And Catwoman has always been more active at night Robin agreed Yes but this is something different Batman continued The commissioner thinks she’s cooking up a plan She’s been seen frequently at Gotham Arena where they’re getting ready for a cat show That’s right Commissioner Gordon nodded Gotham City is hosting the International Cat Enthusiasts show The cat competition begins tomorrow but the cats and their handlers have already arrived Robin furrowed his brow He was still confused Sure Catwoman loved cats but why would the notorious cat burglar care about a pet show There was hardly anything to be gained by nabbing pets The reigning cat champion Persian Purrfection will be among the competing cats Gordon continued Purrfection is considered to be a near flawless specimen of her breed She is worth a lot of money But Catwoman would never sell a cat Robin said She thinks cats should be free The way Robin figured it if Catwoman had her way the whole world would be overrun by cats Or maybe cats would simply run it The prize cat is just part of it Robin Batman continued Persian Purrfection wears the I C E crown The I C E crown It’s a collar created by the International Cat Enthusiasts and given to the Best in Show said Commissioner Gordon The winner wears it for one year Batman explained Then brings it back to either win it again or pass it to the next Best in Show How great could a cat collar be Robin asked raising one eyebrow It’s not just any collar Robin Batman replied It’s encrusted with nine rare feline-cut diamonds Each gem looks like a sparkling cat’s eye The prize is worth millions of dollars Batman pulled up an image of the collar on his mini-computer He turned it to show the Boy Wonder Robin let out a low whistle THWOOOO The collar did look pretty spectacular He could hardly believe someone would put
something that incredible on a cat
Commissioner Gordon ran his hand through his white hair He gritted his teeth If something happens to that cat or that collar it will be an international embarrassment for our city Gordon said It’s crucial that we keep them both safe while they are in Gotham City You’re absolutely right Commissioner Batman said with a nod The combination of precious cats and precious jewels will be like catnip for Catwoman too much for her to resist Precious cats and precious jewels Hearing his mentor’s words reminded Robin of what he’d been trying to say earlier His eyes grew wider behind his mask Exactly Robin exclaimed That’s what I’ve been He started to tell the Dark Knight and Commissioner Gordon what he’d been thinking earlier but he was interrupted That’s why I need you two to help guard the Gotham Arena tonight Gordon said We have to make sure nothing goes wrong before the competition tomorrow CRRRRCHT Suddenly Commissioner Gordon’s police radio crackled to life He reached for it I’ve already pulled half of the force and most of the city’s armed guards to help The police commissioner put the radio to his ear But Catwoman is tricky You never know when she’s going to pounce he added Batman gave a slight nod Nobody knew better than he did how sneaky Catwoman could be But there was something else troubling the Dark Knight He was picking up distressing noises coming from the other side of the city With the help of the audio processor and high-gain antenna housed in the pointed ears of his cowl he could detect the sound of a distant alarm a large one At the same time that Batman was picking up disturbing sounds the commissioner was getting bad news over the radio The two were connected and Batman knew what the head of the Gotham City Police Department was going to say even before he said it There’s a security breach at the arena the commissioner exclaimed setting down his radio Catwoman’s already gotten the jump on us Batman announced scowling Come on Robin We haven’t a moment to lose
CHAPTER 2 BATS IN A CAVE Batman and Robin raced to the Batmobile and leaped inside The sun started to set as they sped across the city Buckled into the passenger seat Robin tried again to tell Batman about what he had seen at the art museum Batman there’s something in the new exhibit that I No time for that now Robin Batman said silencing the Boy Wonder The Dark Knight steered smoothly around traffic and into the arena parking lot We need to focus on the job at hand Robin looked out the window The closed arena was located next to the huge Knights Stadium The two buildings shared a massive parking lot The space around the smaller arena was full of police officers and uniformed guards They were all milling around looking up at the event center and scratching their heads Some of them were covering their ears to block out the noisy alarm that was still sounding WEE-OO WEE-OO WEE-OO Batman and Robin leaped from their vehicle They spotted the chief of police standing by the closed arena entrance and hurried over to get the scoop What’s going on Batman asked We rigged the I C E collar to activate an alarm and seal all of the entrances and exits if it was unclasped the chief shouted Someone must have taken it off of the cat exclaimed Robin The good news is that the alarm worked continued the chief The arena is completely locked down There is no way the thief can get out The bad news is we weren’t done with the alarm programming We hadn’t set the deactivation code yet So there’s no way anybody can get in either
