell, you’ve already overestimated your intelligence. Not to mention your dumb gimmick of leaving riddle clues behind.”

As James said that he could see that Edwards mind just snapped. The Man roared and raised the staff. Instinctively James dodged to the side as there was a click from the staff and a massive boom ripped from the end. It must have shot off a shotgun round as several pellets slammed into James shoulder. It tore his jacket, but didn’t pierce his skin. It did, however, sting a little. Before Edward could aim again James snatched the staff away from him and broke it into two. 

Edward cursed backing up towards the door, eyes shifting wildly from James to Liz. Then he snarled and said “So the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Just like your mother, you're a filthy whore who spreads her legs open for help. You're not better than me, your snatch is what got you here.”

“Nope you're wrong.” James said. “She is better than you in every single way.”

Liz stepped next to James looking pityingly at her father. “I really thought I needed to do this, confront you for the monster you are. But this is just pathetic, just a fool of a man clinging onto his ego. Go, your plan has already failed.”

Pure vitriol seeped out of Edwards face, and he screamed “Mark my words daughter you will regret this.” 

James snorted and said “The only regret I have is letting you walk out of here on two feet for what you did to her. But take my advice, don’t do what you are planning to do. You will only kill yourself.”

“Fuck you!” The riddler spat out and then ran out the door like some sort of petulant child.

Before James could turn back to Liz, she hugged him from behind and said “Thank you.”

“You're welcome. But you didn’t need me at all. You were handling him just fine. I just couldn’t stand by when he threatened you.”

“It’s fine. I did what I came here to do. When he came in I was so scared. Then I remembered what you told me and realized that there was just a sad desperate man in front of me. Not the big bad monster I had built up.”

James shook his head. “He is a monster. You defeated him.”

Liz laughed and said “I need a moment to collect myself before we head back. Say, do you want to give this puzzle box a go?”

“Sure.” James said strangely compelled to approach the puzzle box.

“Well here is what you need to know to open it. Do you see these pieces?” she said pointing to several knobs on the box. “They move small little balls around and when you get them into place it will open.”

“Okay, but how do you know how to move the balls?”

“Through the riddle. The whole riddle is absurdly long, so I’ll just tell you the relevant parts. When the fallen one has crossed the beyond, they will find themselves in two. Upon great contemplation the fallen one will bring forth knowledge of the entire realm. The world will press greatness upon them, and they will achieve control over forces hidden away. He will then find that there is but one truth manifest in the world. His loyalty will never flag.”

James frowned and said “That doesn’t seem like much of a riddle.”

“Well I took out the relevant parts and condensed it a little. Anyway, another thing to know is the symbols on the knobs are important as well. Each of them represent certain concepts. Now from right to left on the box they are Ecstasy, Logos, Daimonic, Immanence, Magnificence, Fidelity, Semantics, Intuition, and finally Transcendence.”

As James looked at the symbols, he frowned as they seemed oddly familiar. What’s more is that they seemed to twist within his mind until suddenly he realized where he had seen them. A version of them had been on the veils of the women he had seen in his dream. With that revelation he suddenly understood that the box had two different methods of opening. One was through the riddle and for everyone else. But the other method... 

Liz said “Do you get it? Or do you need a hint?”

“No. I got it. You solved it using the riddle. But that’s not the true way of opening this box.”

“Huh?” She said, confused.

“The riddle is not the important part. These symbols are what the builders wanted people to know.” James said his body trembling upon making the discovery that shook him to the core. “It’s never been a riddle. It’s an anagram.”

“An anagram?”

Without saying another word, James deftly pressed the buttons in the order he knew hearing the balls moving about within. Then with a satisfying clunk the box opened differently. It was like it opened into another dimension like a tesseract. Laying inside of it was something that was not quite inside of this world. It was a strange multicolored scale and before he could look closely at it, several tentacles shot out from his gut and grabbed onto it. 

He let out a grunt as they pulled the scale which was somehow larger than the box, and larger than even him inside of him deep into that coiled ball within his gut. The scale disappeared from view and he felt a pleasant warmth seep through him and his gut rumbled in happiness. Several things suddenly clicked into his head and he came to the understanding that he had been guided to this point, for this reason.

This box was always meant for him. Even though it had been built millennia ago, it was his to open. That freaked him out, and Liz asked “What was the anagram?”

James stared at the box for a moment then said “Mistfield.”

“Wait, What?” She said, startled.

It was at that moment the door opened and in walked Lex Luthor who clasped his hands behind his back and said “Well now, what do we have here?”