A/N: Thanks for the review, mystery guest!
Mystery reader, I didn't know that the number of reviews determined whether or not a story is "good". Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and if you don't like it, you don't have to read it. Thanks for letting me know that my mechanics are good, though.
Chapter 10:
Mr. Freeze began to pace around the room. How was he going to get King Tut to give up Batman?! And, since he didn't have his anti-hero freeze ray, how was he going to convince Batman to join his side?
"A trap," the villain murmured, frustration evident in his tone. "But what? And where?"
His face lit up as an idea burst into his mind. "Admit defeat! Tell King Tut that he's too clever for me and agree to meet him somewhere! I'll say that I'll hand over Robin if he brings Batman with him! Frosty! Chilly! Frigid!"
Mr. Freeze paused for a single beat after yelling each henchman's name. Frowning when nobody answered – where were they?! – the villain turned back to Robin's icy cage. The Boy Wonder was curled on his right side, his body no longer shivering and his eyes blank. Exhaustion had overpowered everything else in the young hero's brain and the cold was beginning to wrap his small body in a heavy blanket of death.
Rolling his cold, hazel eyes, Mr. Freeze picked up the phone and pressed 'redial'. As he waited for the other villain to answer, he grabbed the nearby dessert bowl and threw it at Robin's prison. It hit the bars and shattered, startling the teenager, whose eyes cleared slightly. Grinning, Mr. Freeze put the phone on speaker just as One answered.
King Tut's mobile palace:
The fake king of Egypt was irritated and was releasing his anger by tossing grapes at his idiotic henchman. One had his eyes closed and was flinching every time a grape hit him. Batman rolled his eyes; the grapes were soft and merely bouncing off the goon's body.
The villain was involved in his game and not paying attention to anything else. The Caped Crusader began unwrapping the chain again, sliding the links slowly through his fingers to prevent them from dropping to the ground and giving him away.
King Tut's phone suddenly rang, startling both the villain and his henchman. With a wave of his right hand, King Tut silently ordered One to answer.
"Palace of His Royal Highness, King Tut," One stated formally. "Please hold," he continued after a short pause. Holding out the phone, the henchman shrugged his shoulders.
"Speaker, you idiot!" the villain exclaimed. One pushed a button and the faux Pharaoh continued, "You may speak to your king."
"You're not my king," Mr. Freeze snarled from the other end. His voice was cold but surprisingly devoid of anger. "But you are…"
The pause was long and King Tut growled, "Don't waste my time you impertinent…"
"You can have Robin!" the other villain yelled. The eyes of every person in the mobile palace widened in astonishment.
"I'm not going to beat you at this game," Mr. Freeze continued, "so I'm relinquishing my half of the prize."
King Tut grinned, then frowned. "And the anti-hero weapon?" he asked haughtily. "I don't have it, you don't have it, how am I supposed to use it?" The villain's voice rose as he spoke and the last two words were shouted in frustration.
There was a quiet sigh of what sounded like resignation. Batman shook his head slightly – Mr. Freeze wouldn't just give up. King Tut had to know that, he wasn't a complete idiot. The hero continued unwrapping the chain while listening hard, trying to hear any background noise that would indicate life. There was nothing, not even whispering. Maybe the villain was too far away from Robin, or maybe the boy was trying to conserve energy by remaining quiet.
"…again? Fine, here he is," Mr. Freeze stated, his tone outlined with defeat.
Batman realized that he had been so focused on the background noise – well, the lack of background noise – that he had completely tuned out the conversation between the villains. From the sound of the words, King Tut had requested proof of life again.
"Jo'rs com' fr' yoohoooooo."
The quiet voice belonged to Robin and Batman instantly knew that his young partner was beginning to succumb to hypothermia. The words were mumbled and the Boy Wonder's voice was fluctuating randomly up and down, like a child's fingers on a piano. A child who had no idea how to play but was having fun pretending.
"ROBIN!" Batman thundered. Both King Tut and One jumped at the loud noise.
All three heard a soft grumble and the words "icy park". Batman grimaced; his partner was delirious, that was obvious, and the hero decided that stealth was no longer important.
