Prisoner of the Penguin!

by Scott Sonneborn

  “Well, here’s the first thing,” said the guard, as he shoved Bruce again. “Go inside the storeroom and get more oatmeal!”

  Bruce did as he was told and went to the storeroom. Once inside, he quickly shut the door behind him. He rushed past the oatmeal to a giant vat of powdered eggs. It was as big as a mailbox.

  A day earlier, Bruce had purchased the subcontractor that supplied the prison’s food. Once he owned that company, he was easily able to hide his equipment in one of their daily deliveries.

  The secret compartment in the container of powdered eggs only had enough space to hold his costume and the spare Batmobile remote. His Utility Belt was hidden in a nearby container of dried beans.

  The night Batman had first met the Warden outside the prison, the Warden had told him that the first punishment prisoners were given was kitchen duty.

  “Looks like getting in trouble on the yard worked,” Bruce said to himself.

  Bruce quickly concealed his Batman costume and the Batmobile’s remote control beneath his prison uniform. Then he raced over to the metal vat of beans. He was about to reach inside, when . . .

  WHAM!

  The storeroom door slammed open and a hulking inmate marched in.

  “Boss wants to see you,” the thug snarled.

  “Why would the Warden want to see me now?” asked Bruce. He shifted his uniform to make sure his costume and the Batmobile remote couldn’t be seen underneath it. “The Warden just sent me here.”

  “No,” snarled the inmate. “Not the Warden. I said the boss wants to see you. You don’t know anything, do you?”

  Bruce hesitated. The thug wasn’t bright, but he couldn’t think of a reason to stall.

  “C’mon, you better get moving!” the inmate ordered, cracking his knuckles.

  Behind the inmate, the door to the kitchen was open. Bruce saw a dozen more prisoners hard at work there.

  If I dig out my bean-covered weapons right now, Bruce thought grimly, those prisoners are sure to see me and find out that I’m Batman. I have to wait for the right moment.

  The big inmate was getting more and more impatient. “C’mon!” he growled.

  Bruce had no choice.

  Bruce shrugged and followed the inmate, leaving his weapons and tools hidden in the bean vat.

  The hulking inmate led Bruce through the cellblock. They passed row after row of prison cells, most of which were occupied by inmates.

  Then they climbed the metal steps up to the second level. Most of these cells were empty, though.

  They walked past more empty cells until they came to the last one. This cell was not empty, and it was different from all the rest.

  The inmate pushed Bruce toward the cell from behind. “Move,” he said.

  Bruce shrugged. “I guess when you’re a prisoner, you have to get used to taking orders from the Warden,” he said.

  The Penguin took a sip of the ice-cold drink in his hand. “Yes,” he said. “You would think that, wouldn’t you?”

  The Penguin waddled to his feet. “I didn’t invite you here to talk about the Warden, though,” he continued. “At least, not exactly. I’ve gotten to know all of the other prisoners very well since I’ve been here. But you are brand new. I have to decide if I can trust you.”

  He leaned in close to Bruce. “Because,” the Penguin whispered, “I’m planning something big. Something very big.”

  “And what is that?” Bruce whispered. He couldn’t believe his luck. This was exactly what he had come to the prison to find out!

  The Penguin didn’t answer. Instead, he shook his head. “I’ve already gone out on a limb telling you as much as I have,” said the villain. “So first, you tell me. Can I trust you?”

  Bruce was one of the smartest people in Gotham City. He knew he had to choose his words carefully.

  Bruce nodded. “Of course,” he said. “I didn’t find success in business by breaking my promises.”

  Bruce knew that his word wouldn’t be enough to gain the villain’s trust. Sure enough, the Penguin shook his head again.

  “Maybe you’re telling the truth,” the Penguin said. “Or maybe you’d tell the Warden everything I just told you. Only one way to know for sure.”

  The Penguin snapped his fingers.

  “Yes, sir?” someone called.

  Bruce turned to see the Warden enter the cell!

  “You called, Mr. Cobblepot?” said the Warden. “Anything I can do for you, sir?”

  “Yes,” replied the Penguin. “You can listen to Mr. Wayne here. I think he has something he wants to tell you about my plans.”

  “Go right ahead, Mr. Wayne,” the Warden said pleasantly. “If Mr. Cobblepot wants me to listen to you, I am more than happy to. He is the boss after all!”

  CHAPTER 4

  THE PENGUIN’S PLAN!

  Suddenly, Bruce understood. It all made sense. “You own this prison, don’t you?” he said to the Penguin. “The Warden, the guards — they all work for you!”

  The Penguin smiled. “Not just them,” he said. “The inmates serve me as well. I’ve been training them, you see. I’ve turned them into a criminal army!”

  “Why would you tell me all this?” Bruce asked.

  “Because I have to be sure I can trust you, Wayne,” replied the Penguin.

  The Penguin walked around Bruce in a circle, as if observing him like a bird in a cage. “Tonight, I am going to unleash the criminal army I’ve been training on Gotham City,” The Penguin said. “Batman has always been able to stop one or two of my men, but even the Dark Knight won’t be able to stop an entire army of well-trained thugs!”

