Guests from Beyond

Like on most other weekdays, Barbara Gordon was sitting at the large wooden front desk in the Gotham City Public Library, tending to her duties as head librarian. Today, the library received the entire stock of Gotham City's oldest newspaper, the Gotham City Globe, on microfilm. She had to organize them by date, from 1790 to the present, and put them into the online library catalog.

A mother and her 9-year-old son, both in yellow raincoats to protect them from the showers outside, entered the front of the library. They walked up to the front desk.

"Good afternoon!" Barbara greeted them cheerfully. "How can I help you?"

"Hi Ms. Gordon!" The women said to Barbara as she read the name on the plaque on the desk. "My son and I are looking for a few books on Gotham City history. He has an essay due next week."

"No problem," Barbara replied to the mother and son as they removed their raincoats and slung them across their arms. "Go to the last aisle to the left, the one marked '900--History'. There, go in a few steps, and to your left, in the section marked '916--Gotham City History', you will find all of the books on Gotham City. If there is something you can't find, let me know and I'll help you find it."

"Thanks, ma'am!" the boy with short black hair replied enthusiastically. Next, he and his mother started heading toward the aisle to which Barbara pointed.

"You don't have to take those wet raincoats with you," Barbara said as she stopped the couple. They turned and looked at her. "You can hang them in this small closet over here until you are ready to go."

"Thanks!" the mother said, almost giggling at the notion that she and her son would drag around wet raincoats. They hung the coats in the closet and went to the '900--History' aisle.

Everything was fine for the next half-hour. Suddenly, thunder cracked outside and the lights started to blink. Some library patrons started to panic as a second boom of thunder was heard.

"No need to worry!" Barbara called out from the front desk. "In case the electricity goes out, the emergency generator will take over."

That only calmed them down slightly. Like them, Barbara was also hoping the lights would not go out, but not because of fear of the dark. The generator would only light the library. The computers would still be out, and Barbara had to finish cataloging the microfilm before she left to go home.

A third round of thunder cracked. To Barbara's (and everyone else's) dismay, the electricity went out. Patrons were starting to get a little more nervous.

"Uuugghh!" Barbara growled, thinking about how she would have to rush to finish later as she watched the online catalog on her computer screen shrink into nothing, leaving behind blackness. In 30 seconds, darkness was replaced by the dim orange glow of generator-powered lights fixed upon the walls.

Luckily, the boy and his mother went to a table that was near one of those lights. He continued reading a book he picked out. It was titled Famous Personalities of Yesteryear Gotham.

"Gimme that!" a female voice said to the boy as a hand from behind snatched the book from his hands. He looked behind him, only to see an old lady in a long purple dress with curly white hair and old-fashioned glasses.

"How rude!" the mother cried as the old lady walked toward a pudgy, balding old man in a brown tweed suit at the end of the aisle. Angry at the lady, the mother got up to go after her.

The boy, bewildered, started looking around at the commotion. His eyes turned toward a painting on the wall nearby. He got up out of his chair and walked toward the picture. He looked at it carefully and read the picture's inscription to himself.

The inscription read "George F. Crocker (1906-1984) and his wife, Elizabeth C. Crocker (1910-1989). Contributed $250,000 toward the construction of the juvenile fiction and non-fiction wing on January 12, 1966."

The pudgy, balding old man in the picture wore a brown tweed suit. The old woman, his wife, wore a purple dress and had curly white hair and old-fashioned glasses. Recognizing the people in the picture, the boy quickly turned around to watch his mother go after the couple.

The mother ran toward the couple. She caught up, and as she stood next to the man, she tried to grab the book from the old woman's hands. To her surprise, her arms went right through the old man. All she could do after that was stare at the couple in disbelief as they walked away from her and toward the aisles.

The boy ran past his mother on his way to the front desk. "Timmy, where are you going?'" she cried out to her son.

But he didn't answer his mother. He stood in front of the front desk. Barbara, calming herself after her computer breakdown, asked the boy, "Is something wrong?"

The boy pushed his body up toward the front of the desk. He turned his head toward Barbara's ear.

"I see dead people!" he whispered to her.

"Really?" Barbara skeptically asked the boy. He pointed toward the aisles.

"See, they're over there," he whispered.

