BATMAN: CRIME, CRIME EVERYWHERE
By Bruce Wayne
DISCLAIMER: Most of the characters portrayed in this story are copyright by DC Comics, an AOL/Time/Warner company. They are used without permission for entertainment without profit by the author.
CHAPTER 4 - CHECKING OUT A BOOK
It was almost closing time at the Gotham City Main Public Library Building. The main library was a new building that had been open for only four months. The new, three-story structure was located along the banks of the Gotham River.
During the day, a work crew had been working on the construction of a new municipal water tower located behind the library. The water tower was only partially finished. At night, the workers would just lock up their heavy equipment and go home.
Inside the library, Barbara Gordon was at a table looking at some research papers for the Gotham Historical Society. Over the years, Barbara had maintained her keen interest in the history of Gotham City. She was recognized as one of the foremost experts on the subject.
Barbara thought to herself, "I'm almost done here." She glanced at the watch on her left wrist. "Good thing because it's almost closing time." The young lady reached for her cellular phone in her handbag. "I'll call daddy and ask him one more time if he wants to go out for dinner. He'll probably say no."
At police headquarters, Commissioner Gordon answered the call on his private line. "Gordon," he simply answered.
On the other end: "Daddy, are you sure you won't go out for dinner? This is your last chance."
"Oh, Barbara, I'm sorry. I can't. Batman is still here and we're trying to figure out the Riddler's next move. I'll catch a sandwich or something later tonight," replied the Commissioner.
"Well, I understand, daddy ..."
Not far from where Barbara Gordon was sitting, at the main desk, the Riddler and the Joker were questioning a librarian.
"Oh, dear madam? We're interested in checking out a book," said the Joker with a smile.
"Of course," the woman answered pleasantly. "Do you have it? Or is it a special book that I'll have to get for you?"
The Joker laughed. "Oh, I do believe it's special. Yes, indeed. The title of the book is ..." He had to stop to laugh. "... The Secret Subterranean Architecture Of Gotham City."
The librarian was intrigued that these two odd looking men were interested in that particular book. "Most certainly, sir. That book is kept in the vault behind me. May I see your green card?"
The Joker laughed in genuine amusement. "My green card? I'm afraid I don't have one." Pointing to his head, he asked, "Will my green hair do, instead?" He laughed again.
"Oh, I'm afraid not, sir," the woman replied seriously. "For security purposes, anyone who wishes to view that particular book must show their official Gotham City green security card." She then lowered her voice almost to a whisper and told the two men, "The card is signed by Batman." She nodded knowingly to the two villians.
The Joker laughed heartily. "Indeed. Really? Well, I'm a close friend of Batman. Perhaps you've seen pictures of us together in the newspapers? You might say I'm greatly responsible for Batman's reputation."
The woman was delightfully surprised by the Joker's statement. "Really? How interesting."
"How about my friend's, green suit, here? Will this do?" The Joker asked as he turned toward the Riddler.
"No, I'm afraid not ..."
The Riddler interrupted, "Riddle me this! What can be stripped, blown, cracked, drilled and opened? Answer -- A SAFE!" He giggled.
The librarian was becoming alarmed by these two men, "What are you talking about?"
The Joker laughed along with the Riddler. "Oh, dear lady, what my esteemed associate means is that you will kindly get that book for us. No matter what."
The woman stood her ground and protested. In a scolding voice, she said, "I will not. I told you ..."
"NO! You listen to US," the Riddler interrupted.
The Joker pulled out his long barrelled gun from the waistband of his pants and pointed it at the librarian. The woman stepped back in horror, her hand clasped to her mouth.
The Riddler continued, "We need that book. Now open that safe or ..."
Barbara Gordon was still talking to her father on her cellular phone. "Daddy! The Joker and the Riddler are here at the library! Right now!"
Back at police headquarters, the astonished commissioner asked his daughter, "Barbara?! Are you sure, dear?"
"Daddy, the Joker is pointing a gun at one of the librarians!"