  The Penguin stopped circling and stuck his beak right in Bruce’s face. “See, these men have been trained to act like soldiers and obey my every command,” the Penguin gloated. “Success depends upon their obedience. So you can see why I just have to know if the newest inmate in this prison would willingly go along with my plan.”

  Bruce nodded. “I won’t interfere,” he said. “I want to get out of this dump just as much as you do.”

  The Penguin frowned.

  “I’d like to believe you, Mr. Wayne,” the Penguin said. “I really would. Your assets would be a lot of help in the latter stages of plan to take over Gotham City. Unfortunately, I just can’t risk trusting you.”

  “So what should we do with him, sir?” asked the Warden.

  “This prison has rules,” replied the Penguin. “Follow them. This prisoner has already been given kitchen duty. What is the next punishment he should receive?”

  The Warden sneered. He gestured to his guards. “Send him to the hole!” he ordered.

  * * *

  The hole was what everyone in the prison called solitary confinement. It was a tiny cell just big enough to hold one prisoner. There were no windows or even bars. Just rough concrete walls and a solid steel door.

  Bruce sat alone in the dark. He couldn’t see out, and no light came into his cell.

  However, there was one good thing about the darkness: no one could see Bruce in here!

  Bruce slipped out of his prison uniform into his Batman costume that had been hidden under his uniform along with the Batmobile remote control.

  That was all he had, though. His crime-fighting weapons and Utility Belt were still hidden in the vat of beans in the kitchen storeroom.

  If he had even one of his explosive Batarangs, he could have easily blasted his way through the cell door. His laser torch would have cut through the concrete walls like butter. But he had neither of those things.

  What he did have, though, was the spare Batmobile remote. But what good is that? Batman thought.

  * * *

  Inside the prison’s front hall, the Penguin stood in front of his troops.

  Before him were all the prison’s guards and inmates. Each of the guards
served as a sergeant, with a platoon of inmates standing at attention behind him. They looked every inch a trained army.

  “All your training is about to pay off,” the Penguin told his army. “And I do mean pay! Under my leadership and that of my second-in-command, the Warden, this criminal army will ransack Gotham City and steal every valuable item the city has to offer!”

  The inmates all saluted. “Yes, sir!” they shouted in unison.

  “You have been well trained,” said the Penguin. “As long as you follow my orders, you will not fail. Instead, you will prosper. Each of you will be rich beyond your wildest dreams!”

  As the men cheered him, the Penguin waddled toward the button that opened the massive front gate. “Gotham City will be ours for the taking!”

  That was all the Penguin managed to say as the Batmobile zoomed toward him. He jumped aside as the Batmobile slammed against the prison gate’s control panel, shattering it.

  WHA-THUNK!

  The massive gate slammed shut, trapping the Penguin and his army of criminals inside the prison! The Batmobile raced deeper into the prison.

  The Penguin leapt to his feet and turned to face his criminal army. “Squad A, stop Batman!” he ordered. “The rest of you men, stay here! We have to get this gate open!”

  “Yes, sir!” shouted the prisoners and the guards.

  The inmates in Squad A were only too happy to chase down the Batmobile. After all, Batman was the reason most of them had been locked up in the first place. They saw it as their best and only chance for revenge.

  But meanwhile, in his dark cell in solitary confinement, Batman sat still. His fingers were the only things that moved. They tapped on the Batmobile’s remote control as he used it to drive the Batmobile through the prison!

  He was thankful for the darkness because he had to completely focus in order to remember every detail of the prison’s floor plan he had seen on the Batcomputer. While Batman was smarter than almost anyone else in Gotham City, this task was pushing his brain to the limit. He had to remember every hallway and corner in the prison’s floor plan. At the same time, he had to calculate the Batmobile’s exact speed to know when to turn.

  If he failed, then the Batmobile would never reach his cell!

  SCREEEEEEEEEEEE!

  Batman heard the Batmobile squeal down the halls and through the cell halls. It turned sharply.

  Batman was surrounded.

  One of the many thugs pointed at him. “Get him!” he yelled. “Don’t let him get away.”

  CHAPTER 5

  PRISON BREAK!

  The squad of criminals circled Batman. Their nostrils flared with anger. Their fists were clenched and held up near their chins.

  The Dark Knight braced himself as the forty inmates of Squad A charged at him.

  WHAM!

  Batman knocked out the guard leading them. But the prisoners kept coming.

  Batman fought them two, three, or four at a time. He twisted and dodged and kicked and punched. But for every one he knocked down, two more lunged at him.

  There were just too many. Batman pushed a button on the Batmobile’s remote. Nothing happened. The Batmobile was wrecked. Neither it nor the remote control worked.

  As the prisoners surrounded him, Batman looked around desperately for something he could use against them. Unfortunately, prisons usually take special care not to leave anything lying around that can be used as a weapon. This prison was no different. All Batman had were his fists and his feet.

  And his head!

  BAM!

  Batman head-butted the prisoner charging at him. Even as he did, Batman was using his head in a second way. He was strategizing, calculating his next move.

