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"Tell me everything you know about those murdered scientists!"
Batman glared at the two hired thugs that Batman and Catwoman, who
was no longer to be found, fought and won. "Talk, slime. TALK!"
"W-we don't know nuthin', man!" the first one said. "And
we ain't talkin, neither." He glared defiantly at the Dark
Knight. His hands were bound, as were his friends's, but he still
was flippant.
"You 'don't know nuthin',' huh?" Batman said. He turned
toward the second. "What do you know about the scientists?
And would you like to tell me about the man who hired you?"
Batman grabbed the thug's shirt as the thug hesitated. "Talk,
damn you! Lives are at stake! And if you don't," Batman said,
eyes piercing, seeming to see right through the thug, "I will
personally see that your life is a living hell." Batman let
go of the thug's shirt, stepped back, drew his long, black cape
around his muscular body.
"Look, I don't know much. All's I know is that the big guy,
Butch...he killed the little guy, Mitchell." The thug grimaced
as he apparently remembered things that he really didn't want to
recall. "And it was us...that he told...to rough the kid up."
He gestured by nodding his head toward the unconsious Robin on the
table.
"I'll deal with you two later," he said through clenched
teeth. "How do I get out of here?"
The first thug glared at Batman. He said, "First promise to
let us go after we tell you. We all know that the Batman don't break
his promises. Ever."
Batman turned away. "I can't promise that," he said. "But
I can promise that Commisioner Gordon will go easier on you than
if neither of you confessed to anything." Satisfied, Batman
crossed his arms across his chest.
"What do you say? I could make it a lot worse for you..."
"Look," said the second one, "we don't want any trouble.
Just follow the dirt road to Gotham Parkway, and - "
"Shaddap!" the first one said. But it was too late; the
Batman already knew. But now the plot had thickened. First Batman
was looking for the murderers of the four Polish scientists. Now
he was looking for the two hired guns that had captured both he
and Robin. And they had abducted Catwoman! What did this all have
to do with the scientists?
Remembering his initial question to the second thug, Batman said,
"Tell me all you know about those scientists." It wasn't
a suggestion; it was a command. "Tell me NOW."
The first one finally came to grips with the situation. "Look,
all's we know is that the big man, whoever that is, was payin' me
an' Joe here an' Red an' Butch to get you two...and then Red, he
knows about chemistry and stuff, said he had the secret formula
that the scientists were workin' on. For somethin' like gas."
Suddenly he turned sullen, as if he had said too much.
"Gas," Batman repeated. He paced. Turned to face the bound
criminals. "What kind of gas?"
"For cars. Gas for cars."
"I'll make a note to tell Gordon to go easy on you two."
He plucked Robin up from the table with ease. "Oh, and before
I go," he said, "here's a little gift." He threw
a smoke-bomb at the pair and dashed out, hearing the sounds of coughing
behind him as he ran. He found the apparent entrance to the building.
He peered outside and noticed that part of the high fence surrounding
the property was mowed down. He walked closer, set Robin on the
soft earth, and peered down at the grass by the fence. Definite
tire tracks. Someone had been here recently. And he bet that he
knew just who had.
"Hmm," he said, crouching. "This tread looks like
it came from a GT3600 tire...the tread's alternate patterns, and
the GT is the only model that I know of with a tread like that."
He stood up. "And most cars with those tires are expensive
luxury cars." He made a mental note to ask Commisioner Gordon
about that...
Robin was stirring. His eyes slowly opened, then blinked. It was
dark outside, the only light coming from the moon above. He looked
at Batman. "Where am I?" he queried.
"We're outside. And going home."
"Your belt," he said, noticing Batman's bare waist. "What
- "
"They took it," Batman said. "And it looks like they
still have it. Butch and Red. Those two. And they also have my cape."
He paused. "But if they try to disassemble my belt, or even
open any of the pouches...it's rigged to explode, so chances are
they'll be next month's appetizer at the Roadkill Cafe." He
grinned at Robin. "But I'm glad you're okay."
"Good heavens!" Alfred exclaimed as the weary twosome
crawled out of the Batmobile that they had found still parked, unharmed,
at the fourth scientist's hotel. But Batman and Robin were definitely
much worse for wear.
