The Sleuth's Apprentice

The Sleuth's Apprentice - Part 16 of 17

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The Sleuth's Apprentice - Part 16 of 17

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

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When Robin had seen the destruction that his super buddy had caused, he decided that the time had come to take action. He had finally worked up enough courage to walk up to his best friend, who was still in a trance. Jamie just stared at him with a blank expression on his face, not knowing for sure whether Robin was going to threaten him or not.

'Stop doing the things that you hate, Jamie'' Robin said calmly. 'Instead, do something you love!'

'What' What do you mean?' Jamie wondered. He continued to stare at Robin with a confused look on his face.

In the meantime, Wancho spotted Robin talking to Jamie, and he became very angry.

'Come over here, Superboy!' he shouted through the microphone. 'Stop talking to him!'

Jamie was about to walk past Robin, when Robin held up his hands, revealing the three bean bags.

'Come on, Jamie'' he said to the confused boy. 'This is not you. You don't do these things. You hate doing this! Look, let me show you something you love to do''

Robin tossed one of the beanbags in the air, followed by the second, and finally the third, while catching the first two and tossing them back in the air again. He stood right before Jamie, and he was juggling the beanbags!

'You love to do this, Jamie. You're a clown. You don't want to hurt people! You're so different from the way you're acting right now! You want to make people laugh! You don't want to hurt them or rob them of their money or their jewelry!' Robin said, as he continued to juggle.

Slowly, the expression on Jamie's face started to change. A smile suddenly came on his face.

'You're a clown! So, snap out of this evil mode, okay?' Robin said.

'A clown' I'm' I'm' I'm a clown'' Jamie repeated quietly.

'Yes!' Robin replied excitedly. 'You're no bank robber! You're a clown!'

Wancho couldn't understand why Jamie wasn't responding.

'Come here, Superboy! Stop listening to him!' he shouted.

'Here, take these beanbags, Jamie'' Robin said, as he caught them and gently handed them over to Jamie.

Jamie tossed the first beanbag in the air, but he caught it as soon as it came down. Then, he blinked his eyes a few times, as if he was starting to come out of the trance.

'Try again, Jamie''

Wancho started to become frustrated. He began to fear that he had lost control of Jamie, and he furiously grabbed the microphone and held it before his lips.

'Superboy, don't let Robin stop you! Kill him!'

'No'' Jamie replied, as he tried to juggle for the second time. This time, he was able to keep it up, and the beanbags kept on going around and around in a circle.

'Superboy! KILL ROBIN! KILL HIM NOW!' Wancho shouted.

'NO!' Jamie shouted back.

'KILL HIM! DO IT NOW!' Wancho yelled back.

'NO!! NO!! NOOO! He's my brother! I can't kill him!'

'Juggle those beanbags, Jamie! You LOVE doing this!' Robin persuaded him.

'KILL HIM!! THAT'S AN ORDER!!' Wancho shouted furiously.

Wancho ran to the front of the van and then he grabbed his rifle and his Zyrtonium gun.

In the meantime, Superman, Batman, and Wesley had arrived and were walking up to where Robin and Superboy were standing.

'Superboy! If you don't kill him, then I will kill BOTH of you!' Wancho shouted.

Suddenly, he grabbed his special gun, and fired a red laser beam, which struck Jamie in the chest.

'Uhhhhh!' Jamie gasped, before he collapsed on the floor, dropping the three beanbags before him.

'What the'?' Robin exclaimed, the moment he turned around.

Wancho quickly tossed the Zyrtonium rifle on the floor, and he took his rifle. He aimed at Robin's back, and fired a shot.

POW!

Superman and Batman gasped, as Wesley raced to the van.

Jamie was down, and Robin was the next to fall on the floor, grabbing his right elbow with his left arm, and screaming in pain.

'I'm shot! I've been shot!' Robin screamed. 'I've been shot in the arm!'

Batman ran towards Robin, and he tried to see where he had been shot, while Superman ran up to Jamie.

'Aarrrhgg!!' Wancho shouted, when he noticed that he was losing control of the situation. He took the rifle, and aimed for Robin. He was about to fire another shot, when something grabbed him from behind and pulled him by his throat.

'STOP MESSING WITH MY LITTLE BROTHER!' Wesley shouted, as he grabbed Wancho from behind.

'Aaaaahhh!' Wancho screamed, as he tried to break free. But Wesley was too strong for him, and he held on to him very tight.

'If you mess with my little bro, then you're messing with ME!' Wesley said angrily. 'I ought to kill you right now''

Wesley grabbed a string of rope from the van, and he bound Wancho's hands together, rendering him harmless.

'I haven't done anything! You can't prove anything!' Wancho shouted at Wesley.

Then, Wesley pointed at the camera, which was positioned on a tripod, and had video taped everything that had happened there.

'I have the whole thing on tape. I have all the proof I need, to show that Superboy was innocent, because he had been hypnotized by you and he was following your orders. You made him rob all the banks and jewelry stores in Gotham City! You were using my little brother to do all the dirty work for you!'

'You brat! I'll get you for this!' Wancho shouted back at him.

