Issue#8 In Memory of Bob Kane - 1915-1998. FDC Presents: "When Robins Fall": The Plot Thickens By Steve Swartz Look for the all-new Direct Currents section after the Letters page!

Batman groaned as he woke up and found that he was sprawled out in the Batmobile in an extremely painful position. The faint smell of smoke lingered in the thin air. Batman hurriedly flicked a switch as the windows slid down. Since the car was upside-down, the windows actually slid in an upward direction . Batman pressed another button. Suddenly, the car began to roll over...in a matter of seconds, it was standing upright once again. Good thing Tim talked me into getting that gadget, Batman thought. I didn't think I'd ever need it. He attempted to start the car. The engine turned, and he sped off toward Wayne Manor and the Batcave. DING! "The captain has now turned on the seat belt sign. Please buckle your seat belts." Tim Drake, along with everyone else, clasped his seat belt buckle. He pulled it tight. He fidgeted in his seat. Yes, Uncle Harold would indeed be extremely surprised to see his nephew, for Harold hadn't seen Tim since Tim was ten. Now, six years later, Tim's uncle would get another chance. The whole reason that Tim was going to Washington, D.C. was to find himself. Lacking a car (he left the Redbird at Gotham International), this was the only possible way to get away from his problems. Besides, this way he could fight crime without Batman interfering. As Tim waited for the takeoff, he pondered just why he and Batman were at such odds. He didn't know himself; he guessed that it was just the rebel in him. He knew he wanted to be Batman's partner, but he also knew that he didn't want to be left in the background, as Batman seemingly wanted him to do. Tim looked out the window to see clouds. He didn't realize that the airplane had taken off. He yawned. A cart rolled up in the aisle next to his seat (he was in First Class), and a beautiful woman was behind the cart, pushing it. "Drink?" the woman asked Tim. Tim was lost in her beauty. His gaze drifted from her legs to the beverage cart. Suddenly, he noticed her wedding band. Immediately, he straightened in his seat. "Uh, Cola, please," he said. The stewardess poured his cola into a plastic airline cup. "Thanks," Tim said begrudgingly. "You're welcome," the stewardess said to him before she turned to the next row of seats. He knew that she was too old for him, and off-limits anyway, because she was married, but that didn't stop him from thinking about her. With a barely audible sigh, he slumped down in the cushiony seat and fell asleep. "Hey, kid, wake up!" Tim Drake sleepily opened his eyes to see a hand poking him in his chest. He jerked awake, instantly wary of his surroundings. He looked up at the stewardess, who was passing out the flight breakfasts. "Tray down," she said to him gently, unhooking it from the back of the seat in front of him. She then smiled warmly at him and placed the plate of food on the tray. "Uh, thanks," he said, not very hungry because he had eaten just two hours earlier. He yawned and was soon fast asleep once again. Batman sipped his coffee, deeply thinking and staring into the picture that was included in the file given to him by the Gotham City Police Department*. Sure, Robin seemed to be becoming somewhat rebellious, but Batman doubted that Robin would go so far as to assist Arkham inmates in escaping. Yet in the picture there was a figure clad in the Robin costume, apparently prying apart the bars, letting one more inmate loose. The figure was prying the bars apart with a crowbar. Exactly why the bars were not more sturdy Batman could not say. However, Batman knew that it wasn't Tim in the picture. "Is it?" Batman asked himself, taking another sip from his mug. Batman stood up from the computer console and stepped into the seemingly neverending darkness of the Batcave. He strode over to an opening in one of the cave's many walls. This room was Batman's darkroom, where Batman developed film and enlarged photographs. This day, enlarging the photograph was his sole purpose. He turned on the red light above the table, which held the materials for photograph development. He then placed the photograph between his teeth and lightly clamped down on it. He poured a series of liquids into a plastic pan, slightly shook the pan, mixing the contents, and then placed it once more on the long table, more like a counter, which extended from one wall