The Dark Knight(mare) of Gotham City

by Animefreak99-06

In which Bruce Wayne is really a vampire, and the rumors of 'The Batman' spanning over a hundred years are very true. Stephanie stumbles on the truth behind the Wayne family, and finds her place among a family of supernatural beings. (Please, Please, Please read the AN's for chapters 11-13, things get graphic, so please be warned.)

10. The Past Revealed (Barbara's Part)

The Dark Knight(mare) of Gotham City

In which Bruce & his 'bat-family' are really vampires.

I have no excuses for the long delay of this chapter. I got roughly ¼ of the way through this chapter and just couldn't find it in me to want to finish this chapter. I am extremely sorry for the wait, I only hope you all like it.

The comics that tie-in with the Young Justice cartoon and the awesome graphic novel, Batman: The Black Mirror are going to be the majority of my knowledge of Barbara. As well as a few bits from 'The Killing Joke' as well. This story will not mention The Birds of Prey as at the time, there were no other female crime fighters in Gotham City.

I'm not sure how much younger her brother James is so I wrote him as being 4 years younger. He's a very disturbed individual, so please don't get mad at me about some of the things he does. He's deranged in the comics, so I wrote him as such. Please don't hate me for it. Here's hoping I don't screw up Barbara's personality. Thank you all for sticking with me.

One last note, towards the end of the chapter, Babs talks about the obsessive attraction between 'mates'. So for those of you who don't like romance, I'm apologizing in advance. There might be some innuendos throughout the rest of the story, but I will warn you in my an's if anything citrusy will happen. I seriously don't think I'll write anything like that, but I'm not certain. Please keep a look out in my notes. Also, before I start on Jason's story, I have Jason tell Steph she's a psychic. And Jason does get a little sappy when he talks about Catherine, because she was his only 'parent' outside of Bruce.

I'd like to give a massive thanks to Gardevoir10, .Stitches, Jane Doe or U. N. Owen, Nw-NdA-H-JF, PuppyProngs, Roach of Wrath, Shannyrox101, Sunnystar9, The black out, a person d, ashumaim, bettybu20, doggy bye, fierydjinn, fgfgmyfgtr, timijaf & for the favs. And a special thank you to Adelicya de Raizel, Aeternial, Blue Jedi, CostumeChick, EvilDemon1999, GothicCheshire, KiwiClover, Lk6lu, Mireilles3, Redthorne19, Roach of Wrath, Sunnystar9, a person d, bettybu20, Vampbird, bunny456 championgirl16, fgfgmyfgtr, powergirl1 & timijaf for the follows. And a big thank you to 'Guest', The black out, GothicCheshire, Roach of Wrath, CostumeChick, powergirl1, 'Alyssa', 'Mystery', a person d & fgfgmyfgtr for the awesome reviews. Seriously, you all don't know how much it means to me. I'm truly grateful; all of you are awesome-sauce. Thank you once again, and now for the next chapter. (If anyone listed has changed their name to something else that's also listed, I'm really sorry, I just wanted to make sure everyone was thanked. :D)

Disclaimer: Batman belongs to Bob Kane, Bill Finger, DC Comics, Warner Brothers & anyone else I might have forgotten.

Chapter 9: The Past Revealed (Barbara's Part)

"Alright, well to begin, I was born Barbara Keane Gordon, April 18th 1903. My parents were Barbara Keane and James Gordon. My mother and father divorced when I was two and my father remarried Sarah Essen less than a year later. My younger brother James was born shortly after my fourth birthday. And my life took an unexpected turn for the unusual when I first met 'Allan' Wayne and his ward, Dick Grayson. From then on, my life was never the same."

"To be honest my life wasn't normal to begin with, what with my father being the commissioner of police and he and mother divorcing. Divorce was very rare back then, and a lot of people blamed my mother of having cheated on my father or some other reason. The real reason was, my mother just couldn't take being married to my father and constantly worrying about if he would come home or not. Dad on the other hand, was constantly dealing with the numerous criminals that call Gotham home. So when mom suggested getting a divorce, he agreed on the condition he would still be able to see me. Mom agreed and they filed for divorce. During this time, my mother told me that I started mentioning strange things or words that somehow happened some distance away or fairly soon after. I only did this about once a month starting around the time I turned two.

"Mom and dad both chalked it up to lucky guesses about things I must have overheard them say. Bruce told me later that he believed it wasn't coincidence that I mentioned these things, it was because I had the ability of foresight. Before I was changed, anything I 'saw' usually happened within a day of when I saw it. That was one of the reasons I changed my name from 'Batgirl' to 'Oracle', which I'll get to later. After being turned though, the 'premonitions' or 'visions' as it were, began to occur as least once every few days. Sometimes it's something small, like humming the tune of a song a few minutes before it plays on the radio and so on.

"Anyway, after the divorce, which went through rather quickly for the time, dad met and began dating my step-mother Sarah Essen. They married a few months later, and less than a month after I turned four, my younger half-brother James Jr. was born. I split a lot of my time between both parents, so I didn't pay a lot of attention to my brother's behavior. It was only when he was seven that we realized there was something really wrong with his sanity. He was always quiet as a baby and it took him a long time before he began to speak. Sarah thought that maybe he was 'slow', which didn't matter to her, because she still loved him. Never-the-less growing up was mostly normal.

"One year, shortly before Thanksgiving, dad brought in an invitation to the birthday party of the ward of 'Allan' Wayne. Dad was invited and so were we. We made plans to go, but Sarah and James got sick the day before the party. Dad wanted to stay home and take care of them, but Sarah talked him into taking me and having a short break from work. I didn't want to go to be honest, as I was under the false assumption that Mr. Wayne was going to have a lot of snooty, rich people there who would judge us as being unworthy of being there. Dad took me, and it was the greatest thing to ever happen to me. I met Allan and Dick, and I'm ever grateful that I did. Dick was one of the sweetest people I'd ever met and he became my best friend.

"There was something about Allan though that had the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. It was only years later I found out why. Allan was nice enough, so I did my best to ignore it. I was invited over many times to visit and I noticed that the visits almost always ended with Dick 'suddenly' needing to do his homework. Whenever I asked if we could do our homework together, I'd get these vague answers and be brushed off. I didn't question it because I didn't know why it was so important that he study alone. Edmund always drove me home, where Sarah and James were waiting for me. Some nights before I went to bed, I'd catch a glimpse of two shadow figures as they swung or ran across the tops of buildings.

"As I got older, I noticed James start to exhibit some unusual behavior. It started small, like throwing rocks at people as they walked past or ignoring when we told him not to go outside alone. Then one day, I saw him crouched over something small not too far from where we lived. I walked over to him to ask what he was looking at, and saw it was a bird laying there. I asked him what happened and he turned around and I saw him holding a rock. The bird as it turned out, had been hit repeatedly, killing it. The rock had blood on it and so did James' sleeves. He had beat the poor bird to death and acted as if nothing was wrong.

"I was shocked and asked him if he had hit the bird. He looked me straight in the eyes and said no, he had only been trying to help it. I knew though that he was lying. James walked past me and shot me a creepy little smile and didn't say anything. When dad got home, I told him and Sarah. They both shrugged it off, but did keep an eye on him to make sure nothing was wrong. He acted like nothing was wrong and went about his business. Still, I watched him like a hawk because something told me he was up to no good.

"The following summer, we went out of town for a two week vacation. I made a friend named Emily while we were there and we exchanged addresses to keep in contact. A few days before we left, I introduced her to dad and Sarah. James showed up out of nowhere and I introduced him too. He said something rude which caused Emily to reply in disgust and leave. I didn't see her the rest of the night, but we got the news that she never made it home the evening before. A search party was formed and dad helped look for her. They didn't find her, but I knew she was dead.

"I didn't tell anyone, since I was afraid no one would believe me, or worse, that someone would accuse me. I was walking around the woods near the cabin we had rented and noticed James digging for something. I snuck up as quietly as I could and he never heard me. He buried something and after he finished replacing the dirt, he got up and walked away. I waited for at least ten minutes to be sure he was gone and I dug up what he had buried. I discovered a small box that looked like something Emily had carried once before. I opened it and saw, to my absolute horror, a blood stained rock and Emily's locket. That's when I knew without a shadow of a doubt, that my younger brother was a murderer."

