The Ultimate Superheroines Forum

** Just a quick little tale as inspiration strikes**

Batwoman and Flamebird meet the Trickster and Gizmo Girl

Everett Bannister, the 47 year old owner of the Gotham based One Armed Bandit Novelty Company, the largest manufacturer of vending machines and slot machines, was well known for his unyielding work ethic. It was reported that he worked 12 hours a day, 7 days a week in his modest office that was centered in the large factory building in the industrial section of Gotham City. At his side as always was his loyal secretary, Ms. Christie Honeypenny, the twenty something lovely that presided over the office while Mr. Bannister labored away. On a quiet Sunday morning, the streets of the industrial area were very quiet. Almost all of the businesses and factories were closed and the employees of the One Armed Bandit Novelty Company too enjoyed the day off. Only Everett Bannister and Ms. Honeypenny were in the huge factory on this seemingly uneventful Sunday as a small panel truck drove up to the loading dock area of the large complex. Truck traffic wasn't uncommon in this business area of the city, but the occupants of the truck were odd indeed. Instead of the middle-aged truck driver one usually saw behind the wheel, a smartly dressed young attractive couple exited the vehicle. Devon Manchester, a 29 year old man of modest height and build, looked like a person of importance in a charcoal gray designer suit and $500 sunglasses. His wife, Jana Manchester, a petite 25 year old half-Japanese, half-Caucasian woman, too wore a provocative power suit. Jana's black blazer, short black shirt, and black pantyhose contrasted nicely with her stylish white blouse. She too wore expensive sunglasses and carried an expensive Nikon camera. They looked like any other yuppie power couple, attractive, well-dressed, and well-to-do. This was their first trip to Gotham as they were quite notorious in their hometown of Bay City. Notorious as the husband and wife criminal team know as Trickster and Gizmo Girl. Undercover in their business suits, instead of their much more garish criminal costumes, they hoped to pay Mr. Bannister a visit. Posing as journalists, they hoped to subdue the hard working Everett Bannister and his trusty secretary and make off with a few vending machines to start their crime spree in Gotham. As with most deranged criminal masterminds, their ultimate goal wasn't to become filthy rich. Trickster and Gizmo Girl hoped to collect the ultimate prizes. The prizes being the gadget-laden utility belts of Batwoman and Flamebird.
Walking around to the front office of the One Armed Bandit Novelty Co., Devon and Jana entered the unlocked front door to see a brightly lit small office with the bespeckled blonde cutie, Ms. Honeypenny, pouring over sales receipts at the front desk.
"Hello, is Mr. Everett Bannister in?," inquired Devon as he and his lovely raven haird wife approached the desk.
"Ah, yes he is," stammered the surprised secretary, unaccostumed to seeing any visitors on Sunday, "but he's not seeing anyone today."
"Um, that's a surprise to me, I'm Bill Wellington of Business Monthly and this is my photographer, Lacy Turlington," Devon stated confidently. "We were doing a cover story on Mr. Bannister and he told us this was the best time to interview him."
"Well, this is the first I've heard of any sort of interview," Ms. Honeypenny said as she looked up from her paperwork. "Mr. Bannister and the media relations people normally brief me on any...."
As the diligent secretary tried to explain that there would be no interview today, Jana slid a slender finger over the flash attachment to her camera. With a simple press of a small button, a blinding flash enveloped the entire front office. The stunned Ms. Honeypenny was frozen in mid-sentence before her eyes rolled back and her eyelids gently closed. As if in slow motion, the silenced secretary fell forward face first on her desk. Knocked out by the flash of light, Ms. Honeypenny took a forced rest upon her pile of paperwork. Sinister smiles crossed the faces of our well-dressed imposters.
"The neural paralyzing ray does it again, honey," marveled the grinning Devon, his eyes alight at the stunning of Mr. Bannister's secretary.
"Now that's what I call trick photography," giggled the raven haired Jana, still caressing the camera in her hands. "These special protective sunglasses you designed worked better than I hoped and yet so stylish..."
"Anything I design would look beautiful on you, my cupcake," gushed Devon as he saw the compliment redden the face of his blushing bride. "Now, let's deal with Mr. Bannister and get what we came for."
With the noise out front, a concerned and agitated Mr. Bannister emerged from his back office. How was he to get anything done with all this racket out front? Ready to castigate his secretary for not dispatching these unwanted visitors, Mr. Bannister was shocked to see the attractive young power-suited couple standing before him. He was also stunned to see his loyal secretary sleeping on the job.
"What in the blazes is going on out here?," boomed the angry Everett Bannister. "What in the Sam Hill happened to Ms. Honeypenny?"
"Pardon us, Mr. Bannister, but we're here from Business Monthly magazine to do a story about theft in Gotham City," Devon replied calmly as he pulled a pen from the inside pocket of his jacket. "Specifically, the theft at One Armed Bandit Novelty Company."
"What theft? I'm calling the police," spat the disgusted Mr. Bannister.
"The theft occurring right now, Mr. Bannister," Devon laughed as he pointed the pen in the direction of Mr. Bannister and fired a small dart into the fleshy area of his neck.
The pin-sized tranquilizing dart make quick work of this titan of industry as he staggered suddenly over unsturdy legs. Mr. Bannister's right hand clutched the side of his neck out of reflex as his eyelids grew heavier. As the knockout potion did its worst, Mr. Bannister's eyes closed as he collapsed in a heap on the floor. The satisfied criminal duo grinned and exchanged admiring glances.
"Felled by a simple tranq dart," Devon smiled, "but we don't have time to tag and bag him."
"A guess the pen is mightier than the sword," Jana joked as she spun puns that would make any superhero sidekick winch.
"Deliciously corny, my sweet," cooed Devon as he lovingly embraced his wistful wife, "but our work isn't yet done. Let's get those machines loaded before the authorities arrive and once we add our special mechanical touches, Gotham will be ours to plunder."
"...and the utility belts of Gotham's caped crusaders, Batwoman and Flamebird, will be our newest toys," added the gleeful Jana.

Hours later, in the early evening hours of that eventful Sunday, the awakened Mr. Bannister and Ms. Honeypenny were relating the story of the robbery by this young couple to the Gotham City Police. Both were perfectly fine after the assault, but they did have trouble giving a good description of the robbers. The neural paralyzing ray and the tranquilizing dart did a number of the short term memory of Ms. Honeypenny and Mr. Bannister. This wasn't helped by the fact that the criminal duo wore sunglasses. After giving the police a description of the various missing slot and vending machines that were taken in this brazen daylight robbery, the most useful piece of information Mr. Bannister could provide was that the slot machines were rigged with tracking devices, installed in case they were lifted from casinos. The puzzling part of this heist was that the machines taken were completely empty. All coins inside the slot machines were removed by the casinos that leased them previously and the vending machines were cleaned out of all money and merchandise. Why would two unlikely looking thieves plot such a risky robbery to steal machines of little value. As in the case of most confounding crimes that befuddled Gotham's finest, Commissioner Hamilton placed an urgent call on the emergency red "Bat" phone.

After a revitilizing trip to the gym on this sleepy Sunday, Jessica Hansen and her niece, Christine, returned to their suburban apartment just outside of Gotham City. In their civilian alter-egos, they were simply a raven-haired aerobics teacher and a student. Once trouble began, Jessica and Christine became the sexy masked, spandex-clad defenders of Gotham, Batwoman and Flamebird. A yoga class was just what the doctor ordered after a tangle with the mind-bending supervillain, Dr. Mesmero. After using his considerable hypnotic powers to convince the dynamic duo they were tightly bound by entangling vines which magically emerged from his top hat, Batwoman and Flamebird were frozen in place as their minds were forced to play devilish tricks on them. Bound in place only by the mental suggestions of Dr. Mesmero, it appeared the sinister sideshow magician had defeated the dynamic duo. However, the muscle spasms in the powerful nylon-clad legs of Batwoman broke the hypnotic spell as she used the element of surprise to spring into action to subdue Dr. Mesmero and his assistant, Ms. Dazzle. Being frozen in place for an extended period made for tight, tired muscles and Jessica and Christine felt enormous relief from the extensive, but painful, stretching exercises.
"Holy hamstrings, Jessica," boomed the young Christine, better known as the Teen Wonder, Flamebird, "I never imagined my muscles could get so tight."
"Yeah, I think my entire body was cramping up before wiping the floor with that Dr. Mesmero and that short-skirted assistant of his," groaned a still sore Jessica. "Unfortunately, its back to Benjamin Harrison High tomorrow. I think we both could use a couple of vacation days after that little adventure."
"Unfortunately, we're doing the review for that big Physics final exam tomorrow," sighed Christine, still rubbing the back of her arms. "I'd love to take a sick day, but I can't."
"Besides, too much time off looks awfully suspicious," noted a somber Jessica, realizing the gravity of balancing the responsibilties of two lives, "we take enough time off fending off the various villains threatening Gotham City..."
With that, the beeping of the emergency Bat-phone went off, feeling the air with a high-pitched buzzing sound. Rest and relaxation would have to wait. Batwoman and Flamebird were needed yet again.

In the abandoned warehouse, not far from One Armed Novelty Co., the former home of Romero Novelities Inc. sat vacant. Inside, however, the new lair of Trickster and Gizmo Girl was constructed inside. The villainous masters of tricks, traps, and booby trapped machinery were now clad in their more familiar spandex costumes. The modest built Devon, more the mod model type than burly muscle man, wore a red and black bodysuit. Divided straight down the middle, the left side of the suit was red, with matching red gloves and boots while the right side was black. A yellow utility belt, filled with criminal concoctions, was wore at his waist and his eyemask too was multi-colored, red on the left eye and black on the right. Gizmo Girl wore a similiar costume over her shapely 5'5 frame. A flourescent green and black tight spandex bodysuit, she too was split down the middle with a shocking shade of green on the left and black on the right. Gizmo Girl too wore a yellow utility belt, but added a tiny pair of green briefs she wore over her suit. Being experienced criminals, very familiar with the ins and outs of the novelty machine business, they knew the slot machines they stole contained tracking devices. Before unleashing their criminally rigged vending machines on the unsuspecting populace of Gotham City, the Trickster and Gizmo Girl decided it best to deal with Gotham's sexy spandex super-duo, Batwoman and Flamebird, first. Besides, the real bounty they hoped to leave Gotham City with, the utility belts of Batwoman and Flamebird, was a prize they couldn't wait to get their hands on. Plus, with the dynamic duo under wraps, they would be no heroine capable to halting their proposed crime spree. Trickster and Gizmo Girl's Gotham vacation was shaping up to be a profitable one indeed. There was only the matter of preparing the lair for the upcoming arrival of Batwoman and Flamebird and time was drawing near as they put the finishing touches on their booby-trapped machines. The large abandoned factory they set up had a control room on the secnod floor above the main floor of the warehouse. The Trickster and his lovely wife waited there, with the control panel to activate their various traps at their gloved fingertips.

