Author's Comments:
Some of this is a bit of a rant. Be warned. It's not directed at any single person, so don't feel like you're being attacked. Because you aren't.
There have been a few comments about my describing things too much that I wish to address. You know what guys? I'm not about to change my style of writing to appease those audiences who don't enjoy reading a lot. I DO intend on publishing eventually (Obviously not the fanfictions) and I'm using this as a testing ground for development of my particular writing style. I don't mean this in any offense to those who read and actually ENJOY my stories. But I'm not changing to a level of writing below where I'm at just to appease those of... I don't know any other way of putting this... lesser intelligence who dislike all of the descriptions and lengthy stories/chapters. If they don't like my story, they don't have to feel obligated to read more. I don't know why they feel like they have to go beyond Act One of Batgirl Beyond if they disliked Act One, and just wanna troll me or something.
And another thing... guys, this is a fanfiction. It's not the end of the world if I change a few things. If you don't like how I tweaked the DC AU, then you know what? You can go and write your own story of Batgirl Beyond, or Batgirl in general. You don't have to feel like you have to belittle me to try and get me to change something that I've finished, or have a specific plan for. Besides, I happen to have people who actually like my stories as they are, and give me tips and the helping hand without being rude.
Now... on to brighter things.
OMG, I can't believe how far I've gotten on the general idea of this story! From brainstorming to 160 pages! O.O This is nearly as big as my W.I.T.C.H- The Next Generation story (Now clocking out at 200 if you're curious about numbers). I've gotten sick with a bad ear canal ear infection, and that's got me down and out for a good part of the day right now. But when I'm awake, I'm trying to work on my multiple stories. I'm so excited... for me, reaching the 200 page milestone is a big one for me. I love being able to geek out with this story!
This chapter is a personal challenge for me. I decided to see if I could write an entire chapter without interruptions of their alternate life as super heroes/heroines, and have the characters live at least a few days as normal teenagers. I wanted to prove to myself that I could write this side of life without the interruption of the Jokerz, or other bad guys/gals. I think I did that successfully, so here it is, Chapter Seven of Batgirl Beyond Act Three! This one was a lot of fun, because it explores a few things that I haven't touched upon before. At least, I don't think I've touched on before.
Anyways! A few people have asked about Irene, if she's the same one from the show. So I'm going to clear it up here. No, she's not the same Irene from the show, but she IS inspired by her. I did like the character, and wanted my own version. I've just also always liked the name itself... Irene has always sounded like a pretty name for me. But you may have noticed, this Irene is on the snot-nozed, bratty side of things. Or at least, more so than before.
Other names that I've always liked that you might see more of in here? Rosie (My own grandma Moore's first name), Claire, Selena, and Marie (Caitlyn's middle name is Marie-Ann). Something I don't think I've mentioned is that I love collecting names. If you have any suggestions for names or characters, feel free to send them to me and I'll keep them in mind when developing new characters for this story and make sure to give credits. If you really wanna know or see just how much I love developing new characters, just go to my deviantArt page, which is Evilness321 as well.
Oh, and the color references that I use in this story are usually of the Prismacolor Brand, so if you want to see what those colors actually look like, go to the website, and they have a link there for you to look at. Reason why I like Prismacolor is because of the boldness and smoothness of the pencils, while being easy to work with. So those are the shades I reference to when referencing color in my stories.
Anyways! Happy reading guys!
Chapter Seven:
Things that Change
Caitlyn was sitting in her bedroom early Saturday afternoon, watching her favorite DVDs while finishing some homework. She had to get it done before practice that evening. Today was the big game, after all. Instead of her usual carrots and spring snap peas, she decided to splurge on ranch corn chips and soda that day since she would need the fuel from caffeine for the half time show. So long as Irene didn't screw things up between now and then.
There was a knocking on her door, and she looked up, in the middle of writing an essay for her Anthropology class.
Her grandmother had the weekend off, and she was going to the show as well to see the result of her granddaughter's hard work the last couple of weeks.
"How's it going, hon?" Barbara asked as Caitlyn paused her DVD.
"Not bad. I'm actually getting somewhere now." She showed Barbara the essay that was now halfway finished.
Barbara read what she had typed up on her computer, and nodded.
"Good, good. It's nice to see you finally applying yourself to something other than your alter ego. Listen, Sunday there's going to be an important business party for the Police Force and Wayne Enterprises. Dick isn't going to be able to make it, but I'm not going alone."
"Let me guess, you want me to go with you, Nana?" Grinned Caitlyn.
"I know you hate fancy dress galas and whatnot, but it would be nice if I didn't have to go alone." Nodded Barbara.
