Tucker looks at the piece of paper with the first riddle written on it. Then back at the Riddler, back to the paper, the Riddler, the paper.
'I am swift, I am unseen. I bring Death with me, but touch not a soul. Hell follows in my wake. What am I?'
This has to be a trap, right? Some kind of 'the right answer is the wrong answer' situation.
"Can I see the second riddle?" He asks, carefully.
The Riddler hums smugly, "But of course. You get to see all four clues to solve my final puzzle and save your dear fellow passengers." Dramatic condescension topped with the threat of imminent death. No pressure.
"Right, right..." Tucker takes the second piece of paper and reads.
'My master takes peace and paints my coat with blood. What am I?'
Okay, yeah, no. There HAS to be a catch, an extra trick at play. A quick glance at the other two clue-riddles does nothing but confirm his answers.
Tucker chewed his lip, floundering to find the right words. How do you ask a riddle-based supervillain with a body count, what the catch is, without insulting them if there really is no catch, and their riddle is just disappointingly simple? But like, politely.
The Riddler chuckled darkly.
"So, Mr. Volunteer, feeling like you've bit off more than you can chew?"
The train car was deathly quiet. The Riddler was clearly enjoying Tucker's silence, practically vibrating with villainous validation. It was almost enough to make Tucker do the smart thing and simply solve the clues. Almost. But he just HAD to open his big mouth and blurt out:
"I thought you would give me a harder riddle?"
Tucker winced when a few of his dear fellow transit hostages hissed 'come on man!' 'are you serious!??'. Yeah, that was a total Danny move.
And the Riddler looked LIVID. Silent, staring, still as a statue and probably seconds away from ordering his henchmen towards premature violence. If Tucker were a smaller guy, he'd be worried about the villain personally throttling him. For now, all the man did was whisper.
"Look it's just- I mean, the first one, it's a Pale Horse, right?" Tucker stuttered, "'I bring Death with me and Hell follows in my wake.' it's a reference to the four horsemen of the apocalypse." It's fine, this is fine. Too Fine, in fact. Tucker can totally talk his way out of this. (Or at least buy time until someone gets here to deal with their man.)
"And I mean, it's not a bad riddle. There's no shame in using existing riddles! I just thought..."
Tucker fidgets with the strap of his gym bag. Everyone is staring at him now. The Riddler, the hostages, even the henchmen stand agape. To be fair, what kind of idiot with a deathwish decides to critique a villain mid-scheme? Bad Luck Tuck, that's who
Welp, he's already dug himself this deep. Let's see how far the hole goes and if there are noxious fumes at the bottom. Time to Bugs Bunny this sitch.
"You know what? Screw it. I'll say it; I'm insulted." Taking advantage of his height, Tucker took one long step into the Riddler's personal space and flicked the man's stupid bowler hat right off his scheming head.
"You went through all the trouble of taking a train full of people hostage, put together this convoluted riddle-solving scenario, and then your riddles don't even make a statement? Or at least a social commentary?"
Another step forward and the Riddler took one back.
"I get that 'a pale horse, a red horse, a black horse, and a white horse' is probably alluding to a location or referencing some future team up against Batman, but honestly? It feels lazy, man. As soon as you figure out one clue, the rest are obvious.
"My life is on the line here and you're half-assing this. So suuuue me for expecting harder riddles. But I guess I shouldn't be surprised, when your performance today was downright pedestrian."
A few women and maybe a henchman or two gasped from the rear of the train car. Of all his comments so far, the Riddler looked most offended at that.
In the back of Tucker's head a little voice kept whispering bits of advice. Keep talking, keep him distracted and off kilter. Keep the pressure up, stay in his face, don't let him regain his footing, physically or mentally. Be it from his years of watching Danny do the exact same thing, or a little bit of ancient wisdom making itself known, he listened.
"And also, if I'm reading this correctly, it's pretty pretentious to compare yourself, and whoever you're working with, to the apocalypse. Full offence, you are not world-ending material. I've seen what world-ending dudes look like, and you. are. not. it!"
The last four words Tucker punctuated with sharp jabs to the Riddler's left lapel, forcing the man to pivot.
"Heck, Red Robin has more world-ending potential than you do. But, you know what you are good for?" Tucker said, stepping back.