'If I were you, I'd shut up real fast, or else I'll break your arms! I'm not as nice as my little brother!' Wes warned, as he left Wancho tied up by the van. Unfortunately, Wancho's assistant was hiding in the back of the van, and Wesley hadn't noticed him. He was concerned about his brother's well-being, so he stood there, staring at the scene before him, hoping that his little brother was alright.

In the meantime, Superman was sitting on the floor, looking over the still body of Jamie. For the moment, it appeared as if Jamie wasn't breathing. Batman ran up to him, and wondered if he was going to be alright. Wesley followed right behind him.

'Is he okay?' he asked Superman.

'No, he's not responding. How about Robin, is he going to be alright?'

'Yes! Robin got shot in the arm. Doctors are putting bandages on him right now. But, what are you going to do about Jamie?' Batman asked him.

'Is Jamie going to be alright, dad?' Wesley asked him.

'There is one more thing I can try. I need to fly Jamie somewhere'' Superman said. He then lifted Jamie by the legs, and rested his Jamie's back against his arm. He then took off, holding the boy's body in his arms, like he was carrying a newborn baby.

Superman flew straight up to the sky, while holding Jamie in his arms. For the moment, it seemed as if Jamie had become the latest victim of Wancho's evil scheme, and he may have paid the ultimate price for standing in the madman's way. The boy's body was still and lifeless, and for the man of Steel, it started to look like a sad day.

'Come on, Jamie' Superman whispered to the boy. 'Wake up. Say something. Please''

When he was high above the ground, he turned towards the sun. He remembered how the rays of sunlight had affected Jamie. He turned so that the boy's body was completely covered by the bright rays of the sun. A few moments, after Jamie had been showered by bright sunlight, he groaned as he slowly opened his eyes.

'Daddy?' Jamie whispered to his famous father.

'Jamie! Oh, Jamie!' Superman cheered, as he pressed the boy's head against his own. 'I was so scared. I was afraid I had lost you''

'Daddy' Please forgive me for hurting you'' he whispered back to his father. 'I wasn't feeling myself. It was as if I couldn't stop myself from hurting you. I'm so sorry' I didn't want to hurt you, but I couldn't stop''

'It's alright, Jamie! You were drugged and hypnotized!'

'I'm so sorry! I hope I didn't hurt you.' He continued. 'I didn't kill anybody, did I?'

'No, Jamie. You won't kill anyone. It's not in your nature to do that!' the Man of Steel replied. 'Now, can you fly on you own?'

Jamie extended his arms and slowly lifted off, floating above his father. He hovered in the air for a moment, before he turned to stare at his father, with a sad expression on his face. Then he flew straight at Superman, wrapping his arms around Superman's torso as soon as he hit him with his own body.

'Oof!' Superman exclaimed, as he felt the impact of the boy as he flew right into his torso at full speed.

'I'm so sorry, daddy! Please forgive me, for hurting you! Please'' Jamie cried out loud, with tears coming from his eyes, and he held on to his father as tight as he could.

'Jamie' I' forgive you' But' please' take it' easy' I can' barely' breathe'' Superman gasped, as he struggled to catch his breath since the boy was holding on to him so tight. Jamie loosened his grip on his father, while staring at him with his teary eyes.

'You've grown so much, during the past few weeks'' Superman said softly. 'You've matured a lot. You seem taller, bigger, and stronger''

'I don't remember a thing, ever since I went to the camp in Arizona. They used Zyrtonium on me, and from that point on, I can't remember a thing at al'' Jamie cried.

'That's alright, Jamie. Wancho was using you to do a lot of bad things. It's not your fault!'

'Daddy?'

'Yes, Jamie?'

'Am I going to jail? Am I a criminal?'

'No, of course not! You didn't do anything, because you wanted to! You were drugged and used by someone else, and that person will be punished for what he has done to you!'

'Oh' What a relief!'

'Come, Jamie... Let's head back. We need to see if everything's alright with Robin. Wes caught Wancho, and he is now on his way to prison.'

'What happened to Robin? Is he alright?'

'Wancho shot him in the arm, right after he shot you with the Zyrtonium ray! You were already unconscious, so that's why you don't know what happened after that. But, Batman took Robin to the Gotham City hospital, and he should be doing fine right now!'

'Can we go over to the hospital and see him?'

'Well, let's give him a few days of rest. We'll go pay him a visit in the hospital, probably tomorrow or the day after, okay?'

'I guess Batman won't have Robin anymore, until he's healed'' Jamie said sadly.

'Well, we'll see about that. It's up to Batman to decide what he wants to do next. I think that both you and Robin need to take a few days of rest. You've been through a lot during the past few weeks!'

Jamie just stared at his father with a big smile on his face.

'Thanks, daddy''

Superman and Jamie then flew back. Jamie wasn't wearing his uniform, so he was looking forward to wearing his blue suit and cape very soon once again.

Meanwhile, Wancho's assistant had radioed for a chopper to come and get them, so they could fly back to their secret base. They tried staying out of the sight of the super heroes, who were too busy wondering how Jamie was feeling, to notice that they were busy planning their escape.

