WHACK! The door to Gordon's office bursts open and he comes out quickly.
"There's been an explosion at Wayne Manor; Bullock! Get a couple of men together!"
"Wha?" Bullock says stunned; doughnut crumbs all over his mouth.
"Now!"
...
...
"Ump, ump, ump," Robin pushes down on Alfred's chest. "Don't give up, Alfred."
Riley wipes away the black suet from Alfred's face, then checks his pulse on his neck, "He's definitely still here."
Robin blows air into his lungs and keeps repeating.
"Please -- don't go."
"EhhhHUH, ehhhHUH, ehhhHUH!" Alfred starts coughing; Riley helps him up.
"I got you; it'll be okay. Riley, go to that room over there and call the fire department; tell them everything is fine and not to come."
"Sure," he dashes off.
"Mater Dick, I-" he coughs heavily.
"Here," Robin takes off his breathing mask and puts it over Alfred's nose & mouth, "what happened?"
"I was ... getting ready to leave the house and find you."
"Why?"
"Master Bruce called; he's in trouble."
"What did he say?"
"The line went dead; I'm terribly sorry."
"Listen: no more of this apologizing stuff for things out of your control. Call me Dick, heck -- even Richard. You're not just a man of servitude, you're a man of our hearts and we love you."
Tears stream down Alfred's face.
"How did you know it was a bomb?"
"I didn't. When I put it down I saw the feather duster and realized I had left it on the couch. I walked around and accidentally knocked it to the floor; when I knelt down to retrieve it, the bomb blew the couch on me."
Robin chuckles, "Even cleaning in an emergency."
"A tidy house is a proper one."
"All done; they were pretty persistent about coming here anyway, but I managed to talk them out of it. I'll go find a fire extinguisher," says Riley.
Alfred' speaks, "Thankfully Master Bruce had the foresight to use fire-retardant materials. Oh, we got to help him."
"We will. I will."
Police sirens sound in the distance.
"Sorry, someone must have called the police," says Riley.
"Watch him!" Robin commands and gets up and runs off.
Dan lowers down and holds the breathing mask on Alfred's face, "Hey there. I'm Dan Riley. I'm trying to find your friend Bruce too."
In a weak voice Alfred utters, "Thank you," and he coughs.
"You're welcome. Just concentrate on breathing so you can clear up those lungs faster."
An old car pulls to the front fast. Riley watches and sees Robin gets out and run up.
"Take this home, but be back here tomorrow at noon. I got to change and be here when the police show."
"Got'cha. I hope you feel better, Mr. Alfred."
Alfred nods his head and Riley dashes off.
...
Riley pulls up to a small rental house. Salvo comes out quickly.
"Riley! Thank goodness. You know it's nearly two in the morning?!"
"I've had quite a night, Sal."
"I'll say," looks at the car, "looks like you've been working at the Five Finger Discount store."
"Nah, that ... well, I can't tell you everything, but what I can -- you're not going to believe. And Robin has asked me for help."
"The boy wonder?"
Riley shakes his head yes.
"If you told me pigs were flying and giving discount rates to monkeys, I just might believe you."
...
...
Batman lifts his head up when he hears the locks and bolts on the door being undone.
"Breakfast time, Batman," says Daggett.
A henchman comes in with a plate of food and a glass of water. He brings it to Batman's lips and he drinks.
"Eat up; I don't want you to perish out of starvation before the bomb goes off."
"Listen here, Daggett: Red Claw is a vicious mercenary and even an ex-assassin-for-hire; you don't make deals with people like that. Maybe not now, maybe not a week from now, but when you've outlived your usefulness, she'll betray you. And her fury is deadly."
"Oh, come now, Dark Knight; you think I'm that stupid?"
"Anyone who deals with terrorists and nuclear weapons for gain is a fool, Daggett."
"Perhaps so, but even a good person can step on a rusty nail and recover; I'm not going to be stepping on nails ever again after this, and of course she'll attempt to nullify me, but I thought ahead. Take for example Rupert Thorne; even as we speak he's transferring his money to me and then I'll share that with Red Claw. Like I said -- I've thought ahead."
...
"Boss, you okay?" says a buck-toothed lackey.
Thorne comes walking in all ruffed up and hair messy, "Of course I am, boys. This isn't the first time your boss had gotten his feathers ruffled."
"How'd you get away from those guys?" says another lackey.
"I gave them all my money."
"You're money? You don't mean all of it?"
"I mean precisely that."
"But ... boss!"
Relax you pinheads; you'll still get paid. Luckily I thought ahead," he picks up the phone, "yes, operator, get me the main office of Julius Baer, Switzerland. All right," he waits on hold, "yes, Ueli, I want you to transfer all my money into another secret account and make it look like this one's still full. Yeah, I'm all right -- they just crinkled my suit a bit."
...
...
Morning dawns upon Gotham City. Dan is awakened by some rattling. He opens his eyes and lifts himself up a bit from bed.
"Laura? What are you doing?"
