Batman and the Villainous Voyage

by Scott Sonneborn

  CHAPTER 1

  ALL ABOARD!

  CHAPTER 2

  THE POISON PLOT

  CHAPTER 3

  ON ICE

  CHAPTER 4

  COLD HEARTS

  CHAPTER 5

  SHATTERED PLANS

  Poison Ivy

  Mr. Freeze

  Biographies

  Glossary

  Discussion Questions

  Writing Prompts

  Copyright

  Back Cover

  WHILE STILL A BOY, BRUCE WAYNE WITNESSED THE BRUTAL MURDER OF HIS PARENTS. THE TRAGIC EVENT CHANGED THE YOUNG BILLIONAIRE FOREVER. BRUCE VOWED TO RID GOTHAM CITY OF EVIL AND KEEP ITS PEOPLE SAFE FROM CRIME. AFTER YEARS OF TRAINING HIS BODY AND MIND, HE DONNED A NEW UNIFORM AND A NEW IDENTITY.

  CHAPTER 1

  ALL ABOARD!

  VRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

  The Batmobile roared through the last moments of the night. As the sun rose over Gotham City, Batman drove through the secret entrance of the Batcave and came to a screeching stop.

  Batman took off his mask, revealing the weary face of Bruce Wayne underneath. Bruce was exhausted after a long night of fighting crime. All he wanted was to drag himself into bed for a full day of sleep.

  So, Bruce was very disappointed to find himself, thirty minutes later, in the back of a limousine. His loyal butler, Alfred Pennyworth, was at the wheel.

  “I don’t know how you talked me into doing this,” complained Bruce. He looked down at the flowery Hawaiian shirt, shorts, and flip-flops he was wearing. “And why did you insist I wear these ridiculous clothes?”

  “You are wearing the proper costume for the circumstances,” replied the butler. “If it were the middle of the night and you were about to face the Joker, then I would have laid out the Batsuit for you.”

  Alfred turned the steering wheel and pulled the limo into a parking space at the Gotham City Docks.

  “Right now, however, it is daytime,” Alfred continued, “and we are about to board a cruise ship.”

  Bruce rubbed the corners of his eyes with his fingers. “Explain to me again why I’m going on this charity cruise,” he asked.

  “The fifty richest people in Gotham are going to be aboard this ship,” the butler replied. “If Bruce Wayne doesn’t do the things a typical billionaire does, people might start asking questions. The kind of questions someone who has a secret Batcave under his house doesn’t need.”

  Bruce sighed. He knew Alfred was right.

  When it came to being Batman, Bruce always knew what to do. But when it came to being billionaire Bruce Wayne, he would have been lost without Alfred’s guidance.

  Bruce also knew the cruise was raising money for a charity. Just as important, the ship would only be at sea for the day. Bruce would be back at Gotham Harbor by nightfall, just in time for him to go to work — as Batman.

  The only thing he was going to miss was a good day’s sleep.

  As he walked up the gangplank to the ship, Bruce saw that the outside of the hull was a smoothly polished white. The captain was there, pointing out the vines that decorated the boat’s banisters and railings. “That’s a depiction of the endangered plant that this charity cruise is trying to save,” he explained.

  Alfred led Bruce up the gangplank, wheeling the four huge suitcases he had packed for his employer.

  Stacked on top of each other, the suitcases reached the butler’s neck.

  “Here, let me help you,” said Bruce as he grabbed two of the bags. “Do I even need all this? We’re only going to be gone for a few hours.”

  “Good packing is the secret to any successful trip, no matter how long it lasts,” replied Alfred. He pointed to the other passengers. Each of them had half a dozen suitcases and trunks as well. Some of them had many more than that.

  “If a billionaire had arrived without several changes of clothes,” said Alfred, “they would have stuck out like a sore thumb.”

  When everyone was onboard, the ship pulled out of Gotham Harbor.

  As the ship cut quietly through the waves, the passengers lounged on deckchairs by the pool or in the shade of the nearby lifeboats. Everyone was enjoying themselves by eating hors d’oeuvres, drinking champagne, and chatting.

  Everyone except Bruce.

