The Brave and the Bold: Red Robin and Hawkgirl

Faces

by Libbylawrence

Gotham City’s nocturnal cityscape was justly celebrated around the world for its unique nature. The city’s commercial district contained the typical stores and shops found in any large metropolitan area; however, Gotham City boasted a rather bizarre if effective means of making those businesses attract attention! Over-sized props that matched the goods or services offered by each respective store crowned most of the buildings. Thus, a huge working model of a typewriter loomed over the store front of the Gotham Office Machines Company while a neon ink well and pen rested on the roof of the Johnson Stationary Store. The idea for the signs originated in the mind of a rather eccentric city council man who approved the concept and encouraged it’s execution by all the businesses that subsequently came to the region. Still, for every one who viewed the theme as a quaint reminder of times past, there were others who hated the concept. The new Page One boutique seemed to combine the best of old and new. It was a modern dress shop with an old fashioned logo above the door but it lacked any prop on the roof above.

Linda Page Owens was not the kind of woman to disrespect the past but the shapely blonde was also a forward thinker. She had made a name for herself in several different fields. From nursing to fashion design, she had been both successful and capable. She was happy to be back in the city she associated with the most exciting years of her youth and she was more than a little nervous about opening a new store in the famous city. She had been very successful with a string of boutiques that sold her own designs and her husband and daughters were justly proud of her; however, she had never opened one of her Page One shops in the East before. She wondered if being in Gotham City would automatically attract criminals. This was not paranoia. She knew from past experience that life in Gotham City could involve running into any number of colorful costumed criminals at any moment. She also knew the city was well protected from those felons by Red Robin, the Huntress, and other defenders of the Batman’s legacy.

So, Linda took one final stroll through the closed shop in anticipation of the grand opening the next day. She gazed across the store and smiled sadly as she recalled an old friend.

“Bruce, may your soul rest in peace! I’ve always wondered if marriage brought you a measure of contentment or if the old demons never allowed you to know tranquility, ” she thought.

Before the elegant blonde woman could shake the old memories of her romance with the late Bruce Wayne and of the shadows that always kept them apart, she heard a sound at the back of the shop. She picked up a pair of sheers and walked toward the rear of the shop.

“Who’s there?” she demanded even as she cursed her nerves.

She peered around a row of chic dresses to see …nothing!

“I’m getting jumpy in my old age. Seeing the Joker around every hemline!” she said.

She turned around and headed back to the front when two strong hands grabbed her from behind and wrestled her back into the shadows. She struggled to no avail and passed out in the same strong arms that continue to hold her.

The man who held her wore a solid black costume. His face was masked and there were apparently no openings to allow him to see. Still, he certainly moved with silent agility and ruthless efficiency.

“She is ours although once more your victim’s beauty is like a wan moon next to a morning sun when compared with your own!” he said.

His companion emerged from the shadows and inclined her head slightly in acknowledgement. She moved with a regal grace that befitted her aristocratic manner and slightly old fashioned long gray gown with gloves, and a veil. Her blonde hair was gleaming and her figure was exquisite. She spoke in a soft voice with a heavy accent.

“Oui. Eet is so. Still, she will serve my purpose, ” said the mysterious blonde girl.

She lifted her veil to reveal a delicately boned face with nearly a complete absence of facial features. She leaned forward over the still form of Linda Page Owens and her blonde curls cascaded forward around her nape of her neck and her strangely featureless face.

She held a small device over Linda’s own face and miraculously erased the other woman’s features as well.

“Eet is done. Now, for the compliment, ” she said.

She looked up at the black clad male as her own face gradually took on the exact features of the stunned Linda.

“I still marvel at your powers, Mademoiselle Fantome!” said the man in admiration.

2

That same night found a weary Dick Grayson sitting in front of a large television. He smiled slightly as he watched an elegantly dressed beauty exchange barbs with a lounging but dapper actor.

“I really like these old Thin Man movies. Myrna Loy had a profile nobody could touch!” he said.

Alfred Beagle nodded and said, “Indeed, sir. Although the addition of the child marred the series in my humble opinion.”

Dick said, “Yes, nothing like a bratty kid to mess up a good thing!”

Alfred said, “I won’t take that remark as a veiled commentary on the worth of junior sidekicks!”

Dick smiled and said, “No. Don’t do that. Batwing has been worth his weight in gold. I’m sorry he’s busy with his own team but I’m proud to see how he’s branching out. I worked solo occasionally during my years as a kid partner but I never knew what it was like to be a regular part of a big team until I joined the JSA as an adult!”