"Trying to find the car keys. Boss says if I'm late again ... don't bother coming back."
"Oh, I left them in my pocket last night."
Takes the keys, "Speaking of last night, I went to bed at midnight and you still weren't there. What happened?"
"Oh, I made a new friend."
"Good guy?" she says as she ponytails her hair and puts a ha on it.
"I think so," replies Dan.
"Always were a good judge of character. Well, I got to go -- oh! Don't' forget to drop Roland off at his friend's house today. They invited him bowling this afternoon. Love you," she gives hi ma kiss on the mouth.
"As well you."
He gets up and stretches; he puts his arms out and arches his back, getting almost on his tip toes. He unbuttons his pants and heads to the bathroom, glancing at the alarm clock. A few seconds after entering he pops his head out and looks at it again, "9:15? I guess heroes don't have time for bathroom breaks and eating."
...
Dan flips some bacon & eggs over in a frying pan as his son comes wondering in.
"Oh, I see how it is -- I ask you to get up three times and you ignore me, but the smell of cocked food gets you right up."
"I just needed the proper incentive."
"'proper incentive"? At least those comic books are expanding your vocabulary."
"So, did you find him?"
"No, but I ran into Robin."
"Awesome! What happened?"
Smiles, "Superheroes aren't supposed to divulge all their secrets, remember?"
"Awww..."
"But I will need your help after breakfast for a special project."
...
Robin's face is illuminated by the Batcave computer.
"Processing. Details found."
"Display address for the phone number," asks Robin.
"16366 Waterloo Circle; Gotham outskirts."
"Got you."
...
Light fills the dark basement of Dan's home. He and his son walk down the steps. The room was gray bricked and had some stacked boxes. A work table with tools and protective wear was stationed against a wall to their right.
"What's this 'special project'?"
"Don't tell your mother, but I'm gonna rescue Bruce Wayne."
"This is beyond awesome, dad. You're a superhero! My own dad!"
"Shhh ... don't' let the neighbors hear. I'm not a superhero, I'm just a guy doing the right thing. If I don't come home," he puts his hands on his son's shoulders after kneeling down and looking at him, "I want you to remember that. And that I love you."
"Dad, no hero dies on his first mission."
"Really?"
"Yeah. It makes a lousy comic book."
"Where'd you learn all that sarcasm?" laughing.
"Sal."
"Ah huh. What I need your help with is a costume. I need your advice on what to wear. Where do I start?"
"Well, first off: no bright colors that make you a target."
"Superman wears blue and red."
"But he's bullet proof and can shoot lasers out of his eyes."
"Well ... I'm still working on that part," Dan smirks.
"Those dark jogging pants and your old work shirt should do it."
"Cool. What else?"
"Nothing bulky of confined, and no flammable liquids. Those old brown boots over there are also good; they button instead of loose laces which can lead to the shoes falling off mid run. And you'll need gloves."
"I got those heat resistant ones from the steam pipe factory job still."
"You got to cover your face so no one knows who you are; possibly disguise your voice a little."
Dan rubs his chin while thinking and looks at the work table, "Hey, I got it -- the welding mask. Cut a mouth hole in it and cement glue the hood of that jacket I was going to toss ... that should do it. That's head-to-toe. Am I forgetting anything?"
...
...
Alfred lie propped up in bed by pillows; he sips a cup of tea while resting there. Dick places a tray of food on a table next to him.
"Really, Master Dick, all this isn't necessary; it was only an explosion -- not like I was injured or anything."
"Yeah, getting blown-up is so passé these days. Listen, I've called Maggie and she's agreed to come watch you for a bit while I'm out."
"I'd have rather had the explosion."
"I know you like her."
"Bring me back a Bruce Wayne."
"You can count on it."
Beep! A car horn sounds.
"But she'll smother me."
"And you'll enjoy every second of it.," Robin jogs out into the upstairs hall, then runs down the stairs. He ducts through the plastic barriers where the front door used to be and sees the car he let Dan drive home.
Riley steps out; he stands tall in the noon, costume on, head piece in his left hand as he rests it on the opened door's top, "Like it? Short notice, but I did my best. No cape though. My son had one, but it had the Superman logo on the back; I figured, don't tread on the original thing."
"It'll do. Are you ready?"
"Is one ever ready to go from blue collar worker to crime fighter?"
"I know I've thrown you into the race midway, but I need help. I haven't told you this, but we're racing to beat a nuclear bomb from leveling this city. I don't know who we're up against; Joker, Two-Face -- maybe someone worse. I can't guarantee we'll succeed. One of us might now even make it back."
"If we die, at least we do it trying. I'm not gonna plug my ears and wait for death to take my family. Ignoring it won't make the problem go away. I don't remember the exact words, but I once read that all Evil needs to triumph is for Good people to do nothing; and I'll be damned if I sit on my ass and watch Evil score a goal in my town."
"Partners?" Robin extends his gloved hand.
Riley's heart beats excitedly as he looks down at Robin's right hand; he grasps it firmly and with meaning, "Partners. I've got your back."