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 15

"C'mon, hurry up!" The elderly couple behind the counter winced as the man's words were followed by the snapping of a whip. The man glanced helplessly at his wife as he finished emptying the contents of the cash register into a paper bag. He handed the bag to the strongman, who smirked at the loot. Behind him, the Juggler was juggling three wads of cash, while the Tamer watched the door.

As the Strongman picked up the bag of money, his eyes wandered over the display case under the counter and rested on some jelly-filled pastries. Licking his lips, he strode over to the counter. "And gimmie some of those" He ordered, pointing at the pastries.

"Yep, it's definitely them" Oracle whispered, peering through her binoculars from their vantage point across the street.

"Now can we jump them?" Robin asked, trying in vain to keep from fidgeting.

"There's three of them and two of us" Oracle said, hiding her smile. "Not to mention that elderly couple. I wouldn't put it past one of those guys to turn at least one of them into a hostage."

"Good point" Robin admitted. "But we have to do something"

"And I would love to just walk in there and thrash them" Oracle nodded. "But the odds are stacked against us right now. We need the proper opportunity, so we wait"

Robin sighed. "Fine" A few seconds passed, then he said. "We waited" With that, he leapt over the parked car they were hiding behind and dashed towards the bakery.

"Robin, no!" Oracle called out, but it was too late.

Now I'll show Barbara just how good I really am! Robin thought to himself as he burst through the door of the bakery. The little bell dinged and the three circus cons started to turn around.

Capitalizing on the element of surprise, he catapulted into the Juggler, hearing a loud report as his kneecap collided with the crook's head. The little man cried out as he was flung onto a nearby table, which turned over due to the impact and ended up on top of him.

As Robin whirled to face the other two, the Tamer snapped his whip and lashed out at him, but Robin moved his arm so the tip coiled around his wrist and then yanked backwards. The Tamer yelled as he was yanked off his feet and then groaned as Robin clobbered him in the jaw.

As the Tamer sank to the floor, the Strongman growled and charged towards him, one hand curled under his arm, the other one, encased in brass knuckles, raised to strike.

Robin smirked and leapt straight up. His circus training, combined with the tech in his boots, allowed him to jump several feet into the air. He saw the Strongman's eyes widen as his feet made contact with the man's face.

Are All boys this reckless? Oracle wondered as she crept into the store, watching with wide eyes as Robin pummeled the Strongman with a series of blows. Then again these are Zucco's thugs. She realized as she watched Robin dodge the Strongman's clumsy punch, grab the man's wrist and twist it hard, causing the crook to cry out in pain and drop the brass knuckled he has been carrying. He's probably looking to blow off some steam.

Scanning the shop, Oracle's eyes met the eyes of the elderly couple. Go! Go! Oracle mouthed at them, jerking her head towards the door. The man nodded at her and the two scurried towards the door. As Oracle watched them, he saw the Tamer suddenly regain consciousness. Seeing the elderly couple flee, he growled and lunged for them.

I don't think so, punk! Oracle frowned as she pulled a small item from her purse and darted in between the Tamer and the fleeing store-owners. The Tamer sneered as he took in Oracle's form. Grimacing in reply, Oracle darted forward, slamming the live end of her miniature taser against the Tamer's leg. The Tamer cried out as hundreds of volts of electricity surged through his body and he collapsed to the ground, his arms and legs twitching.

The sound of the Tamer's fall distracted the Strongman long enough for Robin to leap onto his back. From his new vantage point, he slammed his hands down on the Strongman's ears, causing him to roar in pain before swinging around to deliver a punishing blow to the man's jaw. He punched so hard the man literally spun in the air before crashing to the floor.

"Nice of you to join us" Robin said, smiling at Oracle.

Oracle was in no mood for humor. "What part of 'wait' did you not understand?" She said

"There are few elements in combat greater than the element of surprise" Robin countered, his smile fading.

