A Day in Gotham - Batgirl Begins 03

11 - Courtroom Capers

Batgirl parked up her bike in her official spot besides the big, imposing public building that was the Gotham Law Courts. Set back in a large square of its own, the big sandstone edifice was surrounded by hundreds of roman columns and tall, intricate windows. It was three stories high and perched on top sat a dome-like clock tower with a statue of Justice looking down onto the flights of stone stairs leading up the ornate, first floor entrance. Late afternoon, but still quite bright and the big old building reflected the sun's rays warmly.

Batgirl, relieved to be back in her conservative full-piece purple costume quickly scaled the big flight of stairs. She was running a few minutes late for Marco's bail appeal, but at least she'd got here!

It had been tight, but by the time that she'd got back to Richard's room at the University, it had been deserted. No sign of Catwoman, Catgirl, or Richard! A quick check had found his wardrobe ransacked, and his briefcase and laptop missing. So they really had spirited him away from under her eyes?! Unbelievable! And she was left with the gut-wrenching knowledge that she'd now managed to lose two lovers within the space of half a day! It really wasn't very encouraging!!

Still, it was amazing what a quick shower to remove the smell of the lake and the ducks could do, and now that she was back in her 'official' Batgirl gear her confidence, never far below the surface, had quickly returned. It was helped in no small measure by the admiring glances and friendly comments as she passed small groups of people waiting on the steps and as she reached the doorway, the duty police officer stood smartly to attention and saluted! She couldn't hide the girlish smile of pleasure that spread across her face like a newly opening flower. Her hand tentatively touched her forehead in a rather limp response and she chided herself, and Batman, for not having learnt to return a salute properly yet!

Inside there were even more people milling around the entrance hall and open marble staircase. Lots of court staff, lawyers and solicitors each taken up with cases of one sort or another, hopelessly mixed up with law enforcement officers of various types and then, probably the biggest group of all, the press!

As soon as Batgirl entered and took in the grand, ornately marbled hall, it was a like a signal to the latter group as they turned en-masse and swamped her with microphones, cameras and thousands of questions. 'Will Marco get bail?' 'Will you say anything to him?' 'Did you really assault him?' 'Where's Batman?'

Batgirl waved them all away. The attention was nice, but distinctly overwhelming! 'And where is Batman?' she wondered suddenly, agreeing with the last question as she scanned the crowds before spotting a court official waving at her from the top of the internal staircase. As she started to push her way forward, she had to sidestep a workman dressed in painter's dungarees and carrying big paint cans. She'd noticed a few other men working on top of small scaffolds around the hallway when she came in, restricting movements around them. 'Fine time to be re-decorating' she sighed as she finally got through the crowd on the stairs and the harassed looking official took her by the arm and guided her to a nearby door. This led to a small flight of stairs and finally onto another, much smaller corridor and finally to a non-descript redwood door which the official pushed open after knocking and urged Batgirl in.

"Ah Batgirl, about time!" said Batman sternly, "we've had to delay the start five minutes already!"

Batgirl was about to make a caustic reply when she realised that the room also contained Robin and the silver haired Police Commissioner Gordon, her real-life father. Even though her Batgirl persona was unknown to him, she still felt strangely uncomfortable about swearing in front of her father, so she clamped her mouth tight shut! The Commissioner smiled a warm, silent 'Hello' at her and the frown broke as she smiled back lovingly at him.

Batman was so big that he dominated the small room, and Batgirl had to elbow him none too gently aside so that she could ease her way to the front. It was like a balcony box at the opera as she looked down, but in this case the stage was replaced by a large, old-fashioned courtroom. It was packed out there, but somehow or other they'd got the bests seats in the place!

"Where've you been?!" Batman continued irritatingly.

"Oh, shut up Batman. I had some 'things' to deal with that's all. Anyway 'he' hasn't arrived yet has he?!"

That seemed to be the signal for a side door to open and the hubbub to suddenly die away as a jailor appeared closely followed by the tall, gangly figure of Marco and an armed police officer. They took him straight to the big table where the defence lawyers sat, unlocked his shackles and sat down behind him.

Batgirl looked at him closely. His cocky swagger was back, but it didn't need great eyesight to see the collection of bruises dotted around his face, or the limp that he'd carried into the room.

