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 19
Miss Kane fought to keep the calm expression on her face as she ascended the stairs that lead out of the dining area, but inside her heart was fluttering. In many ways, she and Bruce were a lot alike, both were physically fit, extremely wealthy, and both of them had defining tragedies that had occurred in their lives. In fact, there were several times when Kathy wondered why she didn't put on some kind of costume and join Bruce in his war on crime.
Kathy felt a grin flit across her face as she imagined swinging through the air alongside Batman, maybe as the mysterious Batwoman. But then her grin faded as she passed Condor on the stairway and saw the brainwashed teen turn to look at her. She smiled at him, but inside she fought the urge to shudder at the teen's blank expression. One thing she did not have was Bruce's extra-ordinary amount of courage when it came to facing villains. Bruce seemed to take any challenge he came in stride, while Kathy wasn't sure she had that kind of motivation.
"Miss Kane! Miss Kane!" Kathy sighed as she reached the top of the stairs and saw two reporters heading her way. One thing that she definitly shared with Bruce was a certain dislike of the paparazzi. But avoiding them in her spike heels would be more trouble than it was worth, so she hitched a smile on her face and turned to face them.
"Yes?" She purred, moving so that her long hair covered one eye.
"Victor Sage, Midway City Gazette" The red-haired reporter asked as his camerawoman began taking pictures. "Word has it that you and Oswald Cobblepot are long-time friends. What is your take on this new establishment that he's opened?"
"Well I..." Kathy paused as the camerawoman lowered the camera far enough to reveal her face. Kathy's eyes widened as she recognized Tatsu. As her eyes flickered over to the reporter, she remembered what Bruce had said earlier, and she smiled.
"Oh certainly! Ozzie and I go very far back" Kathy purred, raising her hand to run it through her long hair, the flash drive peaking out from between her fingers. "I, of course, join the rest of the assembled in expressing my delight that he has finally been able to achieve the dream he has pursued for ages"
Kathy's smile broadened as she saw Tatsu's eyes widen. She must have seen the drive.
"So, what do you think of the theme that he has chosen for his enterprise?" Victor Sage asked, jotting notes down in a notebook.
"Well, personally I..." Kathy paused and turned to look at Tatsu. "Pardonezz-moi miss photographer, but perhaps you could move to my left? My husband used to tell me that my left side was my best side"
"If you say so, miss" Tatsu replied, moving to the left and move closer. "That's a pretty dress, by the way" She said as she raised her camera again.
"Oh, why thank you, miss..." Kathy extended her hand, the flash drive tucked between her fingers.
"Yin, Ellen Yin" Tatsu smiled and reached out to shake Kathy's hand. As Kathy flet Tatsu's fingers close on the drive, she glanced up and saw Oswald Cobblepot himself appear on the landing, looking around.
Kathy frowned, then smiled as she let go of Tatsu's hand. "And as for what I think of the theme of dear Ozzie's restaurant, I absolutely adore it!" She said loudly as Tatsu stepped back to Victor. "Though I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, seeing as how I was the one who originally suggested it to him!"
As Kathy had hoped, the surrounding patrons turned to look at her, including Oswald.
"Miss Kane, is this true?" Another reporter called out, rushing over to her, followed by a swarm of several more. Kathy smiled as she saw Victor Sage and Tatsu melt into the crowd.
"Why of course it is!" Kathy purred "In addition to fine dining, dear Ozzie's always had a certain...fascination for polar life, especially the penguin. I remember one day I suggested that he might want to consider a polar-themed restaurant, and he seemed thrilled by the concept."
"Funny, but that is not quite how I recall that conversation, Kathleen" Oswald said as he stepped through the crowd, with Raven and Strix at his side.
"Ozzie darling!" Kathy fluttered her eyelashes at him. "Whatever are you talking about?"
"I seem to recall that I suggested that idea to you, and you responded by laughing for five straight minutes" Oswald said. Though he was smiling, Kathy could see that his eyes were cold and she felt the urge to shiver.
"I would question that comment Ozzie dear, but regardless of who first came up with the idea, you cannot deny that it was a very good one" Kathy smiled as she glanced over towards her table and saw that only Bruce sitting there. There was no sign of either Richard.
Outside the Iceberg Lounge:
Tatsu slipped past the men outside and hurried to an alley a block away from the restaurant. Pulling out her mini-computer, she plugged the drive into the slot. She waited a few minutes as the data loaded, and was rewarded with a beep!
"Alfred? Are you getting this?" Tatsu pressed on her earpiece.