The Commissioner looked to the Caped Crusaders and said, "Batman! The Joker and the Riddler are at the Gotham Public Library. Barbara says they're holding a gun on a librarian!"
"Holy Tip-Off!" Robin declared while punching his right fist into the palm of his left hand.
Nightwing shoved Robin in the back, who stumbled a step.
"To the Batmobile!" Batman ordered.
Batman, Robin and Nightwing ran out the door.
Chief O'Hara immediately picked up another phone, punched a button and announced, "Clear all exits for the Batmobile! I repeat, clear all exits for the Batmobile."
Back at the library, the Joker threatened, "Open the safe, dear lady."
The woman, now knowing that she was in the company of desperate criminals, was very nervous and turned the dial for the combination of the safe with a shaking hand. She failed three times before she finally succeeded.
The Riddler roughly pushed the librarian aside and pulled open the heavy door. He started rummaging through the vault. "I don't see it, Joker! I can't find it ... Aha!" He giggled. "Here it is!" He came out of the vault with a book in his hands. "Ahhh, we're business Mr Joker."
"And what kind of business is that?" asked a voice from behind the two criminals.
The voice was very familiar to the two villians. They turned around very slowly and were amazed by who they saw.
"Batman?! How did you get here? We left no clues that we were coming here," the Joker said. Then he turned angrily to the Riddler. "Or did you, Riddler?!"
The Riddler answered, "No! There was no time to leave a riddle for Batman. We had to hurry to get here in time."
Robin answered their question, "A police report, Joker. We just happened to be in the neighborhood."
Nightwing slammed his fist into the palm of his other hand and said with menace in his voice, "I think we should clean up the neighborhood."
The Joker tried to stay brave and calm in front of the crimefighters. "We came prepared. MEN! GET THEM!" he yelled.
"Me, too, puddin?" Harley asked quickly.
"YES!" replied the Joker in an exasperated tone.
Six henchman and Harley Quinn attacked the Caped Crusaders from behind.
Nightwing executed a perfect mule kick into one henchman's groin. The man dropped to the floor like he was hit with a pile of bricks. Nightwing turned slightly and backhanded another hardguy across the face which sent the man sprawling.
Batman dived to the floor. A crook went flying over him, missing his would- be tackle.
Robin was able to grab Harley from behind and had a bear hug on her. She was jumping around like a jack-in-the-box. Squirming and screaming, Harley warned Robin, "Hey! Watch those hands, Boy Wonder!"
Three criminals jumped on Robin. Nightwing saw what was happening and went to his aid. One henchman who was standing in his way was knocked down by a flying drop kick from the martial arts expert.
Barbara Gordon, who always hated to miss the action ever since she could no longer be Batgirl, wheeled her way closer to watch the entire scene.
Nightwing reached the pile of bodies on top of Robin. He picked one man up and threw him several feet. The former Boy Wonder tapped another attacker on the shoulder. The henchman turned to look and Nightwing punched him to the floor.
As Harley was crawling away from the pile, Robin was able to flip over the remaining crook who attacked him.
The Riddler and the Joker teamed up to attack Batman. The Dark Knight punched the Joker. Then he gave the Riddler a punch to the jaw. But before Batman could punch the Joker again, Nightwing leveled the Clown Prince of Crime with a flying drop kick which sent the Joker flying over a table near Barbara Gordon.
Robin downed another would-be attacker.
Batman put three more henchman out of commission by pushing a large bookcase on top of them.
Nightwing wiped out two more criminals by crashing their heads together.
The Joker, who was dazed, looked incredlously at the Riddler, who was now flying over a table. The Joker shook his head and then he saw ... Barbara Gordon.
The young woman looked somewhat familiar to him, but in his dazed condition he wasn't sure of anything. All he knew was she was a potential hostage. Quickly, he grabbed her and put an arm around her neck from behind. He took out his gun and pointed it at her head. He then yelled, "BATMAN! Cease fighting or this young lady DIES!"