"Eh, fine." Caitlyn shrugged with a chip in her mouth as she went back to her essay.
"Good girl. I think Mr. Wayne is going to be there too, so at least you wouldn't be completely on your own." Barbara smiled.
"That old man still likes to go out to parties?" Blinked Caitlyn as she was typing.
"Apparently so. Some things never change with him at least." Nodded Barbara as she left her granddaughter to her work.
At six in the evening, it was time for Caitlyn to head out. She had just barely managed to finish her homework, and changed in a hurry in to her Cheerleader's outfit before stuffing the pompoms in to her tote, then dashing off.
And when she got on to the field where her team was meeting, she saw Melody and a couple of the other girls were there.
"Melody, Dahlia!" She panted, having run the distance from the girl's locker room to their spot next to the stands.
"Hey!" The two waved.
"We're just waiting for Irene and the others and then we're set. It's gonna be a good game, and a long night. Hopefully with a win for the Knights. Either way, we're gonna have a Cheerleader's Party tomorrow night. You comin' Cate?" Melody looked hopeful.
Caitlyn blinked.
"Nah, I'd love to, but Nana's got me going with her to some fancy gala thing." Caitlyn tried saying it in a way that Melody wouldn't be crushed that not all the Cheerleaders would be at the party at her place, and that Caitlyn would much rather be with her group of friends than at a boring fancy dress party. The tactic seemed to work, at least.
"Bummer. And if I know your Nana Barb, there's no way of getting out of that kind of commitment." Sighed Melody, looking disappointed as Irene was approaching the group.
"What? Someone screw up?" Asked Irene.
"No. And it's none of your business, you little brat." Said Melody. She too was getting fed up with Irene, and was on the verge of kicking her off the team because of her attitude and way of trying to take control. As well as her bratty attitude towards Caitlyn.
The rest of the team soon arrived, and then the sound of the people gathering in the stands could be heard.
Terry was glad that his boss had seen fit to be merciful and give him the evening off, a rare thing that he was able to attend a ball game at his own school instead of being on patrol over Gotham in his alter ego as Batman.
"Terry!" Max called when she spotted her friend. "I see the old man saw fit to let you have a bit of a social life today. I'll get a couple of dogs and some sodas." She said.
"Where's Cate?" He asked, assuming she'd be here as well since most of the school was.
"Down there with the cheerleaders. She probably won't have any time for socializing since the team plays as much of a role as the rest of the football players." Shrugged Max as she went to the hot dog stand. While she was getting the food, Terry found a spot near the middle of the rafter seats, where he'd be able to get a good view of the game. The band was arriving and starting to tune their instruments as well.
"Looking like it's gonna be a good game. The Bears are a strong team." Max was saying, referring to the visiting team when she found the spot Terry reserved. The visiting team was fitted in football suits of brown and gold, due to the name of their team mascot- the Warren City Bears.
A deep, drawling but loud voice came over the intercom as it came closer to the time of the game to start.
"Good evening Hamilton High and the visitors from Warren High! The game will start in less than half an hour, lets give it up for both teams and their supporters! I'm Dan Schmidt, and I'll be narrating this game tonight!" The end of this speech was met with a wild and loud cheering and applause. "Yes, this is the perfect evening for football, not a cloud in the sky and a crescent moon! It certainly is good to be back after all those repairs on the field. Now let's get out, and have a good game of FOOTBALL!"
With that, the speakers went silent as the teams were preparing for the first inning while the cheerleaders from both teams were doing the prep work and stretching for their part of the show.
Half an hour with the heralding of the school band, and the pledge of allegiance, the game started.
Caitlyn rolled her eyes when the quarterback David winked at her before the team got in to position.
"Ugh, that ass still won't take the hint." She grumbled at a look from Melody. She reached for a plastic cup to get some Gatorade to drink while they waited for their turn.
The game turned in to a long one that evening, with the teams apparently evenly matched. Two hours later, it was still a tie at zero to zero. After the first goal made by the home team, it was time for the Cheerleaders to celebrate getting the first goal in the game in general. And the fact that the tie was finally broken by the home team.
Terry had more fun than he had in a long time, with all the work he'd been putting in lately the last few months. He'd nearly forgotten what it was like just to be a regular teenager who didn't have an alternate identity. As such, he found his eyes wandering towards Caitlyn when it was time for the cheerleaders, but when they started dancing he could certainly see a lot of hard work had been put in to the routine even if they didn't all agree with each other. She seemed a real natural when it came to performing in front of a huge crowd as opposed to her alternative lifestyle of living in the shadows as one of Gotham's nightly protectors. At least here he could look at her and not have to think about if she'd start trying to pick a fight with him or yell at him, though he had to admit she'd mellowed out a lot lately.