Intending to show the boy there were no dead people walking in the library, she rose from the front desk and followed the boy as he led her to where the old couple were.

Barbara caught sight of the old people. Next, her jaw almost hit the floor. "Mr. and Mrs. Crocker?!" she yelled to the old couple as the woman pulled history books from the shelves.

Barbara could not believe she was seeing the Crockers, a friendly old couple that not only donated money toward the library, but also volunteered to work in it up until they got sick in the 1980's. She remembered that as a child in that decade, she and her dad, then a police detective, would always visit the library every Thursday after school. Mrs. Crocker would always talk to her. Barbara remembered that she always wanted to be like Mrs. Crocker and be a librarian.

Barbara quickly pulled her mind out of that trip down Memory Lane. She didn't know what to think after that as she watched her childhood idol taking piles of books from the shelves.

"What are you doing?" Barbara frantically asked them as she approached them. She caught up with them. She wanted to get closer to the old lady, so she tried to pass the old man from the side. He moved into Barbara's way. Suddenly, she walked right through him! Barbara, like the boy's mother only minutes ago, stood in shock and disbelief. Her emotions paralyzed her, not allowing her to do anything.

"Are you ready to go, dear?", the old man asked his wife.

"I sure am!" she answered as she stacked books onto an empty wheeled cart in that aisle. "I'm ready to hit the books!" she exclaimed as she put several layers of plastic over the cart to keep the books dry once they were outside.

The couple didn't bother to check out the books. With her pushing the cart, they went out the front exit and down the wheelchair ramp. They proceeded down the street and turned into a back alley as Barbara and her patrons stood still with disbelief inside the library.

An hour later in Gotham, the thunder was still rolling.

Kathy Kane sat at her desk in her office at Networld. As she took a short breather from reading an associate's proposal on the production of a 1500 MHz processor, she thought about her niece Betty.

Betty, now a junior at Woodrow Roosevelt High and its star girl tennis player, was away at Franklin D. Wilson High School in Metropolis. She was there for a tennis tournament. Even if the bad weather extended that far, the tourney would not be canceled, because Wilson High had built indoor tennis courts two years ago. Since Metropolis was some distance from Gotham, Betty and the team would not be home until very late that night.

Although Betty was not a problem teen, Kathy did think about how nice it would be to have the mansion to herself for just a few hours. An image of a hot, sudsy bubble bath entered her mind as she leaned back in her chair, trying to alleviate the slight back pain she got from sitting too long.

'I hope Batwoman doesn't have to suit up tonight,' she thought to herself. A downside to Betty being away would be that Flamebird couldn't join her if they were needed. Having to go into action as Batwoman would spoil her chance for a rare quiet evening at home.

"I've got to get back to work," she said to herself as she straightened up to read the rest of the proposal.

Thunder cracked outside. The lights in Kathy's office blinked.

Kathy didn't scare too easily. She kept on reading.

Thunder cracked again. This time all of the electricity at Networld went out.

'Darn it!' Kathy thought to herself as everything in sight turned to pitch black. She swiveled her chair to look out at the storm through the big picture window behind her desk.

In about 15 seconds, the generator-operated lights turned on. 'Good!' Kathy thought to herself as she was about to look down at the proposal. Oddly, though, she felt that she wasn't alone in her office, and she turned to look forward.

Her suspicions were correct. In front of Kathy's desk was a pudgy old man with thick gray hair wearing a light blue business suit. She shrieked, for she recognized the man as someone she knew years before.

"Uncle Stan!" she cried out to the man. The man in front of Kathy appeared to be Stanley Ralph Kane, Kathy's uncle. Since he had no children of his own, when he died in 1994, he willed his millions of dollars and other assets to Kathy, his brother's only surviving child. Stan knew, as Betty's legal guardian, Kathy would provide for his young great-niece.

Back then, Kathy already had a degree in Computer Programming, but she couldn't find a job in her field. She wound up performing in the family's circus. She used the money to buy a mansion, get her Master's in Computer Programming, and start Networld. Later, she had to sell the circus to keep Networld afloat during some early, tough times.

"Yes, dear," Uncle Stan answered her.

Before Kathy could answer her uncle, she saw another figure walk out from behind the uncle. It was a thin, middle-aged man with light brown hair. She recognized him to be Alan Kane, her deceased older brother and Betty's late father!