Not long after receiving the call from Commissioner Hamilton, Jessica and Christine changing into their form-fitting costumes and sped downtown to police headquarters via the Bat-Cycle on this Sunday evening. Jessica, the 28 year old raven haired teacher, was clad in her yellow sleeved leotard, with her red gloves, boots, cowl, cape and shiny tan pantyhose. The red bat insignia was displayed proudly across her ample chest and her impressive yellow utility belt was slung low on her curvacous hips. Christine, the 18 year old with short blonde hair, was costumed in her sleeved red leotard, with her signature yellow eyemask, boots, gloves, and short cape. She too wore matching shiny tan hose on her lovely gams and a bright yellow utility belt on her petite waist. The dynamic duo looked as spectacular as ever in their spandex costumes, looking no worse for wear after their recent battle with the demonic Dr. Mesmero. They bounced off the cycle (well Batwoman bounced off the motorcycle, Flamebird sprang out of the sidecar) and ran up the steps to meet with the concerned commissioner.
"...so what you're telling us, Commissioner," reasoned Batwoman as she paced about the lavish office, deep in thought, "is that we have no idea who these criminals are, other than they a young couple in 300 dollar suits with some trick knockout devices, and they stole vending and slot machines that had no money in them."
"Exactly, the descriptions of the two was a bit hazy since the only two witnesses were knocked out," explained Commissioner Hamilton. "The tactics they used to subdue Mr. Bannister and Ms. Honeypenny are of great concern as well as taking machinery that as little to no value. Why would these thieves go through all the trouble to steal things like that?"
"Well, the use of 'knockout devices' sounds like every villain or villainess we encounter," interrupted Flamebird, pounding her fist into her open hand, and only half-joking. "Besides, most of these odd robberies usually involve stealing items that can be used for some other purpose, to hatch much bigger heists."
"Commissioner, my impetuous young partner has a point," explained the still pacing Batwoman, "these bizarre burglaries are a way of securing something these villains need for their larger scheme. What Flamebird doesn't realize is that the use of those 'knockout devices,' as you call them means we're not dealing with your garden variety petty thieves. Their methods indicate the work of a supervillain."
"But which one? These doesn't fit the M.O. of any of the usual suspects," interjected the puzzled Commissioner.
"Well, a villain in disguise with a sexy henchwoman working alongside sounds like most of the male villains we run in to," added Flamebird. "But a young man? Usually the villains are middle aged creeps."
"Hmmm...," Batwoman thought aloud, "the young part throws me off too, unless the woman is the brains behind this heist, even though she sounds a bit small for obvious choices. We might be dealing with someone new to the supervillainy game or someone new to Gotham City. There's really so little to go on."
"Well, there's a bit more than you realize, Batwoman," piped up the hopeful Commissioner. "Mr. Bannister provided us with a remote control that's linked with the tracking devices inside the stolen slot machines. Wherever these machines are stored, they will be easy to find. Hopefully these villains are in the same location as the machines."
"Its all we've got to go on," chimed in a skeptical Flamebird, "but I don't like walking blind into the lair of a pair of villains we know absolutely nothing about."
"Well, its the best we can do now, Flamebird," Batwoman said calmly. "Perhaps the element of surprise will be on our side, but the only way to know who we're dealing with is to pay them an unexpected visit. Flamebird, let's go...the mobile Bat-computer on the Bat-cycle should help us locate the whereabouts of the stolen slot machines, a sort of super-charging this remote control..."

As the dynamic duo sped off and linked the Bat-computer with the tracking devices, courtesy of the remote Mr. Bannister had provided them, the location of the abandoned Romero Novelities Inc. was revealed. Another novelty themed villain or villainess? The Jokester and Gag Girl immediately come to mind, but they are both behind bars after their last encounter with Batwoman and Flamebird. Maybe the word 'novel' has some significance? 'Novel' as in a book, indicating the work of the Bookworm. Yet the Bookworm is safely secured behind the padded walls of the Harkham Asylum. Only a visit to the abandoned factory would let them know for sure.

When the Batcycle arrived with the beautiful Batwoman and foxy Flamebird in tow out front of the decaying abandoned factory, darkness had engulfed Gotham on this late Sunday evening. There was no indication of any movement inside as the entire building looked dark inside. The broken and grimy windows around the facility only reflected the moonlight from above. Standing at the front entrance of the building, which was boarded shut, Batwoman and Flamebird decided to take a familiar route inside. Hoping to spy any suspicious activity from the skylights above, the spandex-clad superchicks threw their Bat-a-rangs up to the top of the three story building and climbed up the wall with their super-strong Bat-ropes. ONce on top of the roof, they realized that the skylights were little help. The area below was completely dark and even the small sliver of moonlight did little to show what was waiting below.
"Maybe the thieves just stashed the machines here," Flamebird thought aloud, "or dropped the tracking devices here to throw us off their path."
"Sound reasoning, Flamebird, I'm beginning to think the same thing," nodded Batwoman. "But there's only one way to know for sure. This skylight is open wide enough to fit through and we can secure our Bat-a-rangs to repel down inside the building."
"Ouch, all this climbing and repelling is killing my sore muscles," groaned the tired Teen Wonder.
Inside the building, in the second story control room, the Trickster planted a soft kiss on the cheek of his criminal partner, Gizmo Girl. The hidden security cameras on the roof gave the villainous duo a good look at the visitors looking about.
"It appears our guests have arrived, my sweet," hummed the Trickster in a sinsiter tone. "Fortunately, we are more than ready for their arrival."
"And those super-equipped utility belts will be all ours, hunny bunny," gushed Gizmo Girl.

Batwoman and Flamebird repelled cautiously into the darkness inside the abandoned factory. The area below was completely concealed as they slowly guided their path downward. Concerned that they may hit some elevated platforms or fall healong into an awaiting villain's clutches, the dynamic duo took the three story trip to the ground floor without incident. Once their go-go booted feet were securely on the floor, they released their ropes and felt their way around the pitch black abyss.
"Way too dark to see anything, Batwoman," Flamebird whispered. "It seems completely empty."
"Yes, way to dark, too bad the infra-red Bat-goggles were broken by the sonic scream of Mockingbird," Batwomen whispered back. "I'll send a silent sonar pulse from the buckle of my utility belt to see if anything is around us..."
Before Batwoman could get to her belt, the lights above burst on above them. Going from complete darkness to bright flourescent white lighting hurt the eyes of the spandex superfoxes and blurred their vision for a brief moment. A brief moment was all the Trickster and Gizmo Girl needed. Looking around in a haze, Batwoman and the Teen Wonder could see various vending machines against the walls of a fairly small confinded area. Before they could gather their bearing, a sliding wall was activated in the middle of the room, splitting it into two separate rooms. Unfortunately for Batwoman and Flamebird, the sudden wall that suddenly slid between them separated our costumed crime-fighters, quarantining them into separate quarters. Our heroines pounded on the wall that divided them, keeping them apart, hoping the other was O.K.
"Batwoman! Batwoman! Are you there?," Flamebird shouted as she punched at the solid concrete partition to little effect.
"Flamebird! Yes, I'm right on the other side of this wall that came out of nowhere,"
exclaimed Batwoman. "The wall won't budge..."
"Some kind of trap, Batwoman," yelled Flamebird, turning about to see the small room with no doors and surrounded by various vending machines.
"It appears so...there's a slot machine mounted on my side, I'll get my Bat-tools out and blast through the weak spot in the wall," Batwoman shouted as she reached into her belt for a metal file to probe the concrete surface that separated her from her sidekick.

