Chapter Three:
Finding Balance
"Uh... something ok?" Asked Caitlyn when she returned home after the mission.
She saw her grandparents sitting at the dining table with mugs of coffee. Both of them had an expression on their faces that told her she was in for a serious discussion.
"Not really... We got your report card in today." Barbara showed her the paper that was on the table between them.
"What? But those weren't due till next week!" Caitlyn protested, running over, dropping her tote bag rather carelessly on the floor next to the wall as she ran.
"Well apparently because a certain fight cut the power from the school for a few days, the Principal decided to sent out the report card early, in the hopes that it might change a few study habits before school starts up again." Replied Barbara rather curtly as Caitlyn stared at the grades on the report card.
She was failing math, no surprises there. But she was getting an 'a' in history, science and biology. Which was more than she could've hoped for. But judging by the looks on her grandparents' faces, they felt she could do better than she was in school.
"Now listen, Cate, we know these last few weeks have been difficult for you-" Dick said slowly, as though testing the waters on this topic.
"That's an understatement..." Grumbled Caitlyn as she took a seat.
"But that's no excuse for getting failing grades in half of your classes. You need to apply yourself more, and stop zoning out when you're supposed to be working." Dick went on as though he hadn't heard her. "Don't give me that look. I know you hate math, but there's nothing wrong with asking for help in your homework. I remember quite well that your father spent a bit of time helping you in your schooling. And we think it's time you had your grandmother help you with your homework. I would do it, but I'm too busy these days in the Command Center. So before you do anything else, unless it's an emergency that requires Batgirl's presence, for two hours every day until your grades improve, Barb will be your tutor."
"BUT-!" Caitlyn began to protest. This was the worst thing that could've happened, besides having her parents murdered two weeks ago.
"No buts." Barbara said warningly. "Even as Nightwing, your grandfather still managed to make time for a normal life with me, and you can do it too. As the first Batgirl, I still made time for my family and friends. So, get out your essay, and I'll go over it with you tonight, since I know that's the only homework you had."
Caitlyn glared in mutiny, but she turned and went to her room, dug around on her desk, and pulled out the freshly typed four page essay before returning. By the time she came back, Dick had already gone back down to the Command Center.
So the two sat together at the dining table as evening turned to night, going over the finer parts of United States history, and how it had been changed with the arrivals of the Super Heros. It was a grueling two hours, and by the end of it, Caitlyn felt like she'd been through the wringer mentally, glad to finally get her grandmother's approval on the state of the essay. She went straight to the fridge with a grumbling stomach, then to the freezer.
"Nana, mind if I nuke something instead of go through the trouble of cooking?" She asked.
"Hey, if it means I don't have to cook, go for it." Barbara smiled from her spot.
Caitlyn then grabbed her favorite microwaveable Alfredo and chicken linguini pasta dish, took it out of its box, poked a few holes in the plastic cling wrap, then put it in the microwave. She was glad that this was one thing that had not changed in the last millennium, microwaveable meals.
After a few minutes, she was sitting back at the dining table with her dinner and a diet Pepsi.
"Long day?" Asked Barbara at the look on her granddaughter's face.
"Yeah. Someone tried to break an inmate in the City Jail out, called herself Catwoman. The inmate didn't get out luckily... but Catwoman got away." She grumbled after taking a large bite of her pasta.
"Catwoman?" Blinked Barbara. "So she's resurfaced, eh?"
"You know about her, Nana?" Caitlyn looked up from her food.
"Oh yes. Sometimes Catwoman has been on our side, other times she's not been so good to have around. It all depends on who it was that took up the mask." Barbara smiled.
"Well, that red hair sticking from underneath the mask looks kind of like Kina's from school." Caitlyn thought for a moment. "But the voice is kind of different."
"Most of the suits used in Gotham City have voice amplification, to make it harder to tell who's really who. Have you figured out who Batman is yet?" Barbara said as an example, and Caitlyn shook her head.
"No. Half the time I can't even really tell." She admitted rather reluctantly.
"It's all part of protecting one's identity. If any of our enemies were to find out who we really were, they would find a way to ruin us, or use it against us somehow." Explained Barbara. "I'm sure Batman will tell you who he is in time. Dick told me you two are now allies. I believe it's a step in the right direction."
