Heatherfield, it was by no means anywhere as big as the place that I called home for as long as I could remember. Still I have been here for three days already and every night I donned my suit as I had done over the last two years even though my current one is new. I entered my second life, my secret life that many believed to be an urban legend until they ran into my mentor or me, and every single one of those three nights had been anything but peaceful as I had been forced to take down no less than half a dozen crooks ranging from simple muggers to rapist.
No, the size of this town didn't mean anything because sadly no matter where you looked there would be those out to hurt and ruin the lives of innocents. There would always be a need for someone like myself to protect those who can't help themselves, protect themselves from the vicious circle of crime that had probably infiltrated every corner of society. There would always be a need for my extended family and friends. And even though at the moment I was unsure if there was a need or real want for my true identity at least I could feel secure in knowing that there would always be a need for Batwoman.
Birds of Prey
By Ice Queen of Candracar
&
Wilhelmina Vandom
Right now I was running over the rooftops as I headed away from the computer giant known as Simultech after making sure my prey was still at work. No, the woman wasn't really my prey as I wasn't sure what she was too me. Right now though I didn't have time to think about it as I traveled quickly from rooftop to rooftop with ease thanks to the additions made to this new suit. As I leaped from one roof to the next my large cloak billowed out behind me making me look like a huge bat from below.
It didn't take long though to locate the apartment building I was looking for since I had cased it everyday since I've arrived in Heatherfield. I had made certain to figure out which of the windows on the outside of the building belonged to the one apartment I needed so I could easily get in and search the place for any thing that would point out the validity of the information that my so called 'real father' had given me. Sadly it took Batman himself to dig up what I needed t know about the whereabouts of this woman as the man who I still thought of as my father, though I was upset at him for lying to me all these years, didn't know who she was.
Thunder boomed from the distance and a flash of lightning illuminated the night sky as I launched myself from the high roof from the building next to the apartment I was aiming for. Quickly using the new electrical system of the suit I caused my cloak to become rigid like a glider as I floated down to the exact fire escape I needed and landed right in front of the dark window of the place I was heading to. I needed to remember to give Lucious Fox a big hug later for inventing the material for my cape when I returned home…If I did.
Frowning a little I let the cloak fall back to its normal state as I stalked over to the window. I knew that this place was a high end apartment building with security in the lobby but its one fatal flaw was that none of the apartments had a security system as they seemed to believe that the security guard was more than enough to keep the occupants safe. The same security guard that every time I checked this place out was sleeping in his car in the parking garage. Security guard? What a laugh.
Looking into the window I could make out my reflection a little, noticing the changes in my new costume from my old one. My new costume was actually all black except for the eyes in my mask which were a special pink colored lens that had several built in utilities as well as the new larger and edgier batsymbol across my chest. My chest, or rather my suit's chest as well as several other parts of my suit were padded in a way to make me look more curvier to help distract some of the men who went up against me. For that I needed to smack Lucious for, or rather Dick who I was sure was behind that little thing.
I now had a full utility belt like Batman's own with a ton of new fun toys to try out sometime though instead of Batman's yellowish color mine was the same pink as my symbol and eyes. I seemed taller thanks to the heels built into my boots. I noticed the long blonde hair swaying in the wind that was coming in with the approaching storm and though I kind of hated the fake body that the suit provided I could see why the blonde hair was added. It was actually a wig built into my cowl to throw off any suspicion that it was me since red hair wasn't exactly as common as the blonde hair that a lot of the people had back in Gotham.
Sighing I checked the window as I felt a little guilty for what I was about to do since it was locked. Stretching out the fingers in my right hand I flexed my fingers like claws, which ironically my gloved hands now resembled. A few moments later one of the more hidden functions of the additions activated. The very tips of my clawed gloves began glowing a pinkish color as they became charged with a kind of plasma. Slowly I traced them in a circle big enough to fit my hand through melting the glass a little as I cut a hole into the glass.
Gently removing the pieces of glass whose edges glowed for a few moments before I sat it down. Reaching carefully into the window I unlatched the lock and raised the window before crawling into it. I didn't have to worry about anyone else being there as while this woman may have had a boyfriend he never seemed to stay there. And in fact the two seemed to be having an argument as she had noticed the tenseful air and angry words the two had shared earlier today.
Reaching up I tapped a spot on the side of my cowl just under the pointy ear shaped protrusions from the top. It made my new lenses run through several modes until I found what I wanted. It was a more experimental than the old night vision goggles they used to have to use but it made everything look like it was dimly lit instead of having a greenish tint to them. A plus about it though was the safety feature preventing a sudden light source form temporarily blinding me.
She saw that she was in the bedroom of the apartment as the building plans she had gotten showed that this was a one bedroom apartment. It was actually sparsely furnished for someone who should have had the amount of money this woman should have been making as head of research and development for software at Simultech. No wonder it was so easy for Batman to track her down as Simultech was a division of Wayne enterprises and I know that all the heads made a salary to make most football players jealous.