As Flamebird stepped back from the wall and scanned for any surprises, images of the brightly colored costumed Trickster and Gizmo Girl emerged out of nowhere. They seemed to suddenly materialize from thin air. No door was opened, trapdoor or otherwise, to allow their entry, but the figures were so clear, the appeared very real and menacing. Trickster stood with hands on hips as a smirking Gizmo Girl took a cocky stand with a strange looking ray-gun in her gloved hand at her side.
"Hello, Flamebird...I'm the Trickster and this is my associate, Gizmo Girl," Trickster stated before the stunned and scared Flamebird. "Perhaps you've heard of us. We've created quite a stir in Bay City."
"...and Ms. Teen Wonder, you've probably heard of my neural paralyzing ray that will quickly render you unconscious," Gizmo Girl giggled as she drew the ray gun up to Flamebird's face. "Don't worry, hun, its quite painless."
Seeing these villains suddenly appear froze Flamebird in fear for a brief moment, but the sight of some brain zapping stun gun in her face forced her into action. The Teen Wonder sprang forward to grab the gun that was mere inches from her face, but to her shock and surprise...Flamebird ran right through the image. Trickster and Gizmo Girl were not in the room, only a realistic holographic image of the two villains laughing as she ran right past the projections.
"Holograms!," Flamebird spat with anger as she was truly fooled. The projected images of the two villains were see apparant as they laughed heartily at their little joke.
The Teen Wonder ran right into an old cigarette vending machine and she grabbed the sides to stop herself from running right into it. She spun around as she could hear the voices from the hologram taunting her and the dismayed voice of Batwoman asking what was going on.
Facing the laughing images, with her back to the cigarette machine she almost ran into, a stern and angry look crossed Flamebird's masked face.
"What's the meaning of this?," shouted Flamebird, assuming a fighting stance, even though the images before her were only holograms. "What do you want?"
"We want to warn you about the dangers of smoking, Flamebird," the holographic Gizmo Girl stated, mocking the public service announcements Batwoman and Flamebird did on the dangers of tobacco use. "Stay away from the cigarette machine, Wonder Teen, you'll be surprised how easy it is to get hooked..."
As the hologram spoke, a thin hook-like wire sprang from a hidden compartment in the side of the vending machine. Flamebird stood before the images that mocked her, unaware of the booby-trapped machine operating behind her. The hook slid out silently until it wrapped around the chest and arms of the stunned teen superheroine, pinning her arms to her sides just below the bust and dragging her back to the front of the cigarette machine. Pulled back with her back pinned to the machine, with her arms secured tightly to her sides by the metal hook, the Teen Wonder was helpless as she struggled to free herself with no success.
"Something...grabbed me...pinned back...can't...free...can't free my arms," Flamebird cried as the hook coiled back to put a tighter squeeze on her tight taut body, pressing her closer to the rigged cigarette machine. As she struggled, the Teen Wonder could hear Batwoman yelling, asking her what was going on. The young sidekick was in no position to reply now.
"...and to say nothing of the dangers of second-hand smoke," the Trickster's image boasted ominously as small nozzles emerged from the machine, right around the bound Flamebird's ears. As quickly as the two nozzles burst forth on each side of the Teen Wonder's head, plumes of white gas poured forth and completely engulfed Flamebird's face. A forced fit of coughing could be heard behind the cloud of sleeping gas.
"No!....*cough*....knock..*cough*...Knockout...Gassssss....," murmurred the gassed young heroine as the narcotic smoke engulfed and dulled her senses. Her voice quickly trailed off as she fell into a fitful forced slumber. Still bound upright, pinned to the boby-trapped cigarette machine, the gas began to clear and one could see the Teen Wonder's head bowed, peacefully sleeping off the gas attack from Gizmo Girl's menacing cigarette machine.
As Flamebird was sent off to dreamland, Batwoman heard the tussle and pounded at the wall that separated her from her sidekick. The dominoed dare-doll could tell exactly what happened, but it didn't sound good. With Flamebird under wraps, Trickster and Gizmo Girl turned their attention to Batwoman. Holograph images of the two villains appeared, fading in and out a bit at first as they made their appearance on Batwoman's side of the room, making it clear to our heroine that these were indeed images projected from some hidden device in the room. Batwoman turned quickly and faced the images now seemingly standing before her.
"Welcome, Batwoman," Trickster's image announced grandly. "So nice to finally meet you. Gizmo Girl and I have heard so much about you and your partner..."
"Who are you?!?," shouted an enraged Batwoman, concerned for her niece and taunted by holograms. "What have you done with Flamebird?!?"
"I'm Gizmo Girl and this is the ravagingly handsome Trickster," Gizmo's image boasted. "We're newcomers to Gotham, but you may have heard of some of our work in Bay City. The Teen Wonder is safe and sound behind the wall...nothing a good night's sleep can't fix."
"What did you do to her?," growled Batwoman.
"Just gave her a dose of Gizmo gas," Gizmo Girl's hologram continued, "and she'll be sleeping that of for the next couple of hours of so."
"You fiendish phantoms!," shouted the caped crusader, knowing they planned a similiar fate for her.
"Despite your name calling, Batwoman, we are prepared to offer you a simple wager," Trickster's image offered. "A sporting chance, if you will...see the slot machine on the wall that divides you from Flamebird?"
"I don't have time for your games," spat Batwoman with disgust, "and I never gamble."
"Being that you're trapped in a room with no doors and no means of escape, I don't believe you have much of a choice," Gizmo's image replied smoothly. "Now, face the slot machine...pull the arm...and if you get three cherries, the wall will part and you and Flamebird will be granted your freedom."
"I don't negotiate with criminals or play silly games," Batwoman announced. "Besides, how do I know you'll honor your word."
"I'm afraid you'll have to take my word as a honorable sportsman, caped crusader," Trickster's imaged reasoned, "and if you value Flamebird's safety...."
"Fine, three cherries and we're free," Batwoman conceded, facing no other option but to comply with this foolishness. "What if I get three lemons, the more probable outcome..."
"That's for us to know and you to find out," taunted the giddy image of the sexy Gizmo Girl. "Now, pull the arm of that ol' one armed bandit and let's play..."
Batwoman sneered at the giggly spandex-clad girl in green and black and turned to face the slot machine on the wall before her. She slowly pulled the arms back and released, causing the reels of the machines to spin into motion. As the wheels spun, Batwoman watched with resignation, being reduced to wagering for the safety of her niece and crime-fighting partner, Flamebird. The spinning of the reels seemed to last an eternity, until all three screeched to a sudden stop, revealing Batwoman and Flamebird's fate. The three windows of the slot machine showed the most undesired result, the accursed three lemons.
Her bright blue eyes under the cowl widened with surprise, but deep down inside...this was no surprise. The real surprise came as a trapdoor in front of the slot machine, and under the caped crusader's feet, collapsed under her. Batwoman went into freefall for a moment before hitting the floor only a few feet below where she originally stood. The dominoed dare-doll's fall was short enough where she landed on her feet without falling down, but what she fell into was of much greater concern. Batwoman landed her boots on a steel grating and surrounded by a clear, hard plastic tube that was so tight that she could hardly extend her arms. A couple of short jab-like punches and small kicks revealed how tough this clear plastic tubing was as it wouldn't budge a bit. The tube then extended upward with Batwoman securely inside, climbing like a mighty oak as it rose upward into the flooring of the second story control room. Batwoman was still in the basement as she saw the plastic tubing rise upward around her, her gloved hands at her sides felt the plastic moving up, leaving no avenue to climb out of the top. From below Batwoman's feet, coming up from the steel grating she stood on, a same white sleeping gas that subdued the Teen Wonder was being pumped into the tube that confined her so snuggly. As the gas filled the tube and floated upward, the sleepy smoke completely engulfed the caped crusader and left her only a few more seconds of consciousness. A couple of soft, ladylike coughs and sighs could be heard as the white gas swiftly escorted Batwoman into a forced forty-winks. Still standing upright, as the tube that held her was to small to away her to fall forward, Batwoman's sleepy nubile limp body sagged as her head dropped. Once fast asleep, a humming sound was heard as a vacuum device was activated to pull the KO'ed Batwoman upward in the tube, which now extended into the floor of the control room the Trickster and Gizmo Girl operated from. The sleeping heroine was sucked upward and disappeared into the villains' base of operations.
The Trickster hustled down the stairs from the control room to scoop up the knocked out Flamebird as the Teen Wonder was still held by a hook to the cigarette machine and sleeping off the effects of Gizmo gas. Pushing a lever on the wall and opening up a secret compartment to enter, the Trickster walking in the "room" Flamebird occupied and first removed her utility belt by unclasping the front buckle. After pulling off the hook, the Trickster grabbed the limp sleeping young heroine into his arms and threw her over his right shoulder to carry her up to the awaiting Gizmo Girl in the control room. The much prized yellow utility belt was thrown over his left shoulder has he exited to meet his awaiting young wife.
Gizmo Girl was busy herself, placing a gas mask over her face in case any lingering fumes of her Gizmo gas remained, and pulled the slumbering Batwoman out of the clear plastic tube via the door at the top of the confining piping. After setting the KO'ed crusader to the floor, Gizmo Girl too retrieved the much awaited prize, Batwoman's famed gadget arsenal in her utility belt, with a quick snap of the belt buckle. As the Trickster returned with his prizes, the Teen Wonder and her belt, the dynamic duo was reunited in the sinister control room of Gotham's most sinister tourists. With their victory complete, the villains embraced and shared a soft, lingering kiss to celebrate.
"Gizmo, honey, warm up a batch of your Gizmo Glue," Trickster asked of his lovely wife he held lovingly in his arms. "We'll keep the famed dynamic super-chicks under wraps as our booby-trapped vending machines are dispatched throughout Gotham City. With Batwoman and Flamebird out of the way for awhile, Gotham is ours for us and our menacing machines to plunder..."

TO BE CONTINUED....

Very nice opening, Trapmaster! The Trickster and Gizmo Girl seem to have the upper hand indeed! I love the cigarette machine and the "anti-smoking" dialogue used to taunt Flamebird! :twisted: Can't wait to see what's next!! 8)

BTW, here's a couple of pics I did of Batwoman and Flamebird sometime back. The Bat-symbol was a BEAR to draw (I'm not much of an artist!) but I think the result was worth it! You tell me! Seeya! 8)

Great start Franco! Like your villians, and Batwoman and Flamebirds capture.

What's past is prologue....

Three thousand miles away from Gotham City, in the bustling metropolis of Bay City, we step back a few hours, before Batwoman and Flamebird's disasterous confrontation with Trickster and Gizmo Girl at Romero Novelitites Inc., to see an attractive young woman relaxing on her couch on a lazy Sunday afternoon. The young woman in question, lounging about in a tank top and shorts, was an assistant district attorney in Bay City, Shanna Cortez. The 28 year old raven haired lawyer stretched out her long supple frame as she attempted to drift off for a short nap before getting back to the pile of papers she brought home from the office to prepare for a busy upcoming Monday. Shanna was tall, standing 5'10, and shapely, possessing the tight body and tan skin of a model. She was also a model attorney, quickly rising in stature in the Bay City District Attorney's office. Shanna had graduated at the top of her class in law school, attending the prestigious Holt School of Law at the University of Bay City. She had turned down a number of lucrative corporate offers to prosecute criminals in the district attorney's office, for keeping dangerous criminals off the street was more rewarding to her than any amount of money. On this afternoon, however, rest was the order of the day as Shanna's head seemed to disappear into the large pillow on her couch, leaving only her long mane of wavy black hair visible. The television was on in the background, as she tuned to World News Network, to catch up on the events of the day. A report on a certain bizarre heist thousands of miles away at Gotham's One Armed Bandit Novelty Co. rocker her out of her sleepy state. From the short piece, Shanna learned of a man and woman, disguised as reporters, incapacitated the owner of the business and his secretary and made off with a variety of vending and slot machines. The two unknown criminals were, according to the report, still at large. A startled Shanna quickly sat up and her sleepy eyes awakened and grew wide as the sexy attorney came to a stunned revelation.
"Trickster...and Gizmo Girl," Shanna breathed almost silently, realizing her foes from Bay City had taken their curious criminal activities across the country.

