Chapter 3:
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. Batman raced to the Batphone and snatched up the receiver.
"Yes, Commissioner?"
"I'm sorry, sir, but this is Bonnie, the commissioner's secretary. He is out of his office but wishes to speak with you. Will you hold just a moment while I connect this receiver to his office phone's receiver, please?"
Why would the commissioner be out of his office when he was supposed to meet Robin there? Something is very wrong. The thought that had been bouncing around in the back of his mind asserted itself.
"Batman?" the secretary's voice brought him out of his thoughts.
"Yes, I'll hold. Make it quick, please," he almost growled but attempted to hold it back. It wasn't her fault that Commissioner Gordon was gone, along with Robin.
Nine seconds. Batman was counting and it took nine long seconds for Bonnie to connect the receivers and the commissioner to begin speaking.
"Batman? We have a situation," Commissioner Gordon stated. He suddenly felt woefully inadequate; his first thought after realizing that this was a hostage situation had been to call the Caped Crusader.
"What kind of situation?" Batman demanded.
The commissioner sighed and shoved the thoughts away; it was, after all, Catwoman.
"Catwoman is in the Gotham City Museum of Art and has secured herself and several hostages inside."
Batman squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head.
"How many?" he growled, hoping that Robin was outside with the commissioner instead of inside with the wily villainess.
"She said eleven or twelve. She stated that she wasn't…" the commissioner really didn't want to repeat what he had been told but he did it anyway.
"…that she wasn't sure because she had been trying to keep a little bird in line. I'm assuming that she meant Robin."
"I'll be right there," Batman growled again as he opened his eyes. He really wanted to know how Robin had gone from picking up an envelope at Headquarters to being a hostage in the art museum but there was no time for the commissioner to explain that now.
Slamming down the Batphone, he glanced at Alfred as he ran toward the Batmobile.
"Hostages at Gotham City Museum of Art and the police think that Robin is one of them," he quickly explained before climbing in and roaring away.
Alfred sighed. Shaking his head, he accepted the situation with five words: "Of course he is, sir."
Earlier, in the Gotham City Museum of Art:
"Sit down, kid," Catwoman demanded. Robin was standing completely still, counting exits and examining the various creations, most of which were designed by world-renowned artists. Some of them could be used as weapons – expensive but effective. The statue of a fisherman that was five feet to his left had a crack in the right shoulder. The arm could easily be yanked off and used as a club. The Boy Wonder was suddenly snatched out of his musings.
"I said sit down!" the villainess yelled this time and the tallest of the four henchmen, Felix, pointed his gun at a young teenager. The kid began trembling violently and Robin quickly dropped to his knees.
"Now tie him up," she said to the nearest goon. The muscular frame of Leon was instantly looming over the much smaller frame of the Boy Wonder. The man, before striding over, had grabbed the Bat-rope out of Robin's utility belt.
"This is ridiculous," Robin muttered. "You guys aren't even smart enough to bring rope." It was a comment, not a question, and Leon grinned.
"We have rope," he assured the teenager, "but it's more fun to tie up a baby Bat with his own rope. Also, the one you have is stronger than anything we could ever get."
To prove his point, Leon shoved Robin's arms flat against each other behind his back, wrapped the rope around his torso several times to secure his arms in place then pulled the knots tight. The Boy Wonder grunted as his shoulders were forced into an impossible position that sent waves of pain rolling up and down his arms. The rope was tight across his chest – tighter than it needed to be – and the teenager's ribs were squished against each other, making it difficult to breathe normally. The henchman was right: Bat-rope was strong enough to make Robin want to stay completely motionless. If he shifted even an inch, shockwaves bolted through his body and bright lights flashed around the edges of his eyes. So he decided to remain still. For now.
He also decided that keeping her attention on him would be safer for the cluster of hostages. So, sighing dramatically, Robin asked, "Catwoman, what are we doing here? If this is another ploy to get Batman to go out with you then it's not a very smart one. He doesn't get along well with people who take hostages."
"This is not about him at all," she replied. "Why do you think the invitation was only addressed to you? I don't even want to see Batman this time. It's all about you, sidekick."
"Fine, then tell me what you want. And let everyone else go. I'm the only one you need, right? So let them walk out of here alive and uninjured."
"Wellllll," Catwoman mewed softly, "they are insurance policies. You see, I can't keep just you and expect your older, wiser and much more handsome partner to stay out of my way. I need you and Batman will want to keep them safe. He will stand down as long as I have innocent people trapped in my paws."