to the other. He took the photograph from between his teeth and placed it into the pan of liquid in front of him. He then flicked the light switch, turning the light off, and walked back to the computer console. A few minutes would be all he needed to see if the figure in the picture was indeed Tim, or an impostor. * See last issue - Steve SHHHT! Static came out of the intercom speakers throughout the airplane. "This is your captain speaking," the voice from the intercom said. "Our ETA is twenty minutes. The weather in Washington is partly cloudy, seventy-six degrees." Tim Drake awoke once again to find the plane slightly descending. He shivered, as the air was quite chilly. Reaching up, he turned the air conditioning knob to its minimum setting. He reached for the flight magazine in the seat pocket in front of him. He idly flipped through it, not really interested in any of the articles. He replaced it and took out the barf bag. He grinned. No, Tim thought, too childish. Aw, what the heck. He put the bag to his mouth and blew into its opening. When the bag was full of air, he swiftly pulled the opening from his mouth, held it closed, shut his eyes tightly, and swung his hand in an effort to pop the bag. The resounding BANG! echoed throughout the plane. People sleeping woke up, babies started crying, women began to shriek with excitement and fear. Tim quickly leaned over, taking his Gotham Giants baseball cap from his duffel bag, which was under the seat in front of him, and pulled it down over his head. He slumped down halfway in his seat, feigning unconsiousness. He glanced up a few minutes later, and noticed the co-pilot and two stewardesses standing over him. Gulp. Four minutes had passed. That's enough time, Batman thought to himself. He walked to his darkroom once again and flicked on the dim red light. He plucked a pair of tongs from a rack hanging on the wall over the table, and gently gripped the photograph with them. He lifted it to a line which was strung across the room. He took a clip and clipped the photo, now enlarged by fifty percent, onto the line. He studied it very close. Abruptly noticing that it wasn't quite Tim's costume, Batman noted that the picture warranted further study. It was Tim's costume, really, save for the mask and the cape. The mask was the old black domino used by Dick Grayson, and the cape was collared, also used previously by Dick. Hmm, Batman thought, stroking his chin between thumb and forefinger. Not Tim, but not Dick, either. Who is it, then? Batman wondered. The answers would not come anytime soon. "Mmmm," Alexis Blake said as Tim's father, Jack Drake, nuzzled her neck. "Oh, lover, in just two months, we'll be married! Then everything will be perfect!" Believing that Alexis was speasking of the wedding and their upcoming marriage, he ignored her last remark, and nuzzled even further. "Alex," he said in her ear, "we're all alone for one month...Tim's away for summer vacation*. What say we..." he whispered into her ear. She giggled, and he carried her up the stairs. * All of this happened between issues 7 and 8 - Steve "Mister Drake," the co-pilot said, scanning the first-class roster, "just what do you think you're doing?" He glared at Tim. "Doing? Uh, well...nothing, sir," Tim said sheepishly. "I was just...bored." "You pull another stunt like that again, and you'll be in big trouble, mister. Do you understand me?" "Yes, sir. Loud and clear," Tim said, grateful that it was not a long lecture that the co-pilot had given him. "Good," the co-pilot said gruffly as he and the stewardesses moved off. Tim slumped down once again in his seat, this time in anger. He was angry at the co-pilot, he was angry at Batman, angry at his father and his father's girlfriend that Tim had only met once or twice, and he was angry at himself. "I came to Washington to find myself," Tim said, "but I think I just lost myself again." DING! SHHHT! "We will be landing in five minutes. Please fasten your safety belts. Please turn all electronic devices off, and..." the pilot trailed off, as Tim drifted into daydream-land again. Jeez, this is boring, Tim thought. Suddenly he felt a large bump, and found that the airplane was landing on the airport runway. He looked out the window and noticed the Capitol Building, the Washington Moument, and the Pentagon. I can't wait till I start fighting crime here! Tim thought excitedly. Washington's never really had any super-heroes...maybe it's time to