Shanna Cortez, the lovely Latina lawyer, didn't just use her legal skills to fight crime, she had also taken to adopting a crime-fighting alter-ego that took a much more hands-on approach to stopping criminals. As a young girl, growing up in a tough Bay City neighborhood, Shanna had seen the effects of violent crime destroy the place she lived. She took this passion to study law to thwart crime through legal channels, but she soon realized from her role as assistant district attorney that her impact was limited. Frustarted by the loopholes that kept Bay City's worst offenders out on the streets, Shanna took to patroling the streets at night as the masked Lady Justice. Inspired by the work of a dynamic duo of spandex clad crime-fighters from Gotham City, Batwoman and Flamebird, the shapely Shanna saw that she too could conceal her identity and confront criminals head on. As Lady Justice, the stunning hispanic beauty wore a patriotic red, white, and blue costume. She wore a tight red sleeved spandex crop top that left her midriff bare. The revealing red top was adorned with small white stars in a row running down the sleeves and was cut just a shade below her large bosom. A pair of bright royal blue spandex briefs and white tights covered her lower curves. Royal blue gloves and matching blue go-go boots almost completed the sexy star-spangled attire as Shanna wore a blue eyemask and yellow utility belt, one very similar to those worn by Batwoman and Flamebird. Shanna had no extrodinary powers as Lady Justice, but she was a tremendous athlete, a volleyball player in college, and the arsenal of crime-fighting tools and weapons she had access to through friends in the law enforcement community made her a formidable foe. Her brilliant legal mind also made her a cunning detective with the ability to anticipate the moves of her adversaries.
DeAnna Cortez, Shanna's 24 year old sister, was continuing in the family business as she was a law student at Holt Hall. Following in the footsteps of her older sister was no easy task, but DeAnna seemed to welcome the challenge. And there was no bigger challenge than tangling with Bay City's most vile of villains alongside Lady Justice. Modeled after Flamebird, DeAnna adopted the crime-fighting persona of BlueBird. Somewhat shorter and more slightly built than her sister Shanna, the reddish-brown haired attorney-in-training possessed a rockin' little body and similiar athletic ability as DeAnna was a swimmer during her undergraduate days at Bay City University. Bluebird wore a sleeveless light blue leotard under a royal blue tunic, or vest, that was laced up the front, much like the costume worn by Robin, the Boy Wonder. Her vest was worn tightly and was cut short enough to teasingly expose her baby blue bottoms. Royal blue gloves and booties and a light blue eyemask complemented the costume. Shiny tan hose covered her exposed shapely legs and a yellow utility belt matching that of her partner's completed her crime-fighting attire. DeAnna wore her hair long, but tied it off into a long ponytail as Bluebird. The crime-fighting team of Lady Justice and Bluebird were ridiculed early on by the Bay City press as attractive attention seekers and pale imitiations of Batwoman and Flamebird. Their success in saving the city and their supermodel good-looks quickly changed people's perceptions of the Bay City's version of the dynamic duo. Lady Justice and BlueBird had earned their acclaim by taking down the West Coast's most dangerous of supervillains, like the malicious magician, Mesmero the magnificant, the treacherous Tarantula Woman, and the sinister chef, Wolfgang Chuck. Sound detective work, with a good measure of martial arts skill and an impressive array of crime-fighting tools thrown in, was the recipe for their success.
Trickster and Gizmo Girl, however, were the most cunning villains Lady Justice and BlueBird had encountered. The husband and wife duo had managed to elude and embarrass the masked defenders of Bay City. The Trickster and Gizmo Girl seemed less motivated by greed than getting some sick type of enjoyment by pulling an elaborate ruse. After a series of rigged jukeboxes, releasing a variety of sleeping, paralyzing, and laughing gasses, were activated at the toniest of Bay City nightspots, allowing Trickster and Gizmo Girl to fleece their wealthy patrons, Lady Justice and Bluebird were hot on the case. At the scene of one of these robberies, a disguised Gizmo Girl, posing as a gassed clubgoer, lured Bluebird outside and hit her with a powder puff laced with sleeping powder from a trick compact case in her purse. Lady Justice was rendered immobilized by a light coating of glue that gummed her in place by a gimmacked candy vending machine triggered by the Trickster. Their trickery allowed them to escape and remain at large. After that meeting, Trickster and Gizmo Girl had seemingly gone underground before reappearing in Gotham City. Shanna knew all too well the tactics of these two villains as she realized to her horror that they were back in business, ready to strike again in Gotham City. The young attorney bounced off her couch and grabbed her cellphone to place an urgent call to her sister and crime-fighting sidekick.
"DeAnna...are you in a place we can talk?," asked Shanna with her mind working fevorishly.
"Yeah, I'm alone in my apartment...that contact law paper isn't going to type itself," DeAnna replied. "What's up? Sounds like trouble."
"Trickster and Gizmo Girl trouble," breathed Shanna with notes of concern dripping with every syllable. "Are you watching the news?"
"Trickster and Gizmo Girl are back in Bay City!?!," shouted a startled DeAnna.
"No, they pulled a heist of One Armed Bandit Novelty Co. back east, in Gotham City."
"Gotham City?," inquired a confused DeAnna, "Batwoman and Flamebird can take care of them. I'd say Gotham City is a little out of our jurisdiction."
"Maybe, but no one is as familiar with their tactics than us," insisted Shanna. "Besides, I doubt if anyone in Gotham is familiar with their work. Who knows what they have planned for an unexpecting Batwoman and Flamebird?"
"Shanna, I know you," scoffed DeAnna. "Being as competitive as you are, you just can't stand the fact that Trickster and his tricky gal pal got the better of us. Besides, you've always wanted to meet your idol, Batwoman. Capturing the Trickster while working together with Batwoman and Flamebird would just about be the ultimate triumph as Lady Justice."
"O.K., you got me," sighed Shanna with a tone of resignation. "But you can't tell me that defeat still doesn't sting...and that you haven't wanted to work alongside Gotham's famed dynamic duo."
"Yeah, I can't argue there," reasoned DeAnna. "What did you have in mind?"
"Meet me at the airport in an hour and pack your costume," ordered Shanna. "I've got two calls to make before I leave...one to Gotham's Police Commission Hamilton and one to book our flight to Gotham City."
"I guess contract law will have to wait," DeAnna said. "I'll meet you at the airport."
"Perfect," boomed Shanna, "and the Trickster and Gizmo Girl won't be expecting the girls from Bay City spoiling all their fun."

Hours later, now late into this eventful Sunday evening, Batwoman and Flamebird awaken deep in the bowels of the abandoned Romero Novelty Inc., the Gotham headquaters of Trickster and Gizmo Girl. In a small room, much like a padded cell, the dynamic duo clear the cobwebs of a chemically enduced nap to see the spector of the Trickster hovering over them.
"Wakey, Wakey, dynamic duo," joked the garishly costumed Trickster.
"Batwoman? What happened? Where are we?," asked a drowsy Flamebird, still laying on the ground, almost too weak to rise.
"I don't know," Batwoman coldly stated, still groggy, but trying to assess the situation as best she could. "Happened so fast...in some type of cell."
"A cell padded for your protection, ladies," noted the Trickster.
The dazed dynamic duo were able to stand as Trickster and his partner had not used any sort of restraints on them. They had been left alone, except for the removal of their utility belts and the prescene of thin metal collars secured around their necks. Almost out of instinct, their gloved hands felt their waists to check for the prescene of said belts and once they saw that they had been removed, Batwoman and Flamebird tugged at the collars that felt foreign on their necks. The dynamic duo looked directly at the Trickster, who was standing only a few feet away in front of the cell door.
"Who are you?," Batwoman demanded. "What's the meaning of this?"
"I'm a tourist from out of town," Trickster calmly stated. "My wife and I make Bay City our home, we're better known as the Trickster and Gizmo Girl."
"Well, Mr. Tourist," spat Flamebird, "what's the idea of stealing worthless vending machines and luring us into a trap?"
"Those machines are quite profitable in the right hands, I assure you, Teen Wonder," reasoned a triumphant Trickster, "and removing Gotham's famed dynamic duo from the equation opens up this large metropolis to endless criminal possibilities for us."
"Where is your wife, Gizmo Girl?," asked Batwoman, mindful of any surprises.
"She'll be joining us shortly," said Trickster. "She's upstairs changing."
"Changing out of those matching clown suits, huh?," huffed an indignant Flamebird. "You did make one mistake, Trickster, leaving us free to thrash you completely. You may have removed our belts, but you can't remove years of martial arts training."
"Nothing was left to chance, my insolent young friend," Trickster rationalized in a breezy fashion. "I'm sure you're wondering about the collars we placed around your necks."
"The thought had crossed my mind," Batwoman insisted, "but a thin ring of metal isn't going to help you when we go right through you to that door."
The Trickster didn't appear fazed as the dynamic duo changed their posture from the standard heroine hands-on-hips pose to fighting stance. He looked coldly into the eyes of Batwoman and pressed a button on a small remote control device hidden in his hand. Batwoman's confident posture soon gave way to a stumbling stagger. Her eyes rolled under her cowl and a woozy look of disorientation washed over her lovely face. Batwoman's knees were buckling as her legs grew unsteady and her arms slowly waved about. She fell to her knees like a boozy drunk, unable to control her motions and gain her bearing.
"Whaa...," stammered a slurring Batwoman, "Whaaattt did...yooou...dooo...to...me?"
"Well, my bumbling Batwoman, I activated our equilibrium disrupting device in your collar," laughed the Trickster, "Simply stated, it gives you a little case of vertigo. Try as you might, but your lovely body will betray you time and again, my dizzy daredoll. At the current setting, I doubt you'll be able to stand, much less go through me to that door."
"Batwoman!?!," Flamebird shouted, kneeling to aid her woozy, stumbling partner.
The Teen Wonder was little help as Batwoman remained flailing about as if she was swimming against the current, down on her knees with her head, arms, and waist swaying in a dizzy dreamworld. The woozy dazed look of someone too drunk to control their body was all over Batwoman's face as she crashed face first to the padded floor.
"Trickster!," Flamebird screamed, "I'll..."
Before Flamebird could finish that thought, the Trickster pushed the button activating her collar. The Teen Wonder grunted as some unseen force was pulling her down. Already on one knee to help Batwoman, it was a short trip to the floor as she fell face down. Flamebird groaned with all her strength to get herself upright, or at least off the floor, but she was pinned down. All motion in her arms and legs seized, despite her valiant efforts, as Flamebird was struck face front on the floor.
"Whattt...is...thisss?," grunted Flamebird, trying in vain to pull herself up.
"Well, your collar released a hyper-gravity field, which as you can tell, increased the gravitional pull under you by say, 2000 percent," joked Trickster as he now towered above the floored Flamebird. "That increased gravity will render you immobile and pinned to my padded floor. Keep trying, but unless you can bench press 2000 lbs., I'd say your stuck."
"Holy Sir Isaac Newton," groaned the flattened Flamebird.
As Batwoman swan in a daze and Flamebird clung to the floor in the increased gravity field, Gizmo Girl entered the room at join her husband. Gone was the black and green bodysuit, Gizmo Girl was now clad in a replica of Flamebird's costume. Looking striking and looking every bit the superheroine role, Gizmo Girl stood before the incapicated duo proudly in her red leotard, tan hose, and yellow boots and gloves. In her hand was a short blonde wig and eyemask to complete the disguise.
"Holy Halloween," Flamebird said, straining to look upward for a better look. "Why...are you...dressed like...me."
Gizmo Girl's ignored the comment and beamed with triumph and amusement. The costume they crafted looked very realistic and her gizmos engineered to subdue the dynamic duo had worked better than expected.
"Ah, you look smashing in red, my dear," boasted the Trickster as he leaned in to kiss his wife on the cheek. "Your devices, as you can see, worked perfectly and you really do look like Flamebird in her stylish, yet functional costume."
"It was nothing,love," gushed Gizmo Girl, placing the blonde wig on her head and securing the domino eyemask over her eyes. "How do I look now?"
"You'd fool Commissioner Hamilton himself, my sweet," cooed the Trickster.
"Whaa..isss...ta...meeeaninggg..of...thisss...," slurred Batwoman with head and body spinning in a delirious daze, fighting the effects as best she could.
"Well, vertigo vixen, I got a call from you Commissioner on nifty little Bat-Communicators in your utility belts," boasted the disguised Gizmo Girl, grabbing the sides of Flamebird's actual belt that she now wore on her waist. "A couple of old friends from Bay City are dropping by...you know Lady Justice and BlueBird?...They think you two have me and my hubby cornered and are arriving to offer their assistance. Don't worry, though, 'Flamebird' will meet them out front and direct them inside. Soon, you'll both have company."
"You evil imposter!," grunted the gravity pinned Teen Wonder. "The old trojan horse trap."
"I didn't know it had a name, but you get the idea," giggled the Trickster. "Hun, our guests will be arriving shortly have we have much to prepare to get our gimmacked gadgets to pull Lady Justice and Bluebird into our fold."
"But I can't leave Gotham's dynamic duo down here looking so glum," mocked Gizmo Girl.
With that, Gizmo Girl, in full Flamebird garb, tossed a hissing cannister to the floor. From the can, a clear mist was released and soon Batwoman and Flamebird started to giggle. The giggling soon gave way to full belly laughs as the woozy Batwoman and pinned Flamebird guffawed heartily before their amused captors, now wearing clear masked over their noses and mouths.
"A little laughing gas to lighten the mood," Gizmo Girl said. muffled a bit under her mask. "Just remember, dynamic duo, prolonged exposure can be quite dangerous...like laughing so hard you run out of air."
"How delightfully sinister, sweetheart," the Trickster beamed, realizing a part of the plot he hadn't counted on. "Your 'Die Laughing' mixture of laughing gas."
"Oh yes, laugh so hard you can't breathe," noted Gizmo Girl. "Just remember Batwoman and Flamebird, laugh and the world laughs with you...or without you, in this case."
The Trickster and the disguised Gizmo Girl depart the cell, leaving behind two heroines in the throws of uncontrollable laughter. Batwoman grew even more unsteady as she combined vertigo with the shakes of a good laugh. Flamebird's head bobbed a bit as she too joined in the joyous chorus of giggles, still held by the increased gravitation pull from her collar. Lady Justice and Bluebird, having received Gotham Police motorcycles for their stay in the city, would be arriving shortly. An old friend in red would be waiting.

