From Batgirl to Oracle
Batgirl stands on a building rooftop, watching over the city. Bruce was busy working with the Justice League and Dick had moved to Bludhaven, leaving her to protect Gotham.
'Something big's happening'.
The city had been quiet for a while now. Apart from a few muggings and cases of minor assault, there had been no reports of crime in the last fortnight. No new crime bosses trying to make a name for themselves, no robberies from Two-Face and Penguin, no environmental attacks by Poison Ivy and most disturbing of all, no escape attempts from Arkham by The Joker.
'Maybe it's finally happened' Batgirl thinks 'maybe because of the Justice League, everyone's too scared to commit crime. If criminals couldn't handle one superhero, how could they possibly defeat a team of them?
It can't be that easy can it?'
A beeping comes from her gantlet. She moves her hand in front of her face and presses a button on her glove to reveal a display showing the time 03:30
'Better get back to dorms'.
She runs off the rooftop and grabs her grapple. She shoots it at a flag pope on the edge of the Gotham Plaza and presses the top button to accelerate towards it.
'At least no fighting tonight will make it easier to sleep and I'll get to for a few hours before the History exam'.
After 10 minutes Batgirl arrives outside her dorm building. She quickly moves out of sight and looks around to make sure no-one is around. She then runs towards her dorm window, grabbing the branch of a tree to swing herself up to her window on the second floor. She opens it and jumps in. She takes her cowl off and sees a member of the League of Assassins. Before she can react, he shoots with a blow-dart. She runs at him and attacks him before he can defend himself. She knocks him down and starts to feel dizzy. Before she can finish the fight, her vision becomes blurred and she collapses.
Barbara wakes up and finds herself tied to a chair. She quickly looks around to see an empty room with several vents. She spots a small camera in the left corner of the ceiling and a door in front of her. The door opens and a black-haired woman enters the room wearing dark clothing and a sword on her back.
"I apologise for this" she says as she closes her door behind her, "but I did not believe that you would meet me voluntarily".
"Who are you?" Barbara asks "and how do you know who I am?"
"I am Nyssa al Ghul, daughter of the demon's head".
"Ra's al Ghul. That explains a lot".
"I thought it would. I'm here for make you an offer".
"What kind of offer?"
Barbara starts to move her hands slowly to avoid attracting Nyssa's attention. 'They may have taken my utility belt, but there's a chance they haven't searched my gauntlets'.
She finds a sharp batarang in her left gauntlet and pulls it out to slowly cut through the ropes.
'This may take a while. I have to keep her talking'.
"I want you to become a member of my elite guard. My father told me of your skills so I checked his recordings of your fights. I even tested you by dealing with most of the criminals in Gotham".
"But why?" Barbara asks 'I still need more time' "How is that a test?"
"I had to make sure that you would not become complacent through reduced activity. I am delighted to know that your skills remain sharp no matter the situation".
"Did you really think that I'd say yes?" 'Nearly there' "When my mentor refused to take your father's place".
"This is different" Nyssa says, glancing over Barbara's body "My father's offer was to lead, mine is to follow".
'Done'
"Sorry but I have to say no".
Barbara frees his hands and rises off the chair, prepared to fight.
"So let me leave or I'll let myself out".
"I'm afraid it isn't that simple".
Barbara moves to strike.
"Stop".
Barbara freezes.
"Stand at attention".
Barbara stands up straight, her arms at her sides.
"What did you do to me?" she shouts.
"While you were sleeping, this room was filled with a gas called Fatoura that the League genetically engineered. It's designed to make a person's motor functions respond to voice commands. The effects are only temporary".
"So what? You're going to keep drugging me?".
"Of course not, that would be impractical. Besides I need your loyalty as well as your skills".
Nyssa reaches into her pocket and pulls out a silver disc.
"What is that?"
"This is something the League created using technology from Wayne Enterprises and STAR Labs. It rewrites neuro pathways, adjusts brain chemistry. It won't hurt".
Barbara tries to move but can't.
"So I'll become a puppet?"