"Well next time you should...LOOK OUT!" Oracle cried out as she saw the Strongman throw something into the air. A grenade, with a long tail of green gas trailing from it.

Oracle froze, but Robin reacted instantly. He pulled something from his belt and, darting forward, slapped it across Oracle's mouth and nose. Oracle jumped and tore at her face before she realized the thing on her face was a portable re-breather.

"Don't say I never did anything for you" Robin smiled, then he started coughing as the gas reached him.

"Robin!" Oracle cried out as she watched the boy sink to his knees. She started to take off the device, but Robin held out a hand and she stopped.

Robin coughed for a few more seconds, then suddenly stopped and began shaking his head. When he stopped, his eyes looked blank, like he was in a daze. "What-what's going on?"

"Robin! Are you okay?" Oracle called, but Robin didn't seem to hear her. Whirling, she moved to face the Strongman and the Juggler, who were wearing gas masks. The Strongman had the unconscious Tamer slung over one shoulder. "What did you do to him?"

The Juggler giggled. "Just helping make your boyfriend more manly"

"Yeah" The Strongman laughed. "We're makin' him fearless"

Oracle turned as Robin suddenly gasped on horror.

"How did...how did I get up here?" Robin gazed at the ground with a horrified expression.

Oracle raised an eyebrow. "Robin, what are you talking about?" She reached for him.

Robin looked at her and his face paled. "What? No! No, stay away from me!" He darted backwards away from her.

"Robin, what has gotten into you?" Oracle asked, but Robin suddenly began wobbling, like he was about to fall off of something.

"No! No! No, don't let me fall!" He yelled.

What is he talking about? "Robin! Get a grip! You're not going to fall!"

But as she spoke, Robin suddenly seemed to do just that, he fell on his side and gave a loud and drawn out scream of terror.

"Well well" Oracle whipped her head around as the Strongman laughed at Robin's antics. "Looks like the birdie boy is afraid of heights"

"Maybe next time he should look before he leaps." The Juggler added and both men burst out laughing as they started heading for the door.

"Why you!" Oracle growled and rushed at the two. Flipping into the air, her feet connected with the Strongman's jaw in a devastating spinning kick. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something shiny fall from the man's pocket and roll under a nearby table.

The Strongman staggered backwards, rubbing his jaw, then with lighting fast speed, her lashed out with his hand, striking Oracle in the side before she could dodge. Oracle cried out as she flew through the glass window of the store, shattering it, and landing on the street outside. Miraculously, she didn't land on any broken glass.

As she struggled to move, she could hear Robin still screaming about falling from inside the bakery. She lifted her head to see the two crooks walking out of the bakery carrying paper bags full of what she assumed was the money from the store.

Oracle tried to get to her feet, but groaned loudly as pain shot through her body.

The two men looked up. "No way, she's still kickin'?" The Juggler sounded surprised.

"Not for much longer" The Strongman smirked as she laid the still unconscious Tamer inside a white panel van that was parked outside the Bakery, then turned back towards Oracle, pounding his fists.

"You crazy, dummy? "The Juggler snapped "We ain't got time for that!" He pointed to his watch as if trying to make a point.

The Strongman looked at his watch, then glared at Oracle. "Fine. Next time" He snorted and turned away.

Oracle sighed with relief as the two men climbed into the van and drove away. Squinting against the pain, she was just able to work out the licence plate and memorize it.

Staggering to her feet, trying to ignore the pain in her side, Oracle limped back into the bakery. By this time, Robin had stopped screaming and was lying on the floor, shaking like an earthquake. His skin was pale and his stare was glassy. Oracle knelt down next to him and waved her hands in front of Robin's eyes, there was no reaction.

Oracle suddenly remembered something and approached one of the tables and carefully felt around under it. Her fingers clasped on something solid and she carefully pulled out a small metallic sphere. It looked like the gas grenade that the Strongman had thrown. Oracle carefully slipped it into her purse just as Robin suddenly groaned behind her.

