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Batman & Benson 6

Chapter Four

"You with Major Case?" the uniformed officer asked Sam.

"Yeah, Detective Spade," Sam replied with a yawn. They started walking over to the crime scene, which was an abandoned car that sat in front of an alleyway.

"We keeping you up?" the officer jokingly asked.

"Long day," Sam said. The fact of the matter was she had barely gotten any sleep last night, thanks to the nonstop wrestling match she had in the sack with Logan. Between the lack of sleep and the hot, humid air, Sam felt like a zombie.

"Yeah, well, it's about to get longer," the cop said.

"Why?" Sam warily asked. "What did you find in the car?"

"Nothing. The car's clean." He handed her the vehicle registration. "But we found this in the glove compartment. You see the name?"

Sam's eyes grew wide when she saw Kate Farlane's name on the registration. She glanced around the area, and noticed the army of uniformed cops were busy canvassing the neighborhood.

"She's a cop, with the SVU, right?" the officer asked.

"Yes. You find any sign of her? Any sign at all?"

He just shook his head. "Nothing. So far, nobody's seen anything. It's like she just vanished right out of her car."

"Oh shit," Sam muttered dismally.

B&B

"Christ, what a day!" Olivia said, as she watched the construction workers as they closed off the shattered windows of her office. They were merely sealing up the office from the elements for tonight. Tomorrow they would return and begin the reconstruction. Olivia stood next to her shattered desk with Alex, Gordon, and Rachel.

"First Wonder Woman, now the Joker," Gordon muttered. "Your office certainly sees its fair share of action, Liv."

"Yeah, well, the next time we decide to arrange for a fishing expedition in my office," Olivia said, "remind me to wear my bullet proof vest."

"I'm glad that neither of you were hurt," Rachel said to Olivia and Alex. "But at least we've got some solid confirmation that Scott Thorne is up to no good. From the looks of things, he's definitely battling it out for mob supremacy with the Joker."

"Battling it out with the Joker?" Alex said with a shake of her head. "I'm almost inclined to let them kill each other."

Gordon smiled. "Between the two of them, my money's on the Joker. The Batman is the only one who can defeat that sick son of a bitch."

Olivia was surprised to see the phone on her desk rang. She was amazed that it still worked. Since Linda wasn't here (Olivia had sent her, home early), Olivia answered the call for herself. "Gotham City SVU, Inspector Benson speaking."

It was Sam. "Liv, I've got some bad news."

'Great, just what I need,' Olivia thought, 'a worse day that just keeps getting worse.' She braced herself. "Yeah, Sam, what is it?"

"We were called to the scene of an abandoned car that was spotted by a uniformed patrol," Sam said. "The car was left with the motor running, and the driver's side door open. Liv, the car belongs to Kate Farlane. We searched all over the area, but there's no sign of her."

"Oh no, oh God, no," Olivia moaned. After Sam gave her the address, Olivia added, "We'll be down as soon as we can, Sam."

"What is it?" Gordon asked when she hung up.

"It appears that Kate Farlane is missing," Olivia told them. "Her car was found left abandoned just a few blocks away from here. That was Sam Spade, she said they searched the area, but there's no sign of her."

"Dear God, there's no end to it, is there?" Gordon said.

Rachel glanced out the windows, at least the ones that were still intact. "It'll be dark, soon. Maybe he can help us."

Gordon shook his head. "No, I'll mobilize the entire police force to search for Detective Farlane, if I have to. But I want the Batman to remain devoted to the serial kidnapping case."

That was when Olivia had a very scary thought. "What if Kate's disappearance and the serial kidnapping case were one and the same?"

Everyone just stared at her in muted shock for a moment, until something in the bullpen had caught Alex's attention. "Liv, John's leaving for the night. He'll want to know."

"Yeah, I should tell him," Olivia said with a heavy sigh.

She left her office and called to John just before he was about to walk out the bullpen. He turned to face her with a smile, and Olivia hated herself for what she was about to tell him.

"John, Kate's missing," she said.

He stared at her with a perplexed look. "No, Inspector, she went home about an hour ago."

"She never arrived home, John," Olivia told him gently. "Her car was found abandoned on a street a few blocks from here. The MCS is on the scene. Sam Spade called and said they searched the area for Kate, but that she's nowhere to be seen."

