The Stargazing Killer Comes To Gotham

It was now a Saturday morning after Robin met up with Kevin for dating advice. Robin was asleep in his bed when Barbara's cell phone came off ringing. This immediately woke Robin up. "Hello?" Barbara asked, "yeah I just woke up 30 minutes ago, so I'm at home. Yeah I can come over for a family meeting. You want me to bring Robin? Concerns Lynn. Okay, I can do that. Alright, I'll be there as soon as I can. Bye Bruce." Robin yawned as Barbara entered his room, she was in her pajamas. "Oh good, you're up," said Babs, "we need to get dressed and meet up in the Batcave. So I'll be in my Batgirl suit." Robin blinked his eyes for a moment and asked, "Bruce wants me to join you for a meeting? Why does he want me too?" He got out of bed and Babs replied, "it concerns Lynn."

"Did something bad happen to her?" Robin asked with concern. "She's okay Robin," assured Barbara, "Bruce told me he would explain it once we got there." Robin sighed in relief and said, "alright, I'll get dressed." Barbara left the guest room and the two of them got out of their pajamas and into some clothes. Robin put on his usual getup of a striped red and green T-shirt, sky blue pants, striped socks, and his bright red sneakers. He put on his Acme cap and wandered out of his room. He knocked on Barbara's door and asked, "hey Babs, are you dressed up now?" Babs said inside, "I am. You can come in now." Robin opened the door and saw Barbara putting on her Batgirl mask as she was in her suit. "It's a good thing I didn't walk in while you were in the middle of getting dressed," joked Robin. "Oh yeah, it would be a bad idea if you did that again," teased Batgirl, "let's get to your guest room, there's a secret passageway out of the apartment with my Batcycle." As they got back to the guest room, Robin asked, "you have a secret passageway that's an exit from your apartment, alongside a bat themed motorcycle?" Batgirl entered the code and said with a teasing smirk, "Batman's not the only one with a secret entrance to the Batcave. There's a lot you don't know about Batgirl, Mr Warner." Robin blushed and a secret passageway opened inside of the guest room closet, leading to a path. He and Batgirl went into the secret passageway, and Robin noticed a whole bunch of technologically advanced supercomputers on it. "Those are the Oracle supercomputers," explained Batgirl, "I once broke my leg and had to use a wheelchair for a couple of months and I used another secret identity while recuperating. Moving on!"

A couple minutes later, Batgirl and Robin made it to a purple motorcycle with the black bat symbol with the yellow insignia. Robin gave an impressed whistle and said, "nice ride." Batgirl smiled and said, "thanks. Bruce gave this to me on my 18th birthday. Get a helmet and hop on." Robin put on a bright blue motorcycle helmet and Batgirl put on a dark purple motorcycle with bat ears on it. She got on the front seat, Robin behind her. Batgirl turned on her motorcycle and got out of the secret passageway and out of her apartment, Robin hanging on. 30 minutes later, Batgirl drove to a secret entrance to a cave. Lo and behold, she and Robin were inside the Batcave. Batgirl parked her Batcycle and said, "welcome to Batcave. This is where we go to train and exercise, and where some of us go to brood." Robin got off the cycle, seeing the various weapons of rogues and other souvenirs, supercomputers, and displays of Batsuits and other heroes like Robin The Boy Wonder. And up front, Batgirl could see her other superhero cohorts, Nightwing (Dick Grayson), Red Hood (Jason Todd), Red Robin (Tim Drake), the current Robin (Damian Wayne), and Lynn, who wasn't in her White Lightning suit. Robin wandered over to Lynn and said, "morning Lynn!"

"Mornin' to you too Robin," said Lynn, "I'm a little surprised to see you at this family meetin'." Robin shrugged and said, "Bruce figured I should listen to whatever he has to say." Batgirl wandered over to her superhero colleagues and asked, "hey guys, where are Charity and Olympia?" Damian replied, "Charity told me that she and Olympia are still doing a fashion show in Metropolis, so they're unable to make it." Batgirl nodded and said, "right... got ya." Robin tilted his head and asked, "Charity? As in, Charity Spencer the fashionista? She's also an ally to Batman?" Damian crossed his arms and said, "precisely. And she's friends with Lynn. So you are the toon that has befriended my half brother and bewilders my father. I must say, Charity would find it most amusing that for once she would find a man that she's taller than." Robin looked at Batgirl and asked, "Is he always like this?" Everyone said in unison, "yep." Kevin then walked in with a tray of various cups of coffee and said, "hey everyone! Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules and coming over. I brought you all some coffee since I'm sure a lot of you feel a tad peeved having to come here before getting coffee. Trust me, I know the feeling." He gave Robin a cup of coffee and said, "here you go Robin, I hope you like chocolate creamer."