Barbara shook herself, as if to clear the image from her head. Stephanie gasped in horror and gripped Jason's arm tightly. Dick pulled Barbara into a hug and rubbed her back. Barbara took a shuddering breath.

"Unfortunately, when I told dad, he didn't believe me. He said that without a body, he couldn't do anything. I was furious and didn't talk the rest of the way home. As we aged, James seemingly went out of his way to antagonize people so that they would attack him in some way. Then they 'disappeared' and were never seen or heard from again. I'm ashamed to say that I did nothing to get my brother the psychological help that he definitely needed." Dick made a noise like a growl and pulled Barbara from him with a look of anger.

"You couldn't have done anything to help that little psychopath, Babs. He was sick and twisted from childhood onwards. Normally I would give him the benefit of the doubt, but he almost got you killed twice and tried to kill you himself. Sorry Babs, he lost any sympathy I would normally have for people like that. That's not including the numerous victims he killed, tortured really. So no, this was in no way your fault. Never forget that, he was the one to blame." Dick replied firmly as he looked into his wife's eyes. Bruce walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Whether that's true or not Dick, I still should have told someone. Maybe then no one else would have died." Barbara answered as she brushed Bruce's hand off her shoulder. "It might not be my fault that he did what he did, but I should have told dad what I saw. It's my fault they died, even if I didn't do the act, I'm still the reason they died." Barbara finished before Dick could stop her. Dick sighed heavily and shook his head. Stephanie had the sudden urge to hug Babs.

"Babs, you weren't sure if anyone would believe you if you did tell someone the truth. You were still young and didn't know if they would believe you. I know that doesn't make things any easier, but it's the truth. Please don't blame yourself. Who knows, even if you had told, they might not have taken your warning seriously. What could you have done then, hmm?" Stephanie asked her honestly. Babs looked at Steph and sighed.

"Maybe it wouldn't have changed anything, but someone else would have known about it." Barbara said. Stephanie shook her head.

"And what if you had told someone else and they believed you? What if they had started watching your brother and he attacked you in retaliation. Or he could have attacked the person you told. That would have another victim. Besides, you sound like you kept a close watch on him, so maybe you prevented him from killing other victims, did you think about that?" Barbara gaped at Steph, as if she hadn't thought about of that before. Bruce and Dick looked at her in pride and Stephanie felt her face heat up. Jason chuckled as he pulled her closer to him.

"Thank you for saying that Miss. Brown. It's good to know that someone else thought about that." Bruce complimented her and Barbara looked at him pointedly. Dick laughed and hugged her again. Barbara sighed and relaxed into the hug. She looked at Stephanie and smiled.

"I guess you're right, Steph. I just feel like I should have done something. That's not something a person gets over easily. Still, I suppose my keeping an eye on him might have slowed him down." Barbara reached across the table between them. Steph reached and Babs grasped it. "Thank you for pointing that out." She released Steph's hand.

"Anyway, it was shortly after that that I met my first supernatural creature."

"I didn't trust James and tried to keep an eye on him to make sure he wouldn't try anything like that again. I had stopped visiting Dick and 'Allan' as much as I had when first met. One evening though, after visiting I decided to have Edmund drop me off at the park. When he asked me why, I replied that I wanted to walk the rest of the way home. That I wanted the exercise. So he hesitantly agreed. I started walking through the park and was almost at the other side of the park, when I heard a scream. So I ran to the scream and discovered a woman pinned to a tree by a tall man.

"I yelled at the man to leave her alone. He didn't hear me, but she cried for help again. I took one of my shoes and chucked it at him as hard as I could. I really should have paid attention to the fact the sun was down, because when he turned around I saw his eyes glow red. He had blood dribbling down his chin and I could vaguely see his incisors were longer then they should have been. He looked at me and quirked his finger at me. Something inside told me to run, but before I could, his eyes turned white. The next thing I remember, is lying on the ground near the lady, who was still alive.

"Dad was kneeling next to me as someone was applying bandages to my neck. Dad tried to say something to me, but I couldn't hear him. My vision faded to black and I woke up in the hospital. I woke to darkness and didn't know how I got there. There was a tiny click that came from the door and it opened quietly. I saw a short figure peek his head inside my room and stop when he saw me awake. I tried to ask who he was, but my words caught in my throat and I started coughing. The figure darted towards the table next to me.

"He held a glass of water and helped me sit up enough to drink from it. I shook my head when I had had enough and he removed the glass. It took a few minutes to calm down enough to form any words. I looked at him and stared at his colorful costume.

"Who are you? And why are you here?" I asked as I realized I was alone in a room with someone I didn't know. Let alone the fact I still felt weak from whatever happened earlier. The figure tensed and sighed. He stood straight and even in the dim light of the room, I saw him grin.

"The name's Robin. And Batman and I are investigating the man who attacked you earlier this evening." He paused for a few seconds before finishing. "Do you feel up to answering a few questions about what happened? If not, I can come back when you're feeling better." I looked at him confused. I turned my neck to look away and felt a pain in my neck. I touched my neck and felt the gauze.

"I touched it and suddenly remembered what had happened. I gasped and looked back at Robin. He held his hands out toward me, to reach out for me I guess. I think I started to whimper, because he hesitantly hugged me with one arm. The other arm slowly rubbed my arm in comfort. I calmed down, somehow knowing he meant me no harm. When I had calmed down enough, he released me and stepped back. He opened his mouth to say something, but I spoke first.

"I'm alright now, thank you. For that I mean." I inhaled somewhat shakily, and continued. "What, what did you want to ask me? I'll try to answer as best as I can." He looked at me.

"Are you sure? I mean I can come back to talk to you." I stared at him and felt myself smile. I nodded.

"My father, he's the commissioner as you probably know, said you and Batman could be trusted. So, if dad hasn't told you anything about this evening, he either doesn't know what happened, he's gathering evidence or he doesn't know if he should try and solve it by himself. He said to trust you, and I do. So ask away, I'll do my best to answer." He gaped at me, opening and closing his mouth like a fish. Eventually he cleared his throat.

"Alright then, just a few questions. First question, what happened? In other words, how did you come to be attacked?" I glared at him to let him know I already knew what he really meant. He nervously scratched the back of his head. "Umm, why don't you just tell me everything that happened this evening? Let's start there." He grinned at me sheepishly and I just shook my head at him.

"I proceeded to tell him what had happened from when I left Wayne manor to the man trying to get me to come to him. I didn't know if I should tell Robin about the man drinking blood from the woman, but the gauze on my neck reminded me that people had seen the bite marks on the both of us. I looked him in the eyes, or where I thought his eyes were since he wore a mask with white lenses. It occurred to me then, his lenses should have scared me after seeing the man's white eyes. They didn't though and instead somehow reassured me of his goodness. I swallowed as he took notes and hummed to himself. He looked at me and tensed.

"What I'm about to ask you now, mustn't be discussed with anyone else, not even your father. Unless it becomes a matter of life or death, do you understand, Miss. Gordon?" He looked so serious; I had to suppress a shudder. I nodded my head in answer. He took a deep breath and spoke. "Do you believe in vampires?" I stared at him in disbelief. I wanted to shake my head and question his sanity.

"But as I thought about it, it certainly made sense. I shook my head, because it was absolutely ridiculous. Vampires were fantasy, they weren't real. There was just no way they were real. He looked down and sighed heavily. He looked at me again and asked me to describe the man's appearance. To my shock, I couldn't recall exact details; just his long hair, his 'fangs' and his eyes changing color.

"They often compel people to forget certain details. You're lucky he didn't erase all of the details from your memory. They lady he attacked was still unconscious when I came here. You were the only eyewitness we could question. We don't know if he was run off by someone else who hasn't come forth, or if he was through drinking blood from the two of you." He bowed and headed toward the door. Before he could leave, I found myself asking aloud,

"Wait, you talk as if you've fought 'vampires' before." I heard him suck in his breath. That's when it hit me. There had been rumors that 'The Batman' wasn't human. That there was no way he could still be able to fight after having fought thirty-three years. No normal human could be able to keep fighting that long without slowing down. Batman was a vampire, that's how Robin knew how they 'compelled' people. "Are you a vampire?"