Ripping the last ten links of chain off his body, Batman vaulted off the low table and immediately tackled One. The phone the henchman was holding dropped to the floor and broke into several pieces upon impact. The Caped Crusader grunted in dissatisfaction; now he had no way to communicate with Robin. He couldn't keep his young partner awake if he couldn't talk to him so time was of the essence. One was already unconscious so Batman turned to King Tut.
"Two! Three!" the villain yelled, both anger and fear filling his voice. His servants, whom he had assumed to be loyal, were not responding. Suddenly, King Tut was pulled off his throne and shoved against the wall behind it.
"Where is he?" Batman snarled. "Where?!" he thundered when he received no immediate response.
"I…I don't know," King Tut admitted, his voice shaking slightly.
The Caped Crusader, who was pushing the villain's shoulders against the only solid wall in the mobile palace, abruptly let go. King Tut sighed in relief but the respite didn't last long. Batman whipped out his Bat-cuffs, twisted the villain around and roughly slapped the cold metal around the thick wrists. Grabbing the flabby arms of the pretend king, Batman whirled him back toward the throne and shoved him onto the seat. Slamming his own hands on the arms of the chair, the hero leaned down so his face was an inch from that of the villain.
"If he is dead," Batman threatened darkly, "I'll see you in your cell."
The last word was spat in disgust and then the Caped Crusader turned and sprinted out of the faux Pharaoh's phony fortress.
Mr. Freeze's arctic hideout:
Robin yawned, causing a wave of freezing pain to travel down his small body. The feeling was light, though, and Robin's muddled thoughts somehow realized that soft pain meant a numbing body. He wasn't sure if that was dangerous but decided to attempt to shove the cold away, just in case. Because, of course, he was completely capable of grabbing icy air and tossing it out of his cage.
A loud voice broke through his dancing thoughts. The white-suited man in the room had just told somebody to have something. The words sounded important but the Boy Wonder couldn't figure out why.
A purple alien with a fluffy, green cloud above its head began singing and dancing in the teen's brain. It looked like fun so Robin decided to join him. He attempted to dance but his body refused to move. Mentally shrugging, he began to sing with the alien.
"Jo'rs com' fr' yoohoooooo."
Something was screeching now, making his head hurt even more than it already was, and Robin stopped singing.
"ROBIN!"
That noise was even louder and the Boy Wonder growled. Stupid sounds were probably coming from the image that was shimmering in front of him: weird animals surrounded by giant ants and trees.
"Icy park," he grumbled at the image, his tone filled with irritation.
There were too many noises, none of them soothing. Robin growled again when a loud, shattering sound reached his ears. The room was suddenly silent and the Boy Wonder sighed in relief. Now he could go to sleep, which he really wanted to do. A slightly familiar voice in the teenager's mind, however, softly commanded him to stay awake. He felt like it was an order he should probably obey but the young hero was tired of trying to figure things out.
"No," he muttered petulantly.
"Shut up!"
A different voice, much louder than the first, yelled at him. Robin didn't understand the phrase and, really, he didn't care anymore. Closing his eyes, the fourteen-year-old began drifting through the fuzzy cotton balls that filled his mind.
Warehouse 7 – Juniper Street:
Three and Frigid, both sporting good-sized bumps on the backs of their heads, had been able to meet up after regaining consciousness. They were attempting to form a new plan; their trap probably wouldn't work now that the villains had most likely spoken to each other.
"He thinks you have the anti-hero freeze ray," Frigid suddenly commented, breaking the silence. "He's trying to figure out a way to trap you and capture Batman."
"That's exactly what King Tut is doing," Three replied. "What are we going to do?"
The men began pacing around the warehouse, thinking hard.
"You still have the weapon, right?" Three asked. He was relieved when Frigid nodded. At least they had that advantage.
"Let's leave town!" Frigid abruptly declared. "We can stay away until the Dynamic Dunderheads escape and put our bosses in the State Pen. That shouldn't take more than a couple of weeks!"
"Good idea," Three stated. "Then we'll come back and use the anti-hero freeze ray on Batman and Robin!"
"But Mr. Freeze has a prototype!" Frigid growled. "We can't take the chance that he'll use it; we have to get rid of it!"
"Where is it?"
"Somewhere in the igloo, I'll have to search for it."
"That's going to take some time," Three warned, "and Batman's been working hard to escape. He could already be free!"
"Well, would you rather Mr. Freeze use the prototype on Batman when he finds him?"