There was a large king sized bed with a nightstand on both sides as well as a dresser and vanity with a collection of makeup and perfume bottles littered around the top in front of the vanity mirror. There was a desk next to the door with a small filing cabinet and several racks of either CDs or DVDs filling them. I wasn't too concerned about them though as I was sure that it was mostly work related most likely and that wasn't what I was looking for.
Moving across the floor ignoring some of the dirty clothes strewn around on the floor as if the woman was in a hurry I came to the dresser prepared to search through the drawers as a part of me was sure that what she wanted would be kept somewhere a little less open than the cabinet as the woman probably didn't want to see them…If she even had any. Before starting though I noticed that a lone picture wedged between the glass of the mirror and the frame and it caused me to swallow a little.
There in the picture was the woman sitting in a wheelchair holding a small baby girl wrapped up in blankets though her face and shock of red hair was visible easily. How did I know that the child was a girl though? That was easy, I've seen the same though a little older in plenty of pictures spread out through my home…Or Commissioner Gordon's home. I wasn't sure if it was my home anymore or if he still wanted me after I ran away the way I did but I had to know for sure.
Reaching up I gently pulled the picture out from the mirror and almost dropped it. Though someone had deliberately tried to scribble the man out he was still easily recognizable as one Tone Vandom. The same man who had started this whole thing setting off a series of events that would shake the foundations of everything I ever believed in or loved.
It was two, maybe three months ago when I had a second sweet sixteen party at Bruce Wayne's manor when he gave me one of my favorite gifts since I had earned my license though it was very difficult. He had given me a very beautiful custom built sports car. It was a sleek black 1969 Pontiac Firebird with pink highlights and the firebird symbol being in the same pink as on my new costume. I couldn't help wondering how long my new costume was in the works.
Sadly it was also the night that Dick and I ended up splitting up for good. He had the audacity to bring a new girl to our private party, my private party, while saying he was only trying to make her feel welcome since she was new in town. I knew better, she had a bigger 'rack' than me that he paid ten times the amount of attention to than he paid me all night. If he wanted her, I wasn't about to stand in his way as I told him before storming out crying before realizing that I forgot the keys t my new car but refused to go back in and let the jerk see my tears.
Instead I decided to just walk home so I could clear my head and get my emotions under control. Heck, I probably shouldn't have been driving anyways as I was a wreck. Being in the state though caused me to almost miss the guy following me but I finally did notice him and spun around to face him. There was a hateful look in his eyes as he looked me up and down in disgust.
"Stupid bitch…" He slurred, obviously half drunk, if not completely drunk. "You thought you could hide from me Wilhelmina as a cop's daughter? What a laugh, you're just a piece of trash like your mother and here you are prancing around as if you were some big shit. Disgusting!"
"My name is Barbara Gordon, not Wilhelmina." I said as I attempted to wave the alcohol laced breath from my sensitive space. It was disgusting enough even thinking of the garbage but it was overpowering to actually have it breathed into your face like a rank gas that you couldn't escape from. Disgusting? The only thing disgusting was his breath!
"Don't lie to me! I know who you really are and I want to know where that filth f you call a mother is." The man growled. Normally I wouldn't have been this stupid but I had enough of this as my emotions were still raw, my heart was broken into a million pieces by the guy I thought I would be with forever. I turned from him and started walking away thinking he was to drunk to do anything. The last thing I remembered was a sharp pain in my back throwing me to the ground as I screamed in pain. Looking up I saw a steel bar descending at me hitting me again and again but the damage was already done and I couldn't protect myself, I couldn't fight back.
I could hear him screaming, demanding to know where a woman was that I didn't know. A woman he claimed was my mother though I knew different, my mother died when I was younger. The last thing I saw before passing out of consciousness was a large shadow descending from the sky in the shape of a bat.
When I woke up I found myself in a hospital bed with a concussion and a very sore body but thankfully nothing was broken. At least mostly nothing was broken as my heart felt like it shattered again as Dick came in with a huge bouquet of roses as if that would make things all better again. As if! I refused to speak to him though as he kept apologizing to me asking me to forgive him and a part of me was tempted to, I truly was but I remembered all the other times he's done it over the last six months and to make matters worse he even did it on my birthday! My sweet sixteenth!
Thankfully he finally gave up and left the room when my father arrived with his own bouquet of flowers and a get well bear and card. They weren't as extravagant as Dick's offerings but to me they were a hundred times better than that ass's that just left.
"Hi Barbara, I'm glad you're awake." My dad said smiling down gently at me while squeezing my foot softly through the bed sheet.
"What happened daddy?" I asked though it caused a slight pain behind my eyes. I realized that I must have had a concussion. Oh joy of joys.
