Batman 4 - Batman & Robin (27 page)

Robin chuckled—not exactly the reaction she would’ve expected from a dying man. “Sorry to disappoint you,” he told her, “but rubber lips are immune to your charms.”

With that, he peeled a thin rubber coating from his mouth. Ivy stared at it in dismay.

“Robin and I found the cure to your evil spell,” Batman noted. “And that’s teamwork.”

Ivy felt a red-hot fury building inside her. She let it out in a long, bloodcurdling scream. Then she shoved Robin into the lily pool beside them, where predatory vines reached out and enveloped him.

Before Batman could come to his aid, she had other vines grab the Dark Knight by the ankles and wrench him upside down. Then her children began to squeeze the life out of Bat and Bird.

“Sorry, boys,” she said, “but my vines have a little crush on you.” Then she leaped from lily pad to lily pad, headed for the exit. “Gotta run. So many people to kill, so little time.”

But before she could get away, the skylight overhead seemed to implode, filling the room with moonlight—and a figure came flipping down from above. Judging by the long cape, the sleek eye mask, and the molded rubber, Ivy thought she was dealing with another Batman.

Then she realized that wasn’t the case at all. This Batman was very definitely a woman.

The feminine curves were a giveaway. And if Ivy still weren’t sure, a look at the thigh-length boots and heels would have convinced her.

“Who are you?” the villainess asked.

“I’m Batgirl,” the woman told her, her eyes hard and determined through the eye slits of her cowl. “And you’re about to become compost.”

“Not likely,” Ivy replied.

Nonetheless, the newcomer turned out to be a lot more formidable than she looked. She was strong, agile, and she had a command of the martial arts Pamela Isley could only have dreamed about.

But Ivy had some tricks of her own—an entire jungle of them, in fact. With a gesture, she sent a mess of snakelike vines darting at her adversary. Unfortunately, the woman eluded them and landed a couple of hammerlike blows to Ivy’s jaw.

The villainess staggered, dazed. Instantly, the jungle closed around her, protecting her from further punishment.

“Using feminine wiles to get what you want,” the newcomer snapped. “Trading on your looks. Exploiting men’s weakness for sex. Read a book, sister. That passive-aggressive crap went out twenty years ago. Chicks like you give women a bad name.”

Off to the side, Batman was slashing through the vines that held him captive, using something bat-shaped and razor-edged. And in the lily pond, Robin was struggling to free himself.

It was only a matter of time before both of them succeeded. Ivy knew that. And she didn’t want to be here when it happened.

Clenching her jaw, she let Batgirl have it with every weapon in her arsenal. The intruder was assaulted with a barrage of nuts and berries, fruits and vegetables. It pushed her back, back, until she was slumped against the wall.

Only when Ivy was satisfied all the fight had been taken out of her did she come forward and lord it over the newcomer. “As I told Lady Freeze when I pulled her plug, this is a one-woman show.”

Suddenly, Batgirl was on her feet, not nearly as battered as she’d let on. “I don’t
think
so,” she said.

Ignoring the effects of the barrage with which Ivy had hit her, Barbara grabbed Ivy’s hair and brought her knee up into Ivy’s face. The woman crumpled suddenly, bereft of consciousness.

Taking a set of handcuffs from her Utility Belt, Barbara shackled the green woman. Then she saw something big and black drop from the ceiling and she whirled.

It was Batman. Obviously, he’d cut himself free.

A moment later, Robin emerged from the pool, dripping water all over the vegetation-covered floor. Like his partner, he had a distinct look of incredulity on his face.

“And you are?” asked Batman.

“Batgirl,” she said. It was the name she’d given Ivy without thinking.

“That’s not very politically correct,” Robin told her. “How about Batwoman? Or Batperson?”

Batman’s eyes narrowed. Clearly, he didn’t trust her. Even though she’d taken out Ivy, she was an unknown quantity.

Frowning, she did the only thing she could do to earn his trust. She slipped off her cowl.

“It’s me,” she said. “Barbara. I found the cave.”

The two of them looked at her. Then they looked at each other.

“We’ve gotta get those locks changed,” said Robin.

“She knows who we are,” Batman pointed out.

His sidekick nodded. “I guess we’ll have to kill her.”

For a moment, Barbara was afraid they meant it. But they didn’t lift a hand against her. And Robin actually smiled.

“Kill her later,” Batman said at last. “Right now, we’ve got work to do.”