TO BE CONTINUED....

Holy giggleboxes! :-D What a horribly hilarious predicament!! :shock: How will our gorgeous-gammed Gotham gals get out of this one? And what dire demonic perils do The Trickster and Gizmo Girl have in store for Lady Justice and BlueBird? We'll look forward to more action next update!! Same Bat-time!! Same Bat-channel!! 8)

PS - Grea :roll: t update, TrapMaster Franco!!

Oh god please no Pics, not cliche endings from a really bad 60s TV show

Anyway wanted to say the same, Franco love it when heroines are going to be fooled by a trojan horse. Looking forward to the next update.

Okay, i decided to do one more!

As the disabled and disarmed dynamic duo, Batwoman and Flamebird, laughed themselves sick in the basement of Romero Novelty Co. warehouse, the Trickster and the disguised Gizmo Girl awaited the arrival of the heroines from their hometown, Lady Justice and Bluebird. As the luscious latina defenders of the law sped toward the abandoned warehouse lair of Bay City's trickiest and most notorious villains, Trickster and Gizmo Girl prepared for their arrival.
"We all set, hun?," inquired the lovely Gizmo Girl in a blonde wig and red leotard, looking every bit like Gotham's Teen Wonder, Flamebird.
"Oh, yes...everything is ready," replied a smug Trickster. "You lure Bluebird inside and direct Lady Justice to meet the esteemed Batwoman in the back of the building. A simple case of divide and conquer."
"Hmmm, I love it when you sound so sinister in setting a trap," purred Gizmo Girl, rubbing her yellow gloved hand on her husband's chest.
"Well, I must admit that seeing you in Flamebird's clinging costume is simply driving me crazy," cooed the Trickster.
"You will have to wait until our work is done, love," giggled Gizmo Girl. "Do you think Lady Justice and Bluebird will see through my disguise?"
"No, not a chance," reassured Trickster. "To the best of my knowledge, Lady Justice and Bluebird have never met Gotham's famed caped crusaders. It will be too dark outside to get a clear look at you anyway. Besides, the makeup job you did and the costume you fashioned are the spitting image of the Teen Wonder, Flamebird."
"Too bad we couldn't have taken care of Lady Justice and Bluebird the last time we met," Gizmo Girl said wistfully. "With Lady Justice gummed up by our candy machine and Bluebird powder puffed into a sweet slumber, our chance to finish them once and for all was right in our grasp."
"Remember, my dear, that the heat was on and we were lucky to get out of that club with our freedom," Trickster reasoned. "Rendering Lady Justice and Bluebird helpless provided enough of a diversion for us to get away. Besides, we couldn't ask for a better chance to trap the beautiful defenders of Bay City."
As the criminal husband and wife duo chatted, the sound of motorcycles arriving out front of the building filled the air. The loud humming of the motors and the squeal of the braking tires alerted our villains of the arrival of Bay City's best, Lady Justice and Bluebird.
"They're here, Jana," whispered the Trickster to the disguised Gizmo Girl. "Meet our friends out front and I'll get up into the control room."
"Lady Justice, Bluebird," laughed Gizmo Girl, adjusting her yellow eye-mask and short blonde wig, "meet your idol and ally, Flamebird."
The Trickster sped up the stairs into his high-tech control room while the faux-Flamebird bounced out a side door to meet the Bay City masked beauties out front.

Arriving as directed on the motorcycles on loan from the Gotham City Police Dept., Lady Justice and her sidekick, Bluebird, parked the cycles to see the faded sign on the front of the abandoned warehouse, reading "Romero Novelty Co."
"This certainly is the place," announced DeAnna Cortez, in her form-fitting Bluebird crime fighting costume. "Could the Trickster and Gizmo Girl be any more obvious? A Novelty Company? This is right out of the corny themes chapter in the supervillains handbook."
"Well, corny or not, Trickster and Gizmo Girl are as tricky a pair as a superheroine can encounter," warned the lovely Shanna in her guise as Lady Justice, looking stunning in her patriotic red, white, and blue costume. "Let's take a look around to see what we're up against. I'd hate to be caught off guard like the last time we met these two."
"...and let's see where Batwoman and Flamebird are hiding themselves," added Bluebird. "I see the Batcycle here, so they've got to be close...unless they are already inside..."
Before comtemplating their options, Lady Justice and Bluebird saw a welcoming sight, the famed Teen Wonder, Flamebird, was jogging over to meet them.
"Lady Justice, Bluebird," breathed a slightly winded phony Flamebird, "I just got the call that you two were on your way. Thanks for the help. Batwoman and I have Trickster and Gizmo Girl cornered."
"Its an honor to be working with you and Batwoman," gushed Bluebird.
"Yes, a real honor," added Lady Justice with a much more serious tone, "but give us a quick recap on what's going on. The Trickster and Gizmo Girl will undoubtedly have several tricks up their sleeves once we arrive."
"We're way ahead of you," countered a confident 'Flamebird,' "Trickster and Gizmo Girl entered the building three hours ago and, from the cameras located on the light fixtures, they haven't left. Batwoman used a sonic charge to silently disable their surveillance equipment trained on all the entrances. We tracked their movements from outside by training super-sensitive heat sensors to locate their whereabouts inside and they're in a small control room in the rafters of the warehouse."
Lady Justice and Bluebird listened intently as the disguised Gizmo Girl spun an outrageous tale. All that sonic pulse and heat sensor business was pure science fiction, but the Bay City beauties believed Batwoman and Flamebird were capable of just about anything, especially since it was reported that they used the most advanced technology in fighting crime.
"Anyway, while they're confinded in that small room," rambled on the red spandex-clad blonde imposter, "now is the best time to catch them by surprise. Lady Justice, Batwoman asked that I have you meet her around the back of the building to find a way inside. Bluebird, come with me through the front entrance."
"Whoa, you going a little too fast there Flamebird," explained the confused Lady Justice. "If I know anything about the Trickster and his wily gal pal, you can bet that every door and window in this place has been booby trapped."
"If I'm talking fast, it is because we are short on time," the fake Flamebird explained with a touch of arrogance in her voice. "That very sonic pulse that knocked our their cameras destroyed anything with a computer chip...and that would include 'booby traps' set at the doors and windows. Believe me, this isn't the first time Batwoman and I have dealt with tricky villains."
Lady Justice and her younger sister sidekick, Bluebird, exchanged wary glances. Neither heroine appreciated being talked down to, even if it was by the world famous Teen Wonder, Flamebird. Our Bay City babes also knew better than to pounce into the lair of a pair as cunning as Trickster and Gizmo Girl without taking the proper precautions. Besides, all this sonic pulse mumbo-jumbo had the heads of these well educated ladies spinning.
"Fine," Lady Justice replied with an icy tone, "I'll head to the back and meet with Batwoman, but you two proceed with caution. This may your investigation, Flamebird, but we've had enough experience with these two to know a few unwelcomed surprises are waiting for us inside this abandoned warehouse."
"Listen, I'm sorry," whispered the apologetic phony, "I got a little excited and I didn't mean to insult either of you. If I learned anything from working with Batwoman, it is that you always proceed with care, no matter what the situation is."
"No problem, we're always a little on edge in these situations," reasoned Bluebird, looking toward her sister. "Now, let's go while the element of surprise is still on our side."
Gizmo Girl silently breathed a silent sigh of relief. She almost overplayed her hand as an arrogant Flamebird. The sexy spandex-clad Lady Justice jogged lightly to the back of the building for her meeting with Batwoman, still a touch uneasy about leaving her partner behind. Bluebird followed behind the faux Flamebird, tiptoing toward the front entrance.
As Lady Justice reached her destination in the back, she was surprised to see no one was there. Her nimble mind raced at the many possibilities. Had Batwoman already entered the building? Had the heinous husband and wife duo captured the caped crusader while they were meeting with Flamebird out front? There was no sign of a struggle as the ground appeared to be undisturbed, save a few bootprints. Sneaking along the side of the building, a dingy window appeared where Lady Justice might get a quick peek inside. Croutching down to avoid detection, the Latina heroine peeked just above the bottom of the window frame to spy a figure moving about inside. Holding her breath and straining to get a better look, the image of Batwoman's yellow and red costume became visible. From what Lady Justice could see, Batwoman was moving slowly with her back to the window, feeling about the row of assorted vending machines before her.
"If Batwoman knew we were coming," Lady Justice thought to herself, "why would she enter the building before we arrived?"
Still croutched down, Lady Justice couldn't have been prepared for what she saw next. Seeing the back of Batwoman's cape and shapely hosed gams, Gotham's famed crime fighter stood directly in front of a soft drink vending machine, peering above to see what was behind the row of machinery. From the drink dispenser at the bottom of the vending machine, a pair of metal ankle cuffs shot forth and clasped Batwoman's hosed ankles. Startled, Batwoman tried to take a step back, only to be restrained by the shackles securing her in place. Before the caped crusader could react, a blast of green smoke struck Batwoman at cowl level from hidden jets inside the vending machine. With her face engulfed in a fog of green knockout gas, Batwoman leaned forward as her shapely body grew limp. Asleep on her feet, supported only by the booby trapped vending machine and the cuffs clamped to her legs, Batwoman appeared to fall victim to another of the Trickster's tricky traps.
Lady Justice saw the entire episode unfold before her very eyes and swiftly raced into action. The time to proceed with caution was over and she ran to the nearest door, which was only a few feet away. With a thunderous crash, Lady Justice kicked the door open to rush to the aid of the gassed Batwoman. In a sprint, the Bay City heroine ran to her helpless ally and tried to grab her about the shoulders. As Lady Justice's gloved hands grabbed nothing but air, her arms passed right through the image of the KO'ed Batwoman, she realized that she was the one who had been tricked.
"A hologram!," Lady Justice shouted. "The whole scene was just a projection on a movie screen!"
Had Lady Justice not rushed into the building in haste, she would have noticed the strange texture of the floor. A thin nylon net was stretched out carefully and the ground beneath Lady J's boots. The Latina superfox didn't reach that realization until the corners of the net she stood on pulled up quickly with a loud snap. The moorings at the corners were activated, sprang upward, and scooped up the star-spangled superheroine off the ground. Before Lady Justice knew what was happening, she was suspended seven feet from the floor and netted up nicely in a seated position. With her arms pinned at her sides and her knees bent up against her chest, the bound Lady Justice struggled to move her constricted arms and legs, hoping to reach the cutting devices in her utility belt. Looking down in panic, her brightly colored costumed captor, the sinister Trickster, entered the room.
"On vacation, Lady Justice?," joked the triumphant Trickster. "Always nice to see a familiar face, particularly one as lovely as yours."
"Trickster! You vicious fiend," shouted Lady Justice. "How could you know we were coming?"
"Simple, we already captured Batwoman and Flamebird," Trickster calmly explained. "Commissioner Hamilton alerted us via Flamebird's handy Bat-Communicator of your impending arrival."
"That's impossible," shrieked Lady J, "I just saw Flamebird outside."
"No, you saw my lovely bride Gizmo Girl disguised as Flamebird outside," giggled the Trickster, clearly enjoying pulling on over on his nemesis. "Quite a little actress, if I do say so. She led you nicely into my clutches and she has a wonderful surprise for your comly sidekick, Bluebird."
"No! Please, let her go," begged Lady Justice, realizing the peril her sister was unknowingly walking into. Even in her panic, Lady Justice tried to free her arms to reach her utility belt, but her struggle was to no avail.
"Ah, sorry, no can do," boasted the Trickster, "I've got big plans for you and Bluebird...but I realize you'll be able to cut your way out of my net if we keep this pointless chatter up all night..."
The Trickster produced a small remote control device from his belt and grabbed a clear respirator mask, which he placed over his nose and mouth. One didn't need to work in Scotland Yard to deduce what was going to happen next. The remote lowered the net a few feet, directly in front of the soda machine where Batwoman appeared to fall. Still pushing as best she could with her bound arms and pinned legs in the entangling nylon netting, Lady Justice's struggle would be a short one.
"You see, the image of Batwoman was fake," laughed the Trickster, with his voice still clear despite being slightly muffled by the mask, "but the knockout gas was very real."
The helpless Lady Justice coud do nothing as the small jets from inside the soft drink machine hissed and released an intoxicating cloud of green sleeping gas. The mist engulfed the netted heroine and after a swift sigh and a couple of soft coughs, the Bay City superbabe was suddenly swept off to dreamland. As the green KO gas began to dissipate, the net containing the scooped up Lady Justice was still.
"Hmmm, once I get Lady Justice down and get her properly collared," Trickster thought to himself, "I'll see how my blushing bride is doing with Bluebird."

