Tang Ri Shan
Red Wings
(This is a sequel to Beware the Batman: Conundrum. I suggest reading that story if you have not done so already)
Chapter 7
"What's going on!?" Barbara exclaimed as the screams from down the hall continued, followed by what sounded like pounding on wood.
"I'll find out. You two stay here!" Tatsu ordered, nodding covertly to Barbara, before darting through the doorway, slamming the door behind her in the process.
No sooner had she done so than Richard moved towards the door. "Where are you going?" Barbara asked, grabbing Richard's hand.
"I have to go find Miss Kane." Richard replied without looking back, twisting his hand in Barbara's grasp and pulling it free.
"But Miss Yamashiro said to stay..."
ZZZAPPPPP! "AAARGHHH!" Barbara was cut off as they heard a loud snapping sound before Tatsu cried out in pain, followed by a loud thud. Oh great! Barbara moaned inwardly. So much for a quiet night! Barbara heard Richard suck in an angry breath and then was practically yanked off her feet as Richard again surged towards the door. His hand came free and he bolted forwards, yanking the door open.
"Richard! Wait!" Barbara called, making the boy freeze in the doorway.
Richard took a deep breath, and when he turned around, there was a small smile on his face. "Relax, I'm just gonna go see what the problem is. Just wait here okay?"
"Richard, don't be...!" Barbara tried to argue, but she was talking to an empty doorway. Richard was gone. "Boys!" Barbara exclaimed as she turned back to look for her purse, finding it on the floor near the windowsill. "They never want to listen!" She fussed as she fished through her purse and pulled out her earpiece. Slipping it in her ear, she pressed a button and heard a click. "Katana, can you hear me?" She called, listening to the static buzzing in her ear for a few seconds. "Katana?" She tried again, but there was still no reply. Frowning, she pressed a second button next to the first and heard another click. "Batman come in!" Even though Barbara knew who Batman and Katana were, she still used their code-names when she was communication, more out of habit than anything else. "Batman?" She tried again, but there was still nothing but static.
BANG! Barbara jumped as a boom rang through the building and the volume of the screams seemed to double. "Oh heck with it!" Barbara cursed and pressed a third button. This time Barbara didn't hear a click in her ear, but rather a series of soft beeps.
At the Old Gotham Zoo...
The zoo, just as abandoned as ever, was almost dead quiet. The only noise came from inside one of the old buildings, where a large colony of bats were roosting.
"BeepBeepBeepBeepBeepBeepBeep!" A beeping noise cut through the silence, causing the bats to stir and screech in protest. Then the colony exploded into the air as a large winged form dropped from the ceiling into a pool of moonlight coming in through a broken window.
Man-Bat rose to his feet and moved over to a lab table, where a small box that looked like a cell phone was ringing. The flashing screen showed the word Oracle.
Man-Bat frowned in confusion, then picked up the pager and tapped the screen twice. The beeping stopped and he held it to his ear. "Oracle?"
"Man-Bat! Finally!" Man-Bat frowned as a shrill voice seeped from the device.
"Oracle, what are you...?"
"No time to explain!" Oracle cut Man-Bat off. "Something's happening at City Hall. You and Metamorpho need to get here, NOW!"
"Why are you telling me this? Where are Batman and Katana?" Man-Bat asked.
There was a pause, and when Oracle's voice came back, she sounded nervous. "I don't know where they are! I haven't been able to reach them!"
Now Man-Bat felt worried. "I'm on my way" He said, before tapping the screen, which dimmed as the call ended. Turning the device over, Man-Bat opened a compartment and pulled out an earpiece and a microphone on a cord. He slipped the cord over his head and clasped the earpiece next to one of his large ears before dashing to the window and leaping through it. Spreading his great leathery wings once he was clear, Man-Bat soared into the night away from the zoo, towards town.
At City Hall...
Barbara glanced around to make sure she was alone, than took off her glasses and stuck them inside her purse. She then pulled out her Oracle mask and slipped it on, making sure it covered her eyes. At once, her vision cleared, thanks to the prescription lenses in the mask. Opening her purse again, she pulled out a pair of black flats which she exchanged with the heels she was currently wearing and then she opened the door and scanned the deserted hallway, before dashing to a nearby coat closet and darting inside. Switching on the single bulb light, she ran her hands across the array of coats until she found a dark gray coat that fit her. The closet door came equipped with a mirror and Barbara examined her appearance in the dim light. With the coat, flats, and mask, she was almost unrecognizable.