"What are you going to do if Robin is free? He's not exactly helpless, you know."
Shrugging, Frigid replied, "Robin isn't going anywhere. He has several injuries, has lost a lot of blood and is probably almost frozen to death. And there aren't a lot of places to search in that place. I'll find it, destroy it and be back here in an hour."
Frigid turned toward the door but then looked back.
"The anti-hero freeze ray needs to stay here," he stated. "If Mr. Freeze is in the hideout, I don't want to have the weapon with me."
"Because if he catches you off-guard he will get it back," Three finished the thought and Frigid nodded. "Then obviously I have to stay here, too. Just don't take too long! But what if Mr. Freeze comes looking for us here?"
"Well, if Mr. Freeze comes here, he won't be at his hideout," Frigid answered logically. "It's on the southeastern edge of Frosted Lake. Brown on the outside, looks like an abandoned factory. Meet me there with the weapon if you see Mr. Freeze."
Three nodded in agreement and Frigid turned back toward the door. He walked to his car, opened the trunk and took out the large, silver case that housed the valuable weapon. Then he returned to the warehouse and placed it on a crate.
"Take good care of it," he stated and Three rolled his eyes.
"Actually, I was going to call King Tut and tell him that I recovered the lost weapon," he replied sarcastically.
Frigid rolled his eyes and strode away. He grinned as he walked into the sunlight; this plan was perfect. Even if Batman escaped, the hero had no idea of the location of Mr. Freeze's hideout. Robin was on the verge of death and both villains would soon be in the State Pen.
The man chuckled as he climbed into the car. He had the anti-hero freeze ray. Three had the case, but the weapon was sitting securely on the floor in the back seat of Frigid's car. There was no way he was going to be separated from something so valuable. It was a betrayal but he was a criminal. This plan was perfect….
Gotham Central Park:
After running approximately a mile and a half, Batman – who had an excellent sense of direction – entered the northern gate of the park. The Batmobile was parked on the south side but the Caped Crusader decided to check the forest first.
He entered the trees and, ten yards later, found the tattered remains of the stolen spider web. Robin had veered left so Batman turned south. Thirty-six and a half yards later he found a large piece of tattered, yellow cloth. It was obviously part of Robin's distinctive cape but there were no other clues there.
The hero curled his hands into fists and clenched his jaw. He had to go look at the place where he and his young partner had fought. Closing his eyes, he shook his head in frustration at the memories that popped into his mind. The details were slightly fuzzy but Batman did remember that Robin had run away, which meant the teen had been scared. The Boy Wonder was not easily scared – he did, after all, chase criminals and dangerous villains night after night – so Batman was relatively sure that he had done something horrific.
Opening his eyes, the Caped Crusader strode out of the forest, hoping he wouldn't find any signs of serious injuries. He immediately went to the fallen tree and began picking his way through the broken branches, searching the ground for some kind of clue that might lead him to his young partner.
There were clues, lots of them, but they were things that Batman didn't want to see. A circle of dried blood, lots of randomly placed, signs-of-a-fight footprints that could only belong to the boots of the Dynamic Duo and, finally, an outline of something. It was just the right size for a fourteen-year-old crime-fighter's body and Batman ran a hand down his face. The only thing that could leave a shallow crater instead of just flattened grass was a powerful slam onto the ground. And he, Batman, had done that to Robin. The boy was never going to trust him again.
The fuzzy details were turning into clear images. "The tally board, calling him an idiot, blaming him for everything, telling him I regret…."
Batman choked on the last word as an image of pain-filled eyes outlined with a dark streak of humiliation entered his mind. How could he have said – done – those things to his partner, his ward?! He was Batman; he should have been able to withstand whatever had come out of that weapon! Robin's mind was still young and vulnerable but Batman was supposed to be able to fight off the effects of virtually everything!
Virtually.
The word echoed accusingly in his head and the Caped Crusader realized that he was still staring uselessly at the ground. Shaking his head, attempting to rid it of the disturbing thoughts and images, Batman turned south and sprinted toward the Batmobile.
The evidence in the forest had been worthless and the evidence in the clearing had been discouraging. However, a new idea had just flashed into the hero's mind: King Tut had mentioned Juniper Street before sending his muscular henchman out to find the weapon. Climbing into the Batmobile, Batman revved the engine and took off in the direction of the only other possibly helpful location he knew about.