Robin took the cup of coffee and said, "I love chocolate creamer in my coffee. Thanks Kevin, it's good to see you." Kevin gave Batgirl a cup of coffee and said, "here's your usual cup of coffee Babs." Batgirl smiled and said, "thank you Kevin. Much appreciated." Once everyone got their respective cups of coffee, Batman then came in, looming out of the shadows. "Was Batman just standing there in the shadows this whole time?" Robin thought to himself while sipping the coffee. Batman then said, "it is a shame that Charity and Olympia aren't here. But I'm glad most of you made it. The reason I brought you here, including you Atticus, is because something serious has occurred. Kevin, show them the photographs." Kevin typed on the computer and then showed an image of a man in his mid-30s, unkempt black hair with a 5:00 shadow. He had pale skin that looked to be of Dutch and German origin, dark brown eyes, and a smug look on his face. One could almost mistake him for Ezra Miller. "This is Jeffrey Loibl Chapman." Batman said in a serious tone of voice, "otherwise known as The Stargazing Killer. Like most serial killers, Chapman started out by killing various cats and dogs at a young age until he flunked out of high school at 18. Sociopathic in every sense of the word and lacking any form of empathy and compassion, Chapman developed a taste for killing when he killed a female classmate who was a popular singer, and he hasn't stopped since. He despises music and has expressed a sadistic pleasure in killing singers, which is why many of the media have nicknamed Chapman The Stargazing Killer."

"So this guy's as awful as The Joker?" Robin asked with fright. "Oh yes, this evil is second only to The Joker and Victor Zsasz," agreed Batman, "I can genuinely say that this serial killer makes my blood run cold." Robin then held Batgirl's hand because he was scared. Kevin then showed an image on the Batcomputer of a topographical map of the 50 states in America. There was a red marker that pointed to California that went up all the way to the state of Washington and then went east in a straight line all the way to the state of New Jersey, as Gotham was a metropolitan city in the state of Jersey. "This is the spree of the Stargazing Killer," explained Kevin, "for five years, Chapman has been on a spree that started in LA, went up to Washington, and has gone east. His kill ratio has been 43 victims, 18 men and 25 women, all of them singers of various genres. One of his victims in Washington was in the city of Bellevue. That singer was a classmate of mine I knew back in elementary school. So I take this very personally."

"Chapman's method of murder is to stab repeatedly and then remove the singer's vocal chords," explained Batman, causing Lynn to hold her throat, wincing in horror. "According to a mutual friend from the FBI, Chapman is here in Gotham City as we speak," continued Batman. "How many local singers in Gotham are there?" Batgirl asked with concern. "Countin' me? Seven," confirmed Lynn, "as if I didn't have enough reasons to be nervous tonight. Now I gotta perform with a target on my back. Not like Chapman would succeed in trying to get to me. Earl could easily kick his ass. Actually, has this guy killed bodyguards to get to singers?" Batman nodded and said, "he has, once or twice. I've spoken to your manager though, Lynn. Mr. Bannermen has agreed with me that it's not safe for you to perform with Chapman on the loose. Until we've captured this killer, we'll have to temporarily postpone some of your concerts." Robin looked at Lynn and said, "it may be inconvenient, but it's definitely for your safety, and your band." Kevin then showed an image of the seven local singers of Gotham City, including Lynn, and Batman said, "I'm assigning each of you to protect one specific singer until someone captures Chapman. I've even spoken to Batwoman to volunteer as well."

"I get dibs on protecting Lynn," volunteered Jason. Robin raised his hand and said, "Mr Batman, sir? Is it okay if I join Jason in guarding Lynn? I know it might seem silly, but I owe a lot to Lynn. I practically wouldn't be here if it weren't for Lynn and Mr Bannermen. She's my friend, and I want this to be my way of giving back." Lynn was touched by Robin's sentiment. Batman gave a ghost of a smile and said, "how could I say no to such loyalty? Very well then Atticus, you can join Jason in protecting Lynn. Let's get to work, everyone."

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