"So, Terry, did you like the show yesterday?" Max asked .
"You mean the one in which you tried to set Cate and myself up on a date?" Terry looked at her out of the corner of his eyes and Max grinned rather mischievously. "It was all right until it got interrupted with an emergency call from the boss."
"What do you mean?" Max blinked in mild dismay, and Terry shrugged. "Terrance." Max growled threateningly.
Terry figured since no one in the crowd would pay attention to them, there was no harm in giving a vague description about the events that followed him getting a call from his boss while at the show.
"You sure it's ok to talk about all that out in the open?" Asked Max as the crowd suddenly rose up and was cheering and stomping their feet like mad at the end of the cheerleaders' routine.
Terry made a point by jerking his thumb at the crowd, all of whom were focussing on the game once more.
"True. So, like anything about the game tonight since you're finally out of the den of work?" Max went back to teasing her friend, who shrugged.
"Eh, a few things." He admitted.
"Just a few?" She raised a pink eyebrow at him.
Caitlyn was slightly out of breath after their fifth routine that evening in front of the crowd. Even with all the preparation, even with all the rehearsals and her increased stamina due to her life as Batgirl, she was still breathing like she'd run a marathon. But this was a good feeling. Much better than when she was Batgirl, this was a different kind of satisfaction, seeing that the people liked the end result of their hard work in the last two weeks whipping the new girls in to shape.
Though the Hamilton Knights had pulled ahead, the Warren Bears were soon catching up, not about to be left behind on the first game of the season. At one point, Caitlyn heard the couch of the Knights shouting at his team to show the Bears why no one messed with Gotham, the home of legendary heroes and heroines. That kind of speech was almost contagious, energy wise. And certainly seemed to inspire the Knights.
"Well, at least with this game it's easy to tell which team is which." Dahlia commented, and Caitlyn nodded. The bright green and canary yellow of the Hamilton Knights was a stark contrast to the brown and gold of the Warren Bears. Once they played against a team that had nearly the same colors, except a darker shade of green, which got confusing during a dog pile tackle.
It was a testament to the rivalry of the Hamilton Knights and the Warren Bears that the game went in to overtime, tied at three to three. And the mode of gameplay got nastier in the fourth inning. One of the players, David- much to Caitlyn's enjoyment- got a broken knee after an uncalled for ramming and tackle.
"Nice." She couldn't resist as David was carted off to one of the ambulances that was on sight just in case of this sort of emergency.
"Come on, can't you show a little pity?" Asked Melody, and Caitlyn shrugged.
"You know how I feel about that jerk." Replied Caitlyn casually as the game resumed after a time out.
"Right. You only have eyes for Batman these days." Melody rolled her blue eyes.
"W-what's that mean?" Caitlyn asked indignantly even though her face had gone bright red.
"Come on, the guy's saved your ass how many times? And besides, not many guys can claim they look good in tights." Dahlia decided to join in on the teasing since they had a bit of a break, while the other girls were looking at a fashion magazine the twins had brought to read during breaks like this. "They say Batman has a legendary cave somewhere in the hills of Gotham... I certainly wouldn't mind having a bit of your luck and being taken there."
"I was never taken there!"
Dahlia and Melody were having too much fun with the bright red look on Caitlyn's face.
"Sure the guy's great at being a hero and all, but he doesn't talk much, ya know?" She plowed on.
"R-i-i-ight. I never would've thought that the tall, mysterious, dark, and handsome in skin tights would've been your thing, Cate." Grinned Dahlia.
"Looks like they're having fun." Max pointed at the Cheerleaders. Two of whom seemed to be having fun teasing Caitlyn, who's face was bright red.
Terry vaguely wondered what they were talking about to get that kind of reaction from her when one of the quarterbacks from the Knights made a tie-breaking goal against the Bears and the crowd suddenly went wild again, and the narration of the game became one of praise and unbelievable excitement. It was as though Dan Schmidt had drank three caffeine packed sodas and was running on the same high that the crowd was now, drowning out the waves of boos from the opposing team's supporters. One might almost think an explosion went off in the football field behind Hamilton High.
The game was finally won, close to midnight, but it was a close game of four to three. as the buzzer went off. The cheerleaders were saying goodbye to their rival group, having had fun showing off to each other and learning a few new tricks that they wanted to try out on both ends.
"Well, I'd better head home. It's late." Caitlyn yawned, feeling worn out even though she knew there would probably some work of the Bat kind ahead of her. It was a long game, but at least the party was going to be a celebratory one tomorrow for the rest of the team. While she on the other hand was going to a boring fancy gala party.
