To Put an End to Piracy and Plunder

Suspended twenty-five feet above man-eating piranha, the only asset our heroine could employ was her mind. The twenty by ten foot soundproof room she was in had no windows or skylights, so no one would be able to see or hear her. Evidently, the artificial lights set in the ceiling were sufficient to sustain the jungle plants.

The Bat-Laser in her Bat-Compact would easily have cut through her restraints, however, in her current position, she doubted she could reach it. In addition, even if she managed to get free, she would still have to land on the mere six inches of flooring surrounding the pool.

Although her descent was agonisingly slow and added a psychological element to the trap, at the same time it gave her an opportunity to escape. That was Amazonia’s mistake. It was now up to Batgirl to find a way out. She was roughly fifteen feet above the pool when the feeling began returning to her muscles.

She attempted to flex her limbs to accelerate her recovery. At first, her muscles felt like they were encased in concrete, but eventually, movement became progressively easier. Moving caused the cables holding her body to swing, which gave her an idea. If she was able to swing far enough, she might be able to use the jungle vines covering the walls to pull herself to safety.

She estimated she was twelve feet above the water by the time the curare had worn off sufficiently for her to begin implementing her plan. Contracting her stomach and leg muscles generated momentum, swinging her backwards. On the forward arc, she relaxed and stretched out to enhance her motion in that direction. She began to get closer to her target. After a couple of minutes, she had swung far enough to try to grab a vine.

Batgirl managed to grab a vine on her first attempt, however, it simply was not strong enough to hold her. Several more vines met with a similar fate. ‘This is going to be much harder than I thought!’ she concluded.

She slowed her swinging to reduce the amount of force the vines would need to absorb. She then noticed she was facing the door, which was kept free of vines for obvious reasons. Now, with only eight feet to go, she realised she only had another eighteen inches before there would be nothing left for her to catch!

More vines pulled free, each of them further slowing her momentum. The thickest vine she could see was in line with her face, five inches from either of her hands.

She grabbed onto other vines on either side of the thick one and pulled herself towards the wall. When she felt them starting to break, she bit down on the thickest vine!

The vines in her hands pulled free from the wall and she felt the one she had in her mouth stretch as her swing reversed. Her jaw strained from the force, but, to her great relief, the vine held. She was barely two inches above the top of the door.

Grabbing a hold of some more vines, she pulled her body to the wall and waited. The cables continued to play out as she clung to the vines. When the cables reached the floor, Batgirl easily climbed safely down.

The heroine’s hidden lock-picks made short work of the manacles. She opened the door and stepped out into the late morning, early summer sunshine.

Batgirl resumed the pursuit of her newest foe. She cautiously made her way back towards the office where she had found Amazonia and her WEEPers.

The office was empty and a quick check revealed that there was no one else in the warehouse. On the office wall, she spied a photograph of a large, luxurious yacht, which looked like the one Amazonia had used to attack the Mariner. She couldn’t see the name of the vessel, but decided to take the photo to run through the police database.

At Police Headquarters, Batgirl gave the photo to a data specialist. While waiting for the computer to complete the search, the heroine paid a visit to Minister Brownlee. Batgirl filled New Zealand’s top law enforcement officer in on what had happened since they last spoke.

Brownlee listened with wide-eyed fascination to the details of Batgirl’s adventure. When the American finished her story, the Minister said, “I’ll send a team of officers to that warehouse to take care of those piranha.”

“Have you ever heard of Amazonia before?” Batgirl inquired.

“I’m afraid not, Batgirl. Did you get a good look at her?” Batgirl nodded. “Perhaps you could work with a police sketch artist? Then my officers will at least know what she looks like,” Brownlee suggested.

“Good idea,” Batgirl replied. “I’ll do that while the computer is completing the search.”

Batgirl paused, a thoughtful look on her face. Then she continued, “Something Amazonia said leads me to believe she is working with someone else. She said I would not interfere with our plans.”

“Couldn’t she just have been referring to her WEEPers?”

“I don’t think so, Minister. Arch-criminals all tend to have huge superiority complexes. They don’t regard their subordinates as equals and rarely give them any credit.”

“Another arch-criminal!! May heaven protect us if you’re right!”

Looking out the window, Batgirl spied a very peculiar-looking building. It was dome shaped with a wide base and progressively narrowed towards the top. It also had rings running around the outside of the structure. Each ring appeared to be a different level of the building.

"Minister," Batgirl inquired tentatively, "what is that most unusual building over there?"

"That is our parliament building, known as 'The Beehive,' because it resembles a giant beehive. It houses our politicians while they go about their business as lawmakers."

"Interesting architecture," Batgirl said, filing the information away in her mind for future reference. Well, I’d better get back to Amzonia. “Where is your sketch artist?”