Dick said, “I’m just happy that after that raid on the smuggling ring near Bayside, it turned out to be a pretty quiet night if you don’t count bringing in the Red Devil Gang.”

He held out a tray of refreshments to the older man who nodded and sat down beside his friend. Alfred cared deeply about the proper proprieties between employer and employee but the two men were more like family to one another than they were associates and at times even Alfred enjoyed a comfortable familiarity.

They watched the old film and little imagined that the quiet night had not been so silent or peaceful for Linda Page Owens.

3

In a luxurious suite at the Gotham Arms Hotel, a beautiful woman reclined on a sofa and snuggled up against a plush pillow. She sighed with contentment and rested her slipper covered feet on a table. She ran a hand through her auburn hair and smiled as she also turned on the Thin Man movie on cable.

“Seeing the bantering between Nick and Nora makes me miss Carter but I couldn’t miss a chance to buy some Page One originals! He’ll just have to enjoy his night of roughing it with the boys!” said Shiera Sanders Hall.

She referred to her husband Carter Hall. He was her soul mate in every way but he also enjoyed time with his male buddies as well. The fact that the wealthy archeologist also shared time with those same pals in his costumed role of Hawkman of the Justice Society did nothing to lessen his own enjoyment of a rare night away from his wife. Shiera knew this since she knew her husband well. She also understood that such moments apart allowed her to spoil herself with spa trips and shopping. Perhaps, because the two lovers had been destined to be together since a past life in ancient Egypt gave her added insight into how her husband thought.

She picked up an invitation and said, “Shiera, you lucky girl, you! Tomorrow will be a day to remember!”

4

The next morning found a smiling Linda Page Owens standing on a slightly elevated platform in front of a dozen specially invited wealthy women. They had been selected because of their status as high society, idle rich women who craved the latest fashions at the highest prices. Linda wore an elegant old fashioned gray gown with gloves. She seemed oblivious to the fact that her outfit looked like something out of Victorian times.

Shiera sat near the front row and wore an elegantly styled light blue dress with high heels. She glanced appraisingly around the room at the other customers and the models who waited for their cues to display the designer fashions.

“Linda Page briefly gained Batman’s mental and athletic prowess during that bizarre Mars case in the forties. I wonder if she also was tinged with the chronal energy he and several of us absorbed during the Karkull case? She certainly doesn’t seem to have aged very much. She may just know a good plastic surgeon!” thought Shiera.

She leaned forward slightly as Linda began to speak.

“You have come here to shop. You will be allowed to do so. However the commodity you will pay for will be your individual identities!” she said.

Shiera heard muted laughter as the other women tried to make sense of the odd statement. Shiera frowned, “I never knew Linda to have such an odd accent! Something is wrong here! I know French fashions have a certain mystique but Linda’s a Southern girl!”

She stood up and slipped swiftly to the front of the store. She moved quickly as if she had forgotten something in her car. She turned to see a white light flash from the stage and wash over the other women including the models! As the light faded, she gasped to see the frightened crowd now had one striking similarity. None of the women had distinctive facial features. They could see, hear, and breathe but they lacked even a hint of individuality.

Linda said, “Ladies, I have stolen your identities! If you ever wish to regain your features, you will pay me a very nice sum. I require one million dollar from each of you before I shall restore your faces! Do not fear, we shall make arrangements for the proper transfer of funds as necessary!”

Shiera slipped off her dress and removed a tiny ball from her purse. She spread it open to reveal her Hawkwoman costume. She slipped into the suddenly full sized costume and then she pressed a spot on her shoulder blades and her wings enlarged behind her! She slipped a feminine version of Hawkman’s helmet over her head and raced forward.

“The miniaturization of my gear worked like a charm. Jay was a dear to develop it for me. He knew the principal would work because the Flash of Earth 1 used something like it. This gives me the same advantage Carter gained from those real wings Odin gave him, ” she thought.

As she soared over the startled crowd below her, she attempted to grab Linda only she was intercepted by an agile figure in black who jumped out of the shadows to grab her legs and hold her back. Linda darted aside and watched from a safe distance!

“No one will harm my mistress!” growled the man as he climbed up Hawkwoman’s legs and reached for her upper body.

Hawkwoman struggled with the stronger man and managed to connect with a right hook. He grunted in pain and clawed at her torso. He managed to release her wing harness and as her wings fell to the ground below, he began to choke her.

She brought her knees up and flipped him over her head to the ground below even as she veered sharply into a hanging light fixture.

“Can’t steer with any accuracy without my wings!” she muttered as she kicked away from the light and grabbed her wings.