"Actually Barb, I was hoping you could tell me." My daddy said butting the vase of flowers on the nightstand while giving me the bear and card. I smiled as I glanced over the card but sadly I couldn't really make it out as my vision was a little blurry and my stomach was revolting a little. Yep, definitely a concussion. "Batman dropped you off at the emergency room and said he was going to find the guy who did this to you."
"I…There was this guy." I said as I cuddled the bear, memories of what happened starting to flood back to me. "He was crazy though…Said that my name was Wilhelmina and that I was his daughter."
"Tony Vandom…Damn, I was afraid of something like this." My dad grumbled angrily while at the same time managing to confuse me. I was smart, always had been, been I never felt as dumb as I did at this moment. There was something seriously wrong going on here and I was out of the loop.
"So what, I like remind him of his kid?" I asked though there was a growing knot in my stomach, I knew somewhere deep down what the answer was going to be but I didn't want to believe it. This was my daddy not that bastard who got the jump on me.
"Barb, honey…" He said as he sat down on the edge of the bed and took my hand while squeezing it gently This wasn't exactly inspiring me here, why couldn't he just say that that man was crazy already and be over with it? "No matter where you came from you are still my daughter and I love you very much."
"Dad…Just tell me he's crazy." I said softly, despair filling my voice as the sad look in Jim Gordon's eyes scared me.
"Tony was using his daughter for a guinea pig for some kind of drug, they were paying him to let them. When we raided the pharmaceutical lab we found her and several other children hooked up to some kind of machines." Jim explained in a tired, weary voice. The look in his eyes though said that he loved me very much but it scared me from the sadness there as well. It seemed like he didn't want to tell me but also realized I had a right to know. Question is did I really want to know? "It was like his daughter didn't exist, there were no birth certificates or anything but we didn't believe the girl was as old as he said. In the end we decided to keep her age at what he said as we got records filed for her and for six months we searched for any signs of her mother but it was a lost cause. I…I took her in and changed her name to Barbara when I adopted her."
"Please tell me this is a sick joke." I said as tears filled my eyes. All my life I was lied to, hell my whole life was a lie one way or another. She was a little worried when she heard about the drugs and waned answers about that but the news of not even being Barbara Gordon on top of Dick breaking her heart was almost too much to take.
"I'm sorry." Jim said taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes as I let out a small sob. When he heard it he started to lean forward to hug me but I stopped him with a hand on his chest gently pushing him back.
"Don't…Please don't." I said, cringing at the hitch in my voice. I didn't care when I felt the wetness trailing down my cheeks. He looked crushed himself and a part of me wanted to tell him that everything was okay but it wasn't. I couldn't say it, I didn't know what to say or do but I knew I needed to be alone.
"I…I'll be back later Barbara honey." Jim said as he slowly backed out the door. I could have sworn that his eyes were shinning with unshed tears. As much as that hurt me the news he just dumped in my lap had hurt me even more and with a gasp of pain I turned to my side not really caring about the tubes and wires connected to me and pulled the bear to my chest as I started sobbing until I fell back to sleep.
When next I woke I was surprised to see Bruce Wayne sitting in the chair by my bed. Well, not really surprised as he was like a second father to me and had been even before my becoming Batgirl. Only thing was he was Barbara Gordon's godfather, not mine…Whoever I was.
"Hey Barbara." Bruce said as he ran a hand through his hair.
"Did you know I was adopted?" I asked, a little surprised at my own voice. It was so hallow, almost dead sounding.
"No, I can honestly say I didn't." Bruce said, an honest expression of shock on his face making me giggle a little. It wasn't very often you surprised Bruce Wayne, the Dark Knight…The Batman like this. It was just so funny and I would be busting a gut by the look on his face if my life hadn't just come crashing down around me today. "Does that really mater though, Babs? Jim is a good man and he raised you, he loves you as his own."
"But he lied to me." I found myself choking out before I could stop myself.
"Every time you put on your suit and he asks what you've been up to do you tell him that you've been out fighting crime?" Bruce asked quietly as he made sure that I was the only one to hear him. I couldn't answer him though as I was always forced to lie about it…Well, I wasn't forced to but he wouldn't understand. "Babs…Barbara, Jim loves you very much and even if he isn't your father by birth he is in every way that counts. He didn't tell you because he was trying to protect you the same way to you try to protect him."
The sad thing was Bruce was completely right and I knew it but my heart didn't, I was still in a lot of pain finding out I wasn't even who I thought I was. "The man who attacked me…He was my father. He said my name was Wilhelmina Vandom."
"That name sounds familiar." Bruce said quietly as he sat back crossing his arms, reaching up with one hand to rub his eyes. "Does it really matter though, your name doesn't make you who you are, what makes us who we are is the actions and decisions we make in our lives."
I really hated this man sometimes as he continued punching holes through my logic, through all the thoughts, fears and accusations floating around in my head. Again though it didn't exactly help my heart as in some ways I felt like I was betrayed. Did that change the fact that I still loved Jim Gordon more than most anything? No, I became batgirl for him, I gave up so much to clear my father's name. Would someone who didn't love their father do something like that? Well maybe but I loved the goofy man that was the police commish but was also the best father a girl could ask for.
