Spelling Trouble Conjured from Conviction

Batgirl’s mind raced as she moved slowly closer to the bubbling oil beneath her. The strain the weight dangling from her ankles, as well as her own, placed on her bound wrists and battered body was already taking its toll. The Curved Crusader inhaled deeply and let her lungs slowly empty. She could not help noticing the scent of the boiling oil and wondered what her flesh would smell like as she fried an inch at a time. ‘My question might be answered all too soon!’ she thought.

Shaking her head, Batgirl began to reexamine her predicament, seeking a means of escape. Her captors, like many of Gotham City’s citizens, obviously knew she carried a wide variety of items around her waist in her utility belt. This fact was the reason she had been deprived of her amazing accessory and the wondrous weaponry it kept closely wrapped around her waist.

Similar measures had frequently been taken in the past as criminals had tried to kill her over the years, prompting Batgirl to conceal an arsenal of potentially life-saving tools elsewhere on her person, mostly in her boots and the flanges of her gloves. For example, her boots held small blades in the toes. Unfortunately, deploying one required her to align a toe with its opposite heel, and her tight ankle and knee bindings prevented her from performing such a feat.

She tried to swing experimentally, grateful her gloves would prevent the ropes from shredding the flesh of her wrists, which certainly would have bled.

“This won’t work,” she dejectedly muttered moments later, as she realized how effectively the weight beneath her would hold her body above the boiling oil. She hung her head and gasped as her momentum died altogether and the lingering pain continuously wracking her body intensified. Once again, she was positioned perpendicular to the deadly, bubbling fluid.

She felt powerless to do anything but wait for the end!

Batgirl realized she was staring at the weight as it slowly descended beneath her. ‘The weight will never float,’ she thought. Aloud she muttered, “No relief until the very end, and then it won’t matter!”

Looking up, she wondered how feasible climbing to safety would be without using her legs. She gripped the rope with one hand and pulled herself up until she could take hold of it again with the other. Repeating this procedure twice, Batgirl realized she was closer to the deadly oil than she had been when her efforts had begun.

Alternatively, Batgirl knew speeding her descent would be impractical. “I’d literally be cooked seconds after the splash,” Batgirl disgustedly muttered.

Suddenly, Batgirl was inspired. “The splash!” she exclaimed. “That’s it!”

The Curved Crusader let go of the rope and watched the weight dangling below her plop into the boiling oil, causing a geyser of deadly fluid to erupt briefly.

‘To start a fire, all one needs is oxygen, fuel, and heat,’ she thought. Her lips curled into a genuine smile as she watched a wisp of smoke rise from her ankle ropes. “Good,” Batgirl murmured. Some boiling oil had splashed onto the ropes when the weight had hit the oil. Now, these ropes were slowly burning through. “Come on!”

She bent her knees and grinned as the weight intended to assure her straight descent into the deadly oil fell away, freeing her ankles. “Yes!” she enthused. ‘Now, I have to hurry!’ she thought.

The Curved Crusader straightened her legs and began to swing once again. Without the drag of the weight dangling from her ankles, the arc of each pass above the boiling oil soon carried her over the edge of the hot, metal vat.

“All right,” Batgirl murmured as her momentum grew. Soon, she had to bend her knees again to keep her feet from dragging through the bubbling oil.

‘I have to avoid slamming into the side of the vat,’ she decided. ‘If I hit it, I could easily fry and my costume, especially the cape, might catch fire.’

Climbing hand over hand would be too slow a process. ‘I only have one chance to survive, and I can’t afford to lose a single second!’

Lifting and straightening her legs, she pulled her lower body parallel with the rope. The swinging continued, but her momentum slowed. ‘Can I hold myself up long enough?’

Batgirl twisted her ankles to align her feet and tap at one heel with her opposite toe, springing a blade from the tip of the front boot. She had to bend her leg to slide the well-honed edge of the blade against her wrist bindings, being careful to maintain her hold on the rope suspending her above the bubbling vat of boiling oil with at least one hand at all times. The back and forth motion of the human pendulum she had become compelled her to concentrate in order to maintain her focus. This motion and the blood flowing from her uplifted extremities gave her a headache, and the initial tingling of her extremities denoting oxygen deprivation was also distracting.

The agonizing process of drawing her blade back and forth, slowly slicing at her restraints, required fine muscle control for both the task and for maintaining her awkward body position. Her escape plan also proceeded at a glacial pace. ‘How long can I keep this up?’

Batgirl moaned as her body became still. As the strands of her bonds parted, she gripped the rope from which she hung more tightly before wrenching her arms apart the miniscule distance the restraint at her elbows would permit. Her wrists separated as she expelled the breath from her lungs with a martial arts yell. The severed ropes snapped with a sound as loud as a gunshot. Batgirl watched their frayed remains drift down into the bubbling pool of liquid death to be consumed in seconds. Her eyes went wide with horror as she suddenly realized she was much too close to the boiling oil.

Desperately, Batgirl flung herself to one side, releasing the rope from which she hung and flipping over into an upright position in midair. Whipping her shoulders away from the hot vat of bubbling oil enabled Batgirl to get her feet under her as she fell past the top of the vat. She slipped as her feet touched the floor and crash landed inelegantly, but safely.

She closed her eyes and waited for the pain to ebb as her chest heaved and she remained still. The pain, however, was welcome, since it told her she was still alive. Presently, she opened her eyes and rolled onto her back. She reached up and held her elbow bindings against the vat until they burned through.

Batgirl gratefully took a deep breath and let the air out slowly. After a few more welcome breaths, she sat up; cut away the bindings at her knees; waited for the throbbing in her head and the pain in her limbs to ebb completely away; climbed slowly to her feet; and weakly took a few experimental steps.

Before freeing the museum’s guards, Batgirl decided she would need to extinguish the fire maintaining the oil’s boiling temperature and break out of her death chamber. Then, she would need to check in with the police. For the moment, she was pleased by the rate at which her strength was returning.

Meanwhile, it seemed like an eternity before Susie’s voice interrupted the incessant drone of the motor lowering Robin and her for their fatal dip in the acid-spiked punch. “Robin . . . are we going to . . . die?”

“No!” he replied too quickly. “I’ll think of something.” Silently, he hoped he really would.

Over the next few minutes, the young hero listened to the malevolent motor, which he knew would do its work very slowly, adding a sinister, psychological dimension to the pain their bodies, mercilessly stretched between the hook above and the heavy weight below, were compelled to endure. Robin’s mind wandered until he became aware of Susie trembling.

“How are you doing, Susie?” he quietly asked.

“I’m scared, Robin,” she said. “Is that why I’m sweating?”

“We’re going to get out of here, but it’s going to hurt,” Robin said.

Robin could feel her relax slightly. “You have an idea?” she asked softly.

“We might be able to swing over the edge of the punch bowl and avoid the acid,” Robin suggested.

“You’re right,” the girl said, brightening. “The ropes are going to chew up my wrists and both of our ankles even more, but that discomfort is better than dying.” Robin smiled at the calm Susie was beginning to exhibit since she had seen a spark of hope. “We’ll be in the acid soon. We’d better get started.”

As she spoke, Susie twitched and they began to move. Robin bent his body, trying to capitalize on their building momentum. The suspended couple slowly swung back and forth. Working in tandem, the arc of their swinging bodies increased, along with their speed.

“This isn’t so bad,” Susie remarked through gritted teeth, gaining confidence. “We have a long way to go, though.”

Robin was assessing the effectiveness of their tactics. “I don’t think we’ll be able to get beyond the punch bowl,” he announced.

“Could we smash it with the weight?”