"He whirled around and shushed me. He made his way back over to me. He stared at me.

"No, I'm a human. Why would you ask such a question?" He was flustered, but I knew I was on the right track.

"You know how these 'vampires' think. And they say Batman's some sort of monster. That leaves several options, but the one that jumps out at me is that he's a vampire." I met his gaze and stared at him again. He cringed and sighed heavily. "So he really is a vampire then? Why haven't you told anyone?" He shook his head violently.

"You can't tell anyone what you just said. There are numerous people at risk if you repeat this." He let that sink in before he continued. "Besides, who would believe us if we told people Gotham is home to vampires, werewolves, witches and so on? Even more important, there are people in Gotham trained in the art of hunting these supernatural beings. People who won't care who they have to endanger or kill just to get one creature. I know you might want to tell someone, but you can't tell anyone. If you can't keep this a secret, Batman will erase your memories of all of this."

"He crossed his arms and he held my gaze to make certain I understood what he was saying. I gulped. I realized he was telling the truth and I nodded my head.

"I promise I won't tell anyone about the 'supernatural creatures' that call Gotham home." He kept staring at me long enough to make me fidget. He nodded his head at last and he relaxed. That's when another thought occurred to me. "It's just the two of you who fight them, right? Only two people who fight crime and supernatural beings? That's awfully dangerous isn't it?" He shifted his feet.

"Well, someone has to do it, right? Besides, we're trained to handle it." He placed his hand on my shoulder and squeezed. "We know what we can and can't do, and we don't want to burden anyone else with the danger we encounter. We chose to do this and we don't want to draw anyone else into it." He turned one last time and opened the door. "Remember, you promised Miss. Gordon, and we'll be holding you to your promise." And then he left.

"I looked at the door for a good long while after that. I mused over what I had been told, and I came to a conclusion. I most definitely would keep their secret, as well as do my best to prevent anyone else from learning about their true 'quest'. I wanted more than anything to help them, and that's when it occurred to me. I would help them hunt down the bad guys and help bring them to justice. I had heard my father tell me more than once that Batman only wanted to bring criminals to justice, which was why he didn't kill any of them. Either way, I wanted to help them. I would train my hardest and eventually become their partner so that I could help them succeed.

"It certainly seemed like an outrageous thing to decide to do, but dad had been teaching me how to fight since I was five, so I wasn't completely without fighting skills. In fact, when dad came to visit me the next morning he asked me why I hadn't fought back. I wanted to tell him about the man being a vampire, but then it occurred to me that dad hadn't encountered any supernatural creatures. Talking to Robin had given me the impression that only Batman and Robin fought these creatures. Robin had implied that no one in the GCPD knew how to fight vampires or werewolves. At least, I seemed to pick up that implication. Robin had tried his hardest not to talk about how he and Batman fought. I told dad the man had attacked me before I could defend myself.

"I asked dad to help me learn more fighting maneuvers. Dad seemed disappointed that I hadn't gotten a good look at the man, but his worry about me caused him to agree to further my training. I trained as hard as I could, spending a lot of my free time practicing. I practiced and trained for three years, and a few months after my fifteenth birthday, I fixed myself a suit and cowl, similar to Batman's. I had been watching to see their silhouettes for some time, and I was trying to memorize their movements and routes they took. It was about a month of being out there on my own before we ran into each other. Needless to say, the first meeting didn't end too smoothly. I kept on trying to talk them into letting me help them, unfortunately even the amount of training I had under my belt couldn't help me keep up with the two of the swinging away.

"One night I stumbled onto a money drop. I got there before Batman, so I was determined not to mess up. I got as close to the men as I could without giving myself away and waited until I believed I could get the drop on them. Unfortunately, just before I could move, I had a premonition. I saw the leader of the gang pulling one of his guns and shooting the mayor in the daylight. I froze just long enough for someone to see me and start to shoot. It was only the lucky arrival of Batman and Robin that saved my life. The men got away even though we all chased after them.

"After they got away, Batman turned to me and asked me what I was doing, if I was trying to get myself killed. I told him I was trying to help them.

"The next time you want to help, just stay out of it, Miss. Gordon." I gasped in shock, because I didn't know how I could have given myself away. I had done everything in my power not to reveal who I was. I shook myself though and squared my shoulders. "You almost got yourself killed, and for what? So you could brag about taking down a few gang members? It's not worth it, so stop doing it." He and Robin turned to walk away.

"Fine, I'll admit you've got me dead to rights. I wanted to help you and my, I mean the commissioner. But just so we're clear, I know who the two of you are as well." Robin flinched but Batman kept walking away. I hoped he'd be able to hear me as I whispered, "Mr. Wayne." That made him stop in his tracks. He turned and glared at me.

"I knew I should have erased your memories that night." He motioned for me to follow them. We walked towards a vehicle which had been modified into the precursor of the 'Batmobile' that people know today. There were two seats in the front and one seat in the back. He motioned for me to get in the back and after they got in, we took off. I thought about where we might be going and I began to get nervous. Neither of them spoke during the ride, which only made the trip more nerve-wracking. We came to a waterfall and I watched as automated doors opened to reveal a tunnel. We drove further in before we came to a stop.

"You have a lot to explain, Miss. Gordon." Batman spoke as he cut off the engine and exited the vehicle. I took a deep breath and followed him. I stood in front of them and shuffled my feet. "Why are you really running around at night? You can't possibly be doing this for your own good, so why?" I cleared my throat.

"I'm doing this so that I can help you two. Or, in the extremely rare chance that something should prevent you from taking down one of the lower ranking bad guys, I'm doing this to help the commissioner. When I first decided to do this, I wanted to help you two take down any supernatural creatures that may be out there. However, as time passed, I realized the commissioner didn't know about any werewolves or vampires. So I decided that since I knew about them, I'd do what I could to try and defeat them. I'm not so naïve as to think I can take them down, just to weaken them enough for them to be brought to justice. I want to do whatever I can to protect the city, even if that means risking my life by doing this." Batman was silent a minute, before he pulled his cowl off.

"How did you know who I was? There was no way anyone could have known." I shook my head and tried to hide my little smirk. I swallowed once more and continued.

"The truth is, over the last few years I had taken to watching the two of you as best as I could. I noticed that whenever I saw you as 'Batman', something unusual happened. Every time I saw you, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Robin confirmed that Batman is a vampire, and had been around quite a while. So it occurred to me that he had to have had a fair amount of money in order to maintain his skills. And there has only ever been one man who fits that requirement and makes the hairs on my neck stand up; Allan Wayne. After I made that connection, I realized Robin made his first appearance less than a year after Allan had become guardian to one, Dick Grayson. I figured that out a few months before I started doing this."

He looked me in the eye and held my gaze. I heard Robin shift and sigh. I looked to see him pulling his mask off of his face. Batman spoke to me then.

"I always knew you were clever Miss. Gordon. Now however, I'm going to have to ask you to stop. It'll be for the better if you stopped doing this before you get hurt. I appreciate your honesty, but I don't think your father would appreciate what you're doing. If I have to, I will compel you to forget all of this, regardless of your good intentions. After all, 'the road to Hell is paved with good intentions'. No, it's best if you just stop doing this all together." He finished as I shook my head in panic.

"No Mr. Wayne, please don't do that, I just want to help. What if I did everything you told me? I'm a really fast learner. Please, Mr. Wayne?" I stopped when I remembered the vision. "Wait, I can still help you. I know where he's going to strike next. He's going to shoot the mayor tomorrow."

They both froze and looked at each other. Dick looked at me and spoke.

"Bruce, what if she's right? We've been tracking this guy for weeks. It might not hurt to have another pair of hands for this." Batman, Bruce rather, sighed in exasperation. He shook his head and turned to me.

"And where exactly did you come by this information, Miss. Gordon? There's no possible way he would have mentioned this during the meet." He watched me suspiciously. I felt my face heat up in anger. He meant that he thought I was either making this up or was secretly working with the leader. I clenched my fists.

"First of all, Mr. Wayne, I don't appreciate the insinuation in your voice. Not only is it very rude, it's unfounded. Second, I'm only doing this to help my father, so if I can in some way help him, I'm going to do what I can to help him track down the bad guys. Third of all," I paused as I realized my anger was getting the better of me. I looked down at my feet and scuffed my shoes on the ground. I felt ashamed at my outburst and I softly whispered, "I saw it in a vision."

