The Magical Bat.
#include stdDisclaimer.h: Batman, Catwoman, Alfred, Babs, Dick, Lucius Fox, and the others, are DC Comic's toys. Hogwarts, Albus, Minerva, the Weasleys and the others in the Potterverse belong to the fabulous JK Rowling. I'm just playing with them, and they'll be put back later. Everyone else, they're mine. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Copyright © 2004 Kara Anne Kalel karanne AT mindspring DOT com. All rights reserved. No money is made, and no infringement is implied or intended.
This is a sequel to my story: The Bat & The Cat, redux.
------------------------
June 3, 1998 - Wayne Manor, Gotham City. Mattie:
------------------------
As we arrived home from Uncle Jim's funeral service, I said, "Okay, we're home. I want to see my letter from Massachusetts."
Mom turned and looked into the back seat. "Honey, why don't you go get changed out of your dress into something comfortable, and we'll meet in the kitchen in a few minutes? I'd like to get out of these heels, myself."
Dad chuckled. "Sounds like a plan." He pulled at his necktie, and parked the Rolls. I popped my seatbelt, and ran toward the door.
------------------------
After I changed out of my church clothes, I ran past Mom and Dad's room, and pelted down the stairs toward the kitchen. I burst through the door to the kitchen, and saw a large, hairy man sitting at the table. He turned and smiled at me, and I turned and bolted out the door, calling "MOM!" I met Mom and Dad halfway, and told them, "Mom! Dad! There's a strange man in the kitchen! He's HUGE!"
Dad said, "CAVE! NOW! We'll handle this!" I ran into the library, opened the clock, and ran into the cave. I ran into the control room, and slapped the emergency lock. Putting on a headset, I logged into the security cameras, and dialed in the kitchen. I saw Dad confronting a huge, bearded man in a ratty fur coat with a battle-ax.
The man appeared calm. Mom glanced at the status panel, and told the air, "Kyle, emergency lockdown alpha three." Steel slammed shut over the doors and windows. He blinked, and shifted in the kitchen chair, making it creak. He moved his hand toward his coat, and Dad moved the pike on the ax to his throat. "Open your coat VERY slowly, and pull it out SLOWLY, my friend." He did, and pulled out a wooden stick. Mom said, "Computer, Kyle, set code six. Throw me the wand, mister." There was a sparkle on the doors and windows, and he tossed it to her. She slid it in the waistband of her panties, and said, "Who are you, and what do you want?" I played with the joystick, and put a laser sight on his forehead.
"Par' me. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of the Keys and Grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." He grinned, and said, "I've also the honor ta be th' Care of Magical Creatures per'fessor. I've got a letter here for a ..." he started to reach into his cloak again, and Bruce moved the ax.
"It's such a warm day, Mr. Hagrid. Why don't you take your coat off, and toss it over here?" Mom asked, taking his wand in her left hand, and waving it, causing sparks to come out of it. She shoved it back in her waistband as Hagrid blinked.
"How di' a Muggle ...? He shook his head, then slowly stood, and shucked out of the coat, laying it on the floor, then slowly resuming his seat. Dad circled behind Mom as she kept the shotgun trained on Hagrid. He nodded at Dad, "Envelope in top pocket, addressed to a Miss Helena Martha Wayne, Wayne Manor, Gotham." He chuckled, and mentioned, "When the usual methods don't work, I get called to hand deliver the letters."
"So that's why the Salem Institute's letter got through, but yours didn't? Because we changed the defenses against magic?" Mom asked.
"How di' ye Muggles know about magic?" Hagrid asked.
"We have our ways, Mr. Hagrid," Mom said. Dad inhaled, then took his battle- ax, and pressed the tip under Hagrid's chin. Mom looked at Dad, and he said, "Look at the envelope's address." Mom moved to pick it up, and I saw the address had changed to:
Miss Helena Martha Wayne
Batcave Control Room
Monitor station #1
Gotham City, USA
"So, Mr. Hagrid. What address did you have?" Mom asked again.
"Wayne Manor, Gotham. Jus' what's on the envelope," he said, confused. "Why, don't she live here?"
"She does." Mom glanced at Dad, and then said, "Kyle, release lockdown alpha three. Mattie, stay there until we call you."
"Yes, Mom. You two ok?" I replied.
Bruce answered, "For now. Stay there." He addressed Hagrid, "Mr. Hagrid, I hope you'll excuse us for a minute, but we need to get dressed. Please stay here. Mattie, monitor."
"Yes, Dad."