Caitlyn stared at her grandmother as though she really wasn't in the mood to be told that right at the moment. She still felt rather negatively towards Batman, she just agreed to be his teammate to shut him up.
Barbara saw the look Caitlyn gave her and gave a small chuckle, figuring out pretty easily what was going through the young woman's mind at the moment.
"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get used to everything. Including working with Batman." Added Barbara as though in afterthought.
In response, Caitlyn stabbed a bit of chicken with a bit of unnecessary venom with her fork. Barbara chuckled again, stood up, patted her granddaughter on the shoulder, then went down to the Command Center to see how her husband was doing.
"How'd she take it?" Asked Dick, not having to glance back to see who it was that was entering.
"Not well. She's got a lot of attitude." Sighed Barbara.
"Like someone else I know." Smirked Dick.
"I was never quite that bad." Barbara looked at her husband in surprise as she sat down.
"Oh? You don't recall shoving me off Gotham City Banks' rooftop when I was trying to flirt with you back in the day?" He asked with a bit of a glint in his eyes.
"Hmm... That memory escapes me." Barbara said sarcastically. "Wait...I seem to recall you saying something along the lines of 'Hey Babs, what'cha doing up here? Enjoying the sights?' Worst pick up line ever, by the way."
Dick laughed outright at that recollection.
"Hey, it worked, didn't it?" He said with a shrug.
"You always were the shameless type." Sighed Barbara in embarrassment. "So, anything exiting going on that we should know about?" She asked, looking at all the screens on the wall before them.
"Nothing as of late. But I'll let you know. Hey hon, mind getting me a coffee or something?"
"Sure. Then I've got to get back to work. Cate's already done with her schoolwork. I made sure before she did anything else." Barbara pecked her husband on the cheek before leaving him to his observation of Gotham City, even though Bruce probably already had that line of duty taken care of. But it never hurt to have an extra pair of eyes around, she thought as she went upstairs to the kitchen where her granddaughter was still eating her dinner in a rather stiff silence.
"You know, if you're that upset, why don't you take it out on Martial Arts?" Asked Barbara as she set to making her husband a mug of fresh coffee.
"Can't. I stopped that just after I became Batgirl." Retorted an irritated Caitlyn through a mouthful of pasta and chicken. "I wouldn't be able to handle everything I used to do as Batgirl anyways."
Barbara sighed, leaning against the countertop, waiting for the coffee maker to get heated up.
"I was already a black belt anyways." Caitlyn shrugged. "I think I'll go out and wander after I eat." She added. "If anything happens, just tell Grandpa to call me."
"Sounds like a plan. I'm going back to work after I have a chat with Dick. Have fun and stay safe." Barbara hugged her granddaughter from behind before she poured her husband a fresh mug of coffee and left Caitlyn to her thoughts.
"You work too much Nana!" Caitlyn called down the hallway after her grandmother.
"You don't work hard enough." Replied Barbara at the door with a smile on her face, before heading down.
"I'm only sixteen... I should be able to goof around all I want!" Caitlyn grumbled mutinously before grabbing her tote bag and fleeing out the door, unsure if Barbara had heard her or not. At least there was one thing she knew in her life... When to flee a situation before it got explosive.
"Terry, I've got parent teacher night at Matt's school tonight. I've got a baby sitter for Matt since Mr. Wayne called ahead and said he'd be needing you again."
"Right. Thanks mom."
They were at the dining table that evening having a later meal, Terry and Matt's mother was dressed nicely for the meeting with Matt's teachers, and Matt was looking moody and grumbly about the whole prospect.
"I don't see why I have to have a baby sitter, and Terry gets off scott free!" Matt said through a mouthful of spaghetti.
"Because Terry ISN'T getting off scott free, he's gotta work. And Mr. Wayne can't have the pitter patter of little feet tripping him up everywhere." Snarled Terry.
"Who'm I getting tonight anyways?" Asked Matt.
"Rosalyn." Replied Mrs. McGiness, waiting for the din to start.
And start it did.
"ROSALYN? NOT ROSALYN!" Matt spat out what he'd been chewing on in a mixture of horror and shock.
"Awe, come on, she's not that bad." Said his mother as Terry watched with an amused sort of expression on his face, but for once keeping out of it.
"Please, please, ANYONE else! Can't you call around some more, Mom?" Begged Matt as Terry tried hard not to laugh at his brother's horror.