He tensed and walked towards me. I took a step back and held my breath. He must have sensed my hesitation, because he stopped a few feet away.

"Miss. Gordon, did you just say you had a 'vision'? As in you saw a glimpse of the future? Is that what you meant?" I felt tears come to my eyes and swallowed to keep from crying. He calmly bent over and placed his hands on my shoulders. "Miss. Gordon, Barbara, I didn't mean to sound accusatory, I've just seen and heard numerous people turn on their co-workers and bosses. I'm sorry if I offended you, I don't think you would ever do something like that. I just can't afford to overlook anything, do you understand?"

I looked up at him and saw the deepest blue eyes I had ever seen. Even though he still made the hair on the back of my neck stand up, I knew he was telling the truth. I decided once more to trust him, and I haven't regretted it since. I nodded once and looked at Robin, to see him grinning widely at me. I looked back at Mr. Wayne.

"I don't know where it's going to happen, only that Vickers is going to shoot Mayor Hill tomorrow evening. He was using a Smith & Wesson .38 special, model 1899. It looked black, with a small piece of the right side of the grip missing." I saw him looking at me with a look of surprise. He motioned for me to continue. "I'm sorry Mr. Wayne, that's all I saw in the vision. Mayor Hill was shot in the head and killed. I wish I could tell you where the attack will be, but I couldn't see it." He grinned at me and squeezed my shoulders.

"It's alright, you told me far more than you think you have. Thank you for that." He sighed once more and looked over at Robin. Robin nodded once and Batman stood up. He motioned for me to follow him and led me to a long table. There were numerous pictures and a few blueprints laying spread out on the surface. There was also a map of the city, with several black marks at different locations. They then proceeded to explain everything they knew about the gang.

"We spent the next few hours going over what we were going to be doing the next night. It took some finagling but we were finally able to work out a plan to capture Vickers. They helped me get back home without anyone noticing and the next night, they arrived to pick me up so that we would all be there when it went down. The plan worked well, and Vickers was arrested. I thought that was the end of it and started to head home, but Batman stopped me from leaving. When I asked what was wrong, he led me to my father. I was afraid he was going to tell my dad who I was under the cowl, but he only introduced me as his newest protégé; Batgirl. I was now officially a member of the team.

"Since I was new, he and Robin decided to start training me in various forms of defense, detection and stealth. He had explained his curse and I knew what to do to ward him and other vampires off. He spent the next few months teaching me how to defeat the supernatural. I took to it easily enough, so he thought it was time I learned how to travel through the city on the rooftops. That's where my training hit a snag. I like to think I'm quite agile, but I had absolutely no grace when it came to swinging. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get the hang of it. It frustrated me to no end until Robin stepped in.

"From that point on, Robin would be the one who taught me how to move like he could. He tried and tried several times to help me learn. Finally, after numerous failures, I broke down and cried. I was completely frustrated by my lack of skill and I apologized to Robin, Dick rather about wasting his time. He just calmly grinned at me and told me his trick to being able to swing.

"It's alright to be afraid of heights, Babs. I understand completely. If you'd like, I can tell you what I do when I swing every night." I looked at him and nodded my head eagerly. He grinned at me and said. "Well, my family had three rules for staying alive on the trapeze. The first rule was: 'Pick a point.'" I looked at him curiously.

"What that means is, pick the point in space you're headed for and never look away, even for a second." He smirked at me when he saw I understood what he meant. We tried again and again I failed. He kept encouraging me and continued his speech. "My family had two more rules, in case the first didn't work. In case you felt yourself giving into fear, sliding, losing your grip. Starting to fall. Rule two: Build yourself a net.

"Or rather, build a safety net out of plain, simple facts to stop the panic, to steady yourself. For example; 'My name is Dick Grayson. I am 16 years old.' And so on and so forth, you see?" I nodded my head in agreement. "However, if rule two doesn't work, if you still can't shake the fear and your grip isn't holding, there's the final rule for staying alive. Number three: 'Pray you land somewhere soft.

"Or at least, pray you land somewhere safe, this is Gotham after all." He stepped back and let me try one more time. I took a deep breath, counted to ten released my breath and tried again. This time, when I visualized where I needed to go, I felt myself tense. So I began thinking of what Dick told me. I began reciting every fact about myself I could, and when I went to land, I tried to curl myself to land safely. I stumbled, having caught my foot. It took a few seconds to right myself, and I realized; I had done it.

"I heard Robin land behind me. I turned to see him grinning widely at me.

"I knew you could do it. You just needed to think about something other than the height." He pulled me into a strong hug and I kissed him on the lips. He seemed startled at first, before relaxing into it. That was our first kiss, and one of the best I've ever had."

Jason snickered out loud as he tried and failed to cover his mouth. Dick shot him a glare and Stephanie elbowed him in the ribs. He calmed down.

"Sorry Babs, you know I have to give you and Dick grief every now and again. But seriously, you were afraid of heights? You're not afraid of anything." Babs shook her head in amusement.

"You don't know me very well then, Jay. I'm not as afraid now, but I do get scared every now and then. Back then, I was terrified of heights, so of course it took me a long time to get the hang of it. That's why Bruce had Dick teach me how to swing, since he loved flying from rooftop to rooftop. That and he's closer in age to me. Once I got the hang of swinging, I started learning everything I could to help Bruce and Dick, as well as my father. At home though, I began neglecting my self-imposed watch of James. That almost ended up costing me my life."

Stephanie looked at Barbara in surprise. She saw Dick tighten the grip on Barbara's hand.

"What do you mean by that, Babs? Surely you don't mean he tried to kill you? But, Dick did say your brother tried to kill you, at such a young age?" Barbara nodded her head.

"He told me years later, that I was the only one who ever kept an eye on him. No one else did that, and so he wanted to show me just what he was truly capable of doing." She took a deep breath and continued her story.

"By now, I was spending as much time as I could training and fighting alongside Batman and Robin. It wasn't until roughly half a year into things, that I realized James was watching me somewhat intently. It unnerved me, but he made no move to plot against anyone or attack anyone, so I decided to overlook it. Which was a big mistake for me. One night, after returning home, I was changing into my pajamas to go to bed, when I heard a noise down the hall. I knew that dad was still at the station, so I thought it was Sarah. I went to look for the cause and heard the noise coming from James's room. I opened the door and saw him staring out the window, swinging his foot against his bed.

"I began to ask him why he was up so late, when he turned and looked at me. He smiled this strange, knowing little smirk at me and spoke to me. His words sent chills down my spine and I panicked at the implications. He told me,

"I saw you swing over from the building next door, 'Batgirl'. You need to be more careful, if you don't want dad to find out what you've been up to these last few months. I promise I won't tell him, you can trust me sister." He only ever called me sister if he was plotting something and I was trying to stop him from doing it. His next words though, had me turn and run back to my room. "It's not just dad you need to be careful about, who knows who else might want to hurt you? After all, haven't you been helping to take down criminals and gang members? What do you think would happen if any of them found out?"

"He grinned at me and turned back to look out the window. I ran back to my room and pushed my desk chair against my door, somewhat fearful of what my brother might do. I began to panic about whether he would tell dad or not, and I didn't get any sleep that night. The next morning when we ate breakfast, I kept looking at James and he ignored me. I decided to keep an eye on him to make sure he didn't do anything. I didn't tell Bruce or Dick out of fear that James would tell dad. The next few weeks, I didn't go out, instead staying home. One night, Dick as Robin stopped by and tapped on my window.

"I didn't answer him and did my best to ignore him, even though I knew I was irritating him. Finally he left and I felt myself heave a sigh of relief. The next evening, Sarah got a call from one of her friends and had to leave. Dad would be home by 10:30, so she asked if I would mind babysitting James for a few hours. I told her I didn't mind and she left to visit her friend. I was doing my homework in the kitchen, when I remembered not hearing James for a short while. I went to his room to check on him and couldn't find him. I walked into his room to look for him and something hit me in the back of the head.

"The next thing I knew, I was tied to a chair in the basement, and directly in front of me stood James. He had a deranged gleam in his eye as he looked at me. Then he began to speak to me.