"Wow," whispered Batgirl quietly, looking strangely impressed, "he looks in a worse state than when I finished with him earlier in the week!"

Batman was looking quite pleased with himself as he agreed, "I know Batgirl. He does look a bit worn doesn't he? I arranged for him to share a cell with an old 'friend' of his at the penitentiary. Looks like they still don't get on!" It took Batgirl by surprise when he put both hands on her shoulders and looked deep into her eyes. There was something incredibly tender mixed in with a whole bunch of other emotions that she couldn't fathom as he continued harshly, " .....but I haven't forgotten the way that he man-handled you at the barn. He had it coming!!"

Batgirl turned a surprised expression in Batman's direction and she felt a little weak at the knees suddenly. She was impressed. She hadn't thought that revenge of that sort was really his style!

Commissioner Gordon coughed out loud, a little unhappy at the way the conversation was going.

"Hey guys!" interrupted Robin suddenly, pointing down into the public seating areas, "what's that?!"

Batman turned to follow his gaze and, for a moment thought that Catwoman had invaded the courtroom. But the figure in the slinky costume sitting near the back of the room was shorter, with a slightly fuller a figure. The woman's black costume was smooth, but not as shiny as Catwoman's, and included lots of pink flashes. Batman's eyes narrowed. He'd never seen her before. But then a sudden movement at his side distracted him.

"Batgirl! What are you doing?!"

Batgirl's eyes were riveted on the suited figure.

"Catgirl!" she gasped to herself as she jumped up onto the railing of their box, scanning urgently below her for a way down. Then she was gone, leaping down onto a row of oak desks, sending court officials spinning as she sprinted towards the public seating.

Batgirl had lost her temper big time when she'd seen Catgirl watching her. The gall of the woman! Calmly sitting down in 'her' courtroom like she owned the place! And after what she'd just done to her! If she got hold of her...........!

Catgirl didn't seem too bothered.

She calmly waited for Batgirl to hit the crowds milling about between them, then stood up and slipped out of the doorway. Batgirl shouted and cussed to clear people out of the way, but by the time she got through the door, Catgirl was at the head of the marble staircase, head down and sprinting.

With a roar of annoyance, Batgirl set off in pursuit, briefly catching the eye of one of the decorators as she dived underneath some scaffolding and vaulted the staircase banister. For a second something about the ginger hair piled under the workman's hat registered in the back of her brain but it was immediately set to one side as she raced after her prey.

When she broke out of the front doors, the bright light outside hit her and she squinted for a moment before taking in the scene around her. The police 'guard' on the door was just starting to pick himself up off the floor and the crowds on the stone staircase had parted down the middle pointing Batgirl's gaze straight to the figure of Catgirl pausing and looking back as she reached the road. Traffic was heavy and Batgirl snarled out a triumphant shout as she sprinted down the steps. Catgirl was trapped!

No she wasn't.

Batgirl had to watch in amazement as her prey laughed at her, turned and with amazing agility spun, sprinted, vaulted and picked her way between cars, trucks and vans amid a cacophony of loud horns. It didn't seem possible that she could make it across four lanes of traffic unscathed. But she did. And to top it all she turned and given Batgirl a cheery wave as she screeched to a halt by the same roadside.

No way was she going to lose her now though! Batgirl took a deep breath before ploughing across the road herself. Fortunately, Catgirl's antics had slowed the traffic considerably and Batgirl made the other side with only a few minor scares. She looked both ways and spotted her nemesis on a street corner about twenty yards away. She was just going to give chase again when she was distracted by the sound of four dull explosions behind her.

She looked back at the courthouse in surprise as she saw big clouds of smoke begin to billow up out of the first floor windows. The crowds on the stairs were starting to part as people backed away from the building and, simultaneously, a large grey van pulled up opposite the entrance. Just then the Courthouse doors burst open and Batgirl watched helplessly, frozen by the shock of it, as a group of the decorators burst out and began to run for the van.

The van doors swung open and two figures in black boiler suits and ski masks jumped out. They were incongruously different. One was tall and slim, the other was short and dumpy looking, but Batgirl's shocked eyes had picked up something else to focus on in the middle of the group of 'decorators' as the little crowd reached the van and piled in. Surely that couldn't have been Marco being bundled along in the middle of them?

