Barbara Gordon was lying prone on the beach, her bare back exposed to the ultraviolet rays of the hot tropical sun. She felt the warm sand beneath her as she lay motionless on the shore. Feelings of peace and contentment permeated her being.
“Turn over, my dear, you’re already beginning to burn.”
Barbara didn’t move. There was something familiar about the voice, but something unsettling, too . . . It was Nora Clavicle’s! Telling her to turn over?!?
Batgirl awoke with a start to find herself still in Nora’s hellish subterranean cube, still tied in a Siamese Human Knot. She had no idea how long she had been asleep, nor of how long they had been down here. Robin continued to stare blankly ahead, while Thumper’s expression remained that of a trapped, wild animal.
Batgirl’s seat ached, as all her weight was concentrated on her butt. Her lower back afflicted her, as she was bent at an awkward angle. If not for Thumper’s right leg across her groin, she would have slid forward, but as it was she was squeezed between the muscular African-American woman’s legs. Thumper’s left arm also pushed her towards Robin. Breathing and swallowing was becoming increasingly problematical, as her throat pushed against the Boy Wonder’s arm.
All four of Batgirl’s limbs were now asleep, but that did not prevent her from feeling the knots in her legs. Both of her gastrocnemii were now so tight that it felt as if they were going to snap away from her bones at any moment. Batgirl was astonished at how much worse this was than the “terrible cramps” she had experienced the first time Nora had tied her into a Siamese Human Knot. The temptation to wiggle her feet was almost overpowering.
Batgirl yearned to move any part of her body. Sweat poured from under her cowl into her eyes. She could only blink to relieve the stinging sensation. All feeling in her fingers and toes had been lost long ago.
Thumper’s face remained frozen in an impassive rictus. Then, unexpectedly, she croaked through clenched teeth, “Have either of you costumed clowns got any ideas to get us out of this?” These were the first words any of them had spoken since they were tied in the Human Knot. In fact, it was the first time Batgirl and Robin had heard Thumper talk.
A moment passed in silence. Gaining confidence, Thumper continued in her silken voice, “I don’t intend to sit here on my ass forever. If you don’t come up with something, I’m going to move -”
“Don’t!” Batgirl hissed. “Clavicle has blocked every possible means of escape. You’ll strangle us all!”
“Our only hope is to survive until Batman rescues us,” Robin contributed.
“Huh!” Thumper grunted. “If you think I’m going to wait for some man to rescue us . . . Choking to death is better than any more of this. Anyway, I am going to get out . . . and make those bitches pay for what they’ve done to me . . . and Bambi.”
A new look came into Thumper’s eyes at her mention of her late partner. An expression of tenderness and sadness quickly transformed into anger as she began, “Those muther -”
“Quiet!” Batgirl interrupted. “I think I hear something!”
From above, barely audible, could be heard a scraping sound, as if crates were being scooted across the floor. The trapped trio looked into each other’s eyes . . . and then started shouting.
The ceiling began to open! ‘What if it’s Nora Clavicle, returning to gloat some more?’ Batgirl thought. ‘That would be too much to stand!’
The ceiling was now completely retracted. Suddenly, a face appeared, looking down at them. It was a dark, clean-cut face, with a three-inch scar showing whitely down the sunburned skin of the right cheek. The grey-blue eyes were wide and level under straight, rather long black brows. The hair was black, parted on the left, and carelessly brushed so that a thick black comma fell down over the right eyebrow. The longish straight nose ran down to a short upper lip below which was a wide and finely drawn but cruel mouth. The line of the jaw was straight and firm. A section of dark suit, white shirt and black knitted tie completed the picture.
“I see you’re all tied up!” he called down to them sardonically. “Just a minute. Don’t go away!” The man disappeared.
Seconds later, the sound of heavy machinery starting was heard once again. The floor on which Thumper, Batgirl and Robin were sitting began its ascent.
“I wonder who he is?” Batgirl said aloud.
“That’s James Bond,” Thumper said, with a strange mix of relief, anger and anticipation.
The secret agent returned. “Having a ball, Thumper?” Bond said from above. The bikini-clad beauty cast her eyes upward and glared at him.
Soon the lift had completed its ten foot journey and the three were back at ground level. Bond had a slim build and appeared to be a little over six feet tall, weighing about 160 to 170 pounds. “Thank you, Mister Bond,” said Robin.
“That’s Commander Bond, lad,” the Englishman said dismissingly, as he carefully pulled the IV needles out of each one of their bodies in turn. Having accomplished that, Bond said, “Now, let me have a look at your hands. Good thing I have a friend named Wendy who taught me all about Human Knotting. Lovely English girl.” Looking at Batgirl, he continued, “You remind me a lot of her, miss.”
Despite herself, Batgirl blushed at this attention from this handsome agent of Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Bond featured dark, rather cruel good looks that Batgirl found irresistible.
Before long Bond had untangled Batgirl’s and Robin’s fingers. Batgirl was then able to remove her right arm and the whole knot fell apart. The three victims of the Thai torture gingerly picked themselves off the floor and began to stretch their aching muscles.
“How did you ever find us?” Batgirl asked.
“Oh, I followed Lady Blofeld here,” Bond answered. “In fact, I wasn’t far behind the two of you when you arrived on your motorcycle.”
“What!” Thumper exclaimed. “You knew where we were all this time and only now you got around to rescuing us!”
“My mission was to neutralize Kyla Blofeld, which I have accomplished,” the spy stated coldly. “I was confident the three of you would get along down there all right for a while.”
Neither Thumper, Batgirl or Robin had an answer to this statement. Then, turning to the Dynamite Duo, Bond added, “Unfortunately, you friend Ms. Clavicle and her two young companions got away.”
Batgirl and Robin shared a look of grim determination. “Then we have some unfinished business to attend to,” Batgirl declared. “If you’ll help us return Thumper to jail . . .”
Thumper gave Bond an evil grin, along with an expression that mixed ‘come hither’ and ‘take me if you think you can.’ She stretched her ebony body seductively, resembling a curvy panther.
“Uh, I think I should take her into custody,” the British agent replied slowly. “There are still SPECTRE agents in prison who would attempt to kill her.”
“Come on, Batgirl,” Robin interjected. “We can’t transport a third person on your Batgirl cycle anyway. I’m sure we can rely on 007 to take care of Thumper.”
With a resigned shrug of her shoulders and a look slightly tinged with jealousy, Batgirl followed Robin out of the large room they had entered so long ago. Just as she was about to go through the door, she glanced back and was astonished to see that Bond had removed his suit and tie and was in the process of unbuttoning his shirt!
As she closed the door behind her and joined Robin in the corridor, she could hear the slapping sound of bare skin hitting the floor, as if Thumper was performing cartwheels! Then the sound of someone crashing into crates was heard. Batgirl started to say something to Robin . . . but then thought better of it.
There was now bright daylight outside. They still had no real idea of how long they had been out of action. A quick search of the area revealed the Batgirl cycle, hidden under Nora’s camouflage. Batgirl kick started her motorbike and the Teen Wonder climbed aboard. They rode off, back to where Robin had left the Redbird.
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