|
|
Post by dragonbat on Apr 21, 2008 20:03:47 GMT -5
 Nightwing #25: Bossy As BatmanWriters: Batkid and Ramon Villalobos Artist: Ramon Villalobos Editor: Ellen Fleischer |
|
|
|
Post by dragonbat on Apr 21, 2008 20:05:06 GMT -5
Bossy as Batman Inspiration struck. He hurried to find Ion. He peeked around several crates, before…
“Hey, Nightwing!”
Dick winced. That maniac! Well, if anyone was there, they now knew they had company. “Yes?” Dick asked, his voice chilly as it echoed in the warehouse.
“C’mere a sec.”
Dick followed Ion´s voice, but stopped short when he found him.
“Does this count as suspicious?” Kyle asked him.
Dick paused, then said, “Oh, yeah…”
|
|
|
|
Post by dragonbat on Apr 21, 2008 20:06:40 GMT -5
Nightwing stared at the floor. Kyle had opened several boxes and had scattered their contents. Tea leaves were strewn around the floor—mixed with white powder.
“Wow,” Dick said, impressed. He glanced at the mess. “Hey—!” He started.
Fighting a sudden wave of nausea as he knelt on the floor next to an unconscious man, he said, “a guard?”
“Yep,” Kyle said, unconcerned. “I just knocked him out a second ago.”
“Great,” Dick muttered. He brushed some poisonous white powder off the man’s face. Some of it stuck to his gloves. “You should have watched where you threw this stuff.”
Kyle shrugged and glanced casually at the crook. “Prob’ly. He didn’t get enough in him to hurt him, anyways.”
"How do you know?"
"He has a pulse, doesn't he?"
Dick suddenly remembered why he’d wanted to find Ion in the first place.
“Hey, I’ve got an idea. Look at this,” Dick commanded, pointing to the box. “Look… on the paper.”
Kyle glanced at it, looked at Nightwing, then stared at the paper again with a smirk on his face. “Wow, it's beautiful, isn't it?”
"Don't you see anything suspicious?"
"Um..."
“The tea was delivered this morning. It’s only here for two days before it’s distributed. Some of this stuff was already poisoned—at the part of the building where you found this guy,” he said, nudging the unconscious man with his boot. “Maybe—“
“Maybe he was poisoning it now!” Kyle finished. He ran to a box a few rows away. “Right… he hadn’t made it here yet.”
“So they get the shipment in the morning, and poison it sometime in the afternoon or evening. Then it’s distributed to the stores and restaurants.”
Kyle started to nod, then froze as a thought struck him. “OH!”
Dick raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”
“THAT’s why you were so lousy the other day!”
“Excuse me?” Dick’s mind raced. What could Kyle possibly be—?
Oh, no.
“You were poisoned!”
How could I be so stupid?! I blurted out that I drank the poisoned tea when we first came in! He thought back to twenty minutes ago…
|
|
|
|
Post by dragonbat on Apr 21, 2008 20:07:17 GMT -5
“Are you sure it’s this company?” Kyle asked as loudly as before.
“Yes. This is the kind that I drank, and the same kind that at least a few others did.”
|
|
|
|
Post by dragonbat on Apr 21, 2008 20:09:28 GMT -5
Dick glanced sharply at Kyle. If he connects that to Dick Grayson’s poisoning…
“Like you said when you came in, that this was the kind you drank.” Kyle looked impressed, whether with Nightwing’s having been poisoned, or with his own detective skills, Dick wasn’t sure.
“Were you investigating this before you were poisoned, or just since?” Kyle continued.
“Um… before,” Dick said, relieved that Kyle didn’t seem to have figured out his secret.
Kyle nodded. He looked like he wanted to say more, but stopped, looking around him.
“If this guy was poisoning the tea… where’s his supply of arsenic?”
Dick glanced around. Where was the arsenic? After searching for a moment he found a vial of it behind a box, along with a mask and gloves. Nightwing snapped a picture of it with his ultra-slim Nikon. He guessed that the man had been startled when Ion had yelled for Nightwing, and had hastily shoved his gear behind a crate.
Kyle smirked. “He jumped out and tried to take me,” he said, obviously struck that the man had.
Dick nodded distractedly, looking at the label on a box.
“Ion?”
“Yes?”
“You didn’t happen to find a broom closet earlier, did you?”
“No… Why?” Ion asked, looking warily at Dick. He didn’t like the way the conversation was going.
