Chapter 10

Nora was somewhere near the steel mill. I could guarantee that. Joker would want her close by and accessible so he could throw her in the Smelting Chamber at anytime. I had to find her before my dad got bored with her. And then before…well…..Mr. Freeze's ice princess turns into slush. I don't know if I've said this before, but I love my grappling gun! LOVE LOVE LOVE! So cool. Something rushed passed the corner of my eye. I snapped towards it. Nothing. Usually, I would shrug it off but today, you could never be too sure. I scanned the area. Looking for any little movement. There it was again! Maybe I was going insane. No….I couldn't be. Maybe? Urg! The feeling of cold steel up against my neck proved that I was sane. A beautiful woman stood before me. Light brown hair, green eyes. Her skin was tanned perfectly.

"You work for Batman." She said. She had a bit of an accent. "What was your first clue? The batsuit?" I asked. Apparently she wasn't one for jokes. "Who are you?"

"I'm Talia Al Ghul. Daughter of the Great Ra's Al Ghul." She said. It sounded rehearsed. As if she said that overtime someone asked her name.

"Good for you." I replied. Imagine if I said that 'I'm Sarina Gibson. Daughter of the Great Joker!' Nah, doesn't have the same ring to it. "So, why exactly is there a sword against my throat?"

"You were following me." She snapped.

"I was?" I questioned. "My bad." With a stern face, she put her sword away.

"Batman is dying." Talia whispered, mostly to herself.

"I know." I sighed.

"He won't die….He can't die." She said. I smiled. He's Batman! I mean…it's practically impossible for him to die.

"Batman'll get out of this. He'll find a way." I replied.

"He usually does. But this time, he may not be so lucky." She sighed.

"Don't say things like that." I said. "Batman'll find a way. I just know it!"

"I see now why Batman picked you as his partner. You're a strong girl." Talia said to me.

"It's funny, Batman never mentioned you." I replied.

"He didn't?" She asked. I shook my head. "We've known each other for a long time."

"Oh." There was an awkward pause. I noticed there was something in her pocket. What could it be? It was probably nothing. But I couldn't be too sure. "Well, I best be off." I sighed as I started to walk away. I turned towards the woman to say goodbye (and also get a good look at what was in her pocket) but she was gone. God! She was worse then Batman! Okay. Back to business. Find Nora. I figured Nora would be in a guarded area. Right? I noticed a door guarded by a couple thugs. Hmmmm. I jumped down in front of them.

"Look out! It's Batgirl!" One shouted. Punch punch, Kick Kick DONE! That was easy. Of course. The door happened to be locked. Well, why not knock?

"What?" A thug snapped as he pulled open that eye slot thing. He gasped. "Batgirl! Nothing…Nothing's here." With that, he slammed it shut. That didn't work. There had to be a way. There was always a way.

"So you are Batman's successor?" A voice asked. I turned around quickly to find a man before me. He swing his sword at me but I quickly dodged it. Why did everyone have swords? I thought they invented guns so that we didn't swords.

"I'm considered more of a side kick." I replied. He threw a punch and I countered it. I realized that he looked similar to the woman I saw earlier. Was this the 'Great Ra's Al Ghul'? "Ra's Al Ghul I presume."

"You've heard of me." He replied. It was hard to believe we were keeping up a conversation and fighting at the same time.

"No. I ran into you're daughter a little while ago. She seemed upset." I said with a roundhouse kick.

"She'll be fine." He said nonchalantly as he dodged it. Whatever, don't care about your daughter's feelings.

"So, what do you want with B-man?" I asked, ducking under his blade. "Humiliate him? Reveal his identity? Kill him?"

"None of the above. I want him to kill me." Ra's replied. Well. That's original.

"You know he won't do that." I smiled. Pow right in the kisser. He grabbed my fist and slammed me against the wall. The sword was pressed against my throat. A bead of blood trickled down my neck.

"Oh but he will." Ra's said. "He will be my successor."

"I doubt that." I sighed. I kicked him off me.

"You are strong." He noted. "But not as strong as Batman." I just looked at him. What the heck was I supposed to say to that? "I have a message for you to deliver to Batman."

"Yes?" I asked.

"Tell him that he's day will soon come. A final battle will take place and he will kill me." Ra's replied. I still couldn't get over the fact that this guy actually wanted Batman to kill him. "Oh and one more thing." I looked at him, raising my eyebrows to urge him on.

"What?" I asked. In a swift motion Ra's grabbed me by the shoulders and pushed me out of the way. A bullet whizzed past my head.

"You're on Deadshot's list." Ra's said.

"How do you-?" I started to ask.

"I know everything that goes on here." He smirked. "Everything, Sarina." I gasped. He knew my name! How?

"So what?" I asked. "You're going to tell everyone?"