"Hi, Alfred," Robin said, as he was the first to approach
Batman's and Robin's closest confidant and friend. "We ran
into a little something...I guess..."
"Master Tim, you need to rest. And you need a doctor."
Looking up at the approaching Batman, Alfred said, "As do you,
Master Bruce."
Batman scowled. "I don't need any doctors, Alfred," he
said, grimacing. "The injuries, the pain...they help me grow
stronger." He slowly walked toward the secret entrance to Wayne
Manor. He turned back. "Tim, I think you need to call your
father...tell him where you are. Wouldn't want him worrying..."
Batman entered the Manor.
Alfred glanced from Batman back to Robin. He shook his head. "I
think he's got one too many bats in HIS belfry," he mumbled
to himself. To Robin, he said, "Master Tim, you need something
to eat...to keep your energy up and help you heal faster."
But Tim Drake was asleep again.
Alfred yawned, and as he had been up for over thirty-six hours worrying
about Bruce and Tim, walked upstairs to the Manor, crawled into
his bed and fell asleep.
"Mister Wayne, call for you on Line Two."
"Mister Wayne, Brooks needs the stock reports for the second
quarter..."
"Mister Wayne, will you please look over these plans for a
new development near..."
"Mister Wayne..."
"Mister Wayne..."
"ENOUGH!" Bruce Wayne cried, as the "Mister Wayne"s
subsided. He glanced guiltily about. "I'm sorry...but I have
numerous things to do already...just put whetever you all need me
to look at on my desk." The room emptied. He glanced at Elisha,
his platinum-blond secretary, who gave him a shy grin. To his surprise,
he grinned back. He hadn't felt this way about a woman in months!
Still smiling, and now whistling a tune, he stepped into his office
to take his calls and look at everything everyone wanted him to
look at.
"TIM!" Ariana cried, as she rushed into his arms, embracing
him. "Tim! Oh, what happened?" she asked, noticing his
bruised face.
"Um...just got into a little fight with some guys in the neighborhood..."
he said lamely. He grinned at Ariana, his girlfriend for eight months
so far. "So, do you think you'd want to go out Saturday?"
"Yeah," she said. "Sure! I'd love to." Her eyes
regained their familiar sparkle. Her gorgeous blue eyes. Tim was
entranced by them. He was brought back to reality by Chris Matthews,
who strolled up to Ariana and out his arm around her.
"Hey, baby," he said.
Tim looked from Ariana to Chris, from Chris to Ariana. "Would
someone please tell me what's going ON here?"
"Umm..." Ariana said.
"Aww, c'mon, doll...tell him." Chris looked at Tim triumphantly.
"Tim," she began. "Tim, when you weren't answering
my calls for the past week*, I...went out with Chris. Just once,
though. RIGHT, Chris?" she said, dipping her shoulder. Chris's
arm dropped. "And don't touch me AGAIN, creep!" she said
for emphasis.
Chris just stormed off, saying "Women!" while Tim glared
at Ariana, who in turn looked at him sheepishly. "He wanted
me to...he wanted to...with me...and..." she stuttered.
"And you DID?!"
"Of course not!...You know what I believe. You know how I feel
about that."
"I know. But Chris...well, I've heard that he can be very...
convincing." Tim set his jaw, holding his tears back. He couldn't
believe that Ariana, HIS Ariana, had cheated on him! And this wasn't
the first time. No, it had happened three times. First was with
Glenn something-or-other, then it was with Mike Thomson, and now
with Chris Matthews. He knew what he had to do. He didn't want to,
but enough was enough. "Ariana..." he began.
"Don't, Tim," she said, putting her index finger over
his closed lips. "Please don't." She removed her finger.
"Tim, I...I can't do this anymore. I just can't. You understand..."
she trailed off.
"Yeah, I understand," Tim spat out. "I understand
that you want me to commit, but you can't. I understand that if
I break one little date, it's a crime. I'm sick of it," he
added. "But if you cheat on me, it's always my fault, right?
