The Wiggle Room was a new club in Gotham City. Thumping music. Dancing bodies. Flowing alcohol. None of it could distract Barbara Gordon out of her aching body. Still, she tried to keep up a nice face. The girls were out celebrating Kate Kane's recent engagement. Barbara could see them on the dance floor from the lounge area. The pale girl with the red pixie cut having fun and playfully grinding on Helena Bertinelli. The Italian girl already thinking about going to church in the morning, hangover be damned. And then there was the vivacious Dinah Lance. The mane of blonde hair and fishnet stockings would have been a dead giveaway had Black Canary not already become a fashion icon many tried to emulate.
It had been a week since Dick Grayson had disrupted her life. [Read "Batfamily: Love Hurts"] A crazy adventure. A cocky smile. And he left her thinking maybe they could work out this time. Or crash and burn again. No, he probably wasn't thinking of her at all. Thus was the cycle of Barbara's neurotic brain. She was broken out of it momentarily when her friends stumbled back to the lounge.
"This is fun," Kate cheered. "Who's getting engaged next?"
"You know Ollie," Dinah slurred. "He'll get old enough and realize his arrow comes up a little short."
"What does that even mean?" Helena asked.
Barbara spoke up. "You know we don't have to wait for another engagement to hang out like this."
"That's the most single thing you've ever said," Kate teased.
"Well . . ." Helena added.
Dinah slammed her fist on the table. "How's the Dick situation going?!"
"Fine."
"I knew you'd say that," Kate said.
There wasn't much left to their engagement party. They left The Wiggle Room at close to 2 in the morning. Barbara made sure the girls all got home safe in their various drunken states. Having no other objective to accomplish, she found herself restless, trapped with her own thoughts. She didn't have work in the morning, otherwise she would've never gone to the club. So she decided to head to the Batcave.
Batgirl always kept a spare costume in her Wayne Manor room. She didn't know if she wanted to suit up and go on half a night's patrol, or just hang out. Bruce probably wasn't there taking it easy, if he wasn't furiously investigating something or bleeding out in surgery. But Steph and Cass might be there. Damian. Jason. Or even Dick. She parked her motorcycle outside the main door and scanned her retinal scans and fingerprints to gain entry.
"Hello?"
The mansion seemed empty, but the lights were on. It was possible that Alfred was down in the cave, but he could've had the night off. Still, there's was usually someone to acknowledge an entrance to Wayne Manor, even if it was just a voice over the intercom, available in every room. Curious.
Barbara was walking down a hall when she heard the faint sound of crying. A child. She wondered if it someone was in their room watching a movie or something. She turned a corner and saw a child standing there. Back to her. A boy, she thought. No older than 8 or 9. A chin length mop of black hair. Barefoot in a knee length t-shirt.
"Hey," she said nicely to the little boy. "My name's Barbara. What's your name?"
The boy turned around. With tears in his eyes and a trembling voice he said, "Timothy."
Tim? Barbara used her detective skills. Tim Drake was most certainly 20 years old. He had always had a boyish face. And as sure as can be, this boy standing before her had that same exact face.
"Are you . . . Timothy Jackson Drake?"
The boy nodded, sniffling. "Where's my mommy?"
Barbara sighed. Surely this must be a bad dream. Or she was more buzzed than she thought. She reached out her hand and said, "I'm going to help you, okay?"
She immediately started thinking about what villain may be plotting against her senses. Clayface? She kept in the back of her mind that she might have to spring into action should this young boy morph into a giant monster. But even Basil Karlo wasn't this good an actor. This was a genuinely traumatized child. Maybe this was Scarecrow's fear gas producing an emotionally gruesome sight in her mind to lower her guard. Still, she decided to head to the kitchen to find Timothy a snack.
Outside the dining room, she could hear noises. Children. She entered and the night grew even stranger. Two 10 year old boys, one dark haired and the other with a shaved head ["Batfamily: Love Hurts"] , were arguing in the corner. An 8 year old blonde was standing on the table, wielding a broom above her head.
"Timmy!" The little girl hopped down from the table and ran over to hug Timothy. The end of the broom almost poked Barbara in the eye. Stephanie looked up at her with a missing teeth smile. "You found him!"
"Let me guess. You're . . ."
"Stephie!"
The older boys came over to the commotion. Also, a shy 8 year old Asian girl crept out from under the table with a frying pan.
"And you all are . . . what? Cassie, Dicky, and Jaysie?"
"I'm the Red Devil!"
"He's just Jason," Dicky said.
"You're pretty," Jason blurted out to Barbara.
"Shut up," Dicky told him, blushing. "You're Barbara, right? We were poisoned by the Mad Hatter. Now we're kid size and our brains our getting fuzzier the longer we're like this. You have to help!"
Barbara sighed. She noticed the tea set on the table, but felt that there may have been an airborne toxin at work. A tingling in her body. And just as she was about to speak up, Stephie shouted once more.
"There are monsters out there!"
To Be Continued . . .
Barbara Yvonne Gordon
Codename: Batgirl
Equipment: Grappling Gun, Batarangs, Utility Belt
Birthday: June 7th, 26 Years Old
Height: 5'7
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