John's smile faded, replaced with a horrified expression. "She told me that she loved me, Inspector, and I tuned her down. That was when she left. If I had not rejected her…."

Olivia placed a hand on his shoulder. "No, don't do that to yourself. Let's just focus on finding her, all right?"

John nodded, as his expression of horror was replaced by one of firm resolve. "I want to be involved in the search, Inspector. I realize that, because she's my partner, the regulations forbid me from helping, but…."

"Say no more," Olivia said. "Because I was already planning on asking you to come with us. Now, come on, let's go find Katie and bring her home safe."

B&B

Rachel arrived at Wayne Manor, her home away from home, a little after seven thirty. Thanks to the summer season, the sun was just beginning to set in the west, which meant that Bruce might still be here. She had wanted to talk to him about the idea of appearing in one of her political ads.

Rachel still thought that having Bruce shill for her in an ad was a repugnant idea, but Vincent had been so insistent about it that she had promised to at least broach the subject with Bruce. Rachel fully expected, and wanted, Bruce to say no.

When she entered the grand foyer, Alfred stood waiting for her with a smile. "Welcome home, Miss Rachel."

She returned the smile. "Thanks, Alfred. Did Bruce…actually, I should say, did Batman leave for the city yet? I need to speak with him urgently."

"They are getting ready to disembark in the hanger as we speak."

"The hanger," Rachel said with surprise, as they both went down to the Batcave. "You mean the new Batwing is finished?"

"The Prowler is indeed done," Alfred confirmed. "And it is just as impressive, if not more so, than the previous Batwing."

"I'm surprised they're still getting ready," Rachel said, as they emerged from the elevator into the Batcave proper. "I figured they'd be gone by now."

"Master Bruce had been busy working on an antidote for the drug that had been used on the gang of kidnappers," Alfred said. "He already sent it to Olivia."

Rachel nodded. She had heard about how the kidnappers had all fallen into comas once they had come down from the drug. But she was surprised to hear that Bruce had thought up an antidote. Her lover was many things, and was excellent at them, but she had no idea chemistry was also one of his talents. "What is the antidote?"

"To simply give them the drug, but in small doses," Alfred replied. "It is hoped that, once the drug brings them out of their coma, they will be weaned off of it by giving them greatly reduced dosages over time."

'That's my Bruce,' Rachel thought with pride, as they entered the hanger. She was stunned at the sleek, black Prowler, which was even more lustrous than the previous Batwing. Batman, Robin and Batgirl were all busy prepping the vehicle by adding equipment and making last-minute adjustments.

Batman was in the opened cockpit, programming the computer to accept his voice commands, when Rachel strode up to him. "I'm glad I caught you," she said gratefully. "There's something I need to talk to you about."

"Can't it wait?" Batman asked. "We're just about to leave. We got a possible lead on who has been abducting the women in Gotham over the past week: King Tut."

"King Tut?" Rachel said with a slow shake of her head. "Mr. McElroy is back, trying to turn Gotham City into his own private Egypt again?"

"It's just a hunch, but it tracks, so we're going with it," Robin replied. He and Batgirl got into the Prowler.

"And Olivia has just called to say that one her detectives, Kate Farlane, is missing," Batman added. "She may well be Tut's latest victim. So as you can see, Rachel, time is of the essence. What did you want to talk about?"

"Um, just wanted to wish you all good hunting," Rachel told them with a smile. Given the dire situation, Rachel felt that talking about her political ads with Bruce right now would be extremely suddenly shallow.

"Thanks!" Batgirl said with a smile.

"See you when we see you," Batman said, as the Prowler canopy closed up over him, Robin and Batgirl. It oddly looked to Rachel as if the Prowler had swallowed them up.

She and Alfred stood by the doorway while they watched as the Prowler rose up with nary a sound. It effortlessly blended in with the night sky. "Lucius lived up to his promise," Rachel commented to Alfred. "That thing is damn near invisible!"

"Yes, he's done a splendid job," Alfred agreed. Then, as they walked back down to the Batcave, he became concerned. "I notice you did not tell Master Bruce what you wanted to say, Miss Rachel."

Rachel just waved her hand. "I'll talk with him about it later, Alfred. Right now, there are people who need his help far more."

"Very good. Shall I make dinner?"

"Sounds great, Alfred. I think I might take a swim beforehand."

Alfred smiled. "It's a wonderful night for a swim."

