A.N. Sorry for the really long wait, but I've only just rekindled my love affair with the show so I've been inspired to write for it again. In this chapter I'll be introducing my versions of Ryder and Melody, there will be a few similarities of course, but I've given them different names and hopefully you'll like them.
And this is just a reminder that I don't own the Batman or the original plot of this story, credit goes, of course, to DC comics and PixieGirl13, respectively.
Please review at the end :)
A Captive Audience
Chapter 3: The Newbies
Batman, flanked by Robin and Batgirl, walked out into the enclosed yard to see numerous others emerging from rooms similar to their own. Some appeared human, dressed normally in casual clothes, and others looked like aliens.
Of course, after dealing with the Justice League, aliens were nothing new to the caped crusaders, and under the dark sky the menagerie of captives met arounds the small tables while others congregated by the walls. It reinforced the idea of the place as a prison as similar people gathered in groups while some acted as loners and stood apart from the rest.
"Dad," Batgirl muttered quietly as she watched her father, Commissioner Gordon stare out from a doorway with a confused expression.
"And Catwoman, too," Robin said as they saw the woman walk over to them with confidence.
"Hello, handsome," she purred to Batman, seeming to ignore the strangeness around her. "Trapped together, hmm," she smirked, "Perhaps my luck's just improved."
"Great, just what we need...stuck with a criminal," Robin grumbled under his breath, and Catwoman glared at him.
"Any of this look familiar to you?" Batman asked her, already knowing the answer.
"No," she shrugged and crossed her arms, "I had a visitor though..."
"Lemme guess," Robin interrupted, "A creepy dude in a suit with flashing red eyes, calls himself a 'curator'..."
"Yep," Catwoman nodded, "The very same, kid."
"Batman," Gordon sighed as he joined them. He warily glanced at Catwoman for a second then turned to the caped trio in front of him.
Barbra had to remind herself that she was not infect Barbra Gordon at this point; she was Batgirl. And Batgirl couldn't just hug the Commissioner in relief, but it was difficult to ignore the relief that her father was not harmed in any way.
"Commissioner," Batman nodded, also relieved. He was rather Pleased the Gordon was unharmed, the man was a good ally...and perhaps a good friend.
"Hey!" a disgruntled voice shouted disrupting whatever Gordon had been about to say next, "Give that back!" the same voice shouted in anger.
The group of five looked over in the direction of the voice to see a man dressed in casual jeans and a red sweater shouting at two of the same guards that the, so called 'curator' had brought with him. He was angrily waving his balled fists at them and was turning red in the face.
"What's his problem?" Robin questioned as the watched the man.
"Aside from being stuck here with all this delightful company in the middle of...nowhere land...I don't know, what could a guy have to shout about?" Batgirl replied sarcastically.
"Him and his damn spork collection," a woman sighed. She was say close to the group on one of the tables by herself with her feet resting on the bench, and her long dark blue hair cascading round her knees. She clearly was not amused by this strange outburst and the majority of the other people in the yard seemed to ignore it as well.
"Excuse me?" Batman questioned and she turned to face him. Then she fell off the table in surprise, clearly she hadn't been paying much attention either, but now she stared at the new arrivals in shock and confusion.
"The Batman..." she muttered quietly.
"Hello, he's not the only one here, ya know," Batgirl waved her hand at the woman.
"You'd think we'd get used to being ignored by now," Robin sighed as he shook his head in exasperation. "...Hey...what was that about a spork?"
"So who are you?" Gordon asked her.
"I'm Harmony and that idiot is Robyn..." she answered.
"Robyn!" Batgirl laughed and slapped their Robin on the back while the boy frowned.
"The guards always taunt him 'cos he goes ape if you mess with his dumb spork collection. They just do it so they have an excuse to rough him up," she answered.
"And how long have you been here?" Gordon asked.
"About a year I think, it's hard to keep track with the sky all...dark...all the time," she sighed. "Both brought here at the same time, as well," she added sadly.
"I said: give it back!" the man called Robyn shouted again. Then one of the guards threw a small plastic object across the yard and Robyn dove after it while the guards laughed at him. He then dusted off the object, pocketed it and walked over to Harmony with a triumphant smile.
"Who're the newbies?" he asked obliviously as he took a seat on the table.
"Come on, even you can't be that stupid, Robyn, it's Batman, y'know, Bat-man, as in the Dark Knight of Gotham, catcher of evil doers and criminals, bad ass, butt kicking machine..."Harmony explained slowly, and pronouncing every syllable.
"Huh?" slowly Robyn's questioning face morphed into realisation and he spun back round to face the Batman. Then he, as Harmony had done, fell off the table with a 'thud' and started to back away. "Hey...look man...I've never even been to Gotham..."