"No. I spent two weeks on the phone prior to this, Matthew McGiness. Rosalyn was the only one open AND WILLING to baby sit you. Now, I expect you to be on your best behavior... And ANY fowl ups with the baby sitter..." His normally sweet mother had suddenly become quite serious as she drew her finger across her neck with a cat-hissing sort of noise. "You'll be grounded for a week. Got it junior?"
Matt stared at his mother for a long moment before nodding, and that was when Terry finally chuckled. Then he looked at his meal and ate quietly the rest of their dinner.
"Notice how quietly and patiently I'm sitting here eating my meal..." Said Matt, now behaving and no longer throwing a fit.
"You're an inspiration to us all, Matthew." Replied his mother rather sarcastically. Now that she was certain there would be no more fits thrown at the dining table that evening, and her youngest son would cooperate with Rosalyn, the baby sitter, Mrs. McGiness went back to her kind, sweet self. At least she knew how to raise two boys on her own. Even if one of them needed a rather different means of encouragement than the other to behave.
"Good luck, kid." Said Terry when it was time for him to head out to work with Bruce. At least he had some sense of normalcy to his life, with his mother and little brother, he thought as he headed out.
"Thanks." Grumbled Matt, thoroughly depressed and moody at the prospect of a boring and monitored evening.
As Terry left, he saw a car pulling up their driveway, with the driver being Matt's babysitter.
"Is the little hellion inside?" Asked the rather small and tweedy blond girl from Gotham City University- she was going to school to be a professional astronomer.
"Oh yeah, he's braced himself for impact." Terry jerked his thumb back at the house.
"Don't worry, I brought the cattle prod this time!" Rosalyn called as he rounded the corner, he saw her pull out her notebooks and binders. She baby sat whenever she needed a few extra bucks, since she was a college student and living on her own, she didn't mind having something else to do other than homework once in a while. Plus, she was rather fond of having enough to buy a new anime series once in a while. She could hear Matt begging and pleading his mother for another babysitter, and knew it would be one hell of an evening.
"Please, please please mom! Don't leave me with her! She's evil and twisted!" Matt was screaming as she knocked on the door.
"Hi Rosalyn, he was behaving for a little while... hopefully he'll calm down when he gets the hint that there's no other choice." Mrs. McGiness sighed rather embarrassedly as she showed Rosalyn in.
"No worries, so long as I can get my studying done." Smiled Rosalyn.
"I made sure to stock your favorite drinks in the fridge for you, and if you need a snack there's vegetables and fruit." Mrs. McGiness explained as Matt was hiding on the stairwell, listening to every word being said, clinging to the rails as though for dear life.
Kina yawned and stretched, her brilliant red hair shining in the street lights that lit up Gotham City in the evening. She was hanging out at the favorite spot for most of the Cheerleaders, the Frozen Yogurt shoppe. And since her boyfriend was currently locked up in Jail, she suddenly found that she had lots of free time. She hated being bored, it drove her up the wall. And since her target normally only came out of hiding when there was trouble abroad in the City, she was free until she decided how to bring about Batgirl's demise.
It was odd, to put it bluntly, thinking about killing someone, when she as of yet didn't actually have blood on her hands. But her current employers were right... One Bat keeping tabs on things in Gotham City was hard enough to deal with. Now there were two of them? If a person so much as put one TOE out of line, they were likely to be put in the slammer. There were too many superheroes and super-heroines these days, she felt. She had no regrets about the profession she chose, with her alter ego as Catwoman. She proved before that she could escape from the two Bats when cornered.
As she ate her favorite frozen yogurt- water mellon kiwi with vanilla- a thought crept in to her mind. Catwoman had been a thief in the past. Who said she couldn't be thief and killer?
When she finished, she had a full plan formulated in her mind as to how she would go about capturing and disposing of Batgirl, and getting something nice and shiny from the whole escapade as a bit of a reward for herself.
Caitlyn was not at the Frozen Yogurt shop, or at the mall. Instead, she was in a flower shop she visited once every couple of weeks. Normally her room was full of flowers and plants, she loved the fragrances they brought with them. But the last few weeks had been so crazy she didn't have time to take care of plants and flowers, and she could tell there was a difference without them.