B&B

When Kate awoke, she found herself in a standing position with her arms and legs pulled out in a spread-eagle pattern. Her wrists and ankles were bound with rope, which kept her trussed up to the wooden support beams at her sides, and she oddly felt somewhat like a captured Fay Wray waiting to meet King Kong. Her mouth was tightly gagged with a wadded up ball of cloth, and her abductors had stripped Kate of her clothing, leaving her clad only in her panties and sports bra.

She was left in what appeared to be an abandoned storage room with concrete walls and floor and a wooden ceiling. The only light came from a lantern that hung on a chain from the ceiling. Judging from how high the windows were on the walls, which were all near the ceiling, Kate guessed that she was in a cellar of some kind. And from the darkness that she saw beyond the windows, it appeared that night had fallen. She had been knocked out for several hours, at least.

Kate inadvertently let out a muffled squeal of terror when a rat skittered by her bare foot, but the rodent appeared to be just as afraid of her as she was of it, and so it ran off into the darkness of one of the corners of the room.

Kate stared, wide-eyed, as a man entered the room though the only doorway. No doubt he had heard her squeal at the rat. He was stripped to the waist and wore what Kate could best describe as a sarong, but it was made from what looked like a simple bed sheet. His eyes had the glassy, unfocused look of being drugged. Somehow, he was able to concentrate on Kate long enough to realize that she was awake.

The man nodded, speaking softly to himself, as he left the room with an urgency that told Kate he was going to tell somebody that she was awake.

'Well, let's try and not be here when that happens,' Kate thought, as she frantically tried to break free. Yet she let out a groan of frustration when she realized that the ropes that bound her wrists and ankles were too well tied; Kate wasn't going anywhere.

'Oh, Christ almighty,' Kate thought, as she stared wide-eyed at the obviously insane man who now strode up to her.

Unlike his henchmen, who wore the simple bed sheets around their waists, this dude was all dressed up in a tangle of sheets that was supposed to suggest a robe of some kind. He also wore women's jewelry, namely an elegant necklace around his neck with matching ear rings. As he stared at her fiercely, Kate saw that his eyes were outlined in black mascara. He wore on his head a cheap copy of an ancient Egyptian head dress that looked like it came from a costume store.

"How dare you defy me!" the man told her with barely contained fury. "How dare you stand in the way of my grand plans!"

Kate, who was unable to respond, thanks to the gag, merely stared back at him helplessly.

He regarded her Gotham City Police ID, and smiled. "Detective Kate Farlane of the Special Victims Unit? It would appear that you shall soon require the aid of your comrades, my dear Kate. For I, King Tutankhamen, the Living Image of Amun, and rightful ruler of these lands, shall punish the Gotham City Police and Batman for their insolence by making an example of you. At midnight tonight I shall rip your still-beating heart from your chest and send it to your Commissioner Gordon, so that he will know. He and the others will be made to understand that I am the rightful ruler of this city, which I shall rebuild as the new capital of the Egyptian Empire!"

He leaned towards her just then and added, "It is a pity that you will not survive long enough to witness the rebirth of my empire, Kate. For it will be most glorious!"

Then he left the room, leaving behind a panicked Kate, who desperately tried to wiggle herself free of her bonds once more, only to cease her efforts when they became futile.

As hard as she tried to hold it back, the hopelessness of the situation had gotten the better of Kate, and she began to cry softly.

B&B

"It's always something," Harvey muttered, as he steered the car down the street.

Renee nodded uneasily as she thought about poor Kate. The news of her abduction had spread like wildfire throughout the department, as it mobilized a massive search to look for her. Many cops who were off duty had even come back in to work an extra shift. "I hope she's all right."

"She's a tough little gal," Harvey assured her. "She'll hold out till we find her, Renee. You'll see."

Before Renee could reply, the police dispatch radio squawked suddenly. Then a frantic, scared male voice came on. "Corner of West and Ward! All units! Corner of West and-"

Then the transmission ended.

Renee and Harvey exchanged a wide-eyed look. "Corner of West and Ward," Renee said. "That's just down the street from us."

"Yeah, in the opposite direction," Harvey said with a sigh. Checking the traffic, he spun the car around while Renee turned on their dashboard cherry and siren. "It's always something…."

When they arrived at West and Ward, Renee's eyes grew large when she saw the burning car in the middle of the street. "Looks like a car exploded."