“Because you’ve got a little bit of cleaning to do.”
|
|
|
|
Post by dragonbat on Apr 21, 2008 20:10:30 GMT -5
“I said I’d be your partner, not your maid,” Kyle grumbled as he swept up arsenic with a green broom. Instead of looking for a broom and dustpan as Nightwing had suggested, he’d simply imagined one into existence.
“Just hurry up,” Dick said, looking in a crate that Ion had opened and snapping a picture of its contents. He put the lid back on, grunting as the room spun for a moment. He stood still until the dizziness passed. This time, it was not nearly as bad as before, though it was still annoying.
“I bet Batman wouldn’t be as bossy as you,” Kyle complained, sweeping the arsenic he had spilled into an emerald dustpan. He looked at the white powder surrounding him. He didn’t remember spilling that much. Sighing, he started sweeping again.
“You’d lose,” Dick muttered. He straightened the lid and glanced at Kyle, who was still sweeping.
Dick put his hands on his hips, tilted his head and said, “Hey, Ion.”
“What now?” Kyle snapped, turning his head to look Nightwing in the eye.
Dick paused.
“Yes?”
"You can make whatever you want, right? Is that how your power works?"
"Yeah, I guess."
“Why didn’t you just imagine a vacuum?”
|
|
|
|
Post by dragonbat on Apr 21, 2008 20:12:18 GMT -5
While Kyle was busy using a giant Dirt Devil to suck up the remainder of the arsenic pile, Dick found the broom closet. It was only a few feet from the warehouse door, too—perfect for what he had in mind.
Kyle dumped the arsenic he’d gathered into a trashcan at the other end of the warehouse, safely away from any entrance so as not to alert anyone who might be passing by.
“Ion,” Dick called.
Kyle flew over sullenly. “You rang?”
Dick looked him over quickly. “What are you, like, a medium? You are way too scrawny to be a large...”
Kyle held up a hand. “Wait, wait, let me guess. I’m about the same size as the guy I incapacitated, right? So... what? I should disguise myself as him when the other crooks come or something?”
Dick smiled. “Well, good golly Miss Molly, with that kind of intuition, I would have thought you were doing this since you were a baby. You’re getting the hang of it.”
Kyle scowled. “How do we even know that other crooks are even coming? Maybe this guy was just supposed to finish poisoning the tea and leaf?”
“Ion, did you see any cars outside?” Dick asked, ignoring the bad pun and pointing towards the direction they had entered the warehouse.
“Yeah, actually, it’s a big city.”
“You know what I meant. Unless he’s supposed to walk and these criminals have the worst escape plan ever, someone’s gotta pick him up. I'm surprised this place wasn't already loaded with whatever motley crew our friend here pals around with.”
“Okay, well theoretically, if I were to play dress up, and assuming they don't recognize me right off the bat, while I’m fooling them what will you be doing? Standing around? Maybe you could get a cup of some of this untainted tea while you're at it. Some people have it dead easy while us real heroes do all the grunt work, ey?”
Dick merely smiled. “Watch and learn.”
|
|
|
|
Post by dragonbat on Apr 21, 2008 20:14:58 GMT -5
Kyle shrugged into the crook’s shirt. It was a bit tight at the shoulders, but it would do.
He paused as he realized that to fool anybody, he would have to remove his mask. Of course, shedding his mask would give Nightwing all the opportunity he needed to find out Ion’s identity. Kyle had noticed that sweet-looking camera Nightwing had been carrying around with him.
Ah well. Kyle thought to himself. What were the odds a guy like Nightwing would even recognize him in the civilian world? Out there, he was just Kyle Rayner, artist un-extraordinaire.
He buttoned the shirt thoughtfully. The crook whose clothing he was ‘borrowing’ wore a greasy baseball cap. But still… he gave Nightwing a sidelong look…
Can I trust him?
If Ion were to remove the mask and simply tug the hat on over his face, would it work? The last thing he wanted to do was give away his identity. He looked over to where Nightwing stood, busy examining boxes. He could just see his head above a crate.
No, he’s too tall… if anyone’s gonna fit those clothes, it’ll be me.
Kyle slowly buttoned the last button on the shirt and picked up the baseball cap. It looked like it had lain in a gutter for a year. He picked a rag off the ground, quickly brought it to his face and tied it around his head so it draped over his nose and mouth. It wasn't exactly his crab mask but it would do. Yes, it covered his face nicely. Between the shadow from the baseball cap and the darkness of the warehouse, he should be completely undetectable... he hoped.
He smiled as he walked away. The mirror disappeared into thin air. “How’s this?” He called to Nightwing.
