Jacob returned to his modest apartment in Star City, muscles aching but his mind sharper than ever after months of grueling training under Deathstroke. He was physically transformed, but it was his strategy and focus that now made him truly dangerous.
Seeking a moment of calm, Jacob headed to a small coffee shop nearby. He ordered black coffee and took a seat by the window, eyes scanning the surroundings with keen awareness.
Even as he tried to relax, his instincts screamed alert. Someone was following him — subtle, but unmistakable.
Finishing his coffee deliberately, Jacob rose and made his way to the elevator, the shadow close behind.
Without warning, Jacob struck, breaking the man's knees with a precise blow. The man, struggling to rise, tried to grasp Jacob's arm. Jacob twisted, forcing him down again. To his surprise, the man suddenly stopped struggling.
The man, panting, looked up at him and said, "Enigma."
Jacob's mind raced. Enigma — the Riddler — his former mentor — had discovered where he lived.
Jacob had learned much from Enigma, but many secrets had been withheld. Now, those mysteries would be his to unravel.
"What do you want?" Jacob demanded.
The man reached slowly into his neck and then into his pocket, pulling out a burner phone.
"If you let me go," the man said, voice trembling, "there'll be consequences for you. For your identity."
Jacob's eyes flicked to a nearby child playing quietly — innocent. The man glanced at her too, and a dark thought crossed Jacob's mind. If the man escaped, the child could be endangered.
Jacob had no intention of killing the man — but he wanted him to suffer.
With calculated control, Jacob grasped the man's neck, cutting off blood flow enough to render him unconscious without permanent damage. Every five minutes, he loosened his grip, allowing circulation before resuming the choke.
Five cycles of choking and releasing.
When the man finally slumped, Jacob checked his pupils — dilated and unresponsive. The man's body was completely immobilized — Jacob's mastered technique to lock someone down without killing.
Satisfied, Jacob let the man go, watching him slump into the elevator, alone and helpless, knowing it would be days before anyone found him.
Jacob pocketed the burner phone and saw a single missed number.
He called it.
Enigma's voice came through — calm, amused.
"Well, it appears my protégé is doing well with the resources I sent."
Jacob smiled faintly. "Money's only a tool. I'm searching for something more."
Enigma chuckled darkly. "You know about the bomb implanted in your brain. Only I can trigger it. One press of a button, and your mind would shatter."
Jacob's voice was steady. "Not anymore."
There was a sudden, distant scream on Enigma's end.
"What... how?" Enigma gasped.
Jacob answered, "I removed it. And implanted it into one of your closest goons, right beside you in Gotham."
A tense silence.
"You taught me well," Jacob said. "But you only gave me part of your knowledge. The rest I will find myself."
Enigma laughed, low and grudging. "Finally, the protégé surpasses the master. Tell me, when you return to Gotham — will you kill me?"
Jacob replied quietly, "I don't know."
"Unpredictable, as always," Enigma said. "The Question."
With a snap, Enigma crushed the burner phone.
He looked upward. "Batman — take care. What I fear most is what the Question will do next. I think you feel the same."
The line went dead.
Jacob stared at the shattered phone, a faint smirk playing on his lips.
The deadly game had only begun.