"Yeah," Harvey said grimly. "A cop car."

Renee muttered a curse in Spanish when she realized that the smoldering hulk in the street was indeed one of the GCPD's squad cars. Then she glanced to her right and saw the two officers were urgently waving at her from an alleyway. "Found the cops. They're all right. What's the matter with them?"

"Maybe they're trying to warn us about him!" Harvey said.

Renee glanced ahead of them and saw it. It was a man in an armored suit, and for a split second, she thought it was that Steel superhero. But then she realized that this fellow's armor was different, with two big bug-like eyes in the helmet.

When the armored man raised his arm at them, Harvey shoved Renee against her car door. "Get outa the car, Renee! MOVE!"

Renee barely got out just before a blazing stream of fire erupted from the man's arm and engulfed their car. She lay in the street, stunned, as she watched her squad car ignite into a fireball.

"HARVEY!" Renee screamed in terror.

Concern for her partner forced Renee to get on her feet and draw her gun. She flinched when the armored man had let loose with another volley of fire; this time, he aimed it at a store front, and it exploded upon impact.

'Crazy bastard is liable to burn down the entire town!' Renee thought, as she found Harvey on the other side of the street and ran to him. Harvey was sitting on the sidewalk with his back up against the side of a building.

"Harvey, you ok?" Renee asked.

"Yeah, I'm good." He glanced at the armored maniac, who had just torched another storefront, and said, "It's always something, ain't it, Renee?"

B&B

'Marvelous job, Lucius,' the Batman thought, as he guided the Prowler over the skyline of Gotham City. 'In the past, we never would have gotten this far without being hassled by fighters from McHenry.'

"Great to be back in the air again, huh, Batman?" Robin said from the so-pilot's seat. He sat right beside Batman in this new Bat-wing.

"That it is," Batman curtly agreed. He couldn't let his mind stray for too long, for he needed to stay focused on the task ahead: which was hunting down McElroy's lair. It would be an abandoned warehouse, or some other structure that was out of the way and offered a lot of room for McElroy to lord it over his subjects.

The Iron View section was the obvious choice. That was where McElroy was holed up the first time Batman had fought him. The abandonment of Gotham City by big industry years ago for cheaper workforces in other countries had turned that once proud area of productivity into a criminal's delight, thanks to its twisting labyrinth of derelict factories and warehouses.

However, as crazy as he was, McElroy was still too smart to use the same location again for his lair. And the Iron View section was still a vast area, which meant that searching each building would take them up to a week.

'We need to narrow it down,' Batman thought.

To that end, he recalled something when Batman had confronted McElroy in his lair during their last encounter. The factory he had chosen then was very temple-like in its elaborate brick and stonework. And that might be something that McElroy would seek out again.

"Hey, guys," Batgirl called from her seat behind them. "Are you seeing this?"

When Batman said glanced out the side window, he caught it immediately. "I see it, as well."

There was a single flourish of fire that erupted on the streets below them. It shot out in a directed channel of flame that ignited a storefront.

When Robin saw this, he exclaimed, "Holy dragon fire, Batman!"

Batman just gave him an incredulous sideways glance. This prompted Robin to mutter, "Sorry."

"He's right, Batman," Batgirl said excitedly. "It does look like a dragon is down there! Look, there it goes again!"

"Never assume anything until you have all of the facts in a situation," Batman told them, as he swung the Prowler around in a tight circle over the fiery destruction below. They were finally able to see that the flames were emitted from twin flame throwers that were set within the hands of a costumed character who stood in the middle of the street. People ran from him in a screaming panic as he let loose with another burst of flames that engulfed a car.

Thankfully, Lucius had not only given the Prowler stealth tech, but he also gave her whisper-quiet engines, which enabled them to hover over the assailant without him even knowing they were there. Batman was able to watch closely as several police officers were firing point blank at the man, but thanks to his armored suit, their bullets had no effect. The cops then broke off their assault and ran away when the armored pyromaniac shot twin fiery columns of death right at them. Batman was pleased to see the police officers had escaped injury.

'This has gone far enough,' Batman thought. 'It's time to drop this bastard, and quick….'

"He's out in the open, which is gonna make it hard for us to come up on him without him seeing us," Robin said. "How are we gonna tackle him?"

"We're not," Batman said, as he calmly flicked a couple of buttons on the control panel before him. "The Prowler will do it for us."