"Not quite. You will still be yourself, I am only going to make some alterations".
Nyssa moves her hand holding the disc towards Barbara's forehead. 'I have to move, to fight, to do something, anything. I can't…'
Barbara's thoughts stop the moment Nyssa places the disc on her forehead.
"Now Barbara" she says "can you hear me?"
"Yes" Barbara replies emotionlessly. Her face devoid of all expression.
"Good. Now you will obey my command, do you understand?"
"Yes".
"And you will address me as Mistress".
"Yes, Mistress".
"Barbara when I say Oracle, you will be a loyal member of my elite guard. You will be obedient and devote. You will do anything I say. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Mistress".
"And when I say Barbara Gordon, you will be Barbara Gordon and will not remember anything about this night and meeting me. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Mistress".
"Give me your phone".
"Yes, Mistress".
Barbara reaches into a compartment on her leg and grabs her phone. She hands it to Nyssa, who clicks on her contact information and finds Barbara's number. She memorizes it and gives the phone back to Barbara.
"Put it away".
"Yes, Mistress".
Barbara puts her phone away and stays still.
Nyssa removes the disc and before Barbara can react, says "Oracle"
Barbara stares at Nyssa with devotion. She then kneels before her.
"Mistress, how may I serve you?"
"Rise, Oracle".
Oracle stands at attention.
"Follow me".
Nyssa leads Oracle out of the room and through a corridor outside. At the end of the corridor, there's another door. Nyssa opens it and enters. Oracle follows.
"Close the door".
"Yes, Mistress".
Oracle closes the door while Nyssa claps her hands, the lights turn on to reveal a room filled with League armour and weapons.
"Now I think it is time for a change of uniform. Oracle, remove your costume".
"Yes, mistress".
Oracle reaches behind her back and pulls down the zipper for her Batgirl outfit. She steps out of it and stands before Nyssa in her bra and panties.
"Very good, Oracle. Now I want you to put on some League clothing and grab some weapons. Anything will suffice".
"Yes, Mistress".
Oracle walks through the room, picking up various different articles of clothing and weaponry. Stopping only to put them on. When she is finished, she moves back in front of Nyssa.
Nyssa looks at her with approval. Oracle was now dressed in the dark clothes of a member of Nyssa's elite guard. She was wearing dark trousers with various hidden pouches containing knives, black boots that can withstand anything, a black top that shows plenty of cleavage and a jacket with a hood covering her head. She also has a sword strapped on her back and various pellets with different uses.
"Excellent. I see you take your new role seriously by your choice of clothing. Your final test is complete".
"Thank you, Mistress".
"Now kneel before me".
"Yes, Mistress".
Oracle kneels down while Nyssa grabs the silver disc and places it on Oracle's head again.
"Now Oracle once I remove this disc, you will leave here and go straight to your dorm room. When you arrive there you will remove your League outfit and weapons and place them with your Batgirl equipment and outfit, which you will take with you when you leave. You will then turn back into Barbara Gordon and forget everything about this night after you arrived back at your room, any time lapse you will simply believe to be due to tiredness. When you go to sleep, you will dream about me dominating you and you will love it. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Mistress".
"Good do you remember your other orders?"
"Yes, Mistress".
"Tell me them".
"When you say 'Barbara Gordon', I will be Barbara Gordon. And when you say 'Oracle', I will be your obedient and loyal Elite Guard".
"Good".
Nyssa removes the disc and Oracles stands up and leaves.
Barbara opens her window and enters her room. She crouches beside the bed and pulls a box from under it. She opens it to reveal her equipment and places her Batgirl costume in it before moving it back. She then pulls another box out and opens it. She places it on her bed then removes the weapons from her uniform, putting them in the box before removing her League uniform and placing it carefully in the box. She closes it and puts it back under her bed.
Barbara then stands to attention and blinks a few times before waking up. She looks around her room before remembering what happened before she was captured. 'Wasn't there a…. Must have imagined it'. She looks down and notices she's in her bra and panties. 'Did I get changed? Guess I must have'. Barbara then pulls back the covers and gets into bed, she puts the covers over her then checks her clock quickly '05:00? Must have been out later than I thought'.