“Holy Chemical Spill!” Robin exclaimed. “I have no idea what the acid will do, if it gets outside the bowl.”

“I know exactly what it will do to us shortly,” Susie said. “I’m not looking forward to our swim, Robin. The Eta Beta Lotka girls seem to have a more effective anti-spy program than I ever imagined.”

“We’re not dead yet.”

“We will be, unless we come up with a plan—quickly!”

They were still swinging like a pendulum. “We may have a chance, if we can swing perpendicular to the way we’re swinging now.”

“Okay,” Susie uncertainly said.

One minute later, the human pendulum their bodies had become was still swinging beneath the angled metal tower from which they were suspended, but Robin and Susie had managed to change direction by ninety degrees.

“Almost,” Robin said.

“What are you planning?”

“We need to grab hold of the tower!”

“You’re brilliant!” Susie enthused. He could feel more tension in her body diminish.

“Thank me after we survive,” Robin suggested. “Just about there!”

Robin could not see Susie’s mouth twitch into a wide smile as she worked to widen the arc of their trajectory. ‘I plan to,’ she thought. ‘I wonder if I could persuade Dick Grayson to join us?’

She thought for a moment and changed her mind. ‘It would be more fair to thank him separately—tomorrow.’

After a few unsuccessful attempts, Robin moved his legs to swing the weight into position. Then, the rope holding the weight wrapped around the tilted metal framework of the machine, and Robin, along with Susie, remained motionless for the first time in several minutes.

“You did it!” Susie excitedly cried.

“Can you reach one of those metal bars with your hands or feet?” Robin asked.

“Just about . . .” Susie replied, stretching. “I’ve got it!”

“Good. I’ve gotten hold of one, too. We’ll be out of here in just a couple of minutes.” Robin was stretching the fingers of one hand toward his opposite glove. Seconds later, he produced a knife and cut them both free. He climbed to the ground and helped Susie to safety.

“Thank you, Robin,” she said, reaching for him and wrapping her arms around his neck as she let herself collapse against him. She smiled up at him as he silently supported her. Slowly, she pulled her mouth up to his and tentatively kissed him. After a moment, he responded in kind.

“You’re most welcome,” Robin said ernestly.

“I’ll need to ask for your help with something else.”

“I’m your man!” Robin said enthusiastically.

Susie’s lips brushed his once more less tentatively, pulling back slightly. He eagerly pursued her, drawing her closer to him and folding his arms around her. Susie waited until after the second, more lengthy, kiss had ended to go on talking.

“This is embarrassing. I no longer have a key to my apartment. The one I had dissolved in the punch. I’ll have to call my landlord or get the one I . . .er . . . lent to a friend.”

“Why don’t I drive you home?” Robin offered. “I don’t think the lock on your door will be a problem.”

“Great!” Susie enthused.

“I think Soolin and Okie Annie have gotten away by now,” Robin said seriously. “We’ll need to report everything we know to the police. I should probably check in with them, anyway.”

“You can use the phone at my apartment,” Susie offered. “Let’s get going. I’m freezing.”

“Would you like to put on my cape?” Robin asked.

“Yes. Thank you.” She wore his cape as she guided him along the familiar streets around her apartment, where Robin had no trouble letting them inside.

“The phone is right over there,” Susie said, pointing it out.

“Thanks,” Robin said, pretending not to know where it was. After a brief conversation, he reported, “I talked to Sergeant Goldberg. He said he dispatched a squad car, and officers will take care of the punch. We have nothing to worry–”

He turned to regard her and became suddenly speechless as she stood posed in the circle of light cast by a floor lamp as his cape formed a cloth pool around her feet.

“You’ve saved my life twice now, Robin. Tonight, and when Joker gave me that poisoned perfume, back when I was a little girl.”

Robin had known Susie since she had been a cheerleader at Woodrow Roosevelt High School. There was no denying she was no longer a little girl. The skin-tight competitive swimsuit she wore displayed every comely curve of her body magnificently, making the fact she had grown into a beautiful, young woman abundantly clear.

“It’s my pleasure, Susie. Batman helped me out the first time, though.”

“Well,” she replied, her ripe mouth forming a broad smile, “he isn’t here now, and his absence suits me perfectly.”

‘Batman’s absence isn’t the only thing,’ Robin could not help thinking, wryly considering his alter ego’s relationship with the girl before him.

The young Titan remained speechless as Susie continued. “I really want to thank you properly.”

The young man knew from experience how easily Susie could keep him helplessly enthralled. Batman often told people he and Robin had little time for socializing due to their work fighting crime. These facts swirled in his mind as he watched Susie step from the cloth pool his cape had formed and move toward him, inexorably wrapping her arms around him once again and kissing him slowly and deeply.

“You’re shivering,” Robin said.

“Not for much longer, I hope,” she softly said, as Robin’s arms drew her more closely against him.

After more kissing, they both felt quite warm. “I’ve thought of another crime from which you could save me,” Susie said.

“What?” the Twenty-something Boy Wonder asked. Holding Susie, he knew if he were to escape, he would have to do so immediately. He was, however, playing right into her hands.

“Well, unless you confiscate it, I’m afraid I’ll be guilty of stealing this swimsuit,” Susie said, grinning.

She was kissing him again before he could protest and Robin knew she had him. ‘Well,’ Robin thought, ‘Her intentions toward me are far from a fate worse than death.’

Hours later, as the sun rose over Gotham City, Barbara Gordon soaked lazily in a soothing, steamy, bubble bath while Robin shared pancakes with Susie in her kitchen.

Meanwhile, a minor explosion roused Cabala. He had dozed off in a chair after helping his wife prepare her family’s alchemical laboratory for use.

“What was that, Docky Baby?” he asked, rising and crossing the room to stand beside her.

“It’s merely the beginning of a crime wave that will literally rock Gotham City, Cabala.” Doctor Cassandra said, opening a box from which a wisp of smoke rose. She reached in and withdrew an enormous, clear jewel that glittered in the light as she held it.

“That rock is almost as gorgeous as you!”

“It’s a paste imitation of the Mope Diamond, love,” the villainess explained, handing it to her husband. “The real rock was released from the police evidence room following an eventful reorganization almost a year ago.”

“Was the real rock returned to Spiffany’s?”

“Oh, yes. The circle is now complete. We stole that beautiful bauble years ago and flattened the Terrific Trio as part of the bargain. Now that the police have returned that piece of evidence, it’s time to collect the diamond from Spiffany’s showroom again. The store won’t open for hours.” The Occult Outlaw began to laugh and her husband joined in after a mere second.

Cabala had a thought. “The girls–”

“We won’t need them for this job. Come. The real Mope Diamond awaits us. First, we’ll rob Spiffany’s. Afterwards, the Manufacturers’; Jewelers’; and Designers’ Showroom in the Diamond District, Trieste Jewelers, Hummerts, U Magnum’s, and the Forever Jewel Company, to name just a few, will be ours for the picking, in due time.”

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Docky Baby!” Cabala enthused. “You really know how to rock, and you always do. It’s so–”

“Groovy,” Doctor Cassandra said, reaching up and kissing her husband. “Let’s go.”

Cabala held his wife for a moment, gazing into her eyes, “Groovy! Yeah."

Doctor Cassandra silently held her husband’s gaze as her eyes glittered expectantly.

“Hey, if the store won’t be open for awhile . . .” He bent his mouth to hers and kissed her in return.

“Later, Cabala,” Doctor Cassandra said, smiling and placing a restraining hand gently against his mouth when their second kiss broke. “In a couple hours, we’ll have the acquisition of a diamond to celebrate.”