A targeting net appeared on a screen before Batman, who angled the Prowler until the target was properly locked on their armored pyromaniac below. Then the Batman armed the magnetic grapple and made an attack run with the Prowler, flying low enough to fire the grappling gun that was mounted on the front of the Bat-wing.

The grapple found its mark, which was the collar of the armored pyromaniac. Once the magnetic grapple grabbed the man, it only took the forward momentum of the Prowler to lift him up in the air. Batman piloted the Prowler so that it hugged the street, flying extremely low over a tall cinder block dividing wall that separated a parking lot from the avenue.

"Wait," Batgirl exclaimed, "isn't he gong to hit the-?"

"Yes," Batman replied. "That's the idea."

They watched on a monitor that showed a bottom view of the Prowler as the grappling line slammed the armored pyromaniac right into the thick concrete wall, which buckled from the impact. Batman switched off the magnet at the last second, detaching it from the man, who staggered around momentarily, before he collapsed face-first onto the sidewalk.

"Ow!" Robin said shaking his head with a broad grin. "That's gotta hurt!"

"Is that the fastest take-down of a perp you ever did?" Batgirl asked, impressed.

"We don't have any time to waste," Batman growled. "There are a group of abducted women who are counting on us. Speaking of whom, Batgirl, get on the computer and look up all factories and warehouses within the Iron View section which are built with elaborate brick and stonework. McElroy has a penchant for such buildings, for they're the closest thing to an Egyptian temple that he can find here."

"You got it," Batgirl said, as she pulled out the laptop that was built into the side of the cockpit. Lucius had created it so that the computers aboard the Prowler were all linked back to the Batcomputer, which gave them easy access to its wealth of information no matter where they were.

Batman made another pass over the area to make sure their adversary was no longer a problem. Once the armored pyromaniac was lying still and prone, the police then swarmed in all over him. Just as he was being stripped of his flame thrower and handcuffed, one of the cops, who turned out to be Harvey Bullock, gave them a thumbs up gesture.

Assured that the situation was secure, Batman then set course for the Iron View section.

"Is it me? Or are all the crazies out tonight?" Robin asked.

"I suspect the Joker is behind it all," Batman replied. "Now, more than ever."

"You mean dragon guy down there was just another diversion sent by the Joker?"

"Yes. I hope I'm wrong," Batman said. "Because the thought of the Joker leading a gang of Arkham Asylum escapees isn't very pleasant. But the clues pointing to this are mounting up so much that it's just too much of a coincidence to ignore, Robin."

B&B

When Mickey entered the penthouse, he noted that Scott sat on the sofa, with Angelo standing by his side. Matty was nowhere to be seen, and something about his absence from this meeting raised the hairs on the back of Mickey's neck.

"How's it going, Mickey?" Scott said amiably. He gestured to the chair across from him. "Have a seat."

"What's going on?" Mickey asked, as sat down. "When you said there was a meeting, I assumed everybody would be here. Where's Matty?"

Scott leaned forward with his hands clasped together. "There's a problem, Mickey. A major one. You see, it never occurred to me, but Antonio pointed out to me that the Joker knew exactly when and where I would be when he tried to kill me at police headquarters."

"I just assumed the Joker followed you there," Mickey said.

"If that were the case," Antonio spoke up, "then the Joker could have simply hit Scott while he was in the car on the street; which would have been a much easier target then trying to shoot him through the windows of police headquarters."

"We have to face the unpleasant fact, Mickey," Scott said.

"Which is?"

"That it was somebody within our group who informed the Joker about where I would be and when."

"We've got a spy working for the Joker?" Mickey could hardly believe it. Those in their crew who weren't all hand-picked by Scott, like himself and Matty, were Scott's lifelong friends.

"I know it wasn't you, Mickey," Scott said. "You're as dependable as they come."

Mickey suddenly stared at him, hard. "You mean you had me checked out, and I'm clean?"

Scott just shrugged easily. "Can you blame me for making sure?"

"No, of course not." Mickey gazed uneasily at him. "Who didn't check out?"

"We suspect Matt," Antonio said.

"Matt?" Mickey said with shock. "You'd seriously think Matt would betray you like that, Scott? C'mon!"