  Most people would feel miserable if they were out in the middle of a cold and windy Gotham City night. That’s where Bruce felt most at home, stalking from shadow to shadow in pursuit of his prey. Now, sitting in the sun in his Hawaiian shirt and flip-flops, Bruce felt completely out of his element.

  “Oh, wipe that sour look off your face, Brucie!” squealed Dolores Fitzpatrick. She plopped down in the lounge chair next to Bruce.

  “This is fabulous!” Dolores continued. She snapped her fingers impatiently in the air. “At least, it would be if I could get any service around here. Waiter? WAITER!”

  Mrs. Fitzpatrick was one of the richest women in Gotham. She was also one of the largest. Some people said that her mouth was pretty big, too. Judging by the volume of her scream, Bruce had to say she was living up to expectations thus far.

  “Over here! Chop-chop!” she shouted at a nearby crewmember. “Can’t you see this giant flower thingy is blocking my sun!”

  Mrs. Fitzpatrick was pointing at the enormous display of flowers and vines in the middle of the deck. It looked like a statue of a beautiful woman, but it was crafted entirely out of the vines and flowers.

  The plant statue cast a large shadow over the deck of the boat. A tiny part of which fell over Mrs. Fitzpatrick’s little toe.

  “I’m very sorry, Mrs. Fitzpatrick,” a tall crewmember said politely. “I’ll have it moved right away!”

  The man signaled to the rest of the crewmembers to help him move the enormous display of flowers and vines. It looked to Bruce that it was just as heavy as it was complex. Even the captain came over to help. As they struggled to move the statue, it shook.

  WOOOOOOOOSH!

  Suddenly, pollen flew out and covered the captain and crew.

  Mrs. Fitzpatrick didn’t seem concerned by all the fuss she was causing.

  “I know there are only a handful of crewmembers working this special charity cruise,” Dolores said to Bruce without looking at him, “but don’t you think they could do a better job? The service is terrible!”

  Bruce thought they were doing a far more than adequate job of serving the impossible Mrs. Fitzpatrick. But before he could answer, a harsh voice called out to all the passengers.

  “All of you get up! Move!” the tall crewmember shouted. “Go to your cabins right now!”

  Bruce was shocked to see the other crewmembers join him in grabbing Mrs. Fitzpatrick and the other passengers and pushing them toward the cabins.

  “Why, of all the nerve!” Mrs. Fitzpatrick shouted. “One does not shove a Fitzpatrick! Especially if one is a servant! I am here to be charitable and expect shoddy service, but this is just too rude!”

  “There, there, now,” cooed a sultry woman’s voice. “Don’t be mad at him. It’s not his fault. He’s just not himself at the moment. In fact, right now, he’s mine!”

  Bruce turned to see who had spoken. He was surprised to see that the voice somehow came from inside the plant statue.

  The statue’s petals and leaves unfolded and fell away. Vines unwound and dropped to the floor. Now Bruce could see that it wasn’t a statue at all. The plants had just been there to cover a woman hidden underneath.

  “Now every person in the crew is under my control,” said the woman. “Thanks to this special pollen.”

  As soon as Bruce saw the woman’s bright red hair, pale green skin, and deadly smile, he knew instantly who it was.

&nb
sp; Poison Ivy.

  CHAPTER 2

  THE POISON PLOT

  “Unfortunately,” Poison Ivy told the shocked and frightened passengers, “I don’t have enough pollen to control all of you, too. But I think my crewmembers can handle that for me.”

  The crewmembers moved to corral the passengers. Bruce grabbed Alfred and ran the other way. Ivy waved a hand. A tangle of vines leaped off a railing and snaked around Bruce and Alfred, holding them in place.

  “Oops,” Ivy said with a smile. “Did I forget to mention that I can command any plant to do what I want? In other words, that means all the vines decorating this ship also work for me.”

  “Oh, I know all about you, Poison Ivy!” Bruce shouted as he struggled against the vines.

  Then Bruce stopped. For a moment, he had almost forgotten he wasn’t in costume. “I’ve read a lot about you in the newspapers,” he finished quickly. “You’re always bad news.”