I didn't call one day. I broke a date. I'm SORRY," Tim said,
"but things happen. And if you can't accept that, then maybe
we should end it right now." He couldn't believe that he said
that! He'd always wanted to, but was afraid that Ariana would break
up with him. But now it was he that was doing the breaking. And
he felt damn good about it. And damn bad. At the same time.
"Tim...you're right. This isn't right. And I'm sorry,"
she said. Tim's face began to lift. "I'm sorry you feel that
way. Because I feel differently."
* He couldn't answer her calls...he was too busy as Robin! - Swingin'
Steve
"You feel differently? Then how do you explain cheating not
once, not twice, but THREE TIMES?! Once wasn't enough; no, you had
to..."
Ariana silenced him with a kiss. But Tim finally understood. He
was trying to mend a broken relationship. And that was wrong. It
would only hurt one, or both. He tore his mouth away. "Ariana,
I think we should see other people." Flat out.
"What?" Ariana said, disbelievingly. "Tim, I'm moving
away in a month, after school's over. I..."
"Ariana," Tim said. "You know that it isn't going
to work anyway. Saying that we'll see each other over the summers...well,
it's time we stopped kidding ourselves.
"Ariana, I love you. I really do. But..."
"There's always a 'but', isn't there?" Ariana asked him
pointedly. "Always an excuse. Fine, Tim. You've made your point.
We won't see each other anymore. Is that how you want it to be?"
"Yes. No...maybe. I don't know!" he said.
"Fine!" Ariana said angrily. "I can tell, Tim. I
can tell you...don't want to see me anymore. And that's just fine
with me." She turned on her heel and stalked away. She didn't
turn back. She didn't even look back at Tim.
"Good going, Tim," he said to himself. "The only
one who really loved you..." But then he thought about all
the times she had cheated on him because he couldn't go out with
her, because he was fulfilling his duty as Robin. And then he was
glad he said what he had said.
"Elisha," Bruce Wayne said as he approched her desk. Her
sweet-smelling perfume's scent wafted up his nose. She turned to
him, smiled. "Yes, Mister Wayne?"
"Elisha...would you like to go to the yacht party tonight with
me?" he asked, referring to the party that his rich associates
threw every year, a few times a year, as a matter of fact. At first
she didn't answer. Then she spoke. "Are you asking me on a
date, Mister Wayne?" she asked.
"Yes, I am," he said, touching her hand.
"I will," she said. "I'll go with you, Mister Wayne."
He grinned. "Call me Bruce."
"Let's play 'What do We Know'." Batman looked at Robin.
They were once again in their dark domain, the dreary Batcave.
"Well," Robin said, "we know that the scientists
were murdered."
"Right. And we know what they were developing...a new fuel
source. Gasoline, the jerk said back at the prison. But why would
they re-invent gasoline?"
"Maybe it isn't gasoline," Robin said. "Maybe they
were lying to you. We know that two men kidnapped Catwoman...or
are working for her.
"And we know that Red and Butch have a large part in their
so-called 'Big Man's' operation. And that the two that beat me were
just hired guns, who knew almost nothing about their bosses."
Robin seemed proud of himself, but his sadness remained. Even so,
he vowed not to bring personal problems to work, and vice versa.
So he was stoic. Like the Batman.
"We also know that Red or Butch or both killed Mitchell in
cold blood," Batman said. "Yet the body was nowhere to
be found, and no blood was on the floor."
Robin sighed. "I'd better be getting home," he said. "Dad's
on the Father-and-son kick, and we're supposed to see a baseball
game today."
"Consider yourself lucky that you have a father," Batman
said sharply. Then he turned and entered the Manor, leaving it up
to Tim to find his way out.
"Sheesh," Robin said, "what's eating HIM?"
Bat-Signals
Issue three! And another plot twist! What does Catwoman have to do
with the scientists? What happened to her, anyway? What's with Tim's
personal life? What's with Bruce's?
Hopefully, those questions will be answered in forthcoming issues.
As of right now, all I can say is that something major is going to
happen that's going to shake the Bat-verse up...so keep reading!
Please direct all correspondence to <Solar_Winds@yahoo.com>,
subject: Bat-Signals.
I guess that's it for this month...see you in 30!
- Steve Swartz
(Send me letters!)
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