Chapter Three:

So here I am. On the roof of a building belonging to one Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot, or as he calls himself, the Penguin. I love the feeling of the rain tumbling from the night sky, bouncing off my armour and making the powerful beam of my penlight flicker as I pry the cover open on the ventilation shaft. I should work fast. As tranquil as it is out here (Like the calm before the storm), Alfred would kill me if I caught pneumonia. There, I can crawl through now. Perhaps one day villains will also make sure that their ventilation shafts are too small for a man to sneak through! After a while, I look through a grill and spot four guards standing around talking. Typical. Makes my job easier though.

"You heard? Penguin's captured Batman!"

"No way! No-one can catch him!"

"He's right. I was down there before and saw him. He's all tied up!"

The guards chuckle at the lame joke.

"I saw him too. He looks different. Apparently he tried to use 'bat-rope' and 'bat-mace' on the guys that found him but got mobbed. They say was babbling on about his duty to society and calling them evil-doers. I think he finally lost it."

This is my cue. I push the grill open and drop in a smoke grenade.

"What the…"

POW!

As the thick black smoke seeps into the hall, surrounding the henchmen, I slip through the opening and take them out. With my infrared goggles, I can see them even though they can't see me. I leave one still standing so that I can question him. His eyes widen with fright when he sees me after the hallway clears.

"I…I thought they caught you! Y…y… you're tied up!"

"Wrong. Where's Penguin?"

"He'll kill me if I told you!"

I roll my eyes. Like I haven't heard that one before.

"And I'll tear you apart if you don't," I say, tightening the grip I have on his collar.

"B…b… bottom floor! Underground lab."

I hit a nerve in his neck and he collapses like a wet rag. Setting him down on the floor, I search him for anything useful. After dragging them into and locking them in an empty janitors closet, I call the lift. As it descends, I think about the little device I left attached to a fuse box.

I can just picture the look on the guards face when the lift door opens, with no-one inside. When they do open, I hear the heavy footsteps of an approaching guard. Timing is everything. Using the steady increase in their volume, I count mentally count down and then make my move. Swinging down from my hiding place above the door, my feet connect with the guard's chin flooring him instantly. I notice that the big set of steel doors at the end of the corridor requires the correct sequence of numbers on the small panel to open rather than a key card. I find myself wishing that I had brought a electronic code breaker but I'll have to use the good old fashioned method. Out comes my black-light torch and I use it to find the most recent fingerprints on the panel. 3-7-8-8-3-5-9-0. The significance of the number is not of interest to me. I'm now in a large room, metal walkways and ladders everywhere. I estimate that it is a five story drop to the bottom at the least. Slipping from shadow to shadow, I manage to avoid the less than observant guards. There is a giant spotlight shining in the middle of the room, which I hadn't paid much attention to. On the ground floor, a large metal tank filled with water. In the water appears to be some kind of penguin species. That seems to have been genetically modified to have teeth. Yes. Teeth. But what really gets my attention is my counterpart dangling from a chain above the tank.

"Lovely creatures aren't they?" Cackles a voice from the other side of the room. "I modified them myself. They are carnivorous and very vicious." More lights buzz on and I realise that I'm staring at Oswald Cobblepot himself. "So we meet again Batman," he chuckles. "I must admit, when the men said they caught you, I was almost convinced. But this sorry specimen here," he gestured to the other Batman, "Seemed to lack the skill that you did. A cunning ruse, but not cunning enough my friend. And now I can use it against you." It clicks into place almost instantly. He thinks that the other version of me was supposed to be some kind of a decoy, even though his intrusion was coincidental.

"I took you down before Penguin and I'll do it again."

"Perhaps. But I believe that I have the home advantage." With a flourish, at least a score of henchmen rush out from below, aiming automatic weapons at me. Damn. This really makes things more difficult….

How will our caped crusader get out of this mess? Stay tuned for the quite-possibly-not-so-exciting conclusion. Hopefully coming sometime soon. Feel free to let me know what you think…