As her older sister was tricked into a spring loaded net and gassed into unconsciousness, Bluebird followed the lead of her idol, the famed Teen Wonder, Flamebird. Completely aware of the danger she was walking into, Bluebird watched Flamebird open the front entrance with amazing ease. The two junior heroines tread lightly around the large, dimly lit warehouse. What was visible, barely, was the array to slot machines, jukeboxes, and vending machines taken in the One Armed Bandit heist one day earlier. Flamebird moved silently, but a bit too quickly for Bluebird to keep pace.
"Flamebird," Bluebird whispered, "slow down...we can't afford to get separated...and any of these machines might spring a trap at any moment."
The blonde "heroine" nodded in acknowledgement, but still raced out ahead and out of the sight of Bluebird. With a visibility of only a few feet around them, the shapely sidekick in baby blue briefs could only guess where Flamebird had disappeared to.
The dark silence was broken violently with a loud "BOOOINGGG!," the sound of a spring uncoiling and judging by the sound, it sounded like a rather large spring. Bluebird froze in fear for a brief moment in her surprise, but was quickly called into action by the cries of a captive comrade.
"Bluebird! Help!," the blonde imposter shouted, with a voice emerging from the dark. "I'm stuck!"
Bluebird dashed forward into the darkness, running in the direction of her panicked ally. No thought was needed here, Bluebird's idol needed her help.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Great update Franco, loved the net trap!

Again, another beautifully laid trap by The TrapMaster! Nicely done! I can't wait to see what Gizmo Girl has in store for Flamebird! 8)

Bluebird, the shapely sidekick and sister of the now captive Lady Justice, raced into the darkness as she followed the voice of a helpless Flamebird. Luckily, Flamebird wasn't far ahead of her, but the noise of a spring uncoiling and the cries of the Girl Wonder would surely attract the unwanted attention of the wily villainous husband and wife duo of Trickster and Gizmo Girl. Such thoughts crossed DeAnna's mind, but this wasn't the time to think. It was time for Bluebird to act with Flamebird in certain peril. As Bluebird bounced forward in her blue on blue 'Robin'-style costume, the image of the Girl Wonder came quickly into view. Flamebird was wrapped up in the coils of a large spring, thin metal strands wrapping her tightly from her shoulders and extending down to her nylon-clad knees. In such a position, her arms were pinned to her sides and her thighs were wrapped snuggly enough to keep her from fleeing. It looked as if Flamebird was wrapped in a giant superheroine sized 'slinky.' The Girl Wonder struggled as best she could, rolling her shoulders from side to side. The thin metal coils did enough of a job to limit her movements to little more than bobbing back and forth in a panic.
"Bluebird!," Flamebird gasped, wrapped neatly in the sinister spring. "Get this thing off me!"
Bluebird froze for a brief moment and gasped with surprise. Trickster and Gizmo Girl's booby trapped machines were capable of more than the sexy sidekick could have imagined. The moment of surprise soon gave way to action as she raced to Flamebird's aid, pulling the coils of the spring off the shoulders of the Girl Wonder.
"Flamebird, what happened?," Bluebird asked as she struggled to pull the metal strands off her idol. The coils were strong, but gave way rather quickly as the baby blue spandex-clad superchick pulled with all her might.
"I dunno...just came outta nowhere," Flamebird grunted as the spring was still constricting enough to make breathing a struggle. "I heard a POP and the sound of a spring uncoiling...the next thing I knew, I was wrapped up as neatly as a Thanksgiving turkey."
"Well, I don't know how Trickster and his goofy gal pal pulled that off," Bluebird reasoned, "but this metal spring is easier to unwrap than I expected...kinda just peels right off."
"Speak for yourself, Bluebird," Flamebird half-joked, now that she was freed from the strands that wrapped up her arms to her sides, "that spring seemed plenty tight to me."
Bluebird circled around the bound red spandex-clad heroine, unwrapping the coils that held the Girl Wonder. The movement and the pulling of the metal wire forced Flamebird to spin in place as Bluebird swiftly worked to free her ally. The spinning of the faux-Flamebird revealed an unexpected surprise for the Bay City superfox as the short blonde wig Gizmo Girl wore fell off to the side, revealing the jet black hair of Jana Manchester, a/k/a Gizmo Girl. Bluebird looked up at the once captive heroine clad in bright shades of red and yellow when the metal wire had been completely removed, having just loosened the coils that hugged her shapely pantyhose-clad thighs. Looking with amazement and wonder, Bluebird could hardly believe what she was seeing. Stunned at this discovery, the Bay City babe dropped the metal coils to the floor as she realized that she had been led into peril by a Gizmo Girl in Flamebird's clothing.
Gizmo Girl wasn't expecting to reveal herself so quickly, hoping to capture Bluebird before the duped heroine realized her ruse. Jana saw the blonde wig hit the floor and managed a soft chuckle. The look on the masked face of the beautiful Bluebird was priceless. Since her cover was blown, Gizmo Girl clutched the coils of the spring in one hand and removed the yellow eyemask with the other.
"You're not Flamebird!," Bluebird stammered. "You're...you're Gizmo Girl."
"In the flesh, you Bay City bimbo, and you walked right into our trap," Gizmo Girl giggled with a bubbly laugh, still clad in Flamebird's sexy spandex costume, sans the wig and the eyemask. "As always, you stupid superheroines are masters at stating the obvious."
An evil knowing smile came across Gizmo Girl's face as a look of surprise and fear crossed Bluebird's face. A more experienced heroine might have stood a chance, reaching for the right gadget in the utility belt, but Bluebird was nearly frozen. Gizmo Girl clutched the coils of the spring in her gloved right hand, that was now relatively straight since Bluebird had unwrapped it, and stepped in a bit closer to the Bay City sidekick. The giddy evil girl knew she had the advantage over the rookie superheroine and Gizmo Girl intended not to miss such a golden opportunity.
"If you think me masquerading as Flamebird, the Girl Wonder, was a surprise," Gizmo Girl announced, "you'll find the next development quite shocking..."
Gizmo Girl simply extended her right arm and lightly struck the exposed neck of the stunned Bluebird with the end of the uncoiled spring the villainess held loosely in her yellow gloved hand. A small electrical shock rocked Bluebird as the electrically charged wire hit the tender skin of her neck. The shock was not lethal, or particularly painful, but it proved to be quite effective as it paralyzed the junior partner of Lady Justice. Gizmo Girl giggled as she pulled the wire away and watched Bluebird's expression change suddenly. Bluebird's eyes opened, almost bugging out, as her mouth was slightly open with the look of stunned surprise. The electrical current froze her shapely tight body in place, save a twitch or two. Bluebird's eyes rolled back in her head as her nubile body stiffened up. As her eyes rolled, the sexy sidekick fell straight back to the floor, still as stiff as an ironing board, like a tree falling in the forest. Before Bluebird hit the ground, the electrical charge from the wire had rendered her unconscious. Her body relaxed as her eyes closed. Bluebird was flat on her back and completely at the mercy of Gizmo Girl and her heinous husband, the Trickster.
Gizmo Girl stood triumphantly, dropping the coils of the electrically charged wire that subdued Bluebird to the floor, and placed her hands on her hips to relish this victory for just a brief moment. After looking with haughty disdain at an adversary that fell so easily, Gizmo Girl kneeled down to remove the bright yellow utility belt from Bluebird's waist. After being separated as part of a sinister plot to subdue Bay City's version of the dynamic duo, Gizmo Girl and Trickster would soon be reuniting them in a plan to rid themselves of these overrated masked menaces.