Rolling his eyes, Robin retorted, "He knows I can take care of myself. If you tell him to stay away, he'll do it. I'm perfectly capable of fighting my own battles. Just let them," he flicked his head toward the other hostages, "go."
"Hmmm," the villainess sarcastically agreed, "you certainly are rather capable. I'm scared for my life knowing that at any moment you are going to break out of your tight bonds and take me down with your bare hands."
Snarling, the young crime-fighter pushed himself up to standing. The knives slicing down his arms made him wince and there were suddenly two people who looked like Catwoman. He ignored the pain and shook his head to clear his vision.
"Aw, poor thing. Does it hurt to move? Maybe I should have Leon untie you."
"Good idea," Robin managed to growl through clenched teeth. He watched as Catwoman nodded to the strong henchman, who looked confused.
This time it was Catwoman who rolled her eyes. "Go help him, Leon!" she commanded and the goon's eyes brightened with understanding.
The teenager knew what was coming but was caught off-guard when it was a size sixteen shoe to the chest instead of a large fist to the face. His torso couldn't fold in to protect itself because of the position of his arms so his ribs took all of the impact. The kick knocked him onto his back and sent him sliding several feet away from Catwoman, where his head hit the legs of an elderly man who looked like he was close to passing out.
Leon was grinning and Catwoman nodded her head in satisfaction. Robin growled; that's not how this was going to play out.
"That's better," he yelled breathlessly. "Thanks!" He tried to keep the pain from entering his tone but knew he hadn't succeeded very well. There had been no cracking sounds so nothing was fractured or broken – that was good. His ribs were going to be very, very bruised, though. The joints in his shoulders hadn't popped yet so that was another good thing. They were throbbing, a lot, but at least he would be able to move them when the time came. Breathing was painful but not enough to stop him from getting the oxygen he needed. Luck was with him, so far.
"Are you okay, sonny?" came a shaky voice from above him and Robin looked up. The old man was completely bald except for some thin tufts of white hair around his ears. The skin under his eyes was saggy and the blue-gray circles were filled with weariness. But there was a small flame burning behind the fatigue and Robin realized that this person could become a good ally. Not physically, of course, but it was obvious from the elderly man's expression that he was not even remotely afraid.
The wind had been knocked out of him but Robin had recovered quickly. A slight grin lit up his young face as he whispered, "Yeah, thanks. Do you happen to have a pocket knife?"
"Would I be a normal, eighty-year-old man if I didn't have one?" the man countered quietly with a tiny, wrinkly grin of his own. Robin's grin turned into a smirk. He definitely had an ally, one with a sense of humor.
"I'm Richard, by the way. Do you want it now?"
Carefully shaking his head, Robin said softly, "Can you just have it ready for me? I need to form a plan before I can attack."
Richard nodded and Robin chuckled in his head. He, Richard John Grayson aka Robin, had an octogenarian partner named Richard who was going to help him fight crime.
"Good name," Robin whispered before pulling himself up to sitting. None of the criminals were looking directly at them so the Boy Wonder studied the four henchmen. Every man would have a weakness and he needed to find it.
Felix was an idiot; he was holding his Cat-gun backwards. The teen was disappointed in himself. He should have noticed that because, if he had, he wouldn't be on the ground securely tied up. Robin had seen a Cat-gun many times and there was no excuse for his lack of observation.
Leon was strong and the way he had spoken to Robin indicated intelligence. Catwoman had been lucky to find him; the villain world was short on smart goons. The smallest one, Tom, was shrewd-looking and the Boy Wonder was worried about what would happen if that one became upset. The fourth one, Tab, couldn't take his eyes off his boss; it would be easy to take him out.
"Will you please start cutting the Bat-rope?" Robin asked quietly as a plan began to develop in his keen young mind. He was still watching the goons but heard the soft swish of a pocket knife and felt movement across his arms. The old man wasn't very strong; the strokes were going back and forth rather slowly. The teenager should have asked him to start working on the Bat-rope right away. But it was too late for that; the slow slicing would have to do.
The Boy Wonder re-directed his thoughts and considered his options. Leon or Tom? The former looked like he would be slow on his feet and the latter would be quick to react to anything. Tom seemed more volatile so he would have to be taken down first, followed by Leon. By the time he was done with those two maybe Felix would understand that they were under attack. Tab would probably just sit down and watch Catwoman as she moved around the room, avoiding the fight while yelling at her goons.
The villainess was on a walkie-talkie now and Robin berated himself for not paying attention to her. He could hear Commissioner Gordon's voice but couldn't quite make out the words. Catwoman said "little bird" and Robin internally groaned. Batman was about to find out that Robin had allowed himself to become a hostage. The man had finally let him go do something alone and it had resulted in being captured.