"See ya, Cate! Sorry you can't come to the party tomorrow!" The twins waved, and Caitlyn glared in a 'don't rub it in' sort of way.
She turned from the troupe, nearly bumping in to none other than...
"Terry! Hi. So you made it after all?" She backed several steps away from him to avoid smacking in to him again.
"Yeah, it was a good game." Shrugged Terry.
Max popped up from behind Terry making Caitlyn jump.
"Hey, great job! Oh! I almost forgot, I've been working on a program for the three of us." She added randomly, reaching in to her purse, she pulled out two discs.
"What's that?" Asked Caitlyn in spite of her surprise.
"This will allow us to communicate. Install this program on your suits, and it can act as a three way communications system. Handy, huh?" Max handed both Terry and Caitlyn a disc wrapped in a plastic case.
"Yeah, real handy." Caitlyn was being serious, and not sarcastic for a change as she put the disc in her tote. "I'll get it installed a-sap."
"Good, I'll see you two later then!" Max waved as Terry pocketed his disc after looking at it curiously for a moment.
"Hey, mind if I walk you home?" He asked Caitlyn on a random thought.
"Eh, why not?" She shrugged, and the two set off from the field.
"You doing anything tomorrow?" Asked Terry once they were away from the stragglers from the game.
"Yes, actually. I've got a fancy party I'm going to with Nana." She replied.
"Ah... Wait... it's not the one being hosted by Wayne Enterprises for the Police force and Commissioner is it?" He blinked.
"Apparently." She shrugged. "Nana asked if I could go to some hoity-toity party as her accompaniment, of sorts since Grandpa can't make it. She didn't wanna go alone."
Terry thought of a different tactic.
"Well, I'm stuck as Bruce's body guard. It would be dull if I didn't have a date." He said with a casual shrug.
"Why McGinnis, I do believe you're asking me in a round-a-bout way to be your date at the party tomorrow." Caitlyn grinned, and he scratched the back of his head.
Why did she have to catch on so quick? He wondered but, figured he might as well go on with it.
"So, what do you say? At least we wouldn't be bored out of our wits there tomorrow." He said.
She looked at him for a long moment. Playing with the thought of saying no just to see his reaction, but decided against it. At least there would be someone that she knew there.
"Sure." She nodded in the end, and a grin split his face.
"You mean it?" He asked.
"Don't make me change my mind." She said warningly. One of her pet-peeves was having to repeat herself.
"Ok... So that IS a yes." He mumbled, surprised she'd actually agreed. As far as he was concerned, all throughout high school, she would've loved nothing more than to see him strung out on a tow line and hauled to Pluto. He was hoping that opinion was changing with the recent events.
Dick was sitting in the living room watching the news, and it just got to the sports section. He saw that the home team had won a close game, and how well his granddaughter had done by the time he glanced out the window and saw her walking up to the house, accompanied by none other than Terry. That surprised him, and he raised an eyebrow as Barbara came back in to the living room with a fresh mug of coffee for him.
When the door opened, the two heard Caitlyn.
"See you later." She said, and Terry saw her grandparents watching with a suspicious look on their faces.
Terry decided it would be best just to wave at them as well, before facing interrogation from protective grandparents. And he left feeling rather anxious about the next day, if she decided to tell them that he'd be there too. When he got home, he saw his mother had stayed up to see how the game went, since she normally didn't watch the sports segment of the news, and his brother was already in bed.
"So, how'd the game go?" She asked.
"Not bad. We won and left the Bears in the dust." He yawned, taking off his jacket.
"Well, I've got dinner for you, then you need to hit the hay before Matt wakes up." Mrs. McGinnis said.
"Thanks Mom. Oh, and I've still gotta go to that event that my boss is dragging me to. So don't hold up for me tomorrow dinner wise." He added, remembering a question she'd asked before he left that he didn't have time to answer before.
"I figured Bruce wouldn't change his mind. But still, I wish he wouldn't run you ragged quite so much. You're only seventeen." She sighed in mild disappointment.
"I'm just glad it's not another one of his boring business meetings. Did you know he's dragged me along to at least five of those things this week? Don't tell anyone, but there's gonna be a merger of some branches in the city soon. I don't wanna see the people when they hear about it... But he's been trying to reform Wayne Enterprises and reorganize it since he regained ownership." He grumbled, noting how much he sounded like a businessman already.
"Well, when you signed up to be his go-to guy back then, you also signed up to travel with him wherever he needs you to." Mrs. McGinnis smiled.