On the roof of a nearby building, Alfred, Man-Bat, and Metamorpho were gazing at the screen of a laptop computer.
"Yes Katana, we're getting it loud and clear. Good work" Alfred smiled as a 3-D plan of the Iceberg Lounge slowly appeared on the screen.
"Could we get it a little faster?" Metamorpho grumbled.
"Apologies, but this is usually Oracle's job." Alfred replied. "I'm afraid my mastery of the cyber realm is nowhere near her level"
"We understand." Man-Bat nodded. "Just do what you can"
Alfred shot the mutant a grateful look and turned back to the plans. He pressed a few keys and highlighted different sections of the building.
"Hmmmm, according to these schematics, it appears that our original plan, of attacking from the roof, is not going to work." Alfred commented
"How come?" asked Metamorpho.
In response, Alfred zoomed in on the roof, highlighting several points. "Because the roof appears to be laced with alarm sensors, as well as motion-detection cameras."
"The Penguin certainly likes to plan ahead" Metamorpho growled. "How are we going to get in?"
"Wait" Man-Bat pointed a claw towards the screen. "Can you zoom in on that section?"
Alfred complied, and the screen zoomed in on a section of the far wall.
"Hmm" Man-Bat rubbed his chin, looking thoughtful.
"Hmm?" Metamorpho looked at Man-Bat. "Hmm is good, right?"
"It's a start" Man-Bat replied. "Look at this" He pointed to a grille set into the wall. "According to these plans, this ventilation grid isn't laced with sensors like the others, and is only manned by one camera."
"Probably because there's a sheer drop there." Alfred observed. "No way to access it without a grapnel of some kind."
"Which would have to be attached to the roof, thereby setting off the roof sensors." Man-Bat finished. "But, if Metamorpho can find a way to take care of that camera, I can fly Agent Pennyworth down there and hover long enough for him to pry the grid loose and get inside."
Alfred smiled. "And once inside, I can crawl through the ducts to the security room, take out whatever men are stationed there, and deactivate the roof sensors." He altered the screen so it showed the security room. "Once that's accomplished, the both of you can attack from the roof."
Metamorpho grinned. "Sounds like a plan. Let's do it"
Meanwhile:
Bruce was watching the seals leaping around the tank when he heard a faint beeping in his ear. "Go ahead" He said softly, tapping his earpiece.
"Sir, I believe we may have uncovered a flaw in the building design that could be exploited." Alfred's voice came through. "I'll signal you when I'm inside"
"Good, I'll be waiting" He said, and signed off. As he did, he saw Kathy wandering back to their table.
As the woman sat down, she gave Bruce a questionable look. Bruce slowly nodded and Kathy sighed. "You know, sometimes I wonder if you chose the right animal symbol. At times like this you make a better spider than a bat"
Bruce raised an eyebrow. "A spider? What made you think of that?"
Kathy's eyes danced with mirth. "Just the fact that you seem to be so good at 'pulling strings'." She giggled. "I have just helped smuggle a data drive out of this restaurant for you. Not to mention the fact I've noticed that our two chaperones seem to have deserted us" Kathy glanced towards Richard Grayson and Richard Dragon's empty chairs. "Any ideas where they might have gone?"
Bruce followed her gaze. "Well, your ward said he wanted to get a closer look at the seals and sensei said something about the restroom." He said.
Kathy raised an eyebrow. "Really?" She asked sarcastically as she sipped from her wine glass.
Bruce's smile faded. "Kathy, I would never ask someone to do something that I was not capable of doing myself, you know that"
"Of course I do"' Kathy said, placing her glass down. "It's just, I seem to recall that you didn't want my ward's help. In fact, I think you threatened to drag him to Commissioner Gordon if he tried to help"
Bruce's smile came back. "I said I would do that if he was wearing his costume, but he isn't. Red Robin is a loose cannon, but Richard Grayson can still prove himself"
Kathy chuckled and shook her head. "Bruce, you're killing me."
"Your ward does have potential" Bruce said. "You did an admirable job raising him, but he needs to learn that this is not a game, this is serious"
Kathy smiled and winked at Bruce. "Oh trust me, based on what I heard on the drive over, I think he's starting to get the idea."
Richard Grayson and Richard Dragon were standing at the railing that ringed the seal tank. As they watched, one of the seals leapt out of the water, snapping at them as it did.
"Woah!" Richard flinched backwards away from the seal's teeth, to the chuckle of the older man.
"The Leopard Seal, one of the more aggressive species, I believe" Richard Dragon commented as he watched the animal splash back down into the tank.
"Thanks, I noticed" Richard Grayson growled as he turned away from the tank.
