Author's note:
Sorry about the lack of activity lately. Truth be told, I've had a lot on my plate lately. I won't bore you with the details though: instead, I'll just get right into the story. Hope you like it.
Chapter 6
Trouble Everywhere (part 1)
"Why are we here again?" Wally asked his not-so-secret crush while inside a lobby filled with a variety of colorful stuffed items, to which Kuki replied with, "Seems that Bruce Wayne and I have something in common: we BOTH happen to personally know the biggest collector of Rainbow Monkey art on the planet." "Technically, he's a collector of NAME BRAND art," Bruce said by way of reply as he walked over to them, "but otherwise, she is correct: John Marlow and I do go back a ways." "Wait: THE John Marlow?" Nigel, who came along with his cousin, Tina, to keep an eye on Wally, exclaimed, "He's supposed to be one of the most reclusive people in town!"
Looking around at all the people enjoying the collection, not to mention the "Alpha male" attitude being shown by the industrialist tween, Tina had to agree: this was NOT how the guy usually was. Before she could comment, however, she noticed the boy walking over to them. "Nigel, how's my hair?" she inquired, rapidly smoothing it down. He didn't get a chance to answer, as the twelve-year-old philanthropist directed his attention at the head of Wayne Industries.
"How is it that all the pretty girls gravitate towards YOU?" John joked as he shook Bruce's hand, his eyes on Tina the whole time. "Oh, no: we were just talking about the refreshments," she replied lamely. Shaking his head, John lead the group towards a rather peculiar portrait on display. "I'd think someone like YOU would be more interested in THIS," he declared.
"Oh, yeah: that's the famous recreation of Leonardo da Vinci's 'The Last Supper', made entirely out of Rainbow Munchies," Kuki declared, "You out-bid the Rainbow Monkey Fan Club for this." "It cost a fortune," he said with a nod, not seeming to notice the sound of elevator doors opening, "but it seems to be worth every penny."
"Exactly how many pennies are we talking?" declared an ominous voice from behind them. As Bruce Wayne silently slipped from the room, everyone was in awe as a man dressed in orange casually walked into the room. The only clue to his identity seemed to be the lowercase "e" that was displayed on his full facial mask. "Stand aside, or you won't be GETTING a last supper," the man declared.
Feeling anxious, Numbuh 10 placed a hand on John's shoulder and declared, "Please, don't do anything stupid." Shrugging off the shoulder, he threw a punch at the figure, who did a judo move to send him into a nearby house plant. "I'm pretty sure that qualified as stupid, Johnny boy," the figure deadpanned, only to be silenced by an aerial attack from the Dark Knight himself.
As sirens came into hearing range, the mystery figure seemed to smirk under his mask as he declared, "Hate to cut this meeting short, but I've got other places to be. Don't worry, though: you'll soon be seeing me EVERYWHERE!" With that, he ran through a conveniently placed doorway, or maybe not, as it turned out to be a janitor's closet. Deciding that the thief was cornered, Batman quickly opened the door and found…absolutely nothing.
It was at THAT moment that the police burst in through the door. "The thief's gone, officers," John Marlow stated, "but BATMAN might know what happened him!" "Can't argue with that logic," one of the policemen stated, "Batman, as the lieutenant of the Burtonville SWAT team, I'm taking you in for questioning." Taking a few steps back, the Caped Crusader declared, "Not tonight," before producing a smoke pellet and grappling into the ventilation system.
"Spread out and find him," the SWAT officer declared, before someone else declared, "Sorry, Branden, but we've got bigger issues to deal with." Freezing on the spot and producing an authoritative salute, SWAT officer Branden declared, "Captain Gordon, I wasn't aware you were going to be here." Before he could reply to this, the sudden outcry of "Daddy!" froze everyone in their tracks. Captain James Gordon gave the beginnings of a smile as a small girl, no older then five or six, ran into his arms.
"Hey, Barbara," the police captain declared as he picked the small girl up, "You behave yourself in the daycare center." "Well, that depends on your definition of 'behaving oneself,' Jim," Bruce declared, showing his PDA, which had detailed blueprints of the building displayed on it. Sighing, Captain Gordon declared, "I'm sorry, Mr. Wayne: if she doesn't become an expert hacker one day, I'll eat my badge."
"Actually, you should thank your daughter," Bruce deadpanned with an air of mystery, "I'm looking at the closet your men are inspecting right now and from what I can tell, it's possible that not even Batman could have escaped from that closet." "You're saying that these guests simply imagined that a robber ran into here!?" Branden barked, to which Bruce shock his head and declared, "I'm SAYING that you should consider that either it was robbed by someone who's familiar with this place and would know how to pull something like this off, or has access to some VERY hi-tech gear." "Could be both, for that matter," John declared, breaking into the conversation, "seeing as I've had some of my company's technology go missing around the same time that I let some of my employees go."
"That's right," Gordon mused, "Your family is part of a company that has done some research for quantum theory for the government." Just then, some strange noises began to appear. "Whoops, guess I accidentally brought it with me," Bruce declared, taking out a small device, "Lucius Fox and I have been working on a new way to detect radiation for use in nuclear power plants: a way to safeguard against leaks and such. Huh, that's odd." "How so?" Tina inquired, to which Bruce responded with, "I seem to be picking up low levels of radiation from inside the closet the thief went into."
"How accurate would those readings be?" Gordon inquired. With a shrug, Bruce responded with, "I can't say anything for certain, seeing as I'm picking up a similar reading from John Marlow himself, which personally makes me even more worried about him." "How so?" John sneered, to which Bruce gently replied with, "Something's different about you, John. This party, the way you apparently took on that thief earlier, even the way you're talking to people: it isn't, I don't know, you."
"What's the matter, Brucy?" John snapped, "Afraid of a little social competition? I'll admit that your readings might be accurate, as my work can get dangerous at times, but people can change regardless of that! I apologize if I no longer fit into some comfortable role you once defined for me." "Easy there, son: we're only trying to help," Jim chided, followed by Bruce declaring, "He's right: I didn't mean to upset you; I'm sorry." Sighing with resignation, the young scientist/collector declared, "It's fine, I guess: truth is, I HAVE been all over the place lately."
To be continued…
Author's note:
Thought I should do a chapter without Fanny's appearance, at least for the sake of variety. Anyways, this section of the story will be based off an episode of the 2004 "The Batman" animated series, for those who couldn't tell. Until next time, here's something to ponder: if in "Gilligan's Island" it was only supposed to be a three hour tour, why'd did they pack so many clothes?