"Miss Boardener, if you want to see our Rose collections, they're over on the eastern side where the sun is strongest! There's bound to be some that will go well with the Dahlia's you picked out." Molly, the owner of the shop, was always helpful and cheerful about her company in the store. Sometimes she'd even pay Caitlyn a few bucks to watch the place while she had to run an errand or two.
"Ooh! I Love those hanging Fuchsias too!" Caitlyn exclaimed at the sight of purple and red flowers hanging in a basket near her head. Only a few people ever usually saw this side of Caitlyn, and that was her closest family members, and Leia normally. Her father had not only been a cartoonist, but a gardener as well. He had had a reputation in Gotham City for his nature themed art, and made sure to pass that love on to his daughter while she was still young.
The flower shop was like her place to get away from everything once in a while, when things became too much. Molly was like an aunt to her, and offered her a part-time job for when Caitlyn was old enough even.
She was so absorbed in examining the Fuchsias in the hanging pot as she pulled it down she didn't see that she was being watched by someone through the shop's windows until she happened to look up and see Terry, who had an odd expression on his face before he shrugged and moved on when he realized she'd seen him and she'd given him a pissed off look at being found in such a place.
Kina had once again donned the Catwoman suit. She was standing, cloaked in shadow so that the yellow and red portions of her suit stood out rather vividly, in a crouching position above one of the Gotham City museum's many sky-line windows. There was a diamond down there, but the infra-red detectors in the eyes of her suit showed her where the laser grid was placed around it in a criss-crossing manner.
"As if that's gonna stop me..." She muttered.
From her belt she pulled out a mini laser glass cutter with a suction cup on the handle. After cutting a hole for herself to slip through, she placed the glass window on its neighbor, before sliding in, holding on for a brief second or two as she made sure of her footing and where she'd land, then let go.
She landed cat-like on the floor in a hole of the laser grid, but she was still several feet away from the diamond she was eyeballing. This diamond was the size of a golf ball, and it gleamed even in the dark, with no source of light. Catwoman used some of her aerobics she'd learned from Cheerleading to gracefully jump, spin and crawl her way through the laser grid for a few moments before she reached the diamond and the glass case it was propped up in.
She cut a hole in the case with the soundless glass cutting laser, and reached in to grab the diamond as well as the velvet pillow it had been propped up on.
"Isn't it a little late to be shopping around?" Asked a voice from behind.
Catwoman looked around for the source of the voice and saw it was Batgirl. Apparently she wasn't in the best of moods that night, judging by how she had her arms crossed over her chest and the scowl detected by the narrowed look on her eyes.
"Nope. Night time is when us cats do our best prowling." Catwoman replied with a sneer, putting the diamond in a pouch on her utility belt. "Besides, you're a girl. You'd understand the attractiveness of pretty shinies."
"Yeah, naturally. But I prefer MY Shinies not stolen from a historic museum. And from a boy, too. If you'd return the diamond please? I was trying to live a normal life for a short while before YOU interrupted." Said Batgirl, starting to sound impatient.
"No thank you. It's mine, I rightfully stole it." Catwoman pulled from a different pouch a tiny smoke bomb. It wouldn't set off the alarms, but it should be enough to stall Batgirl or confuse her. She chose not to say anything to Batgirl's second statement. But at least she knew why she'd be rather ticked off at the moment.
The smoke bomb went off, spewing thick black smoke everywhere.
Batgirl, ever so glad that she had a modern suit on, was not effected by the smoke. She could see Catwoman running down the hall, and after a few aerobics of her own, she activated her suit's cloaking device in the hallway, then became invisible to the naked eye as she pursued the thief Catwoman.
"Here, kitty-kitty-kitty!" Batgirl called to taunt the woman as they went in to the dinosaur exhibit.
"Kitty doesn't wanna play though!" Catwoman hissed back, feeling the trickling of irritation on the back of her neck as Batgirl taunted her.
Batgirl stood lightly on the head of the tyrannosaurus display in the center of the exhibit, glad it was sturdier than it looked, as Catwoman stared wildly around before she deactivated the cloaking device.
Catwoman spotted Batgirl just before she jumped down from the highest point of the Tyrannosaurus display, her hands raised ready to strike as she reached her target. Batgirl's fists hit Catwoman on the head, before she kneed the thief right in the stomach.
"That's not fighting fair!" Catwoman growled, sending four Cat-a-rangs at Batgirl, who dodged by the use of cartwheels.