She gasped in pain as a blunt instrument struck her head. She saw stars as the room began to spin around her.

5 Hawkwoman bravely stood up and staggered toward her attacker. He held a truncheon and he circled her silently with a grim finality about his every movement.

She knew that she had no time to slip back into her wings so she merely used them as a shield and kept them between her body and her foe!

He moved swiftly and with a violence that was all the more disturbing because of his taciturn relentlessness.

The blonde in the gray gown stepped closer and shouted, “Ladies, if you want my help then first I require you to ground the Hawkman’s lover!”

Hawkwoman no longer had any illusion that she was the true Linda Page Owens. This strange imposter was clearly someone far more sinister in every way!

The women hesitated but several of them obeyed the command. They were desperate to be cured.

They charged at Hawkwoman and began to batter her from all sides. She hated to harm anyone who was in truth a helpless victim so she did the only thing she could do! She clutched her wings to her chest and soared away! She crashed through the display window and landed outside.

She slipped into her wings and tried to get her bearings.

“The wings protected me from the glass. I just have a few minor cuts. My helmet absorbed most of the impact from that truncheon. Still, I don’t think I’m up to a brawl with that group in my current condition!” she said.

She decided to activate her JSA communications device in her belt buckle when a voice from above stopped her in mid motion.

“Shiera! Before you do that, let me see if I can’t be of help to you. We don’t need the team for this!” he said.

She glanced up as an acrobatic figure in red dropped down to steady her.

“Robin! I’m glad to see you! The store is in chaos! People have lost their faces! It’s like a nightmare!” she said.

Red Robin said, “I was on patrol when you crashed through the glass. Let’s go back in and see if we can bring order to the place with a few well placed gas pellets!”

He hurled three pellets from his utility belt into the broken window and as the knock out gas filled the store, he handed Shiera two small nose plugs.

They entered the store and in moments the gas had knocked all of the altered women out. There was no sign of the mysterious Mademoiselle Fantome or her male servant.

Red Robin gently lifted one woman’s head in his hands and frowned grimly. The gas had wafted away by then and he ripped off his protective devices.

“I know who did this. I’m going to call in some of O’Hara’s men and let them take care of these poor women. I think we can restore them in time. In the meantime, you and I have to track down the woman behind this weird scheme!”

6

Hawkwoman and Red Robin quickly acted upon his plan and after helping the local police tend to the victims, the pair of heroes went to the Batcave beneath Wayne Manor. Shiera had only been inside the massive cavern once or twice before. She smiled to herself as she watched the Caped Crusader at work. He seemed to possess a boundless confidence based entirely upon a justified awareness of his own abilities. She also knew that any praise she might offer him would be deflected by a remark that he owed all he knew to the late Batman.

Red Robin sat in front of a computer screen and spoke in a calm authoritative tone.

“Batman once fought a mad French aristocrat called the Duc D’Orterre. He used a ray which literally robbed his enemies of their facial features. They could still breath, eat, see etc. but to the observer they appeared like a virtual blank slate,” he said.

“In their final battle, the Duc’s ray backfired upon him and permanently made him featureless. From what our gray lady told the Huntress, she is the daughter of the Duc, from his very old age. She was born without features as an effect of the energy he absorbed from the accident with his original ray. However, she found that she could make her facial features resemble those of any person she chose to mimic. When she fought the Huntress, she had modified his ray so it made the victim’s mind a blank slate instead of his face. She is quite brilliant and apparently sane but ruthless. She grew up a spoiled aristocrat living off her family’s shrinking resources. This new scheme allows her to extort money from wealthy woman in exchange for restoring their identities. She will only tarry long enough to rob them then vanish like the phantom she poses as.”

Shiera said, “Do you think she killed the real Linda? What do you know about her male ally? He gave me a really rough time!”

Red Robin said, “She was freed from prison by a mysterious man. I’d wager this guy helped her then as well. He is not known to me but I’m sure her family had its share of retainers so to speak!”

He said, “As for your first question, I think we can assume that her first move will be to try to cash in on the fact that she has Linda. I doubt she had killed her. She never murdered before.”

Shiera said, “I think her boyfriend has no such compunctions. He wore a weird mask that didn’t appear to have any openings for his eyes. I suppose the fabric was some type of special cloth that allowed him to see out while appearing solid from our side. You know, call me a shallow spoiled rich girl turned heroine, but I have always wondered why so many crooks don’t just use their wonderful inventions commercially to make a fortune legally.”

Red Robin smiled and said, “A woman with your sense of style should know the answer. They just get a kick out of dressing up in a fancy costume!”

