Chapter 25: Field Trip Mayhem Part 2
The Gotham Zoo
Four hours had passed since the Injustice League had taken everyone hostage and needless to say everyone was scared. No one knew how to handle this situation or even if they were going to live by the time it was all over. Kids were crying, adults were trying to help them calm down but knew there was no certainty to help them do so. Dick himself was quite downtrodden, as he felt helpless to do anything that wouldn't put his classmates and everyone else in more danger. He'd signaled his father and the league but that could take a while. He had his utility belt but the likelihood he could use it without being caught was incredibly small. As Dick contemplated all this he suddenly heard the Injustice League speaking, making him stop his thinking and listen in carefully.
"My baby is doing so well at keeping the police out, but I think a little more coverage over the top of the zoo would ensure no aerial attacks derail our plans. Wotan would you mind giving me some assistance with that?" Poison Ivy requested.
"Danpxe tnalp!" Wotan casted without any comment.
Immediately the orange veins in the plant began to glow brighter, eventually traveling throughout the entire plant. Within seconds the plant grew tendrils around the side that was facing the zoo. The tendrils then rose up and covered the entire roof turning the whole zoo into a giant sea anemone as the whipping tendrils threatened to slam any air strikes to the ground.
"Thank you Wotan, it's perfect!" Poison Ivy gushed.
It was then Black Adam arrived, having used his godly speed to go to the watchtower and quickly observe the Justice League's reaction.
"Count Vertigo, the Justice League is mobilizing as we speak to come rescue the hostages. How should we respond?" Black Adam asked stoically.
"Thank you for the information Adam, but there is no need for alarm. The league won't risk the lives of the hostages, especially with the children of such high profile members of Gotham society. All we need be is patient, even if the league attempts a rescue Ivy's plant will keep them busy enough." Count Vertigo said rather cockily.
"I highly doubt that, so I will be guarding the entrances to ensure we are not surprised." Black Adam responded as he flew off to patrol the halls of the zoo.
"That man needs to relax, take a load off, it's not good for your health." Joker chuckled with a creepy smile as he tossed a knife in one hand.
"He just wants to insure his payoff like the rest of us, so I'd advise leaving him be for the time being. As for the rest of us we better keep a tight watch on our hostages, unless we want to lose our leverag." Count Vertigo responded in a cool and calm manner.
The villains did as they were told, each focusing on the task they were assigned. Wotan and Poison Ivy continued their work on the plant, keeping it strong and under control with their powers. Count Vertigo and Joker kept close eyes on the cameras and near the phone should the President of the United States call. That left Ultra Humanite and Atomic Skull on guard duty, both roaming around the cluster of Hostages with the massive and deadly threats of their firearms.
At that moment most of the kids were huddled close to the nearest adults shivering in fear. Even Dick did so in order to not seem suspicious as he waited for his moment to try and escape the gardens. The patrol of the two villains went on for about an hour until as if by a stroke of luck they were distracted.
"Atomic Skull it looks like the Gotham police are attempting to break into the south entrance. Go and deal with them, make it clear we're not bluffing!" Count Vertigo said with a malicious smile.
Quietly agreeing to this the deathly looking soldier went off to the entrance to handle the police. This made it so only one person was guarding them making it so Dick could escape more easily to go directly to get help. So silently the little boy untangled himself from the crowd of fearful kindergartners and went to sneak off. However before he could get very far Barbara stopped him.
"Dick what are you doing it's dangerous to leave!" Barbara yelled in a very quiet whisper.
"I'm going to get help, we don't know if the bad guys are going to keep their promise." Dick said semi truthfully.
"But Dick if you're caught, you could get really hurt." Barbara pleaded, holding tightly to the little boy's arm.
"I'll be ok Barbara, someone has to go and get help, I'm tiny enough to do it without being caught. So please don't tell anyone I'm going and trust me, please!" Dick said with all seriousness as he looked into the little girl's eyes.
Barbara saw into her classmate and best friends eyes, she didn't know why but in that moment those blue eyes promised it all would be alright. So despite her fears she let Dick go, watching with great anticipation as he silently and expertly walked through the crowd of terrified children, praying he'd be alright. With that Dick continued on his way, weaving through all the hostages with great precision as to not draw any attention. Eventually as the little boy reached the edge of the huddle of zoo patrons Dick reached into his utility belt he'd dug out from his backpack and pulled out a smoke bomb.
Quickly he pulled out the pin and threw it discreetly at the garden exit opposite of him. The bomb flew through the air without anyone noticing it and landed on a soft patch of grass. Within seconds the bomb went of making everyone scream and filling the latter end of the gardens with smoke. From there chaos ensued causing all the hostages to freak out and villains to get angry.