"Ugghhh! What happened?" He rubbed his head, then looked up to see Oracle standing over him.

"They got away. That's what happened." She said. "They zapped you with some kind of gas and you started hallucinating"

Robin shuddered. "It felt so real. I...I was back at the circus, up where my parents did their trapeze act. Then, I saw what...what looked like my mother swinging towards me, but then she became all skeletal-like. Then, the next thing I knew, I was falling. I fell and fell, until I eventually woke up" Robin punched the ground in annoyance. "I can't believe I messed up, again!"

"Yeah well, I'd probably be hallucinating as well if you' hadn't save me with this" Oracle held out the re-breather. "Thanks"

"No problem." Robin said as he took it back and tucked it into his belt. "Just between us, I'd prefer you be safe rather than me"

Oracle smiled. "Is that true, or are you just flirting with me some more?"

Now Robin grinned. "A little of both" His eyes drifted down to Oracle's clothing. "Hey, you've got glass sticking out of your shirt."

Oracle slowly picked the sharp stuff out. "Yeah, getting thrown through a glass window can do that to a person" Oracle glanced over at the big hole in the store window. "I hope these guys have insurance"

"Yeah" Robin said, getting to his feet. "So, do we have a plan now?"

"Fortunately yes" Oracle rummaged around in her purse. "I managed to recognize the license plate number of their getaway van. I just have to type it into my search program and we..." Oracle paused, then frowned as she pulled her phone out. The casing was badly twisted and the screen was cracked so badly she could hardly read it. "Oh great." Oracle tapped the screen, then groaned in annoyance. "I must have landed on it when I was flung through the window. It's busted." Oracle thought for a moment. "I could call em dad to have him run the plate, he can use the police database, but that will take a while."

Robin smirked. "Well, lucky for you, my dear, I have a contingency plan"

"Oh?" Oracle raised an eyebrow.

"I popped a tracer on the Strongman when I tackled him." Robin gloated as he yanked a box from his belt. Flipping open a screen, he typed a few commands, then turned it to show Oracle a blinking red line moving through solid blue lines.

"Clever" Oracle smirked. She reached into her purse and pulled out the silver sphere. "I also got this. It's the same kind of gas grenade the Strongman used on us. Batman can analyze the gas inside of it, and we can find a way to counter it."

Robin shook his head. "We don't need Batman's help for that"

"We don't?" Oracle asked.

Robin turned to Oracle. "Do you trust me?" He asked.

"What?"

"Do you trust me?" Robin asked. again.

Oracle paused, then nodded. "Yes"

Robin grinned. "Then follow me. I know someone who can get that analyzed"

Commissioner James Gordon yawned and leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms. Sometimes he hated late nights at the office.

Sure, it was nice and quiet, but with all that had been happening the last few weeks, with Deathstone, and that winged vigilante Red Robin, Gordon couldn't help feeling on edge.

And to add to that, he had been hearing rumors from underworld informants that a new syndicate was moving in, one that was supposedly powerful enough to rival the League of Assassins in strength.

Gordon felt a small chill crawl down his back. He remembered the League of Assassins all too well. Even with Ras' Al Ghul missing (he had not been seen since that business with the Ion Cortex), the League was still deadly. If there was a force out there that was just as powerful, and just as bad, he did not want it in his city.

"I don't like this" He mused as he picked up his pen and stared down at the form he was supposed to be filling out. "Something's about to happen. I can feel it" Gordon had been a cop for over twenty years and during that time, he had learned to trust his gut, and his gut was now telling him that something big was about to go down.

Gordon's thoughts were shattered by his desk phone ringing. He checked the caller ID, which read unknown number.

"Huh" He snorted. The mystery deepens. "Hello?" He answered.

"Commissioner Gordon?" A youthful female voice spoke through the phone.

Gordon's eyes widened. "Barbara, is that you?"