Nightwing strode over from where he’d been studying a box. There really was nothing more he needed from the boxes, but he had wanted to allow Ion to protect his ‘secret’.
“Your shoelace is untied.”
Kyle’s face flushed slightly as he tied the lace of his shoe with two cartoon rabbit constructs.
Nightwing hid a smile. “Looks good.” He glanced at his watch. “I wonder when they’ll get here.”
Kyle stood up. “I dunno… you said you had a plan?”
Nightwing nodded.
"Great. Terrific. Just make sure you let me in on it at some point before these guys get here and I have to go all Curb Your Enthusiasm on them, okay?”
Nightwing nodded.
“You know, actually, I don't think I look too bad. Maybe grunge will make a comeback.”
"I wouldn't bet on it," Dick smiled, elbowing Kyle.
|
|
|
|
Post by dragonbat on Apr 21, 2008 20:16:12 GMT -5
Nightwing crouched quietly in the darkness. He’d been on enough stakeouts to have learned the patience required for a daycare of four year-olds. In the dark closet he could see nothing, but he could hear Ion shuffling around in the warehouse… waiting.
Nightwing pressed a button on the watch in his gauntlet, and the faceplate lit up an eerie green. One o’clock. He’d been hiding in the closet about an hour.
Hearing nothing but Ion’s pacing, he silently shifted positions.
"So a naked blonde walks into a bar," Kyle began reciting to himself as he paced back and forth.
Dick lowered his ear to the ground, listening and waiting.
"She has a poodle under one arm, and a two-foot salami under the other," Kyle continued, growing restless.
Dick shook his head. He remembered what it was like to be green, so to speak. He remembered when Bruce would have him play boy hostage and get him to the role of a helpless sidekick so he could get one lead after another, to find who was really behind the crimes and who was being set up.
"She lays the poodle on the table," Kyle said, staring at the door.
Dick remembered the boredom would. Waiting for the bad guys to arrive was like waiting for grass to grow, some nights. These days they seemed to find him, though. Which did he prefer?
"Bartender says, "I suppose you won't be needing a drink..."
Dick felt it then. The rumbling.
That's a big truck, he thought to himself. He should probably tell Ion to stay away from the garage door; that thing didn’t seem to be slowing down.
He decided against it. Kyle is a big boy; he should have more sense then to stand in the way.
"Lady says..."
Then he heard something crash into the building.
|
|
|
|
Post by dragonbat on Apr 21, 2008 20:17:18 GMT -5
A truck slammed through the wall and raced towards Kyle.
DARN!
Without thinking, he brought his hands out in front of him and felt the atoms of the energy surrounding him push against the truck. He slid backwards into a stack of boxes.
As Ion, he was able to feel the energy between objects on an atomic level, but as Kyle Rayner, he was lucky to remember where he left his shoes the night before. He could really enjoy the superhero thing.
Whoever drove into him stayed in the truck for a while. Ion ducked away from the front of the truck and rolled behind a box. He tightened the knot at the back of his head as he heard the door open, and someone climb out. No… make that two ‘someones’.
“Where’s Alex?” one of the men said before spitting onto the concrete floor.
“How should I know?” The other responded loudly, as if he couldn't hear himself talk.
“You never met the guy?”
Kyle's eyebrow rose.
“No. The boss said he hired this guy to do what he's been doing for weeks now, and all we were supposed to do was meet him here. You've never met him?”
“Why would I ask you, if I did?”
“Okay, okay, calm down. It was just a question.”
“A stupid one!”
“Hey man, watch it...” one said, grabbing the other by the collar and raising his fist.
“Fellas, fellas...” Kyle said stepping from behind the boxes, “what's with all the fighting? What happened to a gentlemanly code of honor in the villainy game?”
“You Alex?”
“You are correct, sir.”
|
|
|
|
Post by dragonbat on Apr 21, 2008 20:19:42 GMT -5
Pressing a miniature earphone to his ear, Nightwing listened to scratchy feedback and white noise. What in the world was Kyle doing over there? He had pinned a microphone to Ion’s collar, and had positioned a shotgun mike inconspicuously in a corner of the warehouse. Through them, he could hear the conversation going on outside…
“You done?”
“Uh, yeah,” Nightwing heard Ion reply. “Got all of ‘em. Consider evil dispersed!”
“Let’s go then.”
“Um…”
“What?”
“Did I say I was done?”
“Yeah.”
“Well I, umm... wasn't.”
“…What are you talking about?”
“Yeah I... I never got the rest of the plan.”