“Promise?”

“Cross my heart.”

Cabala bent and kissed her again. “I love your mind.”

“I love you. Now, hurry!”

The criminal couple took their leave.

Robin slid the final dish into the rack beside the sink as Susie stepped from the bathroom, dressed and looking ready to face the day.

“Oh, you didn’t have to do the dishes,” she said.

“You didn’t have to make breakfast for me.”

“You were in the shower,” Susie protested. After a beat, she blushed.

“Thank you for everything, Susie. Breakfast was delicious.”

“You’re most welcome. I’m sure it isn’t every night you save a girl’s life.”

“You’d be surprised,” Robin teased. Then he said something he instantly regretted. “Your boyfriend must be one lucky guy.”

“Thanks for saying so.” For the first time since their escape, her mood turned serious. Her face grew dark as she looked away. “I—I hate to be rude,” she apologized, facing Robin again, “but I need to be getting to work. You were wonderful, and I’ll never forget—”

Robin embraced her and kissed her before she could finish speaking. Susie responded and was breathless when their kiss broke. “Thank you,” Robin quietly said.

Before Susie could respond, a repetitive beep sounded from Robin’s belt.

“That sounds awfully official,” Susie said, releasing him and stepping back.

Robin grinned at her. “Duty literally calls.” He pulled out a red cell phone and said, “This is Robin.”

“I’m forwarding a call from the Commissioner, Master Robin,” Alfred explained. “Master Bruce thought you might be closer than he to the scene of a crime taking place as we speak.”

“Thank you,” Robin said. “Please put him through.”

After a second, the Commissioner’s voice came over the line. “I’m sorry to disturb you so early, but we’ve had an alarm tripped at Spiffany’s and since Doctor Cassandra is back in town–”

“You suspect Doctor Cassandra?”

‘Doctor Cassandra is the sorority advisor Batgirl and I were discussing yesterday at the Eta Beta Lotka house,’ Susie thought.

“Well, she resurfaced yesterday and Doctor Cassandra, as well as her husband, Cababla, have targeted the store in the past.”

“True enough, Commissioner. I’ll check it out.”

“Oh, Robin, I should warn you. Batgirl told us Doctor Cassandra has stolen every piece from her family alchemical laboratory. There's no telling what else she's whipped up, but early reports suggest her invisibility pills work as well as ever.”

“Thank you, Commissioner. I’ll talk to you later.”

Susie suddenly felt torn between politeness and the desire to help Robin. She had admittedly been unable to avoid hearing half of his telephone call, but could not be certain Robin learning about her discussion with Batgirl concerning Doctor Cassandra would be helpful. She decided to try slipping her knowledge into their conversation. “So,” Susie said. “You have to go.”

“So do you.”

‘Well,’ Susie thought, ‘I doubt I know anything about Doctor Cassandra Robin doesn’t. I was never even formally introduced to her. Robin and I should talk about us, anyway.’

Aloud, she said, “I guess so. Will I ever see you again?”

“Time will tell, Susie. I know I’ll never forget you.” He took her in his arms once more and kissed her.

“You have crime to fight,” Susie said, gently disengaging herself from his embrace. “Go!”

“You’re right,” Robin said, turning.

“Robin,” Susie said. He glanced back at her. “Be careful.” The young Titan nodded and was gone a moment later.

Susie inhaled as the room seemed to become dim. She made her way outside and sighed.

When the Redbird pulled up in front of Spiffany’s, Robin hurried toward the back, having seen nothing unusual in front of the store. The back door was open a mere crack, but Robin stepped through, creeping along a dimly lit corridor. He passed two closed doors facing one another, and paused to peer into the main showroom. Doctor Cassandra stood staring at the Mope Diamond.

“I’ve caught you red-handed, Doctor Cassandra,” Robin said. “Give yourself up!”

“Things aren’t always what they appear, Robin,” Doctor Cassandra replied, laughing. “Take him, Cabala!”

A sudden noise drew Robin’s attention, making him whirl seconds before something heavy slammed into the back of his head. He fell to the floor and remained still.

Robin kept his eyes closed as he recovered, slowly regaining his wits and trying to use his other senses to determine into what kind of situation he had blindly walked. He could tell he was seated, with his arms and legs spread and bound to corresponding parts of a metal chair. His head was tilted back, so he guessed he would be staring straight up when he opened his eyes. He began to try to turn his head, but immediately stopped when he felt sharp pressure against his throat. More importantly, he could hear his captors speaking.

“Well, Docky Baby,” Cabala began, stepping from behind the bound crimefighter, “He’s definitely seeing stars now.”

The criminal couple laughed. “It’s amazing how easy these little chores can be when the hero’s thoughts can be so easily anticipated, or perhaps I should say, manipulated,” Doctor Cassandra crowed.

“Do you think he was expecting me to be invisible?”

“Of course he was,” the Occult Outlaw replied, laughing. “Your enthusiasm for your chore is demonstrable, too.”

“What do you mean?”

“You really walloped him, love,” Doctor Cassandra said. “He’s still out cold.”

“Maybe I was showing off a little,” Cabala admitted. “I can wake Robin up, if we’re in a hurry.”

“Oh man, my head hurts,” Robin lamented before the Occult Outlaw could voice any decision she might have made on the issue. “What hit me?”

“He’s back, Docky Baby.”

“Good morning, Robin,” Doctor Cassandra said, smiling and gesturing toward a clear globe Cabala held. “I want to show you a little parlor trick I’ve developed.”

“I’m not interested in any of your tricks . . .” Robin’s voice trailed off as he watched.

“This trick will interest you though, Robin,” the Devilish Doctor replied, turning toward her husband. “Cabala.”

“Dig this,” the villainess’ husband said, grinning with anticipation as he rubbed the orb with his handkerchief. Eagerly, he went on, “Any second now.”

Suddenly, the orb began to glow before a beam of light shot from it like a laser. Cabala focused the light ray on the lock of the case holding the Mope Diamond and watched expectantly as the lock melted.

He set the orb down and covered it with his handkerchief, wrapping it carefully, before stepping to the breached display case and removing the diamond inside. Before closing the case, he set a similar stone inside and pocketed the valuable bauble. Then, he picked up the orb he had used to breach the display case and pocketed it as well. “You want me to gift wrap the rock, Docky Baby?” he asked.

“Never mind that, Cabala. All that remains before we blow this scene is to describe to the Boy Wonder what awaits him.” The devilish Doctor indicated something the size of a softball in a cloth bag suspended from the ceiling above Robin. She removed the cloth cover from the object and addressed her captive. “I’m sure you now can well imagine what the crystal ball suspended above you can do.”

“I can,” the young Titan admitted. “It looks dark, unlike the one you used for your robbery!”

“At the moment, it is quite dark, but the color will fade as my crystal ball gathers light from this room. Once a sufficient amount has been collected, a similar beam will be directed into your skull. The pinpoint laser will focus beyond the bone, inside your brain, and, if all goes well, destroy most of your cognitive functions, while leaving you, more or less, alive.” Doctor Cassandra laughed.

“I don’t get it,” Cabala said, meditatively scratching his head. “Why lobotomize the Boy Wonder?”

“Holy Mind Bender!” Robin exclaimed, horror stricken.

“One of the great mysteries of Gotham City is exactly why Robin was called the Boy Wonder. If he survives the operation, the sorority has theories they will rigorously test,” Doctor Cassandra explained, grinning wickedly. “Science can be such a pleasure.”

“You said, ‘the sorority,'” Robin thoughtfully repeated. “Holy Revelation! The Eta Beta Lotka girls now work for you!”

