Batman and the associated characters are owned by DC. James Bond and the associated characters were created by Ian Fleming. With thanks to Cmar for beta reading this for me and thanks to all the reviewers and readers so far! All reviews welcome.
Golden Bat – Chapter Ten
The Joker sat at the table with his feet up. He was grinning at the other men in the meeting, not that he had much choice. The man at the head of the table was stroking a very expensive white Persian cat. The man was scarred with piercing blue eyes. The soulless eyes of a killer.
"Report number five," he hissed.
"The device is not yet fully functional, number one," said Damian Alvey, the director in charge of Wayne Tech.
"The plan was for it to be operational today."
"We are having to move the device. It is getting too unhealthy for us to stay."
"You have failed me."
"I was not in charge of security. You hired the Joker and his gang to look after the place."
"Are you saying I am wrong?" hissed Blofeld.
"Kids, kids," said the Joker. "This is not getting anything done."
"Silence."
"Talk to me like that again, bub, and I'll give you a matching scar on the other side. I'm only here for what I was promised. One little nuclear warhead! I mean you have six and there is a plot of land I know that is just dying for some urban regeneration."
"You will only get what was promised if you can keep the warehouse clear of uninvited guests for another twenty-four hours."
Damian Alvey was sweating a bit. "We've got a bit of a problem with that, sir."
"What?"
"Bruce Wayne is still alive and he has a scheduled visit today."
"Terminate him when he arrives."
"It'll be too suspicious if he disappears there. Everyone knows he is visiting us today!"
"Question my orders again and I'll have you executed for dereliction of duty."
"We've also seen James Bond sniffing around. We've been monitoring his movements. He's staying with Wayne as well."
"Bond…" hissed Blofeld while touching the scar on his face that 007 had put there three years earlier.
"I think we should cancel the plan."
"No."
"At least put it on hold for a few weeks till the heat's off."
"No. The plan will go ahead as scheduled."
"Okay, okay," said Alvey. "We found out where the leak from your organisation was from sir." Alvey got his mobile out and rang one number. "Bring him in, Jaws."
The door opened and Nicholas Bennett, the man responsible for auditing Wayne Tech and telling the federal services about accounting malpractice, was pushed in by Jaws. He was looking terrified and he tried to fight off Jaws but it was like trying to fight against a rock.
"You told the intelligence services what was going on," said Blofeld.
"No! I didn't tell them anything was going on. I just report accounting malpractice."
"Because of you we are having to alter our plans."
"Please let me go! I'm only an accountant. I don't mean to harm anyone."
"Jaws, kill him."
There was a heartrending scream from Bennett as Jaws dragged him outside the room. The scream was abruptly cut off outside.
"Anyone else want a bite to eat?"
Bond walked down the stairs of Wayne Manor. He checked his watch. Eight o'clock. Alfred was down at the bottom of the stairs.
"Good morning, Mr Bond. Breakfast is served, sir."
"Thank you Alfred."
"I trust you slept well, sir?"
"Well enough."
"Through here, please sir."
Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle were already having breakfast in the dining room.
"Morning, Mr Bond," said Bruce. "Slept well I hope? We are going to have a busy day."
Bond sat down and started eating. "Are you going to Wayne Tech today?"
"Yes. I have a little proposition for you."
"Go on."
"Wayne Tech has been divided into a new high security section. I can't get in there on my own. We need someone to turn off the power so Selina can break into the place."
"I am not a handyman."
"This is not a job for a handyman." Bruce laid out the plans of Wayne Tech on the table. "The power supply is here."
"Right next to a guard room."
"If you can destroy or disable the generator it will take thirty seconds before the emergency power cuts in. In that time Selina can get past the gun turrets and electrified wall and into the elevator."
"I might have to kill some of your precious guards."
With a thump sound that rattled some of the boiled eggs out of their holders Bruce put a sleek black gun on the table. "This gun fires tranquillizer darts. Effective range forty yards. If you hit anyone on the skin it will knock them out in under a second. Do you think you can use this?"
Bond picked up the gun and aimed it at a picture of a group of cavaliers on the wall. In two seconds four of them had a dart sticking out of their forehead. "Seems simple enough. Might I ask where you got such a device and why you think Selina will be able to break into such a place?"
"You can ask…" said Bruce making it clear he would not get an answer.
"Will your guards be using a tranquillizer gun?"
"Probably not."
"I'll use this but if I need to I'll shoot to kill."
Bruce's face froze at this comment but he forced himself to smile. "I hope you won't need to."
"And while we are doing this you will just be being given a guided tour? Whoever is behind this is playing for keeps. How do we know they won't simply kill you?"
"Bruce is rather good at looking after himself," said Selina.
"So while I'm playing chase with the guards and destroying their power, you'll be disabling their security? What will you be doing then, Bruce?"
"Asking annoying questions and questioning their efficiency. Everything a good boss should do when visiting a company."