Everyone in the room stopped and turned to look at the Joker and his hostage.
Harley Quinn ran over and faced Robin. Sounding like a child taunting a playmate, she told him, "You and yer pointy-eared partner think yer so smart! But you forgot I got a partner all my own!"
"JOKER! If you harm a hair on that girl's head, I'll make sure you don't leave here alive! Let her go! She's just an innocent bystander!" yelled Nightwing.
From behind the Caped Crusaders, three henchmen picked up wooden chairs and slammed them into the backs of Batman, Robin and Nightwing, knocking them unconscious.
***
The criminals managed to drag the unconscious trio outside to the construction area behind the library. Harley Quinn was elected Barbara Gordon's wheelchair pusher and brought her outside as well to witness the scene.
After spinning Barbara around in several directions, Harley asked the young woman, "Wheee! Ya wanna do another wheelie, Red?!"
"NO!" she replied icily.
A powerful hoist was used to swing out a thirty-foot section of a very large pipe. The pipe was to be used to transfer water into the new water tower.
The Joker ordered, "Now ... cap one end of the pipe and drop it into the water." He laughed. "Make sure the closed end rests on the bottom.
Swiftly the henchmen, who must have had some experience in construction work, completed their task. They used three ropes to guy off the pipe to help it remain in an upright position.
Riddler said, "Good! Ready to dump the bats inside?"
Using a mechanical platform, the criminals lifted the unconscious forms of Batman, Robin and Nightwing into the top of the tube.
"That's right," Joker laughed. "Feet first ... down he goes. Now, Boy Blunder."
A minute later, one of the henchmen yelled, "Finished, Joker! All three bats in the tube."
Jarred back into consciousness by their precipitous drop, Batman, Robin and Nightwing assessed their grim situation.
"Water lapping outside ... sky above ... we're on the river bottom," Nightwing said.
Batman observed, "We're about 28 to 30 feet from the top of this pipe we're in ..." He reached to his utility belt for his grapnel. "It's gone, my grapnel is ..."
"So is MINE!" Nightwing said.
Robin confirmed that his was missing too.
"Oh, Caped Crusaders?!" Harley Quinn yelled down in a sing-song voice. "Are you looking for these?" She held one of the grapnels out so they could see it from the bottom of the pipe.
"We're locked in -- like speciman's at the bottom of a test tube!" Robin said.
A loud laugh came from above. "Yes, you are, bird brain. And in a few minutes, we're going to sink this pipe even further into the river bottom and the three of you ..." He chuckled. "... will ..." He laughed. "... drown," he laughed hysterically. So did Harley and the Riddler.
The Joker continued taunting the Caped Crusaders. "Even if you do get out of there Bat-Breath, we'll be long gone." He laughed again.
Then it was the Riddler's turn to taunt. "But before we go," he shouted down the pipe, "I have a little riddle for you to ponder while you're sitting down there."
The Joker grabbed the Riddler's arm and swung him around to face him. "NO, Riddler! Why do you have to leave a riddle?"
Riddler spoke in a quick voice, "Oh, I must, I must. Outwitting Batman is my sole delight, my joy, my heaven on Earth ... my very paaaradise." He giggled.
The Joker cocked his head, smiled and laughed along with the Riddler.
The Riddler continued, "Here it is, Batman. In four days, it was great day because it was "V" Day."
Robin shouted up, "Yeah! And what's the riddle?"
"That's it!" came Riddler's answer. He giggled like a hyhena.
One of the Joker's henchmen who was waiting below the mechanical platform asked, "Hey, Joker! What do you want me to do with this girl in the wheelchair?"
"I don't care," Joker replied. "Throw her into the river."
Barbara Gordon screamed, "WHAT?!!"
From the bottom of the pipe, "WHAT'S GOING ON OUT THERE?!!" Nightwing yelled. "BARBARA?!!"
Robin said, "We've got to get out of here. Who knows what those maniacs are doing up there."