------------------------
Mom and Dad reappeared in the kitchen. She smiled, and offered her hand, saying, "I hope you'll forgive us, Mr. Hagrid. People in our ... situation have to have defenses against all sorts of things." She offered him his wand back.
He took it back with a smile, "Thank ye. Bit of an attachment to this, I have. I'm sure ye've got questions, and I've got a couple meself." He still hadn't noticed the tranquilizer sight on his forehead. My hand sweated on the trigger.
Mom replied, "I'm sure. However, would you like some coffee or tea? I assure you, we don't usually hold shotguns on people."
"A spot of tea would be lovely, thank ye. I'd like to know how ye know about magic folk, meself." He shifted, and the chair creaked.
"We have had ... dealings with magical people before. Both good and bad," Dad said. "Mattie, if you have questions, speak up, but stay there for now."
"Yes, Dad."
"Mr. Hagrid, any preference on the tea?" Mom asked.
"Jus' Hagrid, 'tis. Ceylon, if ye have it." Mom nodded, put it in the teaball to steep, and added a splash of milk in the British fashion. She handed the mug to him, and sipped at hers.
"Ah, thank ye." Hagrid sighed, then said, "Information in the letter, there. Th' Ministry is holdin' a meetin' for the Muggle parents and students in London on the weekend o' the 20th, which happens to be the end of term. Normally, I'da waited until after term, but since I had to travel to the Colonies anyway..." He grunted and continued, "I know yer daughter is only ten, so she's a year early, but that's a good thing, 'tis. Means she's likely an 'ceptionally powerful witch."
"Cool. That means we can go to Boston next week, then to London the week after that," I said.
"Maybe. Remember, we said we'd discuss this." Mom told the air. "Mr. Hagrid, I presume there's some method of contacting you if we have questions?"
"There's a muggle mail address in there, as well as one'a' them fellytone things." He took a gulp of tea, and added, "Le' them know when you'll be in London, and someone'll meet 'ya. Accounts set up with Gringotts an' all fer school supplies." With another gulp, he finished his tea, and stood, his head brushing the ceiling. "'Preciate the tea. Sorry we got off to tha' wrong start'n all. Hope ta' see yer daughter on th' school train September first." He took Dad's hand and shook it, then took Mom's in his enormous hands, nodding his head politely. Scooping up his coat from the floor, he tried to open the door, only to find it still locked.
"Wayne. Release door twenty-two." Dad told the air. With a series of snicks, the door unlocked. I changed cameras to watch, and saw Hagrid shrug into his coat again, then mount a large black motorcycle. With a roar, it took to the air, and he vanished from sight.
------------------------
I safed the weapons, and grabbed the Massachusetts letter from Dad's workbench, running upstairs and into their hugs.
"Good job, Mattie." Mom said. "You did everything right." She gave me another hug, and then said, "I don't know about you two, but I could use another cup of tea."
------------------------
Boston: Salem Institute of Witchcraft
------------------------
In a somewhat run-down shopping mall, we entered through a door marked 'Maintenance', and found an assortment of mops and brooms. Dad looked at the instructions, shrugged, and said, "Twist the third white hook from the left 180 degrees." With a twist, the floor started to drop, and stopped about thirty feet down. The hook snapped back, and we got off onto a carpeted hallway. The broom closet vanished behind us.
A brunette said, "Hello! Welcome to the Salem Institute. I'm Martha Givens, and you are?"
"We're the Waynes', and this is our daughter Mattie."
A calculating look entered into her eyes. "Yes, let's go take a little tour, and then we can talk." She turned and walked off, and I whispered, "Mom, I have a bad feeling about this place."
------------------------
Boston: Ritz-Carlton Hotel
------------------------
"All right, let's talk about Salem," Dad said.
"My impression from the headmistress was that all she was interested in was gold," Mom said. "Also, for being in existence for five hundred years, you would think the library would be larger than it was."
"I agree. Mattie?" asked Dad.
"I'd like to go to a co-ed school. All I saw were girls, and did you notice that Dad had to go in a separate entrance? That bothered me. At least the shopping was ok, and I got a real magic wand!" I drew it from the holster on my left forearm and waved it, shooting sparks from it.
"I didn't like the fact that the shopping was associated with the school," Mom noted. "I would have preferred to see independent merchants."
"Well, at the very least, Boston is not that far from Gotham. You could come home on holidays, Mattie," Dad observed. "We'll keep Salem as an option. London and Hogwarts next."
