Complications
a Batman: The Animated Series-based fan fiction
by: Joycelyn Solo
Author's note: This is based on the characters as they appeared on Batman: The Animated Series.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything and, as such, I am not making any money. Everything belongs to someone else (who I'd list, but I can't keep all the DC-ownership straight).
Chapter Nine
"Quiet on the north side."
"Quiet on the east side."
Batgirl listened as Batman and Robin checked in. "Quiet on the west side." she responded, speaking into the wrist communicator Batman had given her earlier.
It was midnight and there had been no sign of King Tut or his oily fiends. As the temperature dropped and her patience grew thin, she wondered if maybe Mansten's collection wasn't the next target.
She could imagine the look on Robin's face if it turned out that Tut had no intention of hitting the warehouse. He'd give her that smug smile that conveyed more than any of his corny jokes could.
Of course, Batman had believed her -- more importantly, believed in her -- and that was enough to strengthen her conviction that this had to be the place.
And she wasn't going to let him down.
Gathering her cape more closely around her, Batgirl scanned the warehouse and surrounding area once more with her binoculars. As with the pervious four hours of surveillance: nothing.
Hold on...Batgirl stopped her sweep and zoomed in toward a dark van that had pulled up. If the fact that the van was running without its headlights wasn't enough to tip her off, the glint of vegetable oil from a nearby street lamp was more than she needed.
"We've got movement in the east. Black van and a load of Criso-boys."
Robin's voice came back at her. "Same on the north side."
"Wait until they enter the building before we move." Batman ordered.
Putting away her binoculars, Batgirl stretched while she awaited Batman's signal. Cramped muscles from sitting on a cold rooftop for several hours was no way to go into a fight.
"Okay. Let's go."
Readying a line, Batgirl prepared to leap toward the roof of the warehouse when she was startled by a voice behind her.
"Going somewhere?"
Recognizing the voice, she turned to see Tut's second-in-command.
Batgirl smiled coyly. "As a matter of fact, I've got plans. Maybe we could do this later?"
The Vizier returned her smile. "Oh, no. I think we need to do this now." He snapped his fingers and Batgirl was surprised to find herself surrounded by twenty oily, loincloth clad ruffians. "Get her, boys."
Inside the warehouse, the Tutlings had already subdued the on-duty police officers and were loading pieces of the Mansten collection into the first van.
After checking that both officers were okay, Batman entered the warehouse and was pleased to see that Robin had already of taken care of several bad guys. Granted, Batman would have liked to see his ward use more subtly before announcing his presence to two dozen thugs, but the young man was more than holding his own.
Joining the fray, Batman announced his presence by knocking out two men with the Batarang.
"It's the Bat!"
Robin threw one Tutling into two others and put up his hands in mock-indignation. "I don't get it. I've already knocked out ten guys and you're the one they're afraid of?"
Batman didn't reply -- Robin didn't expect him to -- as he kicked out at one goon and rounded out to hit two more behind him.
"Maybe it's the color scheme." the Boy Wonder wondered as he punched another criminal. "You think I'd get more respect if I wore darker colors?"
Again, the Dark Knight remained silent as he delivered a head-butt to a thug who thought he'd get away with smashing a large, ancient, clay pot into his back.
"Or maybe it's the voice. They fear The Voice." Robin ducked as three Tutlings charged at him and watched in satisfaction as they crashed into the crate behind him. "Now that I think of it, chicks dig The Voice, too."
Robin looked over to Batman as he punched the last of the Tutlings. "Speaking of chicks...where's Batgirl?"
From the sidelines, things were going well for Bob Spitzman.
Since informing King Tut about Batgirl, the pharaoh had been in higher spirits than the former car thief had ever seen him. He'd demanded the Grand Vizier find everything he could about Batgirl -- newspaper articles, video footage, action figures -- anything that could shed light on the Bat's female apprentice.
"My Vizier," Tut had said, taking Bob aside. "I want you to bring Batgirl to me. There is one element of my kingdom that I cannot be without much longer. I need a queen to rule at my side." He held up a newspaper photo of Batgirl. "Bring me my queen."
Bob hadn't been quite sure how to go about capturing Batgirl, not after the way she and that infernal Bird-Boy had trounced him and his men at the Music Institute.
But when his scout at the warehouse informed him that all three caped crusaders were watching for them, the Grand Vizier could not have been more pleased.
Splitting his team in half, he sent the first group ahead in the vans to gain the attention of the Dark Knight and his partners. Then the second group, accompanied by him, would ambush Batgirl and take her back to King Tut before Batman and Robin were any the wiser.
So far, things were proceeding as planned.
Oh, sure, Batgirl was putting up quite a fight, but there was no way she could defeat twenty men. He was actually surprised that she'd managed as long as she had, knocking several of the Tutlings out cold.
She would tire soon, though. And when she did, the Grand Vizier would deliver her to his king.
I don't know how much longer I can keep this up, Batgirl thought, dodging a grab from one thug and delivering a kick to another.
"Guys, I'm really flattered that you'd go through all this trouble for me." She punched one man in the nose and watched with satisfaction as his head shot back and hit another behind him. "But don't you know that being too eager is just going to push me away?"
She knew she was getting tired if she was running out of good punch lines. Robin would be disappointed in her, for sure.
Her biggest problem was that the oil the Tutlings used -- olive oil, not vegetable, she decided upon closer inspection -- was beginning to make it difficult for her to connect her punches and kicks as her boots and gloves were covered with it.
Even if she had an opening to get her jump line out, there was no way she'd be able to hold onto it long enough to make a getaway.
Her new name would be "Splatgirl".
Okay, I haven't lost my sense of humor yet.
Evading the grasp of another baddy -- the oil was a hindrance to them, too, at least -- she spun her leg out to kick two more...