be D.C.'s hero. The airplane stopped at the terminal and, one by one, the passengers disembarked, many standing in the middle of the aisle to get their bags, blocking the other passengers from leaving, and in turn making them very irate. Tim didn't have that problem; he was in First Class. As he made his way out of the plane, he could hear the stewardess who had attended to him talk about him to another stewardess. "...And then he expects me to do everything. I mean, I had to put his tray down, and his plate, I had to wake him up...then, he popped that bag...and the way he was staring at me! Why, I..." Whistling a tune, and vowing to forget about that whole trip, he stepped off the plane and entered the terminal. Batman spent the entire night searching through the files in his computer for a possible match for the face of the person in the Robin costume. No matches had been found, and the computer was rapidly finishing its scan. After two minutes the great computer beeped, signalling its completion of the task. Batman's face did not betray his frustration. He could not recall the face. His computer could not bring any matches to the surface. Yet he could not help having a strange feeling about the person in the Robin costume. The person looked familiar, but his computer apparently disagreed. Batman walked into the hangar of the Batcave. He entered his Bat-Plane, rolled it to the secret opening through which he piloted his craft, and taxied off into the starry night. "Hi, you've reached the Wayne residence. Please leave your name, number and a message after the beep, thanks." BEEEEP! BEEEEP! BEEEEEEEEP! "Hi, Bruce? This is Tim...I'm in Washington, D.C. vsiting my Uncle Harold. Look, I know this sounds strange, but there's something funny about the woman that my dad's going to marry....Alexis something-or-other...there's something familiar and unsettling about her...could you - " BEEEEP! Tim grumbled, then dialed the long-distance number once again. "Hi, you've reached the Wayne residence. Please leave your name, number and a message after the beep, thanks." BEEEEP! BEEEEP! BEEEEEEEEP! "Could you possibly check up on her? I think she's staying for the weekend...you can reach me at area code four-five-five, six-two-six, three-four-two-eight. Thanks!" Tim replaced the phone on the cradle. Yes, there certainly was something about Jack Drake's fiance that didn't set quite right with him. Is it her hair? Tim wondered. No, he said, answering his own question. It's something else. Her face - ? His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. "Come in," Tim said, as Harold Drake entered. Harold sat on the edge of the bed. "How're ya doing, Tim?" he asked the lad. "Haven't seen ya for a while, so I thought we could catch up over a nice steak dinner...whaddaya say?" Tim grinned. "I say...great!" He said enthusiastically. Batman's plane slowly glided over Arkham Asylum. In his mind's eye, he pieced together and pictured the false Robin as he had ripped through the cell's window bars with a crowbar. Nothing out of the ordinary...a normal breakout job. Batman landed the plane on the soft earth and strode over to the wall where the false Robin had broken through the bars and had let criminals escape. Hmm, Batman thought, as he stooped down to pick up a piece of material he had spotted on the ground. The fake Robin's mask. He removed one of his gloves and felt the material. Definitely not Dick's. This is a totally different kind of fabric...rayon, which is fairly cheap, and easy to obtain. Batman slipped the mask into one of his many pouches and scoured the patch of earth for the next hour, but he didn't find anything else. He entered the plane and headed for the Batcave, determined to find out just who the mask belonged to. After dinner, Tim and Harold returned home, after a little sightseeing. Tim had to agree that Washington was indeed a gorgeous town...especially compared to dark, dreary Gotham. Tim had brought with him his laptop computer, complete with modem and codes to tap into the Bat-Computer from any location on Earth. He plugged the line into the phone jack in his room and signed on to the server. Tim set his jaw. Something, something, was familiar about that woman! But what? Tim clicked on the "Search" function. "Enter search parameters: " was displayed on the screen. Tim punched in Female, Age 20-35. "Working," the computer displayed. After about ten seconds a list of about fifty villains from