Meanwhile, Batwoman and the real Girl Wonder, Flamebird, were still in the bowels of the basement of Romero Novelty Co. and in serious trouble. Gotham's dynamic duo had been tricked, collared, and left to die laughing in a fog of Gizmo Girl's nasty nitrous oxide gas. The vertigo inducing collar left Batwoman dizzy and dazed as she tried to free the collar from her neck. Try as she might, Batwoman was unable to get a grip on it as she stumbled about and laughed uncontrollably. The joyous sounds of fits of uproarious laughter could be heard from the sweet voice of Flamebird, as she rested face down on the floor, unable to move and pinned in place by a collar that released a hyper-gravity field that greatly increased the earth's normal gravitational pull. Despite the laughs, Gotham's finest crime-fighting team knew they were in grave danger. It became tougher to breathe as the laughing gas flooded the small room and our brave duo have been stripped of their utility belts, the belts taken as a supreme prize by the Trickster and Gizmo Girl. Their tight stomachs began to ache with the uncontrollable laughter. Communication was nearly impossible as the costumed crimebusters could barely breathe. In the face of such peril, Batwoman looked to fall into what appeared to be a catatonic state. She kneeled down and sat back onto the heels of her brightly colored go-go boots. Still dizzy to the point to helplessness and giggling like a giddy schoolgirl, Batwoman mustered every ounce of concentration at her disposal. Her arms waved wildly behind her under the influence of the vertigo collar and shaking by the fits of laughter, the dominoed daredoll tried to reach the heel of her right boot. Her gloved hands grasped behind her at the heel like a blind man in the dark, but she was finally able to gain a secure grip on the object she was looking for. With a quick squeeze, Batwoman and Flamebird were suddenly freed from the effects of the disabling collars slapped on them by Bay City's most notorious villains. Jumping up, now in full control of her sexy bodacious body, Batwoman grabbed the aerosol can spewing Gizmo Girl's laughing gas. Grasping the unlocked door to the small room as she grabbed the can, Batwoman opened the door and chucked the gas-emitting device out of the room in one fluid motion. Flamebird slowly pulled herself up from the floor, still groggy from the nitrous oxide attack, and breathed a deep sigh of relief.
"Batwoman, what happened?," gasped a confused Flamebird. "How did we get free from these effects of these confounding collars?"
"Simple, Flamebird," Batwoman reasoned, walking over to her partner and reaching behind her neck to remove the hyper-gravity collar, "a simple safety measure stored in the heel of my boot. Do you remember the electrically charged pulse we worked on?"
"Holy boot heels, Batwoman," Flamebird exclaimed, "the electric pulse that disables any device with a computer chip."
"Exactly, Girl Wonder," Batwoman noted, "I stored the device that activates it in my boot heel for just such an occassion. Those collars the Trickster and Gizmo Girl used to disable us must have had fairly intricate computer chips to produce the effects they did. That electric pulse knocked out the chips and rendered them harmless."
"Talk about a close call," Flamebird sighed, now freed from her collar and reaching to release the clasp on Batwoman's vertigo choker. "I thought we were goners."
"You weren't alone, Flamebird," Batwoman said seriously, "the electric pulse was purely experimental and works over a very short range. I could only hope that it was going to work."
"Well, what now?," asked Flamebird. "This place is fully booby-trapped and Lady Justice and Bluebird are being led into a trap. We don't even have our utility belts. Did you see Gizmo Girl before they left? She was disguised as me!"
"Who knows what those vile villains have planned for Lady Justice and Bluebird?," spat Batwoman, with a note of anger rising in her voice. "However, we do have the element of surprise on our side. They think we're still prisoners down here and they'll be preoccupied with the girls from Bay City. We'll proceed cautiously and see if we can foil these villains' plans to capture Lady Justice and Bluebird."
Batwoman and Flamebird, sans their famed utility belts, depart the room to seek an avenue out of the basement catacombs of these abandoned warehouse. Little did they know that they were too late to help the spandex-clad superbabes from Bay City.

Lady Justice and Bluebird awake to find themselves bound back-to-back while sitting on what felt like a wooden floor. Leather straps about their shoulders and waists bound them together, while similiar straps around their ankles secured their legs. Upon opening their eyes, the Bay City beauties saw the bars of a small cage, just big enough to hold the both of them, around them. Their trusty utility belts had long since been removed.
"Bluebird? Is that you?," Lady Justice softly muttered, unable to see her sidekick behind her and still groggy from the sleeping gas. "Are you O.K.?"
"Lady Justice? Yeah, its me," Bluebird replied. "What happened? Where are we?"
"Looks like we're in some sort of large birdcage, Bluebird?," Lady Justice explained, looking about at her surroundings. Judging by the gentle rocking underneath them, the cage that held them was being suspended in the air.
"...and what's that putrid smell?," sniffed Bluebird. "It smells like a chemical factory in here."
While Lady Justice and Bluebird tried to figure out their predicament, the Trickster and Gizmo Girl entered the room to provide a complete explaination. The Trickster remained in his red and black bodysuit while Gizmo Girl had changed back into her form-fitting green and black matching suit.
"That smell, Bluebird, is sulfuric acid," replied the Trickster, with his voice booming from below, "and its coming from a large vat directly below you."
Lady Justice and Bluebird, bound together leaned to the side to catch a small peek at the large metal vat of a bubbling green fluid below them. From the little they could see, our heroines could see that the cage that contained them was about ten feet above the ground floor of the warehouse.
"Dumping us in a vat of acid," spat Lady Justice, "I expected something a bit more original from the two of you."
"Well, we're not being scored on originality, Lady Justice," countered Gizmo Girl, "but we did try to be somewhat clever in planning your demise."
"Look at the other end of the warehouse, captive crusaders," interrupted the Trickster, "you'll see that your cage is hooked to one arm of a large scale...connected to the other arm is a platform with a large block of ice, a block weighing as much as the both of you and the cage we put you in."
Looking around, Lady Justice and Bluebird could see they were on one side of a large scale and at the other end of the long arm was a platform, supported by chains, holding a huge solid block of ice.
"The scales of Justice, the caged Bluebird," giggled Gizmo Girl, "You get it?"
"You felonious fiends!," shouted a frightened Bluebird.
"Ah yes, such predictable clap-trap," sighed the Trickster in mock disgust. "Anyway, you're both sharp girls and you know how this works. The ice melts and the scale tips...blah, blah, blah...slowly lowering the two of you into the vat of acid."
"Batwoman and Flamebird are on to you two," screamed Lady Justice. "They should be here any minute to put a stop to your sinister plan."
"Batwoman and Flamebird, darling, are in the basement," laughed Gizmo Girl. "The air in the room we left them in should be completely gone by now. My super-strength laughing gas has finished Gotham's caped crusaders once and for all."
Lady Justice shot a look at the block of ice across the arm of the scale and saw a small drip of water rolling off the platform that held it. The ice was melting and their best chance to escape, a surprise entrance of Batwoman and Flamebird, was eliminated. She closed her eyes and sighed softly, realizing how dire this situation was.
"Lady Justice," Bluebird whispered, "Is there any way out of this?"
"Don't lose hope," demanded Lady Justice with a flase bravado, "there has to be a way."
"We'd love to stick around and see how this all turns out," announced the Trickster, "but the demands of our busy schedule prohibit wasting time on such folly. Gotham's Millionaries Club is meeting for their annual charity luncheon at the Boomer's Restaurant down by the Wharf. I guess Gotham's social elite think its cute to go slumming at a burger and hot-wing joint."
"And you'll be stealing all that cash that's supposed to go to worthy causes," Lady Justice scoffed with disgust, "just when I thought the two of you couldn't sink any lower..."
"The only sinking you'll need to worry about is that cage sinking slowly into the vat of sulfuric acid, Lady Justice," joked the amused Gizmo Girl.
"Do you have your costume, love?," asked the Trickster, turning to his wife, "Has the jukebox been delivered as planned?"
"The jukebox is in place, thanks to those delivery guys we bribed at One Armed Bandit Novelities," Gizmo Girl replied, "and you're going to just love how I look in this..."
Gizmo Girl reached into her handbag and produced the sexy signature uniform of the Boomer's waitresses, a tight white tank top with the Boomer's logs, a small pair of orange shorts, and shiny tan pantyhose.
"The manager of Boomer's as already received a call that a special spokesmodel from the corporate office will be on hand for this special event," Gizmo Girl announced. "My arrival shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone."
"Hmmm...," cooed the Trickster, "you'll look absolutely divine in that Boomer's Girl outfit. Be sure to keep that costume handy, honey, because I've got a craving for hot wings."
The husband and wife criminal duo departed, ready to plunder the Millionaires' Club charity bash. The trojan horse, a rigged jukebox, and a well placed insider, a disguised Gizmo Girl, would make this one of their easiest and most profitable capers. As the Trickster and Gizmo Girl left, the caged duo of Lady Justice and Bluebird felt the birdcage drop a bit as the stream of water under the large block of ice grew steadier. The scale was slowly tipping and not to the advantage of Bay City sexy superheroine duo.

TO BE CONTINUED....

Excellent update, as always, Franco! Love the acid deathtrap torture thing! Vintage '60's Batman shtick! I forget who put the Dynamic Duo into that one! Really looking forward to the next exciting episode! 8)

Great update Franco, loved the electrical shock trap and Batwoman's EMP boots. Acid pit and a hooters look alike :-D Excellent as always dude !

