Batman 4 - Batman & Robin by Michael Jan Friedman Read Free Book Online Page A

might as well have asked him if bats fly.
    Slicing past an elevated bridge, Batman caught a quick glimpse of the motorists’ faces as he dropped by, followed closely by Robin. They were astonished, to say the least.
    Still far below, the streets of Gotham rushed up at the Dark Knight with increasing clarity and definition. And Freeze’s lead wasn’t diminishing quickly enough. Oh, he was looming closer and closer, but as long as Batman was at the mercy of the wind, he could descend only so quickly.
    Coiling like the predator he was—the predator he had to be—Batman took the greatest chance of all. He leaped from his capsule door, relinquishing the only element of maneuverability he had, and fell through the night like a stone.
    It was a calculated risk. If he wasn’t knocked off course by a sudden gust of wind, if Freeze didn’t see what he was doing and veer at the last moment, he would land directly on his objective.
    But if Freeze did happen to look up—and elude the falling crime fighter—Batman didn’t have a chance. At this rate of descent, there would be nothing he could do to save himself.
    Another moment, Batman told himself. Just one more . . .
    Indeed, Freeze turned to look back—but by then, it was too late. The Dark Knight hit him square in the glide pack and grabbed the villain around the neck. What’s more, the impact knocked the diamond out of Freeze’s hand.
    As Batman hung on to his nemesis, gloved fingers clawing for purchase, he watched the gem tumble through the air. Even if he had his hands free, it was too far away for him to recover it. And if he didn’t, it would shatter on the pavement below.
    Fortunately, the hero’s dilemma didn’t last very long. A red-and-black figure swooped out of the night. Maneuvering in a grand flip, Robin snatched the falling gem.
    The villain and the swag, both in hand. Batman was just beginning to look for a place to land when he saw Freeze reach down and release his glide-pack buckle.
    Before Batman could respond, he found himself holding an empty glide pack. Freeze himself was dropping unassisted toward the giant, smoking chimney of a towering industrial complex.
    Finger Foods, he thought. One of the bigger businesses in the city not owned by Wayne Enterprises.
    Freeze aimed his cryo-gun at the smoking tower and fired. The maw of the chimney choked up instantly with snow—just a fraction of a second before the villain plummeted into it.
    Once again, Batman felt he was in jeopardy of losing his prey. He flung Freeze’s glide pack away and grabbed the limits of his cape. Then he arched his back and used the Kevlar of the cape like a rudder—to aim himself at the chimney headfirst.
    His cape fluttering around his head like an entire swarm of bats, he sliced into the snowy opening. And caught a glimpse of Robin dropping in right after him, his capsule door discarded.
    They found themselves dropping through one snowy layer after another in a madly snaking tunnel with walls of ice. Batman could see Freeze up ahead of them, firing as he fell, but nothing more.
    Still, the chimney wouldn’t go on forever. They had to break their fall before their fall broke them.
    Pulling out his Batgrapple equipment, Batman made sure Robin saw what he was up to, then fired. Almost simultaneously, two grappling hooks hit the icy inner surface of the chimney and caught.
    Gripping his tether with both hands, the Dark Knight managed to hang on as the line went taut—and nearly tore his arms out of their sockets. But a layer of ice, no matter how thick, just wasn’t the ideal medium for a grappling hook. The sudden tug of his weight on the line jerked the Batgrapple free of the ice.
    Batman fell, albeit not quite as quickly, into icy dark ness. Somehow, he landed on his feet. Robin came to earth a heartbeat later. Then they heard the clatter of their grappling hooks hitting the ground.
    They were in a long, submarinelike corridor. Or at least, that’s what it looked like.