"No. I prefer to keep this knowledge to myself." He said. I sighed with relief. It would be a disaster if everyone knew my secret. "I'll be seeing you again Sarina. Maybe Batman will choose you as his successor." With that, he left. He was like a ninja. Fading into the shadows. One thing concerned me about this whole situation, though. Why hadn't Batman told me any of this? I really was on a need to know basis. He didn't even mention Ra's Al Ghul to me. Nor Talia. And she seemed to care about him. Were they like…..a thing? And what was in Talia's pocket? I couldn't get over the feeling that it was something important. This whole situation just bugs me. Oh, and I forgot one thing. DEADSHOT WANTS TO KILL ME! This wasn't good. But I had to save Nora. I'd track down Deadshot later. Nora was my prime objective. There must be a back, right? Maybe it was like getting into Freeze's place. I noticed a nearby truck. With ease, I jumped up on to it. There was a boat in front of me. I glided over. When I landed, I noticed the wall a few feet in front of me wasn't exactly structurally sound. Looks like my back entrance Now. I wasn't exactly in the mood for a swim. I looked at my new toy. Maybe this ice gun could help. I shot it right at the water. An ice raft formed before me. Lovely. I jumped on to it. Using my grappling gun and a hook in front of me, I pulled myself towards the breakable wall. I didn't have the spray like Batman did. Hopefully though, I brought my version. Lucius Fox had designed me explosive gum. Just chew, spit, kaboom. Hopefully, Alfred had packed it for me. I searched through my utility belt. A smile spread across my lips when I felt the package. Nice! I pulled out a piece and started chewing like crazy. I spit it out on the wall. BOOM! The wall was gone. Only to reveal a secret entrance. So close. I used my grappling hook method to get up to the ledge. I practically waltzed through the door. There was a vent in the next room. Wide open just for me. I grappled up to it and crawled through. Just like the good old days.

"So how are we going to decide you gets the ice cube?" A thug asked.

"I want her! It's my turn. You always get your turn!" Another snapped. Ew. Gross.

"How about rock paper scissors?" Another inquired.

"Can you even play that with three people?" The first asked. I don't think these men had even passed elementary school! They started at it.

"All paper. What are the odds." One said. I sighed.

"Gun beats paper!" Another said the next round. Okay, this was getting sad. I couldn't take this any more. I jumped out of the vent.

"Pity boys. I thought I was your main squeeze. I'm so heartbroken." I said.

"It's batgirl!" The man who used gun in rock paper scissor proclaimed.

"In the flesh." I replied with a kick to the jaw. The fight was on. I was knocking all these men over like they were nothing. They were so gross. One of them almost copped a feel! Men….are just disgusting! However, Nora wasn't in the room. Why would there be a group of men guarding an empty room. I turned on my detective vision. Another cool feature in my batsuit. I looked around the room until I saw her. Frozen in the ice was a women. Nora. It had to be her. "What happened to you?" Well. I should get back to Freeze and let him know I found Nora. He'd be happy about that.

I walked into the G.C.P.D. building with no fear with time. Why does Freeze have to keep that damn steam on? Oh well. He was going to be thrilled when I told him I found his wife!

"I found her!" I called. Mr. Freeze wasn't much of a runner. But he was in that hallway in no time.

"Where is she?" He asked.

"Warehouse 5B in the Falcone shipping yard." I answered. "She's perfectly safe."

"Thank you Batgirl. I owe you a debt." Mr. Freeze replied.

"You don't owe me anything." I smirked. "But…I was wondering. What happened to her?" Mr. Freeze didn't make eye contact. He was quiet for a long time.

"She was dying. After we got married. I spent hours trying to find her a cure. I don't think I slept for weeks." He explained. "But I was running out of time. So I did what I had to do."

"Froze her in time." I finished. He nodded gravely. "Don't feel bad Mr. Freeze. This is what you had to do. One day. You'll find a cure and you and Nora can live happily ever after."

"There are no such things as fairytales." He snapped. "You are too young to understand this. The world is bleak. There are no happy endings."

"Nora's a princess. You're her prince charming. Of course there are happy endings." I replied. "I have a question for you, Batgirl." Mr. Freeze replied.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Why are you here? Why have you dedicated your life to fighting crime instead of enjoying life?" He questioned.

"That's a long long story. Involving my real parents, my adoptive mother and one night on Arkham island." I said. "We'd be here all night if I told you the story." We were quiet for a while. "But the point is…I'm stopping my dad."

"I wish you luck." He said. "The clown must be stopped."

"Good luck to you too. Nora deserves a guy like you." I said. "Go to her." With that, I left.

I grappled to a building across from the G.C.P.D. building. Now, where too? Before I could even contemplate my next moves I was shoved up against a nearby wall. I grunted and was about to strike back when I saw who it was.

"What the hell are you doing back here?" I snapped.

"Batman needs my help." Robin replied. "Whether he likes it or not."

"Batman can handle himself." I shouted.

"So what are you doing here?" He questioned. With that he released me from his killer grasp.

"I have business to attend to." I said.

"Like cavorting with Mr. Freeze." He snapped. "He's a villain!"

"No he's not! He's just protecting his wife!" I replied, defensively.

"You're turning into them. Justifying their actions. You might as well pull out a bazooka and start killing everyone!" He practically screamed at me.

"He loves her! You've probably never even loved a girl. Just used her for your own…selfish needs!" I snapped.

"How dare you! I have a girl back in Gotham who I love with all my heart." He defended. "I'm sure you're a snob who just throws away boys."

"That's a lie! I have my own man!" I shouted. "You're probably a dumb jock who smooth talks his way through life. Being Robin is just a way to get girls."

"You know what? Let's finish this!" Robin suggested.

"What are you on about?" I snapped.

"We find out who we really are." He said. His tone had returned to it's usual calm self. "We both take off our masks at the sometime and find out who's who."

"What if someone sees us?" I questioned. He pulled out his batarang and shot down nearby security cameras. Plus, there wasn't a thug in sight.

"They won't." He replied.

"Okay." I said. This is it. "On the count of three."

"1." He said. His voice filled with confidence.

"2." I spat. Matching his.

"3!" We both yelled as we ripped off our masks.

(Hey everyone! I had another version of this chapter posted for a little bit, but Shadow knight1121 gave me some pointers and I fixed it up! I hope this one's an improvement! Anyway, please review!)