CHAPTER 1 CATNIP And if you will follow me into the next room The Gotham City Art Museum guide held her hand over her head She led a group of Brentwood Academy students further into the Egyptian exhibit Tim Drake lingered at the back of the pack He was hoping to get a closer look at some of the ancient artifacts The touring exhibition had only just opened in Gotham City and many of the priceless pieces were on display for the first time It was thrilling to see the rare relics up close And one item in particular had caught Tim’s attention When the crowd cleared Tim moved closer to a large glass case and bent down to peer inside the locked display Inside was an ancient Egyptian necklace honoring the Egyptian god Atum-Ra The wide collar was made of layered gold beads It was large enough to cover most of a person’s chest from shoulder to shoulder And it had been embellished with precious gems that enhanced the necklace’s golden glow In the center a large cat pendant gleamed Something about the cat ornament in the middle of the glittering choker made the hair on the back of Tim’s neck stand on end He read the sign beside the necklace letting the words sink in Then the high school student sucked in his breath If what the sign said was true Careful Don’t fog up the glass a woman’s voice behind him teased Tim whirled around But before he could see who had spoken he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket Tim took out his phone and checked the screen A call was coming in from his mentor Bruce Wayne
Tim wasn’t allowed to take calls during school even if he was out of class on a field trip But he always found a way to take Bruce’s calls After all Bruce Wayne was not just anybody He was the head of Wayne Enterprises and one of Gotham City’s richest smartest and most generous citizens And Bruce Wayne had a secret he was Batman Just the person Tim wanted to talk to Bruce You won’t believe what I just saw There’s a new exhibit at Tim was so excited he began talking at once forgetting that Bruce had called him Tim Listen to me Bruce cut him off I need you to meet Commissioner Gordon and me by the Bat-Signal on the roof of the police station Come as quickly as you can Bruce hung up before Tim could get another word out This had to be urgent Quickly the boy stashed his phone and looked around His class had moved to another room with the tour guide Nobody noticed when Tim made a dash for the exit On the roof of the police station Batman and the commissioner were waiting Tim arrived out of breath He’d taken a moment to change into his alter ego Robin the Boy Wonder Bruce Wayne wasn’t the only guy in Gotham City with a secret identity Batman you won’t believe the Robin stopped himself mid-sentence when he noticed the look in Batman’s eyes He could read the expression clearly even behind a mask Now was not the time Robin clamped his mouth shut He turned to face the man wearing an overcoat beside the Dark Knight giving the commissioner his full attention Commissioner Gordon how can we help Robin asked Batman answered for him The police commissioner was just telling me that Catwoman has been spotted prowling around the city at night Robin nodded waiting to hear more about Catwoman’s whereabouts There was nothing unusual about that I know what you’re thinking Robin Batman continued Cats are nocturnal