Mr. Freeze's arctic hideout:
Something had happened at King Tut's hideout. There had been a loud, crashing sound and then complete silence. There were several possibilities for that combination of sounds but one was much more plausible than the others. Batman was free – Mr. Freeze was sure of it. Somehow the hero had escaped and taken care of King Tut and his henchmen. That meant he would begin searching for Robin.
Mr. Freeze, however, felt fairly secure; nobody knew the location of his arctic hideout except for his bumbling henchmen. Except…one of his goons wasn't an idiot and had the anti-hero freeze ray. Frigid had already betrayed him and, if Batman was free and Frigid found him, the Caped Crusader would become the henchman's anti-hero. Batman was supposed to be under Mr. Freeze's control, not that of a worthless henchman!
The villain knew he had to find Frigid before the man had a chance to use the weapon. However, he had no idea where the goon would go. Not to Gotham Central Park, or the jewelry store or, obviously, the igloo.
"Juniper Street!" Mr. Freeze exclaimed loudly.
From the frozen floor of the icy cage that was four feet away, a quiet voice muttered, "No."
Rolling his eyes, the villain yelled, "Shut up!"
Grabbing his freeze ray, Mr. Freeze strode out the door. In the small, fifteen-degree cell, the felon left a motionless body whose owner was slowly allowing himself to fade away.
Juniper Street – ten minutes later:
The Batmobile screeched around a corner and slammed to a stop. Batman, after almost jumping out of the vehicle, didn't have to search hard for a clue. There was a distinct trail of footprints that led him to door number seven. Grabbing the handle, he flung open the door and marched inside. A startled henchman, dressed as a royal servant, stared at the hero in shock.
"I remember you!" Batman growled. "You and your partner have the weapon. Where is it? And where is ROBIN?" he roared.
"I'm not going to answer the first question," Three stated condescendingly as he carefully used his foot to push the silver case behind the nearest crate. "As for the second I say, 'Who cares'. He's probably already dead," the criminal sneered, "since he's been with Mr. Freeze for over a day and a half."
"I heard him speaking less than half an hour ago," Batman countered. "He's alive…"
Interrupting the hero loudly, Three taunted, "What's his record against Mr. Freeze? He can't escape and you can't save him this time."
"He's alive," Batman repeated angrily, "and you're going to tell me the location of Mr. Freeze's hideout."
The Caped Crusader swiftly pulled a Bat-a-rang out of his utility belt and threw it at the henchman. Three, who had anticipated the action, quickly ducked. Laughing, the goon straightened up, just in time for Batman's follow-up Bat-a-rang to slam into his nose. There was a 'crack', a spurt of blood and Three dropped to the ground. Covering his broken nose with his left hand, the henchman raised his right in surrender.
"This is your last chance," Batman snarled as he stalked over to the injured man. "Where. Is. He?"
The words were soft but the tone was threatening and Three sighed painfully. There was no use trying to escape, or even attempting to fight the Caped Crusader. Batman had him and the henchman decided to give up. If only the anti-hero freeze ray was in his hands instead of its case that was five short feet away….
"The southeastern side of Frosted Lake," Three mumbled.
"And the anti-hero weapon?" Batman demanded.
Three wasn't about to lose his chance to keep the weapon. So, he shrugged and stated, "Wherever Frigid is, probably. You better not tell him I gave him up!"
The criminal tried to make his voice threatening but knew it hadn't worked.
"As if you have a choice," Batman growled before punching the goon on the side of his head. Three tilted over, unconscious before he hit the ground.
Turning around, Batman raced outside to the Batmobile. Frosted Lake was on the other side of town and it was rush hour in Gotham City. He grabbed the Bat-phone extension.
"Commissioner!" he yelled. There was no reply and the hero frowned impatiently. He had to wait a full eight seconds before the commissioner answered and he was not happy about it.
"Commissioner," he snapped, not even giving the man a chance to say hello, "I need Central Boulevard cleared as fast as possible! Robin's life may depend on it!"
The only reply was the steady hum of a dial tone and Batman nodded in satisfaction. Commissioner Gordon had understood and, instead of wasting time on a reply, was probably already issuing orders to Chief O'Hara.
"Stay awake, chum," the hero whispered to the wind as he turned the Batmobile around and headed for Frosted Lake.