Oracle slipped out of the room, and made her way further down the hall to the ballroom where the police gala was held. As she rounded the corner, she stopped dead, her mouth open in shock. Tatsu was lying face-down in front of the ballroom's double doors, unmoving. "Miss Yamashiro!" Oracle gasped, darting to the fallen woman's side. She shook the woman's shoulder, but there was no response. Heart fluttering, Oracle slowly placed two fingers on the woman's neck. To her relief, she felt the flutter of a pulse. Tatsu was fine, just unconscious.
As Oracle rose to her feet, the yelling coming from the Ballroom, which had been a background noise to her, suddenly seemed three times as loud. But it wasn't the sudden increase in volume that made Oracle pause, it was that she suddenly realized that it wasn't yelling she was hearing, but laughing. Lots and lots of it.
Oracle's first thoughts were confusion. Laughter? But she had definitely heard screams earlier, hadn't she? Or had those screams only been from Katana? Oracle glanced back at the fallen woman, then at the doors, unsure of what to do next. She had an unconscious partner on the floor in front of her, another partner beyond those doors who was for some reason completely unreachable, and two more partners that were on their way here (she hoped) and would be pretty mad at her if this turned out to be a false alarm.
Then, with these thoughts whirling though her mind, Oracle noticed something. The laughter coming from behind the double doors was two things, it was unusually loud, like on par with shrieking, and it wasn't stopping, as in there was no gap in between the chuckles. Frowning, Oracle tried the handles, but they they didn't budge. Oracle pounded on the door. "Can anyone hear me in there?" She yelled at the top of her lungs. For a few minutes there was no response, then Oracle heard a few weak knocks from the other side of the door. She knelt down and yelled through the keyhole. "What's going on in there?"
"HAHAHAHAHA-cant'-HAHAHAHHAHA-stop-HAHAHAHAHAHAHA-laughing-HAHAHAHAHA-help!" Alfred's voice groaned in response, the effort it used to form the words in between laughs made Oracle's blood run cold, even without the loud thump that followed and Oracle's easily conceived vision of the butler falling to the floor on the other side of the door.
"Man-Bat! Metamorpho! Where are you?" Oracle yelled aloud as she pounded on the door again.
"Right here" Man-Bat's reply came not form her earpiece, but from behind her. Oracle spun around to see the hybrid perched on the sill of an open window. "What's happening?"
"There's trouble in there!" Oracle pointed to the doors behind her. "Where's Metamorpho?" She demanded. Man-Bat shrugged his shoulders, making his leathery wings flutter.
The doors leading to the street suddenly burst open and Metamorpho swaggered in, his face set in a trademark scowl. His purple eyes scanned the room and locked onto Oracle and his scowl deepened. "This had better be good" He growled
Oracle frowned back at the lumbering hero before shaking her head. "Trust me, this is urgent. Nearly all of Gotham's Police force is trapped in that room!" Oracle pointed to the double doors and both heroes paused to listen to the roaring laughter issuing from behind them.
"They don't sound too worried" Man-Bat noted and Metamorpho nodded. Oracle groaned angrily.
"Trust me, this isn't normal laughter. We need to get in there!" She assured them.
"What about Batman and Katana?" Metamorpho asked.
"Were you able to reach them?" Man-Bat turned to Oracle.
Oracle shook her head. "I still haven't been able to contact them. I think..." Oracle paused, trying not to look at the unconscious woman on the floor behind her, or to think that Batman was beyond that door, probably dying of laughter. "I think we might be it" Man-Bat and Metamorpho glanced at each other. Though their faces were harder to read than a normal human's, Oracle could see they both looked concerned. She pointed again to the double doors."We need to get in there, but the door's sealed shut!"