------------------------
1 - Gotham and the US
------------------------
#include stdDisclaimer.h: Batman, Catwoman, Alfred, Babs, Dick, Lucius Fox, and the others, are DC Comic's toys. Hogwarts, Albus, Minerva, the Weasleys and the others in the Potterverse belong to the fabulous JK Rowling. I'm just playing with them, and they'll be put back later. Everyone else, they're mine. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Copyright © 2004 Kara Anne Kalel karanne AT mindspring DOT com. All rights reserved. No money is made, and no infringement is implied or intended.
This is a sequel to my story: The Bat & The Cat, redux.
------------------------
June 3, 1998 - Wayne Manor, Gotham City. Mattie:
------------------------
As we arrived home from Uncle Jim's funeral service, I said, "Okay, we're home. I want to see my letter from Massachusetts."
Mom turned and looked into the back seat. "Honey, why don't you go get changed out of your dress into something comfortable, and we'll meet in the kitchen in a few minutes? I'd like to get out of these heels, myself."
Dad chuckled. "Sounds like a plan." He pulled at his necktie, and parked the Rolls. I popped my seatbelt, and ran toward the door.
------------------------
After I changed out of my church clothes, I ran past Mom and Dad's room, and pelted down the stairs toward the kitchen. I burst through the door to the kitchen, and saw a large, hairy man sitting at the table. He turned and smiled at me, and I turned and bolted out the door, calling "MOM!" I met Mom and Dad halfway, and told them, "Mom! Dad! There's a strange man in the kitchen! He's HUGE!"
Dad said, "CAVE! NOW! We'll handle this!" I ran into the library, opened the clock, and ran into the cave. I ran into the control room, and slapped the emergency lock. Putting on a headset, I logged into the security cameras, and dialed in the kitchen. I saw Dad confronting a huge, bearded man in a ratty fur coat with a battle-ax.
The man appeared calm. Mom glanced at the status panel, and told the air, "Kyle, emergency lockdown alpha three." Steel slammed shut over the doors and windows. He blinked, and shifted in the kitchen chair, making it creak. He moved his hand toward his coat, and Dad moved the pike on the ax to his throat. "Open your coat VERY slowly, and pull it out SLOWLY, my friend." He did, and pulled out a wooden stick. Mom said, "Computer, Kyle, set code six. Throw me the wand, mister." There was a sparkle on the doors and windows, and he tossed it to her. She slid it in the waistband of her panties, and said, "Who are you, and what do you want?" I played with the joystick, and put a laser sight on his forehead.
"Par' me. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of the Keys and Grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." He grinned, and said, "I've also the honor ta be th' Care of Magical Creatures per'fessor. I've got a letter here for a ..." he started to reach into his cloak again, and Bruce moved the ax.
"It's such a warm day, Mr. Hagrid. Why don't you take your coat off, and toss it over here?" Mom asked, taking his wand in her left hand, and waving it, causing sparks to come out of it. She shoved it back in her waistband as Hagrid blinked.
"How di' a Muggle ...? He shook his head, then slowly stood, and shucked out of the coat, laying it on the floor, then slowly resuming his seat. Dad circled behind Mom as she kept the shotgun trained on Hagrid. He nodded at Dad, "Envelope in top pocket, addressed to a Miss Helena Martha Wayne, Wayne Manor, Gotham." He chuckled, and mentioned, "When the usual methods don't work, I get called to hand deliver the letters."
"So that's why the Salem Institute's letter got through, but yours didn't? Because we changed the defenses against magic?" Mom asked.
"How di' ye Muggles know about magic?" Hagrid asked.
"We have our ways, Mr. Hagrid," Mom said. Dad inhaled, then took his battle- ax, and pressed the tip under Hagrid's chin. Mom looked at Dad, and he said, "Look at the envelope's address." Mom moved to pick it up, and I saw the address had changed to:
Miss Helena Martha Wayne
Batcave Control Room
Monitor station #1
Gotham City, USA
"So, Mr. Hagrid. What address did you have?" Mom asked again.
"Wayne Manor, Gotham. Jus' what's on the envelope," he said, confused. "Why, don't she live here?"
"She does." Mom glanced at Dad, and then said, "Kyle, release lockdown alpha three. Mattie, stay there until we call you."
"Yes, Mom. You two ok?" I replied.
Bruce answered, "For now. Stay there." He addressed Hagrid, "Mr. Hagrid, I hope you'll excuse us for a minute, but we need to get dressed. Please stay here. Mattie, monitor."
"Yes, Dad."