"What's going on, where did that smoke come from?!" Count Vertigo bellowed.
"Ah! Get it away it's not good for my baby!" Poison Ivy shrieked.
Ultra Humanite immediately began to shoot at the smoke hoping to destroy whoever was trying to break in. After about a minute of freak out Wotan decided to intervene and end the chaos.
"Ekoms Lepsid!" Wotan yelled, creating a great gust of wind that blew and swirled around the smoke.
Within seconds the thick smoke was blown away into nothing revealing only the used bomb and bullet holes from Ultra Humanite.
"So someone was foolish enough to break in, well this just got interesting. Joker search for our surprise guest, and make sure he feels welcomed." Count Vertigo said quite coolly.
"It would be my pleasure, I'll make sure he has a real big smile on his face." Joker said as he chuckled sadistically as he walked towards the direction where the smoke bomb went off.
Little did they know that in their distraction they failed to notice a missing hostage slip away from their watch. To say Dick had fooled them was an understatement, he left them with a red herring that would ultimately make their goal completely fall apart. Dick giggled quietly as he snuck down the hallway, now determined to get the help his classmates needed.
He silently creeped down the hall, sticking to the shadows as his father had trained him to. He luckily had a map to guide him through the zoo, but that didn't make his goal any easier. He couldn't escape through one of the entrances or exits lest he be caught by Black Adam, Atomic Skull, or Ivy's plant. So he had no choice but to try and find an air vent he could crawl through where he could at the very least leave a homing beacon for the Justice League.
Filled with determination Dick ran through the halls stealthily, utilizing his Robin training as he stuck to the shadows. He did this for about twenty minutes but found no luck of finding an air vent he could get into. However things only got worse as Dick heard foot steps coming down a hall, the little boy frantically looked for a way out of site. He knew he couldn't fight back and keep his Dickie Grayson Wayne identity from being questioned. If he was caught he'd have to play the part of a scared little boy and start from square one.
It was then just as the steps were about to cross the corner that Dick saw a hidden vent behind a drinking fountain. Seizing the opportunity he ran to the vent undid the screws and threw himself into it, barely escaping the view of Atomic Skull as he passed by. From there he army crawled threw the tiny vent, that had he been bigger he wouldn't have fit through, and searched for a path that led to the roof and hopefully go the League.
Outside the Zoo
Meanwhile outside Gotham Police were scrambling to find a way to rescue the hostages and evade giving into the Injustice Leauges demands. At the same time a very scared and stressed out Commisioner Gordon was barking orders to the police.
"Barnes, take a patrol to the south side of the zoo, see if you can possibly find a way to avoid the plant and get into the building!"
"Yes sir!"
"Graves gather the fire department and have them surround the outside of the building with ladders and parachutes to catch anyone who might jump out. While you're at it gather their axes and any jaws of life on hand, let's see if we can possibly grind a way into the plant!"
"Will do sir!"
For several minutes the commissioner frantically spewed any idea that came to his head, desperate to rescue his wife and only daughter. Little did he know he was about to get some help with that as the Justice League flew down from the sky. Some flew on their own, others on the jets they had, but all hands were on deck to help with the threat at hand.
"Commissioner Gorden!"
The commissioner turned around to see the original seven of the Justice League walking towards him with Batman leading them.
"Batman! Thank god you're here! Do you have any idea how we can get the hostages out of there?"
"First tell me what you know so far?" Batman said as stoically as possible, trying to resist the urge to go in guns ablaze to rescue his baby boy.
"The building is surrounded by some mutant plant, no doubt the work of Poison Ivy, and it's covered all the entrances to the zoo both on the ground and above. We've tried to hack into it with axes, heavy artillery, and some mild explosives, but each time it just makes the plane angrier and mutate more. Please you have to help me, my wife and daughter are in there, I can't lose them Batman!" Commissioner Gorden explained as tears leaked from his eyes.
As Gordon let his emotions slip out a bit, Bruce saw himself reflected in the poor man's tearful eyes. A father worried sick about his family as he felt helpless to rescue them or feel useful. So with an uncharacteristic display of empathy he put his gloved hand on Gordon's shoulder and looked him straight in the eye.
"I promise we're going to help you save them as well as all the others trapped inside. I'll send some League members to gather some deeper reminiscence, perhaps there's an entrance we can sneak into from above or below the zoo."
"Thank you Batman, your help is more appreciated than you know." Gordon said as he embraced the ember of hope given to him and wiped his tears dry.
"Superman, Wonder Woman, GL, and Hawkman! I need you to fly above the zoo and look out for any weaknesses in the plant or find some ways to sneak into the zoo from above!" Batman ordered over the com link.
