Batgirl Noir

Barbara Gordon is a tough as nails private detective living in a dark gritty modern Gotham.

Barbara Narrating: "This city is falling apart. The corruption is at every level. Its not just the two faced politicians and bloated corporate pigs, the local shops are dens of thieves. Nearly every man, woman and child in this city is lying cheating thief. I prefer to believe that I'm a little beacon of light in this city that cripples and maims its heroes. Everything was going smoothly, Until He showed up."

Barbara sits in her office smoking and reading the newspaper. A headline on the front read ONE OF GOTHAM'S RICHEST RUNS FOR MAYOR. After a knock at the door Mr. Pirogi, Barbara's kindly old secretary steps in.

Mr. Pirogi: "There's a handsome young man out here asking to speak with you."

Barbara: Send in the boy.

A handsome young man who looked forged from bronze strode through that door. He took Bab's breath. His clothing was high class and well fit.

Barbara: So whats a handsome fella like you doing in a place like this?

Young Man: "I need your help and word on the streets is you're just the person I'm looking an indeterminable foreign sounding accent My name is Terry Gibson. I'm just a bartender at a low class bar. A couple of weeks ago these thugs with in suits came in and cleared the customers out. They told me to get there finest liquor out and slammed $1500 on the counter. I was so terrified that I couldn't possibly tell him that would be enough restock the whole bar. After I got out our oldest wines and fanciest whiskey they ushered me out the back as these two came in. I'm pretty sure one of them was our mayor. The other was Suzette Marconi."

Barbara: "Ok so why are you here now toots?"

Terry: "They've been following me."

Barbara: "Are you sure that you aren't just being paranoid?"

"Can't you see? I'm terrified!" Terry falls to his knees and weeps as he says. "These are bad people with a lot to lose. They won't think twice to kill me once they know that I saw them. Can I pay you to protect me?"

Barbara: "If this is really as dangerous as you say I just can't do it."

Terry: "Please! I have $2000 dollars! And I'll do anything!"

Barbara Narrating: "I did have some debt piling up and he was such a handsome little thing. Plus this whole thing just sounded like a paranoid fever dream. So I took him home." There was a suspicious car that seemed to be following them.

Barbara's apartment is a quiet little whole in the wall with trashy decor resembling a hotel. Barbara rarely spent time here so it had little more than the basics. There was a simple couch in front of an old tube TV and…. That was it in her living room.

Barbara: "Sit down over there boy-toy I'm gonna order us a pizza."

Terry: "No, no don't worry about me I don't want to be a bother. I could even prepare any food you might have laying around"

Barbara did not have any ingredients other than poultry seasoning, flour, sugar and fruits that were only still in the fridge because moving them to trash would only stink up the whole place.

Barbara: "No I insist babe."

Barbara Narrating: "We sat and talked and enjoyed our food. I was so caught up in laughter by this beautiful man that I couldn't stop staring at that part of me forgot why he was even here in the first place."

Terry: "Would you mind if I took a shower?"

Barbara: "Go right ahead honey, I'm going to bed."

A little later

Terry comes in to Barbra's room.

Terry: "I can't sleep alone tonight."

Barbara smiles. Barbara: "That won't be a problem."

The next morning Barbara rolls over expecting to have her arm wrap around Terry but he was gone.

After waking herself up Barbara sees a note on her end table. It read:

Thank you for trying to help me but I can't risk hurting you.

-Terry

Barbara narrating: "He was good, but not good enough to go after. So I tried to go about my day like normal." Barbara arrives outside the shop, its burning "My office burning to the ground was devastating. That place was my real home. The last picture of me and dad was in there. I'll never be able to replace that since he's gone. After a quick call to Mr. Pirogi I went after the car that had been sloppily trailing me that morning." Barbara hangs up the phone in the booth and take's off after the 70's wood paneled sedan painted black. The driver tries taking off but Barbara is already there slashing his tires. She puts her knife to his throat "I needed to know what this bastard wanted.

Transition to alley where the injured driver lays slumped against a wall with shouting "You're a dead woman Gordon!"

Barbara narrating again: "That ugly chump claimed to be working for the mayor himself. I was sure then that Terry's story was true. I hopped on my chopper and went straight to The Black Tiger Suzette's trashy nightclub." She pulls up in front of a dark building with bright lights lined along the doors and windows. Barbara knocks on the door huge security door.

Sounds of a large man lumbering up to the door can be heard. After opening the metal slot a deep voice rings out.