"And neither is that..." Batgirl snapped, flinging four of her own bat-a-rangs at the ones that pursued her. She was also glad that her weapons came right from the suit she wore, so that meant fewer things that she had to carry.
"Smack down in the museum is it?" Came Batman's voice from one of the windows. He'd been watching for a few minutes as Batgirl and Catwoman duked it out over the diamond she'd stolen. But something seemed fishy about all this to Batman, so he had hung back for a moment while he considered everything.
"About time you got here!" Snapped Batgirl as she slid around a Triceratops limb when Catwoman's golf-ball sized bomb went off underneath the rib cage of the dinosaur.
"So much for a thanks for turning up..." Muttered Batman. Apparently she still needed improvement with her teamwork ethics.
Batgirl was exceedingly grateful that the dinosaur was already long dead, otherwise there would have been bits of flesh and blood, apart from the bones and fragments that went flying everywhere.
Batman leapt from the window he'd been crouching at, and wound up in front of Catwoman, already having a pretty good idea what her initial goal with all this was. Before he landed, he sent his legs at Catwoman's face, which would normally send her flying backwards in to the Pteranodon display right behind her.
A chain came flying in his direction, and when he saw the spikes on the edge, he had to duck. When he saw the chain crash in to the leg of the Tyrannosaurus, he was glad that he had fast reflexes. As the ball at the end of the chain sliced through the bone.
"So that chain isn't just for decoration..." Muttered Batman, realizing it was one of the chains that hung from Catwoman's ears on her mask.
As Batgirl shoved the Triceratops bones off her, she looked up. There was a low rumbling, as the largest of the dinosaur exhibits began to tremble.
"Oh-" Catwoman mumbled.
"Crap." Batgirl finished that train of thought.
The chain that Catwoman had been using clipped back to the top of her right ear on her mask as she high-tailed it from the.
"Come on!" Batman shouted at Batgirl as the Tyrannosaurus began to collapse on itself, and museum alarms were blaring. He grabbed her arm, since she looked like she was going to chase after Catwoman instead of getting the hell out of that building.
"Hey!" Batgirl shouted, but for once he didn't pay any attention as he crashed through a window when the bones shattered in every direction, starting a domino effect with the other nearby exhibits. The sound was deafening as Batman lead Batgirl away to safety.
Well, that plan was an utter disaster... Catwoman frowned. But at least I managed to get rid of one of my least favorite exhibits! She paused, thinking about the now utterly ruined dinosaur exhibit in the museum that the Police would be coming upon, and reached for the pouch. They didn't even try and get this back from me... She looked at the priceless golf ball sized, pure diamond. That troubled her as she put it back in to her pouch. She'd seen the direction Batman dragged Batgirl off in, and knew which direction NOT to go in. Did Batman know she was trying to kill Batgirl? She would have to be more careful than this obvious attempt in the future.
Only when he was certain they were well away from the Museum, Catwoman and the Police did Batman let Batgirl go. Night had really fallen by now, so the city was lit by the many lights and buildings, casting a strange but consistent yellow-orange glow around them.
"You could at LEAST be a little more grateful, you know." He shot at her finally after a long silence.
"What?" She had not expected that from him of all people.
"Ever since we met you've been nothing but an ungrateful, moody brat. If we're going to be working together, you could AT LEAST be friendlier. All I've ever been is nice and helpful to you. I like you, but how can we be friends and team-mates if you keep spurning me every time I turn up to save your ungrateful ass?" He asked after calming down a little. He went on before she could interrupt. He had the feeling the moment he let her say something, it would turn in to a shouting match. "I've saved some temperamental people before, but you and that Caitlyn Boardener top that list. Next time Catwoman's involved in a caper, be more careful. In case you didn't notice, she was trying to kill you. There's a death sentence in your head by the guys who normally are in league with Shape Shifter because you put him in prison."
Batgirl remained silent for a time. Not sure how to take this, but she nodded in the end. She supposed he had a point.
"Good." Batman nodded, deciding not to press the issue any farther. At least now she knew now there was a hit out on her head. "I'd better get going. I'll see you around." He gave a casual wave before leaving her be.
"He is right you know." Came Dick's voice over the intercom in Batgirl's ears.
"Oh hush." She retorted before turning in the opposite direction Batman had just gone.