"You didn't think you were the only psychic in the family did you? That's how I knew how to get you to lower your guard around me, with foresight just like you. I've seen a lot of things, which has lead me to figure things out. I've known for a while that you were Batgirl, the other night was just confirmation. And you never suspected I'd do something like this. You've been watching me so intently for years now, and you never realized I was just the same as you. Oh well, it'll be a while before dad gets home and by then, I'll have had time to rearrange things to look like a home robbery turned bad." He grabbed a knife and proceeded to cut and stab me.

"Some of the cuts were shallow, some were deep and none of them were to my face or hands. The stabs were either to my legs or arms. This went on for roughly ten minutes or so and as I began to black out, the door to the basement came flying down the stairs and something black knocked the knife out of his hands. The last thing I remember was Robin untying my hands and asking me to stay awake. When I came too, I was once again in the hospital. Dad and mom were both there sitting by my bed. They grabbed my hands when they saw I was awake. I saw the worry and relief on their faces and I started to cry.

"Dad told me about how Batman had saved my life. Apparently, he had seen some unusual shadows moving around in the house when he was running across the rooftops. He thought the shadows belonged to robbers and so looked for the point of entry. When he couldn't find one, he almost gave up, figuring the shadows belonged to me and James. Then he saw James dragging my unconscious body down the steps to the basement. He spent the next few minutes checking the house out and broke in. This ended up saving my life, since he heard my screams after entering the house. Robin arrived just after that happened and the two rescued me.

"He told me about how Robin had been the one who to bandage my wounds while Batman had captured and handcuffed my brother. Then about how the two of them raced me to the hospital, not even stopping to drop James off at the precinct with dad. Mom started crying as she told me how scared she had been when she had gotten the call that I was hurt. She said that the doctors had told her about my severe blood loss and that I might not make it. She hugged me as tightly as she could and told me how relieved she was that I was alright. Dad got quiet and just watched me and mom. He stepped out for a while so the two of us could talk.

"Bruce and Dick came to visit shortly after and mom left. Bruce went to the door to check that no one was within hearing distance. He nodded his head and I immediately asked what had really happened. Dick started the explanation.

"When I checked on you the other night and you ignored me, I came to ask what was wrong, why you hadn't been helping us. I came to ask where you had been. I came back to check on you that night, only I couldn't find you anywhere in the house. I called out to Bruce mentally to tell him something was wrong. He mentally replied he was on his way. I heard one of the birds outside trying to warn me of someone dangerous in the house. I spoke to the bird and he told me the boy that lived there was really violent and hated small animals. He said that the boy liked to kill any small animals he came across.

"I heard something inside and peeked through the window to see your brother dragging you down the hall. I didn't know why he was dragging you, but it was obvious you were unconscious. The bird said that your brother was the one who killed the birds and squirrels. That's when I knew what you had mentioned about him was true. I waited until both of you were gone from sight to force open the window. Bruce got there after I got the window open and crawled in. I motioned towards the front door and darted to open it when I heard you screaming. Normally, he has to be invited inside by someone who lives in a place or by someone seeking sanctuary, however since you were in danger and you're under his protection, he can come inside as long as someone lets him in. I did that.

"After I let him inside, he can't come back in without an invite since it was a one-time thing, he took off towards the basement. He had your brother pinned to the wall by the time I got there. There was so much blood, I almost ran out of bandages. Then you passed out and everything else was a blur. That's all I can tell you about what happened." Dick finished his story and grabbed my hand. "We were really worried about you Babs. I thought you might die."

"I looked him in the eye and noticed the shadows under his eyes. He looked like he hadn't shaved in a few days, so I asked how long I had been out for. Bruce replied that I had been unconscious for four days. I was stunned, but I smiled and squeezed my hand once. Dick looked up at me and I winked at him.

"My hero. I would have expected nothing less from either of you." I nodded at Bruce and was relieved to see the two of them relax. "Thank you, both of you. If you hadn't gotten there when you did, I'd be dead now." The next few days went by slowly, but the end of the week brought the news that I would be released. Mom wanted me to move in with her; however I convinced her that everything was going to be alright if I stayed with dad.

"The truth is that mom lived in another city and while I missed her deeply, I couldn't move in with her and still be able to help Batman and Robin fight crime. Mom was under the impression that I didn't want to move because of a boy. She wasn't entirely wrong, just not for the reasons she believed. Once I was back on my feet, I went back to helping Bruce and Dick. This continued for a little over half a year, when we faced off against Two-Face and Dick was shot. I felt guilty since I hadn't fought against someone like him before; I had no idea of what he was truly capable of. For some reason, my premonitions had tapered off to almost nothing and I had no warning of any kind about Dick getting shot.

"Bruce was adamant that Dick retire from crime fighting, and I had a sneaking suspicion that he might use his hypnotic trance to 'compel' that Dick quit. Even then it was a silly, unfounded fear. Bruce would never do such a despicable thing as that. But I was still afraid that he would do something drastic. Once Dick was able, he decided to go on a road trip and try to 'find' himself. Two weeks later we got a call from Dick telling us about the cave he found. Bruce went up there and came back nearly a month later with Dick in tow. To this day, I'm not sure how we deciphered the text, only that we did.

"We read the stories of 'Nightwing' and 'Flamebird' and how they saved the day in every story they were mentioned. Dick took a liking to the name 'Nightwing' and the rest is history. We fought together for a few months more, before the former 'boy blunder' left to take up residence in Bludhaven. Batman and Batgirl seemed enough to be able to protect Gotham by themselves. Unfortunately, my lack of premonitions almost led to my downfall. They had tapered off after James tried to kill me, and for some reason, they almost didn't return. Bruce was worried it was because of stress and wanted me to rest, but I didn't listen.

"As it happened, one night while on patrol, I felt a curious urge to stray from my usual patrol route. I didn't question it as that had happened before. I hurried on my way and ran smack dab into a trap. I heard someone screaming for help inside an abandoned warehouse and without thinking, I headed in. I ran into Harley Quinn, who was holding the screaming person over a tank of Piranhas. She seemed disappointed that I wasn't Batman, and cast a spell to prevent me from moving. The 'victim' was actually the Joker and he was the one who came up with the idea to use me as bait.

"I tried to fight back, but her spell was strong. Batman arrived sometime later and instead of attacking Batman, the Joker shot me in the lower back. I can't tell you what happened next, mainly because I was in too much pain to realize anything else. I later found out that Batman had had to choose between saving me and arresting him. Joker took the decision out of Batman's hands by killing his current physical body. Harley and the book escaped just after that. Batman rushed me to the hospital, where he had to work his compulsion to get the doctors and nurses to prevent them from finding out about Batgirl. I found out that the bullet had rendered me paralyzed.

"Due to my severe injury, I had to break down and tell my father about being Batgirl. He was angry at first, but later admitted that he was more upset about not seeing it for himself. He never asked if I knew who Batman and Robin or rather, Nightwing were. He was more concerned with my being injured. Back then, being paralyzed was almost essentially a life-ending occurrence. It's not as though being paralyzed was a bad thing, it's just that being confined to a wheelchair meant that there only so many things I could do. It meant that I either needed to move into a building that had been built with wheelchairs in mind, that I could only do certain things. I'm lucky I was able to get a job as a librarian at the Gotham City Library, which fortunately had been built with wider aisles.

"It took a while to accept that I was permanently wheelchair bound. But once I did, I decided to make the best of my situation and began looking for ways to help out Bruce and Dick, as well as my father. I spent more time talking to my father and with a little finagling; I began helping him with cases that were giving him problems. Mainly they were cases that involved gang members, the predecessors of the Maroni family to be precise. One day while talking to dad about the cases, I had a powerful vision. One of Maroni's men was holding my father at gunpoint and killed him. I was so startled, I forgot dad was sitting across from me. I wheeled over to the phone and called Bruce.

"I told him what I had seen and warned him that it would happen the next day. Instead of mentioning my ability had been a little less than trust worthy, he had Edmund pick me up after dad went to the station. I apologized for the intrusion, but Bruce shook his head and had me repeat what I had seen. I wasn't able to tell him the name of the man, so Bruce told me he would take me down to the Batcave. When I pointed out the obvious, he casually picked me up out of the wheelchair and carried me to the elevator.