“Indeed they do, but I’d rather talk about you, Robin. The term mind eraser would more aptly describe your future, considering what is about to happen.” Doctor Cassandra lectured.

“I don’t understand how being rendered mindless would make me more desirable,” Robin said.

“Many men fantasize about having a woman who can’t say no. Why shouldn’t my gender have the same dream?” Not really expecting an answer, Doctor Cassandra continued. “Let me warn you. The loop around your throat is to keep your head in the proper position. One false move on your part and it’s all over—forever!” She paused to let Robin consider his situation.

“You’ve clearly got me right where you want me,” Robin lamented.

“No one wants you to perish, dear boy,” the Demonic Doctor explained. “Following the procedure, you should be quite intact – physically – and fully functional. You’ll be quite the prize for the girls.”

Robin gloomily compared his revulsion for what awaited him following the ‘operation’ with his fond memories of the recently concluded encounter with Susie. The irony was hardly lost upon him as he exclaimed, “Holy Fate Worse Than Death!”

“The light touch I’m imparting will provide both the girls and me with handsome profits . . . eventually. I’ll thank you in advance, and, if you were to be able to be aware of everything the girls have in store for you, you’d probably thank me in return.”

“Only if I were as sick as you, Doctor Cassandra!” Robin shouted, struggling against his restraints while being careful not to move his head.

“Oh, well. You’ll be a much more agreeable companion, very soon.” Doctor Cassandra shrugged, giggling girlishly, and grinning hungrily at Robin. “I’ll send someone to collect you after the operation. For now, Robin, bye bye.”

Cabala looked at his wife suspiciously. “You aren’t interested in him, are you?”

“Not for myself, Cabala. I have you, after all,” Doctor Cassandra said, favoring him with a smile. “Let’s go.”

“Oh, yeah, Docky Baby! Now you’re talking my language.” Cabala enthused, eagerly following his wife from the premises and waving to Robin in an almost childlike manner.

Instead of watching the criminal couple go, the young Titan shifted his glance at the clock on the wall without moving his head. He estimated Doctor Cassandra’s plan would have plenty of time to proceed before the jewelry store opened. He tilted his head slightly to look at the globe above his head. It had become considerably lighter already.

Robin looked rapidly around Spiffany’s jewelry showroom, desperately seeking a means to escape. His weight had been carefully distributed over the chair and his bindings, together with the sensitive loop constricting around his throat, kept him from getting the leverage he would need to shift the chair.

His only advantage was the utility belt encircling his waist. Unfortunately, the way his body was positioned, he knew he would never be able to reach the miraculous wonders he carried there.

As he considered the thoroughness with which Doctor Cassandra had planned his involuntary operation, Robin realized just how apt his most recent exclamation really was. ‘To exist without memory of the past or enjoyment of the present is truly a fate worse than death!’ he thought. ‘I will not, however, willingly accept it . . . free will, though, will become a thing of the past for me all too soon, if that globe does its work!’

Catwoman had once made similar plans for him and Batman, leaving them in her giant echo chamber. There, torturous, magnified sound waves were to shatter their eardrums and pummel their brains into something resembling oatmeal, thus rendering their minds useless while transforming Batman into a handsome robot fit only to serve the Feline Felon, and Robin into a cuddly teddy bear for Eenie, the villainess’ admittedly attractive assistant.

This time, of course, Robin was alone and almost completely immobilized. He could only watch and wait while the color of the dangling crystal ball grew paler with each passing second.

The sound of a lock being forced open made the young Titan carefully avert his eyes to look at the jewelry store’s front door. Suddenly, lights blazed above him. His glance returned upward.

The orb dangling above him was now completely clear!

“Mi Dios! Robin!” a surprised, female voice said. “Are you all right?”

The former Boy Wonder suddenly recognized Detective Renee Montoya’s somewhat squarish, but beautiful, face, framed by curly, brown hair that went on to cascade behind her shoulders. Her dark eyebrows arched above clear, brown eyes and full Latin lips adorned with dark, red lipstick that was not too bright.

“Kill the lights!” Robin shouted. His voice sounded to him like a mere croak.

The lights were extinguished instantly, but the room remained illuminated by the crystal ball suspended above Robin. It was glowing and would fire its beam in a matter of seconds!

“Destroy that crystal ball!” Robin’s voice croaked. He was barely able to breathe, but the alternative to taking the risk was unthinkable.

Renee Montoya did not hesitate. She drew her weapon and fired two shots into the glowing orb suspended above Robin.

The crystal sphere shattered and rained glowing shards everywhere. Tiny beams of light shot harmlessly around the room, as the lovely Mexican-American policewoman ran toward him and loosened the loop around Robin’s throat. She then knelt behind him to release him from his bonds.

“Thanks, Detective,” Robin said, inhaling deeply and letting out his breath much more slowly.

“I’m glad I heard the report of the alarm and decided to follow up. I’m just sorry it took so long.”

“Not to worry,” Robin said. “If we can put this place back together, we’ll have the chance to capture someone we can question. Doctor Cassandra said she would send someone to collect me after a sort of laser beam shot from the crystal ball you just destroyed. The beam was supposed to penetrate my skull and render me mindless."

Detective Renee Montoya shuddered as she turned world-weary eyes on the young Titan. She had once become an unwitting pawn of criminals when a powerful mesmerist, Ronald Blackwitch, hypnotized her and ordered her to murder her superior, Lieutenant Diana Mooney. Batgirl’s timely intervention both saved the Lieutenant and cleared Montoya of responsibility. The Detective had then actively led the hunt for the hypnotist.

“I’m glad Doctor Cassandra’s plans for you will never transpire,” the detective earnestly said.

“I am, too,” Robin agreed. “Now, we have some work to do.”

“How can I help?” she enthusiastically asked.

As Detective Montoya and Robin awaited Doctor Cassandra’s agent, a sinister scene was playing out in the tunnel system beneath Gotham State University, where Doctor Cassandra had reassembled her family’s alchemical laboratory.

“I’m sorry, Doc,” Okie Annie apologetically said. “When we went to check on our preparations for this afternoon’s job, the cops done surrounded the party center. I reckon Robin and the spy me and Soolin done caught must o’ escaped our trap, an’ then they prob’ly told the cops all about our plans.”

“So, you bungled your attempt to kill the Boy Wonder, and you expect me to clean up your mess?”

“I figure there’s plenty o’ money to be made,” Okie Annie explained. “If anyone can work out an alternative plan to git it under time pressure, I reckon it’s you, Doc.”

“Would you like us to deal with them, Doctor Cassandra?” Purdey asked, stepping from among the watching henchwomen.

“You better be real sure o’ what you’re gonna do before you try it, honey!” Okie Annie warned, pulling her guns.

Soolin stood and took a long step away from her wheelchair before moving her hands to the butts of her own weapons.

“Enough!” Doctor Cassandra said, holding up a restraining hand.

“Can’t we all just get along?” Cabala asked.

“Some negotiation is to be expected when enormous sums of money are just waiting to be taken,” Soolin explained. “Okie Annie and I have put a lot of work into today’s operation. Instead of allowing Robin’s interference to force us to throw it all away, we thought we’d seek advice from our new, expert advisor.” While the younger gunwoman’s hands did not move away from her weapons, she decided diplomacy would be a better approach than suddenly starting a violent confrontation that would inevitably get many of her sorority sisters hurt or perhaps killed.

