Chapter 8.
By Carycomic
TONY ZUCCO'S BROWNSTONE,
GOTHAM CITY, NEW JERSEY
MAY 1, 1990 (1:00 A.M./EDT)
Lord Deathman did not hesitate any longer.
"Kill them!"
His genin swiftly drew their mini-Uzis and began firing. But, Reptile and Subzero proved even quicker! The former switched to his were-lizard form and tackled Tony Zucco to the ground. While the latter generated a twelve-inch-thick wall of ice between all three of them and the bullets. Reptile then leaped over that wall in the direction of Lord Deathman!
Yet, Deathman's bodyguards proved no less swift in dragging their oyabun out of harm's way. Four of them sacrificing themselves to Reptile's fangs and claws! The remaining eight immediately drew a bead on the were-lizard. But, in doing so, they forgot about Subzero, who subsequently put a hole in the ice wall by turning a large circular portion of it into powdery snow. Snow that he immediately reconverted into dagger-shaped icicles. . .
THUNK! THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!
... before using them to eliminate four more of Deathman's bodyguards.
Meanwhile, in a guest-bedroom upstairs, the bound-and-gagged Haley Norton screamed "mmmmph!" as a gold-and-black figure came crashing through the window located between the small guest bathroom and the foot of the bed.
"Sorry, ma'am!" exclaimed Scorpion (secretly Dick Grayson, transformed by Mamodo magic). "I didn't mean to scare you. I'm just here to rescue you."
A fact that he quickly proved by manually ripping apart the duct tape binding together her ankles. He then gestured to her to roll over on to her stomach so he could likewise free her bound wrists. Both actions proving less painful than the removal of the duct tape across her mouth!
"Yowtch!"
"Sorry, again, ma'am, but, time is of the essence. And we can't wait for your blood to resume its normal rate of circulation."
Whereupon, she uttered a hoarse shriek as Scorpion flung her over his right shoulder in a fireman's carry. He then ran back to the broken window and extended his left arm. Following which, a metal chain flew out of the palm of his left hand! The weighted end of which was a miniature grappling hook... shaped like the barbed tail of a scorpion. With a resounding "thunk," that chain embedded itself in the underside of a rain trough. The Scorpion then pulled it taut before jumping through and out the window. Haley Norton instinctively shrieking a second time!
Incongruously, the chain seemed to grow longer the closer they got to the ground. But, as soon as they were safely on the ground, the Scorpion retracted the whole thing into its seemingly organic holster. Whereupon, Haley hoarsely requested to be put down on the ground. The Scorpion, however, reluctantly had to refuse.
"We're not out of danger, just yet," he explained.
He then ran off into the darkness. The ringmaster of the Haley/Norton Circus still draped over his right shoulder like the proverbial sack of potatoes!
Meanwhile, at the Gotham Ritz-Carlton, Drake looked at Takamine and Zatch Bell.
"OK! Innocent bystanders rescued. But, under the special circumstances, I think we better move up the timeline on our original mission. We're getting that spell book out of Wayne Manor, tonight!"
"Great idea," replied Takamine. "But, how are we going to traverse fourteen miles through all the traffic jams that are bound to be occurring right now?"
"Can't you use you and Zatch to materialize a Greyhound bus or something?"
Takamine looked at Zatch Bell who simply shrugged. So, the former opened his spell book and leafed through the pages for a few moments. Then, he smiled.
"This won't exactly be a greyhound. But, it should prove the next best thing. Raiju, ima tojo!* "
Whereupon, Zatch Bell once more projected twin streams of bio-electrical current. Materializing a creature that resembled nothing less than a giant fox. Albeit, with blue-and-white fur, two tails, and a leash that appeared to be made of solidified lightning!
"Quick!" ordered Zatch Bell. "You guys grab on to one tail each. I'll hang on to the leash."
No sooner had they done so than the fair-haired Mamodo ordered the Raiju to take them to Wayne Manor. The ensuing take-off was so abrupt that Takamine almost lost his grip on his spell book! To say nothing of the undigested food in Drake's stomach from lunch time. It was therefore somewhat understandable that they failed to notice the Batmobile as it drove away from the Chiropteran-filled streets surrounding Madison Round Garden.
"Eigo a hanasemasu ka?" asked the Dark Knight.
Kuno Kodachi nodded.
"Are you and your friend hurt? Did any of those things bite you?"
"Iei," replied the Black Rose Gymnast (before correcting herself). "No! My friend and I were in the hotel's all-night gymnasium working off our jet lag. She finished first, and was taking a steam bath, when we heard the explosions. We evacuated through the nearest emergency exit and had just reached this sporting facility when those creatures surrounded us."
"Was your friend scalded by the steam?"
"No. She is just very modest and the towels she was wearing were too short for her peace of mind. So, I enshrouded her in herbal wrapping as hurriedly as I could."
Batman was a little dubious concerning the veracity of this explanation. But, dealing with the bat-like creatures running rampant through the immediate three square-block radius had to be given higher priority. So, when he saw a trio of paramedical ambulances at one of the cordoned hastily organized by the GCPD, he pulled the Batmobile over and instructed the young Japanese woman to have the doctors look over friend, just in case.
To which Kuno-chen smilingly replied, "Hai! Domo arigato, Battoman."
The Dark Knight smiled back. "Doitashimashite."
As soon as the two women were gone, he put the Batmobile back into high-speed drive. Following which, he activated the two-way video transceiver to the right of the steering wheel.
"Dark Knight to Squire. Dark Knight to Squire. Do you read? Over."
"Squire to Dark Knight. Loud and clear, sir! Over."
"I take it you've been monitoring the police bands? Over."
"Affirmative, sir. And I confess I don't know what to make of these reports concerning real bat-men! Over."
"Whatever their origin, I don't think Gotham's Finest will be able to deal with them. Not with all the other on-going chaos caused by the fire! So, I'm returning to the Batcave to get Dad's... last birthday present."
Alfred's gasp of alarm was unmistakable. "Sir! You don't mean... The Book?!"
"Precisely."
tbc
ANGLO-JAPANESE GLOSSARY
"Raiju, ima tojo: Thunder-beast, now appear!"
"Eigo a hanasemasu ka: Do you speak English?"
"Doitashimashite: You are welcome."