"My mission is to find the nuclear missile and terminate whoever is responsible."
"You're not killing anyone in my city but I am just as interested as you in finding this nuclear missile."
Bond pocketed the tranquillizer gun. "I'll work with you for this time then." He sampled some of the fish and then said, "Alfred, I'll have some more of that Rainbow trout please? From one of the great lakes of Wisconsin by the taste, right?"
Catwoman looked down in the street below. Bruce Wayne and Alfred were just pulling into the Wayne Tech parking lot. She used her whip to attach to a telecom wire that ran to the building and swung herself up until she was hanging by her ankles one hundred feet above street level.
The communicator buzzed in her ear. "Are you in position?"
"Yes, Bruce. I'll be on the roof shortly." She crawled along the cable until she was over the roof and then she dropped the twenty feet to the roof and rolled when she landed to slow her momentum. The roof was looking distinctly battered since the last two visitors and there was a team of workmen fixing the glass up ahead. She crawled along the roof on her stomach keeping a very low profile. She even went past a flock of pigeons roosting on the roof and they didn't even wake up. She licked her lips. The sight made her hungry.
One of the workmen had left a cheese and pickle sandwich, a carton of orange juice and a chocolate bar next to where he was replacing the pane of glass. When he turned around to start eating, only the chocolate bar was left (she was on a diet).
"Bruce Wayne to see Damian Alvey," said Alfred into the telecommunications device next to the main gate.
"Bruce Wayne? Mr Wayne! Yes sir. Gate opening now, sir!" The gate opened with a clanking noise and Alfred drove the limousine into the car park. A space had been left for him just outside the main building.
Alfred got out the car and opened the door for Bruce Wayne. A man came running out of the building towards them. Bruce tensed and Alfred could sense his demeanour changing.
"Mr Wayne! Mr Wayne!" said Damian Alvey. "I'm so sorry I wasn't here to greet you at the gate. I've just got out of an important meeting."
"Damian," said Bruce and curtly nodded his head. For a moment Alvey wasn't too sure who he was scared of most, Blofeld or Wayne?
"Indeed, indeed," said Damian Alvey. "If you could follow me please? Is your man accompanying you?"
"Yes."
"Of course he is, of course he is," said Damian. "And your name is?"
"Pennyworth, Alfred Pennyworth."
"Of course, of course," said Damian nervously. "Please come in, gentlemen. Can I get you a coffee? Tea? Biscuit? Whisky? It's a little early for whisky, perhaps, but you never know!" He laughed nervously.
"We'll have a coffee," said Bruce, "and a chat."
"Certainly, certainly," said Damian. "Please follow me, gentlemen."
They walked through a modern looking corridor. Both sides had glass panels and there were people in static prevention suits working in both sides. "These are our static, dust and magnetic field free areas where we are working on the latest technology. It is our nano-technology work."
"The same work that Feynman, Gimzewski and Kroto are working on?" said Wayne.
"We've improved on their work, Bruce," said Damian, his confidence getting back as he was in his own territory again. "Please let me show you my office and we can talk about this at length."
Catwoman was crawling along the wall outside the complex. Her clawed hands and feet gave her plenty of purchase. She used a small dental mirror to check the next window along. Good. It seemed to be an empty office. She clambered up onto the window ledge and started to open the window when something made her stop. The paint was peeling on the inside of the window and a small wire was exposed. The window was alarmed. Fifty feet up and they alarmed the windows. They didn't trust anyone in this city.
Tutting to herself, she slid a small sliver of metal under the window to continue the electrical connection and then opened the window quietly. She crouched on the desk and closed the window behind her. The door in front of her opened and a man walked in with a cup of coffee. He sat down on his chair and put his coffee to one side while he checked his phone for any voice mail. When he next turned around his coffee had gone…
"Sit down, sit down," said Alvey. "I'll bring you some coffee in."
They were sitting in a very plush office with views on both sides of Gotham. The desk had the latest voice over IP phone and had a small digital screen to show who was talking to him. There were several pictures of yachts, his pride and joy, on the wall. A photo on his desk showed a family photo of them out at sea somewhere. There were two other photos of his son on the desk.
Alvey returned shortly with three cups of steaming coffee. "Have some coffee, gentlemen. I forgot to ask if you wanted sugar so I brought some sachets in. I'm preparing a presentation for you. Just a minute." Alvey started clicking on his laptop to look for the right file.
"How's your son?" asked Bruce, thinking back. "Wasn't he in a car crash recently?"
Damian stopped typing and tensed. "He's getting better, God willing. In fact what we are working on might be able to help him. It might be able to help everybody I hope."
Bruce looked over at Alfred who was sniffing the coffee. He gave Bruce a barely imperceptible shake of his head and mouthed the word, "cyanide". Alfred got to his feet and 'accidentally' tipped over the coffee tray all over Alvey's desk.
"I'm terribly sorry, how clumsy of me," said Alfred. "You two wait there. I'll get some paper towels. Do go on without me."