Dick winced and slapped his palm to his forehead.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“That's a good question... what are any of us really talking about?”
“Huh?”
“Exactly! I mean what are any of us really talking about? Did you know the universe was expanding? Think about that, every second we are living, we are becoming less and less significant in the, um... cosmic congru..en..cy...?”
Dick laughed quietly s he heard Kyle flounder and the two drivers try to make some sense of what he was saying.
“Get in the truck.”
“Where are we going?”
“What do you mean? We are going to the same place you always go after one of these jobs.”
“Right! Right, I was just testing you.”
“Yeah, so we go to the boss' office, where you get your check, and then back to your hotel. Same as always.”
Hmm, that was almost too easy, Dick thought to himself. Time to have some fun.
|
|
|
|
Post by dragonbat on Apr 21, 2008 20:21:01 GMT -5
The largely-built truck driver with the handlebar mustache wrapped his meaty hand around the back of Kyle's neck and walked him towards the truck.
“Okay, okay, you can let me go. I do know how to walk, you know.”
The other man walked in front of Kyle and his partner and opened the passenger door. Once opened, though, he found something inside that wasn't there before. Before he could say a word, two boots exploded into his chest and sent him sailing into the air and onto the unforgiving concrete floor.
Dick smiled as he heard the nasty spill.
“Get your hand off me, you damn dirty ape!” Kyle roared as he glowed green and slapped the truck driver's hand off his neck. Before he could fight back, the truck driver was hit in the thigh by a powerful green ram.
Dick somersaulted out of the truck and stood over the truck driver, who was squirming in pain.
“Okay, Motorhead. You are in the hotseat, and this is the thousand dollar question, so you better make your answer the right one. Where were you supposed to drive that truck?”
“I ain’t saying nothin.”
“Ooh, wrong answer. Well unfortunately, you don't win the grand prize, but you do get a consolation prize. What do we got for him, Ion?” Nightwing asked as he turned to the rookie superhero standing next to him.
“Huh?”
“Come on, play along.”
“Oh, right. We've got an, um... a giant anvil that hangs over his head by this very, very unstable chain.”
“A bit drastic, but it works.” Dick shrugged and turned his attention to the conscious man below him. “What say ye?”
“W-W-Williams. Albert Williams.”
“I've never heard of him.”
“He runs an organic tea company here in New York.”
“And he is doing this… why? So he can ruin the reputation of this evil tea conglomerate?”
“Man, I dunno! I just drive a truck for the guy, I don't know his operation!”
“Okay, I have another question.”
“What do you want, man?” He said, quivering as a glowing green anvil dangled inches overhead.
“Where do we find this Albert Williams?”
|
|
|
|
Post by dragonbat on Apr 21, 2008 20:21:48 GMT -5
Albert sat in his big chair in front of his big desk and felt small. His devious plot wasn't even working. He thought it would take days before someone would connect the poisoning in the tea and his competitor would be driven out of business. Sadly, that wasn’t the case. Instead, he sat in his big chair in front of his big desk and felt little.
If he kept going too much longer, he was gonna burn through all of his money on this arsenic sprinkler, Alex.
He couldn't afford what this guy charged as it was. By now, he figured he would be raking in all the competitions’ profits, but alas, he’d had no such luck.
That was when he heard a knock on his door.
“Williams? This is the police! We need to speak with you.”
Albert squirmed. He sat in his big chair in front of his big desk and he felt little.
Things were not going to be nice in prison.
|
|
|
|
Post by dragonbat on Apr 21, 2008 20:22:18 GMT -5
Dick drove his motorcycle into the garage of his apartment complex. Work had been
steady as usual, and he was finally feeling one hundred percent again. He had received a call from Roy earlier asking if he could meet him at home… something about documents he needed Dick to help him go over. Roy hadn’t gone into detail.
He had planned to go see a movie with Kory since it was his only night off in what felt like weeks, but she had called him up saying she had to cancel. It was convenient that she cancelled the same day Roy needed to meet up with him, at his apartment instead of the Tower.
Before he got off work, Dick had called a few local bakeries to confirm an order for a birthday cake that said something along the lines of ‘Happy Birthday Dick!’ A small place a block away from his building indeed had one that was ready for pick-up twenty minutes before he got off work… It was going to be a good night.
|
|
|
|
Post by dragonbat on Apr 21, 2008 20:23:01 GMT -5
Tune in next month for a new thrilling adventure starring Nightwing!
|
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Apr 22, 2008 18:19:44 GMT -5
If you wish to comment on this issue, please CLICK HERE to visit the letters page. |
|