  Alfred shot Bruce a relieved look. Things were already bad enough. If Poison Ivy discovered that Bruce Wayne was secretly Batman, there’s no telling how much worse the situation might get.

  Ivy smiled at Bruce. “Well isn’t that flattering,” she said. “Gotham’s richest, most eligible bachelor knows my name.” She placed her hand to her forehead and pretended to swoon.

  She dropped her hand, and her smile quickly dropped into a scowl. “But I hate newspapers!” she said. “They cut down beautiful trees to make them. As far as I’m concerned, the world would be a better place without newspapers — or the people who read them!”

  Bruce had much more to say to her, but he averted his eyes and bit his tongue. He had to continue to play the role of the scared billionaire — not the World’s Greatest Detective.

  “But — but this is a charity event,” sputtered Dolores Fitzpatrick.

  “And the proceeds are going toward saving a very rare flower!” Dolores continued. “I thought you were supposed to be some kind of plant lover. Doesn’t this charity help your cause?”

  “Why save just one kind of flower when you can save them all?” replied Ivy. “So many rich people in one place at one time was simply too tempting of a target. Once I ransom each and every one of you, I’ll have all the money I need to protect all the plants in the hemisphere — not just one!”

  Ivy pushed back her red hair with her hand. “Until then,” she said with a coy smile, “you are my hostages.”

  Ivy’s vines dragged Bruce and Alfred away. The mesmerized crewmembers herded the other passengers.

  Ivy’s newfound hostages were led down several decks, then shoved into their respective cabins.

  “If the crewmembers under my control catch someone trying to leave their cabin,” Ivy shouted, “they will go to the next cabin and throw whoever is inside over the edge of the ship. And they will continue throwing people overboard until whoever left their cabin returns. So don’t even try

  to escape!”

  Ivy ordered the crewmembers to lock all the doors and stand guard outside them in the hallway. Then she turned to face the captain. “Now, you and I have some business to discuss,” said Ivy. “Meet me on the bridge.”

  Under her spell, the captain nodded and followed.

  The rest of the hypnotized crew stayed in the hallway. They stood guard like zombie sailors.

  “Can’t get out that way,” Bruce said to himself, inspecting the door. “Not without putting other passengers in danger.”

  Bruce looked around for another way to escape. Besides the door to the hallway, the only other exit led to a small outdoor balcony. Bruce slid the glass door open and stepped out into the cool ocean breeze.

  Bruce looked up. The deck above was a dozen yards away. Between his balcony and that deck, the ship’s slick hull was far too smooth to climb.

  If Alfred had let Bruce take his grapnel gun and the rest of the equipment in his Utility Belt, he could have made the climb.

  However, with only his bare hands and flip-flops, the task would be impossible. The other deck might as well have been a thousand miles away.

  “Ok, I can’t climb up,” Bruce told himself. “So where can I go?”

  To Bruce’s right was a balcony identical to his own. It was only five feet away. No problem for someone who spends his nights jumping from rooftop to rooftop chasing criminals, thought Bruce.

  Bruce leaped. THUMP! He landed on the balcony next door. Then, carefully, he slid open the glass door to the cabin and stepped inside from the balcony.

  “I say!” shouted the occupant of the cabin. “Who do you think you are — oh, it’s you!”

  Bruce smiled. The cabin belonged to Alfred. “How did you know I’d be here, sir?” the butler asked.

  “I had a feeling my butler would have been assigned the cabin next to mine,” Bruce told him.

  “I assume you have a plan to deal with our present . . . situation?” asked Alfred.

  “I’m working on it,” said Bruce. “I need to get up to the bridge. I don’t dare go out through the cabin door and put any of the other passengers at risk. But the hull outside is too slick to climb with my bare hands.”

  Alfred nodded. “I see.”

  “And even if I could get up there,” Bruce added, “I don’t have any of my tools or weapons.”

  “And since Ivy has the whole crew under her spell,” Alfred added, “You’d be unarmed, and outnumbered twenty to one.”

  Bruce plopped down on the bed. “If I just had the Batmobile or my Utility Belt,” he told Alfred, “I’d feel a lot better about our chances.”