A helicopter approached from far away and landed near the van. Superman was still talking to Jamie, when Wancho climbed into the helicopter and started to fly off. When Wesley walked back to the van, he saw the assistant standing there. He had removed a long, coiled rope from the chopper, since it had been used to hold up a window washer. The man who piloted the chopper owned a business of his own, but he also worked for Wancho in his spare time.

'Where's Wancho?' Wes said to the man.

The man just pointed to the helicopter, just as Jamie had walked towards them.

'What! You let him go?' Jamie shouted.

Both Jamie and Wesley leaped into the sky, and they started flying towards the helicopter. Then, Wesley turned back, and pulled the rope out of the man's hand. While Wes ascended back into the air, he tied one end of the rope into a knot, and he looped the other end through it, and ended up creating a lasso.

Wes then flew close to the chopper, swinging the lasso above his head like a cowboy. He hurled the rope over the rudder of the chopper, just as he was flying over it. He decided to use the lasso, so it would give him something that was easier to hold on to, rather than grabbing the helicopter with his bare hands.

As soon as the rope was tight around the rudder, Wesley started pulling it in the other direction.

'Darn little brats!' Wancho hollered, when he noticed that the chopper was being pulled in the opposite direction.

He turned and looked out, noticing the two flying boys, who were pulling the chopper back to the area where the bank was located. They were still right above the industrial section of the city, so there were a lot of large and tall buildings on the ground below.

Wancho increased the throttle on the chopper, and the engine whined even louder as the propeller went to full speed. However, the chopper almost remained in the same location, as the two super boys continued to force the helicopter to the ground. Unfortunately, neither of them noticed the threads on the rope, which had started to tear. As they ripped one by one, the threads became weaker and weaker, until the rope snapped, releasing Wancho's chopper with a strong jolt.

'Whoa!' Wesley and Jamie shouted, as the suddenly tumbled across the sky, until they realized that the rope had snapped, and they flew back to the chopper.

Wancho, however, lost control of the helicopter, the moment that the rope snapped. The helicopter rolled twice, with the pilot struggling to regain control of the small chopper, which was spinning in mid air and was losing altitude quickly.

'Aauuuuuwwww!!!' Wancho screamed, as panic had set in. He desperately tried to pull the steering wheel up, hoping to raise the helicopter into the air. He saw the roof of one of the buildings as it rapidly came towards him.

'Oh no' NOOOO!'

It was too late. The tail of the helicopter struck the edge of the roof of one of the buildings! The moment the tail hit the roof, the small propeller blades were cut off, when it struck the roof. Wancho had now completely lost control of the helicopter, which slammed sideways into the roof of the building, causing a large blast which left the aircraft engulfed in a sea of flames!

'Oh no! We need to save him!' Jamie shouted, as he witnessed the crash on the rooftop.

The boys quickly flew over to the rooftop, where the helicopter was burning. Through a thick could of smoke and the smell of burning fuel, Jamie and Wesley reached into the side of the helicopter, where they were able to pull out Wancho's badly burned body.

As soon as they got Wancho out, they laid him on the floor. However, it was too late. He had been badly burned by the explosion, and he choked on the burning fuel and the gas which resulted from it.

The only other sounds they heard were the sirens of police, fire engines, and ambulances. None of them were around since the evacuation had been ordered, and they had to come back from far away to come to the assistance of those who were injured during the fake hurricane, which never came.

When the medical team arrived on the rooftop of the building, they examined Wancho, and they noted that he had already died of smoke inhalation and burn wounds, which he had suffered during the explosion in the crashed helicopter.

Jamie and Wesley left the rooftop and landed on the ground, where Superman, Robin and Batman were waiting below. Robin was being treated by another team of medics from an ambulance, and the whole area was now filled with police officers, firemen, and medical assistants.

'He's gone, daddy'.' Jamie said to his father. 'The chopper crashed into the building, after the rope snapped while we were trying to pull him back down to the ground''

'Well, I guess he got what he deserved, since he was getting very close to ruining the lives of many youngsters, because of his hunger for money and power.' Superman said to his son, who was still wearing the green jumpsuit he had worn since he had come from Camp Charlie in Arizona. 'It goes to show you, Jamie; that greed can lead to many bad things!'

'Speaking of Camp Charlie' Jamie pondered. 'Do you think it's a good idea for me to go back to the camp, to let the kids there know that they no longer have to live there, and that Wancho has died?'

'Yes. Put your suit on, first'' Superman said to the boy. That, of course, was like music to Jamie's ears!

'Yay!' Jamie cheered. 'I haven't been Superboy for over a week!'

'Where's your cape?' Superman asked him.

'I left it at the Batcave, before I went to go to work, which led to me being taken to Camp Charlie'' Jamie explained to him.

'Well, you had better fly to the Batcave to retrieve your cape, and then head on to Arizona to let the kids know what has happened here!' his father instructed him.

Superman didn't need to say it twice. When he looked up and then turned around to face the spot where his son was standing, he realized that Jamie had already left. When Superman looked up again, he could only smile out of pride, when he saw the boy flying across the sky as he soared back to the Batcave to retrieve his blue-and-red suit.