"Bruce, it's not that I'm ungrateful, but why can't I just wheel to the elevator?" He shook his head.

"Neither of the elevators that lead to the Batcave are wide enough for you to do that yet. I'm in the process of adding one that is." I shook my head in exasperation.

"Since when do you have more than one elevator? I know you have four ways down here, including the one in the study." I paused and gulped in hesitation. "Besides, why would you even bother? On the off chance I needed to go to the cave?" He tightened his grip ever so slightly.

"Well, I actually have five ways down here. The second elevator is in the pantry in the kitchen." He looked me in the eyes as he spoke. "As for why, well you're a part of this family. So why wouldn't I make the necessary modifications?" We exited the elevator and continued towards the main desk he used for studying and planning. He walked around to a large chair that seemed out of place, until I realized it was an older model of wheelchair. He set me in it gently and walked around the table as I got comfortable.

"I marveled at the thoughtfulness of it and looked toward him. He was watching me with a small grin on his face. Before I could stop myself, I blurted out.

"How did you know? I mean, I know you plan things out meticulously, but what made you think of this? My visions have been terrible for the last few years, so why even believe me when I mentioned the one I had earlier?" He chuckled slightly and grabbed the folder from the desk and opening it. He spread the photos in it in front of me.

"Truthfully, I knew you would come here to help out in some way. It's not in you to give up or abandon something. You are just as stubborn as myself and Dick. As for why? Let's call it a hunch. Besides that, even though your visions weren't as good as they had been, you haven't been wrong about any of them. True, a few facts might have been off, but overall they've been correct. It was only a matter of time before they returned to your previous ability."

"I looked at him and felt the doubts I had been struggling with for the last two months melt away. Something that had been shifted ever so slightly after the shooting, righted itself and the world felt right again. I looked at the photos and pointed to the man I saw in my vision. And it was just like it had been before, with the two of us planning every single detail. The next day, Batman saved my father and arrested the man. Bruce teasingly called me a little prophet. Edmund suggested that I was more like an 'Oracle'.

"'Oracle', huh? I like the sound of that." I thought of it for a minute and nodded my head. It seemed appropriate that I should change my name like Dick had. Just because I was unable to run across rooftops like I had as Batgirl, didn't mean that I couldn't continue to help Bruce and Dick as Oracle. And this way, I had access to more of the information then I had before, since dad felt comfortable with secretly giving me information about the cases he was working on. As well as being able to gather information from numerous areas around the library. Everything was going great, especially after Nightwing, who had been in Gotham since the shooting, went back to Bludhaven and helped me gather information from there as well. Then, a little over a year later there was an outbreak on tuberculosis in Bludhaven and the city was quarantined.

"All of us were worried about Dick, but aside from letters and phone calls, we couldn't do much to check in on him. Even though Bruce went every week and snuck in to check in on Dick, we couldn't really do much to help him. The outbreak had both a positive and a negative side effect on Bludhaven. The positive side effect was that the major criminals were forced to cut their losses and stop their illegal activities, since most of their partners were either sick or preoccupied with sick loved ones to keep committing crimes. The negative side effect was that most of the medicine that was being used on the patients was stolen and there was a panic on the population. On top of that, numerous thefts were committed in order to pay for the medical bills of sick patients. Nightwing wore himself out trying to return the stolen medicine and trying to curb the thefts. And at least five times, the stolen medicine was turned around and 'sold' to the public for lots of money. As a result of the crimes, Nightwing spent more and more time around the patients and doctors, and as Dick Grayson spent several hours volunteering to help.

"Just being around tuberculosis is risky, since it's very contagious. We knew from Bruce's observations that Dick wasn't getting much rest and was wearing himself thin. Even so, it took me by surprise when I had a vision of Dick in bed, coughing up a lung. When I told Bruce, he became alarmed and said that he should check on Dick. I left the manor, suddenly afraid of what would happen if Dick would die. Later that night, Bruce called me to confirm that Dick was dying. I asked if there was anything I could do, but Bruce only said that I should stay from the manor for a few weeks. He told me everything would be alright.

"I got a call from Bruce a week later, saying that he had brought Dick home, but instead of keeping him there to live out the rest of his days at the manor, Bruce told me he was going to turn him into a vampire. I was shocked. Certainly Bruce was alright as a vampire, but I had seen the types of things vampires were capable of and I was afraid of how Dick would respond to being turned. I knew he wouldn't do anything despicable, but I wasn't sure about what his urges would cause him to do, or how it would affect him mentally. Bruce explained that his curse would be transferred to Dick and that nothing bad would happen to Dick's compassion and goodness. He told me it would take a few months to help Dick work on his newfound skills in order to help him learn how not to hurt innocent people. I was still a little worried about Dick, but I knew he wouldn't stop until he figured out his limits. I spent the next few months working on my own and helping dad take down several criminals.

"Then the day came where Nightwing returned to active duty, and once I saw him, I knew there was going to be trouble. All it took was one look at him, and I started thinking of his naked body. It was a little known fact that Dick and I had slept together before I was shot. We had dated for a long while before he moved to Bludhaven, hence why I was so worried about him. But we had broken up mutually and went on to date other people. Once he became a vampire however, he wouldn't stop watching me. It took a while for all of us to realize that another part of the curse was that any member of the 'clan', once turned, would be unable to stay away from their 'mate'. It might take a while for them to find said mate, but when they did it would be like pulling teeth when it came to letting them walk away.

"In other words, once they find their mate/partner/soulmate, they become obsessed with them and it's very dangerous for the two of them to be apart. Unless both of them are vampires, in which case both sides are affected. Somehow the love and affection between the two, becomes a physical lust which consumes them both, if they're not both vampires. Their mate is essentially the only one they see, which can cause problems if they're both involved in fighting like Dick and I were. That means that they become careless of their surroundings and any danger to them is ignored. Once both are vampires however, whatever obsession there was before settles down and the need for nearness helps them both significantly. Of course, the need for sex is still there, it just becomes easier to tolerate.

"And unfortunately, after I started working at the library, I became friends with a man at work. We were good friends only. We weren't dating or anything of the sort. Dick knew I was friends with him and was glad I was making friends. After he became a vampire however, he became jealous of the man and tried to beat him up. It took me talking him down and Bruce pulling him off to get him to stop. He became horrified about what he did and did everything in his power to make amends. At that point though, I had had enough.

"It was one thing for me to find myself thinking about him non-stop after his return, it was one thing for him to always find me and flirt with me, it was something else entirely for him to start beating an innocent man for a selfish reason. I told him that we should go our separate ways, until we could get things worked out between us. Unfortunately, I spent so much time thinking about him that I almost lost my job. Dick returned to Bludhaven and things got worse for the both of us, with me missing obvious clues and Dick getting sloppy and getting more and more injured. Eventually though, we began to find our rhythm and were able to work together with few mistakes. It was right around this time that my brother James broke out of Arkham Asylum, along with a low-level vampire named Oswald Cobblepot. Also known as 'The Penguin', Cobblepot had been one of the earliest gang members Bruce encountered, before disappearing. When he returned two decades later, he had become a vampire and was able to get away with more crimes.

"Batman was able to finally pin him to a murder a few months earlier, and he was sentenced to Arkham. As a vampire however, he became vulnerable, almost useless during the day and required blood to survive. My brother saw this and struck a deal with him; he would bring Penguin blood and protect his body during the daytime, in exchange for help escaping. Penguin agreed and, when the time was right, the made their escape. Batman and Nightwing began their patrol and I was at home that night. I should have known that something was going to happen; I hadn't had any visions for a few days. In any case, I was unprepared for them when they attacked me. I was able to hold them off for a while until James overpowered me.

"They dragged me to the bridge, which was under construction, and James began stabbing me. Just like he had years earlier. Only this time, I fought back. He stabbed both of my legs and flipped my wheelchair over knocking me on the floor. Penguin became impatient and began beating me with a wooden beam. James laughed and taunted me about my being so powerless to stop them. He told me about how he had tried to poison me when he was seven. How he had only failed to do so when I dropped my cup and spilt the tea he had put lye in.