All four of the heroes responded with an affirmative and took to the sky's to find any weaknesses or direct ways in from the sky. Batman then had Etrogan, Flash, Green Arrow, and Captain Atom search the sewers for ways to hopefully get in as well. The search went on for an hour but the League found no success, rather they were attacked by the plant. The air team was eventually whipped down to the ground by the plant's tendrils even with Superman's heat vision, GL's constructs, Wonder Woman's rope, and Hawkman's mace.
It didn't go much better for the underground team as no matter how much of the plant they destroyed it would just grow back and block the pipes. This left the League and Gotham Police force exasperated, for no matter what they did they couldn't break in. However Batman was not deterred, his one and only baby was in there and he was not going to let him die or give up the ransom. No matter how strong the temptation, he knew once one ransom was given it only made all others worse. So with bold determination he helped everyone persevere, each one prepared to do whatever it took to save the future of Gotham city.
In the Zoo Vents
Meanwhile Dick was still navigating the ventilation system, going in blind as to what turn led where. Without his wrist computer he had nothing to guide him, leaving him to trial and error. He'd been in the vents for what felt like hours not sure what he should be looking for, now feeling like he hadn't thought his plan through all the way. However, eventually he started to see the sunshine reflecting from one of the vent shafts. Hoping for the best Dick followed the light crawling as quickly as he could, little did he know that in his hastiness the little boy had accidentally notified someone of his presence.
Oblivious to this the small boy continued his way through the vents till he at last reached freedom. With all the strength he could muster Dick managed to push the vent door open, finding himself on the roof surrounded by plant tendrils. Now the real trick was how to make a way for the Justice League and Police to get into the building. He had to do it stealthily in order to not give away his secret identity, but it had to be effective. After thinking about it for a while a light bulb went off in his head as he dug through his concealed utility belt till he found exactly what he was looking for.
Dick pulled out a small round black bomb, only this wasn't just any bomb, it was designed specifically for Poison Ivy. The dynamic duo had found themselves struggling to truly combat her powers over plants. No matter how many times they would cut and slice her plants Ivy would just make them grow back, so they invented a special little gadget called the Hydra bomb. Much like the hydras of myth you couldn't just cut up the plants or else more would grow back, you needed to burn them. The bomb contained a special acid that would cauterize the plants roots making it impossible to grow anymore. Dick quietly rolled the bomb to the edge of the roof and then pulled out the tiny detonator he had in his belt. However just as he was about to press the button a deep voice surprised him.
"Apparently we have a little runaway, that's very naughty of you little boy." Black Adam said his hands glowed with lighting.
Dick immediately turned around hiding the detonator behind his back so as to not give away his true intentions.
"Ah Dick Grayson Wayne, why am I not surprised it's you who snuck out of captivity? Your father is as medalsum as you are, no doubt you were thinking you'd escape and he'd come to rescue you." Black Adam said with a malicious smile.
"My daddy will come get me and kick your butt!" Dick yelled bravely at the villain
"Not without the money we demanded little boy, but it's clear a little punishment is required to make that clear to you." Black Adam said as the lighting in his fists began to glow brighter.
With malicious intent the villain threw a lighting blast at Dick, only for the little boy to nimbly dodge it. Serendipitously the lighting hit the bomb lying by the wall causing it to go off and explode green acid and fire onto the plant tendrils. Seizing in pain the plant's tendrils oozed where the acid sat and then broke off onto the ground with a great thump, leaving only a severely burned stump where several tendrils once were.
Down on the ground everyone had braced themselves for the large vine like plants to fall. Once they had, everyone was reeling a bit from the impact observing the large cracks in the asphalt where the plant had fallen as well as a few crushed police cars.
"What's going on, did anyone see what happened? Someone answer!" Commissioner Gordon called out on his walkie talkie.
"Where not sure chief? Out of nowhere this explosion went offâ" Answered an officer.
As the commissioner continued to talk, Batman continued to observe the explosion area as well as the area around them. As he did so a shiny piece of red metal stuck in one of the crushed police cars caught his eye. Immediately Batman walked over to it and recognized it as one of Robin's Birdarangs. The dark knight discreetly hugged it to his chest, filled with hope and pride as he realized his son had provided a way for them to come rescue him and his classmates.
"Commissioner, I believe we've been provided a way in, the plant's vines haven't grown back!" Batman called out to the chief.
"I believe you're, take a few league members to go investigate and enter the zoo through the roof if you can. If you can get inside, try to find a way to open an entrance for us!" Commissioner Gorden instructed, filled with hope.
Batman just nodded and took the other members of the original seven of the League to the roof, filled with determination to get his son back.
Inside the Gardens
"Found a little mouse trying to scurry away from us!" Black Adam said as entered the Garden entrance, Dick held out at arms length by his collar.
