Super Villain Cryptid Stories

The Riddle in the Woods

A Batman × Slenderman Fanfiction

Edward Nygma had always believed that every mystery had an answer.

Every locked door had a key.

Every crime had a motive.

Every puzzle had a solution.

And every monster had a weakness.

At least, that's what he believed.

Until the night he entered the woods.

The invitation had appeared inside his apartment without explanation.

A single green envelope rested on his desk.

Edward stared at it.

There was no sound of a door opening. No broken window. No sign that anyone had entered.

On the envelope was a question.

WHAT HAS NO FACE, NO VOICE, AND NO NAME… YET KNOWS YOURS?

Edward smiled.

"How intriguing."

Inside was a map.

A location deep within Gotham's forest.

At the bottom of the page was another message.

COME FIND THE ANSWER.

Edward's eyes sparkled.

"A challenge."

He grabbed his cane and headed into the night.

The deeper Edward traveled into the woods, the quieter everything became.

No birds.

No insects.

Not even the wind.

Then he noticed the trees.

Every single one had a question carved into its bark.

WHY DO YOU HIDE?

WHO ARE YOU REALLY?

WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF?

Edward's grin slowly disappeared.

These weren't his riddles.

Someone else had written them.

"Who are you?" he called.

Something moved between the trees.

Edward spun around.

Nothing.

Then he heard a whisper.

Not from behind him.

Not from ahead.

From inside his own head.

EDWARD.

He froze.

Nobody called him Edward anymore.

Not unless they knew him personally.

"Very clever," he muttered. "But you'll have to do better than that."

A tall shadow appeared between the trees.

At first Edward thought it was simply a man standing in the darkness.

Then the figure stepped forward.

And Edward realized the truth.

It was impossibly tall.

Its arms hung far too low.

Its body was dressed in a black suit.

And where a face should have been...

There was nothing.

Edward's breathing stopped.

The creature tilted its head.

Several long black tendrils slowly emerged from its back.

Edward stumbled backward.

"No..."

The creature pointed toward him.

A question appeared in Edward's mind.

SOLVE ME.

Edward swallowed.

"What are you?"

Silence.

Then another message appeared.

WRONG ANSWER.

The trees suddenly twisted.

The forest stretched endlessly in every direction.

Edward looked down at his hands.

His fingers were trembling.

For the first time in his life...

Edward Nygma didn't know the answer.

The creature stepped closer.

Edward's mind filled with memories.

Batman.

Arkham.

His failures.

His riddles.

His obsession.

Every unanswered question he'd ever encountered.

Then the creature whispered again.

YOU LOVE QUESTIONS.

Edward stared at it.

"Yes."

YOU LOVE ANSWERS.

"Yes."

The creature leaned closer.

THEN ANSWER THIS.

Edward waited.

WHAT IS A RIDDLE WITHOUT AN ANSWER?

Edward's eyes widened.

He suddenly understood.

"A nightmare."

The creature became perfectly still.

Edward smiled.

"A riddle without an answer isn't a puzzle."

He raised his cane.

"It's a trap."

For the first time, the creature seemed interested.

Then something unexpected happened.

It smiled.

Not with a mouth.

Edward simply felt that it was smiling.

CORRECT.

The forest vanished.

Edward found himself standing alone on the edge of Gotham.

The green envelope was still in his hand.

He opened it.

There was one final message.

NOW YOU HAVE A QUESTION.

Edward looked toward the distant city.

"What question?"

The words on the paper changed.

WHEN YOU SEE ME AGAIN... WILL YOU STILL WANT THE ANSWER?

Edward stared at the message.

Then he laughed.

A slow, nervous laugh.

"Oh, I certainly will."

Far behind him, between two trees, a tall figure watched.

And Edward never noticed the long black tendril curling around the trunk beside him.

THE GAME HAD ONLY JUST BEGUN.