Once again, Batman's matchless capacity to deal with disaster came to the rescue. "Well, I still have my utility belt. And where there's a drill, there's a way!" he said.
Batman brought out a hand drill and began drilling holes into the pipe.
Robin exclaimed, "Batman!? We'll drown!"
"No, we won't," answered the Caped Crusader. "The human body can float. If the water comes into the pipe from up above, we'll never have a chance. But if we can allow water to enter the pipe at a controlled rate from below, we can float our way up to the top."
Within moments, river water poured into the pipe from the holes Batman had drilled.
Robin said, "Batman! It's working! At this rate it'll only be a few minutes until we float to the top."
A few minutes later, the three heroes reached the top of the pipe. They dropped into the river and swam the short distance to the riverbank. A soaking wet Barbara Gordon was waiting for them along with several Gotham City police officers.
Nightwing ran to Barbara. "Miss Gordon, are you alright? They didn't harm you did they?"
"No, I'm fine. Thank you, Nightwing," she answered. She turned to Batman and asked, "Batman? Did you hear that last riddle by the Riddler? Do you know the answer?"
The Masked Manhunter replied, "Not yet, Miss Gordon. Do you know what it was that the Joker and the Riddler were after?"
"One of the librarians said it was a book entitled The Secret Subterranean Architecture Of Gotham City."
Robin asked, "A book on underground architecture? What could those two possibly want with that, Batman?"
"I don't know, Robin, but we'll find out," answered the Dark Knight. He turned back to Barbara and gave a little salute with two fingers. "Thank you for the information, Miss Gordon. We're sorry if you were placed into any danger."
"It wasn't your fault, Batman," she replied.
Nightwing said in a concerned tone, "Please, Miss Gordon, get into some dry clothes as soon as you can."
"I will, Nightwing. Thank you."
"To the Batcave!" said Batman
"Goodbye, Miss Gordon," Nightwing said looking into her eyes.
"Goodbye, Nightwing," she said, looking right back.
To be continued ...
By Bruce Wayne
DISCLAIMER: Most of the characters portrayed in this story are copyright by DC Comics, an AOL/Time/Warner company. They are used without permission for entertainment without profit by the author.
CHAPTER 4 - CHECKING OUT A BOOK
It was almost closing time at the Gotham City Main Public Library Building. The main library was a new building that had been open for only four months. The new, three-story structure was located along the banks of the Gotham River.
During the day, a work crew had been working on the construction of a new municipal water tower located behind the library. The water tower was only partially finished. At night, the workers would just lock up their heavy equipment and go home.
Inside the library, Barbara Gordon was at a table looking at some research papers for the Gotham Historical Society. Over the years, Barbara had maintained her keen interest in the history of Gotham City. She was recognized as one of the foremost experts on the subject.
Barbara thought to herself, "I'm almost done here." She glanced at the watch on her left wrist. "Good thing because it's almost closing time." The young lady reached for her cellular phone in her handbag. "I'll call daddy and ask him one more time if he wants to go out for dinner. He'll probably say no."
At police headquarters, Commissioner Gordon answered the call on his private line. "Gordon," he simply answered.
On the other end: "Daddy, are you sure you won't go out for dinner? This is your last chance."
"Oh, Barbara, I'm sorry. I can't. Batman is still here and we're trying to figure out the Riddler's next move. I'll catch a sandwich or something later tonight," replied the Commissioner.
"Well, I understand, daddy ..."
Not far from where Barbara Gordon was sitting, at the main desk, the Riddler and the Joker were questioning a librarian.
"Oh, dear madam? We're interested in checking out a book," said the Joker with a smile.
"Of course," the woman answered pleasantly. "Do you have it? Or is it a special book that I'll have to get for you?"
The Joker laughed. "Oh, I do believe it's special. Yes, indeed. The title of the book is ..." He had to stop to laugh. "... The Secret Subterranean Architecture Of Gotham City."
