The Sleuth's Apprentice

The Sleuth's Apprentice - Part 10 of 17

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The Sleuth's Apprentice - Part 10 of 17

Superboy, Superman, Batman and Robin are Copyrighted and owned by DC Comics.

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Robin and Superboy had just left the Batcave and were heading for Valery, where they had planned on checking out some of the stores which were owned by Wancho, when they were suddenly startled when they heard a large explosion.

'What was that?' Robin asked, as he stopped his bike and pulled over from the road.

'It came from over there!' Superboy said, while hovering a few feet above where Robin was riding his motorcycle.

'Wait a minute'' Robin noticed. 'That's the chemical plant, which Wancho is said to own!'

'Oh yeah?'

'We need to get over there and find out what was going on in there!' Robin ordered.

'I can get there first!' Superboy exclaimed, as he leaped in the air with both arms fully extended in front of him. He dashed over to the chemical plant, flying at super speed, while Robin was riding behind him on his motorcycle.

A thick, dark cloud was coming from the chimneys of the plant. The cloud rose up from the chimney and then filled the entire sky above the industrial area where the plant was located. Superboy decided not to fly through the black cloud, and he landed just outside the main gate, which led to the entrance to the plant.

When Robin pulled up, he parked his motorcycle and walked up to him.

'Let's separate, but please be very careful, okay?'

'Okay' the little Superboy replied.

The two cautiously wandered into the plant, hoping to find out something about the strange cloud, which had come from the plant. The cloud somehow resembled the type of cloud, which had appeared in Carnaville when the city was looted by the bus drivers.

Superboy was quietly walking down the hallway. Using his super hearing and his x-ray vision, he would continually scan the area before him for other people's voices. He scanned each room he passed, and he carefully listened for voices or sounds from any of the instruments which were located in the plant.

When he came to another hallway, the janitor had just finished mopping the floor. He had a bucket filled with water, and his mop was sticking out from the bucket. He set the bucket in the middle of the hallway, as he walked away to use the restroom. Just at that moment, two other men in long, white suits were walking down the same hallway. They were talking about the cloud, and Superboy decided to stay where he was so that he could listen in on the conversation.

'The experiment was successful' the shorter man said, with a grin on his face. 'When people see the cloud, they'll think that it is a major storm, which is heading their way!'

'Yes! That's why our work here must be kept secret! Nobody is supposed to know that we're creating a fake illusion, causing panic in the city. When the Master decides to strike Valery, we'll be ready to release the cloud so that people won't hesitate to evacuate when the storm is announced in the media.'

'Yes, that is brilliant'' the other responded.

The two men continued to walk down the hall, passing the intersecting hallway where Superboy had been hiding in one of the side rooms. He decided to quietly walk out of the room, and make his way towards the hallway. He accidentally kicked the bucket, which was standing in the middle of the hallway, and the sound caused the two men to turn around.

'Hey' HEY!' one of the men shouted. 'Who are you?'

Suddenly, the men started to run towards him! Superboy had to do some quick thinking, and he wanted to slow down the two men. He knocked the bucket of water over, spilling all of it on the floor and creating a large pool of water in the middle of the hallway, in front of him.

'Hey, you! Who are you?' the man shouted at him again.

Superboy took a deep breath, and then made an 'O' shape with his lips. He blew a gust of cold air at the pool of water, quickly turning the floor into surface which was suddenly covered with a sheet of ice! He turned the hallway into a surface which resembled that of an ice skating rink!

'Whoa!!!' the men screamed, as they came across the ice, which had covered the floor.

Both men tumbled to the floor and slid to the wall on the far side. The impact of their fall had caused them both to be unconscious for a few minutes.

Superboy just grinned, as he saw the men slide across the slippery floor, which he had created. Then, he leaped in the air, and flew away. Once he was far enough away, that he couldn't be seen, he landed on the floor and decided to run the rest of the way at super speed.

In the meantime, Robin was walking down another section of the plant, which had lead him to a section where a large number of different chemicals, metals, and other strange substances were kept in vials and display cases, which were neatly placed along the side of the wall.

At one point, Robin entered the large room from the side door, and he saw all the strange metals in these display cases. He walked in the room and examined the large glass cases, taking note of the many different metals which were being stored there.

As he wandered around the room, he came across a side door, which had the sign taped to the door. The sign read 'TOP SECRET ' AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY'.

The door was slightly ajar, indicating that someone was just in the room and had just left for a few minutes. Robin's curiosity had the best of him, and he had to open the door and walk in the room, with the hope of finding some more clues which would tell him what was being done at the plant.

As soon as he pushed the door open, he found himself wandering into a large room, which had more display cases standing along the outer wall of the room. But, the objects which were saved inside of the cases didn't resemble the same as the ones which were saved in the first room.

Robin walked up to the displays and gasped, when he realized what he was staring at: He was looking on at millions and millions of Dollars worth of jewelry!