"Only you, Matt, Antonio and Roy knew where I was going today," Scott said grimly. "Roy was with me in the office, so he's clear, and you were with me all day, Mickey…right up to driving us to police headquarters. But there was a stretch of about two hours when Matt's movements were unaccounted for," Scott said. "This was just after we left him at the penthouse. I asked him about it, real casual-like, and he just said he hung out at the penthouse, that's all. But the concierge downstairs saw him leave right after we did."

"I just can't believe Matt would do something like that," Mickey said with a shake of his head. "He's harmless, Scotty. He doesn't have a malicious bone in his body."

"You can only be betrayed by your friends, Mickey," Scott said.

"Yeah, well, there's one 'friend' you left out in your background check, Scotty."

"Who's that?"

Mickey stabbed a finger at Antonio. "Him. You check him out pretty good?"

"Hey, Mickey, Antonio was the one who first brought this to my attention," Scott said.

"Which is the perfect thing for a guilty party to do," Mickey shot back. "By calling attention to what you did, you deflect suspicion from yourself."

Antonio made a move for his gun. "You son of a bitch…."

Mickey stood up and pulled open his jacket, exposing his own piece. "Go for it, Ruiz. C'mon, let's end this right here and now."

"All right, both of you, stop it!" Scott roared. "Look, Mickey, Antonio just pointed this situation out to me…he didn't finger Matty. That happened completely on its own."

"And so you're going to have Matty killed, your best friend since childhood?" Mickey asked.

"I'm not saying that," Scot replied. "I'm still willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. But he must be watched, very closely, from this point on. You hear what I'm saying?"

"Yeah, I got it, Scotty," Mickey said. When he locked eyes with Ruiz, Mickey thought: 'And Matty won't be the only one in this crew who'll be watched closely, you back stabbing son of a bitch….'

B&B

Batman put the Prowler in hover-mode above the old tile factory that McElroy had previously used as his headquarters. Then he leaned forward and switched on the special thermal imaging device, which allowed him to view heat signatures straight through the walls.

However, the place within was completely blue, which indicted an absence of heat of any kind. There were a few rodents running around here and there, but nothing human.

"Not here, huh?" Robin said dismally.

"No. I figured McElroy wouldn't return to the same place he used last time," Batman said, as he switched off the thermal. "But I wanted to cover all the bases, just to be sure."

"Batman," Batgirl called from her seat behind them, "the only other places I can find with elaborate stone or brickwork are the Mosley Concrete Factory, and a chapel."

"A chapel? Here?" Robin asked incredulously.

"Yes, of course!" Batman said with a nod. "It was originally constructed when the Iron View section first opened back in the 1800s. It was meant for use by the workers. It closed when the last factory did so some forty years ago."

Batgirl poked her head up in-between Batman and Robin. "You were looking for a place that McElroy would consider to be the closest to being a an Egyptian temple. And what better place to contain elaborate stonework than a chapel?"

Batman steered the Prowler into a hard right. "We're already headed there."

B&B

Kate let out a cry of terror under her gag when she saw the half dozen men enter the room where she was kept tied. They moved with a purpose, and were led by King Tut, who gestured at her and said, "Take her to the altar."

When they cut her free from the support beams, Kate tried to fight back as hard as she could. But it was a futile attempt, because there were four of them; who, after each of them grabbed one of her limbs, roughly manhandled her out of the room.

They carried her into a large, spacious room with rows of pews and placed her down on a massive stone altar. The place was illuminated by various lanterns and torches on the stone walls. Several more of King Tut's followers sat in the pews, looking like a dazed audience who had grown weary of waiting for the show to begin. Kate absently noted that it looked like she was in an old, deserted church.

She was retied to the stone slab surface of the altar with her arms above her head and ankles bound together, with her chest exposed and helpless before King Tut, who stood before her with his hands held high.

"Tonight, you shall serve a very important function in the recreation of my empire, Detective Farlane," he said, as he held up a sharp knife. "For your severed heart shall send a message that shall rattle the police department to its very core, as it informs them of who truly rules this realm."

He paused and stared at his dazed minions with a mixture of disappointment and rage. "I said: as it informs them of who truly rules this realm! WHO TRULY RULES THIS REALM!"

The servants in the pews abruptly woke up and, in unison, all said: "KING TUT! KING TUT, OUR MASTER, IS THE RULER OF THIS REALM!"
Tut then held the knife above Kate's heaving chest.

'If I die in an abandoned church, does that mean my soul will still go to heaven?' she wondered. 'John…no matter how you may feel about me, I'll always love you….'