The librarian was intrigued that these two odd looking men were interested in that particular book. "Most certainly, sir. That book is kept in the vault behind me. May I see your green card?"
The Joker laughed in genuine amusement. "My green card? I'm afraid I don't have one." Pointing to his head, he asked, "Will my green hair do, instead?" He laughed again.
"Oh, I'm afraid not, sir," the woman replied seriously. "For security purposes, anyone who wishes to view that particular book must show their official Gotham City green security card." She then lowered her voice almost to a whisper and told the two men, "The card is signed by Batman." She nodded knowingly to the two villians.
The Joker laughed heartily. "Indeed. Really? Well, I'm a close friend of Batman. Perhaps you've seen pictures of us together in the newspapers? You might say I'm greatly responsible for Batman's reputation."
The woman was delightfully surprised by the Joker's statement. "Really? How interesting."
"How about my friend's, green suit, here? Will this do?" The Joker asked as he turned toward the Riddler.
"No, I'm afraid not ..."
The Riddler interrupted, "Riddle me this! What can be stripped, blown, cracked, drilled and opened? Answer -- A SAFE!" He giggled.
The librarian was becoming alarmed by these two men, "What are you talking about?"
The Joker laughed along with the Riddler. "Oh, dear lady, what my esteemed associate means is that you will kindly get that book for us. No matter what."
The woman stood her ground and protested. In a scolding voice, she said, "I will not. I told you ..."
"NO! You listen to US," the Riddler interrupted.
The Joker pulled out his long barrelled gun from the waistband of his pants and pointed it at the librarian. The woman stepped back in horror, her hand clasped to her mouth.
The Riddler continued, "We need that book. Now open that safe or ..."
Barbara Gordon was still talking to her father on her cellular phone. "Daddy! The Joker and the Riddler are here at the library! Right now!"
Back at police headquarters, the astonished commissioner asked his daughter, "Barbara?! Are you sure, dear?"
"Daddy, the Joker is pointing a gun at one of the librarians!"
The Commissioner looked to the Caped Crusaders and said, "Batman! The Joker and the Riddler are at the Gotham Public Library. Barbara says they're holding a gun on a librarian!"
"Holy Tip-Off!" Robin declared while punching his right fist into the palm of his left hand.
Nightwing shoved Robin in the back, who stumbled a step.
"To the Batmobile!" Batman ordered.
Batman, Robin and Nightwing ran out the door.
Chief O'Hara immediately picked up another phone, punched a button and announced, "Clear all exits for the Batmobile! I repeat, clear all exits for the Batmobile."
Back at the library, the Joker threatened, "Open the safe, dear lady."
The woman, now knowing that she was in the company of desperate criminals, was very nervous and turned the dial for the combination of the safe with a shaking hand. She failed three times before she finally succeeded.
The Riddler roughly pushed the librarian aside and pulled open the heavy door. He started rummaging through the vault. "I don't see it, Joker! I can't find it ... Aha!" He giggled. "Here it is!" He came out of the vault with a book in his hands. "Ahhh, we're business Mr Joker."
"And what kind of business is that?" asked a voice from behind the two criminals.
The voice was very familiar to the two villians. They turned around very slowly and were amazed by who they saw.
"Batman?! How did you get here? We left no clues that we were coming here," the Joker said. Then he turned angrily to the Riddler. "Or did you, Riddler?!"
The Riddler answered, "No! There was no time to leave a riddle for Batman. We had to hurry to get here in time."
Robin answered their question, "A police report, Joker. We just happened to be in the neighborhood."
Nightwing slammed his fist into the palm of his other hand and said with menace in his voice, "I think we should clean up the neighborhood."
The Joker tried to stay brave and calm in front of the crimefighters. "We came prepared. MEN! GET THEM!" he yelled.
"Me, too, puddin?" Harley asked quickly.
"YES!" replied the Joker in an exasperated tone.
Six henchman and Harley Quinn attacked the Caped Crusaders from behind.