It didn't stop the hurt though it did lessen it. Question was what was I going to do? What should I do? I want to know more of where I came from, I had a mother out there some where. What was she like? Was she a monster like that bastard who attacked me was or did she care about me? Did she just give me up and if she did, did she regret it? Or did she abandon me? Did she…Did she love me?
"That's it!" Bruce exclaimed punching a fist in his hand. "Simultech!"
"Wha-What?" I asked completely lost.
"Sorry, it's one of Wayne Enterprises subsidiaries. It's mainly a software development company but the woman who's head of the Research and Development's name is Susan Vandom and she's been looking for her fourteen year old daughter…Named Wilhelmina Vandom." Bruce said looking at me with a weird expression which I could understand. I mean I didn't look it but I was sixteen years old now, I just had my birthday and even got my first car though I haven't even had a chance to drive it yet.
"Bruce, I'm sixteen years old. I feel bad for her but I can't be her daughter." I said as my hopes were dashed almost as quick as they rose. Why was I so hopeful of finding her anyways? She would probably just reject me anyways.
"That's what I was thinking but I keep thinking back to the picture she showed me this one time. It reminded me so much of you when you were little but I thought it was just coincidence. I always believed you were biologically Jim's daughter." Bruce sighed though I could tell the gears in his mind was churning. He was slipping into his Batman mode. Well pointy ears, it ain't gonna help here. I'm not a fourteen year old girl though my obviously flat chest and the fact that I was a 'late bloomer' always did leave me with questions.
How could they think I was two years older though? That didn't make sense a whole lot though which made me think about those so called drugs being tested on me. What did they do to me? Could they have either caused me to mature faster but if that was the case shouldn't I look older and have a nicer 'rack' like the girls Dick liked? Sometimes I couldn't help thinking that it was my fault that I couldn't keep his attention.
"Barb, what's wrong?" Bruce asked obviously noticing that something else was bothering me as well.
"My dad…Jim…Mister Gordon said that when he found me I…When I was little…He said I was in some kind of lab having drugs tested on me." I sighed unable to believe that I didn't talk to him about it but I guess at the time I was a little upset about finding out the truth about my past.
"What kind of sick bastards test drugs on children or any living thing like that?" Bruce asked as anger filled his voice. I could tell he was slipping even farther into his Batman persona, hell I bet he'll grow actual pointy ears if he slips any farther into it.
"Well apparently someone did." I huffed crossing my arms, careful of the irritating tubs and wires. I was thankful that they should be coming out soon…Well, hopefully anyways.
"I'll check into it." Bruce said as he abruptly stood up but it looked like he was feeling guilty about trying to decide if he should leave me. I sighed deciding to give him an easy out and make it more simple for the big galoot.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine." I said, "Just promise me that you will let me know anything if you find out."
"I will, get some rest Barb." Bruce said giving me a soft smile before his face hardened back into his game face. Boy did I feel sorry for any creeps who ran into the Bat tonight…Well, not really.
It was actually the next day when they released me as my dad came back into the room pushing a wheel chair with a nurse. Hospital policy that all patients had to be wheeled out of the hospital when checked out. Come on, what do they think I'm going to do as soon as I get outside? Walk of course!
Anyways my dad, yes my dad as I have come partially to terms with the news that was dumped on me, seemed to be a little worried yet. Little meaning a lot as he looked like he was going to have a heart attack if we didn't get the chance to talk privately soon.
I wasn't sure how much I wanted to talk though because while I did come partially to terms with the knowledge that this man wasn't my biological father I was still at a loss as to what to feel. Did I love him? Duh, of course I did and always will. Bruce's little talk helped a lot putting some things into perspective. Still though I wasn't sure what was going to happen to us as I wasn't too sure who I really was. I wasn't sure where I came from. And I didn't know what those drugs had done to me, what long term effects if any there would be.
"Barbara honey, I know you are probably confused." Jim said as he got into the car after making sure I was safely in the passenger seat. Confused? Really? After finding out my entire life was based around a lie, even if said lie was supposed to be for my own good, what else was I supposed to be feeling?
"A little." I sighed as I leaned against the door as Jim started the car and put in into gear before pulling out of the parking lot. It was amazing what all you could see on the side of the road.
"I love you, Barb, I really do." Jim said, his voice cracking a little. I never saw this man really cry before or look this hurt. I wanted to tell him everything was going to be okay but I had enough lies. "No matter what I'm still your father."
"Dad…I love you too, that…It won't change. I just…I need to know who I am, where I came from…" I said trying to say what I was thinking and feeling but that was a little hard since I was having a little trouble figuring my emotions out myself.