Damian Alvey paled at this latest development and lifted his laptop out of the rapidly increasing pool of coffee on his desk. "I can get you another coffee," he said.
"Don't worry about that," said Bruce. "Just carry on with the presentation."
In the corridor, 'Alfred' removed his lifelike rubber mask to reveal James Bond. He turned his chauffeur's jacket inside out to reveal a Wayne Tech Security jacket complete with logo. He attached a plastic identification label to the front and started walking down the corridor.
He had only seen the building plans once, briefly, but that was all he needed. His gun was snugly in his shoulder holster and its closeness gave him confidence. A guardroom was next door to the power generator. He opened the door to the guardroom.
"Who the hell are…" one of the guards who was sitting down reading a paper said, before a dart caught him in the neck. Three other guards fell silently to the ground as well, a dart sticking out of each of their foreheads.
Bond pocketed the gun and closed the door to the guardroom. He got a small vial out of his pocket and poured it into the lock. There was a strong smell of burning and the lock melted shut. They would have to batter their way out. There was a running sound behind him and without even looking he shot a dart behind him and the guard came crashing down at his feet.
Catwoman slinked along the corridor into the warehouse. She crawled along the tops of the wooden boxes and leapt agilely over gaps. The secure section Bruce Wayne was interested in was up ahead. She looked about. There were two security cameras sweeping the area and five gun turrets. She grabbed hold of the gantry about a hundred feet from the ground and crawled nimbly upside down towards the cameras. On each of them she attached a small digital device that would take the last thirty seconds of visual feed and loop it back so anyone watching the cameras would see no difference.
"Don't move, catlady!" said a voice. "I've got you in my sights."
She hissed in annoyance and looked behind her. A guard had clambered to the top of the boxes and was aiming a machine gun at the small of her back.
Catwoman dropped from her high perch and lashed out with her whip at the guard whilst falling. The whip yanked the gun out of his hand. She span around in midair and snaked her whip out again which wrapped it around the gantry. She put one foot in the whip's handle, caught the falling gun in one hand and rolled in midair towards the guard and caught the man, while still spinning herself, with a fist. She caught the guard before he fell and lowered him gently down. She spun the gun around with one hand and ejected the cartridge case, which she placed gently by the comatose guard.
Her whip, which was still hanging from the gantry, was still swinging. She caught it on the next pass and gave it a shake to free it. She looked at her watch. The power should be going down in five minutes. She curled up at the top of the packing cases and watched and waited…
The lights were down in the office and Damian Alvey was showing Bruce Wayne a presentation on the screen. Alvey, despite Bruce's insistence, had brought in another two coffees. Bruce had another coffee in front of him. He had sniffed it cautiously when it came in and could not detect any poisons. He sipped it, allowing the coffee to percolate over his lips and tongue. There was no strange taste, no peculiar tingling sensations that could indicate a poison.
"We've come along in leaps and bounds in nano technology, Bruce," said Alvey, showing a picture of an experimental setup for cantilever arrays. "We can get a cantilever 500 u long and just 1 u thick."
"What does this mean in real terms?"
"These nano-droids, as we call them, can change DNA. They can even change people at a subatomic level. Cancer? It could be a thing of the past. Malaria? Viruses? We can change their DNA at a subatomic level to whatever we want it to be. If you lose a leg, an arm or use of your back we can program your DNA with these nano-droids to force your body to regrow itself. Hell. We can even tell your body to stop aging if we want it to!" Despite himself Bruce was fascinated by this talk. "You ever wanted to be a superhero?" Alvey asked.
"Me? A superhero?"
"Hell, of course you have. Everyone has. We are working on the DNA of superheroes we have on file. When we find out what the flying or superstrength or whatever it is comes from we can get these to program our own DNA."
"This work sounds incredible. Why have I not heard about it before?"
"We've hit a flaw. To even change one human we would need to have at least 200,000 nano-droids. Previously we had only been able to manufacture a couple of hundred or so using a particle accelerator, huge magnetic fields and a very small controlled source of neutrons and protons. We created enough to change daphnia and fruit flies, but that is all."
"What's the problem?"
"We need a clean pure source of fissile uranium. Only when we have a large controlled release of protons and neutrons can we make these nano-droids in sufficient numbers to make a difference." Alvey started smiling.
"Fissile uranium? Where would you get such a source? A nuclear missile?" Bruce was starting to sweat. His breath was getting shallow. Something was wrong with him…
"This won't be a problem for you, Wayne," said Alvey, his voice hardening.
"Why not?" Bruce Wayne was having real trouble breathing. He caught a glance of his reflection in Alvey's glass desk and was shocked to realise he was going a strange mottled red colour.
"As you're already dead. The very air you are breathing is filled with thousands of nano-droids and they are all programmed in on your DNA to kill you from a cellular level."
James Bond will return in Chapter Eleven! (Just not too sure about Bruce Wayne?)