Batman's Rogues Gallery was displayed on the screen. Each time Tim clicked his mouse on a name, the picture corresponding to the name was displayed as well. He tapped in another parameter, narrowing his search still. Hair color - red, Tim tapped in. Almost immediately, one response was returned. That name was Poison Ivy. Batman expertly stilled the plane as he entered the hangar inset into one of the Batcave's many caverns. Shutting down the engine, he stepped out of the plane, cape blowing in the slight breeze. He entered the main section of his lair, and walked to a table containing a microscope which could magnify items up to one thousand times or more - very useful for finding fingerprints, hair, et cetera. He placed the mask on the tray and focused in on it. Almost immediately, he noticed a red hair. He carefully plucked it with tweezers from the mask, and set it on a slide. He then walked to his DNA analysis machine, which had set him back a couple million dollars. He placed the hair in the beam of the refracted laserbeam, which in an instant collected all the DNA material information present in the hair. The response was a list of numbers, letters and other forms of code. This he copied onto a disk and put it into his computer, and cross-referenced it with a list of the villains in his Rogue's Gallery. The response was immediate. Poison Ivy. Alexis Blake walked into the lavish kitchen of the Drake home. She had tried, desperately tried to go straight; this was before she met Jack Drake, who could finance her operation, and help her further experiments and studies of plants. She picked up a mug, poured hot coffee in it, and set it down once again as she replaced the coffee pot. She had her name changed, not yet legally, because she didn't want to take the chance that Jack might figure out who she really was. As she sipped her coffee, she planned and plotted on how she could use plants to make her the richest person in the world. She grinned, her lips pouting slightly. Yes, she was indeed very lucky that she had met this Jack Drake, and that he had fallen in love with her. And the best part was that no one would suspect that it was Poison Ivy that was marrying a millionaire. She noticed Jack Drake's checkbook lying on the kitchen table. She was certainly fortunate today! Taking a fountain pen from the cup of pencils and pens on the table, she licked the tip and made a check out to herself for ten million dollars. This changes everything, "Alexis" thought. Now, I won't have to marry that idiot to get his money - I can just take it, and by the time he figures everything out, I'll be long gone! Forging Jack Drake's signature, she tore the check off at its perforation. I'll leave tonight, "Alexis" decided. I'll post-date this check, so that way, the bank won't lose the funds right away. If I'm correct, Jack will suspect my forging of a check, and check with his bank to see if any funds have been withdrawn. No funds will have been, so he'll assume that I didn't get the money. Her thoughts were coming at one hundred miles per hour. However, a day or so later, I'll take the money and run. She sipped her coffee again. "Wayne residence." "Hi, Alfred," Tim said to the butler on the other end of the line. "Tim, lad! How are you?" Alfred asked, obviously very fond of the boy, and glad to hear from him. "I'm okay, Alfie...is Bruce around?" "Master Wayne is in his...study," Alfred said, indicating that the line was not secured. He then flicked a switch, and the line suddenly became secure. Just another investment of Bruce Wayne, alias the Batman. "What I meant to say, is that he is in the Cave," Alfred said, correcting his previous statement. "Is this line saecure?" Tim asked. "It is now," Alfred said. "I'll transfer you to the Cave." Two seconds later... "Tim. How's Washington?" "It's okay," Tim said. "Bruce...Batman...I've figured out what's so strange about Dad's fiance! It's Poison Ivy!" "I know. I've been doing some research..I've looked in on your father a couple times. Once I happened to see a woman's scarf on a chair in the lawn. I seized it to analyze it, and I found hairs that matched the hairs that I found on this mask." Batman paused. "Mask?" Tim asked, obviously confused. "I'll explain later. Right now, I have reason to believe that Poison Ivy is using your father for some purpose...and it's likely not good." Batman glanced at his computer screen. "I see you've been in here recently," he said, noticing