There was a pause at the other end of the line, then the voice spoke. "No commissioner, this is Oracle"

"Oracle?" That was that hacker that worked for Batman! "How did you get this number?"

"That's not important right now, just listen!" Gordon strained to hear the kid over a surprisingly loud amount of white noise. "Batman needs your help!"

"You'll have to speak up, I can barely hear you!" Gordon yelled into the receiver.

"One moment" Oracle's voice became muffled, almost like she was speaking to someone else. Gordon heard the words 'Wind' and 'Have to land'. He frowned, was Oracle on some kind of aircraft?

Gordon pressed the intercom button on his desk. "Officer Montoya, report to my office, right now!" He spoke into the mouthpiece.

A few moments later, an olive-skinned female officer entered the room. "You wanted to see me sir?"

"Yes" Gordon nodded at her, "I need you to contact Air Traffic Control at Gotham Airport, I need to know if their radar detected anything flying low over Gotham airspace within the last few minutes"

The officer's eyes widened. "May I ask why, sir?"

Gordon's eyes narrowed. "You can ask me after you get me the info, I need it now!"

The officer nodded. "Yes sir" And disappeared, closing the door behind her.

"Commissioner?" Oracle's voice came back a moment later, much clearer. "Can you hear me?"

"I can now" Gordon said, turning to face the window. "So what can I do for you, Oracle?"

"Like I said, Batman needs your help." Oracle said. "He needs you to run a license plate number."

Gordon raised an eyebrow. "He wants a plate traced?"

"That's what I said" Oracle sounded tense, which put Gordon on edge.

"So why can't you do it?" Gordon couldn't help asking. "You're supposed to be his resident techie, aren't you?"

"If I could do it myself, I wouldn't be asking for help, would I? Oracle snapped.

Gordon's eyes widened. Something about that voice was familiar.

"Sorry about that" Oracle said a moment later. She sounded embarrassed. "I'm just...under a lot of strain right now."

"Aren't we all?" Gordon replied casually, but his mind was whirling. Where had he heard that speech pattern before? "So, any particular reason you need this plate traced?"

There was another pause. "I have reason to believe this particular vehicle may be connected with the disappearance of Dinah Lance" Oracle finally said.

Gordon's stiffened. "I see" He said, then paused for a moment. Reaching over to his phone cradle, he pressed a hidden switch. "Okay, let's have it"

There was a sigh of relief on the line, then Oracle read off the plate number. Gordon wrote it down. "Okay got it. I'll put it through the system and call you back when I..."

"NO!" Gordon paused at Oracle's outburst. "I mean, Batman wants this information given to him directly, at Police Headquarters"

"He does?"

"Yes." Gordon heard another deeper voice on the end of the line. "Listen, I have to go. Just make sure you get that information to Batman, ASAP!" With that, Oracle hung up.

Gordon scratched her head. Then replaced the handset in its cradle, reached behind it and pressed a switch, then a button. A tiny compartment in the cradle opened, exposing a roll of recording tape.

Taking both the tape and the plate number, Gordon left his office. As he strode down the hallway, Officer Montoya caught up with him.

"Just got word from ATC sir. They report nothing unusual" She reported.

"Good" Gordon said without looking at her.

"Sir?" Officer Montoya's tone made him pause. He turned to see her staring at him with a worried look on her face. "Is something wrong? You look like something's bothering you"

Gordon sighed, Montoya was one of the youngest, but brightest cops on the force. One of the things that made her so good at her job was that she was good at reading people. Even Gordon found it difficult to hide things from her. "I've got this...feeling." He admitted. "Something big's about to go down, I just know it"

Officer Montoya's eyes widened, but her expression didn't change. "Whatever you say sir. Anything else I can do?"