Nightwing executed a perfect mule kick into one henchman's groin. The man dropped to the floor like he was hit with a pile of bricks. Nightwing turned slightly and backhanded another hardguy across the face which sent the man sprawling.
Batman dived to the floor. A crook went flying over him, missing his would- be tackle.
Robin was able to grab Harley from behind and had a bear hug on her. She was jumping around like a jack-in-the-box. Squirming and screaming, Harley warned Robin, "Hey! Watch those hands, Boy Wonder!"
Three criminals jumped on Robin. Nightwing saw what was happening and went to his aid. One henchman who was standing in his way was knocked down by a flying drop kick from the martial arts expert.
Barbara Gordon, who always hated to miss the action ever since she could no longer be Batgirl, wheeled her way closer to watch the entire scene.
Nightwing reached the pile of bodies on top of Robin. He picked one man up and threw him several feet. The former Boy Wonder tapped another attacker on the shoulder. The henchman turned to look and Nightwing punched him to the floor.
As Harley was crawling away from the pile, Robin was able to flip over the remaining crook who attacked him.
The Riddler and the Joker teamed up to attack Batman. The Dark Knight punched the Joker. Then he gave the Riddler a punch to the jaw. But before Batman could punch the Joker again, Nightwing leveled the Clown Prince of Crime with a flying drop kick which sent the Joker flying over a table near Barbara Gordon.
Robin downed another would-be attacker.
Batman put three more henchman out of commission by pushing a large bookcase on top of them.
Nightwing wiped out two more criminals by crashing their heads together.
The Joker, who was dazed, looked incredlously at the Riddler, who was now flying over a table. The Joker shook his head and then he saw ... Barbara Gordon.
The young woman looked somewhat familiar to him, but in his dazed condition he wasn't sure of anything. All he knew was she was a potential hostage. Quickly, he grabbed her and put an arm around her neck from behind. He took out his gun and pointed it at her head. He then yelled, "BATMAN! Cease fighting or this young lady DIES!"
Everyone in the room stopped and turned to look at the Joker and his hostage.
Harley Quinn ran over and faced Robin. Sounding like a child taunting a playmate, she told him, "You and yer pointy-eared partner think yer so smart! But you forgot I got a partner all my own!"
"JOKER! If you harm a hair on that girl's head, I'll make sure you don't leave here alive! Let her go! She's just an innocent bystander!" yelled Nightwing.
From behind the Caped Crusaders, three henchmen picked up wooden chairs and slammed them into the backs of Batman, Robin and Nightwing, knocking them unconscious.
***
The criminals managed to drag the unconscious trio outside to the construction area behind the library. Harley Quinn was elected Barbara Gordon's wheelchair pusher and brought her outside as well to witness the scene.
After spinning Barbara around in several directions, Harley asked the young woman, "Wheee! Ya wanna do another wheelie, Red?!"
"NO!" she replied icily.
A powerful hoist was used to swing out a thirty-foot section of a very large pipe. The pipe was to be used to transfer water into the new water tower.
The Joker ordered, "Now ... cap one end of the pipe and drop it into the water." He laughed. "Make sure the closed end rests on the bottom.
Swiftly the henchmen, who must have had some experience in construction work, completed their task. They used three ropes to guy off the pipe to help it remain in an upright position.
Riddler said, "Good! Ready to dump the bats inside?"
Using a mechanical platform, the criminals lifted the unconscious forms of Batman, Robin and Nightwing into the top of the tube.
"That's right," Joker laughed. "Feet first ... down he goes. Now, Boy Blunder."
A minute later, one of the henchmen yelled, "Finished, Joker! All three bats in the tube."
Jarred back into consciousness by their precipitous drop, Batman, Robin and Nightwing assessed their grim situation.
"Water lapping outside ... sky above ... we're on the river bottom," Nightwing said.
Batman observed, "We're about 28 to 30 feet from the top of this pipe we're in ..." He reached to his utility belt for his grapnel. "It's gone, my grapnel is ..."