"This is so awesome," he mumbled and the henchman named Tab glanced over. But Robin wasn't moving so the man returned his attention to the villainess.
An interesting question ambled through his mind. If Catwoman didn't want Batman to attend the "party", why was she on a walkie-talkie and taunting Commissioner Gordon? Surely she knew that the commissioner would call Batman, who would immediately jump in the Batmobile and come to the museum. Tossing the thought aside for now, Robin glared at the ground, prepared his muscles and counted to three.
Catwoman had just turned off the mode of communication and all four of her men were staring at her, waiting for instructions. She was facing the hostages and the henchmen had their backs to the people. Richard, the old man, wasn't even close to being done with the Bat-rope – he had merely loosened it slightly – but Robin couldn't waste this opportunity. From his sitting position, the Boy Wonder suddenly jumped to his feet and sprinted straight for Tom.
Her eyes widened in surprise and Catwoman was too impressed to react quickly. By the time she opened her mouth to warn Tom, he was already on the ground. Robin, his arms still tight behind his back, had jumped into a front layout and hooked his knees around the goon's shoulders. Using the man like a high bar, the Boy Wonder had swung himself up, causing Tom to lose his balance and fall forward. The man's head hit the ground – face first – and there was a sickening crunch, followed by a rapidly growing pool of blood under his forehead.
The pain was intense but he had effectively taken care of Tom. Robin's feet hit the ground at the same time as Tom's face and he easily regained his balance. Leon was directly behind him and the teenager could feel the air moving around. Ducking, he spun around and shoved his left shoulder into Leon's solar plexus. The man grunted as his meaty fist swung over Robin's head and he stumbled backwards.
Leon, however, was more than a stray kitten that Catwoman had dragged in off the street. Instantly recovering, he advanced on the panting Boy Wonder, his hands clenched and daggers shooting out of his eyes.
Using his shoulder as a weapon had been a mistake. In the back of his mind, Robin had known that fact but his reaction had been automatic. An arm flying over his head meant that a chest was exposed and he had been taught to take advantage of that. Robin had used the closest part of his body when he should have used one that wasn't a throbbing volcano ready to explode. Colors were gliding along the edges of his vision, his arms were threatening to break themselves in half and his torso loudly protested every inhalation of air. But he had only taken down one man; there were still three left. If he could just get through Leon, everything would be fine. The other two would be easy and then he would find a way to free the hostages and arrest Catwoman.
Just take down Leon. Big muscles, obviously a power fighter, probably slow, no big deal.
Robin watched Leon's right fist drive itself toward his face and he bent his knees in preparation to both receive and retaliate. Just get through Leon.
The museum was precisely seventeen minutes away from the Batcave. Batman was pushing the Batmobile almost to its limit and arrived in twelve. Squad cars surrounded the block building and Commissioner Gordon was standing by the one directly in front of the entrance. There was a large, black walkie-talkie in his hand and Batman was surprised. How did the commissioner get close enough to give one to Catwoman? Especially since Robin was inside? Tossing the thought aside for now, he exited the Batmobile and walked toward the entrance.
"Give me the details," he demanded after joining the commissioner and Chief O'Hara.
"Ten to twelve hostages and she will, hopefully, be sending some out. Her exact words were 'I need some of them' so I don't know how many will be set free. And I don't know why she would need them."
"You can be sure that Robin won't be one of them," Batman growled and the two men nodded in agreement. "What does she want?"
"I have no idea," Commissioner Gordon replied. "Apparently taunting us about a valuable hostage, whom I assume to be Robin, and then deciding to release a few others are the only things on her mind right now."
"There has to be something she wants!" the Caped Crusader nearly yelled and both men flinched. Grabbing the walkie-talkie, he pressed the button to communicate.
"What do you want, Catwoman?" he growled but received only static in reply. He tried again, and a third time but there was still no answer.
Suddenly, six people came running out of a side entrance – two males, one female and three young boys. Police officers and paramedics immediately surrounded them but Batman pushed through them all.
"Tell me what's happening in there!" he commanded and the woman immediately took charge.
"Catwoman has four men, each with a gun. An old man, two more women, a teenager and Robin are still inside. She and two of her men took us to the side door while Robin was occupied with fighting the biggest man. He already took out one but seems to be injured and the second guy is more powerful than the others. Robin is fighting with his arms tied behind his back and no utility belt." The woman was succinct and Batman was grateful for her efficiency.