“You raise an excellent point about our roles, Soolin,” Doctor Cassandra thoughtfully agreed. “Okie Annie may be right about the potential payoff, and money is what makes my occult world go ‘round.” She moved to a tank the size of a small fire extinguisher and motioned for Okie Annie to join her. The older gunwoman put her guns away and approached.

“The acid and ‘ice’ are premixed in here,” Doctor Cassandra explained, turning her face to one side as she released a short blast of gas from the tank the moment Okie Annie arrived.

“Hey--” Okie Annie began, but she was suddenly silenced as her body became utterly motionless.

“That looks effective enough,” Amber said, passing a hand across the older gunwoman’s face without generating a response.

“Wow!” Emerald agreed, regarding the curvaceous cowgirl through her green lenses. “I’ll say it works. How long will she stay like that?”

“Cabala, I’ll need your watch,” Doctor Cassandra said. “Soolin, I’ll need you to keep an eye on your teacher and record how long the small dose of this gas I gave her remains effective.” She accepted Cabala’s timepiece and set the stopwatch feature before hanging the timepiece around Okie Annie’s neck.

“Doctor,” Soolin said, “with all due respect, Okie Annie doesn’t deserve to be used as a guinea pig, or a lab rat, or whatever. Robin is resourceful and has escaped from deathtraps countless times. We just had some bad luck, that’s all.”

“Relax, Soolin,” Doctor Cassandra replied. “It’s too late to prevent Okie Annie from contributing to this experiment, and I disagree with your assessment of her responsibility. Some price is required for the failure to kill Robin and the spy who summoned him. By the way, do you have any idea who this spy is?”

“Well,” Soolin said thoughtfully, “I think she was one of the pledges.”

“We could find out and take care of her, if you want,” Tabitha offered.

“Everyone but Soolin and Annie will be busy this afternoon with today’s job. Pursuing the spy will have to wait.”

“Will you tell us about today’s job?” Fluffy asked.

“It will involve use on a much larger scale of the gas immobilizing Okie Annie. If the gas works as well as my camouflage pills, we’ll have the tools we need to do the extremely lucrative job for which we’ve been commissioned.”

“Did you hire out our services, Docky Baby?”

“Given what we’ve been promised, and the retainer that went into the development of the unique, criminal tools I’ve created, our expertise is definitely for sale,” Doctor Cassandra confirmed.

“Who hired us?” Purdey asked.

“Someone who gave Catwoman as a reference,” Doctor Cassandra answered. “With credentials like the Princess of Plunder, I didn’t see how we could turn our client down.”

“If our old boss vouched for the client . . .” Muffy began.

“. . . the work won’t be a problem,” Fluffy added, finishing her partner’s thought.

“What does the client want us to do?” Tabitha asked.

“A massive shipment of jewels will be delivered from Europe to Gotham City later this week. Our job will be to divert the ship from its intended location to a duplicate dockyard we will construct. Once our illusion does its work, the dockyard must disappear exactly as the jewels will seem to have.”

“It sounds like you have a brilliant plan,” Emerald said.

“Oh yeah, Docky Baby,” Cabala said. “Your plan sounds brilliant to me, as well as way out!”

“I’ll go into more detail about the plan later.”

“You mean, after Okie Annie and Soolin have finished with the test of this gas?” Purdey asked. “It will keep them both occupied during this afternoon’s job and they’ll forfeit their cut of the spoils?” The long-haired brunette greedily grinned.

Soolin frowned.

“The role I’ve given you, Soolin, is much more critical from a scientific perspective,” Doctor Cassandra said, glancing at the younger gunwoman, who had not moved her hands from her weapons. “The effects of this gas do need to be quantified.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Soolin said, relaxing. The villainess’ words had not mollified her, but she knew she was outnumbered and Doctor Cassandra was too powerful to take on single-handedly. Another, better time would come, eventually.

“Groovy!” Doctor Cassandra said, turning to address all of her minions once again. “I would strongly advise all of you not to fail, particularly since you’re now working for me!”

Soolin’s shoulders sagged as she glanced at the stop watch around Okie Annie’s neck. The others were all regarding their new mistress, awaiting instructions.

“I’ll need to make more gas for this afternoon,” Doctor Cassandra said. “Meanwhile, all but one of you will bring several balloons to the lab and begin filling them. For what I have in mind, we cannot possibly have too many.”

“Which one will miss out on the work with the balloons, Docky Baby?” Cabala asked.

“It doesn’t matter. Someone will need to collect Robin from the jewelry store before it opens and . . . ‘look after him.'” Doctor Cassandra smiled knowingly and asked, “Are there any volunteers?”

“Oh, I’ll attend to Robin,” Muffy said, grinning wickedly. “’Looking after him’ will be a pleasure.”

“No doubt,” Doctor Cassandra said, shrugging as she and her minions laughed. “The rest of you, get going! Oh, there is one last thing.”

“Yes, Doctor Cassandra?’ Her henchwomen asked in unison.

“Don’t any of you call me ‘Doc,’ ever!” Her minions nodded and turned away to begin their work. “Amber,” Doctor Cassandra called.

“Yes, Doctor,” the blonde said, halting and turning.

“I think it’s time for me to prescribe another dose for you.”

“Oh, thank you, Doctor Cassandra. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to you for reproducing King Tut’s ancient formula. It makes me feel so wonderful!”

“I was so sorry to see you depressed after King Tut’s serum was all gone,” Doctor Cassandra kindly said, wiping Amber’s arm with an alcohol-soaked swab.

“I wasn’t myself after the serum ran out,” Amber said softly.

“I know, dear,” Doctor Cassandra said, knowingly smiling. Amber was looking up at her with undisguised anticipation. “Are you ready?” The blonde eagerly extended her arm, holding it rigid while Doctor Cassandra prepared a hypodermic needle to press into the patient’s offered vein.

After the injection, Amber threw her arms around Doctor Cassandra’s neck and kissed her lightly as the Occult Outlaw embraced the blonde. “Thank you, Doctor,” the girl said. “I feel marvelous!”

“I didn’t realize you were Amber’s supplier,” Soolin seriously said.

“My need was part of why the sorority recruited Doctor Cassandra. Stealing the samples of the elixir King Tut had made was simple enough, but I was up the proverbial creek when it ran out,” Amber explained.

“You can express your gratitude as we rob the parade watchers, Amber,” Doctor Cassandra said, releasing her patient and turning to clean her hypo. “Considering what their entertainment will cost, they may as well get something in return. Come along, dear.”

Amber eagerly followed her criminal mistress from the chamber, leaving Soolin staring incredulously after them.

The young, blonde gunwoman shrugged and settled back into her wheelchair without comment. ‘I knew Amber was a drug user, but I didn’t realize how strong a hold Doctor Cassandra had over her. Apparently, euphoria is a side effect of King Tut’s elixir,’ she thought. “Annie,” Soolin said aloud, “do you know if the rumor Amber tried the fatal dose of the drug that got her hooked on a dare while she was pledging is true?”

Okie Annie could only stare at her student, who frowned at the startled look frozen on the older gunwoman’s face. Soolin took in a deep breath and slowly let it out.

“Doctor Cassandra shouldn’t be punishing us like this,” she declared, letting a rare flicker of emotion show on her pretty face as she stood once again and began to pace. Her simmering rage fueled the adrenaline she could feel flowing freely through her bloodstream.

Slowly, as she angrily stalked back and forth, traversing the lab again and again, the implications of Amber’s addiction and the cost of her and Okie Annie’s failure to kill Robin began to fit together into a plan of action that made the beautiful Briton smile.

‘Doctor Cassandra just demonstrated what her loyalty to her help is worth,' Soolin thought.