"I've got it" Metamorpho stepped forward, his hands beginning to morph into hammers, but suddenly a loud thud came from behind them and the doors leading outside burst open again. As the three heroes whipped around, they saw the Red Robin standing in the doorway, the moonlight shining though tiny gaps in between the 'feathers' on his 'wings'. "Um, who is that?" Metamorpho asked in somewhat disbelief as Red Robin folded his arms to his sides, making his 'wings' disappear.
Red Robin frowned, but before he could answer Oracle cut in. "He's called Red Robin. He's been following Batman and Katana around for the last few nights."
"What is he doing here?" Man-Bat asked Oracle, but Red Robin cut in this time.
"Same as you" He said, his voice ringing with annoyance. "I'm investigating a problem here"
"And just what makes you think there's a problem here?" Metamorpho crossed his arms. Red Robin opened his mouth to answer, but Oracle came between them.
"Save the Q&A for later! Right now we need to get into that room!" She ordered, pointing again to the doors.
"I'm on it!" Red Robin lowered his shoulder and charged at the doors. He hit them hard, but ended up bounding off of them and falling to the floor. He was back on his feet in a millisecond and rammed the doors again, with the same result.
"He's going to hurt himself if he's not careful" Man-Bat pointed out as he watched the boy get back up and ram the door for a third time. Oracle nodded and glanced up at Metamorpho, clearing her throat. When the walking element looked down at her, she motioned for him to intervene. Metamorpho sighed and shook his head, but eventually stepped forward and seized the boy's arm as he was preparing for his sixth attempt.
"I've got this" He growled, shoving the boy backwards into Oracle. As the twosome went down, Oracle's hand seemed to brush Red Robin's back.
"Hey!" Red Robin yelped and leapt to his feet, then turned and glared at Oracle as she got to her feet. He made no effort to help her get up.
"Sorry" Oracle said sheepishly. Red Robin nodded briskly and they both turned just as Metamorpho lowered his shoulder and ram the doors. This time they gave, bursting open with an earthy crack. The heroes ran into the ballroom, and froze in the entrance, stunned by what they were seeing.
Every single person in the ballroom was laughing really hard. Most of them were laughing so hard they couldn't stand up, but were leaning against tables, chairs or the wall, while others were on the floor, either lying on their backs, or rolling around. Though the laughter sounded innocent enough, as Oracle glanced around, she looked into the eyes of several people and saw no sign of humor, only terror.
"What's happened to all of them?" Metamorpho asked the question on everyone's minds.
"One thing is clear, this isn't normal" Oracle answered
"Ya think?" Red Robin quipped, but Oracle ignored him, scanning the room, taking note of every detail of the room, the location of every person, the arrangement of the chairs and tables, the fluttering drapes on the stage. Oracle suddenly froze and her eyes widened beneath her mask. Her father was laying on his back near the center of the stage, his body shaking with laughter.
Ignoring the startled cries of the others, Oracle ran through the crowd and leapt onto the stage. "Commissioner?" She exclaimed, dropping to her knees beside her father, who stared up at the ceiling giggling like a little schoolboy. "Commissioner! What happened?" Oracle asked loudly, shaking the man's shoulder. But her father either couldn't hear her or he couldn't answer. He just continued laughing. As the others rushed on stage to join Oracle, the commissioner's activity suddenly changed, his giggling changed a frantic gasping and his smile faded into a look of terror. His chest heaved, like he was unable to draw breath.
"He's suffocating!" Red Robin exclaimed.
"I can see that!" Oracle's voice betrayed the rising terror she was feeling. "But why? What happened?" She yelled aloud.
As if in response, the masked girl heard noise behind her and turned to see Bruce Wayne lying near the edge of the stage, laughing like everyone else. With a shaking finger, he beckoned Oracle towards him. As the girl complied, he struggled to raise his head and speak. "hehehehehehehe...gas...hehehehehehe...under...hehehehehehehehe...stage" He wheezed in between giggles before falling back down, suddenly struggling to breathe.
Acting quickly, Oracle leapt off the stage to the floor and parted the short curtain that ran around the edge of the stage. She gasped. Just behind the curtain was a row of bright orange cylinders that looked like over-sized scuba diving tanks.
"Everyone, over here!" She called. "I found something" She heard twin thumps as Man-Bat and Metamorpho joined her, followed by a gasp from Man-Bat. "You recognize that?" Oracle glanced at the mutated scientist.