He said, “I think Mademoiselle Fantome will try to steal Linda’s own assets and then get away. That’s why I want to head out to the old Page estate. Linda’s late father owned it. She used it when she moved to Gotham but her oil man father never sold it after she married.”

They headed out into the night and swiftly made their way to a large house outside the city limits. The grounds were not well maintained and the place appeared forlorn and vacant.

“Linda might reopen it if she decides to stay here a while. I think she was planning to decide that after she determined if her new shop was going to be a hit here!” he said.

Shiera said, “You knew her pretty well didn’t you? I’d almost forgotten how close she and Bruce were!”

Red Robin nodded. “She called me before she arrived. I meant to meet her for dinner but other duties called!”

They approached the old house and he said, “Her ray that removed the facial features can also restore them. I have no doubt we can get her to do just that when we bring her into custody.”

Hawkwoman said, “Too bad she could not alter that ray so it improved one’s looks. A face lift in an instant would be a real money maker!”

They drew closer and Red Robin shoved Hawkwoman flat as a ray blazed through the air where she had been hovering.

“I saw that flicker just before she fired the beam!” he explained.

Hawkwoman nodded ruefully. “Thanks! That’s what I get for being distracted!”

They moved apart and Hawkwoman swooped skyward. She exulted in the sensation of flight and she moved with grace and speed!

“I wish the babies were old enough to experience flight! Still, I know Lyta and Hector wouldn’t be reckless enough to carry them aloft while they are so little! I guess it’s the Grandma (yuck!) in me speaking!” she thought.

She glanced down at the old brick chimney and sighed.

“I’ll send Linda Page Owens the cleaning bill for my costume!” she thought.

She plunged down the narrow chimney and erupted out of the old, empty fireplace to confront …an empty room!

Hawkwoman sputtered in annoyance and rubbed away some soot.

“Correction! I’ll bill her for costume cleaning AND hair styling!” she said.

The Feathered Femme Fatale flew through the rooms and heard a sound at the end of the hall.

She swooped inside a room and saw a bound Linda Page Owens. Linda appeared weary but unhurt.

Shiera withdrew a thin knife from a sheath on her hip and sliced through the ropes. She rubbed Linda’s wrists and whispered, “You’ll be OK. Come with me!”

She slipped her arms around Linda and carried her out the nearest window. In flight, she could lift more than she normally could carry due to the power of her anti-gravity Nth metal belt.

Hawkwoman gently lowered Linda to the garden below and said, “Run down the garden path to the red car. Wait for us there!”

Linda nodded and said, “Thank you!”

As she raced off, Hawkwoman returned to the house.

“Now to teach that Duchess not to mess with a Princess!” she thought.

7 Meanwhile, inside the house Red Robin had managed to slip inside unseen. He disabled the energy beam that had been fired at Hawkwoman upon their first approach and he stood over a stunned guard.

“Mademoiselle Fantome’s hired helpers aren’t very good at fighting. For that matter they aren’t very good at observation either. I guess our Man in Black is an exception based on how Shiera described him!” he thought.

He bound the man quickly and expertly before moving through the house. He recalled a few visits there years ago. He glanced around the dusty rooms and recalled the period in his life when he had been a bright youngster by the side of the greatest mentor/partner a boy could ever want. He and Bruce Wayne spend plenty of evenings in such ornate settings among the city’s wealthy and elite. They spent many more evenings out in the excitement and danger of the vibrant city with the worst and most colorful criminals any society could produce!

He heard a soft noise and whirled to send a bat shaped projectile spinning through the air to disarm a man in black. His truncheon clattered to the floor as he faced Red Robin.

“You! You are the scion of the Bat! He disgraced my late master! He caused pain to my mistress!” whispered the man.

Red Robin noticed the mask he wore lacked any slits for his eyes but he knew the thug could obviously see.

He said, “What do we call you? No Eyes? The Faceless Fiend? Dr. Can’t See?”

The man in black said, “I am known as Tenebres!”

He jumped forward to grapple with Red Robin but the faster man was already in motion.

Red Robin dodged the French villain and connected with a swift flurry of blows! He managed to send the villain reeling backward on his feet and he moved forward to complete the job!

Tenebres staggered and raked at Red Robin’s face. He tried to compensate for his lesser skill with sheer brutality. The ploy failed miserably.

Red Robin twisted and sent the man crashing to the floor. Before he could get up again, he was caught in a hastily drawn and tossed bat-line.

“You gave Hawkwoman a real struggle. Too bad, she didn’t have my years of intensive training. She’s a bit rusty. I’m not!” declared Red Robin.