"Barbara…I'll do anything that makes you happy. All I want is for you to be happy." Jim said, the sincerity in that statement was totally obvious. Here was a man who had no blood relation to me but loved me so much and would do anything while apparently my biological father was using me as some guinea pig and even attacked me to find out where my mother was which I didn't know but Bruce was going to help me find out…I think.
"Dad…YOU are my father, nothing will change that." I sighed sitting straight in my seat and looking over at the man driving. I put my hand on his arm, squeezing reassuringly. He let go with the steering wheel and turned his hand to take mine in his and squeezed lovingly as he smiled sadly at me.
"You want to know more about your real mom though, don't you?" He said, his eyes shinning with the wetness he was unable to control.
"Yeah…I know someone who can find her." I said a little unsure of who to tell it was.
"Batman?" He asked and nodded slightly after seeing me reaction out of the corner of his eye, "Yeah, Batman's always been there for me when I needed him its good to know he'll be there for you."
The way he said it raised a lot of questions for me though, it was almost like he suspected who I was or even knew it. I always had mixed feelings about that, I always wanted to tell him but I was afraid of him hating me for it for either breaking the law as a vigilante or from hiding it from him for so long. Then there was the whole vigilante thing again, even if he accepted me it was doubtful the press would. In fact the media would have a hay day with it and most likely ruin his career. None of those outcomes were very good and the worst part was that they were the most likely outcomes.
"Yeah…" I sighed as I wasn't sure what to say. I mean what was there really to say? I was never very good at these things, I guess that's what made me a good candidate to wear the bat.
The rest of the ride was pretty much spent in silence as we pulled into the garage at our home but I was actually hoping to spend a little time with my dad. Guess that wasn't meant to happen as his cell phone started ringing just as he turned the car off.
"Hello, Jim Gordon here." He said while giving me a sad look. I knew something was up as his face changed to an angry expression which made my hopes of spending time with him crash down around me. Damn it, it wasn't fair. "I'm sorry Barb, I have to get down to the station. They're having trouble with someone trying to post bail for someone who isn't supposed to be bailed out.
"Whatever." I said in a tone a little more angrier than I meant to but I really didn't care at the moment. I just stormed out of the car and into the house as I waited just inside the door to see if he followed. At first I thought he was but after a minute or two the engine revved up as he restarted the car and peeled out of the garage. Yeah, thanks a lot dad.
I started to storm upstairs but I changed my mind and grabbed some cash from the stash my dad kept in the kitchen cupboard and called a taxi. It wasn't more than a half hour later when I was walking into the batcave and found my Firebird sitting there. I started to move over to it when I noticed some large crates over near where our suits were kept. Yeah, when Bats accepted me I started keeping my suit here to keep anyone, namely my father, from finding it.
I noticed a pink batsymbol on the side of one in the same color as the firebird symbol on my car and was about to run my hand over it when I heard a girl laughing from the obstacle course. Hurrying over to it in anger as I heard Dick laugh as well I was shocked to see the blonde bimbo from my party there. True that wasn't really shocking but the fact that said hussy was floating in the air without any obvious assistance was.
"Come on, surely you can do better than that!" Dick laughed, wearing a far different suit than his normal one distracting me from asking why the hell this bitch was here in the first place.
"So the great Robin thinks he can escape me?" The girl laughed inhaling deeply doing wonders for her chest and skin tight tanktop.
"The name's Nightwing." Dick said before looking up to see me there. I couldn't help laughing as the blonde exhaled and literally blew Dick across the room. That was priceless, the jerk deserved it and for a moment I had to wonder if this chick wasn't so bad after all.
"You must be Barbara." The bitch said giving me a friendly smile as she floated over to me landing just in front of me. "I'm Kara, I'm so sorry about the other night and if you thought Dick and I were…Well…"
"Whatever…" I grumbled as I noticed the blonde blushing. She had a thing for Dick, that was easy enough to tell. Hell I did too until I found out what a…What a dick he was!
"I'm serious, Babs." Kara said as her smile dropped a little as a worried expression crossed her face. "I came here to invite both of you to join a new team that some of us younger heroes are making. The Teen Titans."
"Thanks but no thanks." I grumbled as I turned on my heel and was about to storm out when Bruce came in wearing a pair of sweats and a towel draped around his neck.
"Should you be up?" Bruce asked as he arched an eyebrow at me.
"They released me earlier and apparently my father…Mister Gordon felt his job was more important than me so yeah, I should be up." I almost snapped as I followed Bruce over to the computer as he sat down in the chair and started typing.
"I was about to come by anyways, I found some information on the drugs they were testing on you." Bruce said sending chills down my spine. As much as I wanted to know what they were I was also very afraid to find out what they might have done to me.