"Unfortunately." He mumbled as he reheated his dinner in the microwave. He was just glad he managed to steer away from the topic of the game, which would lead to his asking Caitlyn to be his date for tomorrow's party. He didn't want to see his mother's reaction to that, and did not want to cover that topic especially if his brother should turn up randomly even though he was supposed to be asleep.
Caitlyn yawned and stretched when she closed the door behind her.
"So, apparently the game was a success?" Asked Barbara, pointing at the television, and the sports article.
Caitlyn had forgotten that the news crews had been there for the first game of the season.
"Oh yeah, it was fun." She grinned, stifling another yawn.
"Well, time for dinner, then bed for you young lady. There's fresh Hawaiian pizza for you in the oven." Barbara pointed at the kitchen she'd just come out of.
"Thanks Nana, Grandpa." Smiled Caitlyn, who made her way to the kitchen at once.
After a quick dinner, she went to her room, and to bed.
The next morning, she woke up tired and groggy, but she was glad that she didn't have anything to worry about until five that evening. So, she heated up some leftover slices of pizza, grabbed one of her Code Red sodas, and went back to her room where she watched the morning news. The news was covering the events of that week, from the recapturing of Sharon, Sheryl and Leia, and the mysterious damage done to the abandoned logging mill they were captured at. Some reporters suspected a gas explosion from an old part of the building.
Next came the Entertainment News segment, which covered the latest coverage of the conspiracy theories of Batman and Batgirl.
"There's apparently rumors going on about these two mysterious Knights of Gotham City, in regards to the things they get involved in, and who they could be. Is it possible that Batgirl is the granddaughter of the police commissioner? Or someone else close to the police commissioner?"
This little sentence caught her attention as she had been munching on some potato chips by the time this segment came around. She had a potato chip sticking out of her mouth as she watched the comparisons of looks and hair on the television. Great, she thought, as if I don't have enough to worry about. She watched as the Entertainment News covered the most recent mysteries that surrounded her, in regards to how her parents died, why she refused to hold any press conferences in relation to explain what happened, and why she appeared to be missing days of school at a time, while Batgirl is making herself known. Then Batgirl vanishes when she is at school again. Then there was her apparent tie to Batman, having been rescued by him a few times. She frowned as the reporter was asking why even though she was the granddaughter of the famous Police Commissioner, she didn't like to live more in the spotlight and answer all these questions people were asking.
At that point, she decided to give Max a call.
"Yo, what's up?" Max asked after seeing the Caller I.D.
"Max, did you have anything to do with these latest 'rumors' on E.T. News?" She decided to get straight to the point. "I don't think they realize how close to the truth these idiots are. And I don't want to be surrounded by papparazi when I step out of the house next time."
"Well, I certainly am not responsible for this latest round of rumors." Max admitted shamelessly with an unseen shrug. "I'll see what I can to to quash those rumors before someone tries something stupid." She said quickly at the silence on Caitlyn's end as she put her cell phone on her shoulder using her ear to keep it there as she started typing. "So, is there anything else?"
"Yeah, actually. I want you to see if there's anything you can do about keeping the paparazzi away from Nana and myself tonight." Caitlyn made it apparent that she disliked the Entertainment News network. Well, a good portion of it anyways.
"That'll be easy, with Bruce Wayne there. They'll be more interested in him and what's going on in his business than you and Barbara. At least, that's the hope." Max said. Oh, did you get a chance to put on that program to your suit yet?"
"I was gonna do that after this was over with." Replied Caitlyn.
"Good. And I was looking at some History Cubes earlier today for a code name for myself. What do you think of Oracle? Since you guys won't let me join in on the fights and all that." Max added with a bit of bitterness.
"Oracle? The name that Nana used when she was paralyzed but still wanted to be help to the big guys? Sure." Grinned Caitlyn. So even Max got annoyed about things once in a while. She wondered what Terry would say to Max finding a way to be involved in her friends' lives, since Terry had made it obvious that he didn't want one of his oldest friends getting hurt by some of the crazy idiots they came across as Batman and Batgirl. "I say the more the merrier. Grandpa is starting to show some of his age." She admitted rather quietly.
"No problem. I can handle all nighters better than the old folks anyways. Well, gotta let you go, I'm gonna take care of a few things." Max said when she heard a timer in her kitchen going off.
"See you." Caitlyn gave a nod as she hung up.
Caitlyn pulled out the disc, and her Bat suit from her tote bag and went down to the Command Center where her grandfather was currently sitting.
"Hey Grandpa, can I ask a favor?" She asked.