"Alan!" Kathy yelled as she rose from her seat and pushed it back behind her with her legs. "What is going on here?!" she exclaimed in a rare moment of experiencing fear.

"Don't be alarmed, Kat," Alan said to his fearful sister as he approached. As he got closer to her, he walked right through her desk! By this point, Kathy backed herself onto the indoor ledge of he picture window. She fell backwards into a sitting position as her legs trembled too much to remain standing. As her eyes opened wide, she put her arm over her lower face. Paralyzed with fear and disbelief, she could only watch as her dead uncle and brother looked at her for a moment and then turned around and left her office.

A few hours later, it was still raining and thundering in Gotham City.

Luxury cars carrying some of Gotham's most important people circled stately Wayne Manor. They pulled into the parking lot beside the manor, and their precious cargo got out and put up their umbrellas. The people walked around to and entered the front door to the Wayne ancestral home.

"Welcome, welcome!" Mrs. Cooper greeted all of the guests. "I'm so delighted the rain didn't keep you away from this year's Wayne Foundation Charity Dinner!"

"I'm glad to have come!" replied Cecilia Savage, wife of multi-millionaire Tim Savage. "I wouldn't miss this for anything in the world! We can't let the children down. Speaking of children, where is your nephew, Dick?" she continued, not seeing the young man anywhere.

"Oh, he's at college right now!" Mrs. Cooper answered. "He has a lot of late-night classes. Then he'll stay and study a while. I sure do hope he comes home before the dinner is over. The poor boy will be starved!"

Within the next hour, many more people arrived. It was soon 7:00 pm, and dinner was soon ready.

The guests gathered at the large tables. They took their seats as Bruce Wayne, dressed in his finest tuxedo, entered the room. He took his place at the small end of the largest table as Alfred and some hired help brought out the carts containing plates of food. At the same time, Mrs. Cooper stepped out to replace an earring she had just lost.

Still standing, Bruce prepared to make a speech. The guests first applauded him and then began to quiet down. "Ladies and gentlemen," he started. "On behalf of the Wayne Foundation, I would like to thank all of you..."

Thunder cracked, and the lights in the manor immediately went out. Suddenly everyone started to talk to one another. In about 20 seconds, the generator-powered lights shattered the darkness inside the room.

At the same moment, people noticed that there were two more people in the room. They stood across the large table from Bruce. Bruce looked up at them. Once his eyes were fixed upon them, he dropped the goblet of water he had picked up during the blackout. People became silent as they heard the glass shatter on the floor.

"Mom! Dad!" was all Bruce could manage to say in his state of shock and grief. Immediately in his mind, he remembered the night he and his parents went to a theater in what is now Crime Alley to see a Zorro movie. After the movie, they left the theater to go to their car, which was parked on the next block. Bruce, only 8 at the time, was as happy as can be, carrying a large tub of popcorn in his small arms. Next, a man hiding between two buildings jumped in front of the Waynes.

"Gimme those jewels!" he yelled at Thomas Wayne, referring to his wife Martha's jewelry.

Thomas said nothing, and went to fight the man. The man pulled out a gun, and shot Thomas in the chest, killing him immediately. Next, he shot at Martha, hitting her in the head and killing her as well. He took her jewelry and ran off as little Bruce dropped his tub of popcorn and stooped beside his dead parents.

Bruce snapped out of this horrible memory quickly. His parents were still across the table from him. The thin father, with brown hair and a mustache, and the mother, with shoulder-length brown hair, were in the clothes they were wearing that fateful night. They even had the bloodied bullet holes in them!

Bruce just stood still in shock and grief as tears clouded his vision. His vision was so blocked that he couldn't see his father leave through a door and his mother walk through a wall. Pandemonium broke out among the guests.

Bruce was able to get himself together in about an hour. He then searched the manor for his parents. During that time, the guests were settled down and dinner was served.

Bruce saw no signs of his parents. He entered the living room, where Alfred was looking at the safe which was uncovered and open. Mrs. Cooper was on the phone with the police.

"Whoever did this got away with $2 million," Alfred grimly told his employer. "They also got away with some of your late mother's prized jewelry."

Mrs. Cooper hung up the phone. "The police are on their way!" she exclaimed nervously as her hands shook.