“I’ll have him meet you in that office you used yesterday.”

After a fairly good likeness of the young, blonde woman had been created, the data specialist brought in the results of the computer search. The yacht’s name was the Ocean’s Wrath, currently moored at Pier 28, New Rio Marina. After a quick look at her map, Batgirl was about to set off in search of her quarry, when Minister Brownlee appeared in the doorway.

“Did the computer turn up anything?” she asked.

“We have an address where the ship is usually berthed,” Batgirl answered.

“I’ll send a team there right away!” Brownlee declared, turning.

“Just a moment, Minister,” Batgirl interrupted. Brownlee turned back. “When dealing with an arch-criminal, it’s usually better for one person to go in alone first, rather than an entire squad.”

“And why is that?” the Minister wanted to know.

“First, the ship may not be there just now. Your officers could scare her off, especially if she has a hidden lookout. Second, arch-criminals often have either a plan in place to repel a frontal assault, a secret escape route or a hostage. Third, we need to find out if Amazonia truly has an accomplice.”

“I don’t know . . .” The government official was skeptical.

“Finally,” Batgirl pointed out with a smile, “you did ask me to come down here for my expertise.”

The Caped Crimefightress’ arguments carried the day. “Alright, Batgirl, we’ll play it your way . . . but, please, do be careful . . . and let me know what you find out as soon as possible.”

“I will, Minister. Thank you.”

Riding her Batgirlcycle through the rougher part of Wellington, the heroine arrived just as the sun was setting. She hid her vehicle and made her way towards Pier 28.

A single WEEPer was standing guard. Batgirl easily avoided her as she reached the rear mooring rope and used it to pull herself aboard the luxurious yacht. Hearing voices from below decks, Batgirl silently descended the stairs and stopped just outside an open door.

“The cops were all over the place,” she heard a WEEPer report.

“That can only mean . . . one thing,” Amazonia concluded. She spoke in short bursts of words, as if she were exercising. “Somehow . . . Batgirl has escaped her fate. No doubt . . . if she’s as good as they say . . . she’ll eventually find us again.”

“Actually, Amazonia, I’m better than they say!” Batgirl announced, stepping into the room. The room was a state-of-the-art gymnasium, which Amazonia and four WEEPers were using.

“Ah, Batgirl! What an unpleasant surprise,” Amazonia responded, sitting up from her weight station. “Luckily, we’ve just completed our warm-up. Your presence provides us with an alternative to our usual workout. Get her!!”

Batgirl launched a chorus-line kick as her opponents moved into position, felling the front WEEPer. Two of the remaining WEEPers charged into her, knocking her from her feet. They then grabbed her legs and arms, motioning for their comrade to deliver some punishment. The fourth WEEPer began punching Batgirl’s torso.

A head butt momentarily stunned the crook holding Batgirl’s arms, causing her to release her hold. The Caped Cutie promptly struck the fourth WEEPer in the groin, causing the woman to double over in pain.

Batgirl then grabbed her two moaning foes by the hair and violently brought their heads together. An audible crack signalled their part in the fight over. The WEEPer holding her feet stood up, still with Batgirl’s boots in hand, and began kicking the dangling detective’s unprotected back.

Batgirl realized she had to do something fast before she was kicked into submission. Planting her hands on the floor, she pushed her torso up. She then released one hand, which she used to sweep an incoming kick aside. As the WEEPer lost balance, Batgirl again placed both hands on the floor and pulled her feet inwards, before shooting them back into her enemy’s jaw.

As the last WEEPer collapsed, Batgirl turned her attention to Amazonia. “It’s over, Amazonia,” she declared. “I’m taking you in.”

“Not so fast, Batgirl!” the glamazon ganster gal retorted. “You may have beaten my underlings, but you’ll soon discover I’m more than a match for you!” Batgirl noticed that Amazonia moved with the grace and balance of a martial arts expert.

“Others have expressed similar opinions…They were all found wanting.”

“Well, I guess we’ll find out soon enough who measures up!”

The women started circling each other, looking for an opening. Amazonia made the first move, feinting a kick to her left before striking with a series of blows. Batgirl didn’t fall for the deception and blocked each thrust. Dropping under the villainess’ guard, Batgirl swept Amazonia off her feet. The beautiful Brazillian absorbed the fall on her arms and kipped up again instantaneously.

“You’ll have to do better than that,” she said as she launched a kick at Batgirl’s rib cage.

The Purple Paragon managed to move just enough to lessen the impact of the kick. She rolled over backwards and came up in a fighting stance. Amazonia was annoyed that the kick did not cause more damage.

As Amazonia moved in again, she managed to land a blow on the crimefighter’s midsection. The angry arch-criminal, however, had left herself exposed. Batgirl grunted, but managed to rotate 360 degrees and land a solid back fist on the criminal’s cranium. Amazonia stumbled backwards, clutching her head until the gymnasium wall stopped her progress.

