Disclaimer - I own no rights to the trademarks or characters herein. I own no rights at all. Thank you.
Superfan - Thanks for the review! Good thinking with the "Hound of the Baskervilles" thing, but I actually named Stappleton after one of the Baker Street Irregulars in the computer game "Sherlock Holmes: Secret of the Silver Earring." And as for the twists and turns... there not over yet. Just keep reading...
Following a mostly silent ride in the automobile, Bruce and the others were led into a decrepit, but large, old building. Each person was shown into a separate room. Bruce was told to wash up and get some rest. He eagerly let the cold water numb his hands and put an icy chill on his face. But he refused to rest, pacing back and forth in his cell, trying to put together the pieces of the mystery he was embroiled in.
Why had he been brought here? How were Stappleton and Watson involved in all of this? And, most importantly, where was Sherlock Holmes?
Finally, Irene Adler opened his door.
"He'll see you, now."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Irene Adler led Bruce from the tiny cell to a spacious foyer. In the center of the foyer was an extravagantly large desk. Bruce saw two faces above the desk. Immediately, and with a great deal of disgust, Bruce recognized Professor Andrew Davenport. He had never seen the corpulent gentleman beside Davenport before, but he recognized him immediately as well.
"You're Mycroft," Bruce said. "Sherlock's brother."
"You are correct," Mycroft responded. "And I am a mere bean counter for Her Majesty's government. However, I am here on behalf of someone far greater than myself, so you may call me simply 'M'."
"What do you want with me?"
"Your assistance," M said. "Not only has my brother disappeared, but he has been involved in a fight with an enemy of our government's for the last year. As have you."
Bruce was stunned by the statement for an instant, but then the meaning sank in.
"The Nazis!" he said. "The Nazis stationed in England!"
"Preposterous!" Davenport blurted. "I've been telling you from the start there's no way those fiends could have infiltrated our fair country! We'd be fully aware if they had. The idea is something torn straight out of cheap fiction and…"
"You have been telling us that, professor," M said. "Despite all evidence to the contrary. I believe Mr. Wayne and his friends would take a different viewpoint on the matter."
"They've been here for a long time now," Bruce said. "They were led by a man named Rhine, who was operating under the cover of the Reinschdorf's Pharmaceuticals company. Holmes and I saw both Rhine and Reinschdorf's Pharmaceuticals destroyed."
"This is the statement of one man!" Davenport insisted. "Surely…"
"Ernie Stappleton, whom I believe you also brought here, will confirm my story," Bruce said. "As will Miss Smith, who has managed to infiltrate the Nazi regiment in London."
"They already have," M stated.
"But… but…" Davenport stammered. "M-my c-calculations. They were p-perfect!"
"It would seem you made a mistake, Professor," M said. "After all, to err is human. Unfortunately, we can't afford such a large margin of error to cover your mistake. Which is why the British government no longer has a place for you."
Davenport was too stunned to respond. He just stood with his jaw gaping, then wrapped his arms around himself as if he was cold and, with jaw still hanging in the air, he sat down, disappearing behind the massive desk.
Bruce couldn't help smiling.
"Mr. Wayne," M continued, "you have been brought here because you, more so than any of us, should have some idea as to what these men are planning, and as to where they have taken my brother."
"I wish I had," Bruce said. "I've been racking my brain trying to figure that one out. But there's just not enough evidence."
"What type of evidence do you need?" M asked. "I know people who can provide it. You know the movement of our enemies better than anyone, and you have been studying my brother's methods."
"That's true," Bruce said. "But I can't put my finger on this. They were stationed out of Reinschdorf's Pharmaceuticals, but I saw it destroyed and…" Bruce stopped suddenly, his mouth gaping like Davenport's. "But when you eliminate the impossible, whatever is remaining…"
"No matter how improbable," M continued, "must be the truth."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Sherlock Holmes struggled to lift his head as he heard a door creek open and heard footsteps approaching. The effort hardly seemed worth it anymore, though, and he let his head drop and closed his eyes, content to observe solely with his sense of hearing.
"Good afternoon, Herr Holmes," the voice of Holmes' captor boomed.