Her muscles were finally reacting and she was on the verge of dashing back across the road when something else froze her. The Courthouse doors had burst open again and two familiar figures were streaking towards the van. She breathed a sigh of relief. It was Batman and Robin.

She relaxed slightly as the caped crusaders rapidly approached the two boiler suited figures who, strangely, were making no attempt to escape. Then the unimaginable happened!

As Batman was almost upon them the short, dumpy figure raised its arms and pointed two guns at the approaching retribution. Then the guns fired. No warning, no hesitation and instantly Batman and Robin had slumped to the floor, rolling to a stop at the fat figures feet.

Batgirl gasped in shock and horror. A kind of collective wail went up around her as everyone who had stopped to watch took in the enormity of what they'd seen.

It looked to Batgirl as though the two figures were arguing for a moment, but then they picked up Batman's inert body between them and threw it into the back of the van before jumping in behind.

By now Batgirl was racing across the road, but she knew that it was too late! The van had roared off into the distance when she reached the other side and bent down next to the gaily coloured pile of clothes that was Robin, fearing the worst as tears streamed down her face.

12 - Marco Says 'Thanks'

Marco had just thrown his coffee at the wall. The light brown mug had shattered and the hot liquid spread like dark blood over the bricked up wall.

"I don't care about Batman! It was Batgirl that I paid for -- and you promised me!!

He was furious. Jumping up from the plain wooden chair, still in his prison fatigues, and kicked it to one side.

"I paid you for her Zynn!!" he repeated heatedly staring hard at the object of his ire.

The short dumpy figure sitting on the other side of the plain wooden table was unabashed. She had long, straggly dark hair that tumbled down her back, and over her dominatrix uniform. The black corset was tied tightly down her back, forcing her rotund figure to squeeze into the confined space of the shiny black material. Her boobs spilled out of the top in an abundant display of cleavage which lifted up and down suggestively as her breathing deepened in annoyance.

"Marco, you ungrateful sod! You paid me to spring you from jail and I said that I might .... MIGHT! ... get hold of Batgirl at the same time. She wasn't there you idiot. I can't do the impossible! And if you don't calm down right now I might just reacquaint you with those cuffs that you've just got out of!!"

She looked sideways and appealed to the tall, black figure leaning against the door, "What do you say Catwoman?"

Marco switched his attention to the sinister figure as she eased herself off the doorway and stood tall. Her shiny black suit seemed to be moulded to her slim figure, her breasts jutting out suggestively in their armoured cups, her black cowl neatly fitting over a narrow face and her steel blue eyes staring impassively back at him. He took an involuntary step backwards as he watched Catwoman's hand drift ominously down to the coiled bull-whip attached to her waist. She didn't have to say anything to exude menace.

"Okay, okay," he gasped, hands up in defence, "I give in!"

Catwoman still took a step forward as she released the whip from its clasp.

"And??"

Marco swallowed hard, his eyes desperately searching round the small underground room for a way out, before he suddenly realised what she wanted.

"Errrrr 'Thanks Zynn'," he mumbled through pursed lips, "... thanks for getting me out."

There was a loud 'click', as the whip snapped back into place on her hip.

"There you are Marco, you miserable piece of humanity, that wasn't so hard was it? Come on Zynn, let's go and see Batman."

Catwoman paused at the door and turned to Marco with a delicious smile spreading across her face, "I wonder what Batgirl's up to now? Maybe she's coming after you anyway!?"

13 - A Shock on the Internet

Batgirl had just entered Commissioner Gordon's office. It was late in the evening, but Police Headquarters was still fully staffed. Officers had come in from leave. No stone was being left unturned in the search for Marco!

Batgirl noted with concern that her father's hair seemed to have gone even greyer. He looked up from his desk miserably as she walked in.

"Still no news Batgirl I'm afraid. They seem to have vanished into thin air!"

She tried a smile but she couldn't really disguise how worried she felt herself.

The Commissioner noticed immediately, as he would. "Why don't you go and get some rest Batgirl, you've been out on the streets for hours. We've got men scouring the city. We'll soon turn them up! And maybe you should take him with you as well" he gestured sideways to a small desk where Robin was crouched over piles of police reports, "he'll be going cross-eyed!"

Batgirl walked over to the table and ran her hand through Robin's mop of curly black hair. He'd been bugging her recently, but all was forgiven now!