"Problem, little guy?" Dragon asked.
"It's just...I feel so helpless, big guy" Richard turned to face the sensei. "Oracle is here, in this building, probably right below us, and I'm stuck here watching seals jump around. I wanna help rescue her"
"So what's stopping you?" Richard Dragon asked.
Richard Grayson looked up. "Batman" He said. "He said if he ever saw my costume again, he'd drag me to the police commissioner. Can you imagine the grief Kathy will have to deal with if I get arrested?" Richard sighed and leaned against a column. "Why am I even here?" He muttered
"Because you truly care for Miss Gordon" Richard Dragon placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.
Richard stiffened and looked up at him. "How did you know about Oracle?" He asked.
Richard Dragon smiled. "I wasn't talking about Oracle" He said.
Richard Grayson felt his face heat up as he realized what the sensei meant. For a moment, he thought about arguing, but there seemed no point. "Yeah, I guess I do" He smiled sheepishly. "'She's smart, she's funny, she's fiery" He chuckled, thinking back to how she had scared him out of her room by faking an 'assault'. Then he sighed. "You know she once told me that all I cared about was myself, and she was right. I thought that if I brought Zucco down, I'd finally feel closure for what happened to my parents, but now, he's in jail and, I feel more lost than ever"
"Because you allowed your personal feelings to cloud your judgement" Richard Dragon knelt down until he was eye-level with the boy. "That is understandable. There are many who struggle with their inner demons, and lose."
Richard sighed and looked away. "Thanks for the pep talk" He said sarcastically
"But you have not lost your battle, yet" Richard Dragon added, gently pulling the boy's head around until they were eye-to-eye again. "Barbara is still alive, and contrary to what you might think, you are not completely restrained from helping her."
"But how? You heard what Batman said" Richard argued.
"Yes, he said that he did not want to see Red Robin again. But if Red Robin cannot help, than perhaps Richard Grayson can be of some assistance" Richard Dragon winked.
Richard stared at the sensei for a minute, then his face lit up. "You think?" He asked.
"One way to find out" Richard Dragon smiled down at the boy, then paused and discreetly reached towards his ear.
Outside the Iceberg Lounge:
"How's it coming?" Man-Bat asked as he hovered in front of the ventilation grid.
"I'm almost there" Alfred replied as he struggled to pry open the vent covering. "It would help if I could actually see what I'm doing" He muttered as he tried to see through the cloud of steam that enveloped them.
"Metamorpho, can you ease up on the steam?" Man-Bat hissed and Alfred frowned. He hadn't meant for the mutant to hear him.
"Not if you don't want to be seen by the camera" A voice hissed back from the cloud. "As it is, we may have been detected already. This is taking too long"
"You know, that's not really helping" Man-Bat said.
"Hang on, it's coming" Alfred interrupted as he felt the vent cover start to come loose. He gave a mighty yank and the cover came off with a screech of metal.
"Argh! My ears!" Alfred felt Man-Bat dip in the air.
"Sorry about that" Alfred said.
"It's fine." Man-Bat replied and flew up so that Alfred could reach the covering with his hands. Grasping the cover in one hand, Alfred reached inside and grasped the metal of the vent with the other hand and began to worm his way into the opening. When he was satisfied that he was far enough in, he signaled for Man-Bat to let him go. "Signal Batman that I'm in"
"Right" Man-Bat complied, taking the covering as Alfred disappeared inside the vent. Then he placed the covering back into position.
"Okay, let's get out of here" Metamorpho said, and moved his cloud away from the vent. Man-Bat nodded and followed the metahuman back towards a nearby rooftop, where they were to wait for Bruce's signal. Once landing, Man-bat reached for a device around his neck and pressed a switch, sending a signal that they were in position.
Meanwhile:
"Alfred's inside" Bruce tapped his earpiece.
"Then it's almost showtime" He looked up to see Kathy grinning at him.
Bruce raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" He asked.
Kathy's eyes glittered with amusement. "Oh, I was just thinking that, if your man is going to take out Ozzie's goons in the security booth, he'll have a much easier time doing so if the goons are...distracted. Wouldn't you agree?" She said.
Bruce scowled. "Kathy, what ever you're thinking, re-think it"
Kathy chuckled. "Oh don't worry, Bruce" She purred, her smile widening. "I stopped thinking about it two minutes ago" With that, Kathy rose to her feet and began to walk over towards the seal tank.
"Kathy?" Bruce rose to his feet and followed her.
"Oh Bruce!" Kathy said loudly as she approached the railing and leaned over the edge. "Just look at those seals! Aren't they simply magnificent?"