------------------------
Mom and Dad reappeared in the kitchen. She smiled, and offered her hand, saying, "I hope you'll forgive us, Mr. Hagrid. People in our ... situation have to have defenses against all sorts of things." She offered him his wand back.
He took it back with a smile, "Thank ye. Bit of an attachment to this, I have. I'm sure ye've got questions, and I've got a couple meself." He still hadn't noticed the tranquilizer sight on his forehead. My hand sweated on the trigger.
Mom replied, "I'm sure. However, would you like some coffee or tea? I assure you, we don't usually hold shotguns on people."
"A spot of tea would be lovely, thank ye. I'd like to know how ye know about magic folk, meself." He shifted, and the chair creaked.
"We have had ... dealings with magical people before. Both good and bad," Dad said. "Mattie, if you have questions, speak up, but stay there for now."
"Yes, Dad."
"Mr. Hagrid, any preference on the tea?" Mom asked.
"Jus' Hagrid, 'tis. Ceylon, if ye have it." Mom nodded, put it in the teaball to steep, and added a splash of milk in the British fashion. She handed the mug to him, and sipped at hers.
"Ah, thank ye." Hagrid sighed, then said, "Information in the letter, there. Th' Ministry is holdin' a meetin' for the Muggle parents and students in London on the weekend o' the 20th, which happens to be the end of term. Normally, I'da waited until after term, but since I had to travel to the Colonies anyway..." He grunted and continued, "I know yer daughter is only ten, so she's a year early, but that's a good thing, 'tis. Means she's likely an 'ceptionally powerful witch."
"Cool. That means we can go to Boston next week, then to London the week after that," I said.
"Maybe. Remember, we said we'd discuss this." Mom told the air. "Mr. Hagrid, I presume there's some method of contacting you if we have questions?"
"There's a muggle mail address in there, as well as one'a' them fellytone things." He took a gulp of tea, and added, "Le' them know when you'll be in London, and someone'll meet 'ya. Accounts set up with Gringotts an' all fer school supplies." With another gulp, he finished his tea, and stood, his head brushing the ceiling. "'Preciate the tea. Sorry we got off to tha' wrong start'n all. Hope ta' see yer daughter on th' school train September first." He took Dad's hand and shook it, then took Mom's in his enormous hands, nodding his head politely. Scooping up his coat from the floor, he tried to open the door, only to find it still locked.
"Wayne. Release door twenty-two." Dad told the air. With a series of snicks, the door unlocked. I changed cameras to watch, and saw Hagrid shrug into his coat again, then mount a large black motorcycle. With a roar, it took to the air, and he vanished from sight.
------------------------
I safed the weapons, and grabbed the Massachusetts letter from Dad's workbench, running upstairs and into their hugs.
"Good job, Mattie." Mom said. "You did everything right." She gave me another hug, and then said, "I don't know about you two, but I could use another cup of tea."
------------------------
Boston: Salem Institute of Witchcraft
------------------------
In a somewhat run-down shopping mall, we entered through a door marked 'Maintenance', and found an assortment of mops and brooms. Dad looked at the instructions, shrugged, and said, "Twist the third white hook from the left 180 degrees." With a twist, the floor started to drop, and stopped about thirty feet down. The hook snapped back, and we got off onto a carpeted hallway. The broom closet vanished behind us.
A brunette said, "Hello! Welcome to the Salem Institute. I'm Martha Givens, and you are?"
"We're the Waynes', and this is our daughter Mattie."
A calculating look entered into her eyes. "Yes, let's go take a little tour, and then we can talk." She turned and walked off, and I whispered, "Mom, I have a bad feeling about this place."
------------------------
Boston: Ritz-Carlton Hotel
------------------------
"All right, let's talk about Salem," Dad said.
"My impression from the headmistress was that all she was interested in was gold," Mom said. "Also, for being in existence for five hundred years, you would think the library would be larger than it was."
"I agree. Mattie?" asked Dad.
"I'd like to go to a co-ed school. All I saw were girls, and did you notice that Dad had to go in a separate entrance? That bothered me. At least the shopping was ok, and I got a real magic wand!" I drew it from the holster on my left forearm and waved it, shooting sparks from it.
"I didn't like the fact that the shopping was associated with the school," Mom noted. "I would have preferred to see independent merchants."
"Well, at the very least, Boston is not that far from Gotham. You could come home on holidays, Mattie," Dad observed. "We'll keep Salem as an option. London and Hogwarts next."
------------------------
1 - Gotham and the US
------------------------