'Holy jewelry!' Robin exclaimed when he saw the many rings, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and all the other articles of jewelry which were being kept inside. 'This place is like a jewelry store!'

Once he saw all the jewels, it dawned on him where these articles had come from.

'I bet this stuff belonged in a jewelry store' Probably some store in Carnaville!' Robin discovered. 'This stuff has been stolen! After all, why would they keep millions of Dollars worth in jewelry in a chemical plant?'

'Who are you?' one man shouted, as he walked into the room. He had spotted Robin, and he immediately sounded the alarm!

The man was tall and heavy. Not only that, but he seemed very muscular as well. He was one of the members who were in charge of security, and he became very angry when he realized that the security of the plant had been breached because of this kid, who had intruded in his plant!

The large, muscular man tried to grab a hold of Robin's shirt, but the Boy Wonder slipped out of his reach. The man then charged at Robin, swinging his fist. He missed slightly, and Robin started to run to the other side of the large room. When the man charged at him again, Robin tried to leap out of the way. The man anticipated the move, and he slammed his hand into Robin's face, shoving him into the brick wall.

Robin quickly regained his footing and got back on his feet. He stood up just in time, for the large man was about to plow his fist into his face. This time, Robin ducked in the nick of time, and the man slammed his fist into the wall.

'YEEOOOAAAWWW!' the man screamed in pain, after his hand had made contact with the wall.

Superboy had heard the noise, and he started to run towards it. Unfortunately, one of the other scientists had also heard the sound, and they all started running towards the lab, but coming from different directions.

The large man lunged himself at Robin, who was still leaning against the wall in a daze. He just extended his arms before him, bracing himself to absorb the shock of having the large man land on top of him.

Robin hurled the man away from him, causing the assailant to smash with his back into a tall display case, shattering the glass and spilling the numerous jewels on the floor.

Suddenly, another man came in, and started to chase after Robin as well! The second man lunged at Robin, grabbing hold of his legs and knocking him to the floor in the process.

Finally, Superboy made it to the room. The boy gasped, when he was standing in the doorframe, when he saw the two men, who were about to assault Robin.

'Hang right, Robin!' he shouted at them. 'I'm here to help!'

Superboy lifted one of the men, and hurled him across the room like he was a sandbag. Then he ran towards Robin, who was being kicked by the other security guard. Superboy grabbed him by the shirt, and lifted him up in the air, before he tossed him aside.

'Are you alright?' he said to Robin, who was just about to get back up on his feet again.

'Thanks, Supes'' he said to his partner.

Suddenly, both men attacked him from behind. Superboy turned around and threw one man off of him, while the other started to punch Robin in the side and in the face.

The first man ran at Superboy again, who was poised to hurl he man aside if he needed to. The man stormed at him, leaping right at Superboy's head. The Boy of Steel raised up his hands, catching the oncoming man, and lifting him off his feet and over his head. The momentum from the man's running caused him to fly over Superboy's head and then he crashed head-first into a large glass display case, which was right behind the super kid.

The glass case was instantly shattered, with a river of small glass fragments covering the floor. Several pieces of jewelry landed on the floor. There were also a few samples of rare metals, including one small, rock which had a light red tint.

Superboy was looking on at the man, and he was about to walk up to him, when he spotted the small rock, as it rolled over the floor and stopped before his feet.

Suddenly, he was overcome by a strange feeling. Jamie looked down and stared at the rock. He was rapidly becoming light-headed. The sight of the rock alone started to make him feel dizzy.

Robin noticed that something was wrong. He walked up to Superboy, only to hear him utter one word.

'Zyrtonium''

Instantly, Superboy lost consciousness and collapsed on the floor before him.

'Superboy! No' NOO!' Robin shouted, when he realized he had just lost his partner.

Robin bent down, placing his hand on Jamie's face.

'Wake up! What's the matter? Wake up!'

The man came up behind him, holding a metal plate in his hand; he then swung the plate at Robin's head, knocking him unconscious.

The two men stood in silence, as they realized their victory over the two super heroes. Then they grinned, as one picked up the phone and called on master Wancho.

'Master? We got him. We got Superboy' And, we got Robin, too''

'Good' Very good'' the voice responded. 'You know what to do with them''

They then grabbed rope from the other room and they completely bound the two boys, before carrying them to a special holding cell inside of the plant. There, they kept watch over the boys, as they awaited the new orders, concerning what to do to the two captive heroes.

When Robin woke up, he noticed that he and Jamie were tied with rope and they were placed in a small room. The room was white and it had only one light on the ceiling, but there were no windows. Robin couldn't see where he was, so he had no idea where he was being held at.

He was bound and he was lying on a bed in the small room. There was another bed in the corner, and Jamie was laying there, still unconscious.

'Jamie!' Robin said to his partner. 'Wake up, Jamie!'