He and Robin made their way out of the baths. And Barbara—no, Batgirl—was right behind them.

S
tanding on the floor-level telescope platform at the Gotham Observatory, Freeze gripped the giant telescope, gazed into its viewfinder, and laughed at the sound of approaching sirens.

“One Adam-twelve, one Adam-twelve, see the mad scientist with the freezing ray. Respond with caution if you know what’s good for you.”

A squad of cruisers screamed up the avenue toward .the observatory, their bubble lights flashing. “I guess they don’t know what’s good for them,” said Freeze. “Cops on the rocks, anyone?”

With that, he fired a giant blue beam of cryonic energy at the street below. Suddenly, the cop cars became skidding, screeching cubes of ice, smashing into each other—and ultimately exploding into pyres of raging flames.

“Police are so hot-tempered these days,” Freeze remarked. He turned to glance at his muscle-bound accomplice. “Don’t you agree, Mr. Bane?”

Bane didn’t answer.
Nothing new there,
thought Freeze.

Then a distant flurry of activity caught his eye. He trained the telescope on it and took another look through the viewfinder.

It was Batman, behind the wheel of a modified white Batmobile on rocket skis, blazing a trail over the frozen river. Also his pitiful companion, Robin, guiding a sleek, one-man iceboat over the ice.

And a third person, also dressed in the cowl and cape of Batman. But this one was a woman, it seemed to him. And she was driving some kind of single-bladed, rocket-powered snowcycle.

Very nice,
Freeze mused.
A regular Batforce.
Obviously, Ivy had failed to unmask the crime fighters and keep her part of the bargain.

“No matter,” he said out loud. “The Bat and the Bird are mine at last.” He shook a fist at Batman. “Watch as your beloved Gotham freezes,” he bellowed. “And prepare to die—because you’re next!”

Pointing the telescope downtown, Freeze zeroed in on a particular street and fired. Then he observed the results through the viewfinder.

He could still see folks walking their dogs, drinking canned beverages on stoops, kissing in the shadows of alley walls. He could still see mailboxes, lampposts, the pavement itself. Except now, it was all flash-frozen, encased in a thick, glistening coat of ice.

Lovely,
thought Freeze.
Just lovely.

Then he turned his weapon on his crime-fighting enemies again and spoke into his built-in radio hookup. After all, he was prepared for this eventuality. In fact, he’d looked forward to it.

“The Bat-talion approaches,” he snarled. “Icemen—attack!”

Down below, his drill truck burst through the mists that had accumulated by the riverbanks. Then it blasted down the frozen waterway on sharp, silver blades. Two pairs of Icemen hung from tail lines on skis, machine guns blazing like torches in the night.

Freeze didn’t normally like heat very much. But in this case, he would make an exception.

Batgirl saw Freeze’s truck coming at them from upriver. She turned to Batman for instructions.

“Attack plan Alpha,” he said, speaking into his radio. Suddenly, he peeled off to the left.

“Alpha,” Robin confirmed. “Roger.” He peeled right.

“Alpha,” Batgirl repeated. “Got it.” Then she realized she was at a bit of a disadvantage. “What’s attack plan Alpha?”

She heard a chuckle over the radio. “Divide and conquer,” Robin explained.

He was veering downriver as he said it. A pair of Icemen noticed and swept out alongside the drill truck, heading toward Robin’s billowing craft with their guns firing.

Batgirl wanted to help him. Unfortunately, she was about to have her hands full. A second pair of skiing Icemen were whipping around in her direction, their guns spitting bullets into the ice around her.

And a set of rocket launchers, side-mounted onto the truck, were firing at Batman’s craft, blowing holes in the ice. It looked like each of them was on his or her own.

Robin spared only a moment to watch Batman maneuver his vehicle through the Icemen’s barrage. Somehow, his mentor managed to swerve around the sudden, steaming holes in the icy river. Then, gunning his turbos, Batman headed straight for Freeze’s truck.

At the same time, the two Icemen bearing down on Robin released their tethers and used their momentum to converge on his Batsled. They came straight at him, guns blazing.

“Tack,” said Robin.

Pulling on his tiller, he brought his craft sharply around—taking himself out of the path of the two skiers. The Icemen collided, then slid past him on the ice.

Boy,
he thought, as he left the skiers in his wake.
I hope for Freeze’s sake he buys these guys by the dozen.