  “Unfortunately, sir, it was impossible to pack the Batmobile,” the butler said dryly. “However . . .”

  Alfred touched a hidden button on one of the larger suitcases. The secret compartment opened up to reveal Bruce’s Batman uniform!

  CLICK! CLICK! CLICK! The butler pressed the hidden buttons on the rest of the luggage.

  Each piece of luggage held some of Batman’s crime-fighting tools and weapons.

  “As I always say,” said Alfred, “proper packing is the most important part of any trip.”

  “And like I always say,” replied Bruce, “I don’t know what I’d do without you, Alfred.”

  Alfred nodded. “Neither do I,” he said, handing Bruce his costume.

  Bruce quickly put on his Batman costume and strapped his Utility Belt around his waist. Then he stepped onto the balcony outside of Alfred’s cabin.

  The Dark Knight looked up. The deck above was just as far away as before. But this time, Batman had his Utility Belt — and his grapnel gun!

  Batman aimed the gun and pulled the trigger. THWIP! A cable darted up through the air. CLANK! The hook at the cable’s end slipped around the railing on the deck above. Batman pulled the cable tight and began to climb quickly.

  When he reached the next deck, it was empty. All of the passengers were imprisoned on the deck below. That’s where the whole crew was as well, standing guard as Ivy had commanded. Only the captain had gone with Ivy up to the bridge. The rest of the ship was completely empty.

  As Batman climbed up the hull toward the bridge, he peered into the decks he passed and made note of his surroundings. He saw the cruise liner had a dance club, a bowling alley, and a movie theater.

  When he reached the top, he saw that the ship also had the most high-tech bridge of any cruise ship on the planet. On most ships, the bridge is where the captain pilots the boat. On this ship, the bridge was so technologically advanced that the vessel practically steered itself, which was a good thing — because, like the rest of his crew, the captain was under the spell of Ivy’s mind-controlling pollen. He could do only what Ivy ordered him to do, and Ivy had commanded him to keep all his attention on the ship’s radar.

  The radar didn’t identify any nearby planes or boats within miles. If the Gotham City Police tried to stop Ivy, she’d see them coming. Which, at that moment, is exactly what Ivy was telling Police Commissioner Gordon over the ship’s radio.

  Batman listened to th
e conversation from a railing fifty yards away through the radio receiver in his cowl. The high-tech receiver had been designed to pick up any police transmission. Batman was glad it still worked this far out at sea.

  “Listen to me, Ivy,” Batman heard Commissioner Gordon reply over the radio. “I need to know you won’t hurt anyone onboard!”

  “Oh, I won’t hurt anyone onboard,” said Ivy. “Because I’ll throw everyone overboard! The moment the captain sees anything approaching on the radar, I will make every last one of the passengers walk the plank into the sea where I’ll leave them to drown!”

  Batman grimaced. He knew Ivy well enough to believe her threat.

  Ivy wanted every plant on Earth to be loved and protected, but she couldn’t care less what happened to people.

  “I understand, Ivy,” Commissioner Gordon said over the radio. “We won’t go near the ship. I promise.”

  Batman knew Gordon would keep his word. No help would be coming from the police. Saving everyone onboard was up to the Dark Knight.

  Batman looked up. The bridge was still far above him. PHWISSSH! He fired his grapnel gun.

  KA-THUNK!

  Its hook grabbed hold of a railing. Batman jumped off his perch and swung toward the bridge.

  SQUAWKKKKKKKKKKKK!

  The radio in Batman’s cowl crackled to life. “There’s something on the radar!” shouted the captain. “It wasn’t there a second ago, but now the object is approaching fast!”

  “It’s not us!” replied Commissioner Gordon over the police radio. “I swear to you, it’s not the police!”

  As he swung in midair, a chill went down Batman’s spine. Had the radar spotted him?

  “I don’t believe it!” stammered the captain. “It’s . . .”

  Batman saw it the same moment the captain said it. “It’s an iceberg!” the captain cried.

  And the ship was about to crash right into it!

  Swinging out over the open air, there was nothing Batman could do.

  RUMBLE!

  The front of the ship smashed into the giant hunk of floating ice.