But, it was no use. The poor kid was out cold. Robin just closed his eyes and pondered what to do next, although he was well aware of the fact that for the moment, his life was in somebody else's hands. He wished that Jamie would wake up, but he didn't move at all.

Finally, several hours later, a security guard walks in to the room, while holding a walkie-talkie in his hand. Apparently, he was talking to Wancho, his boss.

'Superboy is still out cold' the man said to Wancho. 'But Robin is already awake. What should I do to them?'

'I want to keep Superboy alive. We may need him later on, when Bert has come up with something that will allow us to take control of his mind or his powers. I'll call you later and let you know my decision'' the voice instructed.

'Okay, boss! I'm about to go off-duty, so, you must send your instructions to James, when you're ready!' the security guard said. He then pressed the button on the walkie-talkie and he signed off.

Robin stared at the man in anger.

'You won't get away with this! Some day we'll be back, and then you'll be very sorry for what you're doing to us right now!' he threatened the guard.

'Oh yeah?' the big man laughed. He reached out and grabbed Robin by the collar.

'You're in no position to make these kinds of threats, boy'' he sneered at the caped boy. 'I might have you killed, if you don't watch your mouth''

'I have very powerful friends' You'll be sorry'' Robin replied softly.

'I can tell how powerful your friends are'' the man growled, as he shoved Robin with his back against the brick wall.

The man the walked to the bed where Superboy was laying, still sound asleep.

'Well, look here' The little Superman is knocked out'.' He said in a sarcastic tone of voice. 'He doesn't look very powerful, now, does he?'

'That kid is a thousand times stronger than you! You'd better watch yourself!' Robin warned him.

'Oh, really?' the security guard laughed.

He walked over to Jamie, and placed his hand on Jamie's arm. He then pulled on the boy's arm hard enough, that he forced him to fall off the edge of the bed and roll on to the floor. As soon as Jamie hit the floor, he let out a soft groan.

'Good morning, sunshine!' the guard laughed out loud. 'Did you sleep well?'

The guard then walked up to Jamie, who lay on the floor. Jamie's eyes were barely open.

'I guess you're slow at getting up, huh? Maybe you need some help''

The guard then stood right beside Jamie's body. He pulled his foot back, before he swung it at the boy, kicking him in the side.

'Uhhh'' Jamie groaned the moment the guard's shoe hit him in the side. Jamie closed his eyes and grounded his teeth in pain.

'There' he's awake now!' the guard laughed, before he turned around and walked towards the door. 'I'm really scared of the helpless, little Superman now!'

Robin decided not to say anything, figuring that he could only make matters worse if he did. He decided to remain silent, and to wait and see what would happen next. He knew that sooner or later, Jamie would have his powers back, and these thugs would then be singing an entirely different tune!

The guard finally unlocked the door and walked out, slamming the large, steel door shut behind him.

Robin just stared down at the floor in disgust, seeing Jamie laying there, cringing in pain.

'Jamie! I'm sorry! Are you okay?'

'Yeah'' Jamie moaned. 'Can't be any better' I'm feeling great''

A few minutes later, another man unlocks the door and walks in the room. Jamie was still on the floor, because he was just too weak to stand up on his own. He was now fully awake, but he couldn't move because his hands and feet were still tied.

'Alright, boss' So what do you want me to do with him?' the guard said while speaking over the walkie-talkie.

The man then squatted besides Jamie, who was still on the floor. He took a small syringe, which he poked into a small, transparent bottle. He then aimed the needle at Jamie, and he tried to poke him with it. Unfortunately, the needle couldn't pierce through Jamie's skin, and it broke while he was trying to stick him with it.

The guard then grabbed the walkie-talkie, and he radioed the boss.

'I can't get the needle through his skin, boss. Right now, there is nothing I can do to him. I really don't have much use for him right now. So, should I send him to the islands? Okay, boss''

The guard then pressed the button on the walkie-talkie. He walked to the door and opened it, letting another guard in.

'You two are going for a plane ride'' he said to the two boys. 'You're going on a vacation to the Caicos Islands, until we know what to do with you. This way, you'll stay out of trouble until we have decided whether or not to train you, to employ you, or to kill you'.'

The two guards helped Robin and Jamie come to their feet. Then, they removed the rope from their legs, but they placed ropes over their hands and they kept their hands tied up.

The guards walked the boys to the door, and they led them down the hall, until they came to a large, empty courtyard which was completely fenced in with barbed wire. There was a large, black, armored truck standing parked in the courtyard, and the guards let the boys climb in the back of the truck, where there were benches for them to sit on. The guards then locked the back door to the truck, before they started the engine and drove off.

About an hour later, the truck had pulled into the small, private airport, where they allowed the boys to board a small, propeller plane. The boys were strapped in with seatbelts, and there was a guard sitting next to both of them. A few moments later, the plane taxied to the end of the runway, before it took off with the two boys as passengers.