"Kathy! Be careful!" Bruce called out, increasing his pace.
To his surprise, Kathy chuckled and turned to face Bruce, still leaning over the edge. "Bruce, you sound like my mother, relax! I'm certain Ozzie wouldn't have let them be displayed here if they weren't safe. These seals wouldn't hurt a f...fl...flyyyyyyyy!" Kathy screamed as she suddenly lost her balance...and fell over the railing.
"KATHY!" Bruce yelled, racing towards the tank.
Kathy's scream echoed throughout the room, causing heads to turn. The music stopped playing. Several people screamed.
"Kathy, I've got you!" Bruce lunged and grabbed Kathy's hand a second before it sank out of view. He peered over the railing down at the widow, who was hanging 3 ft above the edge of the water.
Bruce heard shouts and cries of alarm behind him as he struggled to pull Kathy back up over the railing. To his surprise, the widow's face showed no sign of fear.
Suddenly Bruce paused, having seen a silhouette appear under the water and move towards them.
"Kathy! The seals are coming!" Bruce yelled, before peering over his shoulder. "I need some help!" He called.
Three men, waiters by the looks of them, rushed forward to help. As Bruce turned back, he saw the water under Kathy explode upwards and an enormous leopard seal leapt up at the widow, mouth open, sharp teeth glistening in he light.
Kathy screamed, and this time, there was genuine fear in her voice.
Meanwhile:
Alfred was gazing down through the bars of the ventilation grille into the control room.
Below him, two men in suits were gazing at a complex of screens that ran along one wall. A bank of buttons and switches ran beneath the screens.
If I can gain access to those switches, I might be able to see where they're keeping Oracle. Alfred thought. If Oswald Cobblepot was as paranoid as he suspected, than he probably had cameras all over the place.
"Hey! Check it out!" A gruff voice interrupted Alfred's thoughts and he peered back through he vent. All four men were gathered around one screen, facing away from the grille.
Now's my chance! Quickly, but quietly, Alfred reached back towards his pocket and pulled out a small capsule. as he maneuvered his hand back up, he used his other hand to cover his mouth and nose with a cloth. Pressing his hand up to the grille, he popped the capsule through the vent and it fell out fo sight.
Alfred waited, watching the guards laugh at whatever was happening on the screens. A minute later one of the guards suddenly staggered on his feet, then fell to the floor, closely followed by the other three.
The second the first guard hit the floor, Alfred was prying of the grille and scrambling out of the vent, dropping to the floor of the control room as the last guard fell. After makign sure that teh guard were onyl unconsious, Alfred studied the wall of monitors in front of him. His eyes widened as he saw Master Bruce and Mr. Cobblepot pulling Miss Kane over the rail of the seal tank, just missing the snapping jaws of one of the tank's inhabitants.
Alfred smiled as she watched the woman fling herself, sobbing, into Bruce's arms while Mr. Cobblepot made a statement to the surrounding patrons. Miss Kane had always enjoyed attracting attention, espeially from rich men like Master Bruce, and, judging from the faces of the assembled, she seemed to have found a way to cause discredit to Mr. Cobblepot as well.
Turning from the scene, Alfred scanned the other monitors, and paused when his eyes fell on one near the end of the bottom-most row. It showed a dark room, the onyl lgiht coming from an overhead lamp. The lamplight shown down on a small figure that was curled up on the floor. A figure with red hair.
Alfred's pulse quickened as he moved closer to the monitor in question. The caption on the bottom left corner of the screen read storage room 4, Basement level.
"Dragon, I've found Oracle. She's being held in the basement, in storage room 4" Alfred reported.
"I hear you." Richard Dragon's voice replied. "I will notify Richard. Start clearing the way for Man-Bat and Metamorpho.
"Understood" Alfred's voice remained calm as he began studying the controls in front of him, looking for the switch that deactivated the alarms on the roof, but he couldn't keep his hands from shaking. The rescue had begun, and if it failed, they would lose Oracle. Alfred wasn't about to let that happen.
As he found the right switch and reached for it with one hand, his other hand tapped his earpiece, switching it to another channel. "I've found her" He said. "Be ready to move"
And Cut!
Finals week! Blaugh! A whole week of studying and studying, of and did I mention studying? Not to mention grueling exams that need to be sat through. I'd been sitting on this chapter for a while, but figured I'd better publish it now and get it out of the way.
The plotline for the finale is proving harder to write than I thought, but bear with me! The end is in sight!
As always, thanks to Superfan44 for the assistance.
Until Next Time!