Chapter 14:

"Bats Cats"

Jason pulled his motorcycle up to the parking area just outside Wayne Manor. Jon jumped off, then Jason dismounted. Jason said he needed some things before he and Jon made the trip to Treasure Island, only things exclusive to the Batfamily.

Jon had called his Dad and said he was spending the night over at Damian's place, a sleep over—a lie. His mother said it was okay. He hated lying to his mother, but this was important, and it was for a good cause. He'd make it up to her later with the truth. He'd say he was helping out Jason Todd rescue Damian—if, indeed, Damian was in trouble? No one knew for sure yet.

Jon had tried to text Damian several times, even "ping" his phone, but there was no response from either.

Jon had seen Wayne Manor a couple of times before, but he was always in awe of it when he visited. "This place is so cool," he remarked. "Damian is so lucky to be living in a mansion."

"It's not that big, kid," Jason replied. "It's what lies beneath that's truly amazing!"

Jason walked up to the front doors to the Manor and was about to knock, when the door spontaneously opened, and Alfred was front and centre, even before he could make a fist to announce themselves, as if he had been watching them since they had arrived. The Manor did have CCTV, so that was a possibility. But Alfred always had this weird ESP power everyone noticed, like he could sense things about people and what they were thinking, which was eerie and creepy. He still had his hand up when Alfred greeted him.

"Master Jason, what a pleasure it is to see you again—when you wish to make the time," Alfred said coldly.

Jason gulped. Out of all the people, except for Bruce, Alfred was the only one that made him a little nervous, especially when he spoke like that. Alfred wasn't known as "Mother Hen" for nothing. When he was angry, he was like a mother who got mad at their child after they did something really disappointing, then become really silent to make the child guilt-ridden.

Jon suddenly shivered, looking at Alfred Pennyworth.

"Are you cold, young sir?" the butler smiled pleasantly at Jon.

"No, I just got flash of my mother staring at me like I did something wrong," he replied.

"No, young Master Kent, it isn't you that did something wrong…" Alfred glared at Jason with hard eyes. Jason shrugged completely oblivious to what the butler was referring to. Suddenly, Alfred slapped him across the back of the head, and Jason cringed, feeling the hurt. The man hit like he had hands of stone. Then pinching Jason's right ear, Alfred dragged him into the main foyay, like a kid being lead by his father for punishment.

Alfred then let go and Jason rubbed his ear when they got to the main hall.

Jon followed reluctantly.

"Ow!" Jason said, rubbing his ear. "What the hell was that for?"

"You know exactly what that was for, Master Jason," the apt butler said, a bitterness in his voice.

Jason took a moment to think, then rolled his eyes. "Look! Is this about Oswald Copperpot? Penguin? Oh, c'mon, Alfred—the man deserved it! After everything he's done, he needed to be taught a lesson. And I almost had him—Almost! But the sneaky bird escaped by the skin of his teeth—again!—I later found out. Then Bruce got involved, thinking I had killed Penguin, and he beat the living crap out of me. Bruce nearly killed me for taking out a danger to society—Me!" Jason acted like he was the victim.

"What is Batman's cardinal rule?"

"Listen, Alfred. Let's not get into this right now. There's no time."

Alfred frowned, relenting. The butler cleared his throat. "Yes, Master Tim has updated me. Come."

Alfred lead Jason and Jon first to the library, then down a stone craved spiral staircase to the Batcave through the secret passage in the grandfather clock—a second method was by way of an elevator that was located elsewhere—and as they walked said that he had anticipated Jason's request and everything was in readiness.

Crossing the main floor of the Batcave, which astounded Jon, Alfred lead the pair to an adjacent passage way beyond the main area, and opened the door that lead to a docking bay to the underground river that passed under the Manor that Bruce had adapted for Batman's use, where the Batboat awaited.

Alfred then said: "All the usual amenities have been stocked for your trip, Master Jason. All systems are at optimal capacity and all weapons are full-loaded. Long range weather forecasts indicate smooth sailing. However, the Devil's Triangle is a dangerous place for any seafaring vessel or aircraft, so be careful. And if Jake Handles is behind Master Damian's recent disappearance, then you must be careful. Treasure Island, I have been informed, it a very dangerous place with high-tech security and surveillance."

"This is so awesome!" Jon said, racing from port to stern of the Batboat, taking in its black sleek exterior, bat fins, aquatic blast shield, other features, and more so, its modified turbo jet engine. Once inside, when the side door flipped upwards—Jon was just as awestruck. It had room for six seats comfortably, storage capacity for both equipment and weaponry, an array of high-tech computer equipment, and a make-shift bat-symbol stirring wheel, and… "Is that an Espresso machine?" he asked pointing.