"Then he told me he was going to let Penguin drain me of my blood, and then he was going to throw my body into the water where no one would be able to find it. He almost succeeded, if Batman and Nightwing hadn't gotten there when they did. I was scared that I was going to be killed and no one would know what happened to me. Penguin had picked me up and was getting ready to drink my blood when Batman barreled into him. I only recall an unearthly growl coming from somewhere behind me after I hit the ground. Then I was being lifted gently and I heard Bruce speak to me.

"Barbara, you've got to wake up. I know you're in a lot of pain, trust me, I understand, but you need to wake up. I don't know if I can keep Nightwing from killing them. He won't listen to me." It took longer than I want to admit for me to realize what he said. Nightwing was beating them up and couldn't be stopped. I swallowed painfully and tried to speak.

"Nightwing," I croaked miserably, "you have to stop. Please, don't kill him. He's my brother, James." I chocked on something tasted like blood, but I kept on. "This isn't like you; you're not cruel or vicious." I felt my strength waning as I spoke once more. "Come back to us, Nightwing. Come back to me."

"I felt Batman shift me carefully and delicately push several spots on my torso. Each touch, sent spikes of pain shooting through my body. I moaned miserably and I heard someone else beside me. I opened my eyes to see Nightwing look at me with an anguished look on his face. He grabbed my hand and tentatively squeezed it.

"Why did he do it, Babs? Why did he try to kill you?" I sighed, before hissing in pain. I shook my head to clear my vision.

"I don't know. He's clairvoyant like me, and he said that he tried to kill me when I was eleven. I don't know why though." I shifted without thinking and hissed again at the pain. Batman must have said something to Nightwing telepathically, because I only heard Nightwing's verbal answer.

"Babs, I can give you some of my blood. It won't turn you like Batman's can; however it can temporarily heal some of your wounds. The only problem is that it won't last long and it'll hurt worse after it wears off. If you want to, he can give you his blood and turn you. It's your choice; we're not going to force you. No matter what we might want to do." He looked so sad; I didn't have the heart to hold his gaze. I looked at Batman and he nodded his head.

"Give me some of yours, Nightwing. I'll decide the rest after we get back to the cave. After, you call the police." He looked relieved and pulled one of his gloves off. He bit his wrist and placed it at my mouth. The taste was terrible, but I refused to back down. He pulled his wrist away as I felt my broken bones knit back together painfully. He hesitantly took me from Batman and the next thing I knew was being in the Batmobile.

"I spent some time working through the pain as I tried to make up my mind. If I agreed to let Bruce turn me, there would be no turning back. I wouldn't be able to hide what I had become. I'd more than likely have to leave town. And I wasn't sure I'd be able to hide it from dad. In fact, the more I thought about it, I knew there was no way to not tell dad, unless we used compulsion, which I knew we wouldn't do unless it was necessary. But if I told my dad, I'd have to tell him about Bruce and Dick being Batman and Nightwing. And even further down in my thinking, was the wild thought about whether I'd be able to walk again.

"Before I realized it, we were pulling into the Batcave. Edmund was waiting on us and helped Nightwing get me upstairs. They got me to bed, and Edmund stayed with me while Nightwing changed his clothes. He came back up and held my hand, never saying anything, just sitting there next to me. Bruce arrived around the same time Dick's blood started to wear off. To my surprise, Tabitha was with him. She smiled at me kindly and spoke.

"Hello, Ms. Gordon. It's been a while since we last spoke; however I know you probably don't feel like speaking right now. Mr. Grayson told you of what you can do; now the choice is up to you. Do you wish to live, as a vampire? Or do you want the pain to end? We can't force you to choose one or the other, only you can decide. Just remember, if you want to live, even a small bit, you can be turned." She looked at me and waited.

"The pain began to return in intensity, and I wanted it to stop. Before I could reply however, I needed to know something.

"If I say yes, can I tell my father? Or will that cause trouble for us?" I hissed out a breath as the pain caused a spasm to go through my body. Bruce looked worried and Dick looked close to tears, but again Tabitha drew my attention when she spoke.

"If you choose to be turned, you can tell your father whatever you want. I know Mr. Wayne wishes to keep his identity a secret and with good reason. Never the less, this would be a rather fortuitous thing. He can help all of you if you tell him. Either way, only you can decide, Ms. Gordon." She looked me in the eye and nodded her head. I took as deep a breathe as I could and replied.

"Please, Bruce. I want to live." Dick gasped and Bruce backed a step away. There was concern on his face, even as he lifted a hand towards me. "Bruce, I know this is going to hurt. You and Dick told me about it, but I've decided that I want to do this. I want to stay with you all, I want to help my dad. Please, do it."

"Bruce braced himself and nodded once. He bit his wrist as Tabitha motioned for Dick to step outside. Tabitha sent Dick away as Bruce placed his wrist above my mouth.

"I'm sorry about how much this is going to hurt, Barbara. But since you decided to do this, all I can do is see this through. Whatever you do, don't tense up. Dick and I both did that and it made the pain worse." He placed his wrist over my lips and I tried not to gag as the blood dripped into my mouth. I had though the taste of Dick's blood had been bad, this was much worse. Still, I swallowed slowly and for a minute, nothing happened. Then everything happened, seemingly all at once.

"Bruce and Dick had told me before of all the pain they had experienced during their transformations, but actually living through it was something else altogether. Between the seizing muscles, the bones re-knitting, my heart beating weakly and then painfully and the intense heat I felt radiate throughout my body, I seriously began to reconsider my decision. Before I could try to say something, I felt the chains wrap around me. Tabitha patted my arm in sympathy and placed a strip of wood in my mouth.

"Dick kissed me gently in the fore head and grinned at me as Bruce placed me in a coffin. They placed the lid over me as I began to feel my organs start to shut down. I felt my nails grow and my incisors lengthen. I heard the chant and I could have sworn I heard Dick say something just before I blacked out. The next thing I was aware of, was how quiet it was. I tried to shift to look around and realized I was now a vampire. Then I realized something important I had almost forgotten. Bruce spoke to me, but I didn't hear him as I tried to wiggle my toes.

"I was afraid I was going to still be paralyzed, until I felt my toes respond to my commands. I was so happy and excited, I didn't realize I had been dug out until I heard Tabitha speak to me.

("Ms. Gordon, I know you're awake. You've proceeded to scare Mr. Wayne and Mr. Grayson by not responding to them. Is everything alright?") I startled badly. I nodded my head and tried to convey my discovery.

("I'm very sorry, everyone. I just needed to see if I could move my toes. It's been so long since I could, I just needed to know. And I can.") I felt myself beam with pride. I heard Dick cheer and Bruce sigh in relief. Tabitha jumped down and had the lid removed. She helped me sit up and removed the strip before having me drink from her bowl. She undid the chains after and stepped back.

"I want you to stand up, Ms. Gordon." She told me politely. I hesitated for a minute and gathered my courage. I slowly slid one foot under my body as I braced myself against the coffin. I swallowed once and eased the other foot under. I sat crouched like that for what seemed like an eternity. I began to stand, hoping that I would be able to do it. Then I rose to my full height and, encouraged by my success, I took a step forward.

"I almost stumbled, as my knees went weak, but I caught myself. I took another step and didn't falter. I grinned at Tabitha and then Bruce and Dick. They clapped and reached down to pull me up. I hugged Tabitha then reached for their hands. After that, I began my training."

Barbara paused in her story to look around her. Bruce was staring at the fireplace, Dick was grinning at her, and Jason was listening to her while watching Stephanie. Stephanie was smiling as well. Barbara stretched her arms over head, before turning to look at Bruce.

"Bruce was adamant that he come with me when I went to tell my father. Let's just say that didn't go to well." Bruce sighed loudly and Dick laughed. Bruce turned around to face everyone. He crossed his arms and leaned against the desk.

"Barbara's downplaying the situation. Commissioner Gordon was livid at me and attempted to attack me. I'm lucky he didn't have a wooden stake or silver. It took him a few moments to remember he had iron handcuffs. Fortunately, Barbara had managed to coax him off of me. It took a while before he forgave me as either Bruce Wayne or Batman. As it was, he was more concerned about what I had done to Barbara." Stephanie looked down at her lap.