"Robyn..." Harmony said quietly through her teeth.
"...I may be a thief but I never touched your turf I swear..."
"Robyn!" she shouted and hit him upside the head.
"Ow!" he cried and rubbed the back of his head. Robin and Batgirl couldn't help but laugh, despite their situation.
"So what'd you do? Why would the 'curator' want you...or us here?" Catwoman asked, "You said you're a thief, you any good?"
"Oh, we're the best, you name it - between us we've probably stolen it, or broken into it," Harmony smiled proudly but Gordon and the caped crusaders frowned. Catwoman however looked oddly pleased.
"Banks," Robyn smiled.
"Stores," she added.
"Private property."
"Museums."
"Okay, we get the picture," Batgirl said with a sigh, and they ceased their list with proud grins on their faces.
"What about the others?" Batman asked.
"Dunno," Robyn shrugged, "But I think some of 'em are aliens," he whispered conspiratorially while pointing at some of the unusual beings at the other end of the yard.
"Well, duh!" Batgirl muttered and Robin laughed.
"How'd he get you anyway, I would've thought that the big bad bat could take care of himself," Harmony asked.
"Museum robbery...next thing we know it's like..." Batgirl began.
"BOOM!" Robin finished sagely.
"I don't suppose you actually know where this place is?" Batman asked them as Gordon, Batgirl, Robin and Catwoman sat down at the table with their new friends.
"As far as I know it's not earth, and the curator isn't human either," Harmony replied.
"He's a jerk!" her friend Robyn added.
"He sure is," Robin nodded, "What's up with him calling us 'exhibits', anyway? I mean I've met some really weird wacko's but this is new to me."
"Well...that's kinda what we are...he tells us to dance for his 'beloved public' and we do...'cos if you don't he makes you anyway..." Robyn shivered.
"Like mind control, like how he made you stop when you tried to attack him," Batgirl exclaimed.
"Yup, you either do what he says willingly or you do it unwillingly, either way there's no way out," Harmony sighed.
"Have you tired to escape?" Gordon asked.
"Of course, we're thieves, we know how to get in and out of buildings, we got a good way round before he found us," she answered.
"Then he put us in a world of hurt," Robyn shivered.
"No point in trying again, 'sides, it's not like this place is so bad..." Harmony trailed off, trying to convince herself more than them.
"Don't lie to me," Batman said harshly.
"I'm not, all you have to do is...entertain his guests, and survive the long hours of boredom, we don't starve, we have running water and clean clothes..." she said with a vacant expression.
"Sounds like loads of fun!" Batgirl rolled her eyes behind her mask.
"Yeah, but we don't plan on staying, right Batman?" Robin asked his guardian, looking up to the man.
Batman didn't reply but looked out at the other people trapped in the 'museum' and surveyed the yard itself. Its huge walls he could have perhaps blown through but he didn't have his belt with him. There were guards and any escape via the roof was made difficult by the metal net-like covering. And of course the fact that he didn't know his way around the place...or even where he was.
This was not going to be easy.
"Tell me what you know about this place," Batman said to Harmony with a stern expression.
"What's in it for me?" she asked.
"Possibly, a way home," he replied and she narrowed her eyes at him in curiosity.
A while later, Robin and Batgirl were sat with Robyn at the table together as th latter told them about his spork collection.
"I mean when I first got here, I kinda freaked, I mean it's not every day you see aliens, right?" he smiled.
"Yeah...no kidding," Batgirl laughed nervously as he continued.
"And I've always collected things, I guess that's why I'm a thief, right? Anyway, the guards always mess with my collection every morning, it's kind of a tradition now I think. And every time I'd try to escape they'd stick me in an empty room...nothing to steal...it's horrible man," he shivered with a look of fear.
"So...err...your name's Robin too, huh?" Robin smiled at the older man.
"Yeah, but I'm Robyn with a 'y', d'at's the right way to spell it," he grinned at the boy.
Meanwhile Batman leaned against the wall in the corner with Gordon and the two thieves they'd met, while Catwoman prowled across to the other people in the yard.
"So, as far as we got, this place is like Fort Knox, or the Pentagon, every time you crack one lock there's another behind it," Harmony sighed.
"How many guards?" Gordon asked.
"Tons," she replied, "I tried counting them the first time we got out but there's too many, we only tried once more after that."
"Hmm," Batman sighed and started back across at the yard. He saw his patters taking with Robyn, they didn't look concerened but they were, he could tell, it was obvious. But Bruce had to get them out, he needed to escape and get back to Gotham, he needed to keep their identities secret, and he needed to put an end to this 'curators' collecting ways. But he didn't yet know how to do it.
A.N. So, what'd ya think people, again I'm sorry for the long wait!