“No more,” she said. “You’re obviously the better woman in a fair fight.”

“I’ll stop,” said Batgirl, sinking into her hands-on-hips pose, “as long as you surrender.”

“Oh, I’m not surrendering,” the curvaceous criminal replied. “I’m just not going to fight fair anymore!” Amazonia pushed a button on the side of the wall and grabbed onto the ballet railing. The floor underneath Batgirl suddenly tilted sharply, pitching her off-balance towards a smiling Amazonia.

From out of her grey athletic bra, Amazonia produced a short, metal cylinder. A flick of the wrist telescoped it into a staff.

There was nothing Batgirl could do to defend herself as a vicious swing of the weapon connected with her jaw. The impact left Batgirl severely dazed, lights flashing before her eyes. As the floor returned itself to a horizontal position, she toppled over.

At the same time, two WEEPers returned to their feet. As Batgirl tried to get up, Amazonia grabbed her by the utility belt and cowl and threw her face-first onto a leg-curl machine. “Hold her down!” the villainess instructed. Still stunned, Batgirl struggled vainly.

Picking up some jump ropes, Amazonia proceeded to tie Batgirl’s legs and arms to the metal frame of the machine. “I warned you not to interfere. This time, there will be no escape.”

”My death won’t solve anything,” Batgirl remarked, shaking her head in an attempt to clear it. “If I die, others will come to bring you to justice.”

“And they will meet the same fate as you!” Amazonia snarled. Batgirl watched as, from out of a medicine cabinet in the wall, Amazonia grabbed a smoky, brown bottle labelled ‘chloroform.’ The young arch-fiend began pouring it onto a gym towel.

With a smile, Amazonia walked over to the bound heroine and pressed the towel over Batgirl’s nose and mouth. Instinctively, Batgirl held her breath, trying to find a way out. Bound to the leg curl machine, however, her attempt was doomed to fail. Eventually, the fumes found their way into her lungs. Her struggles lessened and soon her eyes glazed over into unconsciousness.

Amazonia watched Batgirl collapse, a satisfied look upon her face. “Nice work, boss,” one of the WEEPers complimented.

Grabbing a Dynaband, Amazonia secured the chloroformed towel over Batgirl’s nose and mouth. “That should keep you nice and quiet until I’m ready to dispose of you,” she said to her blacked-out prey.

When Batgirl awoke, the first thing she noticed was that she was chest-deep in water. Her arms and wrists had been lashed to the sides of her body. Her legs were bound at the knees and ankles by jungle vines. On top of that, she had been gagged and jungle vines had been wound around both the wooden column behind her and her body from head to toe. Her eyes and nose were the only parts of her not enveloped with the thick vines. Barely able to turn her head, she saw many more identical wooden columns reaching up to what she realised was a wharf.

Heavy cargo netting covered everywhere on the wharf, except where she was bound. Craning her neck, she could see that particular section of the cargo netting had been secured above her head. Dawn was breaking and the Ocean’s Wrath was just ten feet in front of her. A couple of wetsuited WEEPers noticed her regaining consciousness and swam back to the Ocean’s Wrath, while two more kept watch.

Shortly afterwards, their leader appeared, sitting on the deck, wearing a sexy red singlet and matching bikini. “I’ve warned you, several times, not to interfere,” she lectured.

‘Yes, you are quite gabby,’ Batgirl thought.

“You are probably quite proud that you saved the Mariner. You did not. You merely postponed the inevitable. In fact, I have arranged it so your demise will coincide with the end of that evil vessel.

“In just over one and a half hours, the Mariner will dock in this very spot. After it has been moored, the waves will soon bring its hull into contact with the wharf . . . and with you! Once it contacts the explosives I have attached to your belt, it’s Bye-bye Batgirl.

“Of course, it’s hard to predict whether it will crush you against the wharf before it triggers the explosive. Either way, you won’t be around any more to thwart our plans. As you perish, so will the Mariner.

“Lower the net,” she instructed the WEEPers. Reaching up above Batgirl’s head, the two WEEPers covered the crimefighter’s curvaceous body in camouflage and lowered the cargo netting over the top of that. “We wouldn’t want anyone to see your bright, purple costume and come to your rescue, would we?” Amazonia mocked.

Her cellphone rang. “Yes, don’t worry. I’ve just made sure she won’t be troubling us anymore.” Hanging up, she returned her attention to the matter at hand.

“Activate the explosives, then get back to the ship,” she said, smiling gleefully at her captive. The WEEPers followed their leader’s instructions.

Once they had all boarded the Ocean’s Wrath, it began sailing away. “Goodbye and good riddance, Batgirl!” Amazonia called. She then vanished below decks.

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