It still sounded familiar to Holmes. Now, with his eyes closed, Holmes' sense of hearing was growing sharper to compensate for the shut off of the lack of vision, and Holmes was more intent than ever on placing the familiar voice with a face.
"And what's so good about it?" he asked. Anything to keep the voice going.
"Ah. Spoken like a true cynic. You don't disappoint, mein friend."
"You're no friend of mine."
"But of course I am, Sherlock. For you and your dapper young boyfriend and I seem have been coming together again and again for almost a year now. But this time you have interfered with my plans one time too many. I find it useless to attempt anything else… until you and your friend have been taken care of… permanently."
"You may have me… but you'll never take Bruce."
"I doubt that very much, Sherlock. Sooner or later, one of my many friends will find him, though I am almost hoping… that he will find us instead. That would be most amusing, would it not?"
Holmes was trying with every fiber in him to put the voice to a face, but he couldn't match the voice with that of any living person.
"You tried to kill me," Holmes said. "You burnt my house down."
"Then we're even."
Holmes strained his neck to lift his head again. The shadowy figure in front of him was starting to look familiar.
"It can't be!" he gasped. "I saw you die."
"Yet I stand here, before you, living."
"Impossible! I don't believe in ghosts."
"But as you have often said, when you eliminate the impossible…"
There was the snap of a window shade being opened, and bright light streamed into the room. The figure in front of Holmes was absolutely grotesque. A broad-shouldered giant stood in front of Holmes, covered in tatters of khaki cloth. The giant was disfigured, not quite human. The giant's barrel chest was black, charred and cracked, white bone showing through in several places. Muscles were evident where skin wasn't on the arms and legs. The face was damaged worst of all. It was more a skull than it was a head, with only occasional strips of charred flesh covering the bone. The eyes were completely gaunt and scarred, each part bleached white and indistinguishable from the next. A few stubbles of blonde hair remained on top of the scars. Holmes could see a portion of the thing's heart where there was a tear in the clothing and the flesh.
"…whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth."
"Colonel Aldous Rhine? It can't be!"
"But it is, Herr Holmes. I thought my life had ended when you left me in my laboratory, pinned like a butterfly to that vat of chemicals, my experiments combusting and creating an inferno around me. But as I sat there, my body dying, I was being continually drenched in the Bane formula."
Rhine lifted and clenched a skeletal hand.
"Even with my flesh destroyed," Rhine continued, "the formula increased my muscular capacity, made my lungs stronger, made my heart beat more strongly. It made me impervious to the intense pain I was experiencing. It saved my life… all at the cost of my beautiful blonde hair and baby blue eyes. But it is no matter now… I am Aldous Rhine no longer. I am Ubermensch! I shall be called… The Aryan!"
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Special Agent Irene Adler stepped in front of M's massive desk and handed a thick wad of papers to Bruce Wayne and to Mycroft Holmes.
Bruce flipped through the first few pages and then gave Irene an exasperated look.
"What does all of this mean?"
"It means you're right," she said. "The Reinschdorf's Pharmaceuticals company owns a warehouse in London, by the London docks. The blueprints are part of that packet I just gave you."
"How did you know?" M asked.
"Simple logic and deduction," Bruce replied.
"Good work, Mr. Wayne. I'll talk to my superior and see to it that we send a team over as soon as it becomes convenient."
"Conveniant?" Bruce blurted. "No way. I'm going there now."
And he turned to leave.
"Stop where you are!" M commanded. "You have no way out of this compound!"
"But I'll find one," Bruce said. "Believe me, I'll find one."
"I do believe you," M said. And he smiled. "In fact, I was hoping you'd display such readiness. But you're not leaving without your team."
"My team?"
M signaled, and Ernie Stappleton, Jamie Watson, and Sabrina Smith emerged from the corners of the room.
"The team that you seem to have formed yourself," M said. "The rag-tag band you see here. You each have your own special talents to contribute. Of course, Special Agent Adler will accompany you, as she represents the official government's interest in this operation. I dub you… the League of Justice!"
Jamie snickered.
"A little melodramatic, isn't it?"
Bruce drew Ernie closer and showed him the blueprints.