"So is MINE!" Nightwing said.
Robin confirmed that his was missing too.
"Oh, Caped Crusaders?!" Harley Quinn yelled down in a sing-song voice. "Are you looking for these?" She held one of the grapnels out so they could see it from the bottom of the pipe.
"We're locked in -- like speciman's at the bottom of a test tube!" Robin said.
A loud laugh came from above. "Yes, you are, bird brain. And in a few minutes, we're going to sink this pipe even further into the river bottom and the three of you ..." He chuckled. "... will ..." He laughed. "... drown," he laughed hysterically. So did Harley and the Riddler.
The Joker continued taunting the Caped Crusaders. "Even if you do get out of there Bat-Breath, we'll be long gone." He laughed again.
Then it was the Riddler's turn to taunt. "But before we go," he shouted down the pipe, "I have a little riddle for you to ponder while you're sitting down there."
The Joker grabbed the Riddler's arm and swung him around to face him. "NO, Riddler! Why do you have to leave a riddle?"
Riddler spoke in a quick voice, "Oh, I must, I must. Outwitting Batman is my sole delight, my joy, my heaven on Earth ... my very paaaradise." He giggled.
The Joker cocked his head, smiled and laughed along with the Riddler.
The Riddler continued, "Here it is, Batman. In four days, it was great day because it was "V" Day."
Robin shouted up, "Yeah! And what's the riddle?"
"That's it!" came Riddler's answer. He giggled like a hyhena.
One of the Joker's henchmen who was waiting below the mechanical platform asked, "Hey, Joker! What do you want me to do with this girl in the wheelchair?"
"I don't care," Joker replied. "Throw her into the river."
Barbara Gordon screamed, "WHAT?!!"
From the bottom of the pipe, "WHAT'S GOING ON OUT THERE?!!" Nightwing yelled. "BARBARA?!!"
Robin said, "We've got to get out of here. Who knows what those maniacs are doing up there."
Once again, Batman's matchless capacity to deal with disaster came to the rescue. "Well, I still have my utility belt. And where there's a drill, there's a way!" he said.
Batman brought out a hand drill and began drilling holes into the pipe.
Robin exclaimed, "Batman!? We'll drown!"
"No, we won't," answered the Caped Crusader. "The human body can float. If the water comes into the pipe from up above, we'll never have a chance. But if we can allow water to enter the pipe at a controlled rate from below, we can float our way up to the top."
Within moments, river water poured into the pipe from the holes Batman had drilled.
Robin said, "Batman! It's working! At this rate it'll only be a few minutes until we float to the top."
A few minutes later, the three heroes reached the top of the pipe. They dropped into the river and swam the short distance to the riverbank. A soaking wet Barbara Gordon was waiting for them along with several Gotham City police officers.
Nightwing ran to Barbara. "Miss Gordon, are you alright? They didn't harm you did they?"
"No, I'm fine. Thank you, Nightwing," she answered. She turned to Batman and asked, "Batman? Did you hear that last riddle by the Riddler? Do you know the answer?"
The Masked Manhunter replied, "Not yet, Miss Gordon. Do you know what it was that the Joker and the Riddler were after?"
"One of the librarians said it was a book entitled The Secret Subterranean Architecture Of Gotham City."
Robin asked, "A book on underground architecture? What could those two possibly want with that, Batman?"
"I don't know, Robin, but we'll find out," answered the Dark Knight. He turned back to Barbara and gave a little salute with two fingers. "Thank you for the information, Miss Gordon. We're sorry if you were placed into any danger."
"It wasn't your fault, Batman," she replied.
Nightwing said in a concerned tone, "Please, Miss Gordon, get into some dry clothes as soon as you can."
"I will, Nightwing. Thank you."
"To the Batcave!" said Batman
"Goodbye, Miss Gordon," Nightwing said looking into her eyes.
"Goodbye, Nightwing," she said, looking right back.
To be continued ...