"McELROY!" a terrifying voice roared from the darkness. "This sick charade is over!"

Kate never loved Batman more than she did at that moment, when she saw his familiar shadowy form emerge from the darkness beyond the last pew. He and Batgirl began battling Tut's minions in what turned into a savage fight.

"You are too late, Batman," Tut sneered, as he raised the knife up high above Kate's chest. "For, with this young woman's very heart, I shall begin my everlasting reign of-"

Tut was interrupted when Robin came out of nowhere and delivered a crushing blow to the madman's sternum with his boot. As Tut collapsed to the floor, wheezing, Robin just shook his head at him.

"He's gonna rule the world, and turn all of us into his slaves, and blah, blah, blah," Robin muttered, as he deftly cut the ropes that bound Kate with a Batdart. "I tell you, these bad guys really need to get new writers for their material."

Kate quickly sat up and pulled the gag down from her mouth. It hung limply around her neck. "Your timing is impeccable!"

"We aim to please," Robin replied, as he helped her off the altar. "You ok?"

"I'm good, but there are still the other women who're here, somewhere."

"You didn't see them?" Robin asked.

"No, this bastard kept me separate," Kate said angrily. She glanced down at Tut and saw that he was crawling around the floor like the reptile that he truly was.

When a new group of Tut's minions barged through the doorway and attacked Batman and Batgirl, who were still fighting their previous opponents, Robin said, "I gotta go lend a hand. Will you be all right, here?"

"I'll be fine," Kate replied, as she grabbed the very knife that Tut was about to use on her. "Go. I got Tut."

Robin dove into the free for all that erupted between Batman, Batgirl and the small army of Tut's minions. Meanwhile, Tut had crawled over to a small wooden stand by the wall. He abruptly grabbed the stand and pulled it to one side.

Kate's eyes grew wide when she saw a metal hinge of some sort underneath the stand, and realized that it was some kind of a hidden lever. "What did you just do?" she demanded, holding up the knife. "What did you just-"

Tut stood up, then spun around to face Kate, and when he did, she was stunned to see that he had a gun in his hand. It was pointed right at her.

"I am not above using the blasphemous devices of your ghost world," Tut told Kate. "And I will not hesitate to use this on you."

Tut let out a cry of pain when a Batdart suddenly buried itself into his hand. When he flinched, Tut dropped the gun, and Kate hurried to grab it until Tut kicked it away. The gun fell out of reach within a grating by the wall. It looked like an old heating vent, but Kate couldn't be sure, and nor did she care.

The Batman came over and belted Tut right across the face, sending him straight to the floor. Kate looked and saw that Robin and Batgirl stood guard over the pile of unconscious minions.

"He just pulled that stand over," Kate urgently told him. "It's attached to a hinge of some kind on the bottom. I don't know what it does."
Batman hauled Tut up by his robes and glared at him face to face. "Where are the women you abducted?"

Yet Tut just shook his head and smiled. "You are too late, Batman. For you shall-"

The Batman savagely back-handed him in the face, then roared, "THE WOMEN YOU ABDUCTED, WHERE ARE THEY?"

Despite the fact that his mouth was bloodied, Tut grinned crazily. "You are about to meet my most prized possessions. They were a gift from the Joker. And they shall be the last thing you will ever see."

The stopped Batman in his tracks. "The Joker? You dealt with the Joker?"

"Batman!" Robin called. "All the doors have slammed shut!"

"And there's something rumbling in the dark just ahead of us!" Batgirl added excitedly.

"Get over here, the both of you, right now," the Batman ordered.

Once they had fallen back to the space behind the altar, Robin and Batgirl assumed a fighting stance while Batman peered into the darkness. When his eyes turned red, Kate realized the Batman was using thermal imaging to peer into the darkness.

"Panthers," Batman said grimly.

"Panthers?" Batgirl asked. "What kind of a weapons system is that?"

"It's not a weapons system," Batman replied. "It's the real thing."

Then a cold shiver ran up Kate's spine when she heard a low, ominous growling that came from the darkness. Then they emerged, melting out of the shadows, a trio of large, black cats each the length of a coffee table and twice as tall.

The center panther, seeing them behind the altar, growled fiercely.

"Behold, Batman," Tut sneered. "My royal bodyguards and chief enforcers. And they are also very, very hungry…."

To Be Continued...