"The drugs was some kind of thing to stop aging but from the notes I dug up they had different reactions with different people. Most of the kids that were tested on died not more than a week after. Then there was the ones that caused meta level mutations in a few. One was an older boy who according to the notes developed very strong telekinetic abilities. There was a girl who was his sister that somehow developed the same traits. The two were put into foster care. Then there was the youngest girl who seemed to…Well her mental abilities seemed to develop faster. They believed it made her into a genius." Bruce explained looking straight at me when he mentioned the last child. "As far as I can tell there wasn't any ill affects though."
"So what, your saying that it was me?" I asked, my voice a little shaky. Does that mean I'm some kind of freak or something?
"No that doesn't make you a freak and you aren't going to die, Barbara." Bruce sighed. I swear sometimes the man can read thoughts. What other explanation was there? "Any effects of the drugs would have worn off a long time ago so any thing you have learned was on your own."
"How about…Did you find anything else out about my mom?" I asked, my voice much softer than I meant. I don't know what was wrong with me, my emotions kept going back and forth from anger to nervousness to scared and right back to being angry again to repeat the entire damned cycle.
"She lives about four hours from here in Heatherfield." Bruce said handing me a manila folder which I shakily opened to see a small stack o papers with a photograph paper clipped to it. The woman was beautiful, much more so than I am or ever could hope to be. How could this woman be my mother?
"I was going to call her but I figured it was your decision to or not." Bruce said with a sad smile.
"Ah, young Mistress." Alfred said from right behind me scaring the hell out of me. He could always do that, even to Bruce which never ceased to amuse me but when he did it to me I always wanted to throttle him. "So how do you like the new suit?"
"New suit?" I asked, wondering if Alfred was referring to Dick's new costume. Speaking of the jackass he was making his way over to us leaning on the blonde's shoulders.
"Yeah, we all got one." Bruce said indicating the crates. One was open and had a blue bird like symbol on it. Another had a pink bat symbol while the last had a red one. "Luscious has been working on them for the last few months for us. They have a lot of experimental equipment so be careful."
"You should check out your car, Babs." Dick said causing me to go back to angry again.
"Don't call me Babs, asshole." I snapped, shocking everyone present.
"Ahem…Well, let's see how your suit fits then we can explain each new gadget and your new car." Bruce said, "It's something else Lucious came up with. It will change form a little doubling as your vehicle."
"Well isn't that spiffy." I say. A part of me was upset that he gave me a birthday present that I had to use for work while another part was ecstatic that he got me my own vehicle.
"Well, let's crack this baby open." Kara said as she literally ripped the top of the crate off with the pink symbol shocking me. Who the hell was she, Superman? Oh god…Kara…She was THE Kara! As in Supergirl! Maybe she really did just come here to ask about joining the Teen Titans. After all Bruce had been saying that they were probably going to form their own group as there had been a handful of ten superheroes hanging out together lately.
"What the hell is this?" Bruce growled as he pulled the suit out and got a good look at it. I cringed when I saw a blonde wig hanging from the cowl. I noticed the padding in it as Bruce held it up and I immediately knew who was responsible for it as I saw Dick backing away a little out of the corner of my eye.
"I didn't think Lucious was taking me serious when he asked for ideas for concealing our identities." Dick said waving his hands in a warding gesture before him.
"Great, so I'm supposed to go out like some playboy bunny!" I snapped at the jerk as Bruce sighed.
"Maybe you should try it on, you have to admit it will help hide your identity." Bruce said weakly. It was obvious to everyone in the room that it was just an attempt to keep the peace.
I grumbled as I snatched the suit and was startled to find it a lot heavier than I thought it would be. It must have been over fifty pounds which was insane, that would only hinder my movement. I kept the observation to myself though as I stormed off to the changing room that was added solely for me when I became a part of the team.
It was a little weird getting into the suit and getting it zipped up in the back but I managed. It reminded me a little of some of the dresses I had to wear at some of the parties I was dragged to for my dad. Or Jim Gordon, I didn't know. It still hurt that he couldn't let someone else take care of such a stupid thing instead of staying and making sure I was okay. I knew he cared about me but I the moment I was hurting over him doing this to me. I'm confused as to who I am and he goes running off to play cops and robbers! Yeah, thanks a lot!
I finally got dressed and looked in the mirror in the room to see a six inch taller Batgirl with long blonde hair looking back. She had a much better figure than myself, one that I would kill for and the joke was that she was me! Only with padding in certain places that just went to prove even more that Dick had a hand in it. I looked almost like some kind of pinup girl! The damn suit was even anatomically correct for God's sake!
I stormed out from the changing room, my face hot though I wasn't sure if it was embarrassment or anger. I didn't even realize that the suit was much lighter than it was when I first picked it up and even seemed to be augmenting my movement.
"So, how's it feel?" Bruce asked as I stormed past him and toward Dick who knew that he was in for some major pain.
"Look Babs, I didn't mean anything." Dick whimpered backing away from me, barely dodging a punch I threw at his face. "Come on, I said I'm sorry."