the log of users. "Look, Batman," Tim said, "I don't know what Poison Ivy would want with my father! Unless - " Tim paused. "Unless she knows I'm Robin!" "I seriously doubt that," Batman said. "I think she needs finances...and your father's a good source for them." "Would you go check on my dad?" Tim asked. "I don't want anything to happen to him." "No problem," Batman said, recollecting memories of his parents and the heinous crime that someone had committed - that someone had killed his parents - for some small bills and pocket change. In an instant his attention was once more focused on the conversation. "Thanks...I've gotta go...see you later." Tim broke the connection. Batman hung up the phone. He walked out of the secret backyard entrance to the cave. No one would see him in the darkness. Four hours had passed since he had discovered the hair on the mask, and the scarf. He vaulted over the tall hedge that separated the Drakeses property from his own. He fired his grappling line up to the roof, and it caught. He swung up to a second floor window, which had been left open. He charged inside. "Drake!" Batman said, as the middle-aged millionaire walked down the hallway, passing the room. Drake turned to look. "Aaaaah!" he cried. "D-don't hurt me!" "I'm here to help you." Batman always hated when he had to give a speech, when he'd rather be solving the crime. "Your new fiance is a wanted criminal. Her street name is Poison Ivy." "How did you know I had a new fiance?" Drake asked. Batman ignored the question. "Has anything strange happened while she was here?" he asked of Drake. "Actually, yes! A check is missing, and its number is not in the register. I know I didn't use that check. Do you think she - " Drake was cut off in mid-sentence. "Where's the checkbook?" Batman asked. Jack Drake fetched the book. Batman turned on an overhead lamp and sat at the desk in the room. "I need a pencil," Batman said. Drake handed him a sharpened pencil. Batman rubbed the side of the pencil lead on the check that was now on top. "What purpose does that serve?" Drake asked impatiently. "You're wasting a good check!" Batman grimaced. "I'm showing you how much the check was written out for," he said. Sure enough, the things that Poison Ivy had written showed up clear through the rubbing. "How did you do that?" Drake asked, mouth agape. "The indentations show through the pencil rubbing because the lead simply goes over them, rather than covering them., as it did with the flat surface of the non-indented portions of the check." Batman looked at the amount. "Looks like you were taken for one million dollars." Drake gasped. "You-you've got to do something!" he cried. "I'm ruined! Ruined!" "Calm down, Drake!" Batman said. "I'll do everything that I can," he promised the shocked Drake. To be continued... Bat-Signals Let me start out by saying that I planned this saga very poorly. I only intended to make it a three-parter, but I am hereby extending it to a fiver. "Uh-oh!" I can hear you saying. "Deja vu! It'll be just like the first five!" Nope, not at all. Now, I feel I have a fair handle on the characters, and hopefully this saga will turn out much, much better than the original five. And now, without further ado, here are some letters from the fans... Hi Steve, Just read your newest Bat stories. You seem to be getting a pretty good handle on things here, though why Batman and Robin seem to be so at odds is a little strange. Also, why is Batman acting like a sullen jerk? He's been silent before and very much to himself, but he's never been so easily one-upped by his partner as he has in your recent issues. In fact, Robin has been basically disrespectful of his mentor, which he's never been at all. I think your last few issues have been a lot better then your first couple, which is fine, that's the way these things tend to grow. You hit a rhythm writing your characters and go from there. A few suggestions: 1) Make Batman more mysterious, something he is in the comics. They've never shown him actually breaking into Gordon's office, as you did. They always show him as just being there, and then gone when Gordon turns around again (You'd think he'd know better after all this time!) 2) Batman is always in control, even when he's not, he finds a way to be. Show more of that. His super power is his determination and steel will, to turn any situation to his advantage. even when he's tied to a tree with a gun at his head, he'll find