Bouncer: "What do you want?"

Barbara: "I just want a drink."

Bouncer. "Its closed."

Barbara. "Open it."

The bouncer opened the door. He was a boulder looking man. He opens his mouth to speak but Barbara has pulled out a club. She struck him fiercely in the knees with the club. He fell aside and called out. Soon two suit thugs who were at the bar came out swinging. Barbara chuckled and put away the club. She knocks out the first one with a wicked right hook. She puts the other in a choke hold. The bartender pulls out a shotgun from beneath the bar and points it Babs. She kicks out the man in the choke hold's legs before throwing a switchblade into the mans shoulder.

Barbara: "I'm just here to talk to Suzette."

The bartender points to a door at the back of the room. Barbara strolls through it. Suzette a mean looking person wearing a black shirt with a black tie sits calmly behind a large desk.

Suzette: "Ah so you came to talk to me did you. She had now pulled a revolver out pointing it at Babs."

Barbara: "Well that very much depends on your answers."

Suzette: "Ask."

Barbara: "Did you burn my office? And did you work with the Mayor to have a lowly bartender harassed?"

Suzette breaks out laughing.

Suzette: "I don't know anything about you. Up until you came barging in here today I did not. But now I can tell that even though you are tough you may not be so smart. I don't know what gave you any idea I had anything to do with your insignificant problems. Now get out of my office before I kill you. If I ever feel inclined to smash a bug like you, you'll know its me."

Barbara is riding in the city. Barbara Narrating: "I didn't know what to do next. Terry began to seem like an unrelated issue. I decided to go see Bruce. My mentor didn't do much since that madman paralyzed him. He did seem to keep tabs on the city's criminal enterprises pretty well for a man that never seemed to leave his house. When I got there however his home was burning." Barbara runs to the house Bruce an older man lays pinned beneath a downed pillar. Barbara runs to the beam attempting to lift it but it won't budge. Desperately she tries and tries.

Bruce: "Get out of here now! Hide! Roman Sionis is after any one can stop him. Quickly go!" The building now collapsed killing the wise man.

Barbara Narrating: "This was all happening so fast now. 24 hours earlier I had been sitting in my office reading about the very bastard responsible for destroying everything she loved. Roman Sionis was once a low level thug. His family was very rich by legitimate means. Rumor had it though that he ran a criminal empire behind a mask. Shortly after a mysterious fire that killed every other member of his immediate family a new Crime lord appeared declaring himself 'the Black Mask'." Barbara pulls up in front of an factory with the gate now chained up. "Even though Sionis Industries seemed to be failing Roman led a more luxurious lifestyle than his dead parents. This hellhole of a city is fine with pretending that he is a legitimate business man." She jumps the gate. "I had come up against Black Mask thugs on many occasions but she never seemed to hurt the rising criminal enterprise. Black Mask wasn't the person in charge of killing street level good guys like me. No, that was the duty of his Right hand woman. Selina Kyle was a ruthless killer, murdering her way to the top of the Black Mask Criminal empire. That was who I would strike." She had snuck up to the house now. After scaling the lattice at the front. She smashed through the front window and climbed in. Two figures rose from a large bed. One turned on a lamp as the other leaped off the bed. Barbara could see Selina leaping off the bed at her. Barbara swung her club at Selina. Selina caught the rod and swept Babs' feet. Babs pulled out a switchblade and hamstrung Selina. The criminal laid in a pile of her own blood screaming bloody murder.

Barbara Narrating: "I don't usually fatally wound enemies. Right then I didn't care. Almost everything had been taken from me. That's when I noticed the other person in the room. Terry laid in the bed pointing a huge handgun at me."

Terry: "You dumb bitch! The only reason you're still alive is because the woman you just killed had plans-"

Barbara throws the same knife she just used in the fight with Selina at Terry. He fires his gun as the knife impales his throat. Barbara takes a grazing shot in the shoulder. She quickly wraps her shoulder with the bandages from her jacket. After hopping the gate she takes off on her motorcycle.

Barbara Narrating: "It had been a long couple days." Barbara goes to sit in a cafe. The scum of the city tried again to drown the little good it has left. I didn't really care what those two had to say. That slice of meat had set me up. I didn't know what I was going to do now and I was done worrying about it for now. I still had to find out what this was really about but, I'm just going to eat my meal and find a nice place to sleep. It did end up being somewhat successful anyways I did manage to get 1000 dollars from Kyle's drawer. "