Subconsciously obeying her Mistress' orders, Barbara Gordon ignores any sign that something is wrong, closes her eyes and goes to sleep.
Barbara got up and looked around. She was standing by a four-poster bed in a room bare expect for a rug on the floor. The edges of the room were hidden by smoke and everything felt wrong, but Barbara couldn't explain why.
While she was looking around, a black-haired woman appeared.
"You should kneel before your superiors".
Barbara turned to face her.
"Who are you?"
"I am your Mistress" the woman scowled "now KNEEL".
Before she could stop herself, Barbara got down on her knees.
"What's happening?"
"Speak only when you're spoken to".
Barbara kept quiet, she tried to speak but no sound came out of her mouth.
"Bow your head".
Barbara moved her hands to the floor and placed her head between them.
"Excellent, you deserve a treat. You may kiss my feet".
Barbara's head rose from the floor and moved towards Mistress' feet. Before she could stop herself, her lips touched Mistress' feet and gently kissed them. She kept doing it until Mistress told her to stop.
"Show your gratitude".
"Thank you Mistress".
"Very good, now rise up".
Barbara got to her feet and stood before her Mistress.
"Tell me who do you serve?"
"You, Mistress".
"Prove it. Remove your costume".
Barbara looked down to find that she was wearing Batgirl costume. Her hands moved behind her back to pull down the zipper.
After removing her costume, she stood back to attention.
"Tell me why did you became Batgirl".
"Because my father was framed, I had to help him. After he was found innocent, I realised that I could still help people. I started by myself before Batman and Nightwing found out my identity and asked me to join them. Now I help them protect the city from supervillains".
"So you're proud of the deeds you've done as Batgirl".
"Yes, Mistress".
"Good. Now I want you to prove your loyalty to me".
A fireplace appeared to Barbara's left.
"Pick up the costume".
Barbara picked up her Batgirl costume.
"Now burn it".
Batgirl turned to her left and took a step forward. She stopped..
"No".
"Do it".
Barbara's foot moved then it stopped.
"Burn it".
"No".
"Who am I?"
"My Mistress".
"Who do you serve?"
"You, Mistress".
"Then burn your costume".
Barbara started moving closer to the fireplace. She stopped in front of it.
"Put the costume in the fire".
"No".
"Look at me".
Barbara stared at the fire.
"LOOK AT ME".
Barbara turned her head to look at her Mistress.
Mistress walked slowly towards Barbara and stopped beside her.
"I am your Mistress. You are my servant. You must obey me".
"Yes, I must obey you".
Barbara turned to look at the fire again.
"But I can't".
Tears started to fall down Barbara's face.
Nyssa moved her face to Barbara's ear and whispered to her.
"You are my servant. You exist only to obey my will. You must do whatever I say".
Barbara stopped crying. Her face turned blank.
"Yes, Mistress. I will obey".
Barbara threw her Batgirl costume on the fire.
"Good. Now follow me to the bed".
"Yes, Mistress, I will do whatever you say".
Barbara wakes up, shocked. 'What was that? I couldn't control myself, I had to do whatever that woman said, I had to burn my costume. My costume'
Barbara jumps out of bed and crouches down next to it, she pulls the box containing her Batgirl costume from under it and opens it to see the costume unburnt.
'It was just a dream but it felt so real. Or I thought it was. Maybe I wanted it be. I think I… liked it.'
Before she could continue her thoughts, the clock by her bed goes off. Barbara gets up and turns the alarm off before looking at the time. '9:00, just got half an hour to get ready before my exam'. Ignoring her dream for the moment, Barbara gets dressed and leaves her dorm.
After the exam, Barbara goes to the library to study. After a few hours her phone vibrates. She goes outside to check. An unknown number is calling. 'Must be Dick needing my help on a case. How does he always manage to break his phones?'
Barbara answers.
"Hello".
"Hello Ms Gordon, am I interrupting anything?"
"…No. Who is this?"
"Your Mistress, Oracle".