Man-Bat nodded his head, his expression vague. "If I'm not mistaken, these are canisters containing Nitrogen Pretoxide, or N2O, a very powerful form of laughing gas." He explained.
"Laughing gas?" Metamorpho repeated, sounding surprised.
Man-Bat nodded. "As you can see, this gas causes uncontrolled mirth." He gestured to the chaos occurring around the room. "It is sometimes used by hospitals to relax patients before an operation, but only in small quantities. In larger doses...it can be highly toxic. It can even be fatal"
"You're saying these guys will literally die laughing?" Oracle was startled to find Red Robin kneeling beside her. Man-Bat silently nodded, making Oracle's blood run cold. What a way to go!
"So how do we stop them laughing?" Metamorpho knelt down closer as he spoke.
Man-Bat opened his mouth to answer, but Red Robin spoke up. "Easy!" He said. "You stop the gas!" With that, he reached for the closest cylinder and grasped the handle.
"No! Don't!" Oracle yelled, but it was too late. Red Robin twisted the handle and there was a loud hisssssssss! The Outsiders leapt away as a cloud of grey mist enveloped them. "You idiot!" Oracle screamed, covering her hands with her mouth. "The gas was...hehehehehehe...already shut...hehehehe...shut off..HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Unable to stop the laughter erupting from her throat, Oracle's feet gave way and she fell to her knees as her body began writhing in uncontrolled spasms.
"I'm..hahahahaha...sorry!" Red Robin cried out as he and Man-Bat fell to the ground to her, also laughing. Metamorpho stood above them, seemingly unaffected by the gas, but he just stared down at them helplessly.
"Meta...hahahahah...morpho, help!" Oracle gasped as she sank to the floor, finding it increasingly difficult to draw air into her lungs.
"How?" Metamorpho asked, his purple eyes wide.
"W...hehehe...water! "Man-Bat chortled. "Only water...heheheheh...can neg...hehehehehe...negate the...hahahahahaha...gas!" Man-Bat explained as best he could, but he was on his back as well.
Metamorpho nodded. "I can do that" With that, the mutant held out his hands, closed his eyes, and concentrated, when suddenly..."AAAAAARRRRGGHHHHH!" He screamed as bolts of white electricity suddenly arced through his body, making him fall to the ground with a crash.
"I think not" A gravely voice made Oracle glance up. Standing over Metamorpho was a figure wearing all black, including a black cape and a black wide-brimmed hat. A black mask covered his face and one black-gloved hand clutched a telescoping taser whose end was still sparking. The figure looked over the heroes on the ground and snorted disdainfully. "I cannot allow you to interfere" He exclaimed, then pointed the sparking end of the taser towards Red Robin "Especially you, little boy" He growled.
Red Robin didn't respond right away. Instead, his hand grasped something from his belt, a winged device that looked very similar to Batman and Katana's Batarangs. He tries to throw it, but his hand is shaking too much and the weapon falls from his hand and clatters to the floor near Oracle, who glances at it, then back up at the man, who shakes his head. "Foolish boy" He scolds, bringing the sparking end of the taser within inches from Red Robin's face. "You may have stopped my tiger, but you can;t stop me now"
Tiger? Oracle's oxygen-deprived brain seemed to click at this. This guy must be talking about the Tiger attack that Batman and Katana stopped. He must have been behind it! Oracle glared up at the man, who was oblivious to her as he continued to monitor Red Robin and Metamorpho, his taser at the ready. Around the room, many of his victims had dropped to the floor, some were still laughing, many were now gasping, while others had grown silent. As Oracle glared at the man, her gaze suddenly seemed to focus the pipes above him. Her eyes widened beneath her mask. The sprinklers! she thought to herself. Man-Bat only said that water was needed to neutralize the gas, he never said what form it needed to be in! Oracle slowly lifted her head and glanced around, searching for...there! A red fire alarm box was on the wall near the side door leading from the stage, but no one was near it. How would Oracle get to it, especially in her condition? Then, as a fresh spasm made her hands flail out, one of them grasped something, Red Robin's throwing weapon. If I could just... Oracle fought to sit up in order to throw the weapon better, but is distracted by a long gasp. Glancing up, she was shocked to see her father lying spread eagle on the stage, his face turned towards him, blank and motionless. A sudden surge of anger gave Oracle strength and she is able to sit up and bring her arm back. Taking aim at the fire alarm, she throws the weapon like a Frisbee.