"Aunt Harriet, why don't you stay here with the safe until the police arrive," Bruce suggested to Mrs. Cooper. "Alfred and I will search the rest of the house."

"I think I'll do that!" Mrs. Cooper answered as Alfred and Bruce left together toward a side room.

Once they were inside Bruce's study, they approached the bronze bust of Shakespeare on the desk. Just at that moment, the red Batphone in front of the men beeped.

Bruce picked up. "This is Batman," he answered.

"Thank heavens!" Commissioner Gordon hailed on the other end. "There's been more than one storm hitting Gotham today!"

"Oh?" Bruce asked.

"Yes," the Commissioner started. "It seems today that during blackouts ghosts were committing robberies. Dead librarians stole books on Gotham history and on physics, particularly electromagnetics and radiation, from the library. Thank goodness my dear Barbara is all right! Then, computers and satellite systems were stolen from Networld by Kathy Kane's deceased relatives, and just a few minutes ago I got a report that money and jewelry were taken from the Wayne Manor by Bruce Wayne's late parents."

"That is despicable!" Bruce responded, trying to hide the bit of grief remaining in his voice.

The Commissioner continued. "Batgirl and Batwoman are with me now. Batwoman just got back from her lab. It seems one of the ghosts left a small gadget in the ceiling of Kathy Kane's office. She analyzed it and determined that it was a miniature hologram projector."

"Machinery creating illusions? These may not be real ghosts with which we are dealing. This type of trickery sounds familiar. I'll check out some of the files in the Batcomputer and I'll meet you all in about an hour," Bruce said to the Commissioner, making sure he gave himself enough time to talk to the police on the scene, change into Batman do his research and drive into Gotham.

"Will do!" the Commissioner said before both he and Bruce hung up.

Bruce and Alfred went back into the main room to talk to the police. After that, they returned to the study. There, Bruce underwent his usual routine of lifting Shakespeare's head and pressing a button to expose the Batpoles.

"What should I tell Master Dick when he comes home?" Alfred asked his boss.

"Tell him that Batman doesn't need Robin tonight. I can handle this without him. Besides, he needs his sleep for school," Bruce responded before sliding down the pole.

Meanwhile, Batgirl, Batwoman and Commissioner Gordon waited for the arrival of the Caped Crusader. The Commissioner excused himself to go get a cup of coffee and a doughnut, leaving the two women alone.

At first, the two women, who were separated by six feet of space, looked at each other. Each was a little hesitant to start the conversation. Finally, Batwoman broke the silence.

"Batgirl," she started a little nervously, "remember that long talk we wanted to have?"

"Yes," Batgirl answered. She rubbed her lips together, dreading this moment. Batgirl knew Batwoman wanted to talk privately with her. Batgirl had apologized for the abuse she had given Batwoman while her body was under The Mad Hatter's control during the J. R. Ewing and Cassiopeia Strain fiasco a few months back. Batgirl had hoped the opportunity for the women to talk would not arise for a long time. She wasn't looking forward to this.

"Please don't take this the wrong way," Batwoman continued. "I think you are a wonderful person and an excellent crimefighter, but it seems that in these last few months, there has been some animosity between us. I get the feeling that you are a little resentful of Flamebird, and especially me. Back when you were under The Mad Hatter's control, you said you hated me. I know that you couldn't control yourself and you really didn't mean it. Somehow, though, I feel that you do view me in a negative light. I hope you don't mind me asking, but why are you resentful of my sidekick and me?"

"I don't resent you and Flamebird," Batgirl began. She walked toward her father's desk. She leaned upon it, facing Batwoman. Nervously, she started to turn her left leg from side to side, keeping the ball of her foot planted on the floor. "Well, maybe I do," she admitted as her guilt at lying caught up with her.

"Why?" Batwoman asked, remaining calm.

"This might sound ridiculous," Batgirl replied, "but I feel as if you are trying to prove that you are the best female crimefighter in Gotham. It seemed like you tried to upstage me during the time that Catwoman put my mind in her body. When we disguised ourselves as Eclipse and Sunburst, you ordered me around as if I were a sidekick, a rookie. You know, I was fighting crime for two years before you even came around!" she finished, her nervousness being replaced by anger.