"What is it?" Dick said without looking back, his eyes were focused on the screen, with a mug of coffee in his hand.
Caitlyn noticed that the mug was black, with the symbol of his old alter ego on it- the Blue Nightwing. She wondered why she never noticed that before. She thought it was funny that Nightwing himself was drinking coffee from a mug that had his symbol emblazoned on it.
"Well, Max developed this program that should allow communication between her, myself and Batman. Can you install it for me?" She asked rather tentatively.
Dick raised an eyebrow.
"Trying to rub me out because I'm too old, are we?" He grinned.
"No! I just think that if we've got more eyes on Gotham... You know... the more help the better? It's not like she's planning on getting in our way or anything." Caitlyn said quickly.
"Sure. I need to upgrade a few things on the suit anyways." Dick took the Batgirl suit and the disc with a nod.
"Thanks." Caitlyn kissed her grandfather on the forehead in gratitude. "I'll leave you to your work then. Let me know if anything happens?" She added at the bottom of the stairs.
"As always." Dick turned his chair back to the screens he'd been looking at. He didn't mind the interruption of the monotony of watching the city. Sometimes a small break did a man some good when working on dozens of things at once.
At three o'clock, her grandmother knocked on her bedroom door.
"Cate, it's time to get ready." She said.
"But Nana! We've still got TWO hours!" While Caitlyn was glad she had chosen to spend time with her grandmother instead of the other cheerleaders that evening, she loathed actually being in fancy dresses because she felt they held her back, and she wouldn't be able to do any fighting if they were attacked while in the fancy wear.
"I don't want to be late, so get your keester moving or else I'll be forced in to some alternative measures of getting you 'fancied' up." Threatened Barbara. Even though she was older now, didn't mean she lost any of HER own stubbornness and attitude. It was partly an explanation of how she could handle Caitlyn.
"Yeah? Like what?" Caitlyn crossed her arms across her chest in a 'make me' sort of way.
"Or else I'll be forced to tell McGinnis all about how you are so obviously crushing on him and that's why you've got such a high fuze, and refuse to let you wear the Batgirl suit ever again." Retorted the old woman.
Even for Caitlyn, that was a low blow. She often forgot that her father used to say that she got her temperament from her grandparents. But Nana Barbara always seemed to know how to get her to do things she normally would fight tooth and nail with her parents about.
"Fine, I'll get ready." Caitlyn pouted, and sulked as her grandmother closed the door when she left, not bothering to repress the satisfied look on the wizened face.
So Caitlyn went to her closet. While she wasn't one to own dozens and dozens of fancy dresses, being the granddaughter of the Police Commissioner of Gotham City did have its advantages. After a short while, she settled on a dress by her favorite current designer, a woman named Tiffany Vineyard. This dress was of a crimson affair, and just about ankle length, made of the softest silk, and form fitting. The skirt portion was a shade of deep crimson lake, while the top half had a wrap around layer effect from the waist down to the bottom of the skirt from left to right, and was crimson red. Just above her chest was a cut out, the top being like a diamond while the bottom curved like a crescent. The neckline was an Asian style, and the dress itself was sleeveless. At the top of the left hip was a onyx and ruby butterfly brooch with three strands of pearls, the center strand being the longest with a teardrop shaped emerald stone at the end. Her hair was held back by an identical looking onyx and ruby butterfly piece with the same pearls and emerald, just above her right ear. The emerald stones happened to match the shade of green in her eyes. Her shoes were flat bottomed, and crimson with two straps, one at her ankle and the other half an inch apart, held together by emerald stones. She also had semi-transparent, pale crimson elbow length gloves for the outfit.
She felt rather self conscious, but knew at least her grandmother would be happy that she was going to be there. When she came out, she saw her grandmother was dressed in a true blue ankle length gown by Rain Verne, and wearing her best jewelry.
"Oh, I almost forgot a couple of things..." Caitlyn suddenly remembered, and she dashed back in to her bedroom, grabbed her tote bag, and her bracelet that her mother had given her what seemed like a lifetime ago. She came out as she was clipping the bracelet around her right wrist.
"Well, let's get going." Barbara said after checking her silver, gleaming wrist watch. She was driving, since Caitlyn wasn't yet permitted to be behind the wheel.
When they got to the building where the party was being held, Caitlyn's eyes went wide. It seemed like she had just stepped in to a Hollywood shin-dig. There were cars all around the building, a red carpet went out from the main entrance, at which security guards were stationed around. She'd forgotten why she disliked the paparazzi so much, but remembered rather quickly when she and her grandmother went up to the red carpet. She could hear one of the lead reporters announcing the guests as they arrived, like they were movie stars. At least the paparazzi weren't allowed inside, as far as she was aware.