“She is just using all of us,” the younger gunwoman murmured, halting to regard her mentor seriously, as her hands settled onto her hips.

She frowned as she recalled her employer’s most recent act and how it had seemed almost like an afterthought. ‘Of course, it obviously had not been. Amber’s loyalty to her drug supplier was unshakable, and would remain so unless and until the supplier failed to deliver.

‘All I have to do is figure out how to make the drug, and Doctor Cassandra has foolishly given me the run of her lab, a sample to analyze, and time.’

“If I’m right, Annie, Amber’s addiction is the result of a careful calculation and I’m going to take advantage of the situation,” Soolin said. “If properly motivated, that little, blonde wench can be a powerful weapon or perhaps a useful scapegoat. Hanging around at this college has done more than expand my vocabulary and increase my word power, you know?”

Okie Annie was compelled to remain silent as Soolin began to work. The younger woman listened to the echo of the ticking watch hanging from her teacher’s neck. Each quiet tick seemed to harden the young student’s heart as she considered everything she could order a lackey to do who could never refuse to obey a command.

An hour later, Spiffany’s had another unauthorized visitor. She was a petite brunette whose black jeans, as well as her Eta Beta Lotka t-shirt, were molded against the curves and contours of her body like a coat of paint. She strutted confidently to where Detective Montoya had re-tied Robin and smiled down at him. The concealed policewoman silently inhaled and licked her lips appreciatively.

“Hello, Boy Wonder,” the newcomer said, grinning down at him and licking her own lips. “I’m Muffy and since you’ve become nothing but a gorgeous, brainless hunk of yummy beefcake, you belong to me–as of now.”

“How . . . do you know?” Robin mumbled distinctly enough to be understood clearly.

Muffy laughed. “Doctor Cassandra told me how she had her hubby leave you to have your mind wiped. For years, I’ve been hearing stories about how Madame DeBase arranged for a small horde of experienced henchwomen to get their hands, as well as other things, on you. Apparently, they didn’t get very far before being rudely interrupted.”

“One of their problems was my general lack of interest in what they were doing,” Robin replied clearly. “Of course, you can’t believe everything you hear. It’s particularly dangerous to take gossip at face value.”

‘Even as a mindless oaf, he sounds just like Batman!’ Muffy thought. The henchgirl was so intent upon the bound, young man’s physique, she didn’t even consider the incongruity of a just-lobotomized person speaking or recalling memories.

Shrugging mentally and dismissing the observation she had made, Muffy knelt beside him and went to work on his bindings. “Well,” she said aloud, “for your information, I’m planning to determine the truth of the gossip, most of which I don’t believe, anyway. Nevertheless, all that irritating crimefighting you do is about to come to an end, and you will be doing a great deal of socializing. In fact, while the loss of your mind has made you useless for a great many things, there are several others for which you seem very well suited and, before the end of the weekend, you and I will have tried most of them. Robin’s bindings fell away.

“What are you talking about?” Robin demanded.

The brunette grinned hungrily at him. “Think of our weekend as an extensive test drive. I’ll be putting your through your paces, Robin, like a prize stallion. Long before I’ve finished with you, I promise you’ll understand how you’ll spend the rest of your young life perfectly. You’ll also thank me for your . . . reeducation. Well, now that I think about it, in your case, it’s probably remediation. I don’t care. Never mind. Can you stand?”

“I think so.”

“I know I’m missing out on earning a small fortune this afternoon, but for me, the payoff will be outstanding,” Muffy dreamily said. “Robin, the Boy Wonder, will be all mine for hours. Come on. I can’t wait.”

“Do I get any say in what we do this weekend?” Robin asked.

“I rather expect you’ll thank me for everything in the end. You, dear boy, are about to become my first delicious dividend. My star is on the rise with Doctor Cassandra leading the sorority. One week from now, I’ll be rich, and you will be exhausted and delighted.”

“I imagine we’ll need these at some point,” Robin said, holding up a pair of Batcuffs.

Muffy giggled. “You’re so eager, Robin. Of course, I can’t really blame you.”

“Truthfully, Muffy,” Robin said, “I can’t wait.” The girl was grinning until she felt the Batcuffs snapped onto her wrists which he drew behind her back.

“We should head back to my place first,” Muffy advised. “The store will open soon.”

“I don’t care,” Robin flatly said.

Muffy laughed happily. “Oh, this is great! You really want me. Now, listen, Robin, I can’t drive like this. So, let me out of the cuffs. When we get home, we can play with your toys as well as mine.”

“Let me do the driving,” Robin said.

“Don’t worry, baby. You’ll have your turn.”

“I’m afraid not,” he replied.

“What do you mean?” Suddenly, Muffy had the strange feeling the situation was different than she had been led to believe it would be. “You will release me at once!” she commanded.

“No!”

“How dare you refuse me?!” the henchwoman demanded and swore. “What is going on here?”

“You’re under arrest.”

“I’m . . . what?” Muffy asked much more softly, deflating.

“You heard me,” Robin evenly responded.

“Wait a minute!” Muffy protested. “This can’t be happening. You’re supposed to be my mindless, zombie boy toy. What happened?”

“It’s more a matter of what didn’t happen,” Robin explained. “Doctor Cassandra’s attempt to render me mindless failed.”

“Okay, Big Boy,” Muffy said huskily, her eyes sparkling with eager, impish anticipation. “We could forget all about Doctor Cassandra. I can still make letting me go worthwhile, if you’ll let me.” She stepped forward and leaned against him closely, resting her head against his shoulder where Robin could not help but inhale the pleasant scent of her hair. “What do you say?”

“Maybe,” Robin said, smiling kindly at Muffy, “but my surprise witness would never approve.”

“He’s right,” Detective Montoya said, stepping into view and grinning. “I might even be jealous—of him.”

“You’re no fun any more,” Muffy accused, glaring at Robin. “I don’t want to talk to you.”

“I didn’t realize we had even gotten around to the fun part yet,” Robin replied wryly.

“This is so unfair!” Muffy protested.

“Get over it,” Robin advised. “I know your sorority is planning to rob the alumni parade this afternoon. You’re going to tell us all about it.”

“Like I said, I don’t feel like talking to you any more!”

“It didn’t sound like you planned to do much talking anyway,” Robin replied, smiling. “She’s all yours, Detective.”

“Thank you,” Montoya said, drinking in the sight of the shackled henchwoman. “I’ll enjoy getting to know this young lady. Would you like to talk to me, miss?”

“What?” Muffy asked. Muffy was beginning to feel uncomfortable in the policewoman’s presence.

“Come on, honey. Let’s you and I go downtown,” Detective Montoya invited. “We have a lot to talk about and all morning to get acquainted.”

“Are you planning to question me or are you trying to—”

“Whatever,” Detective Montoya said, interrupting and winking at Robin.

“Hey!” Muffy almost shouted. “I don’t go that way!”

“Gee,” Detective Montoya teased, “you changed your tune in a hurry.”

“Too bad!” Muffy said, swearing once again.

“It’s your loss, honey,” the detective said, shrugging and turning to Robin. “I’m afraid our friend Muffy here is going to have a long, hard day.”

Muffy managed to maintain a thin veneer of composure. “I . . . I want to call my lawyer!” she cried.

“You can use the phone when we get downtown,” Detective Montoya said, grinning.

“Are you going to make me ride alone in a car . . . with you?” Muffy worriedly demanded.

“Let’s go!” The suggestion was not a request. “Just a minute,” Montoya said after her prisoner stepped toward the door. “I’d better Mirandize you now.”

Barbara Gordon reached for the ringing phone in her office just before lunch time. “Hello,” she said, tucking the receiver under her chin.