Soon after the Trickster and Gizmo Girl departed their Gotham City hideout, the abandoned Romero Novelty Co. warehouse, the caged Lady Justice and Bluebird felt themselves being slowly lowered into a vat of sulpheric acid. As the block of ice melted and the scale continued to tip, faint hope soon gave way to glum resignation.
"Lady Justice," Bluebird whispered, "the fumes are going stronger...making me dizzy."
"I know, Bluebird," Lady Justice replied, "that infernal smell is affecting me too."
"Is this it?," wimpered Bluebird. "Are we doomed?"
"There's gotta be a way out of this," proclaimed a defiant Lady Justice. "Hang on, sis."
The sexy latina heroines from Bay City struggled at the straps as best they could, but it was no use. Whoever had bound them took great precautions to make sure the heroines wouldn't escape. Without the gadgets in their utility belts, the situation did seem absolutely hopeless. Soon, the ice was melting at a rapid rate, causing the scale to tip further, and bringing Lady Justice and Bluebird closer to an acid bath.
"Did someone turn the heat up in here?," Bluebird gasped, "Or is it the acid?"
"Sure seems hotter," Lady Justice noted. "These fiends probably turned on a heater to melt the ice quicker."
Just as the bottom of the cage dangled perilously close to the bubbling cauldron, Lady Justice and Bluebird closed their eyes and gritted their teeth. The end was here and it wasn't going to be pleasant.
Suddenly below them, as the cage struck the surface of the vat's acidic contents, the putrid fumes seemed to disappear. The bottom of the cage hit the vat with a loud thud. It felt as it the cage had hit a solid surface like the floor.
"Wha!?!," exclaimed Lady Justice, "What happened!?!"
"My goodness," shouted Bluebird, "its like we hit something solid."
Before the Bay City superbabes could figure out what was happening, the most welcome sight imaginable appeared as a Bat-a-rang attached to a rope wrapped around the bars of the large birdcage. With a solid tug from below, the door of the cage swung open and a cowled caped crusader climbed up into the cage.
"Batwoman!," cried Bluebird, "I don't think I've ever been happier to see anyone than I am to see you now."
"Trickster and Gizmo Girl said they had dealt with you and Flamebird," stammered a confused Lady Justice.
"They certainly gave it their best shot," Batwoman announced in her most heroic voice, "Fortunately we were able to escape their laughing gas trap."
"What did you do to the sulfuric acid?," inquired a still confounded Lady Justice. "How did you keep us from taking a dip into certain doom?"
"Simple," Batwoman explained, "Flamebird and I retrieved our spare utility belts from the Bat-Cycle. I grabbed a pill of a super concentrated quinine, a highly alkaline material, and tossed it in the acid bath. It turns sulfuric acid into neutral matter, rendering it solid."
"Geez, I guess a 'thank you' is in order," sighed a relieved Bluebird, "but it doesn't seem like nearly enough"
"Helping us bring the treacherous Trickster and Gizmo Girl to justice will be more than thanks enough," Batwoman replied.
Batwoman worked quickly to remove the leather straps and freed the Bay City heroines. Leaping down from the cage, the three superbabes made graceful landings on the warehouse floor as Flamebird raced forward to join them. In her yellow gloved hands, the Girl Wonder held the prized utility belts of Lady Justice and Bluebird.
"Look what I found," joked a giddy Flamebird. "The villains left them up under this huge scale."
"Thanks," replied Bluebird, "it's nice to finally meet the real Flamebird."
"We saw Gizmo Girl in my costume just before they left us to choke on a lethal dose of nitrious oxide," Flamebird remembered, handing the bright yellow belts back to their respective owners. "Holy Halloween!"
"Before we get too far ahead of ourselves," interrupted Lady Justice, "the Trickster and Gizmo Girl revealed their plan as they left us on that sinister scale. Are you familiar with the Millionaires Club?"
"Yes, a charity organization made up of Gotham's richest philanthropists," Batwoman interjected. "They meet at some unlikely location, someplace you'd never associate with high society, to donate large amounts of cash to various charitable organizations."
"Right," added Flamebird, "and they're meeting today at the Boomers Restaurant for their annual luncheon."
"Exactly," Lady Justice noted, "they have a special booby-trapped jukebox being delivered and Gizmo Girl is showing up in disguise, disguised as a Boomers waitress."
"Holy hot wings and hosiery," boomed an excited Flamebird. "She's a regular master of disguise."
"Well, what are we waiting for?," added Bluebird, overjoyed to be joining the famed dynamic duo in foiling a caper. "Let's get down there and break up their little party."
"We will," Batwoman calmly reasoned, "but let's be careful not to pounce too quickly. We tried that before and ended up captives of this wily duo. Besides, the Trickster and Gizmo Girl think the four of us are out of commission. Let's not show our hand until they are vulnerable."

Earlier that morning, the jukebox at the Boomers Restaurant on the Wharf had been exchanged courtesy of two crooked delivermen from the One Armed Bandit Novelity Co. It was explained to the management of Boomers that this was a simple case of routine maintenance and the replacement machine was actually an upgrade, holding more CD's and the company actually restocked the jukebox with a more current selection of dance music. Satisfied with that explaination, the manager and his crew went about preparing their restaurant for the big event. As the noon hour approached, an exotic raven haired beauty entered the restaurant in a stylish sweatsuit and a large knapsack. It was none other than the lovely Jana Manchester, better known as the infamous Gizmo Girl, and she was looking for the manager who would be expecting her arrival.
"Hi, I'm Tiffani Houston," gushed Jana, "I'm the model sent over by the corporate office."
"Yes, nice to meet you," replied the husky middle-aged male manager. "I received the call yesterday from the head office. Thanks for joining us on this big day."
"It's, like, a total pleasure," giggled the scheming villainess, playing up her role as a vacuous airhead. "Being a Boomers waitress and model is, like, the coolest honor a girl can get."
"Well, did the corporate folks tell you what you'd be doing today?," asked the skeptical manager.
"Oh, yeah," babbled 'Tiffani,' "meeting rich guys, showing off this bodacious bod..."
"Not exactly," sighed the manager in exasperation. "You'll wear a sash with the name of one of the respective charities. When they call the name of your charity, you do a sexy little dance in the center of the restaurant and the 'rich guys' will throw cash at you. Sound like something you can handle?"
"A sexy little dance?," scoffed the indignant imposter, "Yeah, I think I can handle that." To demonstrate, 'Tiffani' slowly swayed her hips and began a sexy striptease routine, removing her sweat jacket and pants to reveal her luscious curves in the signature Boomers Girl uniform. Still performing a slow bump-and-grind, Jana looked sensational in the tight tank top, small orange shorts, and shiny tan hose. The regular Boomers' waitresses looked on with disgust at the display.
"Sexy enough for ya?," grinned the cocky 'Tiffani.'
"Yeah," gulped the overstimulated manager, "that will work just fine."
"Oh yeah," added Jana, looking around at the other eight girls preparing the tables for the arrival of the Millionaires Club, "I'm here as eye candy...I don't serve food."
"Great," replied the manager in the face of this prima donna, "we're fully staffed so I don't see that as a problem."
"Just so we understand each other," 'Tiffani' said with a wink as the other Boomers Girls shot the dirtiest looks they could muster in her direction.

Over the next hour, the 25 wealthiest members of Gotham's social elite were arriving at the restaurant for their annual luncheon. A parade of 25 men in conservative business attire marched in with matching gym bags full of cash. The sexy imposter smiled, posed, and preened for the millionaires as she graciously led them to their tables, arranged in a circle around the center of the restaurant. One younger man, in a stylish creme colored summer suit and sunglasses arrived as well. Devon Manchester, a/k/a the Trickster, was making the scene and he blended in nicely with the well-heeled members of high society. Before lunch was served, a dizzying array of lovely Boomers Girls danced saliciously before the millionaires as they joyfully hooted like construction workers and tossed wads of cash in the air. Once each cutie performed for her representative charity, tw armed security guards scooped up the money and placed it in separate sacks. The parade of shapely, scantly-clad Ambers, Mandis, and Heathers put on a seductive show for the millionaires before 'Tiffani' took center stage.
The disguised Gizmo Girl bounced out to the center of the room with a scarp in her hand and made a simple request.
"Hey handsome," referring to Devon, the man in the creme colored suit standing by the jukebox, "punch up B9 for me."
Devon complied, punching up that number on the jukebox, and the room was filled with the throbbing base of a hip hop beat. Jana swayed her sexy body, waving the scarp about to simulate the dance of seven vails, and playing a bit of peek-a-boo with the delighted crowd. She swayed, shook, and spun with the rhythm of the music. As the crowd was fixated on the hypnotic moves of his wife, Devon pulled a handkerchief from his coat pocket and brought it over his nose and mouth. The delicate cloth obscured the clear respirator mask he attached to his face. As Devon prepared, the vents at the bottom of the jukebox began to hiss and shot a thick cloud of green knockout gas throughout the restuarant. As the rigged jukebox continued to spew the sleepy smoke, Jana stopped her seductive dance and placed the scarp over her nose and mouth as the scarp hid a similiar clear mask. With everyone's eyes on the rump shaking of the lovely 'Tiffani,' no one noticed the green mist of sleeping gas that was engulfing them until it was far too late. As the gas filled the restaurant, scattered coughs were audible was a few brief moments before the millionaires, the security guards, and the beautiful Boomers Girls began to fall. With everyone in attendance sleeping off the effects of the green gas, save the masked Trickster and Gizmo Girl, the villainous husband and wife duo scurried about to collect the sacks of money. After scooping up the sacks, the disguised Trickster and Gixmo Girl navigated their way through the haze and the slumbering patrons toward the kitchen to leave via the back exit.
Cradling large sacks of cash, the Trickster and Gizmo Girl opened the door and were met with the harsh noon sunlight that hurt their eyes at first. Once their eyes adjusted to the light, they saw a much more troubling sight.
"Hold it right there!," announced Batwoman, standing beside her sidekick, Flamebird, with their trademark heroic hands-on hips pose. Gotham's dynamic duo stood triumphantly outside the door, in the alley behind the restaurant.
"You're...you're...," stammered an incoherent Trickster with a shaky voice further muffled by his mask.
"Dead?," Flamebird boasted, finishing the sentence of the stunned Devon Manchester. "Alive and well, Trickster, and ready to send you two off to Gotham State Prison."
Collecting their thoughts, the panicked villains spun around to re-enter the restaurant to flee Gotham's dynamic duo. Waiting for them just behind the kitchen door in a green haze were the Bay City heriones, Lady Justice and Bluebird, standing defiantly with arms folded and wearing matching clear respirator masks to protect them from falling victim to the green knockout gas. Frozen with nowhere to run, the villains were sitting ducks. When Jana and Devon turned to look back inside the restaurant, Batwoman reached in her utility belt to retrieve her compact exploding Bat-Net. As the Trickster and Gizmo Girl turned back to face Batwoman and Flamebird, the small packet Batwoman threw above their heads popped with a resounding blast of a gunshot as the nylon net inside unraveled. The net fell neatly over the husband and wife criminal team and covered them and the sacks of money nicely. Just as the Trickster and Gizmo Girl were entangled in Batwoman's net, a pair of black and white police cars arrived in the alley.
"Take them away, officers," Batwoman commanded as the policemen approached. "We'll make sure the money gets to the rightful charities."
The police officers grabbed the net and pulled it tightly over the captive criminals as they led them away into the waiting cars. The Trickster and Gizmo Girl struggled and their muffled protests were muted by the masks they still wore.
Lady Justice and Bluebird stepped outside into the alley, removing their masks as they watched the four policemen shephard the villains away to jail.
"Nicely done, dynamic duo," Lady Justice smiled to a grinning Batwoman and Girl Wonder.
"A nice bit of teamwork," replied Batwoman, "and it seems that there's more than one dynamic duo in the crime fighting busniess these days."
Lady Justice and Bluebird both blushed and exchanged greatful glances in the face of a compliment from the famed Batwoman.
"I don't know how we can ever repay you both," explained Bluebird. "You saved our lives."
"Having the opportunity to work with you two," Batwoman said softly, "is payment enough."
"Thank you," replied Lady Justice, "we've always wanted to meet Gotham's dynamic duo and discuss crime-fighting techniques with the very best."
"Perhaps we should discuss this over lunch," joked Flamebird. "Hot wings anyone?"

THE END

Great ending Franco. Loved Lady Justice and Bluebird hoping to see another team up with BW and FLB in the future. :-D

Ditto for me on that Franco! Nice ending indeed! My complements! Hope to see more of Lady Justice and Bluebird as well! 8)

You've done it again Franco! Great story!