"Wait!" she cried as Batman turned away. "Richard has a pocket knife hidden by his left leg. He was releasing his bonds but he couldn't pass up the opportunity to take out the men."
Batman's breath caught in his throat. Richard?!
"Who?" his voice was on the verge of trembling and he forced the sound away. Had Robin's identity been exposed?
"Richard, the old man. Sorry, I meant Richard is ready to release Robin's bonds, not his own. Robin is the only one restrained in any way. Robin is the one who took the opportunity to attack the men even though Richard hadn't finished cutting all the way through the rope." The woman shook her head, obviously disappointed in her lack of clarification.
"Can you describe his bonds in detail?" Batman asked while relief flooded his mind. His Richard had not been discovered.
The woman opened her mouth to answer but the three young boys suddenly jumped in the conversation.
"His arms are squished flat against each other behind him!" the seven-year-old exclaimed. "The bad man used Robin's rope from his utility belt and tied him up!" He scowled; bad guys weren't supposed to touch utility belts.
"The rope is wrapped around his body and his breathing sounded off," the ten-year-old quietly added. "I think his ribs are pushed together so tightly that they are constricting his lungs. They aren't fully operational so it's going to be hard for him to continue breathing with the way he's fighting." The adults stared at him in surprise and he shrugged. "I like anatomy."
"Everyone was mad," the four-year-old muttered, upset that Robin had looked angry. The Robin in all the pictures was always grinning and the young child didn't understand why the Boy Wonder had sounded so mean.
"When the big guy kicked him in the chest, Robin's body stayed straight as a board as he fell back," one of the men stated. "It looked like he couldn't absorb the impact because his shoulders are stretched so far behind him. His arms are completely connected and I'm surprised they aren't broken."
Tied up with his own Bat-rope, lungs constricted and kicked in the chest with no way to protect his ribs?! Batman was furious but kept the emotion in check. Young children were impressionable and he didn't want to scare them.
"Did you hear anything, any cracking or popping sounds?" Batman demanded. All six people shook their heads and the relief flooded his chest this time.
"But everything was happening so fast," the same man said. "I don't know that any of us would have been able to hear specific sounds unless we were consciously listening for them."
The hero abruptly turned and strode away, leaving the adults staring at him in surprise and the kids watching him in awe. They had just seen Batman, up close, and talked to him! Robin was cool, too, but…they had just talked to Batman!
"Wait!" the second man called. Batman turned around and stared at him expectantly. "Can I have your autograph?" the man grinned and the hero growled at him, disgust obvious in his eyes. Robin was in trouble, along with four other hostages, Catwoman and at least three henchmen obviously had the situation under control and this man wanted his autograph?!
"Get out of my sight!" Batman snarled and everyone immediately backed away. Five helpful people, three of them kids, and one idiot. Shaking his head, he walked over to the commissioner and grabbed the walkie-talkie again.
"Catwoman, talk to me!" the hero demanded and was surprised when her delicate voice replied.
"This discussion will have to wait, Batmaaaan," she drew his name out lovingly. "I'm watching a bird try to escape from a cat."
There was only static again and Batman began pacing. He couldn't just burst through any of the doors. There were still four other innocent people and Batman had no doubt that Catwoman wouldn't feel bad if one of them was injured. Robin was on his own for now. The Boy Wonder was strong and could handle himself. But, if the descriptions of his condition were accurate, he would soon run out of energy.
Pressing the communication button again, Batman yelled into the walkie-talkie. "I want proof of life, Catwoman! NOW!" he demanded and the static ceased again.
"Well, sure, I can understand that. Say hello to Batman everyone!"
Four voices simultaneously began yelling for help. One was old and shaky, the two feminine voices sounded terrified and the youngest one had been crying.
"Robin!" Batman roared and the other voices immediately stopped. There was heavy breathing, erratic breathing and the sound of flesh pounding flesh. A heavy thud, some gasping and then a loud cracking sound accompanied by a yelp of pain. The last noise came from his partner, there was no mistaking that cry, and Batman tightened his grip on the walkie-talkie.
"Did you catch that?" Catwoman purred as the sounds in the background ceased. "Your boy is alive and is, I mean was, doing quite well. Don't worry too much; I need him to stay alive. And I need you to stay out of my way so don't even think about trying to find a way inside. TTFN!" The static returned and Batman almost threw the black object at the nearest vehicle in frustration.
"Ta ta for now," the hero growled. She was toying with him but at least Robin was still aware enough to fight. He had been, anyway. And she needed him alive. Batman had no idea why, but he was relieved that he wouldn't have to worry about his partner dying. For now.