“Barbara,” the Commissioner said. “Robin and Detective Montoya brought in a girl from the Beta Eta Lotka sorority this morning. We’ve been questioning her, but with her lawyer present, we’re not getting much.”

“Did she give you anything on Doctor Cassandra?”

“No,” the Commissioner replied. “Robin, however, learned about an Eta Beta Lotka plot to rob alumni watching the parade at Gotham City University this afternoon. Given what you told me about the sorority, I thought you’d want to know.”

“Thanks, Daddy. I think I’ll take in a parade this afternoon.” After saying goodbye, she arranged to take the afternoon off and felt excitement building within her, spurred by the words she had left unsaid as she spoke to her father, ‘I’ll take in the parade as Batgirl.’

While Barbara Gordon underwent her tantalizing transformation once again and raced to the parade route at the top, legal speed on her Batgirlcycle, Robin watched the most populated part of the route from a nearby rooftop. His binoculars revealed the Eta Beta Lotka girls circulating among the crowd and distributing balloons floating in midair with dangling strings parade watchers tied to their wrists, chairs, or elsewhere.

‘No sign of criminal activity . . . yet,’ he thought, maintaining his vigil. A clink made him turn and see a metal bat from which a rope trailed slide across the roof and grip the edge.

Moments later, the young Titan appreciatively watched the appearance of a pair of pointed bat ears extending from a purple cowl from which lush, red hair flowed. Then, a purple and gold cape spread behind sculpted shoulders as the wind made it flutter. Next, the impressive swell of a woman’s breasts, across which a golden bat spread its wings, appeared. Purple lurex stretched across the new arrival’s flat abdomen. The material was drawn even more tightly against the impressive flare of her hips, around which a golden belt with a golden bat adorning the buckle was closely wrapped. More of the unique material sheathed the vision’s lovely, long legs as they appeared seconds before their owner stepped onto the roof. Gloves and boots of a just slightly lighter tone completed the pretty picture of Batgirl coiling and putting away her Batrope as she approached Robin. He stood and shook her hand before she gripped her cape with both hands and surveyed the scene below as they talked.

“It’s nice to see you, Batgirl.”

“Likewise, Robin,” the Curved Crusader said, favoring him with a smile. “Are you here about the Eta Beta Lotka girls and Doctor Cassandra?”

“I know Okie Annie and some Eta Beta Lotka girls planned to release acid from the sorority’s float to cause a panic, during which they would rob the crowd.”

“According to the website about this weekend’s alumni festivities, the Eta Beta Lotka sorority dropped it’s float out of the parade,” Batgirl said.

“They had to withdraw,” Robin explained. “Their float is in the police impound lot right now, and I heard some talk at Police Headquarters this morning about Doctor Cassandra’s involvement with the group. I’m afraid they’ll devise an alternative method of attack.”

“I think you’re right, because I know some of Catwoman’s former hench-kittens and a couple other girls, with both questionable and notorious reputations, are working for Doctor Cassandra and wearing sorority letters. Have they tried anything yet?”

“I haven’t seen Doctor Cassandra, but some Eta Beta Lotka girls were distributing helium balloons just before you arrived. Take a look.” Robin handed over his binoculars and Batgirl quickly scanned the scene below.

“Do you think there is anything besides helium in those balloons?” Batgirl asked.

“It’s impossible to say,” Robin responded, “but I think we should wear filter masks if we need to go down there.”

“Good thinking,” Batgirl said. “Here come the floats, and I recognize those Eta Beta Lotka girls!”

Far below the heroic watchers, Purdey, Tabitha, Fluffy, Amber, and Emerald began circulating among the people viewing the parade, armed with pointed sticks. Doctor Cassandra’s henchwomen jabbed the balloons with the sticks, popping the fragile, floating spheres.

The effect was instantaneous. The crowd near the balloons was immediately paralyzed. Filter masks prevented the sorority girls from being effected by the gas release as they went through their victims’ pockets, transferring wallets and jewels into loot bags.

“Holy Knockouts Using Knockout Gas!”

“You’re right,” Batgirl said, returning Robin’s binoculars and taking her camera from her hip. She snapped pictures of the ravishing robbers going about their wicked work. “We have all the evidence we’ll need. Now, let’s go get them!"

“I’m right behind you,” Robin enthused.

Batropes flew across the parade route and Batgirl descended to the street like a purple and gold streak. Her booted feet slammed into Purdey, sending the lead Eta Beta Lotka girl sprawling. The Curved Crusader let go of her rope and moved quickly toward Tabitha, who stared at her in startled disbelief.

Robin, meanwhile, hit the street an instant later and yanked at a rope restraining a banner on a parade float. It fell, covering Amber and Fluffy completely, making them collapse beneath its weight. Robin landed in front of Emerald and approached slowly as she began to back away from him.

The blonde facing Robin changed tactics when she ran out of room to retreat, flinging herself into the air with her arms flailing as she screamed. Before the flurry of ineffectual blows Emerald launched could pummel Robin, she felt herself pulled forward and off balance. Instead of launching an attack on her opponent, she flew through the air and slammed against a tree, before crumpling to the lawn beside it.

“You . . . you should have been cooked like a deep-fried turkey hours ago!” Tabitha exclaimed, pointing a trembling finger at Batgirl.

The Curved Crusader grinned. “Surprise,” she said, and launched a showgirl kick.

The brown-haired beauty dodged and found she was too far away to counterattack as Batgirl landed. Nevertheless, Tabitha lunged at her opponent as Batgirl pivoted and jumped. The former hench-kitten was committed to her action as Batgirl spun and brought a heel down hard, bashing the back of Tabitha’s head. The ex-stripper fell.

Purdey was breathing heavily as she pulled the banner from Amber and Fluffy, releasing them. “I’ll get their attention. You two get their filter masks.” Fluffy and Amber nodded and retreated.

A minute later, as Robin and Batgirl looked over the young women they had just dispatched, they each felt something impact them. Spinning simultaneously, they found Purdey pulling her hands from a paralyzed woman’s coat pockets. The black-haired, lead henchwoman tossed a pair of empty purses aside and grinned knowingly and expectantly at the Dynamite Duo.

“Give yourself up, Purdey!” Batgirl sternly advised.

“It’s all over now,” Robin said.

“Maybe for you two,” Doctor Cassandra’s lovely lead lackey replied, laughing. She spotted both Tabitha and Emerald returning to their feet and excitedly motioned for them to approach.

Batgirl and Robin felt arms wind around their throats from behind and hands reaching for their filter masks. Instinctively, both gripped the arms snaking around their upper bodies and spun, sending Amber and Fluffy to the ground hard.

As the Dynamite Duo pressed their advantage, however, Tabitha and Emerald arrived and knocked the heroes down from behind. Instantly, the henchwomen set upon them, twisting their arms behind their backs. Roughly, the heroic pair was hauled unsteadily to their feet, thus enabling Amber and Fluffy’s booted feet to pound Robin and Batgirl’s abdomens. The victims doubled over and exhaled painfully as their filter masks were plucked from their faces and discarded. Seconds later, their battered bodies sank to their knees after the grip on their painfully twisted limbs released.

“There’s . . . something in the air, Batgirl!” Robin said, trying to keep from inhaling deeply as he tried to stand.

“Lingering . . . paralyzing . . . gas,” Batgirl said, struggling to control her own breathing as she did likewise.

Despite their best efforts, both heroes felt their bodies become helplessly rigid.

Purdey nodded happily as she, Tabitha, Amber, Fluffy, and Emerald surrounded the defeated pair, grinning at their handiwork with wicked satisfaction.