Barbara's expression changes from confusion to delight.
"Mistress, how may I serve you?"
"I need you to wear your uniform and grab your weapons. Then meet me at our base. I need you to start training".
"As you command, Mistress".
Barbara waits until Nyssa hangs up then puts her phone away and heads for her dorm room. When she arrives, she grabs her League uniform and changes into it before putting her weapons in their places. When she's finished, she opens her window and leaves the room.
Oracle arrives at a warehouse on the outskirts of Gotham to find her Mistress waiting for her outside.
She stops in front of her and kneels.
"Rise, Oracle".
Oracle stands up.
"Follow me".
Oracle follows her Mistress inside the warehouse through various different corridors, including the one she visited last time, until they stop at a large room.
The room is empty expect for various different weapons around the edges and three members of the League of Assassins standing opposite to Oracle and her Mistress.
The Assassins are dressed completely in black with no skin showing, making it impossible to tell if they're men or women.
"Greeting, loyal servants" Nyssa addresses them "today's exercise is to prove that my new Elite Guard is worthy of the honour. You will not hold back, you will not show mercy and you will not surrender. Is that understood?"
The assassins bow their heads in response.
"Excellent, you will begin once I have finished speaking with Oracle".
Oracle and her Mistress turn to face each other.
"The same applies to you, Oracle. To prove you are worthy, you must show no mercy, do you understand?"
"I will whatever is necessary to serve you, Mistress".
"Good". Nyssa raises her voice "You may begin".
Oracle turns to face her three opponents and advances towards them. The assassins slowly move closer.
Before they reach her, in one swift movement, Oracle grabs two knives from her uniform and throws them to the centre and right assassins. They both manage to catch them in time, while Oracle moves in to attack the left assassin. The assassin blocks her attack but is forced to move back, they then retaliate. As Oracle uses her left arm to defend herself, the other assassins move in. One pulls a sword from their back and goes to strike at Oracle's head. Before the sword makes contact, Oracle uses her right arm to grab her own sword and use it to deflect the attack. She uses her right leg to knock the other assassin back before they can attack. She moves her leg quickly to attack the assassin in front of her, they catch it and Oracle uses this opportunity to flip over them, grabbing their head with both hands, she then drives it down to the ground, knocking the assassin unconscious.
The one with the sword advances at her and attacks, while the one she knocked back runs to the wall to pick up a bow and a quiver of arrow. They load the bow and aim at Oracle. As they fire, Oracle manoeuvres the other assassin into the path of the arrow, it hits the assassin in the chest, killing them instantly. Before the assassin falls, Oracle grabs their sword and runs towards the assassin with the bow and the arrow. The assassin quickly reloads and fires again Oracle blocks the arrow with the swords. As the assassin goes to reload, Oracle reaches them and aims the sword at the arm holding the bow. In one quick stroke, she removes it. The assassin freezes for a second and quickly glances at the stump, where their arm once was, before returning their gaze at Oracle. They grab an arrow from the quiver and use it to attack Oracle drops one of the swords and grabs the arm before sending the other sword through the assassin's chest. She removes it and then walks towards the unconscious body of the remaining assassin. She stops in front of it.
"Remember, Oracle, you must show no mercy. This assassin has failed. They can't be allowed to live".
Oracle raises her sword and pauses for a second before bringing it down on the assassin's neck, beheading them.
"Excellent work, Oracle. Now remove their masks".
"Yes, Mistress".
Oracle walks over to the head and removes the mask to reveal the face of a man in his early 30s, he had blond hair and a thin moustache. She then goes to the assassin with the arrow pierced through their chest and removes their mask to reveal another man, this one in his mid-60s with grey hair and dark eyes. Finally she walks over to the final assassin and removes their mask to reveal a young woman in her late teens, with red hair and blue eyes.
"Tell me" Nyssa said as she approaches Oracle "what do you feel?"
"Pride, Mistress. That I have succeed and pleased you".
"Excellent. Now follow me".
"Yes, Mistress".
Oracle follows as her Mistress leaves the room.