Startled, Batwoman remained silent for a moment. "I'm sorry you feel that way. I didn't intend to treat you like a rookie or anything of the sort. You seemed to be disoriented and confused during that time. I took control so I wouldn't inadvertently add to that. I was looking out for your psychological well-being. I really was!"

"You made me feel like a second-rate crimefighter," Batgirl answered. "It was as if you wanted to show Batman that you were better than me."

Batwoman stayed thoughtfully quiet for about a minute. After that, she told Batgirl what she was thinking. "So you feel that I am trying to show Batman that I am the better female associate for him? You are talking as if you and Batman have some sort of special bond and I am trying to come between you two."

"I suppose you could say that," Batgirl answered. "I guess I was used to being the only masked heroine in town, and while I do appreciate the help, I don't like the competition."

"It sounds as if you want something more than a professional relationship with Batman," Batwoman replied. "Maybe you look at him as more than just a fellow crimefighter. Perhaps you view Batman as a possible love interest, and think I feel the same way. Do you think I am vying with you for Batman's affections?"

"I don't mean to take it that far," Batgirl replied, her anger slowly abating as she realized that the other woman was trying to see things from her point of view. "I mean that I enjoyed being the only woman by Batman's side. It made me feel special, in that no other woman was in that position, but when you and Flamebird came around, that specialness left. I guess I miss feeling special."

"But you still are special," Batwoman said. "Think about it. You don't have a teenage sidekick tagging along with you, not that there is anything wrong with that. You can get things done on your own. You are smart, funny and clever. You have a charm to you that makes anyone on the right side of the law like you. The public adores you. They are still not used to me. Besides that, Batman seems to come to you for help before he comes to me. I don't know who you really are, nor do I want to know, but I bet you have a family that loves you. How can you not feel special?"

The last part of that speech struck Batgirl as she thought about her loving father. "I suppose you're right," Batgirl conceded. "I suppose I have been acting out in undue jealousy. I'm sorry for the way I have been treating you. I guess I really have been acting like a spoiled rookie."

"That's quite all right," Batwoman responded. "I imagine that had I been in your position, I probably would have reacted the same way. I should have thought about where you were coming from."

Batgirl, silent, stood up as Batwoman stepped closer toward her.

"I want to put this all behind us," Batwoman said to Batgirl as she was two feet from her. "I want us to make amends and work together peacefully as we rid Gotham's streets of crime. So, are you with me?" she asked, smiling as she extended her right arm, with her hand open, toward Batgirl.

"I am!" Batgirl answered as her right hand reached out and landed in Batwoman's hand. A smile came upon her face as the two women shook hands. Then they heard the Commissioner walking toward the doors of his office. They unclasped their hands before he entered.

Fifty-seven minutes after Bruce Wayne hung up the Batphone, Batman joined the masked women at the Commissioner's office.

"The Batcomputer determined that these illusions can only be the work of one man, Eivol Ekdal, the evil Albanian genius. Three weeks ago he escaped from an Albanian prison and came back to the US. It seems, once again, he's set up shop in Gotham City."

Batwoman added. "Just last week, video and audio equipment were stolen from an electronics store at the Greenland Shopping Center. Some of them went into making the hologram projector I analyzed."

"And three people, one fitting Ekdal's description, were seen continuously at a garage between the Gotham Hills Cemetery and the Gotham Observatory, the two highest points in the city!" Batgirl noted.

"By golly! No respect for the dearly departed!" Chief O'Hara, who just came to the office after having supper with his wife, commented.

"What I can't figure out is how holograms were able to pick up solid objects." Batgirl observed.

"That is something we will have to figure out," Batwoman answered.

"Well, ladies, we have our work cut out for us," Batman directed toward them. "We should be on our way to the Gotham Observatory to see what Eivol and his crew are up to."

"Yes, we better find out what he has planned for a bunch of books, computers, and satellite systems," Batgirl said.

The three crimefighters turned around and left the Commissioner's office. "Good luck!" Gordon wished the threesome as they departed.

Meanwhile, up at the garage between the cemetery and observatory, two wet laughing figures, a man and a woman, opened the front door.

"Toddi, you missed it!" the thin man with a British accent, dressed as Thomas Wayne with a gunshot wound in the chest, exclaimed to the woman, who was dressed as Martha Wayne with a mortal injury to the head. "You should have seen the look on the rich chap's face as he saw us, I mean me and the hologram you. He even dropped his glass!"