"Oh, oh! And here's the Police Commissioner herself, Barbara Grayson and her granddaughter, Caitlyn Boardener. Both are looking stunning in a true blue Rain Verne and crimson lake Tiffany Vineyard tonight." A blond reporter was saying loudly over the noise of the crowd.
"Yeesh, you'd think this were the Oscars." Caitlyn grumbled when the two were at the door.
"Well, these parties are part of the high life for Gotham, Cate." Barbara smiled in spite of herself at Caitlyn's annoyance. "They've always garnered a full army of reporters because of all the elite and those with high connections in Gotham turning up here."
Inside it was a completely different atmosphere. It was quiet and reserved, the floor being silver tiles, and all the tables being of clear, transparent crystal and full of food and beverages of all kinds in elegant bowls, or on expensive looking china. There were four open levels, with the ceiling being all windows and dome shaped, a chandelier hanging from the center filling the huge ball room full of light.
At the center of the bottom floor was a black ivory grand piano on a raised circular platform, at which sat a woman in a glittering black and crimson gown, her ebony hair held up in a bun by a diamond tie, playing the piano and filling the room with elegant and dramatic music. Caitlyn even recognized the current tune as being one from a favorite video game- Endless Fantasy the Second of Ten. There was an orchestra in a roped off portion nearby the piano, playing accompaniment.
Even though her outfit made her feel self conscious, she was glad that she'd dressed up since everyone in this building had certainly dressed for the occasion. At least she wouldn't stick out.
"I'm going to go mingle with some friends of mine, Cate. You have fun tonight." Smiled Barbara.
"Nana!" Caitlyn wasn't so thrilled about being left alone, as Barbara indeed went off to join a group of old friends.
"Excuse me... Are you Caitlyn Boardener?" Asked a woman's voice, and she turned. "Oh my GOD! You are!" The woman squealed like a young girl.
Once the woman had acted like that, quite a few people surrounded her.
"Tell me, what was it like being captured by the Jokerz? Weren't you scared?" A man asked, pulling out a notebook.
"Hey, is it true that you were rescued by Batman?" Another was practically demanding attention from her at that moment.
"Erm..." Caitlyn blinked at being cornered so suddenly and caught off guard.
"Excuse me." Said a voice behind the small crowd. "But I believe I am about to miss the date we had planned."
The group seemed to realize they were making Caitlyn uncomfortable and parted a bit, some of them looking rather bitter at the young man that had come to her rescue when she hurried over to him.
"Thanks for the save again." Caitlyn said to Terry.
"No problem." He said with a shrug as he led her away from the annoying figures now sulking in their corner. He supposed an old habit died hard, when it came to rescuing someone in clear distress. Though he had to admit, seeing her in an outright dress that resembled so much that of a ball gown caught him off guard. He himself wore a black tie suit to be able to blend in to the crowd. "I just didn't think it right of them to attack an unarmed opponent." He decided that was the best answer to go with rather than saying he couldn't really resist saving a damsel in distress. That might get him hit right in the face in public.
"Unarmed opponent, huh?" Caitlyn raised an eyebrow at him.
"Well, at least when it comes to people like them." Terry said with a cough. "Hey, how about I get us something to drink?" He said quickly.
"Nice save." She mumbled, taking a seat at one of the nearby empty round tables. She heard her cell phone vibrating in her tote when Terry left and saw it was Max. "Yo."
"Hey, found out who's the snitch on you and Batgirl. Our little red-haired thief of a friend." Max replied.
"Catwoman?" Blinked Caitlyn, wondering why Catwoman would be trying to cause trouble for her again. She always thought their little competition in the cheerleaders troupe was all in good fun.
"Bingo. So I'm gonna be doing some trouble making of my own for her."
"I dunno. She might actually LIKE the attention. You know how she was back in school." Caitlyn smiled a thanks at Terry when he returned from the food and drink tables and took the glass he offered her.
"Well, this might not be the kind of attention she'll actually LIKE then." Max sounded like she was going to be up to no good. "Talk to you later, sounds like your party is going strong. Just watch Entertainment News tonight for the end result of all my hard work." She added the last part with heavy sarcasm.
"Talking with Max?" Terry asked when she hung up and put her phone back in her bag.
"Yep. She's gonna be in a war with Catwoman since she found out it was that little red headed thief causing me problems with the media lately." Shrugged Caitlyn as an announcer came over the intercom, telling everyone that the doors were now closed to any other guests, and to look towards the stage for the hosts of the party to give the official 'start of the party' speech.