"We'd better start organizing things," he said, "because there's no way where getting into this place without a plan."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Bruce watched Sabrina slip on her masquerade mask, running his eyes down from her dark, flowing hair and skintight costume to the ridiculous tail that swished back and forth as she shook her magnificent posterior. Then he sighed and slipped on his own masquerade mask, slipping the leather cowl Holmes had given him on after it. He tied the strap around his neck tightly to secure the unsightly wings suspended from his shoulders.
Someone grabbed him from behind and spun him around. It was Dr. Watson. She planted a lavish kiss on his lips. When she drew back and looked at him, she laughed.
"Why are you in that ridiculous getup?" she asked.
"It's the stealthiest thing I have," Bruce said, adding the bat ears to the cowl. "I need to blend in with the shadows, become a symbol rather than a human being."
Jamie placed both hands on Bruce's cowl and then ran her fingers down the length of the ridiculous bat ears jutting from Bruce's head.
"Then you definitely have to do something about these ears," she said between giggles. "Stealthy isn't the first word I'd use to describe them."
"They'll have to do for now," Bruce said. Then he returned her kiss.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Sabrina Smith peered from behind a crate in her prone position and observed what should have been a familiar warehouse. This was her first time seeing the front of it without the impediment of a blindfold. It was about how she pictured it: old, ugly, and decaying. But it was taller than she had imagined. And apparently the structure was sounder than it looked, as two rather muscular men were pacing back and forth across the rooftop.
Sabrina remained in the position, poised and waiting. Finally, a small gray cloud billowed from the top of the roof, and the men moved towards it. Sabrina crept to the front door of the warehouse. Then she stood up and hammered out the opening bar of the German national anthem with her fist, as she had heard her Nazi escorts do before. Finally, a young man opened the door. Sabrina leaned against the doorframe and gave him her best come-hither look.
"Sorry," she said. "I know I wasn't invited this time but…"
She tuned out as he yelled a few words at her in German. Then she grabbed his shoulders and pressed her body against his.
"I believe your leader wants to see me," she said. "The Golden Cat. Check with him."
That's when a more familiar man appeared at the doorway. One of the men standing by the desk the last time she had been there. Sabrina let go of the first man and latched on to the second instead.
"Fräulein Golden Fox," he said. "Do come in."
The Golden Fox thanked the German and stepped inside.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Jamie Watson threw the bottles of chemicals Bruce had given her and then dived into the river. As Bruce had explained earlier, the explosion created very little noise and just two small puffs of smoke, enough to temporarily distract the guards on the roof without alerting the guards deep within the warehouse. The guards were heading towards the place the chemicals had landed. Hopefully, by the time they turned around, Sabrina would be inside.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Ernie Stappleton sat on the upper story of an adjoining warehouse and watched the front door. Irene Adler stood by his side.
"All right," Ernie said. "She's in. Head over now. And remember, love, just stick to the plan."
"All right," Irene said. "I will."
As Irene Adler walked away, Ernie said a silent prayer.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Irene pounded on the door, imitating the knock Sabrina had taught her.
Ernie watched through the binoculars as a man came to the door. He saw Irene emulating Sabrina's sultry pose. The man in the warehouse made a beckoning motion. Another man emerged from the warehouse. The two men laughed and then escorted Irene inside. Ernie continued praying, but it seemed so far that everything was going exactly the way he and Bruce had planned it.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
The Golden Fox dropped her pouch after being led upstairs.
"I'm sorry, boys," she purred. "Would you mind bending over and picking that up for me?"
They both did. Sabrina swiftly brought her ankle down on one of the men's necks, and then she brought her foot back into the other's face. She bent down and picked the pouch up herself, removing the hypodermic inside and giving each man an injection of the tranquilizer within. She then removed a long rope and, after checking to make sure the coast was clear, uncoiled it out the rear window.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Jamie Watson emerged from beneath the filthy river, coughing up filth and taking several deep gulps of fresh air before grabbing onto the rope Sabrina had unfurled from inside the warehouse. As she began to ascend, Bruce caught hold of the rope, his costume dripping as he climbed into the air.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Ernie gazed intently through his binoculars at the warehouse window. Finally, he saw the agreed upon signal: the waving of a reddish-gold flag in the window. Ernie put down his binoculars and picked up his revolvers. He made sure each chamber was loaded. There was nothing left to do but sit back and wait for all of Hell to break loose.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
The Aryan held Irene Adler in one powerful arm while opening the door to Holmes' cell with the other.