...when her oil-slicked boot slipped out from under her.
Before she could recover, three pairs of arms grabbed and lifted her up, holding her immobile.
"I had hoped we wouldn't have to resort to this," the Vizier said, moving toward her. As he neared, Batgirl noticed the needle in his hand. That explained why he hadn't been in the fight -- he was the backup plan.
"What do you want with me?" she asked, pulling in vain against the arms that held her.
He tapped the end of the needle and she watched with dismay as two droplets hit the rooftop. "Once you wake up, all will be explained."
Her futile struggling did nothing as she felt the tip of the needle pierce her skin. Almost instantly, she felt her arms and legs relax and her eyelids become heavy.
Anger coursed through Robin's veins as he watched the three men converge on the downed Batgirl.
Not waiting for Batman, Robin took off at a run toward the other rooftop. Using everything his aerialist parents had taught him, he didn't even bother with a line to launch him to the next building.
He arrived just as one of the goons slung Batgirl over his shoulder.
Dispensing with the jokes he would normally use to announce his presence, he flew at the Grand Vizier and used his momentum to knock down the rest of the able-bodied goons.
He smiled to himself, seeing the bruises and cuts on several of the Tutlings; Batgirl had put up quite a fight. There was no way he was going to let these bozos get away with her.
Before the rest of them could regain their feet, Robin turned on the one holding his female counterpart. "I don't think the lady wants to go with you."
"She isn't protesting much, is she?" asked the Vizier, advancing toward the Boy Wonder. Before he could reach him, however, a black shadow had knocked him back to the ground.
Robin swept the legs out from under the man carrying Batgirl and caught her as he fell to the ground.
"Get the queen!" he heard one of the Tutlings yell. He kicked out and leapt over a charging trio, all the while cradling Batgirl protectively in his arms.
Batman picked up the syringe and held it briefly under his nose. "Laudanum. She'll be out for a while. Take her to safety, I'll deal with these."
Robin nodded. Holding Batgirl close, he shot a line and took off toward Wayne Tower.
Slowly regaining consciousness, Barbara moaned softly.
Every part of her body -- including, she was pretty sure, her hair -- hurt.
Attempting to sit up, she moaned again -- this time louder -- and drew the attention of the man sitting beside her.
What's Robin doing here? she wondered before looking down to see that she was still in her costume.
"What happened?" Was that her voice? It sounded horrible.
Robin moved closer and handed her a canteen. "Water." he offered. "Batman and I stopped the bad guys in the warehouse...but we didn't know you were entertaining your own party on the rooftop."
In a blur of images, she remembered the Vizier and his Tutlings as they first tried to beat her into submission and then drugged her. "Yeah. Good time had by all." After drinking the water she was pleased that her voice sounded a little better. She looked around and saw they were atop Wayne Tower. "Do you know what they wanted?"
Robin shrugged. "The Vizier got away, but Batman is delivering a van-load of Tutlings to police headquarters. Hopefully he can get answers from them."
Despite the aches and pains she suffered from them, Batgirl almost felt sorry for the Tutlings. Batman was frightening enough on an everyday basis but when one of his -- and she was pretty sure she was included in the "family" -- was targeted, a whole new level of scary was uncovered.
"How are you feeling?" Robin asked, his concern evident -- and heartwarming.
Batgirl took a deep breath, attempting to clear her head as she assessed the damage to her body. "You know how Wyle E. Coyote must feel after he's fallen off a cliff? That's about it."
He chuckled softly, glad that she was feeling well enough to joke. When he'd seen her earlier...
Robin ran a finger along her chin and turned Batgirl's head so she was facing him. "Batgirl, I'm sorry I wasn't there for you tonight."
With the effects of the drug still in her system, Batgirl didn't resist his ministrations as she normally would have. Instead, she focused on the warm feelings that his touch evoked. "You didn't know I was in trouble. You had your hands full."
"I'm still sorry," he whispered, moving closer to her. He knew he shouldn't be doing this. It was wrong on so many levels; one of them being that she was probably still under the influence of the Vizier's drugs.
Despite everything that told him not to, though, there was one compelling force that drove him to his next action.
He wanted to. He had wanted to for a long time.
Slowly, waiting for any sign of protest from her, Robin leaned forward and pressed his lips to Batgirl's.
When she didn't immediately pull away, he took that as invitation to bring his other hand up to caress her cheek.
Through the haze of the drugs, and the fuzzy feelings that invaded her being, Batgirl slowly regained her senses and pulled away. "I'm sorry, Robin, we can't do this."
"Why not?" He blurted out, then averted his eyes at the stupidity of the question. "You're right."
She followed his cue and also turned to look at the city. She took a deep breath. "I won't deny that it wasn't nice. It was. And I'm pretty sure it's not just because of what the Vizier gave me. But there are so many reasons that we shouldn't go down this path."
Robin nodded, knowing she was right. However, because of the drugs, Batgirl seemed to feel compelled to keep going.
"It's not just that we're partners and Batman would never approve. But, there's someone special in my life. Someone I have feelings for that I don't have for you."
That brought his head up. He'd never even thought that she would already have a boyfriend. Just because he and Bruce were permanently single, it didn't mean that she was. "I didn't realize you had a boyfriend."
"Technically, I don't. He's my best friend, actually, and I'm sure he'll never see me as more than that...but...I have no idea what I'm saying or why I'm even saying it." She looked around the rooftop. "How did we get here?"
Robin breathed a sigh of mental relief. Maybe, if he was lucky, she'd forget this entire thing ever happened.
Of course, since he just noticed the dark shadow looming over them, he doubted if Batman would let him forget anytime soon.
~~~~~~~
Tune in next time. Same Bat-Fiction Site. Same Batty Fan-Fic Author.