"Let me go!" Dick demanded as he struggled in the villain's grasp.
"My my if it isn't the precious little son of Bruce Wayne, who'd have thought he'd be such a trouble maker." Count Vertigo said with a condescending chuckle.
"You better let us go or you'll be sorry! The Justice League is going to come in and kick all your butts!"
"I'd love to see them try, Adam throw this one back in with the others and keep a close eye on him. We don't need another escape attempt on our hands." Count Vertigo said dismissively.
With sadistic pleasure Black Adam literally threw the little boy at the group of hostages, but luckily he was caught by one of the adult chaperones leaving him unharmed.
"So one of you little rugrats thought you could get away with sneaking off, huh?!" Black Adam asked with a malicious grin.
No one answered as all the kids trembled where they stood, even those nuzzling into the adults present.
"Well I'm afraid that means a little punishment is in order, we did try to warn you about the consequences of escape. But apparently you weren't listening, Wotan, Black Adam, show our guests what comes from disobeying us." Count Vertigo ordered.
Both Wotan and Black Adam grinned devilishly as the Wizard summoned a large glowing ball of orange energy and Adam summoned balls of lightning. After a few seconds the villains sent their charges blasts at the group, all of them bracing for impact. However, it was then a large glowing green shield appeared in front of them, taking the impact of the two's attack and then disappearing. There was smoke in the air but as it started to dissipate everyone searched for the source of the shield and were quickly filled with relief as they saw the original seven of the Justice League behind them.
"I believe the only people in need of punishment would be you and your lackies Count Vertigo." Batman said stoically with the slightest hint of rage behind his words.
"We'll see about that!" The count said with a malicious tone.
Immediately a battle ensued between the Justice League and Injustice League. As it went on Green Lantern used his ring to protect the hostages and make sure no one was harmed as the battle progressed. Punches were exchanged, plants went wild, walls were burned and punched through, and all mayhem went loose. For quite some time the two leagues went toe to toe, but eventually the Justice League came out on top and all the villains incapacitated.
Once they were taken care of, the Gotham police force came in to arrest the villains and make sure the hostages were ok. As they did so, paramedics and emergency workers with them, Commissioner Gorden looked around frantically for his wife and daughter. Eventually after much searching he found them both sitting with a paramedic who was looking over the two for injuries and other ailments.
"Leslie! Barbara!" Gordon called out frantically.
"Daddy!" Barbara called out as she ran to her father.
As soon as she was in distance the man scooped up his baby girl and held her tight to his chest, both crying tears of joy and relief. As he did so the man ran to his wife, drawing her close as well to insure his most precious treasures were safe and in his grasp. Dick watched all of this with great joy from a nearby entryway, happy to know his friend was reunited with her family. It was then without any warning that Dick felt himself pulled and spun around the entryway into a strong and dark embrace. The little boy eventually looked up and smiled as he saw it was none other than his daddy holding him to his chest in his Batman suit.
No words were exchanged as the two held onto each other only tears and affectionate head strokings of praise and relief. Dick knew his daddy was terribly worried before and that this was his way of relieving that pain. So for five minutes the two just embraced each other, Bruce lightly rocking his baby boy as he held him securely in his arms. Eventually knowing he had to get back to the manor and that he couldn't be caught holding Dick like this, the dark knight begrudgingly set his child down.
"I'll see you at home, I love you baby." Bruce said as he kissed his son's head.
"I'll see you soon daddy." Dick responded as he kissed his father's cheek.
Letting him run off the dark knight rushed back home and patiently waited for the police to bring his son to him. An hour passed by, an hour filled with pacing and worrying something else would happen. But then like angels from heaven the doorbell went off and Bruce could see red and blue lights outside the curtain covered windows. Sprinting as fast as he could, the anxious father threw open the door to see a kind officer with Dick in his arms.
"Dickie!" Bruce cried out as he took the boy from the officer's arms and squeezed him to his chest, not caring that he had done this a little over an hour ago, for he was relieved his baby was home.
"Daddy!" Dick squealed as he nuzzled into his father's broad chest once more.
The officer watched the scene fold out with great glee, moved by the father and son's love for each other.
"Thank you for getting my boy back to me officer, I couldn't be grateful enough." Bruce said as he shook his somewhat free hand in the officers.
"No problem Mr. Wayne, just doing my job. You have a good rest of your night now and be sure to keep the little one safe." The officer said with a tip of his hat.
"I will, you have a good night too." Bruce said with great gratitude.
The officer nodded and then made his way back to his car where he drove off. After waving the officer off, the two Waynes went back inside and sat by the fire for a bit, both happy to be home, together, and for a small moment completely safe.