Alfred smiled. "Yes, your trip will be a little lengthy, but the mini-fridge is also fully stocked with milk and juices," he said, winking. Jon jumped excited and then explored some more.

"Why, all of sudden, do I feel like I'm taking a family boat trip to the cottage?" Jason looked at Alfred and smiled. "Thanks, Al. By the way, where's Bruce? I meant to ask earlier, but…"

"He's at a late night Wayne Enterprises board meeting. There's been talk of expanding into other areas of business, including Bludhaven, and some contracts are time sensitive. He's really been invested in his work right now after Ms. Kyle left him. Frankly, I think the distraction is good for him. And I hope he gets right back on the saddle, as the saying goes."

"Oh, you sly dog," He winked at Alfred. "I agree, Bruce needs a good shag to relieve all that pent-up tension, it always did me good," he said with a smirk. "Maybe he could ask Vicky Vale?" Alfred gave Jason a less than impressed look. Jason immediately regretted his vulgar. "Thanks again for everything," he then said, "and we'll talk later about my attitude."

Jason clutched a shoulder bag he brought with him that contained his Red Hood gear. Jon had his Superboy clothes underneath his other clothes. They'd change on the way just before they got to the island.

"We certainly will," Alfred replied.

Jason took hold of the door, shut it, secured it, then he settled into the pilot's seat. He performed a series of standard checks before starting up the engine, which gave a thunderous roar on start-up in such a cavernous place. Jon got into the passengers seat and they both strapped on their seat-belts. Jason saw Alfred had his hands over his ears as he looked out the blast shield, then the butler mouthed: "God…Speed…Sir!" Jason gave him a thin smile and a nod, then returned to face the controls.

A hidden door, made to look like part of the cave wall, opened up in front of the Batboat, and it lead to the subterranean river complex that snaked a far ways, that eventually lead out to a secret exit to Gotham Harbour.

With one final quick check, the Batboat blasted off. With help from the computer, Jason navigated through the winding river with ease, the tunnel lit by wall lights that came on with a proximity detector, then shut off when out of range, and only with a specific signal generated by the Batboat, so if anyone decided to become a spelunker, they'd be deterred. It took approximately forty-five seconds to reach the end, and with a signal, the secret exit door opened, and the Batboat raced out, and jetted out into the dark harbinger of the Gotham Harbour under the cover of darkness, and then out into open waters.

x x x

Damian told himself the Right Hand Rule sucked, especially when you're being chased.

With his heart pumping fast, hard enough that it felt like it was about to burst out of his chest, Damian ran so fast that he thought he had broken his own speed record, as a black Puma chased him down an elongated corridor that seemed to go on forever. It went on for half a mile without any dissecting hallways with its box lights every few meters.

Finally he saw a junction, and he made a sharp left turn, and then bolted down another adjacent corner—he had lost track of where he was a long time ago, so trying to remember if he had been here was useless. But he knew he had circled back a few times, ran down hallways this way and that and had come back to where he had begun, like the obvious maze that this was. His tights were soaked with sweat and his hair was matted down drenched from moisture. But he had to keep running.

This had been the third large species of cat that had chased him in this maze since he entered. First, there were the two sandy-coloured lionesses, then, oddly enough, a spotted jaguar, and now this dark puma—three erotic members of the cat family. The two lionesses and jaguar had disappeared similarly before this puma emerged, with only a five minute interval between them.

He normally liked cats—but he was starting to hate them now. He would have to re-evaluate his relationship with Alfred Pennyworth the cat—his rescued feline—when he got at home. Todd gave it the nickname: "Pound"—after the saying: In for a Penny In for a Pound, an old British saying—so, there wouldn't be any confusion when it came to the real Pennyworth. Curiously, Pound had taken an unusual liking to Todd as of late. He had attempted to train the cat to attack Todd whenever he came over to the Manor, but the cat purred instead, and Damian had given up. Todd liked animals, which was the only thing either of them had in common.

He knew the Puma wasn't far behind, but he just had to take peak to see how far back it was. Then he halted in his tracks and almost tripped over his own feet when he saw the large feline had disappeared like the other two pursuers prior.

He swore loudly. He had enough of this cat and mouse game.

Suddenly, a hidden door opened up on a wall several meters from his position, and a black panther emerged. It saw him, and with a wide-mouth growl, it barred its sharp incisors. But it hadn't been five minutes yet?

Then he heard the voice of Handles echo the corridor: "Run, Damian Wayne…Run as fast as you can!" And then there was the sound of sadistic laughter, as the black panther bolted towards him.

And Damian turned, and ran…

And ran for his life!

To be continued…