The figures on the stage included Bruce, Barbara, the Mayor White and his wife, as well as the Chief of Police who worked so often with Barbara. The Mayer stepped up to the pulpit as the lights dimmed in the building.
"Thank you, thank you." He said as applause greeted him. "You know, these parties often garner a lot of attention, and for several reasons. Behind me are the people who make Gotham City function." He directed with a wave of his right hand everyone's attention to the elderly people behind him, and then his wife as well. "Without them, this city would be even more chaotic than it is-" There was quite a few people giving a small chuckle at that comment. "- This party is to thank them, and their families for helping make Gotham City the beautiful city that it is today. If you will give a big welcome for our Orchestra, the London Symphony, and the beautiful French Pianist, Marie Andrea-" Another polite, but rather loud applause. "- Now, if we can turn our attention to Mr. Bruce Wayne, I believe he wants to make an announcement."
"Thank you Mr. White." Bruce stumped up to the pulpit next, and he was also greeted by polite applause. Once things quieted down again, he continued speaking. "It's an honor to be here as always, among such fine folks as yourselves. I wish to announce some changes to my family business, Wayne Enterprises, and some of the sister companies." There was now a hushed silence. "After two weeks of negotiations and planning, we've agreed to a merger. To be more precise, the Science and Cryogenics department will be merging in to one business. Don't worry though, the businesses will still get their funding and medical coverage will not change. The change will take place this summer, and we have already bought the old bank and have begun renovations to transfer the departments. This will make more room for a new idea that I have had, that should be fun for all of Gotham. Plans for that will be made public in a month's time, but suffice to say, the public will also be able to take part in this new addition to Wayne Enterprises."
There was a lot of curious muttering at this bit of information.
"Thank you, Mr. Wayne. I'm sure whatever you have planned will be enlightening for us all." Mr. White was clapping along with the audience. "Well, enough of the boring talking coming from us. It's time to start this party."
The spotlight then moved from the stage, to the piano and orchestra, which started up as soon as the director nodded and raised his hands.
"Joy... time to zone out for a few hours." Caitlyn shrugged at the end of the speeches.
"Or we could join the rest of the crowd in a dance." Terry suggested.
When Caitlyn saw the same group of people from earlier looking at her, she decided to take him up on that offer in order to avoid being cornered by them again. She was glad that she knew more forms of dancing than just Cheerleading. And Terry surprised her when they got on the dance floor as well, since she never thought of him as being much for fancy parties like this.
Barbara was sitting at a table with Mr. White and his wife when Bruce's shadow loomed over them.
"Mind if I join you?" He asked.
"Certainly, Mr. Wayne." Said Mrs. White, showing him to the empty chair next to Barbara. "I thought you would be dancing on the floor like the rest of your guests."
"Dancing's not really my thing anymore. I prefer to leave that to the younger generation." He admitted, glancing over at the crowd that was revolving around the piano and orchestra.
"Really? I remember you wanting to dance with nearly every pretty girl in the room back in the day." Said Barbara. "Hard to imagine someone like you not wanting to dance anymore."
Bruce covered the moment by taking a sip from his glass of wine.
On the third open level of the Dance Hall, a red haired woman was leaning over the railing to look at the crowd and see if there was anyone she could recognize. Since no one knew Kina was the thief Catwoman, she didn't see a problem in enjoying a bit of the high life. She managed to win a ticket to the gathering by means of a radio competition several weeks ago. She wore a black dress with a slit at her waist, and it being sleeveless as well, with a v-neck line. There was a cut-out oval at her belly-button, while the skirt went down to her ankles. From her neck hung a certain diamond that she'd stolen as Catwoman over two months ago, it hung from a delicate chain that she'd gotten from a jewelry store after getting the money for it. Her brilliant red hair was held back with a black headband that stood out rather vividly. She spotted two of her former classmates and observed them with a curious stare. If she hadn't seen if for herself, she'd have blamed that sight on the high end mead being provided at the party.
She had known Caitlyn since elementary, but it still seemed odd to her seeing the young woman dancing like a ball room professional. Let alone with McGinnis.
"Excuse me, miss... may I have this dance?" Asked a young man with blond hair.
She observed him with a critical eye, before draining her crystal goblet, setting it down at an empty table, and allowing him to take her hand and drag her to the dance floor. She decided that this one time, she wouldn't bug anyone at the dance party. She was having too much fun, and besides, the former classmates had left her alone, making sure not to give her any reason to act out as of late. She'd already started a war with her on the media. She didn't need to start another here.
"So, is this as bad as you thought it was going to be?" Asked Terry.
"Could be worse." She replied.