"I have brought you a guest," he said. "She insisted upon seeing you. I decided to grant her wish, to show that am not completely without manners."
Aldous Rhine's teeth showed pearly white from his blackened skull.
"She is attractive… for a woman her age," he taunted. "You could do much worse."
And he tossed her onto the cot beside Holmes. Holmes' bonds had been undone, allowing him to sit up and suffer in the dark confines of his cell.
"When the time comes, I shall kill you both!" the Aryan hissed, and he slammed the cell door shut.
"Fiend!" Holmes said, leaping to his feet and screaming at the door. "How dare you do this thing to a lady!"
Irene put both of her hands softly on Holmes' shoulder.
"Sit down, Sherlock," she said. "This is what I wanted. No matter what happens now, at least we are together."
Holmes sat back down on the cot, and his fingers linked with Irene's.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Three men were walking and talking among themselves when they saw the belly dancer in front of the window. They drew their guns, but approached curiously, with their guns aimed at the floor.
"I'm sorry," Dr. Watson said. "I'm dripping wet, and I just thought…"
The Nazis raised their guns.
Then, suddenly, something dropped behind them. All at once, the three men peered over their shoulders to behold… what looked like a hideous creature. Half-bat, half-man.
One of the Nazis screamed.
All three were wrapped in the creature's wings. The figure disappeared with them into the darkness. When it emerged again, the Nazis were no longer in its wings.
"All right, Jamie," the bat-man said. "Everything's going right so far."
"Bruce, I'm scared."
"Don't be. Just focus on finding Sherlock. If anything goes wrong, just call out and I'll be there."
He caressed her hair once and then headed back into the shadows.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
The bat-man clung to a wall and peered around the corner. A couple of men were walking down the hallway, conversing casually in German. Bruce wished he could understand what they were saying. He held his breath as they passed and then jumped around the corner and prepared to dart down the hallway.
There was a loud rrrippp!
One of the clumsy batwings had become caught on a nail in the wall. Bruce tried to run again, but the wing held tight. As he struggled to free the wing, one of the ridiculous bat ears caught on something as well. Bruce yanked with all of his might on the wing and then on the ear, horrified as he saw the two men turn around and march hastily towards him.
Bruce gave one last tug, and then he was pistol-whipped. As he faded out of consciousness, he was aware of the men removing the wings and bat ears.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
When Bruce Wayne was thrown into the cell, the first thing he saw was Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler embracing. Holmes quickly dropped the embrace, however, and ran to Bruce.
"My boy!" he exclaimed. "Is it really you? How did you find me?"
"I'll explain later," Bruce said. "Right now, we just need to focus on getting you out of here."
"But there's no time!" Holmes said. "Bruce, it's…"
"Ahh, Mr. Wayne," a calm, menacing, but extremely grating voice with German accent said. "So you are the mysterious 'batman' who foiled my last operation. I suspected as much. But now that I have a complete set, I shall doubly enjoy eliminating the three of you!"
Without turning, Bruce muttered, "I'm sure you will, Colonel Rhine!"
Rhine and Holmes both gasped.
"How did you know who it was?" Holmes asked.
Bruce turned to face Rhine.
"I knew an operation as organized as yours wouldn't have been complete with only one base," Bruce said. "And all those other hair-brained schemes had your name all over them. So I came to the only logical conclusion: you somehow survived our last encounter."
"If you can call this surviving," Rhine said with a snarl. "I am Aldous Rhine no longer. I am now… The Aryan!"
Rhine opened his mouth to speak again, but he was distracted by the sound of a thunderous explosion, followed by a large amount of screaming. This was soon followed by a variety on gunshots, married with more screams.
As Rhine was distracted, Bruce shoved him as hard as he could. Rhine stumbled back, and Bruce threw himself at him. But as Bruce flew into the air, Rhine caught him by the throat.
A/N - Tune in next time... same bat-category... same bat-title... for the exciting conclusion of "The Mystery of the Dark Knight"!