“Now we have them,” Tabitha gleefully said.

“Excellent!” Emerald enthused. “We also have a few lumps to repay, at a generous interest rate!”

“Later!” Purdey sharply said. “We have a lot of loot to gather first. There will be plenty of time to punish these two, once we turn them over to the Doctor.”

Purdey’s quartet of companions reluctantly dispersed while the black-haired henchwomen found a bottle of Bat-Sleep in Robin’s utility belt. “Soon,” she whispered, spraying him and Batgirl, sending them both to dreamland.

Later, Robin exhaled as his eyes flicked open. He focused and saw Batgirl standing across from him with her legs spread to shoulder width and both arms extended rigidly and diagonally upward from her shoulders. Looking more closely, he saw metal rings clamped around her wrists and ankles. These restraints were attached to short chains extending from blackened, stone walls.

The young Titan turned his head and looked along his limbs, which were similarly positioned and restrained. He pulled sharply at the chains and realized they would hold him firmly in place, perhaps forever.

“Holy Medieval Murder!”

Batgirl’s eyes opened in response to the echoes of Robin’s voice. A quick, sweeping glance enabled her to assess their situation. “It looks like they took our belts and left us in a dungeon,” she said, shifting and wincing as she realized how rigidly her restraints held her.

On two separate occasions, Batgirl had spent several gloomy hours awaiting an uncertain fate in the authentic dungeon Lord Marmaduke Fogg maintained beneath his forbidden Cricket Pavilion on his palatial property outside Londinium. Only Batman, the heroine’s preparedness, and luck had kept the chamber of horrors from becoming her tomb.

“It may be even worse, Batgirl!” Robin said. “I have an uneasy feeling this chamber is not a dungeon cell at all.”

The Curved Crusader’s eyes narrowed as she reexamined her surroundings. The chamber’s walls were black and she could just see something white on the floor. Absently, she pondered how the substance’s color contrasted with the black, chamber walls. As Batgirl stared, she realized the white substance was, in fact, a powder. Sniffing, she began to think Robin was right. “Are those ashes on the floor . . . and is the black stuff on the walls soot?”

“My hunch seemed strange, even to me,” Robin confirmed, “but I’m afraid you’re right on both counts.”

“That would mean we aren’t in a dungeon,” Batgirl said, “but . . . a . . . furnace!” She looked up and realized the dim light she had been using to examine her sinister surroundings was moonlight beaming in from above. “Robin, look up.”

“Holy Smokestack!” the young Titan exclaimed. “We may have just found the only way out of here.” Thinking of the afternoon’s events, Robin concluded, “Gosh, we’ve already been here for a really long time!”

“That’s right, Robin and Batgirl,” Doctor Cassandra said, stepping through a curtain of blackened chains concealed in the chamber’s shadows. The villainess favored them with a smile. “I do hope you’re both comfortable, and I must say, I’m delighted at how quickly you’ve both deduced your fate. Now, I wouldn’t bother worrying about the duration of your stay here. I assure you, it will be quite short.”

“You plan to set us on fire!” Robin accused.

“You’re truly monstrous,” Batgirl added.

“Batman once accused me of having no style,” Doctor Cassandra explained. “Well, I’ve taken what I’m now sure was constructive criticism to heart. Simply dousing you both with accelerants and tossing lit matches at you would never do.”

“Naturally, you’ve devised something more torturous,” Batgirl guessed, doing her best to sound both unimpressed and unafraid.

“Indeed,” Doctor Cassandra confirmed, grinning. “Proceed with the preparations.”

Cabala led Fluffy, Amber, Purdey, Tabitha, and Emerald into the chamber and helped them suspend two bags of liquid from blackened hooks on either side of the chimney. A pair of long, narrow hoses extended from each bag.

“Now for the two of you,” Doctor Cassandra said happily.

Amber and Emerald each stepped to Robin and Batgirl respectively and swabbed both sides of each of their necks with alcohol. Stepping back, Amber enabled Fluffy to retrieve a hose trailing from each suspended bag and insert needles extending from each hose into both sides of Robin’s neck. Meanwhile, Tabitha did the same to Batgirl.

“Well done, my dears,” Doctor Cassandra complimented. “Batgirl and Robin, before we leave you, I’ll have those chemicals introduced into your bloodstreams. In turn, they will be distributed throughout your bodies slowly, until you’re thoroughly saturated. Shortly thereafter, the easily compounded elixir of blood and my co-mingled chemicals will achieve the proper proportions, I’m confident you’ll find the resultant chemical reaction both lengthy and utterly excruciating, before it ultimately proves lethal.”

“Your death plot is utterly demonic!” Robin declared.

“Oh, there’s more,” Cabala added, grinning wolfishly at Batgirl. “Your lingering pain will induce screams that, while they last, will echo nicely in this tunnel system.”

“You need a pretty sick mind to devise such a diabolical torture,” Batgirl declared.

Doctor Cassandra continued her explanation. “The torturous side effects of the chemical reaction are a mere bonus. As you know, chemical reactions neither create nor destroy anything, but transform their reactants. Byproducts of such reactions, like heat, may also act upon their immediate environments. The reaction the fluids I’ll introduced into your bodies will, naturally, be no exception.”

“You make it sound so scientific, Docky Baby,” Cabala complimented.

“Your time at the University has transformed your vocabulary and mode of speech, Doctor Cassandra,” Batgirl said. “If your were to give up crime and really pursue higher education–”

“I think you’ll find I was meant to pursue both the family business and crime.”

“You’ll never get away with murdering us!” Robin warned.

“If I may continue,” Doctor Cassandra petulantly said, “the heat my chemical reaction will produce inside each of you will quickly consume everything in its immediate vicinity. I’m sure you realize, Batgirl and Robin, the only flammable items close enough to the chemical reaction to be consumed will be . . . both of you.” The Doctor, Cabala, and her henchwomen laughed.

“So, the chemical reaction we’re planning will cause a double shot of spontaneous superhero combustion?” Cabala enthusiastically queried once his laughter subsided.

“You got it, love,” the demonic doctor said, grinning wickedly.

“Your plan is so groovy!”

“It’s time for the finishing touch, Purdey,” Doctor Cassandra announced. “I’m sure Robin and Batgirl will find the results quite incendiary.”

“Holy Human Marshmallows!” Robin exclaimed. “We’ll be roasted alive!”

“Precisely,” the black-haired henchwoman confirmed, reaching for the release valve at the base of each bag and grinning as she set the fluids flowing along the hoses.

The henchwomen grinned at their leader’s handiwork as she stepped back. “Goodbye,” they said in unison before each favored their victims with a curtsey before turning and passing through the blackedned, chain curtain, thus leaving the furnace.

“Don’t do this, Doctor Cassandra!” Batgirl urged. “You’re throwing away a potentially promising future!”

“The deed has been done, Batgirl,” Doctor Cassandra replied. “You’re future is about to go up in smoke . . . literally.” She pointed at the chimney and stepped back. “Cabala, the girls, and I will retire to a more comfortable, as well as safe, vantage point from which to view the evidence of your destruction. Farewell to you both.”

“Too bad it’s over, Batgirl,” Cabala said wistfully, drinking in the sight of the doomed damsel one last time, “but at least you’re going to get a lot hotter before the very end.”

“Let’s go!” his wife commanded, elbowing him in the side and leading the way from death chamber.

Robin and Batgirl could only stare at each other with horror etched on their faces as the blackened, chain curtain closed behind the villains. Moments later, they were enveloped in darkness and silence as a dark cloud passed over the moon.

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