  He had to get to the front gate. As many prisoners as there were here, ten times more were waiting to get out and run wild through Gotham City.

  Unfortunately, there were still thirty prisoners from Squad A blocking his way. So Batman ran in the other direction. As the criminals of Squad A chased him, Batman ran farther and farther away from the front gate.

  The prisoners chased him into the kitchen, which was exactly where Batman wanted to go!

  BAMP!

  SSCHLUNK!

  Batman opened the lid. The strong smell of refried beans escaped the giant vat. Batman ignored it as he reached down through the beans.

  CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!

  He punched in a secret code that opened the vat’s false bottom.

  SSCHLUNK!

  Inside was his Utility Belt with all his crime-fighting gear and weapons. Now he had what he needed.

  The prisoners of Squad A rushed in through the kitchen doors. Batman threw a Batarang and shielded his eyes.

  BA-BANG!

  The flash of light was blinding. “Argh!” cried the prisoners, covering their eyes.

  Batman knew they’d regain their eyesight in a few seconds. That was all the time he needed.

  The Dark Knight quickly took another Batarang out from his Utility Belt and threw it over the thugs.

  WOOOOOOOSH!

  The Dark Knight raced past them and wrapped the cord around them once, then tied it to the door of the storeroom. Then he ran through the kitchen and into the giant hall that held all the cells.

  There he found the Penguin and the Warden waiting for him. Behind them was the rest of the Penguin’s criminal army of prisoners and guards!

  “I don’t know what you think you’re doing here, Batman!” screeched the Penguin. Then he sniffed the air. “Or why you smell like refried beans! But neither matters! You think you’re so clever, don’t you? You smashed the gate controls with Batmobile!”

  Batman nodded. “The police are on their way,” he said. “And you aren’t going anywhere.”

  “But when the police arrive,” snarled the Penguin, “they’ll find you destroyed! You don’t stand a chance against an army! You’re just one man.”

  “Not one man,” growled the Dark Knight. “One Batman.” Then he rushed at the Penguin’s army!

  “Attack!” the Penguin ordered his men.

  The Penguin commanded the guards and prisoners like a general commanding an army. He ordered two squads to charge Batman from the left. Two more were told to attack from the right.

  It appeared that Batman was going to be crushed . . . until he grabbed a Smoke Batarang from his Utility Belt and tossed it.

  TSSSSSSSS!

  Smoke spat out of the Batarang as it flew over the Penguin’s head.

  WHISH-WHISH-WHISH!

  The smoke set off the sprinklers, causing foamy water to rain down from the sprinklers in the ceiling. The water instantly made the floor a slippery mess.

  SLUPP! SLIP!

  THUMP!

  The inmates rushing at Batman slipped and fell on the slick floor. A few tried to get back up, only to tumble back to the ground.

  While the prisoners’ shoes were standard issue and thin soled, Batman’s boots were thick soled and had deep grooves on the bottoms. They enabled him to run across the slimy surface without worrying about slipping.

  All the smoke made it hard for the Penguin to see where Batman was, which made it impossible to direct his troops where to attack. Since the criminals had been trained to obey the Penguin’s orders, they just waited for him to tell them what to do.

  “Squad D,” the Penguin began. Then he stopped. He asked the Warden, who was standing next to him. The Warden shrugged.

  SCHWING!

  Without the Penguin to give them orders, the prisoners and guards looked confused.

  “What do we do?!” one asked.

  Batman used the moment of confusion to charge at the criminals. Two stood up to him, but Batman knocked them down with a kick.

  OOOMPH!

  The inmates fell backward, knocking several others against some nearby cell bars.

  CLANG!r />
  Batman already had an Electric Batarang in his hand. He threw it hard.

  Z-Z-Z-Z-ZAP!

  It hit the cell bars and released an electrical jolt that flowed through the metal and electrocuted the prisoners. They fell to the floor, unconscious. The rest of the prisoners and guards fled in a confused panic.

  The battle was over.

  * * *

  A short time later, Commissioner Gordon and his police force arrived at the prison.

  CRASH!

  It took them a while, but eventually they broke through the thick front gate.

  Once inside, they found Batman and the Batmobile gone. Everyone else was locked up in the cells, including the Penguin, the Warden, and all the guards.

  As well as Bruce Wayne!

  Just then, the Commissioner got a call on his cell phone.

  “Hello?” the Commissioner answered.

  “This is Batman!” growled the Dark Knight over the phone. Gordon didn’t know, but Bruce had pre-recorded the call from the Batmobile after he had hidden it and his costume outside the prison.

  “Bruce Wayne is innocent,” the Commissioner heard Batman say. “He was working with me in secret. I needed someone inside the prison to find out the truth about what was going on.”

  Gordon frowned. “But why Bruce Wayne?” he asked.

  “Mr. Wayne discovered that the Penguin owned this prison and was using it to train an army of criminals,” Batman said. “He was in a unique position to be taken seriously if he were thrown in jail. He volunteered to get inside and stop the Penguin before his army could get out.”