"No!" Oracle jumps at the masked man's outburst and glanced up to see him tracking the projectile's flight across the room. She glances back just in time to see the weapon strike home. DRIIIIIINNNNNNNN! The fire alarm shrills and with a WHOOOSHHHH, the sprinklers come on. Within minutes the room is drenched. The laughter immediately began to dissipate to stop and many of the victims who were still standing collapsed on the floor, breathing deeply. "You will pay for this, child!" Oracle whips around to see the man lunge for her, but Man-Bat suddenly came out of nowhere, and tackled the man to the ground.
"You are not getting away" He growled. The man roared in anger and thrashed beneath the mutant, but Man-Bat was stronger and pinned him to the floor.
"Uhhh! What happened?" Oracle's heart leapt as she heard her father stir. Glancing up, she saw the man slowly get to his feet, rubbing his face, and fought the urge to run him over and hug him. Keeping her face as neutral as she could, she climbed onto the stage and made her way over to him just as he looked up.
"Are you alright, commissioner?" She asked, trying to mask the joy in her voice.
"I will be, thanks to you all" Oracle felt her face heat up at her father's praise and hoped it wasn't showing. "What happened?" he asked again.
Oracle turned back to the group. "This man flooded the room with N2O, more commonly known as laughing gas." She pointed to the masked man, who was still struggling to get out from under Man-Bat. As the Commissioner's eyes narrowed, Oracle added. "We also have reason to believe that he was responsible for the tiger attack on Mr. Wilcox earlier this week."
"I see" Commissioner Gordon's voice, though still weak from the gas, was very hard. "Well, he won't be causing any more trouble" Next to him, Bruce Wayne was also getting to his feet and as Oracle glanced at him, he gave a small smile then motioned with his head towards the door. Oracle gave a small nod in response then turned to walk away.
"Outsiders! We've done all we can here!" She called out, causing Man-Bat and Metamorpho to look up. "Batman will want to hear about what happened." She added, trying to hint that they needed to go.
Man-Bat nodded and handed the masked man over to a pair of officers, who handcuffed the man and began to lead the man out of the room. As they did, the doors suddenly opened and Katana stepped into the room. Her masked eyes ran over the recovering officers, the masked man being lead away, and finally the Outsiders standing by the stage. She smiled and began walking towards them.
"Katana, where have you been?" Man-Bat asked as the swordswoman drew level with them. "Didn't you hear Oracle calling you?"
"Batman and I were...otherwise occupied" Katana admitted, smiling at Oracle, who smiled back. "We received Oracle's transmission, but were unable to assist. As it turns out however, our presence was not needed any... way" Katana's smile faded as she spotted Red Robin. "What is he doing here?" She asked aloud.
"Not helping, I'll tell you that" Metamorpho scoffed.
"Hey!" Red Robin exclaimed. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Who was the one who released the big cloud of laughing gas in our faces?" Metamorpho accused and Red Robin flinched.
"It...it was an accident" He tried to say, but Metamorpho cut him off.
"An accident?" His eyes widened. "More like a mistake. A big stupid mistake that anyone with a shred of common sense would know not to do!"
"Oh like you're one to talk, lying on the floor like that." Red Robin countered "I thought you were supposed to be tough and you can't even take a few jolts?"
"Why you..." Metamorpho's hands morphed into clubs and Red Robin pulled a Bo staff from his belt and whipped it around in his hands like a propeller.
I'd better do something! Oracle thought to herself and stepped between them. "Hey! We are not going to fight here!" She demanded.
"Oracle's right." Katana nodded. "We have enough enemies to fight without including each other." She turned to Red Robin. "Still, if what Metamorpho said was true, you should have known better" She added
What was visible of Red Robin's face was turning red and he growled. "Oh, like you haven't made a mistake in this business!"