"And while you and the hologram were the guests of honor, I was able to scare the old lady into giving me the combination to the safe," she answered as she closed the door behind them. She placed the wet plastic bags full of money and jewels on top of a thirty year old newspaper depicting the Waynes' deaths, which was lying on a chair.

A pudgy man with thick, greying black hair and a mustache approached the pair as they started to take off their wet costumes. "Where were you two?" Eivol Ekdal angrily asked them. He had expected them back hours ago.

"Oh, we just scared the socks off Bruce Wayne and looted the Wayne Manor," the British brown-haired thin man, Larry Stannel, replied.

"See, look at these beautiful jewels we snatched!" Toddi Thelms, the woman with curly blond hair falling just below the ears, gleamed as she put a silver necklace around her neck.

"Fools!" Eivol shouted at them. "That's another mission you screwed up! You weren't supposed to hit there until tomorrow night! It was bad enough that you, Larry, left one of the hologram projectors at Networld!"

"I'm ... I'm sorry, boss!" Larry sheepishly said as he held his head down and tried to hold back tears.

"This place is filthy! Larry, here's a mop! Clean this floor!" Eivol ordered Larry. "Toddi, you come with me."

"Yes, sir," Larry responded as he was left behind.

With the headlights out, the Batmobile slowly pulled up behind the garage, where Batman parked it. Slowly and quietly, the three soaked passengers got out of the car and made their way toward the garage.

"Batman, I think you should consider getting a roof for the Batmobile!" Batgirl whispered to Batman as they crept toward the garage door.

"A little rain hurt never hurt anybody," he replied in his usual preachy way.

Once they reached the door, the three opened it slowly and made their way inside. Larry, who was in the adjacent room mopping the floor, heard the trio enter the garage. Eager to please his boss the way Toddi always seems to, he thought of a way to capture the heroes.

Batman, followed by Batgirl, then Batwoman, took a few steps into the next room. Before they could go any farther, Larry turned out the lights. Next, he picked up a bucket of soapy water and threw its contents onto the floor under the trio. Not being able to see the water on the floor, the colorfully clad crimefighters slipped in it. They slid quickly and fell into a corner. The impact of the fall shook the wall, causing a net to fall off a shelf above. The mesh fell on the trio. Immediately, tiny capsules attached to the net broke and released knock-out gas, rendering Batman, Batgirl and Batwoman unconscious in a very short time.

Larry came around to complete his work. "Oh, boy!" he said as he saw the unconscious trio. "I better go get the boss!"

An hour later, the feeling of water droplets falling on them woke up the heroic trio. Each looked at their surroundings and determined that they were in an earthen hole about 7 and 1/2 feet long, 4 and 1/2 feet wide and 6 feet deep. They found themselves lying face-up on a cement slab at the bottom of each hole. None of them could escape, for they were shackled at the wrists with the arms above the head and at the ankles. Each also realized they were somewhere in the cemetery, and that the holes were probably adjacent to one another.

"Ah, you're finally awake!" Eivol wickedly greeted them.

"What's your game this time?" Batman asked as he spit rain water out of his mouth.

"You see," Eivol started. "I have discovered a way to resurrect the dead! Using long distance electroshock of the pineal and pituitary glands of recent dead, I'll be able to create an army of zombies to do my bidding . . . and if I ever need to expand that army, all I have to do is kill the living!"

"That's the stupidest scheme I've ever heard of!" Batgirl cracked. "It sounds like something Ed Wood dreamed up!"

"Young lady!" Eivol responded, "I am a genius! We'll see how stupid my plans are when I kill you and make you my mindless slaves!"

"Ekdal, you're flaky!" Batwoman added.

"Enough!" Eivol, getting irritated, yelled. He turned to Toddi, who was standing next to one of three cement-mixing trucks with their chutes pointing down toward each hole. "Toddi, start them up!" he ordered.

One by one, she pulled a level on each truck to start the mixing and pouring. Batwoman was the first to have mud fall on her legs and creep toward her face. Batman was next, followed by Batgirl.

"These trucks run on electric generators, so they won't run out of gas. They will keep on running even if the power goes out," Eivol added as the mud continued to pour onto his victims.

With Larry coming from the garage, the evil trio laughed as they watched the heroic trio spit mud out of their mouths.

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