Batgirl stared at the com-screen in disbelief.
"Where did you say you are?"
"I'm in Africa trying to stop a super-genius gorilla from taking over the world."
You've got to be kidding me.
But she attempted to take it in stride. After all, they were in a very strange profession to begin with. She had fought a talking crocodile man before, so why not a smart ape?
"Do you need any backup?"
"No. We've got in covered. Keep watch over Gotham until I return."
Abruptly his image disappeared from the main screen in the Bat Cave, leaving her to stare at the sudden emptiness. He never needs backup these days.
Barbara removed her cowl, rubbed her eyes, and sighed. The soft sound seemed to echo continuously within the vast underground caverns. She thought it had never seemed so empty to her as it did now. Even the bats were gone now, out feeding in the night sky.
"Well, Babs, this isn't turning out at all like you planned."
The last few months had been an adjustment for her. Initially, she and Bruce spent a decent amount of time together, patrolling Gotham and crime fighting as a team. It had taken nearly three weeks to get him to relax around her again---he always seemed to regress into his personal darkness when there was no Robin---but finally things were back to the way they were.
Almost.
Now that she had to hold down a full-time job at the law library (must be nice to be rich Bruce, because earning a paycheck really bites into my time for extra-curricular nocturnal activities), she was lucky if she got to spend any time as Batgirl during the workweek. That still left the weekends, but then it started to happen.
League business.
Take care of Scarecrow while I handle this Aquaman situation, Batgirl.
Batgirl, figure out what Rupert Thorne is up to while I help the League with Luthor's new gang.
You're on your own tonight, Batgirl, I have monitor duty.
All she wanted was for things to settle down a bit so she could broach the subject of their relationship once again.
Not that she hadn't made a few attempts.
But he had shut her down. Put her off. Ignored her invitations and overtures.
Treated her like she was still a silly, immature co-ed.
"What am I going to do?" she asked the computer bank in front of her. "How can I prove myself to him?"
"You don't, Babs. You should know that by now."
The voice was warmth and friendly, its tone teasing yet kind. It immediately brought back a flood of memories, most of them pleasant. She spun around in the command chair and nearly leapt out of it, as she quickly embraced the man who had snuck up on her.
"Dick! It's so good to see you!"
Nightwing smiled, returning the embrace and then pulling back to get a better look at her. "Wow, Babs. I guess I should stop by more often."
Batgirl blushed slightly, realizing she probably had come on a bit strong. She was just so happy to see a friendly face besides Alfred. Still, she managed to retreat back a few steps and return to the relative safety of the chair.
Was it her imagination or had he hesitated before he released her?
"Well, what did you expect, dummy?" she said breezily, hoping to steer the conversation in another direction, "I haven't seen you in over a year."
He pulled up another chair and sat down a few feet away. "Yeah, well. I've been pretty busy. Gotham's got nothing on Bludhaven in the scum department. Not quite as many freaks down there as here, but the police department doesn't have someone like your Dad leading it, either. Hell, I think I've ended up taking down nearly as many crooked cops as criminals lately."
"Sounds rough. At least GCPD is pretty clean these days."
"True, but I think I'm making a real difference there. Besides, I couldn't play second fiddle forever." He paused, staring at her for a moment, and then continued, "But you already knew that, didn't you Babs?"
Oh boy, here we go again. Sorry, Dick, but I'm not going to take the bait.
"So what brings you to Gotham, Dick? He's out of town, you know."
"What makes you so sure I came to see him?"
He smirked.
Oh you think you're so clever, Mr. Grayson, with your witty banter and positively gorgeous body under that skintight---Oops. Let's try to focus here, Barbara.
"Ha, ha, Richard. But seriously—" she spun the chair around to face the giant screen again, a few deft key strokes bringing up various status reports on Gotham, "---what brings you to town? Did you forget how to use the phone?"
Nightwing rolled his chair next to hers, studying some of the information she currently had up. "Actually, I came to use the lab. I have a decent set up back at my place, but Bruce always did have the best toys. Besides, Alfred had mentioned you were back and so---"
"Aw! You came all the way up here to see little ol' me?"
Why am I flirting with him? He's the one who broke it off with me!
"In part."
He leaned back in the chair, staring absently at the monitor. "I was also wondering how he's doing? I mean, for real. Alfred only knows so much. But you," he turned to look at her, "you are his current favorite."
Well, that almost sounds like an insult, doesn't it?
"Don't be so sure of that. He's spending almost as much time with the Justice League as he does with me nowadays. You wouldn't believe some of the stuff they have to deal with."
"So fill me in. What kind of baddies can take on Superman, Green Lantern, Flash, and Bruce?"
You're leaving out Wonder Bimbo.
She told him all she knew, which wasn't much to be truthful. But then Dick had the great idea of trying to hack into Bruce's files to get the real deal on the League. It took them nearly three hours, but they finally broke into some of the medium-security files. The rest of the evening flew by as they took turns reading, laughing, and discussing what Bruce had wrote.
"Hmmm. He seems pretty impressed with this Hawk Girl."
"You think so?" Nightwing said, yawning, "I'd saw he's a lot more impressed with Wonder Woman. Say, have you seen her in person? Talk about a babe."
She abruptly turned off the computer and stood up. "Time to call it a night, Nightwing."
"Huh? What's the matter, Babs?"
She pulled her cowl back up over her face, hoping to conceal her emotions from him.
"Some of us have to hold down a full-time job, you know."
"Hey," he stood up and put a hand on her shoulder. His voice softened, concerned, "What's going on, Barbara?"
She pushed him away, "Just leave me alone, you jerk. Don't you have some test tubes to play with?"
Before he could reply, the Bat Cave sensors went off, indicating that the Bat Wing was about to return. They both rushed to the landing pad, although Nightwing kept a respectable distance back. Whether it was because of her earlier request or because Dick wasn't certain how Bruce would react to his visit, she wasn't sure. Right now, she just wanted to compose herself.
A few tense minutes passed and the Dark Knight finally graced them with his presence.
"How'd it go, Batman?" she asked, keeping it professional in front of Dick.
"We won," he said simply.
She almost gasped when she first caught sight of his gloves. They were bloody and torn.
"What happened to your hands, Bruce?"
He glanced down absently. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it."
Batman strode toward his former apprentice.
"What do you need, Nightwing?"
"Well, hello to you, too, Bruce."
Barbara tuned out the rest of their exchange as she walked slowly to her motorcycle.
That's right, Bruce. Keeping shutting me out. Pretty soon, you're going to find yourself without a partner once again.
Now if only her heart could let him go as well.