Tenebres remained silent as the hero bound him tighter.

8

Red Robin darted up the stairs and called out loudly. “Duchess D’Orterre! You may as well surrender! We have your servant. We also know your m.o. very well. You can’t catch us off-guard with your facial alterations!”

He nodded as the woman herself stepped out on the landing. She lifted her veil and revealed her customary featureless face. She held a small gun in her gray gloved hand.

“You may be deluding yourself, mon ami! You can’t be prepared for this!” she said.

She did not fire the gun. She just brought one dainty high heel down on the floor as if she was stomping in a fit of anger. A pulse of energy suddenly washed through the house and the sheer expansive nature of the energy caught even Red Robin by surprise.

He grabbed his head in pain and fell forward. He had not lost any of his training. It was all intact. He merely had no recollection of it or of his own name, purpose, or identity!

Mademoiselle Fantome said, “I set up my old memory sapping ray here upon arrival. It was a final precaution. I removed all standard shielding from the device so upon activation its energy would saturate the entire house. I am immune to it as you can see.”

Red Robin shook his head. “I don’t know who you are! I don’t understand what’s happened. I can’t even tell you my own name!”

She approached him and laughed a musical laugh as she placed one petite hand on his lips.

“Hush! You are my loyal servant. That is all you must know!” she said.

A loud scream echoed through the house as a flying figure appeared from upstairs and streaked toward the pair. It was a fighting mad Hawkwoman! She crashed into Mademoiselle Fantome and struck her again and again with a fury that allowed the smaller woman no respite!

“You tried to kill me! You serve Hath-Set! You have taken Prince Khufu from me! Where is he? Tell me or I’ll end your miserable life! You spawn of Set!” she cried.

She battered the French woman until she collapsed at her feet. She gasped for air and slowly her own memories returned to her! She called a paramedic for the injured Mademoiselle Fantome and placed her hands gently on Red Robin’s arm.

“It’s OK. Your memory has been stolen but you have a cure in the cave. Your friend Alfred and I will fix things. The Huntress worked up a way to counter this particular effect of the Duchess’s weaponry. We can use what she put together to cure you! Just take my hand and trust me!” she said.

Red Robin nodded slowly and followed her into the night.

Later, back at the bat cave a restored Red Robin expressed his thanks to Hawkwoman.

“You and Alfred brought me back to normal and I can’t thank you enough. I can use that gun we took from the Duchess to reverse what she did to all those poor women. I owe you an apology too. I was a bit condescending to you back at the house. I guess I was thinking of you as a debutante and not as a heroine!” he said.

Shiera laughed and said, “I’m glad to see you still have that laughing daredevil side to you. When you were a boy, you always had a quick quip or pun at the ready.”

He said, “I have never completely shaken off those old habits. The jokes are part of my nature!”

Shiera said, “I know. I also think you should not suppress that part of your personality. You went through a rough time when you first joined the JSA team. I know you tried so hard to seem like a Junior Batman. Carter was not very nice to you back then. He viewed you as a boy in spite of your age and your skill! I gave him a real tongue lashing since I knew exactly how his treatment made you feel!”

Red Robin said, “When he refused to team up with me on a case when we all divided up, I admit I was pretty bitter. We worked past that in time. Still, unlike Terry Sloane, Rex Tyler, and Clark Kent, Carter didn’t trust me when I first joined the team in that bad costume!”

Shiera said, “When I first talked him into letting me use a pair of his wings, he literally grounded me after the case ended! He acted like I was too immature to handle them. Oh, I settled that little matter soon afterward! He means well! You have to expect a man with such a devotion to the past to be a bit old fashioned! ”

Red Robin said, “You won’t hear me complaining. After all, it was the very fact that you had a past life to draw upon that allowed you to keep your fighting instincts intact when Mademoiselle’s ray wiped out your memory as well as my own. You forgot you were Shiera Hall but you reacted as if you were Shiera the ancient Egyptian who would later be reincarnated as a modern day socialite and heroine!”

Hawkwoman said, “Watch who you call ancient! It’s odd though. Something about the way her ray stripped away my memories of my current life seemed to put me more fully in touch with my former one than I previously had been. I fought more fiercely than I normally do!”

He replied, “Well, you saved the day and Linda and I both appreciate it! I think she’ll be happy to give you’re a private viewing of all her new designs! I know you love to shop.”

They headed out into the Gotham night in the Red Racer and Shiera winked at him.

” I do love a good outfit. Oh, and about that bad costume, you should have talked to me before you put that gray one together!” she said.

 

The End