When she'd bent down beside his motionless body on the pavement earlier she'd felt like she'd been shot herself. The hole that had appeared in her heart was big enough for any bullet. Then, miraculously, as she'd cradled his head in her arms, he'd twitched a little and groaned. It was then that she'd spotted the two snub nosed hand guns on the floor a few yards away. The bright yellow handles almost gave them away, but it was the thin, tenuous strands of shiny wire running across the ground that sent a wave of relief through her. Tasers! So Robin had just received a 50,000 volt shock, not a dose of lead! She laughed out loud in relief, much to the dismay of the small crowd that had gathered round them!

And it meant something else as well. Batman had been captured and abducted. They had to find him quickly!

"It was my fault Batgirl," he said miserable, looking up from the pile of papers.

"Don't be silly Robin," she responded, rubbing his hair tenderly again."You couldn't stop them after taking that electric jolt." She turned his face up towards hers and smiled at him, "Come on, let's go to the canteen and get something to eat..." he looked like he was going to protest, " ....... or else I'm going to take you to the hospital. You should probably have a check-up anyway!"

Batgirl couldn't believe it. Suddenly she was acting like his mother!

"Ok Batgirl," he finally said, rising wearily to his feet, ".....but I'm sure there's something in these reports that will help us find him. I'll get straight back onto them later!"

Batgirl smiled across at the Commissioner, looped her arm around Robin's slim waist and guided him towards the door, "Don't worry Robin. We'll see Batman again soon. I just know it!"

They were interrupted as the land-line on the Commissioner's desk began to ring urgently. Batgirl paused as her father picked it up. A quick frown spread across his face as he turned to the computer terminal set to one side of the desk.

"Hang on Batgirl, you'd better see this," he said as he tapped in some keys on the browser, "Oh dear!"

With a bound, Batgirl and Robin were at her father's side staring at the screen. She opened her mouth silently as she stared at the web-site. It was dark and grey, a series of torture rooms merged together with chains and other forms of restraint. Semi-naked women stared back enticingly. The title, in blood red was, "Madame Zynn's Rooms of Correction!" and was surrounded by the usual advertisements and 'Enter Here if you Dare' options. What had caught all their attentions though was the flashing yellow message across the middle of the screen.

"LADIES -- SPECIAL OFFER FROM MADAME ZYNN - JOIN THE AUCTION FOR AN HOUR WITH BATMAN (and his big ......!!)"

"Oh no!" gasped Batgirl as she grabbed the mouse and clicked onto the link.

A smaller window opened immediately showing a grainy video. It was a small dark dungeon room with cold, stone grey walls and flames rising from torches attached to the wall. In centre stage stood a familiar figure with his wrists locked into shackles at either side of his face. The uniform was clearly that of Batman. His black boots were shackled to the base of the wall a couple of feet apart below him and a dark black hood covered his head. Even in the dim light they could easily see his big chest cage struggling against his bonds, muscles rippling under his suit but what had really caught their attention was below the level of his utility belt.

"Oh Batman!" gasped Batgirl at last.

Kneeling in front of him was a woman with long blonde hair cascading down her back. She had smooth, tanned skin and a shapely figure. They could tell that because she was naked, with the exception of a leather neck band studded with silver spikes. Her hands were on Batmans bare hips. 'Where were his pants?' wondered Batgirl helplessly as she watched the back of the woman's head bobbing back and forth between Batman's open legs in front of the camera.

She was evidently well in the process of getting her money's worth!

"My God!" said Robin at last. "How awful! We've got to rescue him before he succumbs!"

Batgirl was looking at the image more closely and the way that his body was reacting to the woman's mouth and lips.

"I think we may be a bit late for that!" she said grimly before a flash of annoyance whipped through her, "He really has no self control does he!!" But suddenly an idea was taking shape in the back of her mind.

Maybe there was a way to find him after all.

14 - Catwoman Gets Her Man

In Madame Zynn's changing rooms, Catwoman was lounging in a soft leather chair as she watched her 'partner' prepare the next 'winner' of the Batman auction. Catwoman thought that Zynn looked a bit over the top squeezed into her black corset, her miniscule black thong stretched tightly around her wide hips and stockings that were pulled up her thick thighs by industrial strength suspenders. On her feet she wore a pair of long knee length black leather boots with silver, four inch heels