a way out, or have the confidence in his associate (Robin, Nightwing, etc.) to get him out of that situation. He's never hopeless. (As you had him be against Two Face in the elevator.) These are just suggestions and observations. No hard criticism here. In other words, I'm not getting on your case per se. Hope these help, take care Ralph Angelo, Jr. CptMarvell@aol.com Thanks for the letter, Ralph. My original plan for the series was to make Robin a more prominent figure in the Batman comic than he was. After all, in the Golden and Silver Age and even the Bronze Age comics following, Batman and Robin worked totally as a team, with both getting equal time share in the book. However, with Robin III (Tim Drake), Batman basically has no use for him. He is basically in the way, and Batman doesn't want any more blood on his hands (because of the now-classic Death in the Family storyline). Therefore, I wanted to make Tim finally speak up and say he wanted a piece of the action, too. This way, he 1.) Has the foundation for the Robin mini-series (going solo) and 2.) He and Batman would now be getting more equal time-share in the book. As for your suggestions: 1.) Did I really show Batman and Robin breaking into the good Commissioner's office? I don't think so. I actually showed the Dynamic Duo entering. They are both human beings, not occult spectres, so they cannot just simply "be there and be gone". As for Gordon...well, have you ever stayed up until all hours of the night, then were startled? Huh? That's really why Gordon spilled the coffee. And as for his comment as the Duo left...well, he was really marveling as how they could still have that effect on him after all these years. (Before you see how easily I managed to slide out of that last answer, here's number two!) 2.) No problem. As for his detective skills (I know you didn't mention them, but what the heck?), they are showcased in this issue somewhat. As I am not a mystery writer, I can't really devise clever schemes and the like for Batman to solve, so that part may be a little shaky. Steve Hey Steve, Well, I finally got around to reading the faux-DC Batman after you pointed the way to the page. I loved the first four issues. They had a strong Silver age feel to them that I really liked. My only problem is so little was done with Robin's personal life. You drug me in pretty well here buddy. Keep up the good work. TJ Burns Thanks for the great letter, TJ! I'm really glad that you enjoyed the first four issues. I was actually hoping to achieve a semblance of a pre-Crisis atmosphere, if that's what you could call it. As for Robin's personal life...well, just check out Batman #s 8, 9 and 10...and if that's not enough for you, check out the new Robin mini-series coming soon! Steve Thanks for the letters, folks...hope to receive more as the numbers escalate! Send your letters to Bat-Signals at <Steve777@adelphia.net>. By the way, how do you all like the new format? Do you like it, or not? Please let me know either way…send all correspondence to Bat-Signals at Steve777@adelphia.net. NEXT ISSUE: Robin's still in Washington, D.C., and he's getting into trouble in the usual Robin style! Meanwhile, Poison Ivy is still on the run, and Batman is getting hot on her trail. Joker also makes an appearance, and we find out who was in the Robin costume, and what exactly the ties between the Joker and Poison Ivy are! And who are Batman's mystery assailants? Be here in 30 or less for part 4 of "When Robins Fall"! (There's more…keep going down!) DIRECT CURRENTS On Sale Now at Your Favorite Newsstand (or the FDC site): Batman #8 - Uh-oh, Tim (Robin) Drake's father has a new fiancé...and you won't believe who it is! Scripted by Swingin' Steve Swartz! Crisis of Destiny #2 (of 4) - The second installment of one of the most defining moments in the FDC Universe! Sporadically scripted by none other than Jammin' Josh Corum! Flash #3 - Wally (Flash) West must save his girlfriend, Linda Park, but it ain't gonna be easy...it's Running With the Dead, part 1! Speedily scripted by Brian (Flash) Albright! Hawkman #34 - The first issue of an all-new ongoing series! Superbly scripted by TJ (Hawkman) Burns! Justice League of America #265 - The Leaguers must save an alternate Earth! By Barry Reese and Steve Blair! Superman #4 - It's Superman at his finest! Super-scripted by Rollin' Ralph Angelo Jr.! Look for the four-part Robin mini-series...coming soon! Faux DC. The Original (Faux) Universe.