Katana shook her head. "Of course I have, but I learn from them. You've got to think before you act if you want to do what we do"
Red Robin opened his mouth to argue further, but suddenly seemed to think better and closed it.
"Like that" Metamorpho crossed his arms. "Now why don't you run along home, little boy?" He teased, smirking at the end at Red Robin's reaction. Without another word the teen whipped around, dashed to a window, and leapt through it, disappearing into the dark night beyond.
"Huh, amateur" Metamorpho snorted. Man-Bat rubbed his chin, but didn't comment.
"He has spirit though" Oracle commented, as she began fishing through her purse.
"Spirit alone doesn't make someone a crime fighter." Katana argued.
"Barbara?" Oracle froze as she heard her father calling out her name. She whipped around to find her father staring out around the room. "Where's my daughter?"
"I-I don't know Jim" Bruce answered before turning to the crowd. "Has anyone seen Barbara Gordon anywhere?" He announced as a crowd began to gather near the stage.
"Richard?" Kathy Kane suddenly exclaimed, rushing onto the stage. "Where's my ward?" She looked frightened, whimpering and glancing around wildly. "WHERE IS HE?" she shrieked loudly, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. The assembled officers began murmuring among themselves and several dashed out of the room. Bruce and Oracle exchanged a glance and subtly nodded to each other. Oracle began backing through the crowd of officers, who were too busy watching Miss Kane freak out to notice her leaving.
Oracle dashed back to the coat closet and shut herself inside. Moving quickly, she slipped off her coat and flats and ripped off her mask. Fishing in her purse, she pulled out her glasses and stuck them back onto her face and stepped into the heels she had previously been wearing. Returning the mask and flats to her purse, and hanging the coat back up in her closet, Barbara paused to briefly check her appearance in the dimly-lit mirror of the closet before easing open the door and peaking out. Several officers were in the hallway, but they all had their back to her. Putting on an expression of confusion, she called out to one of the officers she knew. "Officer Montoya!"
The female officer in question looked around and her eyes lit up when she saw Barbara. "Barbara! Where have you been?" She demanded, running up to her, flanked by two other officers. "Your father is worried sick!"
Barbara pretended to look confused. "Uh... I was with Richard in one of the rooms down the hall. When we saw the lights go out and we heard a 'bang', Richard went to investigate and told me to wait back there. But when he didn't come back I got worried and went looking for him" She quickly and smoothly explained.
"Oh really? And what were you two doing there?" One of the officers asked, a small smile playing on his face, causing his companion to laugh. Barbara felt her own face flush but knew that this would make a good cover story, and it wasn't entirely a lie.
"Uh, come on" Officer Montoya rolled her eyes motioned towards the doors.
"Um...what happened anyway?" Barbara asked as they started walking.
"Oh some nutjob trapped us in the ballroom and filled it with laughing gas." Officer Montoya explained simply.
Barbara made her eyes widen and she gave a dramatic gasp ."Is my dad okay?" She demanded as they walked back into the room.
Officer Montoya smiled. "He's fine" She pointed to the stage where the commissioner was speaking to a group of officers.
"Daddy!" Barbara yelled, dashing towards him. Her father looked up, smiled, and moved through the crowd towards her.
"Oh sweetie." He said kneeling down and giving Barbara a hug. "I was so worried that lunatic had gotten you too"
"RICHARD!" Both children looked up to see Miss Kane practically throw herself at her ward, who had appeared out of nowhere, smothering him with kisses, much to the boy's annoyance. Barbara giggled as she watched Richard squirm. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Katana dart through the same Window Red robin had used. Metamorpho and Man-Bat were already gone.
"Well, this has certainly been an interesting evening, right Jim?" Bruce asked as Jim rose to his feet an ruffled his daughter's hair.
"That's certainly one way of putting it" Barbara glanced up at her father to see a small smile appear on his face, something that hardly ever happened anymore.
And Cut!
My apologies for the delay. Like I've said before, my stories tend to write at their own pace, but inspiration has been seriously lacking these past weeks. Hopefully my writing pace will pick up soon, because things are starting to progress.
For those of you who are interested, there's a hint as to what will happen next chapter explaining what will happen later on in the storyline. Anyone think they can find it?
Until next time!
Until next time!