"You bastard! Look at this, the damn thing even has…God, you pervert! It looks like my ni…" I couldn't finish it, I was way too embarrassed and a part of me wanted to cover myself. Kara grabbed Dick and shoved him toward me with a wink to me. You know, I could get to like this girl. With a feral grin I delivered an uppercut to his jaw knocking him through air to my surprise.
"Now that he had coming." I heard Alfred say from the background as I moved to check on Dick who was out cold on the ground. It was easy to hear Bruce snicker a little as I kneeled down and checked on the perverts limp form. I didn't think he broke anything but knew he was going to have one heck of a headache when he woke up.
"The new suits augment our strengths, Barbara." Bruce said as he walked over to us. I looked up to see Kara smiling at me proudly. As I said before, I could definitely get to like this girl. Maybe when I did work out my current situation I'll think about joining her new team. After all Bruce was a charter member in the JLA.
"I think you need a new name to suit your new look." Kara said, "How about Batwoman?"
"I actually wished they called me that when I first started." I laughed as I let Bruce help me up leaving Dick to grumble as he woke up. "It was the media that dubbed me Batgirl."
"Batbabe sounds better." Dick grumbled in a joking manner only to have Kara slap him upside the back of the head causing him to cry out in protest. Over the next two hours I experienced the most boring lecture in my life as Bruce went over every detail of my new suit and car while promising to have Lucious make a new one though it would take three to six months since it would have to be done from scratch.
Bruce let me go solo after begging him to though he was really reluctant about it. I was driving through the streets of Gotham in my transformed Firebird whose logo now resembled the bat on my chest more than the bird that was on it prior to transformation. Transformation, god what was this, some bad fanfiction about Transformers? I had to laugh at my internal joke as I slammed on the brakes at the end of an alley where I saw a couple of thugs trying to attack a girl.
Using the launcher in the car I let he roof slide back and was launched into the air and used my cloak as a glider as I floated down to the ground.
"Batman!" The first thug cried spinning around to find me lightly landing on the ground.
"Screw the broad, check out the bat!" The second thug leered at me as two more thugs came from behind me.
Four thugs against little old me? Those weren't exactly very fair odds…For the thugs. The first one jumped at me as I brought my knee up to meet him in the crotch effectively taking him out for the time being. Brutal, yes but I particularly hate this type of crime and I made sure to show my displeasure to these punks.
I was stupid enough to get distracted as the two thugs behind me jumped forward and grabbed my arms trying to hold me as the last one took out a switchblade and brandished it toward me acting as if he was about to cut me. These thugs were just common street thugs and the suit had more than enough power to free myself and deliver a much needed case of whoop ass.
I was stopped though as the girl they were attacking came towards us though the thugs didn't pay too much attention. The lenses in my new cowl let me see her clearly enough even in the darkened alley. She was beautiful with a goth look about her, tight black hip huggers, a see through black top wearing a black bra underneath it. She was wearing a pair of black leather boots with three inch heels and had a black bag on her shoulder. Her hair was dark shoulder length and framed her pale face making her look almost ethereal as the dark make up added to the affect.
"You know, I could have handled them on my own." The girl said in a playful smirk that told me she didn't mean anything by it. Her voice though was almost emotionless which creeped me out just a little bit. She raised her hands out in front of her, clasping them as she started chanting, "Azarath Metrion Xinthos!" And threw her hands out on either side of her just as the thugs holding me glowed black and flew away from me slamming into each wall of the alley knocking them out. With my hands free I flicked out one of my new batarangs which resembled Batman's though with pink highlights instead of the blue n his.
"You don't need that." Kara laughed as she floated down in front of the entrance of the alley just as the last thug got there. He turned white as a sheet as Kara leaned in playfully and whispered, "Boo."
I had to admit it was hilarious to see the thug wet himself just before fainting.
"Hey Raven, when did you get into town?" Kara asked as she floated just inches off the ground and hovered over to us.
"Just about an hour ago Supergirl." Raven said, "Cyborg is here too though we didn't do too well on our end."
"Well I'm hoping to get red here to join us, she kicks major ass." Kara said seriously, "I have another candidate in mind but after seeing what he did earlier I'm not sure if he's Titan material."
"Red?" Raven asked as she arched an eyebrow at me.
"I…You know at first I didn't want to but…I need some time to think. I have a lot going on right now and…Some personal business that I need to take care of first." I sighed as Kara held out what almost looked like a large compact but when I took it and flipped it open it was far from that. On one side there was a screen and the other several buttons on it.
"Your offer will always be open, Red." Kara smiled playfully as she noticed my annoyed glance over the continuous thing of calling me Red. "That's a Titan's communicator that Cyborg whipped up. If you need anything or you change your mind just give us a buzz."
"Thanks." I said sincerely. I almost handed it back but instead put it in one of the empty pouches of my new belt. Bruce had said that he had more equipment coming in also in the near future for the rest of my belt.