"Actually yes" Gordon held out the piece of paper with the license plate on it. "Run this plate through the database, see if you can find a match. Check traffic cameras for current locality of the vehicle. And get me the results as soon as possible. I'll be in the tech department"

"Yes sir" Officer Montoya took the paper and dashed away. Gordon watched her go, then proceeded to elevators. He rode one down into the basement of the building.

In the lowermost level, he walked down a dimly-lit corridor and knocked on a door near the middle of the hallway.

A dark-skinned man with receding hair looked up as he entered. "Commissioner, what brings you down here?" He asked.

"Tell me Ethan, has your new tracing software been tested yet?" Gordon asked

The man slowly raised an eyebrow "No, not yet. I've been looking for a suitable test scenario for a little while"

"Well, now you've got one" Gordon help up the recording tape from his phone. "I need a voice identified."

"Are you serious?" Oracle gasped as she stared up at Kane Manor.

"Of course" Robin said as he folded up his 'wings'. "I need to re-tool, and you need to get that gas analyzed. We can do both here"

Oracle shook her head as she watched Robin stroll up to the back door. "But breaking into your own house? Isn't that kinda...extreme?"

"Says the Commish's kid?" Robin joked as he lifted up a rock by the back door and fished a key out. Oracle frowned.

"Besides, we're not breaking in" Robin added as he unlocked the door. "I have the key right here"

"But what is someone sees us?" Oracle whispered as they entered the darkened kitchen and Robin closed the door behind him.

"Who's going to see us?" Robin asked, not even bothering to keep his voice down.

"The maid for starters" Oracle hissed at him. "Or Miss Kane."

"Miss Alice isn't here. Tonight is her night off" Robin explained. "And as for Kathy..." Robin paused and rubbed his head.

"What?" Oracle asked. She could tell Robin was hiding something from her. "What about Miss Kane?"

"Yes" Oracle jumped as the overhead lights suddenly snapped on. She whirled around to see Miss Kane standing by the doorway in a silver robe. One hand was on the light switch, the other was resting on a bulge in her robe pocket. "What about me?"

Oracle gasped at the dark look in the woman's eyes, but Robin stepped forward without any show of fear. "Relax Kathy. it's me"

Miss Kane blinked, then her frown melted into a smile. "Richard, darling!" She exclaimed and strode forward to hug him. "I wasn't expecting you back for a few hours"

"We ran into a...small obstacle" Robin confessed as he pulled his mask off, revealing a purple bruise on his face.

Miss Kane raised a pretty eyebrow. "So I can see" She tutted, shaking her head"Dear, dear Richard. You really should be more careful. You know that makeup, wonderful as it is, can only cover so much"

"I'll be careful" Richard smiled up at her.

Oracle was stunned as she watched them embrace again. Miss Kane knows that Richard Grayson is Red Robin? She thought. And she doesn't seem the least bit bothered by it!

Miss Kane suddenly noticed Oracle standing there and her smile widened further. "Ah, and I see you brought company back with you" She purred, then giggled. "Judging from the look on your face, darling, I'm guessing Richard had not yet revealed our little family secret to you"

Oracle shook her head, her mind still reeling over what she had just witnessed. A surge of emotions rang through her mind. Shock, confusion, anger, and a little bit of envy.

"Well, it appears the cat is out of the bag" Kathy giggled again. "So, what do you think?"

"You..." Oracle finally found her voice. "You know about Richard?"

"Of course I do" Kathy smiled, then leaned forward. "Just like I know about you, Miss Barbara Gordon" She said, her eyes narrowing at the last three words.

And Cut!

Wow! Shocking Plot Twist! Miss Kane knows about Barbara, and it looks like Commissioner Gordon may be on the verge of knowing as well! How will he react when he learns Barbara's secret? Will Barbara and Richard be able to stand up against the Scarecrow's fear gas? And when will we see them meet the Birds of Prey?

All this and more may be revealed in the next chapter! So Stay Tuned!

As always, thanks to Superfan 44 for the motivation and guidance (especially on this chapter!)

Until Next Time!