"It must have been nice having a dad that cared that much." Jason looked at Steph and wrapped his arms around her in a lose hug. Dick glanced at Steph in sympathy.

"Steph, I'm sure your dad cared about you. He must have shown it somehow." Dick replied. Steph gave a short laugh.

"The only time I remember him caring about me, was when one of his 'friends' mentioned that I would 'make a damn fine looker' when I became of age. The way he said it, made chills run up my spine. And dad pushed him against the wall and said to keep his hands away from me." Jason tensed and clenched his hands. Dick and Babs stared in shock.

"Did he try to, you know, force himself on you?" Barbara asked quietly. Jason backed away from Steph and ran his hands through his hair. Steph turned to look at Jason.

"Well, he tried. Dad did teach me a few boxing moves. When he tried a few weeks later, I broke his jaw. " Jason exhaled loudly. Steph timidly placed her hand on Jason's shoulder. "Jason I'm fine, I promise. The asshole got what was coming to him. I broke his jaw and he was arrested a few hours later for assault and battery."

Barbara nervously cleared her throat, and began speaking once more.

"In any case, dad was furious about what had happened to me. Although, there was no disguising how proud he was that I could walk again. I told him everything I could about the supernatural inhabitants of Gotham City. He was mad at Bruce about keeping this hidden, but he understood why he had. Dad spent more time working with Batman, Nightwing and the newly returned Batgirl, and helped to bring about a newer way to hold the supernatural.

"Throughout all of this, the sexual tension between Dick and myself had intensified. Tabitha later explained it was because of the curse. Once one of Bruce's 'children' found their 'soulmate', nothing would stop them until they could be with said soulmate. And, since all of us are vampires, there's a serious sexual component. Vampires exist on blood, as well as physical intimacy. Dick and I had a hard time keeping our hands off of each other.

"Dad didn't think it was a good idea for me to stay with Dick, he felt that it was because of the curse. That it was only because of me being a vampire. But he saw how much Dick and I loved each other. He was hesitant at first and only agreed to give his blessing if we got married. It took some finagling, but June 21st of 1924, we were married. And we're still going strong 40 years later. Of course, we've learned over the years how to keep from drawing attention to ourselves while out in public; but in the privacy of our bedroom, let's just say we're 'wild'.

"We moved to Bludhaven after we were married and we continue to fight crime together. We come back every so often to visit Bruce and make our presence known as Nightwing and Batgirl. Unless Batman needs our help, in which case we get here as soon as possible. Obviously, we go through changes to our outfits to make it seem as if we're different people fighting as 'Nightwing' and 'Batgirl'.

"And that's the gist of my story." She looked at Jason, who was looking away from everyone else. "Well, Dick and I have to go to the library. And Bruce said earlier that he had to work on something in the cave, so we'll leave the two of you together. See you later Steph." Babs and Dick stood up and headed for the door, as Jason sighed loudly.

"Sit down and shut up. All of you." He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I know the three of you want to hear about what happened while I was away, so just sit back down." He looked at the couple, who were standing there looking surprised. He looked at Bruce. "You too, old man. " Bruce looked torn between relief and concern.

"Jay, you know you don't have to tell us. Steph asked for the whole story, but that doesn't mean that you have to tell us if you don't want to." Babs replied diplomatically. Jason shook his head and pointed to the loveseat the couple had just vacated. Steph looked around in confusion, but didn't say anything aloud. The couple hesitated, before sitting back down. Bruce sat in the chair at his desk watching as Jason took a deep breath.

"Steph asked for the whole story, and I agreed I'd tell my part." He looked Steph in the eyes. He grabbed one of her hands and brushed a kiss on her knuckles. "I'm not proud of some of the things I did in the past, so I reserve the right to gloss over some facts, alright?" Stephanie nodded her head solemnly. Jason squeezed her hand.

"Right, well, before I begin; I'd like to point out something important. All four of us are psychic; Bruce has his psychometry, Dick can talk to animals, Babs is clairvoyant and I'm pyrokinetic. Which means I can control fire, to an extent." He paused to glance around the room. Bruce caught his eye, with a questioning look. "The truth is Steph, I think you're psychic also." Steph took a moment to be confused and shook her head.

"That's ridiculous, Jason. How am I psychic? Better yet, what makes you think that anyway?"

"Several reasons actually. First and foremost, the whole time you've been sitting here listening, you've been reacting to the emotional state of everyone. For example, at one point in Bruce's story, you had tears rolling down your face. Second, on Tuesday night, you had a bad headache as you approached the study. During that time, I was arguing with Dick and Bruce. Third, Jarvis told us how you said that there felt as if no one was here. If you're not psychic, how do you explain those?" Stephanie crossed her arms.

"For starters, everyone here is a good storyteller, so I got swept up in the story. Second, I sometimes get headaches when I don't eat or drink enough. Especially since later that night, I still had the headache. Which is how I had that conversation with Jarvis, and I told him that it was all in my head. Do you have anything more to support you theory?" Jason smirked at her.

"Actually, I do. You kept giving us disbelieving looks when we lied to you. You said you felt happy for no apparent reason as we walked past the duck pond, at the same time I felt happy to be with you. When you told me about your daughter, you reacted as if you expected me to get very angry with you, even though you had no way of knowing that I might get mad at you. You looked ashamed of what you did this morning, when you saw me look away from you. And the most compelling of all; how you found your way down stairs at the same time Bruce had pulled the silver out of my left arm. The very same arm you kept rubbing the whole time you were down there with us." Stephanie opened her mouth and closed it, and opened it again looking like a fish.

"Alright, I'll concede your point on the lying thing; I'm pretty good at being able to tell if someone's lying to me, because of my dad. I can't help that I got happy as we walked past the duck pond; I like ducks. As for my daughter, I was more afraid of what you might think of me after I told you, you silly man. I did feel ashamed, because you needed the blood and you were turned away from it. You needed it, so I tried to make it up to you for being an idiot." She was silent for a moment.

"As for going down stairs, I'm not sure why I came to the study after I woke up to my left arm hurting. I just woke up, arm hurting, feeling sick to my stomach. Once I made it to the study, I saw the entrance door open and went from there." Jason looked at her triumphantly. She reached out and lightly slapped his arm. "Alright then, Mr. I'm-a-know-it-all, if I really am a psychic, what's my ability, and why is it only now starting to work?" Jason chuckled.

"I think you're an empath. That explains why you respond to the emotions of those around you. You don't just sympathize with people, you can sense their emotions. You can tell when someone's sad, like Bruce was earlier, ashamed like I was this morning, angry like Tuesday night. You can sense when there are people around you, especially if they're emotional. And to be honest, I think you've always had it; it just became more intense after meeting us." Stephanie looked at him for a minute, before looking at Bruce.

"The phone call at work on Tuesday, you said you were speaking to someone who you had had a falling out with. I was coming back from lunch, when I felt as if my heart was breaking. I just wanted to cry, and you looked so sad when you hung-up. I didn't think about it then, so I brushed it aside, as if nothing had happened." She looked back at Jason after Bruce nodded. "Is that what you mean? I just thought I was too emotional." Jason gaped.

"Tuesday, around lunchtime was when I called." He tapered off. He cleared his throat. "See what I mean? I'm certain you've had this ability for a while now. Only now, it's gotten more intense since you met us." Stephanie snuggled close to Jason. She began rubbing the edge of the comforter.

"Huh, I guess I never really noticed it before. You're right, now that I think about it." She grew quiet before turning slightly to look at Jason. "Fine then, if I am an, empath? That explains why you're acting so nervous about telling your part of the story. You don't have to tell everything, just how you became a vampire. Please?" Jason hesitated.

"Alright, but like I said, I reserve the right to skip over certain parts, alright?" He looked around and saw everyone nodding. He sighed again.

"Well, I was born September 14th, 1923. My birth mother, Shelia Haywood, gave me to my father for money and then left. My father, Willis Todd brought me home and gave me to my step-mother, Catherine Todd. My dad was a small time criminal, and he was almost never home. Catherine though, she had an addiction to cocaine, but she did everything she could to try and raise me right. She's the one I truly acknowledge as my mom. Even though she wasn't my birth mother, she never told me I wasn't hers, and she showed me more love then Sheila and Willis combined. I still miss her to this day."