After another hour of sweeping the city I changed the car back to normal and pulled my cowl back while reaching in the backseat for my oversized trench coat since I didn't want to head back to the cave tonight and see Dick anymore. True I know knew that Kara really was there to see both of us I was still upset at him. This wasn't the first time he's done this to me and while Kara may have been innocent Dick certainly wasn't. He didn't even really seem to notice me when any girl, just not Kara, with a big rack was around.
Maybe if I was more developed the boy wouldn't stray…No! This wasn't my fault, I had to keep telling myself that but it was a little hard to believe sometimes. He made me feel so inadequate all the time, like I wasn't good enough for him. God, I even gave myself to him a few weeks ago since he kept pressuring me to. And what did I get for the pain it caused me? Yes pain, it had really hurt and the son of a bitch didn't even care as he wasn't even trying to be gentle and telling me I needed to relax more to enjoy it. I went through the whole idea just to see Dick flirt with the desk clerk as we left the hotel.
It was hard to stop the tears from falling as I pulled into the driveway as I slipped the coat on over the suit. It helped hide the so called enhancements the suit gave me but it was easy to tell still that something was off since my normally pretty much flat chest was now pushing against the coat and was hard to hide that.
Shutting the car off I walked to the garage and noticed it was empty of my dad's car. Did he even come back? Sighing as I rubbed my eyes I made my way inside and checked the kitchen and the door on the fridge since it was where we always left notes for each other at. There was one there but unfortunately it was something I didn't want to see. I wanted to spend some time with my dad or Mister Gordon or whoever the hell he was. While Bruce did try his best it was the man who raised me who always made me feel better when I was like this.
Looking again at the note as I read it over again to make sure it said what I thought it did again.
'Honey, I'm sorry but I had to go back to the station. Was just dropping of a couple sandwiches which I put in the fridge for you. Love you.'
Yeah, he loved me so much he didn't want to be around me. I couldn't stop them this time as I slid to my knees and the tears started falling full force. I don't know how long I was there hugging myself and bawling my eyes out but I finally did come to a decision. I was going to find my mother, my real mother and I was doing it now.
I climbed back to my feet and walked angrily toward my room where I stripped the coat and suit off. I grabbed a red shirt and black jeans and threw them on before sliding some socks and shoes on my feet. Next I grabbed two suitcases, one for the suit and the other for some clothes I threw in it. Next I grabbed some money out of my desk and took the suitcases back downstairs.
I stopped at the fridge for a few seconds debating to leave a note or not. He probably really wouldn't miss me since he was sure to be busy at work like he seemed to prefer lately. I can't believe it took all this crap to happen for me to realize it but the man really had been spending less and less time with her and more at work.
Angrily I snorted and took the bags and stomped outside throwing them in the backseat of my firebird. Getting in the front seat I turned on the engine and floored it in reverse skidding out into the street before slamming it in drive and literally burned rubber as I left a streak of tire behind me and a loud howl of the tires as if in protest. Bah, what did they know? I needed to get out of this city for awhile and clear my head and I would worry about school and consequences later.
It took four hours to drive from Gotham to this town where this Susan Vandom lived, Heatherfield. It was actually a very beautiful town about half the size of Gotham but it was much more beautiful at the same time. Pulling into a small hotel I parked and walked inside, halfway afraid that I wouldn't be able to get a room since I was under eighteen. Thankfully it wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. It was an elderly man running the front desk and after telling him I was there to see my mother he happily gave a room to me wishing me luck.
It was in the early hours of the morning when I crashed in my new, small room with two beds, a phone and television that looked like it came from the fifties with a cable box hooked up to it. I didn't feel like watching television though as I was completely exhausted, both emotionlessly and physically.
For the next three day I didn't get much rest as I cased the apartment complex and Simultech studying every move Susan Vandom made. I planned a lot for this night as it was the easiest to break in here then and knowing the woman worked late two out of the three nights made things easy on me.
And now I was in the woman's apartment building searching through her dresser, wardrobe and filing cabinet to come up completely empty handed. There was no birth certificate anywhere obvious. Sighing to myself I scanned over the room one last time and came across the nightstand what had one drawer in it. I moved over to it planning to check it when I noticed the picture frame sitting on it by the clock. There was an official looking document with another copy f the picture I saw with the woman holding the baby. Picking it up I gasped as I realized it was the very thing I've been looking for making me want to hit my head against the wall.
A loud crash and the door flying open with the woman standing in it holding a very expensive looking custom crossbow pointed right at my head. I couldn't believe how stupid I was to not notice someone coming into the apartment as I stared at the angry woman whose eyes widened in surprise as she flicked on the lights and got a good look at me.
"So the bastard sent his dogs to find me?" The woman growled. "Give me the picture frame and I won't hurt you."
I couldn't help but gasp in shock at the tone of voice she was using while tracking the frame with her eyes as if it was the most important thing to her. What did she mean by what she said though, does she know Batman? And more importantly how dare she call me his dog?